Review: Suave Professional Dry Shampoo and Conditioner

About two weeks ago, I went out with the intention of buying the Got 2 Be Dry Shampoo, but came out with the Suave one instead. It was around $2 cheaper at I believe $4. It has quickly become a new holy grail item of mine. It blasts away greasy roots and flat, stringy strands. Quick warning though, it comes out white, so if you have dark brown- black hair, be careful with the application. Since my roots are a light brown, I spray it in at night and brush it through. By the morning, it's all soaked in and it's back to it's normal color. I usually use this on third day hair because my hair is pretty dry and on the thicker side. I do have to wash my hair on the fourth day though. That's about as far as I'm willing to stretch it. So after I raved to my mother about this shampoo, she came back the next day with the matching conditioner. I had never heard of dry conditioner before that, and was skeptical at exactly what this product would do to my hair. Well let me tell you what it did for my hair, it made it shiny, soft, silky, and slicked down little frizzies. WARNING: A little goes a long way with this stuff. Try to only apply two or three sprays on the mid shafts and ends of your hair. Brush it through and you should be good, but if you go overboard it can make your hair flat. I like to use this after I'm done styling my hair because it comes out clear, so I don't have to worry about it looking unnatural. The main gist, is it's an amazing hair product that's unique and cheap. A can of the conditioner is about half the size of the shampoo, but it's also a dollar less. They both smell like heaven, but the conditioner has a stronger, more lingering scent. If you're not big on fragrance than I would not recommend either of these.

Overall Rating (Out of 5 stars):
Conditioner: 4.5          Shampoo: 4

Scent: 
Conditioner: 3            Shampoo: 4

Price: 
Conditioner: 5           Shampoo: 5 

Lives up to it's promise?: 
Conditioner: 5           Shampoo: 4

Best of 2011! Beauty Products

This is the second post in my series, Best of 2011! I will have two more after this one, fashion and random. When I say beauty, I'm referring to skincare, haircare, and fragrances.

Beauty

The best shampoo is hard to pick because I never stayed on one for too long and don't believe shampoo is that important to the overall health or your hair, but I have been using Aussi Moist shampoo lately and it smells ah-mazing! It smells of vanilla, coconut, and has a fruity undertone. It doesn't leave your hair greasy or dry, but very soft and just healthy looking.
My favorite conditioner would be, without a doubt, Aussie Three Minute Miracle Deeeeep Conditioner. This stuff has been my holy grail! It smells just like the shampoo, but better and it makes your hair silky and shiny and just plain beautiful. If you could only use one hair product for the rest of your life, I'd use this.
The best hair serum would be the Redken Smooth Down Heat Glide. I use this whenever I am going to blow dry my hair. It makes hair so shiny and smooth. It doesn't make it necessarily soft, but gives the illusion of softness. After I am done blow drying my hair, I take half a pump and rub it on my hair to get rid of any leftover frizzies.
My favorite spray in hair product would be a tie between the Tresseme Heat Protectant or the John Frieda Go Lightening, lightening hair spray. The heat protectant is an essential of mine! It smells like heaven, sprays evenly, and it's cheap! The lightening spray has made my light brown hair have just the right amount of highlights in it without making them look orange. I plan on doing a review on the lightening spray soon.
The best face wash would have to be the Neutrogena Grapefruit Scrub. This has really helped clear up my acne, as well as exfoliate my skin. It's very refreshing and it's not super abbrasive, so I can use it twice a day wihtout a problem!
My favorite moisturizer/body lotion is the Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream for Dry Skin. I use this not only on my face, but all over my body. It is soooo moisturizing and it doesn't cause my sensitive skin to breakout. You only need a tiny amount for your face, or else it will look shiny and I only use it at night so it has time to soak in. The tub I am using is only half empty and I've been using it for almost a year now.
The best perfume I have been using is the Wish Pink Perfume. I don't think they sell it anymore, which is why I don't use it anymore unless it is for super special occasions. It smells strongly of vanilla and kind of florally. It lasts all day long and I am in love with it.
My favorite body mist/splash is going to be Pretty & Pure by Pink. It's super girly and sweet smelling! I have the mini version because I am not a very big fan of body mists (they don't last very long). I do reccomend the mini one's for lockers are to carry arounf in your purse.

I hope you enjoyed! If you do a similiar post please leave a comment below! Link to past post in the Best of 2011 series http://laceleatherandpearls.blogspot.com/2012/01/best-of-2011.html Don't forget to follow!
~Grace <3

Best of 2011!

I'm actually going to do four different 'best' categories. The first will be makeup, the second will be beauty, the third will be fashion, and the last will be random. Sorry, it took me awhile to post this!

Makeup:

My favorite foundation/concealer has been the Neutrogena Skin-Clearing Makeup in warm beige. I don't need a full coverage foundation, so I actually use this as a concealer for my blemishes and any acne scars. It looks really natural, but you need about two layer to really cover it up.
The best mascara would be any of the volume express mascaras from Maybelline. I have tried them all except for the turbo and the falsies flared. They all really lengthen and thicken the lashes without clumping them together and the black, is very black! The formula isn't too dry or wet, but I would say it was on the wetter side. Overall, any of them are foolproof!
My favorite eyeshadow/eyeshadow palette would have to be the Coastal Scents 88 Original palette. There is such a wide variety of colors that range from neutrals to hot pinks and icy blues. They are all very pigmented and have a soft, buttery consistency. It's also very cheap I believe, but I'm not positive on the number (it was a gift).
The best face powder (this includes foundations, bronzers, highlighters, or blushes) would definitely be the NYC Smooth Skin Bronzing Face Powder. I adore this! I used throughout the summer and I still use it in the winter, but very sparingly. It has zero shimmer so it looks very natural and the shade will work on a lot of different skin tones. It has been one of my makeup staples this entire year.
My favorite eyeliner would no doubt be the Jordana Fabuliner in Black. You can find it at Kmart for around $3 and it should really be worth a whole lot more. It is a felt tip marker that is very easy to use. It creates a smooth line that dries quickly so you don't have to worry about it transferring onto your lid. It's also very black and you don't have to retrace the line to get that dramatic look.
The best lip product is surprisingly the Maybelline Baby Lips. More specifically the reddish toned one, Cherry Me. They leave a beautiful wash of color as well as being super moisturizing. It's everything you will ever need in a lip product. It takes the place of chapstick/lipstick/and gloss. I have a review if you want a more in depth description.

I actually don't have time to finish all four categories, so I am going to turn this into a really small miniseries. I also want to sat that I have not forgot about my 2012 Trends series or my winged eyeliner tutorial. I just have been really busy, but don't worry I will be getting around to doing both of them!

Baby Lips Review

Pros-

It is super moisturizing and glides on smoothley.

They give a nice tint of color that you can really build up.

 I have tried the red, pink, nude, and plum, and I can say they are all beautiful! My personal favorite is Cherry Me, but I also like the nude.

The packaging is super cute and I love the font!

The cherry smells ah-maz-ing! The peppermint also smells good, but those are the only ones I have smelled.

All have an SPF of 20!
 Only $4.00 give or take depending on the store.

Swatch of Cherry Me.
One swipe on left and two on right

Cons-

They are almost too slick so it slides around on your lips.

While they give you a lot of product, it goes by really quickly.

They don't have a taste (besides a plasticy one!) This is what gets on my nerves the most! They made it smell good, but not taste good! Yuck... 

November Favorites

November was not much of a big beauty month for me. I stuck to my basics and actually toned down my makeup for a more natural look. I know what a shocker! Hahaha! But because of this reason I don't have many interesting favorites.

Favorite #1: Maybelline Baby Lips in Cherry Me!    

 

This product is surprisingly mousturizing and it came at a great price. Around $4-$5! The color of this particular shade is beautiful. It wasn't a bright red like I was expecting, but a beautiful cherry pink that gave the most nautural 'flush' to my lips. I'm planning to do a review on this product so I don't want to go into depth, but overall I reccomened it.

Favorite #2: Loreal Voluminous Carbon Black Mascara 

This is my current everday mascara and I adore it! It gives me the perfect all natural eyelash look. It's great for defintion on the first coat. It's not the best if you have short stubby eyelash's becuase it not a very lengthening mascara. By the second coat though you can really build up some volume.

Favorite #3: Neutrogena Skinclearing Makeup  

I bought this foundation over the summer when I was having serious breakout issues. I had to cover my pimples up, but I wanted a foundation that would help them heal, not clog my pores more. This contains 0.5% salacylic acid, which is found in most acne products. The coverage isn't great, but after about two layers it's pretty good.

Favorite #4: Perfectly Straight Hair

In October I was really into putting my hair into a side braid before I went to bed then in the morining take it out and have beautiful loose waves and keep my hair to one side. This month though I found my love for the flat iron again (that's probably not so great for my hair!) I've finnally perfected it so my hair stays straight for two days in a row. The key is to take small sections and go slow and steady. This also reduces heat damage becaus you don't have to constantly go over the same piece over and over and over again.

So what are your November favorite? Leave a comment below or a link to your blog post and don't forgot to follow!

~Grace <3