Drugstore

Burts Bees Ultra Conditioning Lip Balm

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I’ve admitted before that I’m a lip balm junkie. For me, the gold standard is a sub-$2 tube of Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers. Yes, still. Judge all you like.

But I don’t always want to use it (especially now that the rights to it are changing hands and who knows if it will retain its glory?) – maybe I don’t want the tint. Maybe I want something thicker if my lips are really struggling. My fall-back is good ol’ classic Cherry Chap-Stik, even though it is more of a barrier and less of a moisturizer.

Burts Bees Ultra Conditioning

It was time to buy a new tube, and a friend recommended Burts Bees Ultra Conditioning Lip Balm with Kokum Butter. I used classic Burt’s Bees when I was a teenager and liked it alright, so I figured if this was anything similar it should be a good try.

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Worth it? Wet Brush

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A similarly skeptical friend (the one who alerted me to the Silkn Flash & Go Freedom) recently got her hair done. At the salon, post-wash, her stylist used an amazing hairbrush on her hair. It made quick work of detangling (finishing in just a few brush-strokes) and didn’t tug or pull a single time – she found out that it was called the Wet Brush. She was so impressed that she bought one from the salon on the spot and shared her experience with me soon after.

The Wet Brush - Stock Photo

She tried it out at home to ensure that it was not just some hairdresser magic, and enjoyed the same results – both with wet and dry hair. She found that the bristles flex as needed to gently pass through hair without tugging.

I’ve been using a classic Denman for the past year or so, being tired of yet another $5 Conair that inevitably breaks, is hard to clean, or whose nubby-tipped bristles lose their tips, scratching my scalp and yanking my hair. The Denman is fine, it works, but it isn’t winning any Outstanding Hairbrush awards in my book. I wasn’t really looking to replace it, though (if it ain’t broke, etc). I figured if I wanted to, I’d look into a Tangle Teezer or a dupe of it.

But with her endorsement of the Wet Brush, I was curious. I found that it is not a salon exclusive, but that you can buy it from Amazon.com, Sally Beauty, and Target, among other places for about $8-9. That’s not bad. I still wasn’t planning on it right away, but kept the idea in the back of my mind.

I renewed my Sally Beauty membership last month and still had the resulting $5 off coupon to use, plus their nearly-always-available 15% off circular coupon. I stopped in when I was nearby and rather than getting even more gel nail polish (though their new Nail Studio is pretty neat!), I picked up the Original Wet Brush – between my membership discount, the 15% off, and the $5 off, I got the brush for $2.69. They had one that had boar bristles (says it is great for Dry Shampoo users) as well as the ones I was looking to try, but I opted for the original for the sake of science.

The Original Wet Brush Packaging

The Brush Itself:

I prodded the Wet Brush’s bristles in the packaging. They do flex, but they seemed to flex a little differently each time I touched, depending on the angle and amount of force I applied. It was neat, I thought. The brand says the unique flexibility is owed to their IntelliFlex bristles tipped with SofTip nubs to ensure gentle use. To be frank, I don’t care for the silly marketing names. The bristles aren’t, “smart,” bristles. They are, however, a neat polymer that does allow them to flex as needed to provide just the right amount of resistance. I’m more interested in how they achieved that than I am in them passing it off like it is an intelligent device.

When I unpackaged it at home, I was pleased to find that the brush has a relatively slim profile – the bristles are by no means short, but the plastic back is flat and not bulky.

The Wet Brush - Profile

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February 2015 Favorites

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February 2015 Favorites 
February 2015 Favorites
1. Sephora Teint Infusion Foundation, $24 / 2. Conair 1875 Watt Tourmaline Ceramic Dryer, $30 /
3. Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Naked, $22 / 4. NYX Ultra Pearl Mania Pigments, $3

It’s already time for my February 2015 Favorites – and here I was last month mentioning January being cold. That was cute and misguided of me.

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Real Techniques Sponge vs beautyblender

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Real Techniques Sponge - Packaging Front

A couple weeks ago, I wrote that the Real Techniques Sponge had gone on sale at drugstore.com. I’m not sure whether or not it is still on sale there, but just like any drugstore, their sales rotate. If it isn’t on sale there, you can try other resellers of Real Techniques products.

I received the Real Techniques Sponge pretty quickly and was anxious to see how it compared to my tried-and-true classic beautyblender sponge.

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Worth it? LAB2 Angled Brow and Eyeliner Brush

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Wal-Mart is opening locations still (how are there so many…) and the newest one in my area features an expanded beauty section that includes brands like e.l.f. and Real Techniques. One day, I went to check out their Real Techniques selection and noticed a brand I wasn’t familiar with…LAB2? Who is this? At a glance, they seemed to have pretty clean, surprisingly professional-looking packaging and are priced in a very wallet-friendly drugstore price-point.. I snapped a picture to remind myself to look into them.

LAB2 Angled Brow and Eyeliner Brush - LAB2 Display

LAB2, which is actually written out, “L.A.B.²,” and pronounced, “LAB-squared,” stands for Live and Breathe Beauty.

Later, I went to look them up, never having seen them – I couldn’t locate a website, but I did find this entry on Justia Trademarks for the brand name, indicating that the rights are held by Pacific World Corporation – who also owns Sensationail, as it turns out, as well as some other drugstore beauty tool brands. Searching, “LAB Brushes,” or, “Live and Breathe Beauty Brushes,” or, “Live and Breathe Beauty,” at the time brought up nothing.

Although I didn’t come up with much about the brand, I DID find a YouTube Channel for LAB2, which features a few brief demo/tutorial videos and an intro to the brand. They don’t seem to have much else in the way of branding or social media presence, however.

Because I’m still on the hunt of The One Angled Liner Brush to Rule Them All, I picked up the LAB2 Angled Brow and Eyeliner Brush. Checking it out without opening the packaging, the synthetic bristles of the brush appeared to be cut with a greater level of precision than, say the e.l.f. angled liner brush. I figured that a $6 brush wouldn’t result in overwhelming disappointment if it didn’t work out.

UPDATE 2/26/2015: The proper name of this brush is the Get In Shape Brow & Eyeliner Brush!

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Clarisonic Mia 2 vs Olay Pro-X

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Many moons ago, I was the happy owner of an Olay Pro-X Facial Cleansing System. Then, in late 2013, I upgraded to a Clarisonic Mia 2. Before I took the leap, I searched for a good, in-depth review of both systems so I could gauge whether or not it was worth bothering to shell out the money. I found a lot of, “Well like Clarisonic is just, you know, better. And it’s rechargeable. And sonic…but the Pro-X is nice if you’re on a budget!”

So, since I have experience with both, let’s pit the Clarisonic Mia 2 vs Olay Pro-X. Be warned, this is a very text-heavy post.

Clarisonic Mia 2 Olay Pro-X
Price $150 $30
Power Rechargeable w\ induction charger AA batteries (included)
Included Heads 1 1
Brush Head Price 1 for $27 (multiples cheaper) 2 for $12 (Amazon)
Included Cleanser 1 oz Clarisonic Gel Cleanser

.68oz Exfoliating Cleanser

Personally, I wasn’t impressed with either included cleanser so that much wasn’t important to me, but the investment in the Clarisonic Mia 2 vs Olay Pro-X is very different. The initial output is higher, and the heads are more expensive. I buy packs of four once a year at a discounted price and try to find a decent promo code (like at least 20% off that) and stack it with a great cash-back offer from eBates. Batteries, on the other hand, aren’t cheap – I recommend investing in a set of reliable rechargeable batteries to offset that cost.

Let’s look at the devices themselves:

Clarisonic Mia 2 vs Olay Pro-X (Olay pictured left) - backClarisonic Mia 2 vs Olay Pro-X

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