One of the major problems with being a person who's into "the makeup thing" is that you end up accumulating a lot of stuff. Have you ever noticed how long it actually takes to use up a single pan of eyeshadow or bottle of perfume? But there's always something new to try, some new formula or shade that promises perfection in a bottle, and I'm as susceptible to marketing claims and hype as the next guy. Because I'm already perilously close to being categorized as an actual hoarder, I've started to try to buy things with the "one comes in, one goes out" rule in mind (which is, of course, easier said than done). Not to mention, it is at least moderately important to keep things like expiration dates in mind. Nothing lasts forever. So, because I'm terrible at sticking to my own rules, I've decided to keep myself accountable by creating a list every month of the products that I intend to use up by month's end. The remnants get trashed (which I know sounds wasteful, but the lists are going to be comprised of products that are nearing their use-by dates, so don't give me any of your lip, Internet). Even though we're already a quarter of the way through the month, there's no time like the present, so here's my Use It or Lose It list for November:
Benefit Posietint. This stuff garnered a lot of attention when it launched a few years ago. I bought it because I went through a phase where I thought pink everything suited me. In my now somewhat-more-advanced age, I've come to realize that Pepto shades don't actually do that much for me... thankfully, this one is sheer enough that I'm not going to feel like a complete goober using it every day for the rest of the month in order to get my money's worth.
With Love... Hilary Duff. I've had this since I was dating my ex, and we broke up in 2007. I mean, it's a different bottle! But come the new year, I'll have had this scent in my arsenal for at least seven years, and I just feel like Hilary Duff would want me to move on already.
Spearmint Mentha Lip Shine from Bath and Body Works. Luckily, I have this in a weensy mini-tube, so it won't be hard to use this one up. I'm just not all about spearmint. It's too sweet. Go peppermint or go home.
Annabelle Smoothliner in Brownie. Canadian beauty aficionados rave about Annabelle Smoothliners. Not me. Chalk it up to my still-oily-even-in-my-third-decade skin, or perhaps the formula's just a li'l too smooth, but this stuff smears halfway down my cheeks every time I use it.
Now I feel like I'm really working toward something. You gotta have goals in life!
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Saturday, November 9, 2013
I'm Not A Hair Person
In this world, there are two types of people: People who can do things with their hair (such as: keep their bangs looking clean, or make a braid) and people who can't. I am people who can't. I get my hair cut four times a year (if that), and I don't colour treat it, save the occasional ill-advised foray into the wild world of that terrible spray-in bleach stuff (you know, Sun In and products of that ilk). I am a low-maintenance hair person, not because I don't care what it looks like, but because I never really learned what to do with it, and, thus, am somewhat forced into not caring what it looks like.
All of this being said, in spite of newfangled things like dry shampoo and cleansing conditioners, most of us still rely on good ol' shampoo and conditioner in our day-to-day lives. Shampoo and conditioner are the types of products that straddle the line between "luxurious self-care" and "basic good hygiene", so, y'know... you can't really get away from it.
Personally, I feel like I'm always questing for that one perfect pairing of shampoo and conditioner. Something that won't dry out my already breakage-prone hair. Something that won't build up and weigh my hair down, necessitating the purchase of yet another product to get the build up out. And something that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, because my daddy sure as hell didn't raise me to be spending twenty dollars on bottles of shampoo.
Lately, in the blogosphere, I've noticed a moderate amount of hype for L'Oreal's Evercreme range. Everyone was saying how great it is for dry hair, and because I like to put haircuts off for much longer than any self-respecting adult probably should, my hair was indisputably dry. So, great! This stuff must be made for me! And how fortuitous that I should find the entire product range on sale! I greedily and gleefully snapped up the shampoo and conditioner (both of which claim to be "nourishing" and stipulate that they are "for normal to dry hair"), the cleansing conditioner, the "deep nourishing masque" (please note the unique and sophisticated spelling of the word "mask"; this stuff must be good!), and the leave-in spray. That's a whole lot of hair stuff.
Let's rank these prods from least impressive to most impressive, shall we? I was least impressed, far and away, with the cleansing conditioner. You know that saying, "Jack of all trades, master of none"? Yeah. This stuff has a weird, waxy texture that fails to cleanse or condition in any way. My hair has a natural tendency toward oiliness at the scalp (and dryness throughout the lengths; yeah, I'm a superbabe, whaddup?), and I had to use a palmful of this stuff to get any cleansing action going on whatsoever. Trust me when I say that your usual "dime-sized amount" is not gonna do the trick here. Although it rinsed out surprisingly easily for such a heavy feeling product, it left my hair comically tangled and feeling dry. Womp womp. Oh, not to mention, suppose you actually totally love this product and it works magnificently on your particular hair type? Congratulations! Now, good luck getting all of it out of that hard-plastic pump bottle.
The second worst product in the range was the proper shampoo. Even freshly washed, my hair looked and felt lank (my bangs in particular). Now, I get it: Sometimes, in the world of beauty products, you've gotta compromise a little bit. For a long time, "sulfate-free" shampoo meant "I can't believe we tricked you into buying this garbage, you hippie", because you might as well have not washed your hair at all. But this range specifically advertises that it won't weigh your hair down, so forgive me for feeling a little peeved that I had to alternate a clarifying shampoo with this one in order to keep my hair looking remotely presentable. Yeah, you read that right: Alternate. Not your usual, "use a clarifying shampoo once a week to remove build up" kind of deal. Every other day. To remove the build up caused by a shampoo that purportedly will not cause build up. Weaksauce.
Now we get to the middling products in the range: The conditioner and the leave-in. In my opinion, these products are tied for "meh". The conditioner does the same job that any other conditioner would. My opinion of it was knocked down a peg when my tube started to split down the side, which had the delightful effect of getting conditioner everywhere every time I'd go to use it. The leave-in is weirdly thick, but at least it didn't make the ends of my hair feel or look greasy, so I guess that's a plus? The leave-in does have the advantage of making my hair slippery, and thus, easier to detangle when it's wet, but as a lazy, lazy woman, I'd really prefer for any sort of leave-in product that I'm using to also offer heat protection. My horrifically heat-damaged ends can attest to the fact that this product does not offer any such benefits. So, meh.
Finally, the "masque", which I am just going to call a mask if it comes up again, if that's okay with everyone? This product is essentially a really thick conditioner packaged in a jar. Generally, I'm not fussed over conditioners that come packaged in jars. It's just so damn fiddly to get the top off the jar while simultaneously avoiding any water from the shower getting in and diluting the product. That said, if I was going to repurchase anything from this range, I guess it would be this (although, truth be told, from now on, I'm probably just going to stick to trolling Winners for slightly more luxe stuff for around the same price point). I do notice a difference in how my hair behaves when I use the mask in lieu of the regular conditioner. It seems to be easier to comb and softer and shinier and overall more of an all-around nice guy. So, if you're hellbent on trying something from this range just to say that you did, make it this product.
Overall, in spite of the fact that I find buying new hair stuff really anxiety provoking (what if it makes my hair look gross or dries it out or kills all the fish when it washes down the drain??), I just don't think I can bring myself to buy any of this stuff again. In fact, I've already moved on to a new shampoo (which is, awkwardly enough, also made by L'Oreal... fool me once, you guys... fool me once...) and it's just a matter of time before I use up all the conditioners in their various forms and give something new a spin. And then you'll get to read all about that, too! Hopefully I'll have some better luck next time, but as for this Evercreme range, I feel pretty secure in saying that your life is in no way lacking if you take a pass on this stuff.
All of this being said, in spite of newfangled things like dry shampoo and cleansing conditioners, most of us still rely on good ol' shampoo and conditioner in our day-to-day lives. Shampoo and conditioner are the types of products that straddle the line between "luxurious self-care" and "basic good hygiene", so, y'know... you can't really get away from it.
Personally, I feel like I'm always questing for that one perfect pairing of shampoo and conditioner. Something that won't dry out my already breakage-prone hair. Something that won't build up and weigh my hair down, necessitating the purchase of yet another product to get the build up out. And something that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, because my daddy sure as hell didn't raise me to be spending twenty dollars on bottles of shampoo.
Lately, in the blogosphere, I've noticed a moderate amount of hype for L'Oreal's Evercreme range. Everyone was saying how great it is for dry hair, and because I like to put haircuts off for much longer than any self-respecting adult probably should, my hair was indisputably dry. So, great! This stuff must be made for me! And how fortuitous that I should find the entire product range on sale! I greedily and gleefully snapped up the shampoo and conditioner (both of which claim to be "nourishing" and stipulate that they are "for normal to dry hair"), the cleansing conditioner, the "deep nourishing masque" (please note the unique and sophisticated spelling of the word "mask"; this stuff must be good!), and the leave-in spray. That's a whole lot of hair stuff.
Let's rank these prods from least impressive to most impressive, shall we? I was least impressed, far and away, with the cleansing conditioner. You know that saying, "Jack of all trades, master of none"? Yeah. This stuff has a weird, waxy texture that fails to cleanse or condition in any way. My hair has a natural tendency toward oiliness at the scalp (and dryness throughout the lengths; yeah, I'm a superbabe, whaddup?), and I had to use a palmful of this stuff to get any cleansing action going on whatsoever. Trust me when I say that your usual "dime-sized amount" is not gonna do the trick here. Although it rinsed out surprisingly easily for such a heavy feeling product, it left my hair comically tangled and feeling dry. Womp womp. Oh, not to mention, suppose you actually totally love this product and it works magnificently on your particular hair type? Congratulations! Now, good luck getting all of it out of that hard-plastic pump bottle.
The second worst product in the range was the proper shampoo. Even freshly washed, my hair looked and felt lank (my bangs in particular). Now, I get it: Sometimes, in the world of beauty products, you've gotta compromise a little bit. For a long time, "sulfate-free" shampoo meant "I can't believe we tricked you into buying this garbage, you hippie", because you might as well have not washed your hair at all. But this range specifically advertises that it won't weigh your hair down, so forgive me for feeling a little peeved that I had to alternate a clarifying shampoo with this one in order to keep my hair looking remotely presentable. Yeah, you read that right: Alternate. Not your usual, "use a clarifying shampoo once a week to remove build up" kind of deal. Every other day. To remove the build up caused by a shampoo that purportedly will not cause build up. Weaksauce.
Now we get to the middling products in the range: The conditioner and the leave-in. In my opinion, these products are tied for "meh". The conditioner does the same job that any other conditioner would. My opinion of it was knocked down a peg when my tube started to split down the side, which had the delightful effect of getting conditioner everywhere every time I'd go to use it. The leave-in is weirdly thick, but at least it didn't make the ends of my hair feel or look greasy, so I guess that's a plus? The leave-in does have the advantage of making my hair slippery, and thus, easier to detangle when it's wet, but as a lazy, lazy woman, I'd really prefer for any sort of leave-in product that I'm using to also offer heat protection. My horrifically heat-damaged ends can attest to the fact that this product does not offer any such benefits. So, meh.
Finally, the "masque", which I am just going to call a mask if it comes up again, if that's okay with everyone? This product is essentially a really thick conditioner packaged in a jar. Generally, I'm not fussed over conditioners that come packaged in jars. It's just so damn fiddly to get the top off the jar while simultaneously avoiding any water from the shower getting in and diluting the product. That said, if I was going to repurchase anything from this range, I guess it would be this (although, truth be told, from now on, I'm probably just going to stick to trolling Winners for slightly more luxe stuff for around the same price point). I do notice a difference in how my hair behaves when I use the mask in lieu of the regular conditioner. It seems to be easier to comb and softer and shinier and overall more of an all-around nice guy. So, if you're hellbent on trying something from this range just to say that you did, make it this product.
Overall, in spite of the fact that I find buying new hair stuff really anxiety provoking (what if it makes my hair look gross or dries it out or kills all the fish when it washes down the drain??), I just don't think I can bring myself to buy any of this stuff again. In fact, I've already moved on to a new shampoo (which is, awkwardly enough, also made by L'Oreal... fool me once, you guys... fool me once...) and it's just a matter of time before I use up all the conditioners in their various forms and give something new a spin. And then you'll get to read all about that, too! Hopefully I'll have some better luck next time, but as for this Evercreme range, I feel pretty secure in saying that your life is in no way lacking if you take a pass on this stuff.
Friday, November 8, 2013
Sometimes Smart Girls Like Dumb Things
Hi, world!
Let's get the obvious out of the way first, ok? The last thing the internet needs is another beauty blog. All the articles about how to start a successful blog tell you, "find a unique spin!". Welp, we all know it: There are no unique spins left on beauty blogs (or, if there are, I'm not creative enough to figure one out). Not to mention, blogging about products... Iiiiiii have mixed feelings. See, I like to think of myself as a reasonably intelligent young(ish) woman. Not that intelligent women can't care about superficial things, but they're not supposed to fixate on superficial things, you see what I'm saying? Like, in the time it takes me to write a post about nail polish, I could be bettering myself. I could be reading a great novel, or practising* French, or watching an insightful documentary... and then I could blog about those things, and the world could see what a deep, well-rounded, un-superficial individual I really am.
Yeah, nuts to that. I figure, this is something I've wanted to try for a really long time, and life's too short. Really, what it comes down to is caring too much what other people think (that I'm superficial, or worse, stupid, for creating and maintaining a blog that's devoted entirely to beauty products), and that, dear reader, is a terrible reason to not do something.
So, with that out of the way, welcome to Tubes of Goo, a name I chose because I find it simultaneously gross and adorable (grossdorable). I might occasionally pepper this blog with posts that aren't beauty related in any way, just to make myself feel better about the whole thing, but yes: this is a beauty blog. I write a beauty blog now. Okay.
*NB: I am Canadian, so just be aware that the way I chose to spell this word in no way indicates that I also need to be practising my English. This is how we do.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)