The Truly Beautiful Girl's Holiday Gift Guide: Drugstore-Brand Beauty Basket

For those pinching pennies this year, the thought of buying gifts for your friends and loved ones is a scary one. Never fear! You can still get your loved ones amazing gifts without going into debt - all it takes is a little bit of creativity.

I just had a brilliant epiphany and I am definitely putting these together for some of the Truly Beautiful ladies on my shopping list...
Holiday beauty baskets are a great idea! They are easy to make and allow you to personalize them for everybody and for every budget. All you need is a small basket (larger if you want to spend more to fill it), some cellophane wrap or tissue paper and a ribbon to tie it!

Next, hit up your local Walgreen's. They have better sales. Often you can find makeup with the little orange tags for 50% off or more!

Purchase whatever you feel your friend/loved one would love. For a natural beauty, try items by Neutrogena. For a glamour girl, try L'Oreal H.I.P.

The sky is the limit with possibilities, but not the price tag.

The Best, Cheapest Facial Around

On a college student's budget (well, most budgets nowadays), maintaining yourself is THAT much more difficult. Between hair appointments, nails and eyebrow waxing, keeping up your image can be pricey. However, Clean & Clear Soft In-Shower Facial is making life just that much easier for all of us by bringing a professional facial feel to your shower.

"The In-Shower Facial treatment is applied to skin while steam produced by the hot water allows the ingredients to deep cleanse pores while infusing moisture into the skin. The SOFT In-Shower Facial is left on skin for one minute, then gently massaged into skin to exfoliate dead skin cells and extract impurities from pores. Skin is left feeling smooth and soft after just one minute. The SOFT In-Shower Facial features Glycolic Acid, an exfoliant that promotes gentle cell turnover, as well as clay, which draws the dirt and oil out..."

Source

I haven't used Clean & Clear products since I switched to Proactiv back in high school, but something about the attractive packaging and the promise of a great facial baited me in. Facials get pretty pricey. They can range from $60 to over $100 with extractions of blackheads. They also say that you should get them every month or two. Not practical.

I decided to give this product a try and I absolutely love it and recommend it. It might be slightly harsh for extremely sensitive skin, but if you only use it once a week or so, it shouldn't be too bad. It makes my skin feel deep cleaned and soft. This will definitely hold you over until you can afford the real thing.

No More Blackheads?: Clean & Clear Advantage Blackhead Eraser

Okay, so I went to Ulta the other day and I was meandering the aisles aimlessly as most beauty junkies like myself would. Then, this lady from the salon portion of the store came out of nowhere and starts trying to sell me her facial treatments. I was taken aback, but I decided to see what she was offering. It turns out they had this contraption which was basically a camera that gives extreme close-ups of your skin, so they can diagnose what is wrong and what products you might need. I was scared to see my skin zoomed times 1 million, but I figured, why not?

It wasn't that bad until the lady got the camera to my nose. She was like, "when was the last time you got a facial!" My blackheads were waving at her, I guess.

I got my first and only facial about a year ago. She sounded appalled when I told her. She said you are supposed to get them monthly. At that point, I knew that my solution would not be getting regular facials because they are $55 a pop. So... that brings me to the quest for a solution to blackheads!

I decided to try the Clean & Clear Advantage Blackhead Eraser ($18). If it does what it promises, I'm sure we will all be happier women.

At first the device was a bit confusing to me, so here's how it works.

The little machine itself is cute and compact enough for travel, but it's a bit on the large side if you are trying to get rid of blackheads on your nose and in other smaller areas of your face.
First, you have to put in the battery, which comes with the machine. Then, you twist the cap shut. The cap is also the on-off switch.
Put on one of the blackhead removing sponge pads at the velcro-like end of the machine. These pads come with it, but you have to buy re-fills.
Wet the end of the sponge, until it starts to get foamy.
Finally, turn on the Blackhead Eraser and run it on your face in slow, circular motions. Focus it on areas that you want to target. For me, that would be my nose.

I think that this product is okay, but it doesn't really get you instant results. My face was smooth after I used this, but I could still see my blackheads clear as day. This is good for overall facial exfoliation, but if you have very sensitive skin, it could irritate your face.

If you are looking for a quick fix, this is not the product for you. Skip it.

Designer Beauty at a Target [Tar-Jaay] Near You!

So, In case you didn't know that Target is the best.... Now you know. While you are browsing the mega-store for frozen food, toilet paper and dorm decor this August, don't forget to hit up the ever-expanding beauty aisle! Take that, Wal-Mart.

According to Nylon Magazine, Target is bringing 3 acclaimed international beauty brands to stores nationwide: Jemma Kidd, Pixi by Petra and my favorite, Napoleon Perdis! Now it is officially bourgie enough to be called Tar-Jaay for real.

I was wondering why Sephora and Saks decided to clear out Perdis' merchandise at 50%. I guess I didn't think too deeply about it because I didn't want to question my blessings. However, America is now going to be EXTRA blessed.

Napoleon must have realized where the big money is, nowadays. The key to it is... making the young, broke and fabulous ::waves:: feel like they are living the life and affording high-end products. You actually might end up spending enough on several of these low-priced products to have afforded one your higher-priced craves, but.... that's the fun of it all, right?

Here are some pictures of a few products that will be featured:

Napoleon Perdis


Pixi by Petra

Jemma Kidd

I am fully prepared to wake up at the butt-crack of dawn and head over to Target to pick up some of these products. I'm eagerly anticipating all Napoleon Perdis products, the Pixi by Petra eyeshadow palette and the Jemma Kidd bright liquid eyeliners.

Say it with me... Yaaayy for Tar-Jaaay!

[The Verdict]: Milani Brow Kit

With the economy as bad as it is nowadays, sometimes it's hard to splurge on luxury makeup products that we really don't technically need. Yet, sometimes drugstore makeup just isn't the same no matter how hard you try to squint in the mirror.

I've made it one of the missions of TB to help you out by testing and narrowing down the best products of the drugstore bunch, and also by finding the products that you should splurge on. This way you save both time and money.

The first review is for Milani "Brow Fix" Brow Kit.

As you know from my previous post, I'm an eyebrow maniac! I love to keep my brows looking as fresh as possible at all times. I've always been curious about those "miracle" eyebrow kits, which can supposedly give you spectacular looking eyebrows, like the ones by the guru Anastasia, which can be up to $65! One day, as I was perusing the aisles of my local CVS, I spotted this kit by Milani. Now, I know Milani isn't the best drugstore brand, but this product seemed different. It has the same contents as the more expensive kits but in a tiny pocket-sized version. At only $6.95, it's perfect, right? Maybe not....

The small compact contains 6 items:
A straight edged, steel tweezer, slanted brow brush, brow bone sponge applicator, 1 brow bone highlighter and 2 brow powders (light & dark) to fill & shape brows.

The company describes the product as a "brow grooming-shaping kit that will help you create a perfect set of arches."

With these kinds of claims, I decided to give it a go and try this product. I tried using the tweezer that it comes with, only to find that it was of horrible quality! I had to try to pluck the same eyebrow hair several times - a tell-tale sign that you need a new tweezer. I tried the brow powder and highlighter and my eyebrows looked like Frida Kahlo's, which defeats the whole purpose of even buying such a product!

The powder did not blend well at all. It made me look like I needed a wax! Also, the highlighter didn't do it's job. I had to sigh in annoyance after using this product, because I have to take it right back from whence it came... CVS, here I come... again.

The only pro about the Milani Brow "Fix(?)" Kit is the small packaging. It fits in the palm of my hand and would be PERFECT for a beauty 911 kit, if only the product itself worked.

I will be trying out department store brow kits to see if those are worth the money. I'm willing to bet that they probably are because of the better quality ingredients and formulation.

The verdict for this product?

Skip it.

Banish Dry Skin & Ash: The Best Drug-Store Body Moisturizers

Dry skin sucks! Have you ever rushed out of the house only to find that you forgot to lotion up? I hate it when that happens (though, that's only second to the horror of forgetting deodorant)! Anyway, dry skin is the bane of human existence. Contrary to popular belief, dry skin or xerosis (yes, it is a medical condition!) is a year-round problem, not one only emerging in the cold, winter months.

Even in the summer, there is nothing worse than being itchy and looking down and seeing thirsty, dry skin cells shriveling up for lack of moisture. Okay, that was dramatic...but it's true!

Also, some lotions don't even work for people with extremely dry skin or common skin conditions such as eczema. There is nothing more frustrating than having a cabinet full of lotions that barely do the job - a true waste of space and money.

Let's banish parched skin and allow soft, beautiful skin to show through! Here are the absolute best body moisturizers and moisturizing techniques that will end your dry spell for good.

Johnson's Baby Oil Gel in Lavender, $4.29, is definitely not just for the little ones. This product will give you moisturized skin that lasts all day (and maybe even into the next!). After you shower, while water is still on your skin, apply a small amount of the gel to your body. Then towel off as normal, and voila! The water on your skin will seal the moisture from the gel into your skin cells.

Olay Quench, $9.99, is one of the best body lotions out there for the summertime. It is a very light formulation, but it packs a punch of moisture! Your skin will feel so smooth and luxurious after you apply this lotion. It is worth the price because you will definitely be trying to beat the last drop out of this bottle.

When you use Aveeno Stress Relief Moisturizing Lotion, $7.99, you will feel like you are being pampered like a queen in a spa. The aromatherapy in this lotion is the selling point. The scent is not overpowering, but it is enough to soothe the senses. Also, this lotion is very emollient and will keep your skin feeling VERY soft.

Okay, I know you were intrigued by the really cool commercial too. I admit that I was lured in to buy Vaseline Intensive Rescue because of the ingenious marketing campaign, but I was pleased to learn that this lotion is the best that Vaseline has to offer! It costs $7.89 for the large bottle, so it's perfect if you're on a budget. It goes on very smoothly and isn't too heavy at all! It's extreme moisturization and you really will feel a big difference in your skin.

If you follow this guide, you will be able to skip the junk on the drugstore shelves and zone in on the products that REALLY work, tried and tested by yours truly.