Fave Brand Alert: Kristin Ess

Whenever I find a new brand I love, I can’t wait to come here and share it with you guys. I’m especially excited about this one because it’s an inexpensive drug store available brand! The brand I’m here to talk about today is Kristin Ess.

 

 

 

Kristin Ess describes their line as an affordable luxury haircare brand, and they are hitting it out of the park! The products were created by Kristin Ess herself who is a hairdresser with over 2 decades of experience. Trust me, her experience shows! Every product I have used so far has left my hair feeling incredibly soft, manageable and shiny. Oh, did I mention that all of her products smell absolutely incredible and in colors like blush, light grey and black, these are bottles that you want to display! No hiding away these for me.

 

It’s tough for me to pick a favorite, but if I had to, I’d go with the The One Purple Shampoo and Conditioner. Sulfate and paraben free, they are good for the environment and my hair extensions. My hair has a natural orange-y tint to it so a good purple shampoo and conditioner is a must. The One Purple Shampoo and Conditioner make sure that my hair stays brass free and soft.

 

The Style Assist Blow Dry Mist is a close second in terms of favorites. I need this like I need air. I mean, who doesn’t need something that not only cuts down on drying time, but also detangles and adds shine?! I hate drying my hair because I’m so impatient so I have tried many blow dry mists and trust me, this one works!

Another favorite is the Soft Shine Beach Wave Spray. Again, I’ve tried many beach wave products and most of the time they contain salt leaving your hair feeling stiff and sticky. Not this one! Like all Kristin Ess products, it delivers exactly waht the label says and you are left with soft, shiny beachy waves.

If you are looking for something fun, you don’t want to miss out on the Rose Gold Temporary Tint. You spray this on wet hair in the shower and the result is a subtle rose gold tint throughout your hair that lasts from 1-3 shampoos.

There are SO many different products in this line so make sure you check out the site to see what else is available. I still haven’t tried everything from Kristin Ess, but I’m slowly getting there and I can’t wait to try some more!

 

Kristin Ess products are available in Target stores in the US and online at well.ca in Canada. Everything is less than $20.

 

Has anyone else tried Kristin Ess? What did you think?

-SS

 

Tape In Hair Extensions #hairgoals

***scroll down for before & after pics***
I like to somewhat experiment with my hair and so it’s no surprise I have had hair extensions off and on for years. I usually decide that I need to cut my hair into the new trendy bob and then end up hating it, so here come the extensions. I started out by getting a weave about 12 years ago, and oh, the memories! Not color matched, no blending, just overall fake looking awful hair. Not to mention it was painful! After the weave I tried microbeads. Tiny little metal beads that attach the extension hair to your natural hair. They looked good, but I hated how they felt so they didn’t last long. Then, I tried fusion bonds, which I liked a lot more since the bonds were much smaller but I didn’t like the maintenance of them and how it would take 6+ hours to get them installed. At that point I decided to give extensions a break and only used clip ins for special occasions.
That is until this past month. I’m in a wedding in a couple of weeks and I envisioned my hair being long and wavy and despite taking the vitamins I wasn’t getting the long thick hair that the celebrities promise on the IG hair vitamin posts. So, I talked to my hair stylist and decided that it’s time to give extensions another shot.

 

I went with Hotheads extensions, which are tape ins, and we used two packs of hair. The process was quick, it took 3 days for the hair to be ordered and then only an hour and a half for the hair to actually be installed and blended. In no time at all I ended up with long, thick Instagram Influencer worthy hair.

BEFORE: 
AFTER:

I think it looks super pretty and natural and I’m so happy with them!

 

Finally, if you are considering hair extensions I have one piece of advice – Go to a professional. I know it’s so tempting to go with the cheap deal you found on Kijiji, but, just don’t do it! You need to make sure that your extensions match the color and texture of your hair, and (this is so, so important) they need to be blended. Extensions that are not blended will scream fake hair and no one wants that. A professional will not only make sure that the color is just perfect, but they will cut the extensions in such a way that you won’t be able to tell that it’s not your real hair. They will also be able to suggest the best products and care for your new hair. Follow their advice, extensions aren’t cheap so you want to make sure that you keep them looking and feeling great.

 

If anyone has any questions or comments don’t hesitate to post below!

 

-SS

Friday Favorites: June 15h

Guys, I am SO happy that it’s finally Friday! I know I feel like this every Friday but this week seems to have been especially tough. I can’t wait to be finished with work today so that I can hopefully have a chance to recharge and relax. I’m starting my weekend with my first ever laser genesis facial today and I am super excited! I plan on writing a blog post about my experience, so stay tuned!

I decided to change up Friday Favorites this week and instead of picking a theme of my favorite things, I want to focus on my favorite items of the week.

The first two items are from a brand that is brand new to me called Design.Me. I saw their products at Chatters the other day when I was looking for shampoo and I was immediately drawn to their stylish packaging (gets me every time!). After some further investigation I saw that all of their products are cruelty free, sulfate free, paraben free, gluten free, and vegan. It’s just like the best diet, only for your hair! Everything they sell looked and sounded so cool that I wanted to buy it all, but I have to have some self control so I settled on two things – the Powerdry.Me spray and the Hold.Me spray.

The Powerdry.ME spray promises to dry your hair faster due to providing a thin layer around the hair fibers to prevent the hair from holding excess water. I can attest that IT WORKS! My drying time was vastly improved. As a bonus it smells great, offers heat and UV protection, has frizz control, and smooths & conditions your hair.

The Hold.ME spray is like a completely new world, it has an adjustable nozzle! You can pick the level of hold (light/medium/high) that your style requires that day by a simple twist of the nozzle. Their formula again smells great, it’s long lasting, and adds shine, volume and UV protection. I think this will be a holy grail item for me!

Design.ME products are available online or at select salons

My third favorite of the week is a new product from NARS . Again, the packaging drew me in, but it’s the product itself that has kept me interested.

If you have been reading my blog at all, you will know that I have a serious obsession with lip products and so it’s no surprise that this week I’m adding something for my lips into the mix. This NARS Orgasm After Glow Lip Balm is AMAZING! It’s brand new to their Orgasm lineup (the blush is another fave of mine) and as usual, it does not disappoint. It leaves a neutral peachy pink glow with a very subtle gold shimmer and is extremely moisturizing! I can put it on in the morning and don’t need anything else for the rest of the day. Considering I work in an air conditioned jail cell office all day, I would say that this is a huge success! The rose gold packaging is also a plus 🙂

 

I’m starting to feel like these products are too beautiful to kept in a cupboard.. maybe I need to look at getting some shelves in the bathroom?!

What is everyone else loving this week?

-SS

Cake Beauty: The Hair Raiser review

You guys, I have to share this product with you! I’m sure you all know by now just how much of a product junkie I am and how much I absolutely love trying new products. I especially love it when a new product does exactly what it promises and I know that I have to add it to my daily routine. Cake Beauty’s The Hair Raiser is just that!

If you are not familiar with Cake Beauty yet you are in for a major treat! I have actually been a fan of Cake for about a decade when they used to be in Sephora. I was obsessed with their Milk Made Hand Cream and Desserted Island Body Mousse (I highly recommend trying them both out!) and I was always checking them out to see what they were coming out with next. All Cake products are made in Canada, 100% vegan, not tested on animals, and (taken directly from their website), completely to-die-for! Everything is somehow related to decadent food items so everything smells amazing as well as performing amazingly. You can only imagine my delight when I saw that some of their products are available at Shoppers Drug Mart! However, the selection at Shoppers is limited so your best bet is to go onto the Cake Beauty website to see their full range of products.

Anyway, back to the Hair Raiser! I have incredibly fine hair, which gets greasy fast (no skipping shampoo days here!) and seriously lacks in the volume department. I am always looking for the next volumizing treatment and I’d hedge a bet that I’ve tried a good 80% of everything out there. I’ve found a few things that work but the Hair Raiser is hands down one of my favorites! The Hair Raiser is a volumizing powder that uses silica and biotin to create some serious volume and texture. It comes in a cute pink bottle that would look great on any vanity and has a point and shoot style applicator. You apply the powder directly to your hair when it needs some body and volume, and voila! instant volume and texture! Huge bonus is that it smells really good, kind of like lemon pie!

A great thing about this is that you can use it on clean hair for texture, or on 2nd (and some people even say 3rd) day hair for its oil absorption and volume. If you are looking for some serious volume from a seriously ethical company, Cake Beauty’s Hair Raiser is for you!

The Hair Raiser is also naturally paraben, phthalates and GMO free. It costs $19.00 and you can find it in select Shopper’s Drug Mart stores (I found it at the Calgary Chinook store), or online.

Has anyone else tried this product or anything else from Cake Beauty? What did you think?

-SS

Friday Favourites: Fakin’ It!

This week has definitely not been as crazy as last week, but I think leftover stress and tension from the past few weeks has got in a little and has left me SO exhausted all week. I’m usually a morning person, almost jumping out of bed when my alarm goes off but not lately. I’ve been waking up feeling more exhausted than when I went to bed and find that I’m dragging my feet all day. As a result I have needed some extra “help” when it comes to my beauty routine

 

Jergens Natural Glow – $6-8 – Drugstores (Jergens Natural Glow)

I’m one of those people who just looks healthy and happier with a tan., I love having golden tanned skin but sitting out in the sun frying your skin is obviously no bueno. Luckily with Jergens Natural Glow, you don’t have to sit out in the sun, and still get the “I just came back from a week in Hawaii” look. I have been using this for years and I think I would actually be heartbroken if Jergens ever stopped making this. I have tried so many self tanners and spray tans and nothing gives me the natural colour I get from this. The colour shows up gradually over time so it doesn’t leave streaks and true to its name, it results in a natural, golden tan.

I would love to try the 3 Days to Glow and Wet Skin Moisturizer versions but I can’t seem to track them down in Canada, so I just use the original. I go with the medium to tan formula since I already have olive skin.

Kevin Murphy Fresh Hair Dry Shampoo –  approx $33 – Select Salons (Fresh Hair)

I feel like dry shampoo is the ultimate beauty product for “fakin’ it” and this list wouldn’t be complete without my favourite one! Let’s face it, some mornings the last thing you want to do is deal with washing and drying your hair. If you are anything like me, it’s by far the most time consuming part of your morning routine and some days dry shampoo is your only option.

This dry shampoo is definitely not the cheapest but it’s SO GOOD. First, it smells amazing, kind of like creamsicles, it doesn’t leave any white residue, it does exactly what it’s promised, *and* for every can sold, Kevin Murphy will donate a portion to help reduce carbon emissions!

A huge bonus with Fresh Hair is that it has a double use, not only can it be used to fake fresh, clean hair, it can also be used on clean hair to create texture. I use it almost every time I curl my hair to give it texture that my straight, fine hair is desperately missing.

 

Benefit Cosmetics Boi-ing Industrial Strength Concealer – $27 – Sephora (Boi-ing)

This product really deserves a post of its own, but I also couldn’t create this list without including it. I have been using Benefit’s Boi-ing since 2006 (yes, 11 years!) because it really is that good! I have tried other concealers but nothing has been able to give me the coverage and matte finish of this one. It’s the absolute perfect makeup product for hiding any imperfections and dark circles (of which I have many) and no “fakin’ it” list would be complete without it!

Crest 3D White Brilliance 2 Step Toothpaste – approx $12 – Drugstores (3D White)

When I’m having a tough time getting going in the morning the first thing I reach for is coffee. I’m lactose intolerant so I drink my coffee black, which is good for my soul, not too good for my teeth! Coffee plus red wine does not equal pearly whites so I often need some assistance in that area. I do Crest Whitestrips 1-2 times a year but to keep my teeth looking clean and white, I use Crest 3D White Brilliance 2-Step Toothpaste a few times a week. Exactly as the name describes, it’s a 2 step process where you brush your teeth with the deep cleansing toothpaste, then before rinsing you use the whitening finisher, which is a clear gel. After using this my teeth feel squeaky clean and sparkling white and you can’t even tell that I’m running on 80% coffee and 20% dry shampoo 🙂

 

 

What are your favourite products/tips to “fake it”?

SS