During this pandemic, there have been long lines to get into Trader Joes. As a result, I have been unable to get my favorite Trader Joe’s Nourish Spa Conditioner and I have tried many other conditioners available at CVS: Suave, Tresemme, Loreal, Nexus. None of them worked. Without a good conditioner, my ends were so fried I had to get my hair trimmed. I realized without the Trader Joes Nourishing Conditioner, my hair gets continually more damaged. I went to TraderJoe’s this morning and really stocked up.

The conditioner lives up to its promises and provides instant gratification. My hair is entirely retextured after one use: it is smooth, silky, and soft. My hair immediately feels smoother when I rinse it off. For $2.99, I am getting a conditioner that works more effectively than any expensive salon brand conditioner and it is safe for color treated hair.

Trader Joe’s Nourish Spa Conditioner nourishes hair as advertised and for $2.99 you cannot lose. Let me know in the comments if you have tried this conditioner.

Hi Beauties! Its been too long! With all this social distancing, I have gotten back into watching beauty tutorials and following influencers. I feel inspired and I think nail trends would make a great first topic.

You may ask, why press on nails with all your at home gel manicure expertise? Beauty Influencer Whitney Simmons swears by press on nails- she has all these fabulous Instagram posts showing her wearing press on nails. About an hour ago, I saw the Rebecca Minkoff imPRESS Press-On Manicure nails for $8.99 at Walgreens in a variety of fun colors and designs. I bought the above photographed nails along with a light blue color (which I will be returning ASAP)

Its important to note: this is my first foray into press on nails. I have never considered fake nails before Whitney’s endorsement. While the process of applying press on nails may seem straight forward, its not that easy. In the process of applying the nails, I discovered two key challenges:

1. It is very difficult to find a nail that is the correct size. Many nails are simply too small and the nails pictured above clearly don’t fit.
2. If you do not position the nail properly along the cuticle, it looks strange. Positioning the nail must take a lot of expertise. The Beauty Influencer Whitney who inspired all of this must have had professional experts apply the nails for the endorsement.

When I saw how silly the first hand looked, I gave up. Before I removed the nails, I had to take above picture for this blog post. I found it so hard to type on my phone, I had to remove the nails immediately. I always see pictures on Kylie Jenner, the Kardashian’s, or other celebrities on Instagram showing ridiculously long nails. They are so impractical-I honestly can’t imagine having to adapt all of my essential day to day life processes for beauty. I am telling you, basic tasks become difficult with these nails. Needless to say, I do not buy into this trend.

After this experience, I do not recommend press on nails under any circumstance. If you are short on time, I recommend applying one coat of Sally Hansen’s Instadry (about $4.99) with Seche Vita’s Quick Dry Top Coat (about $10.00). You can’t lose with the wide brush and the quick dry formulas!

Please let me know what topics you would like me to write about!

I have always been interested in Charlotte Tilbury after watching numerous of her Youtube beauty tutorials. It is amazing how transformative her makeup looks in video.

Today, I put it to the test and waited to write this post after 8 hours of wear.. Honestly, my skin looked better before I even applied the makeup. The mascara flaked off. I think Charlotte Tilbury is all clever names and packaging with great marketing.

To make it easy, I have written a comprehensive review of each product below:

1. Magic Cream Moisturizer ($100)- the cream is very thick and ideal for mature skin. For me, it did not fill in my acne scars and therefore it is not worth it.
2. Airbrush Flawless Longwear Foundation ($44)– the color selection has a yellow undertone. The foundation has a smooth finish. However, it oxidized and did not last.
3. Hollywood Flawless Filter ($44)– I do not understand the purpose of this. Is it a tinted moisturizer or illuminator? Regardless, I think an actual liquid illuminator such as Physician’s Formula Rose All Day would be more effective.
4. Magic Away Concealer ($32)– I think its decent but Nars has better coverage.
5. Magic Vanish Color Corrector ($32)– I do not think this does anything.
6. Cheek to Chic Blush ($40)– the color selection is clearly for medium to darker skin tones. There is no peach or coral options. I think Covergirl is better for a fraction of the cost.
7. Luxury Eyeshadow Palette ($53)– all of these colors are impractical- they are for a smokey look. If you are going for a luxury price, you may as well spend the money and get the Chanel Quad as those colors are beautiful.
8. Eyeliner Pillowtalk Collection ($27)– impractical as it smudges too much.
9. Full Fat Lashes Mascara ($29)– totally flaked off.
10. K.I.S.S.I.N.G Lipstick ($34)– the color payoff is rich. The color selection is geared toward medium to darker skin tones or at least a more yellow skin tones. I had trouble finding a color suitable. The Pillow Talk color is not for everyone as she markets it- it did not work for me.
11. Lip Cheat Liner ($22)– this is decent but I think Lancome’s lip pencil is creamer and smoother.
12. Hollywood Contour Wand ($38)– if this lasted, I would have bought it. It results in sculpted cheekbones for a few hours.
13. Legendary Brows Eyebrow Gel ($22.50)– I did enjoy this product, however I think you can get a cheaper version very easily. I do not see the value in it.

After trying out a $518.50 Charlotte Tilbury face I was not impressed, The lip cheat and lipstick are the highlights, assuming you have a yellow skin tone. The moisturizer could be effective for mature skin. Overall, I think Charlotte Tilbury is a luxury brand that does not live up to its name: it is all marketing/packaging.

Let me know what you think.

Note: post took months of research to find the best solution. I did not settle!

I recently left the world of working from home full time to begin an office job. I lived with a constant struggle of finding long lasting makeup- by noon my skin was red and uneven. My Sephora 10 hour foundation only lasted a few hours. I tried a few approaches for weeks until I found a solution.

My first approach involved trying out long lasting foundations such as Maybelline Super Stay foundation, L’Oreal Infallible 24 Hour Fresh Wear Foundation, Smashbox 24 hour, you name it. While these products look amazing in Youtube beauty tutorials and have excellent reviews, I found they look cakey and the color selection too yellow toned. Personally, I do not like full coverage foundations- I find the finish heavy and unnatural.

I then got into setting sprays, only to find while the color lasted, the smooth look from the initial application lasted only a few hours. By 2 PM, the indentations of my acnes scares were more noticeable than ever. I even tried the loose powder/setting spray combo for a few weeks- the color lasted, the smooth look did not last.

I then tried applying with a beauty blender. I find using a beauty blender with a setting spray instead of water helps with lasting powder. The continued issue is long lasting smoothness. The color is there, but my skin does not look smooth.

This week, I finally found the solution, which actually results in an airbrushed finish: apply your favorite foundation using a fluffy brush. I know, this will use up significantly more foundation. Its worth it- you will get the airbrush finish you see in magazines. Instead of using a fluffy brush to set the makeup, I wet a beauty blender with setting spray and applied a loose finishing powder with the beauty blender, dabbing it in. Surprisingly, with this method the finish is even more airbrushed.

Ten o’clock yesterday, 15 hours after application, my makeup was intact. I was amazed. I finally found a solution.

If you use this method, check the mirror at work at 3 PM- your makeup will still look as airbrushed as when you applied it!

Do you ever straighten your hair and have dead ends? You know, when it looks like you desperately need a hair cut?

For a long time, I have loved Moroccan oil for its frizz fighting properties. The original Moroccan Oil adds shine and smoothness. However, it does not seal the cuticle the same way Garnier Fructis Moroccan Sleek. My ends are so smooth I do not need a haircut to trim the dead ends as frequently. For 10% of the price of Moroccan Oil, you can’t lose!

I will continue to find cheaper versions of expensive products to save money. Comment below if you have tried it and seen the same results!

On Black Friday, while shopping at Nordstrom, I tried out the Dyson Airwrap which received the 2019 Allure Best of Beauty Breakthrough Award. At a staggering $550, the Dyson Airwrap features a motor with the following attachments: 1.2 inch air wrap barrel, 1.6 inch air wrap barrel, firm smoothing brush, soft smoothing brush, round volumizing brush and pre-styling dryer. It is important to note that despite all of these features, the Dyson Airwrap does not actually replace a blowdryer, flat iron, and curling iron as it does not accomplish the same outcome.

The Dyson sales representative raised a red flag when she said customers returned the Dyson Airwrap all the time because they did not know how to use it. Based on my experience testing it out, I think people return it because the curl attachment requires the coordination of a professional athlete- its extremely difficult to maneuver hair around the air wrap in one hand while constantly changing the settings with the other. In terms of results, the curls were too frizzy and too voluminous. I have had more success with the Dry Bar 3 Day Bender at a fraction of the price.

While Allure believes Dyson Airwrap is worthy of a breakthrough award, the Airwrap’s inability to achieve the smooth hair- be it curls, straight hair or a blowout- will put it out of the running for many prospective customers.

I recently got my makeup done at the Bloomingdales Chanel counter. I love learning new techniques when getting my makeup done, however I do not always like the price tag. As a luxury brand, Chanel is expensive- the eyes were $224 alone and the whole face would have been over $1000! In terms of results, I was very impressed with the eye makeup; the rest of the products were fair at best. My experience wearing Chanel makeup further proves my point that luxury does not equate to quality- buying Chanel makeup means you are buying the Chanel label, the beautiful packaging, and the feeling of luxury you get when you apply an expensive product.

While the colors presented below may not match your skin tone, all of these products offer multiple colors and can be customized to fit your needs. For example, the NYX Professional Wonder Pencil comes in light, medium and dark.

Hopefully after reading this post, you will take away some of the techniques I learned from the Chanel makeup artist, along with the cheaper versions of the products to your daily routine.

A few weeks ago, I checked out the La Mer counter at Bloomingdales. The sales rep generously gave me a three week supply sample of La Mer Moisturizing Cool Gel Cream ($335) worth $30. La Mer makes big promises: “Infused with cell-renewing Miracle Broth™, these celebrated moisturizers soothe, plump, and smooth away fine lines as a natural new radiance is revealed.” La Mer’s value proposition honestly centers around the luxurious feeling of applying it- the product smells amazing. While my skin felt smooth immediately after applying it, after three weeks of use my skin did not improve- I noticed my acne scars appeared significantly worse. I have found the Trader Joe’s Ultra Moisturizing Cream ($8.99) has better long term results in terms of skin hydration and smoothness.

My experience using La Mer proves that cheaper versions can be better than the expensive original product. Ingredients such as “Miracle Broth™—the legendary ingredient that flows through all of La Mer’s products—which infuses skin with sea-sourced renewing benefits” can be simply marketing techniques that justify the extremely high prices of luxury products. Based on this experience, I advise researching a cheaper version of the expensive product, trying it for a few weeks, and then trying the expensive version to see if its really worth the money.

If you find an expensive product you want to try, comment below and I will find you the cheaper version.

The following hair products are life changing for me: Oribe Split End Seal treatment ($48 retail, $25 on Overstock.com with promo code), Oribe Balm D’Or Heat Shield ($45 retail, $25 on Overstock.com with promo code), and Moroccan Oil ($44 retail, $29 at Walmart.com). This cocktail of products applied on damp hair completely transforms the texture and look of my hair. After I straighten my hair, it has the same silky, smooth shine and glossy color as after I get my hair done professionally. There is no question these salon products outperform their drugstore peers- I find drugstore products give good, but not outstanding results. As you can tell, I see enormous value in the high end products. However, if I bought all of them at retail price, I would pay $147. $147 for hair products?! This is outrageous! I have found a way to get all of the products for only $79.

I discovered the discount on Sunday when I looked for my sister’s birthday gift. I googled my favorite hair products to find many products are offered online at a steep discount, specifically at Overstock.com and Walmart.com. The next time you find a fabulous hair product at Blue Mercury or Sephora, I would advise you go home and Google it for 5 minutes-you will most likely be amazed at the discount. This 5 minutes of price research could save you hundreds of dollars over time. Alternatively, if you see a great discounted product on Overstock or Walmart.com and want to try it out before buying, I would suggest either getting a sample to take home or trying in store at Sephora or Blue Mercury.

By leveraging the steep discounts for salon brands at e-commerce retailers such as Overstock.com and Walmart.com, you can afford very expensive, otherwise impractical products, providing salon quality results for a fraction of the price.

The other day, I got a sample of the Sturm Face Mask from Blue Mercury. The promise: intensive moisture for extra smoothness. The ingredient purslane supposedly “activates your skin’s antioxidant system and protects sensitive cell membranes against free radical attack.”

The mask is a thick white almost paste like consistency. Honestly, this has the makings of an overpriced clay mask. The thickness made it difficult to apply evenly over my skin. There was no scent- for $120, you would think they could afford to add a nice fragrance. Over time, the mask dried into my skin. When it came time to remove the mask, I found it incredibly difficult to wash off with warm water. The result: my skin broke out.

I do not see the value of this mask as my skin broke out- I have had better results from clay masks at CVS for $2.

If you want a truly amazing mask, try the Adalou Naturals Instant Age Defying Face Mask (on special 2 for $6 in my city) from Whole Foods. Out of curiosity, I have tested every single use face mask at Whole Foods. While I enjoyed many of the masks, the Age Defying is by far my favorite. The Age Defying Mask, complete with fruit stem cell complex and resveratrol CoQ10, exfoliates, brightens, hydrates, and revitalizes skin. I love the entire experience of this mask: the smell, the color, the texture, the ease of removal and the results. Trust me, this mask does not disappoint!