Living Proof Prime Style Extender reviewed

Living Proof Prime Style Extenders- Biggie Shorty 

 Calling all hair enthusiasts who heat-styles their hair, whether fine, wavy, curly or kinky Living Proof Prime Style Extender does as claims- extends your style from wash-to-wash without dirt and grime from buildup!

Prime Style Extender is a weightless creme that detangles and repels humidity and environmental hair destroyers while smoothing your hair and locking in moisture and provides shine. All this without the aid of silicone. Its OFPMA miracle molecule is truly a miracle- let me tell share my experience with this amazing product.

I anticipated Prime Style Extender sample in my January Man Repeller x Glossybox but my box came about a month late (I will save the story for another time) so I ended up picking up the 5.0 fl oz full-size from life-saving Sephora. When I did get home, lo and behold I received my Man Repeller x Glossybox and the 1 fl oz. sample was in the box. On my next wash day, pre-styling, I applied a quarter-sized amount of primer and distributed through my tightly curled hair. Next I detangled with a wide-tooth comb and then applied coconut oil and blow dried my hair on a low setting. The results were fantastic! My hair was easy to manage, weightless and had a pleasant smell.  I kept my blow-dried tresses for one week, intermittently applying my coconut oil every 3-4 days. My ponytailed style stayed in place during a snowstorm and fashion week.
For the whole week I kept thinking, "How is this possible?" Repels humidity but locks in moisture annndd allows me to moisturize my hair? A++++

For natural, curly, kinky haired girls who want the benefits of easier detangling, no humidity and no silicone and a great base for pre-heat styling, Prime Style Extender is the way to go. This time I just blowdried my hair but next time, I will definitely add this product to my regimen the next time I flat iron my hair. Bliss all-around!

Review: Kimble Haircare Leave-in Conditioner

 

We are practically at the home stretch with spring and summer is next week. I've spent the last 2 months researching and testing some great hair gems that I'll be sharing here. 

A few months ago, I ran out of my trusty Pantene Relaxed and Natural Leave-in hair spray and I've looked all over for this commodity in NYC. While in Target, I took a chance on Kimberly Kimble's Leave-in Conditioner  as I've heard great things about her products. 

Kimble's Leave-in conditioner is light yet conditions well ( I use it 2-3x a week). The first three ingredients are : Water, Cetyl Alcohol and Cetrimonium Chloride and includes Brazilian Nut, Acai Berry and Shea Butter.

I like to use leave-in conditioners when I'm detangling my hair before blowdrying and have found that it moisturizes so well that I can apply to my wet hair, twist my hair into buns and sleep on it and awaken to frizz and tangle- free curls!

I'm now prepared for Summer Hair Heaven!

Skincare Review: Egyptian Magic

Have you ever glossed over a product in a magazine and then completely forgot about it, only for it to pop-up time and time again?
Egyptian Magic is my... this thing. Most recently I read about it on Into the Gloss as model Caroline Trentini  swears by this product but I first heard about this way back when Naomi Campbell was interviewed as swearing by this too, so what's up with this "magic" or as the bf would say "schmutz"?

Egyptian Magic is described as a 100% all-natural ingredient product containing olive oil, royal jelly, beeswax, propolis, honey and beeswax that can be used for all-purpose needs.
You can use it to moisturize lips and your skin, treat bruises and skin conditions and you can even use it to condition frizzy hair.
The consistancy is like a balm ( I liken it to a Queen Helene Cocoa Butter stick) that melts upon contact with heat. Plus, a little goes a long way.
With the research, I justified putting down $32 for 8 oz of this wonder cream that I bought at a pharmacy in the West Village and I immidately put it to work.
*First challange, The Dude takes a spill on his bike and has a HUGE bruise on his thigh, he put on Egyptian magic before bed time and in the morning, some of the discoloration was gone, the black and blue moved into a dark greenish territory.. so far ok for bruises.
*One Saturday I was out of leave-in conditioner for my weekend hair buns and decided to put a bit in my hair, the results were an A! There was no stickiness nor greasiness, it calmed my hair down much like my beloved new leave-in conditioner ( up for review very soon!).
This is a leave-in to believe in!
*Next challange, Dry Skin. I just finished with my Sunday Beauty Self -Pedi Party and was all out of lotion, I took a less-than generous scoop of the Egyptian Magic and both of my feet were coated in glory. Yay!
* Last, a night cream. The challange- success! Even with my oily skin, this did well. It didn't create a slick but it was gentle enough to help calm the two blemishes on my cheeks all night.

Overall the experiments with Egyptian Magic have been worth it. My only gripe is, where to find it. True, it is available on Amazon but sometimes you just want to test or try it out before committing to purchase.
Anyway, I think its the bee's knees thus far!

MAC Cult of Cherry

Tonight I had the privilege of attending MAC Soho's Cult of Cherry unveiling.

It was a great event and the collection is unbelievable! Yes, I tend to get excited about MAC collections but this one has topped it for me this year!

The store was chock-ful ( just like the mattene) of choco-tini and cherry tarts handed out by handsome male waiters. The artists were all adorned with cute half-aprons and helped everyone with achieving different looks to pull of a new face for the fall season.

I would describe Cult of Cherry as sophisticated, sensual and powerful! The collection is the perfect blend of cherries, chocolate with accents of pink and taupe. Its like a pure choco-cherry factory of goodness.

I picked up a few products that I will be using pronto.

Creme Cerise lipstick is a warm neutral taupe, its cooler than Touch and taupier than Instinctive. It will be in my bag for the everyday neutral.

Bing Mattene is a deep eggplant color that wears great, matte but not drying at all. Since I can't pull off the all black YSL lip, this will be my substitute. Though I didn't purchase tonight, my next one will be Chock-ful, a rich chocolate color that reminds me of the mid-90's when I was trying to do the dark brown burgundy.

Blooming blush is a dusty rose and the finish is a frost. This would look great with Chock-ful as the lippie and neutral eyes.

Plum du Bois blush is a plummy brown with shimmer, the finish is frost as well and is great for every day. A close one to this is Mountain High.

Cult of Cherry will be in stores on the 19th.

Neo Sci Fi Review

My much anticipated hype for MAC's Neo Sci Fi collection was that of the New Indiana Jones.. and both have let me down.

Based on the swatches on Specktra, I expected a glimmer of hope and then when I hit my Nordies counter and tried on my product of lemming- Solar Riche, I was bitterly disappointed. I found myself saying, "How can this be a bronzer and its comparable to Smooth Harmony Beauty powder?" The SA looked at me like I was crazy but I didn't care. Maybelline makes a bronzer deeper than this and its half the price. This summer I want to look like Liya Kebede in the LV ads from 2004..golden copper bronze like the Heat collection years ago!
Since I am not a big fan of eyeshadows, I skipped them but I did find Magnetic Fields to be a decent deep eyeshadow- something I can put in t he bag for an on the go moment and sweep on with my pinkie.
On to the lippies& lipglasses- Pleasureseeker looked promising, but it reminded me of Cresent lipglass from last year but in different form.
Electro looked cool, but where was I going to wear it?
The lipglasses- Pink Grapefruit was too frosty.
The blushes Orange/Peach blush was too ashy on my skin and the other reminded me of Mountain High so I passed.

So what did I end up getting? Volcanic Ash Exfoliator!
This is the best facial scrub since my Neutragena one I use daily. It smells devine- burnt sugar and ash ( no really, it smells great) and it left my skin so smooth with out the burning sensation that I get from other scrubs. I definately need to stock up on this because word on the street is .. its just that damn good too.

What are your thoughts on this collection?

Dior Resort 2009- Review

I see punchy, pool lounge colors that remind me of pin curls and pink flamingos.
Definately campish, but brazen with the essence of "viva la woman".

I can't wait to try out the winged eye and arched eyebrow. The gloss that looks comparable to the ones featured would be YSL's Golden Gloss in Fuschia (#9).

While the clothes are adorable, they definately take a back seat to the look Pat Mcgrath achieved here. Especially on the lovely women of color who walked the show, Jordan Dunn, Chanel Iman, Alek Wek and last week new commer (in the literal sense and absolutely amazing) Arlenis Pena.

Thank you Galliano for featuring beauties that are in a collection that embodies classic americana where as most designers would think that this would be far fetched.

Photos: Style.com

YSL Matte Touche Foundation Review

As you know, I have oily skin and living in warm conditions where within 15 minutes of me cleaning my face, I already have an oil slick on my nose- I need something to help me do dewy instead of gooey.

I cruised to my Nordies in Fashion Valley and checked out some new foundation formulas but since I am partial to YSL, I decided to journey to the counter first.

Their new foundation is the YSL Matte Touche. A slim tube that comes in 12 shades.
Here is the rundown:

- The texture is that of Maybelline's Dream Matte Mousse sans the ashiness.
- The color range is bizarre, the jump from 11 to 12 is about 3 shades, but once it settles on skin it looks great.
- When testing color and wiping my hand with a tissue, the titanium dioxide shows- there were streaks of color residue ( moisturize before applying product).

I would give this product a 6/10. Its lovely for the warm temperatures but kinda reminds me of the 90's matte fixation.

Heatherette Review

So after seeing leaked pics and product info from Ebay and Specktra.net. My bar from this collection went from Hot to tepid.
#1. I noticed that there were little to know swatches of the pinks on members of darker tones and #2. The product descriptions were waaay off from what the actual product looks like.
I do however love the packaging. Campy, 80's and reminds me that my hair looks fierce!

Though Hollywood nights, Fleshpot and Lollipop Loving does not work for NW 45 ( or atleast for me). Sock Hop has come away as a great lipglass for pigmented lips! Its creamy coral and I can wear it along or with a lip conditioner and it looks everyday as opposed to "candy coated fuschia weekend".

I have Smooth Harmony Beauty Powder from the Diana Collection and use it regularly. It should go in a vault for safe keeping. Alpha girl was an ashy pink on my cheeks so I passed.

NightHawk/Front Row duo pencil is a dream in 1. Its neutral and a spin on the the coveted smoky eye. How about beige glitter on the lid and dark brown as a liner and a crease?

Though I am majorly disappointed, I did like this collection 3x better than Fafi.
On a scale of High Tea, Ornamentalism and Diana ( my 10's) to Ballonacy, Sweetie Cake and Sleek Chic (1 to-2), I give Heatherette a 6. I wish the collection was more Beauty of color friendly.

C'est tout.

Review: YSL Touche Eclat vs. MAC Studio Lights

In the left corner, we have YSL's Touche Eclat. Tested and approved by all Beauty Editors and Beauty buffs alike. Its easy application and coverage makes this a great highlighter and concealer. Pronounced- "Toosh Eh Claw" and currently has 4 shades.


In the right corner, we have MAC Cosmetic's Studio Lights. This wand was introduced last year as part of the Catherine Deneuve collection, went into hiding and emerged with some friends (5 in total).

They both have the same function- making you flawless. But not all products that claim the same are made or more-less treated the same.

User-Friendliness- goes to YSL, the brush applicator is great for on the go. I like MAC's doe-foot applicator but it reminds me of their other products...say lipglass?

Shade Selection- Hands down MAC. Plus they are readily available at all the counters. I heard that YSL doesn't readily stock their #4's. I think that if they did- Beauties of color would have a chance to try something great. On another note- since the Studio Lights are Limited Edition- stock up before the end of the year.

Consistency- YSL is a bit more opaque and quite thick for a highlighter concealer, though you get great coverage from Studio Lights.. this one is a tie.

Price- MAC. You can't beat .17 ml, $14.50 for Studio Lights compared to .1 oz, $39.50 for Touche Eclat.

Winner- M.A.C