VIDinc - Australia's Biggest Youtuber Festival

The coutdown is on! The Youtuber Festival event of the year is only 6 sleeps away.  It's all happening this coming Sunday 18th August at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre where there is a mix of local & international Youtube sensations will be featured. 

Check out VIDinc to get the latest list of online stars attending & to pick up tickets.  There will be meet n greets for some of the online stars as well as live performances, talks & lectures over the course of the day. 

I'm looking forward to seeing the comedic genius of the gorgeous Jenna Marbles as well as two of our Aussie beauty gurus - Lauren Curtis (Lauren Beauty) & Chloe Morello.

I'll be there checking out the slew of talents with the lovely & talented Talia of Glossy Confidential (who was kind enough to invite me along!).  I'll make sure I post up some of the action &  it would be great to see some of you beauties there!

Keratin Smoothing Treatment (Trichovedic)

It had been almost 2 years since I had last visited a hair salon, so I thought I would go all out & get a full head of foils as well as try the Keratin Smoothing Treatment.

I had read various reviews & types of "smoothing" procedures but I settled on the Trichovedic Keratin Treatment as it sounded the most gentle of the treatments.  It also does not contain any formaldahyde & any harsh chemicals but did set me back over $199AU.

The basic idea of the smoothing treatment is that extra keratin is bonded to the hair cuticle & helps decrease any frizz.  As the name suggests it helps "smooth" wavy & curly hair but not actually straighten it. 

Although it is not permanent & lasts about 3-4 months, subsequent sessions can get the hair smoother & cut down styling/straightening time. Heat also assists in keeping that extra keratin bonded to the hair.  Follow up treatments shouldn't take as long as this session did & should cost half as much as the initial treatment (I'll keep you all posted on that one!)

Frizz city!

It was estimated that the treatment alone would take about 90 mins & then the foils/cut would take another 1.5hrs.  Of course the salon didn't factor in my thick hair & that they would be relatively busy on the Sunday so I was sitting in the chair for almost 7 hours!  If there had been two people working on my hair I'm sure about 1.5 hrs would've been saved.  But I'm sure on shorter & thinner hair I'm sure a good few hours would be sufficient just for the treatment & styling.

My highlights & lowlights, direct light

The foils had to be done first & my hair had to be dried before the keratin treatment could be applied.    The before shot is a good idea of how my hair normally looks whether I let it dry naturally or after I blow dry it (without round brushing). 

Applying the treatment took about an hour as the treatment solution (watery like-gel) had to be brushed down the hair in sections.  Once my hair had been completely covered I had to sit with it under a drier for about 45mins.  When dry it felt heavy & a bit similar to dry spaghetti just dunked in hot water.  Then it had to be throughly washed & thankfully they applied a minty conditioner which helped neutralise the rather pungent keratin solution. 

Once again my hair had to be blow dried before they started straightening it in sections with a hair iron.  I admit I really liked the Cloud Nine iron they used so I have since picked up one online at luxelist. (But thats for another post)

The heat apparently is where you get the full effect of the smoothing treatment.  I admit that my hair appeared a lot sleeker than I have ever gotten it with an iron myself.  

Surprisingly it also felt softer than it had in years even after a full head of no doubt damaging foils! Although they did apply argan oil, I regularly use it when apply heat so I really felt it was due to the treatment.

After treatment & back at home

After a quick trim & the obligatory demonstration of the recommended products I decided to pick up the shampoo, conditioner & argan oil in the Trichovedic Hair Wisdom range.  Which is free of sulphates & sodium chloride which apparently works against the effects of the treatment by breaking down the keratin bond.  The pack cost me $67AU & in total is no more than I would typically pay for a good quality hair care system (but much more than I had been used to in the last few months digging those Coles & Target shampoo specials!)

Trichovedic Hair Wisdom shampoo, Argan Oil & Conditioner

Since the treatment & the in-salon wow factor has worn off I can definitely say my hair still feels softer than it has in the longest time & drying it & styling it is so much easier.  Still no mean feat to blow dry with the length & thickness of it but I am keen to go back in 3 months for the follow up treatment. 

Have any of you beauties had a smoothing or permanent straightening treatment & have any details to share?

australis Go Long Longwear Lipstick

Boho (5th hour on lips)

Australis released 8 shades in their long wearing lipstick collection which are all semi-matte & intensely pigmented. Thanks to Heritage Brands PR for sending these to me to overview for you beauty lovers

The cool lip shades supposedly help us seize the day & "go long & strong" with our party hard lips as we pout our way to a YOLO day...well even if we don't have that life motto we can still have pretty lips!

Available at Priceline, Big W, KMART & selected pharmacies for $12.95AU. You can also shop online at www.australiscosmetics.com.au

For those, like myself, that prefer more natural/neutral lips Boho, Preppy & Easy Chic are very work friendly, wearable shades.  Whereas Glam, Ghetto & Uber Cool (mauve) could be used for a night out on the town or for a strong yet still professional pucker.  

Trendy definitely is a lovely bright slightly blue-toned pink that may release that retro chic in some of us but I liked to wear it under some of my mauve lip glosses to soften the look. The luscious red Diva is aptly named & is for those that love a cool berry-pink toned red lip.

I tried wearing Ghetto & Glam but I think they washed me out a little but if you have similar colouring to mine (medium beige/peach undertones) it might help you achieve a "vampish" pout.

The lipsticks definitely lasted through out the day on my lips, even just swatching them I found it a little harder to remove than less pigmented lipsticks.  To help stop them drying out the lips they contain rosehip oil, mango butter, white tea leaf extract & vitamin e. 

The only down side I found to these is that you really need smooth, well maintained lips otherwise the product clings to & highlights every bit of unpolished bit of skin. This is not a good look!

I also have "closer to 40's" lips & they are quite a bit more lined than they were in my 20's so the colour tended to settle in those deeper crevices if I didn't have a lip balm on before I applied the lipstick (but it wouldn't last as long).

Overall, a good long wearing lipstick but you need to be careful to pick a colour you will definitely wear. I find these type of lipsticks I reach for less often than easy to apply glossy lightly pigmented lipsticks that flatter my "don't always lip scrub" (yes shame to admit it!) "older" lips. Of course applying them under lip gloss is a winner if you want to leave the lipstick at home & only take your gloss out!

So beauties for your pucker & pout what lipsticks do you reach for?