Friday, June 28, 2013

Exploding Chocolate!

Today I'm taking a step back from the hubbub of beauty and talking about chocolate. Not just any ol' chocolate, oh no, chocolate that EXPLODES in your mouth. Well, okay, it crackles, but how cool!? I love me a good ol' fashion Hershey's bar and appreciate the simplicity but sometimes it's just really cool to see what flavors chocolatiers can blender together! I found this bar of Chuao chocolate at a grocery store in Brooklyn. It was placed at eye level and the picture of the fire cracking chocolate caught me like "what in the world ...?" It's a dark chocolate bar with sea salt, chipotle (!!), and popping candy. Tell me that doesn't sound like something you'd be willing to try! It was love at first bite when I got home and finally got to eat it. I had that internal battle of do I eat it all now or save some so I can enjoy it tomorrow as well? I was good ... it lasted the night and the next morning, haha! The smoky chipotle and sea salt compliment each other so well. As the chocolate slowly melts in your mouth you start to hear and feel the crickle and crackle of the popping candy. It's such a weird experience, yes, experience, but a tasty one! This brand of chocolate makes the most ridiculous flavors and now I'm on a man hunt for the others. Bacon and maple syrup? Salty potato chips? MMM, I really want! I heard that these are sold at Bed, Bath & Beyond so I need to get my butt over there ASAP. Just thought I'd share this with you guys and give you a heads up to look out for them. If you're a chocolate connoisseur, you'll def. want to get your hands on a bar!

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

A Mermaid's Summer Essentials

Hello everyone! Exciting news, well exciting for me, a tiny hassle for you, haha. Not really a hassle, but okay ... GUEST POST! I've written another guest post and this time it's for the lovely India of Jewel Beauty Blog. It's all about what I would consider my 'summer essentials' and of course had to put a mermish spin on things. I mention some really lovely products that help your enhance your natural features and bring out your natural sparkle this summer! I'd love for you guys to head on over there, if you're interested, and have a read. Head on over to India's blog through this link -> here and let me know what you guys think! And as always ...

What are some of your summer essentials?

Monday, June 24, 2013

Foundation Routine | Summer '13

So it seems that my week of discussing base/face products has spilled over into another a week! I'm doing this new thing where I'm stressing over each review I write so that I'm letting you know exactly what I think about the product and don't leave anything important out! Which left me taking two days to write just one review *cough* Beauty Blender *cough* I wanted to end the week with my Summer Foundation Routine, but I guess I'll begin this week with it! It's a very quick, no non-sense foundation routine incorporating all the products I've reviewed last week. I also show you just how I use the Beauty Blender and you can see it's majesty in action. Did I just give royal status to a sponge? Oh my lanta ... Not much else to say! I hope you guys enjoy this video and/or find it helpful! It's a very quick watch and I'd appreciate any feedback. If you missed any of the reviews I'll put links to each one below the video. The only one I don't have review for (yet...) is the Bobbi Brown Tinted Eye Brightner. It's actually my mom's so shhh, don't tell her I took it!
Urban Decay Naked Skin Beauty Balm :: http://bit.ly/134k4Gs
Benefit's Erase Paste No. 1 :: http://bit.ly/17wQ8El
Bobbi Brown Tinted Eye Brightener :: no link, yet!
Beauty Blender :: http://bit.ly/189EQoU
Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation Ivory :: http://bit.ly/14jcoLS
Tarte Smooth Operator Finishing Powder :: http://bit.ly/173ViUE

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Beauty Blender | The Spongey Sensation Debated Across the Nation

Da-da-da-da! Today is the last post in this week's face/base product reviews and I've saved the best for last. This is a product you either love, or don't love enough to spend $20 on it so you look for a dupe that's cheaper. I'm talking about the Original Beauty Blender. Now let's be unbiased readers and FORGET how much it costs for a second. The reason I bring up the price first is because a.) you probably already know how much it costs and b.) if you didn't, I don't want the last thing you read in this review to make you go 'ehhh'. You pickin' up what I'm putting down?

The Original Beauty Blender is a sponge make up applicator who's job is to leave you with a professional finish and flawless complexion. Their website describes the shape of the Beauty Blender to be "elliptical" but let's just say it's egg-shaped, cause it sort of is, haha. The purpose of having a rounder bottom (hehe) and a sharper edge at the top is so that you can cover the larger areas of your face such as your cheeks, forehead and chin, and then get into the smaller spots like around your nose and under your eyes, when applying foundation. You can also use the Beauty Blender to apply cream blushers and bronzers. Using the tip of the brush would be great for contouring. 

The point of the Beauty Blender is to use it damp. It comes packaged rather tiny while it's dry, but when wet it expands to maybe 2x it's original size. I have a photo comparison below. Before I use it I run it under the sink for 10 seconds and then give it a few gentle squeezes to get the excess water out. It shouldn't be soaking, just damp. You don't have to use it right away - mine usually stays nicely damp for about 30 minutes. It's really simple to use, and although a lot of people say it's more time consuming to use the blender, I'd have to disagree. If anything my foundation is applied much faster because the foundation blends out amazingly each time and I don't have to go back and make sure I've blender everything out. When I'm ready to use it, I pump some foundation on the back of my hand, but instead of dipping the Beauty Blender into the product I place dabs of foundation all over my face. That way I'm not wasting any product or have to worry about the blender sucking too much of it up. I then bounce (stipple) it on my face, using the appropriate side for wherever I am on my face. When I see that my foundation is applied, I'll hold it on it's side and roll it up towards my hair line, ears, and down my chin to make sure it's blended there as well.

I'm super impressed with the Beauty Blender. It's a product I kept tossing into and out of my shopping basket for months because while I heard it was amazing, the price was putting me off. It leaves my skin with a flawless application of foundation. There's not a single dry patch or flake, and I think that's thanks to the fact that you're using a damp applicator. I don't have to fuss around with my base at all after I've used this. I would recommend this to everyone, yes everyone, especially if you have dry skin and it seems like no foundation, no matter how dewey or glowy or moisturizing it promises to be, you're still left with a caked up, dry face. 

Clean up is easy. When you're done using it, just pop it on top of the container it came in (I demonstrated this in a picture below). It does get a bit stained, which is the only 'mehh' thing about it, but you can wash it clean with baby shampoo or brush cleanser. Beauty Blender does make a cleanser for it, but I haven't tried it yet, as the methods I just mentioned seem to work just fine!

It's simple to use. You're left with a flawless application each time. There are no dry patches or flakes left. The price might still be leaving you unsure but think about how much money you waste on constantly buying a foundation you think might work for you and then it doesn't? Give the Beauty Blender a go. It is $20 but it's an applicator that really works, and beautifully at that. I can almost promise you'll love it as much as I do.
So ... what do you lovelies think?

Friday, June 21, 2013

Tarte Smooth Operator | The Powder for Drier Skin

It's Friday, Friday! Who's excited that it's finally Friday? Me! Tomorrow is the Mermaid Parade in Coney Island, which I only realized today and now I'm scrambling to find someone to go with! So far, no takers. Eh, if I have to go by myself, I'll go by myself. I just want to see the mermaids ... who are mostly dudes in drag, haha! Anyway, where am I going with this? No where, stay on track Jess!

Today I'm talking about the finishing powder made for all beauties, but that'll also work nicely on dry skin beauties! Before getting this powder I was all over the NARS Light Reflecting Powder, but after talking to my friend Julia she suggested I try Tarte's Smooth Operator, which is a micronized clay finishing powder. It's a translucent powder, that's supposed to not only mattify your skin, but also minimize the appearance of your pores and replenish your skin. The 'replenish' part is what reeled me in. I love powdering my face because it helps my foundation last that much longer but sometimes that just means I'm going to make my face look that much more dry. The magical Amazonian clay does about a gazillion beautiful things for your skin, which is why Tarte loves using it in so many of their products! Amazonian clay in this powder makes your skin smoother, mattifies it, and at the same time hydrates your skin so that the appearance of dryness and flakiness is reduced. They not only say that, but it actually does that!

Smooth Operator makes my skin feel and look smooth. It can look a bit flaky if my skin is feeling particularly parched and I haven't moisturized that day, but other than that it looks great - no dry patches around blemishes or around my nose. This is exceptionally good for setting under eye concealers and brighteners! It keeps the concealer put throughout the day and prevents it from creasing. Since it's summer and I haven't been wearing too much foundation, or a heavy layer of it, using it to set my under eye make up has been my favorite way to use it. Also, just buffing this on its own on my face slightly evens out the redness on my face, controls the gah-ross sweat and still smoothes my skin!

I leave the packaging for last because it is gorgeous but may be the reason you hate this product if you don't do your research. The powder comes in a typical twisty-top pot? mini-jar? (see below, haha) with a really nice palm tree design on the cover! Now when you twist off the cover you'll notice the sifter and then you'll notice it comes with one teeny whole. Yes, the sifter is one teeny hole. When I first started using it I couldn't get ANY of the product out. You can hold it upside down and tap it all you want but nothing will come out. *I almost returned it because of this* but I really wanted to try it and didn't want to have to take off the itty, bitty sifter to do it. So I dug a little deeper, read reviews on Sephora and found out you have to push down on the sifter with your thumbs to get the product out. When you push down the powder just puffs out of the sifter. Problem solved! (but don't push too hard because then you'll end up with powder everywhere) At first it was bit strange to have to push to get my product out of a tiny sifter but it means that I can toss this in my bag and don't have to worry about it exploding! I'm still getting used to the fact that it's a powdered-power instead a pressed powder, but other than that's it's really lovely on the skin and the fact that I don't have to worry about looking flakey is a big plus for me!
What do you think? What are you favorite finishing powders?

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Wake Me Up, Before You Go Go | Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation

Don't leave me hanging on like a yo-yo! Now I'm just jamming out to this song in my head and can't remember what I wanted to say about this foundation, oh well *keeps dancing* 

Hello everyone! Happy hump day! Is the week over yet? Not quite, but I'm back today to talk about my favorite foundation of the moment which is Rimmel's Wake Me Up foundation. I have wanted this foundation ever since I heard that it makes your face look more awake (the Wake Me Up part, I presume), is great for dry skin tones and it had itty, bitty, super-duper, micro shimmers to really add some glow to your face. HA, I'm reading the label right now and it says "Anti-fatigue effect + Radiant Glow", so there you go! I was so ecstatic when my good friend Melissa had sent it to me! Having it in my hands felt totally unreal, haha! 

Let me start off with the packaging! It's in a rectangular glass bottle that has some weight to it which makes it feel a lot more expensive than it is, haha. The cap is a bright orange which for some reason makes me so happy when I see it, maybe because I think of orange juice? When you lift the cap off the bottle is the best part. IT COMES WITH A PUMP! *angels descend* I love, absolutely love, when liquid or creamy foundation come with a pump! It means less mess and you're not wasting a ton of product! One pump gives you just the right amount of foundation you'd need to cover your face. Also, I need to mention how much I love the raised glass writing on the side of the bottle that says 'Rimmel London'. Why is it so appealing to me?!

The consistency is a creamy-liquid - it doesn't run. I heard that there were shimmers in it ("light-reflecting" whatchamacallits) and didn't see them when I first looked, which made me upset. I wanted to sparkle like Edward Cullen, dang it, but they are there! If you hold the bottle up at the right angle in the right light you'll see little strips of sheen. I managed to get a picture to show you guys! As you can  see, it's super subtle so don't let that put you off because it doesn't end up translating like 'Edward Cullen' face at all. Even up close I couldn't really see any of the shimmers. I apply this foundation with my Beauty Blender or sometimes with my Real Techniques Expert Face Brush. Both work really well to blend the foundation into the skin without leaving it looking dry or cakey.

Rimmel's Wake Me Up has a medium to a build-able full coverage. It evens out my skin tone, gets rid of the redness around my nose, cheeks, and forehead without looking like a cakey mess. It's not heavy and doesn't just sit on top of your skin. Wake Me Up has a dewey finish - your face looks brighter and glows in just the right places. I'd def. recommend this foundation to ladies with drier skin types as it didn't cling to any dry patches of skin, and left me with a well-nourished looking face. I'm already dreading finishing this foundation because it's not available in the States, which is honestly it's only downfall!
I was just informed that it's available on ASOS with free shipping! So I lied, this foundation is perfect, haha! Linked right here - > ASOS
So how much do YOU love this foundation? Haha, just kidding, but what do you think?

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Tutorial | Shimmering Summer (Everyday Make Up) + I NEED YOUR HELP!

We (I) interrupt this program of "face/base" posts to bring you my latest tutorial! It's the look I've been wearing a lot this past few weeks. It's very subtle make up, on the verge of a "no make up" look but it's got a bit more glitter. Now that it's getting warmer I'm enjoying wearing less make up on my face and using more natural colors, which is surprising because if you know me you know I'll take any opportunity to wear some fun and bright colors! Any darker colors used are used to just accentuate/define my eyes. I also added a bit of sparkle using a glittery base and then a super sparkle packed eyeshadow. I hope you guys enjoy it!


ALSO, if you're following me on Twitter or my Facebook page you'll know that I was chosen to be a participant on "The Best in Beauty" competition, which is a beauty competition being held on YouTube. I'm competing against 11 other YouTubers and one is actually a fellow blogger! So this video is not only a tutorial but an entry for the first round of the competition! To make it through each round I'm going to need some votes and could really use your help! After you've watched my video head on over to this link right here --> ( http://youtu.be/caLGyb66puw ) and basically all you have to do to vote is leave a comment on that video with my username (TheModMermaid) If you vote, you MUST comment on the video I linked you to otherwise it won't count ): You can only vote once but in that one vote you vote for up to three girls, so make sure to check out some other videos if you'd like! I'd really appreaciate you guys taking the time to vote as I'd love to get as far as I can :) Thank you to everyone who has already voted and thank you to everyone who's planning to! It really means a lot to me! :)

So what do you prefer for the summer everyday? Au natural or pops of color? :)

Monday, June 17, 2013

Urban Decay | Naked Skin Beauty Balm

It's Monday again, boo! By the time this post goes up I'm probably already taking on the role of Consuela from Family Guy and cleaning my house from top to bottom. Anyway, I hope you guy's enjoyed last week's "hair" themed posts because this week is going to be all about some of my "face/base" products and tools! Oh yeah, this is the week you get my long awaited Beauty Blender review (has it been long awaited? I feel like I'm the only one awaiting it, haha) You can expect to hear about some great products this week. Then at the end of the week I'll be putting up my current foundation routine for the summer! You'll be able to see these products in action! :) So ... on to the post!

Now that the hype of these Urban Decay Naked products has died down I thought I'd be "that" person and bring it back! If you're in the market for a "typical" BB Cream that's a tinted moisturizer with a bit more coverage, then Urban Decay's Naked Skin Beauty Balm won't be for you. BUT if you're looking for an optical blurring, fantabulous primer with SPF, than you've found your match. This product isn't your typical BB cream and it doesn't claim to be one, either. It doesn't give any coverage, at all. If anyone's ever said this covers any blemishes they'd be lying (or maybe not, maybe it did for you ... don't shoot!) What it does do is create this nice blurring effect on your face that is easier shown than explained. Imagine you took a portrait of yourself, put it up on a photo editing site, took the blur tool, and ran it across your face. That's the effect you get with this BB. It blurs any minor imperfections such as lines and pores so that, assuming you're not examining your face in 10x zoom mirror, you don't notice them.

The consistency makes me think that if Urban Decay's Naked Skin foundation texture and Benefit's POREfessional primer texture had a baby, you would get the texture of this Beauty Balm. It's liquidy, but isn't runny, if that makes any sense? As you can see from the swatch below the Naked Skin BB is of the orange-tint persuasion which, when I got this in a sample, scared me! I was afraid it'd just tint my pale face orange and I wasn't auditioning for the reprise of The Jersey Shore anytime soon! It blends easily into the skin and then practically disappears. Now if it wasn't obvious, I don't particularly use this like I would my Dr. Jart++ Waterfuse Beauty Balm. Like I said, it doesn't give any coverage, but what it does do is make a great primer! It smoothes out your skin so when you go to apply your foundation it applies evenly and doesn't stick to dry patches as much! 

I do have to mention that it has a scent, which I don't mind and quite like, but I know some people may be put off by it - it's a bit minty. Also, if you've just gone on holiday and couldn't help but burn your face, I'd stay away from this for a while. It likes to cling to the dead skin that starts to peel as the burn heels and literally roll with it. While you blend this on a heeling burn you'll see bits of skin rolling off your fingers and it's ... it's not beautiful, haha. I'm not saying this to put you off from the product, as I absolutely love using it, but more as a word of caution! 

There are two reasons why I've been loving using this especially now in the warmer months, as well as to reasons why I essentially think you'll love this stuff. Numero uno - It's got SPF 20! Won't be great for taking pictures on night's out but if you're like me and forget to put SPF on your face, you'll be set because it'll be in your primer! This came in really handy when I spent the day in Six Flags on Saturday! It was a beautiful sunny day but I had no sun screen, at all, anywhere! I was glad there was some in my make up because if I didn't, I'd have pretty red face right now, haha. Numero dos - If you're having a particularly, what I like to call, "lazy make up day" and you're not going anywhere too crazy, a bit of this on your face and some powder on top, you're pretty much set for a "your face but better look" Does that make sense? Boy, I hope so! 
What do you think of Naked Skin Beauty Balm? Have you tried it? What are you favorite BB Creams?

Holy cannoli, sorry that post was so long!

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Macadamia Natural Oil

*drum roll* Ello lovelies, and happy Saturday! Today I bring you the last of my "hair care" series of posts and this one is a big 'ne. Let me try to make a really long story a bit shorter. About two months ago I was on a mission (yes, on a mission) to find any sort of hair product that would make my hair less dry, less frizzy, and look less like cave man hair. I took to twitter and was recommended Macadamia products by tons of (like 5) beauty bloggers. I had in fact heard of the brand and was always tempted to try the Deep Repair Mask but the price tag always scared me because I go through shampoo/conditioner like nobody's business. One day I found them in my local Stop N' Shop, took a deep breathe and bought the Shampoo ... and Leave-In cream, instead of conditioner. Yes, I'm an idiot, haha! I decided to leave both and see how I got on with them. I was slowly falling in love with the leave-in cream when I was contacted by the brand to perhaps try out their Luxe Travel Set*, which contained travel-sizes of some of their most popular products. I sort of had to jump at the opportunity - mostly because it meant I would finally have the matching conditioner to my shampoo, haha! 

Macadamia Natural Oil is a line of hair products that were designed for "problem hair". If your hair is damaged, frizzy, dry, colored/permed, hard to manage, tangled, dull, lifeless, brittle, not soft, *takes deep breathe*  out of control, thick, or bushy, then, they say, Macadamia Natural Oil products are for you! Macadamia Natural Oil products are created with Macadamia and Argan oils which I've heard are seriously killer for your hair and even your skin. The Luxe Travel Set that I was so kindly sent came in a really lovely travel bag that fit all 6 of the products nicely inside. This bag alone would be great for taking products with you on your travels as it's quite decently sized. It has the same beautiful paisley pattern in green/brown that's on all their products. Inside were 6 products: 3.3oz Rejuvenating Shampoo, 2oz Moisturizing Rinse, 1ox Healing Oil Treatment, 3.3oz Deep Repair Masque, 2oz Nourishing Leave-In Cream, and a Healing Oil Infused Comb. This whole set retails for $29.95, which you can get on their site here -> macadamiahair.com. I was quite surprised at how cheap all these products together were. This set has enough product to last you more than a month (I've had it that long and still have so much product to spare!) So how'd I get on with each lovely product?

Rejuvenating Shampoo/Moisturizing Rinse
These two are a brilliant shampoo/conditioner combination for dry and super tangly hair. The shampoo alone untangled my hair and I could run my fingers through it, which is a feat because it usually stays knotted until I condition it. My hair feels really clean after using the shampoo, but it doesn't feel like it's stripping my hair of any last oils. The Moisturizing Rinse is just a great partner to the Rejuvenating Shampoo. Concentrating it on my ends leaves me with less brittle looking ends. When I get out of the shower my hair feels noticeably softer and it's a lot easier to brush through. Heck, I'm even able to use a comb and comb through it. When I run out of my sample of the Moisturizing Rinse I'll most def. be going back to buy the full size. I already have the full size of the Rejuvenating Shampoo. It's a little costly for shampoo ($21 for 33.8oz)/conditioner ($24 for 10oz) but it does live up to it's promises and my hair loves it, so I think it's worth it!

Healing Oil Treatment
I'd never tried any sort of oil treatment until I received this, but it was instant love. I was really skeptical using this because I was afraid an 'oil' would make my hair super greasy, but no, instead it decided to be fantastic. This Healing Oil Treatment is meant to nourish intensely tangled and frizzy hair, as well as make hair smooth, manageable, and shiny. It can even reduce drying time by 40 - 50% although I'll be honest and say I haven't really tested this theory. Remember from previous posts? Au natural. At first I used it at the ends of my hair after showering and about 10 minutes after putting my John Frieda Frizz Ease Serum in (reviewed here). The Healing Oil Treatment made my hair feel a loft softer and made the ends of my hair look less brittle and less dry. It completely nourishes the hair! I don't expect it to completely 'heal' my ends because I genuinely need to just get my hair trimmed, haha. But what I found works best is running a bit through the tips of your hair after it's dried. It still leaves the hair soft, looking nourished, and looking super bright and shiny. You need just a little dab! I'm sure this little sample size will last me a while, but when it does run out I think I will by a bigger size ($39.95 for 4.2oz/$13.50 for 1oz) It's magic in a bottle for my hair!

Nourishing Leave-In Cream
Now onto the little beast I accidentally bought instead of the Moisturizing Rinse - the Nourishing Leave-In Cream. This Leave-In Cream is an absolute gem for those with dry hair, especially at the ends. It's purpose is to detangle and tame unruly locks, as well as add silkiness and shine like most of these products aim to do! I put this in my hair after it's had time to dry until "damp" (what is damp, exactly?) I flip my head over and just apply one pump to the mid-length of my hair, avoiding my roots. It leaves my hair soft and silky feeling. When I first bought it I ran it through my whole head and ended up with a grease-ball mess, so avoid your roots and remember "less is more!" For ladies with drier hair, I highly recommend this. It's one thing to condition your hair but to add a little bit of 'leave-in' nourishment will do wonders! I keep playing with the ends of my hair because they're completely soft now. Like I said above, I could do with a trim to tame the split ends, but besides that my hair is left super smooth. I already had the bigger bottle of this stuff which retailed $28 for 10oz. 

Deep Repair Masque
So this is the product I was most excited to try out as it's raved on YouTube and by other bloggers! You've no doubt already heard about this hair Masque before. The Deep Repair Masque is enriched with Argan and Macadamia oils to do what the above products do but like they're on crack, haha. It's a product that'll provide deep-nourishment and longer lasting condition. This would be fantastic as that's exactly what my hair needs and I'd rave about it too if it weren't such a project to use. You shampoo/clean your hair as you would and then liberally comb this through your hair, leaving it in for up to 7 minutes and then finally rinsing it out. It does a nice job of conditioning my hair and leaving it soft, but I found it didn't do anything a combination of the shampoo, rinse, oil treatment, and leave-in cream couldn't do. If you're looking for a weekly treat to get some added nourishment and repair that you don't need or get from your regular routine, I say this would be perfect for you. But since the above products worked so well, I didn't need the extra, once/twice weekly repair. It's a very luxurious treat but it's a bit of a hassle for me to get in the shower, get out, apply, and then go back in. When my sample runs out I don't think I'll be repurchasing it, as it's not something I totally need at $36 for 8.5oz. If you're interested they do sell a 1oz sample packet size for about $4, if you'd like to try it out!

Healing Oil Infused Comb
A comb! Boy, is a girl with knotted, tangled, and frizzy hair ever so glad to take a gander at this beaut. It scared me when I saw it. I'm sitting here thinking, "NO WAY is that going to make it through an inch of my hair." This is no average comb though as Macadamia infuses this comb with Healing Oil. I know, how the heck did they do that?! The site says the comb is made with a specially formulated resin that allows the oil to be infused in it so that you can comb your hair, evenly apply the healing oil, without getting residue on your hands. The wide spread teeth helps to detangle your hair as you comb through it, and it does a really fine job at that! There are little pulls here and there on more stubborn knots, but other than it works like a charm. As for the infusion of the healing oil, I can't say I notice much of a difference. I did try using it on it's own without the added use of the Healing Oil Treatment but I didn't really notice a significant difference. It's a very nice comb to have on hand, as I didn't have one, and combing is much better than brushing wet hair, so there's that added bonus! Am I glad I have it? Yes. Can I live without it? Probably. This puppy retails for $9 on their website. 

Sorry this post had to be so long guys! I wanted to make sure I was as thorough as I could be when talking about each product so you could get a better sense of what the products do and how they work on my hair which is dry, frizzy, tangled, and all around cave-men hair, haha! The Macadamia line is astounding for dry and unruly hair. I'm glad I was suggested it by fellow bloggers and given an opportunity to test a majority of their line. If you're thinking about trying out some of their products and are a bit hesitant, for whatever reason, I highly suggest looking into getting the Luxe Travel Set. Whilst I was writing the post I did the math in my head and it's worth way more than you are paying for it. It's an all around fantastic brand that I can see myself using for a while as it's the only products that seem to work the way I want them to! Plus, I think I should mention that all of these products, no matter which one interests you, will leave you hair with a gorgeous natural, yet sweet scent! I really like my new little routine of using their products, and although you don't absolutely need every product in this set at full size, it's nice to know that the products in this range do what they say they will! 

If you're interested, you can check out Macadamia products here ...
So now let's hear from you! What are your thoughts on this range?

Friday, June 14, 2013

#NYCBbloggersMeetUp | Interested?

Hello there! Happy, slappy Friday to you all! I'm taking a step back from my hair care posts this week as the last one is taking a lot longer to write up than I thought. So that'll be coming tomorrow and instead today I have a proposition? exciting potential event? meet up? potentially? thing to share with you all! I've seen so, so, so many UK bloggers going to fun events and even better, meet ups, set up by other lovely bloggers. I've always wanted to go! So much so that I almost planned taking a plane out (not really ... but almost). I wondered if anyone would ever have a meet-up on North American soil. I searched and searched, nothing. After one #bbloggers chat about meet ups I decided to take matters into my own hands and attempt to plan one! I enlisted the help of my fellow blogger and friend Cassie (we're friends, yeah Cassie?! LOL) who is the wonderful writer of the blog ThriftThick. We've e-mailed back and forth for a while and have some-what of a game plan! Now we just had to throw it out to you guys and see how many of you would be interested! 

Game Plan: The plan would be to meet in New York City's Union Square. We could spend the day shopping, chatting, and having a nice dinner! It would be a really chillaxed day so that we could all be comfortable, get to go to a bunch of different stores (we were thinking LUSH, new free standing ELF store, maybe TopShop?) and just get to know our fellow bloggers in real life! We have two weekends picked out: the weekend of July 20th, and then the weekend of July 27th. We figured if you're interested you could tell us which would be best for you and then we'd go from there! It won't be the whole weekend, just one of the days!

It'd be really fun to meet some fellow beauty bloggers and just spend the day in the city getting to know each other and talk about what we do best - beauty! Please do let either me or Cassie know if you're interested in attending! If enough people are interested we'll get on planning the whole thing and send out all the super specifics, but for now we're just getting a feel of how many of you'd like to go! We'd really love a great turn around for this event as it rarely happens! (Or maybe it happens and I'm just not looking in the right places, haha!) but anyway ... It should be a great day and super fun. Seriously consider it and let us know! If you have any questions, feel free to get an e-mail out to me and I'll get back to you ASAP!

So ... interested? :)

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Frizz Be Gone!

This week on The Mod Mermaid I'm talking all about some of my fave hair products. I don't use many because I'm an 'au natural' type of gal. I let my hair air dry and don't try to fuss with heat and super-styling. So with all that how do I keep my hair tamed and far from looking like 'cave-men' hair? The answer is, I don't. I can't, but I at least try to subdue it, haha. In comes John Frieda's Frizz-Ease Hair Serum. I bought this because of the recommendation from Rico Suave (my man-friend), yes, I got hair advice from a boy (EWH *COOTIES*). He swore up and down that it made his hair look smoother and he had absolutely no friz. So he kindly suggested I try some ... nice man-friend.

The Frizz-Ease Hair Serum promises to "block frizz, instantly and dramatically transform dry, frizzy, or chemically treated hair into incredibly smooth and glossy hair". THAT is one hefty promise, which I hoped it would deliver considering I not only bought it ($8 - $10, depending on where you get it), but also the extra strength formula (don't judge, I have a hefty frizz problem on my shoulders ... get it? LOL) When I first got it I wasn't a fan. I got out of the shower, sat with a towel turban on my head for 15 minutes and then went to brush this serum through. It did nothing. No shine, no gloss, and my hair was as frizzy and poofy as ever. I almost gave up on it and whenever I saw Rico Suave he was convinced that I just wasn't using it, haha! So one day I decided to see if there were any directions on the bottle and voila! there were! With this serum you have to apply it to your hair, be sure to avoid your roots, whilst it's soaking wet. Yeah, literally jump out of the shower and apply this to your hair! (I do indeed jump out and grab this) Actually following the directions has made this serum work wonders for my hair (go figure, haha!) I use about two pumps and my hair is a bit below my shoulders. When I cut it last summer a little below my chin I only needed one. My hair is noticeably less poofy, and noticeably less frizzy! I have thick/curly hair so its still got some poof to it, but much less than usual and instead of drying in every which way it desires, my hair started to get it's little loose ringlets back!

Now, I feel as though I should mention one thing and that this is not your weapon of choice to battle humidity hair. It claims to prevent "weather-related frizz" but eh, it's not so good at that. New York City is notorious for being a seriously humid place in the summer AND the winter. Yeah, it's humid in the winter, go figure, haha! Yes, it will frizz when in serious humid conditions, but the good news is, is that it won't frizz enough to give you 'triangle hair', and seriously, that's all I'm asking for. This is my second bottle of this luscious stuff and I do plan to get another when this runs out! Don't know how I'd live without it. So thank you Rico Suave, for your brilliant suggestion! :)

What do you all think of the Frizz-Ease Hair Serum? What are some of your favorite products to block frizz?
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Monday, June 10, 2013

Big Hair Calls for 'BIG' Shampoo

So two things are happening. First, I'm going to try to come up with more clever titles for my posts. They entertain me and hopefully they entertain you, too! Second, this week on the blog we're going to be talking all about hair! Every post this week will have to do with some of my favorite hair care products that help my dry, curly/wavy, and frizzy hair stay tangle-free, (relatively) frizz-free, and manageable! Today I'm going to be talking about my favorite volumizing shampoo that gives me country-girl lift (well, almost), and that is LUSH's BIG shampoo. BIG isn't your typical shampoo, as you can tell just by looking at it - it comes in LUSH's infamous black pots, instead of a bottle! The consistency is also different than something you may be used to. It's a goopy consistency with a watered down oatmeal sort of texture (yeah, just scroll down to the picture, haha!) and it smells really good; sweet, but not like candy! It's 11.4 oz. of shampoo for $26.95 (it was a bit cheaper when I bought this pot, dang you for constantly raising your prices LUSH!) It's a bit pricy but this pot has lasted me for a very long time!

This shampoo is filled with natural ingredients meant to give boost and shine to your locks, while also nourishing them. It's packed with sea salt (over half of it is just that!) which stimulates your scalp and makes your roots stand tall. There are citrus juices that give your hair a boost of shine, as well as, seaweed, extra virgin coconut oil, and avocado butter to leave your hair nice and soft.

So how exactly does it fair? With all that sea salt you'd expect your hair to be stripped clean and leave your hair bone dry, but because of all those oils and butters it doesn't! When I use this shampoo my hair gets that little bit of oomph. The worst thing a curly haired girl can have is flat hair, because then you get what I like to call 'triangle hair'. BIG give my roots that natural added lift so my hair doesn't lay flat on my face. It also leaves my hair nice and soft, as long as I don't put too much on my ends! As for shine, now that my natural wheat-blonde colored hair is growing back I don't notice the shine and luster as much, but when my hair was henna-ed red, it was shining for days! It made my hair more vibrant, which is strange since if you have colored hair this shampoo is known to strip the color. I think the henna just adhered a little too well to my hair, haha, and refused to be washed away!

I use this maybe once a week, taking out a little scoop and concentrating it on my scalp - overusing can leave your hair super dry and tangled, so be careful how often you use it! This shampoo is an absolute must to use in my hair when I know I'm going to straighten it because I flat iron it to be pin straight, so it's great to have that lift. Curly or straight, I don't think anyone likes when their hair just sits around the face with no pizazz. Would I recommend it? Most def. if you're looking for a product that will give your hair that little bit of extra personality it needs! I'd be cautious if your hair tends to be on the drier side, but in moderation, it shouldn't dry out your hair at all! It's like a party for you scalp!
What do you think of BIG? What's your favorite volumizing shampoo?