Friday Flop: L'Oreal's Couleur Experte Express

Last week I happened to be at CVS browsing through the hair color when noticed certain colors of the L’Oreal Paris Couleur Experte Express were on sale half off their regular $14.99 price! (You can also find it regularly as low as $11.99 on Amazon.com.)

Not being one to pass up a good deal I took a look at the colors and was thrilled to find Chocolate Macaroon (medium golden brown) included in the sale.  Purchased it and took it right home.   Normally I just do a straight all over color, but I was feeling adventurous.  Highlights?  Why the hell not.

I was not prepared for what I would find inside the box… or just how freaking long the process would take.

Two Steps To Not Highlighting Your Hair

See that?  That would be two sets of hair color.  While what laid ahead was not a complete Precision Foam Colour disaster, it was still pretty terrible.  First you had to open the larger box on the right of the above photo, mix, apply and leave on for 25-35 minutes.  I always do the max, just for good measure.  It all went on OK and 35 minutes later I was washing it out of my hair and conditioning (not included in the package).  Then it was time to blow dry.

So far I was liking the color and the results.  It was going to be more time consuming then I bargained for, but after drying and styling my hair (without product) I was ready to move to the next step.  I opened up the remaining box for the ‘harmonizing highlight’.  What a pain in the ass.  Mix a creme with a packet full of fine powder with a tiny spatula for 2 minutes till smooth.   Then you apply the mixture with the included wand (think the same kind you use for mascara, just a bit larger) or the Easy Glide Highlighter tool (looks like a tiny flat iron with sponges on the inside that you don’t plug in).

I actually used both.  The Easy Glide for larger chunks of highlights and the wand for some smaller ones.  The instructions said 10-15 minutes for subtle highlights and 15-25 for more visible.  I have to say I went about 20 minutes before I washed it out.

So yeah.   There I was washing my hair for a second time.  Followed by a 2 minute conditioner they included this time.  Rinse again, blow dry again… and voila.

Nothing.

Well, not nothing.  But let me tell you girls, you can barely see anything at all.  There is one faint off color streak that I can actually hide under the rest of my hair… and nothing else came out at all.  It is all one color.  No highlights.  All that work…and it didn’t work.  My husband actually joked that I spent all night coloring my hair.  But it was sort of true.

Not a fan.  Not a fan at all.  Too much work and the results…just are not worth it.  From now on I will stick to the all over color by itself.  Don’t waste your time with this ladies.

About The Author:  Liza lives in New England with her 4 favorite boys; her husband and 3 children. She started blogging in 2007, finally getting serious about her passion for writing in 2010. Always the athlete when she was younger, she did not find her inner girlie girl until college. After having 3 boys in under 2 years, she is trying to reconnect with her inner girlie girl (in a house where the toliet seat is always up), while staying on a budget.

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LUSH's Green Bubbleroon Smells Yummy

This is the Green Bubbleroon. It was originally introduced on Black Friday along with two other “bubbleroons”  for the holiday season, but all the hullabaloo from the gift sets kind of pushed it aside. It’s shape is reminiscent of a macaroon (Yummy!). This little bubble maker combines the uplifting scents of orange & lime oils with Fair Trade Shea Butter to make for soft, fresh smelling bath water that turns a vibrant green and makes your skin feel amazing. The two halves are sandwiched together with virgin coconut oil “jam” which adds to the skin softening! The LUSH website suggests breaking the two halves apart and saving one for a later bath, so it made my $5.95 go a little further. The Green Bubbleroon was lovely and I enjoyed relaxing in a hot, bubbly tub.

Stepping Stone

Now this is the Stepping Stone. It has their zesty You’ve Been Mangoed scent and sea salt & pumice to help scrub off that dead skin we all get on our heels and foot pads. Because I play roller derby, my feet look AWFUL! Skate foot is rampant when it comes to derby leagues. This little gem may just change all that! I used it after I had been soaking in my Green Bubbleroon for a while and my foot skin had softened. HHH came in and scrubbed the heck out of my heels, instep, and big toe. It actually fizzed a little, which tickled at first, but was pleasant once I got used to it. The pumice & salt definitely did their duty and worked off a lot of the dead skin that had built up on my feet. after HHH was done scrubbing,(and I was done giggling.What? My feet are ticklish!), I rinsed off my feet and they were much softer than before, but had a left a green tinge. I’d probably have to use it regularly for it to remove everything, but it was pretty nice! I’m going to definitely spend the $3.95 a week to keep this around! My feet deserve it!

Northern Lights Soap

My last goodie was the Northern Lights Soap. It smelled divine! I just got a small piece because glycerine soaps don’t do well at my house. They tend to stay wet and fall apart on me. So I used this the next morning in my shower and well… I wasn’t impressed. Oh it smelled great. I definitely caught the hints of pine, cypress, & lime, but it just didn’t lather up well and after I rinsed it off my skin felt tight as if there was a residue causing it to seize up. It wasn’t pleasant. I had to use my regular body wash to get the icky feeling off me! It made me sad that something that smelled sooooo good ended up making my skin feel bad.  When I looked up the Northern Lights on LUSH’s website to see what exactly was in it, it said it was a winter only item anyway and they were out of it for the season, so no big loss there! I guess you can’t win them all, but at $7.95 per 3.5 ounce bar, I would want a little more good than bad, right?

So there you have my latest venture into the confines of LUSH, and like Meatloaf said, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad!

About The Author:  Wife, Mom, Roller Derby Queen. She's not your typical Domestic Goddess! Living in Valrico Florida with her husband HHH and three kids, Blondefabulous, better known as Nicole, stays busy writing, cooking, baking, and playing Blocker for the Bradentucky Bombers Roller Derby League. She also helps with training for the Bradenton Derby Brats and writes a blog called Blondefabulocity. She brings a radical view to beauty, shopping, & fashion when it's mixed with fishnets, tattoos, & roller skates! Blog: Blondefabulocity http://blondefabulocity.blogspot.com On Twitter: @blondefabulous https://twitter.com/#!/blondefabulous Roller Derby Fan Page: Blondefabulous of the SRG https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blondefabulous-of-the-SRG/112622162097711

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Bb. Texture Hair (Un)dressing Creme. Boo.

Not long ago I had my first time: The first time I ever returned an item to Sephora. For as long as I’ve been a loyal customer, I’d had yet to take advantage of their excellent return policy. Until I met Bumble and bumble’s Texture Hair (Un)dressing Creme.  

This stuff is supposed to give you that messy, undone look. Being a hopeless hair hopper (this time last year I had a pixie cut, now it’s a shag), I’m constantly in search of the “perfect” hair (aside: Doesn’t exist, at least not for me). When I hear about a styling product that promises something beyond the stick straight look everyone else seems to be sporting, I’m on it, so when I ran across this stuff it seemed just right. I made a special trip to the mall to get it, so I’m extra disappointed that it sucks.

And suck it does. I don’t know who decided that making your hair look like you hadn’t washed it in a week was a good thing, but that’s what this (Un)dressing Creme does. I swear I looked like I was wearing a cheap wig. My hair was dull, sticky, and I couldn’t get it into the shape I wanted, the shape that it normally goes in after I blow it dry with nothing in it. I realize the description says it adds some “grit,” but I use a product called Dirt that gives me some texture and separation without actually looking (or feeling or acting) dirty. I played with using less to see if if it looked less grimy, but no go. Oh, and it is strongly perfumed. It’s not a bad smell, just a bit strong for me.

It may help to mention here that I wash my hair daily because I cannot stand the way my hair looks when I don’t. You may love it; in that case this just may be the stuff for you. I’d give you mine but I took it back and got a great lipstick instead.

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Welcome to our newest feature: Splurge or Save. All of us have certain items that we love, regardless of the cost. A certain brand of moisturizer. That uber-expensive mascara. On the other hand, we all have other items that we just don’t care to spend one penny more on than we have to. Splurge or Save will highlight different categories of items and give you our recommendation for brands that you might want to spend a bit more on and others that can save you a few dollars.

Makeup primers go on the skin after your moisturizer and before your foundation. They allow foundation to go on more smoothly, minimize fine lines, hold down shine and help keep makeup fresh and in place all day. I think they’re the best thing to happen to makeup since… perhaps ever.

What makes primers work is dimethicone, a silicone-based polymer that is often used as a lubricant and conditioning agent.  No matter what brand of primer you use, odds are dimethicone is in the mix.

There are many brands of makeup primers available, so no matter what your budget, you can find one that works for you. Here are my three picks:

Splurge: Smashbox Photo Finish Primer

Splurge

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer – $36 for 1 oz. at Sephora
For me, this is the grande dame of makeup primers and the first I ever used. Although it’s pricey,  one ounce will last you a while.  It does what it says. It’s noteworthy that Smashbox cosmetics  grew out of a professional photo studio, so they are considered professional-grade.

Save A Little: Bare Escentual's Prime Time

Save A Little

BareEscentuals BareVitamins Prime Time – $22 for 1 oz. at Sephora
I am a huge fan of BareEscenutals’ entire line (especially the foundation), so this mineral-based primer was a natural try for me. I find it to be just as good as the Smashbox, but quite a bit less expensive.

Save A Lot: Monistat's Chafing Relief Gel

Save A Lot

Monistat Soothing Care Chafing Relief Gel – $6.79 for 1.5 oz at Drugstore.com
I know what you’re thinking – yeast infection medicine?! On my face?! Well, no. While it’s made by the company that brings you yeast infection treatments, this Monistat product is made especially to help reduce chafing. As such, it contains dimethicone. And is under $10 for over an ounce. Seriously, ladies, if you closed your eyes , you’d never know the difference between this and the Smashbox stuff.

After using all three off and on, I’ve settled on the Monistat. For this item, the splurge is not worth it to
me. I’d rather spend the extra money on a great lip gloss.

Of course, you may not.

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BOO!

Hi. This is my hair.  No, this is not my hair just on Halloween, or at a costume gala, or even on a dare….. This is actually my hair looking pretty normal—you know, for me. It has been hot pink enough to glow under a black light. It has been golden blonde on top and jet black on the last four inches or so. It has been long, it has been short, it has been a lot of things. Damage? Oh yeah… I got that in spades, so while I was shopping with my eldest the other day, I started thinking, “Man, I do some pretty crazy stuff when styling & dying my locks, maybe I should look for something to help mend and alleviate the damage I do?” to which Eldest turned to me and also expressed, “Mooooooom! I need something to flat iron  my hair and keep it smooth!” (Just imagine that being said in a whiny teen whine.) So together we start pouring over the hair care aisle when we happen upon this little gem: Got 2b Guardian Angel Flat Iron Balm.

Got 2b Guardian Angel

According to the bottle, (and several stylists I have been faithful to…), hair doesn’t like heat. Temperatures above 425 degrees make your hair brittle and split. Use high heat long enough and you end up with major breakage! Yikes! This balm claims to moisturize and insulate each and every little hair on your head to not only keep is healthy, but smooth too. I looked at Eldest, Eldest looked at me and we both looked at the price tag. It was refreshingly UNDER $5, so we chucked it into the basket and finished our shopping.

Before

Now, since I looooooove my eldest, I let her be the guniea pig go first. We took a photo of her with the product and what her hair looked like before being straightened. It’s already pretty straight, but you can still see subtle waves and frizz. Apparently, frizz is O-U-T out in high school this year. So she took the styling balm and disappeared into her bathroom to do the flat ironing.  While she was gone doing this I emptied the dishwasher, vacuumed the living room, dusted the bookshelves, solved string theory, started dinner, and then she finally waltzed back out!

After

This is what she looked like after. Her hair was definitely straighter, and it felt smoother. There was a definite lack of frizz as well. Eldest was extremely pleased. I said we needed to try it for more than one outing. She squeed in agreement and made off with the bottle for the next four days. During those four days we had hot, humid weather, windy weather, and rainy weather. (We live in Florida, so there was no way we were going to be able to get some cold weather.) Eldest flat ironed her hair each morning before going to her high school and I picked her up in the afternoons. Her hair stayed straight, shiny, and without frizz, even on the rainy day! It also stayed soft and shiny.

Still Smooth Four Days In

We’ve also been checking her split ends and noticed that even those had started to number fewer and fewer. Eldest is enjoying Guardian Angel immensely! Got 2b seems to have a winner here.  I know if I can ever pry the bottle out of her teenage clutches I may actually get to try it for myself, although I think I’d probably go for their other product, Guardian Angel Heat Protect & Blow Out since I use the hair dryer and the round barrel brush more than the flat iron. Either way, Got 2b Guardian Angel will be gracing my hair at my next derby bout! Who doesn’t love soft straight blonde hair with electric purple and acid green highlights!??!

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Lush's Golden Wonder Bath Bomb

Oh. Mai. GAWD! I have hit the jackpot with this little beauty! I had sauntered into our local LUSH the other day and asked the heavily tattooed girl behind the counter, “What is the new, must have out of all your holiday lines?” and she went to the bath bomb tower and came back with the Golden Wonder. Oh, it smelled soooooo good. The woman said it was mainly a citrus scent, but I detected a little hint of gardenia. I laid down my $6.95 plus tax and tucked that puppy safely in my purse.

 I have a tiny bathtub but, to counter that, I cut my bath bombs in half. I would have cut this one open anyway, if only for the fact that it rattled when I shook it. How cool is that? The bath bomb not only looks like a gift, but rattles like one too. I cut Golden Wonder open and looked inside. There were three colorful discs inside of a deep blue cube.  The scent ramped up a few notches. It was even more floral and fruity than before.

I tossed the bomb fragment in the hot water and it instantly went into a bubbling furor. It gave off more nice scents, and the bathwater turned a really deep blue green. I started to look at the water a little closer and I saw iridescent golden swirls and little shiny stars!

 The stars also dissolved, so there was no worry about having to wash them off after I was done, and the sparkle in the water didn’t stay on my skin once I got out. As per the LUSH website’s description, “Just like any good present under the tree, Golden Wonder rattles when you shake it! Are you wondering what’s inside? Pop our big, fizzing, multi-layer invention into the tub and the first thing you’ll notice is the sweet orange, lime and cognac oils as they unfold for a seasonal celebration. Then, as this golden gift slowly dissolves, watch the water magically change colour before your eyes.” I luxuriated in that bath for quite a bit and felt completely refreshed when I got out.

 I would highly recommend Golden Wonder if you want to relax and need a little sparkle in your life.

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Bliss' Fabulous Skin-Reviving Rubberizing Mask

I love taking some time for myself, doing things that make me feel pretty and pampered. What I do not love making too much effort in the process, which is why Bliss Spa’s Fabulous Skin-Reviving Rubberizing Mask is a flop for me.

While I usually will not spend $38 on a face mask that will only last me six weeks (it comes in a package of six individual masks to be used once a week), I had a gift card. So I splurged and got the mask, reportedly one of Bliss’ in-spa favorites. I liked the idea of a peel-off mask because it’s much simpler than rinsing one off.

In theory.

The mask comes in powder form, along with six tongue depressors and a scoop. You put the powder in a bowl, fill the scoop with water and mix the ensuing gunk with the tongue depressor. Are you tired yet? Because I am and I still haven’t gotten this on my face. Once the mask is mixed, trowel it on , preferably with the tongue depressors because it’s messy. As you are doing this you must be careful to layer it on thickly or you will not be able to get it off easily.

Once you’ve gotten it all on your face, don’t rinse the bowl. Leave it to dry. The directions explicitly say not to wash the mask down the drain, but to throw it away. I guess you don’t want it to rubberize in your pipes. Pitch the tongue depressor.

After you’ve done all this, you can finally relax. For about 15 minutes. Then you have peel the thing off because if you wait too long it will overdry and then you have to wet it and that defeats the whole purpose. If you’ve gotten it on thickly enough (which you probably haven’t, no matter how many times you’ve done this before), you just peel the whole thing off. Except for those places where you put it on too thinly. Like all the edges. So you have to wet your face so you can scrape those off. When it’s off, you throw the mask away, peel the remains from the bowl and put them in the trash too. Then you’ll have to wash it anyway because stuff will stick.

Really? So not worth it.

Your skin will feel good. At least mine did. But the amount of effort totally negates any benefit. There are other, cheaper masks that require less effort and make my skin feel good. Thanks anyway, Bliss. I’ll save it for the spa.

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Burt's Bee's Seasonal Scented Scrub

I love the holidays! So many things come around this time a year. Eggnog, roasted turkey dinners with all the trimmings, and the scents of the season. I spent this past Saturday in our local mall at Bath and Body Works, Yankee Candle, and The Body Shop sniffing all of the amazing Holiday 2011 scents: Yummy peppermint, tasty gingerbread, homey evergreen and sage, and crisp winter snow. The body washes and scrubs smelled heavenly! Then I flipped over one of the tubs of scrub and almost choked on my holiday cheer. $25?!? O Holy Night they must be out of their holly jolly minds. So I carefully placed the jar back on the shelf and inhaled one more time before high-tailing it over to my favorite store, Target, where I scoured their bath and beauty shelves till I found a little gem: Burt’s Bees Cranberry & Pomegranate Sugar Scrub.

When I was working for the green cleaning company a year or so ago, I really got into the natural bath and body products, especially the salt and sugar scrubs. I liked them better than the scrubs that were made of walnut shells and other non-soluble ingredients.(Mostly because my husband, who’s a maintenance supervisor, would tell me about people clogging  their bathroom drains with that stuff!) This is a holiday scented sugar scrub from Burt’s Bees that’s 100% natural and OMG! It smells divine. There’s also a Replenishing Body Bar and Body Butter in the same scent as well.

When you open up the jar and peel back the foil, the scent that wafts up is heavenly. You instantly detect the scents of cranberry and pomegranate, but the shea butter that is also in there mixes in to make subtle chocolate undertones noticeable. The look of the scrub reminded me of a cranberry chutney puree I made one year for Thanksgiving.(It was tasty!) I…. uh… had my husband, HHH,  help me….”try” this scrub out because no matter how limber roller derby has made me, I cannot scrub my own back! (wink wink!) I have to say that after a thorough “scrubbing” with this yummy product, I was pleased as punch. The sugar crystals melted away and the pomegranate oil soaked in to my freshly exfoliated skin leaving it smooth and silky! I loved it! The husband liked the smell too. Sometimes the bath products I buy are a little too sweet or fruity smelling  for him, but he really like the scent and at $13 on the Burt’s Bees website or $12 from your local Tar-Jay, it’s a bit more affordable for those of us who have to keep our holiday budgets. Pick some up to brighten up your next holiday season shower!

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Sparkly Soul Headbands

I have found the most amazing new headbands.  Has anyone mentioned Sparkly Soul to you yet?

Let me tell you about my former headband drama first… so you can see just WHY I appreciate Sparkly Soul so much.

Lets go way back in the time machine.  I am in elementary school… then junior high.  Active kid always running around.

Thick hair.  So thick I need 2 tough hair elastics to really wrap around my ponytail and keep it in place.  Put a headband on and it is sliding off—no matter what the brand – after just a little while.  Or sliding on back while I am running around.  In high school I went through more kinds of headbands than I can count with sports.  Believe me when I say nothing did the trick.  I had honestly begun to think that maybe some people just didn’t have a head for headbands.

The last year or so I have been using the really thin Goody ones.  I love Goody products… but even they only stay for so long.  I would use it to pull my bangs back on a day I didn’t feel like doing my hair.  (Ahem *most days*)  Or one of those rare days I was trying to work out.  Still, they always slide back eventually.  I just fix it and continue on.  Several times.

A few weeks ago I was preparing for my new workout gym routine and I saw a friend mention Sparkly Soul.  Curious, I looked them right up.  Not gonna lie, the glitter drew me in.  Huge fan of glittery things.  Sparkly Soul has “360 degrees of sparkle.”  They come in 11 sparkly colors: Black, Blue, Gold, Green, Orange, Ice Pink, Dark Purple, Light Purple, Red, Silver and Hot Pink.  I got mine in my two favorite colors.  Blue and Green.

I should mention they come in two sizes.  3/8 inch width and 5/8 inch width.  I have the blue in 3/8 and the green in 5/8.  And no matter what I do, they DO NOT MOVE!  I haven’t had to adjust them once yet and I have been wearing them for two weeks. Errands, the gym… treadmill, exercise bike, weights, Zumba, Pilates and even some aerobic classes.  They don’t slip.  (Nor do I get a headache from them as I have with other headbands that fit a little snug.)  And I have gotten tons of compliments on my sparkly headbands.

From their website: Sparkly soul was created by a marathoner and triathlete—for all the women who find their strength and soul while pushing themselves to their athletic limits.  I am IN LOVE with Sparkly Soul and will be purchasing more in the future.  The headbands can be purchased directly from their Web site.  The 3/8 retail at $15 and the 5/8 at $17.  Well worth the price.  I think you will be in love just like I am!

Disclaimer: I was not paid for this review, however Sparkly Soul was kind enough to send me two headbands for an honest review. The opinions are all my own.

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Frederic Fekkai Full Volume Shampoo And Conditioner

I have no right even being interested in the Frederic Fekkai hair line, as the shampoo and conditioner I’m about to review cost me $42 alone.

But ever since I saw this tweet from Cher (I know), I’ve been mildly obsessed with trying it out. The tweet was months ago, and basically was just part of a slew of unsolicited pieces of beauty advice. Her wisdom regarding a volumizing shampoo is that Fekkai is, hands down, the best one out there. As you might recall, my standard is Big Sexy Hair Volumizing Shampoo, so I couldn’t help but wonder if Fekkai would  or could be better.

So, after much debate and anguish about being “fiscally responsible,” I went to Target and bought some. I know it can be done more cheaply (sometimes you can find this stuff at Marshall’s even), but convenience was a factor. Anyway, I went home and tried the stuff out. Here’s my rundown:

1. Scent

The scent is definitely nice, but it’s not something insanely fantastic. In fact, it kind of reminds me of this scent from Clinique called Aromatics Elixir. It’s kind of heavy and musky at first, but when your hair is dry, it’s a nice perfumed scent. Definitely not fruity or floral, but nice nonetheless.

2. Sudsing

The shampoo suds up a ton, so it’s nice that you don’t need to use a lot. The conditioner, however, is slightly thin, so I’m always compelled to use a bit more conditioner than I’ve used shampoo. This triggers my neurosis, as I am bound to run out of conditioner before shampoo. *twitch*

3. Volume

Now, when you first brush out your hair fresh out of the shower, you’ll probably notice that it’s more difficult to get a comb through. If you’ve used volumizing shampoo before, however, it’s not much worse than any other brand. That said, let’s get to the main event. The shampoo and conditioner combo certainly add lift to your hair. Even without blow drying, my hair appears full; and what was most noticeable, is that it also appeared thicker. Blow drying and styling adds a little bit to this, but not much.

The bottom line:

After a few weeks of testing, I’ve decided that this stuff works very well, but I’m not certain it works all that much better than my Big Sexy Hair volumizing products. And since the price tag is forever out of my budget, this splurge will probably not be repeated. If you fell like indulging yourself, however, you can find Full Volume Shampoo and Conditioner by Frederic Fekkai at your local Target for about $21 each for an 8 oz bottle. If you search Amazon.com, however, they’re running about 50% off through some shops!

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