Worth It

Worth it? Tao Clean Sonic Brush Cleaner

by
TAO Clean Sonic Makeup Brush Cleaner

Here I am, flirting with danger by reviewing a potentially gimmicky product: the Tao Clean Sonic Brush Cleaner.

How Do You Clean Your Brushes?

You do clean them, don’t you?

Are you a sociopath that enjoys cleaning your brushes? It’s okay, this is a safe space. If you’re like the rest of us, though, there’s a whole subset of the beauty industry targeting the rest of us. There are a whole host of brush cleaning gadgets on the market. Some of them appear to me to be gimmicks, or to be scarcely more efficient than washing individually by hand.

For ages, I ignored them. Like a unitasking kitchen appliance, I wasn’t sold on their value. Furthermore, some seem harsher than doing so by hand. Your tools are an investment: you don’t want to be rough on them by subjecting them to a violently whirring apparatus. Many makeup brush cleaner appliances fall into this category.

Noting my bitching (and negligence), my husband got me the Tao Clean Sonic Brush Cleaner ($ 95) as a birthday gift last year. Thoughtful. Practical. And a good present because I’d never have purchased it for myself at that price point (remember?). But finally, I’m actually keeping my brushes clean at a regular interval.

Tao Clean Sonic Brush Cleaner

So, first things first about the Tao Clean Sonic Brush Cleaner: it isn’t a smol boi. Nearly a foot tall and a touch top-heavy, the appliance comes in two pieces with a detachable A/C power supply. The run time for a single cycle is 2 minutes – in that time, it subtly moves each brush back and forth 50 times a second – or 6000 times.

I don’t know about you, but my manual cleaning (even with this mat) doesn’t result in fifty motions per second.

Read more

Worth It? Lumify

by
Bausch and Lomb Lumify

Seasonal allergies? Staring at screens too much? Sociopolitical rage/burnout? Depleted surge capacity? Existential crisis? Ennui? Regardless of why, are you finding that your eyes are a bit more red than you’d like, lately? Got to (appear to) get your shit together before the day’s nth Zoom meeting?

I got you.

Who says cosmetics are only for your skin, hair, and nails? I’ve been using Lumify eye drops for about two years now–yeah, since the before times–and nothing obliterates redness the same way. NOTHING. Not Visene, not Ben Stein Clear Eyes, not Rohto, not any damn thing.

Putting Lumify Simply

Read more

Worth it? Noom

by
Worth it? Noom

Last November, I had the opportunity to check out Noom to see if it was a good fit for me. This opportunity was extended to me gratis with the idea that I might like it enough to promote, so I have not paid for a membership. I am in fact able to use affiliate links for Noom to monetize conversions (sign-ups) but I am not for reasons that will become evident.

Starting over a year before that, I had decided to stop assuming that I could ride the coattails of my metabolism forever and made some lifestyle changes to better suit my health and my sedentary career.

People who know me are going to read that and have a stroke. STOP! Breathe.
I work 50+ hours a week and I sit for practically all of it. This, for me, is not about weight loss. This is about making healthier choices so my body does the thing better, for a longer time. I can binge 1500 calories of Reese’s cups in a sitting or I can try to consider my nutritional needs.

I don’t diet. I don’t believe in, “dieting,” because they imply a temporary adjustment is going to cultivate lasting change. This is not reason; it is folly. I’d been managing by my own reason using an if-it-fits-your-macros or IIFYM approach based on my activity level, goals, and needs. When I encountered Noom and found that they are not about that, ‘diet,’ life, I figured – oh, what the hell.

So I took them up on it and tried Noom to see if it was worth it.

What is Noom?

Let’s start with their mission statement:

Help people everywhere lead healthier lives through behavior change.

Okay, this resonates. But what IS it? Realistically, Noom is an accountability tool that helps establish and promote healthier behaviors through a series of positive reinforcement. It IS NOT a diet or fitness program, though they do now offer meal and workout plans for an additional fee over their base cost.

tl;dr?

It isn’t for me. BUT that doesn’t mean its bad.

Why Noom isn’t a Good Fit for Me

There are two big reasons and two small reasons; read more to see why.

Read more

Worth It? FabFitFun

by

Although I previously swore of subscription boxes, I subscribed to FabFitFun for five seasons. Unlike my previous subscription box experiences, FabFitFun doesn’t just flood you with a half dozen mini or sample size items on a quarterly basis; nay. You get full size product across a range of categories, a degree of customization, and sometimes other neat things that aren’t product (if you don’t opt out). The value of the items DOES exceed the price you’re paying for the box.

I’ve heard some feedback that people were offput due to the higher price ($50/box), but considering that it is quarterly, it ends up being right around $16.67 per month; not bad in the scheme of things.

Cool Features

When you subscribe, you complete a survey about your preferences. For example, I opted into necklaces, makeup, and skincare – but out of snacks and bracelets, and I rated fragrances as low interest. These preferences are ranked from a Love\Like\Neutral\Meh\DO NOT WANT perspective, so you can rank without being black-and-white.

Per box, there’s an element of customization available in each box for members. You keep an eye on your email for a message from FabFitFun on when your window is open, then go in and make your choices. If you don’t, you get what you get.

Read more

Worth it? elf Wow Brow Gel

by
elf wow browelf wow brow gel, $4

I was browsing through Target’s beauty aisles – as a basic white girl is wont to do – seeking NYX Milk pencils. En route, I happened to spot elf Wow Brow gel. The name is reminiscent of a Benefit product, but this does not phase me. For $4 per 0.12 oz pop, I decide to try this fiber-containing formula even though I’m not currently in the market for brow products (currently using Anastasia Dipbrow Gel ($9-18) that is SO NICE and yes I still need to write about it).

Packaging

Like all elf products, elf Wow Brow packaging is unassuming in a black cylinder. Some people want to be seduced with packaging – and don’t get me wrong; I swoon over Hourglass like the rest of ’em – but I’m comfortable with simple and practical. The spoolie housed inside does not beat benefit’s in Gimme Brow and Gimme Brow+ but for the price difference, I’ll live. (Hell, I may be able to clean a Gimme Brow+ spoolie and use it if I must).

Color Selection

Examining the five shade selection, I couldn’t decide what I needed; I grabbed two. As it turns out, elf’s interpretation of Taupe differs both from my understanding of the shade as well as most other brow product manufacturers, so I grabbed it and what they deem Neutral Brown. Neutral Brown seems closer to what I expect from a Taupe shade.

Here they are in real life.

Read more

Clarisonic Mia 2 Review

by

This legacy post has been given a facelift for clarity and readability. Updates have been marked in line. Enjoy! Unfortunately, the Clarisonic Mia 2 is generally not for sale any longer (though I did see a set at Costco recently), but I can confirm that the results I experienced tend to follow several of their other devices. :)

Disclaimer: The following Clarisonic Mia 2 review was written by me and originally published over at the now-defunct Skincare Addiction Blog.

I tend to face ultra-hyped products with a certain degree of skepticism. After all, we’ve all plunked down money for something that just couldn’t live up to the marketing and was too good to be true. That doesn’t mean I am not interested in trying them, but it does mean I take a little more than two-days-worth of convincing before I dub something, “game changing,” or, “holy grail.”

Clarisonic Mia 2 Stock Photo

I wanted to try a Clarisonic for a a while but could not bring myself to shell out for it. I had an Olay Pro-X which was a mere fraction of the price, and when it comes right down to it, how many buttons and internet* and whatnot do we really need in our skincare routine? Eventually, the motor in my Pro-X began to falter – even with fresh batteries and a fresh brush head I had to use it longer to achieve the same level of clean that I was accustomed to. I started looking into the Clarisonic Mia 2, as I tossed around the idea of replacing my 2+ year old Pro-X device. To my delight, my now-husband gave me a Clarisonic Mia 2 as a very early Christmas gift last year (so Clarisonic doesn’t know me).

My Skin

I wasn’t seeking a miracle worker in the Clarisonic Mia 2; I neither believe in miracle beauty products nor have any severe skin conditions to contend with. That said, let’s talk about my skin, about which I have few complaints (back in December 2014):

  • Normal/Oily T-Zone. Cheek dryness during winter
  • Larger pores throughout T-Zone
  • A few Hormonal (cycle-related) blemishes around, “that time”
  • Sebaceous filaments on and just to the area just below and next to my nostrils
  • Occasional flakiness around nose & odd texture (not dryness) between eyes and across the upper-bridge of my nose
  • Not sensitive

The Wait

Although I wanted to gush about it right away, I decided to be patient. I know I tire of reading/hearing how life-changing this new-fangled (and often expensive) product or gadget that the reviewer has had for oh, three days. It may be, but some things deserve a greater level of scrutiny (this isn’t drugstore lipstick, after all) before being published.

Considering that a Clarisonic is an investment item for many consumers, I decided to use it for a whole year before talking about it.

First Impressions

Clarisonic Mia 2 - UnboxedClarisonic Mia 2, unboxed

Read more