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Luxe Hair Conditioning: Allurials Fragrance-Free Conditioner

May 14, 2017 · Leave a Comment

There are many luxe hair conditioners that make hair soft, shiny and strong but are naturally or artificially fragrant. Unfortunately, there are few unscented conditioners that are also effective, especially for colored hair. If you need fragrance-free hair care, options are limited. We love Allurials Fragrance Free Conditioner, an unscented conditioner containing the quality of natural ingredients found in high-end conditioners including Jojoba, Coconut Oil, Avocado, Argan Oil, Aloe Vera and other natural hair nourishing goodness.

Allurials Fragrance-Free Hair Conditioner contains a rich cocktail of organic, natural superfood ingredients for hair and scalp

WHY THE NEED FOR UNSCENTED HAIR CARE

The scent of your conditioner lingers on hair, even subtly, after use. This is wonderful if you like the scent, but for those with allergies, or a preference for only using their own perfumed scent, or for whatever reason you or a partner needs your hair to remain fragrance-free, hair care options become limited. Many of the luxe hair conditioners that are highly effective have moderate to heavy scent due to added fragrance or they contain ingredients that have a strong natural aroma. And, some men just want quality hair conditioners without a perfumed scent.

UNSCENTED OPTIONS

It becomes difficult to find quality unscented hair care. While there are some no or low scent hair care products lines amongst drug store brands, many find the only real feature of these products is that they are unscented, they generally are not very hydrating. And a lower price point, they rarely have a meaningful quantity of quality moisturizing ingredients. Even at a higher price point, including amongst brands that are known to be allergy friendly, there are limited options within their fragrance-free haircare.

ALLURIALS FRAGRANCE-FREE HAIR CONDITIONER

Allurials is indeed unscented. Not just devoid of added fragrance, but my fussy nose finds no detectable scent. Suitable for men and women, it is hydrating to hair and scalp with some amazing ingredients

INGREDIENTS

Several Superfoods can be seen in the list of organic and natural ingredients in Allurials Fragrance-Free Hair Conditioner, providing benefit to both scalp and the hair.

Full of organic and natural ingredients like Coconut Oil and Aloe Vera to feed the hair and scalp

Silk Peptides and Pea Peptides aid the structure of the hair. Pea Peptides minimize UV damage to the scalp. Pea Peptides contain Lysine, important for hair growth promotion at the follicular level and sebum production regulation, which decreases with age. Pea Peptides absorb easily.
Argan oil when massaged into the scalp aids in stimulating the hair follicles for stimulated hair growth.
Jojoba oil is an emollient, made of 98% monounsaturated fats so it can penetrate the hair follicle. It fills in the cracks and damage to bare spots on the hair shaft, especially on chemically-treated or color-treated hair. Jojoba has a very similar structure to sebum, replacing the natural oils the scalp needs to stay healthy. Jojoba gives elasticity and softness to hair. Jojoba is also a carrier oil, increasing the efficacy of other active ingredients.
Avocado oil decreases dryness and improves texture
Coconut oil is extremely popular in hair care, and for good reason. It helps hair retain protein and moisture. Protein loss is what makes hair look damaged. Coconut Oil within a conditioner is easier to wash out than straight Coconut Oil application.
Flaxseed Oil is high in Omega-3s, Flaxseed is a superfood for hair. It helps reduce hair loss.
Kernel Oil is a deep hair conditioner that is also beneficial for the scalp and is packed with nourishing vitamins for hair.
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice feeds hair with essential nutrients, it also makes hair smooth, soft and shiny. Aloe Vera has a type of enzyme that repairs dead skin cells on the scalp. A healthy scalp means optimal hair growth.
Linseed Oil is helpful for hair damaged by environmental factors and styling tools. High in Omega 3s, Linseed helps hair when massaged into the roots of the hair.

Contains natural ingredients such as Aloe Vera, Coconut Oil and Avocado

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

This is a very thick, creamy conditioner, almost a concentrated consistency like a thick moisturizer but not as thick as a buttercream.

I was excited to see many of the ingredients contained within this conditioner, as they have been successful on my hair when used in DIY hair mask tutorials, such as Coconut Oil. But when used directly on the hair, many of these ingredients are often difficult to rinse out because they are so emollient and oily. However, within this conditioner, I found them to rinse cleanly.

Allurials Fragrance-Free Hair Conditioner contains rich organic ingredients like Coconut Oil, Aloe and Avocado but it still rinses away clean with no residue

APPLICATION AND USE

It required less Allurials conditioner to coat my hair than I tend to use with some other brands. And it soaked in quickly.

A dollop of Allurials is all that is needed

TIP: Rub it between wet palms to fully emulsify it, like you would for a good, thick facial moisturizer like Creme de la Mer.

Rub the creamy conditioner between your fingers before applying to hair

Then I coated my hair and even my scalp and massaged it into my hair so it could absorb. It made for a good scalp massage. It did not feel as slippery or gooey as conditioners typically feel while in the hair, it felt more like a hair styling cream. It also seemed to sink into my hair instead of staying on the surface.

There really is no scent. Even lots of hypoallergenic brands have a scent, albeit light and non-irritating. I smelled nothing.

Since it was not a slippery coating sitting on the surface of my hair, it was difficult to assess when I considered the conditioner washed out of my hair when rinsing. Because of this, I took a bit longer to rinse out than some conditioners, but it was still much less time to rinse out than when I use any of these natural items directly on my hair, such as washing out Coconut Oil or an Avocado hair mask. It did wash out completely and cleanly however without leaving a residue.

VERDICT:

My hair felt strong and hydrated, even my dry ends felt smoother. My scalp felt good and my hair looked shiny and was soft after use.

Because it is not scented, I can even use Allurials Fragrance-Free Conditioner in my hair overnight and wash it out in the morning without getting signs of fragrance irritation such as puffy eyes or a sniffly nose. It does not stain my pillowcase. This makes it also useful as a pre-poo hair treatment and it is creamy enough to stay put as a deep conditioning hair mask if it is combed into hair while exercising or watching a movie.

Suitable for both men and women who want a luxe moisturizing conditioner with no fragrance or scent, Allurials Fragrance-Free Conditioner provides superfood benefits to the hair and scalp for healthier hair.

Find Allurials Fragrance-Free Hair Conditioner at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01L0Y7XJA

How would you like the chance to get your hands on some luxury beauty products? Well, now’s your chance! Allurials is giving away their luxury beauty products up to 70% Off in their new exciting contest! Sign up here: https://allurials.com/vip-club/

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60tMJKdOjEs[/embedyt]

Style Chicks received Allurials Fragrance-Free Hair Conditioner in exchange for our unbiased review and received compensation for our time and effort. However, our experience with the product and the opinions expressed in this review are 100% ours.

Save Your Skin from Sugar Cravings: Seynani’s Sugar Blocker

May 10, 2017 · Leave a Comment

We’ve all done it: tired, stressed, hangry, over-worked or eating our feelings, we go on a carb or sugar snack binge. What begins as just one or two cookies as a small snack leads to polishing off a bunch. There’s a brief energy rush and then a crash. Want to break the sugar craving habit? Seynani’s Sugar Blocker can help. Seynani’s Sugar Blocker is an all-natural spray that curbs sugar cravings to reduce unhealthy sugar intake.

Senyani Sugar Blocker stops sugar cravings

Seynani’s Sugar Blocker naturally, safely and immediately stops sugar cravings and tastes like peppermint!

THE IMPACT OF SUGAR ON BEAUTY & HEALTH

Sugar-binges don’t just cause an energy crash, they’re a beauty disaster. Overconsumption of sugar results in inflammation which is the big enemy of the skin.

Inflammation causes premature skin aging both by disrupting collagen production and subtly stretching the skin, both result in sagging and wrinkles. In effect, excessive sugar intake can undo some of the progress made by topical anti-aging skin care products. Excessive sugar can disrupt sleep and often results in weight gain.

Some people have increased breakouts when eating too much sugar. Cutting back on sugary foods often leads to better skin and increased energy levels.

But forsaking sugary sweets is not so easy, is it? Even if you’re just trying to drop a few pounds, the sugar habit is a tough one to break.

ABOUT SEYNANI’S SUGAR BLOCKER

Seynani’s Sugar Blocker Oral Spray is an all-natural, gluten-free, Non-GMO, non-stimulant sugar blocker. It works immediately to end a sugar craving and can stop the sugar binge cycle. It works for both natural and artificial sweeteners.

HOW SEYNANI’S SUGAR BLOCKER WORKS

Seynani’s Sugar Blocker works two ways, it blocks the taste buds’ receptors ability to taste sugar, reducing the cyclical craving nature of over-indulging in sugar. It also blocks the absorption of sugar consumed within the intestine. Third, it reduces some of the inflammation sugar causes in the body.

The long-term benefit is by tricking the taste buds not taste the sugar, it ends the sugar craving cycle. Without the sugar in your tasty sugary snack, snacks quickly lose their appeal and the craving for sugar is lost. You might as well be eating something healthy if you can’t taste the sugar. This makes the transition to sugar reduction easier.

How Seynani’s Sugar Blocker works

SEYNANI’S SUGAR BLOCKER INGREDIENTS

Seynani’s Sugar Blocker contains all natural ingredients:

Gymnema Sylvestre Extract comes from a shrubby plant in India and has a variety of medicinal uses. It decreases the absorption of sugar from the intestine and regulates glucose levels in the bloodstream.
Peppermint Oil is used for fresher breath and fighting cavities. It’s also an anti-inflammatory that helps fight stress, raise energy levels and elevate a good mood.
Holy Basil, A.K.A. Hot Basil, is an anti-oxidant plant from India used in Ayurvedic medicine for stress relief, inflammation reduction as well as a variety of ailments ranging from cold to a headache to diabetes and asthma. Holy basil has a peppery taste that is often used in stir-fry dishes and spicy soups.

Ingredients include Peppermint and Holy Basil Extract, which has a light peppery taste.

TESTING SEYNANI’S SUGAR BLOCKER

I tend to get late night sugar cravings, and cravings when I am studying or working long hours on a project. So to test out Seynani’s Sugar Blocker, I tried some of my sugary favorites to see if it Seynani’s Sugar Blocker worked on preventing me from feeling like polishing off an entire sleeve of Oreos or a fun size bag of Peanut Butter cups.

DIRECTIONS:Â Spray Seynani’s Sugar Blocker on the tongue.

SEYNANI’S SUGAR BLOCKER: THE TASTE

The Peppermint is the most detectable ingredient, with a touch of the pepper taste from the hot basil. The result is sort of a less sweet, fresh Peppermint leaf smell and taste, slightly tangy from the pepper, but not hot.

It tastes like Peppermint with a tangy dash of pepper

It tastes and smells like peppermint leaf with a tangy dash of pepper

Seynani’s Sugar Blocker was easy to use while working at my desk and curtailed my absent-minded snacking when on the computer.

SEYNANI’S SUGAR BLOCKER: THE TEST

As it directs, I sprayed Seynani’s Sugar Blocker in my mouth and then tried a few sugary items that are my go-to sugar cravings: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Oreos, ice cream, glazed pastry, and cookies, and for good measure, a very sugary soda, and a diet soda with artificial sweeteners.

Seynani’s Sugar Blocker impairs sugar taste buds from tasting sweetness on all kinds of sugary snacks

The results of this experiment were interesting: I was surprised how lackluster and even bad many sugary snacks taste in the absence of being able to taste the sweetness of the sugar. The soda tasted downright awful when I couldn’t taste the whopping 6 teaspoons of sugar per serving it takes to make cola taste good. Seynani’s Sugar Blocker also blocks the artificial sweetener taste in diet soda, which quelled my mid-afternoon slump soda craving. Seynani’s Sugar Blocker makes it much easier to exchange out having a vending machine soda in the afternoon for a healthy cup of green tea for extra energy at work.

Seynani's Sugar Blocker works on natural and artificial sweeteners, such as in diet soda.

Seynani’s Sugar Blocker works on natural and artificial sweeteners, such as are found in diet soda.

Then I tested with my personal sugary Kryptonite: homemade Raspberry Linzer Tarts. To my surprise, while I could normally all but inhale one or more of these confectionery sugar laden almond and raspberry delights in one sitting, I didn’t even feel like finishing my tart once the sugary sweetness was not so detectable.

Senyani's even curbed my craving for my personal favorite, Linzer Tart Cookies!

Seynani’s Sugar Blocker even curbed my craving for my personal favorite, homemade Linzer Tart Cookies!

CONCLUSION

A tasty peppermint flavor with no side effects, Seynani’s Sugar Blocker offers the ability to modify a bad sugar craving habit naturally. It easily fits into a pocket, bag or desk drawer, conveniently keep Seynani’s Sugar Blocker with you when you know you are most likely to succumb to a sugar binge.

What I especially like about Seynani’s Sugar Blocker is an occasional or small sugary treat becomes just that, a treat in moderation, not an unhealthy, skin-aging, weight-gaining, unstoppable sugar fest driven by a sugary craving. Since you take Seynani Sugar Blocker only when you want to, you control how often you enjoy sweet treats and only to the extent you feel is best for your skin, weight, and health needs.

Seynani’s Sugar Blocker is all-natural, tasty and easy to use

Find Seynani’s Sugar Blocker Oral Spray at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072BC45L7.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YtvxG9gfh0[/embedyt]

Style Chicks received the Seynani’s Sugar Blocker Oral Spray in exchange for our unbiased review and received compensation for our time and effort. However, our experience with the product and the opinions expressed in this review are 100% ours.

BY TERRY LIGHT-EXPERT CLICK BRUSH FOUNDATION is NEW + IMPROVED

March 16, 2017 · 8 Comments

2025 Update: This article is a product review of the improved redesign of the By Terry Light-Expert Click Brush Foundation. We cover 4 ways the resigned Light-Expert is better, and one potential caveat. Read on for details.

By Terry Light-Expert Click Brush Foundation isn’t new, but a recent re-design & formulation tweak gave a smoother consistency & easier application. How does it compare to YSL Touche Eclat now? Does Light-Expert belong in your beauty arsenal?

New & improved: By Terry Light-Expert Click Brush Foundation

ABOUT THE BY TERRY BRAND

Some time ago, devoted YSL Touche Eclat fans heard that Terry de Gunzburg, the creative director behind the iconic Touche Eclat, took her creative genius self and developed an improved version of the popular product, under her own haute couture quality line, aptly named By Terry.

So of course, we bought it immediately.

Some of us liked, but we didn’t love.

We did, however, very much like the foundation click pen named Light-Expert.

Then BY TERRY LIGHT-EXPERT CLICK BRUSH FOUNDATION got an overhaul that we DO love.

ABOUT The Improved BY TERRY LIGHT-EXPERT FOUNDATION

By Terry Light-Expert Click Brush Foundation is intended as an overall foundation but is pigmented enough to work as a concealer for a dark undereye.

BY TERRY LIGHT-EXPERT FOUNDATION Swatch in Apricot Light

I selected the shade Apricot Light to warm up my pale skin. It gives a hint of color without making me unnaturally orange or fake looking. Because it blends so well, the extra color looks natural.

There are rosy shades, golden shades, and neutral shades.

Swatch of By Terry Click-Expert Foundation in shade Apricot Light

By Terry Click-Expert Foundation Apricot Light swatch

COMPARING BY TERRY LIGHT-EXPERT CLICK BRUSH FOUNDATION + YSL Touche Eclat

Of the By Terry line, we evaluated the three products we considered the closest match to the iconic Touche Eclat. We liked the Light-Expert more than the products that are considered counterparts or replacements for the Touche Eclat for two reasons:

Light-Expert is versatile with fuller coverage when applied directly, but it can be buffed and blended to a very sheer, almost undetectable finish.
Light-Expert is a better color match/dupe (see photo above) for the youthifying brightening we get from the iconic YSL Touche Eclat than the smaller click-pen Touch Expert Advanced Multi Corrective Concealer Brush ($47 at Barneys) or the By Terry Touche Veloutee Highlighting Concealer (about $58).

4 Ways How the BY TERRY LIGHT-EXPERT CLICK BRUSH FOUNDATION is Better

IMPROVEMENT ONE: SUPERIOR INGREDIENTS

If you are a regular StyleChicks reader, you know of our love of Hyaluronic Acid.

It pulls moisture from the air into the skin resulting in plumping out wrinkles and fine lines, enlarged pores practically disappear, and skin becomes a smooth surface to apply makeup.

IMPORTANT TIPS FOR WHEN USING FOUNDATIONS CONTAINING HYALURONIC ACID

Make sure to use a good moisturizer underneath the foundation to hydrate/feed the Hyaluronic Acid.
If you’re in a dry-air environment such as an office, library, museum, or other places with dry, forced air, consider misting your face with a water spray, or an infused hydrating product such as MAC Prep & Prime Spray, or just dab your face with a damp Beauty Blender during the day to keep the makeup supple and dewy. Otherwise, it might be subject to a bit of cracking as the Hyaluronic works to pull more moisture into the skin.

IMPROVEMENT TWO: ABILITY TO SEE HOW MUCH PRODUCT IS LEFT

By Terry Light-Expert is constructed similarly to a refillable ink pen, as seen in the photo below.

With the new By Terry Light-Expert, you can screw off the top above the brush head and pull out the see-through cartridge see how much product is left so you know if it is time buy a new one.

Many of my click pen style cosmetics are a mystery in that regard, and I’ve had times that I do the concealer on one eye and then when I click again, it suddenly ran out of product mid-face.

I hate that.

It is one of my biggest pet peeves that I have no way of knowing how much product is left in a liquid eyeliner or click pen, but that is not a problem with the By Terry Light-Expert.

Nice touch, By Terry, classy and sturdy construction to boot!

Not sure how much product is left? The By Terry top unscrews to see the contents

IMPROVEMENT THREE: BETTER BRUSH

The original brush was shaped like a traditional foundation brush, but it was more of a sloppy paint brush head that clumped together. Also you couldn’t see the product click out until it was over-pumped and overflowing.

The new brush is a round flat top cut at an angle, and the product is atop the surface when clicked, so you can see how much product has been dispersed.

With the new design, I rarely “overpump” and waste product. The brush also does not clump together like the old version.

I also like that the brush itself is angled nicely for direct application especially on facial contours, and it is a solid brush with dense bristles comparable or better to many foundation brushes. Or you can use your Beauty Blender or other brush.

New round flat head angled Brush for smoother application on facial contours

Improvement Four: DARK CIRCLE COVERAGE CONCERNS

If you’re searching for the peachy undertone that conceals dark circles so well:

YSL has come out with the YSL Touche Eclat Neutralizer in Bisque
By Terry has the Light-Expert Perfecting Foundation Brush in Apricot Light (peach) and Rosy Light (pink).

POSSIBLE CONS DRAWBACK

Some Light-Expert shades were discontinued in this overhaul.

If you prefer the original formulation of the By Terry Light-Expert, some one-off vendors (read *not* Barneys, NM, or SpaceNK) have limited quantities of these discontinued colors.

WHERE TO FIND Terry Light-Expert Click Brush Foundation

By Terry Light-Expert Click Brush Foundation is found at Barneys, DermStore, Nordstrom and SpaceNK for $65 for .65 fluid ounces, well in excess of other foundation and concealer click brush pens

By Terry Light-Expert Click Brush Foundation

Claren Books: Fostering a Creative Community for Writers & Good Books for Readers

March 3, 2017 · 2 Comments

A leisurely soak in the tub or a rainy afternoon spent at a coffee house isn’t complete without a good book. On the lookout for your next literary find? Then check out Claren Books, Independent Publisher & a second-generation book company that fosters a creative community for writers.

Claren Books is not an ordinary publishing house. They are professional and detail-oriented, not cookie-cutter corporate. Friendly, but not folksy. My favorite part of this independent publishing company is that they foster a unique creative environment for authors, resulting in better books for their readers. The Claren Books creative community is open to all writers, not just their own.

As many of you are both avid readers and potential authors, we’d like to tell you about what Claren Books has to offer and give an overview of a few of their latest releases.

ABOUT CLAREN BOOKS

Claren Books publishes a select number of books a year. They are primarily fiction works, but some non-fiction as well. What can Claren Books offer you the reader? Or you the writer? Here’s a brief overview of both.

For Authors

Are you interested in writing novels or novellas? Claren Books is accepting submissions and has three unique benefits for writers. The first two are:

Loads of advice, tantamount to a candid pre-submission how-to guide, to ensure that a manuscript is indeed ready for an editor to read.
Claren Books gives frequent practical and constructive writing tips on the Claren Books Facebook and Twitter direct from their own Editor, Sarah Doebereiner (@SarahDoeberiner). Many lone authors fail without a mentor or peers. Many women have difficulty finding a mentor in their field. But with resources like these, you, aspiring solo authors, have the inspiration and indirect guidance needed to improve your writing.

MORE ABOUT CLAREN BOOKS PRE-SUBMISSION ADVICE

Read their concise, sound advice found within the FAQ and Submission sections of the Claren Books website that is tailored to potential authors who want to submit their work to be published. Think your novel is finally ready? Well, maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. It probably isn’t.

The thing is, many enthusiastic writers are, in all likelihood, not ready to submit their work. It doesn’t always have to do with how intriguing a story they are capable of writing. Claren Books points out many of the potential pitfalls that can entrap otherwise excellent authors-to-be.

For example:

Are there are basic formatting or technical issues within the document?
Has someone given a true critical proofing to the manuscript, or have only loved ones read the work? Before considering an official submission, it must be read by an impartial, knowledgeable third party, and then, once again, the author must endure the painful process of implementing edits and rewrites.
Is there a compelling cover page and synopsis?

As Claren Books points out, these are all necessary to the process. Once your work is submitted, it is too late to revise these make or break components, and an author must capture an editor’s interest quickly on that crucial first impression.

The reward for such strenuous pre-submission efforts is a good one. It is the third unique offering Claren Books has for their authors: a highly generous 50% payout on net receipts and a $1000 advance.

We respect that Claren Books, as a Publisher, freely offers these online resources to all authors in order help them to write well and they make sure their authors get paid fairly.

Claren Books is a second-generation book company and a member of the Independent Book Publisher’s Association. Publisher Bill Adler (@billadler) is an author himself and a former literary agent who’s represented numerous bestsellers.

WHAT DOES CLARENS BOOKS HAVE FOR READERS?

What about the reader? Claren Books offers fictional novels and novellas ranging from thrillers to a How-to book for telling a fairy tale to kids.

Not much of a reader these days? With all the streaming video content available, it’s easy to get out of the habit. Claren Books had the ingenious idea of “The Binge-Watching Cure”: an upcoming anthology of short stories of increasing length designed to get the reader to fall in love with reading once again.

Want to see specific examples of recent Claren Books offerings? For Read an eBook Week 2017, StyleChicks will be featuring a synopsis of several Claren Books from various genres; you’ll be sure to find your next good read!

BE PART OF THE CLARENS BOOKS CREATIVE COMMUNITY

Find the online creative community for authors cultivated by Claren Books

Style Chicks received compensation for our time and effort for this post. However, our experience with the product and the opinions expressed in this review are 100% ours.