Salon Grafix Conditioning Cleanser and Intensive Hair Repair Masque review

I am ridiculously backed up on my reviews right now. There are so many products that I have shown in hauls that I haven't gotten to reviewing. I do intend to review them as promised, it's just taking me so long. Here is two of those products. Instead of reviewing them separately, I will be reviewing Salon Grafix Healthy Hair Nutrition Conditioning Cleanser and Intensive Hair Repair Masque together today, as they are a system, I have had these products for nearly a year now and just got backed up on reviewing them. The good thing about that is that I have had more time to try these out.

I'm not completely sure how I stumbled upon these products, but I know I found them while researching Wen. I had heard in a few places that this was a dupe of Wen. With Wen being way out of my price range, I thought it would be cool to try this product. I was able to get both of these at CVS. I have heard that Walmart may carry them too. At the time, the hair masque was on sale.

I got both of these in the citrus creme scent. With some reviews I read before purchasing, some people hated this scent. I really like it though, it smells like oranges.

Let's Start with the Conditioning Cleanser. It comes in a pump bottle, which makes it easier to use. I think the packaging was also to try to make it look a little like Wen. I like how the bottle allows you to see how much product is left.

There are directions on the back of the bottle that tells you how many pumps to use based upon your hair type and length. I have really long hair, so I tend to use 4-5 pumps. This doesn't foam up. On the bottle it claims to be color safe. I haven't dyed my hair in a while so I can't confirm this.

After following all of the directions on the bottle, my hair comes out very smooth, soft, moisturized and shiny. I have heard of Wen doing this to your hair. I however have never gotten that volume with this product that many people say they get with Wen. Regardless if this is a Wen dupe, I like it. My hair can get really dry and this is the perfect pick me up for it.

Now on to the Intensive Hair Repair Masque.

One word of advice: Don't use this right after using the conditioning cleanser. It may make your hair greasy or overly moisturized. If I use this, I use a different shampoo with it. There are directions on the back of the bottle. You basically use this as you would with any deep conditioner, put it all over your wet hair and let it sit. It recommends using a wide tooth comb with this to evenly distribute product. I use this every once in a while when my hair is feeling dry or when I feel like pampering myself. After use, my hair feels very conditioned and it will be very soft. I really like it and think it would be perfect for anyone with damaged hair. This is the only deep conditioner I have used, so I don't know how it compares to any other ones.

Over all, I do really like this system, although it isn't such a good idea to use the hair masque with the conditioning cleanser. On their own however these are wonderful products. I'm not so sure on the Wen dupe claims, but I would say it is a good alternative.

Weekly Beauty Tip #72 Tip for cleaner eyebrows

When filling in your eyebrows, surround the eyebrow with concealer then blend out. this will give you cleaner lines and a more polished look.

Weekly Beauty Tip #71: Where to apply perfume

Perfume should be applied to the pulse points of your body. These are the spots that release the most heat and allow perfume to rise and radiate throughout the day. It basically will help your perfume last all day.

These are the points:

-Inside of the wrists
-Inside of the elbows
-Behind the ear
-Base of the throat
-Behind the knee

I wouldn't recommend  spraying on every spot unless you wear a very light scent or just want a strong scent. If you want a lighter scent strength pick 2-3 max.

Lime Crime Velvetines Review

I have been excited about this product ever since it was first announced. I missed out on getting it the first time it was released. When the second wave of Velvetines was released I jumped at the chance and bought them. I have had these since April, but I really wanted to test these out well before I reviewed them.

Velvetines are liquid matte lipsticks. They come in three; Suedeberry (a retro red, kind of strawberry coral red.), Pink velvet (a bright pink) and Red Velvet (a beautiful rich red color). Featured in this review are Suedeberry and Red Velvet.

The box that Suedeberry and Red Velvet come in looks like this:

If you open the box all the way, it folds out to reveal instructions and tips on applying. I'm not sure if Pink Velvet will have this, from what I've seen the look of it is pretty different.

I love the packaging, although I expected these to be bigger than they are. It comes in a tube like a lip gloss and has a doe foot applicator. I really like the applicator, it makes it easy to apply.

The formula and thin consistency reminds me of OCC lip tars. These dry completely matte. They can feel a little drying, so put a little bit of lip balm on before applying. The colors are very pigmented, one swipe and you have full opacity. They smell wonderful, like vanilla cupcakes.

The lasting power is amazing as long as you don't eat anything greasy. If you eat anything with oils or greasiness then it will come off. But whenever I just drank or ate non-greasy foods the Velvetines stayed wonderfully! Sometimes I feel like they have even better staying power than OCC lip tars (and those have some great staying power).

I did a few things to test out lasting power and I have a timeline as well. One day I went on a trip with a friend to a large mall that was about an hour away. I applied some Too Faced lip Insurance primer with a velvetine on top around 8:30 am. About 9:30-10:00 I had a muffin, even wiped my mouth with a napkin a few times and it did not budge. I drank water throughout the day and it still didn't budge. Around 12:30 we stopped for lunch. I had something greasy, which wiped off most of the Velvetine. From there I just completely cleaned off the primer and Velvetine.

After lunch (about 1:30ish) I reapplied the Velvetine WITHOUT primer. I drank water throughout the day and it did not budge. I didn't do any touch ups. By the time I got home around 7:30 pm it still looked perfect! It even lasted through my dinner and did not budge until I washed it off myself with a makeup remover wipe (probably around 8:30 or 9:00 pm). I really hope that this shows just how well these last! I should also add that I at points had forgotten that I was even wearing anything on my lips. It is very light weight. It wasn't overly drying to me at all.

I absolutely love Lime Crime's velvetines. They're worthy of the hype for sure! I can't wait to get Pink Velvet!

You can buy (when they are in stock that is) velvetines from Lime Crime (www.limecrime.com)  for $20 plus shipping, unless you spend $50 then shipping is free. They used to be $18, but Lime Crime had a price increase in November 2013. I buy my velvetines from amazon from an amazing seller that gets their products directly from Lime Crime.

Elf HD Blush Review

I never used to wear blush. It wasn't until last year that I started venturing into blush and now I wear it so much more. When I saw Elf release these HD blushes I was intrigued. At that time I hadn't tried a cream blush before and these looked great.

I have the Elf HD blush in Headliner, which is the lightest shade. It is a very light pink, which is perfect for me. I have fair skin and I tend to like lighter blushes that won't make me look like a clown (which can happen very easily with me!)

I really like the packaging, it comes in a pump. You need to shake it well before using so that the pigments don't separate. You only need a very tiny bit of this product, so it will last a long time. It is extremely pigmented and blends nicely. They last very well too.

These are dupes of Makeup For Ever Microfinish HD Blush. I have never tried MUFE's version, but they look very similar. MUFE has 14 shades available and Elf has 5 as of the time of this review. MUFE's product is $26 for .2 oz vs Elf's at $3 for .34 oz. So Elf has more product for way less. At that price, Elf's HD blush is a steal!

I really hope Elf releases more colors, I really like these blushes and would love to own more colors.

Weekly Beauty Tip #70 Do not rub perfume

When you apply perfume to the wrists, do not rub them together. It will break up the chemical makeup of the perfume and make it not only not last as long, but it may change the scent.