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

Vacation is All I Ever Wanted...

Just got back from visiting Atlanta! I loved the southern charm and visiting the CNN center. If you're a vegetarian of the eastern shore, you should totally try the Mellow Mushroom, the vegetarian pizzeria is fabulous.


With love,
Cassidy

Weather Woes

Hello!

Cas is so up on blog posts and I am definitely not. I have good excuses though. During all the storms that have been happening my computer's charging cord wasn't in a surge protector which led to me not having a computer for awhile. Luckily, it was just the cord that had to be replaced.

My other excuse is that I have been working on a series of posts about haircare. The series is going to be called Hair 101. It's part of a soon-to-be regular segment that I plan on doing called Bio Nerd Beautician.

Hair 101 is going to have three posts: Shampoo, Conditioner, and Treatments. I'm going to go into extensive detail about what each encompasses. It's going to cover everything from types and uses to regularly used ingredients.

For now, I wanted to share an amazing beauty find.

Vaseline Spray & Go Moisturizer

This stuff is absolutely amazing! It comes in three different versions: Cocoa Radiant, Total Moisture, and Aloe Fresh. I bought the Total Moisture one and I love it.  You spray, rub in, and its dry in a few seconds! I always hated putting lotion on because it took forever to dry. Skinny jeans and freshly moisturized legs do not go together. This stuff is so quick drying and surprisingly moisturizing, it has made my daily routine so much easier.

Don't forget to look out for my Hair 101 series!

Love,

Kat

Because Cassidy is Addicted to the Internet

Since it is summer break clearly the rational way to spend my time is surfing the web looking for new and beautiful things. Today I just thought I would share some adorible items and websites. I am sooo not the fashion one, that is kat, but I love putting my two cents in wherever I can.

1) This shirt is the funniest thing and I need it, I can not find where it comes from but if anyone comes across it please let me know!

 2) This is from a website called blackmilkclothing.com, they make fabulous tights and bodycon dresses, the downside is that they are all like $80 and ship from Australia.

 3) The store anthropologie is PERFECT. This skirt is from their 2012 collection and is the perfect tutu for adults, and I want it.

 4) Okay sooo this isn't fashion but I adore the movie the lorax and if someone made this for me they would be my instant bestfriend.

 5) Another great find from a great website! This is a blouse from modcloth.com and I think it would look good for most occasions, the downside is that this website is also on the more expensive side.

 6) I found this necklace on pintrest and it is so childishly fun! It happens to be $115 which is the downside but if your intrested in buying it I think it is from http://www.kellyashworth.com/

7) This one isn't a fashion item either but I think I fell in love with it. These are called lunchskins and they've been on Oprah and The Steve Harvey show, they are reusable plastic bags that are dishwasher safe and they only cost 6-$10 and I adore anything that helps the planet (: if your intrested they're from http://www.lunchskins.com/

Thanks for reading my June Christmas list (; Hopefully you guys also like something.

Love, 

Cassidy

Hi!
This is Cassidy, sorry I have not posted in so long, its finals season *whew*. I just want to take a second to talk about my new favorite thing to eat. MorningStar has this fake chicken (I know your probably thinking like ew gross) it tastes so fab. Even if your not vegetarian you should try it just because it is lower in fat and calories than regular chicken with just as much FLAVA.
 <-- the holy grail

(This is also endorsed by Kat, a meat lover)

Love,
Cassidy

Monday Motivation

Tomorrow is Monday! Ditch the idea that the only time to start working out is January first, every day is a new opportunity. Working out for a week straight can be hard, not to mention intimidating, but also incredibly rewarding. You don’t have to be a gym rat to challenge yourself. Try running a faster pace than normal, adding an extra 5 minutes to your routine, or lifting an extra 5 pounds. It doesn’t matter what level you’re at, just get out there and sweat! (:

Much love,

Cassidy

Just a Little Naked

Makeup Mondays

On a recent shopping trip I acquired the newest Naked palette by Urban Decay, Naked Basics. The palette retails for $27.00 (at Sephora). The palette contains six shades: Venus (shimmery white, satin), Foxy (sand, matte), Walk of Shame (light nude, matte), Naked 2 (taupe nude, matte), Faint (light brown, matte), and Crave (black, matte). Five of the six are matte, which is fantastic. I adore mattes and they can be hard to find. All of the colors are lovely and have excellent coverage. The packaging is slim and compact. It can be a little hard to open. The inside has a rather large mirror, which makes this palette great for applying on-the-go. Over all, I'm rather fond of my new little palette. 

Love,

Kat

An Introduction

Hello!
We would like to introduce ourselves, we are Kat and Cas. Two friends with a blog!

I'm Cassidy, just your regular vegetarian [Kat: eww!] fitness fanatic who loves fashion and food. I post whatever crosses my mind so subbsrice if that sort of thing fits your fancy. :)
Feel free to ask either us anything, we love answering questions [Kat: Gives us something to write about. ;)]! Expect a lot of fashion, exercises, recipes, and random Ryan Gosling memes form me.

I'm Kat, resident fashion and beauty consultant! I enjoy keeping up on the latest fashion news and visiting paradise (a.k.a. the local Sephora store). From me expect the latest fashion news, trends, OOTDs, beauty tips and tricks, and makeup tutorials.

With love,
Kat and Cas
<3