At Last, My Love Has Come Along

And no, I’m not talking about the Cheap Dude.  Sorry sweetie!

Tip Of The Day:  I’ve finally gotten around to trying out new beauty products (yes, I needed them – I didn’t just buy them to have something to post about).  One is a decent gradual tanner for folks with sensitive skin.  The other?  Oh… it’s just THE GREATEST HAIR STYLING PRODUCT SINCE SUNSILK.  If I’m lying, I’m dying.

Tip For Tomorrow:  Oodles and oodles of reader tips – otherwise known as Another Cheap Chick Slacker Post.  I love it so damn much when you people do my job for me.  Keep up the good work, and maybe I’ll give you a raise.  What’s 6% of $0.00?

Further Elucidation Of My Cheap Deal:  The other day, after an ungodly early morning walk with my buddy Tiff (5 miles, folks, as we are HARD CORE), I ran over to Walgreens to pick up another bottle of Sally Hershberger Style Primer and Jergen’s Foaming Gradual Tanner (my gold standard for tanners, in case you cared).

As I am wont to be, I was seduced by the siren call of styling products for wavy hair.  I keep thinking one day I’ll find the perfect styler that will make my hair thicker, wavier, glossier, and capable of curing cancer.  So I snapped up a bottle of Style Primer for Wavy Hair, then said a silent prayer to the hair gods that this $13 product would be The One.

Next, disaster struck in the self-tanner aisle.  My Walgreens only carries the Foaming Tanner in Medium, and as the Light stuff already gets me tan enough, I was fearful to try something darker.  Plus, hello?  Walgreens?  Way to jack the price up to almost $10 a bottle.  Target sells it for $7.50.

However, to avoid a second stop on my way home (Target is, like, whole BLOCKS in the other direction from my house), I grabbed a tube of (clearance-priced) Aveeno Active Naturals Continuous Blah Blah Blah Gradual Tanner in Medium.  Then I sent up an additional prayer to the gods of self-tanning and proper skin care that it wouldn’t turn me orange or yellow or some combination thereof.

Once home, I showered off my post-walk ick and tried out the Aveeno.  Here are my pros and cons:

Pro – Because it’s so moisturizing, it spread around nicely, which helps cut down on streaking.

Pro – It dried surprisingly fast for a thick lotion, albeit not completely.  Gradual-tan lotion formulas never do.

Pro – It didn’t smell bad.  And it continued to not smell bad (or too bad, there’s always some smell) for the entire day.

Pro – As the name promises, it moisturized continuously until I washed it off.

Pro – This product shouldn’t irritate your skin, including your post-shaved and exfoliated skin (a prerequisite for self tanning).

Con – I’ve been spoiled by Jergen’s, and now I expect my gradual tanners to dry completely and not be sticky.  As I said typed seconds ago, lotion tanners never dry completely.

Con – The color.  Yeah.  It was a bit too yellowy/orangey on me initially, until the gradual tan built up.

Con – It takes three-four applications for the tan to build up.  Meanwhile, I was sporting unnaturally-colored flesh.

Con – It seems to emphasize the pores/hair shafts on my calves.  Do you have this problem with tanners?  I’m beginning to think I’ll need to bleach my leg hair and THEN shave it to avoid this issue.  (Note: I don’t remember having this issue with Jergen’s, but perhaps my love for the product has blinded me to its flaws.)

Next up, my hair.  Out came the Sally Hershberger Style Primer for Wavy Hair.  I was excited for our first date, and hoped we’d fall madly in love, move to the country, and have perfect waves forever.

Have you ever gone out on a date, and not really hit it off with the guy, but you kept going back in the vain hope it’ll turn out differently?  Then, as if by magic, you two start to click by the third date, and wind up married with 2.5 kids?

That’s what my experience with Sally was like.  We got off on a really shaky start – first of all, I applied WAY too much product.  You only need 4 pumps tops, not the 9-10 I normally use.  I literally had to rinse the extra goop out of my hair.

Then, I attempted actual wave formation.  I styled my hair as I normally do when I’m trying to create waves – apply product, blow dry bangs, apply second product (Sally’s Shagg Spray), scrunch, scrunch, scrunch some more, allow to air dry, done.  The result?  Flat, stringy waves, or what I like to call BAD HAIR.

The next day, I tried it sans Shagg Spray, and the next, with Shagg Spray once my hair was dried.  Nothing worked – and I had craptastic hair for three days.  I was ready to give up and return the bottle for something else.  Like a noose.  But then, I tried one last thing – blow-drying my hair straight, without using any other products.

SUCCESS.  This is the best blow-drying styler I’ve used since Sunsilk’s original Anti-Flat Plumping Crème.  In fact, it’s BETTER.  My hair has body, softness and shine – and all three last all day long.  Plus, there’s no build-up, so I don’t have to strip the product out with a clarifying shampoo (something you want to avoid if you have dyed or highlighted hair like I do).

You have no idea how satisfying it is for me to finally find a replacement for Sunsilk.  Granted, Sally costs three times as much, but still.  I can handle $13 a bottle, especially since the stuff last forever (see the aforementioned “use only 4 pumps” statement.).

What beauty products are you in love with?  Or are at least considering a third date with?