Monday, October 24, 2011

Elnett is the BOMB

I must tell you a secret. I'm in love with Elnett. Oh, you dont know what Elnett is?? Its only the most amazing hairspray that has ever been created. Elnett has been available for years in Europe, but because of the USA's crazy FDA regulations, we have only had Elnett in the U.S. for about 2 or 3 years. American stylist have even been known to go over seas and come back having smuggled cans of this hairspray in their luggage. Its just THAT good.

The gold can that it comes packaged in screams luxury. And the super-fine mist that sprays out allows for ultimate hold, yet keeps the hair pliable. What you get is beautiful, shiny hair that stays in place, yet looks soft and touchable...because it is soft and touchable. Some people are on the fence about how it smells, but I love it. The scent is not overpowering at all, and in fact, I think it smells almost like a baby. One can of Elnett runs you about $15. And it is worth every single penny.

Last night, I styled hair for the International Fashion Super Model Competition in Boston. I was assigned my models, and was told that they should have at least 2 different hair styles...one more elegant, and another that would be a little more carefree. I was so glad that I came armed with Elnett in my kit. Using this product allowed me to effortlessly switch up each girl's hair. I was able to create sassy updo's with lots of volume, then take it all down and create large wavy curls, and then I was even able to completely straighten one of the model's hair! What hairspray do you know that will let you do that? I'll tell you....ELNETT.





I styled the winning model's hair. Check out each of her looks below. Thanks to Elnett, I was able to create these 3 different looks, and each look only took about 7 minutes to create. Elnett is a staple. Go get your can...now!


































Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Tips and Tricks Tuesday

Good morning beauties!! Welcome back to Tips and Tricks Tuesday!! Hope everyone enjoyed their Colombus Day weekend, and that your week is off to a fabulous start!!

Today, my tip is for my fellow curly-haired girls. Us curlies tend to struggle a lot with frizzy curls. Thats why a lot of us actually prefer to blow our hair straight and flat iron it. But today, I have a tip that will help you to beat the frizz embrace your curls!


Here's what you do:

1. While in the shower, wet your hair so that it is thoroughly soaked.

2. Using a sulfate free shampoo, gently wash your scalp, avoiding the ends of your hair. *Purpose is to remove any dirt, oil, or product buildup from the scalp, not to strip oils from the hair.*

3. After shampooing, rinse hair thoroughly, and let shampoo and water run through the ends of the hair.

4. Use a hydrating conditioner. Use a lot of it. Like, a lot. Starting at your ends, and working your way up to the roots. Make sure that the conditioner has coated your entire head of hair.

5. Allow the conditioner to absorb into your hair by leaving it on while you finish up in the shower.

6. Now, here is the frizz buster. Instead of detangling your hair with a comb or brush. Use your fingers. Take small sections of the hair, and begining at the ends, use your fingers to work any knots and tangles out. Apply more conditioner if needed to do this, and work your way up to the roots.
*By no combs or brushes, I mean no combs or brushes! Not even a wide tooth comb, or one of those shower combs! By combing and brushing the hair, we are disturbing the hair's natural curl pattern, thus creating frizz. Instead, by finger combing the hair, we are detangling, but keeping the natural curl pattern intact.*

7. Rinse 90% of conditioner out. Leave a little in to help hold the curl, and also keep your hair hydrated throughout the day. During this step, you will also apply gel or any other styling product if you use it.

8. Using either a cotton t-shirt, or microfiber towel, scrunch hair up towards the scalp. This will not only remove excess water, but also will help to define your curls.

9. DONT TOUCH YOUR HAIR!!! Let your hair air-dry, or dry with a diffuser, but once you have applied your product to it, let it be! By touching the hair, we create frizz! Let your hair become at least 80% dry before touching it. Once it it almost dry, you can scrunch the hair more to separate your curls or create more volume.


So curlies, I hope this is helpful. Give this method a try. I've been using it for a while now, and I must say that the more I do it, the less frizz I see in my hair, and the more defined my curls become. I'll have to post a picture for you. Also, if you'd like some product recommendations, feel free to ask!!

Alright ladies (and curly gents)...stay curly and stay beautiful!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Mask Review

Hey there beauties! I have a product review for you! I was leaving work at CVS on Friday and I decided that over the weekend, I would give my hair a little TLC. I've always been very diligent with deep conditioning my hair. Usually, I do a deep conditioning treatment at least every other week to keep my hair hydrated, shiny, and in tip-top condition. But somehow, I started slacking. I think the summer kind of threw me off because I spent so much time with my hair curly and I would just put a good leave-in conditioner in my hair and go. But now that we are getting into the cooler weather, and I'm finding myself using more heat on my hair (I've been blowdrying my hair straight and flat ironing it...I hate wet hair in cold weather...not a good combo), I felt that I should do something special for Giselle (for those of you who dont know, Giselle is my hair...we have a great relationship and are on a first name basis).


So as I was saying, before leaving the beauty department for the weekend, I strolled down the hair care aisle into the Salon section (I'm a bit of a product snob...I dont use mass brand products usually). For months now, I've been intrigued by the Macadamia Natural Oil hair care brand. I had never tried anything from the line though, so I figured this weekend would be a great time to try their Deep Repair Mask. I didnt want to purchase the full size product because I wasnt sure if I would love it, so instead, I bought a small packet that retails for $5.99 (I received my employee discount though).




On Saturday morning, I taught my Zumba class, came home and jumped in the shower. I washed my hair with Alterna's Bamboo Smooth shampoo, and then cracked open the Macadamia Deep Repair Mask packet. Immediately, the pleasant smell filled my shower. I really cant explain what it smelled like, but it was fabulous...nice and clean, yet fragrant. I squeezed the mask into my hand and knew just from the texture of the product that it was going to be hydrating. The mask wasnt very "thick", but it was creamy...honestly, it almost reminded me of a whipped butter consistency. The product was heavy enough without being heavy...if that makes any sense to you at all lol. I started on my ends and worked the product up to my roots. I have a lot of thick, curly, dry hair, so I ended up using the entire packet.
After applying the Macadamia Deep Repair Mask to my entire head, I split my hair down the middle into two sections, and clipped each section up. Then I went about the rest of my shower business. The mask was in my hair for a total of maybe 12 minutes...I didnt cover my head with a cap or use any heat source other than the heat and steam from the shower water. Once I was done with everything else, I used my trusty, wonderful Denman brush and began to detangle. Detangling was honestly a breeze. Aside from some minor knots that I had to work out (I actually very rarely brush my hair lol...when I wear it curly, I usually detangle with my fingers as not to disturb the curl pattern and create frizz), my brush practically glided through my hair. After I finished detangling and rinsing the mask, my hair felt so hydrated that I didnt even need to use another conditioner like I usually do.

To finish my hair, I used very little styling product...one dropper of Alterna's Kendi Oil, and about 2 pea-sized squirts of Alterna's Caviar Perfect Blowout Creme, focusing mostly on the ends. Blowdrying was also a breeze. I finished blowdrying in about 45 minutes...which is TOTALLY unheard of for me! I usually take over an hour for my whole head of hair to be dried and straight. When my hair was finally dry, it was noticeably more hydrated and felt hydrated as well. Here's what my hair looks like today!



Last, but not least, here are the ingredients. I was very pleased to see that this brand is cruelty free, paraben free, and alcohol free (Cetearyl Alcohol is a fatty alcohol used as an emulsifier and conditioner..it is not drying to the hair).



Overall, I was very pleased with this mask. After using it, I can now say that I would definitely purchase a larger size, and I would also keep a few packets on hand for deep conditioning treatments for my on-location clients!

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Top 5 Reasons Why I LOVE Arbonne

Good day all!! Hope you're all having a fabulous day and enjoying the beautiful fall weather!

I just had a quick conversation with a new friend out in Florida. As many of you know, I am an Independent Consultant with a beauty/wellness brand called Arbonne International. This new friend of mine has a friend who is involved in the business, and now my new friend (we'll just call him "Smarty"!) is looking to incorporate Arbonne products into his makeup artistry business. So, as I started telling Smarty a little about why Arbonne is great for a makeup artists business, I began to realize exactly why I LOVE these products and the company. I'd love to share my top 5 reasons with ya!

1. Ingredient/Formulation Policy. Arbonne is not made with just ANY ingredients. We are botanically based, meaning that we use plant, flower, fruit, vegetable, and herb extracts to create our products. We also do not include mineral oils, synthetic dyes or fragrance in our formulations. Lastly, we are 100% vegan friendly, and most of our products are gluten free! I love that we really ARE creating pure, safe, beneficial products!

2. The products that we create promote beauty and wellbeing from the inside out...literally! We have a crazy product range from nutritionals, to skin care, to cosmetics, to detoxification, to aromatherapy...and our products are for all ages! We have men's skin care, womens, acne care, anti-aging, and even a baby line. There is no one who can't use Arbonne products. Our full range truly brings health and beauty together, and helps you create a beautiful body from the inside out...which is something that not many lines have managed to do.

3. I'm a makeup artist. And as I was telling Smarty, Arbonne allows me, as a makeup artist, to offer my clients products of superior quality that they can't find in stores. My clients must order directly through me because they can't just go to Macy's, Nordstrom, or even CVS to get these products. In my business, this also strengthens my relationship with clients because they are constantly relying on me to find out what's new, what's out, or what they can use for certain concerns. I offer them something EXCLUSIVE that they aren't getting anywhere else, and I truly la-la-love that!!

4. These products WORK!! Simple as that! Arbonne fuses beneficial, clean ingredients with cutting edge technology and proprietary ingredient blends to create effective products that deliver REsults! My favorite Arbonne technology is our Opti-light technology found in the cosmetics...creates a flawless complexion, and is a fave of makeup artists, photographers, and all of mankind!! ;)

5. Lastly, Arbonne allows me to help others. Whether by offering product solutions for a clients skin or nutrition concerns, by offering an income solution for a stay at home mom or someone who is unemployed, or offering a career change to someone who has fallen in love with the beauty and wellness industry...ARBONNE lets ME (little old Melissa Wilson from little old Rhode Island) be a part of something bigger. It allows me to teach and train others how to do the same. And THAT is what I love the most!!

So there you have it! My top 5 reasons why I love Arbonne! Hope that you might discover that you love it too!!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Are Natural Products Important To You

So many cosmetic and skincare brands have jumped on the bandwagon of creating "natural" products that eliminate the use of ingredients such as parabens, sulfates, artificial fragrances, and other additives that prove to be harmful. Within the past few months, many brands have either released or revamped product lines in order to stay in line with the trending market of natural product lines.

Personally, it's very important to me that I use a clean product line on my skin and hair. The way that I look at it is that my skin is the largest living organ of my body, and it protects all of my other vital organs. And just like I should feed the inside of my body healthy things to keep my organs performing in top condition, I should do the same for the organ on the outside, too.

So! My question to you is: do you find it important to use products that are natural, or contain natural ingredients?

Do share!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Tips and Tricks Tuesday

Hey there beauties! Welcome back to Tips and Tricks Tuesday!! Lets get started!

So, you know how we all have those thick, full, juicy Angelina Jolie lips, right? *crickets*. Okay then. Well if you are one of my ladies who wishes that she DID have a fuller pout, you can actually CREATE one without using collagen injections or those awful lip plumpers that burn and tingle when they are on your lips. Follow these simple steps to create the pout of your dreams:

1. Choose a natural colores lip liner that matches the color of your lips.

2. Using your lip pencil, line both the top and bottom lips.

3. Instead of following the exact shape of your top lip and creating a "cupid's bow" (the dip in the center of your upper lip), line your lip straight across.

4. Fill in your lips with your lip pencil.

5. Apply lip color (lipstick, lip gloss, etc.)

6. Voila!! Enjoy your brand new set of Angelina lips!!

Try it out and enjoy!!