Friday, April 30, 2010

Making your conditioner work

Let me start off by saying that I am not a chemist. I don't know exactly which ingredients do what. I do know some are good and some are bad, but if you want me to break down the long list of unpronounceable names on the back of your shampoo/conditioner bottle.. well.. I'll probably be making 95% of it up. So on with the show.
How many of you shampoo your hair, then condition and rinse immediately out with warm water? Whose actually raising their hand? You know I can't see you right? But don't you worry.. I know your out there!
Did you know that you can get pretty decent results even from the cheapest conditioners? By results I don't mean hair repair results, I just me cosmetic results. The better the product the better the ingredients. Although keep in mind, sometimes you're just paying for a brand name. I am aware that not everyone has or wants a thermal heat cap. But if you are ready to invest a little bit on your hair, I would definitely recommend getting one. So for those of you without one here's what you can do.
First- Shampoo
Second- remove as much water from your hair as you can. Do NOT twist your hair or pull at it. You can squeeze up and down the hair shafts but be gentle. Your hair is very stretchy when wet and can break easily.
Third- Once hair is not longer super drippy with water apply your conditioner to the ends and try not to focus too much on the actual scalp. Especially if you have an oily scalp and/or fine limp hair.
Here's where you have several options. You can either wait 5-10 min with your hair up and off your shoulders while the conditioner "processes".
Or you can get a towel and wet it with super hot water (or microwave a wet towel but be careful not to burn yourself) and wrap it around your hair for 10 minutes. This is also the time you would apply your heated cap if you had one.
Now here comes the hard part. Rinse first with a little bit of warm water. Just a little.. Pretty much just re-wet your hair a little. Then turn on that cold water and rinse with as cold of water as you can stand. If you're doing this in the shower it helps to tip your head forward so the cold water isn't hitting you in your birthday suit. Assuming your not showering fully clothed. Okay this can get really creepy really fast. I'm going to move on now.
So really though- that's it. Rinsing your hair with cold water is the Big Secret! Whys that you ask? Well- when you wash your hair with warm water it opens up the hair shaft, and so when apply conditioner and rinse again with warm water, your washing the product right out. If you wash with warm, and then apply the conditioner and then rinse with cold water you're closing the product in with the shaft. So to speak.
Give it a try. I promise you'll notice a difference.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Vendor Shout Out!



I'm going to show some Vendor love every Friday on my blog. Being that I have a lot of vendors that I love.. today I'll be talking about Vista West Ranch. This place is heaven y'all. <--spoken like Paula Dean.

Not only is this place rustic chic, but the owners are great. I've been to many wedding locations and either A. Have never met the owners. B. Never even was able to contact someone to get directions to the brides whereabouts C. The owners were mean (Boo! They wont be featured on here!) or D. All of the above
I have never been to VWR without seeing Cindy or Brian helping set things up and helping out the bridal/wedding family. They recently got new tables and chairs and reupholstered the chairs to be all sorts of miss matched but in an awesome way. The actual establishment is made of aged wood, has a tin roof, and beautifuly stained concrete floors.

I believe their ever so adorable Honeymoon cottege should be opening up soon as well.
Embarrasingly enough- when everyone was talking about their beautiful new beirgarten I always thought they were saying Beer Garden. Like a little nook for people to go hang out and drink beer. I know. I have no excuse for my, whatever it is you want to call it.

VWR also has a great little bridal room with a claw foot tub *drool* and a wonderfully sized vanity area that is perfect for getting ready. I really do just love this place.

So anyway- Check them out. Its a gorgeous drive. And for anyone who books with them be sure to ask me how you can get a discount on my services!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

The perfect Red!


I may have finally found THE perfect red lipstick! So far its, been pretty universal and I'm definitely in love!

I recently took a class at MAC and the instructor used this gorgeous red lipstick on one of the models and it was love at first sight. With the lipstick, not the model. I'm not attracted to people who are thinner and prettier than I am. ;) I realize now that, that statement alone could offend all of my friends. But dear friends, please know- I love you, but I'm not attracted to you in that way. Okay, I seriously digress.

So this lipstick (can you tell I'm stalling for dramatic purposes?) with any red lipstick needs a good liner prior to its application. Liner will help your lipstick stay on longer and not bleed. However, anyone who has tried the dramatic red lip look, knows that red lipstick bleeds! So a tip/trick is to use this eyebrow wax made by MAC under the lipstick and liner. I haven't been able to rock out my new love yet for an extended period of time yet because its like some sort of beacon for my son who stares at me entranced and then will reach out and smudge my lipstick. You also have to be ready to rock it out. You have own the red. So if your not feeling it, it wont feel you.

Red lipstick isn't fool proof. One shade off and it can age you, age your teeth, and make you look like a hussy. It also has to be applied flawlessly otherwise it will throw off your whole look and just make you look unkempt.

Another red lipstick tip (or for any dark lipstick) is to take a little liquid foundation or preferably concealor and a small concealor brush and line the outer rim of your lips after you've applied the lipstick. This will help mask any mistakes as well as highlight your lips and give a fuller appearance. And who doesn't want fuller lips? Just ask all the famous chicks who inject the life out of their lips!

Okay so the unveiling of the fantastic lipstick!.. Drum roll please...........Soooo, I don't have any mad blog skills and don't know how to insert a drum roll, or even if you can, so lets just use our imagination.
Back to the point.. Next time youre in a MAC store.. hit up the lovely "Russian Red" lipstick. It is a blueish red lipstick that really is just gorgeous! Their "Cherry Bomb" lip liner works fabulously with it as well!