Worth It

Worth it? MiroPure Straightening Brush

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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.

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Worth it? Clarisonic Smart Profile

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Clarisonic Smart Profile

Several years ago, I purchased my first Clarisonic (a Mia 2). After an entire year of use, I wrote a comprehensive review. Following that, I created a bunch of other Clarisonic–related content. As time went on, my Mia 2 suffered normal wear and tear. I noticed that it’s battery was waning. It still charges, it still operates, but the longevity of a charge isn’t as robust as it once was. I suspected that it might be on its last legs soon, and I had resigned myself to replacing it. The Clarisonic Smart Profile Uplift had just come out and I scoffed at its ridiculous $350 pricetag. I had decided a long time ago that I’d go with a Mia next; the dual-speed feature of the Mia 2 wasn’t worth the extra money to me (I never use the slower speed).

Then, I was in Costco one day late last Autumn and they had a Clarisonic Smart Profile clearanced for $150 (insane!). The Smart Profile replaces the Aria line of years’ past and is compatible with the body brush heads. Considering the regular price of the Mia has increased to $129 in the last year or two, I was sold on the Clarisonic Smart Profile.

I’ve had it for about three months now and I’m ready to open up on its features, flaws, and other fun stuff.

Clarisonic Smart Profile Features

To be clear, this is not the Clarisonic Smart Profile Uplift. The original Clarisonic Smart Profile seems to have been discontinued, but the Clarisonic Smart Profile Uplift retails for the same price point and includes some different skin tools.

Multiple Modes & Notifications

The Smart Profile features four facial speeds, a body mode, and a turbo option for an extra, quick burst of cleansing power. If you’re using the Smart Profile brush heads, the device can tell identify them (vs all the classic heads) and supposedly adjusts the cleansing mode(s) accordingly.

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Worth it? Drunk Elephant C-Firma Day Serum

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Drunk Elephant C-Firma Day SerumDrunk Elephant C-Firma Day Serum, $80

I mentioned in my June favorites that buying Drunk Elephant C-Firma Day Serum. I adore this damn serum. A colleague and paled at the cost when I sang its praises; I understand. I love it, plan to repurchase, and still recoil from the price tag.

Gun Shy

Short of tools like my Luna Mini or Clarisonic Mia2, I don’t tend to spend much on individual products. With a few exceptions, I’m generally of the opinion that beauty need not break the bank.

Being young (enough – and only for now, don’t worry, this isn’t a cocky statement) and skeptical of products promising miracles, I pass on a lot of prestige and luxury skincare. Aside from my tools, none of my skincare routine is prestige at this point!

Too Young?

Never. As far as I’m concerned, mid-twenties is a perfectly reasonable time to reconsider your approach to skincare even if you aren’t suffering a skin mutiny as I was.

Once my acne was under control, I decided my skin could use a boost in the liveliness department. Although I find makeup fun, I much prefer to have healthy, radiant skin than to need to slap on product to fake it.

Mid-twenties is not too young to start anti-aging products – and with a demanding career, my skin was looking a bit tired. I don’t want or need anything hardcore. No retinol here (at this stage in my life). But I do have under-eye circles, some dullness and uneven tone, etc. I decided that Vitamin C was the place to be for my needs right now.

Influences on my Purchase Decision

A blog I’ve followed for years and implicitly rely on touted Ole Henriksen’s Truth Serum but when I got into reviews and other comparisons, many sources seemed to suggest the Drunk Elephant product to be superior. Part of this is packaging, part is the concentration and type of Vitamin C itself, and the other part of are the other ingredients. I was leery about spending that much on a type of product I’d never tried before, so I kept searching.

Interestingly, although Stefanie Nicole (check out her channel here) has a YouTube channel, she works in the beauty industry on the manufacturing and distribution side of things. She also has a no-nonsense attitude that resonates with me. I appreciate her willingness to say, “I didn’t care for this,” or, “This product didn’t perform well for the price.” We need more of that! In this case, Drunk Elephant C-Firma does, in her opinion, perform well for the price.

Upon hearing her ringing endorsement of Drunk Elephant C-Firma Day Serum, I decided to splurge during the Spring BI/VIB Sale. My skin was consistent at that point (not as stable as it is now, but better!), and I felt comfortable adding a variable.

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Worth it? Tarte Shape Tape Concealer

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Tarte Shape Tape

Tarte Shape Tape, $25

Holy heavily-promoted-on-YouTube, Batman! I eventually bought Shape Tape to weigh in on it to see if it was ridiculous YouTube sponsored hype or a legitimately good product. This cruelty-free, apparently vegan product is evidently sold once every twenty-six seconds according to Tarte.

Availability

When Tarte Shape Tape came out, it was basically out of stock in all popular shades, including mine, for what seemed like months. I suspect this is due to a bit of manufactured scarcity to pump up demand and hype. Eventually, I got my hands on a tube during a Ulta 20% Platinum Perk sale.

I didn’t realize this at first, but Tarte Shape Tape is only sold on tarte.com and at Ulta. I learned that Tarte seems to offer 20% off promotions more often than Ulta does, but then you lose your point/perk earning potential. Pros and cons, people.

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Worth it? bareMinerals Lash Domination Mascara

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This is a legacy post from the archives that has been given a facelift. Content remains the same but may have been edited for readability/clarity.

bareMinerals Lash Domination mascarabareMinerals Lash Domination Mascara

Mineral makeup mogul bareMinerals happens to make my favorite-so-far mascara, the Flawless Definition Lengthening mascara. At some point in the last year or so, they added a new member to their lash line (ha), the (full name, deep breath) bareMinerals Lash Domination 10-in-1 Volumizing Mascara. I love edgy product names, except when I don’t.

Benefits

According to bareMinerals, it:

  • Volumizes
  • Lengthens
  • Thickens
  • Separates
  • Lifts
  • All-day wear
  • Mineral fortified
  • Resists clumps
  • Fights flakes
  • Smudge-resistant

Hrm. I don’t really count the last three as benefits, as any decent mascara should do that anyway, even one that costs me $3. Oh, but it has quinoa in it. I wonder if they’ll release a kale version?

GWP is Good Enough For Me (to try)

My sass aside, because I loved (and had not yet repurchased) the Flawless Definition mascara, I was very excited when I received this deluxe sample as GWP in a Sephora order I made months ago. I only opened it in late March (2014), however, because the drugstore product I was using was still good (and mascara shelf life rages me, so I try to avoid using multiples simultaneously); I did not want to set the clock ticking too soon.

Finally, the time came to crack ‘er open arrived. Because I decided to be edgy like the product and not look up reviews, demos, etc. My first impressions were:

1. Wow, why is the applicator portion of the wand so long?! My eyes are not that big.

2. Ooh! The short plastic bristles I like!

3. …oh they better not be arranged in a spiral. They’re arranged in a spiral. Fuuuu–

I told myself, “Okay, who knows, the spirals could be awesome. Let’s slap it on and find out.”

Application & Wear

I applied it – it went on easy enough, the consistency of the formula is very similar to the Flawless Definition. I was pretty happy to see that. My lashes looked pretty awesome in a single coat. The formula held up through the day, was non-irritating, and did not flake or smudge. By the end of the day, however, they lacked the oomph of the morning and I noticed it did not hold the curl I placed before applying. My lashes were black, but not curled up, so my eyes did not look as open as they had.

Thinking there may have been an adjustment period, I wore it every day for a week with similar results. I may or may not have poked myself in the eye once trying to maneuver the strange spiral applicator. The days I applied two coats held the curl a little better, but not substantially so. It was also surprisingly difficult to wash off for a non-waterproof formula, unlike the Flawless Definition line. I really had to scrub with my Ponds wipe to remove it, and had to go under my lower lash-line carefully (even when I did not coat those lashes) so I did not look like a raccoon. I do not have a separate eye makeup remover, but you may want one. Alternatively, you can use oil to remove – such as olive or almond – and you should have an easier time.

The Bottom Line

It is not really worth it. Though bareMinerals Lash Domination comes at you with a sassy name and flashy packaging there are drugstore mascaras (such as L’Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes Excess) that outperform this $18 tube that generally receives under 4 (out of 5) star reviews, often between 3.6 and 3.8. While it doesn’t make sky-high claims, it also does not perform as well as its older sister, the Flawless Definition. It’s a fair bet during Ulta’s half-off sales, though.

At least three (more, really) of the ten, “features,” are things we all expect from our mascara, not new enhancements. On top of the so-so performance of the product, the awkward design of the wand – both the spiral bristles and the length of the bristle section makes it a little difficult to work with. If you want a bareMinerals mascara, go with one of the original Flawless Definition formulas – the original Lengthening is my personal favorite.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links – this means I may get a very small percentage of the sale if you decide to buy something. I’ll only tell you that something is awesome if I have verified it myself!

Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Foundation

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Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Foundation, $36

Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Foundation…so refreshing to have a product with an absurdly long name! It’s been a while.

I’ve never been a fan of caking on product to hide problems. Even when I was in the throes of ridiculous skin woes, I wouldn’t do it. That doesn’t mean I’d go bare-faced…but troweling on Instagram-ready, drag-worthy makeup does not seem like a healthy choice for problem skin.

The Purchase

Over the holidays, I finally ran out of the powder foundation I was using on lazy (read: most) mornings where blending a cream or liquid product was out of the question. Armed with a 20% off Ulta Platinum voucher, I picked up Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Foundation. I like the idea of mineral powder foundations; even though bareMinerals didn’t blow me away with its lofty claims, it is a decent product that is user friendly. My hope was that I’d find a better shade match and a similar level of user friendliness in this Tarte product.

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