John Frieda Salon Tour recap

Early in June I was lucky enough to attend the John Frieda Salon Tour in Dallas, TX at the Shops at Park Lane. From what I gathered, this is a yearly summer long event, and a first for Dallas. Last year they visited Houston.

A red carpet leading up to the fun inside. Everyone who comes will receive a complimentary 15-minute consultation and hair transformation. Since there was no one there early in the morning my consultation lasted a big longer!

The tools used. The set up was like a real salon and even nicer than some cheap ones I've been to. This is mobile so props to them. I was impressed at how nice it looked inside!

Okay I forgot my stylists name already, but she was awesome! She's from LA so if you're there you should get her to do your hair. It would help if I could remember her name! She asked me about the problem areas of my hair. I told her my number one problem would be volume and then dry ends.

She's working her magic, and it's so voluminous wow! I need her skills! It's impressive that we only used "drugstore" products of course. Go John Frieda!

After adding volume she then decided to curl my hair. I told her my curls never last and was up to the challenge. Sorry to report that they did not last... Anyhow, here on her iPad she is showing me what products she used.

The lovely blogger ladies who were also there. Tina, Julie, Elissa, and me. Props to Tina for the photos of me!!

John Frieda's new line of products. Loving it! She used the Protecting Root Lift Foam, the Perfect Ends Deep Infusion for my dry ends, and the Touch-Up Flyaway Tamer. *giveaway coming up*

Hair Care by John Frieda

They also used the new Anytime Volume Refresher on me! It's their dry shampoo! It's pretty awesome except a week later it stopped spraying the powder and only mist. Either it runs out fast or the design of the can is not good. I did really like the formula of it while it was working properly. I'll do a full review on this later.

Me outside feeling all happy about my new hair! :)

Elissa playing paparazzi with Tina.

Afterwards we stopped by Gordon Biersch for a delicious lunch!

I definitely like John Frieda a lot more after this event. While I used to see them as just another drugstore brand, I now feel like they are near-salon quality at drugstore prices. I'm interested to use more than just their shampoo. It's easy to forget they are a huge salon in NY and LA. They don't have a fancy salon here. They should!

The info for the last two tour locations! If you live nearby them and you're a blogger, shoot me an email asap! :)

MINNEAPOLIS, MN
MALL OF AMERICA
Friday, July 15, 2011
12:00PM - 8:00PM
Saturday, July 16, 2011
11:00AM - 7:00PM

ATLANTA, GA
PERIMETER MALL
Friday, July 22, 2011
12:00PM - 8:00PM
Saturday, July 23, 2011
12:00PM - 8:00PM

I hope that John Frieda comes back to Dallas next year. I heard the turnout was not huge but that would be due to the location. The shops at Park Lane does not get heavy traffic and the location of the truck was not visible to shoppers driving by. They would be better to park where there is more walking traffic or to do it inside North Park Mall. That's my recommendation for you PR people who set this up!

Shiseido Tsubaki Shampoo Review

Many people claim this as the holy grail shampoo so how could I resist trying it?

At first I was like WOW my hair feels so soft and silky but then later in the day I noticed my roots were getting quite oily. Somehow though I think it makes my roots more oily. That's the sad thing. Also, some people say it adds some texture or something to the hair and I'm thinking it does on mine too. That's what gives it the silky feeling. My hair was already silky (or it doesn't take much to make it so) and the added silkiness was not a good feeling.  One good thing is I can feel my hair getting less prone to tangling of the ends. That was my main problem with my hair anyhow.

I would not buy this again if I'm only using it for my roots. I think a good conditioner could do that. I just don't use conditioner! mwahaha.

Another thing is the scent. It's okay, but I didn't even remember/notice it at first. People always rave about the scent but seriously it is not that great!

I bought this from veryasia.com here but their site annoys me. I had issues with them but everything worked out later. $15.95 for 18.6 fl oz. Shipping is $4.99.

Or you can buy it from various sellers on Amazon here.

Pros:
good lather up
pump
moisturizing
lightly scented
cleans hair

Cons:
can make hair too silky
made my roots oil up faster
availability
price

Bottom line: If you have good hair already you won't need this. It's better for people with dry or coarse hair.

October Favorites

October Favorites! These were well received last time so I'm at it again!

1. Dior Quint in Ready to Glow - I've been wanting to splurge on some top notch eyeshadows for some time now, and why not continue my addiction to Dior? I LOVE every single one of these colors! If I was going to spend a lot on this quint I wanted to make sure I loved every single dang color, no exceptions. The texture is smooth and heavenly but not sparkle crazy like other quints I've seen. This retails at $58, but if you divide it by 5 it's $11.60 per color which ain't so bad.. okay it's bad BUT I bought this on ebay for $40. So that's about $8 per shadow which is more reasonable.

2. Batiste Dry Shampoo - I've tried many low end and high end dry shampoos but I'm always itching to get back to this one. I stopped using it for a couple months while testing any other one I could find just to experiment. When I finally used this again this month it was like night and day regarding the difference in effectiveness. Zaps grease, no residue left once massage in, smell manageable, low price. That's all I really need. $7.99 at Ulta.

3. Givenchy Play for Her - I got this deluxe mini size from Sephora with code "herplay" and I'm so glad I did because this fragrance is LOVE! The only downside is that it's not very long lasting. If you like the pretty and sweet florals then give this a whiff! It has Bergamot, Sweet Pea, Amyris Wood, Tiare Flower, Sandalwood, Musk. I dry down was a pleasant musk which surprised me b/c I usually do not like Musk but it really works in this case.

4. Milani Polish in Bare To Wear - The perfect muted purple light gray color. Good quality creme polish! Limited Edition but you can buy it directly Milani.

5. Mac lipstick in Innocence Beware - The perfect pretty light pinky nude color. I grabbed for this the most in October. Since it's a cremesheen there's a slight shine which is nice. It's limited edition, but Hue may be a good color dupe from what I've heard.

6. Neutrogena lipstick in Just Whisper - see my review here.

7. Isqueen Crystal White Series Pore Refiner - I like how it's pink.. haha, AND that nothing bad has happened from using it so far! It gets the grime that my cleanser may have missed. Not so sure about the "pore refining" bit but it leaves my skin refreshed. Def worth checking out.

8. Milani Liquif'eye pencil liner - no smuding on my eye so far! It's deep black and inexpensive, and goes on smooth. Possibly replacing my mufe liner. It's only $5.99!

9. OMI Ume Softcream lipbalm - waaay better than any EOS lipbalm. It smells like peach and ume (plum) but more so peach. It's not better than Espie but I really enjoyed using this all month! It's now sold out on sasa.com but there are similar ones on ebay if you search OMI lip.

Dry Shampoo Showdown

Do you wash your hair everyday? I do. If I don't my hair ends up being so greasy. Growing up I heard from people that washing your hair every day is bad for it. Really? I always thought this was strange, because who wants to sport an extra greasy look. I know there were some guys in school who probably never washed their hair. Gross! Well if you have a dry scalp then you're lucky I guess!

What is Dry Shampoo? It's a product (mist or powder) you work into your hair to absorb the oil. Actually baby powder (a talc) works just fine too!

First a look at both of the Dry Shampoos I've tried. Why do I need it? Some days I just get lazy, okay?

Ojon Rub-Out Dry Cleanser, 4.5 oz, $24

From Sephora
A dry cleanser that revives, refreshes, and recharges hair and scalp without water.

Ojon® Rub-Out™ Dry Cleanser instantly "erases" impurities, toxins, excess oil, and product build-up. It increases hair volume at the root while treating the hair and scalp. Ideal between washings, as a hair pick-me-up, when you're in a rush, or when you overuse a styling product. The Dry Cleanser leaves hair cleansed, light, luminous, and healthy -looking.

My thoughts:
This product actually works really, really well! It gives my unwashed hair a little lift and gets rid of the excess oil. I'm not sure about it "erasing" the product build up. I used this a really long time ago so I can't remember exactly if you could feel this in your hair or not. If you can, it's very, very light.
The bad:
The smell! It smells like an old grandma. Really it smells like this viet dessert from my childhood. I forgot the name of it, but it was sticky and had lotus seed paste I think? Gosh, most people will HATE this smell! I did. The other bad thing is that it gets clogged up easily. Just browse the reviews on sephora and you'll see all the people complaining about it. It wasn't so bad for me because I just bought the travel sized one. It clogged up near the end of it's use- so I was okay with that.

T3 Refresh Volumizing Dry Shampoo, 3.3 oz, $25, $20 sale in-store

From Sephora
A volumizing dry shampoo that cleans hair without water and adds volume and texture.

This waterless spray cleans hair without water—absorbing oil and eliminating odor while adding instant lift and volume. Available in three color tones: blonde, brunette, and auburn, Refresh blends in seamlessly with natural hair color without the powdery residue and is totally healthy for hair with its Vitamin B6 formulation. The perfected aerosol design allows a precise and even application without the mess.

My thoughts:
I feel like what's coming out of this can is very different from what was coming out of the Ojon dry cleanser. The Ojon was more misty, and this was more like hairspray! For me it took more sprays of this stuff to eliminate the oil than it did with the Ojon. The first time I used it I think I used too much because my I could feel it in my hair. The second time I used less, but I could still feel it in my hair. It really reminded me of hairspray because it smells like it too. The best thing about this is the smell, and that's just not good enough for a dry shampoo product.
The bad:
It leaves residue in your hair that you can feel. You get less product for the same price as Ojon. This may get clogged up too. I haven't used it long enough.

The winner? T3! Purely because the smell of Ojon makes it so unusable. Ojon wins hands down on formula, but the T3 still works so it wins. I got a full sized can of the Ojon as a gift, and I exchanged it for the T3 last week. I will continue to use it when I need it, but I won't be purchasing either of these in the future.

Alternatives? Baby powder! I sprinkle it into my hand and then rub that into my roots. Make sure to brush it through with a comb. The scary thing about baby powder is you may miss some and have white powder in your hair.

Also, I heard there's one by bumble and bumble that may work too. I haven't tried it nor do I know the proper name of it.

So, do you wash your hair everyday?