November Birchbox

From left to right...

• The Chuao Chocolatier Assorted ChocoPod (7 pack for $7.95)--won't lie, they had tastier sounding flavors like plain salted chocolate and honeycomb and chocolate.  I got the chocolate covered potato chip.  It was a really thick piece of high quality chocolate--couldn't even tell there was a potato chip in there except it gave a little crunch, like a pricey and better quality Crunch bar.  I won't lie, if I didn't have to risk the other weird flavors (bacon), I'd probably buy a box.
• Oscar Blandi Pronto Texture and Volume Spray ($11.00)--I was on the fence about trying this.  I'm trying to avoid all drying, sulfate, silicone (well, the bad ones), paraben, whatevers on my hair.  I read through the ingredients and since I was wearing my hair straight today, I figured I'd give it a whirl.  Bad.  So bad.  It was like a magic spray that turned my hair into magic straw.  It didn't create "beachy waves" or any magical "texture" unless by texture you  mean heavy and sticky.  I was going to save this bottle for the beach next summer to recreate beachy waves.  Anyone else want to try it?  It's not for my hair type AT ALL!
• Miracle Skin Transformer Vanish Instant Imperfection Corrector ($58)--I was excited to try this product.  I've been in the market for a make-up primer with the reasoning that it would moisturize plus make my foundation look even better.  I do like this and misread the card thinking it was much cheaper... for this price though, I expected more from the product. AND I got a blemish... which I can't totally blame on this, but I have reasonably clear skin, so I've got to point a finger somewhere.
• Stila All Over Shimmer Liquid Luminizer Try-Me-Set ($22--for three different colors)--I got the yellowish color of this (obviously).  I was really excited to try a "luminizer" or highlighting product with all those pictures floating around on Pinterest about how to mix this with bronzer to really contour your face.  I'm still working with it, but I was impressed with the blending of the product--it smooths right in and looks like a subtle glow.  For the price, I think it would be an interesting product choice to pick up.  Don't think anyone would be unhappy with it.  I also don't see how you could EVER use up all three (I'm thinking this sample will last a year as is).  But if you're interested in that type of thing, this is for you... the best they've sent me!
• Atelier Cologne Rose Anonyme Petite Cologne Absolue ($75)--The product notes say they were on the look for an unconventional rose scent--it's smoky and rosy and straight up old lady.  It also claims everyone will ask what I'm wearing.  I'm pretty sure everyone will just ask if a dead relative left me her perfume from the 1950s.  This stuff is strong, perfumy, and not at all romantic as it claims.  It's got the "bold" part nailed though.

I won't lie, my Birchboxes are starting to wear me thin.  I've got a lot of samples that are stacking up that I don't end up liking... then samples I LOVE are way too expensive.  I'm thinking of cutting out now after using up my $20 worth of bonus points.  I hate to, because I love the thrill of samples.  And yet... I've bought tea, a BB cream, and two gifts for my husband from Birchbox using my points so far.  Might just get that luminizer set?   I'd have luminizer to last through the apocalypse.  I'll be buried at 80 with that on my face... maybe not then, huh?

Hair Revolution: Wen vs. Hair One

Disclaimer: No one pays me to review their products.  Oh how I wish they would.  Oh how I wish Chaz Dean would knock on my door, get down on one knee, offer me a 32 oz bottle of Fig Wen, and ask me to be his Wen Girl.  But no, no one is doing that.  I just have a lot of time on my hands.

I've finally had a chance to test out and compare Wen to Hair One.  Both are cleansing conditioners.  I started out with Hair One, so I might have a fondness for it because it came first, but thanks to a good friend I got to borrow some Wen and now I have a fairly good idea what sets them apart.

Price:  If price is your issue, go with Hair One.  A 12 oz bottle of Hair One will cost you $11.99.  You can purchase a kit from Wen for $29.95 that includes (I think) a 12 oz conditioning cleanser plus the deep conditioner, texture balm, styling creme, and a comb for $29.95.  For just the Wen cleanser, a 16 oz on QVC will cost you $29, and on Chaz Dean's website you'll pay $32 for a 16 oz.  Just something to think about, when I get the 12 oz of Hair one, I go through it in about three weeks (if you imagine half the bottle is just shampoo, half is conditioner--so six ounces of each, you'll get an idea of how much you use.  I have a lot of hair.)

I've decided through research I need to try the Fig Wen.  I have no idea what it smells like.  Fingers crossed for Fig Newtons?

Quality: Product wise, they feel about the same.  I like the texture of Hair One because to me Wen feels a little thinner, however, I think Hair One sometimes can leave residue if you don't rinse well enough, but Wen didn't seem to do that.  I've only tested two scents of Wen and two scents of Hair One.  Hands down, I like Hair One's sweet almond better than Wen's sweet almond mint.  However, Wen's pomegranate has pretty much the rest of Hair One's line beat.  I'm using Hair One's argan oil right now, and it smells like a man's cologne. 

Hands down best smell.  So tempted to just start buying two of these instead of one 30 oz. of the others... why isn't there a 30 oz of this at my Sally??

Results:  I feel like the results are pretty similar.  If you're on the fence, try Hair One (it even comes in 6 oz bottles if you're afraid to get that much product).  That way you can tell if a cleansing conditioner is something you're even interested in.  My hair is softer, easier to manage, no tangles, my scalp is not oily, nor does it itch.  My very wiry section of hair is way calmed down and feels very soft.  I do think it might be a little lighter and not weighed down as much when I use Wen.

Accessories:  Wen has a styling creme, finishing creme, deep moisture mask, texturizing balm, and refreshing spray.  These products are designed to work with your cleanser, so whatever you put in will wash clean.  Hair One has a volumizing spray (I don't need volume) and some oils, but nothing else.  If you use a lot of product, you have to be careful to find stuff that doesn't cause build up.  That's why I love the fact Wen has accessories--same scent, all meant to work together, and washes clean.

The $29.95 kit.  I always liked accessories... hmmm....

Actual Feelings:  If I had the money, I'd be a Wen girl.  For my money, getting all their products and using them exclusively would be the easiest choice to keep things simple.  However, I don't have that kind of money just to drop exclusively on Wen.  In a perfect world, I'd catch Wen sales on QVC (this friday, fyi!!) and switch out Wen and Hair One to make the good stuff last. I'd be happy to stick with just Hair One, especially if I find a good balance of gentle styling products that don't build up.  I'm a big Hair One fan.

Either way, if you're having hair problems--lifeless and flat?  Frizzy and out of control?  Maybe it's not you, maybe it's not your hair, maybe it's just your shampoo.  I ran the gamut of shampoos (a future post) and I'm quite pleased using a cleansing conditioner.  Please don't judge my day-to-day looks as I'm still trying to find the best styling techniques.  What you should judge is my CLEAN hair.  Come touch it.  I'll let you touch my "kitchen" even (if you ask real nice, of course).  You'll see.  My hair is plenty clean and I've shampooed... twice... three times maybe... in the last month.  Every day without shampoo is helping your hair.  Trust me, whether you invest in Wen or run out to Sally (and I've got a discount card, if you want company and a few bucks off your purchase), I think you'll be impressed with cleansing conditioner.  No suds in 2013!!

52.43.Trick-or-Treat

Claire celebrated her first real Halloween this year.  She knows all about candy and peacocks, so we knew this day was going to probably be a hit.

We went to Grandma's neighborhood for real trick-or-treating.  Claire loved running around the neighborhood, and once she realized knocking on doors resulted in rewards of candy, well, there was no stopping her!

Sweet Baby

Momma trying to keep up

Scoping out houses

Peacock visitor

Candy break.  Could.Not.Get.Enough.Suckers.

Auntie Anne taking a turn

Grandma on trick-or-treat duty

Princess Peacock taking a ride in the wagon

So thankful for great family to help us on our very first trick-or-treating adventure!  And so thankful Claire likes to share candy, because she got TONS! Happy Halloween!

52:42:Carve

Claire loves pumpkins.  Every day it's a race to get up to the front of the house to hug the pumpkins or say hi to the pumpkins.  I thought for sure it would be really traumatic for her to see them cut open this year, but she was too excited to reach inside and grab the goop.  Until Mommy started dropping the goop from the other pumpkin right on to the newspaper-covered floor.  Then Claire started to scream about how messy this was and had to clean up the mess for us.  What kind of monster have I raised?

Claire and Mommy, getting down to business.

We carved an Elmo pumpkin and a Hello Kitty pumpkin.  Elmo didn't make it a whole three days until Halloween, unfortunately, but Hello Kitty stayed awesome.  My hand, however, suffered some major blisters plus I pulled away the skin around my finger nail with all my intricate carving.  Whoever thought pumpkin carving kits and stupid patterns with little tiny pieces to cut out was a good thing deserves to have a pumpkin thrown at them.  Seriously.  What were they thinking?

Hello Kitty, whose whiskers and broom were almost too much for me to handle.

Elmo--who looks completely sturdy, sure, but somehow still managed to cave in almost immediately.  Ugh.

I'm really a sucker for seeing Claire excited, though.  These pumpkins definitely produced great responses from her.  I'm so glad that she can be excited about things now and recognize things.  Nothing made my heart happier than hearing her yell "Elmo!" as soon as she saw the first pumpkin.  Of course, she called Hello Kitty a witch, and if you've ever heard a toddler say "witch"... well... I'm glad we have exposed her to Hello Kitty enough where she also said "Hello Kitty witch"... so you didn't automatically assume she was calling me another word that sounds an awful lot like it... ;) Happy Halloween!