Sunday 25 April 2010

Loreal Ever Strong Sulfate-Free Hydrating Conditioner



Loreal Ever Strong Sulfate-Free Hydrating Conditioner:

Harsh sulfates can damage and dry out hair so a sulfate-free hair care system by a well-known brand seems like a recipe for success. I have to say that I have been using this conditioner for about two weeks now and I really do think that my hair is softer and less frizzy, however, that is not why I love this product.

I love this product FOR THE SCENT!!! It smells like mint and men. Let me explain. The first scent that really hits you is a strong minty smell that isn't too common in hair products, but really makes me feel awake and refreshed in the shower. The next level of scent is something along the lines of hot guys wearing Old Spice while chopping cedar for a fire. It is a musky, woody smell that is seriously sensuous and although it seems like an unlikely combination for a girly hair-care product, it works! The best part is that the scent actually stays with the hair past the shower door! I hate when I use a product and it smells great in the shower, but my hair smells like absolutely nothing post rinse. This product makes my hair smell fantastic long after I leave the shower and dry my strands.

I can't wait to get the shampoo and try the deep conditioner and overnight treatment! I can tell that I have a long future ahead with this hair care line.

Tresemme Fresh Start Dry Shampoo



Tresemme Fresh Start Dry Shampoo:

Hi, my name is Eden, and I am a hair-washingaholic. I will readily admit to being a hair over-washer. For having such thick, wavy/curly hair I know for a fact that I should not be washing my hair every single day, yet I despise the feeling of greasy un-washed locks. I love the feel and smell of freshly washed hair and can't stand skipping even one day, even though I know it would seriously be beneficial to my hair to let go of this washing obsession. I am also not a fan of dry shampoo. To me, it feels like I am putting more gunky product in my already dirty hair, making it feel more grimy than before.

When I first read about this dry shampoo I was not a believer. So of course I had to try it for myself. The formula is much lighter than other dry shampoos that I have tried and it smells a bit like baby powder and hair spray. I wouldn't say that I am a convert...yet. I will take my hair washing addiction one day at a time and see if I can ween myself over to this dry shampoo a few days a week.

Mario Badescu Drying Lotion



Mario Badescu Drying Lotion:

This week is intense. It is my last official week of classes in my entire college career. It is the week of my honors thesis defense. It is the week of graduation prep and the beginning of final exam studying. It is worrying about the future and stressing about how to let go of the past. It is about missing friends before we're gone and thinking about how I am going to afford New York City rent! This is the week of the zit from hell.

There is absolutely nothing in the world like this drying lotion. The ingredient list reads like a who's who of the zit fighting super army. Salicylic acid unclogs pores, sulfur kills soaks up oil and bacteria, calamine reduces redness, camphor soothes. For every tough-guy acne fighting ingredient there seems to be a gentle calming one to balance out the solution.

When I feel a bad zit coming on I fight the urge to panic. What is worse for acne than stress, right? I just dab a spot of this solution on the area with a q-tip before bed and try to relax. The pink spots remind me of when I was little with chicken pox and was covered in pink calamine lotion spots from head to toe. Warning: you will look like a spotty nerd. Definitely use this right before you hit the hay.

This treatment works best when I apply it the second I feel a zit coming on and has even stopped zits from surfacing if I use it early enough. But if I don't catch the zit in time, this works wonders at lessening the face time (literally) that my zit gets with me. I have never and will boldly say will never use a better spot treatment.

So regardless of the stress of the week, I am maintaining fairly blemish-free skin. Walking down the aisle at graduation to get my diploma with a huge spot on my face is simply not an option. I will hold tight to this treatment until I am safely relieved of my cap and gown. Wish me luck!

Tuesday 20 April 2010

Dial Antibacterial Body Wash in Lavender and Twilight Jasmine



Dial Antibacterial Body Wash in Lavender and Twilight Jasmine:

I have always used this body wash. I can't remember a time before this was in my shower. It is my absolute favorite body wash of all time. It smells fabulous and gets me incredibly clean. When I get out of the shower I get about 4 or 5 comments on how awesome I smell. My cousin has asked me to buy this for her when she can't find it near her house in the city. It's that good.

So when I arrived at the store to pick up a new bottle I was mometarily terrified to see that they had changed the bottle. The first thing I noticed was that this bottle has about 8 more fluid ounces than the other. Why the increase I wondered? Even more worrisome, would the formula be different too?!?

After about a week of showering I can calmly say that this still feels and smells the same. There is even a bonus! The formula is MUCH more concentrated than in the old version so i can use way less in the shower. More liquid and more concentration?? I won't have to buy these half as often as I used to! I'm not sure what caused the people over at Dial to make the change, but I am seriously glad that they did!

Have you ever had a formula change happen to one of your favorite products?

Wednesday 14 April 2010

Organix Nourishing Coconut Milk Shampoo



Organix Nourishing Coconut Milk Shampoo:

I have used the conditioner version of this shampoo before and it works just fine. Nothing special. But I was almost out of shampoo and needed another bottle so I bought this just because I love the scent. It doesn't really do anything amazing for my hair and the scent does not really linger much past the shower. I think the whole buy-for-smell idea got the better of me. I really should have gone for a sulfate-free shampoo because my hair has felt very dry lately. I used to use one that worked so well but was 20 dollars a bottle. Not on this soon-to-be college grad's budget!

Have you ever bought something just because you love the way that it smells?

Another Traveling Weekend


Me and my friend from school plus our BC friends en route to Meteora, Greece wearing the sweatshirts we got in Prague. Woo abroad friends!

Another Traveling Weekend:

I went on another little mini trip this past weekend. This time to Boston! My friend and I went to see our good friends from our trip abroad that go to BC and we watched the Boston Marathon together! For some reason, in Massachusetts only, there is a holiday on the Monday of the Boston Marathon called Patriots Day and it is a state-wide day that no one has school and everyone celebrates...um patriots? Very New England of them. The New England Patriots, anyone?

On one trip I messed up the makeup packing, on the most recent I fudged the hair care combo, and so I was nervous about keeping it all together this time, but I was successful! No more mess-ups! I was totally prepared for the night and day.

I guess third time's a charm, right?

A Mustache Surprise (No, not on me!)


Check out this site for a little mustache appreciation...I had to be bipartisan, right?

A Mustache Surprise (No, not on me!):

So my bf had been growing out his facial hair for about a month and I kept ragging on him to shave. He looks cute with a little bit of scruff but the potential for a full on beard was getting way too high. He kept saying he would and the other day he told me he was coming over with a surprise. I assumed that he finally shaved and was super relieved!

In walks....

A mustache! As a joke he had shaved off all of his facial hair except above his lip so that he was left with a very legitimate mustache. I was, at first, horrified. Who was this 1980's porn actor/pedophile/serial killer entering my room?? Then I laughed for about 15 minutes. Then I desperately wanted him to shave it. Right then and there. He convinced me that he should keep it until Saturday because he wanted his co-workers to get a look at it during his Friday night shift, but that was a huge stretch.

I don't mean to rag on the stache, but I think there is a time and a place for a mustache. The face of a 22 year old college student is definitely not that. After much debate (he grew attached to the stache that we affectionately named pistachio) he finally shaved it!

What do you think of a stache? Can anyone other than Tom Selleck pull it off?

Fresh-Faced Refreshing



Fresh-Faced Refreshing:

Having a bare face is finally being recognized as fashionable. Who knew I was such a trendsetter rolling out of bed and going to class without makeup?

This article in The Moment does, however, point out that women need something else to offset their makeup-less faces. For example, being really skinny, having incredible legs, or having a killer attitude.

Do you agree that a person needs to back up their bare face with something more?

Saturday 10 April 2010

Hair-Horrified



Hair-Horrified:

This post refers to two past posts. In one I mention that I was feeling a sore throat, stuffy nose and congestion coming on...update: I have a sinus infection and had to go to University Health Services to get antibiotics. In another, I mentioned that I straighten my hair often because I get much more positive feedback from guys about my hair when it is straight than when I wear it in its naturally curly state.

To set the scene: I had to show my student id to the male receptionist at UHS to verify my identity before being seen by a doctor. In my student id picture (from freshman orientation!!!) my hair is very curly because we had to take our pictures after taking a 2.5 hour campus walking tour in 90 degree heat. Not cool! I've never really given the picture much thought. Anyway, the receptionist looks at the id, looks back up at me with my perfectly blown-out hair, back to the id, and then says: "YA, definitely look better with the straight hair! I would go with that."

I think I just stood there looking horrified until it occurred to me to walk away. I was absolutely shocked! Not only was that seriously rude of him, but it also just reinforces the insecurities I have about my curly hair. Ugh. Needless to say, ever since then I have been taking the extra 20 minutes to blow dry and straighten my hair post-shower. I now wish I had said something really witty back to him, but at the time I was too shocked/hurt to respond. Luckily my friends helped me out in the witty comment department when I got back to my house and told everyone what happened. They were just as appalled as I was! My bf also sweetly reassured me that the guy was a total loser and that I look great with curly or straight strands. I'm still unconvinced, but still very glad that he said that!

Have you ever gotten rude comments about your appearance? What do you do to shake it off?

Saturday 3 April 2010

5 Things About ME!


Bonus things about me from this picture: I love tea, especially Earl Grey. This is my favorite mug. I tried to crop out my friend making a silly face in the background. This was taken in October on the day I was feeling a little "under the weather"...the next day I had full-blown swine flu. Ever had a fever verging on 105 degrees? Hot!

5 Thing About ME!

1) I love grocery shopping. I love just being IN a Whole Foods. I love it almost as much as being in a Sephora if you can imagine! I go to school with a WF, Super Stop and Shop, Big Y and Target within a 5 mile radius so it's a grocery shopper's heaven! I am not the best chef in the world, but I have been experimenting all year and I am getting much better. I am an avid baker and my friends can all attest to the fabulousness of my triple chocolate hazelnut brownies. The other day I made mini blueberry pies in muffin tins and homemade peanut butter cups. I have a serious sweet tooth and cannot go a night without dessert. Preferably something chocolaty!

2) I have a cat named Clea. She technically lives at home with my mom and dad, but whenever I am home we're two peas in a pod. She snuggles with me in my bed at night and follows me all over the house during the day. We got her when I was 8 so she's just about 14 now! Oldie but goodie! She's a little fat, but I prefer to think of her as big boned. My mom is her enabler feeding her anything and everything off of her own plate as well as what the vet referred to as "the McDonalds of cat food" aka Fancy Feast.

3) I studied abroad my junior spring semester of college in Thessaloniki, Greece. I met amazing friends there and went with one of my best friends from school. We traveled to Paris, Berlin, Istanbul, Rome, Prague, and (within Greece) Athens, Meteora, Santorini, and Mykonos. Best part of the experience? Definitely seeing so many different places, meeting new people, and trying seriously amazing food. Hello Italian gelato and Greek Spanikopita! I still have a Greek food aversion, however, from eating all Greek all the time for so long! Worst part? Have you ever been on an overnight train to Turkey? DON'T TRY IT!

4) I have an "angry face" as my friends have so kindly named it. When I am tired or just really concentrating on something I sometimes make a face that people have described to me as very angry-looking. People have actually said to me "Hey, what's wrong? You okay?" on more occasions than I would like to admit. Once, in a meeting for a volunteer program I did, the co-director stopped the meeting and in front of everyone asked what was wrong with me. I was so embarrassed! I am never aware that I am making the face so it is hard to avoid making it, but I try very hard not to let it sneak out!

5) I am organized and clean to a fault. It is all my genes. My mom is the most neurotic person about cleanliness and punctuality and I have inherited those traits 100%. My dad is seriously organized and, just like me, an intense list maker. I make to-do lists, grocery lists, homework lists, project lists, and POSTIES! I go through about a pad of Posties per month. Longer lists get note paper, but regular lists get Posties. I can't stand dirt and I have been pushed to my limit living with 5 other girls this year some of whom aren't very neat. When the dirty dishes pile up I do them. I never leave a single dish in the sink myself. I also tend to do other people's chores on our chore chart when they aren't being done or if the house just still seems messy. Cleaning and organizing are therapeutic to me. It may sound crazy but when I am stressed about something I unwind by picking up my Clorox and Swiffer. The container store is one of my favorite places on earth.

Morning After Makeup



Morning After Makeup:

With only about a month to go of my college career my roomies and I are trying to make the most of our (sort of) care-free weekends by going out with friends at night, but the next day we all look like zombies! Ugh. You know the feeling. Dry skin, puffy and dark under eye circles, generally tired-looking faces. Not a pretty picture. To combat the morning blahs I found Lisa Eldgridge, a british makeup artist with an awesome YouTube channel and a great tutorial called "Morning After Makeup" where she goes through steps towards making your face look incredibly fresh and glowy. She actually does the video the morning after she has been out so it's a real before and after. She does a great job! Check out the video (it's in two parts so make sure to watch both) and let me know what you think of her transformation!

Part One

Part Two