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Showing posts with label beauty on a budget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beauty on a budget. Show all posts

Thursday, 3 October 2013

Beauty Review: Bumble + Bumble Surf Spray

I know that summer is gone and autumn has arrived but that doesn't mean beach waves are out! I heard great reviews on Bumble and Bumble surf spray, minus the cost (man is it expensive) I bought a little, tiny, miniscule bottle of this stuff for $18 and it's literally the size of my palm, it's insane! When purchasing the bottle from Sephora, I also got a sample of their Shampoo and Conditioner. 


See how the bottle is literally the size of the sample package, pff. Anyways, I have used the surf spray by itself before and I wasn't hugely impressed, I definitely don't use it everyday (plus I try to savor the little bottle that I do have). It makes my already coarse hair even coarser and the waves aren't a HUGE difference. I thought maybe the shampoo and conditioner working with the surf spray would work together to make the waves softer. 

This is my hair naturally. Washed with my regular shampoo and conditioner: Moroccan Oil. 

My natural hair already has a bit of natural wave to it, let's see if B&B was able to define my waves a little more. 



Washed with Bumble and Bumble Shampoo and Conditioner. Sprayed with Bumble and Bumble when hair was damp. 

My hair actually looks flatter in the first picture than it does my natural hair. The second picture you can see some of the defined waves. I ended up putting my hair up because I didn't even like the way my waves turned out. Overall, not worth the money. My hair was (sort of) smoother using the shampoo and conditioner together with the surf spray rather than using the surf spray by itself, but not drastically. I won't be buying a big bottle of surf spray anytime soon, it's just not worth the money. 


Tuesday, 9 July 2013

Beauty Review: Moroccan Oil

A few days ago I posted a review about my disappointment with Wen products. I received some comments which were half and half, some people have noticed results, and others haven't. I guess this product really is a hit and miss. The next product I'm going to review is Moroccan Oil.


Products purchased:

One thing is for sure, these products are not cheap. For my usual frugal self, this was a lot of money to cough up (ALTHOUGH I do get a 30% discount on these products from where I work so that helped out with the damage to my wallet). I realized that there are some products that you need to splurge on (this is hard for me to admit). I have extremely intangible hair, and after years of drugstore $3 shampoo's, it was time for a change. 

Wen is an expensive product too, so I was a little nervous to be spending this much on hair products knowing that the last expensive hair product I used did worse to my hair than better. I have been looking through my computer and phone for pictures of my obnoxious hair but I usually just throw it in a bun. Sorry there are no before and after pictures for you to compare with, but just take my word for it!

I love Moroccan Oil. I can't express to you how much I adore their products. My hair has never been smoother or healthier. I rarely get knots, and if I do they don't take that long to brush out. My hair smells aaaamaamaamamazing. I can't believe I have gone so long without using their products, it's worth every single penny. The products I find most beneficial is the hydrating conditioner, Moroccan oil treatment, and intense hydrating mask. I'll definitely be purchasing those products again, although I think all the products are fantastic. If you have uncontrollable hair like me and are willing to spend a few extra bucks for that beautiful, post-salon feeling hair, I highly suggest getting your hands on Moroccan Oil. 


Thursday, 4 July 2013

Beauty Review: Wen

Saying that I have uncontrollable hair would be an understatement. Hairstylist's dread me as a client, I'm easily in the hair salon for a minimum of four hours. If you see me, you will usually just see me plop a bun on top of my head because I don't have three hours a day to do my hair. It's knotty, it's thick, it's coarse, it's a pain in my ass. When people tell me they know how I feel with their "thick" (thin as hell) hair, I laugh in their face. There are few people in this world that I know who have as many issues with their hair as I do. My Mother is an infomercial freak. She buys and tries everything from those infomercials, swearing they will work. She buys things we don't even need because she swears they will make our lives easier. My cousin who also has hair similar to mine, swore to my mom the product Wen works. It's an infomercial hair product that is a shampoo/conditioner that costs you a pretty penny. My Mother bought it for me in hopes that my hair will magically turn into soft, tangeable hair. Well, here is my review on this apparent heaven-sent product.


It sucks. That's my review, it just plain doesn't do anything for my hair. When I told my Mother and a few others they say "no no, you have to read the instructions on how to do it" believe me, I read and followed the instructions, it doesn't work. Never trust a product that is both a shampoo and conditioner. It made my usual dry hair extremely greasy, I literally had to tell people "I showered today I swear, it's this new product I'm using". It didn't make my knots any easier (if anything worse), I didn't even try and use any of their other products which was in the package. This product is just awful, I don't know how or if it actually works for other people, but for me, it doesn't. Maybe if you're brunette it won't make your hair look as greasy, but if you're a blonde, this is a no-go. I really did not see my hair get any healthier at all, it was just as bad or even worse when I started using the product. I switched back to cheap Herbal products and I was back to paying nothing for again, terrible hair. I decided I would give a different product a chance to tame my wild locks...that review coming soon.


Saturday, 1 June 2013

Introducing Posh Beauty

You moved into a new city, and unfortunately you can't travel 1200 miles to go see the hair stylist you've trusted for eight years to not dye your hair three shades too blonde. Or maybe you are with your girlfriends for a bachelorette party in Miami and whoops... somebody is in dire need of a bikini wax! How are you going to solve these beauty emergencies? That's where Posh Beauty comes in.



Posh Beauty is an online beauty community that allows users to locate local beauty professionals, salons, beauty career opportunities, book beauty appointments, share and receive beauty advice, earn points, and more! 

I had to share this website with all of you Oh Summer Candy readers because of the absolute convenience it provides! No matter where you are, whether you have moved into a new town, you're traveling, or simply looking for a new place to get a manicure, Posh Beauty is there to help!

Want to learn how to properly contour? Are ear cuffs hot right now? Posh Beauty has videos and a blog to answer all your beauty and fashion related questions.

What I love most about Posh Beauty is that it allows you to book appointments and locate salons internationally. Have a business trip in London tomorrow and don't have time to get your hair done today? No problem! 


While you visit their website, make sure you follow their FacebookTwitter, and Pinterest for more updates! 


Tuesday, 5 March 2013

Beauty on a Budget: Guest Blogger Christine


Hello I'm Christine from Little Red Bow and I'm a Canadian beauty blogger.  Summer has asked me to share with you my favourite budget beauty finds so here I am.  As much as I love Sephora and MAC finding affordable gems at your local drugstore or Wal-Mart is much more exciting to me.  These are all highly rated yet affordable products that range in price from $3-12 for makeup and $15-20 for the makeup brushes.



1. Essence Big Lashes Mascara
2. Rimmel Glam Eyes Liquid Eyeliner
3. L'Oreal Infallible Eyeliner
4. Maybelline Define a Brow
5. Maybelline Color Tattoo Cream Eyeshadow
8. Wet N' Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow

  Drugstores have really steped up their game in terms of eye products and you can now buy an eyeshadow for better quality than MAC for a fraction of the price.  Wet N' Wild make amazing eyeshadow palettes and the Sleek i-Divine palettes are amazing quality and their shipping is only $2.77 to Canada.  My all time favourite eyeliner is by Rimmel and it costs less than $5 whereas my friend has been raving about Essence mascaras which cost $3-4 at Shoppers Drug Mart (or Ulta in the U.S.)

1. Wet N' Wild Lipstick
2. Revlon Lip Butter
3. Revlon Super Lust-out Lipstick
4. Maybelline Color Whisper
5. Rimmel Stay Glossy

  Gone are the days where drugstores only offered horrible frosty lipsticks as you can now find on trend colours in amazing formulas for next to nothing.  Wet N' Wild and Revlon have amazingly pigmented lipsticks while the new Maybelline Color Whispers and Revlon Lip Butters offer sheer and glossy colour.  I haven't tried many drugstore lipglosses but Rimmel offers nice and non-sticky glosses for very cheap.

1. Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation
2. L'Oreal True Matte Foundation
3. Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer
4. Rimmel Stay Matte Powder
5. Rimmel Natural Bronzer
6. Rimmel Blush
7. Wet N' Wild Blush
8. Milani Illuminator

  For face makeup my favourite brand is Rimmel but if you need more shades to choose from the L'Oreal True Match line is amazing.  Wet N' Wild and Milani also have pretty offerings in terms of blushes and Milani's Illuminating Face Powder is a beautiful highlighter for your cheekbones.

1. Real Techniques Eye Starter Set
2. Eco Tools Starter Set
3. Real Techniques Core Collection

  I own a lot of Real Techniques and Eco Tools brushes and I have to say they are amazing!  I reach for them more than my MAC ones and they're all very durable and wash up nicely.  If you're just getting into makeup I'd highly recommend the sets above as they offer everything you will need and each set is cheaper than one single brush from MAC.

Make sure you check out Christine's blog for more beauty tips!

Thanks for guest posting Christine!



Wednesday, 9 January 2013

Beauty on a Budget: Natural/Handmade Bath Products

I love Lush as much as the next girl but sometimes the pricing of their products are a little steep. There are a bunch of affordable Etsy shops that sell natural handmade products that you can use. I prefer to use organic products as much as I can because of the  harmful chemicals in a lot of the shampoo and soaps on the market, but I do notice it can be pricy to live organically. Here are some products on Etsy that will make you look beautiful and not break the bank:
All of BahariBlossom products are vegan friendly and offers bath bombs, moisturizers, fragrances and much more with all of their products free of harmful chemicals. The Summer Garden Party Bath Bomb package comes with 6 bath bombs for about $9 CAN. This price is unbelievable compared to the average $5 for just one bath bomb at Lush! These bombs are packed full of summer flower petals, nourishing Avocado Oil and scented with a fragrance of lush green grass and sweet summer flowers. 

This soap by FreshAsADaisySoaps is made with raw, grass fed milk, which is one of the purest and most natural milks available. Manuka honey is produced in New Zealand by bees who nectar from the Manuka bush (tea tree). Honey is humectant, meaning it draws moisture to the skin. The shop owner of FreshAsADaisySoaps started making natural products after learning about the awful chemicals in most of the market's bath products. All of her soaps are made in small batches using high quality vegetable oils, botanicals, herbs, essential oils and/or fragrances. 

These Heart Bath Bombs by ZENfulworld are another frugal find where you can receive 2 bath bombs for only $8.00. An added bonus, you get to CHOOSE your scent from Lemon grass, Citrus Sage, Mint chocolate just to name a few. These are all natural bath bombs with no harmful chemicals! ZENfulworld has a wide selection of products ranging from bath bombs, handmade cold processed soaps, aromatherapy candles, room and linen sprays, lip balm and much more!




































You can't get a better price on Bath Salts than by FreshSoapBakery. For $3.50 you receive a 12 oz jar of Bath Salts imported from Mediterranean sea salt. As an extra bonus you get to choose your scent ranging from Cake Frosting, Lavender, Hot Apple Pie, Strawberry just to name a few. Make sure to check out this shop for even more fabulous bath products!
This gift set is perfect for Valentine's Day especially if you are on a budget. This set comes with three sugar scrubs for only the price of $10.95. You also get the choice of scent ranging from Butterfly Kisses (interesting), Satsuma, Pink Garden just to name a few. This 
shop sells just about everything from lip balms, sugar scrub, soap, body cream and more! 


Saturday, 1 December 2012

Beauty Rave

Happy December 1st everyone! As we say goodbye to the marvelous mustaches of Movember, we say hello to the snowfall of December. Yesterday in Hamilton we had a ridiculous snow storm so I stayed in my bed watching episodes of The Good Wife and catching up on some Geordie Shore. Today I want to share with you my favourite beauty secret, something that I use religiously. Now, three things you would NEVER say about my hair is: straight, smooth and thin. My hair is a big knotty frizzy mess and I usually just throw it up in a bun so I can save 2-3 hours of my day which it does take if I want my hair to look half decent. My hair is extremely dry and I need to condition it a ton. The days where I do take the time out to do my hair and for the few occasions it does look straight, smooth (not particularly thin though) is when I do a coconut oil treatment.



Coconut oil is the choice fat to substitute butter in cooking, sauteing, deep frying, baking, making ice cream or smoothies.  Coconut Oil can also be used for skin and hair care. I specifically use Virgin Coconut Oil, it is by far the healthiest oil on earth. Coconut Oil is literally oil which will clog your pours on your skin. So you would probably prefer to go with VIRGIN Coconut Oil since the difference between Virgin and Coconut oil is the amount of processing the oil undergoes. Virgin coconut oil is the most unrefined and most natural form of oil, there is no artificial filtering or expeller used. It tastes delicious and smells exactly like coconut. 

I was introduced to Virgin Coconut Oil while I was living in Jasper, Alberta. One of the girls in my cabin started using it for her unbelievably unfair smooth hair, as well as using it as a make up remover. Quickly, all the girls in the cabin started using this god given oil.

I use this for my hair usually every time before I get in the shower (if I have time to let the coconut oil soak on my scalp). Coconut oil makes your hair feeling softer, and helps with dandruff/dry scalp. I usually shower at night since my hair takes so long to dry, so what I do is a few hours before I go take a shower and I’m all done school and won’t be seen in public with a greasy head, I take a spoonful of coconut oil, rub it in my hands and then massage the oil onto my scalp. Then I take another spoonful, rub it in my hands and then spread it throughout my hair paying special attention to the ends. (Now I may use a bit more coconut oil since I have a LOT of hair to cover). If you shower in the morning, it would be beneficial to do this before you go to bed and have this soak in your hair overnight and then wash it in the morning. But you can do it how I do it as well, as long as you have it in your hair for at least an hour you will see results.

When you get into the shower, wash your hair out with shampoo and conditioner. You can do this daily since coconut oil is natural and will not hurt your hair at all. The fat in the oil is extremely beneficial for your hair.

For skin, it can help fade away bruising, can act as a natural make up remover (make sure to wipe your face off with water after so you don’t clog your pores), can help as a moisturizer for those rough elbows and other dry parts. 

I got my coconut bottle for $20 but it has lasted me literally MONTHS. It’s natural, affordable, and the best purchase I have in my beauty collection. 

Happy December!



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