Hair Tales: A Misikko Review and GIVEAWAY

Today I am doing my first ever product review.  It’s a big step for me people, I mean, a seriously huge mega step.  Here’s the deal.  I love giveaways, and I’ll do them any chance I get.  If Auto Tire USA wants to give away a tire on my blog, sure I’ll do it, you never know what my readers are into.  (Ok, I lie, tires are a stretch.  But you get my point.  I love my readers and therefore, I love hosting giveaways.)  But I’ve always been terribly afraid of doing a product review.  What if I don’t like it, what if the product sucks, what will I say, I can’t lie to my readers?!  See what I mean, sticky situation for sure.  So I’ve kind of avoided the whole review thing.

Until now.  A few weeks ago, Misikko contacted me about doing a product review (and giveaway) for them.  I resisted an instant reply of “sorry I can’t, I break out in hives at the thought of reviewing something I might not like” and decided to browse around their site a bit.  They have a TON of stuff, and I was surprised to see they carry my beloved Chi and my wishlisted Chi blow dryer.  I wasn’t super happy with my current straightening balm and had been feeling in a bit of a hair rut, so I poked around for something else to use.  Then something caught my eye.  The HANA Shine Shield Thermal Protectant.  It was listed as a customer favorite, and the reviews were out of this world amazing.  One girl said she’d never again use anything else and another said it was the best money she’d ever spent in her life.  Umm, ok, apparently this product has a cult following.  I was curious; I had to try it.  The people at Misikko also sent me a Corioliss Classic Pro Flat Iron to review.

Within two days of my order my goodies arrived.  Two points for prompt service.  I opened the box to find beautifully wrapped goodies and a few sample freebies.  Two more points for attention to detail.  But the real test would be using the product.

And oh my goodness, did Misikko ace the test!  The product, specifically the Shine Shield, was unreal.  Unreal as in omg-life-changing-to-my-hair!  I have never ever felt my hair so soft.  Seriously.  My hair is naturally curly and has endured years of smashing, straightening, pulling, tugging, and coloring like nobody’s business.  One time of using the Shine Shield was like undoing all those years of damage.  No joke.  I kept running my hands through my hair, thinking, “This is insane.  It’s so soft, so straight!  Those reviewers weren’t lying.”  I was sold on its softness for sure.  And after a night of club going in downtown Chicago, followed by crashing on a friend’s couch, I woke up with…straight hair.  No way.  Upon waking up, my hair is typically somewhere between frizzy, curly, and knotted.  But after using the Shine Shield 24 hours before, it was still pretty dang straight.  I was sold.  Right there.  On my friend’s couch.  Sold.

Here is me and my hair this morning of using both the Shine Shield and the Corioless.

I’ve used it several times since then with the same results.  Love, love, love.  I couldn’t be happier, and I seriously have not been this happy with a hair product since I discovered dry shampoo.  I’ve been really happy with the Corioless, though I can’t lie, I’m so caught up in the Shine Shield I can’t really focus clearly.  I’ve always been a Chi fan, but the Corioless have several features that the Chi doesn’t.  See below.

The power light is on the outside of iron.  The light on my Chi is on the inside, so I forget to turn it off all the dang time.  It also turns from red to green when its hot, unlike my Chi, which goes from flashing red to red (or red to flashing red, I’ve never figured it out.)  It also has grippers along the handle which made it a lot easier to maneuver.  It didn’t slide quite as easily through my hair as my Chi, but I think that is because its brand new and doesn’t have years of product buildup on it :)  After a few days of using it, I realized the tighter grip actually helped straighten my hair better.

So the verdict is in.  The HANA Shine Shield is out of this world amazing, and I’d like to order an endless supply today.  Not kidding.  The flat iron did its thing and gave me straight, straight hair.  And Misikko is a great little site that I clearly need to be ordering from more.

But, guess what?  You don’t have to take my word for it, because Misikko is giving you a chance to WIN these beloved goodies…woo hoo!  A review and a giveaway, I’m in blogger heaven.  (Did I mention the giveaway goodies are valued at $250?)  So…here’s how to win (and there are lots of ways!)

1. You must be a follower to of Smart and Sassy with Sprinkles to win.  (If you’re not already a follower, just become one, it’s easy!)  Leave a comment to enter.  Any comment will do :)

For additional entries…

2. Follow Misikko on Twitter (@misikko)

4. Blog about the giveaway on a personal website and leave me the link in a comment so I can check it out.

5. Join Misikko’s newsletter (3 extra entries)

4. “Like” Misikko on Facebook(www.facebook.com/MisikkoBeauty)

5. Interact with Misikko’s Facebook – Comment on a post or picture, or write on their wall.  Ask them a hair or beauty question if you like! (www.facebook.com/MisikkoBeauty)

Please leave a separate comment for each form of entry.  So if you comment for the first entry, follow them on Twitter, and “like” them on Facebook, you should leave three comments in total.

The giveaway closes Thursday, August 5, 2010 at 11:59 pm.  A winner will be announced later that weekend.  Oh, and the winner must live in either the US or Canada.

Happy commenting, good luck, and a special thanks for Misikko for this giveaway (and changing my hair life!) :)

*PS Misikko didn’t pay me to say these nice things.  I said them because I believe them :)