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Filed Under: Daily, HAIR AND FACES, REAL LIFE, sponsored

SHAMPOO SHOPPING

BSO2 So I know the craze is to “no poo” if, “no poo” (have you tried, sans shampoo?) is your thing, awesome! It really isn’t for me at all, like at all. I like my hair, but I definitely don’t like it as much as I probably should. I treat it decently, but not as well as I should – sorta like a little sister you know you have to be nice to (when you’re a a kid). When it comes to hair products, I shop for sulfate and paraben free products exclusively – usually I just buy whatever brand is free of both these things and is on sale or has a good price tag and I’m good. After years of suffering thorough rather crappy brands, try brushing your hair after using conditioner that barely works at all. I think by now (if you’ve been reading a while), you know I’m a budget lover/a penny pincher/a modern cheap skate, so it will be no surprise to hear that I don’t like to spend a ton of money on high-end products.

I know, I know when it comes to shampoos and conditioners, often the higher end products are better – I know this because most of the time my hair fells awesome and I can brush with ease after going to the salon. BUT the products they use are expensive and well, I’m a modern cheap skate (sounds more romantic) – I was contacted by The Beauty Supply Outlet at first I was skeptical, because A) I don’t buy high-end products and B) I only buy products without sulfate and parabens. But you know what, I went and checked out the store anyways.

BSO3 Instead of looking around at everything, like I usually do trying to find what I needed (on my own) – I asked for help, what a novel idea! Instantly I was informed of the brands they carry that are free of both sulfates and parabens (or free of just sulfates), there were quite a few (way more than I expected). The stylist at the store was actually so helpful I didn’t really have a lot to think about. Was sorta like telling someone my hair woes, hippie requirements and being kindly directed to the solutions in an instant, no running around over thinking things – basically the stylist/clerk was a hair product guru. But you know naturally I still contemplated it for too long, but like 90% less than I would have without the awesome help I got (only a couple “are you done yet”‘s from Chris and the kids) I went against my usual judgment and bought the more expensive bottles.

BSO4 I might be forever changed in my shampoo shopping, all shampoos are not created equal and this Moroccan Oil brand is pretty awesome – like my hair melted away from the tangles once the conditioner was in my hair. My hair feels awesome, so awesome that no one else is allowed to use this awesome shampoo because I don’t want to run out too quickly – enough awesomes yet? Even though I sorta want to buy these two bottles all the time now, my cheap skate ways haven’t really changed – I’m planning to hunt for deals and subscribe to the BSO newsletter so I know when/if these bottles go on sale.

BSO5 Tell me, what is your favorite shampoo/conditioner brand? Do you have certain things you look for (or need them not to have) in shampoo/conditioner?

The Beauty Supply Outlet This post is sponsored by The Beauty Supply Outlet. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my very own. And as always, thank you so much for supporting the sponsors that make this blog possible (and that make me like my hair much more than a younger sibling).

October 7, 2014     |     written by Brandy     |     3 Comments



Filed Under: Daily, DIY AND TUTORIALS, HAIR AND FACES

HANDMADE ROASTED PUMPKIN HAIR MASK

I asked my friend Maegan from hand-meyd over to guest post and share one of her amazing creations – I am always in such awe of her creativity and skills, so I thought it was due time you guys were introduced to her awesomeness. Okay, enough with my chatter…

With back-to-school in full force I’m sure the last thing on your mind is taking a minute for yourself, let alone your hair.  But after reading this post I sincerely hope you will.  This hair mask has just four ingredients and is actually a modified version of my avocado hair mask, which I swear by during the summer months.  Pumpkins are ripe with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that your hair needs to stay strong and healthy…and now that they’re in season, it’s the perfect time to take advantage of this! During my recipe trials I found a handful of additional uses for fresh roasted pumpkin, so you’ll hear me spin that angle a little later.  In the mean time, pamper yourself, warm up to fall and restore some shine and moisture into your much deserving hair.

Handmade Roasted Pumpkin Hair Mask

HANDMADE ROASTED PUMPKIN HAIR MASK

  • 1 sugar pie pumpkin
  • 2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon raw liquid honey
  • 1 egg yolk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Remove the stem, gut the pumpkin and roughly chop into quarters.  Rub with a little olive oil and bake for about 30 minutes or until soft.  Remove from the oven and slice away the outer skin.  Place the pumpkin flesh in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth and creamy.  Set aside 1/2 cup of puree for the mask and refrigerate the remaining puree in a resealable container.  In a small bowl, combine the reserved 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree with the greek yogurt, honey and egg yolk. Stir to thoroughly combine and add a punch of cinnamon and nutmeg for fragrance, if desired. Massage the puree into hair from root to tip. Let the mask sit for 1-15 minutes and thoroughly rinse; follow-up with your regualr shampoo and conditioner. Handmade-Roasted-Pumpkin-Hair-Mask

And for those of you not interested in roasting an entire pumpkin, feel free to use canned pumpkin puree.  However, there are several advantages to going the extra mile with a real pumpkin.  Not only will your house smell amazing, but there are no added chemicals or preservatives when you make it from scratch.  To sweeten the pot, there are number of fantastic uses for your leftover pumpkin puree.  Freeze the paste into ice-cube trays and add as a base to soups, stews and chili.  Even add it to pasta sauce or gravy!  Add some fresh paste to your cookie, scone and cake recipes for added flavor and moisture or mix a spoonful with a little brown sugar to make a facial exfoliating scrub.  Last but not least, spoon some into a mason jar and top with vodka to make your own roasted pumpkin infused vodka…seriously.  Might as well get your mouth in on the pampering!
*Don’t forget to visit Maegan and have a look through her long list of amazing recipes and DIY’s.
Maegan from hand-meyd

September 24, 2014     |     written by Brandy     |     2 Comments

Filed Under: Daily, HAIR AND FACES

6 Ways To Style Your Hair When You Have No Time

Otherwise titled as “How to style your hair everyday” because time, who has that? I realize I have about 6 go-to hair styles for wet or 2nd day hair. These are the styles I lean-to when I’m running out the door to take the kids out, the “oh crap, I forgot to do my hair…..hold on one second kids!” styles. 6 Great Everyday Hair Styles

TOPKNOT – A no brainier and basically an every single day style. Best for second day hair, but usually the go to for semi wet hair too. [image]

LOW KNOT – Great for those days when you were |this close| to wearing your hair down. [image]

MILK-MAID BRAIDS – Criss-cross the braids over the top of your head or at the nape of your neck. I often go for the nape of my neck wrap, it feels like it’s the quicker less primping and priming root (the lazy version). [image] A QUICK HOW TO

6 WAYS TO STYLE YOUR HAIR WHEN YOU HAVE NO TIME

HALF TOPKNOT – Sometimes it’s nice to pretend I’m not wearing a topknot everyday, but then I sorta still am. This is also a really great short hair style. [image]

KNOTTED PONY – Another take on a loose low pony. A quick pull back that looks like you spent a ton of time on it. [image] A QUICK HOW TO

FRENCH BRAID – I call this my Kelly Kapowski hair and if you know who that is, I like you already.  This is my go to for wet hair. I hate leaving the house with wet hair and if I don’t have time to hair dry or even a quick blow dry I’ll french braid now and take it out and actually do it later (or not). [image] A QUICK HOW TO

These are my go-to daytime styles, great for when I’m running out the door to take the kids to school (BTS hair for Mom). My after yoga, getting ready for the day, running (probably super) late and the kids are waiting at the door for me, hiding my hair that needs a good cut hairstyles. Do you have a really great go-to? Please share!

August 15, 2014     |     written by Brandy     |     6 Comments

Filed Under: ADVICE AND INFO, Daily, HAIR AND FACES, SIMPLE LIVING

THE BEST MOISTURIZER FOR YOUR FACE

THE Best Moisturizer for Your Face I’m a pretty simple gal when it comes to the care and prep of my mug. I hate to admit, but for most of my life I mostly used regular old hand lotion on my face. But in my defense, I lived in really dry Alberta and nothing else seemed to fight the extreme dryness that was my skin everyday. Since then I’ve tried many a cream, but not the really pricey ones – I’m too cheap for that. I’ve used plain ol’ coconut oil for ages now, but found that sometimes it was a bit heavy for my skin and often clogged my pores. A few months ago I switched to using straight up Jojoba Oil and it’s like my skin is naturally soft and never clogged all the time. It’s the best.

THE Best Moisturizer for Your Face I just pour a tiny bit on my finger tip (or onto a cotton ball) and then rub it into my face at night-time, as I would a regular cream – or I spot apply to the dry areas only in the morning (but usually I don’t need to apply anything in the morning). There are a bunch of different oils that work really well for different reasons, but Jojoba Oil is my favorite for everyday use because it matches so closely to the oil our skin naturally produces. So basically, when we are talking about-face moisturizer, it’s OIL > CREAM over here. I really like this brand. Do you use oil on your face?

OH, AND: It also works great for dry lips in the winter (but let’s not even talk about that season) and looking for an awesome face scrub? Drea just posted a great and super simple one.

*test/try on a small spot before applying all over face, even though it is a natural product you could have a ‘surprise’ allergic reaction.

July 11, 2014     |     written by Brandy     |     1 Comment

Filed Under: Daily, HAIR AND FACES

KEEP THAT HAIR UP

Harlow has hair like mine, always tons of wispy new growth pieces that don’t fit into the pony tail. But on her, it’s so cute – so cute that it deserves a sweet name like “baby hair”. When you’re all grown up, it’s probably not as cute and I know for a fact it’s pretty darn annoying. When it comes to wee Harlow’s hair, we have developed a little trick for keeping most of those short wispy pieces up in a high pony with the rest of her hair.

keep that hair up | trick for holding up the back wisps KEEP THAT HAIR UP | the upside down french braid If you can french braid, the upside down french braid (seemed like a good name) is the bee’s knees for keeping all those little hairs up. Clips work, but the hair always seems to slip out by mid day. This braid will hold up much longer and is oh so adorable.

THE UPSIDE DOWN FRENCH BRAID:

1. She lays her head down on my lap (facing me) and gives my legs a quick cuddle. 2. While I braid as fast as I can. 3. I put a little teeny elastic at the end of the braid. 4. Then gather the rest of the hair into one big pony and secure it all with a larger elastic. Sorry no photo steps, this time I can work on those if anyone really needs.

This is also really great for adults, I’m just not yet very skilled at doing it on myself.

KEEP THAT HAIR UP | the upside down french braid KEEP THAT HAIR UP | the upside down french braid It’s still so cute and full of a few wipsy baby hairs, but it holds most of the larger chunks up. Also good when your or your little ones hair is in a growing out (or just growing) stage, or on a lower down pony for shorter hair.

If French Braiding is still pretty new to you, here is a great how to french braid tutorial. Practice a classic style for a while first (better to be quick when doing this upside down one) and then move on to the fancy sounding “upside down french braid”.

* If her back hairs stay up fine, but the bangs are always getting in her eyes, try this little bang braid.

April 16, 2014     |     written by Brandy     |     5 Comments

Filed Under: Daily, HAIR AND FACES

SPRING HAIR FEVER

fresh change, hat hair, sprint hair cut, spring hair trends When you have long hair, you often let the time between cuts span waaayy too long. Or at least I assume I’m not the only one. I used to rock back and forth between short and long hair, often. Then I realized long hair just fit better with my relaxed (cough, lazy) lifestyle, and I haven’t done the short for a good 5 years. All these months of hat hair, have me itching for change. Change in weather but also hair, I think I need a spring hair cut. I would maybe chalk this up to a branch of spring fever but also just the simple fact that it’s been so long since I’ve had a hair cut I almost don’t want to tell you, how long. My issue is, I can’t commit and can never fully decide what I want and if I’ll still want it in a month – but I am on the hunt for the inspiration that breaks it.

I love these four cuts, like a whole lot but all for very different and conflicting reasons – hence why I’m so non committal. images (clockwise): one, two, three, four.

  • A fun resource for finding the right cut for your face shape, by hair type
  • Spring 2014 hair trends (a post I wrote for Hello Bee) a bunch of great looks.
  • And because a nice hairdo needs a nice pair of eyebrows, related: Raise a Couple Eyebrows

February 21, 2014     |     written by Brandy     |     6 Comments

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CULTIVATING YOUR
SIMPLE, STYLISH AND
CONTENT EVERY DAY.

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