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!

The Salicylic Acid Challenge - can you see the difference?

Hi Ladies,

Not to toot my own horn, but sometimes I am really on top of things, even if I don't realize it. I was just going through my "blog pictures" folder on my laptop here and came across the pictures that I took of my skin during my salicylic acid challeng so I could show you guys and we could collectively decide whether there's a visible difference in my skin (hence today's title). I had even created the post in draft, even though I never actually got around to writing it lol.

So without further ado, I give you The Salicylic Acid Challenge - can you see the difference?

For a month I used only products with salicylic acid in them to see whether and intense attack on my pesky clogged pores would prove fruitful. I give you my soldiers:

1. Olay Age Defying Anti-Wrinkle Replenishing Night Cream

According to Olay's site, this cream "renews skin's appearance at night when it needs it most while visibly reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles..." It's got pro-retinol and beta-hydroxy, and Vitamin E and is oil free and won't clog pores.

Sounds good to me.

2. Olay Age Defying Protective Renewal Lotion
Olay's site says this is "proven to reduce the visible appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and protect from the sun...". Contains beta hydroxy complex and a broad-spectrum SPF 15 sunscreen. It's also oil-free, greaseless, and non-comedogenic

3. Aveeno Clear Complexion Cream Cleanser

Y'all already know how I feel about this stuff right? This "creamy cleanser with moisture-rich soy extract" is the business. I would love this even if it didn't have salicylic acid in it but thank G-d it does.

The only other thing I did was an aspirin mask about once a week. What - you don't know about the Aspirin Mask? You better ask some-BODY! I guess that's going to have to be my next post, but in the meantime check out a cute and quick YouTube video on it.

Other than that, there really wasn't much to my regime. I washed with the Aveeno cleanser morning and night (in the evenings I used it after using MAC Cleanse-Off Oil to remove my makeup), used the day cream in the day and the night cream in the night. Asprin mask on Saturday mornings, and tried to avoid wearing makeup unnecessarily and also to remove it as soon as I got home from work. And of course I never ever ever sleep in my makeup. Never. So let me show you the results and then I'll tell you my thoughts:

Week 1 - just before I began the challenge:

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Okay right off the bat I have two thoughts: 1)why the hell are the pictures so small? Hope you can even see them and 2)I look awful in these pictures. But oh well.

I really don't know whether you guys can see a difference in my skin from these pictures but in real life I certainly do. I have fewer clogged pores and the ones I have aren't so big, my skin feels a million times better, and it's ever so slightly less greasy than usual. I read online today that Linda Wells says you have to give every skincare product at least six months to work so I'm going to continue with this plan of action at least until I run out of the stuffs. I'll update you then on my progress.

Oh and I'm sure quitting smoking wouldn't hurt either, but we're not going to get into that right now ;)

Product Review: Free Stuffs from pHisoderm

Hi Ladies!

We're not even going to get into how long it has been since I've posted. Suffice it to say I'm a blogging punk. My only defense is that the weather has been so nice lately I'm coming up with every possible reason to stay outside. Let's hope my blogging habits improve once it gets cold.

So anyway, on to today's products. The lovely ladies over at ChickAdvisor hooked me up with some products as part of their Product Review Club and all I had to do in return is write about them. But I can't drop science on beauty products without sharing it with my loyal readers now can I?

So first up is pHisoderm Daily Facial Cleanser for Dry-Normal Skin
Overall I'd give it a rating of just alright.

It's definitely gentle on my skin and it comes in a nice big bottle, which is a plus, but it has a weird smell that I didn't care for at all. The best way for me to descirbe it is as what West Indian people call "fresh". It's not a good thing, but I don't know what the Canadian equivalent would be...maybe gamey? Let's just say that in the Caribbean raw chicken smells "fresh" until you squeeze some lemon juice on it. Know what I mean? Although the smell was unpleasant it didn't linger and wouldn't stop me from using the cleanser again.

Anyway, apart from the smell the experience of using the cleanser was pretty good. It doesn't lather too much, which is good and when I used it first thing in the morning my face felt clean but not tight or dry. However when I used it to wash off my makeup, my face didn't feel clean and I had to re-wash it twice before it got off all my makeup. Not a good thing but I don't know too many cleansers that can remove all your makeup and get your face deep down clean in one shot so I won't hold that against it.

After using it all weekend, I did notice a couple of tiny pimples coming out on my face but it is my time of the month so I can't say for sure this cleanser caused it.

pHisoderm has never really been on my radar so I was glad to have a chance to test out some of their products. I think of it as being more natural and gentle and targeted to people with sensitive skin and when I'm choosing skincare products I tend to look more for heavy artillery. My skin is very oily and riddled with clogged pores and blackheads and is not sensitive at all so I wouldn't say this is ideal for me, but if you're looking for something gentle and non-drying that just gets your face clean this is the cleanser for you. The wiwfm verdict on this is....yes, but...as in yes it cleans your face but I doubt it will do much to improve the overall condition of your skin if it's as crappy as mine.

On to the next product: pHisoderm Body Wash in Aloe, Vitamin E, and Chamomile

This stuff couldn't have arrived at a better time. When I got home Friday evening after playing 18 holes of golf in the blazing sun I was a sweaty, dirty, sticky mess! I was so happy to see this in my mailbox that I jumped into the shower immediately.

I normally use Dove Cream Oil body wash and although I dearly love it, I don't really like using it when I'm hot and sweaty and dirty. It deposits a lot of moisture on my skin - which is normally a good thing, especially in the winter - but when it's hot and I feel filthy, I just want to be squeaky clean when I get out of the shower. I had high hopes for this (it even LOOKS clean in the bottle lol) and it did not disappoint. The smell is pleasant, fresh (in a good way - see my face wash review), fruity and vaguely floral. It lathers up nicely but not excessively, and rinses away clean with no sticky residue on the skin. I felt so good after washing it with it once that I did it again just for the heck of it. I've been using it all weekend and I'm still pleased with the results. I will say that it's a bit runny so be careful or this will spill and you'll end up wasting it.

Another great thing about this cleanser is that it's unisex - I've even gotten my male roommate using it. Normally he and I each buy our own body wash which gets a little crowded on our tiny shower shelf, but this is something we can both use.

While nothing can take the place of my favourite body wash, this will make a great backup cleanser for the days when I just want to get clean without all the extra fragrance, creams, and oil. I would probably buy this again. So the wiwfm verdict on this is yes!

i suck.

Hi ladies!
Yeah so my promise to post every day for a week or whatever it was was clearly a big fat flop. I apologize. Work was a bit nutty and the weather was beautiful and you know I hate being inside when it's hot so...yeah. I did do a couple of posts at my other blog "And then he never called me". Check 'em out if you're interested.

The good news is I'm on vacation from work this week and I finally figured out how to get online with my laptop so that means I have ample opportunity to post. And with pictures, since I'll actually have my camera nearby. You'll be sick of me soon :)

More tidbits about me

It's kind of a slow day at work so I've been drifting along the web getting caught up on some blogs. Although I love this blog, sometimes I get wistful at other people's freeform blogs in which they can just write about anything they feel like and not be confined to one set subject matter. But then I remembered that I am the master of my fate and the captain of my sould (remember that from Jaleesa's wall on A Different World?) and as such can blog about whatever I damn well please. So watch out. I'm going on a blog rampage this week - seven posts for seven days starting now. About anything I want (but I have to keep it 30% beauty if I want to qualify for Total Beauty's network lol).
Hope you ladies enjoy. Maybe you have questions you want to ask me and then I could blog about the answers. Wouldn't that be fun?