.:: CybeleSays ::.

I’m a little too fascinated by all things big hair these days; maybe it’s the watching of too much Jerseylicious, Jersey Shore and the Millionaire Matchmaker. Big hair, teased crown, I want it all and I’m living vicariously through these TV shows. In my own hands, I’ve got these two shown here that are helping me get the look but what I really need is, and I’ve stated this on twitter, Tracy DiMarco to come and do my hair.

CRICKET & CO. Amped UP Teasing Brush ($4.39 @ cricketco.com) – this one mixes up boars bristles and nylon and are multi-leveled - longer in the middle and shorter around the outside. Great for the novice like me. Availabel in Blue, Pink and Purple.

SPORNETTE Big Wonder Brush Boar and Tourmaline #131 ($7.50 spornette.com) – if you are a pro with the tease, this one is a good step up as it gives you more surface area.

Sadly, I think my T3 hairdryer is about to bite the dust so I’ve been thinking about what to do when that happens. It’s been on my mind majorly lately as a dryer is a very personal thing and I think I got pretty lucky when I tried this limited edition purple Centrix 5000 blow dryer from CRICKET CO. I’s pretty lightweight, easy to handle and boasts 25% more air flow than the leading dryers as in the dryer’s air current can reach up to 50 miles per hour! Wow. Yes, the air coming out is pretty strong but not too strong where it makes it difficult to handle.

A few things I think can use improvement - the air coming out takes a while to heat up even when the setting is on max hot. At first I thought it just didn’t get as hot as a T3 as I’ve heard the T3’s almost get too hot but the air did get hotter the longer I used it in a drying/styling session.

I also think the buttons on the front of the handle could have been placed in a different location on the unit as my palm seems to hit those buttons and move the settings quite a few times when maneuvering the unit around. Maybe I just need to get used to it more?

Consider this an investment at $129.99 @ folica.com but remember that a good quality dryer will last you years to come.

And a portion of sales from this dryer will go to support the recovery of domestic abuse victims.

Disclosure: A sample of this item was provided for review purposes.

There’s nothing more fun than trying out a new hair tool. It is from the CONAIR line and is their Infiniti Pro Spin Air Brush and this one gets better with each use. It’s kind of like this one but this may be the next version of it? Not quite sure yet.

What It Is - This multidirectional brush rotates in both directions to volumize and shine. The true ionic generator releases up to 100x more concentrated ions from natural sources to protect hair from damage and seal in moisture for silky, smooth results and gorgeous shine. With even, gentle ceramic heat to safely dry hair with more protection and less damaging hot spots.

My Take – I have to admit, I was ready to write this one off after 2 uses but I kept coming back to it to use it more day after day. As I mentioned above, there is a learning curve and this one gets easier to use as you use it and get used to how it works.

Pros – cuts down on styling time since you are drying and styling at once. Makes strands blowout bouncy and shiny.

Cons – hard learning curve as hair can get tangled if you don’t know what you’re doing. No place to put your hand not(it) holding the handle. Would give better leverage if there was some kind of bar to rest it on. No way to get close to the roots.

Choose from 4 colors – Black, Plum, Teal and Red for $68.99 @ conair.com.

Disclosure: A sample of this item was provided for review purposes.

Since it’s full-on summertime, I’ve been a little obsessed with all things beachy-waves and decided to put two tools to the test. In this corner, well, on the left in the picture, we have GOLD N HOT Jumbo Ceramic Triple Barrel Waver and on the right side is NUME 19mm Curling Wand in Pink.

My college-friend Jen lives out here in LA and has really nice long blonde hair and for some reason, I love to style it for her. I wanted to see which one would create the most beachiest of beachy waves.  

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It’s funny how the saying goes, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” Take the classic hair roller for example. It’s still the best way to achieve natural fullness and volume in the hair and the arm of technology has not totally changed it too much. I’ve been using these Rollers from the BOMBSHELL brand over the past few weeks and they are not your normal Velcro rollers, which I’m a fan of. These feature  an integrated thermal barrel so the heat stays inside each roller longer thus helps you get max fullness or volume.$9.99 to $13.99/1.5inch to 3 inch @ ts2products.com.

Disclosure: A sample of this item was provided for review purposes.

Sometimes a hair tool comes along that is so serious and so solid, I thank the beauty product Gods that I do what I do here on Cybelesays.com! This SPORNETTE (take a deep breathe for the name …) Porcupine Hair Brush Boar and Nylon Bristle Rounder Wooden Handle 3” is such a serious styler that I’ve only been using it for when I’m really going to put some time into styling my hair.

So with regard to the name, does it really have porcupine quills in it or is that just in the name? The description on their site doesn’t make mention of any real quills used, only boar and nylon bristles, so I’m guessing not. And because it has both styles of bristles, this is a good brush for styling damp hair or dry.

Out of all five styles, I find this 3” one the most useful – the handle is not too thin or too thick and hard to handle. $10.99 @ spornette.com.

Disclosure: A sample of this item was provided to Cybelesays.com for review purposes.

This brush from SPORNETTE has a big title to live up to you. It’s called The Feel Good Brush and ooo does it over! Who doesn’t love a good scalp massage and this one is perfect for that, as well as detangling strands. The bristles are made of soft and flexible nylon bristles and they recommend using it before and after the shower. So open up and say ahhhh… $9 @ amazon.com.

Disclosure: A sample of this item was provided to Cybelesays.com for review purposes.

I’ve always had pretty good luck giving a personal appliance for a present. It’s personal but not too personal and who couldn’t use a new (insert name here). The latest one I’m loving, and I think they are really coming back, is hair rollers and this CONAIR Xtreme Instant Heat 20-Piece Ceramic Multi-Sized Roller Set ($41.99 @ conair.com) is awesome! There are 8 jumbo rollers of 1.25”, 6 large rollers of 1” each, and 6 medium rollers with a diameter of .75”, 20 heated clips. And here is a first – not only do the rollers heat up using ceramic technology but the clips that are clamped on do too. And the whole thing heats up in 75 seconds. Nice!

My hair is a tad on the shorter side right now so I was only able to use the smaller rollers but it really gives nice waves that really last. I just need more practice at getting the right style.

The only room for improvement is maybe underneath the base could be storage for the rest of the clips as the inside only holds 3.

Disclosure: A sample of this item was provided to Cybelesays.com for review purposes.

Ok, a new season means two things for me, get a new toothbrush and check into the wear of all my hairbrushes. Now as you can probably guess, since I have this here blog, I own and try a lot of hair brushes but I’m still always looking out for the latest and greatest to try on my tresses.

So the latest one is HOTHEADS’ 3D Bristle Pattern Brush. The 3-D part is that is has a 3-dimensional bristle pattern made up of white boar bristles, black boar bristles and nylon ball tip bristles. Because it has all three, they claim it speeds up drying time by 50 to 60 percent! I think that in addition to the bristles, also the fact that this brush makes it so much easier to get through all the sections of the hair because it doesn’t tire out the arm so quickly. I really do feel like I am in control of my hair and my hair is not in control of me because it’s sooooo light!! I would guess this brush weighs no more than a mouse. And the shape of the brush head is concave like this one to help keep the hair on the brush. Comes in Small ($18), Medium ($24.50), and Large ($29.50) @ hotheadhairbrush.com.

Disclosure: A sample of this item was provided to Cybelesays.com for review purposes.

Unlike the traditional curling iron, I can’t say that I’ve perfected the way to use the growing-in-popularity clip free hair iron. Maybe with a few more YouTube tutorials and I’ll have it down? We’ll see. So why am I even into this kind of iron? For one, the curls these clip free ones create are more ringlet type curls than flattened curls we are used to. I’ve been wielding AMIKA’s 13mm Tourmaline Curler and besides helping me get really night ringlets, well a good one here and there (still practicing, remember?), I love that it comes in many different colors and prints. The one shown here comes in pink, purple and even a lace-print style.

And when I get better at it, I want to graduate to their Zebra Triple Barrel Pro-Curler Set. It comes with three interchangeable tourmaline barrels so you control the curl size!

And if you have tried on of these before, you know that it is quite easy to burn yourself so I'm glad these come with a heat-resistant glove. $179 @ loveamika.com.

Disclosure: A sample of this item was provided to Cybelesays.com for review purposes.