NO Soap Challenge

No More Dirty Looks has picked its winner!  I was literally laughing out loud in my office when I read the Winning story.  Check IT Out!

Product Review: Amal Oils Argan Oil

By: Megan
Cost: $35

So by now you should all know enough about argan oil, and I'll spare you having to read yet another post about how and why we love it.  What I'll do is tell you about the brand I picked to buy and how its working out.  I heard about Amal Oils from the No More Dirty Looks Blog, the owner of the company had sent a free sample (ummmm, can somebody so that for us pretty please!) to try out and Alexandra ended up loving it.  I wanted to be try a different brand then Meg so I hopped onto http://amaloils.com/ and clicked BUY NOW! One of the first things I noticed about the website is that if you do a little twitter tweet or facebook lovin' for them you will get a 20% discount.  I love discounts and 20% is nothing to scoff at, but I wasn't about to go singing its praises before I even tested the product out.  When I got the package in the mail I was so excited and I opened up the bottle and expected to see a little dropper like Meg's Josie Maran argan oil had, and was so disappointed when it didn't.  I swore up and down that I wouldn't repurchase this again because of that one reason.  Silly me jumping to conclusions, when I run out I will absolutely repurchase this.  I am seriously having a love affair with this argan oil, and I don't even notice that it doesn't have a dropper with it any more.  It has a very soft nutty smell to it that is very nice, but not at all overwhelming.  I only ever notice the smell when I put my argan on at night and go to bed, and I'm pretty sure that's because I just lathered it on under my nose.  I've had this for just about a month and i've maybe used 1/4 of a bottle, I cant believe how long it lasts considering how often I use it!  I honestly have not found something I can't use this for. I had some serious dry spots on my arms from eczema and this has helped those spots sooo much.  I've used it on my cuticles, dry heels, dry legs, hair, face... you name it and it has worked miracles every time.    This is the one product I will preach at everybody to use until I'm blue in the face!  Have you bought yours yet?

Product Review: 100% Pure Brightening Night Balm

By: Meg
Cost: 32.00


 In honor of our class tonight at 100% Pure, I decided to review The Brightening Night Balm I bought on our last trip down there. In the class the balm was passed around for us to sample and smell.The idea of using a balm all over your face, not just on your lips, sounded intriuging.
 This product uses sake and citrus to liven up your complexion overnight. Because of all the citrus and vitamin C it smells really nice, like a bunch of fresh lemons. Megan and I talk a lot about packaging appeal and I think that 100% does an awesome job. Their products look sleek and pretty at the same time. We give them an A+ for design.
 Because the balm is so thick, it has kind of a hard consistancy in it's container (just like some thicker lip balms). You have to kind of work it in your fingers for a moment to loosen it up before you smooth it onto your skin. It felt a little weird when I first applied it to my skin. It felt almost a little grainy and unpleasant for a moment. Shortly though, my skin heated it up and it became smooth. I definitely think this was correctly categorized as a night cream because it is pretty thick and absorbs pretty slowly. It is much too heavy to wear during the day. My skin felt very nice with it on and smelled really great.
 I wouldn't say that this is a great moisturizer, but I don't think that is this product's intended main objective either. I usually put a slather of argan on before the balm to boost my nighttime moisture intake. When I wake up the day after using this my skin has fully absorbed the balm and is feels really smooth. I do think that my skin looks more vibrant on the days I have used this and I think it will continue to improve if I keep using it. If you have skin that looks dull or ashey during the winter months, this is definitely a good pick!

Product Review: Alaffia Shea and Coconut Daily Hydrating Conditioner

By: Meg
Cost: 10.00

 I am, apparently, cuckoo for coconut. I wish that I could smell like a coconut farm everyday. Unfortunately, I think that it's more of a seasonal smell and it seems a little out of place to smell like a coconut farm when you are not at the beach (just like smelling like cinnamon in a heat wave might be a little weird). Many natural products smell like coconut because it is a natural scent and coconut oil is used in a lot of these products. Since it's winter right now, I try to keep the coconut smell subtle even though I love it. One product that lets me do just that is Alaffia Coconut and Shea Daily Hydrating Conditioner.
 I found this at Whole Foods and remembered it being recommended on the No More Dirty Looks website, so I picked it up. That said, when I saw the bottle I wanted to toss it back right away. It did not appeal to my standard of beauty aesthetic at all. The bottle is a pink color with a busy multicolored label with clashing orange writing. The lid is a painted gold which looks very gaudy (not all bottles come with the gold top). It was so ugly but I remembered my new resolve to give products a chance based on ingredients. Turns out, Mom was right, its about inner beauty after all. I also thought that perhaps they had used cheaper packaging (and a cheap designer?) to reduce the price to the consumer. I can't argue with that!
 The conditioner leaves my hair very soft and not too weighed down. The shea and coconut moisturize like crazy. I do recommend blow-drying if you have flat or naturally heavy hair because, while it doesn't weigh it down much, it doesn't really add volume either. My hair was nice and shiny when I used this and I did not have a lot of flyways. I styled my hair and it seemed to hold very well. I was worried it would be very greasy and not be able to hold curl but it was not at all. The thing I love most is the smell though. The whole day after using this I would catch little whiffs of coconut when my hair moved around. It's almost like aroma therapy for me.
 Do your best to get past the front of your beauty products and to the back label. The more you understand what is actually going onto your skin and hair the better!

Product Review: Couleur Caramel Mascara (Cils Longs)

By: Megan
Cost: $22.50

I have been on a search for a perfect mascara even before switching to clean products (I mean what girl isn't).  We all want a mascara that lengthens, thickens, doesn't smudge, doesn't run, doesn't clump, last all day and it wouldn't hurt if it helped our lashes grow as well.  Seems like an easy task right?  I have tried mascaras that cost $3 and I can buy at a drug store to $30 Sephora purchases.  I have tried long brushes, think brushes, round (yes round) brushes, fat brushes, thin brushes and have never been 100% happy with one yet, until Couleur Caramel's.  I had heard a lot about this mascara in 'No More Dirty Looks' and google searches confirmed that this is the "Dior Show" of natural mascaras.  I wasn't in love with my pink and green tube of basic Maybelline so I splurged and bought this off of the Nature of Beauty website (which is a great online shopping source).  It runs at about $23 which is not a lot for a mascara but is more then $6 I had been spending.  But boy oh boy was it worth it!  This is by far the best mascara that I have ever used (and I've used Dior Show).  The mascara comes in 2 different types cils longs and cils courts.  Nature of Beauty describes cils courst as having an applicator that "deposits more color on the lashes to both lengthen and thicken" and cils longs as having a applicator that "uses furrows that separate, structure and thicken the eyelashes". I bought the cils longs not even looking at my options, silly me, but either way I'm pleased.  When you pull the applicator out of  the tube there is a lot of mascara on the wand, I scraped some off and went to town putting it on.  I now know that I got the mascara in thickening, but it makes my lashes look sooo long as well.  The first thing I said to Meg when I used it was that my lashes looked fake!  I have tested this mascara in almost every possible way; I have worn worn it all day at work, washed cars in the rain with it (occupational hazard), worn it out in the sun, worn it out for a long night of dancing, and everything in between.  This mascara has not failed me yet!  It lasts all day with out smudging and when I come home to freshen up for a night out I can swipe a new layer on and it doesn't get clumpy.  The one thing this mascara is not is waterproof, go figure.  If you are planning on having an emotional night, this would not be the mascara I grab.  It will hold up against a lil' watery eye or getting a little wet in the rain, but if you poke your eye with the wand (not that i was careless enough to do that) you will have black mascara running down your face.  On the upswing of it not being water proof, it is very easy to remove.  Some water and a wash cloth will usually do the trick for me.  I will definitely purchase this mascara again, and actually think my search for the perfect mascara is over!

Weekend Special: 100% Pure Beauty Class

  100% Pure Skincare is a brand that Megan and I adore and one that lives up to it's name. As we've mentioned in our reviews of their products, They use fruits and vegetables for the useful skin enhancing properties they contain. Their cosmetics and skincare lines are awesome and we are head over heels.
  When we found out that the Berkley 100% Pure location was going to host a class to showcase the different skincare lines they offer, we hopped in the car and made the drive.
  We had so much fun and we learned a ton about their line. We will just share the highlights with you since they have a lot of products.
   We showed up at the store and the two ladies who were running the class welcomed us right in, offering us cookies and drinks. They loaded some samples on us, which if you know Megan and I, is the key to our hearts. Once the class started we were able to test each product as the girls were talking about it.
   The company has a different line for every skin concern. The ladies gave us a very basic skin diagnosis (oily, or normal, or acne prone) and made personalized recommendations as the class moved along. They carry six lines that each address a different issue. I'll talk about each line and just tell you one or two things we liked about each.
    Purity Collection: This collection is meant to address acne problems. There is a purity mask that the ladies suggested using as a spot treatment for acne spots, rather than a whole face mask. We thought that was a great idea since neither of us have major acne, just the occasional blemish or two.
   Mint White Tea Collection: created for normal to oily skin. The mint in all these products is very soothing and calming. I put a bit of the cleanser on my hand and it left my hand smelling wonderful and feeling soft.
   Jasmine Green Tea Collection: For normal to dry skin. Everything in this line is very soothing and calming for the skin and really helps the skin hold in moisture. The moisturizer especially, was very rich and absorbed very nicely into my skin.
   Skin Brightening Collection: To lighten and brighten dull skin. This is the collection I got excited about. These products contain citrus and sake, two natural lightening agents.  I bought the night balm and the toner. The night balm smells amazing and the toner makes my skin feel squeaky clean (full reviews to come).
   Red Wine Resveratrol: Aging preventative. I am in love with the smell of this line. Each product has a lovely berry smell. This collection uses the idea of antioxidants as anti aging agents. I'm not sold on the idea that antioxidants work topically. I've used the moisturizer a few times and really love how it makes my skin feel and smell but saw no difference in the age appearance of my skin.
  Super Fruits: Concentrated anti aging. This collection uses the same anti aging concept as the Red Wine collection, but on a more concentrated level. Megan bought the eye balm from this collection. She uses it at night and in the morning. She says it smells amazing and it makes her eye area very soft.
    Megan and I invite you to look at their website http://www.100percentpure.com/ and check out all the products. We tested almost all of the skincare products ourselves and we definitely approve. 
We had such a good time at this class, we will be going to another class they are holding this coming week for their makeup. I can't wait to test more of their products!

UPDATE!
So after last nights post, Meg and I got to thinking and decided we wanted to add a little bit more info about what we took away from the 100% Pure class.  Most of this info is not going to directly be about 100% Pure but more about some of the why's and how's that Kerry told us about. 

Okay first up is how the heck does 100% Pure (and other clean companies) manage to preserves their products without adding chemicals and toxins to the products.  This is something Meg and I have tried to wrap our minds around, and Meg took the class as an opportunity to ask.  Kerry explained that they use natural plant preservatives like thyme and oregano to do the trick.  She also advised us not to put the products in fridge, or anywhere that will get to extreme temperatures.  When that happens the products separate out and and the natural preservatives can't do there job.

Meg told you a little bit about the lightening and brightening line that 100% Pure has and that it uses Sake to get the job done.  Sake for me had always been the drink that goes best with my favorite sushi, but turns out it is also a natural lightening agent.  Kerry explained that this was discovered by looking at the hands of the old Japanese men who had been working with the rice to make Sake.  The men had typical old person skin on their faces but there hands were white and young looking.  That's enough proof for me that Sake will help do that trick!

We also spent a decent amount of time talking about eye creams and balms and why they are important.  Not using an eye cream is Kerry's biggest pet peeve, and I'm pretty sure if she found out we weren't using one religiously she would hunt us down and force eye creme on us!  Lucky for her (and us) Meg and I both were already on board with the importance for eye cream.  I had always used one in hopes of stopping any wrinkles (I'm 25 and my theory is it's never too early to start preventative maintenance) and getting rid of my horrid dark circles.  I was under the impression that the reason for an eye cream was because the skin under your eye is more delicate the the rest of your face.  Turns out the main reason is that the pores under you eyes are about 3 times smaller then the pores on the rest of your face.  So whats that mean? Well it means that your favorite moisturizer for your face will not penetrate the pores under your eyes as well or as effectively.  What 100% Pure does is take its standard facial moisturizer and puts it into a machine that spins it super fast to make the molecules smaller and therefore they can work into those little eye pores that we have.  Also we talked about using your ring finger to apply your eye cream because its your weakest finger, Meg and I already knew that but if you aren't doing that, then start!  Plus you just look like you know what your doing when you apply it with your ring finger.

Okay, next I want to tackle Megs thoughts on super fruits not working topically.  I did some quick google searches and from what I can tell, they will work!  I couldn't find any sites that talked specifically about the difference on applying products topically or digesting them, but I didn't find a few articles that supported topical use.  If anybody out there knows more about this subject, we'd love to hear about it!

Lastly we forgot to mention that 100% Pure is in the process of making some new lines.  They are still months out so don't get too excited.  They are working on a line that might include an eye make up remover (super exciting if you tried to track down a clean one) and a men's line.  Currently all of their products work for both genders, but it makes sense that a dude might not want to pick up a product that's purple with flowers on it, go figure!