Our Dry Shampoo Review

Hello beautiful,

So, if you haven't been hiding under a rock, you know that dry shampoo is a very popular item in many peoples daily routines. This miracle product has the obvious goal of giving your hair the appearance of being clean in two different ways: giving volume and absorbing oil. We, in the search for the perfect dry shampoo have tried quite a few of them, thus delivering both disappointment and triumph. In order to stop you from making the same mistakes that we have made, Brigitte and I have made a list of most of the dry shampoos that we've tried along with reviews. Enjoy!

Klorane

I feel fortunate that I ended up picking Klorane’s famous dry shampoo as my first. It is without a doubt my favourite dry shampoo. The only bad thing that I can think of is the white cast that it can leave behind. Since it only comes in white, you really have to take the time to work it in. However, its oil absorbing properties along with the soft feeling it gives to your hair makes it a winner. Compared to a lot of other volumizing dry shampoos, it gives volume without leaving behind a gritty feeling. The major downfall is the price for the quantity that you get, but if you’re interested, it is really worth the investment. This one can be found at your local Shoppers Drugmart. ($15.99)

Batiste

If you know anything about dry shampoos you’ve obviously heard of the brand Batiste! It’s one of the most affordable dry shampoo and it comes in various scents and colors. It comes in the standard white, but it also comes in red and brown. It does give a little bit of volume and that clean feeling we all look for in dry shampoo, all the while absorbing oil. As long as you really work it in, there isn’t much of a white cast. Look for these at Winners or Marshalls to get your best deal. ($6.99)

Oscar Blandi Pronto Invisible

I’ve recently decided to try out a dry shampoo by Oscar Blandi. The one I picked up is a volumizing dry shampoo. Now, when it comes to volumizing ones they tend to give your hair a really gritty feel. That’s not always a bad thing when it comes to styling, but I tend to use my dry shampoos as a result to laziness and wanting to feel fresh. This one has not been my favorite so far, but I’m definitely going to try to work with it. It does give nice volume and it doesn’t leave too much of a white residue. Keep your eye out for this one at Winners or Marshalls as it tends to be more than double the price at stores like Sephora. ($8.99 - $25)

TRESemmé FreshStart

This is, without a doubt, one of the worst dry shampoos I’ve ever tried. It didn’t really absorb the oil, it didn’t give any volume in particular and it certainly didn’t give me a clean feeling. To be honest, it felt like a hairspray more than a dry shampoo. This one I wouldn’t recommend, but if you have stumbled upon it and liked it, then by all means, keep using it! However, for me, it was a complete miss. If you feel like trying it out you can find it at Shoppers Drugmart or Wal Mart. ($5.68 - Wal Mart)

Cake Satin Sugar

For when my hair gets really greasy, specially in my bangs, I always turn to my Cake Satin Sugar dry shampoo. This line is composed of both powder ($22 - cake beauty.com) and spray ($15 - $24 - cakebeauty.com) products that work well together. As you can see, the product is offered in both a darker and a lighter tone to work with your hair colour. The powder is light, just like baby powder, but is dark enough to not leave an odd residue. The spray is super light and makes your dirty hair feel miraculously soft. These products smell AMAZING. They smell super sweet without being too strong. I can find two cons to this product. The first is that the powder container isn't made for travel as it has the same lid as would a parmesan container and it tends to make a mess. Nevertheless, I somehow love it so much that I still insist on traveling with it, specially in the summer when my bangs get really gross. The second con is that the powder also leaves a brown residue on the scalp if not properly rubbed in, so make sure to not rush out the door too fast. Regardless of these flaws, I still love this product that is, for sure, worth it. I had gotten both of these products in a kit, but they are normally sold separately.

Bed Head Rockaholic

This is my go-to dry shampoo for when I need some extra volume. Like Klorane, this great product is one of the only dry shampoos that I have found to give great volume without making your hair feel gross. I reach for it, even when I've just washed my hair, just to give it more body. This product, once again is much cheaper at Marshalls than it is at your local beauty supply store. ($10 - $23)

Dove Refresh+Care

I picked this product up at Jean-Coutu on sale at about $3, it was sort of a no brainer for an adventurous dry-shampoo-er such as myself. This is, for sure, a volumizing product that will make your hair look clean, but will make it feel dirty. A positive aspect of this element is that it will make your hair have more grip and volume, thus making it easier to style into an undo. I wouldn't recommend this to you if you tend to touch your hair a lot and are intending on leaving it down. The smell of this spray is also very strong, which is kind of a turn off for me. ($4.77 - Wal Mart)

Aveeno Pure Renewal

This product is actually pretty good. Instead of being an aerosol powder, this spray is wet. When it dries, it leaves your hair feeling soft. After doing a little bit of reading up, I found that this product is good for people who have more sensitive scalps that may react badly to other dry shampoos. I'm not super fond of the smell, but it does fade out. ($7.97 - Wal Mart)

We hope that these reviews helped you out and may you all forever have clean looking hair!

Love, Brigitte & Amélie

xoxoxo

Our Favorite Youtubers

Hello Beautiful!

I think it's easy to say that we both loooove Youtube and that we spend most of our time watching tutorials, reviews, comedians, etc. We've thus decided to give you our list of must watch youtubers that we keep up with almost every day. We hope that it will inspire you to love them as much as we do. The first four will be presented by Brigitte and the last four by me, and we will tell you exactly why these youtubers have a great place in our hearts.

                                                                Grace Helbig
 

Grace started making youtube videos in 2008 for a company called My Damn Channel. She was with them for 5 years until she left to pursue her own channel in January 2014. She had amassed over 2 million subscribers, and left to start over on her own terms. She has since then, starred in a movie that she helped to co-produce (Camp Takota), toured U.S.A with Mamrie Hart and Hannah Hart (no relation) to perform comedy shows, and has participated on some other youtube shows like Hey USA with Mamrie Hart. I can’t talk enough about her. I find her hilarious, and I know that it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but give it a shot. She has taken improvisation classes and studied in screenwriting, which I find really shows in her content. I really look up to her as a youtuber and as a business woman. She also recently wrote a book Grace’s Guide : The Art of Pretending to be a Grown Up. She always sees the brighter side in life, and she makes me want to do the same. I especially enjoy her cooking videos, and her videos on My Damn Channel (DailyGrace) are really worth checking out too. You can find her on Grace Helbig on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/user/graciehinabox

Hannah Hart

Hannah’s start on youtube was kind of a lucky one. She was just skyping with a friend and decided to record herself by cooking something while getting drunk. She then decided to post on youtube, and fast forward 3 years and over 1 million subscribers and voila, My Drunk Kitchen as we all know and love. Hannah also recently wrote a book called My Drunk Kitchen, a sort of parody on cookbooks, and it is absolutely glorious! She also tours in the United-States, Canada and Europe with Grace Helbig and Mamrie Hart to perform in comedy shows. What I really like about Hannah is her positive attitude towards anything in life. She also has an amazing talent of making puns; you really have to see to believe! She has an honesty about her where she really let’s us see the real, vulnerable her. You can find her under Harto on youtube. 
https://www.youtube.com/user/MyHarto

Ingrid Nilsen / Missglamorazzi

Ingrid started her Youtube channel in 2009 and has since acquired over 3 million subscribers! She mainly does videos about beauty, fashion, andhas a series of DIY and cooking videos. She has also participated in a few shows off youtube, including being a fashion correspondent on the last VMA’s red carpet. You might’ve also seen her on Project Runway Threads, which is basically the same show idea, but for kids. I stumbled upon her one day, and I just couldn’t really stop watching. Her videos are always really well made, and she gives really good tips. She’s super bubbly and entertaining to watch. One of the main reasons I like to watch her are her cooking videos because of their simplicity and their healthy content. Her main channel is Ingrid Nilsen, and she also has a second channel, TheGridMonster where she posts her vlogs.
https://www.youtube.com/user/missglamorazzi

Joe Sugg / ThatcherJoe 

Other than being Zoe (Zoella) Sugg’s brother, Joe has had his own channel since 2011 and has already accumulated over 3 million subscribers. He makes comedic content varying from imitations to pranks. His videos are always lighthearted, and I really enjoy watching his vlogs. Joe and Zoe have such an amazing view on life, and watching them reminds me to laugh and to not take life too seriously. I really enjoy his sense of humor and his weird and funny challenges. I love watching him in colabs, because I know it’ll be good. He also has a gaming channel, which I don’t watch, but if you’re into that sort of thing check it out! You can find him on ThatcherJoe and ThatcherJowVlogs.

 https://www.youtube.com/user/ThatcherJoe

Zoe Sugg AKA Zoella:

Speaking of Zoe, she is a young british beauty youtuber/blogger who's first video dates to 2009. This quirky little lady made us fall in love at first watch when we fell on one of her videos last year. With 6 million subscribers, this starlet has created a fan base that supports her in all of her projects, most recently, her book Girl Online and her bath product line Zoella Beauty. Her videos often consists of hauls, tutorials and fun collaborations with other youtubers. I love watching her, she is so honest and open with her viewers, including her struggle with anxiety. She is so incredibly bubbly that it's kind of hard to not like her. She makes great quality videos and also vlogs, often times with her youtuber boyfriend Alfie Deyes and their new baby pug Nala. I highly recommend that you check her out if you like beauty videos.

https://www.youtube.com/user/zoella280390

 

Mamrie Hart

Having joined Youtube in 2009, Mamrie, comedic actress, is just as hilarious as Grace and is the maker of the Youtube series You Deserve a Drink (YDAD). Her show consists of making alcoholic drinks in honor of different actors, authors, movies, etc. The best part of it all is that she does it, all while making dirty puns that are so terrible that you won't be able to control the laughter. A lot of her work is done in collaboration with Grace and Hannah and that makes for amazing content. Her videos are a joy to watch when you just want a good laugh. I was surprised to see that she only has 8 thousand subscribers because she is the bomb.dot.com. 

https://www.youtube.com/user/YouDeserveADrink

Bunny Meyer AKA grav3yardgirl

Bunny's oldest video dates from December 2010. Advocate for individuality and staying true to yourself, Bunny is an inspiration for young girls everywhere. Most of her earliest videos consist of  stories about her paranormal experiences, but nowadays, her channel is much different as she now tends to go towards hauls, makeup tutorials, reviews for products and As Seen On TV items, "Pintertests", etc. This "Sassy" texan lady has all kinds of catch phrases and is the self proclamed "Swamp Queen" who welcomes all viewers to join the "Swamp family" in order to "give an alligator its wings". This Swamp Family of hers stretches out to 4 million loyal subscribers. Her enthusiasm and uniqueness makes her real a pleasure to watch. I enjoy her so much that I've even gone back to watch her oldest videos, despite the fact that they may no longer be relevant. 

https://www.youtube.com/user/grav3yardgirl

Rhett and Link

These youtubers are classics considering that their first video dates to 2006. These guys are known making music videos about incredibly random things with their pretty impressive musical talent. They also have a morning talk show on their second channel called Good Mythical Morning. These guys never fail at having quality videos that are hilarious to watch for all of their 2 million subscribers. I first saw them when my friend showed me their videos when I was in high school, and I had forgotten about them until I started being obsessed with Youtube and rediscovered them. Their talent is overwhelming and they are, for sure, a must watch. 

https://www.youtube.com/user/RhettandLink

Now that we've talked all about our favorite Youtube stars, we want you to go check them out for yourselves and, just maybe, you'll fall in love with them as much as we did. Obviously, we have other youtubers that we enjoy watching, but the list couldn't go on forever! We hope you enjoyed this post and that it will open the door on an obsession just as unhealthy as ours (just so we don't feel as crazy). Have a good week and stay beautiful!

XOXO

Amélie & Brigitte

How to Look Fabulous in the Cold This Winter

Hello beautiful,

It's inevitable, autumn has come to an end and winter is aggressively taking its place. Time to take out the big warm jackets and accept that you'll be living in a static hair mess for the next couple of months. Over the years, we have accumulated a few tricks to help you brave the cold without sacrificing your style. Here are six tips on how to look fabulous in the cold this winter:

1. Layering

It can sometimes seem hard to dress stylishly and stay warm at the same time. Maybe try switching your tights for leggings wearing knee high socks underneath jeans ! Your legs sure will appreciate that extra layer of protection. You can even try layering tights under leggings to give you that extra warmth. If you want to try the layered leggings, we suggest a pair of Joe Fresh black leggings ($10 - Atlantic Super Store) and a pair of Merona opaque tights from Target ($5-$8).

2 . Carying around dry shampoo to help with hat hair. (+dealing with static)

Who doesn’t like a cute little beanie during winter time? The problem often rests with the hat hair that comes with it. What we suggest is carrying around either your favorite dry shampoo or a travel size of a dry shampoo to freshen up during the day. It’ll give you volume, the appearance of clean hair, and a fresh clean hair smell! We suggest that you try the Batiste dry shampoo ($7-$10) or the Tigi Bed Head Rockaholic Dirty Secret dry shampoo ($9 - Marshalls) that will give you tons of volume. As for the static, we recommend carrying around hand cream in your purse or bag. Before you think we’re completely crazy, the hand cream will go on your hands. After putting on hand cream, which I’m sure your hands will appreciate after being in the winter cold, run your fingers through the ends of your hair. The moisture in the hand cream will tame static without leaving any oily or wet residue! Any hand lotion should do the trick.
3. Finding the perfect fitted coat

Staying warm does not necessarily mean looking like a gigantic puff. Find a coat that fits you well in all the right places and cinches your waist. We won't suggest one, because all body types are different, but longer coats do give you a nice silhouette along with keeping your but and thighs warm.

4. Moisturizing your skin and finding a good foundation

No-one looks good with cakey makeup. Therefore, it is suuuuuper important to find a good moisturizer and  foundation that will make your skin look as flawless as possible. Now, this one is tougher to give suggestions as all skin types are different. First of all, it's important to switch moisturizers from summer to winter to give our skin that extra help against the cold. Just be conscious that with a good base, makeup will glide onto your face a lot smoother. Also, a lot of primers do come in a moisturizing formula. For moisturizers, we suggest the brands Origins, The Body Shop and Korres. If these are out of your price range, Nivea, Simple and Marcel make good alternatives. As for foundation, especially for those of you who already have trouble with dry skin, stay away from powder foundations. Look for a product that does come with extra moisture in it. Often times, with extra moisture, the foundation will tend to be of a liquid or in a cream consistency. We suggest that you head to your local drugstore or Sephora and they will help you find a foundation that's right for you, considering the fact we all have different skin types that react differently to various foundations.

5. Finding the right lip balm.

Sadly, not every lip balm is the right one and many will even dry out your lips. Also, some of us have incredibly sensitive lips that don't react very well to scented or flavored chap sticks, however delightful they may be. You can definitely splurge on a good lip balm, like Elizabeth Arden’s 8h Skin Cream Protectant ($21 - http://www.elizabetharden.com) that you can even put on any dry parts of the body. You may have to try a few brands before you do find something that works for you, we sure did! The fun thing is that good tinted lip balms do exist, such as the ones made by Burt's Bees ($7.99- www.burtsbees.ca), so you don’t necessarily have to sacrifice style for practicality. Just remember that your lips need some loving too.

6. Don't sacrifice warmth for style.
On the contrary to popular belief, the cold doesn't make you sick, but if does weaken your immune system that needs all of the strength it can get when the people around you are walking around like giant germ bags. You won't look cute with snot running down your face and a cough that makes everyone look at you like you have the plague so keep warm, because your body need all of the help that it can get to keep you happy and healthy.

We hope that these tips helped and we wish you a happy holiday season!

xoxo
Brigitte & Amélie

Master Class Palette III

Hello beautiful!

Ever wanted to have... MOST of the beauty products that you need in one palette? Do you wish to have an amazing array of quality products in a not so bulky, but yet complete ensemble? Well today, I have your solution! Today, I'm going to talk about a new makeup palette that I have received as an early Christmas present, the Master Class Palette III from Smashbox Cosmetics (Thank you Luc <3).

This imposing palette is complete with 32 eye shadows, 3 blushes, the three piece Smashbox contour kit (contour, bronzer  and highlight), 4 "get the look" cards and blank face charts to have fun creating various looks. 

After having had the palette for a few weeks now, I must say that I am incredibly impressed. I read a tremendous amount of reviews and hesitated for quite a while before deciding between this one and the new Vice 3 palette from Urban Decay. Many reviews seemed to say that the colour pay off wasn't too great and that the shadows were often chalky and produced a lot of fallout. Others even said that the close proximity between the shadows and the contours or blushes made it difficult to use without unwillingly mixing them together. In the end, I decided to go to Sephora and ask one of the workers if he could help me make a decision. This guy was amazingly helpful and told me that the Smashbox shadows had great blendability and that, for the small amount of pigmentation that I was sacrificing (in comparison to UD shadows), was made up for in quality of application. I thanked the worker having convinced me to make a decision. 

I must admit that some of the colours don't show up as well on my lids, considering the fact that I have dark and olive toned skin. Nevertheless, I still enjoy using them underneath eyeliner as I rarely go a day without shadow, be it visible or not as I feel that it makes the eyeliner application smoother. Many of the colours are absolutely gorgeous and, seeing as I do enjoy using more intense colours such as the greens, the pinks, the purples and the blues, I have come to use every single colour. Having heard so many bad things about the pigmentation of the shadows, I was quite impressed with their pay off, specially when put on top of a lid primer. 

The palette's case is very heavy duty and could, for certain people, be too heavy for travel, BUT HAVE NO FEAR, the two individual pieces do pop out of the case. Sadly, these individual pieces only have a hard plastic flap over them and don't actually close with a latch, so if you do travel with them, it would be a good idea to place them inside a padded cosmetics pouch. 

  

The two different sides of the palette are very distinctive as one side is filled with neutrals and the other is filled with more intense bright colours. The colours are arranged in vertical quads that I often use to create complete looks. For the neutrals, the first quad leans towards mauve tones, the second, browns, the third, greys and the fourth, beige-y-browns. 

 

As for the brighter, more daring colours, as you can see, there are also four quads including ensembles of greens, blues, purples and pinks. The pigmentation of these shadows was a very pleasant surprise. Many of the negative reviews mentioned that the swatches looked much better than the actual pay off that was given once on the eye. I call BULL CRAP! These eye shadows are so so fab and go on lovely. I must mention that all of these swatches are done without primer. Adding primer under them would only mage them brighter, more pigmented and also more opaque. 

As for the blushes, I find all three of them gorgeous. The middle one, "Flush",  is unlike anything else that I already own as it truly does give you a natural and muted cheek that permits you to play up your eyes or your lips without looking outrageous. All of these blushes also have very good wear. 

The contour palette is also so so so great as it is light enough to look good on just about any skin tone. The colours blend in very easily and would work nicely for beginners who haven't yet experimented with contouring. 

This palette would surely make a great Christmas gift. It is $72 at Sephora and is said to be $360 value. Considering that the Smashbox Step-By-Step Contour Kit is $52 on its own, for an extra $20, you're getting so much product. I hope that this review was helpful and that it can help people like me who just couldn't figure out if they should buy this palette or not. I say, GO FORTH MY CHILD and indulge, specially if you're a person like me who lives and breathes for eye shadow palettes and good deals. 

Have a great week!

Love, 

Amélie

xoxox