Shwarzkopf göt2b Glossy Anti-Frizz Shine Serum Review

Well, this was not the best hair product I've used. I only bought this because at Walgreens they were having a buy-one-get-one-free deal for Shwarzkopf Göt2b Glossy Anti-Frizz Shine Serum, so I figured $6 for two of these was not that bad.

This did nothing noticeable to my hair. The smell was fine, but it was barely noticeable. I used it on wet hair, and my hair was not any less frizzy. I guess it kind of made it more shiny, but nothing that made people gasp with awe, which was what I wanted.

On dry hair, this is even worse. It doesn't blend well with my hair, it looks like I caked on a load of hairspray once it dried. After I combed it out, it was better, but not amazing. However, I wasn't expecting much from such a cheap price. It was not comparable to prestigious hair brands like Chi.

Pro's: kind of shines hair, smells good, low price

Con's: doesn't really do anything, frizz is not tamed, quality reflects price

Price -- $5.49-$6.00

Worth the price? -- Not really.

Where to buy -- Walgreens stores, Amazon.com, Walgreens.com (Best deal is at Walgreens stores!)

Ulta/Walgreens Haul

The list of things I bought yesterday:

• NYX Eyeshadow in "Daisy"
• NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in "Smokey Look"
• NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Dark Brown
• Garnier Fructis XXL Volume Thickening Mousse
• 2 oz Chi Silk Infusion
• 2 Shwarzkopf göt2b Glossy Shine Serums

So far, I tested out each hair product on dry hair in little sections, and here are my grades for each of the hair products. (These grades may be different from my final, in depth review - These are just my first impressions.)

- Garnier XXL Volume Mousse ~ B+

- Chi Silk Infusion ~ A-

- Shwarzkopf Shine Serum ~ B

Full reviews of all these products will be coming shortly.

Herbal Essences Color Me Happy Shampoo Review

Being one who regularly colors my hair (I subtly highlight the top half of my hair), I'm always careful to use shampoos that are safe for color treated hair. I don't want my color to wash out with my shampoo!

While I colored my hair last time, this Herbal Essences Color Me Happy Shampoo for color treated hair was on sale for half the regular price, so I went ahead and bought it.

To start out, I'll tell you the obvious -- it smells amazing. The smell stays in my hair for that entire day, and I just love smelling my hair after I use this. Sadly, the smell does not last that long, but I think that my hair personally does not hold shampoo scents very well. But nonetheless, the smell is great. And it's not a childish fruity scent either, it's classy, if you will. And I love the pink/red color of the bottle and shampoo. This also cleans my hair very well.

So, my color is still intact, which is good news, so this shampoo does the job. As far as the price goes, if you are hesitant, like me, then buy the 2 In 1 Shampoo and conditioner. You'll get more out of your money.

Pro's: cleans hair well, smells great, will not wash out your hair color.

Con's: smell does not last as long as I would like, this brand is too pricey for me.

Price -- $5.00 for the 2 In 1, which I recommend

Worth the price? -- Sure, but I'm not crazy about it

Where to buy -- WalMart stores, CVS stores, walmart.com

NYX 10 Color Palette Eye Shadow: Smokey Eye Review

While trying to copy Blair (juicystar07) on YouTube, I noticed she used a NYX palette to do a smokey eye, so I headed out to Ulta to buy one, too.

I couldn't find the exact "Night in Morocco" palette that she used, so I settled for this NYX 10 Color Palette Eye shadow for Your Eyes Only: Smokey Eyes. It looked similar to what she had, so I went ahead and bought it.

The colors, let me just say looked absolutely horrible on me. I tried a tiny but of all of them, and I didn't like the quality of the shadows, or the colors. I then tried following the instructions that came with the palette, and that looked even worse. I even looked at tutorials on YouTube with people that had the same palette as me... not impressed.

Obviously, the next day I went back and returned it.

It just goes to show that the smokey eye is a very complicated look, and just being good with makeup does not mean that a cheap palette will work good. If you are serious about the smokey eye, go to MAC and buy a few shadows from there, or ask the people working at Sephora. You need to spend real money (around $50+) for a real, good smokey eye look. I am not serious enough about the smokey eye to spend that much, so I'm fine with using pretty pink and light cinnamon shadows instead.

Pro's: lots of shadows in this palette, cheap price, some of the lighter colors in this palette have nice potential on their own.

Con's: does NOT create a pretty smokey eye look, quality reflects the price, beginners will have absolutely no idea what to do.

Price -- $8-$10

Worth the price? -- No.

Where to buy -- Ulta stores, cherryculture.com, Amazon, Ulta.com

Picture credit to Vampy Varnish.

L'Oreal Volume Shocking Mascara Review

My mom bought this L'Oreal Paris Volume Shocking Mascara, mainly because she just loves L'Oreal Paris, which I don't understand. However, once she realized she didn't really like mascara, and already had two (smart one, mom) she gave it to me. I was excited, I mean hey, it's new mascara. L'Oreal Paris products have never done me justice in the past. Their lip glosses make the skin on my lips all peely and colors of their products make me want to vomit.

However, I was highly impressed with this mascara, and to this day it is still my #1 favorite. So it has two sides, which are labeled 1 and 2. The "1" side has a white base primer on it with a regular wand, which you are supposed to apply first. Then, the "2" side is black mascara, which you put on second. The "2" wand looks kind of like a mini comb, which I had never seen in a mascara before. Nonetheless, they worked great.

My lashes looked noticeably longer and fuller, and everyone at school commented on them, asking me where I got my mascara. (Hee-hee!) Now, there's one tiny problem with this, but it can easily be fixed. After you put on your black mascara coat after the base, the base is still rather visible, especially on the tips of the lashes. All you need to do is apply about 2-3 coats, and then go over just your tips a few times.

At night, this comes off very easily, even with just water in the shower, which is a mega plus. It doesn't even run during the day. I actually cried once while wearing this mascara (I know, weird that I remember it) and my friends said my makeup was perfect. I ran to the bathroom to confirm that and it was true!

P.S: I hear the waterproof version of this is not good so I recommend not getting it. Stick to this version.

Pro's: comes with a base, great wands, lots of volume, easy to apply and take off, stays on during the day.

Con's: base shows up if you don't apply enough black coats.

Price -- $5.99-$7.99

Worth the price? -- Yes, all good drugstore mascaras are this price.

Where to buy -- Amazon, drugstores

NYX Eyeshadow Base in Skin Tone Review

Since my old Cover Girl eyeshadow base from 2005 was not doing it anymore, considering it was over 5 years old and had bits of hair in it, I went out to look for a new one. I was already buying a few NYX products, so I figured I might as well grab the NYX eyeshadow base while I was at it. The $7 price was slightly off-putting, but I figured it would be worth it, so I bought it before I could talk myself out of it.

Well, when I opened it, it was kind of hard to scoop out with my finger, and that kind of pissed me off, because more than the the amount I wanted was coming out. I used a tiny bit, and was glad to find out that a little goes a long way with this base, which means this will last me a year or two. This color blended in with my eye lid color pretty well. I put some eye shadow on my lid, and it was definitely an improvement, however the eyeshadow wasn't sticking on as much as I wanted it to, no matter what eyeshadow brush I used. I decided to try a different eyeshadow, and that worked a lot better. The shadow lasted me all day.

This was not phenomenal, but it got the job done, which was all I wanted in the end. I tried out my best friend's MAC Paint Pot in a similar color, and got the same results, which pleased me. Although I must say the MAC Paint Pot was slightly better, they are basically the same thing.

Pro's: gets the job done, holds eyeshadow, comes in white and skin tone.

Con's: only two colors, I don't like the screw-on top, takes a while to get all over your eyelid.

Price -- $7.00

Worth the price? -- No, but I am glad I have it.

Where to buy -- Ulta stores, cherryculture.com, Amazon, Ulta.com

Rimmel Lasting Finish Mineral Enriched Foundation Review

There is absolutely no denying that I needed a new foundation, and a good one at that. Rummaging through the clearance section of Ulta, I saw lots of Rimmel Lasting Finish Mineral Enriched Foundations. It was marked down to about $3.59, which I considered a good deal for Rimmel products. I tested out a whole bunch of them when the sale ladies weren't watching and found number 200 (soft beige) to be perfect.

The first thing I did when I went home was smeared it all over my face; I couldn't wait to test it out. It did the job that foundations should do with no problem, and I was delighted to see that it didn't come out cakey. Plus, it kind of doubled as a concealer, it covered some of my little flaws, which was great. I wouldn't say it lasted 16 hours like the bottle said, but as far as foundations go, it worked for my skin!

Something I have noted is that this foundation will work best on fairer skin tones.

Obviously I went back to Ulta and found one more sale foundation in my color, and bought that one, too. But as much as I loved this, I wouldn't pay the full price, but maybe that's just me.

Pro's: doesn't look cakey, long lasting, natural looking, easy to apply, good for first time foundation users, professional looking.

Con's: not enough color selection, looks very cakey IF you have very, very oily skin, squeezes too much out of the bottle.

Price -- $3.59 - $7.29 (depending on where you buy)

Worth the price? -- Yes, if you can find it for under $5, but I wouldn't pay more than that.

Where to buy -- Ulta stores, Ulta.com, Drugstores, CVS.com

Sephora Multi Action Nail Polish in Double Platinum 11 Review

I'm not particularly big on buying beauty brands like Sephora and Ulta makeup, for example. But while digging through the $3 sale bin at Sephora, I stumbled upon the only decent looking product, Sephora Multi Action Nail Polish in Double Platinum #11. I decided, what the heck, it's only three dollars, so why not? I had wanted a nice silver nail polish anyway.

I took it home and tried one coat on my nails. It was very sheer and barely visible, which was kind of a surprise for me. Sheer nail polish is not really my style, I prefer blacks and whites. But after two coats, it looked really good, like a light, new, Tiffany's silver. I have been wearing this same polish for the past week and I'm impressed, not a single chip. It's holding in just as good as my OPI polish's, for 1/3 of the price.

Pro's: nice color, very durable, great price, good brush.

Con's: not enough color, weirdly shaped bottle (making it hard to hold when painting my nails).

Price -- $3 (was $6, on sale now)

Worth the price? -- Sure

Where to buy -- Sephora stores, Sephora.com

Chi Magnified Volume Finishing Hair Spray Review

While buying the Chi 44 Iron Guard with my friend at Ulta, there was an offer going on. With any purchase of the Chi Iron Guard you get a free Chi Magnified Volume Finishing Spray. I was super excited because I had needed a new hairspray anyway. (My two year old expired Lucky spray was not doing it anymore!) So I got them all for about $15 that day. [This offer is not going on now].

While my Iron Guard smelled light and great, this hair spray has a very overpowering scent. It's sharp, fruity, and bubble-gum like, and the smell stays in your hair all day. My friends agree with me - it smells gross. I mean, it's an okay hairspray by a good brand, but ew. Tone down the scent.

Pro's: doesn't leave hair hard and crusty like most hair sprays do, comes from a good brand.

Con's: the smell is absolutely nasty and very strong, it's a bit pricey for just hairspray.

Price -- $12.99

Worth the price? -- No, spending your money on a cheaper hair spray is probably better.

Where to buy -- Ulta stores, anywhere that carries Chi.

MAC - Half 'n Half Lipstick Review

Alright, there's no denying that I am a very stingy buyer. And despite my weird attraction to MAC Cosmetics, I try not to buy from there. While looking for a perfect nude lipstick, I decided to check MAC. I tried on so many, most of them being way to nude for my skin tone, until I picked up MAC Amplified Creme Lipstick in Half 'n Half. It looked a little too red for me, so I wasn't sure about it, but I tried it on nonetheless.

You could say I fell in love.

It was exactly what I was looking for: nude and natural, but not too nude. It looked amazing, and this is the kind of lipstick that I guarantee will look good on most skin tones.

In case you were wondering how the lipstick looks on... lips... then here you go.

The great thing about MAC is that if you live near a store you can go and try on the lipsticks (or any other makeup).

Pro's: great color, very natural, good for the everyday look, great quality, name brand.

Con's: on the expensive side, can look cakey if your lips are dry or if you put too much on.

Price -- $14.50

Worth the price? -- Maybe; if you can afford it.

Where to buy -- MAC stores, maccosmetics.com

Remington Wet 2 Straight 1" Straightener Review

So today I headed down to Wal-Mart after reading some reviews for the Remington Wet 2 Straight one inch straightener (it also comes in two inch). It seemed much better than the Helen of Troy straightener I was planning on buying at Ulta.

I bought this for about $26 with tax, and was delighted to find that it came with a free mini Remington straightener. That cemented the deal - I loved it already.

So, with this being a very good deal, I was a little skeptical of how it was going to turn out. I had tried out the famous and oh-so expensive Chi at friend's houses, and although it was good, it wasn't amazing. It didn't straighten my hair the way I wanted it to. So I thought to myself, if this is about 1/10th the price of a Chi, then how could this be any better?

I was so, so very wrong.

I plugged it in, and obviously with my long, thick, wavy hair, set it to the highest heat setting: 30. I was glad that it beeped when it was ready, that made it an improvement from my old Conair straightener.

Taking a chunk of impossible-to-straighten hair in my hand, and wetting a tiny bit of my hair in the sink to test out the wet-to-straight feature, I straightened the first chunk. The steam was so much, it fogged up all over my face. However, it had straightened my hair perfectly. Pin straight. As in, even the very ends were perfect. I straightened some of my dry hair, and got the same results, minus the annoying steam in my face.

I'm not going to lie here, I am 110% impressed.

Pro's: heats up within a few minutes, low price, straightens wet hair, high + low temperatures, digital heat settings, beeps when ready, easy to hold, lightweight.

Con's: a lot of steam comes out when straightening wet hair, doesn't come in pretty colors.

Price -- $24.88 (not including tax)

Worth the cost? -- YES!

Where to buy -- Wal-Mart stores, WalMart.com, Amazon.com