Review: L'Oreal Hair Expertise Extraordinary Oil

Over the years I have worked with a LOT of different shampoos and hair products. I can tell the good stuff from the bad just by rubbing it between my fingers. And this? It's top quality. This really is a great moisturizing shampoo and conditioner line filled with great ingredients to help smooth dry, damaged hair. It is also has a wonderful premium texture (they're dead on calling the shampoo lightweight and the conditioner velvety). However, I don't feel this was the best set for me to review. My hair is a bit dry, but not extremely dry, and is also fairly fine. The shampoo made my scalp feel oilier than usual and I found myself washing my hair more often. I tried using the conditioner alone with my regular shampoo and was much more pleased with the results. I was also very excited to try the nourishing mask balm because I thought it would be similar to the Goldwell 5-minute masks I used in the salon. It didn't seem to be quite as high quality, but still a great addition to your regular hair routine to prevent split ends and infuse moisture. I would most recommend this line for very damaged and dry hair, for example if you bleach your hair blonde or spend a lot of time in the sun.

Disclaimer: L'Oreal sent me the shampoo, conditioner, and mask free to try through VoxBox. All opinions are my own.

LashBlast Clump Crusher Review

For some reason, I've never been a big fan of CoverGirl's plastic wands since the original LashBlast came out. They just don't do the magical things for my lashes that everyone else gets so excited about. I was sent Clump Crusher to try (for free)
and I wondered if I would still feel the same.



I was using a cheapo Essence mascara at the time, and CC was head and shoulders beyond that. I got nice length and very few clumps. Maybe it's the curve of this wand, but I am finally in approval of the plastic wand. The colour, "very black", is a nice deep black great for everyday wear.

But "nice" is really as far as it got. I have used many mascaras (in particular, Maybelline) that give better length and/or better volume with the same negligible clumping. I've found this with nearly every CoverGirl mascara I've tried. This isn't a bad mascara, in fact it's a good mascara, but it just doesn't have any kind of a "wow" factor for me. I'd recommend to a friend looking for a natural look.

Secret Scent Expressions Review

In December, BzzAgent sent me Secret Scent Expressions clear gel antiperspirant in Ooh-La-La-Lavender to try. (Yes, they sent it to me for free to to review, but the following post is my own opinion.)

It's been a while since I used a clear gel...I stopped in the past because I didn't like waiting for it to dry. I also find aerosols don't work as well as a stick. So how does Secret Outlast perform in comparison?



Wetness protection - excellent. Probably better than most antiperspirants on the shelf. That said, I still had a few damp moments at certain times when I was transitioning between temperatures (such as getting on the bus, which is heated, while being dressed for frigid temperatures).

Odour protection - phenomenal. The delightful lavender scent lasts in a very subtle way throughout the day.

White marks - this is where Outlast loses points. It's true that once dry, you'll get no white marks. However, I put a shirt on while it was still wet and ended up with a big white stripe across the shirt, I had to wear a completely different shirt to work. As nice as this product is, I don't think I'm completely sold on switching to a clear gel. As far as comparison with sprays goes, this is definitely a superior product except for this issue.

Value - the one thing that would prevent me from buying this (without a sale, at least) is the amount of product. The review period isn't even done yet and I'm almost out, despite only using one "click" per underarm. While the amount of product to price is about the same as other antiperspirants, you use much more with a gel. In fact, just ignoring the price, it's annoying how often you'd have to replace it.

Overall - really excellent product, one of the best at the drugstore in my opinion. But the drying time and amount of product you go through are still holding me back from switching to gel.

Ombre Hair Colouring

One of the most frustrating trends I've come across (not nearly as bad as leggings-as-pants, of course) is ombre hair. And the reason that it frustrates me isn't because it's ugly. It's because ombre hair colouring is typically misunderstood and poorly executed. Ombré, according to Webster's dictionary, means "shaded or graduated in tone". This to me calls for a subtle gradient between a few similar shades or tones of the same colour. (Not the same as dip-dying!!)

Here is one example of a beautiful ombre look: a natural/gold tone in a blend of different shades from medium to dark blonde. This perfectly mimics the look that natural blondes have in the winter when new hair has grown in but the ends are still sun-bleached from the summer.

This can even be done with less natural colours like the picture below. Unlike the previous, this isn't varying levels in the same colour family; it's varying shades in the same colour level. Vanessa has a copper tone followed by a cherry tone, finished by a yellow tone. The gradient in this look is good, but if a customer asked for this I'd be inclined to go cherry-copper-yellow, because that's the natural gradient you see in a rainbow and it flows a lot better visually.

Photos like those make me happy that ombre has taken dominance as one of the big hair trends right now: after the chunky highlighted and half-and-half styles of the 90s stayed popular through the 2000s without a lot of change, it's a relief to see colouring with better blending and more subtle pops of colour taking over.

But then there's this...unless you use many different shades to do the transition from dark to blonde, you get that look like you bleached your hair out a long time ago and never bothered colouring back. Let's say the dark here is a level 5, and the blonde a 9. Without taking hours with precise detail work blending 5 to 6 to 7 to 8 to 9, the best you could likely do is use a 7 in the middle and 9 on the ends...still not a great look.

But this type of look is worse. This is not ombre, this is dip-dying. If you have a severe line halfway down your hair, no blending or gentle transition has taken place. If your hair looks like a dual fiber paintbrush, please call it dip-dyed and leave poor ombre alone.

So how do you avoid a harsh line of colour? First off, stay close to your own colour. You can venture out by a few shades, or into the realm of different tones of the same shade. But black and blonde will never be ombre...say goodbye to your 1999 zebra highlights. Secondly, use a good ombre painting technique. The easiest way (and what I've done in my own hair, adding a cool red tone to the ends of my natural brown hair) is to put your hair in two high ponytails: this makes your hair very accessible both in proximity to your face, and by allowing access to different layers of your hair (think about how a low nape-of-the-neck ponytail looks smooth, while a high crown ponytail looks layered). Then get some hair colour that you can easily apply with your hands: a mousse formula is ideal. Squirt some of the colour mousse into gloved hands and scrunch into the ponytails like you would regular styling mousse, focusing on the ends. This will give a natural blended look with one colour.

For two or more colours, you may want to use foils. Within a piece of foil, brush on some water or hair conditioner onto your original hair colour starting at the scalp and going 1/3 of the way down the shaft. The water or conditioner will keep other colours from affecting your natural colour. Then paint the middle third of the strand with your first colour, overlapping the conditioner by a few centimetres. Finally use the second colour to paint the lower third of the strand to the ends, again overlapping with the previous colour (this creates the blended transition area).

Good luck and stay ombre!

What's Pink with Cheetah Spots?

The answer to the title is my sister's new fashion blog, apparently. If you like this blog but are frustrated with the profuse amount of beauty posts, thinking "There's just not enough fashion content here", you may want to check out The Fashion Cheetah.

Powder Foundation

When it comes to base makeup, I don't like to wear much. I've tried various foundations...Maybelline Dream Mousse covers anything but can look dry, CoverGirl Clean Makeup is cheap and works but that's about it. The best liquid I've tried, was one of Paula's Picks, Revlon ColorStay--but apparently it's been reformulated for the worse. While these all did the job for me, liquid and cream foundations feel like smearing paint on my face and I try to reserve them for special occasions when I might want heavy coverage, such as being photographed.

Because of that, the past few years have seen me using powder foundation. While they may have a reputation for looking heavier and drier than liquids, I find a light-handed application is all I need to even out my skin. If I need a little extra boost in certain areas, a touch of concealer is more than enough (I like mark. Good Riddance or Benefit Erase Paste). While my skin is on the drier side, I typically apply the powder after moisturizing, so I haven't found any issues there. A powder foundation gives me the ideal amount of coverage without feeling heavy, and doubles as a mattifying/setting product since I'd be using translucent powder on top of a liquid product to get it to stay anyway.

For a while I had an Avon rep in my area and bought pretty much all my makeup from Avon since it was convenient, fairly good quality, and the flyers she brought around always had good sales. I especially liked the mark. products so I used mark. Powder Buff for quite a while. I would still recommend this product as it gave the performance I was looking for at a reasonable price. However, every single time I bought one the compact broke. One dropped on the floor and the entire cake shattered in addition to the compact, which was more my fault than anything. But the other ones consistently had the hinges snap. I ended up moving and not bothering to find a new Avon rep, so since I didn't want to pay shipping to order online and the packaging was garbage anyway, it was time to find something new.

As usual I checked out Beautypedia for the best-reviewed powder foundations, and landed on the Palladio line from Sally Beauty. And also as usual, Paula's recommendation was great. Palladio Dual Wet and Dry Foundation has a great texture, applies smoothly, and I would say is even better than Powder Buff at the same price point. Additionally, I have had no problems whatsoever with the compact breaking. If you're looking for a product that allows you to vary the coverage at a very reasonable price, I'd definitely recommend Palladio.

Herbal Essences Touchably Smooth

In the market for a new shampoo and conditioner, I decided to try out Herbal Essences Touchably Smooth collection. I figured, having curly hair, a "smoothing" collection would be good for calming down any frizz and keeping curls neat.



Overall, this is not a bad shampoo or conditioner. The scent is pleasant, the product is pink. The shampoo is a fairly standard formula, probably a little too heavy for someone with an oily scalp but good if you're a little dry. When I use dandruff shampoo I like to do the second wash with this product to keep my scalp from getting too dry. Within the Herbal Essences line, though, I have to say I think their basic Hello Hydration does a better job, and I certainly have products I like better outside of their brand.

As for the conditioner, I found it much too light. I ended up with a lot of split ends--now, I have been growing my hair out and I tend to get split ends past a certain length so I won't blame it on the conditioner per se, but I certainly get better protection and hydration from other products.

What I really found funny was the marketing of this product though. Maybe they've changed the packaging since I bought it, but the bottles I have look like the ones on the picture above and claim to make your hair smooth. If you look at their website, you'll see the bottles say "straightening", not "smoothing". I did actually find that it was a lot harder to style my hair curly and it seemed to be getting straighter and straighter. I ran out of the conditioner and bought a new one for curly hair and my hair seems to slowly be getting curlier again.

I would really be interested to know what ingredients are in this product that make your hair straighter. As a hairstylist, I've worked with keratin smoothing treatments and done chemical straightening procedures. Since these treatments rose to popularity I have seen keratin shampoo/conditioner combinations come out that claim to slowly smooth your hair out over time. But this product doesn't contain keratin, and since my hair has bounced back, I'm wondering if perhaps it's some sort of chemical that temporarily gets in the way of the bond arrangement in the hair.

Bottom line: If you are actually looking to make your hair a bit straighter, I would recommend this product. However, if you're just looking for smoothness, try something else.

Product Review: Biore Charcoal

Quite a while ago I was sent a free sample of two new products from Biore: the Deep Pore Charcoal Cleanser and Self Heating One Minute Mask. I was pretty excited to try them out. According to their website, charcoal draws impurities out from the skin and cleans better than a normal cleanser.

I started out with the face cleanser, which was a somewhat unappetizing colour due to the charcoal. I didn't notice much of a difference in texture or lather from my regular cleanser. However, it did leave me with some tingling.

After cleansing I moved onto the mask. I like masks. I know they're not particularly necessary for your everyday skincare routine, and that a good cleanser and moisturizer are quite sufficient. But they're still fun once in a while and I especially looked forward to this one because I was imagining the stereotypical "woman in a mud mask" from movies and I figured having charcoal smeared all over my face would be pretty close. This mask wasn't just disappointing though, it was alarming. I experienced the same cooling and tingling as with the cleanser, but much more strongly. Combined with the self heating of the mask, I had rather intense hot and cold going on at the same time on my face to the extent that I felt like my face was burning. I couldn't even keep it on the full minute. After rinsing it off I still felt like my face was burning for a while, but at least my face looked fine, no noticeable redness.

After checking out the ingredient list and Paula Begoun's complaints about the brand, I'm going to take a guess and say it was the menthol...a skin irritant. I really wouldn't recommend either of these products. Biore says they give a "deep clean you can see" and especially with a mask I would have expected at least sort of a glow, but I didn't see any difference from normal. Their claim to leave skin "tingly-smooth" is about true, but for me the tingle was more like burning.

The Apprentice is Back

University has been keeping me busy the past few years with little free time to spend blogging. However, I have finished all of my classes for my final year and am looking forward to my graduation in June. This leaves me with a lot of free time on my hands, although I'm spending a lot of it searching for a job. You can expect to see me posting a bit more often now!

Hair That Rocks: Down to the Core of it All

When one thinks of the connection between rock and hair, the first thing to come to mind may be the glam rock hair bands of the eighties (see Figure 1). With a little more information, this idea may be discarded faster than David Lee Roth's shag. The parallel drawn here refers to actual rocks: sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic.

Figure 1: Twisted Sister, a typical Hair Band of the eighties (ebcak, 2008).

Rock cores are long thin pieces of rock removed from beneath the Earth's surface using a hollow drill. These segments are cut through the many layers of rock laid down by past events (Plummer, 2004). When removed and laid out for examination, the newest layers are at the top, with a visible progression of events continuing down the core to the oldest layer at the base (Plummer, 2004). Likewise, hair strands are produced from the top down, in protein units with the oldest segment at the end of the hair (see Figure 2) (Beatty, 2002).

Various landmarks throughout a rock core, such as fossils, deposits, and change in rock types can be used to deduce the geological history of that point in time (Plummer, 2004). Surprisingly enough, biochemical and isotopic signatures can be read along the hair strand, giving a history of an individual's health. Chemical indicators can be used to note hormonal changes, stress levels and diet (Hill Wood-Salomon, 2011). Hair samples have even been tested from preserved specimens, finally solving mysteries such as what percentage of a population was affected by events such as water contamination (Matsumoto and Yoshinaga, 2009), or the geographic route traveled by a murder victim (Courtland, 2008). Events such as change in location can be determined by a sudden switch in isotopic concentration (drinking from a different water source, for example) in the keratin units of the hair strand (Ehleringer et al., 2008).

Figure 2: A side-by-side comparison of rock cores and hair strands (ISGS, 2010; Hair Compounds, 2010).

Rock deposits can be altered through further events such as folding and fractures, changing the accuracy of events read along a core sample (Plummer, 2004). Similarly in hair, as the age of the event in question increases, the likelihood of taking an accurate measurement of chemical ratios decreases. Hair is structurally altered and often damaged by environmental factors such as sun and wind. Hair and scalp conditions produce abnormal strands, containing different initial chemical ratios, which would give quite different results than a healthy hair (Beatty, 2002). Physical abuse occurs on a daily basis for many, through brushing, heat styling, and chemical alteration such as colouring and perming. Furthermore, data is lost when the hair is cut, removing the oldest records at the base of the hair strand (Beatty, 2002). This process is also observed in rock samples, where glacial erosion has removed one or more layers of rock, leaving a gap in the timeline of relative dating (Plummer, 2004).

Hair analysis techniques are still in discovery and developmental stages. Nevertheless, the potential applications are incredible. Many conditions which are currently tested for by drawing blood may be examined by taking a reading from a strand of hair (Hill Wood-Salomon, 2011). Depending on the length, the recorded sequence can reveal events years into the past, providing an impressive ready-made medical record (Cerling et al., 2009). Who knows what the future may hold? As they say...hair today, gone tomorrow.



Works Cited

Beatty, D., 2002. Milady’s Standard Cosmetology.

Cerling, T.E. et al., 2009. History of Animals using Isotope Records (HAIR): A 6-year dietary history of one family of African elephants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106(20), pp.8093-8100.

Courtland, R., 2008. Your history is printed in your hair : Nature News. [online] Available at: <http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080225/full/news.2008.617.html> [Accessed 26 November 2011].

ebcak, 2008. 80′s Glam Metal Rock Bands | Cool Stuff - ebcak. [online] Available at: <http://www.ebcak.com/archives/559> [Accessed 26 November 2011].

Ehleringer, J.R. et al., 2008. Hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios in human hair are related to geography. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(8), pp.2788 -2793.

Hair Compounds, 2010. Measuring Stress Through Hair | Hair & Compounds Blog. [online] Available at: <http://www.haircompounds.com/hairextensions/measuring-stress-through-hair/> [Accessed 2 December 2011].

Hill Wood-Salomon, J., 2011. Science for hairstylists: the potential uses of hair samples in medicine. [personal communication] [Discussed 7 October 2011].

ISGS, 2010. ISGS - Geological Samples Library Collections. [online] Available at: <http://www.isgs.uiuc.edu/sections/indust-min/samplib/collections.shtml> [Accessed 26 November 2011].

Matsumoto, M. and Yoshinaga, J., 2009. Isotope ratios of lead in Japanese women’s hair of the twentieth century. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 17pp.643-649.

Plummer, C., 2004. Physical geology & the environment. 1st ed. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson.

Suave Surfactants: Maintaining the Integrity of Your Shampoo

There is nothing quite like awakening to the screams of a woman (or man, for that matter) bewailing the efficacy of their shampoo. “I trusted you!” they moan, “you promised me everything, for better or for worse, wash, rinse, and repeat...”

Storming into the hairdresser's in a fury, however, is not the best approach to take. They will listen professionally to the dilemma, calm irascible nerves with a relaxing shampoo, explain that the product performs exceptionally for the price, offer a refund, and leave one feeling rather embarrassed.

To avoid this situation, take the time to learn the factors that could decrease the power of the perfect shampoo.

Hard water contains dissolved ions which can interfere with the surfactants in shampoo. (Trüeb, 2007) Much like the properties observed in phosphobilipid membranes, each end of the shampoo molecule has a slight charge. One end is lipophilic, attracting oil and debris in the hair, and the other hydrophilic, attracting water to rinse away. (Beatty, 2002) The presence of cations or anions in rinsewater can interfere with either end of the molecule, often leaving the user with residue in their hair. The installation of a water softener will convert hard water to soft, removing trace ions and restoring that silky shine. (Trüeb, 2007)

Shampoos are often formulated at a pH mimicking that of hair and skin, approximately 4.5-6.5. (Beatty, 2002) Ideally, water has a neutral pH of 7. Contaminants, dissolved substances, and phenomena such as acid rain can alter the pH of water. While the shampoo formulation anticipates water neutrality, slightly more acidic or basic water can strip the acid mantle, which may lead to oil overproduction. This can result in an oily scalp and dry, frizzy hair. (Beatty, 2002) Monitoring of home water pH and investment in water filtration equipment can alleviate these issues.

Bacterial contamination has become less of an issue due to modern preservatives. It may still occur in hair products in rare cases, or in products derived directly from organic ingredients. (Olsen, 1967) Contrary to popular belief, the bathroom is not the most hygenic place to store hygiene products. Bacterial cultures can develop in open products or in those exposed to contaminants. Ingredient efficacy can decrease with microorganic growth, and also through exposure to extreme temperatures or sunlight. (Olsen, 1967) As with any chemical, store shampoo in a closed and labelled container in a dark cool area. If a change is noticed in the product, such as odour or texture, dispose of it no matter how expensive it was. Although it is rare for degraded shampoo to cause illness, an important ingredient rendered ineffective may alter the entire integrity of the product.

As observed in [a class research project], water quality and pH can directly affect one's health and well being. While shampoo efficacy is hardly as crucial a substantiate to life as avoiding toxin ingestion, keeping one's hair strong and supple creates a peace of mind.

Works Cited

Beatty, D., 2002. Milady's Standard Cosmetology. , September 9, 2002.

Olsen, S.W.,M.S., 1967. The Application of Microbiology to Cosmetic Testing. Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, March 4, 1967, no. 18, pp. 191-191-198.

Trüeb, R.M., 2007. Shampoos: Ingredients, Efficacy and Adverse Effects. Journal of the German Society of Dermatology, May 2007, vol. 5, no. 5, pp. 356-356-365.

I'm Still Alive and Cutting

How do you stay in touch with the hair and makeup world when you're no longer in it?

It doesn't hurt to have a teenage sister who stays savvy with all the Youtube makeup gurus. I'd have no idea what "Baby Lips" is were it not for scouring four stores until I finally found the pink colour for her Christmas present.

I wrote my hairdresser's final back in July and passed with flying colours. A few months later I quit my salon job of three years and started working on my honours bachelor of science.

Wait, what? Well, that really has been my plan for some time now. I love both worlds and couldn't see myself not being a hairdresser, or not being a scientist. Hopefully one day I'll find some blissful fusion of the two. Did you know hairdressing has its very own science? Trichology: the science of hair. The next few posts I'll be sharing are pieces I've written over the past term for my class blog. The idea is to take a scientific concept presented in class and expand upon it using an interdisciplinary approach. These posts will look a bit different than my usual format, however I can promise the same delightful blend of dry humour and a unique perspective.

So while I haven't been poring over Vogue while sitting at reception pricing Goldwell's latest and greatest--heck, I haven't even been wearing makeup--I still have beauty on my mind. I've even managed to keep up freelancing both with my former clientele and at the university.

P.S. I do try to keep up. I enjoy following a few blogs such as Oh So Coco.

Coco does Gaultier

Who says Canadians are limited to parkas and Sorels? Coco Rocha, a graceful and talented model hailing from the country I call home, has posted a video of her shoot for Elle magazine wearing all vintage Jean Paul Gaultier. There is a Gaultier career retrospective at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts should you happen to pass through Quebec. The video is well worth watching, although it's fairly long.

Jean Paul Gaultier Retrospective from Coco Rocha on Vimeo.

Fill your nails, and your time!

Now that I'm out of school and in employment limbo, I have rather a lot of empty time slots. I've been reading, catching up with my friends, baking chocolate chip cookies with Oreos inside (I KNOW), singing, and doing the three things that are impossible to regularly participate in with a heavy courseload:

(1) Sleeping

(2) Eating

(3) My nails

And I have been so inspired by nail art lately! I'll post when I try them (none of the following are my nails), but here are a few techniques I can't wait to use:

Hawaiian flowers: essentially applying petal-like stripes and removing the center.

Water marbling: swirl a couple shades together in water, dip, and have fun cleaning up. :P

Newsprint nails: dip dry, painted nails in vodka (if you're legal) or alcohol and press onto newspaper.

Crackle polish: possibly the biggest trend and most difficult to obtain since Chanel's Black Satin hit the market, OPI has brought back crackle polish (with others following suit) in black and more recently silver. Apply and let dry.

Pre-dried polish strips: I have tried these and a review is on the way. Press and stick, more or less, for designs previously reserved for false nails or hours with a professional.

Gel nail polish: while not technically nail art, brands such as Shellac (CND) and Axxium (OPI) are fairly new to the market. These are intended to be applied by a professional. Coats of polish are dried instantly under a UV or LED lamp and are completely chip- and peel-free, only needing to be removed when they grow out (or if you really want you could get them filled like gel nails). The distinguishing features between gel nail polish and actual gel nails are (A) any aesthetician can apply it, as opposed to nail technicians only, and (B) it can be soaked off, which is far less damaging than filing off gel nails (along with parts of your natural nails). I just want to try these because hardly anything will stay on my nails what with all the shampooing I do at work.

Just plugging my sister...

The regularly scheduled program has been interrupted for some shameless blood relative promotion.

If you'd happen to be looking for a blog just as amazing as this one, more along fashion lines, why not head over and check out Ponytails's My Passions for Fashions? For a taste of what my stylish sibling serves up, here are a few of my favourite posts:

5 Fave Thursday, Spring Edition

T-Shirt Shrug

T-Shirt into Belted Top Tutorial (featured at mad in crafts)

The Boardwalk Top Tutorial

Take a Shot for Skin's Sake

Ever been sitting back with a glass of wine enjoying the antioxidants, resveratrol, phenols, flavonoids and tannins...when all of a sudden you begin to wonder what the benefits of your favourite alcoholic beverage are? Oh, sure, we've all been informed about the increased mortality, prevention of heart disease, kidney stones, Alzheimer's, atherosclerosis, blood clots and hypertension. And the general public has of course been told how fun alcohol makes one at a party.

But what about your skin? Coco Perez posted an article today illuminating us on the latest findings in skin care research--which, admittedly, bear more resemblance to a cocktail recipe than the standard cleanse, tone and moisturize routine. Check out the video with expert Rebekah George followed by Perez's list of booze-infused products currently on the market here.

What do you think? Will you be adding a little umbrella to your toner any time soon?

The Binary Hair System

How many of you know what a binary star is? Basically, this system occurs when two bodies orbit around their common center of mass, resulting in something that looks like this:

These systems are helpful for calculations and observations because they have certain predictable features, and also because if a star appears to be acting in a binary system, yet has no detectable partner, it can be surmised that the partner is in fact a black hole. (Black holes are my favourite scientific phenomenon ever, just in case you wanted to know.) You can even see an accretion disk, more awesomely known as a death spiral!

Above is an image of Cygnus X-1, my favourite star. Ohhh yes, I have a favourite star.

What does this all have to do with the kind of stuff I usually post about? Well, Schwarzkopf's Osis+ line has a product that's all about the power of two: Twin Curl.

Sure, I probably could have come up with a better twin-related intro, but you have to understand, I really love talking about binary systems, black holes, Cygnus X-1, and, oh yeah, death spirals. And hair products.

The idea behind Twin Curl is a combination of two essential curl products in one easy tube: a strong-hold gel and a frizz controlling cream. The cream is in a small tube, which is placed inside a larger tube containing the gel. The opening of the tube has alternating slits from which both products are dispensed. It's not a particularly original idea, but it's not a bad one either.

The product itself is the best stuff I've ever used on my hair. The cream smoothes and shines like there's no tomorrow and the gel is...well, an effective gel. Don't get me wrong, there are bad bad gels out there. This one isn't particularly spectacular, but it certainly isn't awful! Somehow, this particular combination of product is exactly what my curly hair needs to keep it looking fantastic. It also has a very light scent as compared to other products that've kept me up at night. The tube is a very generous size for salon quality product. You can't even tell that there's product in your hair, like some crunchy gels and mousses or oily creams. I don't think you could go wrong with this stuff or overapply.

There is, however, something holding me back from purchasing again, although I really might have to as I've never used anything this good on my hair before. It's the whole dual dispensing thing. It doesn't work as well as you'd think, or apparently as well as their engineers thought. (Are there such jobs? Hair gel tube engineers? There should be.) When I first started using Twin Curl, the tube squirted mostly cream, and then by the end of my squeeze a bit of gel would end up in the mix. The cream of course is the best part of this product anyway...but I did find that my hair would look stunning on day one and then flop if I tried to prolong the look much past that. For people who wash their hair every day, not a problem, but my hair only needs to be shampooed maybe every three days if that. Now I have the opposite problem, though. All I'm getting is gel. There didn't seem to be a happy medium either, where I was getting equal parts of both. The gel is doing a great job at holding my hairstyle, but I'm getting a bit of frizz.

I know it definitely wouldn't have been as cool to package the two separately and have you mix them by hand, but it'd make for the optimum balance of cream and gel. I do hope they alter their dispensing system a bit, because then I'd have no choice to use this fantastic product for the rest of my hair-growing years.

Where am I now?

Well, folks, it's that time of the year again, the time of year where I make my annual blog post saying ohgoodnessitsbeenalongtimesinceipostedilovemakeup. To be honest, I have a selective memory like a molecular sieve and the fact that I even have a blog tends to fall through the holes most of the time.

Where have I been? The past couple years have been me finishing up highschool while simultaneously getting a headstart on my hairstyling apprenticeship, thanks to Ontario's Youth Apprenticeship Program (which deserves at least one if not many posts in its own right that I may or may not remember to write). This while focusing my academics heavily into the maths and sciences, and this year (I went back after graduating to fit all those courses in) writing exhaustingly long university and scholarship applications, not to mention writing (and passing with flying colours!) the two pre-licensing hairdresser tests (in Ontario, becoming a hairdresser is a lot like getting a driver's license: there's a graduated levels system and you need lots of in-car hours). So basically, when I wasn't in school or studying, I was working. Somewhere in there I had a social and extracurricular life. Blogging hasn't exactly been a priority.

Where am I now? I've been given uber-early acceptance at one university (we're talking twelve days after the application deadline!), regular early acceptance at another, and I'm on the edge of my seat waiting on my top choice, a specialized science program that sends out all its acceptance letters in one shot. Frustratingly enough, that is the only program which would require me to move away, although it would be worth it in ways I cannot even begin to express. I should hear from them in a few weeks and decide what to do with myself. I'm ever so close to finishing my hairdresser's licence. I need to give someone a perm. I finished school in January and I'm looking for a second job.

What have I been up to, beauty-wise? Unfortunately, most of last school year and the half of this one that I was enrolled, makeup was a dusting of powder and some mascara in the girl's washroom before school started. Or, if I was really organized, I might have had something exciting like highlighter or eyeliner that I could attempt to apply on the bus, that is when I wasn't eating breakfast on the bus. Yes, I had a pretty intense last couple semesters. And I really dislike getting up in the morning. Not to mention that nail polish really just doesn't stay on when you're doing upwards of twenty shampoos in a shift. On the other hand, I did go through a few rather enjoyable transitions with my hair. It can't be helped when one works at a salon, takes hairstyling classes, and spends all her free time at the beauty supply store. Since I last posted a picture of my hair, I've been through long hair, medium hair, short hair, having the underneath bleached out, purple highlights, cutting bangs back in for the first time in years, nearly black, black currant, copper...and my present state of affairs involves my natural colour (a medium brown) completely grown out, and an asymmetrical short cut (above my shoulders! gasp! but yeah, I haven't had hair this short since I was little)  designed to show off my curls-I-never-knew-I-had to a spectacular extent.


And what am I planning? I'd really like to get back into the swing of blogging, at the very least until I find another job to fill up some more of my time. I have tons of products to review and rants to rave and I've missed writing. We'll see what happens. For now...if you didn't bother reading through my extraneous boulders of text up there, here's a pictorial representation of me in 2011.









And for those who may be furthermore interested, here's what I was working on my final semester of school, aside from calculus, physics and kinesiology:

The Meaningless, Empty and Futile quest for cream eyeshadows...

I took full advantage of the Mark brochure's recent/current B2G1 sale and bought a few of their Hook-Ups. Last week when my Avon lady showed up she said she was sorting through her order and she kept finding all these little tiny boxes..."Oh, that's for the Apprentice!".

At any rate. Something I'd been wondering about for quite a while now are their Mini Mark-It sticks. Basically, short and fat pencils that slide into a little Hook-Up cap. They have them for both lips and eyes but only the eye pencils were in the last brochure. None of the colours were particularly striking to me except for Cocoa Bean (my dog Cocoa likes to roam...one day Cocoa left his home...) which looked like a very nice brown.

At this point I will have to intercept my own post with a rant. Since day one of my interest in the cosmetics world, I have been inexplicably drawn to cream eyeshadows. I really couldn't tell you why. They expire faster than anything else. They crease after under an hour of wear. They're harder to find, usually have a terrible texture, don't blend well, and often are more expensive than a powder. But for some reason there is a definite attraction, and on more than one occasion I have tossed all logic aside and caved. Perhaps it's the light texture, or that you don't need a brush, or visions of bright dewy-looking lids. No clue.

But has my search been successful? No, no, and furthermore NO. Any cream I've ever tried has gone on sheer, blended poorly, and ended up an oily mess in my eye crease mere minutes later. My one exception are liquid-to-powders, which I really must expound on in a later post. They're not really cream eyeshadows at all, but seem to be lumped into the same category.

I had actually tried Mark's Winksticks previously. Similar idea, a stick of eye colour, but these are retractable whereas their new Mark-Its are a pencil which must be sharpened. The Winkstick had virtually no pigment laydown, and as per the usual, creased nearly instantly.

Finally I visited my dear old friend Makeupalley and discovered that while the Winksticks had terrible ratings (surprise surprise!), the Mark-Its had some rather stellar reviews. I figured by 2010 the cosmetic world must finally have formulated cream eyeshadows correctly and it was worth a shot.

Unfortunately, while the application was smooth and the product didn't feel oily at all--in fact, there was even a sufficient amount of pigment--Mini Mark-It sticks undergo the inevitable and crease, as have anything else I've ever tried. Bah, humbug. I even tried setting the product with powder, to no avail.

I will be keeping this around, because it really is a lovely colour and will be quite convenient for my makeup bag which I tote around in my knapsack. I don't think it'll be a problem using this product lightly around my eyes, but I would definitely avoid going anywhere near a full lid application or near the crease.

Thinkin' About Spring

Way up North here us Canucks have finally been experiencing some warmish weather and sunshine, which is rather unusual for March where we usually trudge through the slush for a whole month in our warmest parkas and let the car warm up while we heave the fluffy white stuff out of the driveway. So I've been thinking about spring.

The best things about fashion in the spring is that one no longer needs to worry about how ridiculous they look with a skirt sticking out the bottom of their parka, or bringing a bag with their heels in it because they wouldn't even make it past the doorstep without boots. And in spring, the skirts and dresses reappear! For now, it's finally warmed up enough that I can aim to wear a few outfits with leggings, and start wearing some of my other lovely shoes instead of my boots.

In the world of hair, stylists start cutting foils because they know their clients would like to start warming up their hair with some highlights after spending months under a hat or inside. This spring, you can look for more interesting colours besides blonde being used as highlights, and innovative foiling techniques to give natural distributions of colour rather than the 90's zebra-stripe look.

As far as cosmetics go, spring is the time to switch up your classic dark nail colour for a French manicure or a pastel. Forgo the newly trendy matte top coat for a shimmer or pearly finish. Have fun with your lip colour now that you can break out of the rut of winter chapstick. I've always thought pinks were perfect for spring, and this year bright, clear shades are back.

And hey, you can ditch the deerstalker hat or the tuk your great-grandmother knit (which I'm sure is lovely though) for a lighter hat! Hooray!

Don't forget that with all the snow still on the ground and all this sunshine there's a great deal of light refraction so pick out a couple new pairs of sunglasses in different styles and have them on your dressing table in the morning so not only won't you forget them, but you can pick a pair to match your outfit.

Finally...bring on the metal jewelry! No longer must we squeal in pain when the great outdoors freezes your hoop earrings!