january empties

In my ongoing efforts to use up the products I own instead of shelving them half-used, today I'm sharing some of my trash empty products from last month! 

Neutrogena Naturals fresh cleansing + makeup remover 
Love this cleanser. I use it with my Clarisonic to get all of my makeup off when I'm in the shower. It's gentle and does a good job at removing makeup. 

Sonia Kashuk eye makeup remover
This is the only eye makeup remover I can use that doesn't burn my eyes and removes every spec of eye makeup. It's around $10 at Target, depending on the size you get. 

Clinique acne solutons clarifying lotion (toner)
After completely using my trial size acne solutions toner, I decided to purchase this full size. I liked it, but even for my oily skin it felt overly dry when used every night. I would suggest using it every other night instead. I do like it (and the whole acne solutions line), but I'm not re-purchasing for now. 

Soap & Glory Hand Food 
I use this every night before going to sleep. You can find this at Sephora. More on this lotion here! 

Mary Kay Timewise moisturizer
My holy grail moisturizer. You can can see more of my thoughts on this product here. 

Aussie 3 Minute Miracle
A great deep conditioner for only $3.00. I use this roughly twice a week in the shower. Having such long hair, it's important to keep my ends moisturized to prevent breakage. I've re-purchased multiple times and don't think I'll ever not have this in my shower!

Dickinson's Witch Hazel
I love witch hazel. One of my first posts explained the benefits and uses of witch hazel. You can read all about those here! 

It feels good to use up products. What have you recently used up?
xo, Mal

no-heat beachy waves

As you know, I was in Florida all last week. I tried to take full advantage of the care-free beach atmosphere. For me, that meant little to no makeup and minimal hair care. On a typical day or night, I blow dry (or air dry if time) and straighten my hair. But, during the trip I really wanted to use no heat and minimal products to get a somewhat decent “beachy wave.”

I have long, thick straight hair that frizzes easily, so that’s why I usually stick to my trusty straightener. But, after having some luck with these products, I decided to try this process every day last week. And I have to say, I was really happy with the outcome.

To get the look, I don’t brush my hair when it’s wet. I just let the craziness of the “just taken down from the towel” hair do its thing. I let it dry a tad so its not dripping wet.

I first spray the Aussie Sprunch on most of my hair, and really concentrate on the ends. Then I just scrunch and sprunch (?) my hair with my hands til it starts to get crazy wavy. The Aussie Spray (non-aerosol) is just a little sticky and feels like a light hair spray, which is what helps the waves form and stay. I really recommend the Aussie Sprunch Spray if you’re on a tight budget.

Then I spray the Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray on the top portions of my hair to add some texture. I scrunch some more. Then I lightly spray all over my hair and scrunch some more until it’s exactly how I want it.

All the scrunching causes some major flyaways and frizz. To tame that, I use the Aveda Smoothing Fluid. I focus this on areas with the most frizz, but apply lightly on the roots.

I loved this hairstyle for the beach. It is so easy and much better for your hair than blow drying and straightening.

Let me know if you have other products you use for waves or if you try this one out! 

summer hair care

1.    Tresemme Heat Tamer Spray: My hair grows probably faster than the average, and I truly believe it’s because I do my best to protect it from heat damage. If you regularly use straighteners or curling irons, now would be a good time to start using heat protecting spray, if you don’t already. There are all kinds to choose from, but I’ve re-purchased this Tresemme spray because it is perfection. It distributes an even mist onto your hair, is lightweight, and… it’s a grand total of $3.99! If that doesn’t say “buy me!” then I don’t know what does. Keep a bottle in your beach bag and spray in your hair throughout the day. You have to protect those delicate strands from the sun’s heat, also!

2.    John Freida Leave-In Conditioning Spray: Leave-in conditioner is so effortless. After a wash, I spray this on the ends of my hair, wrap it up in a turbie twist, and let it sit for about 10 minutes before I blow dry. I spray this every time I wash my hair. It leaves the ends feeling silky smooth and has made my ends much healthier over time.

3.    Moroccan Oil: Okay, this may be God’s gift to hair, seriously. I use Moroccan oil for taming flyaways after straightening or curling. It adds the “good oils” to your hair without making it look greasy; and it’s packed with nutrients. You can purchase this on Amazon or find similar brands at Ulta.

4.    Neutrogena Anti-Residue Shampoo: I love this shampoo for weeks when I went crazy with the hair spray or scrunching spray. Using too many hair products can leave build up that makes it harder to style your hair, even on good hair days. This shampoo is meant to be used once a week, and it’s fabulous!

5.    Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Deeeeep Conditioner: A deep conditioner is also good to use during your shower once a week. The 3 Minute Miracle is a great option and very affordable. On Sunday nights, I shampoo with the Neutrogena Residue Shampoo, and then apply this as my conditioner. The only negative side to this product is its smell. To me, it smells like buttered popcorn. While I do love me some popcorn, not exactly what I want my hair to smell like. The good thing as that I don’t find that the smell remains on my hair once I rinse it out.

6.    Aussie Catch the Wave Scrunch Spray: If you are lucky enough to have hair that doesn’t always require a straightener a curling iron, and can leave those natural waves flowing, then go for it! I do this on days when I don’t feel like breaking out the straightener, AKA just plain lazy. I just started using this one after reading rave reviews, and so far so good!

7.    Macadamia Deep Repair Hair Masque: Hair masks are great for anyone with dry or damaged hair. It’s enriched with macadamia and argan oils, and helps reconstruct hair by “ultra-conditioning” it. I’ll do a hair mask every 2 or 3 weeks, or just whenever I can remember. You can leave it in for 15 minutes or even an hour or two, depending on the time you have.

8.    Wide tooth comb: One thing I preach, but don’t always practice, is using a wide tooth comb on wet hair. You should really never use a dense brush on wet hair. Any wide tooth comb will do—one from CVS, Target, wherever. I keep an extra one in my beach bag, of course J

What do you use the most during the summer to keep it healthy and protected from the sun? Leave me some comments and let me know. :)