I Know Other Stuff

Free Red Zoya Polish

2012-02-14T18:37:00.001-06:00

Click this link for information on how to get a free red zoya polish and free shipping with purchase. Offer ends 11:59 PM EST 2-15. Might I suggest Zoya Jade. Some reds are coral reds, pink reds, or more purple reds. The red options aren't all super red. I got Zoya Rica as my free "red" and Elodie as my regular polish. They should be fun corals for summer.

Elodie

Rica

O.P.I. Big Apple Red

2012-02-13T16:24:00.002-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day! O.P.I. Big Apple Red is one of the polishes I got from my Aunt. It is a true red. It isn't a color that I'm really drawn to. I haven't used OPI enough to have formed an opinion and I can't remember if this is 2 or 3 coats. I used my stamping kit to stamp hearts on my nails for Valentines day. I'm still learning how to stamp and I'm not very good yet. One thing I just recently learned (after I did it for this mani) is quick dry top coats drag the color of the nail stamp as you apply it. I'm still trying to figure out if the problems I'm having are the stamping kit, the polish I'm using, or user error or some combination. Hopefully I'll get better at it.

Zoya Laney

2012-02-09T22:53:00.000-06:00

This nail polish is Zoya in the color Laney. This is the second polish I got in Zoya's recent promotion. The accent color on the ring finger is Zoya Noel (first pic). I love Zoya nail polish. It wears like iron on me. With Essie Good to Go topcoat, I have found a way that I can get Zoya polish to dry before the manicure gets marred. I really like this color. Zoya calls this a cool toned, metallic finish with a 4 out of 5 opacity. Laney is silver without being futuristic. It took three coats to make this opaque. The downside is that you can see brush strokes. That isn't a deal breaker for me, but I'd prefer no visable brush strokes. I've added pics of my other silver polishes. Milani in Ms. Milani is on the pinky finger. This color is taupe with silver. It does not read silver when you wear it. IMHO, the color is just meh. Zoya Laney on the ring finger. The Middle finger has L'Oreal Silver Star (very old bottle and limited edition). It has a shimmery finish. This color reads futuristic disco robot. The Milani and L'Oreal colors do work well for a silver gradient manicure.

Styling Techniques for Wavy Hair

2012-02-05T10:58:00.001-06:00

Here are short descriptions and links to popular styling methods for curly hair of all sorts. These are the techniques that also happen to work really well for wavy hair.

Plopping- Plopping encourages curl. Put a towel (microfiber, flour sack, cotton t-shirt, etc.) at chair height. Lean forward and accordion fold your hair as you lean down. When your head is against the towel, wrap the towel against your head and secure. This is a popular video, but there are tons if you search "plopping curly hair" on youtube.com. In the video, plopping is referred to as plunking.
Experiment with plopping different times. Some people can only plop 10-20 minutes without causing frizz, others can plop overnight. For some plopping will never work. Plopping often doesn't work on short hair, but it worked for my hair when it was ear length.

Diffusing- This video shows how to use a diffuser. I recommend using a bowl diffuser.

Pixie Diffusing- Pixie diffusing encourages curl. For some it doesn't work because it causes wonky curls (technical term :)). To pixie diffuse you gather hair in the diffuser bowl and press it against your scalp. Then you turn on the diffuser. Diffuse that section on low for a 1-2 minutes. Shut off the diffuser. Move on to the next section. Turning the hair dryer on and off in this manner stops the hair from being blown around and therefore helps reduce frizz. I work the diffuser around the perimeter of my hair. The original Pixie Diffusing Method does five sections: sides, back, bangs, and top. Water Lilly 716 (video below) has a good youtube channel for curly hair and the curly girl method.
The Pixie Diffusing Thread on Naturally Curly.com. (NC.com)

Smaster's Method, A.K.A. the consistently awesome hair technique- This is great for encouraging curls. It works especially well for shorter hair. You apply half of your hair product. For example apply your curl enhancer now and then gel later. Or apply half your gel now and half later. Anyway, apply 1/2 of the product. Diffuse until your hair is half dry. Wet your hands slightly and apply the second half of your hair products. Diffuse some more. If your gels are sticky (like mine), wetting your hands helps prevent frizz. If you apply the second gel with dry hands, it will pull individual hairs away from their clumps and causes frizz.
Smaster's method thread on NC.com.

Ice Queen Method- The Ice Queen Method helps promote clumps. What is a clump? A clump is where several strands of hair (like a 1/2-1 inch square section) form one curl. The opposite would be more stringy hair where that same 1/2-1 inch section forms several curls. For the ice queen method, scrunch in conditioner upside down until your hair feels seaweed-y. Then, rinse out your conditioner upside down with cold water. Scrunch in your leave in conditioner followed by your gel or curl enhancer upside down. Scrunch out as much water as possible upside down. Scrunch again right side up, maybe adding more product. For some people (like me) this method results in wonky waves, but nice clumps. These links are more NC.com threads.
Explaining the ice queen method.
Big thread about the ice queen method.

Super Soaker Method- This method is also to promote clumps. You coat your hair with leave in conditioner and curl cream. Comb or denman brush your hair. Brush or comb away from the scalp. Bring cupped hands full of water to your hair and up to the scalp. Repeat until your whole head is soaked. Scrunch out excess water from hair.
Link that explains the Super Soaker Method. Video on page 2. This is a concise, thorough explanation.
Link to Super Soaker Method thread. Link to the same video in first post.

Scrunch Out the Crunch (SOTC)- After your hair is dry, squeeze it repeatedly to release the gel cast. The hard gel cast helps hold your hair in a wave shape as it dries. Crunch is your friend. When your hair is 100% dry, scrunch it out. Some people find they prefer to lightly coat their hands with something first. You could use a pea size of conditioner, curl creams, oils, butters, etc. to SOTC or just use your bare hands.
For some, especially those with fine hair, the water's weight will pull the wave downward and pull out the curl as it dries. Diffusing hair helps set the gel cast in a wave shape and remove some of the water weight. Using a gel with a hard hold can also help hold the wave shape.

I use a mixture of these techniques. I do a modified Super Soaker method. Then plop. Then Pixie Curl diffuse half way. Then add more product (Smaster's method) and Pixie Curl diffuse some more. Then I air dry a bit and then Scrunch Out the Crunch.

Lists of Curly Girl Products

2012-02-01T11:21:00.002-06:00

I'll give you these links to lists of Curly Girl (CG) products on one condition. You have to promise, cross your heart, hope to die, that you will check the ingredients list before you buy anything. Formulas change all the time. Lists of products are impossible to keep updated. You will always have to double check to make sure a product is still CG.
Going No Poo, List of Silicone Free Conditioners Click on the links on the side for silicone free gel and silicone free leave ins
Healthy Curls
Girl with a Curl Products list on left side of the blog. This list includes products with amodimethicone as being CG.

Which Ingredients to Avoid With the Curly Girl Method

2012-01-31T10:36:00.000-06:00

Snape's hair has product build up.

With the Curly Girl method, you don't want to put anything in your hair that cannot be removed by a conditioner wash (cowash). The first and most important thing to avoid is silicones (often referred to as cones in the cyber hair care universe). Some silicones are O.K. to use.

How to identify a silicone? Silicones end in -cone, -conol, or -xane. Don't be fooled by ingredients that end in -one, those are usually preservatives. Silicones cannot be removed by cowashing, and should be avoided with the Curly Girl (CG) method.

Partially Water Soluble Silicones- Partially water soluble cones are easier to remove. IMHO, if you use a non sulfate shampoo (low poo), you don't need to worry about water soluble silicones. Amodimethicone (A.K.A the A-cone) is the one most commonly seen. I got a lot of the info in this post from this link.
Amodimethicone
                                      Trimethylsiylamodimethicone
                                      Behenoxy Dimethicone
                                      Stearoxy Dimethicone

Cyclo-silicones- These evaporate off the hair. In the process of evaporating, they may cause the cuticle to buckle. At one point on the message boards of NaturallyCurly.com, people thought the cyclo-silicones were building up. They weren't actually building up, the change in the way their hair felt was from the buckled cuticle. The Curl Chemist says a low poo should restore the hair. See this Curl Chemist article for more info.
Cyclomethicone
Cyclopentasiloxane

Water Soluble silicones- These rinse right off of your hair and are allowed in the CG method. If your hair is fine and very prone to being weighed down, you may still want to avoid them. Water soluble silicones weigh done some fine hair.   The first two on the list are the most common.
                       Anything with a PEG- or PPG- in the name.
                       Dimethicone Copolyol
   Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein Hydroxypropyl Polysiloxane
                       Lauryl Methicone Copolyol

Mineral Oil (A.K.A. petrolatum)- Some people can use this without any problems. Others, (like me) find it hard to remove. It makes my hair oily and heavy. If you are trying a mineral oil containing product, you may want to try it on a small section/curl first. That way if things go wrong, you don't have a whole greasy head.

Castor Oil, PEG castor oil- Same ruled apply as for mineral oil. Straight castor is popular for hair care to add moisture (mostly with type 4 kinky/curly hair). I've read there is different qualities of castor oil that make a difference. I don't know too much about using the oil straight. I'm more familiar with this as an ingredient. Works for some, hard to remove for others. PEG castor oil is easier to remove. My hair hates castor oil in all forms.

Polyquats- Which polyquats are likely to build up depends on which expert you ask. All agree that polyquat-4, common in mousse, is easy to remove. As a general rule, the larger the number the harder the polyquat is to remove. These links have more info on polyquats in hair products.
Curl Chemist on Polyquats
No-Poo Jillipoo talked to several experts about polyquats.

So, if you avoid everything on this list, does that you will never get build up? Nope. Some random things build up for some people. Jojoba oil builds up for me. Also cationic conditioners are meant to adsorb (cling) to the hair. They are usually washed off. But sometimes, some continue to cling to the hair and build up. A low poo will remove this build up. This link has more on how conditioners can build up.

How to Remove Glitter Nail Polish

2012-01-30T14:07:00.001-06:00

I figured since I posted about the glitter nail polish trend, I should tell you how to remove it. Here is the cliff notes version. You soak a piece of a cotton ball, or cotton pad (you can cut them in quarters) in nail polish remover. Pure acetone works best for the most stubborn glitter, but regular polish remover that contains acetone usually works fine. I just use the acetone containing remover. Apply the cotton ball or similar directly to the nail. Take a piece of aluminum foil that you have previously cut/torn into small pieces. Wrap the foil around the nail and cotton ball so it stays in close contact with the nail. Leave it a few minutes. I only leave it 3-5 minutes (I think, I haven't worn glitter in a while). I've never had to leave it on the full 10 minutes. I remove the foil. Next, I press down on the cotton ball and twist side to side. Then pull the cotton back while pressing down on the nail. Most or all of the glitter should be gone.
Here is a youtube video that shows you how to do it.

Testing Essie Shine of the Times

2012-01-29T10:54:00.000-06:00

When I got my "free" (I paid shipping) Zoya polishes in the mail, they also send me nail plates with swatches of their new collections. On one of the plates, there was a blank side.
Off topic: Zoya, why would you do that? You are making the plates and spending them out. Why not just put swatches of the 6 best selling nudes or purples or blues? You need to have your marketing department get on that.
Anyway, I decided to try to find colors to pair with Essie Shine of the Times, which is a flakie.

Click on the pics to make them larger. I like this over the pink and the lavender. I think I'll try this over the Rimmel Purple Rain. I don't think it will be for me (I"m not a dark polish girl), but I'm going to try it anyway.

In the first swatch I also added a coat of Hard Candy Matte-ly in Love. I think it looks like the rocks in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Do I want my nails to look like rocks? Probably not, but I'll likely try it some time. I liked it over the green and blue. I also like it over OPI I love this color (red-brown). That will be a nice combo in the fall.

As long as I was taking pics, I took one of the Zoya flakie samples they sent me. The first three are the flakie polishes alone. They look much sheerer in pictures on the internet. The last three pics are of the respective polishes over another color.

And, if you are interested, this Square Nails blog post has a round up of all the spring 2012 nail polish collections.

Zoya Noel

2012-01-28T15:54:00.001-06:00

This is Zoya in the color Noel. Zoya calls this a cool blue metallic with an opacity of 5 (on a scale of 1-5). This is two coats. I always do at least two coats, but you may be able to get by with one thick one. This color is a bit out of my comfort zone, but I think I like it. Personally, I'd call this a warm or neutral toned blue, but what do I know? Zoya polishes dry very slowly for me and I usually mar the manicure before it dries. I used Essie Good to Go quick drying top coat and it dried just fine for me. So far so good. As long as this mani doesn't start chipping prematurely or something, I'll be going with the Zoya/Good to Go combo from now on.

Cheap Thrills: ELF Studio Blush Brush

2012-01-26T16:01:00.000-06:00

My rule for cheap thrills is that the thrills have to 1) be under 5$ or a cheap price for the product 2) I have to really like it. I'm a bargain hunter, so I have quite a few of these and I'm always looking for the next one.

The ELF Studio Blush Brush (black handle) is awesome for 3$. Ideally, I'd wish this was a bit denser. But this works really well. It is soft. The shape is great. The size is great. It is soft. It does what you want it to do. If the magic blush brush fairy came and brought me the perfect blush brush that was slightly denser, I'd happily accept it. But, I won't be looking for a different blush brush any time soon. I really like this brush and highly recommend it.

Now it is time for disclaimers and apologies. I'm trying a new hair product and used too much, thus producty hair. I tried to iron the sheet, but it was super wrinkled. I'll have to wash it before I film another video. My lighting is terrible and I'm often out of frame. Sorry about all that.

Nail Polish Trend: Glitter

2012-01-24T15:49:00.000-06:00

The first thing I want to point out is that none of these pics are my nails. Click on the names of the polish to see the corresponding blog post.

Now that every color has taken over the nail polish world, the next logical step is glitter. Yep, glitter for adults. Some of these glitters are the glitter nail polishes we traditionally think of, full coverage small glitter. If you are looking for this type of glitter, China Glaze has lots of interesting options (at Sally Beauty Supply). Another trend that has been around a while is holographic glitter, such as China Glaze OMG (last pic, bottom right). Some of the new glitters have bigger or different shapes. Hexagon shapes are popular, but you will also see circles, donuts, and long, thin pieces. There are some polishes have sparse glitter that looks more like polka dots on your nails. Essie just came out with a collection of glitter top coats (first pic) called the Lux Effects Collection. Some of the Essie collection have tiny shimmers, others with hexagonal glitter meant to look like small stones. I've added some pics of drugstore glitters popular with nail polish fanatics. First, on the right, is Revlon Facets of Fuchsia. It is a dupe(licate) of Deborah Lippman's Bad Romance (more expensive). It has purple hexaganol glitter and micro glitter in a black jelly base. Next is Revlon Whimsical which is a dupe of Deborah Lippman's Glitter in the Air. It is blue and pink hexagonal glitter plus blue glitter in a sheer blue base. Third is Revlon Starry Pink. It is a light pink base with silver hexagonal glitter and silver glitter. Wet N Wild Party of Five Glitters is a sparse glitter overlay of glitters of varying size and color.

Another big trend in glitter is flakies. In the first picture, the bottom left and center are Essie Shine of the times which is a flakie. Flakies look like little pieces of mica. In fact they could actually be little pieces of mica. Who knows?? (not me, but someone knows) These polishes remind me of the rocks with mica in the black hills of South Dakota. As you can see with the two pictures above, flakies look quite a bit different over light or dark polishes. Traditional flakies, like Shine of the Times, flash between green and copper, depending on the angle. Some of the newer flakies flash blue to dark blue or green to blue. Click for swatches of the newly released Zoya flakies or Finger Paints flakies (at Sally Beauty Supply). I own Essie Shine of the Times, but so far I don't think it is for me, unfortunately. I'm going to keep trying though and see if I can find a way I like it.
If you want to ease your way into glitters, you can always do an accent nail in glitter. An accent nail is where you paint one nail, usually the ring finger, a differently then the rest of your nails.

See my post on how to remove glitter nail polish.

Be nice to your hair tip #5: Don't over wash.

2012-01-24T15:47:00.001-06:00

One key to having healthy hair is to not over wash it. If you wash your hair too often or with a shampoo (or other option) that is too harsh for your hair, here is what happens. Your scalp is over washed, becomes dry, and sends a signal to "Send more oil!". You get oily roots and wash more often, which in turn triggers more oil. This give you dry ends and oily roots. In addition, many people will add silicone containing products to combat the dry ends. These make hair dirty even faster, which means even more shampooing.
When you switch to milder cleansing methods, it may take a while for your hair to adjust. Your hair may be oily at the roots to begin with.
Here are alternate ways to clean your hair, moving from least cleansing to most cleansing. When you have done one of these methods, condition and style as usual.

Water Washing- To water wash, you wet your hair and scrub the scalp with the pads of your fingers. Scrub a lot. If you usually shampoo, you will have to scrub a whole lot more then you are used to. When you think you are done, scrub more. Water washing is cowashing without the conditioner. Water washing adds less moisture to your hair then cowashing. If cowashing is weighing you hair down, swap some or all of your cowashes with water washing. Do not use water washing as your only method of cleaning your hair. You must also use one of the other methods listed below.

Cowashing (conditioner washing)-To cowash, you use conditioner instead of shampoo. Scrub the roots of your hair with conditioner. Use the pads of your fingers and not the nails. Scrub more then you would with shampoo. When you think you are done, scrub some more. Continue scrubbing as you rinse your hair. This helps the water from the shower reach the roots of your hair and makes it easier to get the conditioner rinsed out. If you cowash exclusively, you must be careful not to put anything in your hair that cannot be removed by conditioner. I'll do a post on what ingredients to avoid in the future.

Cleansing Conditioner-This is a conditioner with mild cleansers in it. The cleansers mean it gets your hair cleaner then cowashing. One example is Curl Junkie Daily Fix.

Condition Wash Condition- Coat the ends of your hair with conditioner. You can either go from the ears down, or just skip the first few inches. Wash the roots of your hair with shampoo (sulfate free is milder). This method helps protect the dry ends of your hair while cleaning the roots. Try to keep the shampoo and conditioner separate. When you have rinsed, condition your hair.

Low Poo (non sulfate shampoo)-Sulfate free shampoo is milder then shampoos that contain sulfates. Sulfates to avoid include: Alkylbenzene Sulfonate, Alkylbenzene Sulfonate, Ammonium or Sodium Xylenesulfonate, Dioctyl Sodium Sulfosuccinate, Ethyl PEG-15 Cocamine Sulfate, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Sodium Cocoyl Sarcosinate; Sodium Laureth, Myreth, or Lauryl Sulfate; Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, and TEA-Dodecylbenzenesulfonate. The list of sulfates is from Live Curly Live Free. It is common for people with wavy hair to low poo about once a week. This varies from person to person. Some wavies low poo daily, and others cowash exclusively.

Diluted Sulfate Shampoo- You can dilute sulfate shampoo to make it milder. Keep in mind that when you dilute products, you also are diluting the preservatives. Either mix up what you need every time you shampoo, or mix up about a weeks worth at a time and keep it in the refrigerator. Science-y Hair Blog has more info on how to do this.

Sulfate shampoo (regular shampoo)-Very few people need to use a sulfate shampoo daily. That is too often for most hair. The people most likely to be able to use sulfate shampoo daily are 1a (very straight), coarse, non porous hair. This hair is common among Chinese.

Pre wash treatments- A trick to taming shampoo or another washing method is to oil your hair before you wash it. This helps prevent shampoo from stripping all the natural oils from your hair. This is most often done with coconut oil. You can oil your hair 15 minutes to overnight before you wash. The first time you do this you should only do it 15 minutes before washing and only do one small strip of hair. Coconut oil washes out easily for some and is hard to remove for others. This is why you want to test a small strip of hair first. Many people find coconut oil cowashes out easily. For me, it even water washes out. Using coconut oil in this manner has made a huge difference in my hair. You can use coconut oil in this way as often as you like, but weekly would be common.

Sally Hansen Insta Dry Review

2012-01-17T13:30:00.000-06:00

I'll start with my usual nail polish disclaimer. Nail polishes work differently for different people. What works for me may be terrible for you and vice versa. That said, I hate pretty much everything about this nail polish. It is very thick. So thick that I thought the first bottle I bought must have been opened in the store and dried out some before I bought it. Nope. The second bottle was just as thick. It applies in very thick coats, but still will not cover in two coats. The picture above is two coats, and you can see that the coverage is uneven and not opaque yet (it is also really sloppily applied and all over my skin, sorry). This polish does not self level. If the polish is not level when it is applied, it will dry bumpy. It is nearly impossible to apply level. The top surface of this polish will dry quickly, but the bulk of the nail polish takes a long time to dry. It stays malleable for quite a while, maybe an hour or two. I end up with dents and impressions in the manicure from where it gets bumped while it is drying. It wears pretty well for me, 6ish days. I'm not really a fan of either color. I thought a Barbie pink (Fuchsia Flare) might be fun once in a while, but this color is too yellow for me. Luckily, my preschool niece loves this color. I thought I could put a glitter over the white (Whirlwind White) and it would look like new fallen snow on a cold winter day. It didn't look like that. It looked like I painted my nails with white out and put some glitter on top. I was not a fan of the formula or the colors I picked. I will not be buying Sally Hansen Insta Dry again.

Newspaper Mani with QR Codes (for Cell Phones)

2012-01-16T21:15:00.000-06:00

This manicure looks complicated, but it is so easy to do. It is another newspaper manicure. First you cut out the QR codes from the newspaper, they are the things you scan with your cell phone to get coupons, etc. Then you paint your nails. Mine are painted with Wet N Wild Megalast in Garden Hose, three coats. It is a limited edition color from the 2011 spring collection. You must choose a color that is light enough for the newsprint to show up. Then you dip the nail in rubbing alcohol, press the QR code from the newspaper against it for a few seconds, and top with a top coat. You must use a top coat, or the newsprint will wear off. I topped mine with Essie Pure Pearlfection from the Luxeffects collection. This is limited edition, but in stores now. Pure Pearlfection is a glitter overlay with very fine shimmer. Here is the youtube tutorial from My Simple Little Pleasures that gave me the inspiration for this manicure.

So What Does It All Mean?

2012-01-15T11:29:00.000-06:00

The answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything?

If you are not a big geek, ignore that part. This post explains what your all your hair properties mean. I suggest going on the Curl Talk forum on Naturally Curly (or the Long Hair Community for straight hair since Naturally Curly doesn't have a straight hair section) and find people with the same hair properties. You can see which products and techniques they use for their hair and try them on yours.

Curl Pattern:
Curl pattern is the least important hair property. In general, the curlier your hair is, the more moisture it needs. Very curly hair will be dryer, because it has more bends, and the cuticle cannot lie flat against the bends. When the cuticle isn't flat, moisture escapes. People with wavy (type 2) hair often find they need a gel with a harder hold then those with curly hair. Different styling techniques will work best for each curl pattern. Styling is probably the biggest difference between different curl patterns. Also, the straighter your hair, the stronger cleanser you are likely to need. Straight hair (1's) will likely need at least an occasional sulfate shampoo. Nearly all wavies (2's) need an occasional non sulfate shampoo (low poo). Curlies (3's and 4's) are more likely to be able to cowash (conditioner wash) exclusively.

Thickness:
People with thick hair will probably want heavier products to keep their hair from getting too big. They may also prefer air drying, which produces less volume then diffusing. On colder days, you can sit under a hard hat dryer to speed things along.
People with thin hair will probably prefer lighter products, so their hair does not get weighted down. They may also prefer diffusing and/or clipping (I'll explain in a later post) as their styling method to add volume.
For more info: No-poo Jillipoo: Adjusting the Volume

Texture:
Fine hair: Fine hair usually does not like a lot of oils, butters, or products that contain them. Heavy products will be too moisturizing and/or may weigh fine hair down. Fine hair tends to get over moisturized easily. Fine hair that is very prone to being weighed down may not like any silicone, even water soluble ones. People who's hair gets weighed down very easily find them too heavy. Many fine haired wavies find cowashing weighs their hair down. Some fine haired wavies cannot cowash and have to use a low poo exclusively. Fine hair tends to like protein, no matter what the porosity. Fine hair has a small cortex, and has a hard time keeping the proper amount of protein in it. Protein products help get the proper amount of protein inside the hair's cortex. Fine hair should like protein in hair products and/or protein treatments as needed. Once a week protein treatments are common for fine hair, but do protein treatments when your hair needs them.

Coarse hair: Usually likes oils and butters and the products that contain them These products help soften the hair so it bends easier (wavy, curly hair). Coarse hair tends no to like protein. (porous, coarse hair will need some protein) Coarse hair has a large cortex that tends to have plenty of protein and doesn't need any more.

Medium hair: Is is in the middle (duh). It likes some oils, butter, and oil/butter products. It needs some protein. Medium hair may do a protein treatment more like once a month to once every few months.

Porosity:
Porous hair: Porous hair needs protein. Protein helps fix the porosity by temporarily filling in the openings and holes in the hair's cuticle. When the protein eventually washes out of your hair, you will need to fill the openings again with more protein. You will want to use protein in you products and/or do protein treatments. If your hair is porous and coarse, use caution because this hair can get too much protein easily. I've read keratin or silk protein is the easiest for coarse hair to use. I don't know if that is true or not. Closing the holes in your cuticle will also help keep moisture from escaping, so it will help keep your hair moisturized as well. Experiment with different types of protein to see which type works best. Your hair may dislike one kind of protein and love another.

Normal Porosity: Good for you. If your hair is fine you will still want protein treatments. If your hair is medium, you may still want an occasional protein treatment.

Non Porous Hair: Non porous hair does not need protein because the cuticle lies flat and does not need to be repaired (you still need protein for fine hair). Non porous hair is very healthy hair in general. If non porous hair becomes dried out, it hard to get it moisturized again. It is hard to get moisture back into hair because there are no openings in the cuticle for the moisture to make its way into hair.

Elasticity:
Overly Elastic Hair is a sign hair is over moisturized. You need to use more protein and use as little conditioner as possible until your hair returns to normal.

Normal Elasticity Hair stretches up to 1/3 of its original length and returns back to its original length. Good Job. Carry on.

Low Elasticity Hair can be caused by several things. Usually it is lack of moisture. Use moisturizing conditioners, deep treatments, and leave in conditioners. You may also need protein treatments to shore up the stretchy protein strands in your cortex.

Keep in mind that these are general rules. Hair is individual. My hair is very fine, but only follows about half of the general rules for fine hair. You need to do what works for your individual hair.

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Compact Foundation Review

2012-01-12T20:12:00.000-06:00

All good beauty bloggers know that the first thing you do when you bring make-up home is take a picture of your new pristine make-up for your blog. I...am not a good beauty blogger. There wasn't even a single speck left. But I took a picture of the empty container. That's better then nothing, right? Sorta? Maybe?

Product Name Neutrogena Healthy Skin Compact Make-up in Classic Ivory 10
What my skin type: Normal to slightly dry in the winter. Products with lots of lotion-y type moisture (technical term) will sometimes make it act as if it were oily.
My experience with this type of product. I’ve tried several types of foundation formulas and different drugstore foundations. I’ve tried several cream to powder foundations specifically.
What I look for in this product. I usually prefer cream to powder foundations for winter. I like a medium to full coverage. I want a drugstore foundation that matches my very pale, warm skin (NC10 A.K.A lightest color in the drugstore).
My rating: 3 sit and spins

What I like about it. I love, love, love that neutrogena put their helioplex sunscreen in this product (SPF 55). Helioplex is an excellent sunscreen with great UVB protection. The color is also a nice match for me (NC10). One note about sunscreen in make-up, you only get an SPF 55 if you use a 1/4 teaspoon on your face. It is unlikely you will use that much, therefore you will not get the full SPF 55 protection from this foundation. But, every little bit helps.

What I hate about it. I don’t really hate anything. I wish this had more coverage. It applies unevenly and sorts of skips as you apply it. It is somewhat difficult to blend. Both of these improve if I use a primer first. Although this is not a bad formula, it is one of the worst cream to powder foundation formulas I’ve tried. For me, cream to powder foundation is like chocolate. Even when it is bad, it is still good.

Would you buy this again? Probably not. But you never know, I might.

China Glaze Magnetix

2012-01-11T16:43:00.000-06:00

China Glaze is coming out with a magnetic nail polish. It was supposed to be released mid February, but it now looks like they might hit shelves as early as January 15th. I've been eying these cool magnetic style polishes since I first saw a picture of them in Allure magazine about a year ago. Finally there is a "drugstore" version (Sally Beauty Supply carries China Glaze). Here is how it works. You paint you nails with the special polish. Then you hold one of the magnetic plates over the nail and the pattern emerges on your nail. What more could a geek who likes nail polish want? The bad news is that these will reportedly be 10 bucks a pop and an additional 10 bucks for the three magnet design plates. Um, yeah. The inner geek in me doesn't want to pay 20 bucks to watch a magnet move nail polish into a cool pattern. I'll wait until Wet N Wild decides to make their own version. :) I'll attach some random images I found of magnetic nail polishes on google so you can get an idea of what magnetic nail polishes look like. None of the pictures are my nails.

Edit: Click here to see swatches of the China Glaze Magnetix on The PolishAholic. I plan to get one of the Icing Magnetix (at Claire's/Icing stores, jewelry stores in the mall). Click for her swatches of those polishes.

Protein for Hair: Part 1

2012-01-09T21:24:00.000-06:00

Protein does two main things for hair. It shores up the hair's inner structure, making it stretchy. This makes hair stronger. There are long chains of protein in the cortex that stretch like rubber bands and adding protein to hair helps keep the chains in good repair. Hair that is damaged is damaged permanently. But protein can go a long way toward temporarily repairing that damage. Protein also temporarily fills in the openings/holes in the hair's cuticle. This helps hair hang on to moisture, makes it shinier, and makes it act healthier. Curls will bounce up after a protein treatment if you need one.
Protein needs to be kept in balance with moisture. Too much of either protein or moisture will give you hard brittle hair. Not enough moisture will give you dry, rough hair. Not enough protein your hair will be limp. I'll do a separate post on how to diagnose hair.
I highly suggest you read this article. It explains protein and moisture balance in hair better then I can.
The Fine Art of Protein and Moisture Balancing for Black Hair Care.
The article is about African American hair, but the information is true for all hair.

So does this mean you should run out and put some protein in your hair? No. Protein isn't friends with all types of hair. If your hair is non porous, you do not need protein (unless you have fine hair). In non porous hair the cuticle lies flat and does non need to be repaired. If you have coarse hair, you do not need protein (unless also porous, then proceed with caution). Coarse hair has enough protein in its cortex already. Adding more protein to either of these hair types will give you hard, rough, brittle hair. Some people have bad reactions to very small amounts of protein in hair products. These people are protein sensitive. See the protein sensitive board on naturallycurly.com if you think this is you.

Protein is a miraculous thing for hair that needs it. It adds bounce, shine, strength, can help with frizz, and make hair act healthier. Porous hair needs protein. (use caution if you have coarse, porous hair). Protein will help temporarily fix the damage done to your hair. Fine hair tends to like protein, no matter what the porosity. There isn't much room inside fine hair's cortex, because it is relatively smaller then the cortex of medium or coarse hair. Fine hair seems to always be lacking protein in its interior. If your hair needs protein check out the Protein Lovers Forum of Naturallycurly.com.

This link has pictures of curly hair needing protein and hair with too much protein.
The Pittsburgh Curly: Protein vs. Moisture

Protein ingredients usually have protein in their name. Some exceptions are amino acids (very small, mild "proteins"), collagen, and keratin. Protein can be ingredients in styling products, leave in conditioners, conditioners, etc. It takes time for protein to make its way into the hair's cortex, so it is more effective in things that are left on the hair (gels, leave in conditioner, etc.). It is least effective in shampoo, which is only on the hair a minute. The most effective way to get protein into hair is with a protein treatment. Follow a protein treatment with a deep (moisture) treatment or a moisturizing conditioner to balance out the protein. More on this in upcoming posts on protein.

Two Free Zoya Nail Polishes (Offer Expired)

2012-01-06T19:43:00.001-06:00

Get two free Zoya nail polishes. You pay the 7$ (ish) shipping. Use the code ZOYA2012 on zoya.com. The offer is good now through 11:59 PM Eastern time 1/9/12. Check out the fancy polish finding feature on the top left of the page. You can sort by color, finish, warm/neutral/cool, and opacity. If you want to see what a color looks like on an actual nail, do a google image search for zoya and the name of the color you are interested in. I got Noel and Laney.

Failed Search for Dupes

2012-01-05T23:24:00.000-06:00

A dupe (short for duplicate) is a color that is the same as a more expensive formula but costs the same or less. I never get to search for dupes, because I don't buy colors that are similar if I can help it. When my Aunt gave me some polishes, I had some similar colors.

Revlon Blackberry is close to OPI Bogotta Blackberry, but the OPI color is much more of a berry color. Wet n Wild Through the Grapevine is darker and more purple then OPI My Auntie Drinks Chianti. But, if you just want a color that is close, either of these cheaper versions could work. As you can see, I just slopped nail polish on for the comparison.

If you have an expensive product (nail polish, eye shadow, lipstick, etc.) and would like a similar drugstore dupe, here is what I would recommend. Do a Google search with the name of the product and you are interested in and the word dupe. This should pull up some links with product recommendations (assuming the product actually has a dupe)

Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro in Gold Silk

2012-01-04T12:49:00.000-06:00

This color is a cross between gold and taupe. (Taupe is defined as a 50/50 mix of brown and gray.) This color is sheer with a soft metallic sheen. It took three coats to make it opaque. I'm thinking an eye shadow this color might be nice. :)
For more on this Rimmel nail polish formula, see my previous post.

Zoya Jade

2011-12-22T21:11:00.000-06:00

This is Zoya polish in the color Jade. Why is a red polish named Jade? All of Zoya's polishes have women's names. So why is a red polish named Jade? No idea. This is a red jelly polish with red sparkles. It took three coats to make it opaque. The red sparkles are sort of floating within the polish itself in three different layers. I haven't had a polish quite like this one before. Photos just don't capture how pretty this is. I stamped a silver snowflake on my index finger with my new nail stamping kit.
On my nails Zoya polish wears like iron. It grows out from the cuticle and needs to be removed before it even begins to chip. I've had issues with getting Zoya to dry. It has stayed wet for hours for me, and usually gets some kind of bump or dent before it dries. It dries with no issues for my sister. Polish is a very your mileage may vary product. How it performs varies from person to person. I'm still experimenting with different top coats and ways of applying Zoya. Hopefully I will get it to work for me. This time I waited 10 minutes between coats, and it seemed to dry faster.
Notice the green grass poking through the snow at Christmas time. So much better then the several feet of snow and sub zero weather we have had for the past few years.
Edit: I'm now using Essie Good to Go topcoat and this polish dries without an issue for me.

Be Nice to Your Hair Tip #4: Avoid Heat

2011-12-21T13:51:00.000-06:00

Treat your hair like a cashmere sweater. Would you set your iron on high and iron the heck out of your cashmere? Nope. Well cashmere and hair are both made of keratin protein and both will be damaged by high heat. Both will be damaged permanently.

Heat is bad for hair. Avoid blow drying on high heat, curling irons, and the dreaded flat iron. Heat damages the cuticle by causing bubbling, cracking, and chipping. Heat also damages the hair's natural oils. Heat can damage your hair's color (melanin). In addition, heat damages the stretchy protein chains inside the hair's cortex. This makes the hair more prone to breakage. The heat can also cause the water inside your hair's cortex to boil and damage your hair from the inside out.
If you do choose to style with heat, use a heat protectant. This helps, but doesn't completely protect the hair from heat damage. Avoid heat protectants with a lot of alcohol in the formula. How hot is too hot? Above 150 degrees, the consequences of using heat become more severe. However, all heat will cause some damage to your hair. Keeping the heat under 130 degrees is even safer.
If you do blow dry, remove as much water as possible from the hair first. Gently wrap your hair in a microfiber towel, a flower sack towel, or a 100% cotton t-shirt. Don't use terry cloth. Terry cloth towels damage the hair. It also helps if you don't blow dry your hair completely dry.
Remember, if you are nice to your hair, it will be nice to you.

For more info, see these links:
Hair hot iron damage
How to protect your hair from heat damage
Thermal Protection: Do they really work

How to Figure Out Your Hair's Porosity and Elasticity

2011-12-18T22:09:00.001-06:00

When your hair grows out of your head, it is born perfect. The hair's cuticle lies flat and smooth. When your hair gets damaged, the cuticle begins to open up. Hair with a closed cuticle is non porous. Hair with a cuticle that is open, or missing chunks is porous. Some hair is naturally susceptible to damage. Some hair will become porous from sun damage, wind damage, etc. But perming, coloring, flat irons, etc. are common causes of porous hair.

Non porous hair- Is hard to get wet. Water runs off it like off a ducks back. Non porous hair takes a long time to dry (8 hours-ish). It is hard to get water in the closed cuticle, but once the water is in there, it is locked in tight. It will sometimes squeak when you run your hands over dry hair. Non porous hair is resistant to color, but once is is colored, it won't fade. It is also resistant to perming or straitening. These solutions will have to be left on the hair longer for them to be effective. Low porosity hair is healthy hair. It is shiny, especially if it is dark. Hair products seem to sit on top of porous hair and do not soak in.

Normal porosity hair- Is relatively easy to deal with. It takes perms and color treatments predictably. If you always get the color on the box, this is a sign you are normal porosity. It dries at an average rate (3-4 hours-ish).

Porous hair- Is easy to get wet. Porous hair dries quickly (1-2 hours-ish) without product. With conditioner and gel, it may take a long time to dry. Porous hair soaks up hair products like a sponge. Porous hair will dye darker then the box (if dying hair a darker color then your natural color). But, the color will fade quickly. Perms will take curlier then expected, but then relax quite a bit. Porous hair is damaged hair. But that doesn't necessarily mean that your were doing terrible things to your hair. Some hair is just naturally susceptible to damage. Porous hair tends to be dull.

I should note that the drying times are my guestimations. Drying times will also vary with hair thickness and length. Drying times are based on hair without conditioner or gel. These can greatly increase the drying time. Drying times will also be affected by length, thickness, humidity, temperature, etc.

My porous hair will get wet from the steam when sitting in a hot bath. My hair will dry in an hour or two without product, but will take all day to dry when I used a heavy conditioner and lots of gel. I need lots of conditioner and gel for my hair because it soaks it up. When I dyed my hair darker with a permanent dye, it would dye much darker then the woman on the box. Then the color would fall right out of my hair. All the color would be completelly gone in three weeks. When I used to perm my hair (darn 80's) I would look like a poodle the first few days, and then my hair would relax to a normal perm. The first day people would always say "Oh, you got your hair permed. It looks....um...nice?" Then I'd say "Don't worry. It won't look like this in a few days." The right hair products have gone a long way to help me with my porous hair.

For info, I love this curl chemist article. All of her articles are interesting. You may also like reading The natural haven: Porosity: Definition and Causes

ELASTICTY
Take a hair from you head and firmly grasp each end. Stretch it gently. If it breaks, it has low elasticity.

If is stretches up to 1/3 of its length and returns to its normal shape, it has normal elasticity. Good for you.

If it streeeeeeeetches and does not return to its original shape, it is overly elastic.

Overly elastic hair is a sign of over conditioning (too much moisture). Low elasticity is often a sign of dry hair, but can have more complex causes. My hair used to have zero elasticity, but now has low elasticity. I consider it progress. :) You can do the elasticity test on dry or wet hair. You may find it easier to take a few shed hairs and sort of twist them together and then pull on the whole wad of hair. This is an easier way to test my super fine hair. It is very hard to grasp just one of my hairs.

So what does all this stuff mean? The link will explain it.

How to Classify Your Hair with the Fia System

2011-12-18T20:15:00.000-06:00

The Fia info was copied from this site. The info in purple was added by me.

Fia's Hairtyping System

FIRST CLASSIFIER:

The straight ones
1a - stick straight
1b - straight but with a slight body wave, just enough to add some volume, doesn't look wavy
1c - straight with body wave and one or two visible S-waves (e.g. nape of neck or temples)

The wavy ones
2a - loose, stretched out S-waves throughout the hair Beachy waves, Rock star waves
2b - shorter, more distinct S-waves (similar to waves from braiding damp hair) Princess hair.
2c - distinct S-waves and the odd spiral curl forming here and there Mix of waves, curls, and some pieces that have mixes of S and C shapes. On naturallycurly.com it is often called "wurly" hair.

The curly ones
3a - big, loose spiral curls Like a telephone cord (anyone else old enough to know what that is)
3b - bouncy ringlets Ringlets the size of a pinky finger.
3c - tight corkscrews Ringlets the size of a pencil or straw

The really curly ones Common among African Americans.
4a - tightly coiled S-curls
4b - tightly coiled hair bending in sharp angles (Z-pattern)

SECOND CLASSIFIER
What (most of) your individual strands look like

F - FineThin strands that sometimes are almost translucent when held up to the light. Shed strands can be hard to see even against a contrasting background. Similar to hair found on many people of Scandinavian descent.

You can also try rolling a strand between your thumb and index finger. Fine hair is difficult to feel or itfeels like an ultra-fine strand of silk

M - MediumStrands are neither fine nor coarse. Similar to hair found on many Caucasians.

You can also try rolling a strand between your thumb and index finger. Medium hair feels like a cotton thread. You can feel it, but it isn't stiff or rough. It is neither fine or coarse.

C - Coarse
Thick strands that where shed strands usually are easily identified against most backgrounds. Similar to hair found on many people of Asian or native American descent.

You can also try rolling a strand between your thumb and index finger. Coarse hair feels hard and wiry. As you roll it back and forth, you may actually hear it.

THIRD CLASSIFIER
Your overall volume of hair

Put your hair in a ponytail with as much hair as possible in it. Don't bother with the way it looks - the goal is to have most/all of your hair in there. If it means it sits smack dab on top of your head, put it there.

Measure the circumference of the ponytail. If you have bangs and/or you can't get all of your hair in there adjust according to how much of your hair you have measured.

To measure the circumference - take a piece of string, or a soft tape measure (the kind used by dressmakers). Wrap the string or tape measure around your ponytail - just below the elastic you have in to hold the ponytail together. Read the corresponding number from the tape measure, or hold the string at the length you've measured and use a ruler to determine how much it is. The number given is the circumference of your ponytail.

i - thin (less than 2 inches/5 centimeters)
ii - normal (between 2-4 inches or 5-10 centimeters)
iii - thick (more than 4 inches/10 centimeters)

Your curl pattern (or lack of curl pattern) may not fit neatly into one category. It is common to see a mix of curl patterns on one head. Some hair just simply doesn't fit any description.
Figuring out hair texture can be tricky as well. Your hair stylist should be able to tell you what your texture is. If you compare hair with friends, this should help you to figure out your texture. Livecurlylivefree.com has a service where you can send in your hair and they will tell you elasticity, porosity, and texture.

My hair is 2bFi. On a good day I'm 2cFi.

What does all of this mean? The link explains it.

Revlon Photo Ready Foundation Review

2011-12-16T18:11:00.000-06:00

When you read the reviews of pale skinned people for Revlon Photo Ready on Make Up Alley, you hear the same word over and over: Cullen. What is a Cullen? Cullen is the family name of the vampires in the Twilight books/movies. The vampires in that series are pale and sparkle in the sunlight. I planned only to wear this in the winter when I’m mostly indoors and there is a lot of cloud cover.. My plan did not work out. Despite not being in direct sunlight, I’m still a Cullen with this foundation.

Revlon Photo Ready Foundation
My Skin Type: My skin type is normal to slightly dry in the winter. But, my skin doesn’t seem to like a lot of lotion-y/moisturizing products. Those products will make my skin act more like oily skin.
My experience with this type of product. I’ve tried lots of different foundations and different styles of foundations. I’ve only tried drugstore foundations.

What I am looking for in a foundation: Number one, I’m looking for a foundation that matches my very pale, warm toned skin (NC 10). There aren’t many drugstore options, and I really want to stay with inexpensive foundations. I want a medium to full coverage. I hate light coverage foundations. I put them on and I can’t tell that I did anything at all. What’s the point? I tend to prefer cream to powder formulas in winter.

My rating:

What I like about it. This is the exact right color for me!!! And it looks nice when I first apply it (although too sparkly). I love that this is in a pump bottle. It is easier to use and more hygienic that way. I plan to keep the bottle when I finish the foundation to pour another foundation into. .

What I hate about it. Obviously I’m not a fan of the sparkling. The sparkles and foundation eventually settle in my wrinkles and pores. After a few hours, this will often start to look slimy on my skin. This is probably a better foundation formula for dryer and darker skin types then mine. (almost everyone is a darker skin type then me:)) This formula is not terrible, it just isn’t for me.

Would you buy this again? No. I have winter foundation options that I like better.

CVS Sale Alert

2011-12-08T18:46:00.001-06:00

CVS is having their semi annual (I think semi annual) beauty clearance. There are lots of things 75% off. Here is the link to the master list (scroll down for the list).

Christmas Came Early This Year

2011-12-07T11:09:00.001-06:00

My Aunt asked me if I wanted some of her old nail polish. I said sure. I was expecting 3-5 bottles. I hit the mother load. She has decided to only use certain brands and I got the rest. Thanks Auntie! I sure wish I hadn't just finished painting my nails the day I got them.

Why is some hair curly and some straight?

2011-12-06T19:48:00.001-06:00

Why did some hair evolve to be curly and some hair evolve to be straight? The answer is heating and air conditioning. (That is why there is a picture of the Lennox Man on the left.) Straight hair hangs close to your head and keeps you warm in the cold northern winters. It is like having a blanket for your head. Type 4 kinky-curly hair grows straight out from the head, often in an afro. In warm climates, the hair wicks sweat away from the head. As the sweat evaporates, it helps cool the head. Its nature's air conditioning system.

Silver Gradient Polish

2011-12-02T16:27:00.001-06:00

For the Gradient Silver Nails I used 3 nail polishes. Milani in Ms. Milani, L'Oreal in Silver Star (appears to be discontinued), and Wet n Wild in Kaleidoscope 460D. First, I added a base coat. Then I used a make-up sponge to sponge on color. I painted Ms. Milani directly onto the sponge. Then I sponged the color onto the nail, about 1/3 of the way down the nail. I sponged a second coat of this polish starting further up the nail. Next I used Silver Star and sponged near the tips of the nails. Then I used Kaleidoscope and painted on a coat starting halfway down the nail. Finally, I added a second coat to the last 1/4 of the nail. Sponging on color leaves thin coats and dries quickly. There is no need to wait between coats of polish.
To reuse the make-up sponge for another manicure, just snip off the dried polish from the sponge with a scissors.

Your Blackheads May Not Be Blackheads

2011-12-02T16:22:00.001-06:00

The rule of thumb is that if the black head like stuff on your nose is all a uniform size, they aren’t blackheads. They are sebaceous filaments. Another clue is if you remove the black head like thingys, they are back in a few days. The good news is sebaceous filaments are normal. The bad news is that there is nothing you can do about them. The good news is you can stop trying to make them go away. See this link for more info.

3 Free Nail Polish and Why You Might Care Even if You Don't Care.

2011-12-01T19:09:00.001-06:00

What is 3 free nail polish? 3 free nail polish is Formaldehyde, Toluene, and Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) free. These chemicals are reported to have health risks and be bad for the environment. I know there is some debate about the health risks. I’m just a schmo who has no idea how to review the science, so I can't give an informed opinion. There is more info in the link below. Most nail polish formulas these days are now at least 3 free.

Link with laymen info on the chemicals and contains links for more info
Link that lists 3 free (and more) nail polishes
In addition to the polishes listed in the link, Jordanna (at K-mart) is also 3 free.

Why you might care even if you don’t care? Big 3 free top and base coats are not as common. If you mix a non 3 free top or base coat with a 3 free polish, it could mean trouble. If you use a toluene containing top coat over a 3 free polish, it may come off in large chips. (*Light bulb appears over head .* This may be my issue with Wet n Wild Gray’s Anatomy pealing off in sheets.) If you use a base coat containing formeldehyde, you may get yellow staining on your nails. I believe this what was happening to me when I was using Rimmel Pro Top Coat/Base Coat as a base coat. My nails looked like I was a chain smoker (I don't smoke). The base coat didn’t react with every polish formula/color, so it took me a while to figure it out. Essie, Zoya, Nubar and Carolyn New York top and base coats are 3 free.
Link with info on mixing 3 free and non 3 free top/base coats and polishes.

Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro Polish

2011-11-28T20:26:00.001-06:00

I have two bottles of Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro Polish. I have Midnight Blue and Purple Rain. I'm in love with the color Midnight Blue. It is exactly what I wanted this color to be. It is light enough in color to read navy, and not black, in all lights. But it is not so light in color that it only reads royal blue instead of navy. This is a fine line to walk for dark polishes. The picture of the three nail polishes illustrates this point. The Wet n Wild is royal blue on my nails, the Rimmel is navy in all lights, and the Orly is Navy blue in bright light, but black in most lights (Pic 3). I've added one picture of Midnight Blue on my nails with a regular top coat (Seche Vite, pic 1) and one picture with a matte top coat (Hard Candy Mattle-ly in Love, pic 2). I'm a fan of how this polish looks with both finishes. I think this is a particularly nice color on pale skin.

I wanted Purple Rain (Pic 4) to be a similar polish, but in a purple. This color was a disappointment. It just skews way too brown for my taste. Midnight Blue makes me feel sophisticated. Purple Rain makes me feel like a 40 year old who is trying to be a disgruntled teen. I know that dark or black polishes are now acceptable for all age groups, but I just didn't like this one on me.

This formula is a winner for me. It wears 5-6 days without any noticeable chips. This is basically my one and only true criteria for judging nail polish. Other then that, it preforms the way you expect nail polish to preform. I'll add my declaimer that nail polishes preform differently on everyone. What works for me may be terrible for you.

See also my post on the Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro color Gold Silk.

Wet n Wild Fast Dry in Gray's Anatomy

2011-11-28T19:21:00.001-06:00

Wet n Wild Gray's Anatomy is a really interesting color. This has a duochrome finish. The base is gray. But depending on which way the light hits, it looks either purple or green. This is gorgeous in the bottle, but didn't fulfill all of my hopes and dreams on my nails. It is still a very nice, unique color. This polish is very sheer. It took me 4 coats to get this opaque. My guess is that it is designed for people who prefer to see some of their nail bed through their polish. This is a very thin polish, so even after 4 coats, it isn't thick on the nail. It really is fast drying. By the time you finish nail ten, nail number one is dry and ready for a second coat.

Before I go further in this review, I'll point out that nail polish formulas work differently for different people. What wears well for me, may chip on you. What takes forever to dry on me, may dry quickly for you. The only way to know what works best for your nails is to experiment with different formulas yourself.

With that disclaimer, this nail polish peeled of in sheets for me after I wore it for a few days. :( Like most polishes that don't wear well on my nails, it wears perfectly fine on my toes. I will probably try this again in the future with a different base or top coat to see if the results are different. I also plan to try is layered over a gray or black polish. This is a fun color and it is only around a buck if you want to give this one a whirl.

Be nice to your hair tip #3: Don't wet your hair more often then necessary

2011-11-23T13:07:00.001-06:00

The term that describes damage to hair done by water is Hygral Fatigue. When hair gets wet it absorbs water and gets heavier. This stretches the hair downward. When it dries, it shrinks back to its original shape. Doing this repeatedly is bad for the hair's cuticle (See The Structure of Hair). Think of hair as being like a rubber band. You can stretch a rubber band and it goes back to its original shape. But, if you stretch it enough times, it doesn't return to its original shape. This is Hygral Fatigue.

What do you do? First off, don't wet your hair more often then necessary. Another option is to oil your hair with coconut oil 20 minutes to overnight before wetting and washing it. This oil penetrates the hair's cuticle. With the oil in the cuticle, there is less room for water to soak in. Some people will find coconut oil hard to remove from hair. If you are sulfate shampoo (like most shampoos), odds are it will be easier to remove. You may want to try adding coconut oil to a small section/curl of your hair the first time you use it. I plan to do a post on coconut oil in the future.
For more info, see these links:
The Natural Haven: Mineral Oil-Proof is (not) in the Hair
The Natural Haven: Coconut Oil-Knowledge from our Ancestors to our Scientists
Remember, be nice to your hair and it will be nice to you.

Be Nice to Your Hair Tip #2: Fight the Friction

2011-11-16T19:18:00.001-06:00

These tips are not just for curly/wavy haired girls. They are also helpful if you want long hair, shiny hair, or otherwise healthy hair. If you want more info on growing hair long, check out The Long Hair Community.

Avoid friction on your hair. It will rough up the cuticle of your hair. If you damage your hair's cuticle (see The Structure of Hair) it is less healthy and not as shiny. You don't want your hair to rub against itself. Don't pile it on top of your head when you shampoo. As I said in a previous post, don't rub it dry with a towel. Squeeze it dry instead. Don't let the strap of your bag/backpack/purse rest on your hair. Be sure to move your hair out of the way. Don't let your hair whip in the wind and crash into itself. Get your hands out of your hair. Stop absent mindedly twisting it and playing with it.

Also, be careful with hair accessories. Don't use ones that will pull too much on your hair. Use ponytail holders without metal clasps (I still use these. Shhhhh...Don't tell). Don't put your hair into a super tight pony tail. Pulling it tight puts tiny breaks in your hair.

Remember, be nice to your hair and it will be nice to you.

Find Your Foundation Color in Almost Any Brand

2011-11-16T18:52:00.001-06:00

I'm still on a quest for a winter foundation. I used to think that I was only really pale in February and March and my foundation was only a tad too dark for my skin in the fall. Lies!!! I start to get really pale in the end of September I can admit that now. The Temptalia Foundation Matrix has been very helpful in searching for a new foundation. If you have a foundation color you like, you can use the Foundation Matrix to figure out what skin tone "number" of that foundation is. I knew I needed one shade lighter then the foundation I was using. So I found the one I was using on the chart and looked for foundations that were a shade lighter. My shades are NC10. If you want to try a new foundation, you find that foundation on the chart and see what the shade name is for your skin tone "number". There are some shade recommendations that are slightly off, but all and all the foundation matrix is a great place to start any foundation quest.

The letter and number combinations are based on the MAC cosmetics system for classifying skin tones. Think of NC and "not cool". These are the warm shades. Think of NW as "not warm". These are the cool shades. It is totally backwards and confusing, but this is the most commonly used system on make-up sites. The numbers start at 5 for very pale and go up 55 for dark skinned people. I think most people from North Dakota will be between 20 and 30. Some brands have mostly cool foundation shades and some have mostly warm ones. This helps explain why I could never find my color in some brands. The Foundation Matrix has been very helpful in narrowing down my choices because there are not many drugstore NC10 options available.

The foundation matrix asks are you warm toned or cool toned? Most people are warm toned. Even if you are cool toned, you may be warm toned when you have tanned skin.

Warm toned skin (NC): Gold jewlery looks better on you. You look better in tomato reds. Olive skin is warm.
Cool toned skin(NW): Silver jewelry looks better on you. You look better in brick reds. If you have a dark hair and pale skin like Snow White, you are probably cool toned. Nordic blondes are often cool toned.
Neutral toned skin (N): If both descriptions seem to fit, you are probably neutral toned. Neutral skin tones can wear silver and gold jewelry equally well.
There is actually a range of skin tones, rather then it being either/or proposition. I'm warm toned, but lean neutral. Someone may be neutral, but lean cool. I say just make your best guess when searching the foundation matrix. Have fun!

Be Nice to Your Hair Tip #1: Toss the Terry Cloth

2011-11-15T17:46:00.001-06:00

Treat your hair like a cashmere sweater. If you read posts about hair, you see this statement over and over. It is a bit of a cliche, but it is true. Once you damage your cashmere sweater, the damage is there forever. This is also true of your hair. Would you rub your sweater vigorously with a terry cloth towel to dry it? No way. You shouldn't do this to your hair either. Terry cloth is a very rough fabric and rubbing your hair with it will rough up the hair's cuticle (see The Structure of Hair) and cause permanent damage. This is true for all hair, straight or curly.
First off, don't rub your hair to dry it. Squeeze or press out the water. Rubbing is unnecessarily damaging.
Secondly, use a fabric that is gentler then terry cloth. Here are some options:

Microfiber towels- You can use microfiber towels from the automotive section or you might find microfiber towels marketed for cleaning. You can also get microfiber towels made for hair. The brand name of mine is Aquis. Turbie Twist makes a microfiber version of their hair turban.
Flour Sack Towels- found in the kitchen towel section of stores.
100% cotton t-shirts- It is a good use for your old 100% shirts. Some people find long sleeve t-shirts work best for plopping (see below).

If you have curly or wavy hair, you you may want to scrunch your hair to a damp state with one of the options above. For some people (like me), scrunching breaks the curls into smaller curls and/or causes frizz. Another option is to Plop. Plopping is accordion folding your hair upside down onto a non terry cloth towel and then wrapping the hair up with the towel. Here is a good video. They call plopping plunking in the video. If you want more videos, do a search for "plop hair" on youtube.com. You will come up with several videos.
Jessicurl's plopping (A.K.A. plunking) video
As they say in the video, 20 minutes is a good amount of time to plop. People have luck with longer or shorter plopping times. I find at some point the microfiber towel has pulled out all the water it can from my hair. At this point the damp towel is keeping my hair wet, rather then making it dryer. I take off the towel at this point. You have to experiment to see what plopping time works best for you. For some curlies and wavies, plopping simply doesn't work because it causes frizz. You also may want to experiment with types of towels. For example, some people find microfiber to cause frizz, but flour sack towels don't.
You have to keep trying things to find out what works for your hair.
Remember, if you are nice to your hair, it will be nice to you.

How to Tell if Your Hair is Wavy

2011-11-10T11:09:00.001-06:00

Determining if you hair is wavy is not always as cut and dry as you think. There are lots of people on the 2 boards (a.k.a. wavy board) of the discussion boards of Naturallycurly.com didn't figure out that they had wavy hair until they were older. I'm one of them. I thought I had naturally fuzzy hair. Some people think their hair is naturally scraggly or naturally poofy. Others thought they had "stupidly straight" hair. They were sure their hair was straight, it just didn't dry straight when it air dried (a.k.a. wavy). Wavy hair often needs a good gel and some styling help (scrunching, diffusing, etc.) to reveal it's true form. In the picture above left, I combed my hair with a wide tooth comb when wet and air dried. I finger combed a few times as it was drying. As you can see, there is almost no wave when styled that way. The picture to the right shows my hair when scrunched and partially dried with a diffuser and no touching as it finished air drying (no curling iron). The pictures were taken within a month of each other. As you can see, wavy hair can hide itself from its owner unless you know to look for it.

So how do you know if you have wavy hair? Was your hair curly when you were a baby or toddler? If yes, then it is probably wavy now. Here is another easy way to find out. The next time you take a shower, wash and condition. Comb your hair using a wide tooth comb with the conditioner in and then rinse. Add a pea size of conditioner to wet hair when you are still in the shower. Scrunch you hair with your hands and look in the mirror. If your hair looks wavy and has bends, it is wavy. If the bends fall out and don't want to stay, your hair is straight.

The structure of hair

2011-11-07T09:00:00.000-06:00

You can find better explanations if you look elsewhere on the web, but here is my cliff notes version of the structure of hair.
The inside of the hair is the cortex. The cortex is filled with strands of keratin protein. The proteins form long stretchy rubber band like strands. These strands give hair it's strength and help support waves and curls. Fine hair (small diameter of a single hair) is always lacking in protein because the cortex is smaller and can't hold the proper amount of protein easily. Coarse hair (large diameter of a single hair) has enough protein and and adding more protein (in hair products) can be too much protein. More on this in later posts.

The outer layer of hair is the cuticle. The cuticle is like scales on fish or shingles on a roof. It is actually 4-12 layers of fish scales or shingles on a roof (estimates vary and it varies by ethnicity). The closed cuticle keeps the proper balance of moisture and protein inside the cortex. The "shingles" laying flat (closed) also reflects light and make hair shiny. When the cuticle becomes damaged from heat, sun, wind, brushing, dyeing, straightening, perming, etc., you may lose a layer or more of "shingles", the "scales" will open up, or it may loose some individual "shingles". You may even get a hole in you cuticle. Through these openings, the moisture and maybe some of the protein will escape. When this happens, you hair is not as healthy. Again, more on this later. The picture (above left) is of damaged hair under a microscope.

If you looked at a cross section of hair, very straight hair would be a perfect circle like looking at the top of a straw. The curlier hair gets, the more egg shaped the cross section gets. It is like when you squeeze a straw between your fingers. Kinky curly hair, usually found in African Americans, is almost flat. Kinky curly hair not only has C shaped bends like curly hair, it also has torsion twists. Now try to envision shingling these hair shapes. The straight, circular based straw would have the "shingles" lie flat against the straw. The flattened oval shaped kinky curly hair with C shaped bends and twists would have shingles that did not lie flat against the base. The curlier your hair is, the more likely for your "shingles" to be open (a.k.a. porous). If your hair is porous, you need to replace the moisture that has escaped and close the openings in the cuticle using protein. (more on this in later posts) The structure of curly hair causes it to have very different needs then the needs of straight hair. Curly hair must be treated differently to keep it healthy.
For further reading on hair structure see these random links I have bookmarked:
Exploratorium Magazine, Better Hair Through Chemestry
Black Girl Long Hair- Sturcture of Hair Close Up

Newspaper Nails

2011-11-06T09:00:00.000-06:00

You'll notice as I start posting pictures of nail polish, that my manicures are never perfect. They probably never will be either. :)

This manicure is really easy to do, but looks impressive. The base polish color is Zoya in the color Harley. You can use any color you want as the base color, but it must be light enough for the newsprint to show up. You cut nail sized squares of newspaper. It doesn't matter what it says, since it prints backwards anyway. You want to pay attention to where the paragraphs on the newspaper end, because you could end up with blank spaces on your nails. I filled a shot glass part way with rubbing alcohol. I dipped my nail into the rubbing alcohol. Then I pressed the newspaper clipping against the nail for 30-40 seconds and pealed it away. I topped my manicure with a matte top coat (Hard Candy's Matte-ly in Love from Walmart). I wouldn't use a matte top coat with this particular polish color again, but it might be nice with a newspaper mani on a white or cream nail polish. A normal top coat works just fine, but you must use a top coat to prevent the newsprint from wearing off. Here are a couple of newspaper mani tutorials that I have bookmarked:
Ask me What's-News on Nails
Youtube video from Cutepolish

Before and After the Curly Girl Method

2011-11-03T09:31:00.001-05:00

Before and After (after in blue tank top):

In October of 2009 I began using the Curly Girl method of hair care. It is based on a book by the same name by Lorraine Massey. As you can clearly see from the pictures, this method has completely changed my hair for the better. In the first picture, you see my hair at its all time wavy best, pre Curly Girl (CG) method. In this picture, about half of the ends were touched up by a curling iron. Picture 2 is a more accurate reflection of how my hair actually looked before starting this method. At this time, I completely gave up on wearing my hair wavy. As you can see in the second picture, my hair was more naturally fuzzy then naturally wavy. Before using the CG method of hair care, my hair was always dull, had a 1/4 inch of split ends every 2 months, it had only s pattern waves, my hair always felt like straw, and my hair was so much dryer then I even was aware of.
As you can see in the after pictures (blue tank top), my hair is now shiny, has a mix of S and C shaped bends and even has a couple of spirals. I get almost no split ends and my hair feels soft and lovely. My hair stays moisturized without a struggle. In the after pictures, I diffused my hair part way dry and air dried the rest of the way. I did not use a curling iron. In my humble opinion, it is worth trying the CG method for any person with wavy or curly hair because the results are often amazing. For more curly girl before and after pictures, go to this link. The link is from the curltalk forum on naturallycurly.com. Curl talk on Naturally Curly is the unofficial headquarters of the CG method, although many members don't follow this method. For an explanation on the method itself, this blog post on The College Curly explains the method really well.

Easy gradient color nail polish technique

2010-03-14T20:20:00.005-05:00

This was my first attempt at this nail polish technique, but not my last. I thought it was super easy and kind of fun to do. The best part is that you don't need a steady hand. I think this is great since I don't have a steady hand. There are other techniques and videos on youtube. Do a youtube search for gradient nails or a search for faded nails to find more videos. Here is one youtube video example. The last half of the youtube video is a close up of the thumb, so you just need to watch the first half. The link in the video shows something closer to a french manicure with a colored sparkly tip.
Here is what I did. I started with the polish second from the left. I painted the polish directly on the make-up sponge. I started adding polish about 1/8 inch up from the cuticle. I sponge painted the polish on to the nail about 1/4 inch wide. This polish color actually took 2 coats.
Then I got the next darkest color. The polish in the picture is in the wrong order. The next darkest polish would be second from the right. Woops. Anyway, I painted this color on to a different part of the make-up sponge. I sponge painted the nail starting maybe 1/4 inch from the cuticle, again 1/4 inch wide. I continued doing this with the remaining two darker colors, starting further up the nail with each color.
To finish I added 2 coats of the lightest color. This color was an almost sheer nude. I don't think it came out bad for a first attempt.
I think the super cheap nail polished would work great for this look, since they are just sponged on to the nail. I'll probably add a video to this post at a later date. Be sure to look at the video in the link, as that finished look is a lot different.

Ellen can't open it either

2010-02-03T00:15:00.002-06:00

Watch Simply Ageless foundation spokesperson Ellen Degeneres try to open the foundation. Told ya it was stupid.

Revlon New Complexion Foundation Review

2010-01-25T22:52:00.007-06:00

Product Name Revlon New Complexion One Step Compact SPF 15
My skin type Normal
My experience with this type of product. I'm a bit of a project junkie when it comes to foundation. I'm always looking for the new latest and greatest. Even if I find a foundation I like, I buy the "shiny new one" the next time. I mean, what if it is better? I've tried several of the cream to powder style foundations. I like using cream to powder foundations from fall to spring. When worn over sun block in the summer, my skin seems too oily for this type of foundation.
What I look for in this product. I want a nice color and a medium coverage.
Who should use cream to powder foundation? These are best for slightly oily to slightly dry skin. If your skin is dry, it will highlight it's dryness. If your skin is oily, it will make it look oilier.
My rating: 5 sit and spins

What I like about it. I love how this style of foundation tends to give you a dewy look. I like that you don't have to apply powder right away. You can add powder as you need it for touch ups. This color is really nice. Mine is 01, ivory beige. It errs on the yellow side, which is good. Being slightly too peach or slightly too pink is not flattering for most people's skin tones. The color my mother uses is also nice. Good packaging and applicator. This foundation has a proper sun screen, 4% titanium dioxide SPF 15. Titanium Dioxide is one of the 4 sunscreen ingredients that give you good UVA/UVB protection. This has a good medium coverage.
What I hate about it. There is not a very pale option if you are pale. This color is good for me, but slightly lighter might be better for my "pale of February" skin.
Would you buy this again?I actually think I will stick with this foundation.........ya know, unless I spy a shiny new kind.
Click here for more cream to powder foundation reviews.

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Cream Foundation Review

2010-01-25T22:36:00.006-06:00

Product Name Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Cream Compact Foundation SPF 18
My skin type Normal
My experience with this type of product. I'm a bit of a project junkie when it comes to foundation. I'm always looking for the new latest and greatest. Even if I find a foundation I like, I buy the "shiny new one" the next time. I mean, what if it is better? I've tried several of the cream to powder style foundations. I like using cream to powder foundations from the fall to the spring. When worn over sun block in the summer, my skin seems too oily for this type of foundation.
What I look for in this product. I want a nice color and a medium coverage.
Who should use cream to powder foundation? These are best for slightly oily to slightly dry skin. If your skin is dry, it will highlight it's dryness. If your skin is oily, it will make it look oilier.
My rating: 4 sit and spins

What I like about it. I love how this style of foundation tends to give you a dewy look. I like that you don't have to apply powder right away. You can add powder as you need it for touch ups. This color is really nice. It is natural ivory, light 3. It errs on the yellow side, which is good. Being slightly too peach or slightly too pink is bad for most people's skin tones. It has a proper sun screen, 10.5% titanium dioxide SPF 18. Titanium Dioxide is one of the 4 sunscreen ingredients that give you goodUVA/UVB protection. This has a good medium coverage, but less coverage then Revlon New Complexion.
What I hate about it. There is not a very light option if you are pale. I used this color in the fall and will use it again in the spring when my skin gets a tad darker (despite my best sunscreen application efforts). I haven't tried their lightest color, but I don't think this brand has a great "pale of February" option for me. The packaging is weird, but not awful. The top that has the foundation flips open, like you would expect. The bottom twists open for the applicator. I forget this every day. I don't like the applicator. Instead of a sponge applicator that I prefer, it has a applicator like you find in pressed powder. It isn't terrible, but I like the sponge applicator much, much better.
Would you buy this again?I live the Revlon New Complexion better because of the packaging and applicator. The Revlon also has slightly more coverage, which I prefer. I would have bought this again if I hadn't found the Revlon...ya know,unless I had seen something shiny and new.
More of my cream to powder foundation reviews.

Cover Girl Simply Ageless Foundation Review

2010-01-25T22:19:00.012-06:00

Product Name Cover Girl Simply Ageless Foundation SPF 22
My skin type Normal
My experience with this type of product. I a bit of a project junkie when it comes to foundation. I'm always looking for the new latest and greatest. Even if I find a foundation I like, I buy the "shiny new one" the next time. I mean, what if it is better? I've tried several of the cream to powder style foundations. I like using cream to powder foundations from the fall to the spring. When worn over sun block in the summer, my skin seems too oily for this type of foundation.
What I look for in this product. I want a nice color and a medium coverage.
Who should use cream to powder foundation? These are best for slightly oily to slightly dry skin. If your skin is dry, it will highlight it's dryness. If your skin is oily, it will make it look oilier.
My rating: 2 sit and spins

What I like about it. I like that you don't have to apply powder right away. You can add powder as you need it for touch ups. It has a proper sun screen, titanium dioxide SPF 22. Titanium Dioxide is one of the 4 sunscreen ingredients that give you good UVA/UVB protection. It also has olay regenerist serum mixed it. This way you can skip a step in your skin care routine.
What I hate about it. The packaging is stupid, plain and simple. I actually had to go to the website to figure out how to open it. I'm stubborn and it took me a while to admit I couldn't figure it out. I'm not the only person with the problem, because they have a "click here to figure out how open our stupid packaging" link. You turn it completely upside down (opposite of the picture) and then it screws open. Once you've figured that out it is fine, but I still think it is stupid. Your foundation color is hard to pick with this foundation. If you have used another cover girl foundation, you can select the same color you used in that foundation. Cover Girl's foundation colors are standardized from foundation to foundation. If you are trying to figure out what color you want, pick the darker color. The swirl of white Olay serum throws you off. It makes you think a foundation that is too light is just right. My color 210 was sold out, so I bought 205 because it looked right. It was too light. I then bought the 210. (It's not my foundation in the picture) The 210 was slightly too peach and the 205 was slightly too pink. They advertise the foundation as being able to "float" over your wrinkles. This foundation settled into my wrinkles and make them more noticeable. I thought the coverage was uneven as well.
Would you buy this again? No. There are much better cream to powder foundations out there.
More cream to powder foundation reviews.
Watch Simply Ageless's spokesperson Ellen Degeneres try to open the foundation.

Salem in 1985

2009-12-15T19:34:00.005-06:00

I watched this video series in 10 second bursts. So if I have any information wrong, please excuse me. This cracked me up. My friends and I and most of the High School watched a lot of Days of our Lives in 1985. It all slowly came back to me. Here are some of the plot highlights.

Beau and Hope are on their way to a black tie auction. On their way they must pass a barn. Oh look, a pile of straw. The stop to have sex.
Kimberly caught a case of blindness that will clear up in the future. Her hair style is suspiciously modern. Did she return to 80's Salem from modern day Salem in Eugine's time machine? Shane is currently married to his back from the dead evil English wife Emma.
Melissa is involved in some plot to try to get Pete back. Pete is involved with the soon to be evil wife Ivy. Pete doesn't know it. But in less then a year, I along with a few hundred of my best friends and their mom's will be screeching at him in Gateway Mall. He is lucky to escape alive. Little does he know the unprovoked slap from Melissa is the least of his worries. Melissa has a cut out in the front of her formal Dress. Classy. Her hair is even nicer then I remembered. Red and naturally curly.
Chris Cossacheck is still Chris Cossacheck and not Roman.
Marlena is also attending the black tie action. Black tie hair for her means bigger hair. The hair must stand out 6 inches from the right side of her head.
Eugine and Calliope are being Eugine and Calliope.
Liz (of Liz and Neal) is still instantly annoying. We used to fast forward past her in High School.
For some reason the then Evil Patch (who will become the unevil Steve) wonders into the barn where Bo and Hope are still naked post romp. They remain undiscovered.
Victor arrives in Salem for the first time and buys an overpriced photo at the auction taken by Kim (presumably before she caught the blindness).
Beau and Hope arrive at the auction covered in straw. Everyone is polite and no one gives them the time and place of the next sex addicts anonymous meeting.
Caroline Brady spies Victor. She had an afair with him years ago. He is Bo's father, and not her husband Sean. In the year or so following, her daughter Kimberly will marry Victor. She will learn of their affair and mistakenly believe she is the product of the affair. She will believe she has unwittingly married her father.
Beau sneaks away from the black tie affair to have a knife fight with evil Patch on the dangerous Salem docks while the score from West Side Story plays softly in the background. Beau and Patch were once best friends in the rough and tumble merchant marines. They have matching tattoos. When they last met, Patch was getting it on with Beau's then girlfriend. There was a fight that left Steve without an eye. Refusing to get a glass eye, he would become known only as Patch by his unsympathetic friends.
Tony and Anna get spontaneously remarried by what appears to be a fake priest.
The ISA is trying to enlist Shane on an important mission.
Blind Kimberly proves she can dial a phone.
The knife fight fails to materialize because evil Patch failed to bring a knife to a knife fight(or so he claims).
Beau returns home to stare out the window and shirtlessly ponder the day's events.

Are you a bit older then me? Check out the Salem Slasher is Revealed on youtube.

Seriously???

2009-12-03T22:58:00.004-06:00

On Dish network tonight:
*update DISH is the Discovery Health Channel. Duh!! I knew that.
10pm Dwarf Family Adoption
11pm Quint-essential (about family with quints)
12pm 18 Kids and Counting
1 am Conjoined Twins: Sister Bond

Are you kidding me??

Watch This

2009-11-17T23:11:00.004-06:00

This is a new series I plan on starting. I was going to call this Watch This Wednesdays, but who am I kidding? I'll never post regularly on Wednesdays. The people in my small town just got DVR today. Here are some movies I think you should add to your DVR.

The Day the Earth Stood Still
1:00 PM Saturday, 21st on FCM (channel 156)
1950's Sci-fi classic about an alien ship that lands on earth.

Little Miss Sunshine
1:00 A.M. Monday, 23rd (late Sunday) on USA (channel 123).
This movie may lose something in translation to it's cable version. I loved all the quirky characters in this black comedy. Lots of funny little jokes from beginning to end.

Kinky Boots
12:oo midnight Friday, (late Thurday) 27th on BBC (channel 135)
A small town British boot maker will go out of business unless the switch to making shoes for transvestites is successful.

Hat from and old sweater.

2009-10-15T23:50:00.004-05:00

I made this hat from an old sweater. Here is the instructional video link from Threadbanger. Tracing the brim took me a few tries. This hat looked very masculine before I appliqued the flower. It's a great project for guys. (see video) To make the flower I cut out petal shapes from extra sweater fabric and sewed some scraps into a ball shape for the center.
Threadbanger is a great site. They show you how to refashion old clothes into new clothes. It's definately worth checking out.

Sale Alert!

2009-09-29T11:29:00.003-05:00

Old Navy in Bismarck is having a 50% of the clearance sale. I bought 4 t-shirts in fall colors and a tank. The highest price shirt was 4$ and the tank top was $1.23. I love buying things for $1.23. As of yesterday, the mediums and larges (which sell out first) still had a fairly good selection.

Lipfinity 3D Maxwear Lipcolor Review

2009-09-25T07:47:00.005-05:00

Lipfinity 3D Maxwear Lipcolor At least that's what I assume mine is. I threw away the box, but this is the only product that looks even close on their website.
Experience with stay on lipstick: I've used several brands. I love stay on lipstick. I hate reapplying make-up. I've never met a stay on lipstick I hated before. Well, I have hated a few colors, but not the lipstick itself.

My rating: 0 out of 5 sit and spins.
What I like about it: Nothing.
What I hate about it. It doesn't look glossy or shimmery. The look is flat out greasy, greasy, greasy, greasy. I never kept the lipstick on for more then a minute. I hated the lipstick so much I never wore it. I thought I could possibly salvage it using the first step lipstick and a regular lip gloss for the second step. No dice. They ended up in the trash can without ever being worn. I'm glad I bought these on clearance.
Would I buy this again? No way.

I meant to casually mention that the lipstick looks like you've been bobbin' for fried chicken in the video. Well, I mentioned it a might more then I'd planned and I don't know why I don't iron that sheet either.

Using you BEK remote

2009-09-21T22:23:00.007-05:00

* I posted this last night. This morning a got a letter saying the DVR is coming very soon. Oh well, the second two tutorials are still useful. :)
Here are a few helpful tips for using you remote if you subscribe to BEK cable. Since the fall TV season is starting and BEK still doesn't have DVR, I've added instructions on how to record with your VCR.
If you don't want to scroll past the block of kid's channels, the block of religious channels, etc. you can set up your own guide. In fact you could set up more then one guide. One for you, one for your hubby,... The downside to having several guides is that the remote is super sensitive. When changing between a list of several guides, you may accidentally jump right past your guide. You may prefer only one custom guide for your whole family. I highly recommend setting up a custom guide.
The last tutorial is how to access your TV's menu using the BEK remote. Then you can use your TV's sleep settings, closed caption settings, adjust the picture, etc.

How to Record
1. Set up your VCR to record. Set your VCR to record the channel your cable box is set to. The channel number is located on the bottom of your remote underneath the PurpleBEK logo on your remote. Set your VCR to record this channel no matter what channel your program is on.
2. Set your television to change the channel when it is time to record. Your VCR will only record the channel you are watching. If someone happens to be watching TV and changes the channel to America's Funniest Home Videos, that's what you will be recording. Your VCR will still record if your TV is off.
A) Press Guide.
B) Scroll to find the channel of program you want to record.
C) Press the circular red button labeled multiscreen. It is located just below the left/right/up/down/ arrows that surround the OK button. This will activate your Guide Per Channel.
D) Scroll down until you find the show you want to record. Only the next two days programing will be shown. You can not do this more then 2 days prior to recording. When you find the show you would like to record, press Info. This is a circular gray button right of the left/right/up/down/OK circle.
E) Scroll down until Reminders is highlighted. Press OK.
F) Save & Exit should be highlighted. Make sure it says Yes on the right side of the screen. Press OK.
G) Press Exit. The show you want to record should now have clock beside it. If you see this, you have been successful. Press either Exit (bottom left of the left/right/up/down/OK) or Live TV (top right of the left/right/up/down/OK). If the clock is not there, go back to step D where it says to press Info.

Might I also suggest Hulu.com. They have full episodes of many TV shows. And you can skip this whole complicated process.

How to set up a guide (or several guides)
1. Press Menu. (it's a rectangular gray button above the left/right/up/down/OK circle) Scroll down to Account Info/Settings and press the right arrow of the left/right/up/down/OK circle.
2. Scroll down until it says Favorites. Press the right arrow on the left/right/up/down/OK.
3. Scroll down to New and hit OK.
4. A blue menu with letters will appear. Type in the name of your guide. Your first (or last) name is a good name. Or you could name it after me. :) Move the box so it surrounds the letter you want and press OK. When your name is finished, highlight Done and click OK.
5. A new menu will appear with the list of all the channels. Press the right arrow to highlight the channel list. Press OK to add any channel you would like on your list. If a channel is added it will say On by that channel instead of Off. Scroll up and down (up and down arrows) to find all the channels you would like to add to your guide.
6. When all the channels you would like on your guide are added (say On beside them), press the left arrow. Save & Exit should be highlighted. Press OK. You have completed your guide. Press either Exit (bottom left of the left/right/up/down/OK circle) or Live TV (top right of the left/right/up/down/OK circle).
7. To add another Guide, begin again.

Access the Guide you just added:
A) Press Guide. This Should bring up your guide. In the top left corner of your TV there should be a purple circle that says BEK TV. Below that is a black bar that extends across the entire screen. The black bar has today's date followed by three times (Example 9:00AM 9:30AM 10:00AM). Directly above today's date and below the purpleBEK TV circle it should say My Guide: in white writing. To the right of My Guide: there will be a word in blue. If it says:

All-a list of all the channels you could possibly be subscribed to.
Subscribed- A list of ll the channels you are currently subscribed to.
Your First Name (or whatever you named your guide)-A list of only the channels you add to your guide.

B) If you do not have the Guide you'd like (Example: It says All and you want Your Guide), press the Guide button again. Continue pressing the Guide button until you have the guide you'd like. Now you can scroll up and down to browse your channels. Press Exit or Live TV to return to watching television.

To access your TV menu:
1. Press the TV button. This is a tiny circular gray bottom directly to the left of the power button. When you press this, the TV button should turn red.
2. Press Menu. This should bring up your TV menu. If it that doesn't happen, go back to step one. The remote is temperamental. It flat out doesn't work every time. You can be pressing all the right buttons and it still won't work. You can Change the settings using the up/down/right/left arrows. (at least on most TVs)
3. When you've done. Press Menu to return to live TV. Press the STB button. It is the small circular gray button to the far left of the power button and just to the left of the TV button. Pressing the STB makes your remote control cable functions again.

If any of this is unclear, feel free to leave questions in the comments.

Eyeshadow Trends for Fall (and for Cheeks and Nails)

2009-09-11T22:45:00.012-05:00

Are you interested in the new make-up trends for fall, but your kids would rather you make supper then read fashion magazines? Then this post is for you. (see also my Lip trends for Fall post)
I had planned a grade school collage of magazine pictures. But my scanner is not cooperating. I did my best with pictures. I'm better at reading about make-up then I am at applying it.

Old rule: Choose either to play up your eyes or your lips. New rule: For nighttime you can wear a bold lip with a smokey eye. Don't believe me, look at last years Oscar photos. I plan on still choosing one or the other. If you like to wear both, you're in luck.
There is new basic eye shadow shape that is showing up. You no longer follow the crease of your lid in a windshield wiper like application. Now you continue outward from the top crease to the outer corner. This video shows a make-up application using the "outer corner" method, skip to 3:30 minutes in to see what I'm talking about. Outer corner method is my made up name. If you use this name you run the risk of looking silly. :) It's also possible this shape is not new and it's only new to me.
Winged eyes are big this fall. See this tutorial on youtube on how to do them. After seeing this video, I totally got it.

Though still in style, the look for blush is trending away from "apples of the cheek and swept on top cheek bones toward the hairline. The newer trend is blush applied to the hallows of the cheeks or applied directly to the cheekbones. Super trendy for the fashionista is 80's style rectangle under the cheekbone look. Ugh.
The number one look for fall is red lips. It's shown on almost every page of fashion magazines. The not even close second would be the all over peach shimmer look (scroll down to see).

Matte gray eye shadow: Use a matte eyeshadow. Metallic and frosts read silver and can look futuristic. I primed my eye. Then I lined the top and bottom with gray shadow (HIP Rascal), using a wet angle brush. Allure suggests light gray, but I don't own light gray. Apply gray shadow from lash line almost to the crease. Use a clean brush to blend/smudge the gray shadow into and above the crease. Smudge the shadow liner on the bottom lash line. I added dark brown eyeliner and mascara.
Cobalt Blue eye liner: My friend who loves blue eyeliner will be happy to hear it's in style. Allure showed a winged Egyptian eye (as seen in winged eye tutorial in above link) on a bare lid. Elle showed a smoked, smudged eye (runway look). This trend uses a metallic cobalt liner (also seen in teal). Elle suggests this look worn with a pinky pearly tan nude lip. (see the lip trend for fall post) I primed my lids. Then I applied HIP roaring (brown side) from the lash line to the crease. Then I blended this shadow into the crease. I applied the blue side of the shadow with a wet angle brush. I did the "day cat" eye shown in the you tube video in the above link. The liner should have began at the tear duct (oops). I also show an open and closed eye with a fully lined winged Egyptian eye. This should be done with an actual eye liner, but I don't own a blue metallic eyeliner.
This look was seen at Nicolle Miller and Versace.
Try L'Oreal HIP Cream Eyeliner Midnight Blue or for about 5 bucks more MAC Fluidline in Waveline.
Purple eye shadow: This is another big trend. Purple eye shadow is great for brown eyes. It makes green eyes look greener. If you have hazel eyes with green flecks, purple shadow makes them look greener. If you have warm skin tones, use blueish purples. Pinky purples can make your eyes look bloodshot or like you've contracted pink eye. If you have pink undertones in your skin, use an eyeshadow primer. Primers give the shadow a truer color. If you don't prime, you may end up looking like you lost a fight. If you have under eye circles, you will need extra concealer. Purple shadow brings out the purple in under eye circles. Here is a great video tutorial on concealing under eye circles. Allure says shimmer can make dark purple shadow appear less stark. If you have crepey eye lids and want to avoid metallic shadow, add iridescent powder along the lash line. Wear a brown liner (black for African Americans) in the evening. Be cautious of liner during the day time. Add a winged deep purple eyeliner for a rock look.
Some of the shades mentioned are shimmery lavender, metallic lilac, dark purple, iridescent violet, and eggplant.
I primed my lids. Then I lined the top and inner bottom 1/3 with purple eye shadow (MAC nocturnelle) with an angle brush. I applied the same purple shadow to the lids with a regular eye shadow brush, one brush width. I diffused the edges on the lid with a blending brush. I added a shimmery vanilla(MAC Nylon) to the inner corners and along the upper lash line.

Shimmery "peach" eyeshadow: Allure says to use similar colors as the peach blush. Marie Claire says to layer copper and gold on top of a muted brown cream shadow. Honestly, to me, the look appears to be achieved by combining a rose gold and copper shadows. I think you should be fine as long as you stay in the same color families.
This look seen at Donna Karan and Mui Mui.
I didn't get this look right. I should look a bit more pink/rosey. You'll just have to use your imagination. Lips- I used peach lip gloss. It should be pinky/pearly nude, but I don't own that color. Blush- should be as described below. I used a shimmery orange blush that reads peach on my skin and a bronzer . I used copper shadow over a muted cream shadow. It needed rose tones, in my humble opinion. Again, I don't own the proper colors.

Shimmery peach blush: This is worn with the pinky tan lip gloss mentioned in the lip trend link and the shimmery "peach" eyeshadow. Marie Claire says this total look can be a post summer bronzer alternative. You can either use a shimmery peach blush or a matte peach blush layered with a shimmery bronzer. Wear this color on the apples of your cheeks and just above the cheek bone.

Nail color: I'm not totally up on this. Here is what I do know. Joining two years ago's matte black (still in) and last years matte navy (still in) we have deep, almost black, forest green and deep, almost black, purple. These shades dry to a velvet finish and are more wearable then they sound. That said, I won't be wearing them. Shimmery lavender is also in. Oh, nail shapes are trending away from square and toward almond shape.

Lip Trends for Fall

2009-09-04T11:43:00.007-05:00

I'm writing this for people who might have actual lives and can't keep up with all the new trends. If you'd like to know what lipstick color is in style but your baby needs her diaper changed, this is for you. Coming soon...Fall Eyeshadow Trends.

First of all, lipsticks are generally trending toward matte and opaque as opposed to sheer and glossy. Love sheer and glossy? Don't worry it's still in for now.

Red lipstick- The biggest news for fall is red lipstick is back. You ask: Wait. Was it gone? Answer: Yes and No. Red lips have been worn recently at night, for retro looks, for rock looks, and by people like me who just liked it. But, it hasn't been worn by women in general in the daytime since the 80's. Well, red lips are back baby. Look in fashion magazines, and red lips are on almost every page. All shades of red are in. All finishes are in from glossy to very matte. Matte, opaque lips are very in. If you try this, be careful. Matte opaque lipstick can be aging. Another new look is dark red lipstick with a sheer black gloss on top. This gives you a vampire look, but in a good way (pictured). If you wear the red/black combo, keep the eyes and blush to an absolute minimum to avoid a goth look (unless that is what you're going for).
For a less trendy look use a satin finish lipstick in cherry red. Avoid lip liner so you don't look overdone and add a dab of gloss in the center bottom. Allure suggest dabbing lipstick on with your finger so the edges aren't precise. That sounds like a pain to me, but give it a whirl if you like.
Some red lipsticks loved by makeupalley.com reviewers are: MAC in Russian Red, Port Red, New York Apple (frost) and Ruby Woo (matte); NYC Ultra moist in Retro Red: Revlon matte lipstick in In The Red and Really Red: Victoria's Secret in Ruby Slippers.

Elle Magazine's top 10 reds included MAC Ruby Woo (they say the Cure's Robert Smith wears it), Max Factor's vivid impact in Mrs. Right (blue based red), Revlon's Fire and Ice (a favorite since it's launch in 1952), andMaybelline's color sensational in Red Revival.

Purple lipstick- It's not always as scary as it sounds. I once had a sheer dark purple gloss (almost black in the tube) that I loved (now back in style). Fuchsia is back from it's 80's lipstick grave. Grapeish colors are also back. Grape was last in style 15ish years ago. My friend called this color her ummm ..."female dog" lipstick. Awesome on her, crayola on me. If you want to try a darker Bordeaux/wine/deep purple color lipstick, make eyes and blush pale. Metallic lilac is also in, but that just scares me.

Makeupalley.com reviewers like MAC in Purple Rite.
Allure Recommends: Cover Girl Queen Collection in Shiny Port Wine (Bordeaux) and MAC in Violetta (grape).

Nude lipstick-Nude lips are in. Choose a tan nude on the pink side. Shimmer, not glitter. Shine is also fine. Just not a matte nude. With a beige lip, be sure to add shadow (medium to lots) to your eyes, or you'll just look flat. If your natural lip color is darker then this lip color, apply a concealer or foundation to your lips first.

Allure recommends: Wet n Wild Lip Shine in Reckless and Clinique Glosswear in Whisper. Marie Claire recommends Maybelline Lip Gloss in Born With It.

Red and purple lip colors can be tricky. Sheer lip colors have a larger margin of error. If you want something more opaque, it's harder to choose. This might be a time where you can save money by going to a make-up counter and actually being able to try a color before you buy. I've heard some drugstores will let you return opened cosmetics. I haven't researched that, so I have no idea if any drugstore currently does it.

The Cat Eye

2009-09-01T19:38:00.005-05:00

The winged style eyeliner is really in style now. I've been confused on how to do it. I came across this excellent tutorial on youtube. I got mine right (well close) the very first time after watching this. I think I will be sticking to the daytime cat eye(an option shown in the video)in real life however.

Sale Alert!

2009-08-27T20:26:00.005-05:00

There are a lot of HIP brand products on super clearance at Target in Bismarck. HIP brand has lots of nice stuff. I love the eye shadows, now $1.50 . The pot of gel liner(I only saw teal) is supposed to be nice (around 2$). They also have HIP paint in secretive on clearance. It works well as an eye shadow base. (See my review) Plus there are a few stay on (2 step style) lip glosses for 2$. They are located in a bin at the far end of the isle in the make-up section.
Big Lots in Bismarck has 2 packs of Revlon (and other brand) nail polish for 2$. That way the polishes work out to be a buck a piece. They also have a lot of shampoos and conditioners. You should look to see if they carry your brand if you go for the nail polish.
Not on clearance, but Walmart has nice cards in their section of contest winning cards.

Summer Television

2009-08-21T19:37:00.005-05:00

There is nothing on T.V. That's mostly true. Here are a few shows you can check out if you are interested.

Ruby
Sunday 7pm central (8pm elsewhere) on the Style network.
It is also rerun often thought the week.
A reality show documenting a morbidly obese woman's battle to lose her weight. At her highest weight Ruby was around 700 pounds. She was 450ish pounds at the start of the first season last year. A few episodes ago she hit 350 lbs. This is the least she has weighed in her adult life. She is a extremely upbeat and inspirational person. She's so es-sited. (show refrence) Watching her work through her struggles makes you feel good about yourself and life in general. I think this season is nearing the end. Two notes. 1. I usually hate anything upbeat and/or inspirational. 2. This isn't the best show in the world, but it's worth checking out some times.

The Rachel Zoe Project
Monday 9pm central (10pm elsewhere) on Bravo
Rachel Zoe is a stylist to the stars. In fact she is the reason you know what a stylist is. To my knowledge she is the first famous stylist. (person who picks out clothes for famous people) This a reality show about her job. This show might make you stupider by watching it, but the clothes are Uh-MAZING. I die! (show reference) The second season premieres this Monday. Again, it's not the best show in the world.

Top Chef
Wednesday 9pm central (10 pm elsewhere) on Bravo
Top Chef, in it's 6th season, is a competition show between chefs. They have challenges like: Cook a gourmet dish from items in the vending machine. There are many famous chefs as judges. The first episode was this week, but they rerun them throughout the week.

Project Runway
Thursday 9pm central (10 elsewhere) on Lifetime.
Project runway has moved to the Lifetime Network and finally begun their 6th season (last Thursday). This is a competition show between designers. It has famous designer judges. Challenges include making an outfit with materials found in a grocery store. If you are not already watching Project Runway, you're missing out. It's truly awesome. I had to add Lifetime to my favorite channel list. I think I'm dumber already.
Give the looks star ratings on Rate the Runway on the official site.

Eureka
Fridays 8pm central (9 elsewhere) on SyFy (formally knowen as SciFi)
You know how the Manhattan project built the bomb? Well this is a fictional television show about a whole secret town of elite scientists who build all sorts of advanced scientific projects. This show is tongue-in-cheek, campy scifi fun. I think they are in there 3rd season. You can also watch full episodes on Hulu.com.

If this list doesn't do it for you, Bret Farve is a Viking and the NFL is in preseason.

L'Oreal HIP Cream Shadow Paint Review

2009-08-20T22:53:00.009-05:00

Product L'Oreal Paris HIP Cream Shadow Paint in Nervy (817) and Secretive (807)
Experience with this type of product I was using MAC paint as an eye shadow base. I like MAC slightly better, but they are practically identical.

My Rating 5 sit and spins

How do I use it? I use Secretive at an eye shadow base. I apply a thin coat with a brush. This could also be applied thinly with your fingers. (I use MAC brush 216se, bottom brush. The brush at the top is the one that comes with HIP paint.) After it has dried a bit I apply eyeshadow as usual on top of it. It helps the eye shadow last longer and helps the colors apply truer. An eyeshadow that would normally take two coats now may take only one to get the same intensity.
I bought Nervy because it was recommended by Allure magazine (named best brown eye shadow in October 08). I wear this as an eye shadow, applied dark at the lash line and fading toward the brow. It is a beautiful taupe brown color. (see pictures) I think the color would flatter many people. I add layers of nervy with a brush to build up the color. I also apply this thinly and use it as an eye shadow base under brown eyeshadow. In addition, I use it as an eye shadow base to tweak eyeshadow colors. I have a too yellow gold shadow that looks better with nervy under it.
What I like about it. The color of Nervy is great. It lasts. The eye close ups in the picture above was taken at the end of the day. It works as an eye shadow base. It's cheaper the MAC. (which is not sold anywhere in my state)
What I hate about it. I won't say I hate this, but some people might. It dries fairly quickly and once it is dry it's set. This means you have to be careful how you apply it. Once it's on, it's on. No more blending.

Would I but again? Yes. But a tiny tube of paint lasts forever, so I won't have to for a while.

Most of the HIP line of products are very colorful. (think inside of a crayon box) The selection of colors in the cream shadow paints is lovely and neutral. They have a pink color that has potential. There is also a black color (steely) that I think should work well as a base if you are doing a smokey eye. I'm guessing you could layer a metallic shadow over the black paint for a modern smokey eye.

The make-up look (pictured bottom right) is a good summer look for people with pale skin. Bright lipstick with muted eye shadow (nervy). I wore coral lipstick, but red or a fuchsia would work as well.

Portage Pass Trail, Whittier,Alaska

2009-08-12T14:19:00.014-05:00

I'll begin this by saying I'm not a hiker. So I'm posting the information I would be interested in as a non hiker. Portage Pass Trail is about a mile and a half long. I would say it is a definite challenge for the out of shape every day schmo, but do-able. I am an out of shape schmo and I made it to the top by stopping to take breaks and a whole lot of huffing and puffing. The 4 year old that was with us needed to be carried much of the way. I personally wouldn't feel stable enough (even in good shape) to carry a child up the mountain, but it was no problem for her father. Caring small children is a judgement call. We saw older children (9 years old maybe) make the hike with no problem. The path is uneven and covered with loose rocks. It is not good for people with knee or back problems. I had my foot scoot a bit from underneath me several times on the way back down, but no real slips or falls. The other people hiking with me had no problems. When you reach the top you have a nice view of Portage Glacier as seen in the first picture. If you turn around, you have a view of the ocean (second picture). We had a sunny day, which is rare for Whittier. I added the third picture (right) so you can get an idea of the slope of the trail. The trail is about as steep as in the picture, sometimes a bit steeper. After you reach the top (first picture) if you go to the right you can continue on to see the face (bottom, melting part) of the glacier. The trail continues from there, but becomes quite difficult and is only for experienced hikers. Returning down the trail went quickly. The Hike took us about 2 hours, including gawking. Keep an eye on the clock. You may want to time your hike to coordinate with the one way tunnel into Whittier. Traffic switches directions every half hour (in 2009).
On the drive to Whittier, don't miss the scenic view between the two tunnels. It has a great view of several glaciers(shown left).
We ate in Whittier at the Cafe Orca. I split a halibut (fillet) burger and clam chowder. They were both excellent. The sauce on the "burger" had real capers. The grilled fries were also very good. They serve hummus sandwiches if you are a vegetarian. And there is a lovely dining patio that is right next to the ocean.

Jeans for a big butt, Levis 529

2009-07-29T09:01:00.006-05:00

People who know me know I can't buy jeans. They just don't fit my body. I usually have to order custom made jeans to get them to fit. If you consider going from a size 2 to a size 4 one size jump, my waist is 2-3 sizes smaller then my butt. If that weren't enough, I carry all of that in the back and most jeans are built with extra tummy room. I also have a slight sway in my back. I bought some clearance jeans that (mostly) fit me a few days ago. Part of the reason these particular jeans fit is they are sewn wrong. I tried on the non clearance version at Kohls, and they didn't fit (or I would have bought one in every color).
Levis fit 529 is a good jean to try if you have a large butt. The fit higher in the back (a few inches below the natural waist), but are still lower in the front (two inches below the belly button). This way they look normal from the front, but have no back gap. The pair I bought is still two inches too large in the waist, but the waist band lays toward my body instead of away from it. They are cut fuller in the hip and have boot cut legs. Boot cut is good for curvy girls. I think they are worth trying on if you have problems with back gap.
*Update
The front pockets in these jeans are only about 2 inches deep. I have no idea why they did that. If you are deciding between two sizes, pick the smaller size. The jeans stretch out very quickly. Once the butt stretches out, if the waist is still a bit too big the will fall and bag. Mine stretch out on the first wearing, and must be washed to return to the original shape.

How to Apply Bronzer

2009-07-27T12:19:00.006-05:00

I suspect many of you are like I was. You are slightly confused about where to apply bronzer. Allure magazine had a bronzer tutorial a few months ago. Here is the video that went with that tutorial. I'll sum up the video below, in case you just want to be reminded of the basics.

1. Choose a bronzer that matches your skin tone (light, medium, dark). Choose a matte bronzer with yellow tones. Avoid pink bronzers and shimmery bronzers. It should look slightly darker then your jawline when applied.
2. Apply foundation and concealer as usual. Apply a moisturizer or tinted moisturizer if you had dry skin (before foundation). Apply powder if you have oily skin.
3. Use a medium sized brush to apply bronzer. Dip the brush and tap off excess. Apply along your jawline and hairline using tight, circular motions. Move from the outsides of your face to the center. Wherever your start will apply more color then where you finish.
4. Add more bronzer to your brush and tap. Sweep bronzer on your cheekbones and down the nose. Skim your forehead, chin, and neck. Tap brush to remove excess powder then use brush to blend with swirling motions where needed.
5. Apply blush to the apples of your cheeks. Start the circle on the outside of the apple so the most color is just outside your eye, and not right below your iris. Add just a touch to the center of your forehead, tip of the nose, and chin to balance the blush. Choose matte blush for day and shimmer (optional) for night. Choose a pink blush, not a peach. Peach blush can make the bronzer look orange. Use a brown eye liner instead of black. Pick gold or bronze eye shadow. Choose a sheer nude or light pink lip gloss.

Help finding make-up

2009-07-27T08:48:00.005-05:00

Looking for a new moisturizer, conditioner,or maybe a new lipstick? Here are some links that might help.

Allure Magazine's readers choice awards. Readers voted on make-up in all categories. They had separate categories for drugstore and department store in all categories. They also suggest specific shades for all the products. There are also categories for pale and bright nail polish. I personally love MAC eyeshadow and HIP eyeshadow (I haven't tried the specific colors suggested).

Paula Begoun, The Cosmetic Cop, was on Oprah last week and suggested specific products (not colors) in all categories. In general, there are drugstore and department store make-up and hair products recommendations in each category. Here is another site that has her reviews. Many of the reviews on this site are not as up to date. She also has this link that has facts about sunblock and, at the bottom of the page, has suggestions for products that have sunscreen. It suggest make-up, moisturizer, lip balm, etc.

The Beer Barge

2009-07-22T20:40:00.006-05:00

The Beer Barge, A.K.A beverage barge, is my new favorite thing. I found this tutorial on instructibles on how to make a beer barge from a fun noodle (one of those long tubes kids float on). Hollow it out with a knife, a little hot glue and you're practically done. Make sure your noodle is bigger then a can. Mine barely was. I made a longer and taller one for bottles. I used plastic knives for supports rather then Popsicle sticks (as done in instructables). Mine will be floating in a lake with green stuff growing on the bottom, not in a chlorinated pool, so I thought it was wise. I haven't tested it in the wind, but it works well with a breeze. One noodle makes about 4 barges. I plan to tie it to the floatie a better way some day when I've planned ahead.

Rocker Girl Make-up Look

2009-07-20T11:59:00.009-05:00

For this look, you want a muted lip color. A bright lip will be too strong with a dark eye. Any bright eye shadow color will do. I used a bright green. Allure used a metallic turquoise blue. H.I.P. makes nice eye shadows. They sell many bright colors and should have something good for this look. My hair and make-up looked better in person. Taking pictures of hair and make-up is not easy.
Optional, apply a nude eye shadow base all over eye area. This helps eye shadow colors apply truer and last longer.
Apply a bright shadow between lashes and crease.
Apply black into the crease of your eye.
Blend.
Line eyes in black eyeliner.
Smudge out eye liner with an angle brush and black eye shadow.
Apply mascara.

Products Used
Lipstick: Loreal Infallible. The color has been discontinued.
Eye Shadow Base: Loreal H.I.P cream shadow paint in #807 Secretive(drugstore)
It is NOT Mac as stated repeatedly in the video. However, I've used Mac paint and I like that too.
Eye Shadow: Mac Humid (green) (MAC is in department stores and online)
Note: MAC has free shipping 7/20/09-7/24/09)
Mac Smut (black)
Hair Wax: FX molding wax (drugstore)

Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser for Normal to Oily Skin Review

2009-07-15T20:59:00.011-05:00

Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser for Normal to Oily Skin Review
My skin type: Normal.

My rating: 5 sit and spins

What I like about it: I've used this for years and years. It does exactly what a cleanser should. It cleans your skin without drying it. It isn't expensive and the container lasts a long time.
What I hate about it: Nothing comes to mind.
Be careful not to buy: Don't buy the cleanser for normal to dry skin, unless your skin is very dry. Then it will be very good. The normal to dry skin version does not remove make-up as well as the normal to oily version. The normal to oily version doesn't dry your skin, so it should be good for most people. My sister tried the target store brand version of the Cetaphil normal to oily and did not like it.

People will try to tell you you need fancy things in your cleansers like antioxidants and Alpha and beta hydroxy acids. Bologna. Cleanser is only on you face for about 15 seconds. Those ingredients can't do anything in that amount of time besides get into your eyes. If something actually could work in a few seconds, then it should probably be applied by a professional in a doctors office and not trusted to the likes of you and me. Antioxidants and beta and alpha hydroxy acids are great ingredients for things that will stay on your face like serums and moisturizers. They are stupid in cleansers. Save your money on cleansers. Basic is better.
Cetaphil is good for people with sensitive skin. It's a basic cleanser without added ingredients to irritate your skin.

This should work well for everyone who doesn't have very dry or very oily skin. I highly recommend it.

Olay Pro X

2009-07-12T19:52:00.005-05:00

Have you been wondering about Olay Pro X products after the new commercials aired claiming it works better then prescription products? Here is what the cosmetic cop had to say: (she's kind of a consumer reports for make-up)
In short, she says the products are good, but not worth the money. If you still want to buy them, here is a coupon for 20$ off a 50$ purchase of Olay products. If you buy Pro X products, you should reach the 50$ mark in no time.

Outlast Lipstain Review

2009-07-11T12:44:00.008-05:00

Outlast Lipstain Review

What I look for in a lipstick: Long lasting. I hate to reapply.
My experience with this type of product: I've tried a lot of stay-on lipsticks.

My rating: 1 sit and spin

Would I buy this again? No.
What I like about it: Not much. The red color is nice.
What I hate about it: It's not lasting. It goes on way too bold for my taste. It has a drying feel, and I usually don't care about lipstick texture at all. If your lips are even the least bit dry, the dry part sucks up the color and highlights the dry areas.

As I say in the video, I applied the lipstick in the top right picture with a lip brush, to get a lighter look. I find it wearable that way, but time consuming to put on. In the bottom left it is applied as directed, and is in my opinion, way too bold. It's hard to tell on camera, but it shows up more in real life. Side note: My hair was in the process of air drying.

Mod Podge Cloth Covered Table

2009-07-09T16:52:00.010-05:00

This table was done by my sister Julie. Below is the before shot. Here's what Julie had to say about it:

The table with fabric on it is covered in hard coat mod podge so you can wipe it off. I spray painted the bottom of the table white. The chairs are from a used store. I recovered the chairs in yellow fabric with little white flowers in a diamond pattern. I also covered these with mod podge (the regular kind) so I can wipe them off. The chairs had ugly orange vinyl on them when I bought them. I think that any schmo can use mod podge on fabric (aka like painting with glue). The table was easy, but time consuming. I had to put on so many layers of the hard coat mod podge & sand in between each layer.

Julie also told me the hard coat mod podge has to cure for 4 weeks before you can use it. She's been setting things on the table, but isn't planning a spaghetti dinner any time soon. She got her hard coat mod podge online, but she has also seen it at Hobby Lobby and JoAnns. I love the results. Modern and inviting at the same time. Julie has a gift for decorating. She does a lot of trash to treasure style decorating. I hope to show you more of her stuff in the future.

Camping Packing List

2009-07-08T21:24:00.003-05:00

No I don't lug all this stuff. But I listed most of the stuff I think you might want to bring.

Fire
Wood
Twigs (if you're camping in ND without trees)
Newspaper
Lighter fluid
Axe, Hatchet, Saw
Bucket (extinguishing fire)
Shovel (extinguishing fire)
Marshmallow roasting sticks
Sandwich iron for grilled cheese and turnovers and such
the clicker, fire starter, what is that thing called anyway?
Chairs
Cigar (I can hear my sister saying gross as she reads this)

Tent
tent
stakes
tarp (for over tent in Alaska, for inside tent in ND)
Inflatable mattress
sleeping bags
pillow
pillow case you don't particularly care about
flashlight
extra batteries for flashlight (especially if you take a small child)
lantern

Cooking equipment
Grill
Propane and extra propane
charcoal
charcoal chimney
Spatula
Camp Stove
Oven Mitt
Pots and Pans
Coffee pot
Coffee
Tea bags
Hot cocoa mix
Aluminum Foil
Spices (garlic pepper is good for most situations. Garlic, pepper and salt mix)
bowl for mixing
Bucket for hauling water
can opener
knives
cutting board
measuring equipment
peeler
silverware
plates,cups, bowls
paper towels
Styrofoam cups for cocoa and coffee
garbage bags
dishcloth and towels
sanitary water for washing
scrubbing pads
storage containers
table cloth
dish soap
napkins
condiments
wet naps for cleaning hands etc.
Purell
way to hide food from bears and animals

Campsite General
Clothes line and clothes pins (wet towels and such)
extra rope and bungee cords for stuff
scissors for rope and stuff
Games such as Norwegian Golf or volley ball
frisbee

Clothes
sweat Shirt
Fleece shirt
Long sleeve shirt
Jeans
socks
Tennis Shoes
Short sleeve shirt
underwear
bra
shorts
tank top
something to wear to sleep
swimsuit and hat

Swimming
Hat
Swim Suit
Swim Suit Cover Up
Sunglasses (preferably floaters)
bottle opener for beer
Big T-shirt to swim in case of sunburn
flip flops
water shoes
towel
floatie
Pump for floatie
beverage barge
rope to tie floatie to shore
stake to tie rope to (or one of those things you twist in for dogs)
Can coozie
magazines or book (or cookbook if you're weird like me)
sun block
continuous spray sunblock for the middle of your back
chap stick or lip gloss with sun block
skintastic style bug spray
Deep woods style bug spray
Comb for wet hair
pony tail holder
Chair
Water and sand toys

Personal Items
Prescription Medication
Over the Counter Medication
Brush and Comb
Razor and Shaving Cream
Tooth Brush
Tooth Paste
Feminine Hygiene Products
Mirror
Toilet Paper
Towel and Washcloth
Baby Wipes
Contact Case and solution
Glasses and Case
shampoo/conditioner
soap
extra bathroom towel

Miscellaneous
Camera (with a charged battery)
Extra batteries or extra memory cards
first aid kit
musical instrument
pocket knife
extra batteries for kids toys and such
bikes
car charger for phone

Dog
Dog food
Treats
Bowl for water
walking leash
Long leash
screw in dog tie down to attach leash
towel for dog (you don't want wet dogs in the car)
Dog bed
Kennel
Ball for fetching or other toys

See also my post on Lora's recipes on s'mores variations.

Sit and Spin

2009-07-08T19:10:00.006-05:00

When I was a kid I wanted a Sit and Spin. I mean REALLY wanted a Sit and Spin. When I would go over to my friend's houses, I'd ask "Do you have a sit and spin?" Then hours would pass and my friend would say "Let's play something else now." Nope. There was no other play to be had as long as a sit and spin was available.
Now I've been telling the story for many years about how I always wanted a sit and spin and never got one because my mom thought I would get sick from all the spinning. I mean really... Adults always say stuff like that. What kid ever gets sick from spinning? (O.K. Some kids do, but it's rare.) The Sit and Spin story has been told in perpetuity. In fact I told the story so many times that my Mom wants to smack me.
Mom's side of the story: "If I knew you wanted a Sit and Spin so badly, I would have bought you one. I just thought you'd get sick."
I do realize this mom. I also admit that as a 5 year old I may not have communicated my wants and needs so eloquently. You are off the hook. You were never really on the hook. But, the story is not funny without blaming you.
Cut to my 38th birthday last week. (I know, I don't look a day over 21.) My sister Julie tells me to close my eyes. When it's time to open them I see this.

Yeah, that's right. My own "Pimp my ride" version of a Sit and Spin. I know, you're totally jealous. This Sit and Spin was salvaged from a neighbors junk pile on clean-up week. Before it hit the junk pile, it had been sitting in their back yard for years. "What is the best way to clean it?" you ask. Car wash. The answer is car wash. My brother-in-law tells me you can really get that sucker spinning when you spray the water directly at it. After it was clean, Julie found this picture of me to mod podge to the top. Why am I making that face? I was holding a baby. Shut up. I bet there are pictures floating around of you with a crazy face because a baby is in the vicinity. The picture, where I'm wearing a Vikings jersey, suggested a Minnesota Vikings theme. She used some more mod podge and viola. A custom Minnesota Vikings Sit and Spin.
Did I spend the day spinning? Well, let me tell you, getting onto a Sit and Spin is no easy feat as an adult. It takes maneuvering. Also, I weigh a pound or two more then I did when I was five. Now the sit and spin scrapes on the ground and doesn't spin so well. My sister points out that the ball barrings aren't new. Yep. I'm sure it's the ball barrings. In the end, it's probably good that it doesn't spin for me. Because if it did spin, I'd get sick.
What did we learn?
1. Mom was right. (as usual)
2. Dreams really do come true.
3. Even filthy toys can be cleaned.