Hair Junk - Not Your Mother's Kinky Moves Curl Defining Hair Cream

I've always hated my hair.  As such, I refuse to spend a lot of time on it.  Now in my thirties, I've got a routine I like: I wash it, I towel dry, I put some Josie Maran Argan Oil Hair Serum in it, I let it air dry.  The serum makes it dry wavy, and when I brush it after it's finally dry, it has waves and bounce but isn't HO DAMN curly.

But when I got a sample of Not Your Mother's Kinky Moves Curl Defining Hair Cream, I figured why not.  It says you can air dry it and get smooth, defined curls.  That's what I do!  That's me!  I'M THE GUY IN THE STORY.  

See?  It says so!  And this comes from their website.

So I did my usual thing and after towel drying, I went ahead and took about a quarter sized dollop of this stuff and put it through my hair (my hair's thick as hell, it takes a bit).  First thing I noticed, this stuff smells like I spilled grape juice.  Kind of like a weird day care smell.  But that faded quickly enough, so I went ahead and got it all saturated, got my hair scrunched, and then I let it hair dry.  And the results were ... mixed.

No, I'm not wearing makeup.  Yes, that's a men's undershirt.  FOCUS.

It basically did the same thing to my hair that conditioner would.  That's it.  It's a tiny bit more sticky than it would be if I'd just used conditioner, but ... eh.  I'd much rather just stick with my usual. 

So, yes.  If you're out of conditioner / anti-frizz stuff and see a bottle of Kinky Moves (which sounds like a better name for lube anyway), by all means.  Go for it, it's better than just shampoo by itself for curly girls.  Otherwise, if your usual product is around, eh.  Not worth the six bucks USD a bottle. 

And now I want to wash my hair.  Again.

Disclaimer: This product was provided by a third party for reviewing purposes.  No compensation was received. All opinions are my own.

Skin Care Saturdays - Eucerin Professional Repair

Sometimes we just need to kick back and think about the things that make us happy in our lives.  I tend to think of those things on Saturdays.

Presently in Houston it's very nice during the day, about sixty-eight Fahrenheit, but dipping down into the thirties at night.  That's enough where I want to turn the heat on at night.  As such, my skin is freaking out with dryness.  It is just not happy.  Most of the time when I put on moisturizer, my skin coos with joy.  Lately, it's been aching and sore, kind of like I have a sunburn.  Yes.  Putting on moisturizer has been hurting.  Even my beloved argon oil.  It's depressing.  But never fear; I've been trying things out and finally found something that works well during these depressing winter(y) days. 

from Eucerin.com

Eucerin Professional Repair has been saving my hands, y'all.  I don't really care for the smell (they say it's non-scented, but it smells sort of like hospitals do).  Fortunately, that smell goes away as quickly as the lotion absorbs.  I'm kind of a wimp when it comes to being goopy for long periods of time, so I'm glad this stuff takes maybe three minutes, tops, to seep in.  They're offering samples on eucerinus.com, so go grab some if your skin is angry like mine.

                          Disclaimer: This product was purchased by me.  No compensation was received. All opinions are my own. 

Nail MADNESS - Chanel June

Chanel's June is something I've owned since May of last year but never worn.  (I know, I'm terrible.)  My mom got it for me as a birthday gift as I'm a June baby, but for some reason I just went 'meh' and never wore it except with a skittles mani I did a while ago.  But it's been chilly in Houston and I decided I wanted to bring a little Spring to my nails.

The one thing I'll say about this polish is that it's hella sheer.  It's one of those polishes you'll need at least three coats on to cover up your nails, and even then, it's so streaky that you might want a fourth.  (Shown here is four coats on top of one coat of Orly Bonder base with one coat of Seche Vite on top.)  Furthermore, it's streaky as hell.  I have no idea what happened - Chanel polishes are usually way more pigmented, even the cremes - but this one is all HA HA HA EVERY BRUSH STROKE SHALL BE REVEALED and then twists its moustache at you.

So on some of my nails that pissed me off more than others, I layered a-England's She Walks In Beauty on top.

Now this, this I like.  It really plays up the lemon fleck in She Walks in Beauty, and just reminds me of mai tais and lounging by a pool.

Nail MADNESS - Entirely Unlike Tea

NerdLacquer is my favorite indie polish, hands down, bottom line.  Everything Amanda's ever put out is just gorgeous.  So when she disappeared out of the polishverse (yes that's a word I'm using, shut up), we all worried and fretted.  But fortunately for all of us, Amanda is coming back soonish according to her Google+ page.  So no, I'm not just taunting you with a NerdLacquer that you can never have.  

Entirely Unlike Tea is my favorite nail polish for an interview.  I've got loads of them coming up, and I want to wear something that says that I'm a professional lady but doesn't compromise my personal style.  So I bust out this.  It's a lovely milky tea nude with some silver and black glitter in it.  Not loads, just enough subtle sparkle that says "yeah, I'm wearing a nude, but it's a sassy ass nude".

Sassy ass nudes.  Here's hoping I get a job soon!  (And yes, I'll keep this polish in rotation, even when I do have a job and don't need to impress every day.)

Nail MADNESS - Fear or Desire

I don't own a lot of Essie polishes, if only because they're sort of boring for me.  Blah blah creme blah blah nude.  So when I saw Fear or Desire, I immediately thought two things.  1)  Oooh, orangey!  2)  What the hell is up with that name?  Seriously, I don't get it.  Which is it, Essie?  Which is it?

For me it's definitely desire; I love this color, I love how sunny it is, and I really want some sort of rum-based beverage when I see it.

Nail MADNESS - And the Moonbeams... / She Walks in Beauty

Goddamnit, A-England.  Every time you release a new nail polish, I have to buy it.  Don't you understand I've got bills and stuff?  Whyyyy must you do this to me?

The Heavenly Quotes collection is inspired by quotations from famous works, and apparently Adina, the lass behind A-England, is just as much of a lit dork as your humble author.  And the Moonbeams... is inspired by Shelly's poem Love's Philosophy.  It's a really light lemony base with glass-fleck glitter that makes it literally look like a moonbeam on a summery evening.

See! the mountains kiss high heaven,

And the waves clasp one another;

No sister flower would be forgiven,

If it disdained it's brother;

And the sunlight clasps the earth,

And the moonbeams kiss the sea;--

What are all these kissings worth,

If thou kiss not me?

Then there's She Walks in Beauty.  Inspired by Byron's poem of the same name, She Walks in Beauty has a gorgeous sheer rose gold base with rose gold glitter of varying sizes.  I can't wait to put this on top of a black or a dark color, but I just went ahead and put it on top of And the Moonbeams... so I could show you guys.

SHE walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that 's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

Nail MADNESS - Toxic Avenger

2012 shall forever be known in history for a lot of things.  In this little corner of the blogosphere (which is the stupidest made up word ever, but I don't know what else to call it), it shall be known as the year I discovered indie polishes.  Indie polishes are the reason I'm such a nail person today, hands down.  

And this is the polish that started it all: "Toxic Avenger" by Dollish Polish.

This is a duochrome, and as such, will look so much prettier in person than in photos.  Sometimes it's a swampy green like its namesake, and sometimes it's gorgeous gold.  Application is a dream - two coats and you're done.  This is after a week of wear, one coat of Orly Bonder as base and a coat of Seche Vite on the top.

Dolilsh Polish is available from her website (which is down at the time of this writing, but hopefully up by the time you read this), as well as at Llarowe and run between eight and ten USD.

What are you going to remember 2012 for?