Styli-Style eyeliners...how could I forget about these?

Long before my love affair with Revlon ColorStay eyeliners, and waaay before I found Prestige Total Intensity liners, Styli-Style pencil liners were my go-to long-wear liner of choice.

Even though they seem to be getting harder and harder to find (and their displays seem to be getting smaller and smaller) I still have much love for these drugstore wonder pencils because of the following:

1) They come in a gorgeous (and quite large) array of colors
2) They're relatively inexpensive (about $6)
3) The staying power is truly incredible

I used to purchase these at Long's Drugs before they changed over to CVS, and I've noticed that the CVS display has gotten increasingly smaller over the past year. But the good news is, the Styli-Style website is very much up and running and they do have an online store (although not all colors are for sale in their store, which is a little odd). Regardless, I can say that if you're in the market for a long-wear pencil eyeliner that comes in a fantastic assortment of colors, it's worth your while to hunt these down.

What first prompted me to purchase a Styli-Style 24-Hour Power Line & Seal pencil (the traditional pencils in the pics above) was my quest to find a good dupe of the MAC "Teddy" Eye Kohl pencil liner. Teddy is one of those colors that you can wear with anything--it's a medium brown with shimmer and it's a good compliment to my hazel eyes. I think I wore Teddy non-stop for about a year straight, until it just became too expensive for me to keep repurchasing. So that's when my quest began, and I luckily found the Styli-Style pencil in "Bronze 111". Bronze 111 is a close match for Teddy and if I wait for a BOGO sale, I can buy 3 Bronze 111 pencils for the price of 1 Teddy. Oh, and the staying power of Bronze 111 is about 10x better than Teddy. Enough said.

In the pics above, I've also swatched "110 Tanzanite" which is a very shimmery medium lavender, and "130 Deep Purple" which is a less shimmery, deep royal purple-ish violet. Both of these pencils are stunning on the eyes and it constantly amazes me that colors like this are available at the drugstore. Most drugstore eyeliners, for the most part, are pretty flat and one-dimensional, but Styli-Style pencils really come in shades that rival high-end brands in color and performance.

Lastly, I wanted to mention that I also have a few of the Styli-Style Flat Eye Pencils which are fantastic. The one pictured above is "404 London" and it's a dark, almost black, cross between forest green and olive green. The best thing about these flat pencils is that you can draw the thinnest line possible with a pencil (I'm talking as thin as a liquid liner) and you get the smoothest line possible because of the wide tip. And unlike NYC flat pencils which can get pretty mushy, Styli-Style's Flat Eye Pencils are nice and firm. When you run it across your eye, you barely have to move your hand and the pencil just goes in a perfectly straight line every time. You can really get down there in your lash line for the smoothest, finest, straightest line ever. Also, the staying power of "404 London" is absolutely incredible.

Final Analysis: You get more than your money's worth with Styli-Style eye pencils. A brilliant array of shades to choose from, colors that rival high-end brands, and a quality product that really does last until you take it off.

My top 5 picks for springtime soaps & shower gels!

Spring has sprung in many parts of the country and, if you're like me, you are craving some refreshing, clean, invigorating goodies for shower time. So here's a list of the Recessionista's 5 favorite inexpensive body cleansers and why I think they're ideal for this time of year:

5) Korres Basil Lemon Shower Gel (8.45 oz, $13 retail but you can currently find this product at Marshalls for $3.99)

This shower gel makes me feel like I'm running through sprinklers in the middle of a lemon grove. Enough said. (But if you want to know more about Korres, read my full review here.)

4) Axe Skin Contact Smoothing Shower Scrub (12 oz, $5.49)

Who says Axe is for men only? This shower gel smells amazing and I'm not embarrassed to admit it. Seriously, who cares if the package is fugly? Here's why I love it: It contains cactus milk (which smells AWESOME), exfoliating beads, and it's the prettiest shade of super light sea foam green you've ever seen. The fragrance is green, fresh, clean, creamy, crisp and just perfect for this time of year. Give it a shot!

3) SkiKai Apricot Rose Shower Gel (12 oz, around $7 at Long's Drugs but you can find it online for under $6)

Oh, college. This scent takes me back to living in the dorms, wearing Birkenstocks and listening to the Spin Doctors. But I love that memory because it also reminds me of feeling naturally beautiful and the fragrance of this shower gel is one of the most naturally beautiful scents around. There's something about the mixture of apricot and rose that just SCREAMS spring to me, and this delicate balance makes the apricot smell not too tart and the rose smell not too sweet. If you're a fruity-floral gal, you must try this one. Also, ShiKai products ROCK. Every single one of them. The shower gels in particular contain no soap, so SLS, no parabens, and they're super moisturizing because of the colloidal oatmeal. Oh, and this has got one of the best lathers ever (super rich and creamy).

2) Dial Cranberry & AntiOxidant Glycerin Soap (about $2.50 for 3 bars at Rite-Aid and most grocery stores)

I already wrote about my love for this soap last month (click here to read my review) but one of my favorite readers, Oceanwoman, just let me know that you can currently pick up an 8-pack for $3.99 if you live near a Von's. Now that's an awesome deal considering that I could EAT this soap it's so darn yummy. If you like sweet and tart scents, this one's for you. None of that "Christmasy" spicy cranberry here, just crisp, sweet, tart, clean cranberry and lots of it. They also make this scent in shower gel form, but there's something about the gorgeous deep red color of this glycerin bar soap that draws me to it every time I see it in my shower. LOVE it.

1) Softsoap Moisturizing Body Wash in Honeysuckle and Orange Peel (18 oz for $5.49)

I wrote a review professing my love for this shower gel last month (click here to read) but I have to reiterate why I'm making this my number one choice for springtime shower gels. This scent smells nothing like your usual drugstore shower products. If you blindfolded me, I would swear it's from Fresh or Laura Mercier and that it costs at least $25 a bottle. The honeysuckle combines perfectly with the orange peel to give you a sweet, complex fragrance that is perfectly balanced. It's clean, it's uplifting, yet it manages to stay feminine and pretty. Plus, it's moisturizing and provides a wonderful lather. And Oceanwoman just told me that it's currently on sale again at Target for $2.99. Run, don't walk.

My Awesome Five Dollar Shopping Spree!!

I struck gold today, ladies! And I'm so excited to share it with you!

I went to my local Big Lots to check out the Easter stuff but decided to do a quick cruise of the beauty aisle. While the pickins were slim, I did find a great deal on a Revlon ColorStay eyeshadow single in "Champagne" for $1.50 (retail price $7). I think they're phasing these out in favor of the quads, which would explain their appearance at Big Lots. I love this color (the pic is actually pretty true to life) because it's a perfect base for one of my many dark brown crease colors.

Next, I went over to Long's Drugs because, with the changeover to CVS, I'm always curious about the latest clearance sale.

ALERT: While I was at Long's, I struck up a conversation with one of the employees who told me that they are in the process of getting rid of everything that CVS doesn't carry. In other words, any items that you know are specific to Long's will be deeply discounted in the days and weeks to come (note to self: Keep an eye on NYX).

So today when I walked down the makeup aisle at my Long's, I discovered that over 50% of the ENTIRE L'Oreal section was SEVENTY-FIVE PERCENT OFF! I'm talking lipsticks, nail polishes, foundations, powders, eyeshadows, you name it! Even some HiP stuff!

I managed to exhibit some restraint and only purchased two items! But let me tell you, these are items that I had been eyeing forever but just could never justify paying full price for because they're not "necessities".

First I got a L'Oreal Wear Infinite eyeshadow single in "Glistening Sea" for $1.07 (retail price $4.99). So unbelievable! I had been wanting to try this shade of shimmery light green for so long and I am chomping at the bit to put it on ASAP.

Second, I picked up a L'Oreal Colour Juice Stick in "Island Punch" for $2.45 (retail price $10). Again, this is a product I've been wanting to try for so long, but I could never justify spending $10 on another liptint/balm (my current obsession).

I have to say that if you were a fan of L'Oreal's Shine Delice line, you will LOVE the Color Juice Stick. It's sheer, like Shine Delice, and the flavor tastes like Shine Delice (think tropical punch). The color of "Island Punch" is just gorgeous. It's a berryish-coral with flecks of gold. So pretty! It's not a lipstick, but not really a balm either...I'd say it's somewhere in between the two. It's sheer, but not too sheer, and you really get a good color payoff.

So there you have it! I spent $5 today and I got about $22 worth of product. I hope I'm inspiring you to get out there and look for these types of bargains because, believe me, they're out there!

Who wants smooth, shiny, soft hair?

I do! I do! And I know just how to get it:

Giovanni Direct Leave-In Weightless Moisture Conditioner

If you've never heard of the Giovanni brand, you may want to listen up. Until recently, their products were only available via websites such as drugstore.com. In recent months, I've seen their products pop up in retail stores such as Rite-Aid, CVS, Long's Drugs, and Target. The crown jewel in their line (in my humble opinion) is their leave-in conditioner, which I have only spotted at Long's Drugs and Target.

This company prides itself on all-natural haircare, offering shampoos without SLS (sodium laurel sulfate) and conditioners without parabens. Their leave-in conditioner is chock full of great ingredients such as rosemary, thyme, nettle, birch leaf, chamomile, lavender, vitamin E and pro-vitamin B. It is a staple that I have used every day for about 5 years now, and I literally wouldn't leave my house without it in my hair. Here's why:

An 8.5 oz bottle costs about $8 and it lasts me about 6 months. You only need a pea size amount if you have short to medium hair. Since my hair is bordering on long, I use two pea-size amounts. Let me say right here that I do NOT use this product as my sole conditioner. I still use a traditional rinse-out conditioner because I like to think of this product as more a styling product than an actual conditioner. That said: After my usual routine of shampoo and conditioner, I apply this to my wet hair right after the shower by rubbing it on my hands first, then in my hair from the roots to the ends. I then comb (or brush) it through and style as usual. What I'm left with is frizzless, shiny, bouncy hair that isn't sticky, weighed down, greasy, oily, or heavy. It's soft, but not fly-away soft. I can style it (if I choose) or I can let it air-dry to my hair's naturally wavy state. Either way, it looks far more polished and healthy than if I had just used my standard shampoo and conditioner alone.

If you are already a leave-in conditioner fan, I highly suggest giving this product a shot. And if you're not a leave-in conditioner person but find your current shampoo and conditioner a little lacking, this may be just the product for you. But remember: Less is more. If you're used to putting a quarter-size dollop of styling product in your hair, don't use that measurement with this product, otherwise it will feel heavy, and you'll think I'm a liar :)

Bargain of the Day (BOTD)

Everyone's familiar with Kiss My Face and their wonderful products, but how many of you have tried their Moisture Shave? I've been using it for over a decade and I can tell you that after the first time I used it, I never went back to shaving creams, foams, or gels again.

The reason why I'm putting this in the BOTD is because, even though it's about $8 for an 11 oz bottle, it will last you FOREVER (you don't need a lot) and it will provide you with the closest shave possible while simultaneously preventing annoying bumps, cuts, and ingrown hairs.

Ladies, we've all been there when it comes to shaving disasters. Some products make you feel like the razor is literally dragging along your leg (ouch!) while others are so thick that it's hard to get a nice close shave. With Moisture Shave, you've got the perfect balance of "slip" and closeness. Use it just once and you will know what I'm talking about.

You can purchase Moisture Shave in a fragrance free formula as well as in the following scents:

Key Lime
Lavender & Shea
Cool Mint
Peaceful Patchouli
Peaches and Creme
Vanilla Earth

I've tried them all and I have to say I like Peaches and Creme best (with Key Lime coming in a close second).

You can find these at most CVS and Long's Drugs (don't look in the shaving cream aisle though--Moisture Shave is located next to the lotions and soaps in the natural beauty care section). Sometimes, if you're lucky, you may also find a bottle or two at Trader Joe's.

Bargain of the Day (BOTD)

My BOTD for Saturday is one that's near and dear to my heart.

NYX Eyeshadow Trio #3

Available at Long's Drugs and other drugstores (and some dollar stores) NYX is often referred to (by me, at least) as the poor woman's MAC. They feature an extensive line of products including makeup for the eyes, cheeks, face, lips, body, and even makeup tools. But my favorite product, by far, is the Eyeshadow Trio. The colors range from wild and exotic to neutral and wearable. Also, the consistency is great for blending and the staying power is better than any other drugstore brand I've ever tried (are you listening, Cover Girl?).

Trio #3 includes three basic colors: Nude, Taupe, and Dark Brown. Sure they're basic, but they are beautiful. These are matte colors (no shimmer, no sparkle, no micro-glitter) so they're definitely office-friendly. They work well on any eye color and you can tell that NYX really put some thought into this set because you can achieve an elegant, understated look by using each one separately, or together in various combinations.

My only gripe with the NYX Trio is the ridiculous saying on the front of the palette: "Triple Shadows for Sexy Babe's Eyes Only" Ugh. Not only is the apostrophe in the wrong place (unless they're really only talking about ONE "sexy babe") it's just...lame. But if this is the only reason you're hesitant to purchase a trio, get over it (or put some black electrical tape over it).

You can pick up the NYX Trio for $8 or less, and you get a lot of product for the price. So much so that I have yet to hit the bottom of the pan in any of my palettes and I wear them regularly.