Shampoo -Pantene - Curly Hair Series-Dry to Moisturized
itsKelCeeEee 6/17/2012 6:08:00 PM
I'm very neutral about the shampoo. VERY neutral. First off, I don't feel like sulfates/silicones are the devil like the hair care industry is having so many people to believe; yes, sulfates can be extremely irritating. Sure, silicones can lead to build up. Organic, naturally refined shea butter can lead to build up. The PPTs in semi-permanent/permanent hair dyes can be extremely irritating. Never hear anyone complain about those. Obviously if one wishes to avoid those things in their products it's their prerogative and their choice to do so, so no worries. I just wish people would do their own research and draw their own conclusions instead of buying into all these "all natural" "all organic" fads. With that being said, I thought that all pantene shampoos/conditioners were the same because the ingredients in all their lines are nearly identical. However, for some reason my coarse, dense, afro textured hair did well with this shampoo while hating the relaxed/natural and medium-thick lines. Interesting, but I'm not complaining. The scent of this line is slightly nicer to me than the others, and this shampoo leaves my hair feeling softer, lighter, and surprisingly clean. I will say that I only use this line around once a month because the silicones do make my scalp itch if I use it too much (my scalp/hair prefers amodimethicone or cyclomethicone when I use cones...I guess they're lighter?) but it hasn't affected my hair health. If anything it makes washing my hair a much less time consuming process. Still, I have my favorites, and this isn't one of them. I'd rebuy, but it's not a shampoo I NEED to have.
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Fragrances -Victoria's Secret - Love Spell
itsKelCeeEee 6/15/2012 1:39:00 AM
Oh, Love Spell. How I used to adore thee during my younger years, when I was green and innocent to the world of makeup, perfumes, and caring about how I looked (and NO I'm not saying anyone who enjoys this scent is any of the former, I'm just being dramatic so go with it). Seriously though, when I was in my early teens I was in love with this smell. My family never bought into my adolescent indulges though so they'd shrug and tell me to hit up Walmart whenever I started whining about how much I wanted it. Now, however...I have no idea what happened. I guess my nose changed or whatever because I find Love Spell to be absolutely horrid. It smells fake, juvenile, and isn't worth a penny in my opinion. Of course noses differ so people are going to like it, and I fully understand that. I just wish I still did, though. Unfortunately it went from smelling like beautiful lavender to smelling like a mutated peach. I can't even.
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Conditioner -L'Oreal - EverStrong Hydrating conditioner
itsKelCeeEee 6/14/2012 1:32:00 PM
I don't know what I was thinking buying this. I bought the intense hydrating evercreme shampoo and conditioner or whatever and while I deemed the shampoo to be HG status, the conditioner did nothing. Absolutely NOTHING. I was pissed, but I really wanted to be able to use a shampoo and conditioner from the same brand because they're made to work together and you supposedly get the best results that way, you know? So I bought this one after seeing the reviews were a bit better and checking out the ingredients. Also, the texture seemed different and my hair tends to like peppermint/rosemary oils, so I gave it a try. It's not awful, but it could be better. A lot better. It took near half the bottle (maybe more) to get the comb to be able to run through my hair, and when I rinsed it out it was as if I hadn't even put a conditioner in it. I will say that after I towel dried it it felt light, soft, and had a lot of weightless body, but I have a freaking afro so of course it's gonna be easier to get body out of it. I'll finish off this bottle (it'll probably only take one more time since I have to use so much to get results) but I will not be rebuying. I'll stick with Giovanni conditioners instead.
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Shampoo -L'Oreal - EverCreme Intense Nourishing
itsKelCeeEee 6/14/2012 1:25:00 PM
(Edit: 10/19/12) I found out that not using silicones genuinely makes my hair much easier to keep moisturized and soft, so once I finished off my bottle of this I switched to the regular l'oreal evercreme nourishing moisture shampoo, which is silicone free (this one has amodimethicone). My original review still stands however, and I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants a shampoo that won't dry their hair out and don't mind silicones. (Original review is below) I'm pretty sure that I'm in love with this shampoo. My hair is very, very dry and porous (it's healthy, it's just naturally thick and coarse) and I'm so used to shampoos drying it out that I've grown accustomed to relying on conditioners to replenish the moisture. This shampoo is the exact opposite; it leaves my hair soft, moisturized, clean and refreshed. I still need conditioner to comb through it of course, but it helps make the entire process so much easier. Also it smells fabulous, like warm brown sugar or cake batter or something. This shampoo is the only thing I use from L'Oreal (their conditioners basically have the effect on my hair that most shampoos do, which isn't cute) and I will definitely repurchase.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Conditioner -Giovanni - 50/50 Balanced Remoisturizer
itsKelCeeEee 6/10/2012 10:01:00 AM
I picked this up because...honestly I can't tell you why. Just one of those "girly" urges I suppose...but I'm glad I did! This conditioner is surprisingly super moisturizing and made the comb glide through my hair after another conditioner I put in it had made it clump together. It's thick and rich, but at the same time light. It's a good quality product. I should've known that since I use the leave-in all the time, but whatever. Works for fine hair as well as coarse.
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Conditioner -L'Oreal - EverCreme Intense Nourishing Conditioner
itsKelCeeEee 6/10/2012 9:52:00 AM
I was SO disappointed in this conditioner. I bought both the intense nourishing shampoo and this conditioner together because of how amazing they smelled (like a Bath & Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar scent) and they were a decent enough price at Walmart. I was skeptical of how the shampoo would work since I saw a bunch of bad reviews for it but it turns out it was the conditioner I had to worry about. This stuff is awful. I mean AWFUL...this is one of the biggest product let downs I've had. My hair, which was surprisingly soft and moisturized after using the shampoo, turned into a dry, brittle mess with the conditioner. I couldn't even separate my hair into sections to comb it out because the conditioner offered NO sorts of conditioning! How on earth you gonna sell a shampoo with stellar results and the conditioner it's paired with only ruins it? Ugh. Awful, ya'll. I might try and use it as a body wash since it smells so good, but I'm not yet sure on how I'm gonna use it to get rid of it "once and for all". I know what I WON'T be using it on, though; my head.
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Scrubs -Unlisted Brand - Sugar
itsKelCeeEee 6/1/2012 2:54:00 PM
Oh my god SUGAR. Freaking sugar. I was looking for a facial scrub that didn't have grains thick enough to skin a lizard but wasn't fine to the point where I didn't feel them working. The best thing I'd found was a seaweed scrub at The Body Shop for 14 dollars, but I don't always like spending money on a slim bottle of that. I know some see scrubs as pointless but when it comes to my skin they are crucial. If I go less than 1x a week without exfoliating my complexion gets all sallow and uneven looking, so that's a big no mi gusta. I was (wait, am ALWAYS) broke and didn't feel like spending a bunch of money at the time so...well...I tried sugar. Yeah. And it worked. Amazingly. I mixed 1.5 tablespoons of plain white sugar (a lot of people use brown but my skin had no issues with the grainier white sugar) with 3 tablespoons of honey and applied it to my dry, uncleansed face (I know everything's supposed to be done on a "clean face" but I've always done it this way with exfoliating because I cleanse my face when I'm done. Don't want any chances of a breakout because stuff was left behind or whatever). Gently massaged it into my skin for a good three minutes. Left it on for another twenty seven minutes. Scrubbed in a little bit more. Got in the shower and let the steam melt most it off before rinsing the remainder of it away. Cleansed with Purity. Done. And my skin. MY SKIN YA'LL. It was glowing like nobody's business. My complexion was smoother, even, lighter (not in the "bleach" way but in the bright way), a few problem blackheads were gone, these two huge stress zits that came out of nowhere were popped, shrunken, nearly gone. I did this yesterday and they're completely gone today. And, ANDDDD...they didn't leave scars. My skin is the most scar prone skin ever. I won't even think about touching a pimple and it'll leave a scar when it goes. Nuh uh. Not with the sugar/honey scrub. I could cry ya'll. A miracle scrub and it didn't cost anything. Shoot, I even cleaned the bathroom and took out the trash with it on so it made me productive as well! I really, REALLY recommend that people try this before going for expensive scrubs. Honey. And sugar. It works, and that's all you're using so you know you're not loading questionable chemicals onto your flesh 1-2x a week. And I know this is long but I haven't been excited for something like this since a Sephora opened ten minutes away from my house. A true "best value"...because it's free. ...And tasty.
37 out of 38 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Palettes -Sephora - Sephora Collection Color Palette
itsKelCeeEee 5/27/2012 4:57:00 PM
I got this when it was one sale for 25 dollars about a year ago. Although it was already said I'll repeat it; it has 32 eyeshadows, 3 blushes, 1 bronzer, and 16 lip glosses. I mainly use the blushes and the bronzer, and dabble with the eyeshadow when I feel like playing with my makeup. The lip glosses I don't really use, but that's because they don't stay on for very long and they're unnecessarily sticky to me. Although I put I won't buy this palette again (it WAS on sale though so I wouldn't have bought it in the first place otherwise) it's not because I don't like it; I just feel like it's made for beginners. THAT IS NOT A BAD THING AT ALL, and when I bought this I was definitely a beginner as far as makeup went. This palette helped me learn about applying blush, as the ones in this are easily buildable and you can pile it on and not look like a clown. It helped me realize the difference in cheap drug store shadows and pricier department store ones (more pigmentation, longer staying power on my tan/medium-brown eyelids), and even the bronzer didn't make me look burnt or dirty the way they can if you use too much (I've always had a problem with being heavy handed). The lip glosses are even alright in their own right, they just don't last long and I don't pay asinine prices for lip gloss/lipsticks anyway. This palette is wonderful, I still have a ton of it left, and I will happily use it until it's gone. I'm glad that I could get this as a "starter kit".
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Treatments -Shea Moisture - Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Reconstructive Elixir
itsKelCeeEee 5/27/2012 12:20:00 PM
Yeah, I'm gonna have to cosign with the others..."reconstructive" is a bit much. However, it's definitely a fantastic spray to have if you have hair that loses moisture easily, I usually stick to using this is my hair's in a pony puff or bun because this stuff is thick, I wear glasses, and that's just not a cute look. Besides, I have oily skin so I don't like my hair around my face when there's oil in it. It's my favorite drugstore spray by far and I do repurchase...but I had to take off a lippie because you have to be careful when you spray it; it can be concentrated, and if you don't look out you may get a oily looking spot on your head. Nothing raking your fingers through your hair won't fix though.
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Conditioner -Alberto Vo5 - Silky Experiences Smoothing Conditioner - Champagne Kiss
itsKelCeeEee 5/27/2012 12:06:00 PM
It's good for what it is, which is a cheap conditioner. If I'd paid 20 dollars for this I'd be pissed off, but since it was like 1 dollar (maybe) it's no big thing. The consistency is like water, but it smells nice. The ingredients are also decent for such a cheap product. Still though, I'd recommend using this as a cowash, because if you have super dry hair this will not do it as far as a "moisturizing" conditioner goes. I'm pretty sure I won't be repurchasing this.
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Lotions/ Creams -Bath and Body Works - True Blue Spa Shea Cashmere Body Cream
itsKelCeeEee 5/25/2012 12:03:00 AM
Oooh my coworker put some of this on her hands after using the restroom and I fell in love with the smell. I asked her what she had and she held up a jar of this, which I realized to be a Bath and Body Works product that I noticed but never really paid any attention to because honestly, outside of the signature collection and their candles I don't pay attention to any of that "spa" stuff that lines the back walls. I gave her a ride home and smelled it on her the entire way, but it smelled so good I wanted some so I could smell that way too! Haha. Anyway, I realized it would probably be more than I was willing to pay alone, so I paired it with a "free signature item with any purchase above $10" coupon and got a free body wash with it. I absolutely love the smell to the point where I'll open the jar just to sniff it (I know, I have issues). Not to mention it's a lot richer than their other lotions (given) and body creams (surprising). It absorbs into the skin nicely, doesn't leave you feeling all greasy, and...did I mention the smell? I love Shea butter beyond reason and it tends to be an ingredient in most of my hair/skin products, so this fits in with my other products nicely. Of course Shea's closer to the middle of the ingredient list, but it's better than being in the bottom...oh, and I saw that someone complained about parabens, but the jar I bought today doesn't have any parabens in it so I'm pretty sure the formula changed. Overall I adore this body cream, but it is a purchase I'm only willing to make if I have some sort of coupon or if it's on sale. $18 is a lot for a body cream that, while it has enjoyable results, could be replaced by a cream with similar/better results at a fraction of the price. Oh, and I'm really annoyed that this is a "limited edition" line. For WHAT? Ugh, the good stuff's ALWAYS limited edition or discontinued for whatever reason. :(
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Treatments -Unlisted Brand - BioInfusion Hydrating Conditioning Balm
itsKelCeeEee 5/21/2012 1:19:00 PM
Okay, ya'll can chill out with the paraben screaming, because I guess they took the parabens out since I bought this two nights ago and I saw no parabens in the ingredients. That's why I purchased it, actually; it was silicone and paraben free. I'm not a paraben fan but if there's one or two at the end of the ingredient list I'm down to try it. And I don't have anything against silicones, but I don't particularly like them in deep conditioners since they don't do much in the "healing" department. So yeah, either they've changed the formula or people can't read ;P Alright, I bought this after going to Walgreens for that L'oreal Everstrong Deep Replenishing Masque that I like to use for a DC, and they didn't have it. I saw this, read the ingredients, and held on to it while I looked around in case I found something I liked better. They also had a masque for "critically damaged hair", which was separated from the other bioinfusion products and sat specifically in the "ethnic hair care" section (I just found that amusing as hell), but of course it had silicones in it. So, I got this. And I like it. I might like it more than the L'Oreal, anyway. It's extremely thick and surprisingly rich. It also has a clean, fresh linen sort of smell (it reminds me of Bath & Body Works Sea Island Cotton) that's sort of strong when you apply it, but it fades when you rinse it out your hair. Also, when I use deep conditioners, since my hair's so thick and porous I'll run conditioner through my hair in sections, put a lot of it on the ends, slap a cheap shower cap over my hair and let it sit in my hair overnight before rinsing it out the next morning. This left my hair unbelievably soft, silky feeling, and it even feels like it got a little TOO conditioned. That doesn't bother me because that never happens and my hair will probably still be whining for more moisture in another three days, but if your hair's less porous or finer you obviously might not wanna go for this one. I know someone said they have a tube and a tub...? I got the tub. Something about deep conditioners in tubs makes me feel fancy. Anyway, this is a nice drugstore find, and I definitely plan on repurchasing...when I run out. Which, considering how much hair I have and how little of this I needed, may take awhile.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Conditioner -Suave - Professionals Almond & Shea Butter
itsKelCeeEee 5/21/2012 1:02:00 PM
I love this conditioner. I typically use it from around May-September (I only use silicones in warmer/hot weather) and I'll use it to cowash, or (my favorite) I'll wet my hair and slather this through it before I go swimming. It's great for the price, has great ingredients (that are at a great place on the ingredients list surprisingly), and is a summer HG for sure.
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Styling Products -Unlisted Brand - CURLS Lavish Curls Moisturizer
itsKelCeeEee 5/19/2012 10:27:00 AM
I got all excited over Sally's getting this hair product line and had my discount card so I bought this since it was cheaper than in Target to try out (it was only like a dollar and some change off, but whatever). At first I really didn't see the big deal with it. First of all it comes in a spray bottle, but the spray doesn't evenly spread to "coat" your head; it shoots out like a jet stream and you either have to spray it in your hands to apply it or just make sure you don't accidentally shoot the mirror when aiming for your head. That annoys me because the point of me buying a liquid moisturizer was to spray it on and not worrying about over-applying too much product. Second, the liquid itself is thick, which is good, but feels a bit sticky in my hands. Which, once again, I shouldn't have to worry about...because it comes in a spray bottle. Third, my hair is so thick and porous that when I scrunch it in my hair (like, three small palm fulls of it, or fifteen sprays) it sucks it up and seems like it didn't do anything to add any sort of moisture. So, when I put this in damp hair and put it in a bun so it could dry, I thought I'd picked a bum product. HOWEVER, I forgot about the "curl refresher" part. Or, rather, I'd read it and didn't care because my hair curls on its own when it's moisturized enough so I don't worry about stylers, gels, or anything where the goal is curl definition. Still though, when I shook my hair out the next day, I was surprised at how much more defined my curls were than usual. Impressed, actually. I tried this on dry hair and sopping hair and the results were the same; frizz free, soft, lovely curls. Even pieces of hair that had puffed up (I have afro textured hair) shaped instantly back into curls with a little bit of this. So, for that, I like it. I don't know if I'm gonna rebuy it, though. It does last awhile because I've had this for a few weeks now and it's still an almost full bottle. But, it makes my hair feel dryer (I know why; protein's very high on the list and since I rarely use any heat on my hair/don't dye it it doesn't need a bunch of protein) and I don't want to have to use another leave-in just so it feels better. I could, but like I said, why would I buy a spray moisturizer if I planned on doing that? As cynical as this sounds I DO overall like it. The scent, the refresher factor, and the decent pricing (It's 9.99 at Target's and 8.99 at Sally's if you do that beauty card thing) are nice. I feel like this is something I'd repurchase if I had a surplus of money, but otherwise I wouldn't have to have it. Still though, I'll keep it around. The summers here get extremely humid, and I want to see how well this works with that. Edit (06/15/12): Nope nope nope. The abundance of protein makes my hair way too dry. Gave it away and will not repurchase. Oh, well.
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Polishes -Wet 'n' Wild - Saved by the Blue
itsKelCeeEee 5/16/2012 7:35:00 PM
When I say that this is one of my favorite polishes of all time, this is one of my favorite polishes of ALL. TIME. It's amazing! As usual, Wet N' Wild's given me yet another reason to ignore all those who try to say that it's for tweens and little girls. This polish was like 1.99, so I wasn't expecting much. I just saw the deep, royal blue (I adore royal blue beyond any other color), the price, and went for it. I'm a base coat-two coats-top coat type anyway, so using that method's given me a lot of luck with polishes in general. But THIS ONE...the brush makes application it so smooth, and my fingers aren't covered in polish by the end like when I usually paint my nails (I'm that bad at nail painting). The first coat, as usual with any polish, looked god awful, but anyone with a shred of sense does at least two coats when they paint their nails anyway. After the second coat, the color was just beautiful. A deep, true, honest royal blue with a slight metallic finish and enough shine to catch anyone's eye (seriously. I've gotten so many compliments on this polish). And it's long lasting! A week and not a crack. This is one of my favorite finds this year, and I think anyone who loves blue polishes should give it a try. OH. As for the name, it does dry quicker than other polishes I've used...but not quick enough where you can do cartwheels in the grass after a minute of it being on or anything of that sort. And the color is way darker (thank god) than the picture makes it out to be.
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