Brand love: R + Co.

R + Co. has been on my radar for a while now, making their debut in my beauty bag when I received their Death Valley Dry Shampoo in a Birchbox a million years ago.

Now, I'm so thrilled that they contacted ME to work with them as an affiliate! #swoon

As a welcome gift, I got to choose a few products that spoke to me and share with you my thoughts.

Needless to say, those thoughts are very good.

Some highlights about the brand that I love:

• They have some really cool and innovative products! And from what I can tell thus far, they deliver on their promises!
• They are a vegan and cruelty-free brand!
• They always offer free samples! I love free samples because it gives me the chance to try another product, even when I can't afford to buy more than one thing.

HIGH DIVE

Let's start with the High Dive Moisture + Shine Creme. My frizzy, Florida curls are so grateful for this magic in a tube.

I use this as an after shower, leave in conditioner of sorts. After towel drying my hair, I slather this all up in there and then brush it through.

It leaves my hair hydrated and gives it a nice, healthy glow! I've been using it every wash for the past month and I have not once been disappointed. Oh, also, it smells really good!

MOON LANDING

When I ordered these products, I had just found out I was moving to Florida. So when I saw this Moon Landing Anti-Humidity Spray, I was like, guuurrrll give me ANYTHING to save me from having a humongous frizz afro on the daily!

After styling my hair, I make sure all my flyaways are tamed and spray away! This isn't your typical hairspray. It doesn't feel stick at all and doesn't make your hair crunch. Think of it as making a barrier between your hair and the humidity! It lightly lays on top and adds some extra shine too! I use it on my entire head, not just the top and it really does help.

Now I'm not going to say my hair is never a victim of the humidity. Some days there's just no getting around it. But on those days I just embrace it and accept that it is what it is lol.

But more often than not, this spray keeps the frizz at bay!

I also got a travel size of the Waterfall Moisture + Shine Lotion. I really liked that too, although I haven't used it too much since it's happily living in my travel bag! Although I have used it to smooth out dry strands when my hair is already styled and it worked quite nicely! Gives a similar shine that I get using High Dive but I prefer that for when my hair is wet. A great alternative!

IN MY SHOPPING CART

Here are a few products I've had my eye on! In case you need suggestions on what else to buy. ;)

Credit: Paulina Procner

• Television Perfect Hair Shampoo + Conditioner — I may be biased because of the name, but a friend of mine swears by this set, so it's definitely on my must-try list!
• Centerpiece All in One Elixir Spray — Anything that is going to get more done in one shot sounds good to me! It's fragrance is also called "Dark Waves" with notes of tangerine, pineapple and lavender, which sounds AMAZING. Yes, please!
• Pinstripe Intense Detangling Spray — "Intense detangling" sounds like what I have to do every time I decide to go a few days without washing my hair. #CurlyGirlProbs. The name says it all with this one, and I'm always down for anything that is going to help me tame my mane!

If you're interested in trying any of the R + Co. products, click HERE to shop and use my affiliate code 6zqL to get a welcome credit of $10 off your first $50+ purchase AND free shipping on all orders over $50!

Happy shopping!

XO, Briana

HASK Charcoal Purifying Dry Shampoo

Wow, the past few months sure did fly by fast!! I may not have posted much on here, but I've been working on testing out quite a few awesome products for you guys! So make sure to keep an eye out for more noise from me!

To kick off all of the amazing reviews I have coming, I recently received one of my favorite products to test out: DRY SHAMPOO!

In my personal opinion, every girl needs some dry shampoo in her hair arsenal, as it is a gift from the beauty gods. Especially if you have hair like me, that is dry on the ends and leaning toward greasy at the roots, dry shampoo is basically a miracle in a bottle.

Now I've tried a lot of different ones and have my favorites, but as you well know, I'm always looking for the next best thing! And this new line from HASK is definitely some good competition!

HASK has just released four, count 'em, FOUR new dry shampoos all with different active ingredients. You can check out the whole collection here, which is also conveniently available at Ulta! (Yay!)

I decided I wanted to go for the charcoal one. I feel like I constantly see beauty gurus raving about the benefits of charcoal everything so I wanted to get in on the action. The HASK Charcoal Purifying Dry Shampoo uses charcoal infused rice to quickly absorb excess oil. Plus, the citrus scent is pretty nice too. It's not my favorite, but I'm not exactly mad at it. However, I do love the fact that it is free of all sulfates, parabens, phthalates, gluten and artificial colors.

In review, I actually very much like this product! It works well to take away my greasy roots after not washing for two or even three days. It also gives me some extra volume, which is always nice since oils tend to weigh down my hair. It does give off a white cast, as most dry shampoos do, but not as much as some others I've tried. But it's also very easy to get rid of! In the past I have found myself rubbing my head for a ridiculously long time trying to get rid of my "old lady hair," but not with this one!

What stands out to me most about this particular dry shampoo is that it is very lightweight. I doesn't make me feel like I'm putting a crap ton of product in my hair. It feels natural and comfortable while still doing its job! I will note that it's great for when you experience a little bit of greasiness but I wouldn't use it for a heavy duty job haha.

I would 100% recommend this entire line! I honestly want to try them all, since they're great quality and still affordable (since I go through an embarrassing about of dry shampoo.) Plus, the convenience of being able to grab a bottle while I'm spending half of my pay check at Ulta is wonderful!

So much thanks to HASK for letting me try another of your awesome products (and for the super cute tote bag too!)

What are your favorite dry shampoos? Have you tried any other HASK products? Let me know in the comments below!

XO, Briana

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Kenra Grip Trio

Hello everyone! This week I have decided to mix it up a little bit! I know I tend to focus my reviews on makeup and skincare products, but for the next few posts I'll be giving you the DL on haircare!

I was lucky enough to be chosen to try out Kenra Professional's new collection, the Grip Trio. As it's name states, the collection consists of three awesome products: the Whip Grip Mousse, Air Grip Spray and the High Grip Spray.

Together these products are the perfect set for creating some pretty awesome up-dos. Now I know you all know that I tend to let my mermaid hair hang loose more often then not, but I do love me some braids. Plus, this set will definitely be my go to for any special occasions when I need something a little more fancy! So let's go through each product!

Whip Grip Mousse- light hold defining mousse (9)

This one boasts an airy formula that will give you three times more volume without that typical mousse stiffness. I'll be honest, I am extremely picky when it comes to mousse. Because I air dry my hair, I often find that mousse is just too heavy and weighs down my hair. No bueno. However, I actually liked this one! It defined my curls and helped to keep my frizz at bay all while remaining amazingly light weight! It also smells really good, which you all know is one of the most important things for me (lol.) I personally would use this individually for an everyday, easy look, but I do think this would be awesome for girls with thinner or straighter hair to obtain a little more volume prior to creating a killer updo!

Air Grip Spray- dry wax defining spray (5)

To me, this spray was the most innovative of the three. I've never really seen anything like it. The brand describes it as a light weight and flexible hold but with 50% more grip. It definitely delivered! I used this one to create a fishtail braid. I tend to have slippery hair that forces me to use 600 bobby pins to keep anything in place. With this spray I was able to create the braid much more easily and I only used 2 pins to keep a few shorter hairs in place. Also, I decided to see how it would be leaving the spray (and hairspray) in for another day. I was able to wear my hair down in the morning without it looking, well, yucky and tossed it into a voluminous, piecey pony tail later on.

High Grip Spray- high hold defining hairspray (20)

Last but not least is the hair spray. This one claims to produce a light weight, 24 hour hold. After using it several times, I would say that is absolutely true! I really like this hairspray because it holds really well but it's not crunchy. And like I mentioned earlier, I was able to switch up my hairstyle with out any "phantom styles," like the one in the meme below. (haha!)

Overall, I really love this trio! I think it's absolutely perfect for creating some killer up do's and even individually for everyday styles. I also really liked the number system they used to determine how much hold each product has. It is a scale from 0-25 or 30 depending on the collection. I think it makes it much easier to really know how set in stone that style is going to be! Also, the whole collection is now conveniently available at Ulta! For more information on the Grip Trio collection and Kenra Professional's other products, CLICK HERE!

Are you an updo girl? What kind of styles would you want to try using this collection? Let me know in the comments and also if you've already tried them!

XO, Briana

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Reverse Your Routine with TRESemme!

In recent times I've been struggling with my hair.  I've always had a little bit of frizz, but being a curly girl I came to accept that.  However, my hair has become just unruly and barely tamable; I'm talking frizz, dryness, and knots galore.  Just when I'd thought I'd run out of things to try, my "hairygodmother" (haha see what I did there? I mean a fairy godmother of hair, not like that she's hairy...) came to my rescue.  Influenster notified me that I was chosen to try out the new TRESemme Beauty-Full Volume Reverse System shampoo and conditioner! Woohoo!

Now this is not your average haircare line.  For this set you condition first and then shampoo!  It seemed really weird at first, but the results were actually a lot more wonderful than I expected. You use them just as you would normal shampoo and conditioner, just in a different order. TREsemme says that you condition first to give your hair moisture and hydration and then shampoo to "wash the weight away."  The system is formulated to give you soft, healthy hair with lots of volume, and I can vouch for that.

Even after the first time I saw a noticable difference.  My hair was not at all as frizzy and it seemed lighter and bouncier.  After a couple more uses, my hair is back to its normal state of crazy (I've named it Miley because it can't be tamed lol...I need to stop....).  Honestly, I'm not sure if it's the reverese aspect of the system or just the formula, but whatever it is it definitely worked for me.  Also, it smells really good, which you know I'm all about.  Another thing that I appreciated is that I don't need nearly as much conditioner for some reason.  I only need about 3-4 pumps to nicely coat my ridiculous amount of hair, which is a lot less than I normally need of other conditioners.  If I had to estimate I'd say it's about the size of a golf ball compared to a tennis ball.

My "reverse" picture! A LOT less frizz.

Overall, this system is great and I will absolutely buy it again.  Also, I should mention that all of the photos show my hair without any additional product.  Definitely would recommend it to anyone looking for a weightless feeling and a nice amount of volume.  Great innovation TRESemme!

HASK Argan Oil Repairing Hair Care Collection

I was lucky enough to be chosen to review the HASK Argan Oil Repairing Hair Care Collection!  The set arrived in a cute little drawstring bag that really made me smile! In the bag were four pieces: the Argan Oil Repairing Shampoo & Conditioner, Argan Oil Repairing Deep Conditioner, and the Argan Oil Shine Treatment.

I first started off using the shampoo and conditioner for a few days.  I honestly couldn't believe how great my hair looked!  After just a couple of uses, my hair was super smooth, shiny, soft and my waves were very defined and not frizzy! Overall it felt and looked super healthy, even though I know for a fact at that time it was not.  It also smells fantastic, like oranges and happiness.  That's the only way I can think to describe it, haha!

The only thing I found odd was that it seemed to brighten my hair.  Normally I would be all for that, but since my hair was dyed blonde at the time, I was worried it would lighten it too much.  I actually decided that I was now Princess Anna of Arendelle because I had one piece that was almost white, lol.  But I decided it was worth it for the awesome effect of the set. However, after getting a darker dye job, I'd been hesitant to start using it again for fear of it stripping my color.

I'd like to note that I did NOT use any additional products in my hair.  It is au natural!

After deciding to try the set again, I'm happy I did.  I used the shampoo, conditioner, and the deep conditioner in the shower.  I also used the oil in my hair after being towel dried and let my hair completely dry over night, as I usually do.

I will say in using the additional products, my hair came out even more amazing!  It was super shiny, barely any frizz (can't ask for none when I'm sleeping on it lol), and my waves were even more defined than before!  And even though I'm pretty sure it wound up lightening my bit of blonde still in my hair, I would continue to use this only every once in a while when my hair needs some refreshing!

Overall, this is a great collection of products that I would 100% recommend!  I love the way it works, and how it makes my hair look, feel, and smell!  Also, I appreciate that it is free of all sulfates, parabens, phthalates, gluten, drying alcohol, and artificial colors.  It's easy to use with clear directions on the packaging and is fantastic for when your hair really needs a boost!  As I said, I'd plan to use this only when I feel like my hair needs repairing, just to make sure my color doesn't fade.  But if your hair is not color treated, use it as often as you like!  It's a great product that will become an integral part of my hair care routine!  Much thanks to HASK and BrandBacker for allowing me to try it out!!

Follow the link for more information on the HASK Argan Oil Repairing Hair Care Collection, or check out HASK's other hair care collections, on their main website HERE!

XO, Briana

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Christine Shampoo & Conditioner by Van Thomas Concepts

About a month ago, a friend of mine, Jason Griffin (celebrity stylist) so kindly told me he would love to work with me on my blog. I was so thrilled to have someone who not only lives in a completely different world from me ( LA baby!) but also is influential in the fashion industry. So for our first project, he hooked me up with a wonderful agent from Pistol & Stamen and she soon sent me some shampoo and conditioner to try out!

The set is called Christine and it's by Van Thomas Concepts. I received the The Christine Shampoo and The Christine Reconstructive Conditioner. I waited a little while to write the review because I wanted to thoroughly test the products. So after about a month of using them, these were my results!
First off the product itself. One of the most important thing to me about hair products is the smell. I pride myself on having fantastic smelling hair every day of my fashionable life. So therefore, I must have simply delicious smelling shampoo and conditioner. These definitely fit the bill. It smells amazing. It leaves your hair smelling like citrus and flowers. There is no way a girl won't feel good about herself smelling that wonderful.
Next is what it's made of. The shampoo is sulfate-free and paraben free, with no harsh chemicals, avoiding the stripping of essential oils and dryness. It uses grape seed and apricot oils for added shine and blackcurrant oil and essential omega-6 fatty acids for healthy hair growth. Also the shampoo is made to cater to all hair types!  The reconstructive conditioner uses hempseed oil, aloe veraextract, grape seed oil and olive fruit oil that hydrate, restore, and repair hair.

I particularly like products that use natural products. My hair seems to take better to them. Since my hair is curly, it tends to be more temperamental and harder to tame. All of the reparitive and hydrating treatments did wonders for my frizzy, dry curls. After only a few uses I started to see results.

Here I am with no product in my hair!!

After using the shampoo and conditioner together for a little over a month, I have noticed drastic results in the texture of my hair and how it behaves. When I wash it, it's less knotty and easier to brush after washing. Since I wash my hair every other day or more if I can, my curls tend to knot up and make my life a living hell after waiting those few days. I find myself sitting and brushing my hair for like twenty minutes just trying to detangle it! But ever since I started using the Christine products, it's gotten a lot better. My hair is also less frizzy, thank god. Since the start of spring, my hair has pretty much turned on me. Most days I just give up and rock the afro that is my un-tameable hair. I even started referring to it as Miley (because it "can't be tamed" Get it?) Anyway, the reconstructive conditioner really worked wonders in that department. I saw a noticeable difference in the size of my afro, especially after I'd been using it for a couple weeks. I can now go to bed with freshly washed hair and wake up with nearly perfect curls that only require a bit of tousling, some of my John Freida Miracle Cream, and some climate control hairspray and I'm good to go! It takes me a maximum of like, 3 minutes. So thank you, Christine products for making my hair a lot happier!

Close up of the Christine products doing their job!

The price is nothing to shake your head at either, by the way. The shampoo retails for $18 and the conditioner at $32 for a 12 oz. bottle. On average, my shampoo and conditioner costs about $12 combined or less, so these are a smidge out of my normal price range. But if you're really battling unruly or unhealthy hair, these are definitely worth the splurge. Also, there are 2 additional products in the line that I haven't tried: The Protective Glaze and the Body Wash. If they are anything like their fellow products, I have no doubt that they will be great!

Contents of my package!

Overall, I had a wonderful experience with both of the Christine products!  They worked particularly well on my hair, and I have plenty left to enjoy for another month or more!  Much thanks to Jason and Pistol & Stamen who were generous enough to send me these great hair products!  Look forward to hearing more from them soon!  If you want to learn more about the products I talked about, here is the website!  Let me know your thoughts if  you decide to get your hands on these!!

XO, Briana