Lash Love

I have never been loyal to a mascara. There are plenty of women out there who sweeeeeear that they've used the same mascara since High School or College or some other makeup milestone. In my opinion, there are way too many mascara fish in the sea out there for me to settle down with just one. Yes, I am a mascara commitment-phobe. They all promise different things - length, volume, curl... and a million combinations of marketing jargon to get you to think that their mascara is somehow wildly different than the other hundred mascaras on the shelf. Not to toot my own horn, but I do have nice lashes (Thanks, Mom). That said, I'm a tad obsessive about mascara since I feel like it's the one makeup item that stands a chance at playing up a nice asset of mine.

Every volumizing mascara I've ever used has made my eyes look like tarantulas are attacking them (thick, clumpy, gross) & every waterproof mascara that I've ever used has made my lashes flaky & dry (also gross). So I tend to look for mascaras whose packaging makes wild claims about lengthening & defining the lashes. Low and behold, I may have found a mascara that I could start a long-term relationship with. I've already made the commitment re-purchase a few times. Benefit Cosmetics (one of my Sephora go-to brands) They're Real! Mascara is my mascara nirvana http://www.sephora.com/they-re-real-mascara-P289307. It makes some pretty aggressive claims (consumer perception survey, of course):
- 94% saw dramatic length and volume*
-90% saw base-to-tip curl*
-94% saw visible lift*
-100% saw long-wearing results*
Working in the beauty industry, I'm usually pretty skeptical of claims like this. BUT in my repeated experience, the finish is glossy & long-wearing, my lashes are lengthened, curled, defined/separated AND the incredible brush gets mascara on all kinds of little hidden baby lashes I didnt even know I had! The brush is really the star of this mascara - it's unlike any other mascara brush I've ever used before. The bristles are staggered so they grab close to the root to really pull the lashes out for length & definition. The brush has a rounded top with tiny precision bristles that get to those tiny little lashes other brushes miss to give you a more wide-eyed look. Beyond the amazingness of the brush (yes, I know, I'm a beauty product nerd), the formula itself is everything you want in a mascara - it doesnt flake, clump, dry out, smudge blahblahblah. I've even gotten my face wet & it didnt end up in nasty black streaks down my cheeks (not that I'm recommending going for a swim & expecting it to maintain its integrity...). So go to Sephora, shell out $22 & then oooh and aaahh at the snazzy brush & how awesome your eyes look.

Upgrade Your Shave

I love reading men's magazines - GQ, Details, Men's Health, Maxim...I find them way more interesting than women's magazines because they have more content in them than the same article over and over about "10 sex moves that will make him go crazy!" or "8 ways to know if he's THE ONE". Booooooring. In contrast, guy's magazines have articles with incredibly useful info like "How to fold up a fajita like a pro" or "How to make your bed in under 30 seconds." I came across an interesting poll the other day in one of these magazines that said men would rather share their toothbrush with their lady than their razor. This shocked me. Sharing a toothbrush is just plain gross but sharing a razor seems pretty harmless? But you gotta trust a poll in a magazine right?

So while we've learned that apparently sharing a razor is a big no-no, sharing the product you're slathering on yourself to shave with, is a definite YES. ZIRH Shave Gel is the ultimate shaving product http://www.zirh.com/.  It's a million times better than that awful Skintimate foam chicks use, or the even worse Gillette crap-in-a-can so many guys use. Sure, ZIRH's Shave Gel is a little pricier than the aforementioned poor excuses for shaving products, but in this case you get what you pay for (250ml size jar is $22.50, 100ml size tube is $15).

The ZIRH Shave Gel goes on clear so you can see where you're shaving. While this makes no difference for girls who shave 90% of their bod, for guys who shave their heads or like to maintain some sort of facial hair look, this is revolutionary. Chock-full of awesome ingredients, every surface you shave feels incredibly smooth & soft afterwards, with a lingering clean, aloe scent. Razorburn & bumps have ceased to be a concern for me since I've started using ZIRH. So the main point here is that while ladies should keep their well-manicured paws off of their man's razor, both ladies & gents should go right ahead & buy a jar of ZIRH Shave Gel & proceed to happily share in the joys of an upgraded shaving experience.

Sunscreen Savior

I have a confession to make. I am a skincare junkie but I HATE sunscreen. I know this sounds contradictory because everyone who is concerned about their skin won't utter two words about skincare without talking about SPF. Yes, I know, it's important for preventing all those signs of aging I never want to encounter (hyperpigmentation, wrinkles, suspicious moles etc.). But the fact of the matter is that I absolutely despise slathering the stuff on my body. I hate having to stand there gooping it on from head to toe. I hate those dumb little areas that I always miss (tops of my feet, my ears etc.) that always turn redder than the rest of my bod. I hate how greasy it feels. And I especially hate smelling like cheap coconuts & the Coppertone kid combined. Gross.

My abhorrence for sunscreen got even stronger after a beach trip awhile back when upon my return, I found that my bottle of sunscreen that I had carelessly thrown loose in my bag had leaked & gotten the crap all over my clothes. I thought that sealed the nail in the coffin for me at ever attempting to melt the fiery hatred I have for the stuff. Fast forward a year or so & I'm packing for a recent trip to Florida & am rummaging around in one of my many "product drawers" in my tiny apartment & come across what I thought (in my late night packing stupor) was a pack of my make-up remover wipes. Upon closer inspection I realized that this pack of wipes was actually SUNSCREEN (gasp!). Obviously a freebie sample that I have never used, I decided that there was no time like the present, and threw the pack of wipes into my bag to come to FL with me.

The bright yellow packaging made them hard to ignore when I was suiting up to hit the pool, so I decided to suck it up & try one out. Supergoop! Sunscreen Swipes are the real deal. http://www.supergoop.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=11. I can no longer say that blanket statement that I hate all sunscreen... now I just say that I hate all sunscreen BESIDES Supergoop! Sunscreen Swipes. One swipe is enough product to cover you from head to toe. There is no greasy feel, no gross smell, no lotion globbing all over the place. These are quick, easy to use & incredible. They're formulated with antioxidant-rich green tea extracts to deflect free radicals, and Vitamins C and E to keep skin moisturized - the feel is light, soft & fresh, not at all like any other sunscreen application I've ever had! Supergoop! Sunscreen Swipes have no parabens or irritating chemicals so you can use them on your face & even on the kiddos. It's safe to say that I've officially changed my tune about sunscreen.

Love at First Spray

Once in awhile, there comes a beauty product that changes my life. I know that sounds extreme, borderline crazy, but it's true. I've always had baby fine hair - the kind of hair that annoyingly just hangs there doing nothing but being boring. Besides wearing it down & straight or in a lame ponytail or lopsided braid, my hair gives me nothing to work with. It won't hold a curl or any type of style that requires using various tools & products - believe me, all that these efforts have ever afforded me was a lot of wasted time, a few burns around my neck/ears/sides of my face and a horrible looking mane of hair trying to impersonate a "style." Therefore, I had resigned myself to just being a hair flunky with no hope for ever having that styled hair I so coveted...But no longer! Enter Oscar Blandi Pronto Texture & Volume Spray http://www.oscarblandi.com/product_detail.php?pid=58. This product is nothing less than a game-changer for me. I took a travel size can with me this weekend on a trip & I literally used up the entire can (thankgod I have a spare!). The versatility of this product is to die for. I sprayed it on freshly showered dry hair, day old slept in bed head & everything in between & the stuff just works. As long as your hair is dry, it works. And by "works" I mean it gives you incredible volume, texture & hold - this is the hair trifecta I've never been able to achieve! Swing your hair to one side & then go to town spraying it from roots to ends - you can't overdo it, I promise. On my freshly showered clean hair I sprayed it enough so that I could use a fun hair pin to tie it up in what actually looked like a "style." On my day old, definitely dirty, slept-in bed head I sprayed a ton & scrunched it up & somehow ended up looking like I had nice, wavy, thick hair! Where bobby pins used to fall out, they now stick where I put them - which for those of us with fine hair, this is a miraculous battle to win! Now my endeavor is going to be figuring out how to use hot rollers because what I've heard is that if you use hot rollers, take them out, then spray this stuff, the look will be voluminous & actually hold throughout the day... if I succeed in this, I'm going to start rocking wild hair everyday (and probably throw my flatiron out the window - straight hair, be damned!)

Here's an example - pseudo-french braid from the left to the right then gather together the pieces from the right & twirl it all together to make an awesome looking low side bun! Without the OB Pronto Texture & Volume Spray, the pins needed to make this look wouldn't have stood a chance at staying in my hair!