Hair Ideas (Magazine Scans)

I must admit...When it comes to my hair, I'm just plain lazy!  

I have fine, thin hair and it takes a lot of work to make it look half decent.  You would think that since my sister is a hairstylist, I would be really into hair stuff.  Well, my sister is the only reason my hair ever looks good!  Every now and then she wrangles me into her chair kicking and screaming and gives me a new cut, color, or style.  When left to my own devices, though, I pull my hair into a ponytail and call it a day. 

Lately, I have been trying to break this habit and put more effort into styling my hair.  Up until now, I had always I flipped past anything that had to do with hair.  Now I started adding some cute style ideas to my "look book" (You can check out my post about that here.)  So, I thought I'd share a few hair-related articles that I saved from various magazines as inspiration.  Hope you enjoy!

I find the feature on Jessica Alba especially inspiring, because she is a fine-haired girl!

So, do you like staying up on new hairstyles and trying new looks or do you keep it simple? What is your favorite trend of the moment?

Review-L'oreal Mythic Oil Colour Glow Oil

L'Oreal Mythic Oil Colour Glow Oil

I requested a free sample of this product, I don't recall exactly, but I'm pretty sure I snagged this sample from the L'Oreal Facebook page.  The Mythic Oil line is L'Oreal's take on the hair oil trend that's going strong in hair care these days.  

Am I the only person who isn't addicted to Morrocan Oil? 

I swear, it's like they put crack in that stuff! Everyone, including my sister, swears by it.  They even make stylists sign a contract promising they will not resell it for profit when they buy it from the beauty supply store.  Am I crazy? I find that Morrocan Oil makes my fine thin hair really limp and stringy, no matter how little I use.  Despite quite possibly being the only person on Earth who doesn't rave over Morracan Oil, I was still very curious to try Mythic Oil.  I requested the Colour Glow Oil since my hair is color-treated.

The L'Oreal website's claims about Mythic Oil Colour Glow Oil:

- Haircolor is kept luminous and vibrant

- UV filters protect hair from harmful rays

- Distressed hair is left nourished and soft

My Experience:

The scent of this oil is not nearly as nice as Morrocan Oil.  I gotta give it to Morracan Oil---it sure smells great!   When used on wet hair, I found that Mythic Oil has a pretty light and unobtrusive hair product scent.  When I used it on dry hair, the scent was much stronger and lingered.  It smells like a regular hair product scent that is trying to be "exotic."  

The oil itself feels light and very clean for an oil.  Morrocan Oil has that dry feel too, so I wasn't expecting Mythic Oil to be much different in my hair, but it was.  I used a few drops on my wet medium length hair and let it dry naturally, as usual.  The Mythic Oil made my hair feel soft and smooth, yet also somehow added a little body, it almost made my hair sort of puffy, although not frizzy.  It was definitely not stringy or limp.  It felt great, very silky, but the look of my hair was not anything out of the ordinary.  

On another occasion, I tried adding a few drops of Mythic Oil to my dry hair. It made it feel softer and smoother.  I guess it added some shine, but the effect was not that noticeable.  It did not weigh down my hair or make it seem greasy.  I only occasionally blow dry my hair and wear it down, and I have not tried this oil on a day when I've styled my hair like that.  

Overall, I would rate this product as better for my hair type (fine/thin) than Morrocan Oil.  My question is if I really NEED a product like Mythic Oil. For me, the answer is probably not.  It did make my hair feel nice, but truthfully, my hair wasn't that different without it.  Still, if you have fine/thin hair and are looking for a hair oil that doesn't weigh down your hair, this is a good bet.  Also, a little goes a long way.  I might get a couple weeks worth out of this tiny sample bottle!  A full size bottle would be a really good value for the money.

Have you tried this product? What did you think? Are you a big Morrocan Oil fan? (I bet you are! haha) 

My Current Hair Care Products

My sister is a hairdresser.  She buys all of our hair products at a professional beauty supply store that offers discounted products to licensed stylists.  We usually buy whichever brands and lines that happen to be on sale when we need an item.  So, we are always trying new hair care products, although we tend to stick to certain brands like Redken, Matrix, and Rusk.  

Right now, I am using Rusk Deepshine Color Hydrate Shampoo and Conditioner.

 This shampoo and conditioner is a sulfate-free formula for color-treated hair.  Sulfate-free has been a big trend in hair care for the past couple of years.  This line also contains argan oil, which seems to be in every hair product these days due to the Morrocan Oil craze.  I have used other sulfate-free shampoos/conditioners, and so far, this has been my favorite.  It leaves my hair very calm and smooth.  However, like the other sulfate-free shampoos that I have tried, I found that half way through the bottle my hair started feeling gross, like it had build-up or something.  I usually just switch to Tea Tree Oil shampoo for a wash here and there and it's back to working like a charm.   

 I always use Goody brushes.  This is one that I got cheap somewhere.  Sometimes I find them at the Dollar Tree, so, that might be where I got this one... It's great for blow-drying and styling. 

I also use a wooden bristle brush for smoothing my hair.  My dad had a brush like this when I was little and I used to sneak and use his.

I use a little bit of Rusk Being Warped Wax to pull my hair back.  It adds some weight and control to my fine hair, but doesn't make it stiff.  This is an old standby of mine, I've been using it religiously for about five years now. 

I use basic run-of-the-mill black hair elastics for ponytails.

I finish my look off with a touch of Rusk Deepshine Hairspray.  I really like this hairspray because it has a very light and flexible hold.  It also smells really good! This came in a special boxed set with the shampoo and conditioner.  I doubt that I would buy the shampoo/conditioner again, but I'll definitely buy this hairspray again!  I'd say this is one of the best hairsprays I've tried over the past year.

So, those are my current hair products.  What are your favorite brands or products?

      

Surprise!

Yesterday I received two unexpected gifts!  It may not seem like much, but these little blessings made my day.  So, I thought I'd share my excitement with you guys.

Tuesday was a really bad day for me.  I was not doing good at all.  My sister saw this Skyfall 007 OPI minis set on sale at her salon, and she picked it up for me as a gift to cheer me up!  I love the dark, rich, glittery colors.  Can't wait to try them all out.  My sister is the best!

Then, a large and heavy package showed up in my mailbox... It turned out to be a full size bottle of Aussie 3 Minute Miracle that I won from an Allure Magazine giveaway!  For my US readers, if you don't already know, Allure Magazine has awesome beauty giveaways all the time.  Check out their current freebies and giveaways here.  

I'll probably be posting a review of the conditioner and pictures of the polish at a later date, so stay tuned.

Have you had any unexpected happy surprises lately?  

Garnier Fructis Fall Fight Shampoo and Conditioner Review

Just a quick review of Garnier Fructis Fall Fight Shampoo and Conditioner

What the Fructis Web Site Says:

Save Up To 1500 Strands Per Month

Notice strands in your bathroom sink or brush? Improve hair's resistance to everyday hair-fall due to breakage.

The formula with energizing caffeine, fortifying biotin and fruit vitamins, strengthens hair from root to ends, reducing falling, breaking strands.

How to use: Lather hair thoroughly & then massage into scalp for one minute. Rinse. Use the Garnier Fructis Fall Fight 3-Step regimen of Shampoo, Conditioner, and Strand Saver Anti-Breakage Spray.

What I Say:

I got a sample of this Shampoo and Conditioner for free in the mail. My sister is a hairstylist, and ever since she started in beauty school she became really adamant about me using high-quality hair products. Now that I regularly use professional products, I TOTALLY agree with her, and I see such a change in my hair.  When I mentioned that I got a free sample of this product she said Fructis products are terrible and cause build-up, so after the way she talked to me I had pretty low expectations for this shampoo and conditioner. But... 

I really liked this product!

Reasons why I liked it:

• It smelled great
• Thick creamy formula
• Great lather
• Made my hair feel clean and shiny
• Some shampoos make my fine thin hair very puffy, fly-away and weird-textured, this shampoo gave my hair a full, silky, and calm feel

Overall, it seemed to be a very good shampoo/conditioner, I would rate it better than some salon formulas I have tried.  To be fair, I did only try it for one day, so I can't speak on the build-up comment my sister made, nor can I say anything about the anti-breakage claims the product makes. That being said, I think this shampoo/conditioner is worth a try if you are looking for an economical brand.