Halloween NOTD and Sally Hansen Salon Effects Review

I picked up the Sally Hansen Salon Effects in Spun For You (spiderwebs) for Halloween. I found them at Five Below for $3 and I had been meaning to try them but hadn't quite gotten around to it. First of all, I thought they would be a lot harder to apply than they actually were. I can be a bit shaky handed and combine that with very thin strips that can easily rip didn't seem like a great combination. I was pleasantly surprised, although I did make a few mistakes. However, I managed to do both hands with only one of the packs which means I can keep the other pack for Halloween 2013 (I even had 2 leftover)!

I can't speak much for wear time and this post is pre-scheduled ahead of Sandy since who knows whether or not I will have power on Halloween. Fingers crossed though.

The finished look.
Happy Halloween!

Review: Dermaheal Conditioning Shampoo

I was recently sent an offering of products as part of the Bloom Ambassadors program. One of the items was the Dermaheal Hair Conditioning Shampoo. I'm not exactly in Dermaheal's target audience as I don't suffer from hair thinning. I lose a lot of hair but I sure do grow enough of it as is. My hair is generally thick and healthy and I don't have any female-baldness problems to speak of. So a $40 shampoo "treatment for male- or female-pattern baldness to halt hair loss and stimulate new hair growth" is not really applicable for me.

While I didn't find the shampoo anything special, I enjoyed the pump bottle and the fairly unoffensive scent. I didn't find it conditioning but most shampoos aren't enough for my dry curly hair. I can't say I recommend it since I didn't get any of the claimed effects but then again, I don't have the issue the shampoo is supposed to treat.

Disclosure: Received for review purposes.

SkincareRx Apothica Skin Botanica Super Sale!

Forget about the Sephora Friends & Family sale, the company that owns Skincarerx, Apothica and Skin Botanica has put out an amazing beauty sale! You can get Stila compact eye shadows for a measly $1.80! Other brands featured are Napoleon Perdis, Becca, theBalm and others. The savings are pretty ridiculous, way more than 20%!

Review: Philip B. Anti-Flake Relief Shampoo

Philip B. is a line that doesn't seem to get a whole lot of love, likely due to the price point. I hesitate to spend anywhere near $30 on a shampoo but SpaceNK sent out a code and I had some of their reward dollars to spend and I said what the heck. As most of you know by now, I suffer from a very temperamental scalp and I have tried loads of anti-dandruff shampoos in the past. I generally go to The Body Shop Ginger Care Shampoo which I think is amazing for one that actually smells decent but if I use it too often, it seems to stop working. T-gel works beautifully but dries my hair out and also makes my hair smell disgusting for 24-48 hours (yes, my hair clings to scents like no other). I was ready to try something new and I've heard a lot about this relief shampoo.

The Philip B. Anti-Flake Relief Shampoo comes in several sizes but the most standard is the 7.4oz bottle for (breathe) $35. It is meant to "heal and soothe dry, oily and flaky scalps". Here's the thing with a lot of these types of products (note T-gel complaint above), a lot of them are meant for oily scalps, not dry scalps. My scalp and hair for that matter, rarely get oily, but they can get flaky, tight and the skin can hurt as if it's pulled too tightly. When getting rid of the flakes is key, I also don't want to dry it out further as that will exacerbate the problem.

I've used this several times over the last few weeks and I really enjoy it. It smells horrible, but the scent does not cling to my hair like T-gel. Honestly, that's worth it to me. It does also work and I don't need to use it very often for it to do the job. If you can afford to spend $35 and you have dandruff or a temperamental scalp, I'd give this one a shot.

It's available at spacenk, dermstore and several other e-tailers. Around here, the only chain retail store it's carried in is Blue Mercury.

Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels Winner

Congratulations to Patty M.! Patty, I'll be e-mailing you to get your address shortly. Thanks to everyone who entered. Another larger giveaway will be coming soon! =)

October Birchbox

My October Birchbox came in the mail today and I'll admit, I'm a bit disappointed with this month's box. I've been wanting to try the Eve Lom cleanser but was hoping for at least a mini container so I could try it a few times before deciding whether it would be something I would ever purchase in the future (unlikely due to the price but I'd consider it if it was awesome). Also, how on earth does Eve Lom get away with selling 3 muslin cloths for $22 (making my 1 cloth "worth" $7)? The Chantecaille mascara is a nice size and I'm curious how it performs though I don't think I'd splurge on the full size as it's a jaw dropping $42. The amika nourishing hair mask looks nice but it's a sample packet again. And the DDF serum is unexciting and I am 28 so I don't have any wrinkles (yet at least). I actually don't mind the nibble as I can always use an extra nutrition bar to keep at the office for late nights. I know this box is worth well over $10 and I'll be trying most everything out (though I'm tempted to give the DDF to my mother). Still, I'm not blown away.

Eve Lom cleanser packet .16oz (full size 3.3oz $80) worth $3.87
Eve Lom muslin cloth 1 cloth (full size 3 cloths $22) worth $7.33
Chantecaille mascara .14oz (full size .32oz $42) worth $18.37
amika nourishing hair mask .67oz/20ml (full size 60ml $12) worth $4
DDF wrinkle resist plus pore minimizer serum .23oz (full size 1.7oz $85) worth $11.50
Luna Lemon Zest nutrition bar 1 bar (15 bars $18.75) worth $1.25

So if you break it down, the box is worth $46. I don't know, maybe I've been spoiled in the recent past and I was so hoping the Eve Lom would be a reasonable size!

Disclosure: referral link.

NOTD: Julep Demi

Fall has definitely made its way to the DC Metro area. It's chilly and there's a briskness in the air. I felt the pull towards a dark raspberry shade, Julep Demi. This came in my first ever Julep Maven box and made me fall in love with the formula and brand. Due to the jelly-ish nature of the shade, it pulls much more vampy and darker in person even though it looks like a pretty standard red in the photograph.

This is 2 coats, though I really could have gotten away with 1. Again, this is more of a deep raspberry color. But as you can see in my original post, it changes with the lighting. I love the Julep formula (aside from the metallics) and have continued the subscription though I rarely post about it.

Has it felt like fall where you are?

Disclosure: Referral link utilized

September Empties

It's been a little busy here at Jeweled Thumb headquarters. I had my wisdom teeth removed on Friday so I'm still recovering but I do feel 10x better than when I got home from surgery. Obviously, I underestimated post surgery exhaustion since I planned to blog for the last few days but I was just soooo tired. Anyway, here are my September empties.

Renpure Organics Amazing Miracle Deep Penetrating Reconstructor -  I really enjoyed this deep conditioner. It smells delicious and seemed to moisturize my hair well. I would repurchase.

Befine Night Cream with Cocoa, Millet and Rice Bran - As I said in my review, this a nice light moisturizer but it wasn't quite enough for me, though I'd recommend for those that have more oily skin.
Neutrogena Visibly Bright Daily Facial Cleanser - I'm pretty sure this came in one of the Target beauty bags. I used this for quite awhile and it is a decent cleanser though it felt a little drying for my drier skin. I also found it slightly amusing since it is shimmery. Thankfully, the shimmers are easily washed away but it's a little weird to apply shimmery facial cleanser. The grapefruit smell was pleasant but I don't think I'd repurchase.
Nuance Salma Hayek Detoxifying Facial Cleansing and Toning Towelettes - Whenever these go on sale, or I get a particularly high value coupon, I tend to pick these up. Nice wipes and I repurchase if they come to under $5 but not at their nearly $8 regular price! I've used quite a few of these up over the last few months.

eos lemon drop SPF lip balm - Even though you can still see some balm, it's pretty impossible to get to at this point so I consider this done. The lemon drop is not my favorite of the eos balms as I don't find it as hydrating. I kept this at work and untwisting and twisting the little sphere did prove as a stress reliever but I don't think I'd repurchase this flavor.

What did you use up in September?

Review: Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels (+ giveaway)

I was fortunate enough to receive a package of these as part of the Bloom Ambassador's program. The Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels come in a package of 8 and is from a brand that hopes to calm stressed skin. I know my skin wigs out on more than one occasion so I was intrigued by these little, albeit pricey, eye gel pads.

If you've heard my moaning on twitter, you should know that I have horrible allergies. I have persistent dry eyes and when you combine that with allergies, it's not a pleasant picture. After an exceptionally long Monday back at the office, these seemed like the perfect item to test.

The pads are long adhesive strips that contain various ingredients to de-puff including good 'ol H2, antioxidants, seed oils and a bunch of ingredients that claim to tighten and soothe the eye area. My first reaction when sticking these on my eyes? "Ohhh, that's nice" which I said out loud in my small yet spa-like (in my head) bathroom.

They are a little bigger than I think is needed which would suggest that you could cut one pad in half and make them last a bit longer with the addition of a zip lock baggy.

While I didn't notice any real de-puffing, the gels are deliciously cool and retain their iciness for long past the 10 minutes they recommend keeping them on. My under eye also felt more firm and softer to the touch. They didn't appear to really help with dark circles and I wouldn't expect a 10 minute treatment to work miracles but it's definitely something to keep in mind.

I enjoyed these little gel pads and will keep them around when I'm feeling like I need some TLC. Given the price ($30 for 8 packs) they are a lot more than I would spend on an eye treatment though they do have the convenience - unlike some of the eye masks - of allowing you to see and move around while you have them on.

A last minute thought, these would be exceptional on long flights but we rarely travel far enough distances to do so by plane.

Thankfully, my Beauty Army subscription also allowed me to sample these so I have an extra  new pair of eye gels (note, this is one pair and not an entire bag) to give away to one lucky reader. Please enter using widget below!