A Few Great Hair Products Worth Mentioning!

This post is a bit random, but I thought I'd share with you some products I've been using and enjoying lately that I haven't talked about before.

I have naturally thick, naturally curly (but not coarse) hair that is prone to dryness and breakage. Since I heat style my hair regularly, I like to use deep conditioners weekly to keep my hair moisturized and looking healthy. Each time I run out of conditioner, I always purchase a different one. I can't really say that any of them have been drastically different from one another. One deep conditioner I'm almost finished with is Kera Minerals by Silk Elements Smoothing Deep Conditioner - this conditioner strengthens the hair by restoring the lost keratin in damaged hair that causes breakage, dullness and frizz. It also combines silk protein that aids in making the hair feel soft and silky and rosehip oil to moisturize. After use, your hair should feel much softer with less frizz and lots of shine.

I've been using this conditioner at least once a week for a month or so and it really does all that it says. My hair feels really soft and silky, but not so light that it won't hold a curl. I notice less breakage when brushing my hair, which is one of my main concerns and frizz is definitely reduced. It smells really good too which is always a plus.

The other conditioner I've been using is Silk Elements MegaSilk Intense Conditioning Mayonnaise. It contains loads of moisturizing ingredients such as olive oil, lanolin oil, keratin, collagen, silk proteins, plant extracts and cholesterol. I think it's a great treatment if your hair is very dry and damaged or after chemically processing your hair.

Although this product is no doubt conditioning, it's more of a treatment for your hair rather a deep conditioner. After rinsing the product from my hair, it didn't feel silky at all like it would with a conditioner. It felt much more like I used a protein treatment. My hair felt slightly coarse, yet smooth at the same time. I was definitely able to tell the difference in texture; when I lightly tugged my hair, it felt a lot stronger. After my hair dried, it felt soft enough (not silky) where using an additional conditioner wouldn't have been necessary.

The only downside is that I felt my hair was slightly weighed down - similar to the feeling I'd get from using too much finishing balm/wax on my hair. Not greasy, just a bit heavier, so I needed to use a little extra hairspray to hold my style. On the plus side, it retained moisture well until my next washing, which is great for my hair type. It was also very manageable.

I avoid products that weigh my hair down, but I think the positives of this treatment outweigh the negatives. The next time I use it, I might just leave it in my hair for a long time with a cap and then shampoo.

As far as Leave-in Conditioners go, It's a 10 Miracle Leave-In + Keratin is one of my all-time favorites.   As with most conditioners, it really increases my hair manageability and helps keep my hair from drying out. It's a little expensive though, and I go through a bottle very quickly, so I've been recently looking for a cheaper alternative. I came across Miracle 7 Leave-In Mist and have been using it a few times a week after I get out of the shower for added protection for my hair. It detangles, adds shine, stops hair breakage and prevents split ends. It also helps control frizz and makes my hair (especially my ends which tend to be dry) feel silkier. Is it an exact dupe for It's a 10? No, not really. They're similar, but I think It's a 10 does a better job strengthening my hair. Miracle 7 seems to do a better job conditioning my hair and making it look and feel silkier. I also love the fact that it doesn't weigh down my hair or leave a coating on my hair like some leave-ins tend to do. I highly recommend this leave-in, especially if you have unruly, frizzy, dry or damaged hair.

Onto heat protection! I've tried many heat protectors, and although I love TRESemme Heat Tamer because it doesn't make my hair feel greasy or weigh it down, I sometimes want something that will make my ends feel silkier (usually on my dirty hair days when my ends feel dry). On those days, I've been applying Silk Elements Megasilk Olive Heat Protection Spray to my ends and curl my hair as usual. It protects my hair from the heat and makes my hair feel ultra silky, lightweight, tangle-free and provides shine. It's great for my straight hair days. You only need they tiniest bit and you want to keep it away from your roots to avoid any greasiness.

Lastly, a fab product I stumbled upon is the Ion Color Brilliance Pre-Color Treatment. It's basically a treatment that you apply to your hair before dying or lightening your hair to even out the porosity of your hair so that when you chemically process your hair, you'll achieve even color results. My hair always comes out lighter on top and darker at the bottom so I gave this product a try and it made my hair color super even when dying. I'll never dye my hair without applying this first!

All products mentioned can be purchased at Sally Beauty Supply.

What hair products have you been loving?

Maybelline The Falsies Big Eyes Mascara Review!

Maybelline The Falsies Big Eyes Mascara

Maybelline The Falsies Big Eyes Mascara ($7) is a new mascara that promises to provide 360 degrees of volume to your top and bottom lashes for a wide-awake effect. This mascara is double-sided with two different brushes, designed to be used individually on the top and bottom lashes.

The upper lash brush has a fluffy, twisted, spiral design. I'm personally not the biggest fan of the twisty design - The bristles are all different lengths and aren't uniform all the way around. I find that the awkward shape doesn't allow even coverage with each stroke.

The bottom lash brush is very small and thin and is perfect for coating the bottom and corner lashes. It doesn't over-apply product which is super nice, and separates really well. If you have very short top lashes, this may be helpful for your top and bottom lashes.

The formula is pretty wet and is a super dark glossy black - reminiscent of other washable mascaras and tubing mascaras I've used in the past. Every black isn't created equal in the mascara world, and I personally as deep and rich of a black as I could find. I can vouch that this mascara is one of the blackest I've used. Due to this, after a few coats, your lashes will be super noticeable, even from a distance.

It builds volume super quick, but with each additional coat, expect some clumping. A clean spoolie is really helpful. If you're a natural mascara kind of girl - one coat with this mascara is great. Of course I'm all for dramatic lashes, so I just carefully comb through my lashes until my desired effect. I always curl my lashes prior and apply a mascara primer for the best results.

Unfortunately no length is achieved what-so-ever, which for me is probably the biggest downfall. Some days I'll apply one coat of a lengthening mascara and apply this mascara as my second coat for volume.

It's supposedly smudge-proof, but after several hours I have minimal transfer under my eyes. It's also a washable mascara, so it comes off really easily with warm water.

I apologize in advance for my clumpy lashes in the last photo - I couldn't find a lash comb. 

Just an Update!

Hey Everyone!

I wanted to give you all a little bit of an update on things that are going on with me right now. 

As I'm sure you've noticed, my blog posts have been fewer and fewer over the last few months. Keeping up with my blog on a regular basis has been a priority of mine for the past four years, but there are periods of time where I'm sure just about every blogger needs a little bit of a break. 

If you remember back in March, I mentioned that my aunt was diagnosed with colon cancer (among other things) and had a pretty extensive surgery, followed with some complications and lots of recovery time. Luckily, I work from home and my aunt now lives with me, so I've been able to be there for her whenever she needs anything. The recovery period has taken a lot longer than initially expected, but she is doing well. She just begun chemotherapy which she will be administered for 6 months, which quite frankly really scares me because I really don't know too much about it and the overall effects it has on the health. I've read up on it, but I know everyones body is different and each person doesn't respond to treatment in the same way. She has been experiencing some side effects, so she hasn't been able to return to work, but we're very hopeful that she will get through this with the love and support of our family and friends. I really appreciate any well wishes and prayers because it is a really scary thing, especially for my aunt or anyone that has been diagnosed with a form of cancer. Hopefully you can understand why my posts have been on the decline lately.

My Aunt and Me on my Birthday on June 2nd

On a more positive note, I just returned from a wonderful two week long vacation from Las Vegas with my boyfriend and his brother, sister and husband and it was seriously the break I needed. We had loads of fun and hit up all of the yummy food spots and did lots of over indulging.. haha! It was worth it anyways, and I feel so refreshed and ready to get back into my daily routine. 

George & Me at the Venetian in Vegas

Lastly, I'd like to ask a favor from my readers! It's a bit random, but my niece made the Top 12 in her local town "idol" signing competition and our family is so proud of her! She is a very smart and talented 14 year old girl and if anyone deserves to win, she does! She tried really hard and picked a tough song, and I think she did amazing. It would mean the world to her and me if you took a moment to vote for her! It literally only takes a couple of seconds once you reach the page to vote. If she receives enough votes, she will make it to the next round and will get to choose another song and prove to the judges that she can sing! Please help her get that chance! 

The link to vote is: http://www.parkfun.com/programs/cultural-arts/schaumburg-idol/2013/round-1

Please scroll down to the voting box and select Katerina Perez. Press Continue and your vote is in!

Thank you so much!!

As a thank you, I will be getting together a giveaway soon! If you have any ideas for the giveaway prize, please let me know in the comments. Thanks again!!!

Some of My Guilty Pleasures. What are Some of Yours?

Some of My Guilty Pleasures

We all pretty much have guilty pleasures that we like to indulge in whether it be listening to some of your old-school jams, going on unnecessary shopping sprees, getting an occasional massage or indulging in something sweet. I think it's a way of keeping our own sanity even though many of us don't like to admit some of the things we occasionally enjoy when there's a small feeling of guilt involved.

TV is a common guilty pleasure whether it be watching some old re-runs, "reality" shows, daytime talk shows or following a new series. As a Glam Media publisher, I get the wonderful opportunity to work with many different brands. Right now, Glam is celebrating the premiere of ABC's new show Mistresses. A bit scandalous, Mistresses is a new drama about four girlfriends on their own paths to self-discovery. We have a bit of a feeling that it's sure to be one of our next guilty pleasures.

Continue reading to see what some of my guilty pleasures are. I'd also love to read some of yours!

A Certified Pamper Day

Keeping up with a beauty regimen can be a lot of work and can require loads of upkeep. One of my guilty pleasures is designating myself an all-out "Pamper Day" to myself. My pamper day is an all-out spa day for myself, hosted by myself and usually falls on a Sunday when I have absolutely no plans and feel like sticking around at home for the day.

I usually do what I tend to neglect on most days, which would be a full body exfoliation in the shower, shaving from head to toe (sometimes waxing) and loading myself up with a good moisturizer and throwing a protein treatment and deep conditioner in my hair and cover my hair with a shower cap while I do some of my other things. I like leaving deep conditioners in my hair for as long as I can, so with some time to kill, I like to tweeze my eyebrows really good with a 5X mirror (and any other strays I can find) and pick from my array of beauty masks. If my nails aren't looking the best, I'll paint my finger and toe nails - one of dreaded chores of being a girl. I love freshly polished nails, but I just hate doing it. I try to be good though about removing my polish as soon as it chips, but I've been guilty on several occasions of having chipped nails for days. My day usually ends with a self-tanning session and by the next morning, I feel incredibly refreshed and ready to take on the day. I loathe the feeling of when I neglect my beauty routine, but to my defense, it's only usually the periods of time where I've been super busy and haven't had much time to myself.

Thrift Stores, Consignment Shops & Garage/Estate Sales

Who doesn't love a bargain, right? So it's no secret that If I see a sign for an Estate Sale, I'm following the signs and arrows all the way to the sale. I've always enjoyed going to them since I was really young to see if I can score something really good for a low price. You definitely have to get there early if you want dibs on the good stuff, and sometimes you can get really lucky. I always have the hopes of snagging some vintage designer fashion jewelry or accessories. I've found some pretty cool things, including a real Louis Vuitton wallet for like fifty cents.

I also really enjoy going to random thrift stores and consignment shops once in a while when I get the chance. It's not something I do regularly, because frankly I don't have any good shops that are local, but if I spot one, I always like to take a peek inside.

Lately though I've been regularly looking at online consignment stores that specialize in designer goods (mostly handbags) in hopes of scoring a great deal on something that really wouldn't be in my budget otherwise. Hey, no one has to know that you weren't the original owner.. haha!

Splurging on Makeup

Surprise! I'd consider purchasing makeup a guilty pleasure only because I own so much already that I absolutely do not need any more. It's really hard for me not to give into makeup temptations, but you can bet that If I spot anything pretty at a makeup counter, it's going to go home with me. My ultimate guilty pleasure is the higher-end, pricier brands of makeup that I don't purchase too often. Purchasing a pricey foundation or blush makes me feel extra luxurious.

Junk Food

I eat very healthy regularly for the most part, but I'm guilty of indulging.. maybe a little too often than I should. There are many "forbidden" foods on the invisible list in my head which mostly consists of fast food, junk food (candy, chips, snacks, processed baked goods) and pretty much anything loaded with calories and that's high in fat or sugar.

One of guilty pleasures believe it or not is just a regular, greasy, fast food meal. I never eat fast food - maybe once or twice a year and when I go to restaurants, I will never order fries with my food. Don't get me wrong, I love it! But it's something I've steered clear of for many years. Actually eating a full meal at McDonald's would be a treat for me! Don't judge. haha!

I'm also a sweet addict and can't go to any store without looking at the bakery section. I won't necessarily purchase anything, but I love to feed my eyes with all of the yummy treats. A really good coffee cake would be a total guilty treat for me. I also love cannolis (with chocolate chips), napoleons and pretty much anything filled with custard and topped with whipped cream.

1990's Animated Movies

I was huge on Disney Movies as a little kid and during my Summer vacations I use to watch my Disney movies over and over again. I was a child with a large imagination and I remember I had a big selection of VHS tapes and I always acted like I was shopping at the video store when it was time to pick a movie. I think I even use to stamp a card with the date to "return" the movie (back to my shelf) because I saw them do it at Blockbuster. Some of my favorite movies were Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Pocahontas, Thumbellina, Once Upon a Forest, Princess and the Goblin, The Swan Princess and many more! I still love these movies, and if I happened to run across any of them playing on TV, I'd definitely watch them.

I'd love to hear what some of your guilty pleasues are! Let me know in the comments!

Four friends. Four hearts. 13 weeks of seduction. Based on the hit UK television series of the same name, "Mistresses" is a provocative and thrilling drama about the scandalous lives of a sexy and sassy group of four girlfriends, each on her own path to self-discovery. These four friends find support and guidance with each other as they brave their turbulent journeys and life's storms of excitement, secrecy and betrayal, all the while bound by the complex relationships they've created. "Mistresses" stars Alyssa Milano, Yunjin Kim, Rochelle Aytes and Jes Macallan. Don't miss the series premiere Monday, June 3rd at 10|9c on ABC after an all-new "The Bachelorette."