Gone in a Flash

Photo Credit: Huffington Post

Hello!

I am such a huge fan of flash sale sites and I just wanted to share a few of my favorites. For those of you who don't know, flash sale sites are websites which have curated sales that last for a short time, usually 1-3 days, where the products are heavily discounted.

Rue La La

This was the first flash sale site I stumbled upon. They have women's, men's, living, travel, and kids sections. As well as a gift section, which changes depending on the time of year. Another thing that sets them apart is their Today's Fix, which is one item on sale for 24 hours which is usually heavily discounted. Also, when you pay for shipping you pay $9.95 once and then your shipping is free for the next 30 days. There is also The Rue 365 where you pay $100 and you get a year of free shipping as well as two $50 gift cards from one of the offered brands.

Gilt

One of my favorites. Gilt has women's, men's, baby & kids, home, city, and travel sections. They have Program called Gilt Insider, which is a point system where you can redeem points for free shipping, discounts, or exclusive sales. It has four tiers basic, select, premier, and noir. Each tier gives you special benefits, like viewing sales before everyone else or being put at the top of a waitlist.

HauteLook

This site was recently acquired by Nordstrom. They have sections dedicated to women, men, kids, home, and beauty. It is connected to Nordstrom Rack. This section of the site is not flash sale, the deals are on-going. You can also return these items to a Nordstrom Rack if they don't work out.

Ideeli

This site is very similar to the others. Sections in women, shoes, home, and men.

MyHabit

This site is owned by Amazon.com. They have a blog that is connected to the site called theFIX. Other than that it is also very similar to the other clothing-based flash sale sites.

One Kings Lane

This is the quintessential home goods flash sale site. I absolutely adore it. They have fabulous furniture, linens, kitchen supplies, and dinnerware. They have everything you could possibly want for your home.

Joss & Main

Very similar to One Kings Lane. In fact, their sales often focus on the same items. If one has a sale on bedding the other has a sale on bedding, etc.  They do have a cool feature where you can "love" something and it gets posted to a board. It shows a picture of the item and tells you when it was last featured on the site.


Love,
Kat

Bloglovin

Hello!

First off we are now on Bloglovin so please follow us!

Second, we've been horribly busy so please forgive the lack of posts. Finals and end of term are killing both of us.

In other news, I will be heading to Spain to study abroad right after the end of this semester. I'm so excited!

Cassidy is also planning on going abroad at some point but her plans have yet to be finalized.

Have any of you studied abroad? How was it? Let us know in the comments.

Love,
Kat

Spring Trends 2014

Hey everybody!

Well, Cas and I are officially awful about regular updates. College is rough. Anyway, today I thought I would talk about the big trends this spring. 

Crop Tops

They are going to be everywhere. I've already seen more than a few out in stores, some better than others. Crop tops will be appearing in a plethora of colors and fabrics. I would recommend wearing these with a high waisted skirt or shorts, the point is not to bear your whole midriff. 

Marni, Diane von Furstenberg, Chanel, and Michael Kors all had versions on their Spring 2014 runways.

This option from Topshop exposes just a hint of skin and has an interesting back. I prefer the black one. 

Metallics

Metallics are having a bit of  a moment. They appeared on numerous runways. Saint Laurent, Lanvin, Givenchy, and Versace to name a few. 

I love this Line & Dot dress, but my wallet would prefer this sweatshirt.







Sheer

Dolce & Gabbana had my favorite versions of the sheer trend. Sheer pieces also showed up on Burberry, Valentino, Stella McCartney's runways along with several other fashion houses.

This is a cute option from Topshop. 

Full Skirt

I really like this trend. Especially the pieces that hit at the midi skirt length. Christian Dior's runway was full of beautiful full skirts.


ASOS has several nice options in a variety of colors. This one is my favorite.






These are just a few of the trends showing up this season. What's your favorite trend this spring? Which trends do you hate? Let us know in the comments, we'd love to hear from you!

Love,
Kat

Apologies

Hello!

Cas and I are so sorry we haven't been posting lately, college is crazy and so is the rest of our lives. Cas was coaching for Girls on the Run, which is a great cause. If you are into running and like the idea of helping young girls with improving their body images, check it out here. She's also got all sorts of chemistry tests coming up, that's what you get when you're a nutrition and pre-med student.

She's not the only one with school work, accounting is slowly eating away at my brain. If I become a zombie you'll know why. I'm also planning my study abroad trip to Madrid this summer. So exciting! If anyone has any suggestions on where I should go feel free to comment.

Anyway, we promise to update a bit more frequently since break is coming up. We shall leave you with this cute little guy, since it's going to be a winter wonderland soon...

Love,

Kat & Cas

Let's Run Away Together!

Hello!

I just found the coolest thing that I wanted to tell you about! Its this website called MapMyRun. You can create running routes, find others that have already been created, or even have a route made for you with their route genius. It even has a lovely calorie calculator. After logging workouts you can enter yourself into sweepstakes. Woohoo, free stuff! You can also log in with Facebook, so you can show off your awesome running skills. This is the web address: http://www.mapmyrun.com/.

Love,
Cassidy

Gotta love them!

I love this picture so much! Today some quack dietician on Inside Edition was saying cake is healthier than fruit....EXCUSE ME! The proof is in the pudding (or lack there of, hehe) Who feels healthier after eating 3-5 servings of cake a day, not me!


That's todays mini rant,

Cassidy

Bio Nerd Beautician--Hair 101: Shampoo

Hello!

Are you ready for some nerdiness? I hope you are because this is the first segment of Bio Nerd Beautician, The Hair 101 Series!
First up, shampoo.


There are about a bajillion different shampoos from different brands out there, so let's break it down.

Inside the Bottle

Just about every shampoo bottle you pick up will have four things: an acid, a base, a lather builder, and a thickening agent.

The base is a detergent of some kind, usually ammonium lauryl sulfate or sodium lauryl sulfate. The most common acids are ascorbic acid and citric acid. (When life gives you lemons, make shampoo?) The amount of acid or base is dependent on what the shampoo is supposed to do. Detergents often make hair dull, so acid is added to make hair shinier. If your shampoo is supposed to have shine it will be more acidic. If it's clarifying it will be more alkaline (or basic).

Lather builders are very important in shampoo, they help to better clean the hair. The most commonly used lathering agents are cocamide mea or cocamidopropyl betaine. These chemical compounds help create the suds, which make the detergents work better by allowing more dirt to be lifted from the hair and washed away.

Thickening agents are used to insure a thick product with the right consistency, and are often used as fillers. The most often used thickeners are xanthan gum, cetyl alcohol, sodium chloride (salt), and stearyl alcohol. This is where some issues appear. Most of these compounds can be very drying. Especially the alcohols. The more inexpensive products usually have more alcohols, where as the more expensive have less.

Types of Shampoo

There are four basic categories of shampoo: Deep Cleansing Shampoos, Conditioning Shampoos, Baby Shampoos, and Anti-Dandruff Shampoos.

1) Deep Cleansing Shampoos


These types of shampoos are also known as oil control, balancing, clarifying, thickening, and volumizing.

These kinds of shampoos are made to cleanse your scalp and hair. If you produce a lot of oil these types are for you. For those who do not over-produce oil, its good to use a clarifying shampoo once a week or every two weeks to remove build-up. Especially if you use a lot of  product. If you have dry hair I would suggest steering clear of these altogether, unless you want even drier hair.
These types usually contain a higher amount of detergents such as ammonium lauryl sulfate and sodium lauryl sulfate. (Both of which Cas is allergic to.)


2) Conditioning Shampoos

These shampoos are commonly labeled as smoothing, color care, anti-frizz, moisturizing,  hydrating, strengthening, and straightening.

These types of shampoos are all about moisturizing. They contain moisturizing agents like silicone or Polyquaternium 10. These agents smooth hair and help to straighten as well. These are for people with dry, damaged, or color-treated hair. Fine haired peeps should avoid, unless you are anti-volume.

These shampoos typically have less detergent than other types.

3) Anti-Dandruff Shampoos

Key words to identify these are: dry scalp, anti-itch, or flake control.

These shampoos are actually considered over-the-counter drugs, since they are medicated.

There are several ingredients that are common in most anti-dandruff shampoos: Coal Tar, Salicylic Acid and Sulfur, Ketoconazole, Selenium Sulfide, and Zinc Pyrithione. Different companies have one or more of these as the active ingredient in their anti-dandruff shampoos. For instance, Head & Shoulders uses Zinc Pyrithione, which works as an anti-fungal ingredient while also breaking down dead skin cells. It is also gentle enough for every day use.

Well, I hoped you liked the first of my Hair 101 series and the first of my soon-to-be regular Bio Nerd Beautician segment. If you have any questions or comments please let me know. 

With love,

Kat