Friday, May 2, 2008

Tightening The Beauty Belt - Days 1 to 5

Recession - you've heard the scary term over and over again for months now. It means tightening our budgets to ride the recession wave, including our beauty budgets! Yet all is not hopeless for beauty fanatics. There are some great, cheap picks out there. Below, Days 1 to 5:

I bought the one inch Conair curling iron from Walgreens a few months back in a hair emergency. I didn't expect much from this low-end branch but I have definitely gotten more out of my $20 than I thought! Just a 5 to 10 second twirl of my hair around the iron produces very shiny curls. Plus, its nice to know that my hair is being somewhat protected from the heat from the ceramic structure. The iron retails on the Conair website for $28.99 but I only paid $20 and a quick search on the internet shows that you can get for as cheap as $15!!




I started using this brow pencil and gel about three years ago and I still remain loyal to it. The pencil's texture is not like a regular eye pencil...it is more waxy and goes on quite lightly - no crazy Joan Crawford brows here. The gel is suberb as it acts like a holding gel to keep stray hairs in place once I have filled in sparse areas with the pencil. It retails for about $7 at stores like Walgreens and CVS and one pencil lasts me about five months or so.


By now, you all know my quest for shiny, frizzless hair. I love this conditioner for the way it helps tame my hair and adds a little gloss. Its by far the best drugstore conditioner I have ever used...Beware that it may NOT be for all hair types. It contains certain silicones that help create the shine so if your hair is fine or thin, it may make it more limp. I do recommend it for hair like mine which is curly, coarse in texture and very thick. It retails for 5 buck on walgreens.com.

*Please note that I don't recommend the Ice Shine Shampoo.

**This conditioner also won best drugstore conditioner by Glamour last year.


I have owned three Sonia Kashuk eye makeup brushes for the past two years or so, and I have yet to see a stray hair from these brushes fall out. Impressive for such a cheap brand!! The brushes are very soft against my skin, pick up color well and are wonderful at blending shadows. I am so glad I found these because I just can't justify spending tons of cash on makeup brushes. I haven't yet tried the face brushes but I imagine they are of the same quality. Check them out at Target, where they retail for between $6 to $20.
May 5: Cover Girl Lash Blast Mascara



If you're an avid beauty blog reader, you've heard the rave reviews already. This mascara needs no introduction....the fact that it was used by makeup artist extraordinaire Pat McGrath at several Fall 2008 shows says it all! I love this product because a) its cheap and b) it gives amazing volume AND length. Some people don't like the bulky brush but I think it just requires a little practice. I posted a picture of myself above wearing the Last Blast mascara.

2 comments:

  1. misplaced my comment ;-} , so reposting it here

    Hi Kohl girl ,

    I too got the sonia kashuk brush set , they are pretty good for the price , more importantly they dont irritate my skin .
    interesting series , will look forward to the rest of ur picks :-)

    Chic mommy ,
    saw ur reply to my comment in march just now , I bought the smashbox creme liner in caviar/midnight brown duo on ur recco and am using it with the mac engraved eye pencil , its working great .
    also have been using foundation very sparingly and yeah as u said one does not need it on a daily basis and it has been such a difference , my skin certainly feels lighter and fresher. Thanks again :-)
    btw u mentioned having rosacea , I too have slight redness around the nose and cheek area , do u reccommend any specific products for it ?

    btw like all those make up breakdowns u have done recently .
    keep posting

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love the sonia kashuk brushes, they are amazing for the price, and the dont shed like many pricey ones I had before... I've been using them for about 3 months and I am pleased so far...

    ReplyDelete

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