Polemics of an underwhelmed blogger - It's a 10 Miracle Leave-in Product

Most of us put some amount of research before exchanging our hard-earned cash for cosmetics (the mere fact that you are reading this entry tells me so), and it is particularly true for products of the pricier kind. Extraordinarily successful representatives of their cosmetic categories tend to accumulate appraisals and promotions from beauty editors, beauty bloggers, and youtubers alike exponentially - the more people talk about it, the more people talk about it. This is, of course, known as hype. A product's fame is amplified significantly if it is hard to get. And the less available the hyped up product is, the better it seems to preform. To observe that phenomenon, one only has to look up some reviews on Makeup Alley (www.makeupalley.com) of products that have been discontinued. I am confident to predict, that the majority of products that have the "discontinued" seal on it rate at least four or higher.

The product I want to mention today is not discontinued, but is infinitely difficult to get hold of if you are located anywhere else in the world other than a 'participating salon' in the United States. I am talking about the Miracle Leave-in Product by It's a 10. This has received extensive coverage in the various medias regarding it's miraculous properties (it's a hair leave-in conditioner by the way), so obviously I felt compelled to try it. Google returned few options in response to my attempts to purchase the damn thing, mostly including shipping from Australia for the price of a small jar of gilded caviar. So I abandoned hope and put my desire on standby until some willing participants agreed to go out of their way in their travels to America to purchase and deliver a desperate soul some hair spritz. And then one day, aimlessly exploring the dump that is our local TK Max for concealed treasures, I see it! Just standing there, bearing a price tag of £12, less then a half of what I was almost prepared to pay for him.

 Interpreting this as no less than a sign from the Gods of Hair Styling, I purchased him, rushed home and washed my hair immediately, disregarding rebelliously my previously constructed hair-washing schedule.

And then came the meh. Perhaps my expectations were too high. Perhaps I didn't do it right. Or maybe the stars weren't aligned, but whatever the reason, the Miracle Leave-in Product appeared to leave no mark of improvement on my hair whatsoever. According to the reviews and the claims, it was to repair dry and damaged hair, add shine, smooth and de-frizz, protect from heat, detangle, prevent split ends, provide silkiness and enhance natural body. To be clear, had it succeeded in all of those tasks, it would be, without a doubt, a freakin' miracle. I wish I had at least several of these points to confirm, but I'm afraid I have nothing. It's as if I never applied anything to my hair at all, it's quite remarkable, really. Most rubbish products at lease leave your hair greasy or flat, as a hallmark of their failed mission to make you beautiful. Perhaps I was pointing the nozzle in the wrong direction? Perhaps my bathroom walls and cabinets can now withstand the scorching heat of a flat iron plate, should it ever be applied on them.

To summarise, I was underwhelmed. Disappointed, really. And also relieved that I didn't have to go through extensive financial and logistical troubles to obtain this conditioner. Now we all understand, that just because something doesn't work for some people doesn't mean that it will not for others, and this is simply another example. I envy the people that reap the benefits from the use of this product, and please don't let my experience discourage you from trying it - the people that like this stuff are still in the majority. But maybe don't set to swim the Atlantic ocean just to get it, there are plenty of impressively good hair products probably a walking distance away from you.

Tarte - Natural Beauty

If the spring fashion runways are anything to go by, we are all to embrace our natural beauty in the upcoming season. For the lucky few this may mean washing their face in the morning and heading out the door with no more than lip balm, but for us peasants it means that the "no-makeup-but-really-at-least-twenty-minutes'-worth-of-makeup" makeup look is back on the cards. Either way, I can almost hear faces giving out sighs of relief - after the dark lips of autumn and the griller-rich holiday season, it is nice to practice the enhancing function of cosmetics, not just decorative.

And although I can't say that I am entirely committed to this recent trend, there is a particular product that I have been using almost exclusively since the day I got it, and it is the ideal cheat to a healthy looking face - Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour Blush in the appropriately named Natural Beauty.

For this blush, it is all in the name. Firstly, the longevity claim, 12h. According to Tarte, the product owes its magical properties to the clay from the banks of the Amazon river, of which the blush is made and then dried in the sun ( o.O? ). And although it has been talked about high and low, I am here to tell you - it wears until you take it off. And this is coming from someone that can quite often assess makeup after 14+ h of wear.

It makes sense. Apart from the obvious mechanical wear factor, one of the main causes of makeup disappearing off the face is the oils in the skin. So thinking of all the clay-based skincare designed to tighten pores and regulate oil production, it sounds reasonable to believe the blusher's tale.

And secondly - the shade. Natural beauty is described simply as red. In the pan there is somewhat of a pinkish tone to it, but on the skin it mimics precisely the colour of a flush of the cheeks. The kind of attractive colour you get (cliché alert!) when you've just walked in from the cold. Which is why I love incorporating it in my bare-face imitations.

The finish of the blush is almost matte (there is certainly no glitter or shimmer in it), but in some lights, it appears just slightly radiant, which adds to the whole 'oh, look at me, I am so healthy, I eat berries for dinner and glow from within' kind of skin.

Another great use for this shade is to combine it with red lipstick. Traditional pink or peach cheeks and red lips can sometimes clash, but with this one, you can be sure to look organic.


Tarte is one of the few brands that still hasn't made it over to the UK. Someone should really sort that out. They seem like an interesting company, and most of their products generate some sort of positive hype. But if you happen to be within a swatching distance of a Tarte counter, I recommend you go and check out their range.

Product rave - Alterna Caviar 3-Minute Shine Boost

I have battled with my unrully frizzy hair all my life (or since I was 13 and started caring about such things), and for the most part, I was under the impression that my hair was suffering from some kind of hair health impairment. I have drenched it in everything under the sun in attempts to rid it of the everlasting frizz, wave and kink. With the ammount of effort that went into it over the years, I believe my hair is "cured", but it still looks the same as it always has done. It has thus dawned on me recently, that my hair is not unhealthy, but just plain-ol' , excue me, sh*t.  And by that I mean the texture, the pattern and the behaviour (and don't tell me hair doesn't have behaviour). I have since decided to focus on products that deliver cosmetic results, not remedies.

 My most recent discovery is a wash-out conditioning product by Alterna - the Caviar Anti-Aging 3-Minute Shine Boost.

"Anti-aging" is a term I have never seen used in a hair care context before, and I wouldn't dwell on it too much either as far as this product is concerned. At the end of the day, hair is created and nourished at the rout, which I am sure can be affected by age, but unless the product targets the scalp itself, I doubt there is much difference in old vs. young hair. Except for childrens' hair. Most children seem to have enviably shiny, forever-clean, and naturally beautifus hair up untill the magic age of *-teen; when we welcome the sad buggers into the row of frizzy-haired women equipped with hair straighteners and styling goos of different varieties.

I digress. It is not the anti-aging claims of this product that captured my attention. Alterna's Caviar line is geered towards providing moisture for dry, brittle hair. The 3-Minute Shine product description, however, does not explicitly promise any magical medicinal effects. Insead, it calls itself "lip-gloss for your hair", and vows to deliver instant shine. "Hi-Def" shine, in fact. You have to be HD if you want to appeal to the modern day man, even if it makes no bloody sense. Very trendy.

And deliver shine it did! I applied this after my regular shampoo and conditioner and waited an imaginary estimated 3-5 minutes, then rinced. I noticed a difference the second I started brushing the hair - the bristles of the brush ran through effortlessly, the hair strands fell uniform and smooth. Once dry, the hair had that good slippery feel it gets after you've taken it to the hairdressers'. What's even more pleasing is that the hair remained straight for three days, and that icluded gyms, showers and bicycles.

I would absolutely recommend this product to anyone who wants to achieve salon-blow-dry-esque hair at home, make brushing and styling easier and avoid needing to re-style repeatedly. For those concerned about ingredients, this potion is free of parabens, mineral oil and phthalates, and rather surprisinly for its purpose - silicones. Its nice to know you can acheive such successfull shine without silicones.
 
Alterna is a professional hair-care brand, so may be difficult to find in the physical world, but one can acquire its Shine-Boosting offering through the internet for an eye-watering £20-25.

Review of Ciate's infamous Caviar

Today I took my newly acquired Ciates for a test run. I paired up the cream purple Cabaret shade  with the Prom Queen caviar for the accent nails (left thumb and right pinky). The two together really are a dream team! 

How gymnastic do your fingers need to be to get all five nails facing the same way? Very much so, as it turned out. 

I should start by saying that applying the little beads to the nail was easier than I anticipated, and used an insignificant amount of the magic sprinkles. In fact, the drying process was less stressful than with regular polish, as you don't need to worry about ruining the delicate shinyness. I did my accent nails in the morning before going to work. 

The texture of this is very... attractive. Not necessarily in a pleasant way, but more in a "touch me, touch me!" kind of way. I was very conscious of my mani all day. You know the awkward hand gestures you take to when you've just done your nails? I was like that all day. 

Unfortunately, the beads were mostly gone by the evening, significantly more so on the thumb than on the pinky. Im glad to know that I'm not wasting the evolutionary effort of my ancestors in developing an opposable thumb, I seem to use it a lot.

Don't get me wrong though, I enjoy this combo immensely! I shall wear the two together again, no doubt, but probably more for a one-day-long kind of deal. Which the upcoming few weeks will offer plenty of.