Friday, December 9, 2011

Revlon Colorsilk- Don't Let the Price Fool You

amazon pic of revlon colorsilk 30Revlon Colorsilk is one of the cheapest permanent hair colors you can buy in the drugstore, supermarket, or mass-market retail store, but don't let the price deter you from trying this brand because this is one of those cases where the price is not indicative of the quality. I have been coloring my hair since I was 18, which gives me (*cough) 20 years of experience with boxed dyes. I think I have had salon color maybe twice in that time and did not see much difference in the result.


I had tried just about all of the brands that have been on the market- both permanent and demi-permanent (the kind that lasts "28 shampoos), but for the last couple of years I have stuck with the Colorsilk as it has out-performed all the $8-12 box dyes, and it costs less than $4 at my local Walmart and drugstore. Sometimes I can even find a 2-pack for $5.


Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Cheap Wines- God Bless Us Everyone!


 
I am not a wine snob or connoisseur by any means, but I do like a good glass of wine now and then. Since I have a pretty strict budget I am not likely to pay more than $5 on a single bottle, either. No, I don't buy boxes of Franzia White Zin- the thought of that makes me nauseas (memories of college days...). However, there are a number of good cheap wines out there these days for people like me who have some taste but don't necessarily collect fine vintages or anything like that.

image of Oak Leaf Sweet Red Wine in bottle
I think the pic is from
Pinterest
So, getting to the point- Walmart has Oak Leaf wines at 2 for $5 right now, and I have been trying different varieties of the brand for a few weeks. I passed that display stand several times on previous shopping trips but resisted since it was so ..well, cheap. I finally gave in to curiosity, however, and first bought a bottle of the Sauvignon Blanc and a bottle of the "Sweet Red". On later trips I bought the Chardonnay, Shiraz, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Let me just preface this segment with a disclaimer that I have no grasp of the wine tasting vernacular that some readers may expect. In fact, I resist the jargon on the grounds that everyday folks like me have no idea what that crap means. I read on another blog that a certain variety ages to taste like "pencil box" and one has a flavor of "mowed grass". Pencil Box? Mowed Grass? !!? Who the hell wants to taste that and how do they know?

Anyway, in my humble opinion, Sauvignon Blanc was a bit abrasive, to put it bluntly, but my preferences run more sweet. The Blanc is dry and crisp, which some people may enjoy. I put a splash of apple juice in it to suit my palate. I know, classy huh? But it tasted pretty good after that.


Friday, December 2, 2011

Meow Mineral Makeup Review

pic of one of my cat paintings
Meow! Derwent Inktense pencils on Canson
XL cold press watercolor paper , by Pumibel
Well, this could prove to be a long post indeed. In fact, I have put off adding this review for a bit because I knew it would be some work, and I am a procrastinator by nature. But anyway, let's get to it...

I am a great fan of mineral makeup, no thanks, really, to Bare Escentuals even though they had the most marketing for MMU when it began to gain popularity several years ago.I still have some jars of their medium kit, which I use as contour or blush. It is too shiny/shimmery for use as a foundation in my opinion, and it was not the right color anyway. That is why I experimented with other brands.