Confession: I suck at doing my hair

For as much of a product slut as I am, I have always been inept with my hair. It's super-fine, limp dirty-blond hair, but there is a ton of it if I don't thin it out. I have to wash it every day or it gets even more lifeless. In the late 80's/early 90's when I used to perm it, my hair stylists would have to set aside an extra hour just to roll my hair. And the pay off? I always had a few rollers full break off at the roots from the perm chemicals. Oh, the joy of fuzzy bald spots! /sarcasm.

In the winter time, when I have to wear a heavy coat, the hair at the nape of my neck snarls something fierce. Since I spent most of my life in the Northeast, this meant I was tearing my hair out for months at a time. Now that I live in the Northwest, it's not such an issue since winters aren't as cold so I rarely have to break out the heavy coat.

Another problem with my hair is actually a positive. It's really soft - always has been, even when I torture it with chemicals. Once I was in a show where I ratted my hair and used half a can of pink Aqua Net every night. After the show, I'd go home and dump half a bottle of Salon Selectives (remember that stuff?) on my hair and let it soak for 30 minutes before I washed it out. It was the only way I could get a comb through it without tearing all my hair out. Since I am used to my hair being so soft, I have had a hard time getting used to products that weigh it down or make it crunchy/sticky.

I am inept at blow-drying, can't tease my hair worth a damn nor get it to hold a style for more than an hour if I do it myself. All I want is a little volume. Is that so hard? Finally, the answer is NO, thanks to Living Proof Root Lifter.

I'd seen Living Proof at Sephora for quite sometime, but the lure of color cosmetics often keeps me away from the hair product section of the store. I didn't become intrigued until Allure profiled their Full Thickening Mousse as a Beauty Breakthrough in October 2010. I was sold when they said the product didn't focus on the roots and instead volumized the whole hair strand. Since root lifters had failed me in the past, I was hooked.

In that same issue of Allure, Pantene Volumizing Shampoo and Conditioner were also named Beauty Breakthroughs. Since they were available and you couldn't buy the Full Thickening Mousse anywhere but QVC until New Year's Eve, I got my hands on the Pantene to tide me over. I like the Pantene. It's certainly weightless, but it wasn't wow-ing me with newly bouncy locks. I was going to have to use product and a blowdryer to get the look I wanted.

My sister-in-law surprised me with the Full Thickening Mousse for Christmas. Thrilled, I tried it out the next day. Yes, it volumizes all the way through. It looked amazing when I first finished blowdrying. An hour later, it was falling flat. I experimented with using more or less product, trying to find the perfect amount. The sad fact is, mousse weighs down my hair. It doesn't matter what kind, it just does.

When I went on my birthday shopping spree, I can't even explain why I picked up a bottle of Living Proof Root Lifter. Hopeless optimism? I didn't even mention it in my shopping spree blog. I think subconsciously I expected it to join all the other products filling up my side of the bathroom counter.

I used the Root Lifter in conjunction with the Thickening Mousse (also some heat protectant - Thermasilk Leave-in Conditioner for now) over the weekend. Hmm. My hair held up all day, but I still had that heavy feeling I dislike so much. The next day, I tried just the heat protectant and Root Lifter.

MAGIC! My hair was downright bouncing! I could toss my hair as well as any chick in a shampoo commercial. It was a teeny bit crunchy at the roots, but the overall feel was still nice and soft. I couldn't be more thrilled - until the next day when I woke up and my hair was still bouncy and soft. For the first time in my life, I could rock second-day hair! Are you kidding me? Second day hair lost all the crunchiness at the roots, but I still had enough texture that I could put it up easily. I even LEFT THE HOUSE with second day hair and didn't feel self-conscious!

I am so happy with my hair right now. I even look forward to blow-drying it!

Mascara review- Benefit's they're Real

As promised, here is my review of Benefit Cosmetic's they're Real! mascara.

In our first photo, here are my eyes devoid of all make-up. Notice my lashes are of okay length but have no curl or lift to speak of. (I should have taken one with my eyes open and no mascara. Oh well. Live and learn.) Notice also that my lashes are fairly light naturally.

Above are my lashes with one coat of they're Real. You can definitely see a difference in length and curl, even with my eyes closed.

I did not use a lash curler. As I mentioned previously, I hate them. This mascara gave me nice, subtle curl.

The one thing I really don't like about Benefit mascaras is how long they stay wet after applying. I got mascara all over my lids and I hate that. If my eyes were already made up with shadows I would have been seriously annoyed - and that has been my experience with Benefit mascaras in the past (and the major reason I don't buy them).

they're Real! fulfills the promise of length and curl, but I just can't get past the icky wetness factor. The price point for this mascara is $22. It's $8 cheaper than Chanel Inimitable, but as far as I am concerned the Chanel product is 100% worth it.

First photo blog! Sunset-inspired eyes

This is the look I have been wanting to play with for months. Below is my first attempt:

I'm sorry that my cell camera takes such yellow-y photos with the flash. Still, this does not belie how much my eyelid looks like a healing bruise. My brushes were dirty and I didn't prime my lids before hand.

I was MUCH happier with this attempt. I started with the pale blue cream shadow from NARS Duo Unconditional Love - a pretty dense coat of it from lash to brow bone. Then I pressed Make Up For Ever #71 Sunflower over my whole lid. In the top center of my lids and up into the crease, I pressed MUFE #18 Tangerine. In the outer corners, I used MUFE #92 Purple and under my eyebrows I used MUFE #134 Pearly Pale Pink (an iridescent pink). I lined my upper lids with MUFE Aqua Liner in #8 Iridescent Electric Purple and used L'oreal Paris Voluminous Million Lashes in Ultra Black for mascara (waterproof).

The picture below is after 10 hours of wearing this look. There was some slight creasing throughout the day, but a couple of gentle pats with my finger took care of that.

Birthday Shopping Spree!

That's right, folks. I am officially 40. To celebrate, I went to Sephora to get myself some gifts with some casino winnings. My sister also came along and supplemented my haul as her birthday gift to me.

Let's go over it, shall we?

Make Up For Ever Eyeshadows (Matte formulas)

I wanted to experiment with some new colors, specifically orange and yellow. I had visions of a 'sunset' eye look comprised of orange, yellow, pink and electric purple. I already had a fantastic pink and purple in my Make Up For Ever palette (which conveniently still had 5 empty spaces to fill), so I grabbed #18 Tangerine (a gorgeous orange that evokes coral or a really ripe canteloupe) and #71 Sunflower (a rich yellow, like the inner flesh of a perfectly ripe nectarine).

In the 80's, one of my favorite eye looks consisted of a bright green lid with bright yellow shadow from crease to brow bone. (I was 15 - it was allowed!) In honor of that look, I also grabbed #91 - Apple Green. Yay!

Sephora Collection Professionnel Platinum Angle Liner Brush #22

My go-to "day" look has been a simple one, focusing on an even complexion using NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Mont Blanc and NARS Illuminator in Orgasm, followed by NARS The Multiple in Portofino applied to my cheeks and eyelids. The look is finished with a cat-eye liner look using gray shadow and an angles brush. The only angled brush I had was a teeny one that came with a Kat Von D cream liner. Quite frankly, it's a terrible brush (and a terrible cream liner). I will now be able to achieve this look more easily. Decent brushes are a must have, folks!

Fresh Sugar Tinted Lip Treatment in Honey (SPF 15)

Fresh has long intrigued me as a cosmetics line. I was first turned on to them by their fragrances. They used to have a whole bunch of them in intriguing herby and floral scent combinations like Red Currant & Basil or Pomegranate & Anise. They smelled delicious, but they were $65 a bottle (not much by my price standards now, but definitely then) and the fragrances didn't last long at all. Then, they came out with the Sugar collection. I was pretty excited by Lemon Sugar, but the scent disappointed me. So did the Sake collection and several others. I started just skipping this section at Sephora.

Then they came out with the Sugar Lip Treatments and the Tinted Lip Treatments. Savvy, savvy Sephora and their Impulse Bins of Doom featured the Sugar Rose while I was in Las Vegas last summer and I had to have it. I freaking LOVED it. It's comfortable, adds just the right amount of color and tastes delicious. (Fair warning: If you live in a hot climate, do not apply outside. It melts really easily!)

This past winter, they came out with Sugar Plum. Again, I had to have it. It gives a little bit more color than the Sugar Rose, but it's very wearable even on my pale skin. Now, there's Sugar Honey, a nude version of the same product. Fresh, big kiss to you for these!

The 'Freebies'

As a Sephora Beauty Insider (yeah, you KNOW I signed up for that they day they rolled it out in Seattle. No joke - I was there the very first day!), I get points for all my purchases. Since I've been doing the bulk of my NARS shopping at Nordstrom, I don't accrue as many points as I used. Plus, for the last couple of years, I haven't been impressed by the 'deluxe samples'. Yesterday, they finally got me to cash in.

I used to be obsessed with Benefit Cosmetics the way I am obsessed with NARS and Make Up For Ever now. I wanted to have a 'signature' line and I was totally seduced by Benefit's packaging. Unfortunately, I abandoned them because their Bad Gal Mascara wasn't to my liking. Also, can you imagine a Product Slut that is brand-monogamous? Perish the thought!

At any rate, what Benefit does VERY VERY well is their cheek colors. I was reminded of this when I bought the sample pack of mini-Benetint, High Beam and Posie Tint. The 500 point Beauty Insider Bonus right now is a trio of Benefit Best Sellers: Dandelion Face Powder, That Gal Brightening Face Primer and Bad Gal mascara. Clearly, I will be giving away the Bad Gal mascara, but I have missed Dandelion and can't wait to play with That Gal. I'd also received an email from Sephora telling me the new 100 point perk was Benefit's brand new mascara: they're Real. It's a curling, lengthening, volumizing, glossy formula with a brush that reminds me of Chanel Inimitable Mascara (only slightly bigger than Chanel's). Curling mascaras are the best for me. I hate eyelash curlers, but my lashes grow straight down so they're a necessary evil. I'll let you know how it works out. Chanel Inimitable is still my bench marker for GREATEST MASCARA ever, but I haven't been able to justify $30 for a mascara that I can only use for a few months as opposed to other products that last at least double that time.

Whew! I feel sated on new products for a bit! Don't worry, I still have plenty to review!

Fragrance Time! (Fun with Jo Malone)

I believe I've mentioned before that I am a Chanel girl, at least as far as fragrance goes. Chanel No. 5, the original, the special edition Elixer Sensuelle and in Eau Premiere, Coco Mademoiselle in spray and in gold-flecked gel, Chance in Eau Fraiche. I have enough fragrance to last me a long time since I keep it out of sunlight and watch for signs of aging.

But, you know me. I cannot resist the siren song of new counters at Nordy's - especially Jo Malone! Squee!

My sister-in-law (almost as bad a product slut as I as far as Coach bags go, but I got her hooked on collecting makeup) gave me a wonderful Christmas gift last year. We got glycolic peels at Gene Juarez and then she would take me to a fancy Italian restaurant locally. Since we had some time to kill after our peels and were feeling a little too raw for makeup, we decided to check out the Jo Malone counter.

Dude. Normally I am put off by over-attentive salespeople. I don't like it when they ask me questions about what I've used in the brand and immediately point me to the highest price point item. (That's right, I'm talking to YOU, Guerlain counter lady!) That day I could tell it had been slow, so I was a little more patient when the Jo Malone salesgirl pounced.

This woman was hilarious! She started asking what kinds of scent I liked, then picked up my arm and started smelling me. I mean, actual nose-to-skin smelling me. Again, this would usually send me fleeing, but I was so shocked I just went with it. She started trying scents on me that I didn't really like, but took them off immediately when I asked if we could start with the Jo Malone Red Roses.

Red Roses, according to the company, is a blend of seven different types of roses. To me, it smells like a hothouse filled with old roses that haven't had all the heavy scent bred out. I could not get enough of it.

Then, she started showing me how you could layer Jo Malone fragrances over each other. We played with Nutmeg & Ginger, Lime Basil & Mandarin and several others. I found the Nutmeg & Ginger over the Red Roses made it warmer and sexier, while the Lime Basil & Mandarin made it smell a little more green, a little more sophisticated.

Meanwhile, my sister-in-law (who is even less likely to hang around when someone she doesn't know is all touchy-feely) was experimenting with Blue Agava & Cacao layered with Orange Blossom. She loves chocolate and orange together and said the smell was making her mouth water!

All of a sudden, we realized that we'd been playing with perfumes for over an hour! I didn't even feel like my nose was worn out! I bought the Lime Basil & Mandarin perfume spray and the Red Roses moisturizer and was super-pleased. (Well, until I got home and found out my husband was allergic to the Red Roses. Boo. He liked the Lime Basil & Mandarin, though!)

I really need to go back for another go-round, since I can't wear the Red Roses if I want to be near my husband. There are so many more I want to play with - and Grabby Gal can sniff me all she wants! She rules!

New Restaurant in town: STINK!

I completely owe a debt of gratitude to my husband's step-brother for tipping me off to STINK, a new deli here in Tacoma. He had me at 'peanut butter, bacon, bleu cheese & jelly'. REALLY???!!!

It's been a month since we had that conversation (a month and 2 days, to be exact) and I haven't been able to get that sandwich out of my mind. Today, my gal S and I went to try it out.

For the locals, Stink is located near the corner of St. Helens & South 7th, across the street from Amocat Cafe and a couple block jaunt up the hill from South 9th. That area is becoming chock-a-block full of good eatin's, but there's always room for me.

The interior is nice - very much a deli, but slightly warmer. Plenty of seating, beer & wine and dry sodas if you like them. It looks like they do table service when they can as well as to-go orders. They brought me water while I waited for S to arrive and I had plenty of time to peruse their menu.

If you're going to an eatery to try a specific dish, try NOT to look at the menu - especially when it looks as good as this one did. Man, I was sorely tempted by several dishes - the simple veggie sandwich with radishes and salted butter (I adore radishes with salted butter), the prosciutto & brie with fig confit, the grilled cheese of the day (asparagus, truffle-infused ham and fontina), the Pierre-Robert with roasted garlic (are you serious? I cannot wait to go back for that!). I knew I would be sad if I didn't get what I had come for, so when S got there, I ordered The Stinker (chunky peanut butter, bleu cheese, bacon and blackberry preserves on multi-grain bread, grilled).

First bite: Brief apprehension, then bliss.

Smokey, salty, sweet and the funk of bleu cheese. The bread was great, too - light, good grill marks, not too wet with melted PB & J. Texturally pleasant and good grief, so delicious! I could only eat half, but you can be sure I took the other half home for later.

S had the Tuna Steak sandwich. It was tasty - with ginger, wasabi, mayo and some carrot slices. Perhaps I didn't read the menu description closely enough, but when I order a Tuna Steak sandwich, I expect it to come out in steak form - not chopped into a chicken salad texture. Again, it was tasty - it just wasn't what my friend felt like she was looking for in a sandwich.

Still, we will return (I've got my eye on you, Pierre-Robert) and S is going for THE Turkey Sandwich. I will report dutifully when we go again.

I'm Baaa-aack...

Wow, has it really been two years since the last post? Craziness! And me unemployed for the second time within a year. Shame on me!

Since I last posted, I lost the job I had for three years (a blessing, but still a crusher at the time), got a new job that I LOVED LOVED LOVED (but was not permanent) and then got laid off from that job (not a surprise, but damn it, I LOVED it there!).

Never fear, though! I'm still as product-slutty as ever, even if I'm broke. My purchases are just fewer and farther between. Still, I have enough products and experiences to review just with my current inventory, so I'm getting back on the horse.

Please, if you have any questions or products you'd like to discuss, just let me know. I would also like to stop getting Korean spam comments based on my Beard Papa post. I just delete 'em, but c'mon folks!!