Styling Products -DevaCurl - Styling Cream
MAviva 4/20/2012 12:43:00 PM
I've only just started using the DevaCurl styling cream at the suggestion of my hairdresser, so this review will just be my initial impressions. I'll come back after I've used this for a while. First: my hair looks fantastic so far and I've slept in it already. This product gave me a different type of wave from my usual, natural curl/wave. Usually, when I don't touch my hair and I just let it air dry with no product, I have very loose waves near my roots (perhaps 2 long waves in the top several inches) and then very piece-y twists from my shoulders down. Also, the top several inches tends to get frizzy. Now with this product, instead I have what I would call beach-hair with waves the whole way through, and it doesn't look frizzy (well, it does a bit more now that I slept in it, but all night last night it was not frizzy). I used quite a bit of the product (entire palm), but my hair is long. I was told that my hair would NOT be crunchy, but, initially the curls were crunchy; however, once my hair was dry to mostly dry, I played with it a bit and shook out the crunchy sections. The crunchy part immediately disappeared and I ended up with the beach waves I mentioned above. I'm liking it so far, though I won't always wants this beach waves look. I'm going to play with this product over the next several weeks and see what else it can do - I'll be back after I've experimented for a while. I paid $19.50 because I had a 25% off coupon. It's more than I've been spending on products these past couple of years, but I really wanted to try it out. ----- Update 4/26: I'm uploading a picture so that you can see how my hair looks after a day of using the product. The picture you see of me is the blond hair in the pictures above: on this day I washed my hair and put the styling cream in around 5:45am. I let my hair air dry, then I spent the entire day at work (I'm a teacher so I move around a lot!). At 8pm I took this picture. The closer up portion gives you more detail and for me there's a lot less frizz than I would have without the product. I like that I can touch my hair a bit without worrying about a major frizz-out (mostly doing things like moving my hair over one shoulder, tucking my hair behind my ears, and pulling it up in a pony tail with just my hands and then releasing it... random hair touching). I let you judge the frizziness and look of it for yourself, but I like it considering that it's just the styling cream and then airdry (i.e. no effort). I think it does look better when I diffuse it though because I can give the top more body/volume. ------ Update 6/18: I really like the styling cream. My hair always looks good on the first day I wash my hair and then put this product in (good = almost no frizz, hair feels soft, curls are intact). After sleeping overnight (or if I have a crazy, hectic, active day) I develop a halo of frizz on the top of my hear. I figured out that I can wet my hands, put a tiny amount of the cream on my fingers, rub my hands together, and lightly wet down the frizz. That seems to work pretty well for a while, though I haven't really analyzed how long this lasts before I frizz again. I'm not sure about the other posters comment about the waxy feel? Maybe there was something defective with their bottle? I still haven't tried anything beyond applying the cream after a shower and letting it air dry. So I can't comment on how well it can be styled to look different.
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Styling Products -John Frieda - Frizz-Ease Take Charge Mousse
MAviva 1/18/2011 5:31:00 PM
This product is great for when I want to wear my hair down in a wavy/curly style. I've been using this product since Nov 2010, and I love it. This is the first time since middle school that I can wear my hair down all day and trust that it's not frizzing out, looks okay, and doesn't get in my way. Is my hair soft and wavy? Not really, but it looks nice enough and absolutely defines my curls and waves. I get positive comments on my hair regularly now. I was using the Moroccan Oil Cream, but that doesn't compare when it comes to reducing frizz. Negatives: - A friend suggested this to me, but she recently stopped using it because she thinks her hair has been feeling dry. I haven't had this problem at all. - If I put on too much, my hair can get a bit crunchy, but I haven't used too much since back in November when I first started using it. - It's not soft to touch curls. Positives: - Easy to do my hair. I put it in my hair after a shower, brush it through my hair, then head to work letting my hair air dry. While it's still wet, I will "lift" my hair off my scalp to keep it from being flat. That's it. - The second day after applying the mousse I can still easily wear my hair down again (without washing), though the frizzing starts a wee bit (from sleeping on it) so I have to wear a clip to keep it off my face. I think that part of the reason I give it 5 lipsticks is because it's soooo cheap compared with the other products I've used ($5 versus the $30-$40 of Bumble and Bumble or Moroccan Oil). If this were more expensive ($15+) I'd only give it 4 lipsticks. ------ Update 4/26/12: I changed to 4 lipsticks because I started using another product (DevaCurl Styling Cream) and I found that my hair is much softer/touchable with the styling cream over this mousse. This product is still okay and I'd get it in a pinch because I do enjoy the low price (the extra star is still for the cost)... Another thing, now that I've been using the DevaCurl styling cream, I think my hair looks shinier. I changed the packaging quadity to a 3 because on the last 2 cans that I used, the top dispenser piece cracked off when I went on vacations (didn't hold up to being tossed around in luggage, the cap fell off both times). . I could jimmy the thing back in place and get it to work, but I think it was annoying that I had to be careful when I used it.
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Hair -Moroccanoil - Moroccan Oil
MAviva 7/12/2010 6:00:00 PM
I'm a bit unsure which Morocconoil product this section is supposed to be for. I've tried 2 Morocconoil products: (1) the Oil Treatment (2) Hydrating Styling Cream. Both products smell the same, and I really like the scent. Oil Treatment: This product is supposed to restore shine, reduce drying time, and strengthen and condition. It did make my hair dry faster, but my hair wasn't really shinier and I couldn't tell if this product was doing anything for me. I do not buy this product any more (I bought a small bottle one time). Hydrating Styling Cream (with pump): I love this product! It's supposed to provide a soft hold, and it definitely does. The first time I used it, I let my hair air dry, and my curls/waves dried beautifully in my hair (and almost no frizz as long as I refrained from touching my hair too much)! My curls were soft and shiny and they held all day. I've also straightened my hair with a flat iron after using this product (and letting my hair dry of course), and it looked great and held up very well. I've been using this product for about 2 months, and it's still working really well in this hot, sticky weather. I use about 2 pumps worth (half-dollar size). I pump into my palm, rub my hands together, and then I start by applying it about 3 inches down from my part and down to the tips. After raking my hands through my hair around by face a few times, I rake my hands through the back... then I run my hands underneath and through all my hair (but not near the roots at the top of my head). My hair always feels so soft now. As long as I stop touching my hair as soon as it seems to start being dry, I avoid getting it frizzy. Edit: I've stopped using this and switched to John Frieda Frizz-Ease Curl Boosting Mousse. While the Moroccan Oil cream made my hair soft, touching it would make ,y hair frizzy (and I constantly touch my hair to move it out of my face). With the Frizz Ease mousse I'm getting way less frizz and I wear my hair down much more frequently. (changed to 4 lip sticks because I think the mousse it better for defining curl and reducing frizz).
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -Origins - Checks and Balances
MAviva 7/12/2010 12:47:00 PM
I used this product several years ago for about a year. By the end of the year of using it, I found that my skin was getting so dry after my showers that I had to really slather on the moisturizer. I switched to a new cleanser, and my face was instantly not too dry any longer Another issue with this product (that other friends did not notice) was that by the time I'd get half-way through the bottle, I would start to notice hard little pieces developed in the cleanser (almost as though they were scrubbing beads, but not as many as you've find in a scrubbing product). I know a lot of friends who love this product and have been using it for many years, but for me it was just too drying and the hard bits were weird.
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Cleansers -Olay - Dual Action Cleanser + Pore Minimizing Scrub 2 in 1 Foaming Cleanser
MAviva 7/12/2010 12:42:00 PM
Here's the thing with this product... I've been using it since last summer (in combo with OofO Regenerist with SPF 50). I think the bottle looks great, the product smells great, I definitely notice a difference on my skin between the says I use this and the day I don't (I feel cleaner and less oily when I use it). For me, another important aspect is that this cleaner does not make my skin too dry (Origin's Checks and Balances used to make my skin super dry). My #1 complaint, and the reason I call this a 3 instead of 4 overall, is that of the 3 bottles I've used since last year, 2 of them have developed some sort of growth(?) inside the bottle. This does not happen to anything else in my shower!! I think it has to do with the packaging. Water gets inside the bottle, and you can't get it out. Over time, if you pull off the pump piece you'll see a ring with spokes (well, sort of... if you pull off the pump, you'll see exactly what I mean). Inside of this ring w/spokes thing (which you can't easily pull off), it started turning brown/dark over time. This did not happen with the first bottle I bought, but it happened with the second. Thinking it was because I removed the cap and kept it in the shower, for my third bottle I faithfully kept the cap on except for when I used it. It took longer, but eventually it started getting dark inside that ring piece too. It doesn't seem to touch the actual product, so I've kept using it. : I still kept the packaging at a 2 because of the fact that it is easy to pump, you get a nice mix of product, it looks pretty, and it does seem to allow you to get all of the product. Would I buy it again? I said yes, but it's a mix.... I think it's a good product, but this "some sort of growth" issue may prevent me from giving it another try. It's a good price, and I have so many expensive beauty products.... I'd like to keep the cost of this one down.
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Olay - Regenerist UV Defense Regenerating Lotion SPF 50
MAviva 7/12/2010 12:24:00 PM
I've been using the OofO Regenerist SPF 50 on a daily basis for almost a year (I bought it from a Dr. Oz recommendation, I think it was summer '09). I have skin that is fairly normal, but can get a little oily in the T-zone and conversely very dry on my forehead right after I shower. I don't tend to break out much. I am 33, and I've been wearing some form of sunblock moisturizer on my face pretty much every day since I was around 16 (the only times I haven't is when I ran out :P ). I started with the OofO Daily UV Complete spf 15 when I was 16 (It may have been a slightly different name, and the product has morphed a little bit over time). I spent about a year using Origins products about 3 years ago, but Origins stopped carrying their one product that was a moisturizer with UV protection, so I moved back to OofO. So, I heard Dr. Oz's recommendation for the Regenerist and I decided to give it a try. I really like it, and I've had no adverse reactions. I put it on every morning immediately after I shower (before I even brush my hair) - I literally step out of the shower, pat my face dry, and then put on the moisturizer. I use about one pump per cheek, one pump for my forehead, one pump for my nose and chin, and one pump for my neck. I appreciate the fact that this pump rarely gets gooey bits in the nozzle (anyone who uses pump products knows what I mean) and that it locks easily and is a small size for travel. After applying this moisturizer, my face feels and looks dewey, fresh, and light - I don't get the oily feelings that others have described (and I'm pretty generous with the amount that I use). I very rarely wear make-up because it makes me feel like my face is covered in stuff/goo/heaviness, and this product does not make me feel that way. In fact, I go the entire day feeling fine - no oiliness and no dry tightness. One thing I have noticed is that I have more lines around my eyes than a year ago, but I don't know that any product can prevent that??? Update on 10/9/11 I'm still using this product daily and I still really love it! The only change I've made is that I now put it on after I put mousse in my hair just because I found that when my face is a damp, the lotion can get too runny as it mixes with drops of water on my face and neck. I wear this lotion year-round: in the heat of summer and in the bitter cold of winter. I continue to develop fine lines around my eyes, so I'm trying some other Olay products for that. *** One thing I have learned is that as the product gets low, the pump has difficulty getting lotion out. I've found that I can continue using the same bottle for a month after the pump stops working well by unscrewing the cap and wiping my fingers along the pump stick. It's mildly annoying, but still a good lotion for me! Update on 6/18/11 I'm still using this product every day. I still love it. Would be nice if it were a little cheaper. ;) Update on 5/19/13 Just wanted to say that I am still using this product every day and I still love it!
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No