Monday, May 13, 2013

No-Heat Curls with Sexy Healthy Hair Soy Tri-Wheat Leave In Conditioner


No-Heat Curls with Sexy Healthy Hair Soy Tri-Wheat Leave In Conditioner


Have you ever woken up, looked in the mirror and exclaimed: "Holy cow, my hair looks gorgeous!" Well, it has happened to me. My hair has been suffering lately, with temperatures reaching as high as 39°, the heat hasn't exactly been beneficial to my locks and it dried out like a sponge. While Orofluido Sahara is an absolute god sent for dry hair, it is a dry oil, and I wanted a leave-in conditioner that makes the hair damp, I'll explain why later. I always turn to Makeup Alley when I'm researching products and Sexy Healthy Hair Soy Tri-Wheat Leave In Conditioner comes very highly recommended by so many reviewers. I've heard promises of less frizz and more hydration - honestly, how can I hair junkie like me resist such praises.




I'll start with the good hair day story, the actual review can wait a bit. I washed my hair with Kérastase shampoo(which is flippin' fabulous, I should repurchase it), conditioned it with Dove Nourishing Oil Care, used Kérastase Nectar Thermique (another hero) and then sprayed a very generous amount of Soy Tri-Wheat Leave In Conditioner. After blow-drying my hair still felt a bit dry and a bit frizzy, so I mixed Orofluido Elixir and some more Soy Tri-Wheat Leave In Conditioner to make it slightly damp again, put my hair in a high bun as I always do after blow-drying and slept with it. Once I took out the pins in the morning, I had the most amazing voluminous messy curls, I was literally gob smacked. They don't usually look as good and I've been using this technique for a long time. I have years of experience with (almost) no-heat curls, which can look great, but they have one massive fault - they last about a half a day. And that's if you use tons of hairspray or mousse. I prefer to use a curling iron as the curls last 2-3 days then, especially if I use all Kérastase products.

I took some pictures, but I had to make them smaller because they where really blurry:






Now granted, the Kérastase products are a freaking miracle for my hair and they probably contributed a lot to the general healthy look of my hair despite skipping the Masqueintense, however, Soy Tri-Wheat Leave In Conditioner definitely had a significant role in how well the curls formed. If only they hadn't dropped in the middle of the day. But then, I just put it in a high bun again, it's a cool look after all or just leave it as it is if i'm not that bothered.


This is my first proper spray leave-in conditioner in years. I used to use them all the time, but then stopped when I started styling my hair differently since as I mentioned before no-heat curls don't last long on my hair. I'm sure most of you has used such technique to get your hair curly and it doesn't even matter if you use just water to dampen your hair, but I prefer a spray conditioner (that makes your hair damp, of course. So no shine sprays or dry oils). I did this technique practically every day before I was using a blow-dryer and a curler, but now I do it on the days when I want an additional good hair day before I wash it and style it again. I just put my hair into a high bun (or two-three buns, depends how you want your curls to be) overnight and wake up with voluminous curls. Now, they can be completely heat free, but for better results, it's good if you heat up your hair with a hair dryer (still a lot less damaging than a curler). My choice of a spray conditioner for years was Gliss 19 Total Repair and I bought at least six of them in a row - it really is good, best available in our drugstores and it smells fantastic. A little tip I learned over the years, use bobby pins or hair clips to keep the bun in place. Don't use a hair tie because you'll end up with odd creases and kinks.


All right, enough rambling and onto actually reviewing the Soy Tri-Wheat Leave-In. It says it should beused on towel dried hair, but I also used dry hair and it helps to keep the dryness at bay, but it's not as effective as Orofluido Sahara. It is among heavier spray conditioners and spraying it too much might weight down the hair, especially if it's not as dry as mine. This doesn't take the place of a regular conditioner and it works best if you use a regular conditioner beforehand, topping it with this spray for extra hydration, but I have heard people use it instead of a conditioner. I've had it for a couple of months and I can say it works best as it is recommended by the company, used on damp hair before blow-drying. I also like to use a bit on dry hair after as it gives the best results. However, for use on dry hair during the day, I like Orofluido Sahara more. So onto claims:
Provides lightweight moisture: Yes and no. It provides moisture, but it's not that lightweight, a fact I as a person with mega dry hair, don't mind, but it could be too much for some, especially if you use it on dry hair every day several days in a row (which if you follow the instructions, you won't do). Even my hair felt a bit coated after a few days, but I have been very liberal with it. Moderation is the key word here.
Helps prevent static electricity: When I'm blow-drying my hair, I don't notice that big of a difference when it comes to taming frizz, especially compared to Orofluido Sahara. But if I put my hair in a bun after drying and let the hair cool down, then yes, there is a lot less frizz than if I hadn't used anything.
Detangles hair: It'd be a pretty rubbish and pointless conditioner if it wouldn't. So yes.




It has a weak and a bit sweet scent, but it's no aromatherapy session like Orofluido Sahara or even Gliss Kur Total Repair 19. It sprays an even, thin mist so that's a plus.

As far as helping fight dryness, it won't knock Orofluido Sahara off the throne, but it is pretty damn good and I rate it very highly. Besides, I consider them completely different products, more like cousin really, I can't use Orofluido for creating no-heat curls. I got mine on Feel Unique for 14€.


Sunday, May 12, 2013

Rimmel London Kate Matte Lipstick 107


Rimmel London Kate Matte Lipstick 107





If someone had told me a couple of years ago that I'd be wearing a dark burgundy shade in public, I'd tell them they're completely bonkers. And yet I did. Oxblood lips trend was all the rage last autumn, well most autumns really, after all it is the colour that fits into this season so well. So this year I finally caved and purchased Rimmel's 107 that was on my wishlist ever since Rimmel launched a matte range. This is not the first dark shade I own, but it is definitely the darkest and most dramatic.



107 looks very dark wine/burgundy on me. It is the type of colour that can look great as a stain or applied to an intensity that is somewhere between a stain and full opacity, which I wear most. As a stain, it looks like a berry shade on me, while full coverage gets a more purple and dark brown hue to it. I love that it's matte as I find such shades so much prettier and also easier to wear when they're matte.



This has one of the most comfortable matte formula in a lipstick form. It reminds me a lot of the Revlon matte's which are among my favourites. It feels very smooth, lightweight, applies evenly and most importantly, it's not at all drying (but not moisturising either). It doesn't accentuate any dry patches on my lips, however, I can't guarantee it wouldn't on someone whose lips tend to get dry.

Pigmentation is fine, but I do need a couple of a coats to make it fully opaque. I must admit, it is one of the hardest shades to apply as any mistake is visible, but it is the type of shade that allows you to reshape the lips if you wish. I definitely need to invest in a lip pencil because it is ridiculously hard to apply nicely just from the tube. I use a lip brush, but I can only get a stain if I apply it that way and I still need to apply it directly from the tube to get full intensity.

Staying power is okay and it can last several hours on the lips, fading evenly. Having said that, this is only providing you don't eat, drink or touch the lips because it that case, though it doesn't smudge, it just disappears from the lips with barely any colour left, only a really weak stain remains.





The scent is absolutely awful. It's the same scent as the Apocalips lacquers have, which I have no idea what it is supposed to be, but it is disgusting. Thankfully the scent of the lipstick is not as strong as at Apocalips and it's only noticeable during application. It is something you have to get used to.


Berry Me Home is the only close shade I own. If I compare them, 107 is darker and not as raspberry toned, but more burgundy. The formulas are completely different: 107 is matte and Berry Me Home has a creamy finish. Both feel comfortable on the lips, however, I'd like to point out that my lips don't tend to get dry (I rarely feel the need to use a chapstick during the day and I apply it only before going to bed).

107 is a great statement shade that is perfect for autumn and winter. I really like the formula, though the colour is quite difficult to apply nicely if you lack skill like me. It's a nice lipstick and I might get another shade, but they could do without the awful scent. I bought it on Asos for 4.55 €.