ProductWhores

Backstage at Karen Walker

Backstage at Karen Walker, the MAC artists were inspired by the style of Siouxsie and the Banshees and designed this look to be worn by a "punk rock girl", one who listens to music from the 80's and is a fan of The Cult. They used Plush Lash mascara to frame the eyes with big lashes, which were thicker on top, and left the skin clean, with a satiny, matte finish. Cheeks were soft, with a hint of pink. Lips were colored with Snob, a neutral pink with a punch, that was applied with fingers. Hair was by Bumble and Bumble and was very straight, with a middle part. This was achieved by spraying the hair with Styling Lotion and drying the hair with a round brush to achieve volume. Hair was finished off with their new Spray de Mode hairspray, which officially comes out in March.

Photo courtesy of MAC Cosmetics

Creme is the New Mousse

At my recent hair appointment, my stylist used a product that I'd never tried before on my hair and it looked awesome. Granted, part of this might be due to the fact that when she blowdries it, my hair looks perfect instead of like a ten year-old did it, which is my styling skill level, but still... After seeing how full and thick the Bumble and Bumble Styling Creme made my hair, I decided to go buy it and see if I could get the same result on my own. Shockingly, the answer was yes. (Well, not the blow drying part. I still suck at that). It's not a gel or a mousse, but more of a thick liquid that you scrunch into your hair. It definitely gave my straight hair a lot of body and since it says that it works on curly hair too, I assume it would do the same for different hair types. It held up really well too - even at 11pm, my hair still looked better than usual (sadly, I was brushing my teeth when I noticed this, so a good hair night was sort of wasted on, uhm, sleeping). I've used it every day since and so far, it hasn't failed me yet. The one thing I have figured out is that a little goes a long way - yesterday I put too much on and ended up with greasy roots, which is never a good look. Although it is is kind of a cool name for a band. If I ever decide to take my singing out of the shower and on the road, I'm definitely calling it Greasy Roots.

Surf's Up

Bumble and Bumble’s Surf Spray promises to make your hair look just like it does when you’re on the beach – full, sexy and windblown. What we in NJ liked to call, “bad girl hair.” Does it live up to the hype? Well, yes and no.

The spray comes in a cute little bottle with a small sun on it. That makes me like it already. What doesn’t make me like it is the $24.95 price tag for 4 ounces. For that price, this better be one magic spray.

When I use it on my long hair, I can definitely see added volume, always a plus with my straight hair. Unfortunately, I can see it because the spray is making my hair stick together, away from my eyes. Yikes.

This is billed as a “setting spray” and it lives up to that promise – my hair wasn’t going anywhere once it had this product in it. That’s good as long as you like the style it gives you, not so good when it makes you look straight out of the Jersey Shore, circa 1988. I feel like I should be singing “Living on a Prayer” and driving a Camaro. I don’t know if my hair’s sexy and windblown so much as it’s big and sticky. Hhhm.

On the plus side, this definitely makes my hair full and it looks awesome pulled back or in a ponytail. Plus, it smells great, they’ve really managed to capture the scent of salt air in a bottle. And considering I usually end up looking like the Swamp Thing when I hit the surf, with a little work, this is definitely an improvement over my usual beach look. So while I wouldn’t give this one a rousing endorsement, it’s certainly worth checking out.