(Me. Circa 1997, clearly inspired by Julianne Moore in The Big Lebowski.)A schmillion years ago, when I lived with a roommate, Nancye*, we used to wax each other. I worked part time at a salon and full time at the ad agency where I work now. Me, a budding makeup artist with a brazen willingness to try things at home. Nancye, a coworker who was herself brazen, often walking around topless after showering and asking, "does this bother you?" (Indeed, I found it odd.) Although one night, whilst topless, she asked, "would you help me wax?" and that is how the great wax experiment of 1997 began.
While thinking back on this now, it seems absurd, but at the time it seemed perfectly normal. Setting up shop in the kitchen, getting ready to wax each other, one of refusing to wear a top (to be clear, that was not me). After we waxed, we would probably go to Don Pablos and Ann Taylor Loft to shop. It was truly a girly night. Since I worked at the salon, I was familiar with waxing and had the goods to get the job done at home. The "goods" included that honeycomb-labeled container of wax, muslin strips and wooden sticks, which were used only once and never double dipped, thank you very much. Bikinis, underarms, brows, lips - you name it, we waxed it.
Only once was I injured, when I heated the wax too hot, used too much and burnt my underarms. I am a huge klutz as anyone who knows me can attest. I learned the hard way - NEVER WAX YOUR OWN ARMPITS with hot wax. What happens when it goes south is unspeakable. The swelling, the pain. You can't put your arms down. It's awful. I swear I looked like Ralphie's little brother in that Christmas movie, but in a sleeveless top.
After the Great Pit Wax Debacle, I put my honeycombed jar of wax and muslin strips in the dark recesses of my beauty closet, where they still sit to this day. I opted to shave my bits and see a pro for the rest. Until recently.
Now that I am 36 (11 years older than in the above waxing lore), my upper lip has decided it is, well, Italian. Or something besides Irish and fair. I have developed a little bit of a girl-stache. For obvious reasons, my 'stache can't stay. And since my hair grows like a weed and I would rather buy lip gloss than spend $20 getting my lip waxed, I considered breaking out my honeycombed jar of wax.
Then I chickened out and bought Nads instead. The Nads didn't really stick to my face (insert guffaw here, Loxy) and made more of a mess. Then at Ulta, I noticed the Parissa Quick and Easy Wax kit.
Here is how it works. You get 8 double-sided strips. You take one strip, rub it between your hands to heat it up and pull the strips apart. You now have two-ready-to-go waxing strips. I applied one to the right side of my lip. I rubbed in the direction of hair growth, careful not to rub the wax onto my actual lip. Then YANK! It smarted for a quick second. Just like it does when you go to the salon. I pressed on the skin to calm it down, followed by a quick swipe of the included huile (oil) to remove the rest of the wax. I repeated this on the other side which is where, admittedly, courage comes into play, and the 'stache was no more.
These strips did a great job of removing all of the hair and leaving my lip really, really smooth. The box says you can use them on your bikini or face. However, they are thinner in width that I would prefer for my bikini and thicker than I would prefer for my brows. But for lips, they are perfect. If you really want to do your own brows, legs or whatever else, check out Parissa's other waxing kits - they have quite a few to choose from!
Would you wax at home? Tell me in the comments!
This kit was provided to me for the purposes of review.
*She would kill me, I think, if I mentioned the topless thing with her real name. Regardless, it's all totally true.
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