Category — Beauty Goodies

I am going to do something different for once in my life and start with the positive …

Whenever I visit my mother in-law I see her often reapply this one lipgloss she loves.  The tube has no logo on it because she uses it so frequently I think she has rubbed it off. I have been dating Mr. Juicefairy for four years so I know it’s not the same exact tube but my point is that she loves it so much I always see her with the same brand, same color.  One day I asked her what it was and she told me it was some brand she got at Target for $1.97.  So of course I became obsessed and went to Target and found that it is N.Y.C Liquid Lip Shine in color 548 and it is indeed $1.97.  I bought it and now I love it too.  It has this great scent of coconut and has the best consistency — not too greasy, not too sticky.  Did I mention it is also only $1.97!  The only drawback is that it doesn’t last that long but I like the smell so much I don’t mind reapplying a fresh coat a few extra times.  So kudos to my mother-in-law because she has found a great bargain beauty buy!

Now for the negative, which is more familiar to me …

You may remember that I have an unhealthy habit of staring at my pores in my bathroom mirror, specifically the blackheads which are the bane of my existence!  OK.  I am being a little dramatic but I hate them and they never go away!  So I decided to try the Clean & Clear Blackhead Eraser Kit.  It was like $12.00 (and I think I used a coupon) for this horrible contraption that ended up giving me breakouts instead of helping them.

The “eraser” is a vibrating device with a cleansing pad on the top that you wet and use to clean your skin.  The idea is that is buffs away dead skin cells or something.  Well, let you tell me I am sure it does a good job at that because it feels like sandpaper rubbing against your face.  It is also medicated, on top of its scrubbing power, so unless you have a thirteen-year-old’s greasy pubescent face this very uncomfortable to use.  It made my skin feel very dry and sensitive.  So then my face decided to rally against my “erasing” by sprouting pimples across my t-zone.  So save your dollars and put it toward a professional facial.

Ladies, you might want swing by Macy’s on your lunch hour today.  They are giving away free makeup!  As part of a class action settlement 14 department stores, such as Macy’s and Dillard’s are giving away $175 million worth of free cosmetics.  You can get items from Chanel, Estee Lauder, L’Oreal and more.  But you better go soon, because it is first come first served.  Here is a link to what is being given away and where.

When you live in Florida the nights can get more than a little warm and stuffy.  All Floridians run the ceiling fan all night long if they know what’s good for them.  But sometimes that is just not enough.  I often wake up with my nose stuffed and my feet hot, as if I am wearing wool socks to bed.  But now I have found The Chillow (sounds cheesy but I assure you they are not paying me to write this).

You know when you wake up in the night feeling warm and clammy and you flip your pillow so you can put your face up against the cool side?  Well, using the Chillow makes your pillow cool all night long - no need for flipping!  It’s a vinyl pillow that you fill with a few cups a water.  The physics of the water, a padded core and lack of air inside the vinyl pillow make it cool all of the time.  Just slide their pillow under your pillow case. It’s not cold like ice, more like the temperature of a cool ceramic tile up against your face.  It really is the most soothing night’s rest.

Not to sound like Goldilocks, but my opinion is that the Chillow is a little too hard to use alone as a pillow, although you could, so I actually slide it under my pillow at night.  While I sleep, one arm under the pillow, my body is slightly cooled by my Chillow. My other fave use is sliding it to the end of my bed to rest my feet on. Once my feet are cooled my whole body feels more comfortable.

How soothing it would be for a woman going through menopause kept up at night by changing body temperatures, or when you go to sleep with a mild headache?  Coolest thing the makers of the Chillow have come up with is a Canine Cooler for dogs that like to lounge on the cool kitchen tile.  They have an oversize mat, that works just like the pillow and cools your pet.

At $39.95 it is a pretty inexpensive way to get a night’s beauty sleep — literally.

Correction 12/19/08: I mentioned in my post the the Chillow was made of vinyl.  Technically this is not true, I was just trying to give you an idea of what the surface felt like.  For those of you with sensitive skin, the Chillow made from a latex free medical grade material that is safe to use up against your skin.

I totally treated myself this week for my birthday and bought myself this set six lipglosses from Smashbox at Ulta.  They are on sale for $29 and worth every penny!  I love every single shade in the box, all just hint of color and sparkle, and they have a yummy cotton candy scent. Six glosses split amongst your girlfriends’ stockings would be a great gift.

Yesterday Mr. Juicefairy and shot a wedding.  That is eight hours of stressing, standing and running around.  So to treat my poor feet I figured would go get a pedicure.  First off, I have only had a few pedicures in my lifetime so I don’t have a regular place.  I just went to the local Vietnamese pedicure factory where they turn out at least ten sets of glossy nails and mini massages in the span of 30 minutes.  While I was getting my manicure (hey I was there already, and they had a special) I was sitting back and people watching.  Shouldn’t have done that.  I watched as a gentlemen manicurist finished doing someone’s nails and went back to the sink, where women are directed to wash their hands mid-mani.  As he ran the water and washed his hands he proceeded to tip his head forward and hocked a loogie into the sink!  The same sink I was directed to wash my hands in 30 seconds later!

So I am still disgusted while my manicurist finished up my nails and directed me off to that purple light you dry your nails under (what the hell is that btw…is it UV light?  Is that bad for you?).  When I got up, trying to maneuver the magazine I had in my lap, I accidentally hit my arm against one wet nail, ruining the polish.  I apologized and asked her to fix it and she gave me these horrible disapproving eyes.  Because as you know she could have done three pedicures in the time it took her to fix my one botched nail! It wasn’t that big of a deal … I thought.  So when I finally went over to the purple light, got fidgety, and smacked the same nail into the counter, ruining it again … I kept my mouth shut.

Long story short my feet look just as good as my home-done pedicure and I can’t go back there because of loogie-man.  So how do I know the signs of a good nail salon?  Any suggestions?