eBay Haul

Just minutes after creating the previous post I discovered a very inexpensive Enzo Milano clipless curling iron. It is not a conical shape, just a regular cylindrical shape...but I figured I may as well start somewhere, right?


eBay seller: manonspring http://myworld.ebay.com/manonspring/
Price: $32.99 (free shipping) I know it seems too good to be true but this seller has very positive feedback.

Additional Information:
-Aluminum Teflon coated Barrels to provide a protective barrier between the hair and heated iron providing more damage control.
-Reduced friction and
-Newest ceramic technology provides consistent temp curl after curl
-Ceramic heat will ensure the penetration of silk molecules to the hair
-Hair is heated softly and evenly from inside out
-Fraction of time curling
-Ceramic will produce negative ions to seal the cuticles and repel humidity
-Provides Raw infrared rays for superior protection to hair
-Ceramic far infrared rays reduce frizz and make the hair soft, shinny and healthier.

Once I receive this product and test it out, I will let you know if I recommend for you to buy it as well :-)
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Another very recent (but expensive) purchase of mine is Glamour Extensions.
These are so cool! These one-piece 100% Human Remy extensions have been featured in many magazines and worn by numerous celebrities!

So you know how there are a lot of one-piece synthetic hair extensions on the market currently. They are easy to put on (although some brands have weak clips) and give you added length and volume in minutes.

Glamour extensions use the best and purest Remy hair on the market. The extensions that I purchased were a one-piece 21 inch (layered) hair in Color 4/27, which is chocolate brown with blonde highlights. Because the hair is human, I'll be able to style them in various ways.

eBay Seller: glamourextensions http://myworld.ebay.com/glamourextensions/

Price: $169.99 (plus shipping) Yikes!! I'm not buying anything else for a long time now!

Please let me know if you own any of these products. Also please let me know if you would spend this money on hair or if you think its just plain silly. I love your opinions!!

Please Advise - Conical Curling Iron??

Hello everyone!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Mine was a bit tiring as I was at the cheerleading/ambassador try outs (only on Saturday but somehow I am still trying to recover) and I have photos that I'll show you in one of my next posts. (By the way, I totally used one of the bumpits in my hair at try outs, and it stayed and looked great!!!)

I need your advice. There is a fairly new tool on the market, which seems to be very popular in parts of Europe and Australia. I am talking about the Conical Ceramic Curling Iron. It is clipless and is shaped like a cone, which gives you the flexibility of achieving any size curls. This product makes the curling/waving process much faster. You simply wrap your hair all the way around and hold for just a few seconds, then release. Lollipop26 is known for using this product by Babyliss Pro (and her hair is so cute!)

I've looked everywhere: Ulta website, Sally Beauty Supply website, etc. I could not find anything like this anywhere. I have found similar products by Enzo Milano, but the prices are super high.

So now I turn to you beautiful ladies. Do you have any advice on where us ladies in the United States can purchase such a product? Is online the only option really? I would hate to spend over $100 for a styling tool (although I have done so when I bought T3 Hair dryer - amazing!).

Please let me know your thoughts!!

How I Try to Stay In Shape - 4 Week Challenge

Hey!

I've been asked to discuss what I eat on a daily basis, what I do when I work out, and how I don't become bored at the gym. I will take yesterday as an example since it is fairly standard.

FOOD
I do not have a very strict diet. Neither do I eat the same food every day (not that I think that anyone should or does). Here is what I ate yesterday:

Morning (9 am)-
Slimfast shake in Cappuccino
Apple sauce
A little bit of oatmeal (hot cereal)

Between Breakfast and Lunch (10:30 am)-
A few smoked almonds

Lunch (12:15 pm)-
Small piece of salmon
Green salad (with fat free Italian dressing, cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes)
2 onion rings (hehe)

Between Lunch and Dinner (3:00 pm)
Slimfast shake in Cappuccino

Dinner (6 pm) -
Spring egg roll (veggie)
Veggie Lo Mien with a lot of broccoli (very spicy...spice speeds up metabolism)

Note: I am not really mentioning drinks here because its mainly just water (sometimes with lemons)

WORKOUT
I went to the gym late last night (8:45 pm - 10:05 pm)

1) Cardio on the Elliptical Machine with varying resistances for 25 minutes Note: I don't think that doing cardio for a very long time will do any good. The best workout is a mix of cardio and weights.

2) Lower Abs by lifting myself off the ground with my weight supported by my arms. I lifted my legs up and down (50 times).

3) Inner and Outer Thigh toning on a special machine (for each exercise I did 3 sets of ten using 50lb, 60lb, and 70lb)

4) Back, shoulders, and biceps using weights (50 times. Started with 20lb and finished with 30lb)

5) More abs! I grabbed a 2lb ball, positioned myself on an incline with my feet secured on an incline above the rest of my body and I would sit up and lay back down while holding the ball. I switched from doing normal straight sit ups to sideways sit ups.

6) And More abs!! This time I used an ab machine. Its tough to explain it

And that is it! Do I get bored at the gym? Its a tough question. You know, the toughest part is actually preparing to go there especially since it is late and after a long day at work. Sometimes I just want to sit on my couch and watch TV or read a book. But once I am at the gym, I am more than happy. It is very motivating to know that I am doing something healthy and when I see others at the gym working hard it just inspires me to do better. Cardio can get a little uninteresting, but I just stare at the TV in front of me (even though there is no sound). Then I begin thinking about life in general, and that's when I feel entertained enough.

I would love to hear about your experiences, techniques, eating habits, etc. :-)

My 4 Week Challenge (created by BUBBLEGARM)

Hi!

BUBBLEGARM was so smart to create a 4 Week Challenge, inspiring others to take the next 4 weeks to do whatever we need to do to look the way we've always wanted to.

Consequently enough I just took the picture you see above yesterday, which happens to be reavealing enough to show you what I'm working with here. I have been working out pretty hard lately, and my food has been nutrioutous for the most part, and mainly this is because I am trying out (in a few days) to be on the Washington Redskins Cheereader Ambassador squad for 2009. This squad is a group of women who are seen at every Football game and at events throughout the Washington DC Metro area mingling with the fans while the Cheerleaders entertain them with their hot dance moves on the field. I have been a part of such an amazing and fun squad for the past 3 seasons, but we all have to re-try out every year. In order to make it on the team, one of the qualifications is to be very fit (as you can probably imagine). Thus, I've been working very hard.

However, I will take the next 4 weeks to work on my abs even more. They are not completely where I would like them to be. I will continue to eat healthy food and exercise very regularly. I will keep you posted on the progress and outcome.

Also I must mention that for try outs the girls must wear a cute outfit that shows our tummies and everything else basically. Each year I grab a needle, some fabric, glitter, and get to work. I have not made the outfit that you see above completely from scratch, but definitely for the most part. Yes, I've poked myself with a needle quite a few times in the past week, but thats ok. The photo above shows my end product. But please ignore the crazy hair and the lack of make up. It was a very late night.

Bumpits & Smooth Away Review

As promised, I have a review for you about Bumpits and Smooth Away, the description of which you can find in one of my previous posts.
The photo above actually features two products (one of which was not on purpose): Bumpits and Jessica Simpson Synthetic Clip-In Hair Extensions.

Bumpits ($19.99 at Sally Beauty Supply) - I don't know to be honest. Yes, it does the job of lifting and volumizing the hair. That is true. One problem is the actual plastic bumpits are tough to hide. I really had to take my time combing hair over the bumpit and even then I'm sure you'd be able to see it if I moved my hair or head a certain way. I did not use hair spray as suggested in the instructions, but I don't like hair spray. I have not actually gone out with bumpits, so I do not know how long they would last before I'd see something strange hanging off my hair - oh yea, bumpit, there you are! You may ask, "but are they sturdy?" My answer is yes, for the most part. Once again, I have not performed the time test.

Should you buy it? Yes, if you want. This product is not terrible. Some people work it better than others. A great example is Emilynoel83. Please see her blog about Bumpits Review http://beautybroadcast.blogspot.com/2009/01/bumpits-review.html

Jessica Simpson Hair Extensions just happened to be on at the time. I've had these for 2 years. I love them. I have human hair extensions, synthetic, already made, the ones that I made myself, you name it. If you ever have any questions about hair extensions feel free to contact me.

Smooth Away ($9.99 at Sally Beauty Supply) This is good! I have not bothered to use this on my legs yet, but I tried on my arms and they are soooo smooth! I know for some this does not work, and I am not sure the exact reason. I think you have to use this product very gently and follow the instructions.

Does this product completely eliminate the use of a razor? Definitely not! But its a fun little extra fun tool if you are into that.

Blogspot Broken?

Oh no! I need your advice!

I was on my blog earlier today and it was perfect. Later on, I signed on again and suddenly I couldn't see any of the blog updates for the blogs that I follow. Is this happening to anyone else? When I go to my profile, I still can see the list of the lovely blogs that I follow. How strange! Please advise!

Thank you!!

Sally Beauty Supply Store Haul

Hey!

Yesterday I went to Sally Beauty Supply store and bought (drum roll):

Bumpits

Smooth Away Hair Removal

I have played with bumpits a little last night, and they do work. I have to play a little more to perfect the technique and then will take pictures and give you my review.

I have not tried Smooth Away yet. I have read very mixed reviews on this product. How it works: you attach the microfine sandpaper sheet to the large (for arms, underarms, legs, ect) or small (for face and hard to reach places) pink buffer handle and very gently rub on the area where you wish to remove hair from in circular motions - 3 times clowise and then 3 times counterclockwise. Pretty interesting! I will try tonight and tell you more about this. Has anyone purchased/used this before?

MAC Penultimate Eye Liner

Hey Everyone!

Discovering amazing products that you already own must be one of the coolest feelings. This time I am talking about MAC Penultimate Eye Liner (in black). I have owned this for a few months, but did not fully appreciate the product until now. This looks just like a marker and is so easy to use. Let's see what http://www.maccosmetics.com/ has to say about this eye liner:

"A liquid pen-style liner that provides the ultimate precise, bold line in a rich, deep carbon black shade. Goes on fluidly, in one steady stroke, to style any fashion of eye line."

This eye liner is AMAZING if you want to achieve a super thin/precise line. Don't get me wrong, if you brush this product back and forth a few times, you can definitely have a smoky look also.

I have recently been adding a very thin line right above my top lashline. Did you know that such a method can make your eyelashes look even longer? Its true!

If you do not already own this fun MAC tool, I recommend trying.

Since this is a marker, I am not sure how long it lasts, but I have owned it for a few months and its still good!

More product reviews coming up soon!