Showing posts with label Drugstore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Drugstore. Show all posts

Thursday, July 13, 2017

HASK Coconut Milk and Organic Honey Curl Care Collection Review


Affordability. Quality. Performance. Results. Natural. This is what we - the consumers - look for when investing money in beauty products. Shampoos and conditioners are staple products in our beauty regiments. Let’s be honest – they are simply not sexy like a coconut sea salt spray to get those exotic beach waves or a new shade of a hot-orange lipstick or bakery scented body butter. I mean I would rather buy a new lipstick than the basic amenities, right! However, we just cannot skip out on the shampoo and conditioner dynamic-duo because after all it is a matter of personal hygiene at the very least if not a “me-time” pampering sort of moment in the shower involving a soothing scalp massage.

What I am actually trying to say is that hair care is important. I think a good hair day plays a role in seizing the day! We feel confident and put together when our hair looks healthy and well maintained. Our hair frames our face and our face is what people look at (or should be looking at) during a conversation. It is no fun to spend $15-30 on a bottle of shampoo and/or conditioner and that too multiple times a year.

My favorite affordable drugstore hair care brand is HASK. I was introduced to HASK a little over a year ago when I was accepted to review their Bamboo line. In fact, my husband is a loyal HASK user as well! He and I have purchased and tried the Monoi Coconut Oil, Argan Oil, and Keratin Protein lines over the past year.  I have also introduced HASK to a few of my close friends when they asked me for a recommendation of a “healthy, natural, and affordable shampoo brand that actually works.” Now they are all HASK fans and have thanked me for inspiring them to wear their hair naturally (i.e., not heat-styled or loaded with styling products) and feel confident about doing so. 

Recently, I was given the opportunity to try one of the latest HASK lines – Coconut Milk & Organic Honey Curl Care.  Doesn’t that sound delicious, especially as we are amidst the summer season? It literally sounds like a summery beach-time cocktail, but for our hair.  If you are a fan of the virgin coconut oil scent, you are going to love this line.  The coconut scent of this line is even more dominantly coconut than the scent of the Monoi Coconut Oil line. 

I am glad that I was already using the HASK Coconut Monoi Oil shampoo and conditioner (purchased myself from Bed, Bath, & Beyond Harmon’s) before I was sent the HASK Coconut Milk and Organic Honey shampoo and conditioner for review purposes because I think I am able to give a more informed review to those of you contemplating which one of the two Coconut varieties to purchase. 

The consistency of the HASK Coconut Milk and Organic Honey shampoo and conditioner is thicker than the HASK Coconut Monoi Oil shampoo and conditioner.  However, once you massage the Coconut Monoi Oil shampoo into your hair, it lathers into a heavier, more emollient and creamier consistency than the Coconut Milk and Organic Honey shampoo.  I also noticed that I felt the need to use more of the Coconut Milk and Organic Honey conditioner than the Coconut Monoi Oil conditioner because the latter is more emollient and only two-quarter size squirts of it is needed for my long (below-waist length) hair. 

My hair is naturally curly, voluminous, and frizzy.  I have dealt with frizzy hair since I grew out my hair (from a no-fuss boy-cut) during my pre-teen, early adolescent years. I rarely heat-style my hair and have never used bleach or lightener on it so it is just naturally frizzy and constantly in major need of conditioning.  I love having long hair and don’t want to compromise on the length of it because of the frizz.  About five or six years ago, I started getting keratin conditioning treatments annually, which helped eliminate the unmanageable volume and frizz, and gave my hair a smoother, wavy look, and allowed me to keep my hair long.  However, keratin conditioning treatments alone are not enough and I would not recommend getting them too often… only as needed because one, you don’t want your hair to become desensitized to the treatment (as with over-doing anything) and two, it is quite an investment monetarily.  Even though my stylist recommends using the shampoo and conditioner that comes in the Keratin treatment product line, I don’t because it is very expensive for the quantity you get and I prefer my affordable, sulfate-free HASK shampoo and conditioners instead. Yes, indeed the HASK line not only helps maintain the Keratin treatment by not stripping it, but also adds to the conditioning my hair needs. 

Personally, I find that the HASK Coconut Monoi Oil shampoo and conditioner is better suited for people with long, thick, voluminous, coarse, dry, and frizzy hair, while the Coconut Milk and Organic Honey shampoo and conditioner is better suited for people with short to medium length, fine, thin, brittle, and frizzy hair.  Both lines of shampoo and conditioner provide the needed moisture and hydration to combat the frizz and get a smoother, shinier look to your hair.  For some people the effect of the Coconut Milk and Organic Honey might not be enough and for others the effect of Coconut Monoi Oil might be too much so deciding which one you think you might need, I will leave that up to you.  As for the Coconut Milk and Organic Honey line’s curl care claim, I did not observe anything noticeable when comparing it to the performance of the Coconut Monoi Oil line or any of the other HASK lines I have tried previously (Bamboo, Argan, and Keratin). 

HASK products are available at Ulta (in-store and online), Target (in-store and online), and at select Bed, Bath, & Beyond (Harmon’s) stores. 
   http://haskbeauty.com/
 ♡ http://www.ulta.com/brand/hask

FTC Disclaimer: I would like to thank HASK and Brandbacker for providing press sample for this post.
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 Yours Truly,
The Lipsticks-Ninja
Meesha 

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Thursday, April 21, 2016

New Wet n Wild Megalast Salon Nail Color • Kiss My Mints and Lay Out in Lavender | Spring into the Wild!


Are y'all ready for Spring yet? Well, who isn't ready for Spring, unless where you live it is either not very seasonal or too hot during the Spring months.  The beauty and fashion retail world is surely ready.  I was visiting Walgreens with one of my beauty-loving friends - we were both searching for some new liquid lipsticks - when I came across this gorgeous display of new pastel nail polishes by Wet n Wild. 

Instantly, these new Spring into the Wild collection nail polishes reminded me of last Spring's pastel nail polishes from the Silver Lake collection by Wet n Wild.  In fact, the Spring into the Wild shades looked identical to some of the shades from Silver Lake. Anyway, the only reason I gave this new collection a second glance was because the current mint shade, named Kiss My Mints, looked less green (more blue) than last year's mint, named Tree Hugger. Also, I had returned Tree Hugger last year because it had an awful formula so I thought to give Kiss My Mints a try.  

Since purchasing Kiss My Mints and loving it, I am eager to buy the lilac/lavender one from this year's collection because that is another shade I do not have from last year's collection.  The word on the street... I mean Instagram is that the shades from this year are minutely (very subtly) different from their shade category (i.e., mint, lilac/lavender, cornflower/periwinkle blue) parallel from last year.  In other words, only a nail polish junkie (street name for nail polish collectors or connoisseurs) would notice the difference.  I am not one of those individuals as far as nail polishes are concerned.   
Y'all know that lipsticks are more my game!  In anyway, I firmly believe that bright orange nail polishes look the most flattering on my lanky hands.  Oh boy, way off tangent I go... 

In a nutshell, y'all need to buy Kiss My Mints.  I cannot mention a single downside to owning this gorgeous pastel, bluish mint shade, except that you will not want to remove it ever.  First, it is only $1.99.  Bargain. ✓ Second, as I already mentioned this is a nice balanced pastel mint (not too green, not too blue, and I am very picky about that). Trendy. ✓ Third, the staying-power was amazing.  I applied it last Thursday and removed it today (Wednesday).  It only began looking a tad shabby today because my nails have grown out and I started picking at the little chipped areas on my index fingernails.  For a $1.99, drugstore nail polish, to have such an excellent wear-time is note worthy. Thank you Wet n Wild for maintaining quality and trendiness, while keeping prices low. Solid wear-time. ✓ Lastly, the formula was as exquisite as the wear-time.  I applied two coats, allowing a few seconds for the first coat to dry down completely before applying the second coat.  I also sealed the deal with Essie's Good to Go top coat.  Dreamy formula. ✓ 

Yes, I am planning to go back for at least one or two more, like Lay Out in Lavender and Breeze On By.  Hope y'all enjoy my gallery below!  I added pictures of the shades from the Silver Lake collection I purchased last year.  Sadly, I didn't have a chance to share my swatches of the Silver Lake polishes or write a review about them because of some life stuff that came up around the time I had purchased them.  I didn't want to miss my chance this time around.  




Update (04/20/16): I purchased Lay Out in Lavender soon after writing the review above for Kiss My Mints.  Lay Out in Lavender is a pastel, slightly dusty lilac in my opinion.  I tend to describe pastel-purples as lilac if they lean less pink, slightly cool-toned, and lavender if they lean more pink, slightly warm-toned. And peri-winkle is a purple leaning more blue.  I blame my knowledge (in case I am wrong) on OPI's Do You Lilac It? and Lucky Lucky Lavender (if y'all know what I mean).  I don't know the "accurate" or "official" difference is between lilac and lavender in the purple color spectrum.  Lay Out in Lavender reminds me of the OG Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear shade Lacey Lilac.  

Lay Out in Lavender applied easily for a pastel shade.  I used two coats for an evened out appearance. The first coat is sheer so I was concerned that the polish will require three full coats, but the thinner formula and application were not an issue.  I did not apply my trusted Essie Good-to-Go top coat with this one and it did chip, especially on the index finger, slightly on the tip of other fingers, and overall had a dull appearance without top coat.  This experience sort of made me re-think the staying-power of Kiss My Mints, but I love that color, and honestly I still think the formula and application is a dream for the $1.99 price point.  Also, I appreciate that these polishes do not have the pungent chemical, paint-like smell that some cheaper / drugstore polishes tend to have.  For me Lay Out in Lavender was "meh" color-wise.  I did not love the color as much as Kiss My Mints.  When I first started purchasing/collecting nail colors a few years ago (during under-grad), I went through an intense pastel lilac/lavender phase, much like my current adoration for orange nail and lip colors.  So maybe that "phase" is to blame for my "meh" feelings towards Lay Out in Lavender at the moment.  




 • • • • 
Silver Lake (Spring-Summer 2015)
Wear Skinny Jeans


Warm Filter


A Latte Love


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 Yours Truly,
The Lipsticks-Ninja
Meesha 

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Friday, April 15, 2016

Essie Taj-Ma-Haul (Essie Resort Spring 2016)





Review... 
  • Color: a yellow-toned, dusty orange.  
  • Formula: a thin creme consistency.  
  • Application: requires patience because you need three coats for an evened out appearance and must wait for the first layer to dry before applying another layer of polish; the polish has a tendency to run off the brush and flood the nail bed. 
  • Staying-power: I applied Essie Good to Go top coat, which is my absolute favorite top-coat.  As long as the polish isn't cheap in quality, I get good wear-time (four-five days) using Good to Go. Personally, although I love wearing nail colors, I prefer my nails bare sometimes.  Also, my nails grow out fast. So if a polish lasts about four days for me, without chipping, I am "good-to-go". 
  • Overall: I didn't end up keeping this one because I like my polishes to be low maintenance when it comes to application.  I can compromise on staying power (well not if the polish chips shamelessly 20 minutes after I applied it), but I do not like a runny consistency and slow drying time.  
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Yours Truly,
The Lipsticks-Ninja
Meesha 

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