neutrogena

Budget-Friendly Beauty: My Top 5 Drugstore Haircare Products

Bren — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:14:08 -0700

I love my hair. In years past, I have been known to spend hundreds of dollars to get juuuuust the right cut, texture, and color. But now? Well, now I spend all my money on gas and cute shoes, but I still get compliments on my hair all the time - and here's a secret: all my hair products cost under $7 bucks. Who doesn't love a drugstore deal?

Goin' the drugstore route doesn't mean skimping on quality. If you compare the ingredients in the bottles, a lot of times they are the same exact ones. From what I understand, "salon quality" just means higher concentrates of the ingredients - but there's really not a big difference. So check out what I consider the top products in the drugstore aisles.

Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioner
I totally fell in love with Herbal Essences after they revamped their products (the "totally organic experience" thing just didn't work for me). They now have an entire line of fresh and fun hair products for different woes, everything from dry hair to normal hair to breaking hair to long hair. I'm partial to the Hello Hydration line in the fun blue bottles. They smell DELICIOUS, work just as well as salon products, and at under $5 a pop for a 40oz bottle, totally budget friendly. ($3.99, available at drugstores nationwide)

Garnier Fructis Leave-In Conditioning Cream, Sleek & Shine
I love this so much I travel with it, lest I have to shower somewhere and, God forbid, be without this miracle product. Hey, I used to have triple-processed platinum panels in my hair... And now my hair is a soft black shade. So believe me when I say my hair has been around the block quite a few times. This stuff has replenished the moisture, kept my ends from splitting, and smoothed the fly-aways from all the breakage I've incurred. It lasts forever, smells pretty neutral, and isn't a pain in the wallet to replenish. Loves it! ($3.99, available at drugstores nationwide)

John Frieda Sheer Blonde Tousled Tresses Fine-Mist Wax
When I bought this, I was blonde, but switched it up in-between uses and wasn't about to throw out perfectly good product. Worked like a dream, so brunettes, please keep reading. I went through every single drugstore product that had the words "paste," "wax," "pomade," or "putty" in the title. The one thing they had in common? They all left my hair gunky, heavy, dirty, or gross. But this stuff is bottled perfection: amps up the texture, brings out my layers, easy to use, totally hooks it up with that edgy, piecey look that's always in style. ($5.99 - Won Allure's Best of Beauty Award; easier to find online than in stores)

Sunsilk Waves of Envy, Sea Mist
I love this stuff so much I already wrote a full article on it. It's that good. I know a lot of Sparkle Divas prefer the Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray, but I think it's way too little product for way too much price, especially if you have to replenish often - and it's drying. The Sunsilk Sea Mist gives the right amount of texture, is SO good on the go (I keep mine in my car), and generally rocks my short-haired and tousled world. ($3.99, available at drugstores nationwide)

Neutrogena Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Hair Mask
My flat iron is my best friend. We hang out together, go through products together, travel to far off places together. But it's a co-dependent relationship: I rely on my HAI to keep me smooth, while it sucks the moisture out of my hair. Neutrogena has come to my rescue again and again with this deep recovery hair mask - I simply lather it on once a week, leave it in while I watch Sex and the City reruns, then rinse it out and bam! Soft lustrous hair again, no mayo needed. ($6.99, available at drugstores nationwide)

What drugstore haircare products do you think are to die for? Any other suggestions / recommendations?

Clear Up That Complexion With Mom's Cheap Tricks and My Drugstore Steals

Nikki D — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:51:36 -0700

I share with you some of my Mom’s favorite complexion home remedies, along with some cheap buys that keep my skin as clear as the sky on the fourth of July.

No Nonsense Skin Type

I was a dancer growing up and constantly in and out of stage makeup. My mom always kept Noxema on hand to get the thick rouges and heavy mascara off of my face. I think this made me tough skinnned in more ways than one. When I hit seventh grade, and thus the time to start washing the mountainous blackheads from my face, I fell back into the harsh, yet satisfying hands of the Noxema cream cleanser (Look at my Ma's amazing skin at age 57!).

When this classic crème wouldn’t deliver, and a nasty little guy or two would still manage to rear their ugly heads (usually just in time for formal dances), Mom would always have the perfect solution: toothpaste.

I understand how this could sound like nothing but a bad idea, but just listen up.

First wash your face clean of any makeup using hot water. Make sure to scrub spots that concealer and blush are more likely to stick to and hide between: the creases of your nose, your chin, your eyebrow bones.
Cover your problem area or blemish with a good, heaping glob of toothpaste.
Make sure that this is the white kind of toothpaste and not a gel.
Let it dry and go to bed. When you wake up in the morning your blemish will be close to its final moments of life or your problem area will be dried out and unable to surprise you with any attacks.

Other Great Pantry Products

Witch Hazel: This gentle and all natural product is used to relieve irritated or itchy skin. My mom always recommended using it in place of an astringent because it removes lingering makeup without harshly drying out your skin.
Olive Oil: My roomate uses olive oil after waxing her eyebrows at home to reduce swelling and prevent breakouts. This "liquid gold" was used by Cleopatra and Nefertiti to benefit their skin and make them two of the most beautiful women of all time.
Tea Tree Oil: This all natural super serum can help to clear up blemishes fast. Many friends and family members use this to clear up body acne as well as deodorize and disinfect problem areas.

No Nonsense, Fantastic Face Care

When you're not into experimenting and want something cheap and reliable, take it from me, these products work!

Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash Scrub: $6.99

Clean & Clear Oil-Free Dual Action Moisturizer: $5.99

Noxema Plus Mosturizing Deep Cleansing Cream: $5

The Right Stuff for Skin Care

annrichards — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 07:51:39 -0700

It's not as complicated as you think.

Okay, yet another confession which I’m sure is just one of many more to come – I have been using Mary Kay Timewise Skin Care for the past four years! (Hey, don’t knock it ‘til you try it, yo.) MK has been good to me – I used to have horrendous skin, breaking out from the age of 12 to well into adulthood, which was so unfair! I have tried acne treatments, antibiotics, Clinique, Shiseido, and the beat goes on. But I went to MK and my skin cleared up. Do I think they are magical? No. I think I was using the wrong stuff all along – the “acne products”? They were too harsh on my skin! Yes, I do count this as one of the greatest ironies of all time.

Anyhow, as good as I’ve had it for the past few years I feel like I’ve hit a wall. Lately I've noticed some small bumps aren’t going away, and I have some redness. I need a new skincare regimen, bad. I researched a TON of products, and got so confused I decided to see a dermatologist to cut through all the noise.

Dermatology (Un)revelations

My skin type: oily, and strongly rejects stuff it doesn’t like so it's a bit on the sensitive side.

Imagine my surprise when my dermatologist started spouting off brands, oh like, Aveeno, Neutrogena, Olay, and Eucerin (Euce-what?). Good for my pocketbook, but sad for my product lust. I had hoped I’d get the equivalent of a doctor’s note giving me permission to drop $79 on Claudalie’s Vinoperfect Radiance Serum. Le sigh. So, if the samples she gave me work then I might be cutting way down on my skin care costs…but I do intend to splurge on a nice serum!

Regardless of the brand shocker, I came away with some valuable information. Basic skin care should include:

a mild cleanser
moisturizer with SPF (this is a MUST – I’m looking at you, Miss Super Low Maintenance)
a night cream without SPF (multi-task by finding one with retinol for anti-aging)

You can build on this with serums, masks, exfoliants, whatever you want to play with. But the three basics are what you NEED. And SPF is the best “anti-aging” product.

Three Ingredients that Work

Now let’s talk a little bit more about anti-aging. I have discovered a few sun spots and want them gone! But, my dermatologist said the “anti-aging” products out there really are geared toward women with deep-set wrinkles. For simple prevention, she recommends using products with the following key ingredients.

Retinol – a form of vitamin A and safer than its stronger counterpart retinoid. Vitamin A helps to rejuvenate the skin and increase elasticity, thereby smoothing lines.
Alpha Hydroxy Acid – acids derived from fruit and milk sugars, AHAs act as exfoliants and stimulate new skin growth. Get AHAs to diminish dark spots.
Glycolic Acid – a type of alpha hydroxy acid that tackles fine lines, age spots, and acne.

To learn more about good cosmetic ingredients, check out this article by WebMD. See Alternative Medicine Network's glossary of irritants in skin care so you know what to avoid, like stearic acid and fragrances.

Good for the Figure, Good for the Skin

Don't forget that what you eat also determines how your body functions, including how your skin behaves. Read these two bookmark-worthy articles by Yahoo! Food: 18 Foods to Make Your Skin Glow and 11 Bad Skin Trigger Foods. Eat the super foods and know you are being good to your body and your skin! Now that's what we call a twofer.

The Doc’s Recommendations

Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Cleanser $6.39, 6.7 fl oz

Aveeno Daily Moisturizer, Ultra-Calming SPF 15 $15.79, 4 fl oz

Olay Complete Defense Daily UV Moisturizer SPF 30 $14.99, 2.5 fl oz

Eucerin Everyday Protection Face Lotion SPF 30 $8.69, 4 fl oz

Which skin care products do you use? Which work for you and which don't? Help a sista out!