Lumiere d'hiver Reconstructing Masque - Ce fabuleux!

I received a 1.5 oz. sample of N4 Lumiere d'hiver Reconstructing Masque in my August 2011 Birchbox.

At first glance the packaging looks like something I'd buy at Aldi's grocery store. Plain, simple, bare bones and with print so small I had to grab my reading glassed to figure out what it even had in the bottle.

I had low expectations. Very low.

But then.

I washed my hair, threw the masque on and let it sit while I shaved my legs. Rinse. Towel dry.

And then.

Wow, my hair felt great. I've of course had this happen before. I get so excited thinking my hair feels silky smooth, but once the blow dryer hits it, it turns back into its coarse fluff that I need to curl or flat iron before I can be on my merry way.

Not with this product. I have NEVER used a better hair product. My hair dried silky smooth, it was amazing. It looked fantastic straight, it looked neat and tidy when I pulled it back into a pony tail. I am not kidding - I did NOTHING other than blow dry and voilà - fabuleux!

I thought Google and I could talk about this. Do some research. Hear what others thought of this product, but he let me down. I can't find anything on this product. No one suggesting something better or comparable. No bad press or comments to be found. How rare.

So. I may be the first to tell you this stuff shames Moroccan Hair Oil and every other fandangled crap I've bought looking for silky gold.

This may be my Holy Hair Grail.

Here's the rub. I thought with the sparse packaging, maybe this wouldn't be a budget buster? Well, you know when something appears to be too good to be true...

5 oz of this product runs between $55-$58. The 1.5 oz I received from Birchbox runs around $20. I was able to get 4 conditionings out of the 1.5 oz, but you know I need the whole 5 oz.

Sigh.

It all comes down to choices. Save my money. Pay some bills. Or walk around with spectacular hair?....I bet you can guess what I'm going to do.

And I'm WORTH it and so are you. Really, give this one a try, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

I was going to try and find a .jpg so I could show you what I am talking about, but it's dull people. Dull. Don't judge this one by the cover because the content is thrilling.

Monday Quick Pick

Hello!

Where have I been?

Well, this weekend I'm happy to report I became certified in both Spin and Kettlebell training. I had so much fun - an entire weekend doing what I love, with people who have similar interests. Today I'm incredibly sore, can barely walk up and down the stairs. Saturday I was on a Spin bike for 5 hours and yesterday was 5 hours of Kettlebell training. Both are excellent workouts and BOTH should only be done at most an hour a day.

I know many people are just beginning to hear about Kettlebells, if you have any questions feel free to ask. This is one of the best workouts for strength and weight loss, if you haven't given it a whirl I suggest you do.

Funny story though a woman was talking to me about how ridiculous it is that people come to work out with full makeup on. WTF?? Was she looking at me? I go NO WHERE without my lipstick on and since yesterday was kind of special, I had on the full works of foundation, waterproof liner, mascara, NARS Orgasm on my cheeks and lipstick. I thought it was funny. Maybe she was hinting to me that I'm silly for having the makeup on? I was tempted to tell her about this site and offer her a makeover. I guess that would have been rude. It's interesting that I stopped myself, usually I'm known to insert foot into mouth quite often.

The only downside of this weekend? I was too busy to hit Ulta and Target. I have a coupon for Ulta though and plan to shop today or tomorrow. I'm on the market for Easter basket items for the girls (Sally Hansen's nail stickers and Cover Girls stay forever lipsticks). For myself I'm going to pick up some NYC's liners.

I also want to buy MAC lipsticks in Pink Plaid and Hug Me. And Yu-Be body lotion.

OH, and Lancome's new Mineral Veil lipstick. I'm not sure of the shade, I've heard great things about all of them so I'll have to do the swatch test.

So many desires, only so much cash! I'm grateful for all the work other bloggers do because it helps inform my choices. That said, Product Girl, if you happen to read this, You ARE MISSED! Come back Product Girl!!

I'll report back here as to what I've liked and what's been a waste of cash.

OK. Off to shower and then Ulta. Report back here tomorrow for more reviews and an update on my Clean Eating. (Spoiler - so far, not so clean, but I'm not giving up!)

Rimmel Eye Glistener

I've been reading several makeup blogs that have mentioned many eyeliners/eye pencils are manufactured at the same plants, re-labeled and then sold at various price points under different brands. With this in mind, I thought it would be fun to try Rimmel's Eye Glistener. At first glance it looks like an Urban Decay fat liner and I was feeling cocky. Confident even. Big middle finger to the MAN who's trying to steal my cash. I'm SO much smarter than that.

Except. I'm not.

I picked up this Rimmel liner at Target for $6.89, the color 'Eyeful' is a light, spring-like green shade. I was so excited to see how it would look I peeled the paper off and applied it with the help of my car's rear view mirror.

I applied one line. Nothing. Not visible.

I applied more. Nothing.

I went to town and smeared the stuff heavily. There. I could see the color, I liked it OK, but didn't love it.

And here's what I also did not love. The feel. This feels like you've smeared your lids with Vaseline. I felt I needed a face wash not like I had a fresh made-up face.

I blended it a little with my fingers and this was better, but still not great.

This did not wear long, 2 hours or less before I needed to blend again. My lids looked like a greasy mess and I never did get over the "wet" feeling.

I can't imagine anyone liking this one. It's not even in the same ballpark as Urban Decay. I would NOT buy this again.

Next I'm going to try NYC's fat liners. I think I can get this fat liners at the fraction of the cost of Urban Decay with better results than Rimmel's. I'll let you know what I find.

Until then, I need to head back to Target. I have a return to make.

30 Day Health Beauty

I'm on a personal journey for beautiful cosmetics, great books/music and first and foremost weight loss/great health.

I found this somewhere on the web, and I'm going to do it! Starting on the proverbial Monday. Cliche I know, but tomorrow it is.

I'll report here periodically as to how I'm doing.

I've explored Primal eating before and read Mark's Daily Apple for inspiration so the Primal diet concept is not new to me, BUT following it precisely for 30 days will be a personal challenge.

I know I can do it. The bummer is I'm already missing cream in my coffee and I haven't even started yet. I love starting my day with coffee and cream. Tomorrow it will be black.

I'll keep you posted. I hope you'll consider joining me in this venture. Nothing says beauty to the world better than good health. And an appropriate BMI.

Let me know how it goes. Best of luck to both of us!

I Landed My Own Doctor Pepper

I'm always looking for a quick easy look for when I head out to the gym. While it's true I sweat like a mofo and most of my makeup is off by the end of the workout, I don't want to head to the gym NAKED. I must apply a little moisturizng, tinted lotion, light blush and something on my lips.

I never do anything without something on my lips. Even when I'm tucking in for the night I can be found wearing some Burt's Bees tinted gloss.

I was excited to find Sugar Plum at Sephora. I've read other bloggers like this product so this gave me the go-ahead to purchase. And at $22.50 a tube, I think it's a little pricey so I definitely needed approval before clunking down my check card.

I wore Sugar Plum to the gym last week. The tint gave me a nice, well, tint. Not gaudy, not too pink or red, actually just perfect.

I love the tube the product comes in, it's a larger than average width, and it feels like a strong metal. You screw the top off and I like this too, it makes the product feel secure, strong and maybe worth $22.50?

I say MAYBE because when I put this on I was transported back to 6th grade, where my ultimate beauty product was LipSmacker's Dr. Pepper.

Remember Dr. Pepper? It's the perfect stuff for a girl who is too young for makeup, but old enough to know she can't wait to be in 7th grade and mom will let her wear mascara. (BTW - this was my mom, for my girls I allowed mascara in 6th grade and now that one is in high school I BEG her to let me do her makeup in the morning)

Dr. Pepper gives the best tint. Not too pink, not too read. It tastes and smells sweet.

Just like Sugar Plum.

But, unlike Sugar Plum, Dr. Pepper only costs $1.49.

Verdict?

I would buy Sugar Plum again because I can afford to and I like it. BUT, I'm not foolish enough to not know I can bet similar results for much less money. Therefore, Sugar Plum for me and Dr. Pepper for my girls until they're old enough to foot the bill themselves. (Sorry daughter #1 if you're reading this)

Um...It's My Lipstick

I was walking through MOA and what did I spy? Wonder Woman!

I loved Wonder Woman when I was growing up. Remember Linda Carter, squeezed into her teeny, tiny little bikini? She kicked ass. While my friends wanted to play Charlie's Angels, I was partial to Wonder Woman because she was STRONG. I like that in women.

Back to MOA. There's an employee in their MAC store dressed as Wonder Woman except she's wearing a god-awful bright yellow eye shadow. I don't know how anyone thinks yellow eye shadow is attractive and I feel the same way about yellow nail polish. Really? Yuck.

There wasn't a lot in the makeup line that turned me on to be honest. The colors were fine, but nothing special, except the lipstick.

I love MAC lipstick, so moisturizing, wears well and generally pretty colors.

I bought 'Heroine' which is a bronzy, brownish shade.

I like this shade a lot. I don't LOVE it, but I really like it.

On to the lipstick tube design. Doesn't it look like something you'd buy at the Smitten Kitten? It does now that I mention it doesn't it?

My husband thought so.

Also, the tube also looks like a fancy-dancy tampon holder.

Can't you just see it? A Wonder Woman tampon?

Or better yet, the Wonder Woman adult toy.

It's all in the design people.

All in all, this is a fun item. Nice wearing lipstick.

Lemony Delight

During my weekly Target run, I spotted 'Sun Drenched Lemon Sugar Scrub' created by One. There was only one container on the shelf and I debated whether or not to treat myself.

I'm so glad I did.

I brought the container home and after opening I was greeted with a heavenly lemon scent - it smelled like a lemon drop tastes. Delightful!

The first time I tried I scrub I was in the shower. I wouldn't recommend this approach - I had a hard time opening the jar and then I was worried I'd get water in it. This product should be revered! Save it for when you have time to soak in the tub, preferably with dimmed lights, candles going, a glass of wine. You get the picture.

Anyway. Back to the shower.

I applied the scrub to my loofah and scrubbed my arms, back and feet. The scrub feels gritty in a good clean way and again the smell is so wonderful.

After drying off I felt invigorated, my skin felt soft and my bathroom smelled of fresh lemons.

Next time I'll soak in the tub, get my hubby to scrub my whole back and I'll have lemon drops on hand so I can taste the wonderful smell.

I contacted the One company because I couldn't find the product anywhere on the web or the Target website and I wanted a .jpg. I was informed this is a brand new item to Target - I had the great fortune of spotting it early! They have other items for sale at Target and I plan on making my way through the line. I really like their company web site and here's a blip on their philosophy I like too:

'ONE is committed to promoting natural beauty without compromising the beauty of the earth, providing eco-friendly products in recyclable, plastic-free packaging to rejuvenate the spirit and save the planet.'

You can find them at onebathandbody.com

This is a must buy if you deserve a little treat. And even if you don't.

I also think this would make a great gift in someone's Easter basket - maybe my mother-on-law's?

Enjoy and let me know what you think of this great find.