50 Lashes--More Product Reviews

I have no eye lashes to speak of. They are short and sparse, and getting worse as I get older, so I have spent most of my adult life searching for the magic mascara that will make my lashes look long, full, and flirty. That's not too much to ask, is it?

Because of this, I fall prey to all the gimmicks that promise to magically transform my lashes into something I wasn't born with--unlike my sister or this girl back home, Chris Colson (Hi Chris!) who has lashes like Mr. Snuffleupagus (without mascara). I usually use two (or more) brands of mascara to get the look I want, including a primer coat.

The latest gimmick? Rimmel London's Glam Eyes Day 2 Night mascara. They promise two brushes--one for volume and one for length-- but it's actually just the same brush with two caps. Unscrew the black cap and you get a ton of mascara on the brush (volume). Unscrew the pink cap and it pulls the brush through a smaller tube, effectively wiping off most of the mascara (length). Those of you familiar with higher end makeup will note that this is the same idea as MAC's Haute and Naughty mascara.But it's half the price! MAC is $18; Rimmel is about $9. I really like this mascara, even if it's a little clumpy at first. I use the volume brush first, then follow up with the length brush to separate my lashes. It worked great. I got volume and length and my eyes popped (I used Extreme Black). Now, when it came time to remove it, that's another story. It took two applications of makeup remover to get it all off.

Do you have lash issues? Here are some other brands that I find give me some results.
Maybelline Volum' Express Falsies (good volume and length)
Maybelline Lash Stiletto (length)
Maybelline XXL Extensions (passable volume)
L'Oreal Double Extend (has a primer; passable length)
Rimmel London Sexy Curves (curls, and some length)
Cover Girl Exact Eyelights (used as a topcoat--it's sparkly!)

and for a little more money:
Lancome Definicils Precious Cells (with two-sided brush)
Fresh Supernova (at Sephora)
Bourjois Volume Glamour Ultra Curl (although I can't find it anymore)

What do you use?

Consumer Product Testing--I take the bullet so you don't waste your money

Consumer Product Testing Time!!!

Today I had a full day. I needed to dye my hair (roots only look good on plants), get my nails did, and get prettified for a fundraising event at 2pm. I got the mani/pedi first. While I was in that complex (West Hollywood Gateway), I stopped at Target, which brings me to my first Consumer Alert!!

Don't buy pantaloons at the Hanes Outlet at the Citadel!!! Seriously, I almost bought panties there last night for $8.99 a pack (of 3). I decided that I didn't want to spend my money on them because I needed something dressy for today. At Target, I found the exact same pack of 3 for $5.99! PLUS, I found a pack of 6 on clearance for $5.99! I know Target is known for being cheaper, but doesn't outlet usually mean discounts? I now have 6 brand-new panties and $3 in my pocket.

[photo courtesy of Clairol.com]

I have been dying my own hair since...well, for a long time. Nice and Easy, #118, has been my color of choice for years. Sure, I may experiment with other brands, and there was that year I flirted with being a red-head, but I always come back to the Nice and Easy Natural Medium Brown. So, recently, they changed to this foam formula. It's the wave of the future! It's easier to get full coverage! It sucks so much balls!! First, it smells like burnt coffee, at least MY color did. It even looked like coffee before I dumped the contents of bottle one into bottle two. The foam is like that foaming hand soap--but coffee scented. You squeeze it into your hands, rub them together, and run it through your hair. There's a line on the bottle that tells you how much to use if you have long or short hair. For long hair, they recommend using the whole bottle, which I did. Normally, I only do the roots, but since this is a new dye and I was unsure of the color (it's 5 instead of 118, but still medium brown) I did all of my hair. I rinsed and rinsed, then conditioned and rinsed again. I wrapped my hair in a towel and proceeded to get dressed and do my make-up. When I unwrapped my hair to dry and style, it was super dark...at least part of it was. As I began drying, it became clear that not all of my hair had taken the dye. The top of my head is dark brown, the tips are dark brown, in between is kind of a variegated blend of light to dark. I am waiting patiently until I can dye it again, but I'm torn between using Nice and Easy again, or trying another brand. And, if I do use Nice and Easy again, should I use the same color or try the light shade. It's really dark, but my hair tends to lighten up a lot in the sun. What do you think, Internet??

I have two more products to review for you, but this one took a while. I'll tell you about those tomorrow.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I look like I've already been drinking, but no, that's just my regular getting-older-by-the-second face.

I'm currently drinking green Kool-aid from a green mug, writing with a green pen. I may have gone a little overboard.

A Funny Thing Happened on My Way to an Oil Change

I took Sandy to the Nissan dealership to get an oil change on Saturday. It has been 8 months and 5000 miles since I bought her but this was my first visit to the dealership for service. I handed the keys to my service guy and went inside to watch cartoons and knit. About an hour later, one of the service folks called my name and I went to his office area to, I thought, pay for the repairs. He asked me for my license and insurance. "That's peculiar," I thought, but didn't say anything because for all I know, that's how they do things. He's all typity-type-type on his computer and then he says, "Okay, you'll be driving one of my favorite cars, so be good to her. Your car should be ready on Tuesday." What?? "Whooaaaaa, what's wrong with my car?" I asked. It turns out I had some leaky gasket or seal or something. But the good news is it was all covered by warranty, including the rental. And what a sweet ride it was. I named her Phoebe. She's a 2011 Nissan Maxima, in Ocean Gray with all the bells and whistles--push button start, leather seats, leather wrapped steering wheel, power adjustable lumbar support, tilt/telescope steering wheel, stereo controls on the steering wheel, hands-free phone, dual a/c controls, kick ass stereo, auto-dimming rear view mirror, compass on rear view, and much more. Check her out.
But I got Sandy back today and you know, I missed her. She's my girl all the way. And the dealership gets high marks all around for customer service, even if they did reset my stereo and I had to find all my radio stations again. Boo!

Humor in the midst of chaos

My day was non-stop, action-packed hell from the second I pulled out onto Sunset Blvd, so I have been feeling stabby all day long. Like, seriously stabby, as in "the next person who comes into this office and asks me for something is getting a fork in the eye." I knit for an hour, then drove to Ralphs and indulged in a gigantic salad with lots of crunchy vegetables in it. I feel much better now.

Here are two funny conversations that went a long way in improving my day:

Scene: Crabby woman is answering phones at the receptionist desk. Heterosexual male employee comes traipsing into the lobby singing.

Ken: "I feel pretty, oh so pretty, I feel pretty and witty and fun..."

Me: "Those aren't the lyrics."

Ken: "I didn't want to say I feel gay."

Me: "yeah, 'cause singing 'I feel pretty' doesn't already say that."

Scene: Group of employees standing around pouring Nestea drink mix packets into bottles of water.

Christina (to young male co-worker): "Careful! Once you get the tip wet, you'll never be able to pull it out."

Gales of laughter ensued, followed by "ain't that the truth."

Have you met Ted?*

Whether you speak for the trees,

or live in a pocket,

have stars on your belly,

or drive like a rocket**...

It's Dr. Suess's birthday!!!

(that's my poem; don't knock it.)

Now go read something good, preferably rhyming...with pictures.

*His first name is Theodore.

**also, yes, I know that P.D. Eastman wrote "Go, Dog, Go" but I like it and it's part of the Beginner readers with the Cat in the Hat logo, so...***

***yeah, I know...there are many Dr. Seuss books to choose from but you get the point, right? Sheesh.

Because who doesn't love a good Mad Lib

Do you know your noun from a gerund? Are you familiar with supernatural creatures, Greek mythology, and science? Have you been following the insanity that is Charlie Sheen's meltdown?

Why not have a rant of your own? Click here for a bit of Mad Lib fun. Feel free to share yours in the comments. I'll share mine tomorrow.