Aveda

Keep Calm and Centered With the Relaxing, Redolent Aveda Shampure Line

December 7th, 2017 by Karen 11 Comments

There are so many redolent reasons to wander into Aveda, like the teas…

Oh, my gosh! — every time I walk in there and someone’s like, “Would you care for some tea?” I’m like Billy the Kid with how fast my had whips out for that cup. YUM!

But one of the best reasons to visit Aveda is their Shampure line. If you like lavender, peppermint and basically anything that smells herbal and earthly, I think you’ll love it. I know I do.

It’s a line of shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, body oil, and they also have a body mist now, all in the same scent, which is a potion of 25 pure plant and flower essences to soothe your senses.

The strongest notes to me are lavender, peppermint and ylang-ylang, which is a white, tropical flower from the Philippines (woo!), and they smell so cozy, calming and wintry together.

This is a great time of year for it. I love it.

aveda shampure composition oil — I really like this real-deal body oil for uber-dry legs.

The Shampure Shampoo and Conditioner ($14 each for decent-sized 8.5-oz. bottles) are my favorite things in the line. I use them once every other week as a clarifying set for my roots and my strands because they completely — like, I’m not kidding — get my hair squeaky clean.

Shampoo Ingredients:

Aqueous (Water\Aqua\Eau) Extracts\Extraits Aqueux:Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract , Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate , Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate , Lauramidopropyl Betaine , PEG-6 Cocamide , Dimethicone PEG-7 Isostearate , Babassuamidopropyl Betaine , Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein , Hydrolyzed Brazil Nut Protein , Wheat Amino Acids , Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil , Glycerin , Tocopheryl Acetate , Ascorbyl Palmitate , Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride , PEG-30 Castor Oil , Polyquaternium-7 , Sodium Sulfate , Fragrance (Parfum) , Geraniol , Linalool , Citronellol , Limonene , Sodium Chloride , Polysorbate 80 , Sodium Gluconate , Maltodextrin , Potassium Sorbate , Sodium Benzoate , Phenoxyethanol , Annatto (CI 75120)

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Aveda Texture Tonic to Define and Enhance Texture for Hair That Looks Effortlessly Undone

October 31st, 2017 by Karen 5 Comments

I cannot stop smelling my hair today! It smells exactly like that yummy tea they serve at Aveda stores.

You know the one. It’s herbal, a little sweet, a little bit like fresh crushed sage sprinkled on top of a bucket of ginger candy and cinnamon. It smells fresh and delicious, and it’s all up in my strands right now because I just sprayed the new Aveda Texture Tonic ($25) into my mane. The aroma is super strong.

Texture Tonic is a new texturizing and styling spray in Aveda’s hair styling line, and unlike most salt-only beach wave hairsprays, like Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray, it’s a sugar AND salt spray.

I’m not exactly sure what the sugar brings to the table, but it’s bringing something. I’ll say that much.

One thing I love about this spray is that it doesn’t make my hair feel hard or crunchy, and you know I don’t do crunch.

It does add grit and texture, and it capably coaxes out waves, but it isn’t nearly as gritty as Bumble’s Surf Spray. It’s, like, mid-level grit, so you don’t feel that salt spray stiffness or stickiness, and your mane remains touchable (although not as soft as it is when I use R+Co Sail, which is the love of my life right now).

Aveda Texture Tonic is similar to…

Bumble and Bumble Surf Infusion Oil and Salt-Infused Spray

R+Co Sail Soft Wave Spray

Bumble and Bumble Surf Foam Spray Blow Dry

AG Hair Cosmetics Texture Spray

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The Aveda Foklor Autumn/Winter 2016 Makeup Collection

November 22nd, 2016 by Karen 14 Comments

aveda foklor collection — I’m wearing the Aveda Foklor Collection on my eyes and lips

Well, someone was feeling creative when they named this collection. 🙂 Why is “folklore” spelled like that (like “Foklor”)? I’d really like to know. It’s interesting, though, right?

So, I don’t know a lot about Aveda makeup, but I’ve used it a bit before, and one of the things I like about the line is their botanical ingredients (fun fact: I was a botany major for about 2 seconds). Like, their Petal Essence Single Eye Colors contain aromatic waxes from jasmine flowers and geranium leaves, and their Nourish-Mint lip products have organic mint.

Foklor is their fall/winter 2016 collection, and it’s so colorful! I don’t know why, but I expected more subdued colors, and these are punchier and more exciting than I thought (yay!).

The eyeshadows are my favorite things in the collection. There are four of them, and the greens, in particular, are absolutely stunning. The powders are a little frostier than I usually like, but I love how easy the pigments are to build and blend. I can get a dramatic look fairly quickly with them without having to layer too much.

The Aveda Foklor Collection
Limited edition for autumn/winter 2016, available now at Aveda counters and online

Nourish-Mint Smoothing Lip Color in Carnelian ($18)
Nourish-Mint Sheer Mineral Lip Color in Sheer Primrose ($18)
Nourish-Mint Rehydrating Lip Glaze in Pink Lupine ($18)
Nourish-Mint Lip Shine in Chuparosa ($18)
Nourish-Mint Lip Liner in Tarragona ($18)
Petal Essence Eye Definers in Slate Shimmer and Gypsum Gold ($17 each)
Petal Essence Single Eye Colors in Chia, Rose Quartz, Dusted Sage and Balsam ($15 each)

I’m all about these eyeliners, too, like Slate Shimmer, which is a gorgeous, dark and smoky bluish gray with tiny flecks of teal glitter. It’s very…almost NARS-y and really pretty.

The liners have a harder texture, so you might want to warm them up on the back of your hand first to get them nice and soft.

aveda foklor collection eyes — Aveda Foklor Eyeshadows and Eye Definers

aveda foklor collection lips — Aveda Foklor lip products

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The Aveda Indian Sunset Collection: These Sunset Shades Go Together Well

March 16th, 2016 by Nicole Fraser-Herron 10 Comments

OK, as soon as I saw this collection, I knew it would be perfect for my friend Pearl. She and I went to art school together and have long since loved collaborating.

We basically just make pictures and push each other out of our comfort zones. She has impeccable style, and her makeup is usually just mascara and lipstick (if any at all). The limited edition Aveda Indian Sunset collection is perfect for gals like her who don’t generally wear bolder makeup but still want to experiment with some color.

Aveda Indian Sunset Collection — Aveda Nourish-Mint Sheer Mineral Lip Color in Sheer Clove $17, Nourish-Mint Lip Liner in Spring Rose $17, Petal Essence Single Eye Color in Desert Clay, Peach Nectar, Lilac Glow, and Amethyst Dawn $15, Petal Essence Face Accents in Tesserae and Apricot Whisper $24, Petal Essence Eye Definer in Violet Blossom and Sea Fern $17

The collection includes 11 new shades for eyes and lips, including four shadows — two purples and two orange shades. My favorites are Amethyst Dawn (a purple satin) and Desert Clay (a matte, earthy orange), which are the shades I used on Pearl’s lid and outer corner, respectively.
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The Day in Beauty, Vol. 9: A Good Hair Day, Aveda Color Conserve, Low-Maintenance Hair, and Guerlain Spring 2016

February 5th, 2016 by Karen 31 Comments

Slowly, she pulled herself up atop the rocky plateau, then stood tall and gazed out across the vast horizon. It seemed like all of eternity stretched out before her. She could see for hundreds of miles in every direction, the mountains, the rivers, the valleys and forests, the endless sky and the distant sea. There were towns and cities far below that looked like little dots. Suddenly, with every fiber of her being, she roared into the great beyond: “I DID MY HAIR TODAY!!!”

Honestly, I just needed to feel a little bit more like myself, ya know? — because I’ve had it up in a messy bun all week long. Seriously, I haven’t even bothered to run a brush through it. That’s how tired I’ve been, but when I woke up this morning, I was like, “Karen, do your damned hair.”

So I did. I did my damned hair. 🙂

Here’s a great hair tutorial on using the T3 Bodywaver to get BIG curls

I was randomly cruising “the YouTube” last night and looking for different ways to use my T3 Bodywaver curling iron when and came upon this short video by one of T3’s head stylists (head as in top, haha). It shows this technique where you slowly unwrap each section of hair from the barrel in such a way that the curls retain more of a wavy pattern at the ends.

I tried it this morning, and yay! Pretty good results.

So it’s all about the small victories. 🙂

Time to stock up on Aveda

I also wanted to do my hair today because I washed it last night (and I’m so happy about that!) partly because I wanted to try some things from Aveda. I’ve been stocking up on color preserving shampoos and conditioners because, ya know…I’m getting my hair done and colored tomorrow, and I figure that since I don’t know how long it’ll be before my next trip to the salon (kinda revolves around BG’s schedule), I want to get as many color preserving products up in the mix now as I can.

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