February Beauty: Mini Haul

Here you have it my little beauty haul for February. As you can see I am a big fan of face wipes, they are very useful for everyday just to refresh your face or remove your makeup. Sometimes I will just quickly use one, when I come home from work or uni just to wipe off the grime of the day. 

Huggies Natural care baby wipes with Aloe Vera and Vitamin E - £1

                                                                                                   

Boots Essential Cotton Buds 
35p

Boots Double Faced Cotton Pads - these are great for wiping off cream cleanser and applying toner. £1.78

Hair products Black hairpins, Hair scissors and some ouchless hairbands - since I am going  heat less for 2012 I need to have some styling apparatus. lol 

Scunci Hairpins -  £2.25

Scunci Hair scissors - £5.49

Scunci Hairbands - £2.75

Cocoa Butter Formula Body Butter - "I have been around the world and I I I" need some moisturizer. No matter how far you roam you always come back home. I needed a moisturizer and I took my nuffness to go and purchase the new Garnier gel like moisturizer ---> biggg mistake that lotion was the biggest mistake of my existence. It did nothing for me,  so I just decided to go back to what I know will work. This body butter is a thicker formula than the regular lotion and so far it has been working really well. My skin feels well moisturized and supple all day, def a good product and worth the price. £3.33

Face wipes yippie, to some of you four packets might seem excessive and yes it might be but these were all on half price sale so I thought aha I'm saving some money and I have material for the blog. I love Garnier face wipes in my humble opinion they are the best face wipes out of all the drugstore ranges for makeup removal. They are very moist but the moisture is well distributed. 

Olay daily facials express (sensitive skin fragrance free) - £1.48

Garnier Skin Naturals Soft essentials Rose extract + Vitamin E (Dry and sensitive skin) - £1.75 (pink)

Garnier Skin Naturals Simply essentials plant extract + Pro vitamin B5 Facial cleansing wipes - £1.55 (blue)

Garnier Skin Naturals Fresh essentials Grape water + Vitamin E (Normal + Combination Skin) - £1.60 (green) 

Nivea Daily essentials Oil free Moisturising day cream (oily & combination skin) - £2.66















"Be beautiful"

Updated Hair care regimen August 2011 to January 2012

      This is my updated hair care regimen, mainly due to the new products introduced to my haircare regimen. I had not planned to start using Elasta QP products, what happened was that my aunt forgot that she had these products (mainly due to the fact that I was in Antigua all summer and not around to bug her about her hair) and bought a completely new set. So being the Economic student that I am, I asked her for them and she said yes I could have them, These products consisted of the Elasta QP Stop Action Shampoo, and the Elasta QP Intense fortifying conditioner. 

       I had been using these products on her hair for roughly 8 months so I knew that the Elasta QP products were a good line to use. Later I was gifted with a Elasta QP Shampoo for Relaxed Hair and a Elasta QP Mango/Olive butter. In December after being pleased with the results, I purchased the Elasta QP Breakage control serum, this is also a great product. The shampoos in the Elasta QP range maintain a ph of 4.5 - 5.5 so they are not overly drying to my hair and all off the products are full of vitamins and lovely oils such as Avocado, Coconut and Olive oil. 

My regimen as far as my wash day still remains the same I detangle my hair thoroughly using my wide toothed shower comb and comb all my hair back so that it is in 1 direction. 

- Next I run water over my hair in the shower for 2-3 minutes. 

- Then I apply the Elasta QP Stop Action Shampoo for the first lather. (I use a mixture of 50% water/ 50% shampoo this helps the shampoo spread better and it is not just a glob of product in 1 place. Also you save money, because the products last longer) This is a clarifying shampoo so it will gently remove all of the product buildup from my hair. I massage the sides of my scalp then the back and the front. Then I rinse.

- For the second wash ( I only wash my hair twice ) I apply the Elasta QP Shampoo for Relaxed Hair (here I also use a mixture of 50% water / 50% shampoo, sometimes I make it or 75% shampoo / 25% water). Again I massage the sides of my scalp then the back and the front, then I rinse the shampoo from my hair. 

- Next I blot my hair with a clean towel, and I apply my deep conditioning treatment "Elasta QP Intense Fortifying Conditioner + 2 tablespoons olive oil" mixed together to my semi dry hair. I cover with a 2 plastic bags and wait 30- 60 minutes. I usually watch a tv show during this time. My natural body heat allows the conditioner to work, penetrating the hair shaft. 

- After rinsing out the deep treatment I blot my hair 90% dry using a clean towel and I apply my leave in conditioner Infusium 23 maximum body formula (75% Infusium 23 + 25% water). Then I apply my Aphogee Green Tea and Keratin reconstructor spray.  Then I comb through with my wide toothed shower comb. 

- Next I apply my Matrix Biolage Sleek Look Iron smoother "heat protection spray" (yes the same bottle from August 2010, it is still going strong) and I comb that through my hair.

-  Then I blow dry my hair in sections. If I am going to flat iron my hair I will add some Fantasia IC Heat protection serum to my hair after blow drying comb that through my blow dried hair and then flat Iron my hair. 

- To maintain my hair between washes (I was washing my hair every two weeks at this point) I would moisturize my scalp using Olive oil. I would moisturize and seal my hair using Elasta QP Olive / Mango butter, Or my Elasta QP Olive/Mango butter Mega Mix and seal my ends using olive oil. 








** Due to the fact I started stretching my relaxers from 8 weeks to 12 weeks. I began to use the Hairveda Almond glaze on my scalp/ new growth during week 6 -12 of my relaxer stretch. See my review on this product here http://miakhymai.blogspot.com/2012/01/review-hairveda-almond-glaze.html

Also other things I have been doing include half heat--> blowdrying but not straightening (flat ironing) my hair. Blowdrying my hair with NO heat. Basically I keep the heat setting button off but I use the speed setting so I get cool air but no heat. Keeping my hair in french braids and pinning up my ends. Also I have been occasionally spraying some leave in conditioner on my hair, just here and there one or two sprays to keep moisture levels up. 


Love your tresses
Miss Mai 

R.I.P Whitney Houston

   Sometimes when we think that we are alone god is there. he carries us in the  times that we forget to look to him, for answers instead of depending on material goods.  Instead of seeking comfort in others who are not spiritually saturated we forget to pray. God is always there we just need to look to him. 

   From the woman who told us to "dance with somebody who loves us" the song to remind us to always always always keep our faith strong and look towards our heavenly father.

Hair oils and serums

On Ojon Restorative Hair serum

What they say ------> On contact this highly concentrated multi tasking serum fortified with pure Ojon oil, natures hair - repairing golden elixir, plus exotic Rouge Olefiera penetrates the hair shaft to help strengthen weak hair against breakage , fix flyaways and tame frizz. It helps restore brilliant shine and softness to dull, damaged hair. Adds suppleness and manageability. 

This hair serum, which promised such lovely things on the website, including boosting the properties if a few drops were mixed with the Ojon Damage Reverse Conditioner. As we all know Ojon products are not cheap at all, but I decided to go out and splurge on myself and in essence my hair. The products arrived and the first thing I did was Check the ingredients list. The first ingredient listed in the hair serum is Sweet Almond oil, then a few ingredients down the list I see a few silicone's, Methyl Trimethicone, Phenyl Trimethicone, Dimethicone (Dimethicone is a silicone polymer known for creating a  glassy effect, doesn't rinse off easily if it is not in its water soluble form - Dimethiconol, and if it builds up it eventually dries out hair)  after that I see, Avocado oil, Palm kernel oil, Macadamia seed oil, Jojoba oil, Orange oil, Bergmont oil. Now this hair serum is marketed as being made with pure Ojon oil, not Almond oil and then Ojon oil is somewhere down the ingredients list at #7. The first ingredient listed in a product is in the greatest amount. So in essence this is an "Almond oil serum" with "Ojon oil", some other oils and a few silicones to "fill" the product out. This is not good enough, for £10 I could have gone to my supermarket and bought these oils and made  my own serum, enough to last for an entire year. The packaging says to use before heat styling, ok lets run with this. Avocado oil has a smoke point of over 400 degrees, if you use pure Avocado oil on your hair that right there is your heat protectant,plus Avocado oil is mega full of fatty acids which are great for adding life to your hair.  A bottle of 500ml pure cold pressed Avocado oil at my local shop ---> £5.99 

Next thing in this rant is this Argan oil business. I'v been using Argan oil since 2009, both in products and on its own.  For those of you who have been with me since the beginning of my hair journey, the Biolage Matrix Colourtherapie Products that I used previously, those were Argan oil products and they worked VERY VERY VERY well on my hair. The line consists of a Shampoo, Conditioner, Deep treatment and a hair oil, at the time when I was purchasing the oil it was made from Argan oil and Olive oil. (oils alone noooo silicone's) Fast forward and now everybody and their step cousin has an Argan oil  hair oil. It's the miracle product, that does wonders and parts the oceans. 


On Argan Oil Hair Treatment 

I purchased the Argan oil hair treatment from Proclere Professional, back in September, thinking that in January/February this would be good for moisturizing and sealing my hair. How wrong I was, this is another product which is full of silicone's and additives the packaging says that it is "formulated to rejuvenate and nourish dry damaged hair" the first three ingredient are silicone's, Cyclomethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethiconethe 4th ingredient in Argan oil and the rest ingredients are additives. This oil is in no way moisturizing your hair, which is what alot of persons believe that it does, all silicone's do is coat the hair shaft to give the illusion of smoothness. If you hair is damaged probably from heat styling, this product will not help you, because you should not be using heat tools on your hair anyway. 

Would I repurchase either of these products nope they will be lasting me for a long time.  I will be making my own hair serum to nourish my hair please and thanks.

** These oils are great for styling your hair and adding shine which makes you hair look healthy. I did not buy the Morrocan oil version of the Argan oil because that one too is chuck a block full of silicone's. If I am going to pay for a product full of petrochemicals, I will be purchasing the cheapest petrochemicals I can find, VO5 hair elixir here I come. 

be more product savvy

Review / Hand bag essentials L'Occitanes Shea Butter hand cream

I love this stuff, hence why I own 3. This thick and creamy hand lotion is uber moisturizing, but absorbs easily with no greasy residue or silicone feel to it. A definite heavy hitter in the hand cream arena with multiple awards and accolades to testify to this fact. Plus the chic and stylish packaging makes it an attractive addition to your other handbag essentials. Pick one up if you have the chance. 

L'Occitane Shea Butter hand cream 30ml £7.50 ( as pictured above, also available in large sizes)