7 Beauty Memes to Get You Through the Week

This is the first week of the Fall 2015 semester at Iowa State University, which means that I officially started graduate school yesterday in pursuit of an M.A. in Applied Linguistics, then today I officially start teaching my first ever college class! Basically it's going to be one hell of a week, and hopefully these hilarious beauty memes will help me and you (if your week is going to be hectic too) get through it.

This post was inspired by this Allure.com article.

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Hair Care Tips for Blonde Hair by Blogger Tiffany Wood

I featured Meg, the blogger behind She Puts Her Makeup On, last week when she shared her personal tips for keeping her natural curls healthy and beautiful.

The spotlight is now on Tiffany Wood, the creator and editor of Haute Mess Magazine.

Below is a thorough look at her hair routine followed by some helpful advice for all hair types.

Once a week, I completely soak my hair in a natural oil (coconut, moroccan, argan, etc.), throw my hair into a shower cap, and sleep with the mask on!

When I wake up in the oil mask, I comb the oil through my hair and follow this routine:

Wash

I usually wash my hair two to three times a week and use the AG Hair Color Care Sterling Silver Toning Shampoo every other wash! If you overuse purple shampoo, your hair will turn greyish/purplish. Thankfully, I haven't learned this the hard way, but I have some friends who did. This product is blonde specific as the purple counteracts yellow tones and neutralizes your blonde color. I find that this shampoo brightens, highlights, and shines my hair right up! After one use, you will be able to tell the difference, and after a couple of washes, everyone will be asking what your little secret is.

When I'm not using the purple shampoo, I actually love the Argan Oil collection by Hask. I don't know why everyone is so hung up on spending $50 for a bottle of shampoo, but I'm not game for that. I've found that my favorite shampoos are the least expensive and can be found at drugstores! The Hask Argan Oil Repairing Shampoo lathers perfectly, cleans my hair, removes build-up without stripping my hair of its natural oils, and really hydrates my hair.

Condition

The product I'm now obsessing over is also blonde specific, but my sister who has light brown hair uses it as well without a problem. The Miriam Quevedo Sublime Gold Mask is my new baby. Obviously, I was first attracted by the packaging, but after reading the back, I was even more interested. It says, "The Gold Mask. Intensive revitalizing mask enriched with micronized gold and caviar for all hair types, bringing new youth to your hair. Its luxurious active ingredients nourish and regenerate the heart of the hair fiber and the scalp, enhancing the softness and vitality of your hair. Shine-enhancing agents bring added silkiness. New, more sublime, and intensive golden highlights thanks to micronized gold powder. Vivifying action."

After using it, I was obsessed. You basically just massage it into your hair and scalp, throw on a shower cap, leave it on for five to 15 minutes, comb it through, and thoroughly rinse it out! My hair has honestly never felt and looked so good. This is going to sound super weird, and every time I say it to anyone, they think I'm crazy, but here I go: my hair actually feels different on my head after using this formula. Not only does it feel different to touch, but it feels different when it sits. My hair is shinier, blonder, and thicker than ever. Plus, it smells amazing! Call me crazy, whatever. Try it out and see for yourself.

Style

First, I apply the Hask Argan Oil Repairing Shine Oil Vial to my damp hair, focusing on the ends. I then begin to scrunch in some Marc Anthony Curl Defining Styling Lotion. After that, I spray Not Your Mother's Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray all throughout my hair and scrunch it some more.

I then let my hair air dry for at least an hour and a half indoors. This system keeps my curls smooth and tight.

I sleep on a silk pillow case. They're pretty hard to find, and they're a little more pricey, but they're so worth it. Think about it: you're moving around in your bed with a pillow case that's a rougher material. You're breaking and pulling your hair without even being awake! With a silk pillow case, your hair can move around with ease, with no pulling or breaking. Plus, the pillow is always cool, which makes for a great sleep, which makes for great health, which makes for great hair!

Tips to Ensure Fabulous Hair
Avoid using elastics to throw your hair up, but if it's unavoidable, I recommend hideous scrunchies (when not going anywhere you're worried about being judged), and I also recommend never putting your elastic in the same place. Move it around so that you're not wearing out one section completely.

When your hair is wrapped up, drying in a towel, never rub the towel around to dry your hair. Always take it out and use the towel to scrunch. If it's all wrapped up and you're pulling at it, it's going to rip out. Common sense.

Always start brushing from the ends of your hair and work your way up. Don't pull knots from the top to the bottom because a huge chunk of your hair is likely to rip out straight from the top of your head.

Be patient. Great hair takes time!

A healthy diet is so important for not only healthier hair but also for healthy skin and nails! Protein and Vitamin D are essential for optimal hair health. Eat lots of fish, nuts, eggs, spinach, beans, and chicken!

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Head on over to Haute Mess Magazine to read more of Tiffany's great advice!

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10 Beauty Products to Keep You Cool and Refreshed

We still have a long way to go before we can be graced with the fall and the cooler weather that it brings. For those of us who hate the heat, we would love it if we could sit indoors all day until this season decides to call it quits, but that is unfortunately not an option.

The only feasible option in this scenario is to depend on beauty products to keep us cool (and sane) while we ride out the rest of the summer. Here are some suggestions of products that can keep you cool and refreshed from head to toe this season.

1 Shampoo

There are some people who chop off their tresses in the summer as a means of keeping cool, but I am not one of those people. I love my long hair; as a matter of fact, I want it to be longer, so cutting it off to stay cool is off the table. The biggest downside to that, of course, is how hot and sweaty my scalp gets. Fortunately, the shampoo that I use kills two birds with one stone: first, it is super refreshing and helps keep my scalp cool for the better part of the day; second, it has clarifying properties which works wonders at reducing the oil in my scalp.

Biotera Scalp Refresh Cooling Mint Shampoo | $8.79

2 Moisturizer

My skin is strange. In the winter, it dries up to the point of flaking off, and my face ends up irritated and inflamed all season. In the summer, the sebum production in my skin kicks into overdrive, and my face is greasy and oily. So, imagine my joy when I discovered gel moisturizers. They soothe my skin in the winter, and in the summer, they're mild enough to moisturize my face without creating extra oil.

Boscia Revitalizing Black Hydration Gel | $38

3 Facial Mist

If you have to (or enjoy) spending a lot of time outdoors in the summer, your face is bound is heat up, and that can be very uncomfortable. A facial mist is great in this situation because these portable bottles of sprayable water can be kept in your purse and pulled out for a quick spritz to cool down.

Evian Mineral Water Spray | $18

4 Sheet Mask

At the end of a long, hot day, there is nothing better than a cooling sheet mask to relax you and to cool you down before bed. Sheet masks are great for hot weather because, similar to other face masks, they're packed with all the good stuff; however, unlike other face masks, they're not creamy, heavy, and stifling to wear.

Dr Jart Water Replenishment Cotton Sheet Mask | $7.50

5 Gel Mask

If sheet masks aren't your thing, but you still want the cooling effect without the stifling, a gel mask is the way to go. Gel masks feel like gel moisturizers; they're light, cooling, and refreshing. Unlike moisturizers though, gel masks are more concentrated and are designed to work as a treatment.

Peter Thomas Roth Cucumber Gel Mask | $45

6 Eye Gel
For a more complete at-home spa experience, you can even opt for a gel eye mask to accompany your mask of choice. This will really calm you down if you've had an especially long day. Personally, I always go down the route of an eye gel instead of an eye cream because again they're not as heavy.

The Body Shop Elderflower Unperfumed Eye Gel | $7.77

7 Deodorant
In the summer, when the sun is beating down on me, and I'm sweating bullets, it makes me feel horrible! It's hot, and I'm sticky; it's one of the worst feelings in the world! To keep cool and calm (and dry), antiperspirant is my best friend. If I'm not sweaty, I don't feel as hot or disgusting. Deodorant also works because if I smell nice, I feel nice. So, if we're going to be using deodorant anyway, why not use one that's cooling at the same time?

L'Occitane Citrus Verbena Deodorant Stick | $18

8 Body Cloths

The sun was so intensely hot the other day that the only thing I could think of was jumping into a cold shower, but since I was running errands, that was not a possibility. The next best thing would probably be body cloths. These are basically cleansing cloths that you can use on your body, and they are so refreshing! They're really convenient too; you can stick them in your purse to use whenever.

Ban Total Refresh Cooling Body Cloths | $1.91

9 Gel Body Lotion
We are back to talking about gel products! They really do work wonders in the summer. Anyway once you wipe your skin with some body cloths, and you want to prolong the freshness and cooling sensation, try a gel body lotion! Since it is gel-based, it won't be sticky and suffocating like most body lotions. In fact, it'll cool you down even more.

Nivea Express Hydration Freshening Gel | $12.99

10 Shower Gel
At the end of the day, when you finally get to hop into the shower, you'll want something that'll strip away the heat, dirt, and grime of the day. This is the to-toe part of head-to-toe cooling in this post. A cooling shower gel that will relax you as it cools you down is just what you need at the end of the day.

Rituals Samurai Ice Shower | $15

Have you tried any of these products? What did you think? What are your favorite beauty products to keep cool in the summer? What other ways do you use to keep cool in the summer?

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Hair Care Tips for Thick Curly Hair by Blogger Meg B

Last week, I featured Tiffany Khyla White, the blogger behind Endless Bliss, and her personal hair care tips for her long thick hair.

For today's post, Meg B from She Puts Her Makeup On shares with us her hair care tips for thick curly hair.

My favorite tips and tricks for my hair are ones I've learned through trial and error. I have always had very thick, curly hair that is hard to manage. If it's humid, it gets insanely frizzy. If I straighten it and it then rains out and I get rained on, forget it! I used to straighten it ALL the time because I never knew how to get it to stay curly without being frizzy and out of control. Once I finally learned to deal with it, it's made my life much easier!

Never brush curls
This is probably the most obvious. Use a thick comb in the shower once you've got your conditioner in your hair, but that's it! That's all I ever do as far as combing goes because, for me, the littlest bit of combing through dry curls makes them look horrible!

Always use a good shampoo and conditioner
Yes, they can be pricey, but I've learned that they make all the difference. I can't get the same results with Suave as I can with my favorites. For drugstore level, I prefer Beyond the Zone's Noodle Head line. For higher end, I LOVE Fekkai's Brilliant Glossing Shampoo and Conditioner. They smell so good and make your hair incredibly soft while still making your curls look nice.

Use a good styling product to keep frizz away
Nexxus makes a great styling cream called Frizz Defy. I also like to always use a little bit of some kind of hair oil on my tips. Currently, the one I am loving is the Arvazalia Argan Treatment.

Let your hair air dry
Curls look much better this way!

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To see and to read more about Meg's natural curls and how she keeps them beautiful and healthy, head on over to her blog at She Puts Her Makeup On.

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Hair Care Tips for Long Thick Hair by Blogger Tiffany Khyla White

Last month, I curated a list of shampoos for colored hair and a list of conditioners for colored hair. For my new series of posts, I decided to discuss ways to take care of the general wellbeing of your hair, and since a lot of you enjoyed my blogger feature about summer style inspiration, I will be showcasing more bloggers along with their hair care tips.

Tiffany Khyla White is the lifestyle blogger at Endless Bliss.

She shared that her hair is long, thick, and can sometimes be out of control. Here are her personal hair care tips:

Only wash your hair about every three days
Some may cringe at this, but washing your hair every day rids it of its natural nutrients, and with hair like mine, it dries out pretty quickly because washing it every day wouldn't give the nutrients time to travel throughout my hair. Washing it only a couple of times a week allows my hair to really soak up all of those great nutrients and keeps my hair healthy and strong. Sometimes, I'll even skip washing my hair and just condition it.

Use hair heating tools sparingly
The only time my hair gets blow-dried is if I go to a hair salon, and even then, they don't always wash my hair. While I do straighten my hair about once every month or so (sometimes even less than that), staying away from these tools allows my hair to avoid the damage that comes along with using them. I let my hair dry naturally and don't keep my hair wrapped in towels for too long because that can take away nutrients as well.

Don't use too many products at once
Using too many different products weighs your hair down. I'm fortunate to have thick hair with a lot of volume. When I do use products, I just stick to one. I never use hairspray or mousse. Since I let my hair dry naturally, I have to put something in it or it'll be a frizzy mess. I stick to just using a gel which, right now, I'm using Garnier Fructis Style Pure Clean Styling Gel. It never leaves flakes and is super light. When I'm wanting a curl, I'll use Garnier Fructic Style Curl Sculpting Gel. For the life of me, I don't know how to use a curling iron or one of those wands, and this gives my curls the bounce they need.

Use oil to give your hair a little shine
Sometimes when I wake up in the morning, my hair looks rather dull, so I like to give it a little umph by using Pantene Pro V Truly Natural Hair Shine Serum with Argan Oil. Just a few pumps, and my hair looks shiny and ready to take on the day.

If you have naturally wavy or curly hair, don't brush it every day
Since I wear my hair natural most of the time, the only time I use a brush is when I shower. With conditioner in my hair, I brush out all the tangles. When my hair is drying or completely dry, I rarely ever use a brush. It will only make your hair poofier, frizzier, and bigger.

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To read more about how Tiffany maintains her Insta-worthy tresses, read her blog at Endless Bliss.

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Sasa and Watsons Haul

I recently bought some items from Sasa and Watsons in Malaysia. Sasa is a retailer of beauty products, and Watsons is a drugstore.

These are the things that I bought:

1. Sasatinnie Aloe and Olive Deep Moist Silky Mask - This is a moisturizing sheet mask. I have tried almost all the sheet masks from Sasa, and this is still my favorite. You can read my reviews of other Sasatinnie masks here and here.
2. Vaseline Total Moisture Nourishing Body Lotion - This is a moisturizing body lotion. I received free samples when I bought tickets to Ted 2 (I don't know why) and instantly fell in love with it, so I bought the full size.
3. Vaseline Healthy White Insta Fair Body Lotion - This is a whitening body lotion. It came free with my purchase of the Total Moisture lotion.
4. Watsons Electric Power Toothbrush - This is pretty self-explanatory.
5. Skinlite Green Tea Makeup Cleansing Tissues - This is a makeup remover wipe. These come in Green Tea, Cucumber, Aloe Vera, and Orange. I've previously tried Cucumber and Aloe Vera, and I can't seem to find the Orange version anywhere.
6. Skinlite Rejuvenating Orange Pads - This is a rejuvenating eye mask.
7. Skinlite Cooling Cucumber Pads - This is a cooling eye mask. I've tried these before. They're eye masks that look like cucumber slices, and they're super refreshing, perfect for a DIY spa night.
8. Sasatinnie Rose Hip Oil Tightening and Rejuvenating Silky Mask - This is a rejuvenating sheet mask.
9. Sasatinnie Pomegranate and Collagen Lifting Silky Mask - This is a lifting sheet mask.

Whenever I'm in Malaysia, I have to go to Sasa and Watsons to get my hands on these amazing products. The majority of these are repurchases. I love them, but they're really difficult to find (or they're super costly to buy) in the US.

What are your thoughts on Asian beauty products?

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