We Love This Stuff!

the Balm | Put A Lid On It eyelid primer

I had a large sample of Benefit’s Stay Don’t Stray that I’ve been using for a while that was working pretty well. It’s got a bit of neutral color to it so it evens out the tone as it goes on which I like, and it held fine I supposed. 

I then got a sample of this stuff, and it too worked fine. It’s thinner in texture which I like, and goes on opaque which I didn’t like, but otherwise it worked just as well.

If you can’t tell, I was mostly only half paying attention when I used them both.

So I decided I would to a side-to-side comparison. I put one on one eye and one on the other. I covered them both with a ridiculous, brightly colored and deeply pigmented MAC eyeshadow and went about my day.

It was not even a close race. 

Twelve hours later, the Benefit side was faded to half the color, and it was starting to stray out along the edges. The shadow on the Balm side looked like I had just put it on. Still bright, vibrant, and exactly where I left it.  This stuff is the real deal. The best part about it is that you honestly only need the tiniest dollop of it. A little does go a long, long way.

The results were so shocking, I promptly trashed the Stay Don’t Stray and ordered myself a full sized Put A Lid On It in the next hour. It is positively a new staple in my makeup arsenal.

Zoya Nail Polish

I paint my nails a lot. A lot. I own an embarrassing amount of nail polish, and I can say with ease that Zoya is the best stuff out there. It goes on smoother, it lasts longer, and it keeps much much better than anything else I own (i.e. doesn’t dry out in the bottle over time). It’s also free of all the creepy stuff that generally comes along with nail polish: toluene, formaldehyde, phthalates and camphor (according to the site). 

They have what I believe to be approximately a zillion colors. They claim it’s “over 300.” The best part, though, is that they’re always having sales. If you sign up for an account through the website, they are constantly having buy x get x free sales and promotions, and they have a rewards system so when you build up points you can get perks like free shipping or $20 off your order. 

It’s honestly a no brainer. If you’re into nails, you should be into Zoya.

Any and all Deva Curl products

Ok, I haven’t personally tried every single one of their products, but you could not pry the stuff I have tried from my cold, dead hands. I think it’s safe to say the rest of them are probably just as good. 

A couple of years back, my longtime hairdresser used the No-Poo and One Condition on me and told me I should buy some.  I shiied away from it because I was broke, and it would take me some years and a major move before I actually bought some, on the internet from Amazon because that was the only place I could find it. 

When I first started using it regularly, all I could think was that it smelled like floor polish, and it doesn’t lather, and what on earth is this stuff? Then a bizarre thing started happening. My hair felt lighter, softer, and the curls were more defined. I ran out and since I couldn’t go down the street for it, used some store bought thing in the meantime and my hair turned in to a total train wreck. 

I had another hairdresser tell me to use the AnGel light, and I thought, but that’s gel, won’t it be heavy and sticky? NOPE. It’s like I have a whole new head. My curls actually bounce. That’s a thing that had never happened before. I’ve also used the “Mist-er Right” (yuk yuk!) revitalizing spray on days when I don’t shampoo to excellent result.

Now, thankfully, there’s an Ulta in town and I can get it any time I need it. The best part is, Ulta sells 3oz bottles of it. So you can just get some to try out to see if it’s right for you. Or get some to travel with, pre-packaged in TSA friendly bottles. 

So what I’m saying is if you’ve got some curls and you’re looking to decrease the sulfites in your life, I get complimented on my hair nearly every day and this stuff is the reason why.

Smashbox Camera Ready Full Coverage Concealer

I am embarrassed to admit that I require the lightest, palest, most vampiric shade of this stuff. I was hoping for level 2 at least, but  NOPE. I’m trying to console myself of the complete loss of my summer tan with the knowledge that your concealer is supposed to be lighter than your actual skin.

What I’m not embarrassed by is how great this stuff works. I was worried at first that it would be too cakey, having had problems with other stuff in the past, but the other Smashbox concealer I’d recently been using (the high definition liquid concealer) was just way too thin to handle my eye problems. 

My worry was unwarranted, though, because this stuff is the exact level of cakey it needs to be in order to cover my dark circles, but not so much that it’s not blendable. It’s delightful. I look so awake! It’s a minor miracle. 

I’ll definitely be sticking with this stuff in the future. 

Dragonette - Bodyparts

I keep being surprised by how much I like this album. It’s sort of techo-light, electro-pop nonsense, but it is super fun. If you just need something to bounce around to, whether you’re doing the dishes or out for a run, you should absolutely look this one up.

stacksandstripes:

I got this Willa Moisturizer with Birchbox points a few weeks ago. I didn’t realize that it was liquid when I ordered it so I was a bit confused when I opened the box.

But then I tried it and loved it! It doesn’t leave a coating feeling on my face like some lotions do. & I like it so much better than other moisturizers that I have used.

Plus it’s on sale at Target this week for $9.20!

Klorane Soothing Eye Makeup Remover

Let me begin by saying I hate eye makeup removers.

They’re greasy and weird. They usually manage to smudge my eye makeup from here to kingdom come before any of it starts to come off. They smell funny, and I usually have a very difficult time using them to clean up any sort of liner problems, because they feel so chemically that I’m too afraid to get them actually close to my eyes.

Even the Mary Kay stuff, which my very pushy “consultant” insists is alcohol free, is separated in the bottle and requires shaking to combine. That seems suspect to me. If it’s alcohol free, what is it that’s separating?

So when Birchbox sent me a sample of this stuff, it was like singing angels delivering me a gift from above.

It requires no shaking, and is not oily in the slightest. It feels just like water, but with the added perk of it gently sweeping your eye makeup away. I am not afraid to get up near my eyes to get rid of pesky liners with it.  

All that and it smells delightful (cornflower, apparently). I cannot recommend this stuff heartily enough. 

If there is one thing Tumblr is really good for, it’s helping us spend our money.

Someone is always posting about something new they’ve seen, something they want to buy, something they have bought, something they’re coveting. After the initial thrill of the wishlisting or purchase, though, we don’t always hear about the success of the product. (Though I’m pretty certain we all know the different sides of the Erin Condren planner debate.)

So what I want to do here is write little reviews of the stuff I have, stuff I’ve personally tried and liked. Just so you know it actually works. Just like you gush to your girlfriends about the new product you tried after they comment on how cute your hair looks, except digitally. 

My aim is to make this a community site. That’s why it’s not called I love this stuff. If you love something, I’d love to hear about it! If you want to write a review and submit it, there’s a little pencil icon at the top of the home page. Better yet, if you love a lot of things and want to join the blog as a contributor, I would love that as well! 

And it doesn’t have to be solely beauty products! Clothes, shoes, books, auto accessories, pet supplies, your favorite stapler (oh, am I the only one with a favorite stapler?), whatever you have that you love, please tell us about it!

For the time being, it’ll only be a post or two a week. I don’t want to overwhelm your dashes, and also I don’t have the budget to be always trying new things to love. As we move along, and I get used to the format, and more people want to contribute, the frequency may increase.

Sally Hansen Color Quick- Metallic Fuschia

On a trip to the Mecca of awesome cheap stuff - Five Below - Boyfriend spotted the nail polish table and while picking through for colors he liked, came across this little beauty. While I’ll admit I was a little skeptical, at $2.95 if I didn’t like it I hadn’t wasted my fortune.  

I tried it Tuesday evening while watching Glee (guilty pleasure) and after following the directions- shake, click and have at it- I loved it! It negates the need to compulsively check the nail polish bottle to make sure it doesn’t fall over and tie-dye your comforter, and the bristles of the pen (marker?) are skinny enough that in two swipes it gets the sides of the nail. If you’re like me, I hate when I look at a completed manicure and see I missed the sides of my nails. This side-reaching feature earned this little baby huge points in my book! They’re also serious about the fast-dry part, as it’s thinner than regular nail polish it dries in record time.

Wednesday post yoga and shower I noticed the tips of my nails were looking a little worn, and it took me all of a minute to touch them up. Magical.

I’m hooked- I want one of these in every color!

Neutrogena Wave & Wave Sonic

If you’re anything like me, you’d love to have the super fantastic skin promised by the Clarisonic skin care system but really don’t have $200 lying around to shell out for it.

I found this budget friendly alternative at Wal-Mart a couple weeks back and I’m quite happy with it. There are two versions: the Wave, a one-speed vibrating unit priced at about $8, and the Wave Sonic, a two-speed spinning version priced around $14.

The catch is that unlike the Clarisonic unit, with which you can use any cleanser you want, the Neutrogena versions require purchase of cleansing pads. I picked some up for just under $6 for 30 pads, which isn’t terrible. It could get a little pricey if you’re using it twice a day, but I tend to only use it at night, and even though it’s not “recommended,” there’s no reason why you can’t toss a bit of your own cleanser on there and use one pad a few times. 

It’s actually quite a refreshing clean, and my skin has been clearer in the few weeks since I picked it up. It’s absolutely worth the small  price tag.