Who Loves Drying Their Hair? Yeah, me neither

It’s time to talk about my nemesis.  Wet hair.  First of all, NO ONE likes wet hair unless its 102 degrees (okay, maybe you do, but I don’t).  Long wet hair.. AH! When my hair is long I feel like I need a personal assistant to manage it on the reg, especially when its wet.  Since I prefer to hair to be clean, but not wet this means I spend half of my life drying it – which I hate only slightly less than sitting around with cold., wet hair dripping down my back.  Sometimes it seems like it takes hours to dry this mop, so when products claim to reduce dry time I’m first in line to give it a go.

A few weeks ago I raved about my free sample of Rapid Blowout by 12 Benefits.  Well I have another secret weapon that wasn’t bestowed upon me by BirchBox, actually this one came from (gasp!) Wal-Mart!  The Goody QuickStyle has become a permanent fixture in my hair-care lineup.  It’s a combo micro-fiber towel and hair brush that wicks water from your locks to reduce dry time whether you air or blow dry.  To restore the towelish-ness of the brush, remove excess hair and allow to dry.  You can hit the brush with a blow dryer for a quick dry so it isn’t hanging around wet all day.  I like to give it a little fluff now and again by using my hand since my bristles always seem to be pushed toward one side.

beautezine.com

WARNING!  The corners of the brush can grab some of your hair resulting in serious pain and bald spots.  Brush with care to avoid looking like a British man.

Sorry Miles…

Sometimes You Just Have To Do It Yourself

It’s time I share something that I’ve wanted to blog about before Beauty & the Birch existed and I’ve held off because it didn’t come from BirchBox; but a good product is a good product and it should be shared, right?  I think we all learned from the Madewell post, that I’m hardly a skilled nail technician.  However, there is one secret tool that allows me to not only paint my own nails, but also they come out looking somewhat professional and not like they were painted by a 3-year-old on a pixie stick rush.

One day my coworker’s nails looked FAB and she told me about Sally Hansen’s Complete Salon Manicure.  I don’t know what is in it, but it’s pretty much a nail salon in a bottle.  This product combined with this Pinterest tutorial on the correct way to paint a nail, I’ve become a nail painting maven.

Back to the polish, they have a ton of color options (50 to be exact).  It includes a base coat and a top coat; I think a fast drying top coat would be a great addition to this manicure, but I haven’t been able to get my hands on the Essie bottle I’ve had my eye on.  It doesn’t take too long to dry, but I’ve found that giving it a quick hit with a blow dryer helps speed up the process.  Hint: take the blow dryer out and plug it in before you start painting your nails.

The best part of this nail polish is that it doesn’t chip immediately.  If I get a regular manicure with plain ole’ regular nail polish, my nails will chip in a day, period.  I’ve been able to get 4 days to a week with the Complete Salon Manicure and as mentioned earlier think an additional top coat would have helped.  I also like to take a trip to the real salon for a manicure every few polishes so they can reshape my nail since filing is a huge challenge for me.

Looking Good

For the past few years I’ve been consistently getting my nails done – it just makes me feel fancier.  I’m pretty sure I single-handedly brought acrylics back a few years ago, then gel manicures hit the scene.  Gel manicure = Axxium, Gelish, Shellac, they are all the same – don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.  Take a look at the actual bottle in the salon and I bet at this point you’ll see some generic brand since they’ve become so popular.  I loved gel manicures when they first came out; they lasted for two weeks, dry right away, didn’t chip, used my real nail, and I didn’t have to worry about getting my nail caught on something and losing it entirely (true story how I went months without a thumb nail – it was sad).  But after a while I noticed they weren’t last as long; the gels were lifting off my nails, getting caught on my hair and it was more work to have these gels than have tips or just get regular manicures.  Recently I’ve just been wanting them back.  As mush as I love the CSM,  I just hate painting my nails and I hate walking around with chipped nails.

So I reentered the world of gel manicures due to the persistence of my local nail tech, this time I was determined to make them work.  I’m about a month in so far.  The first set I had done at the spur of the moment, really because I was in too much of a rush to fight the lady’s up-selling, french manicure for a wedding.  I LOVED them, but they started to lift after a week or so.  At a week and a half  I couldn’t take it anymore and went to get them redone.  Then I devised a plan.  I know the gel manicures are water-soluble and I blamed the high turnover rate of my manicure due to the fact that I am constantly doing dishes.  Not actually washing them, but scrubbing them and putting them in the dishwasher and my nails were taking a beating (I imagine Cinderella had similar problem).  This time I found some rubber cleaning gloves and vowed I would not touch another dirty dish without them.  It has been 16 days, I have officially passed the 2 week mark since my latest gel manicure AND my nails are still intact.  I am SOOOOOO EXCITED!  They are just starting to lift a little and my hair is just starting to get stuck.  Victory!

If you’re a DIY kind of gal I HIGHLY recommend the Complete Salon Manicure by Sally, I have 4-5 bottles and still plan to rely on them when needed.  But, if you’re already hooked on the gel manicures, run out to your nearest 5 below grab some gloves and scrub on because I know that everyone hates dirty dishes in the sink as much as I do!

Ooh La La Fresh

One of my biggest beauty offenses is not always or probably ever washing my face at night.  There I admitted it and no I do not feel better.  I remember in college my friends & I would agree to remind each other to wash off our makeup after a late night out before bed, sometimes it worked sometimes it didn’t.  Over the years I have attempted and actually implemented a few routines; some of my more successful ones included washing my face using my regular face wash as soon as I got home from work, another involved something similar but with waterless face wipes.

Face wipes.  Some are alright, some are glorified paper towels; I however have stumbled upon individually packaged gold.  La Fresh (pretty sure its LA but La Fresh seems much more posh) Waterproof Makeup Remover actually works.  I try to strategically use each sample at that time when I feel like I’d get the most out of it; the wedding the other weekend would have been an opportune time considering RuPaul did my makeup – naturally I overlooked this opportunity until it was around 1am in Philadelphia and my sample was safe and sound with the rest of its friends at home.  Lucky for me (and you) opportunity struck again after my apartment’s Kentucky Derby party.

Charlie won Most Dapper Gentleman!

Usually, my makeup is undetectable within 2 hours of application, well not this past weekend.  I went downstairs for 4 hours of Lynchburg Lemonades, horse racing, and ham biscuits and came back with a hangover and a full face of makeup.  THEN I remembered, LA (La) Fresh.

Typically, with these products they do a decent enough job removing the foundation, blush, and bronzer; but don’t leave a mark on my eye makeup, which I have to mention is minimal at best.  LA Fresh wiped my face clean, I mean like bottom of the peanut butter brownies clean.  I was completely shocked and couldn’t believe my eyes.  The key here is that it’s a waterproof makeup remove – BINGO.  My face felt a little slimy after use and being half drunk and 100% lazy I just went with it, after all my face was clean as a whistle (ps. used whistles are disgusting and anything but clean).  The next morning I woke up and my face was perfectly clear and totally dry, which for me is definitely a good thing.  Unfortunately, I only had one towelette so my face has as expected become less dry and less clear so I can’t prove if this was just a friendly coincidence.

Buy me! I’m Eco-friendly

I have to share that I have no idea what this sample came from.  I looked online through my past boxes – can’t find it, then I thought maybe I got it in a race packet, but that just didn’t feel true.  It’s available for sale on BirchBox is that just a coincidence?  Then I remembered last time I placed a full-size order I got 2 free samples and I’m almost positive it was one of those samples.  Either way I am pumped I found it and just ordered a packet of 18 individual wrapped homies for $10/free shipping today.  I will provide an update hopefully of a clean, clear & dry face in the next few weeks!

Sidenote:  Did you guys notice my sick derby hat?  Yup, I made that.  The best part – Marjorie, the bird, she had her own hat.  If you ask me Marj should have won the hat contest, how the hell does a bird make their own hat?!?

Perfect Hair, I Know You Care

Hola!

I spent this past weekend building online modules = not fun.  The 5 minutes of Cinco de Mayo I celebrated, were spent eating veggie enchiladas & homemade Mexican street corn = delicious.  Since I didn’t get to fully celebrate I’m spreading this one out all week (which could just mean a lot of drinking?)

Jealous? Should be

Two weeks ago I went and finally got my hair done; not only was it long over due but it was also necessary to look acceptable at the wedding I was attending that weekend.  So bear with me for a minute while I make a local non-birchbox recommendation.  BALTIMORE READERS, this is where you pay attention.  There are only 2 hair stylists I have ever loved.  One was Rachel who worked at a salon near the college I attended (Colours) she fabulous in every way and was the only stylists I not only could talk to, but enjoyed talking to during the 4 hours it took to do my hair.  Then there was Geoffrey, ah Geoffrey, it was love at first snarky comment about other people in the salon.  Sadly, I only went to him once and recently found out he moved back to Chicago; BUT since I adored him so much I decided to give someone else at his salon a try.  This is where the recommendation comes in.  If you are looking for a salon in the Baltimore area and are used to paying a borderline ridiculous amount (because thats just how it is in Bmore) try Salon 921 in the Foundry at Locust Point – IT IS WORTH IT.

My colorist this time was Alaina who is the doppleganger of Bernadette from The Big Bang Theory.  OMG is she adorable and her skills kick major @ss (< can I say that?)  She took my super grown out hair and turned it into a perfectly natural looking subtle ombre, that I’m pretty sure no one has even noticed which is totally fine by me because I LOVE IT.  Go there, call her, call anyone – it’s like the Wizarding World of Harry Potter over there.

Isn’t she the cutest?!
via Google

Now that I have that out of the way on to the topic at hand.  What is it?  Glad you asked.

In the Tiny Tweaks, Big Results box came 2 (TWO) samples of Oribe Beautiful Color shampoo & conditioner.  This I love because it has lasted me the past 2 weeks since I have gotten my hair done and I didn’t have to spend $80 to get a decent sample to review, YEAH $80 is what a pair of these little dudes will cost.  What the…

I’m soo fancy you can’t even afford me

Both the shampoo & conditioner smell great and leave my hair looking shiny and feeling clean with no residue whatsoever.  The best part, my color is still absolutely perfect!  I’m torn because as I used the last of my sample this morning I was so sad that tomorrow I’ll have to use whatever random shampoo is in the shower tomorrow and (gasp) my perfect color could be compromised.  Then I just logged into BirchBox and saw how much those babies cost – $80?!?! That’s 70% of the cost of the dress & 2 shirts I ordered from Red Dress Boutique yesterday.  Hey Oribe people, this is your chance to win me over by sending me a surprise sample!

Cost aside, I’m happy with the product and grateful that BirchBox anticipated this and sent me 2 samples.  If you happen to stumble upon a free sample or don’t have bills hop on the Oribe train… and send me a postcard.

Anyone have any good recommendations for a color friendly shampoo/condition that won’t prevent my first-born from attending college?

Peace, Love & Great Hair!

Tiny Tweaks, Big Results

My April BirchBox arrived, you know, week ago when April first began.  I was super pumped when I first opened it and saw the month’s theme “Tiny Tweaks, Big Results.”

I wasn’t feeling in the best shape and had just started this weird smoothie diet so I immediately ripped open the box to find an array of intriguing products.  Intriguing if you weren’t a person looking for something to make you lose 10lbs and stop eating candy; but alas I saw no fountain of youth.

Well a few weeks later, back on the blogging wagon, I cracked open the box and was a bit more interested in the contents.  First (and easiest) is this bonus subscription to Women’s Health.  Somehow last year I ended up getting subscriptions to Glamour, Elle & Cosmo (by the way Cosmo is exactly the same as it was when I was 16, my to-do list is to figure out how to cancel this subscription – sorry Meg) for like 50 cents each.  So here I stand proudly supporting the dying art of publishing as I write an online blog, cue self-loathing.

I’m going to fill out this subscription card and perhaps begin my fittest year (?) as stated on the cover.

TTFN

Genie in a bottle?!? I hope so!

No you aren’t dreaming there is actually a new post on here without having to wait another month.  Somewhere pigs are flying and the devil is snowboarding.  Before my blogger’s block ensued I openly expressed my disappointment in the March box, there was however one tiny sample that showed promise.  I tried it once and immediately ordered the full size. Now it’s important to understand that I did not do this because I loved the product and needed more of it – it was because I saw something in it and in order to give it the true review I’m striving for I actually did need more of it.  I saw other bloggers got one use out of the sample tube, so being prepared I made that thing last 3.5 so-so uses.  I wanted the full size to really give it a go… What is it you may be asking?  Whish Shaving Cream… in BLUEBERRY!

Best Big – Little

This cream first of all smells amazing!  I think I was most excited to use it because I hoped I’d be able to smell it during hot yoga when I’m forced to put my sweaty face on my equally sweaty knee, didn’t work out as well as planned but that’s because I sweat any remains of Whish off before the instructor even walked in the room.

It doesn’t lather which is weird if you’ve never had a non-lathering shaving cream which I have not.  It goes on like a lotion or thin film so it can be a bit hard to keep track of where you have shaved, but I don’t have to fling shaving cream off my razor every 15 seconds – a trade-off I gladly accepted.

So here I am shaving my legs in a field of blueberry super excited for my legs to be silky smooth and ready for summer.  Then I rinsed my legs.  THEN I screamed.  The kind of scream that comes when you unknowingly nick behind your knee and water hits it for the first time, except imagine that for every single hair follicle. I’ve tried to troubleshoot: rinse my leg immediately before proceeding to the next, apply lotion after, don’t apply lotion at all, make sure the water is warm (scalding), etc.

I’m so attached to the idea that this shaving cream will revolutionize my summer legs that I keep trying and unfortunately I think I’d have better luck shaving in the middle of the desert using sand as my shaving cream.

So again I’m frustrated.  I’m pleased that I was able to try something over a period of weeks to give you a decent review.  I’m just less pleased that it wasn’t positive and that I apparently don’t have the skill to use this fancy schmancy cream.

I semi-recommend it, only because I want it to work and it smells AMAZING.

Has anyone else had any better luck with this Whish nonsense?

On Trial

Long time no see, huh?  I know it’s actually embarrassing how long it’s been.  Obviously it’s my fault, but I will blame some of it on a general lack of excitement over the samples I’ve been trying to review.  So get ready for a b*tchfest, because the B train has just arrived at the station.

I’m cute, but what do I do?!?!

See these guys?  I think I got them in my first BirchBox.  I’ve used them, every last one in fact.  I had no trouble reading the back of the package to find out what these little gems are supposed to do, so where did I run into trouble?  I couldn’t see any results.  I’m sure something happened.  Maybe the sample didn’t have enough capsules to allow a trial that shows the full benefits or I just have no idea what I’m doing.  Both are entirely likely.

Whelp, here is my review on it.  The serum is REALLY greasy (is there a better word? Slimey – No.  Slippery – Perhaps.)  I could probably get 2 uses out of each capsule.  And if you really want to freak someone out throw the capsule in the toilet when you’re done, then see what your roommate, boyfriend, maintenance man says when they see a tiny miscellaneous object floating around.  A word to the wise, don’t squeeze too hard or the whole thing will explode and shoot out the bottom.

I felt like I owed it to these vitamin capsules, BirchBox, and you (because wasn’t this really informative?) to share a review of this product, BUT I just avoided blogging entirely until I had the courage to say “I have NOTHING”.

So there you have it – I have NOTHING.

Luckily, Tuesday Trials have helped me go through my backlog of samples to try – GREAT SUCCESS. Perhaps we’ll see a few trials in our future, but this will be the last regularly (let’s pretend, okay?) scheduled one until the mood hits me.

Trials & Tribs

Howdy!

Yup, that is what you say in San Antonio – okay actually it isn’t at all, I don’t think I heard a single accent, but I miss it so.  I was fortune it enough to be sent to San Antonio for 4 days for a large meeting and while I didn’t get to see much or any of SA – I adored the time I had there.

As you have read so far my March BirchBox was full of  “goodies” – you can take those quotes however you’d like.  I was psyched when I got a fancy & floral nail file by Madewell for BirchBox.  I’m nail deficient.  I have gotten decent at painting my nails (only because I have a wonderful, super secret ((not for long)), fool-proof nail polish), but I am HORRIBLE at filing them.  Not only do I loathe the filing, but I can only file with my left hand – SO that means when I try to file my left hand it’s really my nails moving not the file.  NO GOOD.  I’ve tried some recommended techniques and have not gained any skill, however I’m still trying.  Needless to say, I figured BirchBox had finally sent me the magic file and from this point forward I’d be a nail maven.  Someone call Nail Trix  this girl needs a job.

Sping!

Not the case.  This file came from Madewell, which I’ve heard a lot of hype about.  Well I can tell you one thing, made well is NOT what this nail file was.  My pathetic, brittle, impossible to file nails ripped this thing to shreds – during ONE, count it one file.  I’m not even saying both hands, I’m talking about before I even finished my right hand (the one I’m good not terrible at).

I forgot to mention that it bent in half before I even used it.  Super soft, imagine filing your nail with a spaghetti noodle because that’s what I did.  Both sides of this file seemed to be exactly the same; and since I don’t trust my own nail knowledge I kept analyzing and switching to see if there seemed to be any variation in the roles of the sides of this thing.  There wasn’t.

Don’t even ask what that crusty bump is! Yuck-O

Did it file my nails?  Eventually.  Was it painstaking?  Yes.  Should I have gotten up to find my 99 cent nail file?  Yes, but then I’d have nothing to write about.

This review made me sad.  Especially since I got a seemingly sweet coupon for Madewell in my box as well, except I’m afraid whatever I get will tear into a million pieces.

All in all, March was a disappointing month for my BirchBox, I’m not really sure what has gotten into them.  Obviously, other products need to be reviewed so I won’t give too much away, but I am eagerly looking forward to April don’t eff it up BB.

We’ve Arrived!

About that exciting news!? Beauty & the Birch has officially arrived ladies & gents (are there gents here?)

A few weeks ago I received a comment on one of my posts from a new friend over at 12 Benefits admiring my love for their product and scolding me for losing it in Bermuda.  What happened next was the cause of MAJOR excitement for this girl – they offered to send me a new sample of the Instant Healthy Hair Treatment (IHHT).  My first official free sample – holy moly!  So I’ve been tight-lipped in hopes the sample actually arrived and that I wasn’t being mocked; well a number of days ago it arrived at my doorstep.

Holler!

Second round of HOLY MOLY – Beauty & the Birch got mail!  Not only did I get a new IHHT with a wonderful white paper explaining all the pros of the product in font that was large enough to read, the generous man at 12 Benefits also sent an additional sample – the Rapid Blowout Argan Oil Blow Dry Spray. Yippee!! I know this may not be such a big deal for the seasoned blogger, but WHATEVER it is for me.

This newest arrival meant I had to further contain my excitement because I wanted to give it a week of usage in order for a fair review.  I’ve used plenty of heat shielding products, like the Chi oil, and have only used them 1-2 times.  I don’t like to have a lot of product in my hair, it get’s super greasy super fast and ruins all the time I wasted doing it because I just have to wash it again.  However, this spray is great!  I’ve mentioned a few times how once my hair starts to grow it starts to resemble the hair of a certain Long Island stage mom, in efforts to grow my hair out without looking like a scarecrow I’ve started using both 12 Benefits products daily.

White Paper!

The Rapid Blowout spray is light and virtually scentless which is plus.  My hair has been drying a bit quicker and looks healthier all around.  It is breaking less, my already broken strands are less striking, and my mane is soft and shiny.  My hair does not get greasy or flat and it feels like it has zero product in it whatsoever.  From the research I’ve done, I appear to have gotten a full size bottle which retails around $20 depending on where you are ordering from.  I saw it for $15 on Amazon, but it wasn’t Prime eligible so the $5 in shipping brings it to about the same price as elsewhere.  You can also search via the 12 Benefits website to find salons near you, for now I think I’ll stick to ordering online unless of course my salon is already selling it.  Perhaps I’ll recommend it when I go in next week?

I 100% plan to order a full size IHHT and am hoping the Rapid Blowout lasts a bit longer than the tiny IHHT sample.  I’m really excited about 12 Benefits as a brand and can’t wait to see the long-term benefits (yup, all 12 of them) on my hair.  Which reminds me, do they have to come up with 12 benefits for all of their products? That could either be the easiest or most absurd job ever.  I wonder if they ever sneak joke benefits in for straightforward products.

So there it is – Beauty & the Birch is a real live blog.  I guess I better keep it up!

Trial Tuesday is tomorrow – hope you’re ready!

Tuesday Trials!!

Drum roll please…

Last week I introduced the idea of Tuesday Trials as a way to tackle some of the less enticing samples that come in my BirchBox.  I also complained about how annoying those stupid packets are so let’s skip that this time around.

The Honorable Beauty & the Birch presiding

Over the past week or so I have intermittently used (hey – a packet only holds a few uses!) Hope in a Jar by Philosophy.  I was really excited to give this a go seeing as I’ve heard amazing things about Philosophy products and started off with hopes (hope in a jar, hopes in my head – it’s all about hope here) that this could be my skin’s new best friend.

The moisturizer was for normal to oily skin which was aligned with my BirchBox profile, but I am wondering if there is a version for the painstakingly oily – that is what I’m looking for.  After doing some research I found that the full size seems to be built “for all skin types” so let’s keep that in mind.  The moisturizer was smooth and easy to apply, depending on how oily your skin is you like to apply moisturizer this might be a time for the less is more rule.

To be fair, my face has been a mess recently, in an effort to remedy this I have been trying EVERYTHING, including this Hope in a Jar sample.  The first time I used it, it seemed oily (I know, I saw the packet it clearly says oil-free) and my face was no better after using it.  The next two times I used it things were a bit different.  I didn’t apply makeup after and I applied it liberally without much care of rubbing it in all the way; I was inspired by this magazine article Jennifer Lopez recently did and how on her days off she globs on the moisturizer and wears no makeup.  J.Lo has NEVER led me astray why would she start now?

J.Lo = God

The 2nd and 3rd uses were both at night and I woke up in the morning fresh-faced even after a grueling Saturday 8:00 am Bikram from hell class.  Despite, the oily feeling my face seemed to dry and clear up a bit (not crediting this totally to the moisturizer – but it was the only thing I was trying those days).  One thing I wasn’t totally psyched about was the scent.  I will admit, it is HARDLY scented; I’m actually starting to question when I became such a stickler for all things scented because apparently they aren’t my favorite.  It isn’t a floral scent, it’s almost a non-scent – like they tried too hard not to have a fragrant scent that they instead developed a new hospital bed smell.  I think I’d prefer new car smell on my face, it’s not bad,  just weird and distracting as I try to sleep.

Would I use this again if it I stumbled upon a sample?  Yes!

Am I going to rush out to the nearest Ulta because I found the moisturizer of my dreams?  Not yet, but hey you never know.

Remember a few posts ago I hinted at big news on the horizon?!?!  Well it has officially landed.  I can’t wait until the next post to spill all the details about it.  Stay tuned!