TRESemme Split Remedy Shampoo

After a summer of bleaching and highlighting my hair, it is probably fair to say that my hair is not in the healthiest shape this fall. So in addition to ceasing the bleaching and going with a darker hair color, I decided to give a new shampoo a try. TRESemme Split Remedy Shampoo promises to heal your damaged and splitting tresses.

I really must say, this shampoo might have helped if I had purchased it a little earlier, but at this point, I think the only thing that is going to cure my split ends i a haircut.

The pros of this shampoo include that it smells nice and cleans well. The cons are that it costs the same as regular bottle of TRESemme Shampoo, but they seem to have decided to make this bottle noticeably small. True with CVS extrabucks and coupons, I can make this shampoo make less of a dent in my budget, but it's a little disappoint that Split Remedy is not a noticeably better TRESemme Shampoo, but you still get less bang for your buck.

Nuance Salma Hayek Renewed Radiance Nutrifying Night Cream

So ever since Lancome stopped making it's Hydra Zen for dry skin moisturizer, I've been on the hunt for a new way to soothe my dry skin. I know previously, I posted about Nivia's Skins So Soft... and while that is a great moisturizer for my hands, arms, and legs... it just wasn't quite doing the trick as a face moisturizer.

Recently, I had seen that Salma Hayek had come out with a beauty / skin care line, and honestly my first thought was "Oh great, more marked-up-in-price celebrity garbage!" (Because let's face it, I am never going to buyer Justin Bieber's perfumes) However, I came across some coupons for her products and tied together with a really great deal at CVS, I was able to pick up her Nuance, Renewed Radiance Nutrifying Night Cream, and a Nuance Renewed Radiance Day Cream.

The day cream was alright, it moisturizers, it doesn't smell awful, and it has 15 SPF. All good things. But it doesn't really impress either. It's pretty much the same stuff as a $5 bottle of Dove or Oil of Olay, so don't waste your money there.

The night cream is amazing however. It smells fantastic, and is thick and rich, and really feels like it sinks down into your skin to prevent dryness and cracking. I've been using the night cream (for both day and night) now for about two weeks, and it really lives up to the hype, my skins feels much more hydrated and I'm even having fewer breakouts.

Colgate 360 Degree Optic White Toothbrush

Yesterday I reviewed the Colgate Optic White Toothpaste ... and as promised, here is the review of the Colgate 360 Degree Optic White Toothbrush I purchased with the toothpaste.

While I was not super impressed with the Optic White Toothpaste, I do really enjoy the Colgate 360 Degree Optic White Toothbrush. I feel that the difference textures and heights of the toothbrush combine to reach all areas of your teeth and between your teeth to give you a super-clean feeling.

This toothbrush does tend to be a little pricier than some of the other popular brands currently available, but I found it on sale at CVS and combined my purchase with the use of a coupon, which led to me getting the toothbrush for a fairly reasonable price.

All in all, I would recommend this toothbrush wholeheartedly, but I would search for coupons before purchasing... but then, you know how I am about coupons.

Colgate Optic White Toothpaste

So I recently saw an advertisement (and a coupon) for this new Colgate Optic White toothpaste. It promises results similar to those given by whitening strips, by just brushing with this toothpaste instead of your normal toothpaste.

Now, I'm not a particularly big fan of whitening strips, because I feel that they taste awful, and I can't keep still long enough to keep them on my teeth for the required amount of time. So when I saw the ad for this Optic White toothpaste combined with the coupon (you know me, I can't resist a good coupon), I figured I would give the product a shot.

To start with, the taste is a little harsher than my normal toothpaste, but I figured it would be worth it, if it produced the desired affects. Needless to say, it really hasn't. Six weeks in, and I can't see a noticeable difference, I even took a "before" picture of my teeth, so that I wouldn't just be relying on my own fickle memory. I even purchased one of the Optic White 360 Toothbrushes (review forthcoming) to make sure I was getting the full effect.

All in all, not a bad toothpaste, my teeth were felt super clean - but it no where near delivers on its whitening promises... and would be expensive to buy without a coupon, so I think I will forgo it in the future, and stick to the regular level of whitening toothpastes - which deliver the same results for less.

Tide ColdWater Detergent

I always find Tide to be the best laundry detergent! It may cost a little more, but it gets all stains, dirt, and smell out of every last thing you put in the washing machine. I never need to wash anything I was with Tide twice.

This is why I was thrilled to find out that Tide had come out with a cold water option. I was a little worried that it would not perform as well as its warm/hot water counterpart, but I was pleasantly surprised. Tide ColdWater works just as well as regular Tide detergent, and I don't have to use up all the hot water in my apartment to do my laundry. There's no longer a choice to make between taking a nice hot shower or getting nice clean clothes - I can do both at once.

Tide ColdWater, like regular Tide, does tend to run on the pricey side, so I usually keep my eyes open for coupons and good deals. The Sunday newspapers and CVS are usually a big help in securing some wonderful laundry detergent at a not-so-steep price.

Alberto Vo5 Moisturizing Shampoo in Strawberries and Cream

Alright, so on vacation I typically buy Vo5 shampoos and conditioners, due to the fact that you can get a full bottle for $0.99 or less, whereas some of the travel size shampoos and conditioners can run you up to $1.39 a piece and is 1/32 the size of these containers.

However, you can definitely see what is lacking in the quality. While this shampoo will get your hair clean it is not as nourishing or as nice as some of its more expensive counterparts. Plus the smell of Vo5 Moisturizing Shampoo Strawberries and Cream is particularly overwhelming, and not in a good way. This shampoo smell sweet, very sweet, sickeningly so.

I think the better way to go is stock up on neutral smelling Suave's when they are on sale, the performance and scent of that brand is much better, and with coupons both of the brands are price competitive.

All in all, the price is the only thing that this product has going for it.

Gillette Venus Embrace Disposable Razor

I am not normally a fan of disposable razors. I'm a bit of a tree hugger and think that the fewer "disposable" products society has the better. I own a Venus razor and normally just buy the replaceable cartridges for it, because even though these are disposable cartridges as well, I feel like they are less of a waste, and as a lady, shave the old fashioned way would most likely be tedious, time consuming, and possibly just a littly ridiculous.

However, there are certain situations where having a disposable razor is key. Mainly, travelling. Boyfriend and I often go on trips, and while I used to take my permanent razor on these trips, I have been know to leave it places (such as cruise ship cabins) where I know it won't ever be returned to me. Or, I've stupidly packed in it one of my carry ons, and the airport kindly confiscated it.

Another down side to disposable razors is that I do not feel that they work as well as a regular razor does. But these Venus Embrace ones appear to be the exception to the rule. These disposables are ALMOST as good as my regular razor, my legs are left silky and smooth and no razor burn is created.

The cost, for the fact that these razors are meant to be thrown out, is a little off-putting. However, I can usually find a coupon or two, when combined with something like my CVS xtra bucks, makes the price a little more reasonable.

Lancome Sensational Effects Eye Shadow Quad Modern Edge

So as always, I wait to buy Lancome products until one of the Lancome counters is in gift. These days Lancome is in Macys, Lord & Taylor, Boscovs, Sephora, etc. So there are a variety of choices in looking for a counter that is in gift.

The palette itself is good eyeshadow. The shadow is long lasting and wears well throughout the night, without smudging or disappearing on you. And I'm also fond of the color combination in this specific palette as it can be used to create a nice brown smokey eye when using all of the colors, or the colors can be worn individually and still create a nice look.

The one downside to this eyeshadow is the cost. This palette of four is a bit expensive when compared to other eyeshadows that have the same or better quality. Some of this cost can be offset if you do purchase it when a free gift is included, and that might be enough to make you choose this brand, but I personally prefer Chanel's eye quartets. The Chanel quartets are roughly the same price and are a higher quality product in my mind.

Olay Daily Facials Cleansing Cloths

As most of you know, I am a coupon-diva, and as per usual, this is one of the products I tried because I had a coupon for it. A buy-one-get-one no less. And it's a good thing I did try this product, because they are WONDERFUL for travelling.

These cloths are packaged dry and soap up when wet. You merely have to take one cloth out of the box, apply a little water and later. The cloth makes enough lather to thoroughly clean your face and then you can rinse the cloth out and use it to rinse your face as well.

I don't feel that I get as good of a clean from this as when I use my normal exfoliating cleansing products, but I feel like these cloths make an excellent travelling cleanser. There's nothing about them that can spill or explode in your luggage, and they do well enough, they remove all of your make-up and leave your face feeling clean. And while I may not get as deep of a clean from this as I do my favorite cleanser, it does not dry out my face as much as exfoliating products often do.

One other downside might be that without a coupon, these cloths can be a little pricey. But I find coupons for this product fairly often, so it doesn't appear hard to find a way to make them less expensive.

Nivea Soft Moisturizer

I know the other day I wrote about Lancome's Hydra Zen Moisturizer, but I guess I should have specified that I only use that moisturizer for my face, due to the somewhat outrageous cost. However, for the rest of my body, I use Nivea Soft Moisturizer.

I love this moisturizer, because of its thicker texture than moisturizers, and it feels like it sinks into your skin, instead of sitting on top of it.

I'm also a fan of the tub it comes in, I find it much easier to estimate how much moisturizer you're going to need than squeezing a bottle. Plus, if you take too much, you can put the excess back in! Which you can never do with a tube.

Also, it does not have a strong scent, so I don't find myself smelling like the moisturizer hours after I have applied it.

All in all, in's an inexpensive way to get ALMOST all the features of the Lancome Moisturizer ... and since my arms, feet, etc., are not as sensitive as my face, I feel like I get the same results.