Product Polygamy Week: Bath & Body

Happy Friday, dolls! Are you as over this week as I am? I hope you have fantast MLK weekend plans. Mine include a fam party in central New Jersey to which I'm going to somehow figure out some transportation, a LOT of laundry, some movies (I saw Revolutionary Road last night - depressing, but the flick featured some awesome retro hair and makeup), and some blog writing. I'll be posting my full interview with LOST makeup artist Emily Katz on Monday, so check back in then!

Yay for THAT AND for the season premiere on Wednesday, which I will be taking in with my friend Lauren at our favorite LOST bar. This bar shows new LOST episodes in an enormous room with couches and provides shots every time someone says "The Others" and free drinks anytime someone gets killed. It's AMAZING.

Anywho, I digress. Product Polygamy Week concludes with the Bath & Body category! Oh, and thanks to the hilarious Beth Shapouri who writes for the Glamour Girls in the Beauty Department Blog for giving Daneen and me a shout-out yesterday!

Here are the B & B products I've decided deserve Barb, Nicki, and Margene status:

PERFUME

The Barb: Burberry Classic

The Nicki: Jo Malone Lime Basil & Mandarin Cologne

The Margene: Fresh Mangosteen Eau de Parfum


SHOWER GEL/SOAP

The Barb: Organic Apoteke Body Cleanse Gel in Sicilian Orange & Mandarin

The Nicki: Kings & Queens George III Lime Shower Gel

The Margene: Philosophy Falling in Love Perfumed Shampoo, Shower Gel and Bubble Bath


LOTION/MOISTURIZER

The Barb: Kai Body Butter

The Nicki: BODY by Sonya Dakar Nourishing Body Oil in Verbena Cypress

The Margene: Biotherm Baume Ultra Riche


HAIR REMOVAL

The Barb: Whish Shave Crave

The Nicki: Venus Embrace

The Margene: Eos Evolution of Smooth Ultra Moisturizing Shave Cream

Don't forget to head over to Spoiled Pretty to check out Daneen's Bath & Body Polygamy Week final feature!

Product Polygamy Week: Hair

Hair is my everything, dolls.

You know it's a subject I take VERY seriously. So obv, today is the Product Polygamy day I've been waiting for the whole damn week. Without further ado:

SHAMPOO

The Barb: PureOlogy SuperStraight

The Nicki: Alterna Ten

The Margene: Pantene Volume Shampoo ($5) I love this and it's FIVE DOLLARS. You know I have expensive taste when it comes to shampoo. Alterna Ten costs a cool $60. But Pantene just WORKS. Their volume shampoo is perfect: it clarifies and infuses hair with bouncy bouncy volume. It leaves my hair soft and shiny. I simply pair it with a super fance conditioner and feel like a virtuous frugalista.

CONDITIONER

The Barb: Bumble and bumble Super Rich Conditioner

The Nicki: Terax Crema

The Margene: David Babaii for WildAid Hydrating Conditioner


STYLING PRODUCT/TOOLS

The Barb: T3 Evolution

The Nicki: Conair 1" Curling Iron [Julia Allison recommended it and I'm HOOKED. P.S. It costs $15.]

The Margene: The Remington Airwave ($30) OBSESSED. I know that's like, the most hackneyed word in the beauty industry, but there's plum no other way to describe my feeling about this piece of blessed machinery. It's magic. That's all. MAGIC. It creates gorgeous waves via its cra tunnel attachment. I know. It sounds insane. I had been hesitant to use this because my hair is curly and I worried that I'd need to straighten it first before I could get it to form a good wave. It sat in my bedroom all lonely and forlorn because I was afraid of it. I didn't UNDERSTAND it. Then on Tuesday, I saw that Carolyn had some freaking cute waves at the end of her hair and I interrogated the S out of her. She'd used the Remington. That's it. No curling iron. No rollers. I was intrigued, so I tried it last night and was MUCH impressed.

So here's what you do. You blow out your roots/bangs with the dryer using the straightening attachment. Then, when your hair is 30% dry, you push 1" sections through the tunnel which will twist your hair ON ITS OWN into a mini tornado. You then remove the dryer from the section and you have PERFECT SPIRAL WAVES. I RAN out of the bathroom to show my roommate, who asked to borrow Remi (I've named him) TOMORROW. And it's $30!!! My hair looks far more fab than when I spend HOURS blow-drying with a round brush and THEN curling every single piece. Remi does it all in 15 minutes, tops. GET ONE.

What hair products is Daneen engaging in polygamous relashes with? Find out at Spoiled Pretty!

Product Polygamy Week: Skin Care

Girls, I'm KINDA farklempt because I just met What Not to Wear's Stacy London at a Pantene event whilst I was wearing THE LAMEST WORK OUTFIT. Ever. Ever in the world where we live as people. We even discussed it. But she was very nice and told me she liked my camel turtleneck (that seriously is from 2002) and could have totally just dressed it up with a high-waisted skirt and some heels. She's super tall and adorbs in person, BTW. And one of the most thoroughly entertaining people I've heard speak. She shared some "frugalista" budget fashion tips which I'll share later this week. In the meantime, onward with Product Polygamy Week!



Today's topic is Skin Care. Check it.

FACIAL CLEANSER

The Barb: Dermalogica Medibac Clearing Skin Wash [I still go back to it when I sense a breakout coming on.]

The Nicki: Dermaquest Cosmeceuticals Oxygen (O2) Facial Commision

The Margene: Estee Lauder Nutritious Purifying 2-in-1 Cleanser ($35) This fave is so new, I haven't yet reviewed it so I'll just do it now! This VERY foamy cleanser is fab in the morning, but also rocks as a mask in the evening. It contains magnetic clay to remove dirt. I find it's a slightly more recession-friendly version of CHANEL Mousse Doucer with the added bonus of being a multi-tasker.

FACIAL MOISTURIZER

The Barb: CHANEL Sublimage Essential Regenerating Creme

The Nicki: Givenchy Le Soin Noir

The Margene: CHANEL Sublimage Essential Regeneraging Cream [The textbook example of a Margene: this lighter-textured dream cream is a recalibrated twist on the orig. It's perfect for my combo skin.]


FACIAL MASK (They're all oxygen masks, is that weird? I just love me some O.)

The Barb: Philosophy's The Oxygen Peel

The Nicki: Bliss Triple Oxygen Mask

The Margene: Peter Thomas Roth Detoxifying Oxygen Mask ($54) This brightening O mask is the perfect hangover antidote. Not that that ever happens to me. Well, not today anyway. Seriously. It brightens and detoxes like no other. Just rub a small bit on the back of your hand and you'll see smoother, lighter, brighter skin in seconds. SECONDS. It's a weekly treat I can't live without.

What skin care Barbs, Nickis, and Margenes has Daneen identified? Check it out at Spoiled Pretty!

Product Polygamy Week: Makeup

It's time for a theme week, daisies!

Daneen and I decided we simply must celebrate this Sunday's season premiere of Big Love with some beauty product polygamy. This week (Tuesday through Friday), Daneen and I will be assigning our fave products Barb, Niki, and Margene status. What does that mean? Here's a legend, if you will:

The Barb is the original fave, your always-go-back-to-it/Mr. Big in the bunch.

The Nicki is the newer, spritely version which distracted you from your LTR (long term relashe) with The Barb. It's fantastic for a while... but overall, your time together is short-lived.

The Margene is the current, shiny-new, can't live without it prod in your lifestyle. Maybe it's a 2009 color, maybe its a luxe, technologically advanced formula... who can guess? Not me. I don't know your life. But I do know mine, so read below to see which products won Barb, Niki, and Margene status in the Makeup category!

FOUNDATION

The Barb: Biotherm Sense Comfort Foundation ($25) I can't believe I haven't reviewed this yet. Biotherm's Sense Comfort Foundation is a dream come true on dry winter days. I used to mix some moisturizer in with my foundation until I discovered this little gem which comforts flaky skin and evens its tone with utter ease.
The Nicki: Elizabeth Arden Intervene SPF 15 [I love the texture and was into being able to use a non-SPF-infused moisturizer.]
The Margene: Make Up For Ever HD Foundation

MASCARA

The Barb: Dior Diorshow Mascara
The Nicki: Cover Girl LashBlast Mascara
The Margene: Dior Diorshow Iconic Mascara [It's literally the shiny, new, technologically-advanced version of Diorshow. Does it GET more Margene?]

EYELINER

The Barb: Clinique Quickliner in Black/Brown
The Nicki: Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner [MAFU, the Margene, upstaged this fave thanks to its skinnier line it produces and its smudgability.]
The Margene: Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes


LIPSTICK/GLOSS

The Barb: Clinique Different Lipstick in Tender Heart
The Nicki: C.O. Bigelow Mentha Lip Shine in #1138 [The first minty gloss I'd tried that moisturized. I fell hard and fast.]
The Margene: NARS Lip Gloss in Sweet Revenge [I love the orange undertones almost as much as I love the name. And what the name ENATAILS.]

The rest of the week, Daneen and I will be covering Skin Care (Wednesday), Hair (Thursday), and Body products (Friday). Get excited. In the meantime, check Daneen's makeup Barbs, Nickis, and Margenes! And tell me YOURS in the comments.

P.S. Do you love the Product Polygamy Week image? Thanks to Jim for creating it for us!