Review: Argan Oil; 2 Brands Compared. +Moving!!

For those of you interested in trying Argan Oil, which is all the rave in hair right now (google it,) Moroccan Oil is not your only option- though it probably is the best. It's quite expensive so I haven't had a chance to try it yet. What I have tried are two knock off brands.

Live Clean's Exotic Nectar Argan Oil Treatment (Walmart) ~vs~ One N' Only's Argan Oil (Sally Beauty Supply)

There's a clean winner here, folks. Live Clean's product is by far the worst crap I've ever put in my hair. I am seriously considering contacting them to complain. Don't get me wrong, the Exotic Nectar Argan Oil Shampoo and Conditioner are ffffabulous. So why is this oil so awful? Ughhh. Why *isn't* it? It feels like glue. It will seriously stick your fingers together and when you separate them there will be adhesive, gooey strings connecting them. It's clumpy and doesn't spread evenly throughout the hair, and of course very sticky! In addition to that it seems to cloud over any shine the hair may have, making it incredibly dull. It reminded me of how I imagine a dead person's hair to be. The only leg this crap has to stand on is the smell. It has a pleasant smell, kind of like My Little Pony's used to smell... and even so there is a familiar and strange undertone to the smell that isn't offensive but unsettling. I can't put my finger on what it reminds me of.

Oddly enough, the thing that I wish I could change about One N' Only's product is the smell. It's not bad- don't get me wrong. It's just very earthy, and I'm not into those scents. It does die down a lot after application, and Chad does like the smell of it. I just think Live Clean's oil has the better scent. However, this product actually works! It makes my hair nice and shiny, soft. My hair looks healthier and is stronger. Every so often when brushing my hair I'll pull a couple strands from the brush and see how easy they are to break. There is a profound difference in just two months. Actually, I've got really bad, coarse, frizzy hair that I usually insist on blow drying to keep it smooth. To avoid heat styling (also a reason my hair is becoming stronger, no doubt) I apply this to my damp hair and let it air dry. It is of course curly once dried, but not the crazy curly ball of frizz it is without this oil. This was actually recommended to be by an acquaintance on facebook and I gotta say, I love it!!

And An Update... 

After months of searching for the perfect apartment, I did find one that sparked my interest. Unfortunately it became unavailable about a day or two later. But! There was another available in the same building. Very similar except the living room and bedrooms were a little tiny bit smaller, and the linen closest was outside of the bathroom rather than in. And you know what? The bathroom is bigger!! It almost has a "his and hers" setup. Toilet, bath/shower, two sinks, a vanity type area with lots of drawers and a counter with a sink and a mirror on each end. "Extended bathroom" is what they called it. It has a view of the pool and playground from the large balcony, and the building also has basketball and tennis courts. All of which looked spotless! Lots of trees just outside our window, which is high up. Awesome! Building has been and continues to be completely renovated. Our apartment has brand new paint, carpet, and plumbing. It also has a great location with lots of food, shopping, banks, etc.

So what does all of this mean? I will tell you! My own computer is quite dead, and I've been using my mom's. Following the move I will have no computer access until I get around to buying another one. Looking for a laptop with wifi, FYI! The blog will slow down for a while, but it will not stop. In fact, after moving I will have access to a lot more products to review and possible networking to pick up more tips and tricks. Hopefully not more to rant about!

-H. Cat

PS: Forgot to mention that the price point on both products is somewhere between $11 and 14 CAD. I believe the LC was $11.00 and the ONO was $14.

Tutorial: Depotting MAC Shadows

Depotting is a great option for those who are tired of pawing through their shadows trying to find a certain colour. It's also great if you're a freak for organizing, like I am. Or even for traveling- a 15 palette on vacation, a quad for your purse. Whatever! Another cool thing is that most (not all) MAC counters and stores will take the depotted shells back, and when you bring 6 in at once you will receive a free lipstick of your choice (excluding Viva Glam) from a MAC counter, or at a MAC store you may choose from a lipstick, lipglass, or eyeshadow.

Worried about getting your colours mixed up? Too lazy to print labels? That's fine. You can heat up the labels on the bottom of your shadow and re-stick them. If they look dirty or faded a baby wipe should make them legible again.

You can pick up a MAC 15 palette for about $16 CAD, and a quad for roughly $5. I had to go to an actual MAC store and not a counter, but the counters will have quads available soon enough. It is time consuming but not very difficult. I do remind you to be careful! You will have several opportunities to jab or burn yourself.

Below is a method you can use to depot your shadows with a straightening iron, instead of flame.

You will need:

• Straightening iron (any kind, as long as it's flat and you can fit a pan or two on it)
• Knife (I used a small steak knife)
• Strip of aluminum foil (to keep melting plastic off of your straight iron)
• Towel (optional, for sitting hot, stick pans and knife on)
• Tweezers (optional, for lifting the pan out)
• Qtips/Cotton pads & Alcohol (to remove glue from metal pan)
• Magnet (optional, to keep them in place, but I left mine sticky and skipped this for now)

I'm a perfectionist, so I sat down and wrote a list of my colours, then organized them in the order I wanted my palette. My 15 pallet is a spectrum from purple to blue, to teal, to green, to gold, to amber, golden reddy brown, to a reddish copper. See what I mean about this perfection business? My quad consisted of staple neutrals. Crystal Avalanche (shimmery white), Shroom (a muted golden beige highlight colour), Satin Taupe (a taupe brown with silvery bronze shimmer) and Carbon (a matte black.)

I put my straight iron on the hottest setting and went about the first step, which is popping the plastic pan out of the case.

STEP 1: Above, you will see that I have circled an indented area above the little sticky-outty part (technical term, right there!) You'll want to grip the shadow with your index finger on one side and your thumb on the other. Hold it down against a flat steady surface that won't be a big deal if you happen to slip and stab into. Angle the knife down and inwards into that edge. I had better luck trying the corners. Every little eyeshadow seemed to come apart differently. Some easier than others. Just press the tip of the knife in and jiggle it a bit. If you're not getting results, try another area. Be careful not to damage the eyeshadow.  

STEP 2: Once the pan is out, lay a strip of aluminum foil over the bed of your straightening iron and sit the eyeshadow pan and the empty case (label down) on top of the foil. Your label will be done before the eyeshadow. Check after a minute or two. Try to slide the tip of a small knife under the label. It should just lift up and come right off. I swiped the knife completely under it to separate it. That way it didn't curl like it may have if I had grabbed hold of one end and peeled it off. I immediately put the sticker inside the lid of my 15 palette, and on the back of my quad. I put another pan of shadow on beside the first one while I waited for the first to be done. I took it off of the iron and checked to see if the bottom had become slightly melted or warped. I pressed my knife against the bottom and wiggled it up under the shadow fairly easily. If it requires force you need to heat it up more, or you risk breaking your shadow. 

STEP 3: I lifted the metal pan out of the plastic casing on the end of my knife and "wiped" it off on to the towel. You could lift yours out with tweezers. It's very hot and I did burn my finger tips once or twice. I tried to remove some of the glue from the bottom with rubbing alcohol. Some came off in such a way that the glue peeled off in solid... Some were much messier. I wasn't successful at removing all of the stickiness on most of them, but I doubt I'll be playing musical pallets with a lot of them anyway. 

Rinse, repeat, collect your free makeup. You know the drill! Can't wait to go back to MAC and collect my 3 free shadows tomorrow! 

-H. Cat

Updated: Picked up my 3 freebies. I chose Electra, Parfait Amour, and Swish. Here are my palettes thus far. Excuse the crappy cell phone camera.