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Review: Remington Pearl Ceramic Conical Wand

I'm in a constant battle with my hair.  I want it dark brown, it wants to be blonde, I want it curly/wavy, it wants to be stick straight.  I yell at the bathroom mirror a lot.  It's fun.  I've tried curling irons, curling with straighteners, putting my hair in a bun and braids, and nothing seems to work.  My hair does not hold a curl AT ALL.  I heard a lot of buzz about conical wands on YouTube--they're like curling irons without the clamp, so they don't leave that awkward kink in your hair.  I found one at Ulta for just $30, so I figured it was worth a try!

Remington TStudio Large Pearl Ceramic Styling Wand, $29.99 at ulta.com: First off, it's pink!  I love pink.  I got the large one, which is 1" at the top and 1.5" at the base.  It comes with a heat-protectant glove to keep you from burning your fingers (it works, I'm too lazy to use it) and the cord swivels around the base of the wand so you don't get all tangled in it when you're trying to curl your hair.  It has 3 buttons, one to turn it on and off (you have to hold it down for about 5 seconds to turn it on, which took me like half an hour to figure out of course), one to raise the temperature and one to lower it, which you hold down for a few seconds to lock the temperature where you have it.  It heats up from the low 300 degrees F to 410 degrees F.  There are about 5 heat settings between 300 and 410 degrees, so you can't have the temperature exactly wherever you want, but you do get a good number of options.  It heats up to 410 degrees for me in about 2 minutes (it tells you on the little LED screen when it's done warming up).  The smoothness of the barrel gives my hair a really nice, smooth finish, and my hair doesn't snag on it like it does on curling irons and straighteners.  In terms of how it functions in general, I think this is a really well designed tool.  I literally have no complaints about it.  It works really, really well, especially for a $30 product.  I've seen $150 conical wands that do the same thing, but at 5x the price.  It comes in a smaller size if you want a tighter curl, you can adjust the temperature for different hair types, and once you get the hang of it, it's really easy to use.  I'm in love with it.  To hear about how I use this little guy, keep reading!

Using the conical wand is kind of like riding a bike.  It takes some time to get the hang of, but once you get it, it's really easy to work with.  I hold the wand upside down, with the skinny end pointing towards the ground.  That way I can slide the curl off easily and the curl is looser at the top and tighter towards the bottom.  I take 1-2" sections of hair and wrap them around the conical wand from top to bottom, making sure to wrap the hair away from my face (you get a prettier curl), and then I hold it there for 10-15 seconds.  I have very thick, straight hair, so I use high heat and hold the curl for a while, but if you have thinner/finer hair you may not have to hold it as long.  Then I release the curl and let it fall into my hand so that it cools while still curled up (this helps the curl keep its shape).  Continue that around the whole head!  If you want a tighter curl, use a smaller section of hair and the skinnier end of the conical wand.  If you want a looser curl, use a larger section of hair on the wider half of the wand.  Then I run my fingers through my hair or brush it out to get the curls to meld together, and spritz on a little hair spray. Even without the hairspray, my curls last all day!  Given that my hair usually doesn't curl at all and if it does, that curl is gone in an hour, I'm pretty over the moon about this conical wand.   I know it sounds easy to use, but I really recommend watching some YouTube videos before you break it out.  I like this video from Pixi2Woo.  Play with it, figure out what size curl works for you, and you will LOVE this conical wand.  Promise.  Here are two pictures of my hair after I used the wand:

Awkward Chic rating: A+.  I LOVE THIS CONICAL WAND Y'ALL.  It's easy to use, it's cheap, and it actually works.  I couldn't ask for anything more.  If you buy one, make sure you get an American one.  Most of the ones I found were from the UK, and they need converters and adapters to work here, which is just a pain.


Image via amazon.com.

I'm in love...with a skirt

I miss my camera. Don't get me wrong, my iPhone has a nice camera.  For a phone.  Wahhhhh.  Anyways, I finally got my conical wand from Ulta in the mail.  FINALLY!!!!  I've been stalking in via UPS for days now.  I much prefer my hair wavy/curly to straight, so I was extremely excited to play with my new toy.  Here's my second attempt with it.  Happy bouncy hair!  I'll have a real review of it up next week.  Back to the main event: this new Madewell Tweed Belltoll Skirt, $98 at madewell.com.  I was casually online shopping a few weeks ago, and I came across this skirt.  I've been looking for a good daytime skirt for months now.  I have an hourglass-shaped body, so when I add a lot of volume to my bottom half, like an a-line skirt, I start to look really bottom heavy.  I really look best in a pencil skirt, but I'm not comfortable running around in a pencil skirt for errands and to class on a daily basis--it's not all that comfortable and I'm curvy enough that it looks too over-the-top for class.

That's why I fell in love with the shape of this skirt!  It's like an a-line skirt and a pencil skirt had a baby.  It hits at the low waist, has a bell shape, and has a few soft pleats at the waist with adorable little pockets in the front.  It's in a nice, thick grey/black/white tweed fabric with a generous hem and a black lining.  I bought this on Monday, and I've worn it every day since.  It's that great!  The shape is lean enough that it's flattering, but it's not so fitted that I'm constantly self-conscious about my stomach whenever I eat anything.  The color palette makes it easy to wear with just about any colored top, and the tweed and structured shape have a fun, retro feel that I really love, but the length makes it modern.  It's really easy to dress up or down, too--the tweed can transition from day to night really easily.  Anyways, the skirt is Madewell, the shoes are from Maripaz (like the Spanish Payless), the top is from Stradivarius (Spanish again), the necklace is vintage, the watch/bracelet is La Mer Collections, and the bag is from Etui.

Review: Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Rose Passion 160

I picked up this Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick at Boots when I was in the UK.  I don't think this shade is available in the US?  Or if it is, it's sold out because I can't find it.  Anyways, I got this because it came recommended by pixi2woo (aka Tanya Burr) as a good, moisturizing drugstore lipstick.


The PR copy: 'This moisture-infused lip essential reduces lip dryness by up to 65% for smoother lips and better colour. Developed with SPF 18 and a cutting edge Self Adapting Moisture Complex that features Hylaronic Acid, Collagen and Vitamins A, C and E to nourish lips, leaving them with a smoother surface for better colour application and wear. 24 creamy, moisturizing shades come richly wrapped in an elegant metallic purple case.'


I really dislike the packaging on this, at least from an aesthetics perspective.  It functions fine and feels sturdy enough for plastic/metal drugstore lippie packaging, but that metallic purple with the crown on the top--ugh.  It feels cheesy.  I dented the top of my lipstick.  :(  And apparently I chipped my nail polish too.  Grrr.

 As for the actual lipstick, it has SPF, which I love, but it also has an old lady-ish rose smell/taste, which I don't love.  It's not overpowering, but it's noticeable.  Unlike the Revlon lipstick I reviewed yesterday, this stuff is PIGMENTED.  That swatch is one swipe.  Rose Passion is a really reddish pink on me (pinker than it photographs), definitely cool-toned and slightly retro feeling.  It goes on easily enough, no dragging, but it definitely has a firmer texture than the Lip Butters, more like a traditional lipstick.  It doesn't feel drying like most lipsticks do on my bare lips, but I definitely need to wear lip balm with this.  It feels drying after a few minutes if I don't, even though it goes on bare lips smoothly.  I can get a straight-up opaque color with just one firm swipe, but I like to apply it a little more sheerly than you see in the picture below (all that color freaks me out).  I usually wear this as more of a stain, which is really pretty.  I get about 3 hours of wear with this one, and it wears down decently (it can be a little uneven).

And the creepy lip closeup.

Awkward Chic rating: B+.  I'm not a huge lipstick person, but as far as lipstick go I do like this one.  It's more moisturizing than most, even if that compromises the wear time, and it's really nicely pigmented.  I don't think it lives up to it's moisturizing claims, though.  Reviewing this right after the Revlon Lip Butter made the huge contrast in hydration really clear (and the Lip Butter wins by a long shot).  If I wanted an opaque lipstick, I would buy another one of these, but that's not really my usual cup of tea, so I'm not sure I'll end up repurchasing one.  But if you like moisturizing lipsticks and don't mind the smell or the shorter wear time, this is a good buy.

Review: Revlon Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti

It felt like everyone on the interwebs--YouTube, bloggers, even Tumblr--was freaking out about these new Revlon Lip Butters.  They're supposed to be like a lipstick-lip balm hybrid, here's the PR copy:

- Buttery Balm + Shiny Color
- Buttery balm with beautiful shiny color to give you baby soft, healthy glowing lips
- Hydrating mango, shea and coconut butter formula boosts lip moisture by 156%
- Pampering gel formula provides super charged hydration and glides on lips buttery smooth
- Sheer to medium color with buttery shine
- Available in 20 luscious shades

I was in Target the other day, and I went to look for these.  They were all sold out!  Except for 3 shades, and I picked up the only wearable one for my skin tone, Tutti Frutti.  The packaging is simple, with a sheerish plastic lid in a quilted pattern.  The lip butter comes in a balm-esque twist-up tube that feels slightly retro.  Overall I like the packaging.  It's definitely more cute than elegant, but it feels sturdy enough.

 Tutti Frutti is an orange with a hint of coral.  I really like the formula.  It goes on sheer--that swatch is VERY heavy--but you can build up the color to about medium opacity.  It goes on like butter, with a really lovely texture, and has a lot of sheen.  I feel like with a lot of 'hydrating' lipsticks, you don't really get that much moisture.  But I can actually use this as a lip balm--in fact, if it wasn't straight-up orange, I'd just make these my new lip balms.  I do like the orange, though.  It feels fun and festive, it's definitely wearable (even for me, and I'm scared of color).  I almost splurged on a MUFE lipstick in a similar color a while ago, and now I'm glad I didn't since I got this for $6.50.  As far as wear-time goes, I get probably 2-3 hours of color from this before it fades away beyond recognition.  The moisture lasts a little longer, maybe 4 hours.  It fades evenly, which I love, and doesn't stain my lips.  Oh, and as far as I can tell there's no smell or taste.

Here's the terrifying lip closeup.  

Awkward Chic rating: A+.  I really like these!  I feel like they live up to the hype of color and moisture, and hopefully I can track down some more nude/pink colors to wear.