Review: CHI Ultra Tourmaline Ceramic Hairstyling Iron-Straightener

        I've been wanting a CHI straightener for the longest time and finally this Christmas, I decided to splurge and get one. Courtesy of Meghan and my mom, I was able to get the Ultra Chi Tourmaline Ceramic Straightener.  It's a sleek 1" red straightener. I purchased it at Ulta for $96.00. It's originally $149.95 but luckily Ulta almost ALWAYS has a CHI straightener on sale for about $100. The one I picked up also included a thermal/travel pouch to keep me from burning anything after I turn off because it gets SUPER hot!

       According to the box: "Tourmaline smooths hair and eliminates flyaways, heats more evenly than other materials keeping the damage to a minimum. It also creates negative ions and deposits them onto the hair for improved moisture."

       I like the glossy feel/look to the product and the cord is super long, just in case you're a bit far away from an outlet. There is only one button on it so it takes the guess work out of deciding how hot you should have it. There's also an LED light that lights up when you turn it on, and when it's ready to be used, the LED light blinks. With my old (cheap) straighteners, I never really knew when they were ready, so once again, this takes the guess work out of it.  For those of you who are wondering if it'll get hot enough...believe me. It gets very hot.

    This works ten times better than my drug store straighteners. I've tried both Bed Head & Conair straighteners and neither of could get my hair as pin straight and shiny as my new CHI straightener. My hair type is frizzy, flyaway, thick, color treated and a bit wavy. Not cute.

   The thing I like most about this straightener is that not only can it straighten your hair, but surprisingly enough it can curl it too! It takes a bit of practice, but it can be done (via help from tutorials on Youtube<3)!

PROS: Flash Heat Up, Multi-use tool, Makes my hair look shinier, simple design
CONS: A bit pricey



Overall: I give it 4 out of 5 stars :]
THUMBS UP FOR PIN STRAIGHT HAIR! <3

PS.
    Along with this straightener, (well along with any heat product) after using it I like to apply either CHI Silk Infusion or Biosilk's Silk Therapy to give my hair some extra shine and oil to help replenish moisture lost during styling. The CHI Silk Infusion smells a bit more like mans cologne and I'm not too big of a fan of the smell. Smells make it or break it for a product with me. The Biosilk Silk Therapy smells amazing and does the same job as the CHI Silk Infusion. I want to say the Biosilk is a bit cheaper than the CHI product.

Enjoy your new years guys,

Alleighkins <3

Review: Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters & swatches!

    A couple of weeks ago, I heard about the Revlon Lip Butters. I'm not even sure where I heard about them...probably via Youtube. Anyways, since as you know I'm not the biggest fan of wearing lipsticks my interest was piqued because they way these lip butters were being pegged as, they were a hybrid between a lip balm, gloss and a lip stick. The texture of a balm, the pigmentation of a lipstick and the shine of a gloss. After these couple of weeks of looking at Ulta and getting a few as gifts, I ended up with 5 of them.

     The five colors I picked up are Raspberry Pie, Cotton Candy, Cherry Tart, Lollipop, & Strawberry Shortcake .  The colors make your lips appear plump and glossy. The formula isn't too sticky or matte either. The darker colors have much more pigmentation then the lighter colors. Cherry Tart is a favorite of mine. It's a nice medium red but isn't super bright or red red which I know scares some people when wearing red on their lips. It's much more muted and makes me feel a lot more comfortable when wearing some color on my lips. It feels very comfortable to just throw it on. I've read others saying that there is chunky glittery or a gritty feeling. I did not get any of those experiences. :]

     Don't get me wrong...this won't heal chapped lips like carmex will, or won't late 43848930 hours like
L'Oreals Infallible Lip color, but  it's a great alternative to wearing chapstick and lipstick.

The packaging is so cute!  It's very sleek and classy. I like being able to see into the tube to give me an idea of what color I am purchasing.

The price I think though, could have went down a couple bucks. I think they're about $8 and honestly that's way too much. Even $6.99 could of been more reasonable.

Pros: Moisturizing, cute packaging, pigmented, don't need gloss
Cons: a bit pricey.



Without further adieu....SWATCHES!

Have a wonderful holiday season,
Miss Alleigh

My favorite Lip Products of 2011.. plus LIP TIPS & Swatches!

     Recently I've picked up a few new favorites and repurchased old favorites of some lip balms, lip glosses and lipsticks. Why not do a blog about these? :]

Lip Balms

New Favorite:

EOS Organic Lip Balm Sphere in Strawberry Sorbet

       This was my first time purchasing an EOS product, and it just happened to be an impulse purchase at Ulta. I remembered Michelle Phan (A beauty guru on youtube) always using this as her lip moisturizer (not this specific flavor, but the brand itself) and figured I'd try it out. It's winter here in Michigan, so I think it's the best time to test lip products because of the blistering wind, cold temperature and dry heat inside. I've been using it fairly often and have noticed that it keep my lips in top shape. The only negative about it is, it doesn't seem to last which means, reapplying after reapplying. I admire the company for thinking outside of the box...err tube, and going with a spherical shape. It's an interesting concept. Anyone try any of the other flavors? Found at: Ulta and most drugstores. $3.49

Old Favorite:

Chapstick in Strawberry

      Yes, you are sensing a theme. I do love me some strawberry in my lip products. For some reason you can never go wrong with strawberry in my book!  Chapstick does the job and it does it well when it comes to moisturizing and protecting lips as it has been for however long this brand has been going for. There's only an SPF 4 in the strawberry kind but if you wanna go with something more protective and you're in the sun a lot, try Blistex's Five Star Lip Protection. It has an SPF 30! Woowieeeee. I like to use that one in the summer when I'm working..or playing in the sun. For the fall/winter though, I stick with my Chapstick. Found at: Drugstores. $1.29

Tip: Apply some of your favorite lip balm before you go to bed. It will moisturize your lips and make 'em ready for the next day when you wake up and maybe want to try a lipstick out.

Lipsticks

New Favorites:

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Raspberry Pie

  
         Have you got to try a Revlon Lip Butter yet? No? You need to...stat! I've tried out two colors so far, and its a lipstick, but isn't a lipstick. If a lip balm and a lip stick had a baby...it would be the Revlon Lip Butter. It's a super super moisturzing like a lip balm but has tons of pigmentation like a lipstick (at least the darker colors. the lighter colors are obviously a little bit less pigmentated.) I would highly recommend you pick one up. They're kind of pricey at about $7.49-ish but I think they're worth it. It's a high quality product, and Revlon is widely known for their lip products. I loveee these lip butterssss. Right now...this product is kinda hard to find because everyone loves it too. Found at: whereever Revlon products are sold...aka drugstores. $7.49

MAC Lipstick in Sweetie (lustre)

       Okay, so I'll admit, I'm not the biggest lipstick fan. I love trying out new colors on my eyelids but when I try to get some color close to my lips that isn't close to my actual lip color, I start to second guess whether it looks okay or not. I did the Back 2 MAC (where you turn in 6 empty containers to get a free lipstick) and told the MAC counter girl that I wanted a color that wasn't matte and was close to my lip color. She picked out sweetie. It's on the super safe side for me but I wear it out 99% of the time when I go out. It's relatively glossy, but I like to wear a lip gloss over it to make it a bit more glossy. Found at MAC counters, or online at MACCOSMETICS.COM $14.50

L' Oreal Infallible Lip Color in Beyonce's Red

         Want a bright red that's glossy and will last through the day into the night? Purchase this product, and you won't regret it. It's staying power is insane.  Make sure your lips are moisturized before you apply this product or it will look flaky. This color is a bright red and with the lip gloss you can make it a glossy red. It's a classy color but again, remember, when using a bright color like this, tone down your eye makeup. You don't want to look like a clown. No way Jose! I like the packaging on this product though! Holy crap. The gloss and color are packaged together and the packaging itself serves as a usable mirror..no joke. So when you need to touch up the gloss (which also seals on the color to your lips), and don't have a mirror close to you, just hold the packaging up, and there ya go. Very practical and space saving. Found at : Drugstores. $9.99

     Tip: When going for a bright lip color, don't do anything else too color on your face ( i.e. blush or eyeshadow). Keep it simple so one of your features has the limelight and doesn't have to share it with the others.

Lip Glosses

New Favorite:

MAC Lustreglass in Pinkarat

     I wanted to try out MAC's lipglasses and somehow ended up with a lustreglass and pretty much was the best decision. This is my holy grail when it comes to lip gloss. Most drugstore lipglosses are sticky and aren't moisturizing. This one from MAC, moisturizes my lips, has an amazing shine/gloss and is not sticky at all. It's a pinky color but blends well with my lip color. Sometimes I will wear it over lipsticks or alone. This stuff is pretty amazing if ya ask me! Found at: MAC counters/store and online at maccosmetics.com $14.50.

Old Favorites:

Victoria Secret Beauty Rush Lip Gloss in Sugar High

       I first tried this lip gloss out in high school and fell in love with it and ever since, it's been one of my go to glosses. The smell? sweet sugary vanilla amazingness. The price? not too bad. The formula though, is a little bit sticky and thick, but I deal. There's also pretty tiny little glitters in it! The shine is a 10 out of 10 and it makes your lips appear pretty plump. Found at : Victoria's Secret. $7.00.

Too Faced Glamour Gloss in Pillow Talk

      This lip gloss is a plumping gloss-you know, the kind that make your lips feel all tingly. The formula isn't thick, and doesn't seem to sticky to me. I got this in a gift set and this was the only color available but I think that since it isn't too pigmented that it blends in well with almost any lip color, including my own. The tingling in this lip plumper doesn't hurt like some do. It gives you a cool sensation on your lips. Its semi hard to explain so you'd have to try it to understand fully. You can actually try it out at Ulta before your purchase it. Just tell one of the girls at Ulta, that you're unsure if you'll be comfortable with the sensation that comes with the Lip plumping and you'd like to try it out. It'd be your best bet before spending a decent amount of money for a lip plumper. It's the most expensive product on this list with a full size going for almost $20 but I think it's worth it to splurge once in a great while. Found at Ulta. $19.00.

    Tip: You don't want to apply too much lip gloss or you'll get that ca ca sticky looking stickyness just on the inner part of your lip. Apply your lip gloss and stick your thumb in your mouth and pull it out to get all the extra lip gloss from your inner lip area that gives lip gloss a bad name!

Swatches of the lipsticks: 

Thanks for reading. Let me know if you have an tips of your own, or recommendations you'd like to share!
Miss Alleigh

HOW TO: Easy Long Lasting Curls with just sponge curlers and NO HEAT!

      Ever wondered how you could get beautiful ringlet curls without heat and without a lot of work? I have found literally the perfect, least damaging way to get those beautiful ringlets and...THEY LAST! For this post, I'm going to fill you in on my secrets on how to get my perfect ringlets<3 I hope this helps!

These are larger and medium size sponge curlers.

    Heard of sponge curlers? Neither had I until I was given some by my mom. I decided to give them a try and after much practice I am like a pro when using them! You'll need to sleep on them, so no pain no gain!  They're not that uncomfortable to sleep in once you get use to them!

What you'll need:
Sponge Curlers (Available at ANY drugstore or beauty supply store)
Mousse (Any kind that works for your hair)
One night of sleep
Hairspray (Again, any kind that works for your hair)

How to curl your hair with sponge curlers:

Step 1: Shower and towel dry hair. Wait until your hair is about 80% dry and apply mousse. I use L'Oreal's Vive Pro Glossy Volume Mousse.

My favorite. Found at any drugstore!

Step 2: Put the top half (from the crown up) of hair up. You'll put that in curls last.
Step 3: I like to be organized, so I divide the sponge curlers into two equal amounts. Half of them you'll set to the side which will be for the hair you have put up in a clip/ponytail.
Step 4: Take 1" of hair (approx.)..(having the sponger curler unhooked) holding the piece of hair with your index and thumb of your left hand, hold the curler above or below the sponge curler (doesn't matter) and start to roll it around the curler, just like a regular hot roller.
Step 5: Once you get as far as you want it rolled up, clip the sponge clip thingy.
Step 6: Repeat.
Step 7: Once you're done with the bottom half of your hair, unclip/untie the top part of your hair you first put up, and put that up in sponge rollers too!
Step 8: Sleep.
Step 9: When you wake up in the morning, it doesn't really matter what order you undo them, but I find it is easiest to start at the bottom and work your way up.
Step 10: Do a bit of fluffing with your hair depending on how defined or big you want your hair to be. 
Step 11: You want it to last? Spray generous amounts of hairspray. :] I use Big Sexy Hair: Spray and Play Harder Voluminizing Hair Spray.

<3

Step 12: Optional! Add any hair accessory like a head band or flower to help accentuate your beautiful curls!

Cute in curly hair. :] See?

Add a pretty headband that sparkles and shines. This headband is from Forever 21...for $5.00

Hello Kitty Hair Bows from Claire's. CUTE!