Dry Shampoo: I've done more testing (on myself).

Posted by Ethne~

So remember waaay back here and here when Lori and I tried out dry shampoos? 

The results were ok - they worked, but were not mind-blowing either.  I remember my hair feeling really weighted down and getting white spots if I let the spray blow too long in one spot of my hair.  Oops.

Anyway, I've used them here and there, and then quite a bit more this winter.  Mostly because it has been soooo verrry cold, it's been nice not to take a shower every day (my skin is very dry).  I've tried quite a few out and there are so many better options out on the market now, I thought I'd tell you about a few to try.

Car selfie on a day started with grease.  Under much better control after dry shampooing.

Suave - still great and cheapest on the drugstore shelves.  It's been reformulated since I purchased it for the first dry shampoo trials and it isn't nearly as heavy anymore.  Suave makes two different dry shampoos in their various lines.  Both are good; one is cheaper.

Garnier Fructis - I liked this brand, it was under $5, and it smelled really good.  It wasn't heavy and worked just fine.  One thing I did notice was that the bottle was used up really quickly.

TRESemme - This one was under $5, didn't smell as good as the others, but it didn't smell awful either.  More neutral, perhaps.  It worked probably in the top 3 for dry shampooing (keep in mind that I am going for oil control MORE than volumizing which is what some people use dry shampoo for).

Dove - This one was right around $5 and smells awesome.  It works fine for absorbing up the oil and doesn't tend to leave the white splotches if you spray in one spot too long, BUT (big one too) it does have this tendency to stick my hairs together like hairspray.  That is not a quality I want.  First, you have to rub your fingers through your just-sprayed hair really well to get the dry shampoo to absorb those oils - and the Dove doesn't really allow that very well.  I've kind of worked out a way to rub and spray at the same time to accommodate this (so I wouldn't have to throw away the full can), but I can't buy this again.  It makes me think this brand is geared for people who want volumizing and aren't worried about oil control.

Oscar Blondi - this is a salon/Sephora/Ulta brand I got from my sister.  It's more expensive and supposed to be super good.  It didn't work at all so I threw it away. My sister said I had to shake the can A WHOLE BUNCH to get it to work, so maybe that was the problem, but I don't know (I would've had to throw out my elbow, folks, it's not like I didn't shake-n-bake the first time 'round).  Too late to check.

Klorane - This is some sort of brand that has French and English on the label.  My sister got it at Ulta and said the company has since gone out of business.  Too bad, since it's the best formulation BY FAR.  This stuff is amazing.  If you can track any down, I'd recommend it.

Batiste - This is my 'special occasion' dry shampoo.  Not that it works 100x better than the others, though it is a more expensive brand, but because it has some blonde tinting to it, so I use it when I want to be sure not to have any white spots by accident.  I don't remember how much it cost, but I think I saw it at Walgreen's the last time I was in the hair aisle there, so I know it's widely available.

I'm pretty sure I've tried a few more, too, but these are the most recent ones.  If you grab one off the shelf, you're probably safe.  The more expensive ones will have features like hair color matching, but if you just want to boost your volume or stretch your wash an extra day, I have not yet heard a strong argument for spending the big bucks on these products.  Special occasion, perhaps - but that goes for about anything.

Note: I am just a layperson.  I have absolutely no training whatsoever in hair and have just tried these products off the shelves as they appealed to me or if I had a coupon/Target Cartwheel.  All opinions are my own.  Also, I have normal-oily hair, in case you were wondering.

I am HAC-ing all over my face - a good blogger told me to.

Posted by Ethne~

Hey {beautiful} dudes.

So I found another beauty blog I'm totally loving.  Maskcara.  As in, Ask Cara, about mascara and other stuff.  So clever.  (I actually found it a while back, but I really started reading it in depth, and not just for reference, recently.) 

This lady is a beauty, a self-taught make-up artist, and does loads of videos and make-overs with DIY how-to's - using both fancy ($$$) and drugstore ($) makeup.  She has also managed to finagle her way behind the scenes at the Victoria's Secret runway shows to scout their tips.  (She also has a pretty cool story, which just makes me like her more - and is from UT, which is where I was born - that doesn't hurt either!  But I'm a true ND gal, make no mistake about that.)

So far, I've learned how to highlight and contour (to put your best face forward - think Kim Kardashian) and do looks for all eye colors and face shapes.  She gives hair tips too.  I'm telling you, this blog is a gem. 

Her Monday make-overs are pretty much artwork.  Like this one on her sister-in-law who just had a baby.  I couldn't believe my eyes.

I put the daily link to her blog on the left column of ours so you don't have to search too hard.  You're welcome.

I'm going to try a little highlighting and contouring on myself (HAC-ing) and report back.  According to Cara, this is the most important thing a person can do in make-up, ever.  If you look at this link to her post about make-up for pictures, she puts her driver's licenses side-by-side, from b4 she started HAC-ing till after.  I'd say she's right.  And having watched a lot of her videos now, I've witnessed the subtle, but huge, transformation it makes.

I tried a little HAC on my face for Scott & Erin's wedding.  I don't think I have exactly the right highlighter I need (I ordered one she recommends off Amazon for less than $5 and somehow got free shipping - a mystery, honestly since I don't have Prime), but I do think it added a nice touch to my nose area in particular - HAC on your nose is supposed to narrow/straighten it out.

See how there's shading down the sides of my nose then brightness down the very center? - that's on purpose.

Take a look at some of Maskcara's stuff and let's check back with each other, shall we?

GT Hair Tutorial: SOCK BUN!

Posted by Ethne~

Hey everyone - one last Girls Trip post!  While we were away, we played 'beauty parlor' and shared all our latest beauty tips and tricks.  One of the styles I often do on myself is the sock bun.  Done many ways (on Pinterest, a zillion pins), I've found this to be the easiest way.  I tried it out on Grizz, using my homemade sock bun insert (I cut the toe off a sock and rolled it up). (And PS, in the girls' accessories stand at Target, they have these sock bun inserts, ready-made, albeit in fluorescent colors.)
 

Put the ponytail wherever you want it.  Many of the sock bun styles have it in a high pony, though I prefer mine slightly lower.

Secure using a regular elastic ponytail holder.  Whatever you normally use will work fine.

Grab the ponytail through the center of the sock bun insert.

Push the insert to the very base of the ponytail (this is different from other instructions I've seen pinned, but it works for me and is super easy).

Tip your head forward and kind of evenly distribute the hair over the sock bun insert.  Now press your hand down on the center of the bun and start to twist the ends around and under the insert until it looks like...

THIS!  Keep wrapping and tucking in one direction only until it's all smooth, then secure with bobby pins.  I only had to use a few and Grizz has really thick hair.  The better you get at this technique, the fewer pins you'll need.

So much prettier than my usual sloppy ponytail!

Hide Yo Brushes! Hide Yo Blushes!

Posted by Ethne~

I had some really great ideas planned for today, but somehow, nada.  I made a turkey pot pie with store-bought biscuits which was tasty – but despite following directions, did not turn out well enough to be a blog post: it took over an hour to bake, despite one recipe’s directions saying 16-18 minutes and one recipe’s saying 30 min.  (When things were getting sketchy, I began to scour the helpful internets.)  I am positive, almost, that this cannot be my fault.  I blame my oven.  Why not a blog post?  Well, the outer biscuits were dark chocolate brown on top and the inner biscuit was still doughy in the center of my round cake pan.  Hmmm.

Thrifty Nana, Whit and I made a turkey dinner Saturday, complete with German Potato Dumplings.  This is totally blog-worthy, but we took so many pictures, it will take a while to narrow things down.  Tune in.

Plus, my computer was being an a-hole and wouldn’t work.  It’s a Mac, so I’m pretty sure there’s nothing really wrong with it – those computers are champs.  Still, I needed it in the clutch to write something and it let me down.  It had a time out.

Instead, I’ll tell you what my girls did this weekend.  They got up at 5:00 a.-effing-m. each day.  And they got into my make-up.  They used my best eyeshadow brushes in the crème rouges and shadows.  They destroyed my new highlighter/bronzer combo that is *one week old*.  They put ‘nscara (Emma’s term) and eyeliner on (really well actually, which scares Shaun).  And the best part of all – Emma has ringworm on her cheek, so everything she used, I had to THROW AWAY. 

My make-up is now out of reach.  For now.  

CHEAP-ER BB CREAM!

Posted by Lori~

Remember, Ethne LOVES BB CREAM and she usually goes for a brand you can find in the Ulta store (Whit--her sis works there).

I was recently at Wal-Mart (unfortunately, this is about the ONLY place to buy make-up in my little city, ND town), and they had BB CREAM!  For UNDER $8.00/BOTTLE!  WOW!

I tried it and I LOVE IT!  Go for it people....your skin will never look better!  And you will love the price!

Loreal BB Cream!  LOVE IT!

It is very liquidy, but goes on very nice!