Kérastase Laque Noir

No matter how much time you spend on styling your hair, you went the result of your efforts to last through the day. This makes hairspray the most useful hair product to have in your arsenal. However, they are not all made equal and no one wants to end up with sticky, crispy hair after spraying some on. That would just ruin the whole thing. Well I have finally found the most long lasting and efficient hairspray ever: the Kérastase Laque Noir.

This is a strong hold hairspray that fights humidity and keeps your style in place while giving your hair shine. I have naturally wavy hair that tends to frizz and curl when it’s humid and keeping a sleek ponytail in place all day is almost impossible. Kérastase says this creates an anti-humidity shield and I cannot find a better way to describe it. It is the only hairspray that can keep my ponytail from getting flyaways and frizzy all day long. I know it is kind of expensive, but if you live in a very humid climate or have hair similar to mine, I think it is worth investing in. What I love about Kérastase in this case, is that they offer a  convenient travel size of this (which is the one I have), so you can try it for less but the size is generous enough to last you a while.

When I wear my hair down, it also holds waves and curls nicely and gives them shine without any crispiness. The mist is very fine and I love that you only need to use a little for it to work. It also has an amazing fruity scent so your hair will smell nice and you don’t have to deal with the typical hairspray fumes. Lastly, I know this is not really important, but how chic does that can look! I really love the design and I think that when you are spending a pretty penny on a product, you want it to deliver and look nice too. In both cases the Kérastase Laque Noir Delivers.

You can find the Kérastase Laque Noir in Kérastase salons, on their website and on Feelunique. 

Kérastase Cristalliste Lait Cristal

From past posts on this blog, I think it is quick easy to see that I am a fan of affordable drugstore hair products. I go through conditioner like crazy, something that comes with the territory when you have very long hair, but every once in a while I like to treat myself to a nice luxury conditioner. If you are ever considering investing in a high-end conditioner, the Kérastase Cristalliste Lait Cristal should be at the top of your list.

I had always been intrigued by Kérastase products, everything from the chic packaging to the incredible claims and reviews made me want to try something out. However the higher price and my skepticism over how great a more expensive conditioner could be prevented me from doing so. Well the Cristaliste Lait Cristale has proven me wrong and I don’t think I can ever be without it again.

Now let’s talk about this miraculous formula. If I am not mistaken, this does not contain silicone, instead it relies on aloe vera and eco-friendly polymers to soften and smooth the hair, increasing shine at the same time. Another interesting thing is that while this conditioner is very moisturizing, it does not weight your hair down at all and detangles it easily. Unlike other conditioners, this one has a very runny texture, almost like a lotion, and while it might feel a bit weird at first and like you need to use tons, you only need a little bit (about half of what you normally use) because it melts into your hair and coats it easily. Because it is so thin, the best way to apply it is to make sure you squeeze as much water as possible out of your hair before applying it so it does not run down the hair instead of coating it.

I still cannot believe how amazing my hair looks every time I use it. I am talking silky smooth hair with lots of shine and a lovely fragrance. It is definitely a product worth investing in. You can find the Kérastase Cristalliste Lait Cristal on the Kérastase website, feelunique and hair salons that carry the brand. 

What's in My Beauty Travel Bag

I went on a trip recently for my graduation and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to share with you all what I like to bring in my beauty bag. Skincare is very important to me when travelling because you never know when your skin might freak out and it’s nice to have everything you might to get things back to normal. Full disclosure, I brought quite a few things this time because I wanted to relax in the hotel and have options.

First we have haircare products, I tend to decant mine into smaller bottles and I’m very low maintenance with my hair. The dry shampoo is a must though because my hair can get a bit oily when I travel (not sure why).   

        

- Colab Sheer Invisible Dry Shampoo in London (reviewed here in New York scent, but this one is lovely too, very fresh and sophisticated)

- Clear Total Care Shampoo (here)

- Clear Total Care Conditioner (here)

- Kérastase Ciment Thermique 

For my body I just bring a scrub and a lotion, the hotel’s soap and shower gel are usually fine. I typically like their lotions too, but I wanted to bring something nice with me just in case and this mini tube did not take up a lot of space.

- St-Ives Blemish Control Apricot Scrub

- Crabtree and Evelyn Rosewater Body Lotion

Lastly, here’s everything I brought for my skincare routine, including extra treats like masks and patches in case a pesky spot decided to show its face. It  might look like a lot but honestly everything fit into my travel bag and most items are quite small. Samples and minis are always super useful so I love stocking up on them.          

- Shu Uemura Anti/Oxi Skin Refining Cleansing Oil

- Clarins One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser (here)

- Innisfree Eco Safety Aqua Daily Sun Gel SPF30/PA++

- Indeed Laboratories Hydraluron

- Innisfree White Tone Up Sleeping Pack

- Clarins Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner (here)

- Innisfree Green Tea Balancing skin

- Innisfree Green Tea Balancing Lotion

- Innisfree Green Tea Seed Serum (here)

- Innisfree Green Tea Balancing Cream

- Laneige Water Bank Eye Gel (here)

- Innisfree Green Tea It's Real Squeeze Mask (here)

- Innisfree Volcanic Pore Clay Mask (here)

- Primera Peeling Facial Intensive

- Ren Glycol Lactic Radiance Renewal Mask

- The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil (here)

- Innisfree Bija Anti-Trouble Spot Patch (here)

I hope you enjoyed this little insight into my travel beauty bag and that it will help you when you need to pack for a future trip. Out of everything, the Innisfree samples were the most useful so I highly recommend you try out a few. You can read more about them here. I have linked every product I have reviewed and you can purchase all the products from different retailers since none of them are limited edition.