Product Reviews Archives - Page 14 of 19

Sleek, Bouncy Curls + Goody Quikstyle & Tanglefix Review

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Goody, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #GoodyGorgeous http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

Hello, Lovelies!

I generally don’t do much with my tresses, but it seems like I’ve been on a roll lately with the hair product reviews. Today, I’m featuring two new gadgets that I’m very excited to share with you. I don’t know if you give much thought to your hairbrushes, but trust me, you will after reading this post.

First up is this sort of wacky-looking contraption that I previewed on Instagram over the weekend. It’s the Goody Quikstyle paddle brush, and it features microfiber bristles that claim to help dry your hair 30% faster. To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was actually quite shocked at how effective it was.

I have very coily, kinky hair that loves to get tangled, so I always part my hair into 4 sections before washing to make things easier. I used the same shampoo and conditioner that I reviewed in this post, and finger-detangled my hair in the shower while it was still full of conditioner. After rinsing my hair, I went through my hair section-by-section with the Quikstyle brush. I try to minimize the amount of heat I put in my hair, so I was quite pleased that I barely even had to use my blow dryer afterwards.

Next up is Goody’s Tanglefix brush. My hair was pretty much detangled at this point, but I had very specific plans for this styling tool…

I only straighten my hair a few times per year. But whenever I do, I love using the “chase” method. I usually see it done with a small-toothed comb, but I found the TangleFix to be much more effective. Basically, you place the brush in-front of the flat iron to provide tension that will help stretch your hair while you straighten it. It takes a bit of practice, but it’s smooth sailing once you get the coordination down. I love straightening my hair this way because it allows me to get my hair pretty smooth with just one pass of the flat iron. Afterwards, I just gave each section a quick twirl at the ends for bouncy curls throughout my mane.

And there you have it folks. My total styling time was about 40 minutes (enough time to catch up on the last episode of How to Get Away With Murder). I’ll maintain this style throughout the week by using my satin covered sponge rollers at night and fluffing it out a bit in the morning.

If you’re interested in trying these products for yourself, Walgreens is offering a fantastic Buy One, Get One promotion valid on all Goody products (including both the Quikstyle and TangleFix brushes). You must use your Walgreens Balance Rewards card to get the promotional BOGO offer, and you can sign up in store if you are not a member already. The offer ends on 11/01/2014 and is available while supplies last.

And because I believe in sharing the wealth, I purchased an extra set of brushes out of my own pocket to give away to one lucky reader. You can enter for a chance to win by choosing one or both of the options listed below.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Beauty Product Reviews

Quick & Easy Updo w/ Dove Advanced Hair Series

When it comes to hairstyles, I’m generally a creature of habit. However, I do like to switch things up (at least just a teensy bit) when the seasons change. My Pinterest feed has been filling up with all sorts of beautiful braided hairstyles as of late, so when the lovely folks at Dove introduced me to the #SilkyHairDare, I was more than happy to test drive a few products while trying out a new french braided hairstyle.

My hair is naturally very dry and coarse, and even more so around this time of the year when the weather starts to cool and the humidity dies down. So I was immediately intrigued by the Dove Pure Care Dry Oil system and its claim to deliver 5x silkier strands while nourishing hair and without making it feel greasy or heavy. Sulfates tend to dry out my hair, so I was a little skeptical when I read the shampoo ingredient list and saw sodium laureth sulfate listed. Fortunately, my fears were put at ease , and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the shampoo was actually very gentle on my hair and got it clean in just one lather without my strands feeling stripped and dry. I then applied the conditioner and let it sit for about 10 minutes while I completed the rest of my shower rituals. I noticed that my hair had a decent amount of slip as I finger detangled it in the shower.

After rinsing the conditioner from my hair and wrapping it in a towel for a bit, I applied a liberal amount of the dry oil which contains a blend of African Macadamia oil and Coconut oil. My hair absorbed the oil pretty quickly and didn’t feel greasy at all. With my hair prepped and ready, it was now time for styling…

I wanted something quick and easy, so I separated the front section of my hair and put it in three chunky flat twists that I would later take down to create loose waves in my hair. Normally, I would have applied some sort of setting lotion or styling creme for hold before putting in the twists. But for the sake of this review, I didn’t apply any additional products.

The rest of my hair was about 60% dry at this point from being put up in a towel earlier, so I only had to lightly blow dry it for a few minutes.

With my hair completely dry and detangled, I did one large french braid going up the back of my hair. For some reason, it’s much easier for me to braid my hair going up than it is going down. There are tons of YouTube tutorials out there if you haven’t mastered the art of french braiding, but hopefully this quick animation gives you an idea of how easy the process is. I obviously sped this up a bit, but it takes me less than a minute to do.

I tucked the ends of my braid under and secured them with a bobby pin, and here’s a pic of what it looked like in the end. Not bad for 60 seconds of work and no mirror, right?!

Tada!

Here’s the finished look after I took down my twists before leaving the house. I’ve been wearing this style for the past three days as I write this post, and I haven’t used any additional products other than the dry oil and a light spritz of water each morning to help re-moisturize my hair. My hair feels soft and cottony, and not at all oily and weighed down. All in all, I’m pretty pleased with Dove’s Pure Care Dry Oil hair products. My only word of caution would be to any folks out there who are looking to avoid sulfates, mineral oil, and ‘cones in their hair care products as this line does contain all three. For everyone else, I’d say give this line a go!

Now through December 31, 2014, Dove is hosting the “Dove Silky Hair Dare” and daring women everywhere to try Dove Pure Care Dry Oil, risk-free. If you are not completely satisfied with the Dove Advanced Hair Series Pure Care Dry Oil system, Dove will refund your purchase (from 9/21 – 12/31). Visit hairmoneyback.com for details. If you decide to try Dove Pure Care Dry Oil products for yourself, you can share your silky results using #silkyhairdare. Dove is also giving away $20,000 in prizes. For a chance to win, share your silky results using #silkyhairdaresweeps. See the official rules for more info.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Business Casual Everyday Outfits My Style Product Reviews

Fall{ing} for Legwear: A Style Remix w/ No nonsense + $100 Sweepstakes

While apple-picking and pumpkin spice lattes are nice, what really gets me excited about fall is the chance to break out all of my fabulous tights, chunky socks, and sleek leggings! When the lovely folks at No nonsense challenged me to a Style Remix featuring some of their new products, I gladly accepted. This fall, they’ve designed a curated collection featuring new fabrications and patterns, including Denim and Ponte Knit Leggings, Sweater Tights and Fashion Tights in bold prints. No nonsense products are easy to find at Nononsense.com as well as major food and drug stores.

Below are a few of my favorites and how I plan to wear them this fall.

First up is the Chunky Cable Knit Boot Sock…

I pulled all of my boots out of storage this past weekend, and I love how these chunky grey knee socks look paired with both of my cognac-colored boots. I like them peeking out just over the tops of my boots for casual Fridays at the office and pulled up over-the-knee for a fun and flirty weekend look. I give these two thumbs up for their versatility and the fact that they stay up without suffocating my legs!

And next we have the Plaid Tights…

I used to be really into novelty tights at the start of my blog back in 2010 (as evidenced here), but I’ve gotten away from that over the past couple of years in favor of more subdued colors and prints. With that being said, I’m always game to be a little adventurous. While I can’t say that I’ll be rocking my jester tights again any time soon, I like how these plaid tights are playful without being too over-the-top. For me, the key to making these work will be pairing them with a more subdued color palette and simple silhouettes to maintain a polished and sophisticated look. I also appreciate that these tights didn’t get all wonky and twisted as some patterned tights tend to do on us curvy gals!

On to the Super Opaque Tights…

Now we’re really in my element! I probably have enough black opaque tights to clothe an entire girls’ private school for a whole semester (I’m only slightly exaggerating), so it’s nice to switch things up a bit with charcoal grey tights. The color is versatile enough to wear with pretty much everything, and the tights themselves seem very durable yet soft to the touch. I also have long legs, so I was pretty ecstatic that these fit true-to-size and came up high enough on my waist to be comfortable and stay in place.

And finally we have… Cotton Skeggings?!

Yes folks – it’s a skirt AND a legging! Not gonna lie, I gave these the side-eye immediately upon pulling them out of the package. But I actually turned out to be pleasantly surprised. I’ll most likely use these for working out, especially when I want a little more coverage in the gym. They also work really well when you need to add extra length to a top that’s a wee bit too short to wear on its own with leggings.

And there you have it – my fall legwear remix! Which look is your favorite? Also, I’m dying to know… would you wear skeggings?!

Leave a comment below with your answer and you could win a $100 No nonsense gift card! You can also enter by visiting No nonsense on Pinterest, checking out more Style Remixes and re-pinning a look you love, see below for full sweepstakes rules.

Sweepstakes Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

Leave a comment in response to the Promotion prompt on this post.*
Tweet (public message) about this Promotion, including a disclosure that your tweet is a sweepstakes entry (e.g., using a hashtag such as #SweepstakesEntry or #SweepsEntry); and leave the URL to that Tweet in a comment on this post.*
Re-pin (publicly) a pin from the client’s Pinterest page here: URL including exactly the following unique term in your pin’s description: “#nononsensestyleremix” and a disclosure that your pin is a sweepstakes entry (e.g., “I am entering the #nononsensestyleremix sweepstakes” or using a hashtag such as #SweepstakesEntry or #SweepsEntry); and leave the URL to that Re-pin in a comment on this post.
Purchase a pair of No nonsense Leggings at www.nononsense.com and create your own Style Remix. Share a link to the public image in the comment section on this post.
Blog about this Promotion (including a disclosure that you have received a sweepstakes entry in exchange for blogging about this Promotion), and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post.*

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 72 hours to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 10/8/14 – 10/27/14.

Be sure to visit the No nonsense brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!

P.S. Visit the No nonsense website www.nononsense.com and follow them on Facebook www.facebook.com/nononsense, Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/benononsense/, and Twitter @BeNononsense

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