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Facial Massages for the Actors

December 2009
Film work in and around Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, has been steady this past '09 year. I have had a chance to work in the Makeup and Hair trailer on a few of the Feature Films such as;
Tron ( starring, Jeff Bridges and Olivia Wilde),
Percy Jackson and the Olympians ( starring, Pierce Brosnan, Uma Thurman, Logan Lerman),
The Death & Life of Charlie St. Cloud (starring, Zach Efron, Kim Bassinger, Amanda Crew),
The A Team ( starring, Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Clinton 'Rampage' Jackson, Jessica Biel).
Long hours and 7 day work weeks are quite common on film work. Actors and crew members crave a good nights sleep. Cast can only dream about having time to relax . That's where the Hair and Makeup Team comes in!!
With 40 foot trailers; equipped with surround sound, televisions, computers, mood lighting, aroma therapy and a lot of laughter. Ipods are tuned to sounds of easy listening jazz or reggae or some alternative adult music. At the end of a 14 hour day, the actors come back to a 'safe haven' in the Hair and Makeup Trailer. They relax in the hairstylist's reclining chair, getting their hair washed and having designer conditioners massaged into their heads, releasing the tension and stress from their long day. Then the Makeup Artists use their gentle, facial cleansers and remove fx scars, and fx prosthetics, heavy makeups and sunscreens. Hot towels and facial steamers remove dirt, smoke and chemical residue from their skin. Finally, the makeup chair is reclined, and the facial serums and hydrating creams and vitamin enriched oils, are massaged gently into their delicate, tender skin. Ahhhh, that's feels so great, let's do it all again tomorrow!

Face Serums and Anti wrinkle Creams go to:
www.ilovemybotanicals.com

Do It Yourself Facial Massage

November 2009
The Benefits of a facial massage

Facial massage is a great way to loosen muscles and to provide a quick feeling of rejuvenation. It's an enjoyable way to relieve muscle tension in your face and improve blood and lymph circulation. Massaging your face will bring blood to the surface, clear out puffiness and will reduce fatigue in your skin. You can perform these techniques when you need a moment to relax, like after a stressful morning at work or between meetings, or while your laying in the bathtub.
You can use any of the all natural, organic, botanical, face serums from I Love My Botanicals line. Use a face serum that is suitable for your skin.

Steps For A Facial Massage

1) Apply one pump of facial serum in the palm of your hand and rub both hands together. This should be enough for a 5 minute massage.
2) Cupping both hands over your nose and inhale 3 times, taking in the refreshing lavender aroma when using my face serum. Then use both hands and pat the serum all over your face, eyes, and neck.
3) Neck Stroking, begins at the base of the throat. Use a gentle upward and outward stroke. Repeat 3 times.
4) Chin Pinching, is done with both hands, gently pinch your skin using your thumb and index finger. Gently pinch the skin along the jawbone and up towards the earlobes. Repeat 3 times.
5) Small Circles, are done with your middle fingers. Move your middle fingers in small circles, starting at the forehead, around the eyes, down the nose, across the cheeks, chin, neck, and decolletage(cleavage area).
6) Eye Tapping can be done using your middle fingers. Lightly tap around the eyes, moving your fingers 1 inch at a time across the brow bone , around the outer edge of your eyes , then under the eyes along the bone. Repeat 3 times.
7) Ear Massage, is done by forming a "V" with your index and and middle fingers. Place your index finger behind the ear and the middle finger on the skin in front of the ear. Move the "V" up and down a few times, pressing firmly. Rub the ear lobes and along the edges of the ear.
8) Piano Tapping your face by using all your fingers, in a quick, light tapping motion. Starting at the top of your forehead and working down your face , to your neck and decolletage (cleavage)
9) Press and Release by placing both hands firmly over your entire face and press firmly against your face and hold for 5 seconds. These release quickly. Repeat 3 times.

If face massaging is done on a regular basis, it will increase circulation and will help to retain moisture, giving you a healthy glow!

for Facial Serums, go to:
www.ilovemybotanicals.com

HUGE HAUL!

**Warning: Kinda Pic-Heavy**

Hey all! I feel SO guilty for not posting more this month!! November has just been hectic with trying to finish school, working, personal stuff, AND I had oral surgery on the 19th! I had all my wisdom teeth removed so I haven't been in the blogging mood, haha. Butttt I do hope to get back in the swing of things here on The ART and SCIENCE of [beauty] starting with the huge HAUL I've been talking about for like almost 3 months! LOL! I've slowly built up this haul btw, I didn't go out and just buy it all at once haha. When I go shopping, I only get like a few things at a time, so that's why it takes me so long to even post a normal haul. Ughh you guys don't know how bad I've wanted to share all these products with you, but I wanted to wait until I had a lottt of stuff to show!

Now I know there's a lot of stuff in these pics.. but it's not everything! =O LOL! I accidentally left some of them at work, so when I bring them back I'll take more pics and add them on. Anddd the pics kinda suck cos I had to use my phone, and I tried to fix them... but whatever. They're pretty clear. BUT--what do you guys think of the stuff I do have? Anything you'd like me to review first? Or anything you already have and love/hate/like/dislike? COMMENT!!! I love reading all of your comments! They make me smile, and encourage me to post more often. ♥

First is the ghd Urban Angel Set I got as an early birthday present! My birthday's on the 29th (5 days!). Next is the free carrying case that you get when you spend $25+ which was not hard at all! Next are the two products that came with: ghd thermal protector for normal-to-fine hair and ghd miracle mist daily conditioning spray.

Here's the inside of the pouch, it has three compartments: one for your ghd styler and two for styling aids. The third pic is the brush that came with, and a lovely little hair that I didn't even see until I was editing these pics... I'm bad at cleaning my brushes when I'm not at work LOL!

And my lovely ghd IV styler. *sigh *I am in love with this thing. :D

And here's (mostly) everything else! It's a lot right? I don't know where I'm gonna put all this! Yet I keep buying more! AHHH! Ok, anyways.... here's some more detailed pics.

I actually got a lot of Rusk stuff! Here's a Pro Elements by Rusk Keratin Smoothing System gift set I bought. It includes Smoothing Shampoo, Smoothing Conditioner, Smoothing Treatment, and a mini flat iron, which I love to use on myself!

Here's a Rusk Deepshine set that's missing one product (one of the ones I left at work). It came in a lovely box, but without the whole set I thought it would look weird so I took them out. The set includes Sea Kelp Creme Shampoo and Conditioner, Phyto-Marine Lusterizer, and Sea Kelp Anti-Frizz Serum (not shown). The next pic is a Rusk Being duo that kinda got a lil roughed up while I was taking it home haha. It includes Being Wild Paste and Being Smooth Cream. I've tried Being Smooth and I like it! Plus I love products in bright colored packaging!

You know I had to get some Redken too! I bought Spray Starch 15, Real Control Thermal Resist, Color Extend Total Recharge, and Extreme Anti-Snap. Spray Starch 15 is for curling/flat-ironing and works great! Total Recharge is like a mini deep conditioner, Thermal Resist is a good leave-in for heat damaged hair, and I lovelovelove Anti-Snap! Review coming very soon!

And of course ya'll know how much I LOVE TIGI! And I was so excited when the new Catwalk "Your Highness" collection and the two new S-Factor products came out! I wanna eventually try the whole Your Highness line, but I had to get the Thickening Gel Creme first. I've heard great things about it, and it smells incredible! ALMOST as good as the Biggie Headrush I got! You guys, Headrush is my favorite TIGI product bar none. I've gone through at least 3 cans of it.. so I almost fainted when I saw they were making a Biggie size! Everyone I've ever used it on LOVES it and bought a can of their own. Next I got the two brand new S-Factor products: Wonderful Tonight and Spun Satin. Wonderful Tonight is an overnight leave in treatment for dry, damaged hair. I hope it's amazing, because it's expensive! Spun Satin is also kind of a luxury... but for me it's a necessary luxury. :) It's a styling souffle that's perfect for wavy hair, or any hair really! ;-)

And then a bunch of other random stuff I don't need but had to have. Top left pic is the limited edition 10 oz. bottle of It's a 10 Mirace Leave-In Product and Scruples Direct Volume Spray Foam (that I won from The Fashionable Gal!). Top right pic is KMS Hairplay Dry Wax and Matrix Biolage Colorcaretherapie Delicate Care Organic Certified Oil. Bottom left is a close up of the KMS Dry Wax, then a liter of ColorMeSexy Violet Mood Color Depositing Shampoo (hey, I won't be brunette forever! Plus it smells sexual). Last pic is just some samples of Vitale Pro Shining Gloss, Agadir Argan Oil Hair Treatment, L'Oreal Nature's Therapy Deep Treatment & Fortifying Conditioner.

AND THAT'S STILL NOT EVERYHING!

It's most of it though, so don't worry. =P

I hope I didn't bore you with alllll these products! And again, sorry for not posting more this month!!! I promise I'll be better next month. ;-) Don't forget to leave a comment before you leave! And take care of your hair! XO

Goldwell Brilliance Jewel Shimmer Wax Review

Hello everyone! Today I'm reviewing a product from Goldwell's Brilliance line: Jewel Shimmer Brilliance cream wax. I generally like Goldwell products, and I love waxes/putty/pomade/anything that gives hair some texture so I figured I'd give it a shot. The label states: "Jewel Shimmer - for enriched radiance and effective color protection. With Crystal Brilliance Booster & Color Safeguard System. Shimmering cream wax for a defined glossy finish. Alcohol-free." Oh, and on Goldwells' 1-5 hold scale, one being the minimum, and 5 being the maximum, it's a 2.. as you can see in the picture. Right off the bat I didn't particularly care for the scent. It's just a smidge too perfume-y for me. I gave it a fair shot though. Let's see what's so special about Jewel Shimmer.

The main ingredients are Water, Mineral Oil, Sorbitol, Oleth-5, Ceteareth-20, Oleth-3 Phosphate, Butylene Glycol, etc. Ok so, I'm definitely not impressed by these ingredients. Goldwell is expensive stuff, and the best they can do is mineral oil? Come on, there are PLENTY of other alternatives to mineral oil. Looking at the rest of the ingredients, they could probably take it out. And I love how they say "alcohol-free" when sorbitol is a humectant alcohol. I know when most people see "alcohol" on an ingredient list, they immediately think of isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol, which is very drying and not good for your hair. They're different though, because the alcohols typically used in hair products are fatty alcohols and act as conditioning agents; totally on the opposite side of the alcohol spectrum. Still with me? Good. ;-) Oleth-5 is basically a softening agent, it makes sure the product isn't too hard. Oleth-3 Phosphate is an emulsifier that also works to give a product shine, texture, and separation. Butylene Glycol is similar to Propylene Glycol (meaning it's also a emollient/humectant). Ceteareth-20 is yet another fatty alcohol. It's a blend of two alcohols that come from coconut oil.

I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a good product.. I just hate when labels lie. You know? I've used it several times, and I've gotten pretty good results. It adds shine without looking greasy, and gives texture that's not too stiff. The scent still bugs me though. It doesn't smell bad or anything, I just don't care for it. But yeah.. I do like it, but I'm pretty sure I won't buy it again. I'll probably end up giving it away to someone who'll use it more than I do. And that likes the scent more than I do haha.

Anyways, by no means is this a bad product, it's just not my cup of tea. If you're a Goldwell fan, maybe you should give this a try. If you have used it, what did you think? Comment and let me know! Or just comment and say hi! :D

Goldwell Brilliance Jewel Shimmer Wax comes in a 75 ml / 2.5 fl. oz. pot, and retails for around $16. That's all for now! The huge Haul I've been building is almost ready, so watch out for that! Enjoy your November, and take care of your hair!

October Favorites!

Wow.. October just ran right past me. I can't believe it's November! I can't believe it's almost my birthday! (11/29 and I'll be 20 btw) Gosh... Pretty soon it'll be Thanksgiving.. and then Christmas! Then New Years! 2010! Crazayyy. Anywho, enough ranting. It's time for my October Favorites, and here they are! =)

Shampoo: Rusk Deepshine - This whole line kinda has a plant scent to it, but I don't mind because I think it's great!

Conditioner: Rusk Deepshine - It's light, but conditions nicely and adds tons of shine.
Treatment: Redken Color Extend Total Recharge - Bought it on a whim, and I actually like it! Not as heavy as a deep conditioner, but I can definitely feel it on my hair.
Smoothing/Shine: Bed Head Superficial - Amazing when you blow dry it into your hair... amazing.

Volume: Redken Blown Away 09 - I still really love this stuff, it's never failed me.
Straightening: Redken Spray Starch 15 - Whether you're using a flat iron, curling iron, 3-barrel waver, crimper, whateverrrr, this will make it stay.
Texture: S-Factor Spun Satin - Where are my wavy haired peeps?! This is for you. It's a bit of a luxury item, but so worth it.
Hairspray: White Sands Stuck Up - Another repeat. I still think it's awesome.


So those are my October faves, what are yours?! Comment and tell me, I'd love to know!!!

Also, My huge haul is coming soon... so stay tuned! And take care of your hair, especially now that it's getting chilly out! XOXO