January 2018 FavoritesUnsurprisingly, when I wrote the title of this post, I wrote 2017 instead of 2018. My January 2018 Favorites are short and sweet.
MiroPure Straightening Brush, $40No matter what I seem to do, I can’t seem to bring myself to stick with consistently styling my hair. I’m not particularly good at it. I like sleep more than I like fiddling with my hair first thing in the morning, and that often means my hair isn’t as smooth and visually tidy as I’d like. Late last year I became aware of thermal straightening brushes and shared my initial thoughts in November. Since, the MiroPure Straightening Brush arrived and I’ve used it more times than I can count.
First, we’ll get into how straightening brushes work, then to my review.
All brushes are designed a little differently (here’s a Dafni, for instance), but the core concept is the same. The back plate of the brush (analogous to the cushion area) is heated just like the plates of a flat iron. Likewise most or all of the, “bristles,” or, “teeth,” are constructed of or surrounded by that same plate material and are heated.
As Seen on TV Kiss InstaWave Automatic CurlerI had seen the Beachwaver. It’s a lovely-looking device and gets great reviews. That said, there is a ceiling on how much I’m willing to spend on a product I’m just curious about and don’t have a yearning for. What they want for the Beachwaver far exceeds that, so it was never on my radar as a possibility. Later, when I was treating myself a bit before the holidays I came across a handsome deal on the Kiss InstaWave automated curler…which is an As Seen on TV product.
As far as I’m concerned, there are two As Seen on TV products worth the time of day. The first is Oxi Clean (I use unscented) and the second are Turbie Twists (so cheap, so useful). $25 wasn’t a huge risk for me, though, and I had a gift card – so I decided to bite.
Kiss pitches the following benefits from using the InstaWave curler:
If it’s true, sign me up. I’m about as hair inept as they come. For now, color me skeptical; I’m not sure a rotating barrel + long hair = truly stress free, though. Not at first, anyway.
Since the sale I bought C Firma during, I allowed myself to spend a little more on beauty-related products during the holidays.
In addition to the MiroPure Straightening brush, I bought:
In all, I found myself yet again underwhelmed by the holiday offerings put out by most brands. It does look like Fenty Beauty rose to the occasion (still haven’t tried anything from Fenty, though), but everything else fell flat to me. Even Urban Decay who, in spite of my occasional criticism, I generally enjoy, swung and missed (me).
The only thing I found myself tempted by were the new Heavy Metal glitter liner shades – but given that I have few opportunities to even wear the one I own (Midnight Cowboy), I refrained from adding more to my collection. Glitter eyeliner, after all, is not appropriate for work.
Now for some general, “state of things,” updates on things I’ve talked about but not super-recently.
The winter solstice is in two days and my hair is protesting by being static-y and my skin is parched. Let’s talk about my skin, my cat, The Sickness, and humidifiers.
So – about me: since I started using it a few years ago, argan oil hasn’t let me down. Four drops a night, historically, has been enough for my skin. As temperatures have plummeted and heaters have been on, though, my skin needs more. During the day on weekdays I’ve been cocktailing B-Hydra (came with my Come C About Me set) with C-Firma. On weekends, I’ve used a couple drops of argan in its place – but I was considering using a, “full dose,” of argan oil TWICE a day. That’s how dry my skin was getting – and yes, I’m staying hydrated!
As for my hair, winter means more blow-drying for me. I never blow dry without product (I’m finally nearing the end of my Paul Mitchell Super Skinny), so imagine my surprise when I ended up with staticky hair last Friday. I deep condition once a week so I didn’t think it was an issue – but this year, it evidently is!
I’ve never understood how people could just not like cats. (Close friends who take time out of their day to read are probably laughing and shaking their heads, “Here we go…”) It literally does not compute in my brain the same way not liking ice cream or Cowboy Bebop don’t compute. So if you’re one of those people, sorry, but you’re going to suffer through a cat photo and a brief story.
This…
…is Taiga, and she is majestic but sensitive. Her stomach can get finicky if she eats too fast or if it is Tuesday or if Mercury is in retrograde. Unlike her sister but like me, her skin tends to get fussy and dry if humidity in our apartment isn’t up to snuff. Poor thing will scratch herself senseless trying to mollify her itchy, dry skin. It hurts my heart – after all, I can’t just slap some argan oil on her the way I can myself.
November 2017 FavoritesAmerican Thanksgiving has come and gone (somehow it was already like two weeks ago, WTF). The holidays are officially here. I have yet to decorate my apartment (because I have been drowning in work, as I shared on earlier this week). This weekend, I will get the wee tree up and then I will wrap all the things. I’ve been into tying gift bows lately and have some amazing peacock ribbon that I’m excited to use. Before we get into my November 2017 Favorites, don’t forget to check out (and enter, duh) my Real Techniques Sculpting Set Giveaway; there’s only a week left!