This Wave Crashes

http://www.neutrogena.com/

The Neutrogena Wave works something like this:  take the softest, cotton-pancake pad you can find, dip it in hand soap and stick it to a mini vibrator, now make your teeth chatter.  Batta-bing, batta-boom, $10 product at any drugstore.

If you thought a cleansing tool that vibrates might also ex-foliate, well you would be dead wrong on this baby.   The Wave is like nuzzling up to a cloud of super mild bubbles.  I think it did make my skin look a tiny better after only using it a week.  But, I did not get some overwhelming sense of clean skin, and that is a pretty reason I wash my face. Washing my face makes me feel rejuvenated and fresh, the wave made me feel like, "at least it's not that bad."  One of my favorite products when I need a clean fix is St.Ive's, Apricot Scrub, $3 ANY drugstore.  If I were making a list (and I might), of top 10 products to keep in your bathroom, this scrub would be on it.

This one's a beauty school dropout for sure, don't buy it.

Before.



After 1 week of using the Wave.

She Caught the Nasty-Lash

    There are some things I can't live without; sewing machine, i-phone, peek-a-boo pumps, bobby pins, and a good mascara.  If there is no other make-up you apply in a day, do yourself a favor and at least coat your lashes.  Those baby's will make all the difference, Promise!  And that old, clumpy mascara you just slopped on  will also make a difference.  I know you've seen that little-ole-bitty with witch-like eyelashes, matted to her blue shadow.  It is not only our grandma's suffering from nasty-lash, we can catch it too if were not careful.
  Now lets talk about were one catches the "Nasty-Lash"..

    Smashbox, Full Exposure
  here is the story of what it can do to a
girl..                                                                                                                                                                                          
      So fresh & so clean from the start.


                                                                                                                

Added Smashbox, Full Exposure to the mix.

(about $19, found at Sephora or Nordstrom)

It doesn't look so bad from a little further out, but..









not so hot from close up.



I don't have a ton of lashes, but Full Exposure made them look even more sparse.  They do look bolder and fuller, but only because they are all stuck together.  This is the result even after applying as instructed at the makeup counter. - Start closest to the base, wiggle brush so all lashes fall into the grooves, pull out and up.
 Although Sephora's rating system gave it 4 out of 5 stars, I have had better.

Andria's Verdict is.... Smashbox, Full Exposure is pretty lame 5000.




         
 this 80's icon.....

                  ....used to scare the daylights out of me as a child!   And Tammy Faye Bakker is exactly who I looked like after trying FULL EXPOSURE.  Not only did I look like a circus clown, but I also wasted $19 on the product....Sheesh!

Smashbox tried to take the uniqueness from every other great mascara out there.  While I usually prefer the "merging technique," it didn't work for them this time.  However, I do hear that the Smashbox Layer Lash Primer is a favorite seller.  Hmmm, do I smell a future product test?  Stay tuned guys and gals.

Brooke's Verdict: is....Smashbox Full Exposure is officially bunk 5000.

Time for Some Green

                                Hippy myth or holistic truth?

I know you've heard the hype.  You hear that damn, granola-chick down the hall always talking about it, but seriously, what's the big deal about green tea? And what does it really do?

Green tea has helpful antioxidants called catechins.  They protect against cancer, blood clots, atherosclerosis, and free radicals that can damage DNA.  Green tea also contains polyphenols, an anti-inflammatory, when combined with catechin protects against damaging UV Rays of the sun.  It is also able to rejuvenate old skin cells that were at the end of their life cycle.  That's right, believe the hype on this one.

Little bit of acne? try drinking 2 cups a day. Yep, it does that too.

Don't just drink it, rub it in..
  Try out green tea extract the next time you go out in the sun.  That's right mama, the stuff works as sunblock too according to a 2000 study by Western Reserve University.  Sun damage is not pretty, so sunblock is necessary.  Green tea extract is a way to keep your skin looking healthy and youthful in an all natural way.

Time to get down on the green.

Sources - WebMD, amazing-green-tea.com