Well look at Pantene. Steppin it's game up...

I'm pretty sure I remember when Pantene got big in the late 1980s. They've been around forever, but I remember buying Pantene with the gold cap thinking I was all hot shiz. The two-in-one shampoo/conditioner. Anyone else? And it has that smell that is just...Pantene. And then it just wasn't working that great, and I moved on to better shampoos...Well. Ladies, Pantene has stepped their game up.

Photo courtesy of www.pantene.com

First of all, it has won one of Allure's Breakthrough innovations for 2010...specifically, the Pantene Pro-V Fine Hair Solutions Flat to Volume Shampoo and Medium-Thick Hair Solutions Frizzy to Smooth Shampoo. Winning a breakthrough award is kinda maja, because the Allure editors started with 150 submissions, cut that to 63 contenders, and ended with 12. Only 12. And it has to be something new, something novel. No other shampoos made the cut, and Allure is not one to shy away from the expensive stuff. So, pretty good start...especially for a drug store brand!

Here's how it works. The peeps at Pantene figured out that hair really can be separated into 4 groups: fine, medium/thick, curly, and color/chemical treated. So all the products are designed and separated into these 4 groups, with the intent of working on this hair TYPE. They also have a "restore healthy lengths" and "Original" line, but I don't know much about that. I guess other shampoo companies do this, but it's not as obvious. Most bottles don't say "Fine hair" or "Thick hair" specifically. I think that they should, and why it's 2010 and this is JUST now occurring to beauty product developers, I don't know.

Now. I have not tried the shampoo...YET. I plan to, especially after the Allure shout out. My Brocato shampoo is awesome..but it's $20+ a bottle (I KNOOOOWWW...) This stuff is $7. So much better on my wallet.

I HAVE tried the Medium to Thick Straighten and Smooth Creme, and I really, really like it. It makes my hair straight as a board, and it STAYS that way. I have naturally wavy hair, so if all I do is blow dry it just looks straight. If I flat-iron it does NOT frizz, even in humidity, and it stays basically two days. If my bangs didn't get so grease-tastic I could go without washing. A little goes a long way, so you don't need to overdo it or your hair could feel kinda weighed down. They have a smooth/straight creme for fine hair, so as the bottle says, don't use it if your hair isn't medium/thick. It's only $5.99. Seriously, I spend over $6 on a glass of wine at a restaurant...this is nothing compared to most product costs.

Photo courtesy of www.walgreens.com

There really are a bunch of new, interesting products from Pantene I want to try. There are other styling products I think would work great with my hair...and thanks to the new labeling I don't really have to wonder "Does this work for my hair type?" Cause it's WRITTEN ON THE BOTTLE. Everything is so inexpensive as well, which makes me feel better about tossing it if it doesn't work out. I never try the high end stuff cause I hate to waste the money. But I'll be testing a good bit of this line.

Pantene has some neato stuff on their site to help you out. First, there is a little tutorial to help you pick what works best for you (since I have both colored AND medium hair, it may be hard to choose) HERE. They also have reviews and vids from other women HERE. Test it out, it's pretty fun to run through!

Pantene, who knew??

(sidebar: I SERIOUSLY need to figure out how to get into R&D in the beauty world. It's like my dream job. DREAM.JOB.
sidebar 2: That pic of me with my godson that some of you were so sweet about and RAVED about my hair? Yeah. I used this cream, twisted my bangs to the side, and then curled the ends with a 1" curling iron. Easy.)

Pshhhh....Who needs Band-aids?

Let's just start with a few points.
1. I'm sorry I am so lax on blogging. I have a list of products I must discuss, I really do (including my hairstyle the other day that some of you just RAVED over...) I have just been crazy busy with work. Will try to get better.
2. I am so tired of being hot. Today it was 95...NINETY FIVE...in Baton Rouge. Ugh. I can't take it anymore. SUMMER WE BROKE UP. GO. AWAY.

Now. Let's talk products. This is not so much of a product, but an idea. Some background. The transition from summer to fall involves changes in makeup, clothes, scents, foods, and, one of my favs...shoes. The flip flops get pushed to the back of the closet in favor of flats, heels, and boots. Now. Typically this is not a huge issue. If you work in an office, you are pretty well equipped to wear close-toed shoes. However, if you work from home you may have some issues. I may or may not have spent 99% of the past couple of months completely barefoot. So when I went to work a few weeks ago with my new ballerina flats, I had some blister management to take care of.

Typically, I prevent blisters and such with Band-aids. Pretty standard procedure, right? Well. Thanks to two dancer friends (A and K) I have found something better, cheaper, and sturdier than Band-aids. Plain old first aid tape.

Photo courtesy of walgreens.com

There's paper, cloth, waterproof, you name it. I personally prefer the cloth. It's basically transparent once on your foot (see the pic below? You can barely see the tape). And it stays on MUCH better than a bandaid.

And this stuff is cheap. I was wasting money buying Band-aids. I mean, they are handy for having in your purse in an emergency, but Band-aids are really meant to protect cuts not stop blisters. Blisters are formed by friction between your shoe and the upper layer of skin (science lesson o' the day), so all you really need to do is prevent rubbing directly ON the skin. That is easily accomplished with tape.

And let's just talk savings here for a second. My hubs, T, has recently gotten ALL KINDS of interested in our personal finances, so we're trying to budget a bit better. The little things add up. If one Band-aid is 1", and 30 come in a box for $4, that's $0.13 an inch.  Compare that to $4.50 for 20 YARDS (720") of tape...that's $0.006 an inch. You basically get 720 Band-aids for the price of 30. I mean, you can even triple layer the tape if you need to make SURE you don't get a blister (one layer stopped it for me). For reals. Cheap cheap cheap.

I may be totally late to this party. But when something like this occurs to me, I just have to share.

Chanel's fall nail polish line

So the break up with summer is going well. I have quite enjoyed the purple polish on my toes, and plan to hit up the greige nail polish this weekend.

While I CANNOT afford Chanel ($23 a bottle? No thanks) THESE are exactly the colors I'm loving this fall. I would recommend you all check out Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure ($7.50 a bottle at Walgreens). They have a great selection at a MUCH MUCH better price.

Photo courtesy of Allure.com

Here's the Allure blog post: Chanel's New Fall Polishes are Here!

Excellent tips that I didn't know about....

Esp the swiping of polish remover before the base coat even if you don't have polish to remove.

From Allure.com. Manicure Tricks Too Good To Skip

Coupons and Sales from College Fashion

Hi everyone. Rather than retype the links and credit College Fashion with each one, I will just direct you to their site:

Coupons and Sales: Labor Day  by College Fashion

These girls are very good about posting coupons each Friday. This weekend is no exception. Enjoy, and Happy Labor Day!

Dear Summer, we're breaking up

Dear Summer. It's not you. It's me. I just can't handle the extreme heat, humidity, and daily rainstorms anymore. I appreciate you showing up after that super cold winter and all, but we've reached the end of our road together. I know August isn't over for 3 more days, but I'm done. Plus, I'm interested in someone new. His name is Fall.

Fall took me out, showed me all these adorable new clothes. He bought me skinny jeans yesterday at the mall. And a scarf. He showed me lovely purple/violet eyeshadows on the horizon. He showed me BOOTS. Boots I tell you. I can't resist that. (Side note--Fall is a little metrosexual. He may even be gay with his love of makeup and fashion. I don't care. I love him anyway).

But oh Summer...he really got me with this. NAIL POLISH. I kinda obsess over nail polish in general, but this fall's colors are basically bowling me over. I adore them. More than I adored coral and turquoise blue polish. This fall it's all about greige, eggplant, browns, and mauves! See for example, the Essie collection ($6.50 each, $17 for a four pack at Nordstrom):

Courtesy of Just Beauty Supplies

And this runway look from CND in 2010. This, my friend, is the color GREIGE. It's my new fav color.

Courtesy of Allure Daily Beauty Reporter

Now, I'm no big spender on nail polish. OPI and Essie are the top of my price point at $9 a pop. If I was, however, I'd buy Chanel's Paradoxal ($50)

Photo courtesy Amazon

So here's what I have for fall in my current collection (I told you I was already interested in Fall)

Left to Right: Revlon Plum Night (good copy of Chanel Paradoxal, $6.99 drugstores), OPI Matte Lincoln Park After Dark (on sale $6 at Trade Secret), Sephora by OPI Meet You for Drinks ($9 Sephora), Sephora by OPI Metro Chic ($9 Sephora), Sephora by OPI Under my Trench Coat (My absolute FAV. It is impossible to find an outfit this color doesn't go with. $9 Sephora).

Here they are on. Same order L to R. The OPI matte collection might not be for everyone, since you are not supposed to use a topcoat. However, if the matte just throws you off, add that topcoat and it looks like normal!

I will probably get something from the Essie collection (maybe the brown), but for now I will work with what I have in transition. My toes went plum last night. I credit the drop from 97 F to 80 F as the final break point for me. YAY FALL!!

p.s. Summer, check back with me around, oh, April and May 2011. You know how flighty I can be. I'll want to get back together by then.

Marc Jacobs Lola now in rollerball!

BIG news. BIG. Sephora finally finally has Marc Jacobs Lola in rollerball form. I'm so excited. I have been coveting this scent since it came out, but it's a tad pricey ($40 and up) so I've been waiting...for the rollerball!! I would describe the scent as floral...but kinda sexy and musky at the same time. It's definitely less sweet than Daisy (another Marc scent). I love it. While the bottle is absolutely gorgeous,

Photo courtesy of Sephora.com

the rollerball has many benefits. (I apologize for the poor pic quality below...it was the best I could get from Sephora.)

1. It's easy to travel with, even flying, because it is only 0.24 oz.
2. It's half the price at $22 compared to $48 for 1 oz.
3. The rollerball makes for easy application--just roll it across your wrist or other pulse points. Perfect delivery of the right amount of perfume.
4. Don't be worried about not having enough...I have Marc Jacobs and Marc Jacobs Daisy in rollerball form and haven't used them up yet. You'd be surprised how long 0.24 oz can last.

Rollerballs, as far as I know, can ONLY be purchased at Sephora. Thanks to the Grizas, who just sent me a Sephora gift card...good timing, cause this baby is SO mine now.


Side note: I am sorry for the lack of posts. Working on a proposal for work...haven't had much time. I know it's almost fall and the beauty mags and blogs are going nuts...I promise to update. I have a list of blog topics. If there is anything you guys want me to check into for fall, let me know! I will be glad to research. :)