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Favorite Haircare Tools

September 17, 2020 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Hello all! In this post, I’m going to be rounding up some of my favorite haircare tools of all time. A lot of these tools are sort of old, yet, they still work very well. And because they have such good quality, I haven’t been tempted to update them. Also, I’ll give you my two cents regarding what I think about the very popular Revlon Hot Air Brush that everyone seems to love nowadays. Excited much?

Read on.

SinglePass Compact Travel Styling Flat Iron – This is my favorite travel iron. I take this with me all the time because I really like its compact design and its lightweight ergonomic style. This comes with a dual voltage, and the plates heat up easily. This even has a safety plastic case for easy storage and to prevent burns or potentially melting other surfaces. For me, this is super reliable, and has used this in almost all my trips; both local and overseas.

BodyWaver 1.75” Professional Ceramic Styling Iron for Waves and Volume – This is another one of my T3 faves, although this tool takes some getting used to for it to work really well, at least in my opinion. And that’s because this may feel a bit bulky although still very light on the hands. I usually use this to curl the tips of my hair in a sort of outward motion while positioning the barrel vertically. I believe this works very well for medium to long hair. The really good thing about this is once you develop a technique on how to use this efficiently, your curling process goes really fast because this heats up quickly.

GHD Eclipse Styler (new version – Platinum+ Professional Performance 1″ Styler) – This is a prior version of nowadays’ GHD Platinum. I haven’t tried that one yet because I never felt the need to update this really solid styler. This has been working well for me for years and looks good as new. In fact, this is my main hair straightener, and the T3 one above is my go-to for traveling. This tool heats up easily and notifies you with a sound. The heat is constant all over the plate, so it distributes evenly on the hair. Also, this doesn’t get too hot, so as not to damage the hair. You can also use this as a curler.

Babyliss PRO Nano Titanium Bambino Compact Dryer – This very small hair dryer is so easy to pack, so cute, and totally packs a punch in power. This isn’t foldable though, but this is a lot smaller than most travel hair dryers I’ve seen out there. The really nice thing about this is even though this may look like a kids’ hair dryer in real life, this will still dry your hair in minutes.

Bestool Boar Bristle Hair Brush – I’ve always wanted to have a boar bristle hairbrush because it helps to distribute the natural oil all over the hair and prevents frizz and split ends. This brush from amazon comes with a detangler and this really works to massage my scalp and prevent oil buildup.

Cricket Technique Barrel Hair Brush 2 inch – If you don’t have a curling wand or curling wands are not your thing, use this big round brush with your hairdryer to create big luscious waves. This brush distributes heat all over the hair because of its hollow barrel style. All you have to do is wrap the tips of your hair around this brush (away from your head) and heat it using your blow dryer. Voila! I love this a lot and this is so easy to use. Also, very inexpensive too.

Harry Josh Ultra Light Pro Dryer – A favorite among celebrities, this very cute, mint green, compact, and lightweight hair dryer is so powerful that this really dries the hair within minutes. This may not be a dual-voltage dryer (unfortunately), but this will really hasten hair drying time for medium to long hair. This has ion technology to eliminate frizz, and in my experience, my hair looks silkier whenever I use this as opposed to using other hair dryers.

Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer and Volumizer Hot Air Brush – Lastly, I couldn’t resist but write about this very interesting hair dryer+hot brush hybrid. This is that perfect 2-in-1 hair tool that you can use easily and can give you a polished look within seconds. This is not really a hair straightener, but your hair will look a bit straighter with this. I think this is more like a blow dryer that gives you a salon blowout in minutes at the comfort of being in your own home. This can create a nice wave but won’t be as defined as with a wand curler. Nevertheless, the waves that this will create are really beautiful, I would say a la Kate Middleton, lol. I love this a lot even though this is bulky to store. I also love the affordable price.

There goes my faves in haircare tools. What are yours?

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Bumble & Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Shampoo + Conditioner Review

September 23, 2019 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

With the changing season and the constant traveling I’ve been doing lately, I find that my hair has been taking a lot of beating. From the change of humidity up to the constant heat styling and hurried brushing, I was getting worried that it’s only going to be a matter of time that my strands will get more and more brittle. There are only a few haircare products that I trust that could help restore and keep the natural moisture of my hair. One of them is the Anti-Aging Haircare Replenishing Moisture line from Alterna (reviewed HERE), the second being the Kerastase Discipline Sulfate-Free, and the third one is the Bumble And Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Shampoo + Conditioner which I keep coming back to no matter what. As you can see, this line is one of my preferred travel shampoo+conditioner and I always purchase them in minis or travel sizes.

This haircare line is probably my most fave from Bumble & Bumble. There were times when I tried to look for some other alternatives but for some reason, I always feel bad whenever I go astray from this line. First of all, this haircare is so good at delivering and keeping moisture on the hair. Even if its name says Invisible “Oil”, it’s not really the very oily type. In fact, your hair won’t even get oily whenever you use this, even if you have fine hair like mine. Second, this makes the hair very manageable, soft, and smooth. No matter what the humidity is going to be, either inside the plane or in the cold harsh Winter months, this haircare line keeps my hair looking shiny and feeling supple without looking heavy. Third, the scent of this is very delightful with its blend of different oils, especially almond oil and argan oil.

Bumble And Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Shampoo (2 oz – 32 oz: 12 USD – 75 USD) – This is one of the few sulfate-free shampoos that lathers well and it smells well. I love the feeling of washing my hair with this and it never dried my strands nor added more weight to it. This also helps in controlling frizz, and it makes the hair look thoroughly cleaned, silky, and smooth. I believe this works very well for any hair type, and especially for those who suffer from hair dryness, brittle hair, or frizzy hair. This shampoo is also made of a blend of lightweight grape seed oil, sweet almond oil, safflower seed oil, etc.

Bumble And Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Conditioner (2 oz – 32 oz: 13 USD – 79 USD) – This is a very good match to the lightweight and moisturizing shampoo above. This is also made of several oils especially coconut oil, macadamia oil, and argan oil which help to tame frizz and thus making the hair more manageable. The nice thing about this conditioner is that it doesn’t make the hair look oily or heavy, just as long as you don’t put way too much of it on the strands. This conditioner also has a nice scent just like the shampoo above which you can discern as a blend of moisturizing oils. The thing I love about this the most is how easy it is to brush my hair whenever I use this conditioner.

Bottom line, my hair could have been going through a lot of breakage by now if it wasn’t for this Bumble & Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil haircare line. I love to grow my hair long and it does require some maintenance to keep the strands looking healthy and shiny but without looking too heavy and oily at the same time, especially because my hair is on the fine/straight type. Also, with the daily environmental stresses and lifestyle activities that could potentially affect the health of our hair, I believe we all need a haircare line that can help in restoring and keeping the moisture of our hair, and the Bumble & Bumble Hairdresser’s is very good at delivering that.

The Bumble & Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Shampoo + Conditioner are currently available at Sephora, Walmart, Nordstrom, Overstock, Space NK, Bluemercury, Bloomingdale’s, Ulta, Liberty London, and Saks Off Fifth,

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What are your favorite moisturizing shampoo+conditioner?

Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging Replenishing Moisture And Anti-Frizz Shampoo + Conditioner Review

April 27, 2018 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Hey guys! I’ve got a new haircare brand to love and I’m excited to tell you about it. I’ve known about Alterna Haircare for quite some time since you always see their products being displayed in one of Sephora’s or Ulta’s counters. But for some reason, I just didn’t bother to explore this brand at all. I thought it might be just another one of those fad haircare brands that are pricey and will probably just fade away after a couple of years, only to be replaced by another fad haircare brand. Oh well, my point of view changed when I got a sample of their Caviar Anti-Aging Replenishing Shampoo and Conditioner which was inside my Sephora Play! Box and it was love at first wash. LOL.

I know I raved about my other two favorite haircare products before: The Living Proof No Frizz Haircare Line and the Kerastase Aura Botanica, both which I still use even to this day. However, I’d like to expand my choices and also look for some other alternatives just in case Sephora or Ulta will run out or stop carrying one of my favorite haircare products. Speaking of these two favorite hair products, as you notice, both of them are sulfate-free, paraben-free, phthalates-free, and I like my shampoo and conditioner that way. I like them with clean and natural ingredients that won’t weigh the hair down. I also love a hair product that works to tame those horrible frizzies. My hair tends to get oily fairly easily, so I prefer something that cleanses well and adds bounce. I’ve tried looking for a cheaper alternative before, like the L’oreal Everpure Sulfate-Free line but I couldn’t seem to love those. They made my hair really oily and heavy the next day and my hair didn’t look as shiny compared to using the stuff from Living Proof and Kerastase. Another thing I wanna point out is that it’s very important for me to have an easy access or easy reordering of my favorite haircare products, but that has been quite a challenge lately especially with Kerastase. If I don’t plan to reorder them on their website ahead of time, I would typically get them at my local hair salons. Oh well, that proved to be quite annoying because some salons will try to sell you some other stuff that you don’t really need, and I don’t like being bothered like that. I just want my favorite Kerastase stuff. Ya know what I mean? So yeah, I need to look for some other alternative haircare holy grails.

Ever since I stumbled into Alterna’s Caviar Haircare line, I feel like OMG, this is it! The smell and feel of their shampoo and conditioner kinda remind me of Kerastase and Living Proof, but they have a very interesting bunch of ingredients. First of all, they have caviar extracts from France and vitamins A, C, and D which they infused in this particular line, thus the name “Caviar Anti-Aging”. They also added a blend of seasilk to moisturize the hair. Second, their product’s style of packaging is really pretty and unique with an easy to twist bottle, although there’s one caveat with it which I’m gonna talk about in the next few paragraphs towards the end of this review. Lastly, you can find the Alterna Caviar line in just about any Sephora or Ulta locations everywhere, and lately, they added their new Anti-Frizz collection to this line as well.

Replenishing Moisture

Replenishing Moisture Shampoo (mini/1.35 oz: $10, 8.5 oz: $34, value size/16.5 oz: $52) – This shampoo doesn’t feel too thick and not too thin either, yet it seems very concentrated. It doesn’t lather immediately upon application and it needs to be mixed well with water, but once it starts to foam, then it cleanses thoroughly. You may need to rewash with this if your hair is extra oily or if it’s on the oily type. Personally, I find this to be a moisturizing shampoo and I like that it makes my hair smell fresh and clean without making it heavy.

Replenishing Moisture Conditioner (mini/1.35 oz: $10, 8.5 oz: $34, value/16.5 oz: $52) – This conditioner feels a bit thicker than most regular conditioners and it has a light sort of vinegar scent that washes off immediately and won’t really bother your nostrils. What I love about this conditioner is that I don’t need to use a lot of it and it keeps my hair feeling moisturized and relaxed. Unlike most regular conditioners where my hair tends to look and feel dry after a couple of hours and oily the next day, this particular Caviar Anti-Aging Conditioner from Alterna keeps my hair looking hydrated, healthy, and silky. It even keeps it that way the following day without looking like I drenched my hair in oil.

Anti-Frizz

Anti-Frizz Shampoo (8.5 oz: $34) – This particular shampoo feels a bit thicker than the Replenishing Moisture Shampoo above, and it lathers pretty well at first use. It also feels to be a lot more moisturizing and has a fruitier scent than the Anti-Aging shampoo above. I like this a lot and I also love the way it keeps moisture on my oily-prone hair, which actually didn’t get so oily lately because this particular shampoo sorta regulated it.

Anti-Frizz Conditioner (8.5 oz: $34) – This feels really thick, even a lot thicker than the Anti-Aging Replenishing Conditioner above and it’s pretty obvious why. This conditioner is meant to tame frizzies, combat hair dryness, and restore moisture not just for people with fine hair, but also for those with medium to thick hair. You don’t need a lot to actually use this product and it works really well so far. As we’re approaching the summer heat and humidity, I’ve noticed that I haven’t had any frizzy strands somehow, and mind you, my biggest hair problem is fighting those annoying frizzies. I will continue to use this as we dip into the coming high temperatures and see if this Anti-Frizz haircare line will live up to its promise. So far, I’m really loving this not just for its anti-frizz benefit, but also, I love the way my hair looks. It’s as if I straightened it and it looks really healthy and shiny. I have yet to try their Anti Frizz Blowout Butter which seems really good, but it’s on my wishlist so that hopefully I could put it to the test and update you guys soon.

I truly recommend that you give these Caviar Anti-Aging and Anti-Frizz Shampoo + Conditioner a try. I think they’re awesome, even though they can be pricey, but they also come in a travel size. The only thing that bothers me about these is their packaging. I appreciate their unique twist and squeeze type of bottle which looks luxe, pretty, and almost spill-proof, but for that same reason, they’re also a challenge to dispense, especially for the conditioners because they have such thick consistency. So halfway throughout your usage, you’re basically going to be squeezing and squeezing the bottle until it releases the product. Then imagine doing that with slippery foamy hands. It can be quite annoying. What I usually do is, I just keep the bottle close and turn it upside down – ready for the next use. Oh well, I hope Alterna will improve their packaging soon.

To sum it up. I think the Anti-Aging Replenishing Moisture line is great for anyone who needs to restore or keep moisture in their hair and for those who tends to have oily hair that needs to be regulated. They’re great as everyday hydrating haircare products. On the other hand, the Anti-Frizz collection is great for those hot and humid months when you want your hair to behave, and it’ll work for just about any hair type, not just for medium to thick hair.

Have you tried these already? What are your favorite hair care products? Any recs for frizzies?

The Alterna Haircare is currently available at Sephora, Dermstore, Ulta, Nordstrom, QVC, Zulily and Saks Fifth Avenue