Balsamo di Bellezza Argan Oil conditioner

I apologize. This is a foreign brand and I can't for the life of me figure out what the brand is. I googled it, nothing. I'm guessing it's Balsamo di Bellezza, and that it's italian.

I picked it up at Ross for $8.00, the bottle says it retails for $16.00. I picked it up because I ran out of my SamyPure conditioner (*tear*) and needed some conditioner to last me while I used up the SamyPure shampoo.

This one looked good. Giant bottle with a pump, argan oil is the 3rd ingredient, and no cones! No isopropyl alcohol (which really dries your hair out)!

I wasn't expecting much, it wasn't from a big brand.

Oh geez, was I wrong.

This stuff sinks into my hair. It isn't watery but it isn't creamy either. It just...sinks in. I didn't feel like it did much while I was putting it in, it just disappeared into my hair.

But then, I waited 3 minutes, rinsed, and wow! Such slip! And not from any cones. Nice. Even as my hair dried, I could feel the silkiness of my hair. When my hair was completely dry, it felt so soft and so light and fluffy. It felt conditioned, but not weighed down, and so silky.

My only issue with the bottle is the packaging. Yes, the pump is nice, but it barely dispenses more than a dime size amount. I have to pump it 5 or 6 times at least to get how much I need for my shoulder length thick hair. Irritating. But it works so well!! *sigh* maybe I can buy a pump from Ulta or Sally's that will fit.

My rating: 9/10

Giovanni Shine of the Times shine spray review

Sorry guys, my camera is being glitchy and I can't take pictures right now.

So I picked up Giovanni's Shine of the Times spray....it's supposed to be like a lightweight spray that does the same thing as Biosilk or Chi. I got it for 12 dollars at Walgreens.

Smell: There's a cheap plastic-y smell that dissipates as soon as your hair dries.

The nozzle was broken when I got it, so I guess the packaging wasn't very good. It was in a cute cube-shaped container, though.

The product is thin and not very oily, which is nice. It doesn't weigh my hair down. Although the instructions say to spray and then walk into the mist, the nozzle sprays in a straight line and doesn't really spray into a mist. So, I spray it onto my hands and rub it into my hair.

The product does leave my hair shiny, but I feel like it just sits on my hair. The shine only lasts about 2 hours, then my hair isn't shiny and just feels dirty. This could be because I work in a bakery and the flour floating around the air gets caught in my hair.

This product does what it is supposed to, although for only a couple hours. But it is worth the price, which is less than half the price of Biosilk and Chi, considering how much you get. It doesn't weigh down your hair or smell incredibly bad. It can be a bit difficult to find, though. My rating: 7/10

Samy Pure Shampoo and Conditioner Review

Sorry guys, no picture this time! I'm reviewing this while I'm in bed and my feet hurt so much from work, I can't bring myself to get up :(

But I guess it doesn't matter because the product I'm reviewing has been discontinued.

So why am I reviewing it? Because I feel like it's the least I can do, I feel like I've found my HG shampoo and conditioner, and it just had to be a brand that was discontinued :( :(

This is vegan, sulfate free, and promises no waxes or residue, on both the shampoo and conditioner. That's pretty awesome right? It also lathers REALLY well for sulfate-free, and the conditioner isn't too watery.

The smell isn't too great but it dissipates after my hair dries. This is the first time I ever disregarded a product's smell.

This provides so much slip, without feeling waxy or greasy or plastic-y. My hair feels so soft, and bouncy, and clean!!! I can't stop touching it. I bought it for about $6.00 per bottle, and I plan to hunt down any last bottles I can before they all disappear.

I rate this 10/10. Obviously.

Forever 21 Nail Polish Review and swatches

I'm going to apologize in advance for the pictures. I was being rushed by my boyfriend and didn't get a chance to clean up my nails.

Today I'm reviewing Forever 21 nail polish. I'm a sucker for bright colors :) these are $2.80 each, not bad right? I expected them to be low quality because the clothes I've gotten at Forever 21 range from great to low quality.

I picked these up in Sugar Plum (purple) and ...Blue. I kid you not, the nail polish's color is Blue.

I love them! The first coat is thin, but even, and the brush doesn't hold too much. It applied so well, instead of blobbing all over the place. The second coat is the perfect coverage. I love the polish's consistency. It's not too thin to need 4 or 5 coats. But it is thin enough to not look clumpy or like I have a lot of polish on my nails.

The polish dried quickly and evenly. I find no faults in this polish, and for $2.80 each...I want more!

Rating: 10/10

Softlips Lip Tint review

I love Big Lots for my make-up. For some reason, the Big Lots near me carries so much more e.l.f. products than the local Target.

Anyway, I grabbed these Softlips liptints because they made me smile, remembering how they were the coolest thing in middle school. They were a buck fifty, so why not.

The two colors are Sultry (the brown) and Sweet (pink). They have a spf of 15, so that's nice.

I want to love these. I used to love Vanilla Softlips. But these smell like those chewable Flintstones multivitamins that my mom had to force down my throat when I was a kid. Yuckkkk. They also have so much shimmer, they're both very frosty and almost purely white. :(

As for their moisturizing power, they don't seem to do much. Maybe the shimmer prevents moisture from coming through.

Pros:
SPF 15
Very cheap

Cons:
The smell
Not very moisturizing
So frosty, like for a middle schooler

I can't even rate this. It's pointless, I'm sorry. Probably what I get for buying something based solely on nostalgia.

Mask Treatment for Totally Fried Hair review

I'm sorry guys, this is the second bad review in the same day. Today's just not my day for hair products :(

I have no idea what the brand name is for this. I tried googling it, everything. Nothing. I picked it up at TJ Maxx for 10 bucks, although the suggested retail price is $35.00 (or so it says on the container). It's made by Luxo Laboratories, is paraben free, and has argan oil AND keratin protein. My two favorite ingredients!

The container says this is a mask treatment, deep reconstructor, and frizz tamer all in one. It's supposed to defrizz, protect, nourish, detangle, condition, repair, shine, and restore.

The instructions say to use it once or twice a week for 20 minutes. That's all it says. So that's what I did. I used it twice in one week. The issue with this is that the texture is so thick and almost waxy, you can't tell if all your hair is being covered. It's almost annoying. But it doesn't drip off my hair, so that's nice. It smells so strongly of fake coconuts, it almost made me feel sick.

I left it in for 20 minutes the first time, then rinsed. It felt like it would never fully rinse out. Then I let it air dry.

Now, my hair is NOT totally fried. But it is damaged from a couple highlights I got last year. This product made my hair frizzy, poofy. I couldn't stand it. It felt like I didn't use anything on my hair at all, and yet it made my hair actually curl at the ends. Maybe I rinsed it too thoroughly?

So, my second try.
I left it in for 30 minutes this time, and didn't rinse it so thoroughly. I thought, maybe this will help.

Nope. Now my hair took forever to dry and felt sticky. There is simply no middle ground. Maybe if my hair really was fried, this would help. As it is, my hair feels worse than when I started. I think there might be too much protein in this (it is a reconstructor and keratin is one of the first few ingredients), which caused my hair to frizz and curl. It might work for someone else, but there was too much protein in this for me. 0/10

Chi Keratin Leave-In Conditioner Review

I got this little 2 fl oz. spray bottle at TJ Maxx for 5 bucks. CHI is a great brand, I love their silk infusion. And who doesn't love keratin? My hair is very dry so I need a good leave-in conditioner.

I can honestly say... I don't like this. It sprays evenly onto my hair, sinks in, and smells like cologne....but as soon as my hair dries, my hair feels STICKY. It feels waxy and gummy. I can't stand it, I have to wash my hair AGAIN which is the ultimate no-no.

I give this a 1/10, utter disappointment. Sorry :(

Garnier Fructis Damage Eraser Strength Reconstructing Butter review

Hey! I'm back!

After all these months of stress and daily life, I finally have a minute to post :)

So I'm trying out the Damage Eraser from Garnier Fructis. It's a brand new line and I'm going to be honest, I only picked it up because it's orange. I love orange. 

Anyway, it cost about $8.00 from CVS. It smells like... something sweet and fruity, but not the usual Garnier Fructis scent. It's almost annoyingly sweet. Like... Laffy Taffy, in orange flavor.

This reconstructing butter promises to "intensely reconstruct hair's strength for strong, rejuvenated hair." Whew. Big words. I've been using this for about a month now, once a week, and the jar is almost gone.

The consistency is like mayonnaise, thick and buttery. It stays on my hair very well without sliding off. I massage it into my hair and leave it on for about 5 minutes, then rinse and air dry.

Pros: Leaves my hair soft, detangled, and shiny. My split ends don't show up as much. For some reason, this product gives my hair VOLUME. Woo!

Cons: I can't stand the smell. It stays after my hair has been rinsed and dried. Other reviewers say they like the smell, but I'm not too into smelling über sweet. It also doesn't seem to do much more than regular conditioner. Maybe I should try leaving it in for 15 - 20 minutes, but I don't really have time for that. It also seems to be the kind of deep conditioner that leaves a film on my hair. My hair just feels ....smooth in a filmy way.

TL;DR : Makes my hair soft and fluffy and kinda shiny, but for the obnoxious smell, I'm not sure it's worth it. Seriously, I smell it just by turning my head either way.

My rating: 7/10