Two Ways to Save on DHC Cleansing Oil

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My Favorite Drugstore Beauty Product of 2016

Purchased by Me | Affiliate Links

My New Holy Grail Detangling Product: Kinky-Curly Knot Today Natural Leave In / Detangler

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The Product That Saved My Elbows (When Nothing Else Could)

Purchased by Me 

I've reviewed lots of excellent moisturizers, lotions, ointments and creams here over the years, and I love so many of them for a variety of different purposes. But one problem area that has always eluded me is my elbows. No matter what type of lotion, cream or ointment I use, the roughness always seems to pop back up within a few days. What's funny is that my boyfriend has this issue even worse than I do on his elbows, but he's not nearly as dedicated as I am to finding solutions. His move is basically, "G. left this lotion on the coffee table...guess I'll try it" and that's about it.

ANYWAY, I rarely (if ever) use the term "miracle product" on this blog, so let me gently tip-toe away from that term and just tell you that I finally found something that truly works for us, and it feels very "miracle-like" to me:

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream

(retail: $6.50 at Sephora, 1.0 oz.)

Review: Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes

Press Sample 

Over the years, I've sort of stuck to my favorite facial towelettes and really haven't explored too much when it comes to other brands (three or four years ago I think I was on a kick and reviewed several different brands, if you've been with me for a while and remember that!).

But over the last year or so, I have heard from several of you here on the blog and on social media who have been raving about these Simple wipes. So when I had the opportunity to receive some for review a while back, I jumped on it. I've been using these wipes for over four months now, and today I'd like to give you my verdict!

Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes
(retail: $5.99; 25 wipes per pack)

Keep reading for my full review...

Review: Eclos Daily HydraPrimer SPF30

Purchased by Me

I believe it was Dita Von Teese who once said, "You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, and there's still going to be somebody who hates peaches." 

That's pretty much how I feel about this new primer from Eclos. I've been quietly loving it and keeping it all to myself for several months now, and I realize that the moment I publish this review, there are probably going to be people who tell me that they have used it and did not care for it. That doesn't diminish my feelings about it, of course, but it does make me sad. Why? Because I honestly love this product so much that  I want nothing more than for YOU to love it too.

That said, I obviously can't guarantee that you're going to love this product. The best I can do is explain to you exactly why this product works for me, and why it has officially become my new holy grail face primer. Yes, it has knocked my beloved Black Radiance Complexion Perfection Primer out of its 4+ year status as my holy grail face primer. I'm shocked too, believe me.

Eclos Daily HydraPrimer SPF30 

(retail: between $15.99 and $12.39 depending on the retailer, 1.0 oz)

This primer is available via the Freeman website, as well as Target (where it seems to have the lowest price at $12.39), Walgreens and Drugstore.com. This product was also available on the Ulta website a while back (it's no longer listed there) but you may still be able to find it in-store. Rite Aid also carries Eclos products but I have not seen this particular product in-store as of the time of this post.

My new Holy Grail top coat only costs $1.99

Purchased by Me

It's rare that I declare something a new Holy Grail product, and it's even more rare when that product has to do with nail polish. I've been meaning to post about this product for a while now, but since there are some killer deals on NYC this week at both CVS and Rite Aid, I thought it was the perfect time to tell you about it.

NYC In a New York Minute Quick Dry Nail Polish in Grand Central Station

(retail: $1.99, 0.33 oz)

Review: Paula's Choice Earth Sourced Perfectly Natural Cleansing Gel for All Skin Types

Press Sample

As many of you know, I'm a long-time Paula's Choice fan. A few months ago, Paula Begoun discussed her products with me (she's very accessible on Twitter if you aren't already following her) and asked me to tell her my biggest skincare needs and concerns. She then sent me a personalized selection of products to try based on the information I provided here (by the way, she graciously said that I do not have "mature skin" as I had described it to her. At 42, that made my day. Ha!).

Of the products I've been testing for a few months now (skincare takes a lot of time to test) I want to start with my absolute favorite. It's very rare that I declare that something is my new "Holy Grail" product, but this is one of those times.

Paula's Choice Earth Sourced Perfectly Natural Cleansing Gel for All Skin Types

(retail: $17, 6.7 oz)

This product is currently on sale for $14.45 on the Paula's Choice website, and you can also purchase a sample for $0.49. For those unfamiliar with the Paula's Choice website, they often run sales and shipping offers, so there are lots of opportunities to purchase things for less than the retail price.

It's official: My new Holy Grail drugstore concealer is...

It's big news for me when I "dethrone" an existing Holy Grail beauty product, so I thought you might like to know that I have officially changed my Holy Grail drugstore concealer.

For years, my go-to drugstore concealer has been Maybelline SuperStay (and I also really like the Instant Age Rewind Eraser Concealers). But I'm telling you, I've been so impressed with the L'Oreal True Match Super Blendable Crayon Concealer that I reviewed back in March that it's been the only concealer I find myself reaching for on a consistent basis. What makes this even more interesting is that several of the other True Match face cosmetics have not worked for me, but this one really does.

You can read my full review from March here to find out exactly why I love this concealer. The short version: it lasts FOREVER on my oily skin, it really helps conceal both my dark circles and skin imperfections on the rest of my face, it's ridiculously easy to use and blend (twist-up pencils rock my world, as you know) and well, I just love it. 

The only gripe I have with this product is that wish it came in a much larger shade range, so that ALL of you could experience how nice of a product this is. Other than that, it's pretty much perfect for me and my needs.

What is YOUR Holy Grail drugstore concealer?

Review: CoverGirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation + SPF20

Note: If you can't find a shade that's dark enough for you in this range, please see this post, which explains that the new CoverGirl Queen Collection All Day Flawless Foundation + SPF20 is almost identical to this formula, and available in many shades for deeper skintones.

Back in the middle of February, I posted a teaser on Facebook about how much I was loving this foundation. I had just purchased it from Rite And and had only used it once, but it was literally love as first swipe. I wanted to write this review immediately after trying it, but that wouldn't be accurate or reliable. So, I waited. I tried it with different moisturizers underneath. I tried it with different concealers and setting powders. I just had to make sure that what I was experiencing wasn't a fluke. Before wildly raving about this product, I wanted to be absolutely certain that this product worked in all occasions. Luckily, since February, we've had both cold and very hot weather here in San Diego, so I even got to test it in different temperatures. 

Now that I've put it through the most thorough testing that I can possibly give to a foundation, I am officially declaring this my new Holy Grail Foundation. Keep reading to find out why!

CoverGirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation + SPF20 in 825 Buff Beige

(retail: around $10, 1.0 oz)

This foundation comes in 14 shades. From the CoverGirl website:

All-in-one foundation with a long-lasting formula that fuses primer, concealer, and foundation in one easy step! The 3-in-1 formula provides a flawless look that lasts all day long.  

All day, longwear formula 

Primer, concealer, and foundation in one

Smooth, flawless finish

Keep reading for my full review...

Oh Happy Day!

A few of you were kind enough to call my attention to the fact that my beloved Holy Grail facial exfoliator, St. Ives Green Tea Scrub, is on clearance at CVS for 50% off (thanks again for that tip!). Upon hearing this news, I immediately had two thoughts::

"Ooooh, time to stock up!"

and

"Oh no. Please do NOT tell me this product is being discontinued."

Well the other day at Rite Aid I practically did cartwheels in the aisle when I saw this:

Actually, if inanimate objects could talk (and emit pink hearts into the air), I'm sure my beloved St. Ives Green Tea Scrub would have said this:

 OK, back to reality:

This product was not discontinued, just repackaged! It looks like they just changed the name from "Naturally Clear" to "Blemish Control." Whew! Can you feel my happiness pouring through your screen right now??

To see my original review of this product (which I love more than any other facial scrub ever) click here.

My Holy Grail nail file

If I had a dime for every nail file that's let me down over the years, I'd probably have enough money to double my current nail polish stash. I won't bore you with how many different nail files have failed me in the past 20+ years (glass, traditional, metal, you name it), because I'm too excited to share with you my Holy Grail Nail File, which I purchased at Sally Beauty about two years ago:

ASP Angle Zebra Board (180/180 grit)

(retail: $1.19 at Sally Beauty; Beauty Club price: $0.99)

From the ASP website: 

ASP Angle Zebra Board (180/180 grit): Great for shaping and refining the nail enhancements. Diamond shape with 2 different shaped ends allows you to get into the hard to reach sidewalls or shape the free edges.

As you can see, my ASP nail file has seen better days when it comes to how it looks. But even though it looks downright fugly at this point, it is still going strong after two years of continuous use. When I say "going strong", I mean that the edges of this file (which are always the first to go with any nail file) have managed to retain their grit even after hundreds of uses. Don't you hate it when you go to use a nail file and all the grit on the edges is gone? That is one of my biggest pet peeves, and I simply cannot believe that the grit on this ASP file has lasted so long. It feels like a smooth, brand new file every time I use it, even on the edges where it matters most. Oh! And the sandpaper hasn't peeled or lifted from the board, even after two years, which is another smal miracle.

I have to say that this little $0.99 nail file has been the best investment I have ever made when it comes to caring for my nails. It's like a Timex watch: it truly takes a licking and keeps on ticking.

I just wanted to share that with you in case you have issues with finding good nail files. I bought my ASP Zebra Board 180/180 Grit File in-store at my local Sally Beauty, but you can also purchase it online here. I highly recommend it.

What's your favorite nail file? 

PS: Ha! I just noticed that there's one review on the Sally website for this file, and the reviewer is also from San Diego. Although "nursegordon" is not me, I feel like I should write a glowing review of this product on the Sally site! Nursegordon, if you're out there, I'm glad you like this file too!

Dollar Tree sightings

We're definitely overdue for a Dollar Tree sightings post, aren't we? My last good sighting at Dollar Tree was back in June, when I found Sally Hansen Snappy Sprinkles (limited edition) and of course those new-ish LA Colors eyeshadow trios. And by the way, I'm still seeing the lovely, and long ago discontinued NYC Blushable Creme Sticks at my local Dollar Trees, so get out there and check your locations in case you want to stock up.

So now let's get to both a good, and bad, sighting. If you're a regular follower of this blog, you know that my Holy Grail eyebrow pencil is Maybelline Define-A-Lash in Dark Blonde. It's the perfect match for my brows, it doesn't turn red, and I basically love everything about it and couldn't go a day without it. I always have two back-ups in my home because I live under the threat of accidentally running out. 

Anyway, a while back, it was brought to my attention that Maybelline had discontinued certain shades in the Define-A-Brow range, which is never a good sign. Thankfully, Dark Blonde was not one of them. One of the shades that did get discontinued was Dark Brown, and reader Carolyn spotted this shade at her local Dollar Tree the other day:

image credit: Carolyn for Nouveau Cheap

Carolyn writes:

Check out what I found at my local Dollar Tree! Only dark brown was available (and there were tons of them), so I only bought one to try it out since my usual shade is dark blonde like you.  I am happy to report that this works great...no reddish tones at all, and when I brush through with a spoolie...perfection.

Hey, even though this shade seems like it would be too dark for me, I'm willing to give it a shot for a buck (seriously, how could you pass that up?). Hopefully I can get it to work for me, like Carolyn did!

So yes, this is good sighting, but it also gives me a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach when I think that my beloved Dark Blonde might soon be on the chopping block as well. Someone recently sent me a pic of other Define-A-Lash shades that were on clearance at Target (I think) but I cannot find the tweet/email/comment. If it was you, could you please leave a comment on this post? Thank you!

Thanks so much, Carolyn, for the great sighting and info!

PS: If Maybelline does eventually discontinue Dark Blonde, I apologize in advance for any reactions this causes me to express on this blog (I'll try to keep the crying and whining to a minimum but I make no promises!). There are now four shades in this range (according to the Maybelline website) so please, Maybelline, don't let your next move be to cut the line completely.

My New Holy Grail Cuticle Product: Badger Cuticle Care

I've been receiving comments over the past several weeks about how my cuticles and nails are looking better (in my polish posts), so I'm finally ready to reveal to you my secret weapon (which I've been using once a day for the past three months):

Badger Cuticle Care

(retail: $5.99, 0.75 oz)

Physicians Formula Healthy Wear Powder Foundation: discontinued? NO!

Longtime readers of this blog know that Physicians Formula Healthy Wear Powder Foundation SPF50 is my absolute Holy Grail foundation. Ever since I reviewed it back in 2009, I've been using it religiously and I even stocked up and bought seven compacts during the last CVS Beauty Clearance Sale.

For weeks now, I've been noticing that the drugstores in my area no longer carry the Healthy Wear line, which led me to believe that my beloved foundation had been discontinued. In fact, I started coming to terms with this possibility and wondered what I would do about a replacement. I've spoken to several of you about this potentially sad news, and it seemed we were all in the same boat. Devastating!

I had been trying to contact Physicians Formula via Twitter to see if they could confirm whether or not this product was being discontinued, but I didn't have any luck. Yesterday I decided to ask them on Facebook for an answer and guess what? They responded the very next morning!

My question to them:

Hi! I tried asking this on Twitter but never received a response. Can you confirm if the Healthy Wear Powder Foundation has been discontinued? It's my very favorite powder foundation and I've been using it since the first day it hit my local CVS in 2009, I believe (I recommend it to my readers all the time as well).) If it IS being discontinued, will you be releasing another powder foundation to take its place? Thank you SO much for any info you can give me.

 Their response:

 Hi Gianna - this product has quite limited distribution; however, you can still purchase it through our site: http://www.physiciansformula.com/en-us/productdetail/face/pressed-powder/07070.html

So there you have it: it's NOT discontinued, but it now has very limited distribution. Another Facebook fan mentioned that you can still get this product at Ulta (online--I'm not sure about in-store) so that's yet another way we fans can still get our fix.

I'm not exactly thrilled that I can no longer just hop in my car, drive to the drugstore and get this product, but I'm grateful that it's not going away and I just wanted to share that with my fellow Healthy Wear lovers out there. 

More Holy Grail Drugstore Beauty Products

A quick update:

I just added four additional Holy Grail Drugstore Beauty Products to my original post. If anything else comes to mind, I'll continue to update the list and let you know. I'm really enjoying reading your comments on that post about your Holy Grail beauty products. Please keep 'em coming--I love hearing what works for you!

My Holy Grail Affordable Beauty Products

LAST UPDATE: MAY 2016

(Click on the product to be taken to my original review, if available.)

Hand & Nail

• Top Coat: NYC In a New York Minute Nail Polish in Grand Central Station
• Base Coat: Orly Bonder
• Hand Cream: Herbacin Kamille Paraben-Free Glycerin Hand Cream
• Nail File: ASP Zebra Angle Zebra Board
• Cuticle Balm: Badger Cuticle Care   
• Cotton Pads (for removing nail polish): Selena Eture Cotton
• Nail Polish Remover: Rite Aid Renewal Maximum Strength Nail Polish Remover 
• Brush for cleaning up manicures: e.l.f. Essential Concealer Brush

Makeup

• Foundation: CoverGirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation + SPF20
• Concealer: Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Spot Concealer + Treatment
• Face Primer: Black Radiance Complexion Perfection Shine Control Primer
• Blush: Rimmel Stay Blushed! Liquid Cheek Tint
• Lip Balm: Blistex Moisture Melt
• Eyeshadow Primer: (Tie): Milani Eyeshadow Primer  and Wet n  Wild Fergie Eyeshadow Primer
• Eyeliner (pencil): taupe shade in the Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Eyeliner Trio for Hazel Eyes 
• Eyeliner (liquid): Jordana InColor FabuLiner in Black 
• Eyeliner (for waterline): Palladio Herbal Precision Eyeliner in Black Onyx 
• Mascara: Jordana Best Lash Extreme 
• Eyebrow Product: Maybelline Define-A-Brow Eyebrow Pencil in Dark Blonde
• Brush Cleaner: Dr. Bronner's 18-in-1 Hemp Pure Castile Soap (Peppermint is my current favorite)
• Eyeshadow Brush: e.l.f. Essential Eyeshadow Brush
• Eyeliner Brush: e.l.f. Studio Small Smudge Brush
• Tweezers: Tweezerman Mini Slant Tweezers 

Skin and body care

• Facial Cleanser: Paula's Choice Earth Sourced Perfectly Natural Cleansing Gel
• Cleansing Oil: DHC Cleansing Oil
• Micellar Water: Garnier SkinActive Micellar Cleansing Water All-in-1 Makeup Remover & Cleanser
• Makeup Towelettes: Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes
• Makeup Remover: CVS brand Oil-Free Makeup Remover 
• Facial Scrub: St. Ives Green Tea Scrub 
• Body Lotion: Suave Professionals Moroccan Infusion Body Lotion
• Shaving Product: Kiss My Face Moisture Shave 
• Foot File: Swedish Clover Foot File

Haircare

• Detangling product: Kinky-Curly Knot Today Natural Leave In / Detangler
• Detangling tool: KareCo Tangle Buster Brush
• Shampoo: TRESemme 24 Hour Body Shampoo
• Conditioner: Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Moist
• Leave-In Conditioner: L'Oreal Everpure 8-in-1 Color Miracle Leave-In Spray
• Hairspray: TRESemme 24 HR Body Finishing Spray
• Dry Shampoo: Batiste Original Formula
• At-Home Hair Color: Wella Color Charm Liquid Permanent Hair Color

I know that some categories are missing (lipstick, gloss, eyeshadow, face powder, etc.) so just to be clear, for those products I either do not have one Holy Grail product that I always fall back on, or I love several products equally.

What are some of your Holy Grail drugstore products?