Review of the Tanda Zap

Hey guys. I am officially an Aveda graduate! No more school. I'm trying not to think of how scary real life is, so I'll review this nifty esthetic gadget I've had for about a month. Cool?

Nuke those fuckers!

 So this device treats break outs  with a mix of blue light and pulsating heat. Blue light is antiseptic and this is along the same lines as the fancy light therapy you get from the dermatologist except that it won't cost you $832632846 dollars. It's $50.00 at Sephora which is pretty pricey but it does work! The problem people have with these sorts of products is that their expectations are not realistic in the first place and so they are bound to be disappointed and then write about it on the internet. This thing is not a scam, but it's not a miracle worker. It follows some pretty distinct guidelines for optimal results.

First of all it can *completely* get rid of a zit in just one day. There are just conditions. You have to get it at exactly the right minute. Right when it's under the skin, before it's really anything but you can feel something there. If you do that it absolutely will get rid of the thing. Gone. No whitehead, no red mark, like it never existed. It's just that getting to it in time is a pain in the ass. A lot of things about this are a pain in the ass, but are worth it. I suggest carrying it around with you (it's small enough to fit in your make up bag) and risking looking like an asshole on the subway. Small price to pay for clear skin IMO. So what if you were too late and you already got the pimple? It will significantly help. If you use it enough times. Which is about 10. And this thing eats batteries, so again I remind you that it's a giant pain in the ass. I like to use it while I'm sitting on the computer or reading so it's not quite such a tedious process.

The bottom line with the Tanda is that while it may not be the most user friendly thing in the world, I think the results are well worth it. My skin has been looking pretty clear and much less blotchy than it used to. If you were ever looking into light therapy or alternative methods of dealing with acne, give this a shot.

Clarisonic Mia Review

I've heard a lot of noise about the Clarisonic Mia

I have this guy in purple :)

  Let me begin this review with a disclaimer: Do not exfoliate your face every day. Please for the love of god do not exfoliate your face every day. It's really unhealthy for the majority of people. This little guy has a time and a place in your life and that is most likely once a week. This is my professional advice, I however have been using it once a day. In the words of many people's parents "Do as I say, not as I do." I use it once a day because Accutane changed my skin forever and now it's prone to being extremely dry and flakey. Before using the Mia, I was also able to exfoliate once a day using a scrub. My skin loves it. I'm not exactly sure why. Pre Accutane that would irritate the shit out of me. It will probably irritate the shit out of you. I do not advise it in general. Skin is weird, people. There are a lot of general rules and guidelines, but there are also a lot of "flukes". Some weird, random shit works for certain people for seemingly no reason. I'm sure there is someone out there who has beautiful skin courtesy of that god forsaken St. Ives Apricot Scrub that's the bane of my existence.

  Anyway the point I will eventually get to is that I love this thing. I've heard there can be issues with it and break out prone skin but not for me. In the two weeks I've used it it has had no effect on that whatsoever. I broke out due to hormones when I normally break out, and didn't at any other time. I was sad it wasn't the miracle cure for hormonal acne, but it did do wonders for the texture of my skin. It's so much smoother and softer. I had a bit of a rougher texture for a bit and now that's pretty much gone. It also makes make up apply so much smoother! I use it once in the morning before I apply my BB cream (and concealer if it's needed that day) and it just looks so much smoother and blends with my skin more evenly. And I really like the way it feels ok? I mean who doesn't love things that vibrate? I think this is definitely worth trying. Sephora has a great return policy if you're not satisfied with it.  It is pretty damn expensive, but if you want really smooth skin it's worth it.
 

Great for a smoother BB cream application!

Follow me on Instagram:swansaredead

Jenni Must Have...

Jenni Halina is a model and actress. She also makes music under the name Girl in Dreamland. Jenni currently splits her time between NYC and Los Angeles. You can stalk her on the internet at jennihalina.com, girlindreamland.tumblr.com, and imdb.com/name/nm3900384. Here are some of her favorite products!


1- Nivea cream - my lips are always chapped. They look like someone took a cheese grater to them.  I put Nivea on at night and it’s soothing and they are usually soft again by morning.

2- Almay black eyeliner- easy to apply, can’t leave home without my eyeliner. I’ve even had guys say to me “I really like how you do your eyes” or “I like how you just wear eyeliner and that’s it and it really works for you.” This color is meant to bring out Hazel eyes; my eyes are brown but I prefer black liner to the purple which is recommended for brown eyes, though I have tried the purple and it is quite pretty as are the other colors. I like Almay a lot in general.

3- Creed ‘Spring Flower’ perfume- Super expensive, I ran out, so if anyone wants to buy me a present! It smells like a dream. Designed for Audrey Hepburn originally, but just because I’m not a famous movie star (yet) doesn’t mean I can’t wear it.

4- Sephora tinted moisturizer with spf 15 - moisturizer. tinted. spf. need I say more? Not too pricey and makes your skin feel great.

5- Pomengranate scented soap from Provence. There’s a little store near a place I was staying in Los Angles during a show I was in; it sold this soap here. I fell in love with soap. I bought 2 or 3 little blocks of it and then ended up buying 6 more through out the rest of the month I was in that town.  I saved two bars for wherever I stay next, and am going through withdrawals. I need to just go back and get more or order some.

Honorable Mention- I’ve recently discovered a line of makeup called e.l.f. It’s super cheap and good for basic stuff like mascara and eyeliner. A lot of their products cost less than five dollars. This was only 3 dollars! I’m serious. I used a lot of these products for the play I was in because I thought my other makeup was stolen. Then somewhere along the way it turned up, but I still continued to use e.l.f.’s clear mascara to tame fly-aways, their eyelid primer and this eyebrow shaping kit.  I especially love the eyebrow kit, because my eyebrows are always a mess; I either over pluck or they are uneven. This is a simple kit that helps you even out and accentuate your brows in the right way for your face shape.

None More Black: Avoid looking like an Emo High schooler.

Hi guys! Sorry I've been gone for awhile, school has been keeping me exhausted. I always get comments on my blue-black hair and how I keep it this color. Some people even ask me if it's natural, which is profoundly ridiculous, but it happens.

My obsession with black hair started as a goth teenager. Since then I've switched it around and even went back to my natural auburn, but I am most comfortable with black. And honestly I look boring as shit without black hair. I'm ashamed to admit that when I first started dying it I encountered that "permanent marker black" where it was so flat it looked like i stuck shoe polish on my head. This is not acceptable to me as an adult. I make a real effort to keep it multi-dimensional and glossy looking. Even though it's been a number of years since I exclusively wore black and fishnets, I like to keep some gothy elements in my look. I like how black hair adds some edge, even if I'm wearing a flowery sundress.

Here is what you need to keep your black classy:

1. The  right dye: I use Feria dye in either Starry Night or Midnight Moon depending on what I can find. Both add a nice blue black sheen and the after color conditioner keeps the hair in good condition. Damaged hair is the easiest way to make your black look sophmoric. Your undertone doesn't need to be blue (brown and purple work as well) but you need to have some sort of dimension.

2. Color depositing shampoo/conditioner : I use Black Malva from Aveda, because i get it for free and I'm poor. But also it's awesome! I got it at first just for the color enhancing properties, but I actually love how shiny it makes my hair. If you want to keep your black looking adult, you absolutely CANNOT have bad roots. Especially if you do not have naturally dark brown hair. If you do, good for you, you can go a little longer in between coloring. If your hair is red or blonde you really must keep on top of the root situation. If you're too poor for that use some black eye shadow on your roots until you can afford to dye again. The color depositing shampoo really will come in handy here, it turns my red roots brown and makes them a little more bearable.

3. Dye your eyebrows: If you have black hair, you need black eyebrows. You can also pencil/shadow them in but that's annoying, i prefer henna. If you cannot pull off black eyebrows, you probably cannot pull off black hair.

4. Even out your skintone: Nothing looks worse than a ruddy complexion and black hair. Use some BB cream or tinted moisturizer!

5. Use a leave in conditioner: I use Damage Remedy Leave In from Aveda because I'm Aveda's bitch, but anything works. After so much dye, you need to really take care of your hair to keep it healthy. I also suggest a treatment once a week.


Hope this was helpful!

Baby Goth Kristine

 

Allergic to Everything? Some must haves for your plastic bubble...

                                                                         Merchant of death.

  As a small child, I could not go outside in the month of May. Literally. And I'm not saying literally in the way that a lot of people say it where it's an exaggeration. If I went out, even for 5 minutes, My eyes would swell shut, I would get hives, and asthma. When I got a scratch test at the allergist, almost all of the allergens gave me a bump, one or two of them blowing up so badly they thought I might need to go to the hospital. The Dr. said it was the worst reaction he'd seen in 25 years of practice.

  Many years of weekly allergy shots later and I can sort of function in the spring and summer. I still have horribly sensitive, allergy prone skin that is the bain of my existence. I'm allergic to most things in nature, all of the fruit I actually like, and many products. Sometimes I just randomly break out in hives or blotches for no reason. I think I'm one of the only people who's asked to have sex with the lights off, not because of any body related insecurity, but because they had hives.

Here are some of the products that help my skin chill the fuck out:

~Kiehl's Centella Recovery Skin Salve
$43
This stuff is amazing. It makes you instantly stop itching. You can throw it on any kind of irritation, allergy, or bug bite. It contains Tiger herb, which apparently injured tiger's know to roll in in the wild. I carry this with me at all times.

~ Aveda All Sensitive Cleanser
$21
This gentle cleanser is what I use if my skin is just too irritated or red to use Outer Peace. I use it at school(since we practice on each other and you end up having to wash your face 90 times a day) because it won't dry you out.

~First Aid Beauty Instant Oatmeal Mask
$22
This mask feels soothing as soon as you put it on. Leave it for 10 mins and your skin will be softer and smoother.

~Aveda Skin Balancing Infusion for Sensitive Skin
$22
They put this oil on me in class and it made my face so much less red. I've never seen it look as good. I use this whenever my skin looks really pink. It smells really nice too

Aveda!

                            Aveda Outer Peace cleanser does wonders for keeping your skin clear.  

                              Can they please add a product for under eye bags? Because damn.

  Hello! Sorry I have been quiet lately. I have been adjusting to my new 6 AM wake up time.  Attending Aveda's Esthiology program is one of the only good reasons for doing something so out of character. I have absolutely loved the last two weeks at Aveda. I finally have found where I belong and what I want to do with my life and other vaguely zen sounding shit like that. Doesn't hurt that my class is fucking awesome either, they are easy on the eyes and good for the self esteem. So are my teachers. I'm actually really happy right now. I feel pretty obnoxious about it.

  I am now hopelessly devoted to facials you guys. My skin has never been this clear, but more on that in a moment. I am just starting to learn the Aveda skin care line. They base their system on Ayurveda, the Hindu system of traditional medicine and divide the skin (and personality) types into categories: Infinity/Air (dry), Fire (sensitive), and Water/Earth (oily) to simplify it. I of course am Fire because I break out in hives at the slightest provocation, and also because I will go up to people who are belligerently drunk and loud on the train and be all "WHY CAN I HEAR YOU OVER MY IPOD!?" We watched this really cool documentary about Ayurvedic medicine too and while I am like the least likely person to hug a tree, it was pretty damn compelling. I mean don't get me wrong I will still totally pump my body full of poison in the name of vanity, but if I don't have to and end up getting even better results I'm more than fine with that. I'm not totally in bed with organics yet, but we are at least glancing at each other across a crowded room wondering if the other is easy. I mean, people are telling me I have beautiful skin. I've never heard that before. That's like, not the compliment I get.  Usually the best I can hope for is people not noticing my skin at all. But I am totally enjoying the positive attention my skin is getting. And it's not just a fluke thing with me. All of my friends in class who have tried the products are seeing a very noticeable improvement. I'm thrilled. I could never sell a product I don't stand behind, because...ew.

 Here are the things keeping my face clear and glowing and all that good stuff:

Outer Peace Cleanser-This is what I think is mainly responsible for it.

Outer Peace Cooling Mask- Helps with redness and inflamation.

Enbrightening Toner-Amazing for hyperpigmentation.

Also: Never use St. Ives Apricot scrub again. We learned that the particles in it are too big and since they are not perfectly round they irritate and can even tear the skin. Go get it from your bathroom right now and throw it out. Or use it on your feet.

 

Brooke Must Have...

Brooke Sanzari is a licensed aesthetician, makeup artist and brow specialist, with more than 10 years of experience. Owner and operator of Browtopia, a studio that specializes in eyebrow sculpting and express organic skin care, she truly customizes every "experience" for all of her clientele. The famed "browpixie" will be releasing the first piece of her Browtopia product line this summer! www.Browtopia.com
Facebook Fanpage Browtopia


Blinc mascara
A mascara that you apply just once? A mascara that doesn't damage your lashes? It comes off without scrubbing or makeup remover!?! No smudge, no flakes, water-resistant, humidity-proof, holds a curl all day, AND is perfect for sensitive eyes!?!? THIS ACTUALLY EXISTS!? Why yes, yes it does. Do I really need to say anymore? $26

Aveda "Sheer Ambrosia Fire" Lipstick
In my opinion- the perfect red lipstick for everyone. No matter what your coloring is or how afraid of "red" you are. This is more of a deep red. It doesn't pull pink or orange tones. It is gorgeous in every sense of the word. Truly the only lipstick that I can say (honestly) : "yes, if you just wear this lipstick, you look polished without any other makeup". (assuming you have well-groomed brows and skin of course) $16

Shu Umera eyelash curler- The ultimate in a precision eyelash curling without damaging your lashes. Shu Umera has by far the best design with a high quality silicon "pillow" to squeeze even the straightest lashes into a submissive curl. 'Nuff said. $20

Browboo eyebrow gel: Say goodbye to hard, flakey and dull eyebrows! Browboo gel is "good for you grooming". With the very best in organic ingredients, this gel does more than just keeping brows in line. It made with bamboo with it's naturally high content of silica, flax seed and aloe that soothes, nourishes and protects hairs to keep them healthy, lush and looking great. Fabulousness in a bottle? Could be. $21 (coming this summer)

Nars "Night Star" eyeshadow has a fabulous hint of shimmer in a lovely shade of champagne gold. Perfect as a simple wash of color all over your lid for a polished look. Or you can use it as a base. $14