Monday, September 26, 2011

GVP Joico K-Pak Review

In the past, I've written about how much I love Sally's line of Generic Value Products and what a great steal they are, and this time it's no different.

The original Joico K-Pak treatment is lauded by everyone for being able to mend even the most over processed hair and GVP's version, GVP Hair Reconstructor, is said to be just as good.

If you're not familiar with GVP, they're a company that makes generic versions of expensive haircare products and sells them for a fraction of the price. They even go as far as to list the ingredients for both the original and the copy side by side so you can see that it's the same exact formula, down to the last paraben.

I have to preface this review by explaining something very important. For some very odd reason, GVP markets this product as a conditioner, but beware, this is NOT a conditioner, it's a treatment. What's the big difference, you ask? Well, when used as a conditioner, the Reconstructor really dries out your hair. That's because it contains protein and while protein will help make your hair stronger and less brittle, it will also majorly dry it out. That's why you have to use it as a treatment, meaning after you rinse it out, you HAVE to follow it up with a deep conditioner.

ok, now that we got all that out of the way, on to the review.

I have wavy, kind of frizzy hair [I'm convinced if I didn't live in Florida and it's 100% humidity, I would have much nicer hair, but that's a whole other post in itself.] My hair is a little coarse and I don't have a lot of it, it seems like more because of the waves and the frizz, but there's barely a handful. The only real damage I have is that my ends are super dry because I'm overdue for a cut, but I don't have dyed or processed hair and I barely ever use heat tools on it. I'm explaining all this because hair products can vary SO much from one person to the next and I figure the closer we are in hair type, the better your chances!

This is my hair before the Reconstructor. Note: I do have a bit of mousse in it left over from the day before, but this is close to what it looks like without product.


I used the Reconstructor as directed, after shampooing my hair, I left it on for about 4 minutes and rinsed it out. I followed this up with Aussie's 3 Minute Miracle.


 And this is the after. My hair looks 20 time bigger because there's no product on it at all.

The Reconstructor made my hair incredibly soft and very manageable, but it severely dried out my ends. However, this is to be expected of any protein product. What I really liked about it was that it made my waves much more defined than usual. I have the kind of waves and ringlets that I've only been able to create before with mousse and hairspray. I imagine if I had used product in my hair, the waves would have been even nicer.

Although I didn't see an enormous difference in my hair, apart from the nice waves, I think it was mostly due to the fact that my hair isn't in dire need of repair to begin with. Someone with processed hair would probably benefit from it a lot more than I did, and anyone who wants softer hair should give it a try. 

GVP Hair Reconstructor is available at all Sally Beauty Supply stores and online.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Nail Spam!

While looking through my phone, I found a bunch of nail pictures I've taken to upload to my Facebook page. They're not amazing quality, but you can still see the colors and that's all that matters!

I tried my hand [ha! nail pun] at a little bit of nail art in support of the Miami Heat playing in the finals [a lot of good that did!]. The red is OPI Vodka & Caviar.

This is Sinful Colors Fiji and--wait for it-- Sally Hansen HIDDEN TREASURE!

Revlon Royal. I love love love how bright this is.

China Glaze Recycle and a no-name brand for the light pink. I love the combo of grey and pink. Please check out my Hello Kitty bathrobe in the background!

China Glaze Ruby Pumps. I love this color, it has so much depth. The pictures don't do it justice.

This is one of my favorite nail looks. The base is Finger Paints Aren't You Gladiolus? and the crackle coat is Sally Hansen Vintage Violet.

Another Hidden Treasure combination.The base is China Glaze Custom Kicks. 
Hidden Treasure turns gold when combined with the turquoise and it looks amazing.


Friday, September 2, 2011

Revlon Starry Pink Nail Polish

I love nail polish. I'm pretty sure it's my favorite cosmetic in the world [sorry, mascara!.] That being said, I find myself not really being wowed by polishes lately. Perhaps it's because I've seen and worn too many, or maybe nothing amazing has been released for a while. Whatever the reason, I haven't found a new polish that makes me stare at my hands admiringly for minutes at a time, until now.

Revlon's Starry Pink, part of their Expressionists line, is stunning. Stunning isn't even the word for it. I love that the base coat is a light pink and the glitter is silver.

** I left my camera at a friend's house and won't have it back for a few days. So, please excuse the horrible camera phone quality. For better pictures, you can go to The PolishAholic's blog, she has great swatches!



 From far away it looks like a very plain pink color, it even looks like an "office polish". However, when you get up close, you see the large hex glitters and the smaller round ones and it's so great. People's reactions are usually "oh that's prett- oh wow!" the latter being when they realize it's not just pink polish.

Do yourself a favor and pick these up ASAP. From what I hear, they'll be part of Revlon's core collection, so there's no need for the limited edition panic attack. The only place I've been able to find this and the other polishes in this collection is at Target.Don't look for them in a special display, they're right in with the other polishes, and this week they're on sale!


Thursday, September 1, 2011

August Favorites

These are the products I found myself reaching for constantly all month long.

The majority of these are products I'd never tried before, which is great because I love when a new product turns out to be so great that I don't stop using it after the trial period is over. 

First up is Nuance Salma Hayek Beautiful Blends Eye Quad. 

Nuance Salma Hayek Color Vibrance Lipstick in Dusty Rose. 

L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes Mascara [Waterproof]

Maybelline Expert Wear Eyeshadow Trio in Bronze Glitz



e.l.f. Studio Blush in Blushing Rose

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

NYX Shadows Swatches and Review

I LOVE NYX eye shadows. In my opinion, they are the closest any drugstore brand has gotten to MAC quality [though I'm not sure if NYX even counts as a drugstore brand since I can't find them ANYWHERE around here!.]

Recently, Cherryculture had a 50% off NYX sale and I took advantage by buying a ton of shadows and nail polishes. Because the swatches on the NYX site are atrocious, I often have to rely on blogs and youtube videos to get some idea of what I'm buying. I figured I'd do the world a favor and swatch the ones I go, just in case someone out there is dying to buy one of these shades but can't figure out what the color actually is!


All pictures first without then with flash
Swatched on bare skin, no primer.




From L to R:  Gypsy, Pine Nut, Latte Foam
Gypsy has a TON of fall out, and it's quite glittery. Pine Nut is basically the same shade as Gypsy with without the glitter. Latte Foam is somewhere in between the other two shades, also quite glittery. 







From L to R: Cryptonite, Sparkle Cedar, Morocco 
Cryptonite and Sparkle Cedar are glittery and have a lot of fall out as well, but the colors look great together. Morocco is very shimmery and not as blue as it looks in the pan.





From L to R: Purple, Sweet Oleander, Prune
All 3 colors look great together. Sweet Oleander came out looking more purple than pink, but I think that has more to do with my skin tone than with the shadow.



 


From L to R: Skin Tight, Sunset Ray
I'm not a huge fan of Skin Tight, it seems like a matte version of their Champagne color [which I love with all my heart.] Sunset Ray is amazing, probably one of my favorite orange shadows.


 

All in all, a great purchase!