What's in my Shower Tag!

I didn't get tagged from anyone in particular, in fact, I didn't even know this was a tag until I Googled it right now.  I just was thinking that it would make a cool post and then thought about it every time I was taking a shower, and then promptly forgot again as soon as I got out.  But then I was taking pictures of my lips for the Topbox swatches from last post and was reminded, had my phone out for pictures, and had just cleaned my tub!

Not that you even see pictures of my tub..lol.

Soooo, without further ado, here is what is in my shower (and my thoughts on the products).

So, here's a list of everything and then I'll break it down individually with pictures of each: Fructis Anti-Dandruff Dry Scalp Shampoo, Just Bee Natural Quenched Pomegrante Shampoo, Balea Everyday Moisture Conditioner, Philosophy Vanilla Birthday Cake 3 in 1, Vasanti Brighten Up Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator, Olay Pro-X Advanced Cleaning System Brush, Dove Sensitive Skin Soap, Irish Spring Original Soap, Bath Pouf from The Body Shop, Random Hair clip.

And here's the lowdown:

Fructis Anti-Dandruff, Dry Scalp Formulation
- This is hubby's shampoo, though I use it occasionally when I want a good stripping shampoo since it's anti-dandruff and has sulfates in it.  He doesn't really have a problem with dandruff, but I bought this when he was getting a bit flakey and it's a super 700mL one and he doesn't use copious amounts since his hair is short so it's lasting a long time.  I picked the dry scalp version because the regular one had a lot of sulfate based detergents in it (like more than one listed) and this one only has one I think, so I thought it would be a bit less harsh that way.  It was on sale at Shoppers for $3.97 or something ridiculous like that, so I got that.  I think that was like in February...man...it has lasted a long time.  I only remember because we got it from the one beside his dentist and we only went there in Feb because his tooth was hurting.

Just Bee Natural Quenched Shampoo
- I don't know if the brand is "Just Natural" or "Just Bee Natural" because it has a Bee and not the word.  But on the back it says "Bee Natural, Bee Beautiful, Just Bee" so I assume the brand includes the word?  Anyway...this shampoo is mine.  It is SLS, Paraben free, etc etc.  I don't care so much for all the "naturally sourced" claims for shampoos, but I tend to just look for a sulfate free shampoo that smells good.  This one lathers well even without the sulfates so I am pleased with that.  It smells really good too.  I had to choose between this and the coconut scent they had, but went with this because hubby doesn't really like coconut.  This smells fruity but not artificially so.  It is gentle, which is good because I lather rinse and repeat usually.  I also have used this to clean my makeup brushes last cleaning and it worked well for that as well.  I got this for $6.99 at Superstore and it wasn't on sale, so I would likely purchase this again because it's reasonably priced for 700mL.

Balea Everyday Moisture Conditioner
- I don't use conditioner every time I shower because my hair isn't as damaged as it was before and was a conditioner junky. I actually bought this on our honeymoon because I had thought the hotel would have given us conditioner as well as shampoo but they just had shampoo and I still had my super damaged hair.  It was on clearance at Shoppers for $1.97 which was also ridiculous.  It is a decent conditioner, it does use silicones though so if you're not into that then don't use it.  It is a lighter conditioner though even with the 'cones.  I probably could use it everyday and not have it weigh down my hair, but I prefer a little argan oil styling serum after my shower instead of the conditioner in my shower.  I do have a problem with the packaging though...it takes a lot of force to squeeze it out, and it's getting worse for that because it's getting emptier.  The plastic is kinda hard and un-squeezable at the top and if you squeeze the bottom it just moves to the top because there is less resistance there than to go out the valve.  I likely would not buy this again unless it was on clearance again. Oh, and the reddish stains on it are from when I dyed my hair (I mixed some conditioner in with the dye and got dye on the bottle).

Happy Birthday Beautiful gift from Sephora Beauty Insider program

Philosophy Vanilla Birthday Cake 3 in 1 shampoo, shower gel, bubble bath

- This was last year's (2011) birthday gift from Sephora, but I started using it this year (since birthday is in October I get it near the end of the year).  I mostly use it as a bodywash/shower gel sort of thing if I want to smell yummy for some reason, or just randomly throughout the week.  I have used it as shampoo on occasion, but it does have sulfates in it so I don't like it as shampoo.  It smells delicious though.  This was the 2nd time I got bodywash from the birthday gift thinger...but this sample size is GIANT compared to the first one.  So I am pleased with that.  I don't think I would buy this again because the full size product is $21 at Sephora, but I might buy a sample set with this selection in the set?  I don't buy bath stuff that often though because I either get some as a gift or I just use soap.

Vasanti Brighten Up Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator

- I got this as a sample in October's Topbox and at first I didn't like it.  It seemed too rough on my skin.  But I think it might have been that day or something I had sensitive skin because since then it has been okay.  I like the fineness of the grit in it for exfoliating.  I like that it has chemical exfoliation from the enzymes (papaya and something else) as well as the mechanical exfoliation from the grittiness.  However, I don't think I'll buy this in full size ever mostly because I have the next product.

Olay Pro-X Brush

- I have had this for over a year and it is still awesome.  I can use it daily and it's not too rough, and for extra good exfoliation I can use any scrub first and then use that overtop to rub the scrub in.  lol, rub the scrub.  Mine is a little stained because of hair dye and using it too close to my hairline while rinsing out hair dye.  I just use it on the fast speed and so I like that it remembers which speed you're on when you turn it off.  Really that's just switches remaining in place, but I pretend that it is remembering my preference.  I recommend this to anyone who wants something to exfoliate without being a harsh scrub...or just anyone.  I don't know how it compares to the Clarisonic, cuz I don't own one and have never tried one, but I can't imagine it being that different really.  I especially like that it can go over my nose stud and not rip it out like a cloth would, yet get all around it unlike my fingers with a scrub.  I think I got mine with a coupon while on sale for like $27 or something from Pharma Plus...and it comes with a little chemical exfoliator lotion thing which I liked as well but the full size is like $25 or something so I didn't buy it when I ran out of sample.

Last little Bits here:

Dove Sensitive Skin Soap

- I bought this a while back for some reason, and just recently found it in the box again while cleaning out some drawer...so I used it.  I used to have The Body Shop soap in Olive, which I liked as well.  I prefer soap and a pouf to bodywash and a pouf generally...because it is waaaay cheaper.  I likely won't buy this soap for a while because I got 4 soaps from the Body Shop for free for my birthday this year.  So I don't need soap for a while.  I also have a backlog of like Dial and Lever 2000 or whatever it's called.  Soaps I bought for some trip and then never used after that trip.

Irish Spring Original Soap

- This is hubby's.  He has always used Irish Spring Original.  The only time he hasn't was when they didn't have any at the store and so we had to get Irish Spring Aloe soap, which he said smelled girly.  Silly boy.  I like that he sticks to the same thing though and so Irish Spring soap smells like my Man.  I don't use it though obviously.  Maybe once in a blue moon where I am out of my soap and body wash at the same time.

Body Shop Pouf

- Got this with a set of Olive scented stuff including a scrub, soap, and bodywash.  I like this pouf because it has a fabric loop for hanging.  However, it is starting to come apart from the centre so there is one section that I can stretch out fully.  But it serves it's purpose.  I am not picky about poufs.  Just no sponges please.

Random Hair Clip

- This is a remnant of when I had long hair.  I would put conditioner in my hair and then clip it up off my body so I could wash my body and let the conditioner sit.  It also helps not getting conditioner on your back to help prevent bacne.  However, my hair is short now and this is useless...just haven't taken it out of the shower.  It is probably rusted.  

So that's it folks.  Not very exciting.  More exciting than some people's who just have shampoo and soap though.  If you wanna do the tag, then do it! It's fun!

TTFN

- Becka

November Topbox!

Once again I got the notice that I got my Topbox delivered from Canada Post and then it comes the next day.  And this time, for some reason, the delivered it to my door and woke me and my hubby up about 30 mins before we had to get up anyway.  Random.

Anyway, last month was my first ever Topbox and it was kinda a disappointment, but this month's is pretty cool for sure.

Arranged so nicely on my laptop.

And here's what's inside and my initial views on them:

Review: Sigma Round Top Kabuki Brush

Taken from Sigma's Website

OMG. I Love this brush.  Love is such a weak word for it actually. I have tried applying liquid foundation in several different ways, and while I found that each foundation usually has the best way to apply it, everyone else seemed to have awesome possum time using a duo-fibre brush and that made them all flawless and glowy. Well not so for me.  I have tried duo-fibre stippling brushes and either I did it completely wrong or it's just wrong for me because it didn't look good at all.  Or it would look okay for 5 mins and then suddenly get cakey (a habit I have with foundation in general though).  I have tried regular foundation brushes, fingers, sponges, damp sponges, stippling, buffing, other kabukis, etc.  None worked as well as this Sigma brush.  The closest was a damp sponge but that only worked with my Revlon Colorstay.  

This brush, using it to just buff on my liquid foundation is like I am just brushing away impefections with a magic brush and I don't even have foundation on.  

The bristles are super soft and unbelievably dense.  The handle is a good size, not awkwardly long, and not short like traditional kabukis.  It looks all sleek and sophisticated. It is totally my favourite brush in my collection. I think I may order the angled top for using with blush/bronzer.  Or even splurge and order the set and either have a backup round top or give it a friend as a gift.  I love this brush so much.

I haven't washed it yet, but I imagine it is going to be a bit difficult because the fibres are so dense.

I hope sigma uses these bristles for other brushes.  I can see an eyeshadow brush being really awesome with such soft dense synthetic bristles.

Seriously, go buy this brush. It is so awesome, and only $16 bucks.

GO NOW! lol..jk.

Bye!

Test Drive: Tresemme Waterless Foam Shampoo

I think I saw a commercial about Tresemme Dry Shampoo and I wanted some, but I couldn't find it in the store when I was randomly browsing so I got this instead.  So I thought I would do a play by play and first-time thoughts on the product for you readers out there.

Photo taken from the Tresemme website 

It cost about $6 here in Canada and it's hilarious to me because it's called "waterless" but the first ingredient is water.  They mean rinseless...but it's still funny.

This seems like an awesome product for me because I tend to get sweaty-head at night and wake up the next day after a really nice hair day with some greasy roots and pouffy ends and it's annoying to use baby powder or corn starch to dry it up and then style and the you get the weird powdery feeling on your head.  So I thought I would give it a go.  I wore my hair up today because of the greasies...so this is my starting look.

 Oh yeah! Hehe...So the instructions say to take 2-3 pumps and distribute throughout hair.  So I did the 2-3 pumps...

Not a lot, honestly.  It ran out quick, so I put in approx 6-8 pumps worth.  However, I think I did too much honestly because I don't think you're supposed to saturate the hair at all, just work it through as best you can.

Then you're supposed to towel it off.  The back of the container makes it seem like you put it in and towel dry right away, but the site says to put it in, let it sit, then pat dry.  So I think you'd just experiment to find out which works.

This is where I speculated that I put too much in because it wasn't towelling dry at all...just...towelling.  I got the same effect as if I had just done a quick water/shampoo/rinse of my root area, which defeats the purpose of the "waterless" foam if it's like a shower in a can basically and I have to dry my hair still.  I shall try next time using less.

Final result...wet roots.  Not what I had envisioned.  However, they are drying now (30 mins later) and they feel a lot softer and cleaner than before I did this, and it smells lovely.  Very fresh-scented.  I have hopes of it working better when I follow the 2-3 pumps only...I'll keep you updated.

- Love, Becka

Bleach Review: Kaleidocolors by Clairol Professional

So I wasn't satisfied with the blonde result 100% so I went back to Sally Beauty Supply and bought myself a packet of bleach thinking I would put in some lighter streaks to get a different effect.  Well, I then changed my mind and decided to go lighter all over.  One packet of bleach wasn't going to do much to my hair for sure so I went back and bought myself a tub...lol.  I plan on being blonde for a longer period of time so I'll need more for touchups and stuff.  Also I might do my sister's hair as she's wanted a streak bleached to put purples or blues in for some time now...and she hasn't been able to get it done herself so this might work.

picture found on google imgaes search

 

I bought the Kaleidocolors powder in Blue Azul from Clairol Professional
Cost: with my beauty club card it was $20.95 from SBS, well worth it as each packet of 2oz is about $5 and I used approximately 8oz total so far to do my whole head so that would've been $20 from packets and none left over!
Claims: "Lightens up to 5 levels and adds cool tones, for black to medium blonde hair;" "Lightens and tones in one easy step;" and "10 minutes to perfectly toned highlights."
What I liked: It definitely works in 10 minutes.  Although I went from a medium blonde to a light blonde so that's probably why.  The instructions, however, have you sitting under a heated dryer with a cap on your head for the 10 minutes so the extra heat and the cap would probably lift at least from a medium brown depending on how you hair handles.  It smells great.  It only faintly smells like chemicals and actually smells more like some blue-raspberry sweet bubblegum kind of scent.  I had vague images of people trying to eat it because it smelled like candy.  Heh.  It's also not *too* damaging.  My hair was pretty porous and dry to begin with from the stripping of the darker colour last attempt, but this didn't make it any/much worse.  However, I also drenched my hair in conditioner and olive oil after.
What I disliked: It didn't really add much cool tones.  My hair looked green while developing, but once rinsed it was still yellow/golden coloured which is pretty standard for bleaching hair.  I think it would've been nice if it gave you an estimate of how much to use for a whole head of hair as it just gives you the ratio to mix at and I had to keep going and mixing more and more to get my head covered.  But I guess professionals would be able to tell just by prior experience how much to use.
Would I buy this again? Yes, but I don't think I'll actually run out of the powder as I have probably enough to bleach my whole head at least 4 more times.  I would also perhaps try the violet shade as well if needed, but my hair goes more golden/orange easier than it does just yellow...so blue is the opposite of that rather than just purple.

Result pics to come...

Review: Avon Smooth Minerals Lip Tint

Photo taken from the Avon.com website. 

Brand: Avon

Name: Smooth Minerals Lip Tint

Colour: I have this in "Smooth Nude" and "Smooth Shimmer"

Cost: The website says they're $3.49 at the moment.  I think that's about right.  I actually got them because my Mommy decided to buy them for me.  Thanks Mom!

What I liked: I love the smoothness of them.  They definitely live up to their name.  They are pretty sheer but still give some colour.  The Shimmer one is like a nice cross between a gloss and a balm IMO, and the Nude one is darker than what I would call nude but it still is close to my natural lip colour and works well.  I like the packaging, reminds me of the Softlips balms.  They go on smooth, they make your lips feel nice and they've got minerals in them which are nice. 

What I disliked: The smell isn't all that great.  It's certainly not horrible or strong, but it could do with some sort of yummy scent rather than a waxy scent.  I also had trouble putting the product down in the tube.  It goes up fine, but it took a bit to get it to go back down which could be a problem if you put it up too high.  Also I notice in the ingredients it's not exactly groundbreaking in substances...just your basic oils/waxes/etc.  And it may contain carmine which if you're against that sort of thing then this is no good.  I would think only the Berry shade though would have it, but you never know.

Would I buy this product again: Probably, but I am sure there are other products that can give you the same results so it's not something I would rush to get.

Review: Shimmer Strips by Physician's Formula

I've had this product for a while now and I go through periods of not using it, and then using it almost daily and then not using it again. 

Brand: Physician's Formula
Name: Shimmer Strips custom bronzer, blush and eyeshadow
Colour: Vegas Strip (Light Bronze)
Cost: I got mine on sale for about $12 I think
What I liked: This makes an excellent everyday eyeshadow.  The lighter shades are great for hilighting both eyes and face and the darker shades match well with them for crease work or allover lid colour.  There was a time where I wore the 2nd lightest shade all over my eyes every day with the darkest shade in the crease.  Everyday.  The texture is easy to blend and it is very shimmery.  There is also a lot of bang for your buck, especially if you use it as eyeshadow.  This has lasted forever and I have barely made a dent.
What I disliked: I find it overly shimmery for using as a bronzer.  I only use it as a hilight.  The colour payoff isn't that intense because it is so shimmery.  Even the darkest shade comes out light because of the shimmer.
Would I buy this product again: Yes, I don't think I can even get to the bottom of this though, but if I did, I would totally buy it again.  I would like to check out the other colours perhaps as well.

Ps: I think it would make a nice body shimmer for a night out too.  Just take a big fluffy brush to your collarbones, decolletage, etc.

My First Warehouse Sale....

And Walmart purchases.  So I read in the newspaper that there was a "blowout cosmetics sale" going on at one of the arenas in a nearby sportsplex.  I was intrigued but I wasn't going to go out of my way to make a trip to see what it was all about.  This morning my sister and I were doing a whole bunch of shopping and were going to go to Wal-mart, but never ended up making it there because we ran out of time.  So I had just gotten back from a 3 hour long shopping trip with nothing to show for it.  I wanted something.  I know I am doing Project 10 Pan, but I have set myself different rules, so I wanted to get myself primer.  So I set out for Walmart.  They didn't have the primer I wanted, but I decided to try out something different.  I picked up a few other things there and then left.  On the way back I thought "hmmm, I could go check out that warehouse sale thinger" so I did.  And I ended up getting, combined with the Walmart excursion, 7 cosmetic related items for about $30.  Score!

Review: True Match by L'oreal

Okay, so I am a bad girl and haven't uploaded my photos from my haircut yet. I am notorious for not uploading pictures. I'll take loads and loads and then never do anything with them except let them sit on my hard drive until I move them to my external hard drive where they "rot" away into nothing. Haha.

On with the review!


Brand: L'oreal
Name: True Match
Colour: N1
Cost: It was around 12 bucks at wal-mart.
What I liked: I liked the bottle, somewhat. And I like how liquidy it is, it runs well without getting all over the place easily. I liked how it has built in SPF.
What I disliked: I cannot seem to get this foundation to not look gross on me. It looked fine the first day, but after that no matter how I apply it, it looks cakey and just accentuates pores and bumps and lines. It seems to sit on top of my skin and then just disappears after a couple hours.
Would I Buy it Again: I would only buy this again if I had amnesia and completely forgot about how much I hated it.

I know some people love this stuff though, so honestly, try it out if you want to. Also, when I tried it over top of a bit of primer that I had sampled it seemed to work a bit better, but I don't actually own primer yet, so I can't give a good review of it over primer. I will be getting primer (present from boyfriend yay) this weekend at some point so I shall make an amendment to this as I try it out.

- Love, Becka