Review

Garnier Micellar Water

by
Garnier Micellar WaterGarnier Micellar Water

This is a legacy post that has been given a facelift. Content is the same but may have been edited for clarity and readability. Any additional commentary is noted in line.

Micellar Water, where have you been all my life? Oh, right, in France, as Bioderma. But NOW, here, everywhere, inexpensive, accessible, and glorious.

I purchased my bottle of Garnier Micellar Water from Amazon, unassuming in its pink-capped, clear, oval bottle. I tend to do a good job resisting the hype, but I got anxious when I got home with it. Is it just water? Did I just pay $6 for a bottle of water?!

What’s in a Micelle?

I did more homework. To explain it simply:

Read more

Worth it? Drunk Elephant B-Hydra (Quick Take)

by

Drunk Elephant B-Hydra, $52

To be honest, I really planned on buying Drunk Elephant B-Hydra. Drunk Elephant C-Firma is the only ‘expensive’ skincare product in my regimen – and I’m satisfied with that! Forever a value seeker, I picked up their Come C About Me holiday set that included a full-size C-Firma and:

  • Beste jelly cleanser
  • Umbra sunscreen
  • …and Drunk Elephant B-Hydra moisturizer.

I haven’t tried Beste and Umbra yet, but I have been using the small bottle of B-Hydra, cocktailing it with C-Firma in the morning and applying before any makeup I wear that day.

Usage

Read more

Worth it? Beyond the Zone Last Call Hair Masque

by

Beyond the Zone Last Call Hair Masque

After three rounds of balayage highlights and more heat-styling than I’ve done consistently…ever, some of my hair can use an extra boost of hydration. Last time I was in Sally’s (a while ago at this point – before Christmas for sure), I picked up their Beyond the Zone Last Call Hair Masque ($2.49). I love Aussie 3-Minute Miracle and use it regularly, but figured it was worth investigating.

The Claims

Beyond the Zone Last Call Hair Masque claims that it:

Read more

Worth it? Shiseido Lash Curler

by
Curled my Lashes, Bent my No Buy - Shiseido Lash CurlerShiseido Lash Curler, $20

Eyelashes are serious business. Often if I’m not wearing any other makeup, I’ve probably at least curled my lashes and thrown on a coat of mascara. My lashes are light brown and tend to point straight out from my eyelid so I tend to look a little worse-for-wear than I am. It’s silly, but that 30 seconds of effort makes me look a bit more awake and alive. I’d seen magazines and blogs praising both the Shu Uemera and the Shiseido Lash Curler but I initially dismissed it as hype because, back then, the idea of prestige cosmetics was comedy to me.

On the Cheap

For the longest time I used the Sonia Kashuk lash curler from Target. It was passable; I’d used better (cheaper) ones in the past. I hadn’t put much stock in an eyelash curler as an, “investment,” tool. A lash curler is a lash curler, right? After all, they’re fairly simple and straightforward. Is there that much difference between the $5 option and the $20?

Upgrade

Last year, in spite of my misgivings about spending $20 on something so simple, I splurged on my first prestige eyelash curler. I decided I was going to go with a cult favorite and selected the Shiseido Lash Curler over the Shu Uemura for, initially, accessibility’s sake.

Read more

Worth it? MiroPure Straightening Brush

by
MiroPure Straightening Brush // straightening brushesMiroPure Straightening Brush, $40

No matter what I seem to do, I can’t seem to bring myself to stick with consistently styling my hair. I’m not particularly good at it. I like sleep more than I like fiddling with my hair first thing in the morning, and that often means my hair isn’t as smooth and visually tidy as I’d like. Late last year I became aware of thermal straightening brushes and shared my initial thoughts in November. Since, the MiroPure Straightening Brush arrived and I’ve used it more times than I can count.

First, we’ll get into how straightening brushes work, then to my review.

How do Straightening Brushes Work?

All brushes are designed a little differently (here’s a Dafni, for instance), but the core concept is the same. The back plate of the brush (analogous to the cushion area) is heated just like the plates of a flat iron. Likewise most or all of the, “bristles,” or, “teeth,” are constructed of or surrounded by that same plate material and are heated.

Read more

Glambot Batch Verification

by

This is a legacy post that has been giving a formatting facelift. I still feel very strongly about Glambot given this unsavory experience with them – three years later, I feel the same about not recommending them. If you weren’t around in 2014, here’s what went down.

Initially, I didn’t get much of a response from Glambot on their product intake and batch verification procedures I was seeking.

But I do now.

I reached out to Glambot and asked if they could clarify their team has some special batch verification process to see whether or not products are past their prime.

Glambot’s initial response, copied-and-pasted:

From our experience, MAC lipsticks loose their initial vanilla scent in about 1-3 years.  The exact amount of time varies with the specific color but I do believe that frost finishes, including those that have any trace of a metallic sheen, loose their vanilla scent the quickest.  Although we do not cross-reference each item’s batch number, we do handle customers concerns individually, as they come.

Well, losing a nice scent and becoming intolerable are two different things. MAC Cosmo is an amplified creme finish so the frosty/metallic information isn’t relevant. The vanilla wasn’t as strong as my new tube of Brave; even if it had no smell that would be one thing, but this was pungent. Not something I could stand to wear even not thinking it had expired.

Also – each item that comes in does not receive Glambot batch verification? Does that mean some some items do? I wasn’t sure; it was worded ambiguously.

Following Up

I followed-up, detailing my experience with my tube of MAC Cosmo I purchased from them back in June. It was reported to be in good condition, 80-100% full.

When I received it, it smelled okay, but between then and now it turned to a familiar foul, cheap-crayon scent. It is common knowledge that when lipsticks experience drastic changes like that, they are probably expired.

They came back asking how I store my lipsticks. I store them upright, away from light and heat in a closed drawer in a room that does not have significant temperature variance. They replied that I was, “doing everything right,” but left it at that.

Taking Matters into My Own Hands

At this point, I checked the batch number myself as it was clear to me that there was no interest in that on their end.

Read more