PRODUCT REVIEW: TRESemme Fresh Start Dry Shampoo

I don't know about you guys, but if I wash my hair every day it turns to straw.  I mean dry as the desert, splitting, breaking, damaged straw.  It's not ideal.  So I don't shampoo every day.  I do the pony-tail-on-top-of-my-head-bangs-pinned-back shower thing.  (I really should invest in a shower cap, I always enjoy them in hotels.)

But I do come across one problem only washing my hair ever other day or so.  The roots tend to get a little shiny while the rest of my hair stays great.  This is not ok.  And I do not have the patience to just wash my roots and let's face it, if I wash my roots some shampoo is going to reach the ends of my hair and I'm going to be facing some nasty split-ends.

An easy solution?  Dry Shampoo!  I first learned about dry shampoo wayyyy back in beauty school.  My instructor gave us a quick run down on it, posing uses like "hospital invalids" and "old women who only washed once a week".  Uh, hello?  What about the everyday girl who wants to save the integrity of her over-colored, over-teased, over-heat styled hair?

There are plenty of dry shampoos out there.  And there are plenty of at-home remedies that are much cheaper than a store bought product.  If you don't have access to professional products like a cosmetologist does, there are some affordable every store varieties.  One of the newest and most advertised of these is TRESemme Fresh Start Dry Shampoo.  I was stoked to try this one as soon as I saw the commercial.  I mean really, I would love to just spritz this life-saving product onto my day old hair to keep away any unhealthy looking shine from my roots!  One trip to Target and $5 later I was holding this product, upset that I had freshly washed hair.  So I waited until the next day when my hair was awesome in every aspect but a bit-o'-shine at the top.

1.  The smell is fantastic.
2.  The spray is even.
3...

I have nothing else good to say.  I sprayed fairly lightly as to avoid a problem.  Didn't matter.  In a matter of minutes my hair felt yucky.  It felt like the day after too much hairspray/mousse/gel.  I didn't notice any decrease in shine, in fact, it seemed to have amped up the shine, which would be great if I were looking for the greasy grunge look, which I am not.

I gave it a fair 3 or 4 times of trying and every time I was embarrassed because I feel like my hair looked worse than it would of had I just left it alone.

I'll be sticking to my home remedy for the shine: Cornstarch.  Yup.  $.85 for a box that lasts MONTHS.  You just pinch a bit on your fingers, rub it into any problem areas and voila!  All oils have been soaked up and your hair looks FANTASTIC.  Seriously.  It's a life saver.  Especially for new moms who fall behind in shampooing...  Trust me on this.  But please please please use sparingly!  You don't want your hair to look like it has powder in it and too much cornstarch can definitely be seen in darker hair if you aren't careful!

Moral of the story:  save your money and stick to the simpler, though odd sounding, cornstarch!

PRODUCT REVIEW: Bare Minerals vs. Sephora Mineral

This past summer I had the chance to live in St. Louis.  I was so looking forward to a warm summer in the ozarks.  I thought of my younger years, reading The Little House books and learning about The Ozarks.  It all seemed very romantic and exciting.  It wasn't.  It was hot.  I mean, miserably, sweaty, cranky, unable to sleep ever, HOT.  Like 104 degrees with 110% humidity.  Long story short, I didn't spend time on The Ozarks, I spent time in the pool.

I thought I was MELTING in St. Louis. 




Notice the shine.  It was constant.  CONSTANT.
4th of July, Kirkwood, MO, 2010.

 The makeup that I have worn everyday for ever and ever (MAC foundation) was pretty much running off my face.  I felt disgusting.  I could not wear it.  However, I can't go without makeup.  It just doesn't work for me and it wouldn't work for anyone around me.  Trust.  So after researching a bit I decided that I would give bare Minerals a shot.  I was VERY skeptical.  Powder? To cover all my flaws?  I do not think so.  Joseph and I headed over to the St. Louis Galleria Mall and I ventured into the Bare Essentials store.  I told the lady that I was interested but have never tried the product.  She sat me down and did up half of my face.  I looked in the mirror, expecting to be disappointed, I mean seriously, it's just powder.  I.  Was.  Shocked.  My skin looked flawless!  Porcelain!  I was sold right then and there.

I purchased this handy little kit:

bare Minerals Starter Kit.  $60.

This kit included the foundation powder, warmth (bronzing) powder, mineral veil (finishing powder), an instructional DVD that I never watched, and brushes.  I also ended up buying the Prime Time Foundation Primer, which I highly recommend.  It cost me $21.  So over all I paid about $82 for my bare Minerals set up.  It seems like a lot of money, but I kid you not, I still have the primer and use it, and I would still have the powders if the supposed "click and go" locking system hadn't faltered and exploded my foundation powder and warmth all over my car a couple of months ago.

I wore this makeup every day in St. Louis.  My skin was perfect.  When I came back to Utah I tried to go back to my MAC makeup my face broke out and I felt disgusting having something so heavy on my face.  I went back to bare Minerals and I will always use it.  Seriously, it's amazing.

Now for the comparison.  Obviously, bare Minerals is a little pricey.  I have noticed that Sephora has their own version of the stuff.  For a smidge cheaper.  I've wondered and wondered about this product every time I browse through Sephora (which I LOVE to do.)  When my bare Minerals exploded and I was left with no wonderful face powder, I decided this was my chance to try it out.  I went into Sephora, grabbed the nearest sales lady, and started drilling her about the differences.  OBVIOUSLY she is going to push the Sephora brand product, that's what she's paid to do.  I tried on their powder, I looked through what they had to offer, it wasn't so bad.  I decided to take a risk and purchase the Sephora Mineral Foundation.  I chose the pressed powder because I was still bitter about the explosion of loose powder in my car.  It cost me $22.

In the lightest shade available of course...

I immediately started using this product and almost immediately wasn't happy.  It was just different.  It actually felt heavier on my skin and it was more noticeable that there was powder sitting on my face.  It didn't look smooth like the bare Minerals.  But I kept using it, giving it the benefit of the doubt.  Then I started to break out.  WHAT?!  Not ok.  I didn't break out with bare Minerals.  Ever.  Why was I breaking out with this mineral make up?  The case broke of this compact very quickly.  There isn't much powder even in the compact.  And like I said, it feels heavy and you can SEE it very clearly on your face.  Isn't this stuff supposed to give you that natural beauty look?

Long story short,  bare Minerals and Sephora Mineral are not the same.  They ARE comparable, but bare Minerals, in my opinion, is so above and beyond Sephora Mineral.  I will pay a little more money any day for better quality, longer lasting, makeup. 

Hopefully this helps any of you who were wondering what the differnce is they way that I was!