Review: Macadamia Oil Shampoo

These 300 mL (almost) have been the longest 300 of my life.

When I bought a Macadamia starter set (it came with the oil+masque and a few other things, but the total cost was still cheaper than buying just the oil and masque separately), it came with a Rejuvenating Shampoo.

I was so so so excited to try it -- you know how much I love my Macadamia products.  I expected this to be an extremely hydrating shampoo (rejuvenating...you think you'd be rejuvenating something stressed tr damaged, so that implies moisture, right??), not unlike my beloved Herbal Essences Hello Hydration!

Not so.

THERE.  It says rejuvenating in fancy script!

China Glaze: Blue Iguana

Okay, so I don't really like pink but...I can't get over the pink sparkles in this blue.  OMG.

It's called Blue Iguana, and though I know chameleons (or tcha-mell-ee-ons - is anyone else excited for How I Met Your Mother?  I'm not really, I just want to find out who Ted marries and have it be over with) are not technically iguanas, that sort of duo-chrome-y goodness definitely brings colour-changing reptile to mind.

I took this photo a while ago but I've been rocking it on my toes for about three weeks.  I've never been very diligent about changing my foot colour.  Why?  Well...

I first started dabbling into painting anything when I was 12.  I didn't really start my nail polish fetish as you all know it until my second year of university, but then I was making my first forays into Girl World and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

The year I turned 12, I grew about six inches upwards. Why?  I have no idea.  One day I'm solidly shorter than my 5'4 mother, next thing I know, I'm 5'8 and no longer permitted to wear my platform clogs.  Remember those?

I guess my limbs hadn't really filled out or something, because when I tried to paint my toes, I really struggled to reach my feet.  Not to mention my neck was abnormally short or something because my knees kept getting in the way of my face.  It was such a grueling experience that to this day, I despise painting my toes.

I solemnly swear to post regularly this week.

Harry Potter wiki has ruined my life.

Quick Tip: Smooth, Clean Hair

Preface:  I just realized after I wrote this exactly how link-heavy this post is going to be.  I won't blame you if you don't click them all.  I'll know whether or not you have.  But I won't blame you.  I may like you a little less.  No blaming though.

______________________________________________________________________

Like this.

LOL.  Kidding.  If I had hair like that
I'd be making money off it like this girl is.

So today I was washing my hair (for the first time in how many days?  Well, that's a personal question...), and I didn't deviate at ALL from my regular shower routine and somehow came out with softer hair than I've experienced since I discovered the Macadamia Hair products and CHI Silk Infusion.

What happened?

After an entire work day of touching my hair and agonizing over every moment of my shower (from dry scrubbing myself to lip-synching to Taylor Swift Rent *insert cool musical group name here*), I still had no idea what had changed.  I wandered into my bathroom to lament my horrible sleuthing skills when I noticed my hairbrush on my counter.

But of course!


I have stick straight hair -- this wasn't true until a couple of years ago when ... I don't know what happened, but it was right around the time I started university.  Maybe stress takes the texture out of your hair?  Worth looking into.  Anyway, since then, I'm not even sure why I own a brush because ... I never brush my hair.  Seriously.  Not even before I curl it.

In the interest of this story, I should probably inform you that I have a ridiculously hard time focusing on one single task.  That is, I cannot eat without reading/watching a TV show; I cannot watch a movie without having blogging/sudoku-ing/nail painting and I cannot fall asleep without Frasier.  And scotch.  But that's a story for another day.

Anyway, I had a yoghurt mask on and it wasn't completely dry so I needed to find a way to fill the extraneous minutes -- hence, the rare occurrence of hair brushing!  I just really roughly ran it through my hair until all the tangles were gone.  Again, since my hair is freakishly untextured, it didn't require a ton of effort, versus someone with enviable curls may need to spend a little more time detangling.

In hindsight, I remember thinking when I applied my shampoo that it was lathering up a lot more easily.  If I only knew then.

Brush your hair people!  It stimulates your scalp and promotes circulation and saves kittens and all sorts of buzzword-y things, but most importantly...your beauty conscience demands it.

Well if Chanel is doing it...

I just found out about the Chanel Jeans collection and while I am still disgruntled with the fact that they did not call me to pick up my bottle of Graphite (grrrrrr....I assume they are now sold out and impossible to find), I can't help but swoon a little.  If you look over my last few swatches....yeah.  You understand.  I knew you would.

Credit: Nitrolicious

So in honour of this upcoming collection, I'm showing you this colour which came up some time ago in a random thrifting adventure.

Of course, I wanted a twirly photo to do this skirt justice and my wonderful brother who has never attempted a blog before came up with this:

Bordering on indecent

Me giving up on my brother's photography attempts

I saw it on the rack and I was like, ooh...that colour is so up my alley, wutttt.  Yeah I'm not cool enough to attempt that sort of slang in real life.  Particularly not in a normal person's tea-length knee-length house dress. 

The designer?

In case my "See for yourself" trick doesn't work, it says Pierre Balmain.

Happy weekend, dear reader -- regular posts start Monday!  None of this Monday, Tuesday, Saturday business.

Do you believe in miracles? I don't.

Until now, that is.

I was pre-streaming Pretty Little Liars for my study break, and I realized that I'd just eaten lunch.  The thing with me is this: I have to do something while I watch TV.  I can't just sit there and watch.  It's excruciating.  I have to eat, read, paint my nails, actively try to fall asleep, something, or I can't focus on it.  I also realized that I'd finished my lunch really quickly and have cleverly kept all prepared foods out of my house so I can't eat mindlessly.  Damn my careful self.  However -- in my fridge scrouting, I found a container of yoghurt that I'd forgotten all about.  Success!

Except that instead of eating it (okay, that's a lie.  It's Greek yoghurt so all that delicious cream rises to the top and forms a layer of uberthick, fatty goodness that I had to eat first), I did what any beauty girl would do and slathered it all over my hands and face.  I have it on as I'm writing this.  Proof?  I'm going to tweet a photo RIGHT NOW at 5:40 pm EST.

But a few minutes ago, I washed my hands because it was flaking all over my keyboard and I couldn't manipulate my touchpad.  Then this happened:

Can you see it? I can.

TOD says she can't.  But I know it's there.  Seriously, right above my wrist bone?  My skin is lighter.  IT'S LIGHTER.   And it was only on for about 20 minutes! I'm thinking it might be yoghurt residue.  Then of course I went on MakeUpAlley to check and it's happened to other people too.  Brilliance!  Take that, Project 10 Pan.

UPDATE 6:00pm: I've just washed it off and my skin is kind of red.  Don't rub it off.  Saturate thoroughly before you scrub at it with tissues.  My mistake.
UPDATE 6:04pm: Ooooh, my skin is SO SMOOTH!
UPDATE 6:05pm: I still smell like yoghurt.

I meant 9 Skincare Rules

I've finished another product -- I think this brings me to 8 2/3!  It's another skincare item.  Sue me.

This one's taken a WHILE to finish though!  I actually finished the original Josie Maran oil ages ago, but I bought another brand of argan oil and kept the Josie Maran bottle for its dropper.  I love love LOVE the way it smells -- it's a really sweet, nutty scent that I find myself applying instead of perfume.

So in honour of my finishing (yet) another (skincare) product, I thought I'd share a few skincare rules to live by!

1. Take it offIt seems obvious that you should never go to bed with makeup on, but I'm going to say that we go a step further, and take it off as soon as you don't need it on.  As in, you come home from work and the first thing you do is take it all off.  Even if you're going out again, if it's a decent amount of time away, take the time to cleanse and let your skin breathe.  For me, if I have at least two hours at home, I'll take it off and redo it before I go out again.  This also gives me more opportunity to play with colours!
   
2. No washcloths allowedA few years ago, in one of Beauty Banter's Bathing Beauty posts (I LOVE those!), a girl said never to use a washcloth to dry your face.  I thought about it and was like, ...that makes so much sense I can hardly contain myself.  Washcloths (along with cosmetic sponges and mascara wands) breed bacteria like nothing else.  Unless you plan to use a new washcloth every time you wash your face, it's just easier to use Kleenex facial tissues.  If it makes you feel better about the environment, you're welcome to use recycled ones.
   
3. Drink waterThe average person needs about 2L a day.  In other words, eight cups, four standard bottled water thingies, four Vapur refills, however you want to measure.  If you're a taller person (i.e. TOD and me), you'll probably need more.
   PS: Water = water. Random liquids are not water.  Not juice.  Not tea, not milk.  Not vitaminwater, coconut water, Crystal Light or unicorn tears.
   
   

Let's get something straight.

Warning: This is the rant-iest thing I've posted in a while, so bear with me and read at your own risk.

Pallet

Palat

Palate

Palette

Pallit

Palit

Palete

When describing the following items, which spelling is correct?

To find the answer, don't click on the picture below.

I know I'm a grammar fiend, but really??  The number of times I see the word palette (bolded, italicized AND underlined for emphasis) misspelled is really embarrassing for everyone involved.  More often than not it's by beauty girls who use them every single day!

Then came the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back.  Someone raved about IT Cosmetics' brow pencil (I'm so distraught I can't even remember which worthy blogger reviewed the brow marker but I can assure you it's someone who can spell palette properly) and within one (1!) click of their site, I came across the above screenshot.  I could not hold my silence any longer.

Really, beauty blogosphere -- I know you all spend as much time on MakeUpAlley, Sephora, MAC, and Bobbi Brown as I do.  I also know that the vast majority of you can name all the MAC eyeshadow and lipstick names upon seeing a swatch.  That said, I refuse to believe that you all believe that palette is spelled differently than it is.  

There must be some sort of conspiracy I don't know about.

Why am I always the last to know?

Preparation H to the Rescue

Now I don't recommend doing this with a stranger's tube, but if you absolutely must, I would avoid sharing the accompanying perforated applicator.

This trick has been floating around the blogosphere for some time now, and I couldn't help but put it to the test.  I didn't end up using the applicator on TOD, but rather this technique and my fingers.

Before

After 20 min.

It works...okay.  I think I used way too much and it's SUPER greasy -- no scent though! I really can't say how much of the depuffing action was due to her sitting up for 20 minutes or the ointment itself, but there is a noticeable difference.  What do you think?

Guess what arrived today?

What could make me break out my cellphone and make me take a photo pre-shower/hair/makeup for you?
More importantly, what would make me break out my cellphone camera and not force TOD to do this pre-shower/hair/makeup?

Thank you, JuicyStar07 and Claro!

Review/Comparison to come shortly!

There's a bible verse in my tank top...

Tod, contemplating the Word.

Lace Tank: Milky Way from Mendocino

July Habits

Since I don't have new products to show you (except for these), I didn't think I'd do a favourites.  Then I saw all these videos come out and decided I wanted to jump on the bandwagon.

1. Not wearing make up: Baaaad beauty blogger, I know.  I've given my skin a break this month (I'm not sure why...maybe because I'm sleeping in later), and it's been soooo good for clearing up my skin and improving its general texture.  It's such a toss up now between having good skin or having fun in the morning!
2. Jojoba Oil: I've decided that I can't oil cleanse this every day or my skin gets a little clogged.  I could probably exfoliate more (since I don't use my Clarisonic with this), but for now I'm just doing it twice a week.  What I have done, though, is started moisturizing with it.  I started with a drop in my regular moisturizer, and I alternate that with just jojoba oil all over my face and neck.  Again, I don't think using only the oil is an option for every day, but I do think this has made my skin produce less oil at night.  Win!
3. Rewatching Frasier, Sex and the City in order. 'Nuff said.
4. Summer Foundation Routine.  Not sure if you want a video on this, but I've been kind of loving CoverGirl's Natureluxe foundation applied with Sonia Kashuk's sponge.  I started using it on my legs in the beginning of the summer, but I'm sufficiently dark enough now that I use it on my face.  I really didn't think this foundation would be that great (and I recall not liking it when I first tested it), but it's really surprised me!   Maybe it's the sponge...?
5. False lashes.  Not on myself, but on other people.  I'm hoping to incorporate them into a few more looks!
6. Quick Videos. This one was less than 4 minutes!  I want to see if I can do more short videos so I don't keep rambling you to death.  My goal?  A tutorial in less than 10. LOL.  Couldn't even get through that with a straight face.

Happy weekend, beauties! I'm also running out of blog ideas, so please request something/anything!  

I did something bad.

But I've found a way to justify it!

First, let me share with you the good news.  I've finished another product for Project X Pan!  I think that brings me up to 7 and 2/3.  Or something.  I'll go back and check.

This SuperNail polish remover came from a salon, and is quite possibly the best remover I've tried.  It's industrial-strength or something because I don't usually have to struggle to get colours off. Serious glitter polishes I still have to use this method, but if they're a lesser glitter, I can usually get away with just holding the cotton on my fingers for a moment.

And to celebrate... I bought three lipsticks.

Okay, if you knew me better, you'd know that I never wear lipstick.  I mean, I have about four of them...and I never wear them.  What usually happens is the first few days after purchasing I'll use it non-stop, then my mother will say something about how hideous the colour is, and I end up only using them for looks.  C'est la vie.

But I absolutely had to say something about these.

Essie: Coat Azure

I can't help it, it's a weakness.  When I first saw this colour in the promo pictures, it looked a little shimmer so I didn't think I'd like it.  I usually like very cream/jelly colours when it comes to my blues/greens.  Everything else feels a little 90s.  Then again...things change!

I first saw this on the Man Repeller and I swooned.  I was like, ...WHAT IS THAT??  But then I was like, ...oh...Coat Azure...hmmm.  Now, a few months later, I found it in a dustbin for $3.99.  What what?

Two coats!

Not a hint of shimmer on the nail.  Weird!  But regardless, I think I'm in sky-blue love.