Chanel Les 4 Ombres Eye Makeup No. 95 Sparkling Satin

Now, I know the main con about Chanel is that it is so expensive. And while this is true, some things that do cost a lot are totally worth it. For starters, I usually try to buy my Chanel make up from Macys or Lord & Taylor or Boscovs where there is a counter that I can normally beg for free samples from, in hopes of getting a little more bang for my buck.

However, the positives with Chanel are phenomenal. This eyeshadow quartet will last all night, I've often put the color on before going to dinner, and my eye-makeup still looks good 7 hours later at the club. And another plus is that the make-up is hypo-allergenic, and doesn't ever cause my skin to break out.

One of my favorite things about this particular color combination, the Sparkling Satin, is that you can use it to make an interesting twist on the typical smoky-eye. The pink adds a more dramatic touch to the smoky eye look that will make you stand out in any crowd.

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.

John Frieda Root Awakening - Strength Restoring Conditioner

I tried this conditioner out because it was on sale at CVS, and in addition to it being on sale, I had a coupon for it that basically made the deal "an offer I couldn't refuse."

The conditioner (and matching shampoo which I also purchased) both smell good, almost minty and very clean smelling. This is a big plus for me, because I'm not a fan of conditioners that smell like coconut or bubble gum or any other scent that doesn't leave with sense of cleanliness.

When I applied the conditioner I noticed that you did not have to use a whole lot to get your whole head smooth, which is also a plus, because that makes the price tag that would normally accompany this product a little easier to swallow.

I tend to leave conditioner in for a few minutes in order to ensure that my hair becomes silky smooth and tangle free. When leaving this condition in my hair, I did notice after about 30 seconds my head began to tingle. This is the first conditioner I've used where that has actually happen, so I began to put a little more faith in its claims of restoring capabilities.

The conditioner left my hair like silk and extremely easy to brush through. I'm not sure that over time I've seen noticeably fewer split ends that I've had with other conditioners. But another plus is that is doesn't weigh your hair down at all, even if you leave it in for 2-3 minutes (which is about how long it takes me to shave) ...

All in all, I think I would give it an A- ... the minus based in part on cost and in part on that it makes a LOT of big claims and while it follows through on some, it's not noticeably MUCH better than other conditioners.

Chantix - Quitting Smoking Medication

Alright, so I should probably highlight that I have not actually tried this product myself, the experimentee in this case was my boyfriend. I do not smoke, so therefore do not have any need to quit smoking. Boyfriend however, smoked like a chimney, and really did want to quit; in part because I can't stand the smoking, in part because he'll live longer, and in part because it has become so outrageously expensive to smoke in New York State.

Chantix basically takes the joy out of smoking for smokers, it stops nicotene from reaching the parts of the brain that get pleasure out of it. Boyfriend stated that this part of medicine worked, he no longer got the same kind of high from smoking cigarettes as he used to. He also stated that it helped at work, he no longer felt the need to run out and smoke every hour, and that this was particularly helpful in meetings that went on for a few hours... he no longer became antsy and unable focus in longer meetings.

However, he said that he still was used to the habit of smoking, he still had the need to smoke out of habir and oral fixation, and also as a social gathering situation. The habit was not completely kicked. Although he did state that taking the Chantix did get him down from a pack a day to about half a pack a day.

The particularly scary part of this medicine though is the psychological effects it had on boyfriend. He said that he was no longer able to sleep as well as he did before taking Chantix, and that when he was able to sleep he had crazy dreams in which he felt like killing people or himself. And I can attest to the fact that he had nightmares which caused him to kick and punch in his sleep ... I ended up with bruises, in fact. And boyfriend also said that even during his waking hours taking Chantix made him feel slightly more depressed and less upbeat about life in general.

So all in all, I think that the risks outweigh the benefits here. Even though boyfriend had a mild case of depression and nightmares, there have been studies where this medicine has made people suicidal, and there have been record suicide attempts. Scary, scary stuff. There have got to be better ways to quit smoking.

And on that note, the newest tax hike in New York State appears to be what finally made boyfriend quit smoking, at over $10 a pack, $80 a week is a habit he cannot afford. So through sheer will power (and nicotene lozenges - which are $3 a pack) he has finally managed to quit smoking. So basically... stay away from the Chantix, it is bad news.

One A Day Weight Smart Vitamins

So I'm willing to try just about anything that I will think help me lose weight, and I had a coupon for One-a-Day vitamins, so I figured, what the heck, may as well as try out the variety that might help me lose weight as well.

Now, I will admit that I do feel a bit more energetic after taking these vitamins, which I suppose can help me lose weight, as it might make me more likely to take the stairs, or go for a walk on lunch. But, on the converse side, I do not seeing myself losing any significant weight.

Since I weighed myself since starting these vitamins two weeks ago, I have lost 1.5 pounds, but the human body fluctuates about 2-3 pounds all the time, so I can definitively say that the weight loss was due specifically to the addition of these vitamins to my life.

Another negative is that these vitamins are HUGE ... you need to take them with quite a bit of water, otherwise they're really hard to swallow. And you also should probably take them with food, because I personally have found that taking these vitamins on an empty stomach can leave you feeling a bit queasy.

All in all, I would probably give these vitamins a B+ ... they work well as vitamins, and even give you a small energy boost, but their weight loss properties were greatly overpromised and underdelivered.

Colgate Luminous Crystal Clean Mint Toothpaste

I tried this toothpaste, because I had a coupon for it, which made it extremely less expensive than my usual toothpaste. All in all, it is a decent toothpaste, the minty flavor is much more appealing than a cinnamon or bubble gum toothpaste would be. And my mouth does feel clean after brushing.

The one downfall to this toothpaste is the fact that it does not really whiten my teeth. I prefer the Colgate Total products that have whitening qualities in addition to cleaning and cavity prevention. My teeth are not so extremely yellowed that I need to ALWAYS use whitening products, but I do like to maintain a certain level of white in my teeth, as I am a coffee drinker.

Alli Diet Pill

Ok, so I know wer're all looking for the wonder pill that will help us magically kick weight while we pig out on fast food and ice cream. This is not it. If you do go for Alli, you should get the books and try to live the whole plan instead of just taking the pills. Taking the pills will cause your body to not process about 30% of the fat you each, however, it does this by making stool somewhat more liquid. So if you continue to eat massive quantities of fat and just take this pill, figuring that any help is better than none, life is going to get a little gross. And if you can't deal with gross, stop reading here. While taking this pill, it can turn passing gas into a situation where a diaper would have been useful.

The drug’s maker, GlaxoSmithKline, has even been up front about the pill’s side effects, suggesting that first timers wear dark pants or bring a change of clothes to work until they get used to Alli's potential consequences. All in all, while it may help you kick weight, you shouldn't take this pill unless you're willing to stick with the complete program.