Conair Tourmaline Ceramic Straightener Review (Guest Post)

The following post was written by Shipra, enjoy - Mani :)

Hello! I am a follower and fan of Makeup Newbie. I myself am a newbie with much less experience with beauty products (and much fewer lip glosses in my stash), but I enjoy reading and learning. A particular interest of mine is hair care.

My curls are not extremely tight but curlier than Mani’s soft waves, and a whole lot frizzier too. It’s frustrating when my curls aren’t in a cooperative mood, and so, for special occasions when I want to look a bit more polished, I always reach for my straightener.

Unfortunately, an awesome and very cheap Revlon straightener I owned for a couple years experienced electronic shock in London this last July and refused to turn on after the trip. Thus, after reading Mani’s post about straighteners in August, I hung around the hair supplies aisle in Wal-Mart to find a nice replacement. After purchasing the new straightener and trying it out for a couple months, I asked Mani if I could review it here on her blog.

PACKAGING:

 “Conair Tourmaline Ceramic Straightener”

(I don’t remember how much it was exactly, but it was definitely between $25 - $30.)

The Conair Professional tourmaline ceramic 1" straightener features 25% longer plates. Promotes healthy looking hair-micro particles of pure ceramic generate infrared energy to gently penetrate hair follicles while straightening. To give you faster styling, the 1" plates are 25" longer than our standard straighteners. Promotes shiny results the micro particles of tourmaline crystals emit natural ions that reduce frizz. Conair, 1" Tourmaline Ceramic Straightener, MODEL #CS58W.

The straightener offers heat levels up to 392F, auto-off, and dual voltage (a plus considering my London problem). Conair also promises professional results, reduced frizz, and smooth hair. Sounds promising, right?

THE EXPERIENCE:

While I’ve used this straightener a couple times before, most of those times were not as relaxed as a most recent attempt to get my hair straight just after finals ended a couple weeks ago.

Right out of the shower, after applying Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine and lots of TRESemmé Heat Tamer Spray from Thermal Creations, I blow-dried my hair, not trying to make it straight, but letting it transform into a 70s fro. It took me about 10 minutes.

I then spritzed the entire poof with heat spray again and waited 10min for it to dry. After the hair was completely dry, I straightened section by section: below the ears, above the ears, around the forehead, crown, and bangs. It took me about 40 minutes to straighten my medium-length hair. Finally, I applied a tiny bit more Sleek and Shine to tame frizz, then pulled the hair back in a loose bun to consolidate the hair for about 15 minutes.

The end results were very satisfying! My hair fell nicely around my face, styled in the exact way that I had moved the straightener. Since I had paid particular attention to the roots, which I always used to mess up, the hair was smooth from the top to the ends, a very new effect for my hair!

Because I agree with Mani that the stick-straight-hair look isn’t enormously flattering, I worked in a small curve to the ends of my hair which made it more natural. My mom (I’m 20, so I’m still at home with the parental units) told me my hair looked much nicer this time than other times I straightened it (underhanded diss?) and that she even preferred it to my curly hair (which I got from her)!

PROS AND CONS OF THE STRAIGHTENER

Pros:

• Because it’s only 1”, the straightener is very light and easy to maneuver. For hard-to-get pieces, like the hair on the back of my head, holding the straightener up doesn’t hurt.
• Three heat settings—some straighteners don’t offer heat setting options while some offer precise, exact-degree settings. I find that exact degrees help when baking cookies, not when straightening hair. The three settings provide easy control over how much heat is applied to the hair without getting overly technical.
•  As Mani always says, a little goes a long way, especially with my hair which isn’t very thin, but still straightens very easily. I can do the entire bottom layers on the Low setting and switch to Medium only for the crown.
• My hair doesn’t feel burnt or damaged after use. However, the heat tamer spray probably also had a hand in that.

Cons:

• Because the straightener has an auto-off mechanism, the straightener sometimes turns off while I’m still working with it. I’m okay with the safety of it though.
• Since this is a cheaper straightener and I have curly hair, I find that I often have to go over the same piece a couple times, which is not necessarily the case when I use more high-end straighteners. That could, however, stem from the fact that I don’t use the High setting on the straightener.

I recommend this straightener to anyone with thin to medium-thickness hair, curls or waves, or just anyone on a tight budget. I’m definitely keeping this with my hair care supplies! What straightener do you use? 

Shipra, a Steel City native and pre-law student, is a makeup and hair care enthusiast. Don't let her self-proclaimed 'newbie' status fool you, this girl knows her way around a makeup pallet...must be the artist in her :) Thanks so much!

Fun with Hot Rollers

I was recently out shopping at Ross and, as usual, found myself pouring over their hair, makeup, and body section. I've been really into watching ItsJudyTime's Youtube videos and she does a lot of fun hair tutorials that involve hot rollers. The Remington Style Ionic Hot Rollers set was on sale for $7.99 (originally $20.99), so I thought it was a good time to try them out :) By the way, I highly recommend taking a look at stores like Ross, T.J.Maxx, and Marshalls for deals on face and hair products because they usually have major discounts!


This was my very first time using hot rollers, so I thought I'd document the experience! I am a fan of big hair and although my hair has quite a bit of volume and natural wave to it, I would love to have defined curls and even more volume :P 


Before: 
Here is what my hair looks like after air drying...a little unruly, I know :P

I followed the heating instructions of the rollers and in the meantime went onto trusty Youtube to find a video that would guide me on how to put these rollers in. Here is what I found. It's a great video that walks you through the steps. 

Now, I must reiterate that this was my first time...I had a few issues. First off, I kept burning myself...my sister, who kindly "volunteered" to help me (lol!) didn't find the curlers to be as unbearably hot as I did...maybe I'm just weak :( My second major issue was my hair. I had just washed it that morning, so it was a little too smooth and slippery, giving me some problems while rolling. The other hair problem I had was my layers/bangs. All the different lengths made the top sections a little tricky. Here is how it came out:

I waited for about 20 minutes, busied myself with Angry Birds, soo addicting! Once the time had passed, I went and gave the curlers a final shot of heat with my blow dryer, then set it to cold air and cooled them off again (a Youtube tutorial recommended this). Making sure that all of my hair was cooled off, I started taking out the rollers (the fun part!!). 


After:

I combed through my hair with my fingers to loosen the curls a bit, then I applied some hair oil to smooth out any frizzies. I didn't apply any product before because I am not a big fan of hair spray, though in the future I will try a heat protectant spray for sure. I also need to figure out how to position the curlers to give me a little more volume at the top...

For about 10 minutes of effort (and minor burns :P), I'm pretty pleased with the results! What do you think?

Inexpensive and Effective Hair Straighteners

#11: VS175

Shipra asked me for my recommendation on a good and cheap hair straightener. Back in my undergraduate days sleek and straight was my hair style of choice, so I do have a bit of experience in this area even though I've given up the flat iron for the most part. I decided to do what any good 'newbie' knows best, google :)

Now, when it comes to straighteners, it's very important to purchase one with ceramic plates as they are less damaging to the hair cuticle and heat up evenly and quickly. I used to use a titanium one back in my heyday and while it straightened my then curly hair quite well, it also left me with a lot of damaged, dry ends. Frequent use of hot tools can dry out your hair, so it's good to use ceramic tools and some sort of heat protectant spray before straightening. I've heard good things about Tresemme's, but have never used any myself (probably also why I had such damaged hair!).

TotalBeauty.com has been my resource of choice lately for finding new, highly-rated hair products. I recently discovered Giovanni's Frizz Be Gone serum from this site, and am loving it (review to come soon)!! They have a Top 12 Flat Irons feature under their Advice section which I thought would be very useful to all those in search of a great flat iron for less :)

Here are the products from their list that were under $45:

- #12: Revlon Tourmaline Heat Ionic Ceramic Straightener - $32.99 

- #11: Vidal Sassoon VS175 Studio Tools 1-1/2" Tourmaline/Solid Ceramic Professional Ceramic Straightener - $32.99

- #7: Vidal Sassoon VS182 Gold Series Professional 2-1/4" High Heat Straightener - $25.49

- #4: Revlon Amber Waves Dual-Edge Straightener - $25.77

- #3: Conair Infiniti 1" Straightener - $44.99

Lingo check: According to HairStraightenening.net, tourmaline hair straighteners are good for giving a shinier, silkier result than just a ceramic straightener alone, in less time! Sounds good for those busy mornings.

Take a look at the article and be sure to read the reviews to see if the straightener is good for your particular hair type (i.e., thin, wavy, curly, thick, frizzy, etc).

Good luck finding a new straightener :) 

If anyone else has any questions that they'd like me to address on this blog, please feel free to shoot me an email at mani.blog25@gmail.com.

July Favorites

Image taken from ClassroomClipart.com

Summer is speeding on by, just like always, but this year I am not so upset about it. The massive humidity and heat that has been plaguing the Northeast has been very on again/off again and I, for one, am looking forward to Fall!

Now that July has come to an end, I thought I'd share with you, dear readers, the beauty products/fashion trends/skin care items that I have been the most into this month <3

1) Turquoise jewelry -- I am woman obsessed when it comes to turquoise accessories! I love pairing turquoise bracelets, earrings, or rings with neutral outfits. The stones add the perfect pop of color and have the added bonus of complementing tan Indian skin tones!

2) T-strap sandals -- This style really makes my wide-ish feet appear longer and leaner and, in my opinion, add a little class to all of my summer ensembles. My favorite pairs are wedges...I'm not a big fan of heels, they just hurt too much :( Put me in a 1-2" wedge heel though, and thats a completely different story ;)

3) Bold pedicures -- As I mentioned earlier this month, I have really been into bright, bold polishes for my piggies. Makes 'em feel so ready for summer! I'm currently sporting Essie's Chubby Cheeks, a bright coral-y orange color that I am in love with!

4) The smudged eyeliner look -- I love this look for night! I like to apply eyeliner, mostly to the outer half of my eye, and smudge, with either the pencil's built-in smudger or a Q-tip, inwards to give it a smoky look. I've been using teal, purple, and shades of brown.

5) Maybelline Dream Mouse concealer -- I cannot rave about this product enough! It really pulled through for me when my skin just was not in a cooperating mood!! Best part, it stood up to the high levels of humidity and heat, what more can I ask for? Click here for a full review.

6) Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash -- This oldie-but-goodie that is usually collecting dust in my medicine cabinet (knock-on-wood), got a lot of use this month and helped to clear up my blemish outbreak! 

7) Nivea Lip Care A Kiss of Flavor, Cherry Tinted Lip Care -- I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I'm a lazy girl! I will jump at any opportunity to get the benefits of two products in one, and this product does just that. It has all the moisturizing/conditioning properties of a lip balm (c'mon, its by Nivea after all!) while leaving you with a pretty reddish pout, reminiscent of one too many cherry popsicles.

8) L'Oreal Colour Juice Sheer Juicy Lip Gloss in Peaches-n-Creme -- This is the perfect nude shade I've been searching for...the subtle peach gloss really goes great with my pigmented lips and brown skin :) The gloss smells nice, glides on smoothly, isn't sticky and lasts for a good amount of time. I may reapply once or twice over the course of a day...but it's a lip gloss and that's not a big deal for me at all! 

9) Side bangs -- About mid-July I got my hair cut...I went from mid-back length to just below my shoulders (not too crazy) and got my longer bangs (about chin length) cut a couple of inches to give me a fun fringe of side bangs! I rocked this look last summer and am loving it again this year. Though it may take me a couple more minutes to style my hair in the morning now, it's completely worth it...side bangs are a fun look that suit many face shapes :)

Let me know what your July favorites have been!!