.:: 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.

The season once again is on deck to change! Will you be updating your hair styling products and tools? Here are a few to get you at least thinking about it.

NEXXUS Maxximum Super Hold Styling and Finishing Mist ($10.55/10oz @ nexxus.com) – transitioning from one season to another can wreak havoc on strands. They don’t know what to do! This one will keep strays and flyaways at bay.

REDKEN Guts 10 Volume Spray Foam ($6.99/2oz @ redken.com) – we have all seen that big hair is coming back in a big way. And where does big hair start? The roots of course! This foam will boost strands to get them standing at attention.

BUMBLE AND BUMBLE Mending Masque ($37/5oz @ bumbleandbumble.com) – let’s face it, if your hair is ratty and out of shape, nothing you try is going to help so make sure you get it back in line with a good hair mask like this one.

A change in the season means a change in my hair brush. After all, the materials that style and go though your hair have a life span as well. And they don’t have to look all boring and functional anymore. Take these two for example. This SPORNETTE Hypnotique #5902 Purple Paddle Brush ($26.95 @ spornette.com) combines nylon and 100% boars bristles and is a great staple everyday brush while SEPHORA’s Bamboo Boar Brush ($12 @ sephora.com) has a ceramic-coated barrel and, as the name states, all boar hair bristles. And the thinness of it makes it easy for wielding.

Disclosure: Some of these items were provided for review purposes. Some I bought.

Like the brushes you use to apply your makeup, the brushes you use to style your hair are just as important as the products you put in it. This little red siren from SPORNETTE called the Ultra Lite Brush has become my go-to brush when it comes to styling with the blow dryer. It uses Porcupine Boar Bristles and a Ceramic Thermal Barrel to evenly distribute the heat from the dryer and Tourmaline to smooth the cuticle of the hairs down and add shine. I like that the bristles are spaced a little ways away from one another as this lets each strand swoop past the bristles so they can do their work. Not to mention it just makes it easier for even the novice to style the hair.

Comes in three different size barrels – $16.50/2 ¼”, $19.50/3” and $22.50/3 ½” @ spornette.com.

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.

When doing your makeup or hair, what tools you use are as important as the products you are using. One hair line I’ve written about quite a few times on the site is SPORNETTE. They are always coming up with new brushes to make a stylists job easier, or in my case, the average girl’s job easier! The latest one to wow me is from their latest Zhu II Collection. The handles are all made of bamboo and have a slab of compressed cork particles for grip. And the bristles? Of course only the finest boar bristles and this one combines them with Tourmaline enhanced nylon bristles to help condition each strand as you run it through. There are four brushes available – 3 round and one cushion. While I have tried all four, I think my favorite overall is #2250, the 2 ½” Diameter Boar Rounder ($18 @ whatshotbeautysupplies.com). It seems to be the easiest to control and style to my liking my medium length hair.

And this brings me to another topic - when was the last time you thought about your hair brushes and what you use on your hair? They have a great link on their site to help you pick a brush. Click here to see what you need. 

Disclosure: The following item was provided to Cybelesays.com for review purposes.

I’m wondering what the life span of a hair brush is or rather, what the life span of a round hair brush is. I did a google search and there are a lot of depends attached to it, like how often you use it and what it’s made of etc, so let me know if you have any insight!

Spornette also just came out with a line of makeup brushes called Marché. So far, I am liking the Foundation Liquid Cream Brush ($15) and the Eye Line and Define ($9) brushes and both are made with nylon bristles. Available here.

We @ Cybelesays have tried many-a hairbrush. Think about it. You got your paddle, round, boars hair, plastic bristle and on and on. And for styling? Each aforementioned style seems to get their day in the sun, or rather, under the dryer but this one from SPORTNETTE’s Italian collection is really taking the cake right now. And it’s so basic it’s scary. It combines all the good qualities that make for a good round styling hairbrush – smooth surfaced handle with no places to catch your hair, bristled hourglass shape that helps hold the hair and prevent tangles. And this one uses boars hair bristles reinforced with nylon bristles. The Italian collection is part of the new Concavia collection and there are three sizes to choose from. For overall styling I like the 3” barrel diameter size of #855 ($24) but the smaller 2 ¼” #854 ($20) and 2” #856 ($19) ones are for those with shorter hair and if you are pretty good at wielding them around. Any of these will help bring the pro out of you! All @ spornette.com

I swear I'm hair product challenged. Even when I make an effort to use the smallest amount of something, it ends up being too much and then I have greasy spots on my head. When I find a product I like and learn how to use it, in my head, I’m onto the next one to conquer my next hair concern. I feel that since I have this one product down, I assume the best for every hair product I come across. This works for about 1 out of every 50 and remember this is styling products. Shampoos and conditioners I am pretty good at choosing. Some of these hair styling products should be by prescription only, but then again I guess they are since some of them are only sold in solons. I gotta find me a class or something – hair styling 101.

Like when it comes to makeup, the tools you use to style your hair to get the right “application” are just as important as the above products you put it in. So bless their little hearts over at SPORNETTE. They make it so even the hair novice like me can style their hair somewhat presentable. I am really into their collection of Pronto Hair Brushes ($10.99-$12.99/1 ½” to 3” barrels @ folica.com) right now. Here are the features:

• barrel is concave so the hair stays on the brush
• barrel is ceramic so hair dries fast
• bristles are Tourmaline and Nano Silver

What I also like about these brushes is that the bristles are spaced further apart than a boars hairbrush. It is so much easier for me to grab a section of hair and wrap it around the brush whilst drying it. If I can’t seem to always figure out the styling products, at least I can get the tool part down. 

SPORNETTE makes some of my favorite brushes. Their new collection of Coco Tourmaline Nylon and Boar Bristle brushes do double duty. The nylon tourmaline tips on the boar bristles make for excellent styling while it conditions your hair at the same time. The ceramic barrel speeds up the drying time! They named the collection Coco after the pretty chocolate brown barrel. It comes in 3 sizes: 2” diameter #1500/$13.99, 2-1/4” diameter #1505/$14.99 and 3” diameter #1510/ $15.99 @ metrobeauty.com ~Lisa