Not for the faint of heart

By now you probably recognize that I love products with a great scent. With body washes like "red velvet cake", "carrot cake", and "mimosa" just to name a few, Philosophy has really created a line of products with authentic scents. When you use their products, there is no doubt that you will leave your bathroom smelling like decadent baked goods. I really liked this yummy product, until I happened to read the "caution" section of the label as I was trying to locate the list of ingredients.

I am used to seeing, caution "keep out of eyes", or caution "please do not ingest" but I was appaulled as I read caution "excessive use or prolonged exposure may cause irritation to skin and urinary tract." There is no explanation of what they consider prolonged use, does that mean using it everyday or using it more than once a day?

Now if I am overreacting please let me know, but I have never seen this type of warning on a bottle of body wash. Although I really enjoy a sweet scent, I can do without the threat of urinary tract irritation looming in my mind.

*Please note that not all Philosophy body washes have this warning so check your labels.

This urinary tract treat is sold in a variety of sizes and prices ranging from $6.00-$30 from http://www.philosophy.com/ or Sephora.

I had to do it!

I really like Phyto and Phytospecific products so when I read about the Phyto 9 Daily Ultra Nourishing Botanical Cream I was ecstatic. This hydrating cream contains 9 different plant extracts, (doesn't that sound great) that work together to make "very dry hair" soft and moisturized....NOT! This product pretty much evaporated into thin air as soon as it hit my hair. Now either my hair is beyond "ultra dry" or this product does not do what it claims.

This breaks my heart but I must throw a Phyto product into the "SKIP IT" files.

This Phyto 9 Daily nonsense is priced at $26 for a 1.7 ounce tube.

It's the BALM...Kind Of

The Good

If you are looking for a hair product that will tame frizzy hair and will also add a little shine, then you may want to check out this product from Phytospecific. The Phytospecific moisturizing styling balm, is a Quinoa oil infused moisturizer that also gives your hair a little hold. Quinoa oil is held in high regard for it's rich protein base, antioxidants and essential fatty acids. This product is a bit thick so I would suggest that you apply only a small amount to your hair. Some people have reported that this styling balm is great when it comes to reducing split ends and to that I say, obviously if your hair can not really move then how can it split??? I do not use this product frequently but when my hair really needs to stay put, this is one of the products I use.Well that's the good part now for the bad......

The Bad

This product contains the dreaded mineral oil. If you don't know much about mineral oil just know that I like to refer to it as the hair growth inhibitor. Mineral oil is basically liquid petroleum which can easily clog your pores and make it difficult for your hair to push through your scalp. This product also has the potential to make your hair a little stiff which is another reason why I would suggest using it in small amounts.
I have heard that some people love mineral oil and they don't mind using it but I am not one of those people. This product gets a free pass because it does contain Quinoa oil and other natural ingredients. It basically serves a purpose but you have to know your hair and whether or not it will work for you.

My Recommendation: Get a free sample of this product from Sephora and give it a test run on your hair before making this purchase.

This product is sold at Sephora and on various web sites for $24.

The new Vaseline

When you hear the company name Vaseline, images of thick petroleum jelly being slathered on your face and legs by your mother probably spring to mind.

Vaseline has a new sleek line, known as Vaseline Cocoa butter which includes a thick cocoa butter scented lotion and a cocoa butter body gel. Both products work well to soften the skin and provide you with a silky smooth feeling.

However, the lotion leaves your skin with a little glow for a very short period of time while the gel formula has real staying power. The gel will keep your skin glowing for a much longer period of time.

Hint (Sometimes I will add a little unrefined coconut oil to the lotion to keep the shine effect going)

I actually purchase both products regularly because they work so well.

The large bottle of lotion is priced at $7.99, while the smaller tube is generally priced around $3.99.

The gel formula is priced at $7.39 for 6.3 ounces.

What do you think of this product?

Take One, Two, Three!

When I first tried "Clear Improvement", a charcoal facial mask from Origins, I thought of it as just a regular mask because I didn't see any amazing results. Once I read the directions on the tube I saw results, so reading is fundamental...go figure!

The directions instruct the user to first open your pores by putting warm water on your skin and then lather on the facial mask.

After following the directions I felt something different, almost immediately my skin began to tingle. It really felt as if my pores were being cleaned out by this mask. When I washed everything off, my skin looked normal perhaps a little dry in some areas but nothing too much out of the ordinary. At this point I formed my second opinion, that this product was just about a feeling but really was not going to do anything special to my skin. Each time after using this mask about a day later I would see a facial imperfection come to the surface, as if the mask had really drawn impurities out.

This happened on such a consistent basis that I must attribute my pore cleansing results to this product. Then came my third opinion...this stuff works!

You can buy a tube for 3.4 ounces priced at $20.00 from Origins http://www.origins.com/

If you sign up to receive emails from Origins, you will be alerted when they sell the econo sized version of this product 6.4 ounces also for $20.00.

Which facial masks work for you?

It's a new day!

Years ago when you wanted to dry your nail polish quickly you may have turned to one of those quick dry sprays in the aerosol cans. After spraying your nails they were ice cold for a few seconds and your nails were dry in about 30 seconds. I don't know about you but I enjoyed neither the smell nor the freeze dried fingers that followed the application of the product.

Well I am happy to announce that it is a new day, and there is a much better product that can dry your nails in 30 second or less without the negative features of it's nail drying predecessor. Sally Hansen has produced " Shea Butter Rapid Finish"nail color dryer. This product has a light shea butter scent and will not freeze your fingers because it is an oil based product. After one spray of this nail dryer, you will have shea butter oil on your fingers and it is recommended that you rub it into your cuticles.

Priced at 6.99 for 2.1 ounces you should give this product a try because it works!

Messing with my hard earned cash

I purchased a clear EAU de gloss lip gloss from the Bourjois company. I wanted to keep my lips hydrated and shiny for a reasonable period of time so I made this purchase for $15. ( you can click on the picture for a larger view)

The label promises that your lips will be hydrated for 4 hours! Lies I tell you all LIES. My lips were no longer shiny after a mere 20 minutes. I was not eating or drinking during this 20 minute period, just walking around my house.

Can this product continue to hydrate your lips even though it appears to have evaporated? I doubt it.....

This product was such a waste of my time and money so it must be thrown into the "SKIP IT" files.

If you have tried it, please tell me what you think.