I Need Your Input (Please!)

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed right now (in a good way!) and I would very, VERY much like your input on a few things. If you would take a moment to read through this post and vote in the poll below, I would be forever grateful (thank you in advance!).

The results of last month's reader poll (and the year-end poll is now live!)

First and foremost, thanks to everyone who took the time to nominate products for the Cheapie Awards Reader's Choice Award for Best New Affordable Beauty Product of 2012. I whittled down the most popular nominations and the poll is now live (see right-hand sidebar). I would love it if every single one of you took a minute to vote (and thanks in advance!).

NOTE: If you see products in the poll that you think were released in 2011, you're right. But those products were actually released in the US at the very end of 2011 (such as L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows) so they're technically 2012 releases because they didn't receive widespread distribution until 2012.

Now for the results of last month's poll:

When it comes to drugstore beauty,

what's most important to you?

(TOTAL NUMBER OF VOTES: 7,413)  

 

First Place:

Quality

(2,135 votes)

Second Place:

Price

(1,646 votes)

Third Place:

Value

(1,151 votes)

Honorable Mentions:

Convenience/Availability (601 votes)

Cruelty-Free (513 votes)

Brand Reputation (482 votes)

So, how did your choices rank in this poll? Do you agree or disagree with the winners? And if you voted for "Other" what would you have liked to have seen as an option in this poll?

Nouveau Cheap readers have spoken: Your favorite lipstick texture is...

I can't recall another landslide like this in the three years I've been doing these reader polls. Wow! So what's the most popular lipstick texture around here? I think it's pretty obvious...

What's your favorite lipstick texture?

(2,842 total votes)

A whopping 1,280 of you (out of a total of 2,842 votes) chose Creme as your favorite finish when it comes to lipstick. I've gotta say, I was happy to see this because it's my favorite too, and I hope that means that many of you might be happy to see more creme lipstick reviews here on the blog!  

I'd say Matte, Satin and Sheer were pretty much tied for second, with Frost coming in last.

So...how do you feel about the results of this poll? Do you agree or disagree? I'd love to hear from you!

PS: The new Reader Poll for October is now up (see right-hand sidebar) and I'd love it if you would take a minute to vote. As always, we'll meet back here to discuss the results next month!

Nouveau Cheap Readers Have Spoken: Your favorite affordable makeup primer is...

Another month has come and gone, and it's time again to view the results of the latest Readers' Poll! Let's see how you weighed in on affordable makeup primers, shall we? A total of 961 of you voted (thank you!) and here's what you had to say:

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE AFFORDABLE FACE PRIMER?

First Place

L'Oreal Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base

(178 votes)

Second Place

Monistat Anti-Chafing Gel (Smashbox dupe)

(170 votes)

Third Place

Hard Candy Sheer Envy Primer (157 votes)

Honorable Mentions:

Rimmel Fix & Perfect Foundation Primer (154 votes)

e.l.f. Studio Mineral Infused Face Primer (102 votes)

Revlon PhotoReady Perfecting Primer (100 votes)

Complete results: 

The results of the reader poll are in (and I would LOVE your feedback)

Every month on Nouveau Cheap, I run a poll and at the end of the month, I post the results here for us to see and to discuss. Last month's poll was a bit different (it usually centers on products and brands), because I wanted to get your feedback on what you like to see here, in terms of content. So THANK YOU to everyone who took a minute to vote in last month's poll--this type of  information is invaluable to me. 

This poll received over 1,400 votes, so let's see how you voted:

What's your favorite feature on Nouveau Cheap?

Weekly Sales Posts
    481 (33%)
 Product Reviews
    813 (55%)
 Sale/Deal Alerts
    570 (39%)
 New Product Sightings
    567 (38%)
You Tell Me Page
    68 (4%)
Coupon Alerts
    283 (19%)
Drugstore Dupe Alerts
    577 (39%)
I like them all equally
    190 (13%)
I'm too new to this blog to have an opinion yet
    48 (3%)
Total Votes: 1456

First place: 

Product Reviews

(813 votes)

Second Place:

Drugstore Dupe Alerts

(577 votes)

Third Place: 

Sale/Deal Alerts

(570 votes)

Honorable Mentions: New Product Sightings (567 votes), Weekly Sales Posts (481 votes), Coupon Alerts (283 votes).

Usually when I post a poll, I have some sort of idea of what's going to win or at least rank highly, but this poll TOTALLY surprised me. I had no idea that Product Reviews would rank so much more highly than any other feature on my blog. So THANK YOU for letting me know that--I have so many product reviews in the queue right now and I'm testing several products at the moment, so I'll definitely be giving you more of what you want very soon! The thing is, as much as I'd like to publish multiple new product reviews every day, it takes me a lot of time just to write ONE review.  As you know, if you've read any of my reviews, they're not "short and to the point" (sorry, it's not my style, never has been and never will be!). I try to give you as many details as humanly possible about every product I review, and I give each product a lot of time for testing so that I'm absolutely 100% sure of my feelings before I share them with you. So while I don't post product reviews as frequently as I'd like to here--please know that I'm working feverishly to give you more of them, as quickly as I can.

Another shocker:  the Weekly Sales Post didn't even crack the top four. WOW, that was another surprise! I spend a lot of time each week putting the drugstore sales post together and also the Ulta/Target/Kmart sales posts, but if they're not something that the majority of you are interested in seeing each week, PLEASE let me know. In fact, I've noticed that the Ulta/Target/Kmart sales posts (which I have yet to do this week--sorry for the delay!) are probably one of the least commented-on posts I do each week. I'd love to know if that information is just not something that appeals to you because you don't live near an Ulta, etc. or if it's just so cut and dry that you don't feel the need to comment on those posts (but still find them useful)? 

I've actually been considering stopping the Ulta/Target/Kmart posts altogether to focus more of my time on product reviews and, based on the winner of this poll, maybe that's something you wouldn't mind?

Thanks again for taking the time to give me your feedback, and I'd love for you to take a minute to vote in this month's poll (located on the right-hand sidebar). This month we're tackling drugstore face primers!

PS: If your favorite affordable face primer is not listed in this poll, you'll have a chance to ring its praises next month when I post the results!

Nouveau Cheap readers have spoken: the results of Drugstore vs. Department store poll are in!

After 1,604 votes, the results of the latest Reader Poll are now in! Here's the breakdown of what products you prefer to purchase at the drugstore (vs. department stores, etc.):

First place:

Mascara

(1,084 votes)

Second place:

Nail Color 

(954 votes)

Third place:

Lip Color

(668 votes)

Honorable Mentions: Eyeliner (503 votes), Eyeshadow (439 votes) and Blush (365 votes)

I'm actually not surprised at all by the first place winner! I also wasn't surprised to see that eye primer earned the lowest amount of votes, coming in at just 139. I know there are lots of UDPP and TFSI fans out there!

Were you surprised by the results of this poll?

This month's poll (see right-hand sidebar):

This month I'd like to get your feedback as to the brands I cover on Nouveau Cheap.

Although I do try to bring you reviews on brands that aren't sold at all retailers in the US (Jesse's Girl, Hard Candy, etc.), I think it's safe to say that the majority of the cosmetics reviews I post on this blog are for products that are relatively easy to find at many retailers in the US (and often Canada). But for this month's poll, I'd like to get your feedback on what lesser-known or harder-to-find brands you'd like to see more of on Nouveau Cheap. And if I didn't list a brand that you'd like to vote for, you'll have a chance to voice your opinion in my next Reader Poll post in May. Thanks so much for taking the time to vote--I REALLY appreciate it!

Nouveau Cheap readers have spoken! Your favorite drugstore skincare brand is...

It's that time again! After 1,386 votes, the results of the Favorite Drugstore Skincare Brand poll are now in, so let's see who won!

FIRST PLACE

Neutrogena

(375 votes)

SECOND PLACE

Olay

(268 votes)

THIRD PLACE

Aveeno

(240 votes)

Honorable Mentions

St. Ives (225 votes), Cetaphil (212 votes), Clean & Clear (178 votes)

So...did your favorite brands make the cut? Are you surprised by the results? Not surprised? I'd love to hear from you either way! And if your favorite drugstore skincare brand was not an option in this poll, I'd love to hear that too!

This month's poll is now up (see right-hand sidebar), and this time I'm doing things a little bit differently. I hope you'll take a moment to vote--these polls mean absolutely nothing without your input!

Nouveau Cheap readers have spoken: your favorite affordable brush brand is...

The results of last month's reader poll are now in, so let's see which brand you picked for Favorite Affordable Makeup Brush Brand:

Reader Polls for 2012

In 2011, my Reader Polls (located on the right-hand sidebar of this blog) were such a great way to interact with you and find out what YOUR favorite drugstore brands were. For a look at all of last year's polls, click here.

For 2012 we're starting fresh, covering a wide range of drugstore-related topics. Each poll will be open for one month and at each month's end, I'll do a post covering the winners and present you with an opportunity to voice your opinions on the results. 

For the first Reader Poll of 2012, we're tackling affordable makeup brushes. I'd love it if you'd take a second to vote (on the right-hand sidebar). Please note that when determining what "affordable" means, I used a pretty simple guideline for determining which brands should be included in this poll. If some of the larger brushes in a particular line (such as a powder or blush brush) retail for $20 or more, that brand did not make the cut.

Thanks in advance for voting--I can't wait to see who the winner will be!

Nouveau Cheap readers have spoken: your favorite overall drugstore brand is...

As always, last month's reader's poll was open for one month and this time around we received over 1,110 votes (thanks to all who voted!). The results are now in and your favorite drugstore beauty brands are as follows:

First Place

Wet n Wild

(551 votes)

Second Place

Revlon

(446 votes)

Third place

NYX

(304 votes)

Honorable Mentions:

Maybelline

(277 votes)

e.l.f.

(275 votes)

L'Oreal

(159 votes)

Wet n Wild is the clear winner, with Revlon coming in second followed by NYX in third place. Are you surprised with the results? Did your favorite brand make the cut? I'd love to hear from you either way!

And as always, if your vote went to "other", please chime in and let us know what brand you would have voted for if it had been an option in this poll.

I want to thank each of you for taking the time to vote in the November poll--I will mention these results in my annual Cheapie Awards post at the end of the year, along with the results of all the other polls that were conducted in 2011. I think it will be fun to do a round-up and take a look back at YOUR favorites this year.

Speaking of favorites, the most important poll of the year (for this blog) is now up: see right-hand sidebar. 

In this post from a few weeks ago, I asked you to name your favorite new product of 2011, and I narrowed down the list based on your feedback. So ALL of the choices in this poll are there because of YOU (I did not determine the choices myself) and the winner will be crowned Reader's Choice for Best New Drugstore Product of 2011 in my annual Cheapie Awards. This category is obviously 100% dependent on you, so please, please take a second to vote, and I thank you in advance!

Nouveau Cheap readers have spoken! Your favorite drugtore lipgloss brand is...

It's the beginning of the month so you know what that means: time for the results of last month's reader's poll! After 1,073 votes, here's how you weighed in:

FIRST PLACE

Revlon 

(467 votes)

SECOND PLACE

NYX

(264 votes)

THIRD PLACE

e.l.f.

(180 votes)

Also earning a considerable amount of votes:

Maybelline (117)

NYC (103)

Wet n Wild (96)

Geeze, ladies, why don't you tell me how you REALLY feel? Ha! I'm guessing that Super Lustrous glosses are probably the main reason why so many of you voted for Revlon. Would this be a fair assumption?

No matter how you voted, I'd love to hear what particular glosses from these brands are your favorites. Also, if you voted other, I'd love to know which brand you would have voted for if it had been an option.

This month's poll is a little bit different: for November I'm asking you to vote for your favorite overall drugstore cosmetics brand. I included some brands that haven't really been options in the past, but for this poll I wanted to feature not just drugstore but mass-market brands that you can find at drugstores, Target, Ulta, dollar stores and beauty supplies. Basically it's every affordable brand I could think of! I will feature the results in my year-end Cheapie Awards, so please, please take a second to vote. Thanks so much!

Nouveau Cheap readers have spoken: your favorite drugstore eyeliner brand is...

Wow! Thanks to everyone who voted in last month's "favorite drugstore brand eyeliner" poll! We had a record 1,253 votes and the results are in:

Nouveau Cheap readers have spoken: your favorite drugstore concealer brand is...

It's that time again! After 1,086 votes, the latest reader poll has ended and the results are in:

First place:

Maybelline (278 votes)

Second place:

Hard Candy (148 votes)

Third place:

Revlon (137 votes)

No other brands cracked 100+ votes, but CoverGirl came close at 77 votes

If you voted for Maybelline (my personal choice for their SuperStay concealer), I'd love to know which particular product is your favorite.

I'm assuming that if you voted for Hard Candy, you probably are a fan of this concealer, but if you voted for Hard Candy and prefer another one of their concealers, I'd love to hear about that too!

And of course if you voted for Revlon, or any other brand in this poll for that matter, let us know which product you love! Oh, and if you  voted "other" I'd really love to know which drugstore brand you would have voted for if it had been an option.

Thanks SO much to everyone who took the time to vote in this poll. I love seeing the results each month and hearing what YOU have to say. It helps influence my purchases and always turns me on to great new products I've never tried before!

If you have a minute, the new poll is up and I'd love it if you'd take a sec to vote. This month we're tackling eyeliner, and since I know it is impossible for many of us to pin down ONE favorite brand, I set it so that you can select multiple answers. Thanks in advance for voting!

Nouveau Cheap readers have spoken! Your favorite drugstore mascara brand is...

After one month and 1,090 votes, here are the results of the latest Nouveau Cheap Readers' Poll:

The winner by a landslide:

MAYBELLINE (403 votes)

Second place:

COVERGIRL (205 votes)

Third place:

L'OREAL (180 votes)

There weren't really any other contenders in this poll--no other brands cracked 100 votes or above.

I want to apologize for inadvertently omitting a great brand from this poll: Prestige. I don't know how I left this brand off the list as I personally LOVE their mascaras. Since 31 of you voted "other", I'm wondering how many of you would have voted for Prestige if it had been an option?

For those of you who voted Maybelline, CoverGirl or L'Oreal, what's your favorite formula? I'd love it if you'd leave your answer in the comments--it's always great to get more details from you!

PS: There's a new poll up (see right-hand sidebar) so please take a moment to vote, if you can. This month we're tackling drugstore concealers!

Nouveau Cheap readers have spoken and here's what you want to see!

The results of my latest Reader Poll are in, and I hear you loud and clear! After running this poll for one month and receiving 933 votes, here's what YOU would like to see more of on this blog:

Dollar store finds 351 (37%)
 Drugstore hauls (using coupons, store rewards, etc.) 451 (48%)
 Drugstore dupes 605 (64%)
 Drugstore sightings 335 (35%)
 Coupon alerts 378 (40%)
 Sale alerts 450 (48%)
 Giveaways 192 (20%)
 Product reviews - bath, body, fragrance 110 (11%)
 Product reviews - haircare 210 (22%)
 Product reviews - makeup 569 (60%)
 Product reviews - nail products 339 (36%)
 Product reviews - skincare 258 (27%)
 Product reviews - tools 196 (21%)
 Follow-up reviews (of previously reviewed products) 328 (35%)
 Vintage Vault 262 (28%)
 Beauty news 191 (20%)
 What I'm loving right now... 388 (41%)
 Etsy/etailer reviews 138 (14%)

 Reader reviews 85 (9%)
 other 21 (2%)

In first place with a whopping 605 votes, you'd like to see more Drugstore Dupes

In second place with 569 votes, you would like to see more Makeup Reviews

In third place with 451 votes, you would like to see more Drugstore Hauls

Also earning a respectable number of votes: 

Sale alerts (450 votes)

What I'm loving right now... (388 votes)

Coupon alerts (378 votes)

Rounding out the bottom were:

Bath, Body and Fragrance Reviews (110 votes)

Reader Reviews (85 votes)

Other (21 votes)

What I learned from this poll? A TON OF THINGS, but most importantly I learned that you all LOVE your makeup and want to see more makeup-oriented posts! Ask and you shall receive, my lovelies. 

I also learned that even though I'm extremely passionate about bath, body and fragrance products, many of you don't quite seem to share that passion with me. This doesn't mean I'll stop reviewing those types products completely (I could never do that) but I will try to be mindful of your interests and keep them to a minimum.

Thank you all so VERY much for giving me your input on this poll, and if you voted "Other" I would LOVE to hear what other types of things you would like me to cover on this blog.

And while I've got your attention, I would LOVE it if you'd take a minute to vote on my new poll (see right-hand sidebar). We're tackling "best brands" again, and this time I'd love to know what you favorite drugstore mascara brand is, so please vote! This time around I narrowed the options down to the major brands that manufacture the most popular drugstore mascaras, just to make it easier (although you can always vote "other" if your fave isn't represented on the list, and you'll have an option to rave about that brand when I post the results). 

Thank you SO much!

Nouveau Cheap readers have spoken! Your fave drugstore foundation brand is...

After running this poll for one month and receiving over 800 votes (thanks to all who voted!) here are your choices for the best drugstore brand when it comes to foundation:

First Place

Revlon

(280 votes)

Second Place

Maybelline

(113 votes)

Third Place

L'Oreal

(62 votes)

Also earning a respectable number of votes:

CoverGirl

(61 votes)

Physicians Formula

(49 votes)

Neutrogena and Rimmel

(tied with 44 votes each)

Rounding out the bottom:

Prestige and Sonia Kashuk (3 votes each), Black Radiance (1 vote)

If you voted on this poll, I'd love to hear exactly what your favorite drugstore foundation (brand, name, shade) is, and if you voted for Revlon, is it because you love ColorStay or another line? Also, if you voted "other", please let us know what brand you would have voted for if it had been an option!

Do you agree with these results? Did anything surprise you?

PS: My new poll is up and I would LOVE if you'd take a minute to vote on it (see right-hand sidebar). I'm taking a little break from drugstore products (just for a month) to see what YOU would like to see more of on this blog. So your vote is VERY important to me, and you can select multiple answers. Thanks in advance for voting--I would really love your feedback!

About that poll...

I want to apologize for an omission in both yesterday's poll and last month's poll. Thanks to so many of you for pointing out that I had (unintentionally) left out L'Oreal from the blush poll (gasp!). This was an honest mistake on my part, and I'm assuming that many of the "other" votes--there were 27 total--might have gone to L'Oreal if it had been an option.

So when I created yesterday's foundation poll, I simply copied most of the options from the blush poll and, not surprisingly, unintentionally left out L'Oreal again. Gah! Since you're not allowed to alter a poll once it has received votes, I had to remove the original foundation poll and put up a new one. The old one had already received over 100 votes (thank you all SO much for voting) so I'm hoping you'll take a second to re-cast your vote on the new and improved poll.

Also, thanks to many of you for pointing out that Sonia Kashuk has not been an option on these polls, so I added this brand as an option for the foundation poll and will continue to include Sonia Kashuk (and L'Oreal of course) on all future polls when it's pertinent to the poll question.

You all  help make this blog better every single day and I would be at a loss with you, my lovely readers. Thanks for all the fantastic input!

Nouveau Cheap readers have spoken! Your favorite drugstore blush brand is...

This was a CLOSE race from day one, but here's the final outcome:

After nearly 950 votes over a month-long period, here are the results:

FIRST PLACE

 Milani  

(159 votes) 

SECOND PLACE

 Physicians Formula

(148 votes)

THIRD PLACE

e.l.f.

(138 votes)

Also earning a respectable number of votes:

NYX (104 votes)

Wet n Wild (90 votes)

Rounding out the bottom were Almay and Prestige (2 votes each) and Palladio (1 vote)

So, dear readers, do you agree with the results of this poll? I'm not surprised a bit that Milani and Physicians Formula came out on top, considering the wild popularity of Milani Baked Blushes, as well as Physicians Formula Happy Booster and Mineral blushes.

For those of you who voted "other", for which brand would you have voted if it had it been an option on this poll?

A huge thanks to everyone who voted in this poll--it's always fascinating (and extremely helpful) to see the results each month! By they way, the new poll is up (see right-hand sidebar) and I would love it if you'd take a minute to vote. This month we're tackling drugstore foundation!

The results are in! Your favorite drugstore eyeshadow brand is...

In what will come as a huge surprise to absolutely no one, Wet n Wild won the Nouveau Cheap Reader's Poll for favorite drugstore eyeshadow brand!

After 1,429 votes, here are the results as voted by YOU:

First place:

Wet n Wild (595 votes)

Second place:

NYX (229 votes)

Third place:

Maybelline (108 votes)

Rounding out the bottom:

Jesse's Girl and Black Radiance (3 votes each)

Palladio (1 vote)

There were also 17 votes for "other", so if you voted "other" I'd love to hear what brand you WOULD have voted for if it had been an option in this poll!

My feelings about some of the lower-scoring brands is that they don't necessarily have bad eyeshadows, but perhaps your access to them isn't great, so you haven't had a lot of exposure to the them. Would you agree with that?

I'd love to hear your thoughts about this poll--do you agree with the results? Are you surprised that some of these brands didn't score higher (or lower)? What do you think?

And please don't forget to vote in the new poll, which now on the right-hand sidebar. This month we're tackling blush, and I cannot WAIT to see who wins! As always, I will run the poll for one month and then post the results for discussion. Thanks to everyone for voting in these polls. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do--I always learn SO much from you!

And the winner for favorite drugstore nail polish brand is...

The results are in! It's time to review the latest Nouveau Cheap Reader Poll, which is a poll I run for one full month and leave open for all readers to participate (thank you all so very much for voting!).

With over 1,600 votes, here are the results of the Favorite Drugstore Nail Polish Brand poll, as voted by YOU:

In first place with 354 votes:

OPI

In second place with 319 votes:

Sally Hansen

In third place with 172 votes:

Sinful Colors

Brands that also received a respectable amount of votes:

Wet n Wild (159 votes)

Revlon (118 votes)

Essie (113 votes)

Rounding out the bottom:

Jordana and Black Radiance (tied with 4 votes each)

Petites (2 votes)

CQ (1 vote)

When I created this poll, I tried very hard to include every brand of polish that I personally can find at the drugstore and/or big box store. But I noticed that 39 of you voted "other", and I'm very curious what polish brand your vote would have gone to if it had been listed! I'm thinking perhaps it would have been NYX, which I did not put on this poll because I have yet to find NYX nail polish at a drugstore or big box store (if you have, I'm jealous!).

The winner of this poll comes as no surprise to me. I was almost certain OPI would win, considering their enormous popularity in the beauty world. But what I did NOT expect was for Maybelline to score so low. Maybelline polishes are some of my favorites (especially their LE shades) so I was kind of sad to see them only earn 30 votes.

Do you find anything surprising in these results? How did YOUR favorite drugstore nail polish brand do?

PS: This month's poll is now up! We're tackling eyeshadow now, so please cast your vote!