Smith's Rosebud Salve Review

I have been hearing about Smith's Rosebud Salve for ages. It is always on top 10 lists, all time favorite lists. stuff like that. I have never been that interested because I do not love lip balm in a pot. Something about dipping a potentially dirty finger in a pot and then the germs festering for 2 years never did it for me. HOWEVER, I caved after seeing this at Sephora so many times and hearing so many raves. And let me tell you, it may have been the best $7 I ever spent. I love this stuff. This is a great lip balm. Not too greasy, not too waxy. It makes my dry winter lips feel silky and moist, but not sticky. I have also used it as a little blusher/cheek color for a mid day freshen up, and as a cuticle/nail cream, and hand cream. There are a million uses for it. It smells very lightly of roses and has no taste. Here is what the company says about it:

"Smith's Rosebud Salve (0.8 oz.)
Since 1895, this world-famous salve has been lauded by fashion magazines, make-up artists, and celebrities as their number one preferred lip balm. In addition to being a wonderful lip moisturizer, natural-looking lip gloss and lipstick base, it is still a family favorite to aid in the relief of chapped and dry skin, blemishes, diaper rash, and detergent burns.

* Outline lips with lip liner of you choice about ¼ inches from the outside of your lips toward the center. Then use a lip brush to blend the salve to achieve a “pouty look”.
* Use Rosebud Salve alone or over your favorite hue of lipstick to moisturize and give a “dewy effect”.
* Apply Rosebud Salve to eyebrows to tame an unruly brow line while also giving sheen.
* Rosebud Salve is great on fly-away or frizzy hair. Dab a small amount on the palms of your hands and apply sparingly to tresses.
* Use Rosebud Salve as a subtle accent to cheek bones, collar bones, shoulders, or any other body part that you want to moisturize or enhance.
* Apply rosebud Salve lightly to the skin above the eye as a base for powered eye shadow, and then add the desired colors you wish to dazzle your eyes with. The rich emollient properties of the Salve will help to hold that look all day."

Benefit 10 Review (a really cool bronzer/highlighter combo blush)

This is a cool product and a staple in my "must have/essentials" makeup bag. It is a pressed powder, and comes in a little paper box and a blush brush. It comes off on the brush VERY easily (I usually tap excess off). One side of the powder is a pink highlighter (to make your cheekbones look all "Gisele-ish" (okay, I wish, but it makes your cheek bones look more defined). The other half is bronzer and it makes you look skinny and sucked in. You use both at the same time, with the highlighter above the bronzer and you get the contoured effect. I usually have to blend the line with my fingers on my cheek. You can also swirl both together for a natural healthy blush. I usually do not wear a blush in addition to this, but sometimes I do. Let me know what you think about it! Again, my best advice is to try this stuff out at Sephora or a Benefit counter (try Macy's). Or you can buy it here.

Benefit Cosmetics Eye Bright

I have been waiting to review this product for weeks! I.LOVE.IT. This is my favorite new product in ages. Benefit makes such fun things. I have tried a lot of their stuff. I got turned onto this product after reading an article in a magazine. It said if you line your inner eyelids with this light pink eyeliner, it makes you look healthier, more rested, more awake. I thought it was probably all BS, but I tried it the next time I went to Sephora, and could not stop thinking about it days later. I loved the results. It really did make my bloodshot tired old full time working mom eyes look whiter and healthier. I have worn it every single day since I bought it weeks ago. You can buy it here. Let me know what you think! Did you like it as much as I did?

Next up...dying to try Colossal Mascara. It is getting very mixed reviews.

Sephora Nail Patch review (aka those nail polish sticker thingies)

I have been eying these things forever...I first saw them in the Avon Catalog years ago. How cool is this idea?! I was super psyched about it because when you have kids you do not have time to do your nails and wait for it to dry. I am also so uncoordinated my nail polish never looks good and usually starts chipping immediately. When I was at Sephora the other day, I found these nail patches
. I ad to try them!

Well, the review is in and..............THEY ARE NOT GOOD! With full disclosure, I did not take 10 minutes a nail to apply these things. I read the directions, slapped them on, and the results were complete and utter failure. They were easy to put on but hard to maneuver around the top of the nail. They ended up balling up and chipping within a few minutes of application (if not immediately). After the first several nails I decided to take more time- trimming the tops carefully with a nail clipper so there was not too much excess, but they still had too much "polish" at the ends. As you can see in my pic, they look like a 2 week old manicure, and this was minutes after application. Save your money and buy yourself a manicure. Although, for $8 (or 2 Starbucks) they are kind of fun to play with.

Before and After pics above.
So, my girlfriend kept telling me about how awesome the airbrush tan was. In my neighborhood, they cost $100 or more! My friend got hers at Aloha Sun in Marietta for $35 (or $30 if you buy a package). I sucked it up, made the drive, and boy was it worth it!! The airbrush lady (probably not her real title) did an amazing job and spent a long time getting it perfect. She puts more on the areas that get more sun naturally, like the fronts of your arms. This gives you a contouring effect and it just looks fab. I am naturally WHITE AS A GHOST, as evidenced in my before picture. I do not tan. But, now it looks pretty natural. Be prepared when you go- you have to wear loose clothing and can not go run around town afterwards because if you wear your bra and undies, it will smudge the tan. You have the choice of getting as undressed as you want. I ended up having to go full monty because I was wearing lace underwear and she said it would make a lace patterned tan...not exactly the look I was going for. Being naked in front of a stranger was not my first choice of things I wanted to do today, but she made me feel comfortable. Too bad for her she usually is airbrushing bikini models and had to look at a middle aged housewife in the buff! Supposedly this lasts up to 10 days. I will let you know if that is true. Oh yeah, no showers for 8 hours before or after (hence the hideous hairdo).

Clinique Black Honey Almost Lipstick

I am a big fan of the natural look, and love a lot of clinique products. BUT, Clinique Black Honey Almost Lipstick is awful and overpriced. Not only is the color bad (just barely a purply shine), but it fades off within seconds. This product is consistently a best seller and gets a lot of rave reviews, but on my pale lips, I consider this stuff a waste of money. Bad consistency- balls up and leaves nasty little pieces of lipgloss on your lips. You will have to try it for yourself, though, because a ton of people love this. You can try it on at Sephora for free.

Local review for you Hotlanta peeps... Toni & Guy at Perimeter Mall.

I have to share with the world (or one person that reads this blog...wait, that is myself...oh, well) how AWESOME Amy at Toni & Guy hair salon is. She does cuts only...you will have to see someone else for color. But good god people, this woman can cut hair. I have been going to her for a few years now, and I have NEVER had someone pay so much attention to my haircut. She is an OCD perfectionist, and takes forever to do the cut. Which is great, because if you are a vain chick like me, you have to have a good one! Or if you are a cheap chick like me, you get pissed when you pay a fortune for a haircut and it sucks. I have been to everyone and their brother in Atlanta, and I can not imagine going to anyone else for a cut. Recently, I went in to have my super long hair chopped off so I could look like Kim from the Real World Hollywood. Or just pretend that an old lady like me is hot and 23 like her. Whatever. Here is Amy's number. Go see her and enjoy listening to her crazy Chicago accent.
PERIMETER MALL
4400 ASHFORD-DUNWOODY ROAD, SUITE 2305, ATLANTA, GA 30346
770/510-4460
Me before:
Me after:

And no, my "Don't Bother Me I'm Hiking" t-shirt is not for sale, so don't even ask.