Monday, January 27, 2014

FINAL UPDATE: Gia Nasim's Red Hair Oil

This will be my final update on the Gia Nasim Red Hair Oil. I have been using it for almost 2 months now. At least weekly, if not more. It's a nice ritual and a good habit to have. Check out some of my earlier posts about this oil here and here.

Hair oiling has been around in Asian countries since forever. In India, traditionally coconut oil is used; but now there are hundreds (if not thousands) of varieties of hair oils available. Oiling ensures that your scalp is moisturized as well as stimulated to promote healthy hair growth (diet, etc. is important too).

I have seen positive effects from using Gia's red hair oil. My hair has grown an inch in the past 2 months, which is normal rate of hair growth but for my hair it is great considering how slowly it grows generally. However, I do not think it deserves to be priced at US $65. It was not a miracle oil but a good mix of oils nonetheless. I highly recommend other oils. Refer this post for that information. There are other treatments that I believe are also helping me such as the LUSH Roots treatment and L'oreal's damage erasing hair balm that I have written about earlier.

Banana Hair Mask

I tried this hair mask this weekend since my hair was feeling pretty dried out and straw-like.

1 Ripe Banana + 1 heaping tablespoon of Organic Coconut Oil + 1/4th cup Coconut Milk (I used the full-fat canned type) = Grind this all to a smooth paste and apply all over hair. It will be greasy as eff. Leave on for half an hour and then wash your hair. Moisturized, flowy, healthy hair, Voila!

I personally hate the smell of bananas but I  decided to tough it out and bear it. It was worth it of course. Highly recommended.

Monday, January 20, 2014

Marc Jacobs Beauty

Yesterday I went to Sephora to return a few things. And then of course I had to haul if I am there :-)
I've always ogled at Marc Jacobs display there. The swatches are buttery smooth, crazy pigmented and an eye shadow lovers' dream. Here are some of the pics of the things I got. I also got "Soap & Glory The Righteous Body Butter" which just smells heavenly. 




These are without a doubt the best eye shadows on the market today. I got them in "The Starlet 204" and "The Vamp 208". These cost US $59+taxes. So yes on the pricey side but so worth it if you're on the lookout for a quality product.

The lipstick is actually called a lip gel, but to me feels like an extremely pigmented and moisturizing lipstick. I got it in shade "Understudy" (does that remind anyone of Seinfeld? Or am I the only Seinfeld fanatic here?). The shade is supposed to be a terracotta pink. I kinda find it like a muted coral. And the thing stains like nobody's business. Which is a quality I appreciate in a lipstick since I want it to last as long as possible. It retails for $30+taxes. I haven't test driven this yet. Will update once I do.

And using a cliche, I was saving the best for the last. The Marc Jacobs Highliner - Gel Crayon in shade Blacquer. It is a shiny black pigmented pencil eyeliner in phenomenal packaging with a twist-up tip. It lasted on my waterline for around 6-9 hours, which is phenomenal, considering the fact that most last about 10 mins on my waterline. And I didn't try it on the lashline, but I'm pretty sure the wear there will be twice as good. It is the best high-end eyeliner and so totally worth the US $25 price tag.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

LUSH Sandy Santa

LUSH recently had a BOGO sale on their website for a few items and I hauled big time. One of the items I got was Sandy Santa body butter. LUSH UK says the following about it: "With murumuru butter and shea butter, Sandy Santa is both a body butter and a sugar scrub. We’ve packed him full of butters this year to give a wonderful moisturising affect, and we’ve also included sugar and sand to smooth and polish your skin." I can't get get over the fact that they said "affect" instead of "effect". WOW!

Back to the topic at hand. Here is how you use Sandy Santa (and other body butters for that matter) After you are done with your shower, while you're still in the shower and wet, rub him all over (dirty!LOL!) You will be left with wonderful smelling sugar particles and moisturizing oils all over (especially his hat, when it melts it's like a yummy jam/jelly. Try to not eat it). Now scrub/exfoliate. Be gentle. Wash off with warm water. You will be left moisturized, soft and smelling wonderful. Most people don't moisturize after this, however I feel after you towel dry yourself, you do need to moisturize (especially in this dry winter). I love this scrub. It makes showers fun. But try not to use it too frequently. It is a fun treat but not a must-have product in my opinion (especially when you can do a DIY body scrub for the shower using sugar, lemon, EVOO and essential oils just as easily).  

Sandy Santa is generally available only during the holidays. But other body butters, such as Buffy, are available year round. 




Wednesday, January 8, 2014

New Hair Products

I swear to you this is not just a hair blog. But I really wanted to share 2 new treatments I am incorporating in my hair routine. 

The first product I want to talk about is the LUSH hair treatment called ROOTS (the link will take you to the LUSH product page where you can find further details and reviews). I have only used this once so I cannot review it but I would like to just capture the experience of using it. I wet my hair roots by spraying a rosemary+water spray that I make. Then I applied the treatment to my roots like I apply oil, that is, in sections and massaging it in just at the roots. It feels cold and tingly (because it contains 3 types of mint oils in it). And of course, I decided to do it on the coldest day in the history of US, because I was home and bored working all day. Since it's fairly expensive for my middle-class pockets, I applied it only to the roots mainly for the tingle. Along the hair lengths I just rubbed in some sesame and almond oil. I massaged my scalp for a minute or so. Massaging too much makes my hair fall, so I am careful with it, using just the pads of my finger tips. I loved the feeling of this product. I will use it more frequently. I am hoping to get rid of the winter flakiness that my scalp is experiencing. Expect a full report on this in 2 months. I cannot wait to use it in summer months for a wondering cooling feeling on my migraine-prone head.






The second product I wish to mention is L'oreal Damage-Erasing Balm from their TOTAL REPAIR 5 line. That line as a whole is excellent, the shampoo and conditioner are pretty good too. But this balm is out of the world. I use it once in a while (maybe once a week) in place of the conditioner. Since I have a very oil scalp, I apply it only to the ends of my hair and mid-shaft. Very little is needed. On washing it off, I love the way my hair feels. It's crazy smooth and soft. After drying hair, I notice a lot of movement in my hair till the next day. I have big, thick hair and so movement is generally very limited. So I love the flowy, smooth feeling this gives my hair. It is however full of cones and things that all you natural people like to avoid. I personally don't care as I use this infrequently and just on the hair ends. All I know is it works and works really well. I highly recommend this product. If you have used it or do use it in the future, I would love to know what you thought.





Monday, January 6, 2014

Hair Update

I take vitamins+fish oil, eat lots of protein and drink tons of water. I rarely use heat on my hair. In spite of that, my hair growth is uber slow. The standard hair growth is half an inch per month. Mine is slower. It slowed down since Feb. 2012 when I donated 12 inches to "Locks Of Love" charity. No idea why!

The past month I have used the Gia Nasim Red Hair Oil as mentioned in my prior posts such as this or this. I did not measure my hair before that (I cannot find the tape measure) and I really wish I did. However, last I colored my hair was just before that and so my hair growth is visible in terms of my visible root color (dark brown). It has grown half an inch. And though it is standard growth, I am pleased :-) (only 6 more inches)

However, I feel if I was just as diligent in using another oil, I would get the same results. The oil mixture I use sometimes is as follows: Almond Oil, Castor Oil, Biotique Bhringraj Oil and drops of peppermint or rosemary organic essential oil (as a stimulant). To this mixture, I plan to add Sesame Oil and Avocado Oil and then use the concoction on my hair. I have a feeling that will give better results. But then I will have to stick to using only that oil. Should I try a month of this mixture? What do you think? I was thinking of using up Gia's oil just to get done with it. Let's see. Wait for the next update.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Best Mascaras Ever (Drugstore)

The mascaras listed (in no particular order) are: Rimmel Lash Accelerator, Jordana Best Lash Extreme, Covergirl Lashblast, Kardashian Beauty The Quickie, Maybelline The Falsies Volume Express and Rimmel Extra POP Lash (blue color) for the fun factor.