A year with no haircuts has left me with more hair then I know what to do with - which has me super-interested in anything that will make me look less like I'm sporting a mop on my head and more like I intend to have this much hair that now looks sleek and polished thanks to:
InfinitiPRO by Conair Smoothwrap 2-In-1 Styler - $69.99 - features a 1 1/4" ceramic-coated barrel and plate that straightens or curls with even heat distribution that helps promote fast styling to reduce damage while the dual ion therapy has positive and negative ions that work together to condition hair, giving it volume and body with less frizz and flyaways, leaving it feeling moisturized, softer and shinier.
It has 2 heat settings: 320F (160C) & 392F (200C) and is perfect for travel thanks to the ergonomic handle for styling ease that folds up and dual voltage - while the auto shut off and cool tip are nice safety benefits.
Also available in the collection is the Smoothwrap Hair Dryer - $79.99 - with the same ion benefits and ceramic technology that minimizes heat damage for the best healthy-looking hair.
InfinitiPro by Conair 3Q Straightener - $119.99 - provides super-fast styling thanks to 1 inch plates that heat up to 455 degrees F within 30 seconds, lasting smoothness with 100% more ion generation that actively eliminates static and tames frizz for exceptional shine. The luxurious black titanium plates give ultimate glide for effortless smoothing and the electroplated plates enhance heat conductivity for soft, manageable hair while advanced CeraTherm technology gives superior fast-action heat transfer.
The straightener features 12 digital heat settings that allow optimum temperature for different hair types and intelligent sensor technology that adjusts the temperature to protect hair from excessive heat. What I like best is the gentle setting which allows you to instantly reduce heat to help minimize damage when styling - perfect if you have fine hair like mine that heats up really quick - I find it takes only a couple of passes with the iron but if it takes more then that I can easily reduce the heat so my hair doesn't fry! The other options that make me really appreciate it are practical but so very necessary - auto shut off for those Monday mornings when you can barely remember to put on pants never mind turn off your straightener and a 5 foot long swivel cord so there is lots of room to maneuver and you don't have to worry about the cord getting all tangled up!
Lack of space usually has me foregoing some of the luxuries of life when I travel- up to now it's always had to be a choice between my blow dryer and flat iron - but no longer thanks to...
Conair Mini Pro Mini Straightener- $19.98 - in black and purple - a slim straightener that features ceramic-coated plates that help smooth down flyaways and frizzies. Heat is evenly distributed so that the style you create has a salon-perfect, silky smooth, shining finish while convenient storage pouch and dual voltage makes this perfect for styling on the go.
Available at drug and mass retailers across Canada.
When traveling I usually leave my cleansing devices behind and go low-tech with a washcloth - no longer necessary and as an added bonus, it runs on batteries, no electricity needed so it can even go camping with you!
Foreo Luna Play Plus- $59 - in 7 colours: Purple, Pearl Pink, Midnight, Sunflower Yellow, Fuchsia, Aquamarine and Mint - A travel-friendly, ultra-hygienic, two-zone silicone cleansing brush with T-Sonic Pulsations for gentle, thorough cleansing.
Fun, portable, and the perfect introduction to the amazing skincare benefits that come from T-Sonic cleansing. LUNA play plus takes everything you love about the tiny but mighty LUNA play and adds that little extra something you need for a perfected complexion. It uses a compact design and two-zone brush to gently and thoroughly offer your skin a sonic cleanse to leave you glowing and gorgeous, in as little as one minute, twice a day. This model features a new, larger brush head for distributing T-Sonic cleansing power, plus it uses a replaceable AAA battery for near-endless use.
Available at Murale stores across Canada and online at beautyBOUTIQUE.ca.
It's such a pain to take anything liquid to airports and usually so expensive to buy at the destination that I love finding easily packable alternatives...
Avon Skin So Soft Bug Guard Plus Icaridin Insect Repellent Towelettes - 8 pack - $16 - a portable deet-free bug repellent that fits in your pocket and repels mosquitoes for 5 hours and deer ticks for 7 hours. With a light-feeling, non-greasy, quick-drying protection formula that contains vitamin E and aloe along with a stink-free Gentle Breeze scent.
And for your non-travel needs it also comes in bigger sizes: 118ml for $14 and a new family 236ml size for $20!
Available from your Avon rep - 1-800-265-AVON or online at avon.ca.
Pack everything up and keep it organized with...
Quo Iridescent Rose 3 Piece Makeup Bag Set - $18.99 - includes three different sized cosmetic pouches: the large clear case is 10" x 7" and perfect for keeping liquids in to take through airport security so you are a real rule follower; the middle floral bag is 8" x 6.5" - a great size for makeup or would even make a great clutch in a pinch; while the small metallic bag 5" x 4" could store medications, ID or whatever small items you need to keep track of.
Available exclusively at Shoppers Drug Mart stores across Canada.
Garnier Fructis Style Sleek & Shine Flat Iron Perfector Straightening Mist - 177ml - $6.99 - a powerful frizz-taming straightening mist, with Moroccan argan oil, offers protection from the heat of your flat iron while sealing in smoothness and shine. for the perfect, sleek style that lasts 72 hours!
L'Oréal EverSleek Precious Oil Treatment - 115ml - $14.99 - is infused with argan oil from Morocco, sunflower oil and olive oil
to heal, banish frizz and protect - this cocktail of natural oils
instantly penetrates hair to condition and seal in smoothness for hair that is
left sleek and shiny, without feeling weighed down or coated.
Schwarzkopf got2b Guardian Angel Frizz Taming Hairspray - 340g - $9.99 - delivers 90% humidity defense to combat frizz to keep your style calm even in the hottest of conditions. Features special neutralizing agents that fend off the most humid of weather and deflects moisture in any conditions so you stay fly-away free all day and night.
All of these frizz-fighting products are available at drug and mass retailers across Canada.
KeratinPerfect 30 Day Brazilian Hair Smoothing System - $235 - contains full size: PerfectPrep Pre-Treatment Clarifying Shampoo, The Perfector 30-Day Hair Smoothing Treatment, PerfectCleanse Keratin Enhanced Shampoo, PerfectSilk Keratin Enhanced Conditioner, a travel size of PerfectRenew Daily Keratin Replenishing Spray, a PerfectSleek cutting-edge next generation digital titanium plate 450 degree flat iron as well as a KeratinPerfect Brush and clips.
I've been intrigued by keratin treatments for a couple of years now ever since the salons started doing them as a regular service and I keep meaning to go in and try one but never seem to find the time.
If you aren't familiar with what keratin does for your hair - it's actually a natural protein that is in healthy hair but that is depleted over time due to styling and environmental damage which causes frizz and dullness. I figured a salon quality treatment I could do at home would be the way to go if my hair was ever going to see keratin so I decided the at-home KeratinPerfect system which just came to Canada was the way to go. What I needed was something that would be quick and easy and it delivered on both counts.
So the process goes like this: First you wash your hair with the PerfectPrep shampoo to totally strip it; then you apply The Perfector treatment which stays in for 10 minutes; then you blow-dry your hair dry and then flat iron to seal in the keratin. That's it. The whole process took about an hour and the only downside to it is not being able to wash/or get your hair wet for 48 hours.
The system is meant for all hair types including curly, wavy, frizzy, colour-treated, damaged and chemically relaxed.
I realized that I hadn't been clever enough to take a before picture so this one from a couple of weeks back at an event will have to do - my hair actually is flat ironed in the picture but you can see that it's still not entirely straight and also frizzy.
After the KeratinPerfect treatment my hair is poker straight, defined, shiny and almost entirely frizz free!
The KeratinPerfect system is now available in Canada at Sephora and if you already have a good flat iron or once you use up the products included in the set you can buy more products separately and save yourself a bunch of money!
Have you tried a keratin treatment either at the salon or at home and what kind of results did you get?
Like seemingly every beauty blogger in the blogosphere, we received a Hanaflat iron, ($189) as part of a
big media blitz campaign. Now if you read the reviews, everybody is
raving about it...but I won't. My first impression was that this flat iron looked
cheaply made and the "Made in Korea" label didn't exactly fill me with
confidence (Made in Germany = better, Made in Taiwan = good, Made in Korea..= not so good).
That being said, the iron is hot enough to
straighten the thickest hair. So in terms of straightening action it's a good
iron. It's 100% ceramic etc... so what's the problem? This iron gets very hot due to a lack of
protection and the use of cheap plastic. And guess what? After using it for less than one
month... It broke. Considering how many good flat irons there are out there... you'll want
to pass on this one.
The ghd IV styler 1" - $280 ($240 US) -There are so many styler brands
out there these days, and the good ones sure aren't cheap, that I don't
know how anyone ever makes a decision about which one to buy! I know
how I make decisions, I surf the web, read other people's reviews and
then hope my results will be as good as theirs! So I hope this is
helpful to anyone looking to score themselves a new styler. I must
admit, I was already predisposed to like this one as this is the brand
that my hairdresser (the good one, not the most recent one that
butchered my hair) used and my hair always looked amazing when she was
done with it!
So here's what I really like about this one:
- It's designed
to curl as well as straighten your hair, I don't curl my hair but I
sometimes like to add a flip to the bottom and this works perfectly for
that.
- It has a technology in
it that can decide how porous your hair is and from that decides how
much heat your hair needs and thusapplies
as well as maintains the optimum level of heat
while styling, which is very important for fine hair like mine as it is
so easy to fry your hair with one of these!
- It also has a swivel cord which
keeps the cord from getting all tangled - genius!
- I found it heated up quick and
maintained a constant temperature which made the straightening process
so much quicker!
- The aluminum plates have a ceramic coating which helps close
the hair cuticle and create shine.
It also has some
important safety and functionality features that most people don't
think about much when buying a styler, but really should:
- It has a sleep mode that will
automatically shut it off if not used for 30 minutes.
- The outer casting is made from
Rynite, a fire retardant material ensures the outer casting does not
get too hot when styling hair or handling the styler.
- A built-in micro-processor is
embedded into one blade; this monitors and regulates the temperature on
the blade five times a second. If the temperature exceeds its maximum
regulated temperature the thermal fuse will trip, resulting in the iron
switching off. This is a safety feature to prevent the iron from
overheating.
-
It has a universal voltage feature which operates from110v to 230v by
sensing the incoming voltage making it great for travelers.
Of course even with the
best styler, you still need the right technique to get good results and
here is what ghd recommends for getting different looks with their
styler:
Achieve
straight, sleek locks
1.After using ghd thermal protector
before heat-styling, take your original styling iron and place a fine
section
of dry hair between the plates. Ensure that the iron is as close to the
root as
possible before closing the plates and gently move towards the tip of
the
section in one simple gliding motion.
2.Repeat the process with each section of
hair, gliding once from roots to ends.
Achieve
stunning curls
1.After lightly
misting your hair with ghd thermal protector, section the hair and
lightly mist
with ghd creation spray.
2.Place the ghd
styling iron vertically 1 inch away from the root. Gently close the iron
with
minimum tension.
3.Turn the iron
clockwise by 90 degrees. Continue to turn the iron by another 90
degrees.
4.For an intense
curl, pull the iron very slowly away from the head in a continuous
smooth
movement.
5.An s-shaped
vertical curl is created. To complete the style repeat through all
sections.
6.Finally,
separate and dress the curls with your hands.
Achieve
seductive soft movement
1.After lightly
misting your hair with ghd thermal protector, section the hair, and
lightly
mist with ghd creation spray to add shine and hold when styling.
2.Place the ghd
styling iron vertically 1 inch away from the root. Gently close the iron
with
minimum tension.
3.Turn the iron
clockwise by 90 degrees.
4.For a soft curl,
pull the iron quickly through the hair away from the head in a
continuous
smooth movement.
5.An s-shaped
vertical curl is created. To complete the style repeat through all
sections.
6.Finally,
separate
and dress the curls with your hands creating soft and loose waves.
I would definitely recommend that
you use a thermal protector spray before using any heated hair
appliance especially if you have normal to fine hair. I also tried the
ghd thermal protector and it worked well, smelled nice and didn't leave
my hair sticky.
What's really fun is their
quarterly promotions which has the styler in a fun colour or pattern
with a case and a couple of styling products. This quarter it's called
"Precious" and it really is!
It has a black and silver baroque
design and it's $255 for the set. Check out the ghd website here for this and their other
stylers. I noticed the other day that Sephora is also carrying ghd, so no excuses now!
Lisamarie - the happiest day of my life was the day Sephora opened it's first store in Canada (thankfully in Toronto), second happiest day was before this when Sephora finally started shipping to Canada, third I guess would be my wedding day (but don't tell my husband where he ranks please!)
*** Christelle - I enjoy shoe shopping and drinking martinis...preferably at the same time!
