Awesome Product Alert: Organix Ever Straight Brazilian Keratin Therapy Conditioner

I think the most amazing product I discovered this year is Suave's Dry Shampoo , which, by the way, I use all the time and I'm still on my first can---but I just had to share this new product with you because I have really been enjoying it.

It's called Organix Ever Straight Brazilian Keratin Therapy Conditioner.  Don't let the name fool you---I don't find it to really be straightening, but it is really smoothing.

I have used this a few times now and I've just found that it makes my hair soft and smooth. In this humidity, it's always a bonus to find a product that can do this.

The best part? It smells amazing. Like sweet coconut.  And the smell LASTS. The other day, while I was working out, one of my workout buddies even noticed the smell. It is not strong or overbearing, but a fan was blowing on us and I was like "mmmm I can smell my conditioner"---and she said she smelled it too and it smelled like the beach!

I got mine at WalMart for just under $8.00 but it seems that Amazon sells it cheaper!

xoxo,

Veronika.

Rave Review: HANA Air Premiere Hair Dryer

***This is a re-post of my review of the HANA Air Premiere Hair Dryer. Some of you may know that blogger failed and crashed last week and everyone who posted Wednesday lost their posts.  Unfortunately, a lot of us were unable to have ours restored. I want to give a big thank-you to Natalia (http://nataliavalerieblog.blogspot.com/) for sending me the text from this entry so I didn't have to re-write it. You made my week!***

I have been ridiculously excited to write this review because when a product is awesome---and I mean really awesome, I want to shout from the heavens and let everyone know about it (so you can experience the awesomeness too!)

About a month ago, I was contacted by Misikko.com---they sell CHI flat irons and other brands as well as blow dryers. I was actually familiar with their products---I won a blog contest a long time ago where I got one of their Hana flat irons (the baby pink one that I have).

Now, I'm going to preface this post by saying that I don't accept most products that are offered to me to review.  I really try to focus on only reviewing products that I either purchase on my own, or that I think my readers would be interested to know about.  Since I knew the Misikko brand and had been using their flatiron for over 6 months, I was comfortable reviewing the hairdryer since I felt familiar with the line and quality of the products.

The hairdryer I am reviewing is their brand new Italian Design Hair Dryer called the HANA Air Premiere Hair Dryer.

The dryer came beautifully packaged with a bunch of extras---shampoo, styling products and styling tools galore!  Those additions were so sweet and very much appreciated---but what I actually enjoyed most was the hand-written note I got along with my package. Not many people take the time to do that these days and the note was very genuine and you could tell that the person who wrote the note read my blog.

One of my extra perks was a set of Paul Mitchell Super Skinny shampoo and conditioner (conditioner pictured below). I really like it and have been using it for a few weeks now:

Here are my thoughts (more like raves!) on the hair dryer:

• Beautiful, sleek design---okay, so how pretty things are doesn't matter if they don't work---but when something is pretty and works great, then that my friend, is a bonus
 

• It's easy to hold---it's not too heavy and it fits well in my hand
  
  
• It's SO  powerful---here's where it gets good ladies---this thing is like nothing I've ever experienced in a hair dryer. I can only describe it as "turbo power." This hair dryer has an incredibly powerful force to it---you can feel how strong the air is that's coming out of it...which brings me to...
   
• Faster drying time---because of its power, my hair dries faster than before
  
  
• No overheating/burning---my old hair dryer sometimes felt like it got too hot and I'd sometimes smell burning hair---that has never happened with this hair dryer---it gets hot, but not so blazingly hot that it scorches your scalp or hair.
  
  
• The cord is SUPER long. There's nothing worse than a cord that's too short and this is the longest cord I've ever had on a hair tool and I absolutely love it. I watch the Today Show every morning and it's nice to be able to travel from my bathroom to my bedroom and be able to catch glimpses of the show as I'm drying my hair.
  
  
• The COOL setting is fantastic. It's perfect for setting your style.
  
  
  The ONLY con I could find was that the buttons were a bit confusing to figure out at first (thought admittedly, I didn't read the instruction manual, I just assumed what each button was for)  Basically there are 3 sets of buttons---the bottom one is for heat levels (red), the middle (blue) is for power level and the circle button at the top is the toggle between hot and cold.
  
  
  
  
  My hair after a blow-out with the HANA Air Premiere Hair Dryer.
  

You can buy the HANA Air Premiere Hair Dryer here.

xoxo,


Veronika.


PS- if you have any questions about the hairdryer I am happy to answer them! Please send them to my formspring page or comment below!

FTC Disclaimer: I was sent this hairdryer by Misikko for consideration.  My review is based on my personal experience with the product and I am not being compensated to write it.

The Product You Never Knew You Needed (Because it Didn't Exist): Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara Review

Do you ever buy a new product and wondered how you ever lived without it?  Perhaps it tamed your frizzy hair, added a curl to your lashes or made you smell like a beautiful spring day.  Whatever that miracle product is for you---did you ever think "why didn't I use this sooner?"

I know I've felt like that about a lot of my holy grail products, but what I've never really felt is a "why didn't anyone think of this before?"(though, I have to admit when flat irons became all the rage, I wondered why they were never popular before and how I had lived without one.)

Today's post, my friends, is about Clinique Bottom Lash mascara.  I think anyone who brushes off this product as a "gimmick" needs to take another look and discover the awesomeness of this product.

To the people who argue it's just another mascara, I beg to differ.  The brush is teeny tiny. Like as small as the length of your pinkie nail tiny (or even smaller than that!)

TINY!!!

Bigger isn't always better, I've learned, especially when it comes to our bottom lashes. I used to use regular mascara on my bottom lashes, but now I understand why Clinique invented this mascara and brush. It really does make it easier to get at all of those tiny little hairs without getting it all over your skin or it becoming too clumpy. It separates the lashes and makes them long and pretty.

I would love to post better photos, but I took these after being at work all day. I assure you, it looks much better in person and works like a dream. It also stays on forever. It's not waterproof, but it's pretty resistant to smudging. I find I need makeup remover to get it all off (which I use anyway because I only use waterproof mascaras). 

I'm so very glad I got this product, and with a price point of $10, you just can't lose.  I 100% recommend it and hope you'll make it part of your collection too :)

Why hadn't they thought of this before!?

xoxo,

Veronika.

Product Rave: Philosophy The Microdelivery Mini Peel Pads

It's not often that I get to rave about a face product because my skin tends to be so sensitive and sometimes breakout prone.  I was really hesitant to try the Philosophy Microdelivery Mini Peel Pads ($35 for 60 at Sephora), but at my last visit with my dermatologist where I had a mole removed (benign, thank God!) I mentioned I was concerned about the texture of the skin on my forehead.

Allow me to elaborate.  Basically, my forehead has this weird texture to it.  It looks kind of bumpy (but not pimples) and the skin gets very flaky and peels off a lot.  I tried to just exfoliate and moisturize and use Tazorac on it, but nothing has worked as well as these peel pads.

The skin there got so bad that when I wore makeup, you could literally see the peeling skin on my forehead. It was so frustrating. My dermatologist mentioned I might benefit from an alpha hydroxy based face wash to exfoliate my skin.

When Sephora had their F&F sale, I decided to try the microdelivery peel pads because they got pretty good reviews. I'm so glad I did!  Now, when I put on my makeup my skin is smoother and softer.  Overall my skin just looks and feels better.

I only use HALF of one pad every night (I cut them in half). I don't feel that you need an entire pad for your face.  After cleansing, I pat my face dry and apply this all over. It's almost like a toner. You might notice your face will feel a little bit sticky as the product is drying but I don't mind that at all because I apply it right before bed. You can also layer other night products on once the peel is dry.

I have noticed that my pores are smaller as well, which is wonderful.

I just wanted to share this with you ladies because I love to rave about an incredible product when I discover one.  For those of you who are Sephora VIB's, they are mailing out 20% off coupons again to be used between November 11-15.  I'm probably going to pick up a few more things including:

Tarte Natural Lip Stain with LipSurgence™ Technology in the color "charmed" (light pink)
Ole Henriksen Ultimate Eye Lift Gel (I've been using a sample of this now at bedtime for about 2 weeks and it is absolutely amazing!!!)

Boscia Luminizing Black Mask (I've heard Tiffany D talk about this product and how incredible it is)
Make Up For Ever Aqua Smoky Lash (I've heard such incredible things about this mascara lately)

Do you plan to buy anything else at Sephora with your 20% off coupon?  It's a great idea to use your discount to stock up on Christmas gifts too!

xoxo,

Veronika.