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Beauty

Beauty, Lifestyle

How to Use Purple Shampoo With Highlights

Listen up brunettes!  I love to dye my hair, and have been highlighting and dying it for several years. In college I was always on a mission to find the cheapest hairdresser.  This usually meant that I wasn’t going to spend any extra money on specialized shampoos.  Of course, as the saying goes….”as you get older you also get wiser.”   I’ve often heard my hairdressers of yesteryear and today talk about using specialized shampoos to neutralize yellows, but I have blissfully ignored them.  Shame on me!

Feeling great with fresh looking highlights!

Let me explain, I am of Indian decent, I have naturally dark brown to almost black hair. I have always loved playing with the color of my hair to change up my look.  I have gone from partially blonde, to just highlighted, back to my original color, to completely blonde.  In all of those transitions I have never bought a specialized shampoo to neutralize the yellows that appear when you bleach and then dye your hair. 

Shop this Shampoo Here

The last treatment I did, I went from a blonde balayage back to almost my original color by transitioning to darker low lights. My hairdresser had suggested that I use a purple shampoo. My original thought in my head was “are you crazy!” I was afraid that putting purple on a lighter color on dark hair would turn the light parts purple, but boy was I wrong!  Truly, it depends on what kind of look you’re going for.  Transitioning back to my original hair color from blonde, I wanted to keep my darker color looking semi-natural. The purple shampoo made my hair less bronze and kept a very subtle light highlight on my dark hair. I absolutely love my results, and cannot stress more the importance of using a purple shampoo if this is the look you’re trying to achieve.  I’m just trying to save you the time and energy, get the purple shampoo if your hairdresser recommends that, you won’t regret it!

Your Chick,
Sonia

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Beauty

Do Not Spend Money On These 5 Beauty Products in 2019!

Sometimes we have a tendency to ONLY share things that we love on the blog.  This past year, Chicks And Salsa, as a platform, had allowed us to be exposed to and try so many beauty products that I could not help but do a write up on things that I will NOT be buying in the new year.  I love trying new things and sharing my thoughts on them but once in a while I slip up and buy something without looking at reviews and regret it.  It brings me no pleasure at all to say anything negative about companies that have great collections beyond these products, but if I can save you an average of $20 this year – I am cool with it. 

                 Buy This: Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara                  
Not This: NYX Cosmetics Mascara

I have used this Too Faced product for YEARS but felt frisky one day and decided to grab for something new and boy did I regret it.  The NYX Doll Eye wand is flimsy and the ‘brush bristles’ are soft so the lashes don’t separate as well as they do with my go to mascara.  I won’t be making this mistake again anytime soon.

                 Buy This: Laura Mercier Hydrating Foundation Primer                 
Not This: Farsali Unicorn Essence

This one pains me to share because I literally love Farah Dhukai and have followed her rise to Insta-stardom over the past 7 or so years.  But other than the fact that this product “looks cool” or is “fun to apply” –if you wear full coverage make up it literally does nothing for you.  Instead grab for the Laura Mercier Hydrating Foundation Primer which really gets into the creases of your face, truly priming you skin for a smooth foundation application.  If you are going to layer up, consider skipping the Farsali Unicorn Tears just sayin’.

                                Buy This: Tarte Shape Tape Concealer                               
Not This: MAC Select Cover Up Concealer

I have been loyal to MAC Cosmetics since high school but I did not realize until recently that the yellow undertones were making me look –well — yellow! I have spent the last two years on the hunt for a great concealer and think that I have finally jumped on the bandwagon with Tarte.  See my picture below with MAC vs Tarte in the under eye coverage.   MAC you are my heart, but this one goes to Tarte. (Also note: my micro-bladed eyebrows still look pretty good six months later!)

Buy This: The MORPHE 3502 Eye Shadow Palette
Not This: NYX Warm Neutrals Shadow Palette

Shop Morphe eyeshadows pretty much instead of EVERYTHING else if you are into eye shadows that pop. Eye shadows are NOT what they used to be, and as an owner and user of ALL THREE naked palettes I was speechless when I discovered the Morphe collections that are so bold, they need little to no layering.  Get glammed up with this palette any time,any day.  For a more natural finish, I still prefer the Urban Decay Naked palettes (The Second One is my fave).  But if you are going to invest in a palette get more bang for your buck with a brand that has literally thousands of five star reviews.  


                                 Buy This: Burts Bees Lipstick                                   
Not This: Neutrogena Hydration Lipsticks

Although I am truly obsessed with Neutrogena products (as you can see here and here), these clean make up lipsticks have ZERO stay power.  They look and feel great, but only last five minutes—what is the point?! Burts Bees offers a glamorous and affordable alternative that is oh so worth it. It is creamy and smooth and offers up to 8 hours of color!

I know I don’t usually blog about beauty, but I did feel like I HAD to say something.  Do you all agree with me on some of these? Is there something else you recommend? Let me know, I’d love to hear it!

Your Chick

Rina

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Beauty, Health, Lifestyle

How I Whitened My Teeth! #GiveawayAlert

I was so excited to partner with Smile Brilliant. I wasn’t really in the market for any teeth whitening products, but when they came my way: why not, right!?

I’m very weary when it comes to using products on my teeth (and even my skin/body in general). I did some research and found that the ingredients are vegan and that’s right up my alley. And I’ve tried those whitening strips but never really notice that much of a result. I have pretty good teeth overall and didn’t want to use something that would make them sensitive. The desensitizing gel was what I loved and made me want to try it in the first place!


Home Teeth Whitening

How it works:

Smile Brilliant sends over a dental impression kit, which includes: catalyst paste & base paste. The impression process is pretty easy and self-explanatory. Once you make the impressions, let them dry, and then mail them out in the smile brilliant package they send you (it’s pre-paid!).

You then received your custom fitted whitening trays within a couple weeks. They keep you updated on when they receive your impressions and when they have shipped your trays out. Overall pretty simple process in the comfort of your home.

When do you notice a difference?

I noticed a difference after the first application. After the 4th application my teeth looked amazing!

The actual process for the one-hour teeth whitening takes a bit of time: closer to 75-80 minutes. I always did it after I put the kids to bed and I could just sit and read or watch TV. One hour for the tray, 20 minutes for the desensitizing gel, and then waiting 30 minutes after to eat or drink. I would just go to bed after so never had to worry about not eating.

Why would you want to go to a dental office, spend a ton of money and time when you can do the same exact thing at home in your PJS and its way more economical.

Want to try it out??? Get your set free by clicking here and be
entered into our #Giveaway!


Thanks for checking out my post!

Your Chick,

Neema

**The post was written in exchange for the products shared, however the opinions are all my own.**

Chicks Fall Picks:

Beauty

Face Serums VS. Moisturizers : What You Need To Know

I come from a family of physicians, so when it comes to products that I use – especially on my face – I have to understand some of the science behind it.  My husband doesn’t show any empathy when I don’t think something is working AND when I don’t know anything about it.  That being said, I am a lifelong Eucerin user when it comes to moisturizer on my face , but lately I have been trying out face serums.  Naturally, I wanted to know what the heck they even are so I looked it up!

*Please note, the hydration body cream is NOT to be used on the face.  Please use an alternate face moisturizer to layer over the face serum.*

Active Hydration Face Serum | Hydrating Body Cream | Micro-dermabrasion Paste| Lash Boost

What’s The Difference?

According to WebMD, moisturizers have ingredients like petroleum and mineral oil to give it more density and in many cases creaminess.  With face serums, they have stripped out all the fluffing ingredients.  In doing that, serums are left with high impact, active ingredients like antioxidants, peptides (proteins such as collagen), and in the case of this active hydrating serum, hyaluronic acid (aka the fountain of youth).

What is Hyaluronic Acid?

Aside from being skin care’s biggest star of the moment, it is something that we naturally make in our bodies (babies have a ton of it which is why they have the best skin).  As we age we make less, which is why we use products infused with this molecule to help improve firmness and elasticity on our face.  The science is clear, check out this study which observed women who used hyaluronic acid for 8 weeks.

I have received several face serums lately, but in looking at the ingredients they are NOT all the same and so understanding what is in these products is important.  I was first introduced to Rodan and Fields a few years ago and have been a loyal Lash Boost user for years.  I also have had a great experience with their Bright Eye Complex product in the past (see my before and after photos here).  When I have had a good experience with a brand, I am more likely to consider other products in the collection.  That being said, I recently had the opportunity to test out and use their new Active Hydration  line of products and wanted to share with you why they are different, and in this case better!

The Science

By nature, human skin is ‘hydrophobic’ which means that our skin actually repels water which is why we don’t swell up when we go swimming.  With the Active Hydration Face Serum, they have paired up the hyaluronic acid with glycerin to help penetrate the skin and allow for the hyaluronic acid molecule to bind to it and sit on top of the skin providing a seal for hydration.  The science, down to the molecular level, is honestly downright amazing!

The Takeaway

I have used both the Active Hydration face serum and body cream religiously for two weeks and have loved my results so far.  I still have some uneven skin coloration so I may be headed for their Reverse collection next.

I hope that this review was helpful in understanding things that separate products from others.  If you have any questions, feel free to leave them below.  Want 10% off…email Neela Metgud at [email protected].

Your Chick,

Rina

This post has been sponsored by an independent consultant for Rodan + Fields, but the opinions are all our own.