Archives for 2016

Product Review: Pro Chef Kitchen Tools Hanger Clips Hooks 10 Boot Organizer

February 20, 2016 · Leave a Comment

I have clothes, shoes, and purses that I’m never sure if I should wear or put on display as pieces of art. You know the phrase about fear of wasting a great outfit on an insignificant day? Those are the pieces I’m talking about. With Pro Chef Kitchen Tools Hanger Clip Hooks 10 Boot Hangers, I can at least display my pieces until I decide an occasion is worthy to wear them.

Last year I picked up several pairs of hand-painted boots. I was a little obsessed with all these gorgeous boutique pairs I kept finding. Even though they are strong leathers, the paint makes them really delicate. You are literally walking around in a painting. I had them individually wrapped in boxes but they still sustained some minor damage. So when I found out about these Hanger Clip Hooks, these boots immediately came to mind.

They are fantastic. I clipped one side of each boot and hung them. They have hung securely and it’s great to be able to place them in a way that they aren’t knocking into other items. What I especially love about them is that the teeth are covered with nylon, so even the delicate leather is left without the slightest of marks even after several days. That really impressed me.

They comes in a pack of 10, so that allows for 5 pairs of boots or other items. You can store a pair of boots on one clip or secure them individually. The nylon coating on the inside of the clip also makes them ideal for fabrics that would fray over time with regular clips, e.g. a taffeta skirt. I wouldn’t necessarily use them on delicate scarves, but they are certainly gentle enough to handle linen.

My hand painted Boots hung with Hanger Clips

Close up of the Clips

I received this product for free in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Elba Naturals n.1 Face and Eye Advanced Firming Creme

February 6, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Elba Naturals n.1 Face & Eye Advanced Firming Creme is packed with natural, quality ingredients. Notable to Elba Naturals n.1 Face & Eye Advanced Firming Creme is a nice pairing of many moisturizing and soothing natural ingredients combined with several powerful anti-aging ingredients. I think the number of quality soothing moisturizers allows the powerful treatment ingredients to do a good job on areas of aging without drying out the appearance of the skin, which is a difficult balance to achieve.

It contains several beauty treatment power houses like Glycolic Acid (a powerful peel perfect for aging skin that gently restores that youthful pink glow and can be done regularly), Vitamin C (wonderful for hyper pigmentation), and Peptides. And as you know if you read Style Chicks on any kind of regular basis, I am a huge fan of Hyaluronic Acid, and in this cream it does an amazing job at holding moisture and making skin plump and youthful. These are all great ingredients for aging skin or skin that is lackluster.

USE ON MY FACE AND THROAT

Known go-to moisturizing agents like Aloe, Coconut Oil, Sunflower Oil, Jojoba, and soothing agents like Anthemis Nobilis (Chamomile), and natural remedies like Wildcrafter Arnica Montana (natural remedy commonly used for bruising and swelling). I noticed that the puffiness under my eyes went down after using it for just a couple of days. I love when a product gives fast results!

It feels very moisturizing without feeling greasy. This is a nice perk for day time use to be able to apply it under makeup and have the benefit of glycolic acid to make skin have a natural youthful luster, and hyaluronic acid to plump and seem dewy. Nice to apply to problem areas like eyes, the “eleven” lines between my eyebrows, and the lines between my nose and mouth. My lips are also chronically flaking and dry so patting a small amount of my lips makes them dewy and moist under my lip stain or lipstick. The combination of soothing ingredients and glycolic acid means that your eyes and lips won’t get irritated when they work to sack your little wrinkles.

Another thing that I find exciting about Elba Naturals n.1 Face & Eye Advanced Firming Creme is that it took down a couple of painful blemishes overnight, enough that I could successfully cover them. I had two proximate pimples and a whitehead that seemed to merge into one perfect storm of a pimple yesterday. After using the cream overnight, the whitehead was hard to find in a normal strength mirror, the two pimples were distinct, one was nearly flat and the other was reduced by 75%. Pretty impressive. This is probably due to the glycolic acid paired with the hyaluronic acid: the first took the blemish down, the second kept the pores open so the glycolic could keep penetrating.

USE ON MY HANDS

This product said it was also good for hands, which I was very excited to try.

I have ALWAYS worn sunscreen on my face and neck since I was a teen, so my face does not really belie my age, but my hands do: I never bothered to wear any protective sunscreen on my hands and it shows. Many of the products designed for anti-aging hands are more expensive than eye creams.

While most products such as trusty coconut oil can give my hands a temporary younger and smoother look, it does not last for more than a few hours. The combo of moisturizing ingredients with treatment ingredients make for a good combo for hands that look younger all day and address wrinkly knuckles, dark areas, and really dry cuticles. I mostly just applied it to cuticles, knuckles, finger webs, and areas of obvious aging or dry skin. It really makes a difference: my cuticles cleaned up quickly and evenly – and I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to at-home cuticle clean up.

In fact, on Monday I was attempting to get some picture of an amazing vintage ruby ring of mine for Style Chick’s Instagram, but decided to scut the pictures because my hand looked so dry and wrinkly (happens every winter, even with regular glove usage.) The ring looked amazing – the hand did not. But after a night with Elba Naturals n.1 Face & Eye Advanced Firming Creme on my hands, I’m ruby ring close up ready!

I will definitely continue to use Elba Naturals n.1 Face & Eye Advanced Firming Creme!

Elba Naturals n.1 Face & Eye Advanced Firming Creme

Product Review: Cassani Fogless Shower Mirror

February 4, 2016 · Leave a Comment

I was recently sent the Cassani Fogless Shower Mirror for review. It comes with a razor holder, a hook with a sticky adhesive side to hold the mirror and the mirror itself.

At first I was disappointed that the mirror was not a heavier glass mirror, but the reflection is actually very clear and crisp. Legitimately, it is better to not have an actual heavy glass in the shower, especially considering the fact that I’m a bit clumsy in the morning (well, all day, but especially the morning) and I can see myself reaching for my shampoo and knocking a heavy glass mirror and it shattering on the floor, which would really not be good. The adhesion is excellent, once it is placed on the surface, I don’t think this is going anywhere even when exposed to moisture (but apply it when the shower surface is dry when installing). This is superior to so many of the shower mirrors out there that just have a suction cup to adhere it to the wall. And it took less than a minute to set up, which is a lot better than shower mirrors that install with hardware!

FOR THE GUYS: The benefit of a fogless mirror in the shower for the guys is obvious to be able to shave in the shower for both convenience/speed and to take advantage of opening the pores and softening the hair shaft for a nice, close, smooth shave, and it keeps the sink clean from shaving cream and shaved off hair clean-up. It is also nice to have a razor that becomes warm and hydrated in the shower and can air-dry on its holder and stay clean, sanitary, and rust-free.

FOR THE LADIES: Some benefits of a fogless shower mirror for the ladies are being able to tweeze eyebrows or any unwanted facial hairs while the follicles are steamed and opened, making tweezing easier, to be able to see your face during any product applications such as facial masks or scrubs, to check thoroughly for unwanted armpit hair that needs to be shaved, and my personal favorite, using it with my Clarisonic skin care brush. Since the Clarisonic can be used in the shower, I like to be able to see that I am using it evenly and assess areas with blackheads that could use another once over.

Now here is my favorite part: from the point of turning off the water in the shower, as a rule of thumb, one has three minutes to capture that optimal window of applying moisturizer to skin before skin starts drying out, so I like to apply my face moisturizer before I step out of the shower and having a fogless mirror in the shower is a nice way to do that.

The Cassani Fogless Shower Mirror is a great choice as a shower mirror as it stays clear and fog-free, is shatterproof, and strongly adheres to the shower wall. I’m really glad I to have tried it!

Find it at Amazon.com.

After steaming my pores open with some fresh Eucalyptus under the shower stream, I took my trusty Clarisonic to my face in the clear view of the Cassani Fogless Shower Mirror

Disclosure: I was sent this product for free in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Topganic Style + Go Moisturizing Cream How to Best Use

January 14, 2016 · Leave a Comment

REVIEW: Topganic Professional Collection Style + Go Moisturizing Cream Keratin Protein Intensive Repair

I was excited to try the Topganic Styling line, especially Topganic Style & Go because it is packed with such good ingredients AND I have been looking for a quality cream-based styling agent for the harsh, cold winter months when hair can get especially frizzy and dry.

Why Use Topganic Style & Go

My goal was to find something conditioning that doesn’t leave hair waxy or dull or give the appearance of an old-lady set to hair but still provides structure.

Topganic Style & Go does a great job on all these requirements. STYLE & GO MOISTURIZING CREAM WITH BRAZILIAN NUT OIL WITH KERATIN PROTEIN INTENSIVE REPAIR

Styling Products for Dry Hair

STYLING GOAL: I was going for a soft, loose, smooth wave done with a big round brush and my CHI Hairdryer.

My hair is not naturally smooth and quickly loses a curl without at least a medium hold product, yet I wanted it to remain touchable so my goal was limited-to-no hairspray.

I also wanted a smooth, well-conditioned look that has some hold and structure to the wave but still remains a healthy, shiny and not a waxy or stiff look.

Topganic Style & Go works very well for this purpose. I think it would also work well for a nice sleek straight blowout style.

What are Topganic Style & Go FEATURES?

This has several conditioning ingredients and nutrients great for getting hair into strong shape while providing styling.

Some ingredients include:

Brazilian Nut Oil
Keratin Protein repair
several conditioning and moisturizing ingredients for hair and scalp including minerals that are great for hair like Selenium (excellent for the scalp)
Zinc to prevent hair shedding (great if you are suffering hair loss.)
Other conditioning properties include Shea Butter
for moisture omega 6 & 9 fatty acids.

Is it Suitable for Daily Use?

It is suitable for everyday use. This product really focuses on scalp health, an important foundation for healthy hair.

What is the SCENT?

This features Brazilian Nut oil, which smells wonderful but it definitely scented even after it is dry in your hair, so it is not necessarily suitable for a scent-free office. But it is a very lovely scent. Note this is not an Ojon nut type of intense scent, it could compliment any fragrance you are wearing, but it is strong enough (in my opinion) to compete with conflicting scents such as florals or single note scents. The scent may have seemed too strong to me because I probably used too much, as discussed below.

How to Best Use Topganic Style & Go

APPLICATION/USE

The Instructions say apply as much as needed and I applied too much. The consistency is more like a lightweight conditioner, but it is a very concentrated formulation, more like a thick cream. A small amount will do the trick for my past bra-strap length hair I probably would use a few pumps for a collective size of quarter or so per each side of my hair, a little extra on the dry ends. Evenly comb through. Dry and style as usual. I didn’t use hair spray but it would not be too much product if one wanted to do so.

VERDICT

I really loved the bounce factor of my hair, the smoothness, shine and how soft it felt. It held a soft wave well when used with a blow-dryer and brush. LOTS of great ingredients.

The consistency is deceptive, not too much product is needed, making this a very nice value.

I am happy to find a nice styling product for winter. Good product for styles that need a bit of product to hold the look such as a French twist or braid, loose chignon or bun, or an up-do.

Topganic Style and Go on my dry hair