This adult toy does wonders for my hair

A lot of people say it looks kind of phishy. I have to admit I made sure my parents knew it was a hairstyling product before I opened the box. I told them so many times when I ordered it, when it arrived and right before opening it, they must have found it even more suspicious. Anyway, its weird look doesn't take away from the fact that it's pure magic. Let's talk about the Revlon Curl Magic bubble curling wand!

This is a really long post. In a hurry? Skip to the conclusion (in italic) way down below!

I saw this thing on Itsjudytime on YouTube. Despite all the comments on how Judy was "doing it wrong", I really liked the effect. It looked a bit messy (sloppy, ya know), not like those boring curls that are all the same size you get from a classical curling iron. At the $20 mark I thought this fascinating thing was definitely worth seeing what I could do with it. The hunt was open!

After looking for a European version for ages, I gave up on my continent. As far as I know, a bubble wand like this isn't available in European stores or web shops yet. Bummer. Normally, I would give up by this time, but I wanted it so badly I just tried to find the Revlon one. I managed to find a store on Amazon(.com) that shipped it to Belgium, and voilà, my magic wand was on its way.

It's only after I hastily ordered it (like it would get sold out within the five minutes it would take to see which Amazon I was on) that I realized I'd bought it from America, where the plugs and voltage are quite different... But you know that shopping rush when you've been looking for something for so long and when you find it your mind goes blank until it's yours, right? (it might just be me)

Luckily, the wand turned out to be suitable for worldwide dual voltage, so the only thing that I needed to use it here was a plug adapter. The funny thing is, I bought the wand for $22 (€16!) and the adapter cost me more than the wand (€18). That's really stupid, I know, but in the end, I think it was worth the investment. I'm sure you can find an American to European adapter for like €3 online, but after looking for it a while and considering what I would have to do to return it if it didn't work, I decided on just going to a real store. I'm glad I did that, 'cause I bought a wrong one at first, but I'll tell you about that later on.

Now, let's finally get to the product and what it does. The wand can be used in several ways. You can swirl your hair in between the bubbles for tight little curls. By placing your hair on top of the bubbles you get a wider, more mermaid like curl. As usual I didn't go for the conventional way on the packaging, because I wanted a mix between tight and loose curls. I'm sure if you focus on it you can get your hair to kinda look like Merida's in Brave (the look I was going for). I didn't put much time and effort in it, because I desperately wanted to test it but it was already late at night. I took wide strands of hair and wrapped them evenly over the wand. So without aiming them in between or on top of the bubbles. Just all over the place! It took me about 15 minutes to make my hair look like this (excuse the bad pictures).

left: right after curling, right: a day later, about noon

On the left you can kinda see what it looked like when I'd just curled it (before combing). It gave me a great mix between nice, tight curls and loose waves. For me, this look is a bit too 17th century, but if you want real dramatic curls it's wonderful. Once I'd combed it it looked perfect for a night out. Still dramatic, something in between curls and waves.

On the right you can see what my hair looked like a day later. It's the exact wavy look I like for a casual day out. Still not too much for work either. I'm already exited to use this right before a party at evening, knowing my hair will look great for work in the morning. That's more than I bargained for when I bought this cheap thing.

I thought handling this wand would be really tough, because I'm not used to using clipless wands.  I the comments on amazon I read horror stories about people who burnt themselves constantly with this thing. Since I believe I'm the most clumsy person in Europe, I already pictured tearful scenes of desperation and third degree burns. The wand comes with a heat protection glove and although it works for the heat, I have to agree with all other users that it's just a pain to use. I gave up on using it very quickly. So, how many times have I burnt myself? Guess what? None! People reading this who don't know me will have to take my word on this, but if I don't burn myself, there's no reason anyone should. If you use this thing how it's supposed to be used, I'm pretty sure you'll be alright.

But is it easy to use? Yes! It's super easy! I like it much better than my iron with clip. I don't have to redo every curl, which is the fact with my iron with clip. Apparently, a clipless iron just works better for clumsy me. I have, however, read about a lot of people who think clipless irons are a lot harder to use, so I can't guarantee you'll like that aspect of the Curl Magic wand.

Some last details about the wand that might be interesting to you are that it has several heat settings (actually quite a lot). I have thick hair and I don't even set it to the highest setting, so it's quite powerful. It also has an on/off button and the bubble on the very tip of the wand is made from a material that doesn't heat up. That's very nice to rest your curling hand on while you wait for the magic to happen. The cord is quite long, but not too long so it doesn't get in the way.  Some people say they find the handle too thin, but I like it a lot. It's not as bulky as most handles, I think it's perfect.

Conclusion: I love, love, love this thing and I don't mind at all that I had to buy an adapter to use it, because this wand is so cheap for what it does. At $22 it's definitely a bargain, considering I paid at least double for my straight barrel curling iron with clip and I like the Curl Magic bubble wand twenty times better. I don't think I'll be switching to my old wand any time soon. You can get a lot of different curly or wavy looks and the curls stay in very long.  My close friend and fellow blogger Anine saw me two days after I'd curled my hair with it and she thought I'd curled it right before we met up.

Warning: keep in mind that to use this thing in Europe, you will need a plug adapter. It can handle dual voltage, so no problem there, but of course the American plug won't fit in European sockets. You can come by a plug adapter very easily online, HOWEVER: the plug is not just an ordinary A-type plug, but an A type with two poles that are different in width. Most European adapters have two holes that are equally large, so make sure you get the right type. It shouldn't be hard to find though, I found mine here.  

As you can see, two different poles, two different holes

If you've been looking for the perfect curling wand, don't hesitate. It might seem like a fuss to use an American one in Europe, but I don't think we have anything that compares to this wand in Europe and it's really worth the effort! If you have any concerns or questions or if you have a curling iron you couldn't miss for the world, please let me know in the comments below.

Lots of light,

Sloppy D.

Wake up delight

The first thing I indulged myself with when I got my very first pay, was something I've been wanting for quite some time. I've always loved the idea of a wake-up light. I was very skeptical about their ability to actually wake people, but when I stumbled upon one in a time that I could actually afford to take the risk, I decided to give it a go.

(No time to read the full text? Skip to the conclusion at the bottom instead!)

I bought the cheapest one that was still from a well known brand, which meant I still had to cough up €80. The cheaper ones just look awful and I doubt they are powerful enough to wake you. I could be wrong though, haven't tried them yet.

I love the simplicity of my Philips one. It doesn't have a lot of functions, it's really nice to handle and I actually use every function I paid for. That's quite refreshing for technology nowadays (or do you actually use the stock features on your iPhone? Yeah, me neither...). In a few simple steps it was set up and good to go. I was glad to discover there's still a possibility to play sound along with the light, just to be sure it would definitely wake me. 

The first day I used it, I was surprised to see the light actually woke me up before the sound did. The light starts going on about half an hour before alarm time and gradually increases, like a sunrise. It's actually a really warm, natural light. It's so nice I even use it to fall asleep (there's also a sleep function where the light gradually decreases). I let it start at the lowest light setting, and then it goes out in about 20 minutes. It's so soft I easily fall asleep with it lid. I love it when I'm very tired but I still have to do things like put on cream or something. After I've finished, I don't even have to turn off the light anymore. (what? That can be very annoying when you're sleepy!)

Anyway, so the light wakes me up sometime before the "alarm" goes off. That means I wake up in a very natural way, not with a shock like when I used to have "Raise Your Glass" by Pink as an alarm and she started screaming "right, right, turn off the lights!" at me in the morning. I usually doze off for a few more minutes after the light wakes me up. When I hear blackbirds singing a few minutes later, I know it's actually time to wake up. The sound's so natural I caught my mom looking out my window one morning, wondering since when we had so many blackbirds in town. 

Overall it's made a huge difference for me. It doesn't really feel like I have to wake up. It just feels like my body decides to wake up by itself. You know how it can spoil a song forever when you've used it as an alarm? Well, I have absolutely no problem when I hear blackbirds singing. They make me think of my bed in a good way. 

the most expensive model with docking station

The Philips wake-up light I have costs about €80. There are two more expensive models as far as I know. The first retails at €110. The only difference is that it has 5 wake-up sounds and several colours. Don't know if I would use those, though. The yellow sun-like light is pretty! The most expensive model is about €130. It comes with a docking station for you iPhone or iPod and an app so you can operate the light with them. It also has 8 wake-up sounds. I like the idea of it, but I'm sticking to my "cheap" one, since I try not to take my phone upstairs at night and I certainly don't like leaving it right next to my head as I sleep (it stresses me out).

Conclusion: I knew I would like the warm light of this thing, I just thought it wouldn't wake me up. It does and in a great way. This is definitely not an alarm clock, because I've never woken up alarmed anymore since I've had it. I highly recommend this for all you stressed out people who hate the thought of waking up for another working day.  Great investment!

Lots of light,

Sloppy D.