Tools

Sally Beauty Haul – May 2015

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It’s been a while since I’ve hauled. I was on a No Buy in April, and was successful. If it’s been a while since I’ve shopped for makeup and hair items, it has been longer since I’ve gotten any nail goodies. Despite my love of polished nails, which existed long before my interest in makeup, I’ve been slacking lately! I’ve just been keeping my nails shaped and tidy, leaving them bare often, being semi-bored with what I did have (listen to my first world problems, waah). I decided I want some more colors, but resolved to wait until Sally Beauty had a BOGO (buy one, get one) free sale.

My patience was rewarded. A couple weeks ago Sally Beauty had a 3-Day BOGO polish (RNP and gel) sale…and I had a 20% off coupon. The hunt began. I originally planned to order online because the two stores nearest me aren’t ultra-convenient, and I don’t really like how crowded the aisles can be AND there’s often only one employee working.

Due to the free ship threshold, I ventured out in person to seek my Sally Beauty Haul. Instant gratification was nice, but waiting 20 minutes for someone to ring me out was not. (Another customer decided to DIY destroycolor her hair for the first time…and instead of doing research, she wanted to play 20 Questions with the employee.)

Anyway, here’s the loot!

Sally Beauty HaulSally Beauty Haul – May 2015
  • ORLY GelFX in Melt Your Popsicle, Oh Cabana Boy, and Skinny Dip
  • Manicure Bowl
  • Nail Brush
  • Harmony Gelish in Arctic Freeze
  • China Glaze Gelaze in Coconut Kiss and Recycle

Total? $26 before tax. Yassss. RNP at regular price wouldn’t be that cheap!

That’s well over $70 of stuff – and I got some tools (that were super cheap, <$1 each).

I don’t get crazy with my makeup, but I do get crazy with my nails. I slapped on ORLY GelFX Melt Your Popsicle right away and am liking it a lot – I really wanted an orange (now I just need a true, non-fluorescent/highlighter yellow). With this Sally Beauty Ha, I’m pretty well set for summer nail shenanigans.

Have you had any beauty hauls recently? How did you do?

How to Clean Your Clarisonic

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This is the second post (see the first) in my originally unintentional Spring Cleaning Series. I’ve shared extensively that I enjoy some buttons and internet in my skincare via the Clarisonic Mia2. Like any tool, Clarisonics require maintenance not only to work as intended, but to avoid introducing any ilk to your skin that, by its very design, it shouldn’t. So let’s talk about how to Clean Your Clarisonic. For that matter, these steps should apply to most replaceable-brush-head skincare tools, but illustrations will be with my trusty Mia2.

Maintenance is not something we should do when we realize that we can’t quite remember how long our Clarisonic has been hanging out in our shower. You don’t need a significant amount of time and you don’t need any fancy cleansers or materials to clean your Clarisonic. It’s quick and easy, and there’s really no good reason not to do so. (It takes less time than cleaning makeup brushes, come on).

1. After use, dry your Clarisonic.

Clean Your Clarisonic - Dry it After Use

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LAB2 I’m Turning Pro Brush Kit

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front

This is the LAB2 Beauty I’m Turning Pro Brush Kit. Look familiar? It should! I found L.A.B.2 by chance in Wal-Mart and tried out an angled-bristle liner brush, and was excited to try more.

Before we go any further, though, let’s get the legalities out of the way. The folks at L.A.B.2 were kind enough to send me this I’m Turning Pro brush set after I expressed my delight at their liner and brow brush. This post is not paid or sponsored, but the brushes in the post were free.

There were no conditions or stipulations attached to the brushes. My opinions are my own and were formed in the same way my opinion would be formed for any other product whether I bought it or it was a gift. That’s how we do things here because we aren’t unethical scrubs who can be, “bought.” Got it? Good. Check the Legal page for more info, or comment or contact me if I can clear anything up.

Now don’t mind the banged up box – that is 1000% USPS’ fault. I don’t know if it happened en route or if it happened on the last leg (sometimes my Post Office could stand to handle things a bit more gently).
back

Like the previous LAB2 brush I reviewed, the I’m Turning Pro brush set has a lot of information on the back including an explanation of the set and what each brush does, a cut-out card of how to use the brushes – even a face chart.

The I’m Turning Pro brush kit is available on Amazon for $21.99 and includes:

  • Angled Contour Brush
  • Flat Foundation Brush
  • Shadow Brush
  • Buffer Brush

The Strokes of Genius set is more eye-centric and is available on Amazon for $19.99. More after the jump…

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March 2015 Favorites

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March 2015 Favorites
March 2015 Favorites
1. Travelon Sleep Mask, $8 / 2. Contigo Grace Water Bottle, $11 /
3. Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics, $29 / 4. The Wet Brush, $9

A-ha! You thought, “Oh, first Wednesday of the month fell on the first day of the month…no favorites until next week.”

April Fools on you – I actually managed to get my March 2015 Favorites up regardless!

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Worth it? Wet Brush

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A similarly skeptical friend (the one who alerted me to the Silkn Flash & Go Freedom) recently got her hair done. At the salon, post-wash, her stylist used an amazing hairbrush on her hair. It made quick work of detangling (finishing in just a few brush-strokes) and didn’t tug or pull a single time – she found out that it was called the Wet Brush. She was so impressed that she bought one from the salon on the spot and shared her experience with me soon after.

The Wet Brush - Stock Photo

She tried it out at home to ensure that it was not just some hairdresser magic, and enjoyed the same results – both with wet and dry hair. She found that the bristles flex as needed to gently pass through hair without tugging.

I’ve been using a classic Denman for the past year or so, being tired of yet another $5 Conair that inevitably breaks, is hard to clean, or whose nubby-tipped bristles lose their tips, scratching my scalp and yanking my hair. The Denman is fine, it works, but it isn’t winning any Outstanding Hairbrush awards in my book. I wasn’t really looking to replace it, though (if it ain’t broke, etc). I figured if I wanted to, I’d look into a Tangle Teezer or a dupe of it.

But with her endorsement of the Wet Brush, I was curious. I found that it is not a salon exclusive, but that you can buy it from Amazon.com, Sally Beauty, and Target, among other places for about $8-9. That’s not bad. I still wasn’t planning on it right away, but kept the idea in the back of my mind.

I renewed my Sally Beauty membership last month and still had the resulting $5 off coupon to use, plus their nearly-always-available 15% off circular coupon. I stopped in when I was nearby and rather than getting even more gel nail polish (though their new Nail Studio is pretty neat!), I picked up the Original Wet Brush – between my membership discount, the 15% off, and the $5 off, I got the brush for $2.69. They had one that had boar bristles (says it is great for Dry Shampoo users) as well as the ones I was looking to try, but I opted for the original for the sake of science.

The Original Wet Brush Packaging

The Brush Itself:

I prodded the Wet Brush’s bristles in the packaging. They do flex, but they seemed to flex a little differently each time I touched, depending on the angle and amount of force I applied. It was neat, I thought. The brand says the unique flexibility is owed to their IntelliFlex bristles tipped with SofTip nubs to ensure gentle use. To be frank, I don’t care for the silly marketing names. The bristles aren’t, “smart,” bristles. They are, however, a neat polymer that does allow them to flex as needed to provide just the right amount of resistance. I’m more interested in how they achieved that than I am in them passing it off like it is an intelligent device.

When I unpackaged it at home, I was pleased to find that the brush has a relatively slim profile – the bristles are by no means short, but the plastic back is flat and not bulky.

The Wet Brush - Profile

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Foreo Issa Toothbrush

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The Foreo Issa is a unique silicone electric toothbrush from the company that makes the Luna, a skin cleansing device that is said to rival the Clarisonic.

My first encounter with this brush was in a Sephora marketing e-mail a few weeks ago where I was kind of taken aback. It isn’t my aim to be crass here, but this device definitely resembles something else and I’m not the only one who thinks so (a review on Sephora’s site proves this). I wrote it off as amusing, but not really worth looking back into. A toothbrush does not need to be chic and aesthetically pleasing (albeit adult-entertainment-looking), as far as I’m concerned…nor does it need a $200 price tag.

Foreo Issa ToothbrushForeo Issa Silicone Pulsating Toothbrush, $200

At some point later, I visited the product’s page again to read the reviews (when I found the aforementioned review); I was planning to write an exceptionally snarky post about it. What I found aside from that was that the Foreo Issa may not be a gimmick after all.

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