Modere Beauty Box

Have you ever just had internet problems!? I've been struggling for a week to get my computer to connect. Technology is the worst sometimes!

Just as a small warning this post might be a little long. I'm going to go over the box itself then each individual product...As well as my Mom tried the products out as well so you're going to be getting a perspective from someone who is 24 and someone who is 51. Fun for all ages.

Modere just recently launched their beauty box, which allows you to sample 5 products for 7 days risk free. Each box comes with 5 full sized items and 4 samples sizes/. You get to keep the samples as well as the eye gel which is full sized. This box retails for $79.00+tax.  Now you may be thinking OUCH!, yeah that's what I said until I tried the products! However you only get charged if you KEEP the products. Now that's something awesome. You can keep what you like and send back what you don't like. You will only get charged the MSRP+tax of the products you keep.

Like I mentioned above my Mom tested these products out..it's actually why it's taken me longer then I wanted to get the review up because my Mom wanted to try them when I was getting ready to start typing my review up. Figures right! :P Anyhoodles.

Exfoliant - $12.99 MSRP
         Key Ingredients : Prickly Pear Extract, Jojoba Beads, Bamboo Extract, Silk Amino Acids and             Vitamin E.

Me: I quite enjoted this product actually, I thought it would be a bit too harsh on my skin but I was surprised that it was very gentle. This exfoliates your skin just enough to where it doesn't dry your face out, which I greatly appreciate because as I've gotten older, my skin has gotten more dry..even though I have oily skin I get some nasty dry spots. This also made my skin feel softer, which is also a great thing!

Mom: My skin is usually dry and really flaky, even though I have oily-ish kind of skin, it flakes pretty bad. I'm not much of a skincare person but when Autumn got this in the mail I really wanted to try it because my face looked like a lizard that was shedding it's skin. Not attractive at all. This made my skin feel softer and it goes rid of the flakes! After the first use even! This also made my skin feel very hydrated.

Anti-Aging Serum - $39.99 MSRP

         Key Ingredients: Rye Seed Extract, Maca Hydrolyzed Lepidium Meyenii Root, Hydrolyzed Elastin, Gotu Kola, Banana Flower

Me: This is a thin milky white serum that sinks into the skin pretty quickly. I'm not even going to mention what I thought it looked like when I squeezed it out of the tube. The 10 year old in my giggled, lets just say that LOL. Anyways all of that aside. After using this I could tell a HUGE difference in my skin. It felt hydrated and it looked smooth. Not only that but my complexion looked pretty much even. There was also a little bit of luminosity to it.

Mom: It smoothed out my wrinkles somewhat as well as it got rid of the extra puffiness under my eyes. (why she put this under her eyes is beyond me) My fact felt hydrated and smoother then it had been in quite a while. 

Antioxidant Gel - $24.99 MSRP

         Key Ingredients: Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Tocopheryl Acetate, Citrus Auorantium, Dulos, Retinyl Palmitate

Me: My complexion looked quite a bit more brighter then it normally would, since I have a duller complexion this amazed me. (It takes so little) My only really qualm with this is that it felt like I was putting a silicone primer on my face. I am not a big fan of the silicone feel on my face. It does goes away rather quickly and this could be a good thing to put under your foundation, which if you know me I haven't tried because I don't wear foundation. But if you try this and wear foundation, let me know! This does smooth your skin out and it works with the Serum to help your skin to help it look even and luminous. 

Mom: My skin felt nice after using this. It softened my skin and help with the dryness, flakiness as well as the redness in my skin. It has a decent but not overly perfume-y or floral scent to it. I'm pretty sensitive to scent and this doesn't bother me at all, which I like. 

Antioxidant Hair Serum - $21.99 MSRP

         Key Ingredients: Kukui Seed or Kendi Oil, Argan Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil, Ethyl Macadamiate, Tamanu or Nyamplung Oil

Okay, I am seriously obsessed with this product! This has to be one of my favorite products out of the entire box! This doesn't make my hair feel gross or oil after using it. I can also go about another day without washing my hair, which is always nice. The formula of this product is to help "Banish Frizz", I don't exactly have frizzy hair but I do have some pretty damaged hair, I need to get it cut. Out of the little bit of frizz I do have, this helps. Speaking of damaged hair, it helps my hair feel healthy and gives it that shine that can sometimes be missed. I seriously need to get a backup of this products. 

Mom: Didn't use

Dual Action Eye Gel - $29.99 MSRP (yours to keep when you get the box)

         Key Ingredients: Hydrolyzed Lupine Extract, Glucosamine HCL, Alfalfa Extract, Hydrolyzed Elastin

When I used this gel for the first time I was amazed. It had gotten rid of my puffy under eyes as well as it helped to diminish the look of my dark circles. I can't use this every day unfortunately because it did burn my eyes a bit, which stinks because it's an awesome product! 

Mom: Didn't used because she used the Antioxidant Gel under her eyes. 

Out of the entire box, I would probably buy everything except for the eye gel and the antioxidant gel. Those I feel like will last for ages as well as they weren't my favorites. The Exfoliant, Serum and Hair Serum were simply amazing! 

You can find more information about the Modere Beauty Box by going HERE

The box retails for $79.99+tax You get to keep the sample products as well as the Dual Action Eye Gel. 

Products discussed in this post were provided for FREE for review. I received no compensation except for being allowed to keep the products. All links used in the post are referral links/

Reverse Hair Washing

Weekly Quote:: Wheverever you go, no matter the weather, always bring your own SUNSHINE.

A while back Nouveau Cheap had posted a blog post about reverse washing her hair and you know I had to try it out. I mean, I was extremely curious about this particular method but I was also a bit apprehensive to try it out.  I've tried the whole baking soda and vinegar mixture, plain baking soda and those two were definitely not or my scalp or hair.

Reverse washing is where you use your conditioner BEFORE you shampoo you hair. It sounds weird right? Well, I followed G.'s directions and left the conditioner in like I normally would. Without washing the conditioner out first, I used my shampoo to basically wash my hair. Now I don't know what I was expecting, but from right here..I will tell you this method is not for me.  I didn't have any expectations going into this whole experiement other than hoping it didn't dry my hair out like crazy.

What bothered me the most when I got out of the shower is that my hair was ridiculous knotty and just hard to brush out. That by far is not a normal occurance for me, well it was when I was a child but not for many many moons. The next day my hair was a soft, but not as soft as it usually is. It was a bit coarse and just did not want to be tamed. Now usually I go about a week beore I wash my hair, but washing it this way I got maybe three before I wouldn't stand it anymore. It was just gross, it felt like my hair hadn't been washed in a month.

For myself personally, I wont be trying this again and I haven't since I initially tried it. However, don't let my negative experience sway you from trying it. Everyones scalp and hair is different and just like mascara it will work differently for everyone. I've read about quite a lot of people who love washing their hair like this, but it's just not for myself.

You can check out Nouveau Cheaps post HERE

I am curious if any of you wash your hair like this, or have tried it in the past! Let me know in the comments!

Backstreet Salon - New Port Richey

Typically, I like to get my blog posts typed the night before, but I was enjoying my day off a little too much, shame on me!
If you're in New Port Richey, or surrounding area and are looking for a GOOD and AFFORDABLE salon then the Backstreet Salon is for you! They are located on 4206 St. Lawrence Dr. - New Port Richey, Florida 34653. You do need to call to make an appointment, since each lady has their own clientele 

The phone number is (727) 807-3370.

Backstreet Salon is co-owned by Carrie Bacon and Cheryl Freyer.
I've known Carrie's husband Doug since... oh sheesh 2009, so when I found out she had opened a salon, I'm sorry but I got really excited, probably more than I should have. I love when people open new businesses that are local! Backstreet Salon has only been open for about two weeks, so congratulations to them!

I'm a huge person on appearance, when it comes to packaging or how a place looks on the inside. I'm not too worried about how places look on the outside to be honest.

The inside of the salon is absolutely adorable. The walls are a sky blue and the partitions are a darker blue. Each person has their own station, which is how it should be and typically is when you go into a salon.

Let's take a side step and talk about the entrance. When you walk in on the left is where the receptionist would sit. They've got a cabinet that has some products in it. The chairs, oh my god the chairs! I freaking love them! I so want these in my house. They're extremely comfortable as well! Kudos! Most salons have really ugly chairs that are uncomfortable, or cute chairs that are uncomfortable.

Here is my before hair. It has been a year or more since I had gotten it cut. Insane right?! The last salon I went too, to get it cut did a horrid job and I've been trying to grow it out since then. Shameful. Anyways, Anyways. Lets get back on track!

This is what you see as soon as you walk in. The receptionist's desk is on the left, but here is the main salon. Now you can better see what I mean about the two little blues. Can I just say how much I love brown and blue together. Oh my goodness! It is one of my favorite color combinations! The Salon itself is VERY well lit, which is extremely helpful to not only the stylist but too the patron as well. When I went in there were 3 stylists working. (Is stylist even the proper term to use? Feel free to correct me) Carrie, Cheryl and Sandy. I believe they have enough areas for 7 people.

The one thing that I paricularly like is that each piece of equipment has it's own place ON THE COUNTER! I've been to a few salons where they're pretty much kept in containers on the floor. Not good, so I was very pleased at how organized and sanitary they are!

I didn't get a better picture of this area which was a my bad. I'm sure we all know what these are so I shant go into much more detail. On the other side of the wall though is either a coffee pot or a kettle to make tea. I'm not sure which, but that's a nice touch! It's always that little something extra that puts you ahead of the game!

Here are the chairs! This is the part I was worried about, a lot of the time the chairs are a bit uncomfortable for me, because I have wide hips. Boooo. These chairs are wide enough for my arse with extra wiggle room. That is a huge detail for me!

Here is the hair washing station! You know when you go to get your hair washed and you have to sit in a kind of uncomfortable position, let me tell you, holy crap. These chairs recline! Whhhattt??!!! I also had a heart attack when I started to scoot down the chair and is went back, I thought I broke it. Lol. I'm such a dunce sometimes. I like that this section is kind of private from the rest of the salon. I don't know about anyone else, but having a whole ton of people watching me get my hair washed makes me feel weird, so I'm grateful that this is kind of secluded.

Now, with all of the out of the way let's chat about my experience. Typically when I go into a salon, I'm nervous, scared....pretty much in a nutshell I'm a nervous wreck. I've almost cried a few times, that's what happens when you have one too many bad experiences! As soon as I walked I felt calm, I wasn't nervous or anything, which for me is an awesome thing! Backstreet Salon is a very inviting and welcoming establishment. They've got good music playing, but it's not loud enough where you can't hear yourself think, the volume is at a very moderate  level. Carrie is the one who cut my hair, so when we went back to the hair washing station and she started washing my hair, oh my lord. Okay, remember when you were little and your Mom used to wash your hair?! That is EXACTLY how it was. No joke, I could have fallen asleep, that's how relaxing it was! It that weird to say.

Now, I typically give new hair stylists, vague descriptions of what I want. This time I wanted the ends of my hair trimmed, layers added and I wanted to keep my side-swept fringe. I got everything that I wanted and you can tell that I actually LOVED my hair cut because I wore it down at work that night. I NEVER wear my hair down.

I can't even describe how happy I am with my hair! I've been wearing it down quite a bit, so thats one sure tell sign that I love my hair cut! I definitely plan on going back and getting my hair cut there regularly, (aka not once a year)

You can find Backstreet Salon on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BackstreetSalon
That is currently their only social media platform, go like them! :D
I can't thank Carrie enough for the amazing hair cut! :D

Marco Pelusi Color Bodifying Shampoo

Press Sample

I know that it's in bad taste, and just in general a bad thing that it's taken me this long to update my review of this product, since the initial review of Marco's products was back in November. So please accept my apologies that it's taken me this long!

Out of the two shampoo's that I have tried from Marco Pelusi's line, I should have tried this one first! I'm so in love with the scent of this it's crazy. You're probably going to think that I am weird but it smells like artificial coconuts. The Color Bodifying Shampoo smells just like Suaves coconut shampoo and conditioner.

 This lathers very well and I feel my hair actually getting clean, unlike my previous shampoo (not Marco's). This shampoo also doesn't build up on your scalp either, so really you can probably go another day or two without washing your hair. That's what I do actually, is go an extra day or so without washing my hair when using this shampoo. Now you're probably going "ew that's gross" but let me tell you, my hair doesn't get all gunked up or oily washing my hair once a week with this. That's how awesome it is!!

My hair feels soft, silky, smooth, pretty much everything you want your hair to feel like, is what this shampoo does for your hair. Seriously though, I really love this shampoo, this is for sure a splurge shampoo since it retails for $27.25 for 8oz., but you know what, it's really worth it in the end for shiny, healthy hair. Not only do I get the above mentioned benefits but my hair also get a little extra volume from this, which hello for me is amazing. My hair is pretty much stick straight and only gets wavy when I put it up, which living in Florida my hair is always up, so having extra volume is a definite plus for me.

The website says: A luscious, volumizing shampoo specifically formulated with natural proteins and botanicals to boost hair body, thickness and luxury, as well as prevent premature color fade.
coconut-based natural ingredients thicken, volumize and boost body
known for its remarkable and unparalleled healing and soothing properties, aloe vera extract conditions and moisturizes
chamomile, comfrey and black walnut herbal extracts texturize, heal and restore hair health.

In the end, my hair felt amazing after using this shampoo. I really do recommend everything from Marco Pelusi's hair care range because I've had nothing but fantastic results from it! As a matter of fact, I still use his Leave-In Conditioner. With all of that aside, I am saving up to get everything from his line again because my hair was so healthy and gorgeous with his products!

You can purchase Marco Pelusi's products on his website http://marcopelusi.com
You can find this particular shampoo (the full size) Here which retails for $27.25 HERE and the travel size (which is pictured above 2oz) for $7.25 HERE

What do you think? Have you tried anything from Marco's line? So far I've LOVED everything of his that I've tried!

Product was sent for free for review. All opinions are 100% my own. I gained no compensation for this review, except being able too keep the product.

Olivia Garden Divine Brush

Press Sample

I hope everyone is having a lovely day! Don't forget to smile at a Stranger today! You never know, your smile could make their day better than it was! :)

I've never tried a brush that was designed specifically for detangling wet hair before. I've always just used those big paddle brushes for my hair, that is until July but we will get into that later. I've been testing this brush out for over a month, even though I wanted to review it a week or so ago, but we all know how I am. :P

I first came in contact with Olivia Garden through Premiere Orlando, which is a Pros only trade show. I worked at their booth for two days and let me tell you, it was an amazing experience! It helped me get over my fear of people. (yes I had a fear of people, I don't like talking to people I don't know it makes me uncomfortable) I have 2 of their other brushes that my Dad and I bought but we will talk about them in another post, this post is ALL about the Divine Brush! There are 4 different Divine brushes but I received the Wet Detangler. 

The brush itself has an ergonomic design and I personally have never seen a brush designed/shaped like this! 

The Divine Wet is gentle for detangling wet hair and it has special Memory Flex bristles that have those ball points so it's gentle on your scalp as well as on your hair. 

This brush is so gentle, I wonder why I never purchased anything like it in the past. I've got thin hair and it just LOVES to tangle up on me and this brush goes through my hair like butter! There is no pulling, breaking and it gets rid of the knots gently. I use to use a wide toothed comb that I purchased at Ulta that was meant for detangling wet hair and that was painful! I think I lost more hair using that then I ever have. It would pull, snag, break everything you could imagine. I was a bit afraid to use the Divine brush because of it. I'm a total believer now! 

This is probably one of the best brushes that I have ever used. It's very lightweight and easy to hold. You would think that because of the design of the brush it would be uncomfortable to hold, but it's not! It fits into your hand fantastically. 

I mentioned how there are 4 different Divine Brushes. 

SOURCE OliviaGarden.com

You have the DV-1 Wet Detangler. The DV-2 Care & Styler which is a combo brush with the Memory Flex bristles but they also have 100% Boar bristles. The DV-3 Dry Detangler which has what they call Tension Flex bristles. Then you have the DV-4 which is the Boar Styler. It has only the 100% Boar bristles. 

Unfortunately I can't tell you how much this brush retails for. If you do want to purchase an Olivia Garden brush you can find some of their models at Ulta.com. They could have more models in store but that is just what they have online. You can also purchase their hair curlers at Sally Beauty. You can also contact them by calling 1-800-922-2301 or if you would prefer E-mail;  info@oliviagarden.com if you can't find any locations in your area that sells them. 

If you're in the beauty industry and are able too you can find them at SalonCentric and Cosmoprof as well!

You can find Olivia Garden on OliviaGarden.com 

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

What do you think of Wet Detangler brushes?! Worth it to have multiple brushes?! (I think so)

This product was sent to me for free for review. All opinions are my own. The only compensation is being able to keep the product. 

New Hair!

Hey everyone!
I hope that you all are doing well! I recently did my hair (like last night) and I wanted to show you all of the results!

This was a LONG process and my hair is damaged right now from what I did to it in a 2 day span. I definitely would not recommend it and anyone in their right mind would not do it. Hah, but who ever said I was in my right mind :P

I used a Hair Lightener, and 2 different dyes, crazy crazy. The brand I used was Age Beautiful. You can purchase it from Sally Beauty. I'm sure you have all seen my dark purple hair, right?

Here is a picture of my dark purple/brown hair. It's not the greatest picture but I forgot to get a picture before I started everything. 

First we started with the Cream Lightener. Mind you I have never used bleach or a lightener on my hair before, so I didn't know what to expect. I didn't leave it on as long as I should have because it started to freak me out. No lie, my hair itself was HEATING UP. I've never experienced that before I washed it out after about 15 minutes. I was supposed to leave it on for 30 minutes to an hour. I don't know if I could have made it that long honestly. I don't have any pictures of my hair after the lightener. I was too freaked out by what my hair looked like to even bother taking pictures. I did however throw on some Medium Blonde hair dye to even everything out. 

This is the results (these pictures were taken the next day hence the bump on the one side)

You can tell (kind of) that my hair is about 3 different shades

This way day 1 finished. After the lightener and the Medium blonde dye. My Mom said she liked the way it looked but honestly, I wasn't a fan. I wanted to back to blonde but honestly, it just wasn't for me it didn't look right so onto day 2 we went.

For this set of dye I used ageBeautiful Dark Red/Brown (all of the products I used were ageBeautiful). This.. This is just...-_-

I let this sit for about 20 minutes, not the whole time because I could tell it wasn't turning out the color that I wanted so I said eff it and washed it out. Have you ever had those times where it just doesn't turn out how you want so you basically give up?

My hair turned out more burgundy then red. 

source

THAT is the color my hair was supposed to turn out. Do they look similar?! No. no they don't.

Am I disappointed? Yes, yes I am very disappointed. I'm not going to complain and biatch about it because it is what it is. The bottom of my hair is WAY WAY darker then the top is, so that is a bit more frustrating than it should be. The funny part is that it didn't even take in places and and some places turned way blonde. BLONDE. You can see it in some of the blonde/white in the one picture. Pretty crazy right? Damn mess damn mess.

I'm probably not going to dye my hair for quite some time because I am so over it at this point. 

I'll have some better pictures of my hair in my next post, which is going to be makeup related. Woohoo?!

What do you think?!