Does dry shampoo really work?

Hi everyone and happy Friday!  I am so happy that it's the end of the week but at the same time, I want it to be Monday again so that my job hunting for my new job can continue!  Anyway, let's get cracking for today.  Now I know that not everyone really cares that much about something like this, but I want to talk to you about dry shampoo.

Lush, "No Drought" Dry Shampoo.

For me, I never really thought about dry shampoo because I never went a day without washing my hair.  After all the of the reading that I did about how it is not good to wash your hair everyday, I still washed my hair everyday and completely ignored everything that I read.  With that being said, about a year ago I drastically changed my diet.  I began eating extremely clean and exercising, drinking more and more water (not that I didn't drink so much normally, just saying).  While you can imagine that my body was changing from my diet being changed, I really also noticed a change in my hair, skin and nails.

While my nails were getting stronger and my skin clearer, my hair just seemed like it was getting a little bit thinner but at the same time it was becoming stronger.  The process that my hair was going through was so strange but i realized that it was getting a little bit worse, before it was getting better.  To accommodate this change, I began to skip washing my hair every other day.  While this was really wierd to me, I knew that there was a slight possibility that it may help me and it really did.

With skipping every other day came the obvious problem of oily hair.  I absolutely hate when my hair gets oily but it never really did because I washed it every single day and never gave it a chance to.  Now that I was skipping a day, it started happening more often.  With that thought, I decided to actually try a dry shampoo.  Now I distinctly remember one of my friends talking about a dry shampoo that she had picked up from the drugstore and said she loved so I resorted to trying that one.  I found that it didn't really help me.  I looked it up online and found that it was extremely hyped up and I was wondering why.  The Tresemme dry shampoo she was using was just not working for me at all.  I tried a second one from Suave and I hated that one too.

Online I was looking around for other ones that might work and I came across one that Lush sells.  A little pricey, I was concerned but it wasn't terrible.  After a while I found myself using it more and more and it really grew on me.  After looking up on youtube the proper way to actually put it in your hair thinking I was doing it wrong, I realized that it wasn't me.  The Lush dry shampoo is an actual powder as opposed to the others from the drugstore that are in an aerosol can.

What I like about the Lush dry shampoo that is conveniently called "No Drought," is that it is buildable like any good make-up.  When you put it in your hair, because it's a powder, you can really rub it in and see that its rubbed in before you chose to put more in your hair that you may not need.  I found that it was way easier to work with more so than the aerosol cans because of this.  I have blonde hair so blending the powder into my hair is a lot easier than it would be on a brunette.  While I do say this, I must also say my hair is ombre styled so the roots are a little darker and I still have no problem.

Overall, I love the texture of No Drought.  I love that I can put it in my hair and actually feel that it is taking effect.  With the aerosol cans I wasn't able to do that.  I also enjoy the smell of it.  The cans seemed like they smelled more of a "fake" product than the powder.  The citrus scent is great because its not overpowering and once you put the product into your hair you aren't left smelling it forever and a day like you are with aerosol cans of dry shampoo.

Check out Lush dry shampoo, "No Drought" at Lush stores or on the website.  That is all I have for you guys for today, I hope you enjoyed it.  Do you use dry shampoo?  Which one do you use?  Which one should I try?  Leave me some suggestions of what to try in the comments or tell me your review.  You can also send me a tweet and let me know what you think.
Xoxo-Brit.

Pop of color in the winter via Cargo's Laguna Blush

Hey guys!  I hope you are all having a great day today!  Like yesterday, it was absolutely freezing out.  I had contemplated not leaving the house once again (because I was off from work), but I stopped at a friends house and went to Target.  I wanted to tell you today about a great blush that I decided to wear because I was craving the summer time!  

Cargo, Laguna blush.

Cargo Laguna is an amazing blush.  When you apply it though, start with a light hand.  Especially because of the color of this one, it can get dangerous.  If you dip a blush brush into the color and tap it off a couple of times then brush it lightly on your hand, THEN apply it, you're good!

The fact that this color is so versatile is great.  What I mean by this is that when applied lightly, the cheeks actually look so natural and glowy.  I love it.  The color is also buildable, meaning that the more color you add, the more it will look like the color in the pan.  

The worst thing about this blush is that I believe Sephora has stopped carrying Cargo but you can still get it online, check it out!  Also, Cargo products can be found at Ulta and Macy's.  That's all I have for today, sorry it is so short!  Send me a tweet and let me know your thoughts!  Have you ever tried Cargo?  

Xoxo-Brit.

Best school bag there is!

So my favorite thing about fashion is definitely not handbags or bags in general, but they are essential in finishing off an outfit.  I like to concentrate more on the outfit and shoes, handbags are always my last choice.  To be completely honest with you, I only really change my handbag with the seasons.  You are lucky if you see me change it more than twice per year actually.  All of this doesn't mean that I don't like shopping for a bag or two.  This specific bag that I want to talk to you all about it one that I have probably had for almost a year, so I feel like I am qualified to tell you what I love about it.

Now originally I always wanted a Longchamp Le Pliage tote.  I always wanted this bag because it is so timeless and elegant and if you get a solid color (I was lusting over the black one), it can match with literally everything that you may chose to wear on a given day.  The bag is perfect to throw over a shoulder or into the crook of an arm so I instantly wanted to sub out my Vera Bradley for a Le Pliage tote.  While this is all true, I suddenly became aware of the larger Le Pliage totes when I was looking for a new school bag.  

Under the "Travel bag" section of the Longchamp website, the bag that I chose is absolutely huge!  You don't have to use it to its fullest potential at all times though.  What I mean by this is that with the zipper feature in the middle of the bag, it is expandable.  You can use the bag as a huge tote or a smaller bag.  Either way, the bag is so extremely functional and gives so much room and versatility.  When I was looking at the bag in Nordstrom, I nearly died because it was exactly what I was looking for.

The website says that this Le Pliage is inspired by Japanese Origami, I love that and totally know why!

Another great thing about this bag is that it has small handles so that you are able to carry it in the crook of your arm, and it also has the longer shoulder strap so you can throw it right over your shoulder when you are in a hurry or things are too heavy.  My favorite part about the bag?  The classic Longchamp leaping horse on the leather flap with the button on the front.  There is just something so wonderful and classic about this amazing bag, I absolutely love it.

The material on the bag is waterproof and when walking through campus with an umbrella that only covers me, I didn't have to worry about my bag (even though I still was considerably worried- this is just how I get with my bags ;)).  The material of the bag is also really easy to wipe out with say a baby wipe or a paper towel.  I have spilled hand sanitizer on the side of it and it comes right off the material.

The little pocket on the inside of the bag is great too.  The only thing I wish was that it was a bit deeper, but I really have no complaints.  The best thing about it not being that huge of a pocket is that you keep less of your crap in it!  Pardon me, but it's true, a girl can really accumulate a lot of stuff.  I just normally keep my keys, hand sanitizer, my phone and some pens.  Being a journalist, you never know when you'll need a pen!

The whole time I have had this bag I have been in school and it has done nothing but support my heavy books, laptop and paperwork.  I really love its functionality and I will most definitely continue to use it for whatever traveling I may chose to do in the future and for my work.  I love how durable and beautiful it is at the same time.  A++ for this bag and how it is absolutely everything I thought it would be and more!

Well, that's all I have for you guys today.  If you enjoyed, please share it with your friends and everyone you know!  Tweet it out, too!  What kind of bags do you all use?  Have you used this one or any Longchamp bags before?  Send me a tweet and let me know!  Xoxo-Brit.

Shampoo and conditioner for healthy hair!

Hi everyone!  How are we today?  Like I said yesterday, I absolutely was not lying it is FREEZING!  The current temperature outside is 18 degrees!  I mean, we had to know it was coming because it has been beautiful the past couple of days.  We also got some snow and it actually wasn't that much.  The local kids had no delayed opening and everything was business as usual.  I figured today I would talk to you all about some amazing shampoo and conditioner that I recently found and absolutely love.

Herbal Essences Honey, I'm Strong Shampoo and Conditioner.

Now my intentions here are not to sound gimmicky because I am the queen of hating gimmicks, but I really love this duo of haircare.  For as long as I can remember I have been using Herbal Essence hair products and I have always liked them but I really never found them to do what they said they would do on the outside of the bottle.  Am I alone in this?  I just really couldn't understand the claims that they made because I always fell victim to picking up the latest formulation and trying it out (didn't I just say I hated gimmicks?).  

While this is all true, recently I picked up Herbal Essences, Honey I'm Strong shampoo and conditioner.  Now the absolute best thing about these is that they are so incredibly affordable.  Let's be completely honest with ourselves, are we going to want to spend a million dollars on hair care when we can be spending that money on fantastic makeup?  For me, the answer to that question is fairly easy.  I love saving a little here, so I can spend a lot there; if you know what I mean!  

Anyway, this formulation is absolutely wonderful.  On the front of the bottle in huge numbers is "10x stronger in one wash!"  I think that after one wash my hair was most definitely stronger but I don't know about 10x.  Another thing the shampoo promises is that it will strengthen while conditioning and nursing back to health already damaged hair.  The reason why I like this shampoo and conditioner so much is because I agree with that statement.  Two years ago during the summer I took horrible care of my hair.  I would go swimming and come out and never condition my hair (don't ask me why), and it never got better.   I have been looking for something to help me combat that and after I started using Moroccan Oil, it helped drastically but I could never find a shampoo/conditioner to work with the MO until now.  This duo does it.

I found that after one wash my hair was increasingly stronger but after one week of using it, my hair was feeling significantly stronger and my ends were even better.  I could feel the strength in my hair when I run my fingers through and when I straighten it I can see how shiny and different it looks.  Call me crazy, but I can also see how it is making my hair grow.  Around Thanksgiving, I cut my hair to probably 1/4 in above my collar bone and now it's about 2.5 inches below my collar bone.  I largely attribute the growth to this shampoo/conditioner.  

The ONLY thing I don't like about this shampoo/conditioner is the smell.  Now this is wierd for me to be saying because I normally absolutely love the smell of almost ever Herbal Essence shampoo/conditioner (especially the blue one that smells like coconut), but with this one I beg to differ. I feel like they tried to smoosh the smell of honey with a floral scent together or something, ew.  I mean, it's not absolutely horrific or disgusting and you can't really smell it until you rub it in, but its definitely noticeable.  

With only one bad attribute, I really like this shampoo.  It has taken me a really long time to find something that is worth using alongside my MO for healthy, shiny, strong and growing hair.  Try out Herbal Essences Honey, I'm Strong from target.  I think I got mine for around $3-$4.

Thank you for reading!  Let me know if you enjoyed by leaving a comment in the section below.  Do you use this shamp/cond and do you like it?  If not, what do you use to get these results?  Send me a tweet and let me know!
Xoxo- Brit.

What is a BB Cream?

Hi everyone?  How are we all today?  Like I said yesterday, it is absolutely freezing today.  I don't think the temperature went above 36 today but I shouldn't be complaining about that because the lows are going to be incredibly low and tomorrow it is supposed to be colder (I think).  Also, I believe were going to be getting some snow and more over the weekend.  I am NOT happy about this.  Anyway!  Let's get cracking with the rest of the post because I really want to talk to you guys about BB cream.  Have you ever used one before?  If so, please let me know what kind you've used and which ones you like in the comment section below!

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream, Revlon Photo Ready BB Cream, L'Oreal Magic Skin Beautified BB Cream.

BB cream stands for "beauty balm" cream.  The formulations in BB creams are not supposed to be super heavy and they are not really supposed to give you full coverage, but they have so many other benefits that you may not realize.  BB creams are supposed to help essentially make your face an even canvas.  What I mean by this, is that the BB cream (applied like a foundation) is more of a tinted moisturizer.  Although it is not a foundation, it provides very minimal coverage but moisturizes the skin and assists in helping with discoloration, hyper-pigmentation and more.  I would recommend BB cream for anyone who doesn't want to try foundation just yet, or who doesn't really know how to apply/use foundation.  I would also recommend it to anyone who just wants a light coverage for every day that they can apply quickly with their hands and doesn't require much effort.  

I am lucky to have pretty descent skin that doesn't have very many breakouts (knock on wood) and this is the reason why I primarily (pretty much exclusively) use BB cream.  The BB creams that I am going to be talking about in this blog post are from the drugstore and they are absolutely wonderful (well most of them.  I am going to talk about three; two of them I like (one more than the other) and one of them I can leave.

First I want to talk about L'Oreal's Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream in Light.  I absolutely cannot stand this BB cream for a couple of reasons.  First of all, the color match must not be right for me.  With this being said, I feel like if I was to go back and get another color, it would be too dark or too light.  Also, if I was to change it for another color I still wouldn't like it because the color payoff is rather orange when applied to the skin.  Another thing is that when the product comes out of the tube, it is a white color and a sandy consistency.  I didn't think this was going to bother me at first, but I think that may be whats making me not like it more.  You don't know the color pay off until it is on your face, making it really hard to know what it will look like; therefore making the product almost a complete waste.  I definitely would not repurchase this product.  I got mine for about $8-$9 at Target.

L'Oreal Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream.

Next, I want to talk about Maybelline's Dream Fresh BB cream in Medium Sheer Tint.  I really like this  BB cream.  The coverage is pretty good and the formulation is not too bad, the product is SPF 30.  When applying it on your skin, the product tends to feel a bit more watery than the next one that I will talk about but not too much that it feels too thin.  This does a great job at concealing redness which is huge for me because I have a lot of redness on all of my face, not just my cheeks.  The product really doesn't smell like anything and that can be a good thing.  When coming out of the tube, the product actually looks like what it applies on your skin which is great because there are no surprises at the end of the day.  The application is quick and it doesn't take a while to settle into your skin.  The packaging is small and says that there is only 1.0 fl. oz. of product, but it lasts so long because you really only need a little bit.  I would definitely re-purchase this from Maybelline!  I got mine for $7-$8 at Target.

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream on the left,  Revlon Photo Ready BB Cream on the right.

Lastly I want to talk about Revlon's Photo Ready BB Cream in the color 020 Light Medium.  I really love this BB cream and it is probably my favorite out of the three.  The only downfall that I want to talk about first is that it can be a liiiiiittle bit oily for the skin so if your skin is oily to begin with, this may not be for you.  Aside from that, the product is awesome straight out of the packaging.  The formula is a little more dense than the Maybelline BB cream.  It seems that this one is slightly lighter as well than the Maybelline BB cream but it matches my skin like a dream.  The smell is probably my favorite thing about it!  I love when products smell like something tropical or the beach and this one smells like sunscreen, omg instantly in love.  Revlon's formula is SPF 30 so that is great and you can tell that the product lasts all day long, even when you apply it earlier in the morning.  I got mine at Face Values for $7-$9.

Okay that's all I have for BB creams right now!  If you have any comments, please leave them below and let me know what you think.  You could also send me a tweet letting me know what kind of BB cream you use or think I should try.  I haven't tried any high end BB creams so maybe that will be next on my list.  Talk to you all soon and as always, thanks for reading!  If you liked it share with a friend.

Xoxo-Brit.