Drugstore Beauty Finds

The Buzz on Burt’s Bees New Honey & Shea Sugar Scrub Is Good

August 16th, 2011 by Karen 70 Comments

How sweet. 🙂 Burt’s industrious bees made us a new scrub, and like his fabulous Cranberry & Pomegranate one, this one’s also 100% natural.

If there hadn’t been a warning on the side of Burt’s Bees Honey & Shea Sugar Scrub ($13 for an 8-oz. tub) stating that it’s “Not a food — do not consume,” I would have spread some on my toast.

Doesn’t it look delicious (a little like apple sauce)? And I think it smells yummy, too — fresh and light, like raw sugar and honey.

Following in the footsteps of its Cranberry & Pomegranate predecessor, which I first fell in love with a year ago this fall, Honey & Shea wasn’t tested on animals, and it doesn’t contain any parabens, phthalates or petrochemicals. I’d been turning to Burt’s rich, moisturizing Pomo-Cran scrub whenever I needed to get my exfoliation on, but as much as my dry skin loves the hydrating heavy oils it contains, I know it’s not for everyone.

Would this Honey-sweetened recipe work just as well for me while perhaps appealing to a wider audience? I took it into the shower this week to try and find out.

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Be a Good Student of Travel Makeup with a Clear Pencil Case

August 9th, 2011 by Karen 18 Comments

A clear pencil case for travel makeup

Stop letting lost tubes of lipgloss languish at the bottom of your luggage on trips. Next time you travel, keep them and the rest of your makeup safe and sound (and organized) in a clear pencil case. With back-to-school season coming up, you might even be able to find them on sale. 🙂

I’d been using Urban Decay’s voluminous QuinceaÃ±era makeup bag to store my face paint on my last couple of trips because of how wonderfully cute and spacious it is (fits all of my foundation, eyeshadows, brushes AND the kitchen sink), but it was a little tricky locating specific products buried within the roomy bag.

I usually ended up just dumping the contents on the bed and sifting through the pile. Not a great system, and it was only matter of time before something rolled off the bed only to get accidentally left behind.

Enter the see-through zippered pencil case. It’s clear, so I can easily spot whatever I’m looking for, and it’s built for travel.

Well…it’s built for binders, but it works great for travel. 🙂
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Dr. Scholl’s High Heel Inserts Are, Quite Literally, Hot

August 9th, 2011 by Karen 31 Comments

I trekked all over San Diego late last week and through the weekend in my current sandal crush, a pair of Franco Sarto black leather cork wedges I picked up last summer, and after the first day, my feet felt fine; by the end of the second day, however, my feet and I were beginning to feel a little ‘tow up.

I turned to a pair of Dr. Scholl’s High Heel Inserts (about $8) to restore the spring to my step. They’re basically an adhesive gel insert, like a cushioned sticker, that fit into high heels to hopefully make them more comfortable.

I’ve used something similar from Foot Petals called Killer Kushionz, and even though my inner word nerd flinches every time I see the way “Kushionz” is spelled, I love how comfy they are.

Of course, at $12.95 a pop, Kushionz are about 62% more expensive than the inserts from Dr. Scholl’s, a fact not lost on my bargain-lovin’ self. Add to that the cost of shipping, as I’m usually forced to order Kushionz online (I can’t always find them locally), and the difference is usually even greater than that. Meanwhile, the Dr. Scholl’s inserts are carried at most drugstores, and sometimes even at grocery stores like Safeway.
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The New Nuance Salma Hayek Makeup, Skin and Hair Care Line: Available Now Exclusively at CVS/pharmacy Stores

August 6th, 2011 by Karen 49 Comments

Do you remember when Salma Hayek guest starred on a few episodes of 30 Rock a couple seasons ago? She played a caregiver to Jack’s ailing mom, but she and Jack quickly embarked upon a forbidden romance. Forbidden in the “love not meant to be” comedic vein.

Hilarious! Truth be told, as much as I’ve liked Salma, I didn’t see us having much in common. I mean, the woman’s an international sex symbol/movie star, and I spend many days in stretchy pants, and many nights watching TV with my cat.

But then I heard about Salma’s new line of beauty products sold exclusively at CVS/pharmacy stores, and thought, isn’t it great how beauty can bring people together? — sometimes, at the drugstore.

Maybe Salma and I do have a few things in common…

Salma says that her grandma’s homemade beauty recipes, which combined exotic ingredients, inspired her to create the new line. In a weird coincidence, my grandma’s stint as a cosmetology student in the ’80s inspired the awful perm I rocked in kindergarten.

The products are carried at CVS/pharmacy stores, but you can also check ’em out and purchase them online. The items range from $7.99 – $19.99 each.

Salma’s products, which are all paraben free, weren’t tested on animals. In another weird coincidence, I live with an international kitty supermodel/cat diva who loves cruelty-free lines.

Salma’s Beautiful Blends Eyeshadow Quad looks like an H. R. Giger alien egg. In another weird coincidence, I’ve watched Alien more than a dozen times.

Beautiful Blends Eye Quad in Neutral
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New Species of Dragon Discovered Living with an E.L.F. at the Drugstore: New $3 Glossy Gloss in Dragon Fruit

August 5th, 2011 by Karen 27 Comments

Three dollars? No way. I can’t believe this gloss is just $3.

E.L.F. Glossy Gloss in Dragon Fruit just might be my new favorite glitter-less pink gloss. Without a doubt, it’s my new favorite $3 one. I mean, you can’t even cross a bridge around here for $3 anymore (to cross the Golden Gate Bridge costs $6!).

Eight shades live in Glossy Gloss, E.L.F.’s line of hi-shine glosses with a creamy finish, and Dragon Fruit, a pinkish peach with medium pigment, is my first. The hint of peachy pink it bestows upon my lips is noticeable, but not high maintenance.

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Is the E.L.F. Studio Contouring Blush and Bronzing Powder a Dupe for the NARS Orgasm-Laguna Duo?

August 2nd, 2011 by Karen 32 Comments

elf contouring blush and bronzing powder 1
‘
Two things I never expected…

The Jess/Jason storyline in True Blood (Wait — what!? More on that in a few)
How I’d feel about E.L.F. Studio’s $3 Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder

E.L.F.’s bargain basement beauty comes up often in conversations about the fabulous $40 NARS Highlighting Bronzing Blush Duo in Orgasm/Laguna, a makeup masterpiece, if you ask me, and one of my favorite pieces of all time, because it’s seen by many as a major money-saving dupe.

What’s so special about the Orgasm/Laguna Duo, you might ask? Well, that depends. If you ask my cheeks, they’d say they love the way it brightens them up. I use the Laguna bronzer to contour my cheeks with a rich golden brown and the Orgasm blush to give the apples of my cheeks a golden, peachy pink flush.

I love the duo so much that I haven’t taken a trip without it in at least three years.

But at $40, it’s far from cheap, which leaves the door wide open for a drugstore dupe.

The question is, does this E.L.F. deliver? From outward appearances, it sure looks like it does…

elf contouring blush and bronzing powder closed
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Oh Goody! My Favorite Headwrap Is Also Available in Black!

August 2nd, 2011 by Karen 30 Comments

Remember that glorious Goody $5 tortoiseshell headband I gushed about a while back? — almost as good as stretchy pants, for real. Well, while cruising Targhay over the weekend (allegedly, I was there to get grapes and dental floss), I found it in black! 🙂

One word (in all caps, spelled phonetically for emphasis): YAY!

I still have mad love for the tortoiseshell one, but black is just so versatile, I couldn’t resist. I’ll be able to wear it with outfits like my black ’80s off-the-shoulder T-shirt (complete with giant Mr. T chain necklace).

This one totally hits the spot, and it’s just as soft, flexible and comfortable (doesn’t squeeze the living daylights out of my noggin) as the other one. Same thing except it’s black.

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Wallets and Pockets Won’t Protest These Two New Essence Mini Lipgloss Sets

August 1st, 2011 by Karen 50 Comments

essence mini lipgloss set

When you find a man who’ll carry your lipgloss for you in his pocket without protest, you best hold on to that boy! I’m dead serious.

Most of the dudes I dated before El Hub were pretty rigid about what they’d put in their pockets. Keys went here, wallet and phone went there — there was a system at work, and they didn’t like it when things disrupted the system.

The keepers, though, won’t mind holding your gloss for you, even if it messes up their routine.

Which brings me to these two new Essence Mini Lipgloss Sets ($2.99 each). I wouldn’t be surprised if the peeps at Essence had male/female pocket politics in mind when they dreamed up these tiny tubes of sheer, long-wearing lipgloss. Dudes might even appreciate how streamlined (and pocket friendly) they are.

Essence makes what I feel are some of the best drugstore lipglosses out there today (have you tried their Stay With Me Lipglosses? Fantastic!), and these non-sticky newcomers are right up there with the best of ’em in terms of value and quality.

Don’t let their diminutive stature deceive you. These tiny tubes are towering titans of hydrating, durable gloss. The six micro-glosses that come in the Devil’s Love & Kisses and Angel’s Kisses in Heaven Sets (three tubes per set) even last me through a meal.

essence mini lipgloss set boxes
Devil’s Love & Kisses Set on the left and Angel’s Kisses in Heaven Set on the right

essence mini lipgloss set boxes open
Devil’s Love & Kisses Set on the left and Angel’s Kisses in Heaven Set on the right
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