product review – the Spiff

Eyeshadow Fail

November 5, 2014 No Comments

Every Wednesday I try to write about a product I’ve been using lately that I either want to marry or burn in a fiery furnace (I thought the extremes might wake you up).

To give you a hint on how I feel about this weeks product…there will be no engagement pictures, rings or Pinterest-perfect bridesmaids.

I love love my Maybelline Color Tattoo Eyeshadow in Bad to the Bronze. In fact I wear it almost everyday. Sometimes alone, sometimes layered with other colors. It gives the perfect sheen and gets me out the door very quickly.

But its evil stepsister the Cream Gel Shadow in Tough as Taupe is not so perfect.

I’m currently in the honeymoon phase of a relationship with the color taupe (all these wedding references, what’s up with that?). Seriously though, I love it. So when I found a shadow in the same color, I thought…Yes please!

Unfortunately this color comes off more ashy gray than it does creamy taupe. #Fail. Maybe it will work with your skin color, but if you’re at all the pale white with peachy undertones kind-of-gal that I am, it’s a no go.

The one thing that has saved the color from being thrown in the fiery furnace (which I don’t actually have on hand, by the way) is that it looks good when paired with Bad to the Bronze. Really I can’t think of a color Bad to the Bronze can’t help with. So go get you some of that.

Beauty, beauty products, product review

The Best Hair Spray for Sleeping

October 22, 2014 3 Comments

Every day with my hair is like a surprise party. When I wake up in the morning, two things usually pass through my mind – what have I done with my hair, and how has it survived the night.

It’s not a, “WHAT HAVE I DONE WITH MY HAIR?!” It’s more along the lines of me trying to remember what my hair style was the day before. Did I straighten it? Is it wavy? Did I wear it up? Once the fog clears and I’m walking towards the bathroom, the next question is how did it survive?

Some mornings it looks like I’ve barely laid my head on the pillow – which are the best because it means I hardly have to spend any time on it getting ready! Other mornings (aka: most of the time) it’s me surveying the damage of my pillow rampage (seriously, do I thrash around on that thing?) and trying to determine if it’s salvageable or if I need to wear it up.

I get especially sad when it just can’t be saved because it takes a long time to do my hair and if the style doesn’t survive the night, then all that work only lasted me a couple of hours. There are times when I’ve considered sleeping standing up. No joke.

To help with this problem, I’m always on the hunt for a great hair spray that will lock down my look and make it so that I don’t have to do as much work the next day.

I’ve tried Nexxus, NYM, Tres Semme, Aussie and a whole slew of BirchBox samples, and while they all have their strengths, the one I’ve found to be the best for holding my style overnight, is Dove.

It’s got a great hold to it and really helps it so that I’m not waking up with kinks or untamed poof, but instead I wake up with the hair I went to bed with.

Now I just need to work on remembering to spray down my hair BEFORE I get all snuggled in the bed #hateitwhenthathappens.

Beauty, product review

Product Review: Rapid Tone Repair

October 8, 2014 No Comments

I’m a sucker for a good ad. If the right ad were to come along promising to help me grow a tail, I’d probably buy it if it were pretty/convincing enough (also I’ve always thought it’d be cool if we had one…it would be like a third arm AND a mood indicator that doesn’t lie!)

What’s funny about that is, my day job is in marketing so I’m completely familiar with the tactics/thought process behind the persuasive writing. And yet… It’s only 33 easy payment of $19.95!!

When I saw an ad for this Neutrogena Rapid Tone Repair Moisturizer I was hooked. I would love to use less foundation and concealer because my skin tone is so even, sign me up! After “signing up” by handing the cashier at Target the $20, I took it home eager to see the results (they promise a difference in a week).

I have to be honest, and I really hope no one from those drugstore beauty brands reads this, but I actually liked the fact that it was $20. It always makes me a little leery when a beauty product makes all these grandioso promises, but costs less than lunch. If it were so great…wouldn’t they want to be making more money off of it? And twenty bucks is right in my comfort zone. Not so much that I get a call from the husband, but enough to make me think it will work (just kidding about the call from my husband…he’d address it in person. Just kidding. He’d hire someone to address it).

Now for the part you’ve been waiting for…the results!

Well, I’m still using concealer and foundation. BUT I am using a big less in the area where I had some acne scarring. I did notice that decreasing over time. Did I see results in a week? Meh. That’s so hard to tell, because I don’t know if it’s my brain telling me spots are fading or if it’s actually happening. I’ve only been using it for about two months now, so maybe as time goes on I’ll see a bigger difference.

Regardless, this lotion is nice and light. It soaks right in and has an SPF which is SO CRITICAL. Really, the use of all caps there is called for. And even if it is just the power of suggestion, I’m ok with that.

Beauty, hair, hair spray, product review

Product Review: Nexxus Hair Spray

September 10, 2014 No Comments

Does anyone else get excited to go to the travel section?

Everything in it is so cheap and so darn cute! Just think of how much fun we could have had with our American Girl dolls and the miniature size body washes – oh the social media pics I could have produced as a child….

Nevertheless, I love the travel section now for different reasons (thankfully they go outside the bounds of setting up dolls in real life scenarios with hair spray and shampoo). I love it because it allows me to test run products without spending a lot of money.

While on vacation a couple weeks ago, I didn’t pack any of my hair sprays so that I could go by the travel section (ha the sentence could end there) and grab a brand I’ve never used before.

This time I picked up Nexxus Hair Spray (more specifically “Finishing Mist”). This one promised a touchable hold, which means you can still run your fingers through your hair without getting caught (I hate it when that happens and you’re sitting in front of people who you know are being entertained watching you untangle your fingers).

I really liked two things about this spray and really disliked one…

1. I loved that it did what it promised – it held my style and still allowed movement in my hair and the ability to run my fingers through it after styling.

2. It passed the overnight test. I had to only touch up in a few places, but overall the style held strong after sleeping on it.

What I disliked the most was the smell. It has that hardcore heavy hairspray smell.

But because the hair spray performed so well in the other categories, I may not toss it out entirely. I’ll just have to keep going back to the travel section to buy more…I should do that now and maybe buy lots of other things while I’m standing there…

Beauty, hair, product review

Product Review: Dry Shampoo

July 30, 2014 No Comments

I’m sometimes afraid to tell people how often I wash my hair.

I don’t want them immediately assuming I only bathe once a week, because that’s not true. I simply only wash my hair once I week. I bathe the rest of me once a month. Silly head.

If you’re sitting there wishing you could cut down your hair washing regimen from a daily thing to at least every couple of days, know that it’s actually possible. It is! If you’ll stop washing it as much, your hair/scalp will eventually slow down in its oil production and get used to a wash every couple of days.

Right now you’re probably thinking about that in-between time when you’re having to get your hair used to not being washed as much and how horrid that may be. Well, friend, it won’t be too horrid if you’ll just buy yourself this dry shampoo.

I’m such a big fan of this NYM (Not Your Mother’s) hair product line, that recently I realized it was time to try their dry shampoo. The results? A decent smell (I’ve yet to find one that’s HOLY-MOLY good), no residue, clean and manageable hair. #nailed it.

It comes in a great big can too, so if those first couple days of not washing your hair turns out to feel a lot like rehab, you can go to town with the spray. Just be sure to rub in it every time.

Anyone else notice my sudden campaign to stop washing things? I promise it’s filled with good intentions :)