How to Get Golden Globe-Worthy Voluminous Hair

Salma Hayek's Luxe Hair Volume at the 2012 Golde Globe Awards

Sexy, voluminous hair makes anyone look instantly more glamorous- but finding the right product to get your hair to stay up can be a pain in the ass. Usually, people with limp or thin hair need a boost of volume- but my hair is the opposite. My hair is ridiculously heavy... so heavy that my scalp actually hurts from the sheer weight of my hair when it's up in a ponytail. A hairdresser once told me that I have like 4 times as much hair as an average human... so, clearly, those weaksauce drugstore hair volumizers don't work well enough for me.

Luckily, someone up there must have noticed how horrible I look with flat hair and decided to let me catch a break. I tried a new salon a few weeks ago and the girl who did my hair introduced me to Michael O'Rourke Size Matters Big Volume Root Pump Spray. I believe her exact words were: "Girl, let me tell you- if you stick your head in a wind tunnel you won't get as much volume as this stuff will give you!"  And, after she used it to style my hair, I was sold. (And I mean that literally because I paid $21 for it and saw it on Amazon and at TJ Maxx for $10 the next day- but I digress.)

Michael O' Rourke Size Matters Big Volume Root Pump Spray, $10, Amazon.com

Michael O'Rourke Size Matters is a mousse spray that comes in a glamorous pink aerosol can with a rhinestone heart on the front. (Honestly, I probably would've bought it just for the Barbie-like packaging so the fact that it makes my hair defy the laws of gravity is a bonus). It smells amazing and it's so easy to use:

1. While your hair is damp, part your hair where you normally do.
2. Use a comb or your fingers to create another part about two inches under your normal part and spray the foam along the second part. Rub the foam into your roots.
3. Create another part about two inches under that part and repeat the spraying and rubbing.
4. Repeat these steps all over the top and crown of your head, making several parts in your hair and spraying and rubbing the foam into the parted areas.
5. Blow dry your hair upside down or with a round brush and style as usual.

This product creates and holds volume REALLY well without making my hair too crunchy, like other mousse products I've tried. I also love that it sprays a relatively thin line of mousse (just enough to cover each part) so you're not applying too much product and wasting it- so this 13 oz can should last me a few months.

Short & Sweet: I definitely give this mousse spray a 5/5 for volumizing, holding volume, fragrance, amount of product, and packaging. ;]

Tip: For even more lift, tease your hair a bit at the crown and then spray with got2b Voluptuous Volume Hairspray to set and to tame flyways.

Review: Revaleskin Skin Firming Serum and Replenishing Eye Therapy

I've heard a lot of good things about the antioxidant coffeeberry, one of the active ingredients in Revaleskin's skincare line, so these products have been on my wish list for years. A few weeks ago, I finally got my hands on the Replenishing Eye Therapy and the Skin Firming Serum.

Revaleskin Replenishing Eye Therapy, 0.51 oz, $90

The eye cream is great, it helped lighten my dark circles overnight and it definitely helps get rid of under-eye bags from retaining too much water. The serum is the best I've ever tried- it brightened and evened out my complexion after only a few uses. Before using it for the first time, I exfoliated with my favorite scrub and then applied the eye cream, let it absorb for a few minutes and then applied the serum.

Revaleskin Skin Firming Serum, 1 oz, $70

I love that the serum isn't full of silicones so it doesn't break me out. The serum absorbs easily and definitely improved the look and feel of my skin after only a week of use. My skin was glowing after using this! It works even better than my ex-favorite brightening serum, Lumene Energy Cocktail, and the Revaleskin serum isn't greasy and doesn't clog my pores! I only use it at night so it won't clog my pores and, by the time I wake up, my skin looks healthy and radiant! I believe that it will help firm my skin over time, too, because I've been doing the pinch test (where I pinch the skin around my lower cheeks and then release to see how fast it "bounces" back) and it's already looking a bit less "jiggly".

The eye cream is great but I do have a minor complaint. First, the packaging. It looks really cool because it's a twist-top airless pump but each pump squirts out wayyyy too much product, which leads to a lot of product waste. I've read that other people have had the same problem, so I know I didn't just get a defective one... it took me a few tries to figure out how to make sure only a little bit comes out each time. Once I twist out the top of the pump, I hold the bottle like a joystick and press down on the top lightly (and slowly!) with my thumb. So far, that's worked pretty well for me, but I definitely already wasted a lot of product before I figured that out.

I still love this eye cream because it actually works- so the packaging problem isn't enough to make me stop using it. I will still continue to buy it for as long as it keeps working =)

I've read some complaints from online reviewers who don't like the coffee smell of Revaleskin products. I actually like the mocha aroma and it's not as strong as people would lead you to believe- the smell is gone a few minutes after you apply them. Don't let that stop you from trying these amazing products! I highly recommend these to anyone who wants to brighten/even out their complexion, get rid of dark circles and under-eye bags, and protect their skin with antioxidants.

Winter Beauty Secrets

Now that I'm back in New York, I have to use different skincare products because of the harsh, dry, cold air. I tried using the L'Oreal RevitaLift cleanser that worked really well for me in L.A. but it dried out my skin too much here. =(  So, now, I'm using Olay Daily Facials Hydrating Cleansing Cloths to keep my skin soft and hydrated.

To get rid of the dead skin cells that make my skin look rough and splotchy, I give myself an exfoliating treatment with Olay Regenerist Microdermabrasion & Peel System. I apply the thick, gooey scrub with an electric toothbrush and run it over my face in small circles (a trick I learned from a Michelle Phan video a long time ago). I don't usually use the Activator afterwards, because my skin is sensitive to Lactic Acid... but if your skin does well on AHAs then I would definitely recommend trying it. The mini crystals in this kit are the BEST- nothing makes my skin smoother or more radiant!



Olay Regenerist Microdermabrasion & Peel Kit

After scrubbing my skin, always use a pampering face mask so that my skin won't get irritated. I use Kinerase Pro + Therapy Ultra Hydrating Repair Mask, which plumps my skin with moisture and makes it as soft as a baby's butt. It's a little pricey but it's the most luxuriously rich moisturizing mask and there's nothing else like it! The morning after I use it, my skin looks so healthy and glows. It's well worth the money and you only need a tiny bit each time. It also comes in a hygenic airless pump jar.

Kinerase Pro + Therapy Ultra Hydrating Repair Mask

My lips also need extra moisture because they're always extremely dry, especially in the winter, so I've been using a thick lanolin ointment (ok, it's a nipple balm for breastfeeding mothers) and it works WONDERS! I use Lansinoh Lanolin ointment, which I found on Amazon for $7. You can buy Lansinoh at Walmart, too, for under $10. It seems pricey for a lip balm but each tube contains 1.41 oz (which is a TON of product) and you won't find a better healing ointment for dry, cracked lips. The consistency is very thick at first but it melts right into your lips and stays put, even while eating or drinking. You can even dab it on minor cuts to help heal and protect them.

Lansinoh 100% Natural HPA Lanolin Ointment

Borghese x Kirkland Signature 2011 Brush Set and Stila Ulimate Color Palette

I've been back in NY since Thursday, so I've been pretty busy helping my mom put up the Christmas tree and doing the family thing. One thing my sisters and I always do when we come home is hit up Costco.

I haven't been there in forever so I never saw the 2011 Borghese Kirkland Signature Brush Set. I still use some of the brushes from my 2009 set (the angled brow brush, eye shadow brush, angled foundation brush, and the crease brush) but the brushes in the 2011 set are totally different.

(Sorry for the crappy pic but I haven't unpacked my good camera yet.)

This brush set includes 10 brushes and a black faux-croc case:

1. Big powder brush
2. Flat cheek brush
3. Stipling/skunk brush
4. Angled kabuki brush
5. Flat tip eyeliner brush
6. Highlighting brush
7. All purpose eye shadow brush
8. Tapered blending/crease brush
9. Tapered foundation/concealer brush
10. Angled contour/eyeshadow brush

I'm so in love with this brush set! I love that the foundation/concealer brush is designed to mimic your fingers. It's perfect for blending my Hard Candy Glamoflauge under my eyes. I also love the highlighting brush for contouring the sides of my nose. The skunk brush is great for blending bronzer at my hair line and jaw line. All of the brushes are really soft and the handles are thick and easy to hold. IMO, this set is excellent for the price.

I also picked up a Stila Ultimate Color Palette for $19.99, which includes 39 eye shadows, 15 lip colors, 4 cheek colors or blushes, 4 double ended applicators, and 4 lip brushes. I'm still not sure if I'm going to keep it for myself or give it to a friend for Christmas, but if I do keep it I'll definitely do swatches of all the pretty colors. There are so many options for different looks with this palette because of the range of colors. Also, the eyeshadows and blushes come in both shimmery and matte colors so there's a lot to play with in this kit.

Stila Ultimate Color Palette, $20

Bite Beauty Luminous Creme Lipstick with Anti-Aging Antioxidants

Bite Beauty Lipsticks in Champagne and Fig

I was given these two Bite Beauty Lipstick Minis for free in a swap. The ingredients in their Luminous Creme Lipsticks are unique because each tube contains the same amount of resveratrol as 5 glasses of red wine as well as food-grade argan oil. The first color I received is Champagne, a light peachy-beige with iridescent pink shimmer. The second color is Fig, a medium-toned rose pink.

Both lipsticks have a sheen finish when applied. As far as color payoff, you need a few coats to get the true color, so I would rate the pigmentation a 7/10. The formula gets a 6/10 because it contains antioxidants and doesn't dry out my lips but it does tend to settle into lines. The packaging gets a 10/10 from me, though, because they come in really cute matte black tubes with a "Bite" logo on the base.

Overall, these are decent lipsticks but they're not the best. The retail price is $24 for a full-sized tube. You might think the price is worth it to get a good dose of antioxidants every time you reapply your lip color but, me, I think I'd rather just take a multivitamin.

Have you tried any Bite Beauty cosmetics? How did you like them?

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Village Naturals Aromatherapy Relax Vanilla & Cinnamon Body Butter, $8

Brrrr! I'm sitting at the computer with a winter coat and fuzzy boots on as I'm typing this post. It's COLD! Turkey Day is tomorrow and the Indian Summer that we had in L.A. last month is looong gone. :(  I get cranky when the weather changes because I usually get sick. I always complain and mutter something about how "island people" aren't meant for the cold, but the real reason I hate cold weather so much is because it's so DRY.

Rock & Republic Haul

Rock & Republic Haul: Top- CASHMERE. Middle- Wrath, Alloy. Bottom- Corset, Privilege, Love Rocks.

The Rock & Republic eye shadows and powder that I ordered from HauteLook a week or two ago just arrived!

Love & Beauty Swatches: Bronze Shimmer Shadow, Goldie Tones Palette, and Cat Eye Felt Tip Pen

Here are the swatches that I did for the makeup I bought from Forever 21:

Top Row (with flash)
Bottom Row (without flash)

*ALL APPLIED OVER URBAN DECAY EYE PRIMER POTION* 

Get the detailed review after the jump!

This Week's Forever 21 Haul: F21 x Hello Kitty Ring and More

Today's Haul from Forever 21

Hello Kitty Collection Double Finger Ring, $9

Love & Beauty Goldie Tones Palette, $5

Neutrals and Metallics

Love & Beauty Cat Eye Felt Tip Pen

Love & Beauty Shimmer Shadow

I went a little crazy at F21 this week- I got up early this morning for the Hello Kitty Collection but my store didn't have a lot of the new HK stuff in yet, which was doodoo, and the bracelet I wanted wasn't there :( Another girl was looking for it, too, and I'm pretty sure we shared a moment where we both wanted to cry. (LMAO I'm just kidding. Not really.) Anyway, I'm going back this weekend to see if they get any new shipments.

I did get the pave Hello Kitty 2-finger ring I wanted, with rhinetones and a gold bow, though! It's such a big-ass ring but I don't careee! It's so cute and glam.

I picked up some other jewelry, too: a pair of pave curved triangle earrings, a pair of square pave hoops, a pave double heart ring. Of course, I couldn't resist buying a few beauty products: a Love & Beauty Cat Eye Felt Tip Pen, eye shadow, and the leopard Goldie Tones palette. I also bought a Clueless tank (love that movie!) and a Spoiled tank with Pebbles on it.

The black HK bracelet was the one thing I really wanted from the HK collection (I wouldn't really wear any of the clothes) so hopefully I'll be able to find it this weekend because I'm pretty sure it's already sold out online.

Stay tuned for swatches of the makeup I bought...

Pigment-palooza!

Etsy.com is one of my favorite sites because I can find tons of homemade products, from handcrafted jewelry to blended mica mineral pigments. Sellers have their own online boutiques where you can browse all of their products and goodies. On a hunt for duochrome eye shadows recently, I discovered two great cosmetic lines on Etsy: Caustic Cadets Cosmetics and Spectrum Cosmetics.

I decided to purchase 5 duotone pigments from each line:

Spectrum Cosmetics charges $3.25 per 3 gram jar or choose any 5 for $15
EOS: Looks like burnt copper with tons of white glitter in the pot but shifts to a gorgeous, sparkly mix of light green and blue with a deep reddish-brown base
EOS-2: (A less glittery version of the original EOS but still shimmery) It looks like a dark reddish-brown in the pot but shifts to a turquoise blue with a reddish-brown base
Mystic: Looks like a medium reddish-brown with moss green iridescence but shifts to a metallic teal-green with a reddish-brown base
Briar: Looks like an almost completely matte light rose-violet in the pot but shifts to a light blue shimmer with violet flecks
Sassy: Looks like an almost completely matte light peach but shifts to a light violet shimmer with light blue flecks

Caustic Cadets charges $3.99 for each jar of 2 grams of powder
Volatile: Looks fuchsia in the pot but shifts to electric violet with flecks of blue
Dreamweaver: Looks peach with green glitter in the pot but shifts to reddish brown with flecks of olive green
Pillow Talk: Looks like rose in the pot but shifts to medium rose gold
Black Magic: (my FAVORITE duochrome!)  Looks deep periwinkle blue with gold and blue glitter in the pot but shifts to electric teal, blue, and gold with a matte black base
Siren: Looks pale pink with blue shimmer in the pot but shifts to a dusty lavender with flecks of light blue

I tried my best to describe the colors accurately and display the right shades in the pictures, but the pictures don’t really do these pigments justice. They are absolutely stunning and so affordable that you’ll definitely want to check out several colors at a time. Happy shopping!

*All of the swatches were brushed on top of Clean & Clear Finishes Pore Perfecting Moisturizer to help the loose pigment powders stick.

***UPDATE: Caustic Cadets Cosmetics are now sold on Facebook here.

If you try any of these pigments, let me know what you think!

This Weekend's Pink Mini Makeup Haul

Isn’t my mini haul from the drugstore this weekend so cute? Everything is so…PINK! xD To find out what I think about each product, read on!

[Image via Temptalia]

The Wet n’ Wild Spoiled Brat Eye Shadow Trio ($2) caught my eye because not many drugstore brands sell this vibrant fuchsia color (sorry that my first pic doesn’t do it justice, I did the best I could with rainy-day outdoor lighting). I applied all of them over Urban Decay Eye Primer Potion and all of the colors have great color payoff for a drugstore product! They are a bit powdery, though, and do fade, even with primer. Oh, well, I really just bought this for the pink color, anyway, so I’ll give this a 4/5. I can’t wait to do a pink smoky eye shadow look with this!

The Wet n’ Wild Mega Brilliance Lip Gloss in Crushed Grapes ($1) is a very sheer Barbie-pink with multicolored glitter. The good thing about this gloss is that it is NOT sticky at ALL and it also tastes amazing. It’s not gritty, like most glittery glosses, either. That said, the color payoff is non-existent and the glitter is barely there once you put it on… I feel like you’d only be able to tell that there’s glitter on my lips if I was in direct sunlight. Boo… This gets a 2/5.

Wet n’ Wild FuchsiaRama ($2) is such a pretty medium-toned purple-pink color…(a bit more pink than it looks in the pic above). It’s perfect for Fall! I love that I finally found a purple that doesn’t make the yellow undertones in my skin look weird… (Cool-toned nail polishes make my hands look like a corpse.) This is a warm purple-pink, though, and flatters warm undertones! The formula is very sheer, but it’s pretty much a given that drugstore nail polishes need at least 3 coats, so I’m okay with it. I give it a 4/5.

Finally, we have Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Nail Color in Strobe Light ($3), which is STUNNING! I love Disco Ball, which is snowflake-colored glitter, but this is a close second! It’s a rose pink multi-colored glitter top coat and makes any nail polish more glam Love this! It gets a 5/5.

If I had to recommend only one of these products, I would definitely say to buy Strobe Light. You'll get the best quality for your money there. Hope this helps!

MAC 162 Small Contour Brush Dupe: Naimies 827524 Angled Contour Brush

MAC 162 Brush (discontinued)

A similar brush I found at my local beauty supply store, Naimie's

A long time ago, while I was working at a makeup counter, I read Kevyn Aucoin's book, Making Faces, which is still pretty much the Bible of makeup application. I learned that contouring your face can make your features pop in all the right ways. I like to contour my nose (to make it look less wide) and cheeks (to make my cheekbones stand out more).
 
I went to Naimie's Beauty Center the other day, looking for a dupe of the discontinued MAC 162 small contour brush and found this AMAZING brush. It was only $8 and is the perfect width for contouring the sides of my nose. The brush is about 6" long and has blunt angled bristles. The circumference of the bristles are about as wide as a penny and they're dense. They're a bit stiffer and more bushy than the 162. Also, the angle of the bristles is a little less than the 162. The brush applies just the right amount of contour powder (in my case, Too Faced Chocolate Soleil) without giving you harsh lines down the sides of your nose, if you use a light hand.

You can buy this brush at Naimies.com. Check out Naimie's other brushes too- they're great quality for the price!

Obsessed: Sinful Nail Art Polishes

Sinful Colors Nail Art Polishes in Bonjour, Sunny Day, Sour Grapes, What A Night, and Lazy Girl

Yesterday, I spotted these Sinful Nail Art Polishes at Rite Aid for only $1.99 each! They come in tons of colors- I wanted to buy all of them! I need to cut down on my beauty purchases, though, so I only bought these five:

Product Review: Kate Somerville 360 Tanning Towelettes

For Halloween weekend, I was dressed a sexy Native American Princess... *ahem* I believe the costume was called "Poke-My-Hontas". (Don't judge meeeee lol)

Anyway, even though I'm Filipino, I'm definitely sort of a guidette at heart (it's the New Yorker in me), so getting tan was essential before putting on my outfit. Unfortunately, there are a lot of self-tanners out there that smell disgusting, so I had to pick one that wouldn't make me reek of sweaty fake bake while I was out partying and dancing my ass off
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Luckily, the sweet team at Beautylish.com sent me some free swag since I wasn't able to make it to their Beauty Social event last week and in my box of goodies was two packs of Kate Somerville 360 Tanning Towelettes... yay! They saved me from what would probably have been hours of aggravation trying to find the right self-tanner. (I was leaning towards Sun Labs Sunless Tanning Spray.)

$10 for 2 at Sephora

Kate Somerville's tanning cloths are like big wet-naps that are soaked with self-tanning solution. I needed two to cover my whole body, so at $10 for 2 the price is a little steep. But the tanning solution did its job and I immediately started getting tan. After only a couple hours, I was very bronze and my boyfriend's brother even commented on how dark I looked. Thankfully, there was no strong smell at ALL- even while I was out dancing and sweating at a Halloween party. The next morning I was SNOOKI dark. For the price, though, I was disappointed because I was orange :(

Short & Sweet: Kate Somerville's 360 Tanning Towelettes are great in a pinch, when you're short on time and need to tan ASAP without having a gross, lingering sunless tanner smell. However, the are pretty expensive ($10 for 2 or $48 for 8) and turned my skin orange-y when the color fully developed, so I would only give them a 3/5.

Tip: I used Glytone Exfoliating Body Wash with a Salux Japanese Exfoliating Washcloth to scrub off any dry, dead skin before using the Tanning Towelettes. Always exfoliate before you tan so you won't look splotchy! Then, rub a thick moisturizer into your elbows, knees, ankles, hands, and feet so they won't absorb too much of the solution. Finally, start at your ankles with the towelette still folded and work your way up, unfolding the cloth as you go.