Product Junkie Diva

NOTW

2012-02-02T07:01:00.004-05:00

Hello

I hope you're all doing well.

This week I feel like having shiny nails so I am wearing "The Full Monty" by Butter London. This gold polish gives me all the shine I need sans the glitter so removal is effortless!

(click on the pic for a better view)

What's your favorite non glitter shiny polish???

Hold me down- hair edition

2012-01-22T19:48:00.017-05:00

Hello Ladies

I am about 6 months post relaxer and I am thinking that I won't relax again, but that's another story. I was able to put my hair in a ponytail only because I blow dried and flat ironed it last week. However, throughout the week water has caused my edges to swing back into curly formation. I decided to pull out a "holding" product to lay down my edges for what I wanted to be a sleek pulled back ponytail.

I decided to use the Organic Root Stimulator Smooth and Hold Pudding. I didn't remember to check the ingredients before applying it, but the first ingredient is water. So this aided in making the curls even curlier. If you have straight hair naturally or a relaxer, this product may work but as shown in the picture below, my hair line was completely raised. From afar it may have looked like a smooth ponytail but upon closer inspection, it was clear that this product isn't the one that will hold down my coils.

(click on the picture for a better view)

HOWEVER, as you can see on the tub of pudding, hold is actually the last thing mentioned on the label underneath the name of the product. In order it states that this product, moisturizes, shines AND Holds. So I feel it is necessary to address the other two claims.

Shine-

This was a no go in the shine area. The product added no noticeable shine to my tresses. It didn't make it look dull, but it just didn't add any shiny brilliance to my hair. I would turn to other products to add shine. On a shine scale of 1-10 (10 being the greatest shine payoff) this product gets a 4 at best.

Moisturize

Surprisingly, I think we may have a winner.... kind of. What I noticed most of all from this $4.99 product is that my hair didn't feel too dry or brittle. It actually felt, dare I say moisturized initially. My hair is usually dry but this product did give me a moisturized feeling. After the product was fully absorbed in my hair and it dried, it did loose some of the moisture but it wasn't completely dry. As a result, of the three claims, the moisture was the most that I got out of this pudding. It was not good enough to replace any of my go to moisturizers.

Consistency

The product really does have the consistency of pudding that you would eat. It isn't sticky and after touching it, I don't feel like my hands are tacky.

Would I buy this again?

I would not buy this product again for two reasons, one my intention was to hold down my hair and it failed in that regard.

Ingredients

The picture below was the best that I could do to show you the ingredients on the label. This paraben free product includes glycerin, sweet almond oil, coconut oil and avocado oil. It does include cones, mineral oil and two dyes. I picked this one up because it is free of parabens unlike the "edge control" by Organic Root Stimulator. I did hear that the edge control is great but I'd rather stay away from parabens.

So I ask, what do you use to keep all of your strands in place?

Operation Relaxation- Part 1, NOTW & More

2012-01-20T10:18:00.013-05:00

After a long week at work what does a gal need more than a little down time? I decided to pick up a few items that would assist me in my journey towards relaxation and rejuvenation.

In this post I will focus on the Mint n Rose Spa Soak by Pooka Pure and Simple. As soon as you open the jar you are greeting by the scent of peppermint and roses. I have said many times on this blog that I do not like the scent of flowers and peppermint doesn't necessarily hit the spot either, but a combination of the two make this product a delight to inhale. I felt as if my nasal passages were wide open yet the scent wasn't overwhelming.

I used this product in my foot bath and on other occasions I dumped some of the contents of this 12 oz jar into my bath tub. Each time, both my feet and body felt soft and smooth. I didn't have any sore joints so I can't tell you if it helps in that area.

The ingredients include epsom and sea salts, rose petals, peppermint oil, as well as other natural oils. For only $12 this product was worth the money. Can you make this product at home? Of course you can, but I know I won't be drying rose petals any time soon so I can just pick up my bath soak from Pooka. I should also note that you obviously will be picking up rose petals from your bathtub after the water drains.

Happy Soaking!!!!

How do you unwind after a hard week?

Nail of the Week

This week I am wearing Charla by Zoya, this $8 polish is a close match for Watermelon Rind by China Glaze.

One coat looks pretty weak as shown in the picture below.

But after a second coat, this sparkling metalic polish is perfect. This is a glitter free product!

On the Big Screen

Oh Happy Day- Red Tails opens in theaters today. Please support this film which highlights the trails and accomplishments of the Tuskegee Airmen !!!! Did I mention that this film features some top notch actors including Mr. Terrence Howard...heeyy

Double NOTW

2012-01-17T13:03:00.005-05:00

Hello

Here is my NOTW from last week- I was wearing Thames by Butter London. This metalic green definitely required two coats, but once it was on, that shiny coat was rocking!

Currently I'm wearing Minka, a creamy light tan colored polish by Zoya. Sometimes, I just don't know how I feel about Minka..lol but since I haven't worn it in a while I decided to dust the old girls off and wear her!

What's your favorite nude colored polish?

Brilliant

2012-01-14T08:45:00.003-05:00

Hello

I saw this darling video on the Clutch magazine site. As I struggled to recall this information myself, I just knew I had to share this video.

Enjoy

They're BACkkkkkk - The Game and Let's Stay Together

2012-01-12T07:19:00.009-05:00

January 10th was a date that was indelibly etched in the minds of viewers of The Game. At 10:00pm hash tags like #thegame began to dominate twitter. Fortunately, the show picked up exactly where things left off last season. Derwin suspects Mel had an abortion, while an overdosed Jenna appears on the doorstep of her now ex boyfriend Malik. Tasha Mac is bitter over her now defunct relationship with Melanie after she dropped Derwin as a client. Jason Pitts sarcasm and troubled daughter Brit Brat were also in tow. Appearances were also made by minor characters Janae, McHottie and a now married Trey Wiggs. I didn’t even notice that Kelly was missing from the show and frankly I didn't care. Did you miss Kelly?

I don't want to spoil it for those who plan on catching the repeat but I need to discuss some issues with the show. The laugh track in the show was upsetting because it felt so forced. I didn't laugh for roughly 25 minutes (maybe longer) despite the laugh track. The reason I noted the fact that I didn’t laugh was because the “jokes” were not well written and the punch lines were more like light zingers. Some people were complaining that the show is filled with too much drama and the writers need to get back to comedy. In my opinion this show was never a comedy, it always had drama and that's what I enjoyed about it. I just think the jokes that were present in previous seasons were executed better than what was shown in Tuesday night’s episode. Was it me or were the jokes a little dry Tuesday night? Nevertheless, it was not enough to get me to even think about changing the channel.

Growing up???? Jason Pitts learns that Brit Brat has followed in his footsteps by dating people who are Caucasian. Surprisingly, Jason is troubled by this revelation and tries to convince Brit that he has indeed dated black women. In an unexpected twist, Jason ends up married to Chardonnay, a new character played by R&B singer Brandy aka BRocka. I appreciated seeing a new side of Jason Pitts but I almost feel like his character was rushed into telling Chardonnay about his painful childhood memories. We have known Jason Pitts for years now and it took him a while to open up to his now ex wife Kelly let alone a stranger. I have a feeling Brandy and Pitts they will remain married- what do you think? I don't necessarily like the pairing of Chardonnay and Jason Pitts but it may be a coupling that will grow on me. Don’t get me wrong I like Brandy and I am very excited that she has joined The Game but maybe I would have paired her with Malik or someone else. I do like Jenna though. If I were in charge, I perhaps would have paired Pitts with Kerry Washington or someone else, I don’t know what it is but something feels off in terms of their look together…..time will tell.

What I Hated.....
Jenna’s poorly executed portrayal of substance abuser- her skin is gorgeous though .

What I liked......

Although Tasha may grow to envy the spot Jenna holds in Malik's heart, Jenna somehow causes Malik behave like a man.

What I loved....

Trey Wigs as the father of Mel's baby- I think we will see him again. I loved the Trey Wigs scenes in previous episodes. He is a guy that really liked Mel quirks included , not that Derwin doesn’t but Trey really was in love so I just felt for the guy.

I said OH SNAP (yes I still say snap..lol)....

When Janae took a family pic with baby DJ and Derwin the said to Mel –“ maybe now is a good time to take out the cupcakes” like Mel was the help or something. - LOL

Let's Stay Together

Did you watch Let’s Stay Together? OK my big problem is they never ever got to the root of the issue of Charles, the runaway groom. I know that he said he went to get the poem but after hearing the horrible poem it was clear that he didn’t run out to get the poem. What gives? I feel like that was just swept under the rug and then they had an intimate wedding in the living room….ummm ok.
Another swept under the run issue was that of Tasha fawning over her old college sweetheart. She was downright giddy over seeing her ex, I thought it was disrespectful to her union and the husband and she was never taught a lesson of some sort. I remember last season when she didn’t even want her husband to work with a particular client because she sensed the woman liked her husband. Despite that, she thinks it’s ok to have dinner, and drinks with her ex and then go back to his house to set up his computer????? WHAT? Who does that? The episode ended with the couple acting as if things were dandy. Unless Troy will reappear in later episodes this episode felt incomplete.
Many newcomers tuned in to see the much hyped introduction of Kyla Pratt on the show. However, Kyla was no where in sight episode one. What were your thoughts? Lets Stay together was trending too….

WNTW

2012-01-08T23:14:00.008-05:00

Hello

Here is the latest What's new this week which features hair products, nail polish and other goodies.

NOTW and Free Zoya Nail Polish

2012-01-08T19:45:00.007-05:00

Hello Everyone
For the nail of the week I am wearing two different polishes. I started with an $8 Zoya polish named Trixie (shown below) and I covered it with the Sephora by OPI Blasted polish in the color Indigo. It was and still is on sale at sephora for $5 (click here). I made this purchase when I had a discount code so if you have one, feel free to maximize your bucks.
Here is one coat of Trixie- you can without a doubt use just one coat of Trixie.

Here is Trixie after two coats

Get Free Zoya polishes
You know by now that I love the carcinogen free Zoya polishes, so here is your chance to get two bottles for free.
Simply use the code zoya2012 by January 9th at 11:59 pm and you have your two free polishes! You only have to pay for shipping and handling. Trust me it will pale in comparison to the price you would pay for shipping handling and two bottles of polishes.

TIP
Remember, unless you're looking for a sheer polish you should look at the intensity of the polish when selecting your color. It is listed next to each polish and it tells you how intense that particular color is after one coat. If you get a polish with an intensity level of 5 (the highest level possible), think of that as your one coat polish. You will not need multpile coats to get the color shown in the bottle.
If you pick up any colors please tell me which colors you decided to purchase.
Enjoy!!!!

The 2011 IT LIST

2012-01-08T17:52:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone

Here are the products that sent me straight to heaven in 2011.

Makeup

This is the first year that I have really taken a plunge into the pool of eyeshadows so the two companies that stood out from the pack are....

Inglot Cosmetics- the eyeshadows are super pigmented and the gel eyeliners are pigmented and waterproof.

Tarte Cosmetics made me melt when I tried on their super silky Amazonian gel eyeliners. I later learned that their powered shadows are pigmented and vibrant.

Makeup Remover- Urban Decay Melt Down Makeup Remover.

Eyeshadow Primer- Too Faced Shadow Insurance (review coming soon)

Lip Gloss

Fruit Punch scented Liploucious (from Bath and Body Works) (mini review coming soon)
Maybelline Baby lips (in the flavor cherry me)- the grape flavor (not so much) review coming soon
Sephora brand paraben free super nourishing lip balm

Lip Scrub- Lush brand lip scrub

Hair (in no particular order)

Conditioners - I think it's about time I put together a new deep conditioner favorites list!!!

**Curl Junkie- Banana Hibiscus deep conditioner (very late 2011 edition- but I can already tell I like this baby)

Karen's Body Beautiful Luscious locs hair mask ( I was reunited with this mask in 2011)

Darcy's Botanicals deep moisture mask (a staple which has been on my go to for at least 2 years now.)

Flat Iron- Hanna (review coming soon)

honorable mention (Sultra flat iron)

Shampoo

My shampoos from last year still stand as my go to shampoos (the 2010 list will be linked below)

Leave in Conditioner

Ph balanced leave in conditioner from Naturalista (this product will be reviewed later and it needs a FULLLL review and explanation)

Body

Black cherry scented whipped lotion (the moisturizing formula is not as long lasting on my skin but the scent is divine)

SOAP

Whole Truth Solutions- (I like so many but specifically raw honey and oats, sapone, and lemon sense)

Lush porridge soap

Skin care

ClickR (cleanser, moisturizers for day and night and the serum)

Whole Truth solutions masque

Nail Polish

Although I still like OPI (except for my opi shatter which went goopy) and Essie, there were two polish companies that dominated my collection in 2011.

Butter London

Zoya

Nail Polish remover- Zoya brand. The zoya brand polish remover does not dry out my nails but it removed my polishes easily.

To remove glitter polish I love the 100% acetone polish remover (The CVS brand)

Here is the link to my 2010 IT List since many of the products that I loved then followed me into 2011.

What were your IT products for 2011?

NOTW -Black Knight- Limited Edition

2012-01-05T07:08:00.007-05:00

Hello

This is the $14 limited edition Butter London lacquer named Black Knight. It is a black base lacquer with fine colored glitters mixed into the polish. You can get away with one coat of this polish simply because it is a bit on the thick side, so you are applying a good amount with just one application. However, I am wearing two coats in this post and I am wearing a top coat in the picture above. Unlike other glitter polishes this one features more than one color of glitter. Black , pink, blue and silver glitter is packed into this lacquer for added beauty.

The above picture was taken after I applied my second coat but before I applied my top coat. The flash of the camera added a bit of shine to my nails but to me, it needed a top coat for added shine.

Thanks for reading

NOTW -Let's get matte & other talk

2012-01-03T11:01:00.007-05:00

Hello
Today I am wearing Veruschka, an $8 matte polish from Zoya. I love this matte polish!
Here is a picture with no flash on my camera.

I should complete my best of 2011 list tonight and post it tomorrow. I hope you are all doing very well.

On the Big Screen

Did you see Mission Impossible? I thought it was packed with action, I loved the stunts but there was just something about it that didn't make me want to say...let see that movie again. It was good but a one time only deal.

Where will you be February 24th?

I don't know about you, but I know that I will be in a theater watching Tyler Perry's latest flick "Good Deeds".

On the little screen-

I simply love marriage proposals, so when I saw a post on theybf stating that Jim Jones was going to propose to Chrissy I immediately clicked the link.I watched him rub his eyes, scratch his head and basically look as if someone pushed him out of bed and said "ummm weren't you supposed to propose today?". Chrissy was apparently overwhelemed and pleased with his proposal. What were your thoughts?

Thanks for reading.

What's New This Week? shoes, hair and makeup

2011-12-31T01:38:00.004-05:00

Hello

Here is another WNTW video. In this video you will see the swatches of the Inglot eyeshadows I showed you in my Black Friday haul video. I will also show two new hair products that I purchased from Naturalista Cosmetics and my new Butter London polishes. The video starts off with my new darling shoes from Dsw.

Thanks for watching and for your support of my blog and youtube channel throughout 2011.

I hope to get my 2011 "It List" completed by the end of the day.....maybe :-)

Pjd

Whole Truth Solutions Masques- Review

2011-12-30T08:35:00.008-05:00

Hello

In this video I reviewed three masques from Whole Truth Solutions , a company known for creating soaps. Now that they have stepped into the world of masques I was eager to get my hands on a few of them. If you look at the "clay therapy" section on their website, you will see that they offer 5 different masques. Based on your skin type, you can select the masque that will work best for you. I received Blueberry Chamomile and Pomegranate Rose from Whole Truth Solutions. After trying out the masques I purchased Strawberry Hibiscus with Chrysanthemum on my own. The masques are generally $12 but they are on sale for $10.50 right now. As mentioned in the video, these natural dry masques just need water and then you can mix it up and apply it to your skin. I have sensitive combination skin and these masques worked well for me.

Part 1

Part 2

Please check out the video for more info.

Thanks for reading/ watching.

Enjoy your weekend.

Tarte's Perfect Gift

2011-12-23T18:22:00.018-05:00

Tarte has come up with the perfect gift for the beauty lover in your life. For a mere $48 you can purchase a makeup kit which includes a purse, 18 eyeshadows, one lip color, one blush, one bronzer and one shimmering powder. You easily snap in the palette of your choice to take your makeup on the go. Like all Tarte products, these makeup items are made free of parabens, pthalates, sls, mineral oil and other yucky unnecessary ingredients.

Check out the video to learn more about these pigmented shadows.
I swatched these colors in the same order in which they appear in the palette.

This palette is named Nine To Five which includes the blush.

Here is another view you can see the top colors by my knuckles a bit better in this shot.

Next up is the palette named Walk in the Park which includes the bronzer.

Second view of Walk in the Park

The final palette is Girls' Night Out and it features the shimmering powder.

Second view of Girls' NIght Out

Here is the peppermint infused lip project that also comes with the kit. Now don't be scared by what seems like a really bright pink color, once you smooth this product across your lips it almost looks clear.

I can't forget about the purse so here it goes:

Once inside of the purse you will find card holders and two snaps used to secure your makeup palette in the purse.

Check it out:

Check out the video for more info including, the length of the chain on the purse, a view of the makeup by numbers guide that comes with this kit and more!

Seriously cute kit, right?

**Thanks to the Tarte pr rep. who sent this product for me to share with the world.

NOTW- Nude

2011-12-23T10:42:00.006-05:00

Hello

This flesh toned beauty (well not exactly my flesh but you know what I mean) before your eyes is named "Tea With The Queen" by Butter London. For a mere $14 this nude polish can adorn your nails. I fell in love with this polish after my first application. One coat will do the trick but I am rocking two coats in this picture. This really makes me want to try "All Hail The Queen" by Butter London because it is almost the same color but with some sparkle thrown in. (Scratch that last sentence because on the Butter London site they actually make the comparison between All Hail the Queen and Yummy Mummy not Tea With the Queen.)

What your favorite nude?

Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend.

Just Hauling

2011-12-18T14:01:00.002-05:00

Hello
Here are a few products that I picked up as well as a review of the Aslilii Amala red raspberry hair mask.

NOTW- Finally the perfect RED

2011-12-11T21:00:00.005-05:00

For years I have been saying that red just isn't my color but alas, I have found the PERFECT red nail polish. Knees Up by Butter London priced at $14.00, is a brilliant metallic red. This picture does not really do it justice, but this is the best my camera could do in this lighting. You can certainly make this a one coat application but in the pictures below I have on two coats. I am not wearing a top coat and this polish shines on its own. Much like Zoya, Butter London polishes are free of carcinogens.

Picture 2

Black Friday Haul and what's in my Salve??? !!!

2011-12-10T21:55:00.000-05:00

Enjoy

NOTW (Nail of the week)- Sparkle Mania & Sales Into

2011-12-07T00:52:00.007-05:00

Hello Ladies

Today I am rocking "Rosie Lee" from Butter London. Their polishes are priced at $14 but I got it during Black Friday so I did get a small discount. This company is 3 free which means it is free of Formaldehyde, Toluene and DBP. This polish is free of carcinogens!

Yes, this polish is in the darker side of the pink family and although I always say I don't like pink, I couldn't resist this one! It took two to three coats to achieve this look and I am not wearing a top coat.

Sales Information

Dooney and Bourke is on day 3 of their 12 days of saving program. Each day different bags are revealed to be on the list of discounted items, some items up to 50% off. Here is the link to day 3 the sale is only valid for 1 day until midnight while supplies last so shop early. I feel like I am rolling the dice because I keep waiting thinking that may favorite bag will appear but what if it doesn't? There are other bags that I can get but I don't want to end up with too many items at the end of 12 days...and so I wait...lol.

Thanks for reading

PJD

NOTW (Nail of the week)

2011-12-04T21:11:00.003-05:00

For my NOTW photo I am wearing "Going Incognito" by Essie.
I have real reviews coming up this week--Stay tuned. :-)
Pjd

NOTW

2011-11-27T20:55:00.003-05:00

Hello

I think I am going to start a new series NOTW (nails of the week) where I showcase a simple pic of the nail polish I am rocking for the week. I will likely have more than one pic per week. I think it will help me to stop using the same colors over and over again. It should force me to begin to dig deeper into my nail polish stash. So this week I am rocking "Russian Navy" by OPI.

What are you rocking this week?

WNTW Hair and Skincare

2011-11-27T16:20:00.001-05:00

Hello
Here is the final What's New This Week video which features skincare items and hair items that I purchased recently.
Thanks for watching:

WNTW Inglot and Nars- Updates to reference sales info

2011-11-23T16:39:00.003-05:00

Hello

Here are just a few more items that I have swatched for your viewing pleasure. This video features Inglot and Nars. Thanks for watching and for supporting by blog and youtube channel (productjunkidiva). CLick this link to see what Inglot sales will happen this weekend.

Enjoy

What's New This Week? nails and A Stila Palette

2011-11-23T14:54:00.001-05:00

Hello Everone

Perhaps you will see something in this video that you would like to pick up on Black Friday.

Check out my new polishes from Oyin, Zoya and my $39 Stilla eyeshadow palette.

Black Friday Sales- CYBER MONDAY Updated

2011-11-21T23:02:00.029-05:00

As always, I will maintain a list of Black Friday - Cyber Monday sales ...HOORAY. Please use the comment section to post any sales that you know of too.

Here is what I have so far:

Hair

Karen's Body Beautiful from Nov. 25th-Nov 28th will give you 30% off of your entire purchase. use the code BLACKFRIDAY Early Access starts Thursday at 1pm

Komaza Hair Care will give you 25% off your entire purchase from Nov. 24- Nov. 28th

Oyin Handmade- ok I received the following Oyin email so simply read below to see what they are offering: On November 25-28, take 20% off your entire order! All domestic orders of $60 or more get FREE SHIPPING using code: thankyou2011. (All prices on the website will reflect the discounted price.)

Sale starts at midnight EST, November 25 and ends at Midnight EST, November 29. That’s right, you have FOUR days to take advantage of our Black Friday sale!

In-Store Sales

Our flagship store will be open on Black Friday 3-8pm and Saturday 12-7pm. Take 10% off all purchases on both days!

** It also looks like the Sugar Berry Pomade is back for Black Friday.

Jane Carter- CYBER MONDAY- free shipping on all orders over $50.

Jane Carter Solutions has the following Black Friday deals: starting at 12 a.m. on Friday, November 25, 2011:

Buy 16 oz Curl Defining Cream, get Revitalizing Leave-In Conditioner FREE

Buy Nourish & Shine, get Natural Hold Spray Gel FREE

Buy Twist & Lock, get Natural Hold Locking Spray FREE

Buy Hair Nourishing Cream, get Revitalizing Leave-In Conditioner FREE

Sultra.com get $100 off the PINK flat iron from Nov 21-Nov 28th. Check out my review of it here.

She Scent IT- 30% off the full size only use the code sheblfr2011

Brown Butter Beauty will give you 25% off your entire purchase - use the code BlackFriday

Carols Daughter 15% off your entire order ends Nov 24th

Hairveda - check the side for their sales which last from Friday- Monday (30-50% off)

Darcy's Botanicals - 25% off full sizes only use the code BlackFriday - you will also get a free gift with your purchase and Larger sizes and Holiday gift sets will be available. Nov. 25th only from 12 Am- 12 (midnight)

Afroveda- 30 % off offer ends Nov. 25th at midnight so act fast use the code bf2011

Miss Jessies - the anual BOGO sale--buy one get one free Now- December 31st.

My Honey Child- offer ends TONIGHT at MIDNIGHT buy one 8oz get another free

Beija-Flor Naturals Their sales of 15% off ends Cyber Monday. use the code

Clothing/ Shoes

Puma sneakers 30% off your entire order Nov- 24th- nov 27th.

Payless Shoes - 50% off select styles

JJill 25% off select items use the code Gobble

Aerosoles take an extra 20% off your entire purchase. In STORE Only at this point.

Ann Taylor 40% off EVERYTHING use the code Thanks

The Limited- take 50% of original ticket items, sale items not included. use code GOBBLE

New York & Co- click the link to see their list of sales

Aveda- free 2 day shipping and free styling foam with orders over $40

Newport News- they seems to have a variety of discounts.

Victoria's Secret, you get a free tote filled with goodies if you spend $65 use the code Friday

Body

Pooka Pure and Simple- Two for one (it looks like this is in store only)

Bath and Body Works- they are giving away VIP bags filled with goodies if you spend $40 or more. Also they have other items on sale- click the link to find out.

Clairsonic- device on sale through QVC

The Body Shop- 3 items for $30, you can also get a tote with select items included in the tote.

Glo is offering Black Friday savings up to $50 off!!!

Accessories /Miscellaneous

Rue La La free shipping for 30 days

Dooney & Bourke (select outlet stores only) 50% off retail prince from Back Friday- January 2nd.

Exclusively Weddings save up to 30% (you need to read the fine print and see where the savings apply)

DSW get a free tote with the code toteme

Cosmetics

Inglot Cosmetics will give you 15% off all online orders (Nov 25th at 3am ESt- Nov 28th) online...however if you go to Inglot boutiques you will get 30% off on Nov 25th ONLY from 8am -1pm. . (I learned about the in store discount by going to Milly's blog) I don't know about you but I will take the 15% discount and stay at home :-) .

Butter London Nail polish (Thanks to the blogger Just Me, I learned about this sale) use code Celebrate11

Black Up Cosmetics- it's not really a deal of sorts, but they will give you a free cosmetics bag with any order. They don't say that anything will be in the bag so I will assume it's empty.

Elf cosmetics- free shipping on items over $30 and 50% off.

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics- gift sets on sale... click the link

Tarte cosmetics- use the code CYBER you will also get a full size gift with each order. Be sure to click the link to see what you will save!!!

A Transitioning Kit- Have you tried this?

2011-11-21T22:29:00.005-05:00

Hello Ladies

So I was enjoying my stroll through Target when I spotted a transitioning kit from the company Jamaican Mango & Lime. In large print you can see the text "No More Relaxer" so I was obviously intrigued. The kit which is pictured below claims that it can help to prevent a woman from doing the big chop by straightening the new growth to blend in with the relaxed hair. I know, it sounds like a relaxer, right? OK well as I read it, it basically stated that you would use the product on your hair and then apply heat and your hair would be straight without having to use a relaxer. Well I had a few concerns, first of all, why does the kit come with gloves? Why do I need gloves to apply this product to my hair, sounds like a chemical to me. Secondly this straightened look will last throguh roughly two to three washes. Still sounds like a relaxer, right? Thirdly, it comes in maximum and mild strength. All of this screamed mild relaxer, but the box says it's a heat activated treatment. What's a gal to think? This product costs $19.99 and if you want to see the ingredients, I did the best that I could using my camera phone, so please scroll down to see the ingredients.

I did not buy this kit but I was seriously considering making the purchase. On Sunday I was convinced that I should give it a try but when I went back to Target, each box of the mild version had been tampered with so I didn't make a purchase. I guess this product really piqued the curiosity of other women. I am now thinking that I won't buy it but who knows....

Ingredients- click on the picture to get a better view of the ingredients.

If you've tried this product, please leave your experience in the comment section below. What do you all make of this product?

Black Friday

2011-11-16T03:27:00.005-05:00

Maybe I'm a little too eager but I have my Black Friday list ready to go.

If you're interested check my list below. Also please tell me about the Black Friday list that you have in your mind...what do you need/ want.

Hair Steamer (this is at the top of my list)
Zoya polish (in the colors Flowie, and maybe Dovima (this one has been out of stock) & Caitlin) and more polish remover
NYX cream stick in Monte Carlo (this is a huge maybe)
Mac lipstick in touch (another huge maybe)
Brown Butter Beauty hair tea packs and the babassu conditioner
Darcy's Botanicals deep conditioner and some leave in conditioner (both scented in peach) and maybe the Madagascar hair cream.
She Scent it conditioners (pomergranate, banana and honey)
Miss Jessies (super slip sudsy shampoo (to be used as backup) and the super sweet back treatment
My Honey Child (the honey hair mask - probably a few jars)
Karens Body Beautiful Luscious locks conditioner, leave in conditioner and hopefully some of her products she has been sampling will be available in the full size.
Dooney & Bourke the Smith bag or Claremont or Kelli (both will be on sale in store for $327 but I don't plan on leaving my house so ummm hopefully there is an online sale.)
Whole Truth Solutions (soap)
Pooka Pure and Simple body polish

That's about it for me...sooooo what do you want?

Thanks for reading.

Calling all Professionals & My nail of the DAY

2011-11-15T06:14:00.005-05:00

Today I will exhale.

This morning I woke up and read an email from a blogger (her latest blogging venture is under the name We Live Style) who has been reading my posts for some time now. In fact, she remembered my blog back when I used to post weekly. Get a load of that, for all of you newbies to my blog, yes, there was a time when I produced weekly and dare I say it DAILY posts. Now I'm fortunate if I am able to pump out a few posts a month, and that saddens me because I have tons of things I would like to discuss. But alas too many things get in the way and prevent me from getting done the things that bring me enjoyment. Now don't get me wrong, I am not some drone just working 24/7 without ever taking a break, but I am a gal who prioritizes and yes my 9-5 career takes precedence. Coincidentally, I read an article from Forbes yesterday, which was retweeted by T from the blog Tea and Such and it discussed women burning out by age 30 primarily because of the ways in which we may overextend ourselves for the JOB. It mentioned that our professional male counterparts take more breaks on the job just to relax, along with a host of other "this job won't stress me out" exercises. Along with the job and other things that we all have to do I sat there thinking am I reeking of singed fabric from my burn out without even knowing it? Go on, take a whiff could my lack of daily blogs be an indication that I too have experienced a burn out?

Well today I exhale because for the last two days I have done something which I had not done in a long while- I went to bed early!!!!! Which in turn has allowed me to create a blog post for you this morning 6:38 am, but I feel good- very good. Perhaps this is a new day- heyyyyy.

What do you do to prevent the job and anything else in your life from burning you out?

I would be remiss if I didn't show you my sparkly work INAPPROPRIATE nails...lol

I'm wearing a combination of Trxie from Zoya and Gone Gonzo from the OPI (the Muppet collection). Both polishes will be featured in my vlog for this week.

Weekend Hauling

2011-11-05T09:22:00.002-04:00

Hello

I just wanted to post my latest videos which features, Zoya, Tarte, Bliss and more.

What are you getting into this weekend?

Thanks for watching and supporting my blog and youtube channel (productjunkiediva)

PJD

Video 1

Video 2 Nails Nails and more Nails

Sales and WNTW

2011-11-02T21:29:00.003-04:00

Hello Everyone

Here is the Sephora Friends and Family Code which ends 11-2-11 click here to get your code.

HURRY!!!!!!!!!

Also head over to Urban Decay to get the friends and family discount of 20% - even sales items are up for the 20% discount. ends 11-5-11

Here is my What's New This Week Video which features Inglot cosmetics, the new Mac Sultry Snowglobe palette a fabulous makeup remover from Urban decay and much more.

Ori Organics Review and WNTS lip swatches

2011-10-23T00:40:00.002-04:00

Hello Everyone

The video below features my review of the Ori Organics Curl Restorative Masque. I also show a few cosmetic swatches from Kissable Couture.

Have you tried this product or any other products from the Ori Organics line? If so, please tell me about your experience.

Sultra is bringing the HEAT

2011-10-17T22:52:00.015-04:00

Not too many years ago I was a curling iron junkie. I would whip out the curling iron in a second to wrangle my hair into submission. Over time, my hair became more and more lifeless until I banned heat from my hair almost entirely. At the time, I thought all heat styling tools would cause damage, so I released the heat and found other styling alternatives. What I have come to realize is that there are tools that can allow you to style your hair without making it look like dried out limp noodles.

Sultra, the uber famous brand of heat styling tools, specially designs their flat irons to ensure that your hair is protected. By using kyocera ceramic plates, the Sultra Wicked Gold Decadence Wave & Straight flat iron is able to provide consistent and constant heat throughout the plates as you style your hair. Sultra also claims that the infrared rays are able to seal the cuticles of your hair strands. When I did use this tool on all of my hair, it looked silky straight without any prickly ends standing at attention so that may be an indication that my hair strands were in a more relaxed state ( I hope that makes sense). Here is a picture from the box showing what your hair may look like before and after using the flat iron if you have damaged cuticles.

Using the Iron

I was surprised and to be honest a little nervous when I discovered that there is no way to regulate the heat on the flat iron. It heats up to 375 degrees and you simply can not control that aspect of the device. On the other hand, the ceramic plates make for an even distribution of the heat, I also had to keep in mind that this is a one pass flat iron. Some irons may feature temperature controls and some people turn it down to a temperature lower than 375 but I have seen those same people ( on youtube) pass over a section of hair numerous times. So when you balance it all out, a single pass at 375 may be comparable or even better than a lower setting that requires a number of passes over your hair. For those of you who use flat irons, what temperature setting do you use?

My experience

While flat ironing my hair, I didn't attempt to get curls or a wavy pattern, I simply wanted to straighten my hair. I know some of you are mumbling...."doesn't she have a relaxer?" The answer is yes, however my hair flat ironed looks different from my heat free tresses under normal conditions. I don't usually use any heat on my hair so especially after air drying my hair, looks beyond poofy. I don't mind looking like a lioness so I just work with what I have, but there are times when I want clearly defined parts in my hair depending on the style that I've created. Also I may go months and months between relaxers, so as my roots are growing out I have a large amount of chemical free hair that I can't treat in the same manner in which I would treat my relaxed hair. I have to admit that when using the wicked gold flat iron I thought if I decided to go even longer between relaxers or completely transition, this flat iron could prove to be an essential part of my transition.

Results

My hair was shiny for roughly 3 days but the straight and silky feeling lasted all week long.

I flat ironed my hair but then I used my standard magnetic rollers to further style my hair, my hair was very straight so I found that my curls were not as tight as they usually are but that actually makes sense. This leads me to believe that if I would have used the iron to get waves or curls it would have similarly left my hair with waves and curls that would stay in place. However, since I straightened my hair only, it did it's best to maintain the straight look.

What I was most impressed with is the fact that my hair was never crunchy or brittle. I did't get any weird scents like I was burning my hair. The obsessive part of my being caused me to hold my hair up to the light to see if any split ends emerged after my flat ironing experience and I am please to report that my hair appeared to have remained the same.

The package

You will receive a gold clutch- like heat resistant pouch for your iron which is perfect for traveling or easy storage at home. You also get a complimentary heat resistant cloth that you can place on counter tops as you are flat ironing your hair.

Where to Buy

Currently this iron is available in pink and black but as of November 1st you can get your own limited edition Wicked GOLD Decadence Wave & Straight flat iron from Sultra.

This $165 flat iron can be found directly through the Sultra's site . You can also purchase Sultra products through Sephora and other retailers, but I am not certain that they will have this chic limited edition gold flat iron.

Conclusion

Although I won't use heat daily I have to say that my interest has been piqued and I am no longer scared of using the proper heat styling tools to achieve a specific look.

If I can ever get my sister to agree to let me flat iron her natural 4a/b hair then I will certainly post the results.

Below is a video that basically reviews the iron. There is a brief demo at the end of the video showcasing the iron in action on my hair.

Have you used Sultra products? If so please let me know about your experience.

***Thanks for allowing me to test this wickedly good flat iron!!!**

Zoya sale

2011-10-05T12:00:00.004-04:00

Hello Everyone
Zoya is having a BOGO sale (click here)- buy one bottle of polish and get another one free. Limit( 2 bottles)- this means you will get 4 bottles of polish.
This sale ends today 10/5/11 at 11:59 pm EST.
Happy shopping
pJG

Saved by the MAGNET-UPDATE

2011-09-29T09:24:00.013-04:00

I have seen all of the exciting nail designs that people have been sporting recently and I even got in on the crackle craze. While the crackle polish helped me to achieve a unique look, I found that you had to find the right combination of base coat and crackle to achieve a look that didn't make your nails look like you were wearing 14 day old nail polish. Needless to say, I needed a new look for my nails, but I knew creating cute looks with a nail design pen would be out of the question. So my shaky hands prevented me from showing off my own nail swag.

In a recent video (video part 3), I shared my review of the lackluster holographic polish produced by the company Nails Inc. London, so when I saw their magnetic polish I was beyond skeptical. This magnetic polish is supposed to give you a special effect on your nails by allowing a magnet to do all of the hard work. No need to use a nail design pen or any other tools to create a neat professional looking nail design. Thanks to the $16 magnetic polish all you need is the polish itself and the accompanying magnetic cap.

Check out my magnetic nails-

Available in three colors, purple, silver and gold, I decided to give the purple a shot.

What to do

You simply apply the polish as you normally would- it will look like regular polish initially. Immediately after applying the polish to your nail you will use the special magnetic cap with the cuticle guide to begin creating the design. What I referred to as the cuticle guide is simply a curved raised edge on the top of the nail polish cap which helps you to line the magnet up with your nails. (Click on the pictures for a better view)

The nail polish actually has two caps, one that closes the polish bottle and the outer cap which features the cuticle ridge and magnet. See the complete package below.

If you click on the picture below you will see that the pattern is different on two of my nails:

I was moving the cap a bit while it was over my index finger and the design came out on an angle. I held the cap steady over my thumb and I got this perfectly centered chevron like design. This lets me know that if I want to get really fancy, I may want to try a little wiggly motion over my nails to see if I get a varied look.

Warning

Don't put the magnet too close to your nails or you will watch the polish lift up and adhere to the magnet. Even though the polish can be easily cleaned off of the magnet you will undoubtedly smudge your nails in the process. Practice will make perfect until you figure out the perfect magnet to nail distance.

Conclusion

This polish does what it says and after applying a top coat it really did look like a professional job. In the pictures please note that the smudges are due to falling asleep not long after my final application.

Thanks to Nails Inc London I have been able to breathe new life into what was my dying nail swag game.

Additional Info

You may also like to know that some of the Nail Inc polishes are paraben free. It didn't specifically state that about these magnetic polishes but I certainly didn't see any parabens on the list of ingredients.

I just tried this out recently and I wanted to share this new product with you so I can not attest to the longevity of the polish. I will update this post to let you know how many days it remained on my nails. So far so good...I'm two days in and counting....

UPDATE- This polish lasted for 8 days on my nails- I only took it off because I was tired of it looking at it....lol.

I will likely demonstrate the use of this polish in my next video.

I picked this up from Sephora but you can also purchase it directly from the Nails Inc London site.

Thanks for reading.

PJD

What's New This Week and a few Reviews! UPDATED

2011-09-16T11:34:00.007-04:00

Hello Everyone

I hope you're doing every well. I recorded a large amount of footage so I am still editing, everything will be uploaded by the end of the day but I can at least start you off with part 1. This video features a little bit of MAKEUP- I know....PJD doing a makeup post instead of hair...lol. Anyway, in the video I show you a few things that I couldn't show you on my text based makeup post on the latest Sephora kit. I also discuss some Makeup Forever products that I picked up.

Yes, hair products will be shown as well. :-) Also this is not just a haul video, I will do two mini reviews (NYC lip stain and the Hair Pomade from Oyin). you will also get some nail polish and makeup swatches!

Thanks for watching.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4- Final Part

Giveaway and a Discount

2011-09-11T22:42:00.002-04:00

Hello

I just learned that Kissable Couture is offering their new lip gloss in the shade Glamour for free! You only need to pay the shipping if you are one of the first 100 customers- 1 per household.

Also if you would like to get any of their other glosses for roughly $9.50 use the code September7.

Enjoy!

On the big tube

2011-09-08T23:39:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow is the release of the film Contagion, a movie about a disease that rips through the nation. Although she isn't featured in any of the movie trailers I have seen, Sanaa Lathan is in this movie. She apparently has a small role as the wife of Laurence Fishburn's character.

Will you check out Contagion?

New Sephora Makeup Kit

2011-09-07T22:17:00.026-04:00

(Click on any of the pictures for a better look)

Once you look past the bad lighting and dust particles, you will notice the latest Sephora makeup kit in the picture above.

Here is another picture of the case with the legs of the case collapsed.

The latest kit will be released in October but Sephora provided Sephora VIB members with exclusive access to tihs kit about two- three weeks ago for a limited time. I hope this review will help you to decide if this kit will be worth your $49 in October.

Since I am starting to think about wearing eyeshadows on occasion, I thought it would be worth it to get this kit which features the following:

96 eye shadows
84 lip glosses
3 blushes
1 bronzer
6 cream eyeliners
1 mascara
2 pencil eyeliners (brown &black)
4 different application brushes and a full length mirror

Take a closer look at the eyeshadows, blushes, and bronzer. The eyeshadow trays slide out to reveal 84 lip glosses as shown in the picture above.

(click the pictures for a better view)
Take a look as I swatch the blue and a yellow eyeshadow.

When I tried to transfer the color from my finger to my hand, it just didn't look as bright(especially the blue):

Some of the eyeshadows are really pigmented while others well- not so much. I think some of the colors, like the yellow, look really bright in the palette but then once it's on your face it rubs of way too easily and it's too light. Here is a yellow/ green / blue look that I tried on my eye. Notice how you barely see the other colors, and I put on a good amount of yellow to get it to even show up as much as it did on my eye. You barely even see the other colors on my eye so that was a bit frustrating. I didn't have on a base because I wanted to see what the colors would look like alone. You can ignore the light blue liquid liner on my eye, it is also a Sephora product but it didn't come with the kit so I will discuss that in another post.

Yes, I know the application isn't great, but I'm new at this lol #DontJudgeMe

Regarding the lip glosses, about 16 of the 84 are very sheer but the rest are pretty well pigmented. Here is an example- if you look at the purple lip gloss that is in the picture below,

(the one that has some purple drippings outside of the circle) then look at my lips you will see how well it applies.

This lip gloss formula is not sticky so that's an added bonus. On a sticky scale of 1-10 (10 being the stickiest), this lip gloss weighs in at about a 2.

Take a look at the mini brushes that come with the kit

Conclusion

The mascara seems a bit dry, the cream liners seem to apply better on my fingers than my eyes. The pencil liners are basic, they get the job done but not in a smooth way. Overall you get enough lip gloss colors to keep yourself busy for a while. If you are interested more in the eyeshadows I say try another kit. However, if you are just getting your feet wet and you want many different colors without investing in expensive palettes then feel free to pick this one up.

Since I only paid $49 I won't cry about it too much especially because I snagged so many glosses out of this deal, but the eyeshadow are simply weak- they look better in the palette than on my lids.
Were you one of the early birds who picked up this Sephora kit? What is your favorite eyeshadow brand?

Labor Day Sales-UPDATE

2011-09-01T09:24:00.009-04:00

For now, the title of this post may be a bit misleading because only one sale is listed below. However, as I am made aware of labor day specials, I will post them below! Please feel free to post sales that you are aware of in the comment section.

I will not do any major shopping until Black Friday but for all of you ready to spend a little cash Happy Shopping!!!!

All sales end on Monday unless otherwise stated.

1) Komaza Care will give you 15% off your entire order if you use the code LABOR.

You have until Friday to take advantage of this office.

2) Aerosoles 15% off everything now through 9/5/11 no code needed for online purchases.

3) Dooney & Bourke an additional 30% off sale merchandise now through 9/5/11 select stores only. (you will have to check your local D&B store).

4) Eddie Bauer ~~20%~~ now 25% off (excluding items already on sale). IN STORES ONLY

5) J Jill will give you 30% off sale and outlet items. End 9/5/11.

6)Hairrogant.com 20% off all purchases and $5 flat rate shipping! Use the code LABORDAY11

7)OCC Makeup 20% off all cosmetics including items already on sale!!!! Use the username guest and password laborday

8) The Limited- save 40% off (excluding already discounted items)

Bear Fruit Hair Product Review

2011-08-29T22:09:00.004-04:00

Hello

Here is my review on two Bear Fruit Hair products, Cherry Bark Creme Leave-in and the Banana Avocado Deep Mask.

If you have not heard about this company, please check them out here. If you have tried their paraben free goodies, what are your thoughts?

Thanks to the makers of BFH for sending me these products for review.

PJD

Part 1

Part 2

Hola

2011-08-15T09:31:00.001-04:00

Hello Everyone

I hope you are all well. I was on a mini vacay but I am back!!! This means that I will be posting reviews very very soon.

Thanks for your continued support and patience.

PJD

Tarte Converted Me!

2011-07-25T01:08:00.013-04:00

Rarely do I present you lovely ladies with posts about eyeliners but this post is a MUST. For a little over a month I have been fortunate enough to try out the EmphasEyes Amazonian Clay Waterproof eyeliner by Tarte. I received the colors bronze, plum, black and indigo as shown in the picture above. Even though I love talking ingredients and all of the nitty gritty details, this time around it must wait because I have to talk about the application and wearability first.

Something Oh So NEW

I had a wedding shower to attend shortly after I received my Tarte package and I was ready to waltz out of my house bare faced, but I decided to throw on a little mascara. My eyes glanced over at the indigo Amazonian clay pot and it was staring back at me so I thought...why not. I swiped a little across my top lid and I was sold. I felt like my eyes popped instantly, it just played against my skin and brown eyes in the most beautiful way. People complimented my on my dazzling accented eyes and I knew I had a winner on my hands. This eyeliner pot applied so effortlessly, mainly because of its super creamy formulation. I remember purchasing a cream liner from another company and it was rock hard, but such was not the case with this paraben free eyeliner.

Rock on with the Blue (indigo)

I attended a wedding recently and I had to rock the blue again- LOVED IT!

I can not say enough about these gorgeous colors each sold with it's own double sided applicator. As I have learned, the thinner side is great for hitting up that lower lash line, while the wider flat side will allow you to create a bold wide streak across your top lids.

I should also mention that I have washed the brushes several times and the hairs remain in tact. I'm not one of those gals who can refer to eye makeup brushes by number but since I washed these brushes several times and the hairs feel as soft as they did when I first opened the box and I experienced no shedding, by my standards these Tarte brushes rock!

Each paint post is sold for $22 but I have to say I think it's worth the money, especially when I compare it to some of the "cream" liners I have come across in the past.

Here are all of the colors I received swiped across my fist.

On my eyes

In the first pic, I am wearing the purple on one eye and the bronze on the other. Feel free to ignore my sloppy application and just focus on these vibrant colors. Oh and for those of you wondering, yes this is a long lasting product. The wedding that I mentioned above, well I did not apply a base but I dabbed on the indigo eyeliner and an eyeshadow from another company. By the end of the night, after sweating out my curls, the eyeshadow was almost nonexistent but the indigo eyeliner was ready to rock out for a few more hours...WHOOOOOOOA.

This is marketed as a waterproof eyeliner and I would have to agree because neither sweat nor water was making this eyeliner budge. I had to use my makeup remover wipes to get rid of the eyeliner, and then I followed up with a good facial cleanser to remove the remaining hint of color.

In the pic above, I'm smiling with my eyes, can you tell..lol.
Next, I rocked out the black and indigo colors.

No parabens, mineral oil, sls or phthalates have been included in these cream linters, so try that on for size. This just makes me think, since a company can create a waterproof long lasting eyeliner without any of the aforementioned nasty ingredients, why do other companies continue to make products riddled with parabens? Just a question.....

This Tarte line was released to the public this summer so I highly recommend you add these pots to your collection. If I recall a turquoise color was released too, I must find it and OWN IT :-). Maybe it was a limited edition, if so I missed the boat.

Now I find myself with a growing interest in eye color (shadows and eyeliners) thanks to Tarte.

Have you tried this product, if so what are your thoughts?

Thanks for allowing me to test these out Tarte!

What's New This Week and a Lip Review

2011-06-27T22:07:00.003-04:00

Hello Everyone

My latest post is a What's New This Week post, which features makeup, nail polish and more.

Enjoy.

PJD

Part 1

Part2

Part 3

Carol's Daughter Monoi review and the Loofah scrub

2011-05-23T10:48:00.003-04:00

Hello Everyone

Finally I am back with a review, and today it's all about hair...well most of it is.

I am showing a few nail polishes that I picked up along with some other hair products. I also review the Ole Henrickson Loofah Body Scrub and the new Carol's Daughter Monoi line.

Sorry for the long videos, but you know when I'm off the scene for a while I need to talk to you all for a longer period of time :-).

I hope you're all well.

PJD

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Jumping the Broom!

2011-05-09T10:04:00.003-04:00

Hello Everyone

I will get back to product reviews very soon, but first I just wanted to chat it up with you on the movie Jumping the Broom. This post will not reveal any movie details but in the comment section, we will likely spill the beans so reader beware.

I thought the movie was a good one, I didn't leave the theater regretting that I had paid to see the flick. I will tell you one thing, when I left the theater I wanted to head straight to Martha's Vineyard, because the scenery in the film was beautiful. Although I enjoyed the scenes of NYC it was the sun filled, ocean background Martha's Vineyard scenes that stole the show.

Regarding the plot I really thought that I had it all figured out but there were about two unexpected twists in the film. One I didn't see coming until it actually happened, which was a pleasant surprise considering the number of predictable movies on the market.

Laz, Paula, Angela, Loretta and the other members of the cast played their parts perfectly as I expected. I read that they used $6.6 million dollars to produce the film but they have already raked in over 16 million dollars!

What did you think of Jumping the Broom?

Zoya Polishes

2011-04-26T10:22:00.002-04:00

Hello Ladies

If you have any bottles of nail polish that you would like to part with, then the Zoya exchange program is for you.
You can get rid of your old polishes and get brand new bottles of polish from Zoya. Check out the details here.
You can select any color you wish from the Zoya line!!!
Enjoy

What's New This Week and Okra Review

2011-04-21T22:17:00.005-04:00

Hello Everyone

Is anyone out there going to see the new Madea movie?

Part 1

Part 2

Have you seen this character?

2011-04-14T07:02:00.003-04:00

Hello Everyone

More giveaways will appear on this site, and I will get back to my regular videos, but until then......... Have you seen this little fellow in Target or other stores?

Dude Da Bunny is a hollow chocolate bunny complete with gold chain, sleepy eyes, knit cap, and sweater. One hand is in a pocket, while the fingers on the other hand form some sort of sign. I decided to look this bunny up online and I didn't turn up much information except that the company also makes Diva bunny, a little bunny who is adorned with, as the box states, BLING BLING! Sigh, your thoughts? Is Dude DA bunny too much or it is just a cute chocolate item?

Shabby Apple Giveaway Winner

2011-04-12T10:50:00.005-04:00

Hello

Thank you all for participating in the Shabby Apple Giveaway!!

The winner is Sarah, comment #9.

Please send me your mailing address and the size of your dress. You can email your information to this address product_junkie_queen@yahoo.com. If I do not hear from you within three days, I will have to give the prize away to another randomly selected person.

For everyone else, you can still get 10% off your purchase by using the code mentioned in this post.

Shabby Apple Giveaway (CLOSED) and 10% Discount

2011-04-04T20:52:00.008-04:00

Hello Ladies

Have you ever heard of Shabby Apple? If not, consider this your introduction to the online vintage inspired boutique. Their wide selection ranges from clothing for women as well as little girl's dresses and even athletic garments. The Shabby Apple offers clothing styles that can be worn to work as well as a night out on the town.

The dress pictured above is priced at $86.00. One randomly selected winner will receive this lovely dress. Each dress on the site has it's own name and this one has been named "Spanish Steps". If you click on the "Spanish Steps" link, you can take a look at different views of this dress and you can zoom in for a closer look.

Simply leave a comment below and the winner will be selected on Monday. This dress is described as having a generous fit. Sizes for this dress range from XXS- XL.

This contest is only open to US residents.

If you do not win the contest you can still get a 10% discount on your purchase if you use the code productjunkie10off

Please note that I have not made any purchases from the Shabby Apple, but they were generous enough to offer one dress for this giveaway.

Inglot and Random

2011-03-30T07:32:00.003-04:00

Hello Everyone
Sorry for being away for so long. Please enjoy this Inglot video and other videos are soon to follow.
Thanks
PJD

Karens Body Beautiful Luscious Hair Mask

2011-03-01T12:06:00.004-05:00

Hello Everyone

Here is my review of the Karen's Body Beautiful Luscious Hair Mask. I discuss what I adore about this paraben free product as well as a little problem that left me scratching my head.

Thanks for watching.

What ever happened to-Black History Month

2011-02-27T21:02:00.004-05:00

February is supposed to be Black History month, that is unless I didn't get the memo that things have changed. When I was a kid I remember watching movies about the underground railroad, Miss Jane Pittman and other stories that delivered real messages. Fast forward to the late 90's or early 2000's and I remember turning away in disgust as the late night movie for Black History month was Booty Call. Now in 2011 Mc Donalds released a Black History poster which featured news anchors and other figures considered to be our local success stories. I recognized most of the faces and I was pleased until I spotted a backwards cap wearing Funkmaster Flex who was donning a scowl on his face. It was probably the last image that I would want to present to the youth as an example of what they could become.

Now today, two days away from the end of Black History Month I finally see the VH1 Black History month movie and it is, drumroll please...."What's Love Got to Do with it", the Tina Turner Story. Now I understand how important her story is when you consider what she has gone through and what she has contributed to music overall, but I think Black History month should be about so much more than that.

Many say that Black History should be 365 days a year and I agree but since that hasn't happened, is this what we are left with?????

Have you seen positive Black History month images, round table discussions, movies etc. in your area?

Your thoughts.

Komaza Hair Sale

2011-02-12T03:44:00.002-05:00

Hello

I just wanted to keep you in the sales loop.

Komaza Hair will allow you to get 15% off of your entire order on Monday February 14th if you use the code Love.

Have a great weekend.

Pjd

What's New and Black Up Cosmetics

2011-02-08T09:17:00.005-05:00

Hello Everyone

In the video below I talk about my new number 1 nail polish remover and Black Up cosmetics.

I recently learned that Black Up Cosmetics is the leading makeup line for women of color in Paris and parts of Africa. I had never heard of this line but once I was informed, I gladly purchased a few items. If you check out the video, you will see swatches of the lip products I purchased along with some hair products from other companies.

Part 1

Part 2

Thanks for watching

Pjd

The IT List 2010

2011-01-27T17:46:00.009-05:00

You made me spend in 2010.

Here are the products that I couldn't get enough of in 2010. I was encouraged to post my end of the year IT list when I saw that I wasn't the only one who is posting this type of list in 2011 :-). Thanks Just me.

Hair

Shampoo

Design Essentials Moisture Retention Conditioning Shampoo

Darcy's Botanicals Lavender Shampoo Bar

Conditioner

I still love the Darcy's Botancial Deep Conditioning mask but there were some others I added to the list.

Miss Jessies Super Sweetback Treatment

KBB Luscious Locks Moisturizing Hair Mask (I used this in the past when it came up in tiny jars and I have since started using it again- the updated review will come soon).

Treatments

The Brown Butter Beauty hair tea- this is a great natural strengthening aid.

Face

Makeup

Million Lashes by Maybelline

XXL Pro mascara from Maybelline- I'll let the pictures speak for itself.

Covergirl natural Luxe lipgloss

AJ Crimson - foundations- I don't even wear foundation but when I was in a wedding my hunt began for the perfect foundation- I found it!

Lush Lip Scrub in the flavor Sweet Lips (chocolate flavor)

Body

Pooka Pure and Simple Body Polish- this is one of the best scrubs I've ever used and the scent is pretty long lasting! They will ahve a special this weekend- All three of their scrubs will be sold as a trio for $18.00. (4oz size jars not the 12 oz).

Pooka Pure and Simple bath pastry in Vanilla Sand (yummy scent).

Whole Truth Solutions soap - I haven fallen in love with Lemon Sense and Yellow Brick Road but all of the soaps that I've tried were great.

Skin Care

Boscia- Black Mask

Hope in a jar by Philosophy (review coming)

Jurlique Moisture Replenishing Mask (review coming)

The Clairsonic -a million people have reviewed this so I am not sure that I will, but I love it.

Many of the other products that I loved in 2010 were products that I had already mentioned on my previous lists, but these were some new standouts for 2010.

What were you loving in 2010?

On The Tube

2011-01-25T11:30:00.009-05:00

Real Housewives of Atlanta

Money can't buy you classssssss- a middle aged desperado once yelped those words on national television, and she was right. This fact could not have been more evident on Sunday night than when Nene and Kim decided to publicly feud. Even though both ladies had their rude moments Nene took the classless crown and wore it proudly. The most recent episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta picked up where it left off the previous week, by zooming in on Nene's ET like finger as she waved it feverishly in front of Kim's dimly lit eyes (you know by now that Kim isn't all there- lol).

I wasn't the only one who noticed that Nene's rage could not have all been due to the additional house guests, something else was fueling her fire. We know that she is in a failing marriage, her eldest son isn't living his life like a productive young man and her career isn't exactly where it could be at her age so all of these factors must be stressful. However, unfortunate circumstances will never give a person license to be rude towards others. Nene did however speak her mind by expressing her disapproval for the working relationship between SWEETIE and Kim but in all honestly it was none of her business. What I just couldn't wrap my head around was the fact that she stayed in the home of a man whom she had never met before and she was being outrageously rude. Checking into a hotel would still have allowed her to hang out with the girls and it may have relieved some of the tension that was building in the house. Instead Nene invited her equally rude friend Diana to the house to party it up for the weekend. Even though Diana was not invited by the owner of the home, she still decided to attend the event. Who does that? I do not go where I am not invited!Also I couldn't help but think that Nene demands respect, self control and a measure of decourm from her degenerate son while she lacks all of the above. #justSaying

Phaedra, Kandi and Sheree also made the trip to Miami to support Cynthia but she was ready to pack it up and head home as soon as Nene made the suggestion. Thankfully Cynthia came to her senses and stayed with the ladies who traveled to support her.

Frienemies is a term used to describe someone who walks the line of being your friend and your enemy. Some of the housewives proved that they are indeed frienemies.

There were quite a few snarky remarks thrown at Cynthia as she walked the runway in a bathing suit. Nene who is supposed to be her friend, negatively commented on Cynthia's age, and Phaedra said Cynthia looked like a pretzel dipped in cottage cheese (OUCH). Sheree remarked that Cynthia could not have worn any of her She by Sheree fashions on the runway because they were made for perfect sizes 4 and 6 - she then followed up by stating that Cynthia's butt was at least a 12. I don't know what dress size Sheree is claiming but her derriere is is clearly not a 4 or 6 either. And where can we find She by Sheree fashions? Yeah that's what I thought.

What are your thoughts on the last episode?

Let's Stay Together

Now we are three episodes into this new show and I must admit that this was the best episode that they have aired. I still didn't laugh at anything, but the show at least seemed to have a beginning, middle and end. There was more substance to this show when compared to previous episodes. In this episode, the doctor's old college friends were in town and they were meeting her fiance for the first time. At first the meeting was awkward but her fiance, who owns a construction business, soon bonded with his fiance's friends. The married couple had their own challenges as the wife sensed that a client was after her husband. The episode wasn't horrible.... Who knows what will happen to this series but I hope it continues to improve.

Have you tuned out or are you still watching Let's Stay Together?

Design Essentials vs. Kera Care and other ramblings

2011-01-22T15:22:00.002-05:00

Part 1A

Part 1B

Part 2

Frugality gets a makeover

2011-01-13T05:13:00.018-05:00

For me, the word frugal evokes the image of a dowdy cat lady who pinches pennies. The word just isn't appealing, that is until author, journalist, and financial extraordinaire Natalie McNeal gave the word a makeover. The originator of the word "Frugalista" and creator of the blog The Frugalista Files has finally shown the world how to live life fabulously while on a budget.

I couldn't stop sending Natalie tweets when I first started reading through her book, The Frugalista Files.

What I love most about this book is that it isn't some stuffy lecture style Suzie Orman (yes I said it) book about financial responsibility. Instead it is one woman's journey to financial freedom while attending charity events, networking, looking great on a budget and hanging out with friends and family.

Like me, you may not have financial problems, so why read the book? This book fully encompasses what it means to go on a journey of any sort. Instead of focusing just on finances alone, Natalie takes us through her experiences in navigating her relationships with men, valuing her family & friends, and keeping her balance in an unsteady job market all while facing sky high bills. Some relationships changed while others were strengthened as she stopped leading a financially promiscuous lifestyle. This tongue in cheek book is peppered with suggestions that you can implement TODAY while trying to save a dime. Natalie cleverly weaves in the tips and tricks of saving money throughout this book without ever breaking the rhythm of her writing.

I like that it is also a book about a woman who briefly looks into her past to find out how she had landed herself in deep financial waters . She also had to make some tough decisions about living out what had become her vision for her life, versus staying in a somewhat predictable career path that would earn her a steady paycheck. Haven't we all been there a time or two? We can't all be a fly by the seat of your pants, Denise Huxtable type of gal, so throwing caution to the wind by jumping into a venture that may or may not pay your bills is frightening. Each section of this book is written as a page out of Natalie's diary with dates and all so you feel like a fly on the wall in her life.

I think everyone can benefit in some way from reading this book, it's a page turner!

Available now in stores and online through Amazon.com , Borders.com and other online bookstores.

Have you read this book?

How do you remain frugal and fabulous?

The Game and Everything Else

2011-01-11T23:35:00.013-05:00

I don't recall anticipating the return of a television show as much as I've been eagerly awaiting the return of The Game. So there I sat swaddled in my warm winter covers as I watched the surprising twists and turns in the show's premier episode. Originally I thought they would pick up right where they left off, but then where would the growth have been? During the show's time off the air the producers pressed fast forward and returned the characters to us two years into the future. Derwin's baby is no longer in Janae's womb, instead we have a fully developed bouncing baby boy who gets bathed by Melanie and cuddled by his dad Derwin. The introduction of baby Derwin wasn't the only difference, Melanie and Derwin now have real money, as indicated by references to his endorsement deals and their lavish pad. Kelly has caught the reality show bug as she allows camera crews to follow her every move. She is also intent on doing everything possible to get under her ex husband's skin namely by spending his money. Their daughter, Brit Brat, has been a victim of the old tv switch - a-roo having been replaced by a new girl who seems to be a teenager. Wasn't the original Brit Brat like 10 years old, but this new gal looks much older and she doesn't even resemble the old Brit. Well at least a kid has a job and they didn't pull the old Family Matters trick by completely removing the character as if she never existed.

Melanie is still pushy, and passively demanding but happily married to Derwin. She still allows the comments of others to push her to the brink of her own destruction. After a few taunts from Momma Mac, Melanie decides to secretly have a DNA test run on baby Derwin. The results come back confirming Melanie's hope that the baby doesn't belong to Derwin. Against his wishes she shares the results with Derwin only to learn that the original results were wrong and the baby does indeed belong to Derwin. After Derwin's tearful moment over the original DNA results Melanie never reveals that the baby is his son....and so the deception begins! Melanie has her ideal life, the baby is gone since Derwin doesn't believe he is his and Melanie can move on but she knows this lie will always haunt her.

The biggest character change may have come from Malik. Although he had always been self centered and sarcastic there was always this glimmer of something good deep deep within. Now, he is portraying a callous cold character who seems to be devoid of emotion. He did TT wrong.....

I love the new blood by way of Terrance J of 106 and Park and the two timing lady lover played by Meghan Good. It seems like Terrance's character may have a thing for older ladies but he convinces Tasha that he is totally into her and only her. After all, he mentioned that he had been with Tasha for an entire month...smh. lol. I'm not one to knock anyone's May -December relationship but I liked Tasha with Rick Fox because he showed personal growth and I was hoping Tasha would too. I think we will see Foxy again, what do you think?

I do hope they add more depth to Meghan's character because at this point the part could have been played by any random tv extra.

Oh and Jason Pitts seems like a free agent, not sure if he's still on those steroids. I missed the first 6 minutes of the show.

So many people were worried about the show maintaining the quality that we had become accustomed to especially since BET is the devil and all, but they have done a great job thus far.

I am by no means disappointed with the new season and I am pleased that they have had a successful return.

What did you think about the first episode?

Let's Stay Together

If you changed the channel after The Game aired last night, ~~you're smarter than I am~~

you missed the new show "Let's Stay Together". If you were on twitter you likely saw phrases like "Let's Get Cancelled", "Let's Not" and other comical titles. I didn't laugh once so I hope the show isn't supposed to be a comedy. I do like that we have some rarely seen and never before seen fresh faces on the show.

I think first episodes on any show should always leave the audience wanting more, but this show just left me feeling regretful over how I could have made better use of my time. Let's Stay Together is about an engaged couple, a married couple and a single woman who has had a string of unhealthy relationships. That in itself shows that the program has a measure of potential but the writers just didn't do enough with the script. We learned that the married husband wants to explore his passion to be a lounge performer instead of staying with his current gig as a legal aid. His wife is lustful over all things expensive but I'm not sure why as she doesn't seem to work. As for the engaged couple the husband is younger than his fiancee, not that I learned that little nugget of information DURING the show, but I heard about it in some interview they did. Anywhoo the engaged couple well I don't really know much about their relationship and apparently the woman doesn't either because she seemed surprised to learn that he had trouble being faithful in his past relationships. Whomp! Just when they were getting to hash out their issue on episode one, I think I blinked and missed the happy ending last night. As for the single sister ,well I like Erica Hubbard and I enjoyed her on Lincoln Heights but this show may not be the platform for her. As for Ron Reaco, it was nice to see him again because I hadn't seen him since he played Tia's HS drop out turned mechanic boyfriend on Sister sister.

I wanted this show to work, I really did but I don't know it they can weather the storm of criticism I am sure they will encounter.

BET before you push out another show, just call me and I will watch the show and tell you what's wrong with it because clearly your writers have lost touch with the funny. Ok so even if you don't call me, have a small test with a group of people whom you consider to be your target demographic. Just do something before you get my hopes all high only to release a dud.

I think I will catch a few more episodes just to give them ratings, at least I will try to even though that plan didn't quite work out for the now cancelled Undercovers.

If you watched, what are your thoughts?

Side Note to Boris K. modeling only, rapping (click the link and move it to the 6:40 minute mark), and acting is a no no unless you're playing opposite your real like wife Nicole Ari Parker. Did you read that interview where he said he wants to be respected not for his looks but for his acting ability? Well then get an acting coach so I can respect you, heck read lines with your wife - do something because you still don't fully open your mouth when you speak and you bore me as an actor. Cute face though- thanks and goodnight to you sir.

BasketBall Wives

Evelyn, Evelyn, Evelyn, where for art thou tongue? This lady was instantly mute when Tami launched into a bare foot, outraged, food stamp supporting tirade all in Jen's face. Evelyn the tough girl from the Bronx said not a word that would get Tami more upset, she just tried to peacefully end the disturbance. Hummm I guess she forgot she's from the Bronx. If anyone thought that Tami was tacky and inappropriate, she confirmed all suspicions as she went crazy during a charity event. Ummm can we really call it a charity event when only five people were in attendance?

We got a chance to see Ashley again since she was the organizer of the event, but I am a little confused by her. Ashley did the right thing by not inviting the drama twins Evelyn and Jen but she seems to answer far too many questions for women who are not her friends. Oh yeah and the most confusing of all is that she said she invited people who could and would support the charity through donations but broke as a joke Tami was invited- huh??? Maybe Ahsley was just being nice on that account, but she should have had security help Jen and Evelyn find the door once she saw they were in the house.

Suzie- I understand her desire to flee from drama but at the same time she was enjoying herself so why leave just because the grouch entered the building?

Royce, I love that she put her tiny 5 digits right back in Tami's face at the event.

Tami is a mess, there is no other word that can be used to describe her behavior. She clearly knows neither the time nor the appropriate place to hash out differences with her cast members Perhaps the same problem emerged during her marriage...just saying. She also showed that she is a fast loud mouth by telling Evelyn and Jen why they weren't invited as if Ashley who was standing right there couldn't express that herself. Tami was also wearing a dress from Rainbow- the end.

Shaunie it's called separation, you did it with your husband initially so you understand the rules, now just apply it to your toxic best friends.

Next week will have the moment I've been waiting for Mr. Give it to them straight Eric Williams will join his wife Jen in therapy. I hope he lays down the verbal smack down..lol

What Chilli Wants

A midget with money- case closed. She likes Floyd very much but he's just not that into her. He likes to have her around but he won't marry her. He gives her HS - excuse me, Junior High School excuses to avoid committing himself to her. He took her on a date to six flags but I wouldn't really call it a date since all of his friends were there PLUS chilli..lol He wasn't even taking the time to walk with her, I think she is just one of the boys to Floyd. She also doubles as his back up plan in case he decides to wed years from now in his old age.

Love that Girl

Tatiana recently did an interview explaining that her show Love that girl will be back on the air soon. Who asked for the return of that show, it was HORRIBLE to say the least. Oh well- anyone going to watch it?

What are you watching on the tube?

CLASSIC TV

2011-01-05T15:36:00.008-05:00

** picture courtesy of theybf.com

Hey Everyone
I watched some prime time classic tv over the weekend and I hope you did too. Am I talking about some digitally remastered classic film that can only be found on the Turner Movie Classics channel? Nope, I'm talking about BASKETBALL WIVES. Yup you read correctly, I was glued to my seat as I watched every second of that drama filled episode.
Shaunie- I am so disappointed with her this season because she has a totally different vibe. During the introductory season Shaunie seemed like the listening ear who never really picked sides but liked to give everyone their fair shake. She was more like the Queen Bee who never really got her hands dirty but this season she seems a bit more catty. During the last episode she sat down at Gloria and Suzie's table grilling Gloria about her ~~never going to happen~~ wedding date. Even though I am by NOOO stretch of the imagination a fan of Gloria, Shaunie's badgering did make her look a little bitter, and miserable. Have you nothing better to do than to run around town with your three sidekicks looking to start some mess? When Gloria said - "well you did put on that wedding dress and now you're divorced and miserable"- I said ok one check for Gloria and an "excuse me but you have egg on your face" for Shaunie.
The lesson of the week for Jen is think before you speak.
Jen sat at the able with all of the ladies and asked Gloria- why would I be jealous of you, because you had some babies out of wedlock?" I'm at home thinking hummmm that snarky remark may have had an impact on Gloria if A) your main Ace Evelyn and Royce were not in the same situation..whomp. And B) - if your marriage were not crumbling more each minute that remain married. double whomp.
Her second foot in the mouth conversation came when she spoke with her husband. Don't open up the divorce conversation if you're not really ready for what your man has to say. She casually sat back and thought she would have some soul searching moment with her husband when she said- well we can talk about it (referencing divorce) and Eric replied- "there ain't nothing to talk about -if you don't like your situation LEAVE the situation". WHOMP WHOMP WHOMP- but so true. Maybe she is waiting by Eric's side thinking that some tearful remorse filled dialogue will one day happen, but it won't - at least not on tv. Eric made a few valid points, he referenced last seasons episode when ~~never going to get married~~ Evenly was encouraging Jen to cheat on her husband- he clearly wasn't a fan..lol. Also he said she stays out every night, well if that's the case then can you really be upset when he stays out? Let's face it neither of them are handling the situation like adults but Eric made no bone about it this past Sunday- Jen can feel free to BOUNCE at any point. He even started to divide up the assets before Jen even realized how far the conversation had gone..LOL. Now I'm not one to laugh at another person's misery but that was funny. I give it to Eric for being honest at least in that moment.
Suzie I don't see a big tv career in your life unless you will make reality tv your bread and butter.
Royce- dear little Royce it annoys me when people try to force others who are having an argument to just get along. So I'm annoyed by her constant " are you coming to the event" knowing that Evenly just wants to chop Suzie's head off.
Evenly takes things too far and just likes to pick on the people who she considers to be weaker. After exclaiming "I'm from the Bronx don't play with me" those LA girls seem to run scared. However, the preview of upcoming episodes have helped me to appreciate that her "I'm from the Bronx" line doesn't make a "Real World" Veteran like Tami run for the hills. *fists will fly.
Tami- your wig which you clearly cut yourself offends me..- the end.

Gloria- Please don't think we are all idiots...lol your wedding date was not called off because your guest list went to 280 people nor is it because you are moving. Knock it off.

side note- Is the therapist that Tami went to see on the VH1 payroll , because that is the same therapist that Jen will visit next episode..... #justwondering.
Have you been watching this season? What are your thoughts?

UPDATE- on a popular website, theybf.com, Shaunie speaks out to explain the bad on air behavior of the basketball wives.

Quick Freebie

2011-01-05T10:58:00.003-05:00

If you're in need of a new cell phone case and you have an iphone, Sephora's got you covered. You will have to download the Sephora To Go app. Once you download the app simply show a Sephora sales representative and you will be given a free Sephora iphone case. No purchase necessary- while supplies last.

I called my local Sephora and it's in stock so check out your local Sephora.

PJD

Bad Romance and Ruby Red Slippers

2011-01-03T23:41:00.013-05:00

How much is too much for a bottle of nail polish? If you had asked me that question about a year two years ago, I probably would have said $8-$10 is a reasonable price for a bottle of GOOD polish, until I ran across Deborah Lippmann polishes which are priced in the $16-$21 range. Even though I didn't buy the DL polish when I first learned of the brand, I would be lying if I didn't admit that the price tag left an impression with me. Is it really that good that it's priced so much higher than regular polishes, in fact it's nearly double the price I pay for respectable brands like Opi and Essie. I actually vowed to not spend my hard earned pennies on such an expensive polish, but thoughts of that DL polish kept dancing in my head. The only thing that kept me from getting the polish is the fact that the colors at that time were so regular, nothing special about them, in fact I had a couple of dupes sitting right in my nail polish case and then it happened.

Deborah Lippmann came out with Bad Romance (the polish on the left pictured above) and it was unlike any polish I had ever seen, but I refused to give in. I searched for dupes all over the net until I learned of "Mummy May I" by China Glaze. HAHAHAHAH take that Deborah, I don't have to buy your expensive polish because I've found a dupe- but alas Mummy May I was all sold out. What sealed the coffin was when Yummy 411 did a post on Mummy May I and she was not totally on board with calling it a dupe for Bad Romance. A co worker reminded me that sometimes you have to pay for quality - yes I called in reinforcements, this was an $18 nail polish..lol. Anywho when Black Friday rolled around, I had to get Bad Romance, but I ended up getting Ruby Red Slippers too because I needed to hit the minimum purchase price to qualify for the BF discount. Did I get suckered? lol

The Verdict

What's a girl to expect out of an $18 polish? Well I knew that it wouldn't last forever but I was expecting it to be the longest lasting polish that anyone could ever envision. I knew that people would have to stop me in the street and say "Girllllllll where did you get that polish?", yes my nails would have to stop traffic if this purchase was going to be worth it. Let's just say I had high expectations, so forgive me if I judge this polish harshly..lol.

Overall I like the look of this polish and it is unique in appearance. Check it out on my nails in the pic below. The oil on my hands makes this polish look a little shinier than it actually is- this polish needs a clear top coat to really pop.

In all honesty, the lasting power of this polish extends far beyond the limits of any Revlon or Sally Hansen polish. Does it beat OPI and Essie- not so much they are pretty much on par. I can get a good 6 day run out of the Deborah Lippmann polish, I can even eek out 7 days if I'm not shooting for total perfection.

So I was happy with the polish but only after 2-3 coats. This is not a 1 coat polish, which for $18 it should be in my humble opinion. I want each stroke to deliver lasting coverage and colorful impact. Check out my nails in the picture below with a single coat of Bad Romance and Ruby red Slippers.

Not mind blowing at all, right? In fact what this helped me to appreciate is that this polish is nothing more than black nail polish with a high concentration of brightly colored sparkles thrown in the bottle to make gals like myself squeal.
Now check out my nails after two coats

Now I'm in business, 2-3 coats will do the trick!
Not long after I had made my peace with this $18 polish, did the sparkles make me feel a twinge of regret. FRAUD FRAUD those purple and red sparkles that glisten so brilliantly in the bottle are really silver sparkles. Well how do you know that PJD? Thanks for asking ladies, I know because after washing my hands and bathing, both of which I do regularly, the purple and red coating of the sparkles will begin to peel off. Now where they go, I don't know because it's not like I see purple and red casings on my floor but they definitely peel off of the sparkles. The problem is, I'm not left with polish that clearly has days worth of wear left but now I have random silver sparkles in a sea of black polish with colored sparked so the random silver sparkles stand out and not in a good way.
Exhibit A

Although it doesn't show up so well on camera, I had three silver sparkles on my index finger while all of the other sparkles were still painted purple. Overall it just diminishes the appearance of the polish.

Removal

Like most glittery polishes, it's a pain to take off unless you're using a strong enough remover that can fight against the glittery grit. A reader once left a comment with a tip on easy removal of glittery polishes but I lost track of the tip so I never got to try it out. If you know about the aluminum foil removal, please feel free to share. :-)

Final Verdict

I don't see myself running out to buy another bottle of her polishes unless I see a super discount. I'll stick with my "Bring on the Bling" by OPI if I need a little sparkle in my life.

Have you used Deborah Lippmann polishes? If so, what was your experience?

What's the highest you would pay for a bottle of polish that was calling your name?

What's new and Product Reviews

2010-12-31T10:03:00.000-05:00

What's new

Sugar Lip Polish Review from Fresh and Review of the Peppermint Scalp Elixir from Darcy's Botanicals

Black Friday Haul

2010-12-17T13:56:00.001-05:00

HI Everyone
Here is my Black Friday Haul video

Part 1

Part 2

Discounts

2010-12-14T07:34:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone

I'm still waiting for the remaining Black Friday items to arrive and then I will do the haul video.

On another note the Komaza Hair Care company is having a year end sale where you can save 20% off your total on Dec. 15th. Use the code YES when you're checking out.

Tarte Cosmetics - their friends and family sale was supposed to end on the 13th of December, today is the 14th and I just used the code FFDEC -IT STILL WORKS so act quickly!!!

You could be a Winner...

2010-12-08T16:06:00.004-05:00

Tonight is a very special night on twitter. Follow the makeup brand Tarte Cosmetics @tartecosmetics from 9-11 pm and you could be a winner. They will be giving makeup to a special winner every 15 minutes ( I believe they said 15 minutes...but some short time span like that).
When you tweet, use the hash tag #tarteparty.
See you online tonight-I hope you win big!
PJD

*picture courtesy of tartecosmetics.com

Is TV making a comeback?

2010-12-03T04:53:00.007-05:00

Hello Everyone

The next product review will either appear tonight or over the weekend, so for now let's engage in a little random chatter.

Is TV making a comeback?

So many trends in fashion, makeup, and hair have proven to be cyclical and now the world of television may be hitting it's own 360 degree mark. I remember a time when television consisted of quality programming, real shows, not scripted reality shows and carefully crafted ad placements. Now say what you want about BET, heck I've said it myself a time or two (or three or four) but the new year may reintroduce viewers to quality shows. BET will bring back The Game, and the network will also kick off the year with a new program entitled "Let's Stay Together". Actor Ron Reaco, who previously worked on the hit show Sister Sister , will appear in a leading role on the show. I heard rumors of Tracee Ross (Joan from Girlfriends) will be getting her own tv show soon, so there is another show that we can possibly look out for. I just need good ol television back, as much as I enjoy some reality tv I just want regular old come home on a Thursday night and watch the Cosby Show & A Different World type of programming. It's coming, maybe :-)

Which shows are you looking out for in 2011?

The winner of the Whole Truth Solutions giveaway is

2010-11-30T06:54:00.001-05:00

What's new this week and Random chatter

2010-11-28T21:56:00.002-05:00

Hey Everyone

Feel free to check the black Friday Cyber Monday list to see what deals are available. If you have additional deals, please leave them in the comment section.

Have a great weekend...what's left of it.

Whole Truth Solutions & Giveaway

2010-11-24T09:43:00.007-05:00

Hello Everyone
Here is my review of some soaps that I really like from Wholetruthsolutions.com.
The owner of the shop is giving You an opportunity to win a soap filled gift bag. Watch the video for more details.

My Black Friday Sales list is in the post below which I will continue to update.

BLACK FRIDAY SALES & Cyber Mondays-UPDATED

2010-11-23T23:30:00.038-05:00

Hey Everyone
Just like last year, I will use this post as a Black Friday sales resource. I will continue to update this post as new sales are publicized. Also Cyber Monday is nothing to sneeze at so I will keep those sales listed here too. If you know of something that I haven't mentioned, please feel free to drop it in the comment section. Also remember to use resources like retailmenot.com to save money on shipping or to simply locate other sales.
Happy Shopping.
Clothing/ Shoes

Puma save 25% off your entire purchase all day Thursday- Friday 11am online and in stores. Save 30% online until 6am
Save 15% off your entire purchase at the Puma OUTLET Thursday and Friday.
Eddie Bauer - Friday ONLY (IN STORE Exclusive) take 40% off everything until NOON. After the clock strikes 12pm on Friday take an extra 30% off of everything in the physical store.
JJill - Online & In Stores Now through Cyber Monday save 25% off your entire purchase and free shipping if you order online.
New York and Company- Now through Nov. 28th (Sunday) 50% off of EVERYTHING online and instores. Save an extra 10% when you use the code 6149
Ann Taylor Friday In Store until NOON 40% off Everything. Shop NOW ONLINE for 40% off your entire purchase of $150 or more plus free shipping.
Victoria's Secret spend $25 and your order ships free code: VS25SHIP
Gap 20% off when you use the code GAPTHANKS
OLD Navy- many sales...check the web
Newport news 30% off including items already reduced by 70% use the code: 524 if you spend $100- boooo newport booooo :-)

Hair

Oyin Handmade- Black Friday ONLY save 20% off of full sized individual products (this sale ends Saturday) code: blackfriday
Oyin Handmade CYBER MONDAY- 20% off sample sized /travel products, new gift sets, tees and books (this sale DOES NOT include full sized products). code: cybermonday
Darcys Botanicals-25% off your total code: naturalcurls
Afroveda- Nov. 22-28th -20% off hair butters and styling products, 15% off oils shampoos and conditioners. Free shipping on orders of $75 or more- use code: BF75
SheScentit.com- 25% Off your entire order use code: thankyou Black friday from 12 am - 11:59pm
Brown Butter Beauty (Christine Grant)- 25% off the entire store
Jane Carter Solutions- On Black Friday if you purchase the Jane Carter Travel kit you can get a free full sized styling product. use the code: BLKFRIDAY9 and enter the styling product you wish to receive.
Qhemet Biologics- 6am -11pm ONLY 20% off your purchase and free shipping (on domestic orders of $70 or more). use the code : softhair
Hairveda- variety of offers -click the link to visit the site.
Karen's Body Beautiful $15 off $50 or more. Another sale will follow on BF I believe. 30%off if you use the code blackfriday
Carol's Daughter-various discounts IN STORE ONLY on BLACK FRIDAY
Miss Jessies buy one get one free now through Dec. 31st.
Kiehls if you spend $50 you will get $20 off when you use the code: MERRY this lasts until Dec. 31st

Beauty

Sephora will have sale but they will release the details via email on Thursday so return to this post then! However Hope in a jar by Philosophy will ship for free for a limited time only if you use the code HOLIDAYSHIP
Sephora- If you are a beauty insider you can get a free tote (first come first serve) if you spend $25 or more and use the code: MYHAUL you can also get the tote in stores Black Friday ONLY.
Origins ends today free shipping on any order and you get a free gift at checkout..no code required.
ELF- buy one get the second item 50% off and free shipping if you spend over $30. code BOGO50 CYBER MONDAY CODE 55Wide for 55% off $25 bucks or more.
Jurlique free shipping and complimentary samples when you use the code: Thanks10
NYX cosmetics 50% off
Deborah lippmann nail polish 20% off if you spend $35 or more code turkey20
Zoya buy one get one free from this list of goodies-click here
OCCMakeup Cyber Monday 20% off lip tars with the code Cyber2010
MAC order by 11am on Nov. 29th and receive free overnight shipping when you use the code MACDAY if you order from 11:01 -11:59 pm you will receive your purchases Dec. 1st.

Accessories

Dooney Bourke- Nov. 26-29 20% off already reduced product in select retail stores in NY, NV, CA, TX and HI.
Dooney & Bourke OUTLETS- take 20% off your entire purchase from Nov. 26-29th.

Bath & Body- Skin Care

Whole Truth Solutions will have a 50% off sale on Black Friday!!
100% Pure- Free shipping on all orders use the code FRSHIP valid through Nov. 28th at midnight. You will get a free gift box with all orders over $100.
LaVida Given by Nature-Black Friday 20% off when you use the code BF20 and 20% off on Cyber Monday when you use the code CM20.
Bath and Body Works variety of items on super sale NOW...
The body shop- buy 3 items for 30 bucks
Origings CYBER MONDAY spend $25 or more and get $10 off when you use the code MONDAY

Health

GNC- the sales are different based on your location so enter your area code and see what's available in your area. Cyber Monday 35% off from Sunday 9pm- Monday if you have a GNC gold card.

Variety

QVC will have a variety of sales- check them out online!
Overstock.com- variety of sales going on.
Exclusively Weddings- free shipping on all orders 2 days only.
Godiva- $5 gifts in outlets until 9:00am and boutiques until 12pm.

As always, check rue la la, hautelook.com and beyondtherack.com for equally fabulous discounts.

2 Dove Contests ends Nov 21st

2010-11-17T00:36:00.006-05:00

Hi Everyone
Dove has two contests running right now so I just wanted to let you all know about them.
The first contest is the Dove Hair Care Brush With Greatness Sing4All video contest. Groups consisting of 3-10 members must submit a video singing the complete lyrics to the song "My Favorite Things" from the classic movie The Sound of Music. If you win, you and your group members will perform your rendition of the song at Radio city Music Hall in NYC. You will also receive a video conference singing lesson and a Dove Hair Care gift pack.
Vote for your favorite group at DoveSing4All.com
You have until Nov 21st to enter.
If you submit an entry, please let me know so that I can support your video!
Contest #2
Honestly I don't know what you have to do for the second contest, I just know that Dove is working with 20th century Fox and The Sound of Music to encourage women to continue doing their favorite things.
The winner will get a trip to Austria where the movie The Sound of Music was filmed.
* I still love that movie..lol
Wishing you all the best if you enter...
PJD

Boston and Chicago

2010-11-15T01:31:00.003-05:00

Hello
Here is some footage from my recent trips. No product reviews in these videos....enjoy
PJD

Part 2

Ramblings & Summer Pudding Soap

2010-11-14T12:46:00.001-05:00

HI Everyone
I will likely have another video up today...maybe two :-) (Insert applause) lol

What's New and Beemine Shampoo Review

2010-11-09T22:02:00.001-05:00

Hey Everyone

Part 2

Nails and Honey reviews

2010-10-31T18:33:00.002-04:00

Hi Everyone
Part 1

Part 2

What's new this week?

2010-10-30T11:49:00.002-04:00

This is a video of my latest purchases, it's new for me this week so I wanted to share it with you. My product review will come on later tonight.
Thanks for watching, following the blog, subscribing on youtube and leaving comments- THANK YOU.

On the Tube

2010-10-28T13:52:00.009-04:00

Sorry for the delay everyone. Let's jump into some tv reviews.....
The Real Housewives of Altanta
Nene- In the latest episode Nene went under the knife for a nose job. I don't know why but I feel like the nose job was her main objective and she merely masked her nose job consultation with a breast reduction and lipo suction conversation with her doctor. For those of you who missed the episode she had all of the aforementioned procedures. Greg was not present during the entire episode and it appeared as if he wasn't supporting her through the recovery process. We know they have marital problems but it was certainly highlighted during the latest episode. Where oh WHERE did this mystery friend Diana come from. She was there with Nene through her procedures and was even at Nene's house to help her recover. When Nene said she wanted to get off the couch well there was Diana to help ~~Bullwinkle #dontjudgeme~~ Nene get up. I just felt like Nene was using her, and of course I say this without knowing the background of their relationship and I know that she is contractually obligated to hang out with the housewives gang but she seemed to care more about them than her friend Diana who was present. While hopped up on drugs straight out of surgery, there is Diana wiping her bloody nose and sitting by her bed as Nene asks her to call Sheree and Kim...shaking my head. Nene is such a wanna be (old school word) in my opinion even though she pretends as if she is full of confidence.

Now before I get off of the Nene topic I must address something that she did that really got under my skin in this episode. While grazing through her kitchen her oldest child Bryson respectfully expressed his disfavor with his mom's surgery. After his concluding comments she turns to her youngest son and says "See that's the nose I wanted, I don't know how this little sucker ( I think she said sucker) got this perfect nose." You then see Bryson exit stage left. This scene disturbed me because it made me think that there may have been other instances in Bryson's life (particularly after the birth of his brother) where Nene may have made Bryson feel insignificant or she may have inadvertently made comparisons between the boys....perhaps. Also some may say that Bryson isn't as cute as his little brother so that may have had an impact on him as well. Nene mentioned in a previous episode that Bryson doesn't spend time with his brother, perhaps it's because of feelings that Bryson may be harboring or dealing with regarding his little brother...who knows. This is just my assumption from Nene's one comment..lol. This however does NOT absolve old weed head Bryson from accepting the normal responsibilities that he should be shouldering on his own at this stage in his life. By responsibilites I don't necessarily mean having his own place etc. but he should pick up after himself and at least offer to contribute to the needs of the household...and go to school or do SOMETHING.

Kim- This week we got a glimpse of Kim's family when her parents came to visit. So many things are clear in my mind now.

1) I now understand why Kim began getting botox in her 20's- clearly her family doesn't age well. We didn't get an age on the momma but she was looking like he was Kim's daddy's momma... #justSaying

2)Being with a married man is acceptable as long as he can do things for you.

Kandi- Don't talk about it, be about it. I wouldn't write a lick or even dream about putting a song together for Kim unless my lawyers drafted the contracts and Kim has already signed..lol. She shafted Kandi once on the money she was owed and I really hope it won't happen again. And when Kandi agreed to perform on stage (episode before last) with Kim, I was too done with that simpleton. Unless Kim's agreement to perform with Kim was based on the following idea-"if kim goes out there and performs poorly she will be even more of a joke than she already is and her 15 minutes of fame will be done sooner rather than later. Which means even if I produce another good song for her, people will not be interested, so I will go on stage and help her out just to keep this momentum going" #kanyeShrug. Perhaps that's what was floating through her head...who knows.

Sheree- Well, well, well, Sheree had a second encounter with Dr. Love. He gave some stupid example of letting a man feel like a man by opening a bottle of ketchup even if the woman is able to open the bottle. He was giving one of his speeches to a room filled with women who seemed to hang on to his every word as if each syllable could bring them closer to the man of their dreams. He said nothing that resonated with me, but hey he is making money (possibly) so I won't judge him or knock his hustle..lol. I do think it was interesting that his panel of women consisted of Sheree, a radio host and another woman who was probably his friend.... Sheree implied during the last episode that she does not wash dishes...does she have a maid that we have never seen?Or do her kids have dish pan hands? Anyway Sheree and her bootleg Hitch plan on having another date and he will try to get Sheree to eat off of his finger...Like Sheree, I would be disgusted and running out of his place. No finger licking for me please...NEXT.

The Model- I've already forgotten her name (Cynthia-I think) but she is ok in my book thus far.

Pheadra- Oh how I defended you when people called you snooty after the first episode, but you made me eat those words. Pheadra was down right rude to the model and her man Peter as they rode in a limo to an equestrian event. It started out ok because Pheadra was saying that Apollo has no kids and she wanted a man with no kids. OK nothing wrong there...but then Peter, the model's man, states that he has 5 kids and this is where Pheadra lost me. She made a face and said NO I prayed for a CLEAN man no baby momma drama. I didn't appreciate her use of the word clean ( I know what she meant by it) but it just translated as RUDE. As The Countess would say "Money can't buy you classssssss elegance is learned my friend". Pheadra then began talking about her childhood and how she has been riding horses since she was 7 or 8. The local donkey on the farm does not an equestrian make...but who knows perhaps she did...She then began bragging (it came across as bragging) about her degrees. Guess what Pheadra, many many people have the same degrees that you have, and while you should be proud, flaunting your success in the face of others is never attractive.

Despite the elegance that she tries to display, her baby shower was a stupid hot mess. Not because she had ballarinas but because she made that shower so much more than it had to be and it just didn't make sense. She is having a baby not a wedding so why she wanted to do a special dance and then have ballerinas appear is beyond me. She also allowed someone to place rhinestones across her eyelids and roses in her ponytail....#FAIL. Secretly, I think she has low self esteem....

Did I forget anyone? Oh yeah we saw the boring Lisa make an appearance and thank goodness it was brief.

Are you watching this show?

~~The Glam Squad~~ it's actually called The House of Glam (thank's Lauren)

Why didn't you guys tell me about this show??????? I happened to catch two episodes last Saturday on the Bravo network and I enjoyed the show. It's basically a woman who owns a company that styles celebrities and non celebrities for a fee of course. You get to see her team of misfits styling the Dream, Taiana, Mario and Jojo...hopefully in future episodes we will get to see them actually style people who are relevant...LOL. From what I can tell it looks like they are based in good old NYC. I like the hustling energy that flows through the people who work for the agency they are really passionate about fashion and hair. One member of the company was best friends with the owner of the agency since childhood and while she may have a flare for fashion ( hopefully that will appear in future episodes because so far I'm not impressed) she has an attitude that only her family members can tolerate..lol. How dumb are you to actually tell an artist that the styling is more important than the music. She (sorry I don't know names I only saw two episodes) said all of this to The Dream and he was insulted and said styling helps but you need to have music first..She actually went back and forth on this point until the Dream got up and left. I think the owner needs to check her friend because celebrities can always find another stylist. Anywho the show airs on Tuesdays on the Oxygen network, I guess it repeats on Bravo on the weekends but I'm not sure if that happens regularly or if I just happened to catch the bravo promotion of that show.

Are you watching this show?

FootBall Wives

We are only one episode in and a line has been drawn in the sand between some of the football wives. Pilar Sanders, wife of Dion Sanders, is on a show with some women I have never seen before- except for one (the attorney) where have we seen her before? Was she Mike Tyson's last wife???? Anywho Pilar caused friction when she agreed to attend a bible study class only to skip out early to attend a movie premier with another football wife. Apparently this really angered one football wife names Chanitam even though it was neither her house nor her event. She just came across as jealous of Pilar. She wanted Pilar to ask for forgiveness or apologize which I think she may have done ifffff Chanita had not been so rude and LOUD....ughhh I can't take people who are loud for no reason at all. Chanita also looks like she has no eyebrows so I wish she would address that issue. Chanitra revealed that her hubby may have to take a big pay cut and work for some other organization like the ufl not NFL I don't keep up with football so i couldn't tell you but I know its the bootleg version of the NFL. So Chanitra may be a little bitter..lol.

Amanda, another football wife said that she must always look good because her hubby is a celebrity and they live that lifestyle blah blah blah. Please take a look at her picture here and then rejoing this conversation.... Ok yes so I am giving her the side eye when she can't even look decent in professional photos with tons of makeup.....

Next up is Erin who isn't a wife and shouldn't really be on the show. But since she is on the show, I have to address the fact that she works two jobs one of which is hooters. :-) Not that she should be living off of this man who isn't her husband but ummmm ok moving on lol.

Melani is a wife who doesn't care about the cameras because she was not makeup ready, in fact she showed up makeup -LESS.

The other wives bore me and I don't recall seeing Mercedes yet.

Are you watching???

LaLa's Full Court Wedding

LaLa's Full Session of Boredom is over lol, ok maybe it wasn't that bad, but she married Melo and hopefully lives happily ever after. I must say her cousin Dice looked really nice on the day of the wedding- BUTTT why make such a fuss over her outfit is she was going to change into JEANS and street gear for the reception....WHO DOES THAT? #NotAtMyWedding.

Fantasia for Real

Fantasia gets more annoying with each episode. She has learned in the last episode that the "separated" man she was seeing was still with his wife and going on trips with her. Fanny seemed shocked by this information and ended the episode in tears. Whomp.

Kanye West

Last Saturday Kanye locked down certain video channels to premier the hour long movie/video that he directed. It is called runaway and it is basically a compilation of some songs from his latest album played out on the small screen. Selita Ebanks played the love interest and with vivid colors and seemingly abstract ideas I was hooked. Maybe I was reading too far into it but I think he had a bunch of symbols streaming through his work. When he began playing a tune on his little music box and out came the ballerinas which in my mind is Kanye's way of saying I am the puppet master and you all dance to my tune. he controlled the rhythm, and when he stopped so did they...There were so many other things but all in all I thought it was well done. What did you make of it all? Masterpiece of Master FAIL.

I no longer watch the following shows because they bore me- The Event and The Undercovers....I tried but I couldn't hold on.

The Game comes back on our screens 1-11-11- I will be watching!!!!!

Brown Butter Beauty Hair Tea review

2010-10-19T14:37:00.000-04:00

Hello Everyone

Darcy's Botanicals Reviews

2010-10-10T14:29:00.002-04:00

Hello Everyone

Please check the videos for the Darcy's Botanicals Conditioner Cream Wash and Shea Butter Moisturizer reviews. In the first video you will also see my latest purchase form bodycakespa.com.

Part 2

Voluminous Mascara, Black Maple & Beemine Juicy Spritz review

2010-10-07T08:52:00.013-04:00

Hello Everyone

While taking my usual stroll through CVS, the highly reflective gold packaging of Loreal's voluminous million lashes mascara caught my eye. I had to buy the $8.99 mascara, there was just no way around it..lol.

This mascara promises to add volume to your lashes while leaving the clumping behind. Before even showing my lashes I have to say that I agree with Loreal, that this is a no clumps mascara. When you pull the wand out of the tube, it makes that sound of a suction cup being removed from some surface. It's like it sucks the excess formula off of the wand so that you have a relatively clean wand, just enough mascara to coat your lashes but not enough to clump them.

Here is the wand-

Let's check out my naked lashes.

and

Now with just ONE coat of the voluminous mascara

and

I also picked up black maple lipstick from the Bobbi Brown Black Velvet collection. Watch the video to hear my thoughts on the other lipsticks from the Black Velvet collection.

And on my lips

Below is the video review of the Beemine Juicy Spritz.

Thanks for watching and reading.

PJD

Nails, body, hair, and on the tube

2010-10-06T05:59:00.005-04:00

Hello

First I review a few products starting with nail polish then I discuss a delicious body scrub and some INEXPENSIVE hair goodies.

On the Tube

Let's take a few moments out to discuss what is going on in the reality tv world.

Fantasia for Real

Teeny is still a mess but at least he isn't living with Fanny anymore, even though I have a feeling that he may still lean on her for financial support when he can't make ends meet.

Fantasia had an opportunity to date a football player (Devin) , who can put together a complete sentence and of course she turned down his offer to go out on a date. Her heart is apparently with the man who is separated. Sigh......

Last season I was really annoyed with Fanny's family but this season I am really annoyed with Fantasia. She just gives me the impression that she is super hardheaded and doesn't learn from her mistakes quickly. As a quick side note from last week I did NOT like how she left Aunt Bunny on the side of the road. She should have gotten popped in the mouth for that one..lol. I don't care how upset you are, that behavior is unacceptable. Other options could have included dropping Aunt Bunny off but not going inside to participate. Or she could have just cancelled the whole thing for the night. She showed a lack of respect for Aunt Bunnie's time.

Now on to the man that Aunt B met and the date that they had in this weeks episode. Do you think he is really into her (not that it isn't possible) or do you think he was drawn in by the lovely cameras following her? He seems a bit young and I don't know him or his type but I probably would have matched him with someone else...but again who knows, perhaps Aunt B is exactly his type.

OK off track- back to Tasia and her refusal to go out on a date with Devin because she is still pining away over a married man --separated is not divorced in my book...oh yeah and in the eyes of the law! Devin has his own career going as a football player (I don't watch football but I have seen his picture on Essence.com when he was eye candy of the week) and he seems like a pretty nice fellow but she wasn't impressed enough to give him a chance. Not that she has to give every guy in the world a chance but this one seemed like a good option. Oh well #kanyeshrug.

Real and Chance- I'm glad they're getting a check and in reality, their show is no more ridiculous than the Jackass guys so whatever... At least they are working with animals, I love that idea but that show gets very little attention from me.

LaLa's Full Court Wedding.

I simply can not take Lala's wedding planner, she seems very demanding when you consider the fact that this isn't her money. I understand that as a wedding planner she wants to help the couple to keep on top of the budget and make certain decisions but at the same time you are dealing with a multimillionaire so if Melo wants 4 more invitations, I say shut your mouth and just make it happen we don't need commentary from you woman. I think Lala is way too soft with some of these people who are working for her. It's almost like she is at times asking for permission to spend her own money. I want her to be more in control. It also seems like her days are filled with nothing..lol and little tasks stress her out. I know Lala has produced things behind the scenes so maybe we can get a snapshot of her working and then that would make it more understandable when she says things like "I have so much going on" lol.

I love wedding so I am not mad at this show, although it is a little slow at time. Carmelo is definitely a laid back kind of guy, I don't think he loves being on camera. However, sometimes he is so laid back that it looks like he could care less if Lala is there or not..lol.

Housewives of ATLANTA

OH boy did the season start of properly this week- now on Mondays.

Lisa is no where to be found so far and she does not appear in the opening credits. I heard her on the radio saying that she did film a few episodes but she had no idea if they would keep her in or edit her out entirely. We got to see Phedra, one of the new housewives for this season- she is the attorney who is married to the ex-con.

Drama is swarming all around Dwight and two housewives, Nene and Sheree. Kim alleges that Dwight claims to have loaned Greg, Nene's husband, some money in the sum of 10,000. Do you think he really did loan Greg the money? I believe he did and Greg looks shifty as can be so ummm yeah I think it was certainly more than $500 as Greg claims.

Dwight also claims to have invested about 30,000 is SHeree's fashion show last season. What do you think? Sheree lacks direction and focus as was shown during the fashion show episode last season. She didn't even think her clothes needed to be accented with jewelry etc. I have a feeling Dwight pulled those furs and jewelry on her behalf. He likely called his contacts and had items sent over immediately for the show, you have to pay to make all of that happen so I actually don't doubt Dwight. Why is everyone (Sheree, Nene, Greg and that random guy in Sheree's kitchen) questioning whether or not Dwight even has money? Dwight never hit me as being broke and ummm doesn't he own his own business?

Nene is rearing her insecure, hater head again this season. If you listen to Phedra she acknowledges Nene and the fact that they have known each other since their days in Athens. Phedra seems respectful and pleasant even nice when recounting her encounters with Nene. Nene on the other hand refers to Phedra as a plain Jane and had the nerve to question why the ATTORNEY Phedra was invited to an exclusive event...... Nene has many insecurities that she is dealing with and apparently, at least for a portion of this season, she will be working her issues out with her old BFF Kim. double sigh.

Kandi is dating a football player, can't recall his name but I have seen him before and his teeth look great.

Kim is a mess as usual and doing all that she can for attention.

Sheree is trying to be an actress and from what I have seen, she has as much acting potential as Beyonce.

What are you watching and what are your thoughts on the aforementioned shows?

Thanks PB, Beemine Product Review and On the screen

2010-10-01T07:44:00.005-04:00

I hope you all have a great weekend

On the Big Screen

Is anyone going to see that facebook movie?

Any other good movies opening this weekend?

On the Tube

Of the new shows on tv this season, which shows are you checking out?

I started watching Undercovers, The Event andChase.

Undercovers- Boris' acting needs an upgrade but other than that I think the show has potential.

The Event- I was so hoping that it would be more than aliens.....sigh

Chase- I like this show, each week another nutty criminal gives Chase a run for her money. So far we have seen two episodes and I enjoyed them both.

Giveaway winner announced

2010-09-21T21:45:00.001-04:00

Hello

The video basically shows how the winner was selected. If you don't want to watch it, the winner is BrendaAgape. If I don't hear from her within 3 days I will pass the prize along to another winner.

thanks for watching.

Review and a Haul,New movie alert and giveaway reminder

2010-09-18T00:34:00.007-04:00

HI please check out my video of my review of the Boscia Black mask. I also show two mini hauls from Body cake and B'Cause It's Mimi.

In the Theater
Have you seen the trailer for the latest Tyler Perry Flick entitled "For Colored Girls"?

I have never read the book nor have I seen any of the plays based on the book but I am looking forward to seeing this film. Check out the star studded cast.....this could be AMAZING!

Please check out my giveaway in the post below.- thanks

Tarte Lipsergence & a Giveaway

2010-09-17T20:38:00.004-04:00

Hey Everyone

Tarte is celebrating 10 years in the business this coming fall and they have new products hitting the shelves. One product that you may want to check out is the paraben- free Lipsergence Matte lipstain which I review in the video below. It's supposed to make your lips have 6000% more moisture after using the product for 28 days. I am giving away one of these lip products which I received from Tarte. Tarte sent the product to me me free of charge and with no strings attached :-) Thanks Tarte!!!Please check out the video!!!!

*The first picture is courtesy of sephora.com.

Its a Slice, Turkish Delight And Jersey Hoodrats

2010-09-09T01:15:00.005-04:00

The Cake Beauty body wash is made for the SKIP IT files!!!

On the Tube
Did you watch the Reunion of the Jersey ~~Hoodrats~~ Housewives?

Through this whole season I have become increasingly annoyed with Jacqueline. She has zero control over her daughter who constantly disrespects her and then she tries to defend her daughter's dumb actions.

I really don't like any of the women on the show but they are entertaining. Teresa was trying to downplay her financial woes, but clearly she is in deep! I secretly think she made Dina the godmother of her kid because she wanted some connection to that family. Why does everyone try to hang on to Caroline's family like they are the IT family in Franklin Lakes?

Caroline just knows she is the head chick in town and she is sooooo NOT. I need Caroline to have a seat, to me she is dry and boring...I don't care that your kids have grown up and you feel somewhat lost...get a job or clean your huge house..just don't appear on tv anymore.

Danielle is the nut job of the century who hopefully won't make her kids nutty too. She is needy, pushy and a fruit cake. I will forever be haunted by that dancing scene that she did where she stretched out her leg and then said "and then suggest". If you watched the season, you probably vomited right along with me.

Anywhooo on the reunion show all of the women were against Danielle and tried to call her on her lies but in the end they made peace #kanyeshrug.

Well all except for dried up Caroline, who seems to think she looks good in the color blue...ummm no you don't dear.

When Jacqueline decided to squash the issues that she had with Danielle, all of a sudden Teresa decides to chime in by saying that she was never trying to take Danielle down. Ummm ok this was a moment between Jaqueline and Danielle so no need to start pouring our your hear Teresa because no one asked you and Danielle wasn't even looking your way. I think teresa will go any way the wind blows and if the clan starts talking to Danielle so will she. These are grown women who can't seem to think for themselves (except for Caroline and Jacqueline for a VERY brief moment).

I heard that Danielle won't be back next season because she wants her own spin off show, and with all of her crazy antics she will probably get it.

Oh and I just have to talk about Ashley (Jacquline's daughter) for a minute- I think she feels the need to be accepted by the Manzo (sp) family. I think a part of Ashley feels as if she was never really IN the family even though her step dad treats her as if she were his own. I notice that she listens to her cousin, and aunts more than her own mother. Shoot, even her boyfriend has more pull over her than her mother does. I also think she has a bit of low self esteem.

For Teresa, I think the Countess from Housewives of NY said it best when she said "Money Can't Buy You Class".

OHHHH and how could I forget about Kim G who we learned is related to the other Kim (the store owner who danielle felt betrayed her). Since both ladies seem like snakes, it's almost fitting that they are related through marriage. I don't care for Kim G and I agree with Danielle that it seemed like Kim G wanted air time and attention from the Manzos- pathetic.

What did you think of the reunion?

Top Chef

Now we are down to the final three and the final woman has been ousted from the cast. Now we have the boys club in full swing with Kevin, Angelo and Ed. As I mentioned in a previous post, I want Ed to win- who do you want to win Top Chef?

A mini haul and Cake Beauty

2010-09-04T21:54:00.003-04:00

This is my review of the Cake Beauty Body Scrub. I will also show you my latest Bee Mine purchases.

Labor Day sales starts now &BBB

2010-09-03T20:04:00.002-04:00

I just found out that Pooka Pure and Simple )pookapureandsimple.com) is having a sale that lasts for only 1/2 hour tonight from 8-8:30. They are selling their body polishes for $10.00, the scrubs usually sell for $20.00.

Also Brown Butter Beauty is having a sale over at her new site (not the etsy store so click the link). If you use the code LABORDAY you get 15% off.

I'm going to get mine...byeeeeeeee

It's in the eyes & She got the boot!

2010-09-02T00:43:00.015-04:00

By now, you have seen the countless ads featuring some variation of the original Covergirl lash blast mascara. When I was walking through Walgreens, I stumbled upon another child of momma lash blast. This new mascara is the Lash Blast Fusion (it said new on the label but I'm not sure how long this has been out). This mascara is supposed to give you the best of both worlds, length and volume. It's the same chubby tube and wand but would the formula really give me something to sing about?Check out my nude lashes:

The following pictures feature my lashes with just one coat of this lash blast fusion.

I was smiling in the first pic.

I don't know about you, but I certainly see a difference in my lashes. I don't use more than one coat of mascara when I do use it, so my test of whether or not a mascara works is based on my results after 1 coat. The lash blast fusion separated and lengthened my lashes with no clumping. It's so wearable because I have touched my lashes countless times and I experienced no flaking! It doesn't say that this is a waterproof mascara but it holds up pretty well against water too.

Now for those who LOVE heavy volume, this may not give you exactly what you need with just one coat, so you may need to smack on a few layers. For $8.50 at your local convenience store, this product is worth the money.

Have you tried this mascara, if so what are your thoughts?

Top Chef

The verdict is in, the judges have ruled and Tiffany is out.
When Angelo, another Top Chef contestant, was ready to pick food off of the ground and tried to encourage his fellow cast mate to use the food, I knew I didn't want him to win- yuck. I also new I would never visit his Brooklyn based sandwich shop.
Now I want Ed to bring it home and win top chef.

Who do you want to see as the next Top Chef?

MIss Jessies Super Sweetback Treatment & Other Ramblings

2010-08-31T23:20:00.007-04:00

Hello

Here is my review of Miss Jessies Super sweetback treatment.

Other Ramblings

Are there any other good movies coming out?
Do you follow anyone interesting on twitter? If so who? (doesn't have to be a famous person). I enjoy the musings of some twitterettes :-).

TV Time

Is anyone out there watching the Real Housewives of D.C? Ted Gibson isn't a main character on the show but every time I see him, I think of what his hair sheets did to my hair...grrrrrrrrrrrr.

Avon certainly gets a great deal of attention from the ladies. :-)

The British woman is rude and I think she is a bitter woman- the end.

Real Housewives of NJ Reunion

I love how these women with so much money have trouble pronouncing the most basic words.... "cleavage", and "women" just to name a few. And for Danielle, it's not an issue of the NJ accent, she really doesn't know when to use women or woman..ummm ok.

I know that many people have learning disabilities but what do you think about Caroline's son? At what point do you speak up, apparently he wasn't getting the services that he needed to deal with his learning disability so he waits until he is kicked out of college before speaking up.....FISHY.

Part one of the reunion revealed a few thing, as much as they try to shun Danielle she sure gets to know their business. When she asked Teresa if she has acknowledged her nephew it sent Teresa up the wall, so there must be a backstory in there somewhere.

What did you think of part 1 of the reunion?

The Jersey/Miami shore?

So Sammie found the letter that Jwow and Snookie left for her. The letter provides details on Ronnie's exploits with other women. After reading the information, Sammie will still go back with Ron, I'm sure of it. Those two meatheads just may be made for each other.

Sidenote- can Sammie wash her face? I'm tired of watching her roll out of bed just to pick her eyes clean and then say "I'm going to put on makeup". WHO DOES THAT???? yuck.

Dancing with the Losers?

A new season of Dancing with the Stars will air soon and I am so sad to report that Brandy will be a member of the cast. Who has Brandy's best interest at heart? I mean she will be fox trotting alongside Mike "The situation" and the mom from the Brady Bunch. Instead of joining that cast she could have just gone to the top of some mountain and screamed "MY CAREER IS OVER PLEASE CONSIDER ME A HAS BEEN". What kind of career move was that? Do another movie, get a tv series (other than reality tv) make a new cd, do something but don't you dare dance with reality tv stars and people who haven't worked as actors since the 50's...lol. Oh well, I still like Brandy anyway....

Top Chef

Who will take home the crown? I sooooo badly want Tiffany to win. *Correction (thanks MMM)-She would be the first monitory to win the show and the second woman to win!

I was taken- not a spoiler

2010-08-30T00:58:00.004-04:00

Theater experience
Although I have not checked box office numbers (why do I check this stuff like I'm getting money??????) I am almost certain that the movie, Taken, was the number one movie this weekend. I went to the theater on Friday night and the line was outside of the door and the next two time slots were sold out before I could even make it to the ticket booth. The next viewing time was 12:00 and I just didn't want to wait that long sooooooooo yeah I did it, I paid to see Lottery Ticket #dontJudgeMe.
Lottery Ticket- is exactly what you see on the commercials, I didn't enjoy the experience, it was predictable, and often annoying. The ending was ok I suppose but it just took a while getting through the N word being used so often. ughhhhhh
However, regarding the acting, Bow Wow did well along with the other actors.
Who thought that roof top scene was a bit much??? When Bow's forehead was against his friends forehead I was thinking ummmmmmmmmmmmmm ok stop looking intensely into each others eyes please...no really stop. The acting overall was fine but the storyline itself....yeah i wouldn't be mad if they offered me a refund. Now on to the main attraction.....

TAKEN-NOT A SPOILER
On Sunday I finally got a chance to see Taken, the movie I had been anticipating ever since I glimpsed the commercial with the lead characters walking together with a blown up helicpoter in the background. I recommend this movie to those who like a little action in their films. I was entertained from the first scence right down to the very end.
I heard the director of this movie mention that Chris Brown did the majority of his own stunts and I think he did really well! Idris, Michael, TI, in fact EVERYONE played their parts perfectly. One thing though, I left that theater only remembering the names of about 2-3 of those characters...lol How about you? And could someone have given madame Zoe more lines????? gee whiz.
Michael Ealy doesn't act enough in my opinion, but I enjoyed his acting as usual. Idris has great "swagger", he walks well, and wears a suit like nobody's business.
Do you plan on seeing Takers? If you saw it, what are your thoughts?
Can you see Takers 2 coming out in the future?
Any other good movies coming out this year?

Videos and other ramblings

2010-08-24T14:57:00.010-04:00

Hello Everyone Below you will find two videos, parts 1 & 2 of my haul/ review. In the videos I review the Darcy's Botanicals Lavender shampoo bar and I show my new Chagrin Valley soaps. I also throw in a sneak preview of the Boscia black mask!
After watching the videos check out other things on my mind.

Part 2

Other Ramblings

I don't know about you but after watching Kenny AKA the BEAST in the kitchen on the show Top Chef, I was convinced that he was going to be in the final three. My final three dream team would have consisted of Angelo, Kenny and Tiffany.
Then all of a sudden things started to crumble, when Kenny thought he had a good dish, the judges quickly found faults. I think they were beginning to get annoyed at his level of confidence, what do you think? Was Kenny's "I'm a BEAST in the Kitchen" attitude too much for the judges to stomach? If he had pretended to be a bit more accepting of their criticisms do you think he would still be around?
Oh and for Tim, the guy who was in the contest cooking his heart out for his wife who had died...didn't it seem like he wasn't the best chef? Poor guy, I liked him though.
Who thinks Alex did steal Ed's pea puree? Raises hand!!!!!!!!
Who thinks Ed secretly likes Tiffany? Raises hand again.
Who thinks Angelo was somewhat into Tamesha? Raises hand then puts it down quickly...I'm not sure if Angelo was just trying to get her off of her game or if he really felt as much towards her as he had implied.
The Jersey Shore
The geniuses of the Jersey shore are now in Miami. Why oh why do I tune in to see these buffoons? I don't have an answer for that but for some reason, their rude behavior, elementary school jokes and stereotypical behavior makes me tune in each week. I'm ashamed to say it but it's true..lol.
Who agrees that all of the guys in the house are grenades? RAISES HAND...lol
For some reason Ronnie wants to hurt Sam as much as he was hurt by whatever went on between them off camera. He is not the fist pumping fool we watched last season. Now Ronnie is the guy who boozes it up whenever possible and tries to hold on to Sammy while connecting with other women in Miami.
I also think Jwow has not one good intention in her silicone filled body. I don't think she is writing that letter with Snookie in an attempt to warn Sammy about her relationship with Ron. Instead, I think Jwow is ready to see fireworks fly when Sammy eventually reads that anonymous letter that will reveal all of Ronnie's vile actions.
Later in the seasons it looks like there will be throw down between Jenny and Sammy....don't know about you but I'll be watching.
Essence.com
I've been reading Essence magazine for many years now and despite what others have to say, I still eagerly await my issue. If I were ever to be featured in Essence I would certainly be a happy camper. When Essence told the world that they would begin updating their site, Essence.com daily, boy was I happy. During my free time that was definitely one of the sites that I would check out and then it happened. Error after error after error would appear on their site. Now if you click back on my previous posts you are sure to find some things that can be cleaned up but this blog isn't my job in any way. However, the people of Essence.com do this for a livinggggggggggg. I am not as picky as some people but some of the mistakes that I have seen were just downright careless, as if no one took the time to simply read the text. With all of the mistakes that I had seen I was certain that Essence had hired Fantasia as their chief editor (I'm just saying) but alas this recent Essence mag. revealed the glowing faces behind the Essence.com postings and Fantasia was nowhere in sight.
The other thing that I noticed is that some of the comments from the writers had become a bit snarky. I remember seeing an unfavorable comment referencing Gabby S.'s weight and another on Chris Brown's BET Breakdown. I just remember Essence being a impartial voice that would state the facts and let the readers go at it but now things have changed.
Also some of the articles on Essence.com are just DUMB....really dumb (Antwon Dodson..lol sorry I had to do it).
Do you still read Essence mag or Essence.com?
Completely unrelated- I love China Glaze nail polish, it has a hardener and it lasts for a long time. hooray.

2010-08-07T12:22:00.003-04:00

Hey Everyone

I'm away for a bit unfortunately I didn't bring my connection for my camera so I can't upload my footage. I have a portion of a video saved on this computer but I need to check to see if it is complete, if so, I will certainly upload it.

See you soon.

PJD

What's Hot- Beauty in a Box

2010-07-29T02:47:00.008-04:00

During the summer months, all I request of my skin is that it glows so beautifully that people are forced to acknowledge the fierceness of my skin. Is that too much to ask?Unfortunately, the sun-kissed look that I love so much doesn't always find it's way to my face. I have had days when my skin has just refused to cooperate but I think I may have found a solution!

During the month of August, Sephora will present Beauty in a Box by Tarte Cosmetics. This $42.00 kit features the following items:

• full size lock & roll 12-hour eyeshadow, burnt bronze
• full size emphasEYES™ waterproof clay shadow/liner, plum
• full size rise & shine lip gloss and stain, nude
• full size clean slate natural face primer
• deluxe mineral powder bronzer, park ave princess
• deluxe lights, camera, splashes! natural waterproof mascara

I have to tell you, when I first opened the package I thought the little golden magnetic case that holds the bronzer would be a disaster on my skin. I'm so happy that I was completely wrong..

When placed on my t zone, the bronzer gave me the perfect sun kissed look! As most of you know, I am not an eyeshadow gal, it's one product that has hardly ever touch my face throughout the years. I wanted to test out the kit completely, so I smeared on the plum colored waterproof eyeshadow which can also double as eyeliner and I was blown away. First of all, once you put this product on, this baby does not want to budge, it really has staying power on my eyelids. Secondly, the product feels like silk, it is so smooth and it glides on easily. Finally, the color is so vibrant (see the swatch on my hand below) yet dark enough to pull off a real smokey eye look.

The face on the inside of the box is actually a brief tutorial that will guide you through the process of creating the perfect smokey eye.

The lock and roll is an eyeshadow that is supposed to last for 12 hours. I didn't count the hours that this product lasted on my lids but I can tell you that it added to my sun kissed look because the shadow has a golden hue.

This item would make a great gift for yourself or someone else!

Below, you will see a swatch of the plum colored shadow/liner on my hand. I needed soap and water to properly remove this product from my skin.

What would a PJD post be, if I didn't list the harmful ingredients that Tarte has kept off of their ingredients list-

The items in the beauty kit do not have

parabens

mineral oil

phthatales

SLS

synthetic dyes

synthetic fragrance

The Tarte products do have the following ingredients:

provitamin b5

carnauba wax

rice bran wax

vitamin C

*I received this item from a Tarte rep- but trust me I would tell you if this product sucked! :-)

L'occitane Repairing hair mask review

2010-07-25T23:34:00.000-04:00

Hair mask review.

Just hauling and a hair review -The Mowry Gals

2010-07-24T21:18:00.006-04:00

Hello Everyone

Part 1 - is just a haul video but in part 2 you will see the continuation of a haul as well as a review. I reviewed the Kielh's Olive Fruit Oil Repairative Pak.

Thanks for continuing to follow the blog and subscribing

on youtube. :-)

Part 1

Part 2

Did you watch?

Tia and Tamara Mowry will always be remembered as Sister Sister but in reality they are adults now, 32 year old women to be exact. Tia is married and seems like a very traditional gal, while Tamara is single and a bit more adventurous. I have always like their take charge attitude. When they were not being hired to play different roles on tv, they wrote, produced and stared in their own movies- you've got to love that! Their trial reality show aired last week Saturday and it was pretty good. If this show is picked up, I would definitely watch, it was much better than the other reality shows that are already flooding the reality show market.

You can click here and scroll to the video at the bottom of the page if you want to see a portion of their show.

Did you watch?

Moroccan oil and Revlon lipstain

2010-07-11T20:36:00.001-04:00

Hello- here is another product review.

A haul and a Scrub

2010-07-11T01:26:00.001-04:00

Here I discuss some hair products that I purchased and a body scrub. I will likely post part two tomorrow or Monday.
Have a great weekend.
PJD