Essence Absolue Hair Oil

In the my post The Year of Hair, I mentioned that I use hair oil and how much I love it. To reiterate, I love it! And I want to tell you more about it!

 I use Shu Uemura's Essence Absolue Nourishing Protective Oil. What turned me on to it was I read an article that Kate Middleton, one of my hair icons, uses it. I realize that this could be entirely untrue but after reading many reviews of this product I decided to buy it. As I mentioned in my earlier post, it's a little on the pricy side. Right now it's $26 for a 1oz bottle and that doesn't include shipping. So yeah, it's a little pricy, but I think it's totally worth it. I have been using this oil for about 9 months now and really started noticing a difference about month after incorporating it into my routine. I find that unless I use way too much, the oil never makes my hair look greasy. 

A quick note about how this product smells: it smells wonderful!!! I usually don't like how beauty products smell, I often find the fragrances to be overwhelming and unpleasant. However, this product has a light floral scent that is quite nice and not overwhelming at all. 

Before buying this product I had never used hair oil and had no clue how to use it. After some research, trial and error, and conversations with hair minded people, I worked out a routine.

My hair oil routine:

I shower at night and this is what works for me. After showering, I comb my hair out with a wide tooth comb. I then let it air dry for about 30-45mins so that it is damp,  not wet or completely dry. Next I squirt one pump of the hair oil into my palm and rub my palms together. Starting at the tips of my hair and work my way up to the roots, coating my hair with the oil. If it is a non shampooing day then I do not put any oil on the top of my hair near the roots. My hair is naturally greasy and does not need the extra oil on the roots on days I don't shampoo. After applying the oil I use finer tooth comb to comb my hair and help distribute the oil. Then I blow dry my hair and go to bed. By the way, if I use styling tools the next morning then I do use another product for heat protection and would recommend you do too.

If I happen to shower in the morning or during the day, then I apply the hair oil AFTER I blow dry and style my hair. Again I use another product for heat protection. I also do this if I'm going to a special event, like a wedding. I tend to use half a pump when applying to dry styled hair, not a full pump.


If you end up trying this product let me know how you like it and what routine works for your hair!

Movie Review: Upstream Color

Joe and I recently had a movie night and this was our selection.

Upstream Color 

This film is the story of two people picking up the pieces of their destroyed lives after being robbed and drugged. The drug that they were given wiped their memory so they don't know what happened and they are left dealing with the residual effects. After finding each other, they start their journey of figuring out what happened and what is still happening to them. The cinematography and style of this film reminded me of Terrence Malick's films. I am not a fan of his films, so naturally I wasn't thrilled by one that reminded me of them. The story was more developed than the typical Terrence Malick film and the characters definitely spoke more than they would have if he had been directing. I found the story to be intriguing and my attention never wondered during the film. However, I cannot forgive the incredibly stylized cinematography or the disjointed narrative. If you watch this movie I would recommend looking at the themes of the film and try to connect with it on a more philosophical and artistic level. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do this. Maybe it's because I don't like worms or pigs? (After you watch the film you will understand)

Rating: C

And just kidding, I love little piggies! 

Nail Time!: half gold, half white nails

My inspiration for my manicure this month is the changing seasons. Summer is coming to an end and the gold of fall is creeping in. So for my September manicure I did half gold, half white nails. White for summer, gold for fall. At first I didn't like this manicure, but after a while it grew on me. I did like how easy it was to do! All I did was paint my nails gold, let them dry, then use these french tip sticker guides to paint the bottom half of my nail white. Super easy! I think I would have like this manicure more if I had done gold on the bottom like I did on my accent nail. With the white on the bottom half, they just looked like really wide french tips to me. Let me know what colors you would choose for half and half nails!