Be Gelous

Whenever I hear raves about a new product I MUST try it. I honestly think about so much that I drive myself insane until I get my grubby hands on it. More often than not, it does not live up to my expectations *cough* Barielle Camouflage basecoat *cough* But sometimes the praise is truly deserved.

The product I am talking about is Gelous basecoat which is found at Sally's beauty supply for about $6. It's description says that it is an "advanced nail gel coat" and that's exactly what it is. When I tried it I first put on my beloved Barielle Hydrating Ridgefiller and let it dry a little. Then I applied a coat of Gelous over it, then polish, then topcoat. Gelous is very thick and reminds me of the acrylic gel that is used on fake nails. It dries relatively thick so use a light hand when applying it. Once my mani dried I was ecstatic! My nails felt so strong as if I really did have acrylics on. I felt safe, like my nails were truly protected.

The best part is that my mani lasted for 5 days without a SINGLE chip! That is just unheard of for me. I type a lot for work, and that weekend I went to a Russian Bathhouse where I spent a lot of time in the steam room. Usually my manis peel in sheets after steamrooms, but this time it did not budge. The only reason I removed the polish was because I got bored, but I almost wanted to see how long it would hold up. One day I'll do that.

I tested it with four other colors, two of which were glitters. Often my glitters peel in sheets 1-2 days later. This time they stayed put. Once again I got so bored that I removed them 2 days later, but I can confidently say the wear is much better than with just a regular basecoat.

Rating: 5/5 blueberries!




Verdict: Will buy again; will recommend to a friend

Nexxus Dualiste

My recent obsession has been with my hair. I cut it verrry short a few years ago and now have been trying to grow it out. It is currently below my shoulders and growing out at a good pace. I also went from bleach blonde to dark , almost black, brown a while ago so it is healthy and shiny. But unfortunately there is zero volume. ZERO!

Many women strive for voluminous hair and there is literally nothing we can do. Yes, you can tease it, hairspray it, get extensions, but there is no way you can make your natural hair have more volume. If I do find something you'll be the first ones to know, I promise =)

Now going back to healthy hair. We all know that switching up shampoos is good for it. Your hair adjusts to your current products and they no longer have the wonderful effects they did the first few times you experienced the first few times. So lesson 1: keep 2-3 shampoos in your shower and switch them around every 2-3 washes. It will be worth it, trust me.

One of the shampoos I am currently using is Nexxus Dualiste.



It came highly recommended by the makeupalley.com hairboard and some long hair forum I stumbled onto a while back. Well, this just proves that nothing works for everyone. I hate it so much I can't wait till it is finished.

Shampoo: absolutely nothing to write home about. It cleans my hair but that is about it. No extra shine, no extra softness, nothing. For the price, it is a complete dud. I was not expecting miracles, but it gives me the same effect Alberto VO5 does except for 10x the price.

Rating:

Conditioner: oy vey! It is very moisturizing, but that's where the benefits end. You need to wash it out for a very long time, otherwise the hair becomes greasy and stringy within minutes. After blowdrying it still feels greasy and sort of clumps around the strands. Absolutely horrible! In order to get my moneys worth, I use it once a week as a deep conditioning treatment and then spend 10 minutes washing it out. It is definitely good for that, but as an every day conditioner it is awful.

Rating:

VERDICT: will not purchase again, will not recommend to a friend

Have you tried Dualiste products? Have they worked for you? Let me know!