You know what I’m not great at, as a blogger? Writing reviews of products that I promise to follow-up on. I always buy something and then say “I’ll write a full review after I’ve used it for awhile” and somehow, that never seems to happen.
This post is going to talk about some products I’ve purchased over the last little while…I’ll tell you if the product is a must-have or if you should pass on it (based on what my experience was with the product.)
I’ve found myself not using my Clarisonic that often. Maybe once a week for a good exfoliation. When I first got it I used it once a day, but I guess it wasn’t so life-changing that I feel the need to use it daily. It is a good product, well made, etc…I just don’t think I use it enough to justify the cost. Could I use it more?Yes. I guess I just feel like my skin is OK without using it daily. I also like to use self tanner on my face and I feel this removes that color more quickly.
Buy it or leave it? Leave it. It’s a luxury item, not an essential item.
I was anti-curling iron for awhile because I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to do it without messing up my ends. Then, I watched Tiffany D’s YouTube video on how to make volumized curls and it changed everything. I finally had the courage to use my curling iron and so far, so good. I love this styling tool because it had adjustable heat settings and it’s a good quality curling iron. It’s easy to use and I like the results I get with it. I very much prefer it over my Conair one.
Buy it or leave it? If you’re in the market for a new curling iron, this is the one to have. Buy it.
I’ll just be blunt- I prefer plain old baby powder to any dry shampoo I’ve used, but I do really like this product and the price is perfect (under $5) It’s easy to use and it works, bottom line.
Buy it or leave it? Buy it, every girl should have a dry shampoo on hand.
I’ve been using this eye cream for several months now. I really love it. The only concern I have is that the cream is not really meant as an anti-aging treatment but as a moisturizing treatment. Either way, it’s really important to keep the eye area moisturized. I apply this generously to my eye area before going to bed. It’s really rich and thick (but not oily) and it doesn’t travel all over your face, it stays where you put it (which I love.)
Buy it or leave it? If you’re in your 20s I would highly recommend this treatment. If you are 30 and older, you might want something with active ingredients that help prevent wrinkles. OR, if you like to use eye cream before putting on your makeup, this is a lovely choice. I personally only use eye cream at night right now.
This lip treatment is wonderful. It smells great and works well. It doesn’t feel greasy which is awesome. It goes on smooth and really conditions the lips. At $22.50 it’s really pricey (I got it for 20% when Sephora had their F&F sale.) The downside is the price, but it has lasted me pretty long.
Buy it or leave it? I would say buy it if you’d like to splurge on a lip conditioner. Otherwise, there are probably other conditioning products that cost a bit less.
This product really gives hair a volume boost! I like how easy it is to get it on your roots due to the fact that it’s a spray formula. I spray it on my roots and then brush it through.
Buy it or leave it? Buy it! If you like big, volumized hair, this is a great product to try! I think it retails for about $15 a can (and the can is HUGE!)
I got this liner really recently, but BB products never fail me (so far.) I really love this liner and I prefer them to MAC’s gel liners (though there isn’t a massive difference or anything, I just think the BB don’t dry out as fast.) They cost about $22 but they last for a very, very long time.
Buy it or leave it? I truly think every woman needs to own at least one gel liner. It’s so versatile and the staying power is amazing. You have to use eye makeup remover to take them off- but in the summer heat, that’s a good thing because the formulas stay on!
8. MAC Creme Blush
I picked up one of the MAC creme blushes from the Lily Pulitzer line and I’m not really that impressed. I just don’t reach for it very often. Maybe I just need to use it more, but to be honest, I think the pigmentation and ease of blending the product is inferior to that of the Stila Convertible Color product, which is great to work with. The color is gorgeous, but I don’t love how it feels when I apply it. I much prefer the Stila cream blush.
Buy it or leave it? Leave it. There are better cream blushes (IMO)
I’m not sure if they still have this color because it came out around the holidays. I never used it because I couldn’t for the life of me figure it out, and then LisaLisaD1 on YouTube talked about how she finally realized how to use these NARS highlighters and now I love it! I basically just use it straight out of the container and apply the product in a line directly on my cheekbones (to highlight.) Then I blend a bit with my finger. Voila! I was trying to use a brush with it previously and I think that’s what the problem was.
Buy it or leave it? It’s pricey at about $36, but if you’re not into powder highlighters, this is probably the product for you!
10. MAC Mineralize SkinFinish in “Porcelain Pink”
This is another product I never reach for. I find the texture to be odd, and I have other MAC highlighters that I prefer (like MAC loose powder in “silver dusk” which every girl should own, it’s fabulous!)
Buy it or leave it? Leave it. There are better highlighters.
I hope this was helpful!
xoxo,
Veronika.
Great post! I love, love my bobby brown gel liners. It is completely worth the price. Ditto the Tresemee Dry Shampoo!
Thanks for the other recs!
great reviews! thanks for doing them.
do u find the redkin foam sticky at all? I was thinking about trying something new for a little more lift but any volumizing foam i've ever tried always bothers me with its texture…
natalie- I would say it's sticky when it's wet, but once you blow out your hair that sticky-ness goes away (well, for me it does) 🙂
Love this post!! Thank you SO much for telling us what you love!!
See, my Clarisonic is a definite must for my skin. It's the only thing that keeps my skin from breaking out! You're very lucky that it's just a luxury item for you. 🙂
The Clarisonic was a lot of hype, I only use it maybe once a week. Love, love, love my hot tools curling iron. In fact I have 2 sizes. I am in desperate need of a good hair spray. When I get the next Ulta coupon this will be the item to buy. Thanks!
couture- the hairspray I love is the l'oreal one…just to clarify the foam spray is like a mousse in spray form, not a hairspray 🙂
Thanks for the great reviews V! What a wonderful post. I love the honesty and it really helps cut through all the hyped up products.
I love my Clarisonic though, I use it 3-4 times a week and can really tell that my skin looks brighter and pores look smaller on the days I use it. I think the trick is to make sure the brush head doesn't get too dull.
xoxo
I have that Tresemme dry shampoo and I agree – there are better products out there, but for the price this one is pretty good!
Also love that Fresh lip balm. A worthy spluge, IMO. 🙂
I bought this dry shampoo, and after about a month it never sprayed out as a powder. It was liquid and wouldn't dry in my hair regardless of whether I shook it up first. Have you had this problem?
it is not a powder…it does some out as a liquid type spray (like hairspray, I would say) you have to let it sit for a minute to let it dry.
i recommend trying baby powder if you dont like the dry shampoo
Have you tried the Batiste dry shampoo? That one gets the best reviews on Amazon and it's price is on par with Tresemme, so I went to Ulta to pick some up, but they were out. 🙁 I ended up getting the Tresemme, and I've used it a few times, but haven't been knocked terribly impressed by it, because I think it just makes my hair feel really dirty, which I hate. I want it to be silky smooth and soft and I think the only way to achieve this is to wash it every day, much as I would prefer not to.
Also, have you ever tried the Sonia Kashuk gel liners (from Target)? I picked one up for $8 a while back and I LOVE it. I've tried Smashbox as well, but not Bobby Brown or Mac, andI'd say this is AT LEAST as good as the Smashbox version, at about 1/3 of the cost.
michele- i haven't tried the batise or the sonia kashuk gel liners…i'm so happy with the BB gel liners that I'm hesitant to switch!
I love your blog and have been a faithful reader (I lurk on F&B) from the beginning, I hope you forgive that this is off topic from your post today. I can tell from a recent formspring Q&A… the one about this being a 'waste' and 'donating to a worthy cost'.. that you face a lot of unfair scrutiny and cruelty and that it may get to be a lot, especially after a long day.. I just wanna say that you are a sweet person and your positive attitude is very magnetic.. keep your chin up and don't be afraid to just walk away from/ignore anyone that just wants to try to suck you into their negativity. 🙂 Awesome blog post today, I felt the same way when I realized how to use a curling iron without messing up the ends! I'll have to look into a hot tools one (I'm currently using a crappy con-air one from the drug store, ha).
Iru- thanks for your very sweet comment 🙂 I try not to let questions like the ones on my formspring to get to me. Most of the questions are valid ones and they make up for all of the judgmental ones. I think people just don't realize that people spend money differently…it's like they just can't accept that someone can afford to shop without going into massive debt.
Thanks for the reviews!
I picked up the Ojon RubOut dry shampoo at Sephora when I was pregnant, knowing I wouldn't be washing everyday…and I have found it just make my hair look slightly less greasy, but still dirty. Is it just my hair, or did I pick a bad dry shampoo? I might have to try another, the Tresemme sounds like a good one to take a chance on 🙂
Great post dear! Very informative! I actually bought the dry shampoo a month ago and at first i absolutely HATED it because i sprayed on tooo much product and made my hair super clumpy and gross feeling, then I decided to use it again another day following the directions and it worked perfectly fine! 🙂 So girl, follow directions for that one!
xoxo,
Irene
That was fun to read and really helpful! I have the Clarisonic too – it helped keep my skin clear for a year…but now when I use it, I get little spots on my face…I guess my skin is just sensitive now.
The Hot Tools iron is on my wishlist – every Kardashian hair tutorial I read uses it.
I love gel eyeliner too – I use MAC's blacktrack, but have found that ELF make a great version too.
Oh – and I just picked up a great cream blush today (inspired by a youtube beauty guru) – it's Covergirl Ageless cream blush – so easy to apply and very long lasting…I'm loving it 🙂
Great post! I also only use my Clarisonic maybe once or twice a week since when I have tried to use it more, I break out. Thanks about the curling iron rec and video. I will have to check it out.
Thank you for posting the youtube video on the curling iron; I have one and I always look like I set my tips on fire ! I enjoyed this post ♥ Thanks again!
Great post, and I do the exact same darn thing- promise reviews, then forget to do them. It's as if I think my readers should just *know* if I really like something (or have abandoned it to the "Cabinet Where Good Hair Products Go To Die", as Husband has termed it). Hee hee hee.
I really like the Nars Multipliers- I have one in Copacabana, and it's one of my favorite highlighters! Glad to see there's another fan out there. 🙂
Thank you for writing this!
I've been wanting a Clarisonic for awhile but I keep going back and forth because although my skin isn't perfect, it's not THAT bad either. Based on your review, I think I'm going to hold off.
And what's funny is that I just bought the Tresemme dry shampoo yesterday at Ulta. I'm super excited to try it now!
Thank you for sharing your Clarisonic experience. We are sorry to hear you aren't using it that often. If there is anything we can do to help answer any questions please let us know. We'd love to chat with you via Twitter @Clarisonic or email [email protected]. Thanks again for sharing. Cheers!
totally agree on the bobbi brown gel liner – it is a MUST have!
Great post, veronika!! I am happy I didn't end up buying the clarisonic!
steph
Cristy- to be honest with you, no. I think there are eye creams like the Kiehl's one that are meant to deliver moisture and others meant to treat problems like darkness and puffiness. I would say choose a formula that is marketed to treat whatever your eye area-problems are 🙂
good luck!
Thanks Veronika, I'm going to get on with my product reviews on my blog as well! One question though, do you think the Kiehl's eye cream will help with puffiness and dark circles?
Thanks, will do!
I might have to pick up that Kiel's eye cream next time (right now i'm using Clinique All About Eyes Rich and I have a new one from Bliss waiting for me in the closet when I finish up the Clinique one). I'm intrigued by the avocado ingredient, but boo on the no anti-aging stuff.