An Honest Prolon Review

First and foremost, this isn’t sponsored in any way. I’ve seen lots of people in my Instagram circle post wonderful things about Prolon so I thought Black Friday was a good time to finally buy and give it a try (hey, that rhymed!).

Me and my BFF were talking about Prolon a month or so ago and decided this would be something fun to do together. I know I know, our definitions of fun are all a little different. I’m a full grown adult and I don’t need to be supervised, but having someone to text and complain to is kind of nice.

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Cruelty-Free Skincare: Maelove

Truth be told I’m not a morning person. Opening my eyes for the first time is always a little difficult, but once I finally get my physical body to the bathroom counter, I’m all in to get my day started!

Starting and ending my mess of a day with a skincare routine has been a priority for years now. The only thing that changes from time to time are the products I use and today I am so excited I get to share Maelove skincare with you all!

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Spa Day at Hiatus

Happy self-care Sunday!

I recently discovered at-home baths. A grown adult has zero business in a tub for 30 minutes but I tried it and it was so. much. fun! Ha! I had been missing out on baths all these years and no one told me how great they were. 

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My Vegan Mani with Londontown

Hi there, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday 🙂 I had to work last Sunday to get Thanksgiving Day off and it was completely worth it! I had a one hour powerful flow class at Black Swan Yoga then headed to Katy Trail for a 7 mile run. It was the pups turn to exercise so me and Prashi took them to the dog park. It really was a beautiful afternoon in Dallas to be outside! We ended the day on a high note – having plenty of Thanksgiving food with his family. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend my holiday!

Now with Thanksgiving day over, it’s time to get serious about holiday shopping for gifts! Let me tell you, I found the perfect thing, but first let me tell you how I discovered Londontown.

If you don’t already know, I’m making an effort to replace as many of my traditional products with vegan products. It’s been easy with haircare and skincare, but I wasn’t expecting it to be so easy with nail polishes. Then I stumbled upon Londontown USA and I just had to reach out to work with them! It feels good to know my nail care and nail colors are vegan, cruelty-free, and paraben free. Londontown has shown me that quality does not have to be sacrificed to have a vegan product. It’s hard not to support a brand with a mission like that right?!

Finally, I placed my order. I selected a little bit of everything from their nail care and nail colors. In the photos above, I’m wearing: Nail Hardener & Base Coat, Double the Deck, and Gel Genius Top Coat. My at-home mani turned out to be ultra luxe and something I think my ladies will appreciate when the nail salon is not an option (or even if it is, but I still prefer Londontown!). Learn more about the brand and shop Londontown products here.

P.s. It’s Friday, but not just any regular Friday, it’s Black Friday! Londowntown is having a Black Friday sale too. Use code BLACKFRIDAY for 40% off your vegan nail care!

XO, Vivian

Other Londontown products in my order:

Mauve over – A perfect neutral for fall

Invisible crown – A sheer color suitable year round

Brit of Love – I’m waiting for spring to come around for this one, but it’s the prettiest pink!

Strengthening Laquer Remover – Removes polish without all the bad things for you

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I Got a Styling Wand!

My generous friends at Eva NYC sent me an entire set of styling tools in the “Floral Frenzy” pattern. They are so pretty, but more than anything, these tools are powerful!

My favorite of the bunch is hands down the Healthy Heat Pro-Power Dryer. My current dryer is heavy in comparison and has a retractable cord that barely even works. I needed an upgrade and this was it. This power dryer is lightweight and easy to maneuver with a round brush in my other hand.

Curling my hair is a normal part of my weekend routine. I usually wrap my hair around a curling iron because I didn’t have a wand. Now that I have one, I can’t go back to wrapping my hair with a curler! There was definitely a learning curve with the Healthy Heat Clip Free Curler. It has a one inch barrel that will give you tight kinky curls if you leave it in your hair for too long. I like the loose curls look, but still clean and put-together. To get this look, I adjusted the heat setting to 410 degrees (it’s adjustable from 170-450 degrees) and wrapped a 2 inch section of my hair for 4 to 5 seconds. My head of hair was done in no time and I love the finished look!

The Healthy Heat Ceramic Styling Iron is the only styling tool I haven’t tried yet. It is as beautifully packaged as the first two and too pretty to open! I’d like to learn how to curl my hair with a straightener and this might be the only time I actually do it. I will give you an update and let you know how it turns out!

All tools featured are available online and at select stores including Target. Thanks for reading my Eva NYC styling tool review!

XO, Vivian

Shop my Look

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How to Get Smooth Skin

My skin is suffering from a peel after a bad sunburn 2 weeks ago. It’s the most frustrating thing to see my tan legs with parts of my pale skin peeking through! Don’t get me wrong, I had a wonderful time at South Padre with my family, but maybe I shouldn’t have fallen asleep with a leg out of the shade. Ha! After a painful week of rubbing aloe and avoiding clothes with seams, I’m ready for smooth skin again.

I’m not sure about your routine, but I’m lazy and I only shave my legs once a week. Usually on Thursday so I can have a hairless weekend and have “woo girl” arms as much as I’d like without being self conscious. Anyway, here are my favorite products for my smoothest skin!

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Summer Statement Earrings

There is no such thing as too many ear dangles, right? I had the chance to select a few pieces from Coco Loves Rome and I’m so happy with my choices! Coco Loves Rome carries all the accessories you can think of from sunnies to handbags. The best part? They are all very affordable!

I’ve been drawn to statement earrings lately so that is what I chose for myself from Coco Loves Rome. I’m especially loving the Jill earrings from the photo above. The sweet little flower combined with a gold hoop is just the right amount of girly I’m looking for when choosing accessories!

The Robyn earrings (above) are just SO pretty! Can you tell I love gold? They pair well with all the white tops and white denim I have, which basically means I want to wear them all the time!

I stepped outside of my comfort zone and went with a multi-colored earring. The Brett earring (above) is bright and feels like a warm summer day that I never want to end. They are the lightest earrings and definitely a fun statement to add to your collection.

Check out CocoLovesRome.com to see the rest of their collection of earrings, and maybe even browse some necklaces while you’re there. Be sure to enter my giveaway on Instagram for a chance to win a $50 gift card to Coco Loves Rome’s online shop!

XO, Vivian

 

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Saranghae Korean Skin Care Review

My friends at Saranghae sent me their 5 Step Anti Aging skin care products a couple weeks ago and I’ve been using their skin care line since I unboxed them!

Step 1:  Nourishing & Moisturizing Oil + Foam Cleanser

The products for each step of the routine were incredible, but this product was my favorite from the entire line! The best feeling before bed is the squeaky clean/fresh face feeling and this cleanser absolutely delivered. I don’t like it when I wash my face and then there’s a left over film all over my skin, and I didn’t experience that with this foam cleanser. In addition, the cleanser also removed all my makeup! I never scrub or rub my eyes with any face wash, so I can’t say how it would remove eyeliner or mascara, but it did an excellent job at removing the day’s foundation, blush, SPF, and everything else I put on.

Step 2:  Deep Radiance Essence + Serum

The serum was light and a little went a long way. It dried very quickly, so I had to be sure to spread it evenly to avoid pumping more product. The serum drying quickly was a plus, as I felt like my skin was absorbing all the antioxidants and amino acids. Though the serum was a little sticky after applying, it didn’t bother me much because I’d be applying moisturizer in the next step either way.

Step 3:  Firm & Lift Cellular Regeneration Cream

This cream really took me by surprise.  I mean, my skin was glowing every morning after using the Firm & Lift cream! Though not my favorite scent, the cream was amazing and my second favorite product from the line. I typically go for a moisturizer that is really heavy, basically leaving an extra layer on my skin. My thought process is this: if it’s thick and on top of the skin, it must be hydrating right? At first, I didn’t like the cream because it was so light and I felt like my skin wasn’t absorbing anything (so scientific right?). But, I trusted the 5 step routine and I grew to love the cream.

Step 4:  Focus Renewal Eye Cream

Most nights, I don’t use eye cream (bad, I know). Getting ready for bed is a long process for me and one that I really enjoy, but applying a dab of eye cream to my under eye area is the least of my worries. To me, it’s the equivalent of food garnish (whoa, super off track!). I did my very best to use the eye cream, and when I did, I really enjoyed it. My eyes felt immediately refreshed and cool. What a great feeling before bed!

Step 5:  Elemental Essence Mask

A face mask has never done me wrong. The Elemental Essence sheet mask was fantastic! It smelled soooo good, which is always a plus in my book. It’s a quick 20 minutes of relaxation before removing the mask to reveal brighter and more hydrated skin. I liked that you could apply the mask right before bed and then sleep with the excess mask serum on your skin. I didn’t even have to get up from bed to rinse off my face or anything. How amazing!

Everyone’s skin is different, and I realize not everyone will have the same experience I did. To be sure your skin is compatible with Saranghae products, they have a “explore skin types” page to see if Saranghae is right for you. I hope this review was helpful to you! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

XO, Vivian

About Saranghae

Saranghae is an award winning Korean 5 Step Anti-Aging skin care routine that heals, regenerates and protects your skin. Saranghae’s focus on natural ingredients, highly effective products and excellence in customer service has helped them become the fastest growing Korean skin care brand in the UnitedStates.
For more information please visit:
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My Hair Guy

When I first moved to Dallas, I didn’t have anyone to cut my hair.  I had someone in my hometown, but booking was always a problem when I’d have last minute trips home. My big sister has cut her hair at various Toni & Guy locations for as long as I can remember, so it was the logical choice when deciding to select a place for the rest of my Dallas-living years.

Up until November 2015 I had virgin hair. I never met anyone that convinced me that I could trust them to color my hair. I was scared at the time, and sort of brain washed into thinking that virgin hair was really special (sorry folks, it’s just hair), but then I met Kevin. I had a couple scary dreams and anxiety the night before I went in for my color appointment, but then Kevin said the smartest thing I’ve EVER heard, “If the Kardashians still have hair after everything they put it through, you will too.” And just like that, I’ve lost track of how many times I have colored my hair with Kevin!

This time I went in with 22 inches of long, heavy hair, and left with a sassy but *charming* 14 inches. As much as I love having long hair, I currently do not have the time to care for a Rapunzel-like mane. Unless I’m going to be styling my hair 3 times a week, there’s no reason for me to have long hair. I’m getting ready to face a tough fall semester in graduate school and I can’t help but think of all the time I can spend studying and sleeping rather than brushing and styling!

I hope this post has been helpful for anyone that has anxiety when they go in for a cut and color. How do you know when you’ve found THE person you want to care for your hair care?

XO, Vivian

P.S. This post was not sponsored. I just really love Kevin’s work and with my hair being photographed in every single blog post, I thought he deserved some credit.

UPDATE 10/25/2020:

I am so so proud to say that my good friend and colorist, Kevin opened up his own salon! After all this time I continue to love his work. Salon Perspective is beautiful and I am so excited to continue to support him wherever he goes. Make an appointment with him here. Congratulations, Kevin!

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