Dupe alert! L'oreal Revitalift wet cleansing towelettes vs. Koh Gen Do Cleansing Spa Water Cloths

I know I was JUST raving about the Koh Gen Do Cleansing wipes and how I wouldn't go back to drugstore... So my hopes weren't high when I picked up the L'oreal Revitalift wipes from Ulta because of a Buy 2 Get 1 Free Deal.

What I love about these wipes are how moisturizing and wet they are. They are soothing and effective. The one con is that they leave a film on your skin. That is probably to promote the anti-aging benefits of the product and I don't mind too much because I always follow up with a toner anyway...

The price difference is another factor to take into consideration. The Cleansing Spa Water cloths can run you between $13-$39. While the L'oreal costs around $7.

I think that the formula is worth a try. Even though I will be mainly buying my Koh Gen Do because my skin is so sensitive. One night I had to really rub my eyes with the L'oreal to get some tough mascara and liner off and the next morning my eyes were a bit irritated.

That doesn't really mean the product is bad because I have suuuper sensitive skin. 

JANET COLLECTION UNPROCESSED BRAZILIAN VIRGIN REMY HUMAN HAIR WEAVE BOMBSHELL NATURAL BODY WAVE 6PCS (lots of pictures)

I am actually quite pleased with this hair. At first I was really debating if I should put this on a U-part or actually do an install but I didn't know how thick the bundles would be and didn't want to be assed out.I took the bundles and made a U-part of of them. I cute the tracks and split SOME wefts. I felt like the company provided you with enough hair that I didn't feel the need to split my tracks (except towards the top which was starting to be a struggle... so I only split the track for two bundles)

As promised, they do provide you with six bundles of varying lengths. The longer the lengths, the shorter the bundles.

I really liked the texture of the hair. it did tangle a bit but the tangles are EASILY brushed out. even though i cut the wefts and split some of the tracks, I really don't have excessive shedding.

I do not plan to dye, bleach or perm this hair... not because of the quality but because I'm a purist in a sense. ("get and wear as it is" mentality)

I though blending this texture with my nature hair was going to be difficult because I'm natural and I can't exactly straighten my hair then wet set it in a braid to mimic the waves. So I tried flat ironing my hair and braiding it at night (dry) to see if i can get a wave... no.
It doesn't really resemble the hair in the stock photo.

I found it was best that I curl my hair with a wand AND curl the unit to frame my face.

The closure was basically a waste of time. I didn't use it.

I found this map on how to do your instal interesting. I followed it loosely. I probably won't in the future though.

Am I the only person in the world that find unraveling S-curl bundles like this stressful? I kept getting tangles while I tugged on the hair. (Thank god the quality of the hair was good or we would have had problems)

Benefit Cosmetics They're Real! Push-Up Liner

I am a gel liner novice. I don't know why, but I just never trusted the stuff. However, when my beloved benefit came out with this product, my curiosity help set aside my reservations.

I've been using this product for a couple of months and I LOVE it. I personally think its great for beginners (because obviously I wasn't that familiar with gel liner and I can use this product easily enough). I have heard of some bloggers not loving this though...

So it is marketed as a long wearing, easy to use gel eyeliner. They are even pushing the specialty eye makeup remover because it is soooooo long wearing. Girl, bye... Don't waste your money on that. It is long wearing but not so tough to get rid of that I have to buy a specialty remover for it. These are probably the same people that buy the specialty beautyblender solid soap.

You can purchase it at Sephora, Ulta or Benefit.com. You can always buy the mini sample (I'm such a commitment-phobe when it comes to high end makeup that I almost ALWAYS take advantage of mini/travel/sample size before buying the full size). Sephora even has a deal where you can try the liner and mascara for $22.

Freetress Russian and Brazilian Hair Review

I'm not the one to advocate for synthetic bundles of hair. Unlike a wig, the intention of the weft hair is for you to install it into your hair. Meaning that you would go to sleep with the hair, shower with the hair, workout and get physical with the hair. I just don't think synthetic hair is built for that.

So when I got these bundles (at a steal, they were $10 each and I only needed 2 for a full head... of course I split and sealed the wefts) I immediately installed it into a wig. I was pleasantly surprised that actual quality of the hair is better than the synthetic hair I am used to.

They are both wavy textures but the Russian bundle is not as loose as the Brazilian. I actually prefer the Russian's texture.

It didn't tangle or shed excessively. I can't speak on how it reacts to heat. I would totally recommend this hair (for a quick weave, i'm still not 100% convinced it can be an install... don't do it to yourself.)

I don't LOVE they way it blends with my natural hair. 

The sexualization of young girls

Rashida Jones had a point. I mean, I don't consider myself a full-fledged feminist (I love my demeaning and offensive rap music too much for that) but the amount of semi-pornographic images of young women harass us on the daily is bothersome to say the least. It's to the point that I feel we have become desensitized to it.

Why is it normal for us to turn on Disney Channel channel shows and see 'teenagers' that resemble 20 year old women, complete with full faces of makeup and push up bras? Do you know what that sends to our young girls?  It makes them feel that their self worth is dependent on their looks. So they use the formative years of their adolescence to scrutinize mirror reflections and how many likes their selfies get instead of discovering who they are as a person, finding their individuality. Do you know how many grown women don't know what their likes and interest are but I bet you those same women know exactly what pose to do when someone wants to 'snap a pic for the 'gram.'

I don't know if this is necessarily a problem that plagues just our generation. This has probably been an issue for women for years (centuries, generations, whatever) but that doesn't mean we should stay blind to it.

I'm not trying to be "Old Miss Hannigan" wagging her finger and prefacing everything I say with "In my day..." I just need to stress the importance of letting young girls be that... girls. They need to learn love themselves regardless of what the media tells them they should look like at the that age. Leave the insecurities and vanity to the grown women battling wrinkles!

Maybelline FitMe Stick Foundation

This whole FitMe line is hit or miss with me. Albeit, I do really like the FitMe powder, the FitMe concealer is nothing but the devil. So when I picked up the new Stick foundation I really didn't know what to expect. I got it for around $3 with coupons so if it was bad... it wouldn't be the end of the world.

 The foundation claims to be "shine-free." I do not get excessively oily but I do have a T-zone that I sometimes worry about. With this foundation, it did keep the oil at bay so I would recommend for oily skin girls.

 

As you can see (or maybe you can't... I have been using it for a couple of weeks), the core of the foundation is supposed to be an 'anti-shine' primer. I thought this was so cool but as I started to use the gimmicky product, I realized I HATE the consistency. It wasn't as firm as the stick foundations I've used in the past and I wasn't completely sure how I was supposed to blend it in. In the end, I ended up just using my fingers.

 The longevity was decent. Because it was anti-shine, it didn't break down like other foundations would after a long day. It wasn't necessarily long wearing but it stayed longer that most drugstore products.

 

I didn't love the color match for me. I wasn't able to get my hands on the darkest shade so I got 340. It looked a little ashy on me so I mostly concentrated the foundation on the center of my face.

All in all, I don't particularly love this foundation but I can see why someone would. It is affordable and it does keep shine away. I just didn't like the consistency and the color match. I don't even use it as a foundation anymore... I mostly use in as a tinted primer and it works great that way.

Nyx Dewy Mist

For a couple of years now, I've been solely faithful to the Urban Decay makeup setting sprays but lately, my wallet hasn't been agreeing with the $30 price tag they cost. So I walked  over to my local Ulta and picked this up for a $7.

Honestly, I didn't see a huge difference but I did love the nozzle. You can cover your whole face with just a couple of spritz.

Book Review: Lauren Conrad Beauty

This is the first beauty book I read. (I've read a couple of books on natural hair but nothing on makeup and stuff.)

The book started out entertaining enough and she did have a couple of good tips about hair care and nails... but honestly I felt it was a bit redundant.

Lauren Conrad is reality show star turned beauty mogul. She has her successful clothing line at Kohl's and a beauty advice column in PeopleStyleWatch magazine. So I guess taking beauty advice from her a little credible.

The book goes over everything beauty from hairstyles, to hair care, different makeup looks, nail care and much more. It is also littered with personal antidotes that are pretty entertaining too. My only qualm with the book is that it doesn't give you any original tips that you didn't know from common sense or a YouTube video.

it probably would suit a very young girl that is just putting her foot into the world of beauty but for a makeup junkie like me, it wasn't TOO useful.