REVIEW: Eva NYC Shampoo & Conditioner

Available at Ulta & Drugstore.com.
 You can also buy it direct from the conmpany but it's twice the price.

I'm running out of my beloved Joico liters and I've been reluctant to buy new ones. Considering I do nada with my hair, I really can't justify paying $60-ish on just hair products. I can sometimes find them at Marshall's or T.J. Maxx but I've been striking out lately.

While browsing the selection in Ulta, I came across these two bright pink bottles. They were made for all hair types and had Argan oil, so I figured I had nothing to lose, I was going to have to try something new anyways. I didn't even smell them, I just grabbed them, paid, and left.

I research the hell out of anything cosmetic/beauty-related before I buy it, so trying something from a brand I've never even heard of is a new experience for me.

I'm really impressed with both of these products. A lot of products claim to work on oily hair but really don't. This one tamed my oil without drying my hair, and also made it super shiny and soft as well. The only test it did fail was my "can I get away with washing my hair every other day." Summer's coming up and with my hair going from just oily to BP-in-the-Gulf-Oily, I'm going to have to wash my hair everyday so it's not a big deal.

Did I mention how amazing this stuff smells? The shampoo has a vanilla scent with a hint of florals. It smells good enough I'd wear it as a perfume. The conditioner actually doesn't seem to have a smell to me.

There's a whole product lineup, some of which Ulta sells, including a dry shampoo which has been added to my shopping list, an Argan oil hair oil, and a deep conditioning mask amongst others.

They also make hair tools. This flat iron is so freakin' amazing I may have to get it to replace my Remington Straight-to-Wet from 2005 (I straighten my hair twice a year).

Beauty Trends that Need to End

 

I've been mulling over this post for a while.  At first I was afraid to post it because I didn't want to lose readership.  However, as a fashion & style blogger I feel it's a part of my duty to keep y'all looking your best.  I'm looking at this as tough love.  But seriously, these trends need to go.  Your time is up, it's been great knowing you, we'll probably see you later.

I can't say which one needs to go first.  They have their own quirks about them and like a mother trying to choose her favorite child, I just can't do it.  So I'll just start in the upper right-hand corner and go counter-clockwise.

Cat's Eye Liner: I'm just tired of seeing this.  At first it started off cute and a little bit edgy, now I see it on 60 year old women and 12 year olds.  It's also not a classic look, we went several decades without it being popular and makeup honestly looked a lot better.  You'll see me make this statement often, but it's time to move on and get innovative with eyeliner looks.

Glittery Cosmetics: A little glitter never hurt anyone, and I think glitter is fine in moderation.  It's in everything now, blush, lip gloss, highlighter, etc.  I can take sparkle on your eyes, and a hint on the cheeks, but anywhere --lips especially--looks like a young child did your makeup and is that really attractive?

Ombre Hair: Or ombre anything.  I can't get on Pinterest without seeing ombre anything and it's just getting over saturated.

Nail Art: To be fair, I do like simple nail art.  Polka dots, maybe some chevrons or stripes.  If I'm eating in downtown Huntington and my waitress has an MU logo on her nails, that's fine.  Nail art has really taken over and it's just getting insane and utterly ridiculous.  If you work in a professional setting, I can't take you seriously when you have bumblebees painted on your fingers. It surprises me that these women don't know any better.

I feel like I'm going through a style change, which may have to do with my attitudes towards some trends.  I'm in a more professional job (for the construction industry that means clean clothes), I'm working more with clients and have to present myself more professionally.  I can see those changes starting to reflect in my wardrobe.  I'm no longer reaching for jeans and tees at Old Navy anymore, I'm looking for skirts and blazers. Granted I can do most of my meetings in a company polo and khakis, but why not go above that?

If I'm trying to sell you $100k+ in construction materials and labor, would you trust me if I have leopard print nails and enough glitter on my face to compete on Toddlers & Tiaras?  Probably not.

What do you think?  Still in love with ombre hair, or are you as tired of glitter gloss as I am?  Did I miss any other trends that need to die?

 

The Hair Chop

Over a year ago, I made the mistake of getting highlights.  A few weeks ago while brushing my hair, a huge chunk of highlights came out in my hand.  After a minor (HA, major) freakout, I ran straight to the salon and chopped my hair off.  I took in the following picture to give my stylist some guidance:



Ended up looking more like this:



 

Minus the heavy bangs and defined curls.  I got some medium-thickness bangs, which I immediately pinned back because they hang straight in my eyes and make me look like I'm 16 again.  My hair, once I took all the weight out of it, is trying to curl, and if that curl would stay my hai would look great.  But no matter the product I use, I can't get the curl to hold and by midday my hair is just hanging there limp and dead.  In the picture of Katie Holmes in the gray shirt, her hair has more of an A Line shape to it, whereas I got mine blunt cut and all one length.

However, I'm thinking of doing something else to my hair.  I'm debating between growing my hair out to a shoulder-length bob, or cutting it all off, a la this Chanel ad:



There's just something so cute and free about this cut.  The only problem I forsee with me and a short pixie cut is getting it trimmed every 4-6 weeks, which I doubt I'd do.  I put off getting regular trims, and I know, it's bad for my hair, yada yada yada.

I think what I might do is get some layers added and then decide if I want to go shorter.

 

 

 

I FINALLY found a shampoo!

As I've previously mentioned, I have been looking for a shampoo that doesn't leave my hair a stringy mess.  While I liked Bumble and bumble's Creme de Coco, I can't justify paying $20 for shampoo.  I've tried some others since my last blog with little to no success:

-Target's Up and Up brand, the volumizing edition.  It gave volume, cleaned my hair, but left it super dry.

-V05 something or other.  Didn't do a thing.

-Head and Shoulders. Actually cleans well without the drying, but doesn't quite leave my hair as manageable as I'd like.

While at Big Lots one day, I came across a shampoo that was advertised for normal to thick hair.  As I have super thick hair, I decided to give it a go.  And I'm glad I did:

Sally Hershberger Shampoo for Normal to Thick Hair, $9.50

This shampoo cleaned, moisturized without weighing my hair down, makes it super soft, and managable.  It's also not heavily perfumed like the Charles Worthington Dream Hair, which I'd use all the time if it wasn't for the scent.  The Sally Hershberger has a nice clean scent that sort of smells a bit of a cross between Smarties candies and a hint of a floral.  I also don't need a lot of shampoo, which hopefully means I won't go through bottles too often. 

I only paid $2 for my bottle at Big Lots, but I have found lots of three or more going on Ebay for around $20, which makes the price a lot easier to swallow.  I'm that happy with this stuff. 

 

BGP: Bumble and bumble Creme de Coco

As I've mentioned previously, I'm not great with hair.  Usually, as long as it's clean and not a total mess, I'm usually fine with the state of my hair.  But after the horribly highlighting incident from earlier this year, my hair has been all sorts of messed up.  I've always had oily hair, but now the top of my head is super oily, and about 8 inches down or so is completely dried out.  I've been going through shampoos and conditioners trying to find something that will make my hair look and feel better.  After several recent attempts, I think I finally found something.

Walmart, in it's somewhat desperate search to be something for everybody has begun to carry salon brands such as Essie nail polish and all sorts of hair brands such as Big Sexy [Whatever], Federic Fekkai, Bed Head, etc.  Again, since I'm not a hair person, I've never had the urge to buy any of these products because I can't justify spend $25 on a small bottle of shampoo.  However, Walmart did stock some travel sizes of Bumble and bumble travel size products for about $7.50.  I seriously kept thinking about buying them just to try them, but $15 bucks for travel size shampoos?  Really?  However, I found them just the other night at one of the Huntington Walmarts for just $2 per bottle.  I went ahead and got several of the Creme de Coco bottles because now the price seems reasonable.

I'm happy I tried this shampoo and conditioner out.  The Creme de Coco not only manages the oil spill on top of my head, but it combats the Sahara that my ends resemble.  This shampoo really doesn't seem to lather right away, and a seemingly small amount will get the job done, no matter how long or thick your hair may be. The most impressive thing about this set is the fact that my hair stays clean-looking until I wash it the next time.  I try not to wash my hair everyday, as that dries it out even more, but when you work outside in 90 degree weather and your head sweats like crazy, it can't be avoided.  But my hair has stayed fresh looking, and I'm overjoyed at that.

The only reason I will not buy the full-size bottles is price.  At $22 per  8 oz bottle, it's just not fiscally feasible.  Even though the formula seems more concentrated than say Suave or Pantene, and a bottle may last you 2 months or so, that's a lot of money when I can probably find another--cheaper--alternative. 

There is a cheaper alternative:



I bought this out of curiosity this spring while in Washington D.C. I remember seeing the bottles at the Rite-Aid my friend worked at in college (I'd visit and shoot the breeze with her while looking at makeup and hair stuff), and always wanted to try it.  At the time, I couldn't afford $12/bottle shampoo.  However, while in the most amazing hair and beauty product place EVER, the Chinatown Bed, Bath & Beyond, I found bottles for only $5/bottle.  Even though this picture shows the thickening shampoo (something  I sure don't need), I have the glossing shampoo, and it's every bit as incredible as the Creme de Coco. 

The downside: the heavily perfumed smell.  I can smell the perfume on my pillows when I get up in the morning, and throughout the day.  While this may not bother some people, I wake up with a bit of congestion that's a bit irritating.  For special occasions, or when I meet with clients, I'll use this shampoo for the unmatched shine it provides.  It's also a bit difficult to find.  It's not carried at Rite-Aid anymore, and while I haven't checked Drug Emporium, I may have to go online to buy more. 

Both the Bumble and bumble and Charles Worthington are fantastic products, the cost of one and the limited availability of the other will probably prevent me from purchasing either in the future.  The search for the perfect shampoo continues...

Hair From Hell

As I've mentioned in an earlier post, I'm not a hair person.  If it's clean, brushed, and out of my eyes, I'm a happy girl.  However, I made the New Year's Resolution to take better care of myself.  Not too long ago I left a years-old relationship, and well, I just sort of fell out of taking care of myself.  One of the ways I decided to get back on track was to do "something, anything" to my hair.  I like my hair's length, so I pondered my choices, and went for highlights.  I should mention at this point my coloring is very similar to Katie Holmes', dark brown hair, fair skin.  I have also never permed, bleached, or otherwise done anything drastic to my hair (although I have dyed my hair its original color after reading that it can add major shine or some other BS).  Scratch the drastic--let me take you back to 1998:

I was 14 years old, and already a beauty addict.  Granted, the girls in my class were already wearing mascara and lipstick to school since they were 10, I was the only one who would play with colors.  At that impressionable age, I depended heavily on the magazines of the time to guide my on my beauty quests: Seventeen, Teen, YM, and to a lesser extent, Jane*.  It was here when I first spied the vile product from Bath & Body Works: leave-in hair highlighter. 



Yes, this stuff was basically was Sun In, but it was the Bath & Body Works version, and God knows you weren't anybody if you didn't shop at BB&W in middle school.  My friends were all getting highlights, but thanks to a well-meaning aunt, I was never allowed to perm/color my hair as a kid.  But for a mere $12 or so, I could have spray on highlights!  Amazing!  Exclamation points!!!  And as previously mentioned, I have dark brown hair.  You know where I'm going with this, as the only thing that can of hair crap did to my hair was turn it orange, like bright tropical orange.  And I thought it was cool at the time.  I am pretty sure I used the entire bottle, because I didn't get rid of all the color until my junior or senior year.  Ever since that bad decision, I've never had the desire to highlight my hair, fearing similar results.

I don't normally stick with stylists, because I've been moving around a lot, and I maybe cut my hair twice a year.  But I've been seeing my current stylist for about a year, and have been happy with my cuts.  When I got to my appointment, I told her I wanted something very natural and subtle, nothing dramatic.  I also elected to have just the top layer highlighted, just in case I didn't like the color.  She highlighted my hair (and gasped in horror at my BB&W Sun In story), and I left.   When I got home and could get a really good look at my hair, I didn't like.  My highlights were the same orange as they had been back in '98, but with a weird touch of metallic gold.  I hated them.  They looked awful.  After talking with some friends who had more hair coloring experience, I waited about two weeks to redye my hair.  I visited Sally Beauty Supply and asked how to rid my hair of the orange-ish gold hue.  I was quickly given all the materials, and $25 and two hours later, my hair was mostly back to its original shade.  I can't remember the exact name of the dye I used, but it was their Ion brand in the Dark Golden Brown.  I'm missing some of my natural red highlights which makes me sad, but I'm not depressed when I do my hair in the mornings anymore.

Funnily enough, my highlights, which I knew wouldn't dye entirely out, are the exact color I wanted them in the first place.  It's also going to be a long time before I do anything else to my hair. 

*It was either my freshman or junior year, but I won Candie's perfume and body lotion from Jane Magazine.  So exciting!  I still wear Candie's to this day, and Candie's Men cologne is the best stuff I've ever smelled on a guy. 

Why I Don't Write About Hair

Over the past month this 'lil old blog has been in existence, I've done some makeup swatches, discussed bags, and told you to wear clothes that fit.  Generally, since this is a fashion and beauty blog, there's something missing: posts concerning perfume and hair. 

Firstly: Perfume.  Due to asthma and/or and allergies, both my mother and two of my sisters can't stand to be around perfume.  It's just a habit I never got into.  However, I do love perfume, and try to wear it without killing my family.  I do have a stack of perfume samples I've been sampling, so I'll get around to posting some reviews on those here in the next few days.

Secondly, hair.  I am hair-do challenged.  I blame this on my mother.  For my entire life, she has had a short pixie-like haircut.  Neither me nor my sisters were allowed to grow our hair long until she thought we were old enough to take care of it ourselves, which was usually around age 10.  As I eventually began to grow my hair out, I made two discoveries: I hate my hair in my face, and I hate my hair on the back of my neck.  Ever since then, I have worn my hair in a ponytail, a bun, or some other style just as long as it was up. Yes, I could cut my hair short, and I have several times.  But I'm lazy when it comes to going to my stylist as my hair grows so fast I'd have to go once a month to keep it short. 

I just never got into doing my hair.  I didn't use mousse until my freshman year of college, and it takes forever to blow dry and straighten.  So I just usually don't do much with my tresses.  However, I do know how to do hair, and can do others with mostly decent results. 

Makeup and nails are my preferred area of expertise.  I was the go-to girl in college for doing my sorority sisters' makeup, and have dabbled with some freelance makeup artistry since then.  And unlike many women, I can paint my nails with the same level of quality as a nail tech.  I feel being able to do makeup/nails has outweighed my inability to do my hair.  Despite my shortcomings, I do plan on doing some posts of hair, it just probably won't be very often.  If you're a whiz with hair, write me something up, take some pictures, and send 'em in to me at wvfashionologist [at] gmail.com (make sure to change [at] to the @ sign, and no spaces) and I'll post 'em up.