Review: Defrizz Styling Products

When the air is especially damp, I get really frizzy hair. Not only does it look like a mess, but I don't like the feel of it either. Where I live, there is usually a lot of moisture in the air, so frizzy hair is a problem for me. Since the summer, I have been trying two different products to help combat this problem and help style my hair: one is a drug store buy and the other is Bumble & bumble.

Bumble & bumble Defrizz

This product was $30 for this 125 mL bottle from Sephora, which is insane. The defrizz cream did work. I would would put one dollop in my hands and work through the hair before styling. The formula is clear and doesn't smell bad, but you have to be careful to not use too much in one spot, as it will make your hair look and feel oily. After a while the effect would wear off and more would need to be applied. I was using it very quickly, and for $30 I don't think its worth it. If you can find a cheaper one, then I would recommend it as something to try, as it may work better on other hair types, and it did help maintain my mane.

Pantene Pro-V Stylers Styling Balm

When compared to the B&b styling cream, this was much more reasonable and achieved a very similar result. I applied this in a similar fashion, but it came out in pumps, which I liked better than the B&b bottle. The formula was white, and if too much was applied, it did not make my hair look as oily as the B&b did. On the other hand, I could not stand the smell of this formula; however, after styling my hair and spraying some hair spray, I couldn't smell it anymore. I would recommend this product, if you want to make a more price conscious purchase.

What styling/ defrizz creams would you recommend?

December Favorites: Music Addition

During this time of year, life gets particularly stressful. Whether its from the stress of the holidays, finals, or applying to college, the stress can be overwhelming. One of my favorite ways to de-stress quickly is by listening to music.

Here are some tracks that help calm nerves and make me smile. I hope they help your stresses too!

HAIM- The Wire

This track has a really cool sound, and I have had this song on replay since their performance on Saturday Night Live a couple of weeks ago.

Zendaya- Replay

Regardless of your opinion of Disney, Zendaya's vocals are quite amazing in this song, and I love the choreography! As the title suggests, I have this song on replay.

Imagine Dragons- Demons

I love the vocals and the instrumental background. The song is also quite catchy.

Cher Lloyd feat. T.I.- I Wish

Personally, I really like the rap in this song. If you don't like rap, I wouldn't suggest this song for you, but the music video is quite comical.

One Direction- Strong

I actually liked One Direction's new album and this song, in particular. I know that people's opinions of One Direction tend to be quite polarized. However, you cannot deny that they have talent singing. This song especially showcases their vocals.

I tried to incorporate a range of music that I have been enjoying lately, and I hope you found something that you liked! Have a lovely December!

Thanksgiving Week Collective Haul

If you read my Black Friday Post, then you would know that I did a lot of shopping over the Thanksgiving Break. As promised here is my haul from last week.

The stores I visited included Saks Off Fifth, Forever 21, American Eagle, and Walmart (for Holiday Presents.)

I shopped at Forever 21 twice over the week. I mainly bought outer wear pieces.

Below is a blue cardigan from Forever 21. It has a sheer blue ruffle on both sides of the jacket. I really liked it, and it was only $16! 

On the same trip, I bought this faux leather jacket. I have been searching for this kind of style for the longest time and was so excited to find this for about $15!

I also went to Forever 21 on Black Friday. The jacket shown below was 50% off the sale price, so it was only $11! 

On Black Friday, I went to Walmart to pick up some Christmas presents for my family. They had a really good deal on movies, including Harry Potter movies, the X-men movies, Bridesmaids, The Campaign, and more. I picked up a few including Killers, which was only $1.96, as Christmas presents.

On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, I went to the Oprymills Mall in Nashville, which is amazing! I went shopping in their Saks Off Fifth, and they had some awesome deals. I got my dress for Winter Formal from Saks. The dress in the picture is not as purple as it really is, and I absolutely loved it when I tried it on. I almost bought an Alice + Olivia gold dress for Prom, but it was not full-length, which was what I was looking for. It was absolutely gorgeous!

I also picked out a pair of Marc Jacobs sunglasses and a Calvin Klein ruffle top, which I will be receiving for Christmas! I have found my new favorite store!

I also bought a handful of items from American Eagle, while in Nashville on Wednesday. They were having a 40% off the entire store sale, so I was able to buy more than usual. I bought three pairs of jeans similar to the one shown below.

I also bought a really cute maroon sweater. There are cable knit holes in the sleeve below the elbow, as seen in the photo, and similar holes on the back. (The photo shows a folded side view of the front.) Another plus, this sweater is amazingly comfortable to wear! 

While at American Eagle, I also bought a turquoise tank top, which I will also be opening for Christmas. 

I also stopped at DSW and picked up two pairs of shoes. 

I absolutely love DSW! They have such great deals on designer shoes, especially in their Luxe810 range. When I was at the store with my mom, we were in the clearance section, and she found a pair of Prada shoes on clearance! Sadly, they were 2 sizes too small for me.

However, I did find a pair of gold Ralph Lauren boat shoes in the clearance section, as well as gold peep toe heels!

I had a lot of fun shopping! Did you buy anything over the holiday?

Black Friday

Hello all! I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving.

Over the week of Thanksgiving, I did a lot of shopping (a collective haul to come). One of these shopping escapades included Black Friday shopping. I went at 12:01 am because my parents would not allow me to shop on Thanksgiving. This turned out to be a blessing because by the time I got to my local mall, it was not as crowded as it had been previous years. I was prepared to have to wait outside, but I could walk right in! The only stores where there were substantial lines to check out were American Eagle (which was having 50% off the entire store) and Pink.

Photo courtesy of forbes.com

However, I was slightly disappointed with the deals in some of the stores. Forever 21 only had 50% off on select items, and Sephora only had one table with deals, but at both of these stores, there were no lines.

After shopping at the mall, I went to Wal-mart. At this point, it was about 2:30 am. They had awesome deals on newly released movies, ranging from $1.96 to 4.96, and they were selling full seasons of shows for $9.96! When I went to make my purchases, there wasn't a line at the self-checkout. As you can see, my Black Friday experience was very smooth, and I did not witness any of the madness that is normally associated with Black Friday. Do you have any Black Friday stories?

 

Review: Benefit They're Real! Mascara

Hello, Lovelies! I know this post has been long overdue. I have been crazy busy with college application season and school. With Thanksgiving Break coming up, I hope to have more time to do more posts. I have also had problems with my normal camera.

Anyway, over the summer, I received a sample of They're Real! Mascara by Benefit. At first, I was a little uncertain about it because I didn't think that it volumized my eyelashes very well, but after a few uses, I absolutely loved this mascara (and still do). It lengthened my eyelashes, but still left them with a natural look, which was perfect for everyday.

Another thing I really liked about this mascara was that it stayed on my lashes all day. I have worn various mascara to parties only to find the mascara on my cheeks by the end of the night. This was not a problem for They're Real! mascara. I even wore it while running, and it didn't run.

Now, I have finished it:( and am considering buying more, but I would love to try something new. Do you have any suggestions for what mascara to try next?

10 Pair Designer Shoes for Under $200!

Hello, lovelies! It's hard to believe that it is already November. I have been meaning to put up more posts, but my camera is currently unusable. I couldn't think of any posts I could do without taking my own photos. However, this idea struck me while I was browsing through Saks Fifth Avenue's online shoe selection. I put together a collage of my 10 picks of designer shoes from Saks that are under $200. As black friday and the holidays draw near, these are giving me inspiration for what to buy for black friday and ask for as presents for the holidays. (For those who do not know what black friday is, it is the day after Thanksgiving, when many stores have huge sales at early hours in the morning!)

Anyway, here's the set. (Pictures courtesy of Saks and Polyvore.)

1) Ugg Australia $200

2) Kate Spade $138.60

3) Marc by Marc Jacobs $138.60

4) RED Valentino $195

5) Melissa $98

6) Hunter $195

7) B Brian Atwood $140

8) Vera Wang Lavendar Label $138.60

9) Kate Spade and Keds $75

10) Tory Burch $150

Shoes, bags, and beauty products are the categories in which I tend to buy designer items. If you have never visited Saks Fifth Avenue's shoe level, I highly recommend it. It is any shoe lover's paradise. 

I hope you found something you liked! I hope to be able to take pictures again soon. Have a great weekend!

International Music Festival

Hello Lovelies! I know its been a while since my last post. I have been crazy busy, but I am hoping to have time to post more often.

Recently, I attended an amazing international music festival called the Lotus Music Festival. I absolutely love these events because I get to listen to music that I normally would not have heard of. I would highly recommend checking out any of these bands. Here are some highlights:

Debo Band: Soul & funk from Ethiopia. They were incredibly energetic. At one point, the lead singer was jumping through the crowd. The music is a really cool sound to it, and the instrumentals are amazing. The music is definitely worth checking out!

Above: Debo Band at the Lotus Festival

Above: Debo Band performing "Lantchi Biye" (video courtesy of Youtube)

Pacific Curls: South Pacific & Celtic roots music. This music is much more laid back but sounds equally amazing. The band has a really cool sound and vocals!

Above: Pacific Curls performing(video courtesy of Youtube)

Nomadic Massive: Canadian Hip-hop. This band was definitely one of my favorite acts. There was so much energy. For one song, the entire crowd was screaming with the band! (Sorry for the bad quality of the picture...it was difficult to get a good picture.)

Above: Nomadic Massive Performing at Lotus

Above: Nomadic Massive's "Reveye" Music Video

Funkadesi: A combination of Indian, African, Latin American, and Caribbean music. They started their set by walking through the crowd to get through the stage, and their performance consisted of lots of dancing! 

Above: Funkadesi performing at the Lotus Festival

Above: Funkadesi performing (video courtesy of Youtube)

This was my second time attending the Lotus Fest. Some highlights from last year include:

Hanggai: a really cool Mongolian band. 

Above: Hanggai performing "Xiger Xiger," one of my favorite songs by them!

Movits!: a Swedish band. (This one was one of my favorites from both years.)

Above: Movits! performing "Sammy Davis Jr."

I hope you liked these bands as much as I did! I absolutely love international music! Do you have any international bands that you would suggest?