Drugstore Beauty Finds

Herbal Essences bio:renew Micellar Water & Blue Ginger Shampoo, Conditioner and Foam Conditioner

December 29th, 2017 by Karen 25 Comments

I’m all gingered out, man! Gingersnaps in my tum, Ginger Soufflé on my skin, and now Blue Ginger in my hair, because Herbal Essences. Blue Ginger is the latest in their bio:renew line.

Did you know there’s actually such a thing as blue ginger? I had no idea. Didn’t know it was a real plant. I knew about red ginger, but not blue.

Basically…if it smells anything like Herbal Essences Blue Ginger Shampoo, Conditioner and Foam Conditioner (excited about this!), then it must smell otherworldly.

Because these are Herbal Essences products, the fragrance is front and center and lingers, and that’s the point. It’s a little spicy and a little sweet, like candied ginger, with bright lemon and lily notes.

I spend half my day smelling my hair when I use these products, ahhhh!

Blue Ginger & Micellar Water Shampoo — $5.99 (what!?)

Blue ginger isn’t the only plant in this. It also contains aloe and sea kelp, but the micellar water and the price are why it caught my eye in the first place. It’s $5.99 for the shampoo (same goes for the two conditioners).

I’ve seen micellar water in skin care many times over the years (what exactly is it?), but I’ve never seen it in a hair product before.

herbal essences blue ginger shampoo ingredients — Micellar Water & Blue Ginger ingredients

When you work the shampoo into your hair, cleansing oils encapsulated in water gently remove grit and grime without stripping your strands or irritating your scalp.

This is super gentle, and it doesn’t weigh my hair down, strip my color or encourage my dandruff. It’s for all hair types, too, from color treated to fine hair, thick hair, you name it. I can’t recommend it enough, and it’s such a good deal.

Blue Ginger Conditioner — $5.99

The matching Blue Ginger Conditioner is also made for all hair types. It doesn’t, however, contain micellar water, but it still de-tangles and de-frizz just fine. I like it…but I don’t love it like I love the other conditioner in this line…

Blue Ginger Foam Conditioner!

herbal essences blue ginger conditioner ingredients — Blue Ginger Conditioner ingredients

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Maybelline Total Temptation Mascara Is Totally OK

December 19th, 2017 by Karen 12 Comments

This mascara smells like the beach.

Add that to the list of “Things I’d Never Said in 10 Years of Writing About Mascara.”

Somebody out there thought, “What the world needs right now is a mascara that smells like coconuts!”

And it smells really good, BTW. I think so. Maybelline Total Tempation Mascara smells exactly like coconut candy or a coconut-scented sunscreen at a surf shack.

Also, it comes in a pretty pink tube. 🙂

Plus and plus.

maybelline total temptation mascara wand — A closer look at the wand…

It’s the latest mascara from Maybelline. It’s $7.99 and part of their Total Temptation collection that officially arrives next month (although it’s on Amazon right now if you’re itchin’ to have a coconut-scented mascara in your life).

I think it’s A-OK… I don’t think it’s as life-changing as L’Oréal Lash Paradise, which is the current gold standard of dramatic drugstore mascaras for me because it does everything well — lengthen, separate, thicken, holds a lash curl — but Maybelline Total Temptation gets the job done.

maybelline total temptation mascara before after — Before and after Maybelline Total Tempation Mascara

My naturally uninspiring, fairly average lashes look bumped-up a notch or two when I wear a couple coats. They’re longer, thicker and spikier. The formula does gather groups of lashes together, and the spikes are eye-catching, especially from an arm’s length away, but I prefer the extreme separation and tighter curl I get from Lash Paradise.

If you find Total Temptation at the drugstore and pick it up, I don’t think you’ll be bummed out or anything. It’s a perfectly functional, simple, easy-to-remove drugstore mascara that boosts your lash game a little.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The Maybelline Total Temptation Shadow + Highlight Palette Is Coco-Nuts for Pigment and Staying Power

December 18th, 2017 by Karen 26 Comments

maybelline total temptation eye cheek palette k2 — Wearing the new $14.99 Maybelline Total Temptation Shadow + Highlight Palette on my lids and cheeks

What do you think about a palette that smells like coconuts? Are you intrigued and totally tempted? As a “food enthusiast,” I am, but when I sniff the new $14.99 Maybelline Total Temptation Shadow + Highlight Palette, and I really get my nose up in it, the coconut isn’t nearly as strong as it is in Maybelline’s Total Temptation Mascara, which seems kind of odd to me…

I dunno why, but I just expected the powder products to smell more coco-nutty than the mascara. It’s probably from the years of opening compacts and smelling roses or violets or gardenia or vanilla, or whatever else has been the scent du jour. I’m conditioned.

Or, maybe I’m just hungry and wish these eyeshadows and highlighters smelled like coconut macaroons. 🙂

maybelline total temptation eye cheek palette — Maybelline Total Temptation Shadow + Highlight Palette

Part of the Maybelline Total Temptation product family

The list price is $14.99, so it’s a little expensive for drugstore, and it’s part of Maybelline’s new Total Temptation line, which is available on Amazon now (the Amazon price for the palette is $9.49) and coming to drugstores next month.

There are eight powder eyeshadows and two powder highlighters divided into two groups.

One side of the palette has warm browns, peaches and golds, and the other has cool mauve, violet and charcoal shades.

maybelline total temptation eye cheek palette swatches — Maybelline Total Temptation Shadow + Highlight Palette swatches

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L’Oréal Voluminous Lash Paradise: A Drugstore Wunderkind for Wonderful Length

December 14th, 2017 by Karen 11 Comments

loreal voluminous lash paradise — All this lash drama for less than $10. Thanks, L’Oréal Voluminous Lash Paradise!

“I’d like two tickets to Lash Paradise, please! — one for me, and one for my awesomely affordable pink tube of mascara. Actually…make that three tickets, because I’m gonna need a separate seat for the added length. Yeah, because my lashes, which normally disappear into the background of my face, even after I curl them, look so incredibly long when I wear it that you’d think I was one of those genetically #blessed people.”

loreal voluminous lash paradise before after — Before, and after a single coat

I heard about Voluminous Lash Paradise, a new-ish addition to L’Oréal’s mascara family, from my friend Vanessa, who does makeup for weddings and celebs down in L.A. She was like, This is going to rock your world. I can’t live without it. I use it, and I use it on my clients, and…just GET THEE A TUBE ASAP. (In so many words.)

V, you weren’t playing!

I know it’s trite, but it’s like wearing falsies. The look is similar to Tom Ford’s awesome, but very expensive, $45 FullScreen Mascara (they even have similar wavy brushes), but creates a little less volume.

There are so many different versions, too, including waterproof and non-waterproof, all in different tones of black. I have the Waterproof one in Blackest Black, which looks dramatic even after a single pitch black layer (and it gets even better with two).

The length? It’s crazy. Plus, it creates fine-toothed separation and a tight curl with a major volume boost, although I’m hella greedy when it comes to volume and always want a little more, since I’m all about that fatty YSL Faux Cils/Chanel le Volume lash life.

Lash Paradise’s volume is still good, though.

loreal voluminous lash paradise k — That curl is no joke.

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Maybelline Total Temptation Brow Definer: Get Bushy Brows for Less That Last

December 13th, 2017 by Karen 19 Comments

As has been documented on the interwebz, I have a brow situation, but here it is again, with feeling, in case you missed it the first 1,465 times: my right brow is shorter, and my left brow has a bald spot (Raul says “WASSUP!”).

It’s an uneven situation all around, so I fill in my brows daily because big brows make me feel like superhero Karen.

I usually skip the process, though, when I work out, because I’m just going to sweat it all off anyway, but new Maybelline Total Temptation Brow Definer ($7.99) has me rethinking that world view.

maybelline total temptation brow definer before after — Before and after

GIRL. Technically, this stuff isn’t waterproof or sweat-proof, but it might as well be because it hangs on even better than pricier pencils by MAC, Urban Decay and Tom Ford.

I wore it to HIIT class Monday night, which I almost didn’t even go to because I was really dragging my feet. I came *this close* to bailing, so I needed — yes, needed! — brows to help get me through it.

Don’t ask me why, but looking semi-cute during exercise class helps me push harder. *shoulder shrugs*

maybelline total temptation brow definer swatches — Blonde, Soft Brown, Medium Brown and Deep Brown

Deep Brown, the shade closest to my dark blackish brown hair, stayed put on my skin and between my brow hairs to keep my fuzzy little caterpillars looking fluffy and full throughout countless burpies (burpees?) and switch lunges. Every time I caught a glimpse of my gansta face in the mirror and mumbled “Karen, you can do this!” under my breath, I felt and looked LEGIT.

maybelline total temptation brow definer k — 2 legit 2 quit… Er, something like that. I’m wearing Deep Brown.

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Espresso and Chocolate, Two Budget-Friendly Beautiful Brown Shades From the Revlon ColorStay Crème Eye Shadow Line

December 12th, 2017 by Karen 19 Comments

revlon colorstay creme eye shadow chocolate espresso — Wearing Revlon ColorStay Crème Eye Shadows in Chocolate and Espresso on my lids and lash lines.

Why are so many beautiful brown shadows named after something delicious, like Espresso and Chocolate? I call foul. It’s unfair.

For the O.M.R. (Official Makeup Record), you can’t eat this Espresso or this Chocolate, two beautiful matte browns in the Revlon ColorStay Crème Eye Shadow line, but since they’re on sale at Target right now for $5.99 each (regularly $7.99), you can use the extra change in your pocket to get an actual espresso or something chocolate.

GIRL YOU KNOW IT’S TRUE. I go buck wild for brown eyeshadows (probably more than the average bear, but what are you gonna do?). These two creams are on the cool-toned side, and they’re shades that you could totally use, like, everyday if you’re into natural-looking or no-makeup makeup, which I am.

Chocolate is a medium taupe-ish brown, and Espresso is a grayish chocolate brown. Both look equally delicious.

I reviewed some of the shimmer cream shadows from this line last spring, and I love them because they’re like sheer versions of the MAC Paint Pots. They’re long lasting, easy to blend, and they don’t look dry or heavy on my finely lined lids.

The matte versions are similar, I’m happy to report.

revlon colorstay eyeshadow chocolate espresso swatches — Chocolate and Espresso

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Unsung Heroes: Dandruff-Defeating Neutrogena T/Gel Shampoo Original Formula

October 10th, 2017 by Karen 5 Comments

I’m gonna put this out there and say that I think dandruff shampoo is easily top three least sexy beauty products. I mean, shiny patent-leather lipgloss or dandruff shampoo: which is a sexier conversation starter?

Dandruff happens, though, and I get it every once in a while, usually around this time of year and during winter. With the cooler weather, my scalp’s been going nuts. It’s flake city.

Enter today’s unsung hero, my old standby, Neutrogena T/Gel Shampoo Original Formula (there are a few different versions).

It’s the only dandruff shampoo that really works for me, and I know this because I ran out last month and decided to try some other dandruff shampoos, and nothing — NOTHING! — worked as well as T/Gel did for me.

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

This caramel-colored shampoo smells like Ricola Cough Drops. The scent is sort of clinical and medicinal, which some people might even call stinky, but I’ve grown to appreciate the scent over the 10+ years I’ve used it.

The active ingredient is coal tar, which is a byproduct of coal processing, and it stops dandruff by slowing the rate at which the skin cells on your scalp die and flake (you can read more about it here).

Active ingredients
Coal Tar 0.5% (2% Neutar® Solubilized Coal Tar Extract) (Anti-dandruff, Anti-seborrheic dermatitis, Anti-psoriasis)

Inactive ingredients
Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamide MEA, Laureth-4, Fragrance, Sodium Chloride, Polysorbate 20, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, DMDM Hydantoin, Citric Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA

Trying those other dandruff shampoos made me realize that there’s a lot out there that just doesn’t work for me. T/Gel works immediately — like, right after the first shampoo. My scalp feels clean, doesn’t itch, and the flakiness — which I was seeing mostly around my hairline right near my bangs — is completely gone. My roots don’t feel greasy or coated with product, either, which happened after I used the other anti-dandruff shampoos. After T/Gel, my scalp and hair feel really, really clean. AHHHHH!

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Neutrogena HydroBoost Exfoliating Cleanser and Hydrating Serum

September 27th, 2017 by Karen 12 Comments

Nobody ever sat me down and told me this — I wish they had, because it was hard-learned knowledge: one day, your skin will probably change.

Mine did. I used to have very oily skin. When I was teenager, I was oil slick city, and my skin stayed that way throughout my 20s. Now, though, it’s mostly dry, except for my oily forehead and nose.

If I still had that same skin I had back in the day, I’d probably love new Neutrogena Hydro Boost Exfoliating Cleanser ($8.99) and Hydrating Serum ($19.99).

I think that both of these additions to the Neutrogena Hydro Boost line are mid-level moisturizers. If you have oily or normal skin that still likes/needs some extra moisturizing, but never quite gets so dry that it hurts to smile, then either of these might be a good fit for your face.

Buuut, before we go any further, can we just talk about the packaging for a second?

It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Bright, blue and cheerful? But, like, if you look at both of the bottles, they say “HYALURONIC ACID” right there on the front with a little squiggly symbol to get your attention.

Hyaluronid acid shows up in many highly rated moisturizing skin care products (here’s an excellent post on The Beauty Brains about it), but it’s listed down at the bottom of the ingredients for the Exfoliating Cleanser…

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Exfoliating Cleanser: Ingredients
Water, Sodium C14-16, Olefin Sulfonate, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Glycerin, Sodium Hydrolyzed Potato Starch Dodecenylsuccinate, Acrylates Crosspolymer-4, Cellulose, Polysorbate 20, Citric Acid Sodium Benzoate, Glycolic Acid, Fragrance, Lactic Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Disodium EDTA, Carica Papaya (Papaya) Fruit Extract, —-> Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid

And it’s also halfway down the list for the Hydro Boost Serum…

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Serum: Ingredients
Water, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Butylene Glycol, Neopentyl Glycol Diheptanoate, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Isododecane, Dimethiconol, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer, Ethylhexylglycerin, Benzyl Alcohol, Sodium Lactate, Cetearyl Olivate, Bisabolol, Chlorphenesin, Sorbitan Olivate, Sodium PCA, Fragrance, —-> Sodium Hyaluronate, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Sorbitol, Chondrus Crispus Extract, Sodium Hydroxide, Proline, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Propylene Glycol, Citric Acid, Magnesium Aspartate, Zinc Gluconate, Copper Gluconate

So it sure doesn’t look like one of the main ingredients in either of these… I’m just sayin’.

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Exfoliating Cleanser

This face wash , which feels like a jelly, exfoliates in two ways — one physical, and one chemical. The physical way seems to be via little beads, but the back of the bottle says that this doesn’t contain plastic microbeads.

I’ve been trying to figure out which ingredient actual does the physical exfoliating, but I haven’t figured it out yet. If you can tell from the list what’s doing the deed, let me know.

Whatever it is, the particles feel small, soft and mildly gritty, and they aren’t painful. This feels like an expensive exfoliating product from a high-end brand.

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