cheap but good

hi ladies,

ya'll know i suck right?

it's been a million years since i posted in here and i apologize. my excuses are the same as always - it's really busy at work and the weather has been too nice to be inside typing. i was also getting a little um...action for a while there, which had me a bit distracted. but that's done now and i'm channeling my energy into my one true love - beauty.

sidebar: i'm trying out an all lower-case post today. let me know if you find it irritating and i promise to never do it again.

so those of you who know me personally know i am pretty much always broke-ass. i used to have a soul-sucking job that paid well, but i gave it up for a job i love that pays...not shit, but not enough money to support the bigger bucks that i had when i was working at my other job. my rent and my car suck up about 80% of my paycheque, but i can't get rid of them for reasons too complicated to get into here.

the point is, this year i've really had to scale back on my beauty expenditures. it saddens me to say i no longer hang out in the beauty boutique at my local shopper's drug mart. i've had to find ways to look fabulous on a budget and today i bring you "cheap but good", the best of my finds so far.

first on the agenda is st.ives peel-off hydroxy masque.

it contains a hydroxy complex designed to remove dead skin clear out all the "yuck" (i.e. impurities) beneath the surface of your skin. this stuff is the business, i'm telling you. you spread it across your face (tip: use a thick-ish layer or you'll have real trouble peeling it off), wait for it to dry completely, and then peel off. i don't know about you guys, but peeling off masques is really fun to me.
when i use this i notice a difference in my skin's texture right away, it's refined, feels deeply clean, and looks glowy. i can't remember how much i paid for this, but it was definitely less than five bucks so how can you go wrong?

the only caveat i would offer is that this stuff STINKS. and it makes your eyes sting a bit. nothing earth-shattering, but mildly annoying. but a small price to pay if you ask me.

the wiwfm verdict on this is yes!

next up is clean & clear oil absorbing sheets.


this is an oldie but goodie - i'm sure you're all very familiar with this product. i actually have a slightly different version than the one pictured - mine is in a green package and i think it has like a "fresh scent" of some kind. no matter. the point is that these little sheets suck up oil like i don't know what. i go everywhere with them and actually prefer using them to powder as i feel like it gives me a more natural look - i don't like my skin to be too matte.

only problem is, i feel like i can't do this in front of people. it's one thing to discreetly powder your nose in public, but pulling out a blotting sheet (or 2 - i need more than one to mop up my oil slick of a face) in front of friends just seems far too intimate.

anyway, i've used many different brands of oil absorbing sheets but i keep coming back to these ones because they're cheap and they work. i'd rather spend my money on something more exciting. verdict of oh yes on this one!

one last for today, but cheap but good is definitely going to become a wiwfm series.

tresemme thermal creations heat tamer spray. i ♥ tresemme.
every product i've used of theirs was dirt cheap, smelled amazing, and worked like a charm. this stuff is no exception. since i stopped relaxing my hair two or three years ago, it's a lot healthier but also a lot more fragile. i rely on my flat iron to get the pin-straight look i like, but i have to protect it from the heat. and that's where this jewel of a product comes in. i just spritz it over my hair in sections and comb through my fingers before i flatiron. it smells lovely - reminds me of apple juice.

the funny thing about protective sprays is that for a long time i was like "how do i know it's working?" until it dawned on me - because you're hair's not damaged you dummy! i swear, sometimes i'm so slow lol.

anyway, this stuff is less than three bucks at shoppers! and my canadian ladies knows that sdm stays overpriced so if it's dirt cheap there it must be free at wal-mart! i'll never go back to using any other spray to protect my hair. the wiwfm verdict on this is yes yes yes!