Now that spring is here, and I have foolhardily signed up for a 10K in the next month (it is for a good cause, they said), I have become slowly reacquainted with nature. Which means, of course, that it was high time to find a decent sunscreen to last through running, well okay, huffing and puffing, for a couple miles a day.
So when I went to the drugstore I picked up Ocean Potion's Protect & Nourish SPF 30, because a sports nut that I know brought some over once and all I remembered was that it smelled amazing. To my utter delight this stuff smelled exactly as I remembered. According to the folks at Ocean Potion, the Scent of Sunshine (trademarked) is creamsicles! The best smell ever.
The ingredient responsible for this amazing scent is "fragrance" according to the back of the bottle, which could be anything, so I might not pass it on to my allergic-to-everything loved ones. But my sensitive skin has not reacted to it. I bought mine at CVS but it's also available at big box stores like Target and Walmart.
After stellar reviews on makeupalley, I even applied this jam to my face before heading outside. It dries pretty matte after soaking in, with nary a white cast (it's also primarily a chemical sunscreen so I'm hoping it doesn't reflect in photos). Also, when it has gotten in my eyes, I have felt it migrating but it hasn't burned (knock on wood). This stuff is so good! So good.
But is it too good??? There is only one downside that keeps me from applying this to my face all the time, and that is that the smell of the sunscreen, while amazing, might be attractive to other creatures. On the occasions where I have worn this on my face, rather large flies have landed on me, exploring my face like a playground. I freaked out, naturally. When I apply it to my body, I find that flies will try to land on my arms, but at least I have a decent chance in swatting them away from my arms.
Fly/gnat on arm = I can deal; Fly/gnat on face = hell to the no. In her book, There's More to Life Than This, Long Island Medium Theresa Caputo mentions that flies can be supernatural messengers from loved ones. That makes things slightly less terrifying. So grandma, if you were trying to tell me that you also like Ocean Potion and that I should call my mother more often, I hear you.
Stay safe out in the sun!
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Finally, Hair with Texture the Cheap and Green Way
It is a truth universally acknowledged that if you are a female with hair, your hair is in want of a solution. Who has not wanted their hair to be better, different, and manageable?
Blessed with hair that is damnably thick, straight, shiny all over, and untameable, of course I have longed for hair that is fine, curly, and editorially matte and cohesive. What the hell do I mean? I mean magazine-version Blake Lively hair, Jennifer Aniston hair, Eva Mendes hair... hair that keeps its shape and resembles the fine, airbrushed, smooth feathers of a freakin' eagle, not the slick-looking mess that covers eaglets minutes after hatching. For a greater explanation of the particular hair woes of thick-haired lasses like moi, see here and here.
For a while, I thought dry shampoo and texture sprays were the way to go. So the dry shampoo / texturizer hunt began. I tried dry shampoos by Lush, Tresseme, Herbal Essences, baby powder, a texture spray by Oscar Blandi and one by Tigi.. they were okay. At the same time, I tired of each quickly because I could feel the product. Sure, my hair looked matte, but it felt icky. I would be in the middle of a project and wish that I could excuse myself for five minutes to wash my hair out. When I started to work from home more, I stopped using additional products to mattify and texturize, and my scalp never felt better. I have always been a wash and go kind of gal, so I decided that was good enough.
Yet I bring glad tidings, for I have discovered the secret to the matte, textured hair. Say it with me. Bar. Soap.
Since washing my hair with a bar of Shea Moisture African Black Soap, the best $5 I have ever spent at Bed Bath & Beyond, my hair is ready for the cover of Costco magazine. Or even Better Homes and Gardens. I put it up in a pony tail, and it obeyed me. I have not broken a hair tie in several days. It's a miracle. Plus, it smells delicious and it's easy. What's not to like?
Have you had any luck with bar soaps or shampoo bars in your locks? If so, let me know what you think.
Blessed with hair that is damnably thick, straight, shiny all over, and untameable, of course I have longed for hair that is fine, curly, and editorially matte and cohesive. What the hell do I mean? I mean magazine-version Blake Lively hair, Jennifer Aniston hair, Eva Mendes hair... hair that keeps its shape and resembles the fine, airbrushed, smooth feathers of a freakin' eagle, not the slick-looking mess that covers eaglets minutes after hatching. For a greater explanation of the particular hair woes of thick-haired lasses like moi, see here and here.
For a while, I thought dry shampoo and texture sprays were the way to go. So the dry shampoo / texturizer hunt began. I tried dry shampoos by Lush, Tresseme, Herbal Essences, baby powder, a texture spray by Oscar Blandi and one by Tigi.. they were okay. At the same time, I tired of each quickly because I could feel the product. Sure, my hair looked matte, but it felt icky. I would be in the middle of a project and wish that I could excuse myself for five minutes to wash my hair out. When I started to work from home more, I stopped using additional products to mattify and texturize, and my scalp never felt better. I have always been a wash and go kind of gal, so I decided that was good enough.
Yet I bring glad tidings, for I have discovered the secret to the matte, textured hair. Say it with me. Bar. Soap.
Since washing my hair with a bar of Shea Moisture African Black Soap, the best $5 I have ever spent at Bed Bath & Beyond, my hair is ready for the cover of Costco magazine. Or even Better Homes and Gardens. I put it up in a pony tail, and it obeyed me. I have not broken a hair tie in several days. It's a miracle. Plus, it smells delicious and it's easy. What's not to like?
Have you had any luck with bar soaps or shampoo bars in your locks? If so, let me know what you think.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Real talk, I am a lazy gal. Like one that Estee Lauder was talkin about
when she said that there are no ugly women, only lazy ones. No
disrespect to Ms. Lauder and her juggernaut cosmetics empire, but I
contend that bein lazy and bein crazy beautiful are not at odds. No
ma'am.
For my first post I'm going to talk about managing my beauty footprint, and applying some advice about reducing, reusing, and recycling products in my beauty arsenal.
1) Reduce
When I do buy something, I look for smaller/travel sizes of a few key items (since it takes me so long to use items up anyway). I love, love travel size staples like 100 percent pure cosmetics' coffee bean eye cream and tarte park avenue princess bronzer. If I want to get more bang for my buck, I refer to blogs like GWPAddict and NouveauCheap for gifts with purchase from brands that I enjoy, and the great thing about gwp's is that they are almost always travel sizes of popular items.
2) Reuse
One of the debates that I have most often with myself is - do I return this beauty product that totally didn't do what I thought it would do? Sure, a lot of places allow you to return items, no questions asked. But I have seen what happens to some returned items. I remember once, in a night market in Vietnam, staring at the remnants of the MAC Hello Kitty collection, heavily beaten up and obviously used, being sold out of a wire basket for a few Dong to I don't know who. Nobody seemed to be buying that stuff. Seeing that made me feel very sad. If I use something and return it, it ends up in a dump or somewhere else, so if I can make another use for it, that's great. Of course, going "off-label" is unorthodox so prepare for the weird.
Product Repurposing #1: Spray Toner -> Brush Cleaner
Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist ($34)
This product smells great, gets amazing reviews from beauty bloggers, and totally does not work for my skin. The first ingredient is SD Alcohol, along with some fancy botanicals, and the product comes in a spray bottle with an EXCELLENT fine mister application. So, it is a spray, and it will basically do a pretty good job of killing germs. One day I thought, looking at my assortment of blush/eye/blending brushes, that I could use a brush cleaner. Then I looked at this baby. BAM. I sprayed it on my MAC 130 and wiped the excess on a spare microfiber cloth I had lying around. Not as clean as I would have gotten, say, with a baby shampoo rinse, but definitely better than before and useful for mid-application cleanings, Also, my brushes have never smelled so good.
Product Repurposing #2: Natural deodorant -> stick bug repellant
Desert Essence Tropical Breeze Deodorant ($4)
This product is like a soft, translucent balm, also smells great, like you are on a beach sipping pina coladas. It's free of aluminum. It has the feel of a firm gel, but it's not great in terms of sweat control or cover up; actually, Maybe it has something to do with my own pH. Anyway, I chopped off the portion that had touched my armpits, and was left with a sizable amount left in the container. I had some lemon eucalyptus oil from Whole Foods lying around because I had read that the synthesized version (different, by similar) was CDC-approved to repel mosquitos. I added a few drops to the stick, and now I have a swivel-applicator stick bug repellant. It works, although it smells less like pina coladas now and more like lemon eucalyptus. I love it, but I use it sparingly because the smell of lemon eucalyptus can get to some people. Also, it's important to note that you should not eat lemon eucalyptus, so I always wash my hands after applying this.
Product Repurposing #3: Natural deodorant -> hair defrizzer
Trader Joes' Natural Deodorant Unscented with Cotton
Okay, this is probably the weirdest thing that I've done in terms of repurposing. Basically this product is a clear, firm block of propylene glycal with some cotton added that has no color, scent, or real usefulness as a deodorant. It is, however, truly unscented - if you smelled a glass of water that glass would emit more odor than this product. It's not slippery, otherwise it would make a good substitute for Bodyglide for runners/heel enthusiasts. Because of its odd qualities, I decided to try it as a hair tamer for the frizzy parts that stick up on top of my head every morning. This was after deducing that my fancy hair products were irritating my eyes, so I needed something simpler. While I'm not crazy about propylene glycol, my eyes have cleared up (hallelujah). This is also super easy to apply (twist and pat down on unruly bits), which is essential for any lazy girl. This product is not really like any other deodorant I have tried, but it does remind me of a clear hair wax in stick form. Its sem-matte, transparent appearance does not leave any flakes or greasy shine to brush out, which can be a problem with more popular silicone-based serums. It does not deposit very much product due to it's harder consistency, and doesn't smell like chemicals or fake flowers (or anything at all). So in the end, I can't tell that I've applied any product, but my hair looks so much better and becomes completely static-free. At first I thought I hated this product, but actually, it is kind of wonderful. Super weird, but it works.
3) Recycle
Wait - recycle? Yes! I'm not telling you to keep expired makeup - ain't nobody got room for that. And sometimes recycling odd items like eyeshadow containers can be frustrating because the type of plastic (or plastic v. metal) matters. I have thrown away more makeup than I care to admit. So I recently joined a terracycle campaign which recycles (for FREE!) beauty product containers (including eyeshadow, lipstick, gloss, and lotion containers, with or without product inside).
Here's how it works - you can join at terracycle.com or bring in items to a recycling campaign near you. when you've collected your items to recycle, just print the free shipping label and send the stuff to terracycle. The beauty products recycling campaign is not limited to any particular brands (although it's sponsored in part by Garnier).
Less stuff in the dump and if you send in over 10 lbs of containers, you can earn money towards a school or charity of your choice, and enter to win prizes from Garnier. Pretty neat.
So, there you have it. Hope you enjoyed post and please leave comments below.
For my first post I'm going to talk about managing my beauty footprint, and applying some advice about reducing, reusing, and recycling products in my beauty arsenal.
1) Reduce
When I do buy something, I look for smaller/travel sizes of a few key items (since it takes me so long to use items up anyway). I love, love travel size staples like 100 percent pure cosmetics' coffee bean eye cream and tarte park avenue princess bronzer. If I want to get more bang for my buck, I refer to blogs like GWPAddict and NouveauCheap for gifts with purchase from brands that I enjoy, and the great thing about gwp's is that they are almost always travel sizes of popular items.
2) Reuse
One of the debates that I have most often with myself is - do I return this beauty product that totally didn't do what I thought it would do? Sure, a lot of places allow you to return items, no questions asked. But I have seen what happens to some returned items. I remember once, in a night market in Vietnam, staring at the remnants of the MAC Hello Kitty collection, heavily beaten up and obviously used, being sold out of a wire basket for a few Dong to I don't know who. Nobody seemed to be buying that stuff. Seeing that made me feel very sad. If I use something and return it, it ends up in a dump or somewhere else, so if I can make another use for it, that's great. Of course, going "off-label" is unorthodox so prepare for the weird.
Product Repurposing #1: Spray Toner -> Brush Cleaner
Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist ($34)
This product smells great, gets amazing reviews from beauty bloggers, and totally does not work for my skin. The first ingredient is SD Alcohol, along with some fancy botanicals, and the product comes in a spray bottle with an EXCELLENT fine mister application. So, it is a spray, and it will basically do a pretty good job of killing germs. One day I thought, looking at my assortment of blush/eye/blending brushes, that I could use a brush cleaner. Then I looked at this baby. BAM. I sprayed it on my MAC 130 and wiped the excess on a spare microfiber cloth I had lying around. Not as clean as I would have gotten, say, with a baby shampoo rinse, but definitely better than before and useful for mid-application cleanings, Also, my brushes have never smelled so good.
Product Repurposing #2: Natural deodorant -> stick bug repellant
Desert Essence Tropical Breeze Deodorant ($4)
This product is like a soft, translucent balm, also smells great, like you are on a beach sipping pina coladas. It's free of aluminum. It has the feel of a firm gel, but it's not great in terms of sweat control or cover up; actually, Maybe it has something to do with my own pH. Anyway, I chopped off the portion that had touched my armpits, and was left with a sizable amount left in the container. I had some lemon eucalyptus oil from Whole Foods lying around because I had read that the synthesized version (different, by similar) was CDC-approved to repel mosquitos. I added a few drops to the stick, and now I have a swivel-applicator stick bug repellant. It works, although it smells less like pina coladas now and more like lemon eucalyptus. I love it, but I use it sparingly because the smell of lemon eucalyptus can get to some people. Also, it's important to note that you should not eat lemon eucalyptus, so I always wash my hands after applying this.
Product Repurposing #3: Natural deodorant -> hair defrizzer
Trader Joes' Natural Deodorant Unscented with Cotton
Okay, this is probably the weirdest thing that I've done in terms of repurposing. Basically this product is a clear, firm block of propylene glycal with some cotton added that has no color, scent, or real usefulness as a deodorant. It is, however, truly unscented - if you smelled a glass of water that glass would emit more odor than this product. It's not slippery, otherwise it would make a good substitute for Bodyglide for runners/heel enthusiasts. Because of its odd qualities, I decided to try it as a hair tamer for the frizzy parts that stick up on top of my head every morning. This was after deducing that my fancy hair products were irritating my eyes, so I needed something simpler. While I'm not crazy about propylene glycol, my eyes have cleared up (hallelujah). This is also super easy to apply (twist and pat down on unruly bits), which is essential for any lazy girl. This product is not really like any other deodorant I have tried, but it does remind me of a clear hair wax in stick form. Its sem-matte, transparent appearance does not leave any flakes or greasy shine to brush out, which can be a problem with more popular silicone-based serums. It does not deposit very much product due to it's harder consistency, and doesn't smell like chemicals or fake flowers (or anything at all). So in the end, I can't tell that I've applied any product, but my hair looks so much better and becomes completely static-free. At first I thought I hated this product, but actually, it is kind of wonderful. Super weird, but it works.
3) Recycle
Wait - recycle? Yes! I'm not telling you to keep expired makeup - ain't nobody got room for that. And sometimes recycling odd items like eyeshadow containers can be frustrating because the type of plastic (or plastic v. metal) matters. I have thrown away more makeup than I care to admit. So I recently joined a terracycle campaign which recycles (for FREE!) beauty product containers (including eyeshadow, lipstick, gloss, and lotion containers, with or without product inside).
Here's how it works - you can join at terracycle.com or bring in items to a recycling campaign near you. when you've collected your items to recycle, just print the free shipping label and send the stuff to terracycle. The beauty products recycling campaign is not limited to any particular brands (although it's sponsored in part by Garnier).
Less stuff in the dump and if you send in over 10 lbs of containers, you can earn money towards a school or charity of your choice, and enter to win prizes from Garnier. Pretty neat.
So, there you have it. Hope you enjoyed post and please leave comments below.
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