Friday, 30 January 2009

• Buy it, Don't buy it: New Beauty Products For Busy, Not-So-Perfect Women Like Me

  
  

  Since I get a nice discount at Walgreens and because manufacturers love word of mouth promotion, we Beauty Advisers get samples and/or huge savings in coupons for their products, along with information and demonstrations to sell their wares. This means I get the pleasure of trying new beauty products all the time. I'm going to share with you what I think of just a few:
  

  1. The first is an exclusive product called "Yes To Carrots" or YTC. They are FDA certified organic beauty products- lip balm, shampoo and conditioners, along with lotions and potions for the skin. They don't just use carrots, but also use tomatoes and cucumbers. They are moderately priced as far as organics go. The body butter sells for about $13 and the lip balm a competitive $3.

  I love their body butter and so do our customers. If you want hydrated skin while going "green," this is the way to go. The lip balm is something else on my hit list. You see, I have horribly chapped lips in the colder months. Horrible. YTC saved them, making them kissable again in less time than that handy tube of chapstick ever did. Score! Try these products out; I know am getting the hair care products next.

  2. Another exclusive line is The Face Shop facial masks. These are little individual cloth sheets that you lay over your face instead of using some sort of gooey, messy mask that you have to scrub off your face and out of your hair when all is said and done. All I have to say about these are OMG! It's such an easy way to pamper yourself and when you are done, you pat the remaining moisture onto your face, toss the cloth and go about your business with a fabulous, refreshed glow. Love it. Fits into that whole busy mom thing quite nicely. I have one in my bathroom waiting for me to use and I will be buying more.

  3. The next item on my list is the new Sally Hansen Insta-Dri nail polishes (well new as in revamped and relaunched). I'm a mess when it comes to doing my nails, but I love Sally Hansen products. Not only are the colors in the bottle true to life, but the brand keeps nails healthy looking. I was excited to bring my $5 bottle home to test it out.

  The brush is wider so that one swoop in generally all you need, nifty idea...in theory. On the pinky, the brush is too wide... on the thumb, not wide enough. The color came out quite strong, but it was not a one-coat wonder like the information claimed. I needed two coats.  After about 2 or 3 minutes, the polish was dry, which was fast. Good, because I'm impatient, yet the color dulled a little upon drying completely.

  It really needs a top coat (which I was too cheap to buy) to avoid chipping. As far as fast drying goes, it's up there, but traditional polishes are still tops in my eyes, even if it means a little waiting before blogging. I can see the utility for a fast drying polish. You never know when you will need to polish your nails (last minute notice on date, meeting or other polish worthy function). Good to have on hand, but don't buy one of every color.

  4. The last product I have to discuss is an "As Seen on TV" product. I had many customers tell me loved the Smooth Away system. I have been cursed by genetics with a ton of stubborn, unwanted hair. I've tried everything to make the process of de-hairing myself easier and less painful, so I was excited to try this product. I bought the little box for $9.99 at my store and couldn't wait to try it out.

  I opened the package and immediately laughed. It's sandpaper. Seriously, made by 3M, even. It strangely came in a fluorescent green travel case. Yep, how ungirly is that? I have a lot of "cases" but none of them scream "I was a 1980s reject travel case" as much as this one. Not even retro, merely a throw back from another failed product.

  Anyway, I put the sandpaper onto the "applicator", which is a nice pink, and went at it. I rubbed three times clockwise and three times counter, with gentle pressure. Now, I've got some coarse hair, for some reason. I expected to have to work just a little harder with the "pad", but I was nervous about applying too much pressure since the instructions tell you not to. Well, I got buffed to a 'haven't shaved for 3 days' stubble and nothing else happened. I tried again another day, after shaving down my long leg hairs. I was more aggressive with the pressure this time around.

  Well, I figured out where all my fine leg hair was because its now gone, meaning Smooth Away did its job, but the coarser hair is still there, in the form of (not so fine) stubble on my legs. So, if you are like me, being both blessed and cursed with thick, thick hair on your head and um, other parts, I'll save you ten bucks. Don't buy it. I'll stick with my razors and Nair from now on. 
  

  What products do you recommend buying and not buying? What are your favorite beauty products?
  

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