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· Blog Home · Profile · FAQ/TOS On This Page · The Weekend Blogger: Bit of hauling · Beauty Notes: Bumble and Bumble Super Rich Conditioner · Just Notes: What I've been into, lately · Beauty Notes: Cate Blanchett's hair · Beauty Notes: Our own video! · Beauty Notes: Adventures in home hair color · Update on Giovanni Cosmetics Tea Tree Triple Treat shampoo · Beauty Notes: Indian Rapunzels, chopstick buns, updos & wet hair · How to do a french twist · Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat Shampoo, part 3 · Couple of indie links · Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat Shampoo, part 2 · Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat Shampoo · Best shampoo without sulfates · Update on biotin for hair loss · Hairstyle picture gallery websites · Shampoo vs. conditioner · Price vs. value · Update on biotin for thin hair · Favorite "high end" beauty products · Favorite "budget" beauty products · Latest sulfate-free shampoo venture; cheap beauty products in general · Beauty breakthroughs · Sulfate *and* paraben free shampoo sighted at Trader Joe's · Random beauty ramblings · Biotin for hair loss · More on sulfate and paraben free hair products · Etro and more on natural hair products · Sulfate and paraben free shampoos Comments · June 29, 2008 12:08 AM by Dain · June 29, 2008 2:20 PM by Colleen Shirazi · April 24, 2008 4:16 PM by Dain · April 24, 2008 10:16 PM by EZE · August 30, 2008 6:40 AM by mack · January 31, 2008 2:54 PM by Dain · January 31, 2008 5:08 PM by Colleen Shirazi · January 31, 2008 5:52 PM by Dain · January 31, 2008 7:36 PM by Colleen Shirazi · January 31, 2008 7:50 PM by Dain · February 1, 2008 2:43 PM by Colleen Shirazi · February 2, 2008 4:39 AM by Dain · February 2, 2008 2:34 PM by Colleen Shirazi · February 2, 2008 4:14 PM by Dain · February 2, 2008 5:16 PM by Colleen Shirazi · February 2, 2008 8:15 PM by Dain · January 9, 2008 1:57 AM by Dain · January 9, 2008 2:28 AM by Colleen Shirazi · January 9, 2008 2:33 AM by Dain · January 3, 2008 4:45 PM by Colleen Shirazi · January 3, 2008 9:52 PM by Dain · January 3, 2008 11:10 PM by Colleen Shirazi · September 17, 2007 10:02 AM by Dain · July 24, 2007 11:30 PM by Dain · June 8, 2007 1:58 PM by cmm · June 8, 2007 6:31 PM by Colleen Shirazi · June 11, 2007 7:02 AM by Katherine · June 11, 2007 7:57 PM by Colleen Shirazi Archives · Beauty Blog (2003-2004) · Fashion Blog (archive) · New Releases Blog (archive) · Beauty Articles (archive) · April 2005 · May 2005 · June 2005 · July 2005 · August 2005 · September 2005 · October 2005 · November 2005 · December 2005 · January 2006 · February 2006 · March 2006 · April 2006 · May 2006 · June 2006 · July 2006 · August 2006 · September 2006 · October 2006 · November 2006 · December 2006 · January 2007 · February 2007 · March 2007 · April 2007 · May 2007 · June 2007 · July 2007 · August 2007 · September 2007 · October 2007 · November 2007 · December 2007 · January 2008 · February 2008 · March 2008 · April 2008 · May 2008 · June 2008 · July 2008 · August 2008 ![]() Recent blog posts: Links Barneys refinery29 The Sartorialist Jargol Perfume Shrine Ambre Gris Polyvore The Fashioniste The Powder Group LA-Story.com Dain's Literary Attempts Colleen's Beading Blog Colleen's Adult Acne Blog ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Eponym Blog Directory. TBF Project:Blog ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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The Weekend Blogger: Bit of hauling Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Saturday, June 28, 2008 11:47 PM (Eastern) I shop rather strategically now; long gone are the days of carefree middle-class browsing. An item is either astronomically expensive, requiring months, even years, of planning to acquire, or else it tends to be junk, worth less than the space it occupies. It's truly an art to figure out where to shop, and to emerge with something of value, without blowing half a week's paycheck over it. This time I went to a b & m bead shop, something I don't do often anymore. But sometimes it's worth the markup to be able to choose individual beads, particularly for earrings. I got some carnelian and some jade beads. I had this odd impulse to make red earrings, and I've wanted for some time to use green jade for something. On to our local health food store, where I repurchased Dr. Hauschka Cleansing Cream. Normally the price would have been a tad appalling, but I tried this out first as a sample, loved it, bought a full sized tube, found it lasted five months and noticeably improved my acne-prone skin. I felt it was a good purchase. On a bit of an impulse, I also bought a Zia pressed powder compact. I'm almost out of my traditional MAC Blot pressed, and was planning on the trek out to the MAC counter to repurchase it, but if this stuff works, I'd rather buy it instead. I've long fallen out of love with MAC in general, so the Back to MAC isn't much of an incentive to me anymore, plus the customer service at our local MAC Counter isn't much of an encouragement to go there. The first two ingredients listed are mica and cornstarch. I've used Zia liquid foundation for years, to make tinted sunscreen, so I'm fairly optimistic about the powder prospect. Finally, I picked up Avalon Organics Lavender shampoo, since I had run out of their Lemon Clarifying one. The Lavender is more moisturizing, but then I often use two shampoos anyway--a little tea tree oil shampoo on my scalp (Giovanni, but I'm thinking of trying the Paul Mitchell one when that runs out), and a different one on the rest of my hair (it's not as complicated as it sounds, just slap on a bit of one and a bit of the other, and lather). Labels: avalon organics, dr. hauschka, hair, hauling, indie, jewelry, skin, the weekend blogger, zia
Beauty Notes: Bumble and Bumble Super Rich Conditioner Posted by EZE, Thursday, April 24, 2008 2:08 PM (Eastern) ![]() I noticed there haven't been any Bumble and Bumble reviews on this blog, and I thought that was a real shame. B&B is a treat for me to use. It is the one hair care line that I have consistently used and that has provided a real turnaround for my hair. I have a full head of very course, thick, wavy, dry hair. It has previously been a nightmare for me to deal with, and even now, the waves will only ever do what they want to do. For a long time, I've had a very short haircut similar to the way Winona Ryder wore her hair in the 90s. It suited me, and having almost no hair was the only way I could figure out how to deal with it. After having tried Sumotech with great results, I picked up a bottle of Super Rich Conditioner. It is the single conditioner that gave me results with the first use. My hair was significantly softer, and after the first two or three weeks of use, it was the healthiest and most nourished that it's ever been. I truly never thought my hair could be this soft. I think all the beauty articles are right (this time): the more you spend on your hair, the better the results will be. There are several reasons why this conditioner trumps every other one I've used. It contains no silicones, which make my hair lovely and smooth, but even drier than before. Silicones are the equivalent of two steps forward, three steps back. They are the wolf in sheep's clothing. It's an incredibly rich, thick formula. I cannot abide by a runny or milky conditioner. Every single conditioner with a thin consistency has only dried out my hair more. I think the fact that it only has a few ingredients in it makes a difference, too. As with skin, hair doesn't need to be pummeled into submission with thirty different kinds of alcohols and parabens. It only needs a few ingredients that actually work. Super Rich contains shea butter. I can't really say whether that's what's working for me or not. I've never tried any other hair products with shea butter to compare it with. I will also say the reason I started using Bumble and Bumble products to begin with is the packaging. I'm a huge design fan. When given the choice, I would gladly decorate my bathroom with beautifully packaged products. B&B's products look something like a cross of sumi-e and urban minimalism. They're right for now, though if the packaging isn't redesigned in a few years, it will probably look passe. Image courtesy of Amazon. Labels: beauty notes, bumble and bumble, hair
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![]() ![]() Just Notes: What I've been into, lately Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Friday, February 22, 2008 6:18 PM (Eastern) ![]() As much as Jean Patou's Joy perfume was created in 1930 to combat the Great Depression, it doesn't smell exuberant to me. I get the American-ness of the rose, but it is also an English rose, and the jasmine only makes it smell more like an English-flavored East Coast garden. After breathing Montale's Middle Eastern rose and jasmine for months, this has a nostalgic edge for me; a scent to bridge past and present, motherland and U.S. Like Patou's Sublime, Joy went immediately to my wish list. I can admit I think in terms of houses when I think of perfume. For years, Givenchy was my house. I wore Organza, and had little vials of Extravagance, Organza Indecence, Amarige, and Ysatis (didn't like Ysatis though). Tried "new" L'Interdit, Hot Couture, up to Very Irresistible...but at one point, I felt the house of Givenchy had modernized far too much. Montale has been my house since last year, owing to their Middle Eastern essences, swirled together with a slight French edge. Patou, I've finally put a finger on it...is more emotional in appeal than either Givenchy or Montale. I just felt a jolt of happiness smelling Sublime after all these years (ten, easily, likely more). It was like a friendly smile. Joy to me dates back decades; I'm fuzzy as to when I smelled it before (Virginia, East Coast, a perfume for ladies with pocketbooks and compacts). Yet there is the same radiant warmth of that friendly smile. ![]() (Not to scale.) One of my local bead shops closed down, more than a year ago, and I've yet to replace it with another brick & mortar shop. The markup around here, outside that one shop, is terrible. I gave up, and began the search for good etailers. ![]() This stuff worked out pretty well. I'm not even sure I miss my L'Oreal Feria. Preference Mega Blondes has its own tricks...you have to be more careful applying it, since it lifts more than Feria. I fried the top layer of my hair when I first used it. Well it didn't come out crispy, exactly, just lighter than I'd wanted. Fortunately I've cut at least four inches off the bottom of my hair over the past few weeks, so it doesn't matter. ![]() Dr. Hauschka's #09 lipstick (Dolce). More versatile than their #01 Amoroso lipstick, which is too much color for my etiolated winter skin. Dolce is perhaps a tad too warm to truly be my grail, yet there is the niceness of it: tasty natural ingredients, pleasant heavy gold-colored case, overall lip conditioning. Thinking of replacing this with their Adagio lipstick (#07), which is a sort of complex pink, though I'll probably use up Amoroso first (at the rate Dolce is going, it should last well into summer). Labels: dr. hauschka, hair, indie, jean patou, just notes, l'oreal, lips, perfume
Beauty Notes: Cate Blanchett's hair Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Thursday, January 31, 2008 1:23 AM (Eastern) ![]() Simple, yet indelible. Cate may not have seen much gelt at the 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, but surely she was a monument to elegance. (Related photos may be found on cateblanchett.net.) Even as I'm straining to get a better view of her jewelry--earrings with vivid green stones (and in other pics, a bracelet beaded with stones resembling rough rubies)--and her swank Balenciaga maternity(!) gown--what really pulls this look together is the hair. Instead of overshadowing, the way a typical awards-show updo would have done, this style is a golden frame around eyes, glowing complexion, simple makeup and deep green jewels. Imagine a stuffier hairstyle with the exact same gown and jewelry, and it's instantly aging. Now onto the press release and products: MATRIX Celebrity Hairstylist Dishes on Cate Blanchett's Soft Waves Even though she didn't bring home any statuettes last night at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, Cate Blanchett kicked off awards season looking radiant on the red carpet with soft, beautiful waves that brought out her natural beauty and pregnant glow. MATRIX celebrity stylist, Mark Townsend, was the man behind the look and has the scoop on how to get this simple yet beautiful hairstyle. Townsend has been working with Blanchett for nearly four years, so it doesn't take long for the pair to decide on the perfect style for big red carpet events. As soon as Cate tried on her stunning Balenciaga gown for the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the entire fashion and beauty team agreed that her hair should be down and simple so as not to overpower her intricate gown. To achieve the look, Mark first took Cate's damp hair and applied Biolage Hydro-Foaming Styler all over to add a little texture, and then blow-dried her hair with a medium round brush. When the hair was completely dry, Mark used a one inch HAI Elite curling iron, taking random sections of hair from one to three inches in size sections of hair, and wrapping them around the iron. According to Mark — the trick to getting perfect waves and curls is to never actually open the iron, just wrap the hair around it while closed. When finished, Mark rubbed Biolage smooththérapie Smoothing Serum in the palms of his hands and raked it through Cate's hair to soften the curls into soft, loose waves and blend the curled pieces with the straighter pieces of hair. To finish, Mark used Biolage Complete Control Hairspray to softly set the look so it lasted all night. ![]() Mark's Product Picks: Biolage Hydro-Foaming Styler, $14 Biolage smooththérapie Smoothing Serum, $14 Biolage Complete Control Hairspray, $15 Cate image courtesy sagawards.org Labels: beauty notes, biolage, celebrity, hair
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![]() ![]() Beauty Notes: Our own video! Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Tuesday, January 08, 2008 3:51 PM (Eastern) Home hair color stuff I had to figure out a way of converting analog tape (VHS and mini DV) to digital. I got the device (it's monumentally simple, all you need is either the red, yellow and white cable connection, or S-video) and tried it out on a mini DV camcorder. The capture is straightforward, but the editing software (Pinnacle) requires more memory than I have on this computer. Not to worry...it has a patch (which you must download, since it doesn't work if you don't)...less memory makes the program slightly slower when you're running it, but as you can see, it does work. This is what I switched to when L'Oreal discontinued the only light beige shade of the Feria color liquids. It's supposed to lift four levels, not the customary two or three, and these people aren't kidding. The color looks dark when it's still in your hair, but my hair came out lighter than I was planning on. Oh well, live and learn. I haven't bought color kits in years; not only are the components much cheaper, you can easily mix the exact amount you need. Labels: beauty notes, hair, l'oreal, tech, tutorial
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![]() ![]() Beauty Notes: Adventures in home hair color Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Thursday, January 03, 2008 3:25 PM (Eastern) ![]() ![]() So L'Oreal discontinued one of the Feria color liquids I've used for some years. I tried buying it twice: the first time, I thought it was out of stock, but the second, I asked and discovered they weren't going to reorder it. mumbles... (You can purchase developer and color liquids a la carte at beauty supply shops such as Sally's.) I could either search the four corners of the Earth seeking this liquid (it was the sole beige amongst the lightest Feria shades), or I could switch to something else, so I got Preference Mega-Blondes instead. This involved a different developer and proportions, so I also picked up an inexpensive plastic bottle with the pointy cap, and half-ounce markings on the side. It's what I'm doing right now! Please keep your fingers crossed for me. The only time I ever switched formulas mid-roots was when I went from Preference to Feria to begin with, and Feria does have a reputation for being difficult to color over. Since I'm just doing the roots, in theory it should work. images courtesy sallybeauty.com Labels: fashion notes, hair, l'oreal
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![]() ![]() Update on Giovanni Cosmetics Tea Tree Triple Treat shampoo Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Friday, November 02, 2007 7:06 PM (Eastern) I started using this back in July, because I had a slight, yet persistent, itchiness on top of my head. It was either tea tree oil shampoo or Nizoral; they both are purported to work on the same principle, that scalp itch can be caused by a fungus that normally lives on the scalp. Too much of this fungus = itchiness. Hence the idea of using tea tree oil or Nizoral to kill the excess fungus. I didn't particularly want to try Nizoral. I'm not knocking it, but it is expensive, and I've gravitated toward more natural beauty products over the years, having found them more effective over the long run. The Giovanni shampoo didn't work at first, not even for the first couple of weeks. I wasn't expecting that and pretty much gave up on it working. I'd already bought the three-pack at Costco: ![]() It's a decent shampoo in its own right, I'd already paid for it, what the heck... I continued using it. That's when it started to work. It took about a month to show results, but it did actually get rid of the itch. That's no small potatoes; I'd had that slight itch for a long time. It seems to me every winter my scalp would act up. (And I have noticed that anti-itch shampoo ads tend to turn up every winter as well, like the Neutrogena one.) I suppose I could have gone straight to Nizoral or other more conventional anti-itch shampoos, but it doesn't bother me to integrate a tea tree oil shampoo into my routine. The price is very reasonable if you can find the three-pack at Costco, otherwise I would recommend looking online. One of the selling points of Nizoral is that you need not use it for every shampoo. I have gotten the best results using tea tree oil shampoo each time, but I've also played around alternating it with other shampoos. It's possible to not use it for a few days--your scalp does not immediately become itchy again. I'm keeping an eye on it though, to see if longer-term use means having to use it less frequently. Since trying this, I've also seen recommendations for a Paul Mitchell tea tree oil shampoo and conditioner on other boards, so that might be another option. Labels: giovanni, hair, natural beauty
Beauty Notes: Indian Rapunzels, chopstick buns, updos & wet hair Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Thursday, September 27, 2007 4:56 PM (Eastern) I can't for the life of me do anything sophisticated with my hair. I've concluded there is hairstyle dyslexia, and I have it, in spades. However, if you have the dexterity and the locks, there is an abundance of hairstyle how-to's on Youtube. Long Hair Bun - Indian Rapunzels This is from a site which touts itself as "the long hair site of India." Here we have astoundingly long, lush hair, fashioned into a neat bun. How to: use hair chopsticks This looks a bit more my speed. Fellow hair klutzes will appreciate the detailed step-by-step instructions our hostess has written up on the Youtube site. Hair Trick The single chopstick version. My hair is not long enough to do this, I just thought it looked cool. (You'll note the first step is the same as in video #1, only with a different length of hair involved.) How to make the latest updo hairstyles This is from Nexxus; they have several how-to videos up. It's not exactly what I'd call an updo, but it is a nice evening hairstyle for a young girl. From Wet Hair to Done Hair in 5 Min Finally, Pursebuzz demonstrates some of my favorite hair concepts: what to do with wet hair (other than blowdrying it of course); how to achieve fullness with no, or very minimal, teasing; specific product recs (always a bonus); and getting out of the house quickly, yet in style. Labels: asian, beauty notes, hair, tutorial
How to do a french twist Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Sunday, September 16, 2007 9:32 PM (Eastern) French Twist I haven't tried this yet...my hair isn't as long, although it is longer than it has been in years. What I liked was her idea of using two smaller "claw" barrettes to hold the twist. Regular french twist combs have never worked for me...I have all the slipperiness of Asian hair, without the thickness (mumbles)... The closest I've come to a genuine french twist involved tonloads of supersized bobby pins. There are lots of "how to" hair tutorials on youtube btw.
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![]() ![]() Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat Shampoo, part 3 Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Wednesday, July 25, 2007 2:21 PM (Eastern) Come to mama! ![]() Guess I'll get to try the conditioner as well. Found this little gem of a three-pack at Costco; each bottle is 25 oz. The works was about $18. Labels: giovanni, hair, natural beauty
Couple of indie links Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Tuesday, July 24, 2007 6:09 PM (Eastern) Fragrant Fripperies Fragrance Decant & Sample service I haven't tried them; however, if you're looking for perfume samples, might be the way to go. Sweetpeacurli's Silly Little Site I realize I linked to this earlier, when it was still called Sweetpeacali's Haircare Guide. As the name has changed, I'm linking to it again. Still one of the most comprehensive listings of sulfate-free shampoos and silicone-free conditioners. Labels: hair, indie, internet, natural beauty, perfume, samples
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![]() ![]() Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat Shampoo, part 2 Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Friday, July 20, 2007 7:25 PM (Eastern) Okay I tried this again (see my previous endeavor), the day after coloring my hair. It's much much better. Yesterday the shampoo felt almost burning on my scalp...likely from the peppermint oil in it, but tea tree oil is also quite strong. Today it was more like "mouthwash for your hair," more on the tingly side, not burning. I'm still using trusty L'Oreal Feria deep conditioner (the kind you can buy a la carte at beauty supply stores), which works fantastically to "de-straw" newly colored hair. As with all hair conditioners, it's far better for my hair than it is for my scalp. With my daily conditioner, I never put it near my scalp. When I deep condition, post-coloring, I use the Feria all over my hair the first day, and less of it over the several following days, then I stop using it until I color again. My point being, it's too soon to say whether the Giovanni shampoo, with its belt o' tea tree oil, is going to make my scalp less itchy and irritated. Even without the Feria factor, I would still give it at least a week to judge either way, based on my prior experience with shampoos. Labels: giovanni, hair, natural beauty
Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat Shampoo Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Thursday, July 19, 2007 2:54 PM (Eastern) ![]() That said, I have repurchased the same shampoo (most recently, the twin Alba Botanica Hawaiian shampoos in Honeydew and Plumeria). If I like it well enough, I will repurchase it. The idea of trying the Giovanni one has to do with itchy scalp. I don't regard myself as having sensitive skin, particularly, and usually, switching shampoos for a while is enough to get rid of any scalp itchiness. But lately, no matter which shampoo I use, I've had this annoying slight itchiness on my head. Nothing dramatic...no wads of hair falling out, no flakes, nothing actually moving there (sorry so gross, I'm just saying)...just this sort of minor, persistent itch. So, I decided to try a tea tree oil shampoo. I have used pure tea tree oil before, as an acne treatment. I'll have to say there is something to it...it is antibacterial...but I maintain that acne is a creature best treated from within...what you eat, primarily, and vitamins. Plus, pure tea tree oil has a strong, medicinal smell that's not very pleasant. What attracted me to the Giovanni shampoo was not the packaging (it's pretty crappy), or even the name (there's been a rumor circulating for months that Trader Joe's Nourish shampoo is the same as Giovanni's, only way cheaper). It was partly that the Nature's Gate Organics tea tree oil shampoo I was going to check out wasn't on the shelf, and partly from reading Giovanni's impressive ingredients list (tea tree oil is #2 on the list, and no sulfates). And Giovanni was clever enough to dose the shampoo with peppermint oil (#3 on the list), to drown out the medicinal scent of the tea tree oil. This baby is expensive for how little shampoo there is; I paid $7.95 for 8.5 oz. (it's cheaper online of course). But if it works, it's a good price. I've tried it the once: holy peppermint, Batman! It is very strongly pepperminty. If you have a sensitive scalp, I'm not sure this would work for you. I had just colored my hair, so it could have been that too, but at first blush, this thing almost burns on the scalp...then it gets better...then it fades out. Hm, interesting. The packaging really sucks! I found it difficult to open, then more shampoo came out than I'd expected. I suppose the flat bottle shape would be handy for fitting into small shower spaces. So far...it is interesting. I have a teeny bit of itch, but by now, I should have a genuine one. As I say, I just colored my hair, and I use L'Oreal Feria deep conditioner afterwards, over the following several days. The Feria is the best thing ever for freshly colored hair; you don't get "straw hair," but it is a bit irritating to my scalp. I'll post more about this shampoo as I use it. image courtesy www.alternativeoutfitters.com Labels: giovanni, hair, natural beauty
Best shampoo without sulfates Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Wednesday, June 13, 2007 1:56 AM (Eastern) I managed to do a spot of shopping today. Bought two shampoos...which, for a shampoo ho, amounts to a whole hill of shampoo. Both were repurchases, actually (again, highly unusual for said shampoo ho): Alba Hawaiian Hair Washes, Plumeria and Honeydew, one of each. ![]() ![]() images courtesy www.albabotanica.com I've used other sulfate-free shampoos...Avalon Organics Lemon clarifying shampoo and Queen Helene Mint Julep shampoo (waves to Carol) are good. Kiss My Face Whenever shampoo was okay but I don't think I would repurchase. Jason Vitamin E shampoo smelled great, but ultimately I didn't like it...it made my hair color look funny, I suppose it left a residue of some sort on it. (These are all reviewed in the Shampoo category of our Online Beauty Reviews site btw.) Of all I've tried, few have I ever repurchased. The Alba Hawaiian ones are genuinely worthy, as follows:
All in all a pleasure to use. I can't wait to wash my hair tomorrow! Labels: hair, natural beauty
Update on biotin for hair loss Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Thursday, June 07, 2007 9:17 PM (Eastern) It's been about nine months since I started taking a biotin supplement for my (lifelong) thin hair: The LPF Beauty Blog biotin page There is a definite difference. I don't have gobs of hair, but I feel my hair is noticeably thicker, in the sense that I don't feel that self-conscious about it anymore. I went back and tried to find something in the way of "before and after" pictures, here goes:
I realize it's not a perfect comparison, since I don't have a recent photo with my hair worn the same way as before, and I'm too lazy to take one now--I've had my hair up all day since I washed it, so it would look funny. But I will take a good picture at the one-year mark...in fact remind me, I'll take the one-year picture at the same location too (I took the pic on the left by putting the camera inside a microwave oven). Labels: hair
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![]() ![]() Hairstyle picture gallery websites Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Friday, May 11, 2007 2:07 AM (Eastern) I've often recommended this beauty board chestnut: UKHairdressers. Don't remember when or even where I got the link. But it's easily the most comprehensive website I've seen for modern hairdos that range from practical to cutting edge. On another board, got this new link for some Asian hairstyles: Rasysa Hairstyle Gallery. It's in Japanese, but enough English to navigate with.
Shampoo vs. conditioner Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Wednesday, April 11, 2007 12:30 PM (Eastern) ![]() But when it comes to hair conditioners, I'm suddenly next to being a nun. Conditioners are harder to find than shampoos. Or I should say, products that remain on your hair or skin are more important than those that merely wash and then leave. I've been going with Nature's Gate Herbal hair conditioner a little over six months now. It's a bit tricky to use, in that only the scantest dab works. Too much feels like water but turns my hair greasy. Before that I used Pantene Smooth & Sleek, Neutrogena Clean Volume, Infusium 23 daily (not the leave-in), Smash the Finisher (that goes back a ways--scroll down). That's about it, over the past nine years or so. Will I remain with Nature's Gate? It does work. I color my hair (permanent), so it has to address dry ends. Yet my scalp is naturally oily, so it can't goop too much. I have no patience for comb-outs; won't do anything special with my hair, beyond using Feria deep conditioner over the several days after I color. It worked even when I went on vacation to a tropical place (i.e. you wash your hair twice per day). No tangling, easy comb-out, no weigh-down, economical (and cheap), reasonably easy to find at a b & m store, no silicones even...see? I've already convinced myself to stay with it. It's strongly scented; sniff the bottle before buying. Labels: hair, natural beauty
Price vs. value Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Tuesday, March 27, 2007 12:36 PM (Eastern) A couple of recent incidents have made me reflect just how...planned...my beauty existence has become over the years. Just as beauty boards may be blamed for many an impulse purchase, as well as many a "haul" (this is planned, but may include extraneous items, or else be an orgy of superfluousness...whatever), so they may be blamed for my next-to-obsessive strategic approach to buying, say, a bar of soap, or a bottle of shampoo. Gone are the days when I would go to Target or Longs Drugs and simply choose the most interesting-looking product on the shelf. I don't think I've done that in years. I always consult my own experience (aka a "repurchase") or "the boards" first. If a product has been raved about enough on the boards...and by this, I mean it's been raved about by people I've heard of, like Edina Monsoon, or Lipstick Chick, or Rupa, or M...that might mean something. I'm not gonna list the people on my own board, since you need only go there (link at the top of this blog). One of the incidents was, I was explaining to my son about the shampoos in the shower...how the Alba Hawaiian Plumeria shampoo was the fancy, expensive one (okay it's $9 for 12 oz.) that we use occasionally, because it's a great shampoo but costs too much to use all the time. The Queen Helene Mint Julep shampoo on the other hand, is $3+something for what amounts to nearly a gallon of shampoo--like a gallon of milk. The soap is the Bisous De Provence you get at Trader Joe's for about $3 (might have gone up some lately). This is a very hard milled soap, lasts a good long time, lathers nicely, not drying, smells terrific... My facial cleanser is that board gem, Johnson & Johnson Head to Toe Baby Wash. We've got Jason Satin Shower Body Wash in there, Nature's Gate Herbal hair conditioner...outside I have Heather Loraine jojoba butter (which I reported on the board as a UEU, meaning I'd used it up, yet there remain little dibs and dabs of it...it's lasting a month longer than I'd thought it would), Lab Series Age Rescue eye cream (damn good eye cream, tube lasts about a year), MAC Blot pressed powder, MAC Powerpoint eyepencils, Nars the Multiple in Malibu... These are all, generally speaking, "expensive" items, save the Queen Helene shampoo and the J & J. They all cost more than comparable items. Why I buy them, is that they last a long time. For example, I don't think I've owned a drugstore eyepencil that lasted more than a year. Two years would be a stretch. The pencils either turned rock hard, or else went crumbly. The Powerpoints I have, haven't changed much from when I bought them more than two years ago. You could find cheaper soaps, but how long would they last? Would they dry your skin to the point that you needed to use lotion? (After having switched to Bisous De Provence, I didn't get itchy skin this winter.) Continuity is also key...I've used the Lab Series eye cream since...just realized...2004. They did "reformulate" once (same cream, a dollar more), but that is far better than having to look for a new eye cream. Conclusion: it is folly to base sales of beauty products on customer impulsiveness alone, in this era of the Internet. If consumers temporarily go mad and buy more makeup in a year or two than they'd bought their entire lives up to that point, so these same consumers evolve rapidly into much pickier buyers than ever before. Picky buyers are like good lovers in that they are capable of intense, unshakable loyalty. If you treat them right, they'll remember you. They will buy your products again and again and again. But if you treat them badly, with price spikes, frequently discontinued or limited edition products, and declining quality, don't be surprised if they go somewhere else. Labels: bath and body, hair, skin
Update on biotin for thin hair Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Sunday, February 25, 2007 3:57 PM (Eastern) Okay, I've been taking my biotin supplement faithfully for almost six months now. Definitely, thicker hair. By this I don't mean it's thick--I've had hair on the thinner, flatter side as far back as I can remember--but it's noticeably thicker than it was before. I still feel it will take a year before I see complete results. My hair doesn't grow quickly; in fact I don't want it to grow quickly, as I'm not growing it out. Rapid growth would mean nothing more to me than more maintenance. Ergo the year: that is how long I'm projecting it'll take before my new hair growth fully shows. I'm trying 1000 mcg now after taking 2000 mcg for a while. If I don't notice any difference, it's not worth paying for the 2000 mcg dose. Labels: hair
Favorite "high end" beauty products Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Friday, February 16, 2007 8:28 PM (Eastern) Conversely, some products are worth their higher price tag. The colors, staying power, texture, versatility, sometimes even the shelf life--I've had cheaper lipsticks and eyeshadows turn on me relatively quickly--all of these factors can make a more expensive item into a cheaper item in the long run. Face
Hair
Body
Makeup
![]() image courtesy sephora.com ![]()
Labels: chanel, dior, hair, mac cosmetics, nars, natural beauty, perfume
Favorite "budget" beauty products Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Thursday, February 15, 2007 4:26 PM (Eastern) Call them "low end," "drugstore," "crap"--remember crap? no one calls it crap anymore. I even remember cr*p, as in "cr*p haul"...for those offended by the term "crap"! Anyhow, I've long espoused being cheap. The more money you can save on your everyday basics, the more money you will have to spend on other things. Here is my current list: Face
Hair
Body
Makeup
Labels: bath and body, hair, skin
Latest sulfate-free shampoo venture; cheap beauty products in general Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Wednesday, January 03, 2007 1:57 AM (Eastern) Thanks to our Carol, I have gotten into this product (drum roll): ![]() Okay, it doesn't look fancy...that little picture resembles exactly how it looks in real life. No colorful packaging, no celeb endorsements, and it costs three dollars and change, for a pint bottle of concentrate that makes a gallon of shampoo (sorry for all the italics; the sheer gravity of this situation is only now beginning to sink in). I've used it four times now. The first go-round, I tried the "less heavy" mix (one part concentrate to 15 parts water), and didn't care for how watery it came out. The second, I tried the "heavy mix" (one part concentrate to 7 parts water) and loved it. (This mix is like a regular shampoo that's on the thin side; can't see why you couldn't make it slightly thicker if you wanted to.) It smells pleasant: soft spearmint, softly minty. Even if mint were not your thing, you'd probably like it. It lathers acceptably (this can be a concern with sulfate-less shampoos), doesn't strip hair, doesn't weigh down...gently cleans. In fact my hair got softer after I'd used it a couple of times. Good for that "winter itchy scalp" thing; good to clarify your regular shampoo. I got mine at Sallys Beauty Supply, as well. What still hasn't completely sunk in...how dirt cheap this great product really is. I'm trying to think of similar discoveries, sometimes termed "board lemmings," I have known. The list is short.
On the color cosmetics front, oh, Nars the Multiple qualifies. It costs a bum, sure, but it's a huge stick of color, it's complex, blends easily...I won't add it to the short list until I've had mine longer though. MAC Powerpoint eyepencils qualify for me; mine have kept well for more than two years, they don't fade easily, they do sharpen easily, the colors are good (albeit not quite as sublime as the Eye Kohls, oh well). Biotin in my experience is worth taking. Also the various things I've done for my acne. I suspect this innocuous-looking shampoo may join the pantheon of the Economical and the Great, and become a Board Lemming. If you read about it here though, please bookmark this site. I found out about almost all of the above lemmings from The Lipstick Page. Labels: hair, natural beauty, skin
Beauty breakthroughs Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Friday, November 17, 2006 1:08 AM (Eastern) Once in a while, there comes along a beauty product that actually does change your life. Most of them don't, of course, but some of them do. This has been on my mind for a while...because once such a product becomes part of your life, you tend to forget what your life was like before. Here is my personal list of breakthrough products, starting with:
Oh I'm sure I'll think of something else right after I publish this. Labels: acne, chanel, cream of the crop, dior, hair, l'oreal, mac cosmetics, nars, skin
Sulfate *and* paraben free shampoo sighted at Trader Joe's Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Monday, November 06, 2006 1:55 AM (Eastern) The name escapes me now...it's not the same as the "Nourish" one. It's not as cheap either: $4 for a mere 8 oz. But not only is it sulfate-less, it is also without parabens, if that's something you're looking for. The bottle is similar to the Nourish one actually, tall and thin, with clear, colorless shampoo. I haven't tried it but I did sniff it. It smells good. beauty, hair care, natural beauty products Labels: hair, natural beauty, trader joe's
Random beauty ramblings Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Thursday, October 12, 2006 1:34 AM (Eastern) A few updates on sundry topics: * SLS-less shampoos and conditioner. Been mixing the Jason Vitamin E shampoo with the Kiss My Face Whenever shampoo. It works pretty well that way (I find the former too astringent, the latter too emollient). With this I use the Nature's Gate Herbal daily conditioner. Overall, pretty happy with this new routine. * Biotin for hair loss. Crap! The people in this house have taken all my biotin. I must replace it. I've gone a few days without it and have already noticed more hair fall-out (it's not dramatic fall-out, I'm just saying). I tried the local GNC and felt disappointed. They had 600 mcg and 2500 mcg amounts; nothing in between. I don't feel 2500 mcg would be harmful but why the excess? Why only those amounts? It's nuts. * Biotin for skin. It's the same biotin...as a pleasant side effect, my skin has gotten slightly better since taking it. (Smoother, softer, fewer bumps/clogged pores.) * Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer. waves to Arabella I tried this out; I will have to say, were I not already content with my own tinted sunscreen (a small amount of Zia liquid foundation mixed with TerraSport sunscreen SPF 30+), this might well be my grail foundation. It feels light, not greasy at all, blends well, nice coverage (a bit more coverage imo than the name implies); overall a pleasure to wear. The shade I tried was a tad warm on me, but that was just that shade. Yes it's $ but it's foundation (and it has SPF to boot). Your foundation products have to work. You can skimp on other stuff. * Did I say I was going to knock Etro Heliotrope off my "bottle-worthy list"? Somebody better slap me, before I start to rust. :D It's a scent that grows on you. beauty, cosmetics, makeup Labels: beauty notes, hair, laura mercier
Biotin for hair loss Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Saturday, September 30, 2006 2:41 PM (Eastern) Disclaimer: this is not a medical site; this is a beauty site. If you choose to take vitamin supplements, you are advised to consult a doctor beforehand and do some research. I read about this on various beauty boards and decided to give it a try. As usual, there is very little objective information on the Net about vitamin supplements. The FDA doesn't regulate them (although the United Nations is starting to). I found this one page on the BBC site: Vitamins ...that at least gives some guideline as to how much to take. Since the maximum amount of biotin here is 2500 mcg and the "typical therapeutic daily dose" is 500 mcg to 1,500 mcg, I started out with 1000 mcg. (It doesn't matter which brand of biotin you take btw.) That didn't seem to do much so I bumped it up to 2000 mcg. I was being impatient; 1000 mcg might work just fine. But I'll have to say this much--it does work. By this I mean, I've been taking the supplement every day for about three weeks. My hair falls out less--it's noticeable. It takes about a week to kick in. I doubt this would work for "male pattern baldness" or at least it wouldn't prevent it. In short it's not a "miracle treatment." The greater question would be what is missing in our modern diet that would necessitate taking a supplement in the first place. But I've been suffering from adult acne for so long (and have seen such dramatic improvement over taking a simple daily multi-vitamin) that I have to believe that our diet and its nutritional content have changed to that point. beauty, hair care, natural beauty products, vitamins, hair loss Labels: hair
More on sulfate and paraben free hair products Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Friday, September 15, 2006 6:47 PM (Eastern) ![]() Check it out! The Long Hair Community has an ongoing thread for this: Sulfate-Free Shampoo List beauty, hair care, natural beauty products Labels: hair, natural beauty
Etro and more on natural hair products Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Monday, September 11, 2006 2:31 AM (Eastern) As far as Etro...I've knocked Heliotrope off my "potentially bottle-worthy" list. It's a lovely scent, but too "foody" for me...on me it's a bit floral atop a tremendous base of vanilla. i.e., if you were looking for a vanilla scent, you might well want to investigate this one. I retried Royal Pavillon and loved it more...it remains on the PBW list. My favorite of the group is still Sandalo. Actually I'd like to try Sandalo layered with something else Etro; Shaal Nur is the obvious choice but I'd like to try it with others as well. Messe de Minuit, I think it's well to either dab a small amount on your wrist, or else try it out on a day when you're not planning to go anywhere. It's an eccentric scent. I tried a little bit and got the "oranges and head shop" part, but didn't wear it long enough to get the, ah, "wet basement" aspect. :D Oh well. About the hair care...I did some shopping at my local health food store, plus a couple of Longs Drugs. Here are my thoughts and what I got. Health food store: a biotin supplement and Dain's Nature's Gate Herbal Daily Hair Conditioner. Biotin has a tremendous beauty board buzz as the supplement to take if you want healthier, thicker hair. At least that's what I got out of it. As usual, since the FDA does not regulate supplements, you're pretty much on your own as to how much to take. I looked on the Net and decided to go with a smaller dose, at least to start out with. I'll write here if it works. Nature's Gate Herbal...they have reformulated this. Or...? I tried its shampoo twin some years ago and didn't like it. The scent was far too powerful; back then it was like spraying Ambush on your hair. This conditioner though, has a much gentler scent. So I don't know if the shampoo fragrance is still as strong or if they've muted them both, but so far I'm quite happy with the conditioner. I've used it once--so far, it's quite moisturizing without being heavy. To fill you in on my hair...it's fine and on the thin side (hence the biotin supplement), basically straight with a slight wave, naturally oily scalp, and colored. I use a deep conditioner the first few days post coloring (the L'Oreal Feria deep conditioner). My daily conditioner, therefore, has to work with both oily scalp and dry, colored ends. I really must mention this, I used to use Pantene. I still have some and intend to use it all up. The idea of trying a new conditioner has to do with my Pantene Smooth & Sleek building up on me, similar to shampoo build-up. But I would like to say for the record, that I never experienced the dramatic "Pantene horror story" I've seen circulating the Net. The gist is that, if you use Pantene, the silicones in it build up on your hair, enveloping the strands and slowly killing them off. One day your hair looks fine; the next, poof! Your hair suddenly breaks off, having been gradually strangled by this buildup of silicones. That never happened, in the almost two years I used Pantene hair products daily. What did happen, is that I felt the need to switch hair products. I felt the Pantene was no longer doing what I wanted it to do. Also...more inchoately, if you will...I felt I would like to move toward more natural hair care products. There are a lot more of them now. If a more natural product...I realize "natural" is next to meaningless as a technical term, bear with me...a product without the sodium lauryl sulfate that has long been regarded as a harsh ingredient, or at least without so much or it...possibly a product without parabens or with less parabens (Nature's Gate Herbal does contain a paraben ingredient)...if this type of product performs better than a mainstream product, particularly regarding stripping hair or irritating scalp, then why not? It doesn't cost that much more. Longs Drugs: Kiss My Face "Whenever" shampoo and Jason Mango Satin Shower Body Wash. About the Mango, Longs had only three scents to choose from. It was either this, Chamomile (which smelled a tad perfumy, in a pleasant way) or Tea Tree (which admittedly I didn't even bother smelling; tea tree oil smells medicinal to me). Mango actually smells a lot like their Citrus body wash. Sort of a pleasant meld of fruitiness and perfume. Whenever Shampoo, for being a non-SLS shampoo, lathers beautifully. Even better than Avalon Organics, which also lathers well. It smells nicely of real lime. It's supposed to be green tea and lime but I'm not getting much green tea here. It's too soon to judge about the shampoo, I'd like to use it more before saying, but Whenever on its first use is mild, not at all stripping. Actually it's similar to Avalon Organics Lemon Clarifying. That's about it! beauty, perfume, etro, hair care, natural beauty products Labels: etro, hair, jason, kiss my face, natural beauty, nature's gate, perfume
Sulfate and paraben free shampoos Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Saturday, September 02, 2006 9:11 PM (Eastern) More on this...as much as I've enjoyed using my Pantene shampoo and conditioner for a year and a half, more actually, I'd like to move toward more natural hair care. I have found that mainstream shampoos seem to have become harsher, over the years. In the 1970's, when I was growing up, it was a fairly widespread belief that washing your hair every day would "strip it of its natural oils"; many people, including myself, tried washing it every other day or even less frequently. This never worked out for me. My hair is naturally oily, plus it's not even remotely curly nor thick. It's just plain almost straight hair (slight wave), on the thin side, and not washing it every day just made it...dirty. I'd say circa the late 70's, if memory serves, plumbing improved. I recall clearly that many houses did not have showers before then, only bathtubs, which meant you had to finagle a hose with a shower-head on it, and a little curtain. Better plumbing meant easy showers every day and the trend moved toward washing your hair daily. So, for...decades...I washed my hair every day without any problems, using regular drugstore shampoo such as Clairol Herbal Essences or Flex. It just seemed at one point--can't put my finger on it, a few years ago--that I could no longer really do that. The drugstore shampoos seemed to either strip my hair or else build up on it, and my scalp became itchy at times (most notably during the winter, the theory being that indoor heating dried it out). From that point on I took some interest in health food store shampoos. There weren't as many of them then as now, and there was not nearly as much talk about sodium laureth sulfate, parabens, et cetera. And, they were expensive. I wasn't used to paying more than three dollars for a large bottle of shampoo, so that $8 or $10 price tag for a significantly smaller bottle was dismaying. I discovered Pantene Sheer Volume shampoo in late 2004. Unlike other drugstore shampoos, this was pretty good, not stripping, and the price was right (try Costco). Lately though, I don't know, I have come to feel it's "too much" for my hair. Not quite stripping, but tending toward the itchy-scalp thing. I still have a big bottle of it, and I intend to use it up, but I'm scouting around for a replacement. Today I returned to the Longs Drugs that had suddenly stocked a whole bunch of natural beauty products. I did some sniffing and label-reading. I didn't buy anything as of yet (still using up the Pantene, plus some Avalon Organics Lemon Clarifying Shampoo, plus a Jason shampoo reviewed previously...what I do is mix them together, depending on my mood)...but it'll be one of:
Neither of these has your SLS or parabens, from what I can tell. The former has become not uncommon but the latter is new and not that easy to find yet. beauty, hair care, natural beauty products Labels: hair, natural beauty
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June 29, 2008 12:08 AM,
I want to try those Avalon Organics now. I really need to get myself to a Whole Foods soon, and root around the products section.
June 29, 2008 2:20 PM,
There's a lot of bath & body at health food stores...and some of it is really good. Some of it is bad--Jason shampoos are terrible, imo, and Kiss My Face is only eh.
Avalon, Alba Hawaiian, Giovanni, Nature's Gate Organics...all good. There's one I always look at called Desert Essence. It costs a bit more but it smells stupendous.
I rotate shampoos, since I wash my hair every day. Otherwise there's no way to prevent buildup. I like to have three shampoos in the shower at a given time, and two conditioners. :D