Product Reviews

Boots No 7 Poppy King Lip Crayon

This is a new product that I came across in Target. It is made by Boots No 7 which is a company big overseas that has slowly been gaining popularity in the States. So far I have come across this company both in Target and Ulta (these Poppy products are exclusive to Target only, though). This is called Poppy King Rain Drops Lip Crayon in the color Dancing ($9.99). Don't worry too much about blindly trying to choose a color because Target has testers for these.  I quickly grabbed this because I figured it was the cheapest I would ever be able to pick up anything made by Poppy King. I came across her a few years ago when I found all the Lipstick Queen products. She has been featured more and more recently in magazines and I saw the other week that she was on QVC so that girl is going places. 

I really like this product because you can be the one to determine how saturated you want the color to be. I like a little color but am not nearly brave enough to wear a full on look-at-me lipstick so the way I wear this is over chapstick. I put some on then smear it with my fingers so that I get color but not crazy color. There are only a handful of colors for these crayons and the one I picked up is a nice soft mix of rose/ red/coral; if that makes any sense. 

As for the texture of this lip crayon, it is very smooth and moisturizing and the color stays for a long time. I think that even if I wore this product alone without chapstick, my lips would still be good. It does come with a sharpener built into the cap which is nice and that means that the color runs down the length of the crayon so you definitely get a lot of product for your money. My only complaint with this is that the cap does not stay on very well. In fact, I was so excited after I bought this that I threw it in my purse for going out that night and to my horror I later discovered that the cap had come off and the crayon had gotten all over everything. Good thing I had the sense to put it in the zip compartment in my purse. 

St Tropez Bronzing Mousse

I have never tried a self tanner that didn't leave me looking like I wasn't Tony the Tiger's cousin except for this product. St Tropez bronzing mousse is the easiest, most natural and most fool proof self tanner ever invented. I have been using this product for about six months now and my love for it hasn't wavered. I ordered mine from QVC but it is available through the company's website, through Sephora and probably a million other places. I did a lot of research on the best self tanners before buying this one and I really feel as though I am getting my money's worth. Depending on the size you purchase, the price can range from $30-$40. I believe I paid about $35 for mine and it came with the special application mit. 

To use: Applying this at night is the easiest way and is actually the recommended way. I put the mit on one hand and dispense some of the mousse onto it. I tend to only apply this to my neck/chest area since summer is over and shorts and tshirts are out for me but during the summer I did apply this all over before going on vacation. The only way you can go wrong with this is if you aren't careful to blend it well enough, which isn't hard. I simply just begin rubbing the mousse wherever I want to tan with the mit and let it dry for a few minutes if I want to apply more to go darker. Just be careful because this product does darken over the next four hours. Once I am done blending, I wash the mit under warm water and leave it out to dry and go to bed once the area I applied the mousse to has dried. When I take a shower in the morning, I just make sure to wash over the area I applied the tanner so it washes off any excess. I have never had this rub off on my clothing and it smells pleasant for a self tanner.

Final thoughts: Avoid the cancer scare and use this to get that summertime glow. Very natural looking and user friendly. 

Pureology AntiFade Hydrate Shampoo

Tomorrow will be my first time using this shampoo so I'll have to update you guys with the results (hopefully they'll be good, I've read nothing but awesome things from everyone else!). I bought this because I'm a bit financially strapped at the moment - to put it mildly - and am trying to save some money. For the last 6 months or so I have been using Wen cleanser, which I am in love with, but with it costing about $60 after taxes and shipping for a large bottle I needed to cut back. Granted, when I say a large bottle of Wen, it really is gigantic but it goes fairly quickly because you have to use such large amount each time. 

While the Wen product is completely natural, the Pureology shampoo isn't completely but it is sulfate free and has some natural elements to it. My hair is fairly think and naturally wavy/curly.  Normally I wash and blow dry it every other day and straighten it every day even though lately I've been good (or lazy lol) about wearing it 'natural'. I am still trying to grow it out so that the extra weight helps me avoid puffy hair in the humidity which means I am desperately trying to prevent any more split ends and cheap shampoos that cause drying and breakage. The Pureology Hydrate is for all hair types and has the added protection of antifading properties to protect your color. 

I'll let you know how it works for me soon!


UPDATE:


I had to give this a while to try before reporting back because I have just started wearing my hair curly again so I had to re-adjust my hair routine. I use both this shampoo and conditioner, letting the conditioner sit for around five minutes before rinsing it out. It probably isn't the most moisturizing shampoo out there but definitely not the worst. I still highly recommend it because when I blow out and straighten my hair, it looks a-mazingggg. One day I was walking past a mirror in a store and caught a glimpse of my hair and had to stop to admire lol. When I blow it out, it still feels a little dry but it shines like a mirror and cascades over my shoulders like a waterfall (slightly poetic, I know, but that's just how good it looked!). One thing to note is that I don't love the way the shampoo smells- think health food vitamin store smell - but if you use the conditioner which smells minty and wonderful, you won't even be able to notice afterwards.

Final thoughts: Highly recommend but if you have curly or wavy hair you will probably still need to put an oil or styling product in to prevent frizzing.