Worth It

Worth it? Foreo Issa Mini

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issamini_pkgForeo Issa Mini

Last year after this post, I purchased a Foreo Issa Mini. I did not purchase the curious toothbrush for myself, but for my husband who happens to have unreasonably sensitive gums. Although his dentist tells him his gums are healthy, they bleed every time he brushes (even using the softest-bristled toothbrush).

Can you imagine? That’s REALLY unpleasant!

The Purchase

After I read that some people with sensitive mouths were having good luck with the Issa, I decided to go for it when Sephora had their Spring BI sale. This purchase is what made me VIB, so at the time I only managed to snag 10% off plus whatever eBates was offering at the time.

I ordered the Issa Mini ($119) because functionally, there’s no difference between it and the full-size. The main differences are length of the handle and size of the silicone ‘brush’ head…we checked them out together and decided the Mini would be fine. If anything, a slightly smaller brush head is easier to use; it offers greater maneuverability around your teeth, particularly in the back of your mouth. (If you’ve ever used an Oral-B or Sonicare electric with the petite heads, you know this!)

I interviewed my husband who has used it for coming up on a year to capture his opinions on the device and whether he thinks the Foreo Issa Mini was worth it.

His Thoughts

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Plus White Gel – Inexpensive, EFFECTIVE Teeth Whitening

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Plus White Whitening GelPlus White Whitening Gel ($5)

You don’t need to spend hundreds on teeth whitening with a dentist, or with Dial-a-Smile gimmicks, or famously sensitivity-inducing, hard-to-use strips; instead, Plus White gel is inexpensive, easy to get your hands on, and works for those of us with less than perfect smiles. Heavens – I’m in rare form, I’m pretty sure Plus White was featured as an As Seen on TV item; I never actually saw it on TV myself, but this is one of those things, like the Turbie Twist, that works.

Eons ago, I used Crest Whitestrips. They worked well enough on superficial staining from dark beverages, but when used as directed, they left my teeth (which were not as fussy, then) sensitive; cold things were occasionally intolerable. On top of that, I admittedly have what I snarkily refer to as a, “creatively arranged,” smile (read: my teeth aren’t straight. Most people’s aren’t. I’m not losing sleep over it). Unfortunately, strip-based whitening products (not just Crest’s – Rembrandt has a few, there are some private label ones, etc) aren’t ideal for people whose teeth don’t line up like they’re answering to a drill sargeant; although they can be folded in and pressed to the surface of the tooth, it isn’t as easy as it sounds, and adhesion isn’t as consistent to those uh, “nonconformists,” as is needed. Therefore, my results were uneven and inconsistent.

Before my wedding two summers ago, I revisited Crest; I specifically got the Crest 3D White Luxe Whitestrips ($35+)…but remembering my experience with them, I decided to seek a backup option in the form of Plus White Gel (only $5 at Wal-Mart). I gave Crest a shot and found that it is definitely better than it was, doing better job with my staining and with strip adhesion than their decade-old counterparts, but I still have the issue of incongruity of my teeth.

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MAC 217 vs bdellium 776

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Finally.

What?

217vs776

I got my hands on my first MAC brush. I’ve actually had it for a couple months now but have waited to share (I do that). In truth, I expected my first MAC brush to be a 242; you know, all that pigment-packing glory? Oh well.

So I finally got what many consider to be the Holy Grail of blending brushes – I was able to use Plenti points at the MAC counter in Macy’s to get a few bucks off it. Let’s put MAC 217 vs bdellium 776 (what I’ve been using and have been just OK with) – and see which is better.

MAC 217 vs bdellium 776MAC 217 vs bdellium 776

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Depotting

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I’m definitely pro-depotting when it comes to singles and duos, little things whose packaging takes up more space in your stash than it ought. I generally shy away from it for palettes, though. That said, something struck me a couple weeks ago and I decided it was time to reorganize my makeup storage/wannabe vanity. I got rid of the awkward brushroll that came with my Coastal Scents Elite Set because it wasn’t the best use of space for me (obviously the brushes stayed), played some Tetris, and decided I needed to pare down on the packaging where I could.

Too Faced Everything Nice (henceforth called TFEN) is fun, but frankly the packaging is huge considering its contents.

So I went at it with a nail implement I don’t use (not because there’s anything wrong with it, I just prefer other tools for the same tasks for which it is intended). Since TFEN is a cardboard palette, it was relatively easy to work with to pop the pans out; each pan is secured in its ‘well’ with some glue that comes up easily enough. I used a metal file to loosen around the outside edges of each metal pan, the slipped it under and slowly, gently (emphasis on those two!) pried upwards.

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Urban Vices Point Perk

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During the 20% off Sephora VIB sale, I lost my mind slightly and went for the Urban Vices Point Perk, blowing 500 of my Beauty Insider points. I was going to spend 100 points on a setting powder, but they ran out. I’ve been banking points for a bit (but not because of the point disaster earlier this year), so why the hell not?

Urban Vices Point PerkUrban Vices Point Perk – Urban Decay for Sephora

The Urban Vices Point Perk set isn’t earth-shattering. It isn’t the best value among the other 500 Point Perk sets they’ve offered, but it isn’t the worst either. It features a shadow quad housed in a cardboard palette with mirror, a sample of UDPP, and a deluxe sample-sized 24/7 liner in Smokeout (which supposedly matches the fourth shade in the quad, and lives in the quad).

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Glamglow Powermud Dualcleanse Review

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I’ve tried Glamglow Thirstymud not once, but twice. Over the past few Sephora visits, the staff there offered up some pre-made samples of the Glamglow Powermud Dualcleanse Mud-to-Oil; in spite of my less-than-pleasant experiences with Thirstymud, I accepted them.

Glamglow Powermud Dualcleanse ReviewGlamglow Powermud Dualcleanse Mud-to-Oil

I’ve finally had time to play with new products, so I sat down last week, removed my makeup with a Kirkland makeup wipe, and set out to slap Glamglow Powermud on. I smoothed the product – which, like Thirstymud, smells amazing, by the way – onto my skin in a thin layers with fingers. Following the instructions, I left it on until it dried, about 6 minutes in my environment. Like any clay mask, it felt taut (but not extreme like Aztec Healing Clay), but because the consistency is thinner and the application is thinner, it wasn’t uncomfortable.

At the prescribed time, I rinsed it off; you don’t go at this one with a washcloth, though. To remove Glamglow Powermud, you ought to hop in the shower or be the skincare commercial face-splashing-girl (what I did). I splashed with warm water and massaged my face as most of the product melted away. Some of it required a bit more scrubbing than massaging, but it did break down into what felt like an oil, and eventually washed away.

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