Ole Henriksen Truth Serum

Ole Henriksen Truth SerumOle Henriksen Truth Serum, $20-128

If you write, do you ever have so much to say that you find it overwhelming to decide where to start? In spite of using Ole Henriksen Truth Serum for ages and promising reviews, that’s where I was on this. I’ve finally found some clarity and pared down my thoughts to a concise (enough) format, so here we go.

It Begins

Read more

Help Me, I Bought a Supersonic

Dyson Supersonic

Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer, $399

It’s almost Christmas. 2018 is almost over. After Thanksgiving and Black Friday, Dyson was running some specials on refurb appliances via their eBay outlet – including their absurdly expensive dryer, the Dyson Supersonic. It was down around what I expressed in March 2017 as being willing to throw at it.

Hmm, interesting.

My poor current dryer, which I reinvigorated earlier this year, is showing different signs of failure. We’ve had a good run, but it seems likely that I will need to replace it before long. The timing can’t be argued-with.

I wrestled with it for a while because even with the heavy discounts it is damn rich for my blood. After a couple weeks, I decided to lose my mind give it a shot. With a sale plus a promo code, I got it the badass Iron/Red combination for $214. Plus, you know, eBates.


The dryer has yet to arrive but should before the holiday. Since it is a refurb, I do not expect it to come in its fabulous retail packaging – but it will come with both concentrators, the diffuser (which I don’t need), the mat, and the hanger.

Admittedly, I am vacillating between, “What have I done?” and, “CAN IT GET HERE ALREADY?! I WANT TO TRY IT.”

I plan to put the dryer to work immediately and will report back with first impressions. Hopefully it suddenly makes me really good at hair.

Lavanila The Healthy Deodorant

Lavanila The Healthy Deodorant

I make no bones about the fact that I primarily wear men’s deodorant (still loving and repurchasing Old Spice Bearglove). I don’t care for antiperspirants (and generally don’t, “need,” them); surprisingly, there are few products marketed to women that aren’t. A few years ago, I purchased a stick of Lavanila The Healthy Deodorant to test the waters of so-called natural deodorants. I have since realized that, apart from alluding to it in this favorites post from May 2016, I never talked about it. Whoops.

Why You (Theoretically) Want It

If you’re looking to get away from traditional antiperspirant deodorant products, Lavanila The Healthy Deodorant is free of:

Read more

Recent Repurchases

This is a legacy post that has been given a facelift and some 2018 updates! Enjoy.


When it comes to finding products that really work for you, you tend to sift through a lot of BS:

  • overpromising, underdelivering products;
  • overhyped (by the community) products;
  • or things that just, through by no fault of anyone, don’t work for you.

Trying new things can be fun, too, but when you find products that REALLY work for you, you tend to cling to them. I do, anyway. Here are my recent repurchases.

Recent Repurchases
Recent Repurchases
1. Eucerin Daily Replenishing Body Lotion, $10 / 2. Urban Decay All Nighter, $30 or $39 for 2
3. L’Oreal Telescopic Carbon Black Mascara, $8 / 4.  Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil, $16

Read more

What I NEVER Buy at Sephora

Please enjoy this post from the archives – it’s still definitely accurate today!

What I NEVER buy at SephoraI’m generally comfortable with investing in quality products, and there are some things I am glad to splurge on. In spite of just locking in VIB for another year, though, there are some things I NEVER buy at Sephora. This is just a list of things I won’t buy for myself; I may buy them as gifts if I know the recipient would love it. This is also not a list intended to criticize people’s shopping choices (except maybe the Louboutin nail polish), just to point out what I choose not to buy.

Manicure Products

Sephora just isn’t the place to go for manicure offerings. I know some people love Deborah Lippmann, but I just haven’t been ensorceled by her products. I’ve shared my thoughts on freaking Louboutin making lacquer, on not liking FormulaX, and how unbelievably ridiculous Nails Inc is with their NAILKALE. If I’m shelling out $15-30 dollars on polish, you can bet it’s going to be UV/LED cured and a massive, pro-sized bottle, at that.

There are more brands, but the best bang for your buck when it comes to manicure supplies is simply NOT there at Sephora.

Mascara

Although my favorite mascara to date is prestige, I never buy at Sephora and pay prestige prices for mascara. This drugstore option gets me results nearly the same – and for the $12/tube savings, I’m fine with a potential and slight drop in quality.

Read more