Beauty Stuff

Let's talk about shampoo and conditioner. Let's talk affordable products I got all of these at Costco!

On the left, Nexxus. I like the shampoo and the conditioner. Pura D'or Advanced Therapy, I have not tried those yet.
Monday I got because I really liked the look of the bottles but I did NOT like the product. No good. Used once then gave away. Costco's own brand Kirkland Moisture shampoo and conditioner I like as well. Right now I alternate between the Nexxus and the Kirkland. I do a deep conditioning hair mask once in a while, I have been doing the Moroccanoil Intense Hydrating Mask for that. And I gently squeeze out excess water with a towel before I apply conditioner and hair treatments.
Now you know! As far as trimming/cutting my hair.....twice a year is a lot for me. Sometimes a year goes by with no trims.

Let's take a look at the products that I use for my face. I have a lot of face products but I tend to use like less than half of them, more like 1/3 or so.  The rest are taking up space in my bathroom cabinet and taking up thoughts like "hmmmmm I should use that sometime" and then I don't.
I KNOW that sunscreen is super important and that is the one skin care routine that I am am really bad at, I totally fail in that department.
Last summer before Burning Man I bought the EltaMD UV Daily Broad Spectrum SPF 40 (the white tube to the very right).
I used it like twice at Burning Man. Instead I just covered my face in bandanas during the day and yes during one of the dust storms I got a sun burn on my face even though I had covered my face with the bandanas. I hope it is still good to use because I will try to make an effort in using it as soon as the sun starts peeking out more. It comes highly recommended by dermatologists by the way as a great sunscreen.
Let's go through the products from right to left. Next to the EltaMD is the RoC Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Night Cream, can be used nightly although I would probably start off every other night due to the retinol. I have only used it like two or three times though and for desired results you should use it for at least three months on a regular basis. It goes on nicely and it smells good. 
Paula's Choice 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant is a great and affordable exfoliant. It really works on keeping the pores clean. I highly recommend it. Mario Badescu Vitamin C Serum is a serum with vitamin C and yes I think it delivers.
Tingles on the skin, not to be used excessively and be careful if you have sensitive skin. DHC Deep Cleansing Oil is not expensive and works OK (not my fave cleansing oil that I have tried though and I won't buy this product again). I recently ran out of my Neutrogena face cleanser (Neutrogena Naturals Purifying Facial Cleanser), I think they discontinued it because I looked for it in a couple of different stores and no luck. So when looking for a replacement I found a cleaser by It Cosmetics called Confidence in a Cleanser and it works well. I sometimes double cleanse. That is when you first use a cleanser with oil and then follow up with a water based cleanser.

Now these are the two face creams I have been using for a few months. One for day and one for night. Andalou Naturals Goji Peptide Perfecting Cream (for day) and Andalou Naturals Resveratrol Q10 Night Repair Cream (for night). I really like both, they feel like good quality face creams. The night cream is especially luxurious, soothing and smells amazing.
For the delicate skin around the eyes I have been using Wild Carrot Wild Rose Hydrating Eye Cream. I like it a lot, it is gentle and nice and affordable. My latest skin care product is a sunscreen by StriVectin, Advanced Retinol Daily Repair Broad Spectrum SPF 30. I got curious about it because it contains retinol and that is usually not a day use product. So far I have only used it once but it felt very nice on the face and goes on smoothly. I will make an effort to start using sunscreen on my face, hands, neck and décolleté on a regular basis. My biggest skin care regret is frying myself in tanning beds for years and burning my skin in the harsh sun too many times. That is one sure way to ruin and age your skin. I am vain so I want to have nice and supple skin of course. I can see the sun damage on my hands and my chest area (décolleté). Plus I have a LOT of moles/freckles all over. I want like 90% of them lasered off. 
And what about the Q-tips you might wonder......? How are Q-tips fitting in here with all those products? Well, I have a thing for Q-tips and their "hidden" message (says my imagination). Seems like each time I am getting ready to run out of Q-tips I also come to a change or event of some sort in my life. I just ran out of a box and yes I am going through some rather difficult and often upsetting stuff that I am trying to work through right now......a one day at a time kind of situation. A rather big change in the situation happened today, not sure of the outcome yet. I opened this new box of Q-tips yesterday, I used two so far so 623 to go. I wonder how long this box will last? And will something happen in my life when the Q-tips in this box are gone?
As far as face creams go.....my next purchase will probably be the SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2, I have been eyeing that one for some time. I got a sample of it last year and it really felt amazing on my face.

I tried some new stuff recently, let me tell you about it.....
So after seeing a hair color called Naturtint for years I finally decided to try it to see if it would be gentler on my hair and scalp. So far I have only tried it twice, the first time the 7N shade and the second time 8N. 7N was a bit too dark and 8N is an ok match, although I might be an 8 with some 9 in it. My knowledge in the world of hair color is limited but I was looking for an ammonia free color and Naturtint does not have ammonia. BUT Naturtint contains something called ethanolamine. So I looked it up because I have never heard about it before and ethanolamine is also used in hemorrhoid treatment. And hair color, how weird.

Here is what I found on naturtintusa.com

Q. Naturtint® does not contain ammonia, how does it color the hair?

A. A key component of the hair coloring formula is the oxidant, which releases oxygen when the colorant and color developer are mixed, so that the hair cuticle can open up and absorb the color. For the oxidant to be effective, the coloring formula must use an alkaline medium to create the proper pH. Ammonia is often used as this medium, but it is very aggressive and can damage hair. Naturtint uses ethanolamine as the alkaline medium; it is less aggressive than ammonia and achieves the proper pH in a gentler way.





From what I understand Naturtint is not tested on animals.
I also got some Olaplex. tried it twice on damp hair, left it in for several hours the first time and overnight the second. I know that some people think that Olaplex is a miracle cure for their hair, I did not see any significant difference. Olaplex is not tested on animals.

https://blog.olaplex.com/2017/04/18/olaplex-is-cruelty-free

And then I recently got two new lipsticks. MAC has a new line called Metallic Lips Collection and I got Ionized Iris and Rose-Dipped. Although MAC claims to not test on animals, other reports out there claim that MAC DOES test on animals since MAC is sold in China and China requires animal testing.

Today I had a facial at Face to Face Day Spa in Bend Oregon. I also added on a wild lime scalp treatment. Unfortunately I was not happy. This is the third time I am not happy with a facial. The time before today was at a place in Las Vegas in 2015 called Aminah's Organic Skin Spa, I complained nicely to the owner (she is gorgeous by the way) and got a full refund. She quickly realized that I knew what I was talking about and not just rambling nonsense. And the first time was at some salon in Huntington Beach CA a long time ago. The poorly trained esthetician used an extraction tool and I had angry red marks all over my face, I am talking about at least 20 red indentations for a week after the facial. It should not be like that and the owner gave me a complimentary facial. Then of course I've had many good and great face and body treatments but I have to say, the best estheticians have been Europeans. I used to go to an older Hungarian lady in Las Vegas called Beba and she still does facials, check out Faces By Beba - she is good. She used to be very good but I think she has lost some of her magic but she still does a good job. I do recommend her.
Now back to today's disappointing facial experience....



I could tell from the initial approach by the esthetician today that she was kind of "meh" or uninspired and it definitely showed in her performance. Her cleansing and massage techniques were poor. She did not pay attention to details.
She positioned the face steam machine on one side of my face, the steam should engulf your whole face to open up your pores so the products can really penetrate your skin. Well, only my right check and ear area got steam, not the middle of my face and the whole left side of my face. That is a bad mistake.
She sprayed some product from a bottle too far away from my face, barely any product made contact with my face, so why even bother spraying then?
She either went to a low standard school, I asked and the answer actually confirmed it and/or she just doesn't have that special touch. Not everybody has THAT touch. The facial was supposed to last one hour and then I also added on the scalp treatment. Thinking when you add on a treatment to a facial that is supposed to last one hour then your whole treatment should be more than one hour. Right? No, not today. 60 minutes later it was over.
When I politely asked the lady at the front desk about it she got defensive and wondered if I did not want to pay for the services? It is not that I don't want to pay but when you go to a place that describes themselves as quality and charges around $100 for a one hour facial you should also get quality. The service I got today I feel would had been OK if I would had received it from a student still not done with their esthetician education and was still practicing in school.
Not somebody that graduated from school with a diploma and working at a salon or spa. Of course I paid, $98.50 cash, I got 10% off (I did not ask for the discount).
I left the esthetician $15 in tip although she didn't really deserve it but I just don't think she knows any better. She is not, in my opinion, qualified to work as an esthetician. I can do a better job and I did not go to esthetician school - maybe I should! I will not return to this place. I have two other places I want to try in Oregon. One is in Lake Oswego outside Portland and that spa is owned and operated by a Russian lady and she comes highly recommended and then there is another place here in Bend and that esthetician travels between Bend and Lake Oswego. I have a feeling that the Russian will do an excellent job.

The other day I had a pedicure at Jinsei Spa located in Bend Oregon. I picked the one hour Jinsei Pedicure. But first I prepped my feet for the pedi with a refreshing soak at home using Dr. Teal's foot soak.



Then I headed for Jinsei spa, so looking forward to my pedicure. I LOVE the spa, who doesn't?



The lady that did my pedicure was from Japan and I greeted her in Japanese.
My brother speaks fluent Japanese so my pronunciation is on point. She was super nice and we chatted away. Except when she started rubbing my feet, then I leaned back and closed my eyes and enjoyed every second. Besides loving spa visits, I love getting my feet rubbed. Any kind of massage actually I like.





Since I am a spa connoisseur I am somewhat hard to please, I know what I like and I pay attention to details. The pedicure gets 4 out of 5 Tati approval points, which is good. What needs improvement are two things.....the salt scrub needs to last longer. A few casual rubs won't do it, at least two, three minutes on each foot with a generous slather of salt scrub, work the scrub into the feet and calves. And the aloe mask needs to be left on for at least 7 minutes or so to really do what it is supposed to do. While the hot towels are left on and during that the feet should get acupressure. That is what the pedi needed but lacked therefore the 4 Tati approval points instead of 5. But I will probably visit Jinsei spa again for another pedicure.
And finally.....freshly painted toes. Pink. Of course.

I got some new hair stuff. First let's talk about these black currant oil vitamins. I am so bad at taking vitamins, I have every intention of taking a daily vitamin or two and start every morning off gulping down a large glass of warm water with fresh squeezed organic lemon added to it and then of course drink at least one liter of water throughout the day......but those are just thoughts that swirl around in my head. I do manage to swallow a few of these vitamins weekly (like two or three).
So supposedly the black currant oil is good for your hair, it helps against hair loss.
I still think that I lose too much hair. I don't know if the vitamins have made any difference or not, I should probably take a capsule a day for at least three months to see any results.



And a new shampoo and some sort of conditioner/masque Awapuhi Wild Ginger by Paul Mitchell. I like Paul Mitchell products because they are not tested on animals. I have not tried these two products yet but I read some nice reviews about them. What I really want is to try the Olaplex treatment, preferably at home. But I think I should probably go to a salon and have it done by a professional the first time.
Speaking of hair treatments, the most luxurious hair treatment I gave ever received was at a place called George Michael of Beverly Hills. They offer an in salon hair conditioning treatment called the "George Michael professional treatment" and it really is amazing. I should do that again!