The products featured in monthly favourites videos tend to be recently hauled products. Often, beauty gurus fawn over these products immediately after purchase, but eventually find the products disappointing or not worth the hype after more regular use. It's also funny when you hear them say they have been using the products for a 'long time', which usually means a week or so.
Nevertheless, they're still fun to watch :D
My point is, I've had these products for over a year now (save for one; yeah, yeah, hypocrite), which is not a long time by any stretch of the imagination. However, in the beauty community (like Hollywood relationships), that's considered pretty loyal, is it not?
Anyway, the products I have listed below are reliable, predictable, and foolproof.
And they are:
1.) Sally Hansen Mega Shine Top Coat
I believe some have compared this to Seche Vite. I've never used the Seche Vite top coat, but from what most people are saying, it tends to thicken intolerably halfway through the bottle.
- Dries quickly, as if it forms a plastic-wrap over the nail polish
- STAYS dry; you can accidentally brush up against it before it has fully hardened, and it will survive
- If you do happen to nick it before it has fully hardened, it will cause the nail polish to ripple, which you can gently smooth out (a soft caress, coaxing of the ripples back in place) rather than an irreparable dent that occurs on nail polish without the top coat
- Has not thickened in the past year or so that I've had it
- Gives an incredibly shiny finish
- Relatively inexpensive (around $8, depending where you purchase it)
- Readily available
- Long-lasting (I don't keep nail polish on for more than 4 days, but I am quite confident it would manage at least a week)
- Doesn't smell any worse than regular nail polish
Me no likey:
- The unknown health effects, given the controversy surrounding the poisonous fumes and chemicals in the Seche Vite offering
Buy again?
Definitely.
2.) Goody Jewel Shine Paddle Brush
This is the one I've had for about a month. Like M, I've had extremely dry skin and hair over the winter. My hair never did return to its natural shine and split-endlessnes since I so stupidly permed my hair a few years ago. I've been using a vent hair brush since as long as I can remember because I am pretty low maintenance when it comes to hair.
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| Vented Brush |
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| Cushioned Paddle Brush |
- Gentle on stubborn knots (remember, my hair is ridiculously long, so knots are especially vicious)
- Smooths out my hair like nobody's business
- Restores shininess to my hair
- Not that it really matters, but there's a good colour selection
- Has a comfortable weight: not so light that you could fling it across the room when you come across a knot unexpectedly (you know what I'm talking about), but also not so heavy that you could count it towards your bi/triceps workout
- Durable; I do not foresee it losing a battle with my hair knots because it combs through knots gently--I mean, don't get me wrong, you still get a little tugging, but it is still combing through the knot, rather than tightening and reinforcing the knot, which my other brushes tended to do--know what I mean?
- Big, so it combs more hair at once, thus distributing the combing action, rather than concentrating it on a small area, which tends to a) take longer, b) excaberate the knot, c) concentrate the tugging on a smaller strand of hair, and d) cause the hair to tear
- Comfortable against the scalp, not abrasive
- Inexpensive (around $10, again, depending on where you buy it)
Me no likey:
- Big, and therefore difficult to use to create a ponytail (particularly when you are trying to brush the underside of the pony tail)
- Big, not portable; more for home use
Buy again?
Definitely.
3.) Anastasia Clear Brow Gel
I have relatively thick eyebrows, but they are uneven in some spots. I was hesitant to use brow gels because I hate crispy hair. Luckily, this doesn't cause crispy hair. More unpleasantly, it's a whopping $27 CAD. That's a lot of money. So, when I saw that it came in a set (albeit in a much smaller size of 2.5mL vs. 8.9mL) with a pair of tweezers for $12 CAD, I thought, why not? The tweezers looked like shit, and they were shit. I never even tried them. I figured, I might as well try the gel for less than half the price. I also didn't plan to use this everyday, so it was a decent enough value for me.
- Smooths out my eyebrows so they can cover the sparse areas
- Holds my eyebrows in place
- The texture is almost water-like when you apply it, and not disgustingly thick
- Portable
Me no likey:
- The brush holds a lot of product, so my eyebrows feel like they're sopping wet immediately upon application, but it does dry down quickly enough
- Expensive
- Opaque tube means you can't see how much you've used/how much is left: obviously it'd be good to know if you're about to run out of something, but I mean, part of the fun of using makeup also is to hit pan, right?
Buy again?
Indifferent. I would probably buy it on days where I feel like buying something, but I definitely won't be pining for it. But still, I think it deserves to be in my current favourites, because I do like it! I just don't feel like I depend on it, and wouldn't mind trying alternatives.
4.) MAC Soft Brown Eyeshadow
THE perfect natural crease colour for a warm-toned girl. You know how you sometimes watch Sam Chapman of Pixiwoo and you think, "I NEED WHAT'S ON HER CREASE RIGHT NOW, URGENTLY," only to find out that she's only used one eyeshadow, and whatever contour colour on her crease is actually her natural skin colour? No? Well, I have. Soft Brown does that for me.
- Pigmented, but not excessively pigmented; it gives you the chance to build it up, so you don't overdo it
- Finely milled; its texture is NOT soft, but the product is very easy to pick up with your applicator (be it your finger or a brush)
- Blends easily
- Again, does not look muddy and provides perfect natural contour colour on my crease for my warm-toned skin (may not be the same for you cool-toned gals, such as M)
- Mitigates the harshness of whatever crazy eyeshadow colours you use on your eye by softening the edge where your skin meets the eyeshadow
Me no likey:
- That M can't (or at least, won't try to) use it!!!!
- Can't think of anything, really. I guess the price, but I got it BACK 2 MAC, so I ain't complainin'. And really, MAC eyeshadows aren't that expensive and actually quite reasonable compared to the absurdity that is luxury brands
Buy again?
Hells yeah!
Thanks for reading!
- R
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