Tuesday, January 21, 2025

I was at a loss for a blog post idea – this rarely happens! I realized I hadn’t talked about beauty or beauty products for some time and an idea was born.. – buy this or bye bye to this product.

Now, you must know that I am no expert. I am willing to spend some pennies if a product really works and/or lasts a long time and I honestly don’t have that many products.

I am kind of embarrassed by this first one…

I succumbed to the many, many ads I was seeing for the L’ange Le Duo Grande. These women were achieving such nice curls. Um, mine fell flat. I tried a few times. My co-worker Erica has the regular Le Duo and she confirmed the same to me. She doesn’t think it gets hot enough.

I achieve a much better curl with a standard classic one inch barrel curling iron. I don’t have a flat iron but Erica says her flat iron does way better curls.

So, tell me…is there something I haven’t figured out?

I don’t want such curly curls. I was hoping for more of a flat iron curl look, I guess.

This is a bye bye for me. $60 down the tubes.

This is a great winter moisturizer for the whole body and a little goes a long way. It is so thick but in a good way.

This is a definite buy for me in the winter. I don’t need this intense of a lotion in the summer.

My hair loved the water in Madrid this past fall. It tasted great from the tap and several people told us it was great and my hair and skin also loved it. I think it was soft water. Tom says ours is in the middle. Medium hard? I don’t know. Why am I talking so much about water? I was able to curl my hair and achieve very soft bouncy curls. I took a travel size of this and that combo was chef’s kiss for my hair. I’m not able to achieve quite the same here but this is a really great holding spray.

This is a buy for me.

This was a Christmas gift from my mom per my request. It ain’t cheap. I didn’t realize it was a spray on wet hair and then dry with a hair dryer product. I just thought I could spray on dry hair for shiny locks. I don’t blow dry my hair very often.

This is a bye bye for me. Maybe I can put it on wet hair and go in the sun in the summer. I absolutely hate blow drying my hair. It takes too long, it’s noisy, and I get really, really hot.

I was told you could use this everyday and my personal theory is that our screen-tired eyes need all the lubrication they can get. Dry eyes are painful. If you have a Costco membership, that is the most economical way to add this to your repertoire.

Thiis is a buy for me.

I must admit I haven’t used this since late fall. But, it is so worth the money. This and Tan Luxe The Butter are the best I have used, but this gives you a quicker result and more bang for your buck, I think.

This is a buy for me.

These are great in my opinion but I must admit that I have only tried a few brands. I also found that they feel great when one has sinus pain and pressure. You can lower them a bit if you want. Nothing bad will happen. I keep them on until they dry out. Nothing bad happened.

These are a buy for me until someone tells me a better option!

This sucks! My favorite dry shampoo is Batiste. I bought this at TJ Maxx with a gift card so there is a chance that it’s expired or not as good as it’s supposed to be. TJ Maxx had not Batiste at the time. Bummer.

This is a bye bye bye for me.

I have been really lazy about mascara lately to be honest. As long as I line my lids I feel like I look ok-ish. My eyes seem to water more now and mascara really bugs me. My favorite for a long time was Thrive but I heard that tubing mascara can take off your lashes and I don’t have much to begin with.

This coupled with my primer looks really good. The price wasn’t bad either at Ulta.

It is a buy for me. I would get it again!

This is one of the Trader Joe’s dupes and I have to be careful not to use too much because I love it and it smells so good. If you use too much it does weigh your hair down.

This is a buy for me. My tangles are so much better using this, too. I don’t use a detangler anymore.

So, what have you used lately that is a buy or a bye bye? I get so many good recs from my readers and other blogs!

Amy

38 thoughts on “Buy or Bye Bye – Beauty Products”

  3. This was a fun post idea! A buy for me is a lipliner that has to be sharpened; I use them all the time, and never mind sharpening them first. They glide on easily when my lips are moisturized, and I keep something on them all day long, whether lipstick or Burt’s Bees or Vaseline. A bye bye for me are the mechanical lipliners that I bought before Christmas; they didn’t last long at all, and I wasted $7 on each one, so that’s $14 down the toilet. Ugh! But seriously…this was a fun one, friend. And now I’m singing Bye Bye Bye the by Backstreet Boys.

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    1. Thank you! I am sure I copied off someone! I totally agree on that lipliner. They make a huge impact. I just buy ELF or NYX but they last me for a good time.
      I was singing that too! And, I cannot thank you enough for turning me on to the coconut oil. That has made the biggest impact in my moisture level.

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  4. Thanks for sharing all of these. I found that the Wow spray, when sprayed on wet hair, prevents moisture from affecting your hair. It works best on those hot muggy summer days

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  6. I have never been too tempted to buy crazy expensive things. For example, I use Aldi brand facial moisturizer- for day and night. It’s about $4 a container. Has it reduced my fine lines (it does have retinol…)? Nope but I have heard many say that the $500 a container (can’t think of the brand) doesn’t either so… I’ll stick with the Aldi brand!! I was influenced to buy the Revlon hair/dryer brush thing that everyone was talking about a few years ago and I like it a lot! I still have a good quality “regular” blow dryer but I always reach for the Revlon one when I must use an electric implement to dry my hair. It’s just as loud as a regular blow dryer but the brush at the end gives my hair a nice little bounce and straighten at the same time.

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    1. I only am when I know the product will last a long time! Then, I think the cost per use is cheaper.
      I use the Trader Joe’s face lotion so I bet it’s similar.
      I used to have the Revlon but wasn’t using it enough so I gave it to someone. It’s great if you are going to use a heating tool to dry your hair.

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  7. I’m guessing you can’t return the curling iron? Ugh, what a bummer.

    I think it’s a menopause thing with the watery eyes, I can only using tubing mascara now. Everything else gives me raccoon eyes!

    This was fun to read!

    xo,

    Kellyann

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    1. I maybe could? Bought it directly from the site. Wishing now I bought from Amazon! They just make it so easy.
      Ah, good to know! I think I will switch to waterproof, too.

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  8. I love your “Buy or Bye-Bye” post! I’d love it if you turned it into a series… household supplies, gadgets, TV shows, who knows? I, too, got caught up and bought that L’ange curler. I wanted “waves” and wasn’t sure how to achieve it. I couldn’t figure it out and I felt like it made my hair frizzy! Yuck! I love my CeraVe, too – rub it into my feet every night before bed! Thanks, Amy!

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  9. Sunday Riley Lip Oil is AMAZING. Worth the bucks. Very nourishing and I love how it feels on my lips. I’m a lip balm-gloss-stick gal, and I am always searching for great lip products. I really like it. It doesn’t last super long on your lips, but I just re-apply

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  10. My husband got me a Dyson straightener (which I hadn’t even heard of) that is so pricey but I love. It can straighten your hair from wet or dry. It doesn’t get super hot because its power comes from air and not heat (though there is heat). I don’t dry my hair every day but I love that I can get my hair straight when I’m in a rush faster than having to blow dry my hair first and then straighten it.

    I started using the Prequel face wash. I’d heard some good things about it and finally picked it up at Target. At first it was kind of drying on my face but now it’s great. I wash first with a La Roche oil face wash and then the Prequel. It’s a great combo! I also just started using a Byoma moisturizer. So far so good!

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  11. I was really tempted by the hair curler thing. That’s sad that it doesn’t work. I also find that a curling iron gives me the best curls. I also love Lumify, and struggle with watery eyes too. I’m thinking of switching to a waterproof mascara. This was such a fun post.

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  12. I really only blow dry my hair in the winter just because my head gets so cold while air drying otherwise and even then I only dry it just enough that it’s not soaking wet. This was a fun concept for a post! I have lots of products I’ve tried over the years and never really used again after trying it a time or two.

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    1. Yes! It actually feels good.
      I am like that, too – if I am loyal to a product and re-purchase it, it means something because I tend to change if I don’t love something.

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  13. I love the Olaplex hair products. They’re pricy, but I only wash my hair every 6-7 days, so the price isn’t bad. I got a 10-min hair mask (#8) as part of a BOGO deal, and my hair went from poofy with some frizz to soft, sleek and shiny right after washing. I’m so impressed! I also love La Roche-Posay’s line, and I’ve seen a real difference in my skin since I started using the serums and moisturizers in particular.

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    1. I have used it and loved it! Maybe I go back. I used their purple and not as impressed.
      I have heard amazing things about that brand. See, this is why I love my readers!

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  14. I love this post idea! I cant achieve curls with a flat iron. It’s amazing how people do…when I get my hair done, I leave the salon with curls via flat iron. My eyes are apparently very dry. I went to my eye dr appt and my right eye could read nothing! So I have to use eye drops and then go back next week. It was the weirdest experience. My newest BUY that I can’t live without is Aquaphor . I remember using it on the kids when they had chapped bottoms and now it’s a part of Hadley’s skincare routine! I had such dry under eyes a few weeks ago that I actually thought I had an inflammation/infection from not cleaning my makeup brushes. Anyway, I used Hadley’s Aquaphor and In two days, I was fine. Now, I still use it on my under eyes.

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    1. it’s hard! mine looked too folded when I tried it.
      That’s crazy! Are they better? i really need to make an appt. I feel like my glasses don’t work anymore. lol.
      I am so glad you reminded me of Aquaphor. I had a girl obsessed with it and she even put it on her brows and they looked amazing. I am gonna get some!

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  15. I’m sorry you didn’t have any luck with that curling iron, but you saved me from buying it! It was all over everything, and I almost bit! I did buy the Dyson Airwrap and tried it for several days, even putting my hair on rollers right after. It did nothing. Luckily, I bought it at Nordstrom so I could return it. I love The Ordinary skin care products. They’re so inexpensive, and you can almost always use a coupon on them at Ulta. Love Big Sexy Hairspray. DryBar used to have a hairspray called The Sheriff that I really liked. It really held my super fine hair in place. But, the nozzle would always clog up so I think they quit making it. I haven’t ever liked anything else they’ve had. Lancome mascara is one of the best, I think. I used to use Thrive, but I think they changed the formulation because no tubes were forming on my eyelashes. I do use Borboleta eyelash serum for growth, and I have to say it really works! I really liked this post, Amy! I may do one some day!

    https://marshainthemiddle.com/

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    1. it’s ok. you win some and you lose some. So glad you returned that. Sometimes simple and classic is best. That could be a motto for so much. ;I have used The Ordinary! The prices are great! I don’t think I use a product long enough to see results.
      I would love if you do this type of post. Seriously. I get so overwhelmed.

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  16. I loved this post! Buy or Bye Bye, you could start a blog linky party with that title. I would read them all. Wouldnt have to be limited to just beauty. Thanks for the time and effort you put into your blog! Dee

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  17. Pingback: Friday Favorites – Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa

  18. I have one of those curlers/straighteners and it works for me because I’m not often trying to “straighten” but to smooth and it’s better than a straightener for that. I like that it doesn’t pull on my hair. I really like the curls too but I don’t curl when my hair is on the shorter side like it is now.

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  19. I just thought of a couple of things I’ve recently learned from Nina Poole on TikTok (or IG now?). She’s a great follow, by the way, and has great dupe ideas. The first one is that the best lotion in the world is by Palmer’s, which is sold at Walmart. I have a huge bottle of the coconut scented body lotion (that’s thick and creamy, but not greasy) and it was only $7.

    Secondly is that Walmart carries a foot spray that is for ant-fungal purposes, but if you use it on your feet everyday before putting your shoes on, your feet won’t hurt! I bought some immediately, because I have issues with my feet hurting a lot, and it’s true! I forget to use it sometimes, but something about it cools and soothes your feet and prevents them from aching.

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