Summer slacking

Uhhhhh, so....I got nothing for today. Sorry. It's officially summertime and, well, spending extra time indoors on the computer is about the last thing I want to do.

Posts might be a little spotty the next couple weeks while I work out a new writing schedule and get some vacation time in around Independence Day. I SO appreciate your patience!

Best,
Jazzy

SMACK! Reviews: Logona Herbal Hair Color Creme

The Product
A couple weeks ago I picked out a henna-based hair color by Logona Naturkosmetic at my local Whole Foods. I've never used henna before and had no idea what to expect, so I was super nervous to do it. Especially when I realized the 'Tizian' shade that I bought was on the darker end of the spectrum.

The Internets to the rescue! I browsed tips and tricks from Detoxinista, Henna for Hair and a couple others. I read a lot about additives and recipes and was quickly overwhelmed. Add sugar. Mix in hot coffee. (??) Watch out for metallic salts. Oil (or egg or yogurt) for conditioning.

Sounded more like a cooking lesson, one that I would most assuredly fail.

Ginger

True story: last summer I was very nearly mistaken for a teenager. Literally, half my real age. 

Gray hair -- wha?!?!

What a difference a few months make! Cancer treatment did plenty to make me feel a LOT older than a spry and sassy 36. Hot flashes, joint aches. And then my hair, gone and growing back about 30% gray. Yikes.



Not anymore!!! I actually did it yesterday -- busted open the henna and covered all those grays :)

It smells like licorice!

Definitely an improvement!

Look for my review of this great hair color product later this week!!!







Yours in living color,
Jazzy

Diving in head first

We've got the first weekend of summer under our belts. What did you do to mark the season? We went away for the weekend, to the mountains, an idyllic retreat set on a pristine, beautiful lake. So naturally I got a bunch of mosquito bites, including one on my lower eyelid. Super attractive, to have a swollen eyelid. Thankfully the swelling went down after a few hours.

I also got schooled in an abject lesson on humidity by my ever-curlier hair. That's right, CURLIER. Not wavier, curlier. Doesn't help that I left all my new favorite hair products at home.

I still haven't done anything to update the color of my hair, so chicken am I to try to the new henna color I bought a couple weeks back. I have it on the desk in front of me right now, trying to stare it down and work up the nerve to actually do it. I think today's the day.

In other news, I hit a new record number of page views last week, woo-hoo! Big thanks to all you readers. My weekend adventures in the woods also offer a good segue to covering insect repellents here on SMACK! so definitely look for a post this week.

Yours in air conditioning,
Jazzy

Screeching halt

Sooooooo, staying up late to watch hockey nearly every other night in the first week after surgery is NOT a good idea...my fatigue is catching up with me when I need as much energy as I can muster here at the end of the week. We're skipping town for the weekend and the control freak in me wants the house to be as neat as can be, plus all the errands and chores I haven't done all week, plus last-minute packing, plus this, and don't forget that and WHEW! No wonder I'm exhausted.

That's my long-winded way of explaining the no post today, and the great likelihood of no post tomorrow. I was working on something that's been stuck in the queue for a while, but I don't think it's going to happen this week. Next week, sure, plus reviews for the products I picked up at Whole Foods last week.

Have a GREAT weekend -- the first of summer!! Wear lots and LOTS of sunscreen (better yet, stay under an umbrella too) and we'll see you back here on Monday!!

-- Jazzy

Sticky Fingers

Our first non-cosmetic post, in a new category: household products.

I spend a lot of time on Pinterest. I suffered a lot of sleeplessness in the weeks following surgery last winter, and Pinterest was a nice, easy way to keep my mind relaxed. Who knew I'd find inspiration for SMACK! there as well!

That's just what happened the other day when I saw a pin for Elmer's School Glue Naturals. Of course it piqued my curiosity, now that I am completely skeptical about the label claims on consumer products.

Isn't Elmer's already non-toxic? This new school glue was announced back in early April, so I checked out the original press release:

...Elmer's Products, Inc., makers of America's favorite school glue, is proud to introduce Elmer's School Glue Naturals, the first and only school glue made with naturally occurring ingredients and available in recycled packaging.

Elmer's pourable School Glue Naturals consists of 99 percent natural ingredients. The primary ingredient in the adhesive is plants, specifically American-grown corn--a rapidly renewable resource. The bottle is made from 25 percent post-consumer recycled materials and the label contains 20 percent recycled paper, is printed with soy-based ink and is applied with a natural rubber adhesive.

So what is original Elmer's made of? Isn't the packaging already recyclable? Makes me remember spreading a thin coat the glue on my hands, letting it dry, and then peeling it off. You did it, too, right?

In any event, this definitely warrants another post, possibly a trip to the craft store and product review for some better information. We'll see if Elmer's is actually producing a safer version of their popular school glue or just trying to stick it to us with a new label and higher price tag...

In the meantime, don't sniff the glue!

-- Jazzy

SMACK! Reviews: Neutrogena Eye Liner

Who's cuter than Emma Stone? I mean, really, what's not to like about her? Great career, fresh style, sassy fun persona. Plus she champions breast cancer awareness on behalf of her mother, who was diagnosed in 2008.

Mohawk Monday

How was your Father's Day weekend? Ours was less than spectacular, what with me being laid up after surgery last week, but we made the best of it and my husband only had to do a couple loads of laundry yesterday.

Stanley Cup action tonight!! I must be feeling better because I am actually considering a Mohawk to get into the playoff spirit. A Mohawk. For me. Me, the shrinking violet who up until a month ago had never worn (or even owned) black eyeliner. A Mohawk! We'll call it a Mom-hawk, hahaha!

I think I'll go for it. My hair is the perfect stand-up length, and I have the perfect product for the job: Magnetic Force Hair Wax from Giovanni. Read my review of it here.

This week we look at a few different products and may even talk about a soap/toothpaste problem that's been lurking for way too long. ???

Happy Monday!
Jazzy

This one's for the Dads

It's Father's Day this weekend. I had surgery yesterday but didn't have the foresight to buy my husband anything beforehand. So, I will have to either save the heavy-duty painkillers for this evening so I can drag myself out of the house or ask him to drive me somewhere. 

I was perusing the Campaign for Safer Cosmetics earlier and saw their take on men's products (click here for their fact sheet). It's no surprise that men's personal care products (I suppose I can't call them beauty products, now can I?) are just as chemically-laden as those marketed to women. So, if you weren't planning to already, definitely skip over the popular drugstore shaving gift sets. Most assuredly NOT the best a man can get.

That cliche necktie's looking better and better, isn't it?

If you want to pamper your man this weekend (or any other time of the year), check out EWG's Skin Deep database to see how his fave products rank and to find some newer, safer items he could enjoy. Unlike that necktie, healthy will never go out of style!

Happy Friday,

-- Jazzy

SMACK! Reviews: Giovanni Hair Gel & Hair Wax

Another first here at SMACK! -- product reviews! Here we’ll try new products and have fun doing it! 

First up, two products from Giovanni which I came upon to meet the urgent need to control my newly-growing hair (read the original post for a refresher). I found both the Eco Chic Volumizing Styling Gel and Magnetic Force Styling Wax at the local Whole Foods, under $10 each. 

The Eco Chic Volumizing Styling Gel doesn’t have the consistency of a true gel. It came running out of the tube pretty easily on its own. The scent is light, citrus-y with a fairly strong undertone of rubbing alcohol, and no wonder -- the third ingredient is alcohol, and the sixth is citric acid. 

The texture of the gel is pretty nice -- smooth, not sticky or tacky. I always wash my hands after doing my hair or makeup, but if I needed to I could skip after using this hair gel.

I’m dating myself here -- remember Ross’ heavy-handed use of gel on Friends? Hahaha, his crunchy hair was legendary. Not happening here with this Eco Chic Gel . I mean, I suppose if that’s what you’re trying to achieve, and you used half the tube, well sure. But if you use an average amount for your hair length, you’ll get control without major crunchies.

Buuuuutttttt...this hair gel flakes. Big time. Weird, white flakey-flakes. I touch my hair a lot through the course of the day, which only disturbs the dried-out gel and sets the flakes loose. Not. Attractive.

I give Giovanni props for creating a product with 100% vegetarian ingredients and no animal testing, but I can’t get over those flakes.

SMACK! Grade: C

The Giovanni Magnetic Force Styling Wax, however, is a DREAM of a product. The red and silver pot and ‘magnetically charged’ promises are obviously being marketed to men, but whatevs! Also, have you seen the website? Super ridiculous. Like Ben Stiller's character in Dodgeball. If you need a good laugh, by all means, go and see for yourself. I'll wait here.

See what I mean? Thankfully, opening a jar of this stuff is no such joke. First, I love the scent. Fresh but not overpowering. Soft but not super floral. Well-balanced gender-neutral fragrance that probably smells great on everyone.

The texture is also great. Smooth, not gummy. Since I’m a newbie to cropped hair, my stylist showed me how to use my fingertips to lift the roots and tousle away. SO EASY. Perfect for those days when I want to sleep an extra 10 and rock some bed head!

Seriously, this stuff may make me want to keep my hair short. Nah, just kidding. I do really love it, though, and totally recommend to anyone with short hair. But I'm going to be a stingy b*tch and take points away for the awful marketing.

SMACK! Grade: B+

Win some, lose some

Turns out the Stanley Cup Playoffs are a terrible distraction to blogging. Oops. Also Game of Thrones. The finale aired Sunday night, so no new episodes for another 40 weeks or so. And now I sound like a huge couch potato.

I actually did some research and reconnaissance last week for some new products! My latest quest in chemically cleaner living was threefold: face moisturizer, eye makeup remover and (gulp) hair color. 

Last year I picked up a moisturizer by Simple (Hydrating Light Moisturizer) and liked it a lot. Light but effective. I was totally sold on the marketing, so I decided to stick with it when I was looking for something to use during chemo. I lucked out big time and didn't suffer from any wacky skin ailments as a side effect of the chemo drugs. Great. But -- as it turns out -- Simple's marketing is just that: marketing. Spin. Smoke and mirrors.

When the bottle ran low, I checked EWG's Skin Deep database, and was plenty surprised to see it rated with an overall score of 4. I was further discouraged when I saw why: scary sounding ingredients with even scarier toxicity concerns. Definitely NOT the 'Simple Goodness' being promised by the 'Sensitive Skin Experts'. Shame on you, Simple!

So I put a trip to my local Whole Foods on my to-do list. I also wanted to see what they stocked for natural hair color and eye makeup remover. After visiting my oncologist for a routine checkup, I got the green light to color my hair again. I've been coloring my hair for nearly 10 years to cover whites and grays, so I wasn't at all surprised to see it nearly completely gray when it first sprouted. But now I'm losing patience waiting for the pigment to fill in. I'm trying to rock a cute pixie look, but between the gray and the super waviness, I either look like a TV newscaster or my 70-something mother. Eesh.

I found a great henna-based color, but naturally am really chickensh*t about actually doing it. I've had too many Big Dyejob Mishaps to not be nervous, and I'm already thinking worst case scenario, like Grecian Formula Gone Wrong, that necessitates a trip to the salon for color correction and totally undermines the point to trying something chemical-free.

I'm rambling. I camped out in the Whole Foods H&BA aisle, checking brands Skin Deep with my phone, reading labels, looking at ingredients. I left WF with a lighter wallet and these three products:

I'll review the moisturizer and wipes soon, with pretty strong opinions of each, and a surprise happy ending. The henna, well, that might be a bit longer while I drum up the courage to go through with it. Thorough consultation with Google, Wiki and YouTube may be in order.

Happy Tuesday!
Jazzy