Anise Nail Polish in Cocktails for Teal, $5.50

(Anise Nail Polish in Cocktails for Teal)
Here at Sweet Glow Beauty we are big fans of OPI (Mirna especially, who is much better at painting her nails than I am!). But you know we like to try new things, so I decided to try Anise Nail Polish after falling in love with this gorgeous teal color. I found it at the counter at DSW--I tried looking online and I can't find anywhere selling it, not even Amazon, so I wonder if this is the only way to buy it! Anyway, it's a pretty good price, and they even had a buy-1-get-1-half-off deal, which is always fun.

Ok, it's really difficult to get an accurate picture of its true color, but I did my best! The color is intense (only 2 coats with no topcoat in the picture). It's a bold and summery teal with a good deal of green in it--the photo above is a bit more blue than it actually is. I think it would be awesome on toenails (my friend Ashley agreed, saying it would match a lot of bathing suits). It has a little gold shimmer that's really pretty in the bottle but sadly not noticeable on nails. Besides the shimmer, the teal shows up as you would expect it to.

It went on thick but actually dried pretty quickly. I've had it on about a day and a half and it has started to chip a little on my right hand. But, it might do better with a top coat (and if you are actually careful with your nails, which I definitely am not).


What's cool about Anise is that they don't use harsh chemicals (formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl phthalate) that can damage your nails (and body). They also openly support and contribute to groups that promote women's health, oppose animal testing, support women's rights, and protect the environment. Pretty awesome!

Final verdict
Cost: $5.50 is a great price and totally worth it. Unfortunately I could only find it at DSW--let me know if you guys find it somewhere else!
Polish: Great and intense color and dries fast. It didn't have as much shimmer as I wanted (for this particular shade) and started chipping after a day, but not too bad. I'd probably use a good top coat next time.
Company philosophy: Anise prides themselves on being nontoxic, both to its users and to the environment, which I can totally stand behind.
Repeat offender: I would try their nail polish again, especially if one catches my eye the way this one did! I wish they were sold at more places, though!

-T

Urban Decay De-Slick Mattifying Powder, $30

I bought Urban Decay's De-Slick Mattifying Powder on a whim. I had a Macy's gift card and decided to spend it on something I probably wouldn't normally buy--$30 face powder fell into that category. I have combination skin and get self-conscious about it getting oily in my T-zone, but I hate wearing any kind of face makeup (usually feels too heavy and fake). I also have the suspicion that my bangs are looking gross by the end of the day because of my oily forehead. With the warmer weather coming along, I felt like this was a good time to try it out.

The compact is really pretty--clear purple with silver designs of skulls and filigree (much like the Ammo Eyeshadow Palette). The compact is bigger than I thought it would be, basically about the size of my palm. The mirror is a really good size. I feel like for $30, it better be big!

It comes with a flat sponge that's rubbery on one side and cushiony white on the other.

I like the sponge. It fits nicely in the compact and makes it easy to dab at or sweep across your skin. But as you can see, it's already getting dirty, even though I just use it on my bare skin. I feel like if you used it over foundation, it would definitely change the color of that cushion pretty quickly.

The powder is pure matte white, translucent when it gets on your skin--unless you get a little powder-happy, then you're definitely gonna see some of the white build up. But hey, if you're going for the super pale look, might not be a bad thing! It has a kind of tea tree oil scent, probably to aid with the mattifying.

This stuff definitely mattes out the shine. This morning I put it on in the sunlight so I had a nice glare on my forehead (ugh lol) and I could see a distinct difference between where I put it and where I didn't. To my surprise, it made a noticeable difference under my eyes as well. I think something about the lavender-white tone helped chill out my undereye darkness. I also tried it out one day when I skipped my shower (gross, I know, but anything for the blog!) and was kind of surprised with how I didn't look like a complete greaseball. And it might actually help the oil buildup on my bangs--no real definitive evidence, though.

To be honest, it does its job adequately but in actuality it's no miracle worker. You do have to reapply throughout the day. I feel like it takes the shine away but not necessarily the actual oil. I mean, my skin feels velvety, but it's almost like I can still feel the oil underneath. I'm glad I have it because it's gonna come in handy in a lot of situations, but I wouldn't have spent $30 on it if I didn't have the gift card. There are probably cheaper products that would do a comparable job (other blue-tinted powders, blotting sheets, etc.).

Final verdict
Cost: $30 is a bit much for a product that didn't really "wow" me. You do get a lot, though, and it will probably last a pretty long time. At least the compact is pretty and the mirror's big.
Skin type: Oily to super oily. I have some dry skin on my nose (stupid allergies) and it made the powder show up a lot.
Mattifying?: It works--it takes the shine down. But it doesn't really absorb the oil. You will probably have to reapply a couple times through the day.
Repeat offender?: While I'm happy to have it and will probably use it until it's gone, I'm not sure if I would spend $30 on it again. I feel like I could get a cheaper product to do basically the same job.

On a side note, they have released De-Slick in a Tube. Check it out at their site. Nylon likes it, but it has some mixed reviews on Sephora.com. I'm glad I got the powder instead of the "gel" though--it seems like you get more and can use it when needed.

-T

Trader Joe's Tea Tree Oil Pure Vegetable Soap (bar), $1.50

I went to Trader Joe's the other day and decided to try their Tea Tree Oil Bar Soap. I love TJ's, love their oatmeal soap, and really love tea tree oil. A lot of all-natural beauty products (especially soaps and shampoos) contain tea tree oil--it's a natural astringent, is antiseptic, antibacterial, antifungal, and may even have some of the same skin-clearing benefits of benzoyl peroxide (thanks, Wikipedia!). Plus, it's $1.50 for 2 bars--what do you have to lose?


I loooove the smell of tea tree oil. The first time I smelled it was when I got pure tea tree oil to clean my belly button ring (lol). I opened it and was like, "Whew!" It's strong! But there was something in it that is really clean and natural--nothing smells quite like it. The fragrance is much less intense in this bar soap compared to the pure oil, but still is distinct. The soap smells nicely in the shower but doesn't leave much of a lingering scent.

This vegetable soap is all-natural and contains no animal byproducts (and, of course, there's no animal testing). A lot of all-natural soaps don't really lather that much, but this one soaps up really nicely. I used a loofa (mesh sponge thing) and was surprised at how much lather I got out of it. It left my skin feeling tight and clean--I used it after working out and it felt like it really cleaned away that yucky, sweaty feeling.

Final verdict
Cost: $1.50--are you kidding? That's nothing! Totally worth it.
Smell: I love the scent of tea tree oil, but it may not be so great to everyone. Try smelling some before you buy it. (They have the oil at TJ's, but smell lightly!)
Clean feeling: This soap left me feeling clean and left my skin feeling tight. I think I could probably even use it for my face if I'm feeling really oily (with some light moisturizer).
Repeat offender: I would buy this again. It's a deal and it's a great, cruelty-free soap. Yay, TJ's!

-T

Nature’s Gate Jojoba Revitalizing Shampoo, $6.29

For the past couple of years up until about the end of last summer I had long hair and was trying to grow it longer. For me having long hair was fun but the texture of my hair seemed to change, it got super thin, weighed down, and even started falling out at a rapid pace. I didn’t go to the doctor or anything but I decided to change my shampoo. I thought that maybe the shampoo I was using (I think it was Fructis) was too heavy for my hair so I went to Whole Foods looking for a more natural option. I wash my hair daily, otherwise it just doesn’t look right—I am one of those people. But you know everyone has to figure out what works for their hair. The shampoo I picked at the time was Nature’s Gate Biotin Strengthening Shampoo. I read that biotin is good to take as a supplement if you are trying to grow your hair so I thought it was worth a shot to try it in a shampoo. It is not proven that biotin in shampoo can actually do much but I was willing to try it. This shampoo was light, smelled mildly minty, and was perfect for an everyday shampoo. I used this product for months and I did notice a difference in my hair falling out, it was doing it much less but I cant 100% guarantee you that it was from the shampoo. Since then I have cut my hair short so it is much healthier and it hardly sheds!


A few weeks ago I ran out of my favorite Biotin Strengthening shampoo so I went to my local Whole Foods and to my pleasure the whole line was on sale, but my Biotin shampoo was sold out! I love when this stuff goes on sale at Whole Foods because it sells for about half the price and I just stock up on a few bottles, they last me a long time! I decided to try a different shampoo so I went with this Jojoba Revitalizing Shampoo for Damaged Hair and the conditioner. The shampoo has a very pleasant mild scent that reminds me a little bit of baby shampoo. I have been using the Jojoba shampoo for the last few weeks and I think my hair is really happy! It is a great daily use shampoo because of the short list of ingredients. A really awesome thing about Nature’s Gate is that they have a glossary of their ingredients on their website so you know exactly what is in your product, and what the use is.

Final verdict:
Cost: $6.29, but like I said before it goes on sale pretty regularly, it lasts a long time, and you can even buy it in bulk on their site.
As a brand?: Nature’s Gate is a really great brand that carries a lot of different beauty products that I would love to try. They recycle, don’t test on animals, and are even vegan—so basically they are guilt free. You can order from their site (it is run through drugstore.com), Amazon (4 bottles at a time!), or just go to your local Whole Foods, I have even seen their products at Giant and Safeway.
Repeat offender?: I will definitely keep using this line of shampoos, my hair feels healthier and even though it is probably from many different factors I think that using a more natural option helped it get healthier. I even bought two bottles of their Herbal Daily shampoo and conditioner to try after my Jojoba Revitalizing shampoo runs out (I’ll let you know how it goes!)

-M