How time flies!

Photo by Matt Carson Has it really been that long? Oh my, I've been a naughty blogger! I do have a good excuse though, at least for part of my absence—I spent the last half of October touring Belgium and Holland playing bass with my Sweetie's band! And on our return trip, we ended up waylaid in Washington DC by the hurricane for most of last week. But now I am back, and ready for blogging! I'm working on a post about our travels right now, but for today, I thought I would post a product review. Sometime ago I read a number of interesting posts about using flaxseed  setting lotion (LandGirl1980 has a wonderfully informative article for making the homemade version here.) It sounded very intriguing and I thought I would test it out for myself. And indeed, I loved the results it gave me—consistently soft, frizz-free, and well-defined curls that lasted forever—better than any other product I've ever tried, in fact.   However, though the homemade version is very simple and inexpensive to make, it is somewhat of a messy process. I did a bit of research and found an Etsy seller, Botticelli Botanicals, offering a Flax Gelee that sounded very similar to the homemade setting lotion. It wasn't too expensive and was made with minimal and natural ingredients--and it was customizable as well. I decided to order a bottle of her basic "foolproof" formula to test it out, and I've been very pleased with the results! I've actually used up the whole bottle (it lasted me about four months with daily use) and reordered—which really says something about how wonderful flaxseed setting lotion is! Just like the homemade version, Botticelli Botanical's Flax Gelee does wonders for my hair. I comb a fairly generous amount (the size of a half dollar or slightly more) through damp or dry hair before setting it on foam stick rollers. Once dry, I remove the rollers and brush out the curls. My hair is completely frizz and static free, and the curls are soft, defined, and very long lasting. I decided to try out one of the add-ins for my second bottle, and had agave added to the mix—according to the seller, this adds extra hold. I'm quite pleased with this addition, and do find it offers an even longer-lasting curl then the basic formula (which was already pretty darn awesome.) I will add that when I initially take the rollers out, my hair is a bit stiff/crunchy—but a quick brushing solves that! Botticelli Botanicals offers a number of scents to choose from as well, which is nice bonus So, if you've been looking for a new setting lotion, or been wanting to try out the flaxseed lotion yourself, I highly recommend this one! xoxo, Amanda Lee