Belle Belle Beauty

Brand Spotlight: Oscar Blandi

You’d think I’d won the lottery. I was positively giddy when I scored a travel size of Oscar Blandi Pronto Invisible Voluminizing Dry Shampoo back in September. I was already devoted to their Jasmine Oil Hair Serum. But people just raved about their dry shampoos. Alas, it did not disappoint I love the feather-light weight and instant volume is provided. It contains Vitamin E and wheat proteins to strengthen and protect the hair shaft. Plus, it did not show up one single bit on my dark brown hair.

I’m sure it doesn’t shock you that I had to dive deeper into the world of Oscar Blandi. The Naples native with family roots in haircare came to the United States 20 years ago to share old Italian methods. With a New York salon buzzing, he launched products in 2005. Today, stars like Jennifer Garner, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Faith Hill and Kelly Ripa credit their hair to Oscar. After trying out some of his more notable products, I almost feel like the Italian has done my hair. My favorites:

Jasmine Oil Hair Serum: I ordered this eons ago from Birchbox just based on a fabulous scent. I couldn’t get enough of the Jasmine, Ylang Ylang and Eucalyptus. But I was also happy to find it provided a whallop of shine. I use just a very small bit mostly on ends to hydrate and tame fly-aways. It also makes for a great heat-protectant.

Oscar Blandi Pronto Invisible Voluminizing Dry Shampoo: As mentioned above, it adds instant volume, revives day old hair and is clear! No white residue on my dark hair. Side note: did you know Oscar Blandi makes three dry shampoos!? For more of a heavy duty oil absorption, try Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Shampoo Powder on your strands while you sleep for an overnight refresh. It also helps combat dandruff. If you want a slightly more amped version of the Invisible, try Pronto Dry Shampoo Spray (this might be ideal for those with a slightly oilier scalp).

At Home Salon Glaze: To wrap up every hair color service at the salon, clients are treated to a shine enhancing, color-preserving glaze. Oscar wanted to share it with us who couldn’t make it to the salon and wanted the treatment at home. Thanks to my new found blowout skills, my hair has been a little dull and dry. So I couldn’t tear this open quick enough. The three minute treatment socks hair with moisture and nutrients. Natural plant emoillients help maintain vibrancy while Olive Oil & Macadamia Oil provide instant shine. Soy & Wheat proteins with Panthenol & Vitamin E add nutrition and healthy appearance. You can do the glaze weekly or add a bit to your conditioner for a daily shine boost.

Pronto Texture & Volume Spray: My hair prefers to be straight with zero volume. I got to the point where I didn’t fight it because nothing seemed to work. Well now… hold the phone. This Texture and Volume Spray added that much desired “undone” look to my straight blowout. For the first time, my hair actually held a decent curl. The natural mineral, zeolite, is the key to this volume and hold. Plus, a dose of keratin strengthens hair. The formula is very similar to a hair spray – dry and light-weight. It also comes in handy for extra hold in updos.

I’ll be keeping my eye out for the newest from Oscar Blandi: Dry Teasing Dust and Dry Sculpting Pomade. What can I say? I’m hooked! Shop my favorites here:

AN EDITORIAL SAMPLE WAS PROVIDED BY THE COMPANY AND EVALUATED TO DETERMINE OUR OPINION OF THE PRODUCT IN THIS POST. PLEASE SEE THE DISCLOSURES PAGE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION REGARDING OUR POLICIES FOR USING EDITORIAL SAMPLES.

The Art of Shaving ‘The 4 Elements of the Perfect Shave – Lavender’ Kit

Just a quick break to talk about something for the guys today. And just in time for Valentine’s Day if you are still on the hunt for something for your guy. I had dad try out another Art of Shaving Kit and wanted to share some of his thoughts (Ocean Kelp reviewed here).

These kits contain full-size containers of the following, designed for the four “Elements” of shaving:

Pre-Shave Gel
Shaving Cream
Pure Badger Black Shaving Brush
After-Shave Lotion

This time around, he tested the Lavender Kit. I was a little hesitant to ask him to try something with such a feminine sounding fragrance. But he was game to give it a whirl. Turns out there was nothing to fear because the Lavender is “great with a manly-man aroma.” Good to know!

Dad points out the experience is like taking shaving to the next level. The “Elements” all add to comfort and performance. The Pre-Shave Gel “made the razor glide right over skin instead of how the razor usually lightly drags.” The Shaving Cream is smoother and more luxurious than his beloved drugstore brand. While I don’t think he uses the Badger Brush every day, it is a little classy addition. Last, he particularly appreciated the After-Shave Lotion. “It has been so dry here that I have added moisturizer to my face during the day on many days. Not today – I really think that the Art of Shaving kept me comfortable all day.”

So, ladies… there you go. It has the seal of approval. And I think I got Dad hooked 🙂

NARS 413 BLKR Multiple

I have another favorite Multiple for you and it is pretty precious. The newest Multiple is named for the flagship store in New York City’s West Village neighborhood (have you been? It is dreamy).

The rich burgundy, at first, intimidated me. I was worried it would be too bold on my light/medium skin. But on the cheeks it blends out to a perfectly sweet wine-colored stain. It dries down to a powder finish, but a very very slight shimmer gives just enough glow. Where it really shines is on the lip. It is a perfect matte sheer berry. I even threw it on my eyelids for a wash of red a la Spring 2013 runways. Totally works.

So add 413 BLKR to my list of favorite Multiples which include: Cococabana, G-Spot, Palm Beach and Undress Me (click for reviews).

Available at narscosmetics.com and NARS flagship boutiques:

413 Bleecker St, New York, NY; tel: 646.459.2323
8412 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA; tel: 310.623.1730

Kate Somerville D-Scar Diminishing Serum

My scars are nasty. They are elevated, red and very persistant. Fortunately, I don’t have acne scars. But I have loads of scars from having moles removed (melanoma runs in my family) and a nasty sucker on my foot from surgery.

Naturally, when my beloved Kate Somerville came out with a scar treatment, I was on it. I think it is primarily targeted for acne scaring and uneven texture, but I was quickly assured by Kate that it is also for new and old surgical scars.

The packaging on this thing is genius. The serum is in a tube with a locking dispenser and metal rollerball. Twist “ON” (the tip only rotates one direction – picture me trying to spin it the wrong way – fail). Gently squeeze a small amount of serum onto the tip, twist-and-lock “OFF”, and massage with the rollerball into the scar.

The serum contains DS-7, a microencapsulated peptide, which encourages the skin renewal process. A botanical extract helps even out the appearance of skin texture, reducing the pigment in the scar. I was going to give this a whole 8 weeks test run, but after two short weeks, my results were so miraculous, I had to spread the word. Check out my before and after (sorry for the weird foot photos):

Kate Somerville D-Scar Before and After // Belle Belle Beauty

Use it morning and night. If you use it on your face, follow with moisturizer. Don’t forget your sunscreen!

Best Brushes

I believe that great tools can make any product work better. I have more brushes than I can count, but I seem to reach for the same ones each and every day. I never once have regretted spending the money for a quality brush because, if you take care of them, they will last forever (note: I wash mine with this every week and dry laying flat overnight). Here are my brush MVPs:

Armani Beauty Designer Foundation Brush: While I still reach for this brush, I find the Armani version is more nimble because of its size. The sharper end can get into the contours of your face. And the synthetic brisstles play well with even the thickest of foundations, not leaving one single streak.

Laura Mercier Long Secret Camouflage Brush: When you have a blemish, there is just no better tool to apply concealer. The tapered tip allows for extreme precision and feather like strokes will keep the product from becoming cakey.

Bobbi Brown Powder Brush: I’ve had this brush for years and – to this day – it retains its strands and shape like a champ. It picks up powder and buffs on skin without being cakey or over-delivering product.

Chantecaille Cheek Brush: Made of goat hair, this super super soft brush can do everything on the cheeks. The tapered end deposits pigmented blush like a champ, but can also perfectly contour a bronzer under the cheek bones.

Le Metier de Beaute Eye Shadow Brush #1: This brush made of natural goat hair and perfectly shaped for applying shadow on the lids. I love the look so popular for Spring of a bold color just to the crease. This fluffy, square brush gets just enough pigment in all the right spots.

CHANEL Precision Eyelash Curler: I used to be a devotee of the Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler (I had mine for about eight years). But it wasn’t until I replaced it with the CHANEL version that I got that true lifted curl that lasts. The shape of this curler is much better suited for my lashes. Game changer.

Shop my favorite brushes:

Brand Spotlight: Amika: love your hair and GIVEAWAY

Amika’s tag line is “heathy, easy and stylish”. Um, sounds about perfect to me. I’ve been imersed in the world of Amika for the past two weeks and my hair is softer, happier and healthier than ever before. I was able to try out quite a few products so, today I am featuring a little brand spotlight.

I’ve been trying out the Color pHerfection Shampoo, Hydrate Conditioner and Nourishing Hair Mask in the shower. My hair is super fine and been a little dry this winter, so I was angling to improve that situation. While my hair isn’t colored, the Color pHerfection Shampoo is chock full of antioxidants, vitamins, healthy fatty acids, Omega 3, 6 & 9, and the rare Omega 7 (usually only found in fish oil) to heal my drier hair. All these goodies come from Amika’s signature ingredient, the Obliphica Berry (Sea Buckthorn Berry), known for centuries renowned for its healing powers.

Hydrate Conditioner and Nourishing Hair Mask notched up the moisure element in my routine significantly. Both of these rich formulas infuse hair with fatty acids, proteins, anti-oxidants, and other nutrients. Somehow they are both ultra-creamy but leave hair balanced and voluminous. The Nourishing Hair Mask takes it a bit further than the conditioner with extra penetration, nourishment and repair. Both have a vaguely tropical scent. And I am not sure you’ll ever find me without one or the other again.

Amika Obliphica Oil Treatment might be the center piece of the brand. I was slightly concerned about the Obliphica seed oil for my fine hair, but it managed to deliver hydration without weighing my hair down or making it oily (this goes for all Amika products I tried). I was especially impressed I could use the Oil Treatment fairly liberally and I still had volume with loads of shine. It also helped on next day hair for a little boost at the ends. It also provides UV protection from environmental and sun damage. The treatment has that delicious and amazing argan oil while being free of parabens and artificial colors. Like the Oil Treatment, the Leave in Cream also surprised me by not weighing my hair down. I applied the cream and then slept on braided, wet hair. My waves were shiny, bouncy and healthy. I have a sneaking suspicion curly-haired girls would go nuts over this stuff.

Lastly, I’m embarassed to say I never use a heat protectant. Now that I a have mastered the blowout, I use heat tools much more often and I knew I needed to step up my game. Amika’s Obliphica Heat Defense Serum uses their signature ingredient’s omega 7 and vitamin C to protect strands. It revitalizes and forms a protective barrier. This layer also helps fight frizz. All three styling products have that tropical oil smell that I go bananas for, but it is very subtle.

And now for the juicy part… a GIVEAWAY. I am thrilled to be sharing one of Amika’s hottest tools with one of you lucky readers. I’ve been using a similar clip-less rod with four interchangeable barrels for the ultimate in styling flexibility. We are giving away Zebra Triple Barrel Pro Curler Set – it also includes a curling rod with interchangeable barrels and one of their famed ceramic irons. Guys, this set is valued at $300!

Enter using the widget below. Open to US Only and GOOD LUCK!

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