Mini Review: Real Techniques Expert Face Brush

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush

by Sam & Nic Chapman

Stop!!  Don't hesitate & just buy this brush.

  

Don't waste your money on other foundation/BB Cream makeup brushes/sponges/blenders (like I did) before deciding on purchasing this Real Techniques Expert Face Brush.  You won't regret it.  Applies & blends amazingly :)  The bristles are soft (like a Bun Buns tail.. Co-worker would appreciate that one.  You know who you are :p ) and compacted together so it doesn't leave patchy streaky lines all over your face. 

Love it. Thanks :)

P.S. I purchased mine through Amazon.ca ($9.99), but I have seen the Real Techniques line of brushes for sale at Walmart recently (April 2015).  Thou, I never seen this particular Expert Face Brush, but it could of just been out of stock at the time.

Link to Amazon

3D Crest White Brilliance Toothpaste & Polishing Treatment

When I first found out that I would be receiving these products to try and review, I was quite excited.  In fact, I was contemplating whether or not to go out and buy whitening strips to help whiten up my teeth a little bit anyways.  Now I didn't really have badly stained yellowish teeth to begin with but one or two shades whiter would be nice enough.  With Crest claiming that you would see results after only one use, jeez imagine after a week.  Heck, imagine what your teeth "should" look like after using up and finishing the whole tube(s).  I had high hopes...  But sadly for me...

What I received:

3D Crest White Brilliance Fluoride Toothpaste 90ml 

"Our most advanced whitening meets advanced freshness"

"White, dazzling smile"

1.  "Whitens by unlocking trapped surface stains"

2.  "Adds luster & shine after just 1 use"

3.  "Freshens with a lasting cooling sensation"

3D Crest White Brilliance Boost Polishing Treatment 65ml

"Amplifies Whiteness"

1.  "Smoothes and Refines.  For a Smile that Shines"

2.  "Helps protect from discoloration and tartar with regular brushing"

What I thought of each product:

Note:  I used the toothpaste in the morning & again at night.  The polish I used once during the day.  Also I was using an electric toothbrush.  What that may have to do with anything I don't know but just stating the oh so important facts :p

3D Crest White Brilliance Toothpaste:  I mentioned before that my teeth weren't badly stained in the first place and prior to testing this toothpaste I was actually using the regular basic 3D Crest White toothpaste for about two weeks and I have to say there isn't much of a different between the two.  If and when this new 3D Crest Brilliance toothpaste comes out, if there is a price difference (couldn't find anything online regarding what the price is/maybe) between the two, I would just go with the regular 3D Crest White.  There wasn't anything fancy with this new Brilliance.

As for if I noticed a difference after just one use.  Yeah, maybe a hint.  If you look at my results at the bottom of this post you can see a little difference.  Keep in mind those pics where taking with an iPhone, and not in the best light conditions.  

3D Crest White Brilliance Boost Polishing Treatment:  Now this polish is said to be used "in addition to your normal brushing routine to help protect your smile".  I used it once a day (in between my morning & night brushings), and honestly you kind of have to take their word on it being able to help protect your teeth.  So with that alone I'd say skip it.  No need for it.  Did it smooth & shine my teeth?    No.  My teeth seem pretty squeaky clean by just using the toothpaste by itself.  But there were two major downfalls I had with this one being the aftertaste of this polish.  Ick!  It does pass but.. Ick.  Both the toothpaste & polish were in the flavour, Finishing Mint.  Toothpaste is fine. The polish starts fine.  Afterwards not so much.  Then two, this polish really irritated my gums.

Packaging Note: On the box for the polishing treatment it gives the information "For an even whiter smile, try Crest 3D White Whitestrips."  I know this is a marketing ploy but seeing that is telling me, "hey this isn't going to work.. Go try these strips instead".  Which I still may do sometime down the road.

Overall:

Sadly, I have to give these products a pass.  I was so hoping for better results but maybe I was aiming too high.  I seen other BzzAgent reviews with their before after pics. and some had good results but their before pics of their teeth were doozies :( .  So if you do happen to have yellowish stained teeth to begin with you may see more obvious results than me.  But if you have fairly white teeth to begin with I wouldn't bother getting this toothpaste & polish.  Skip the polish for sure, but if your looking at the 3D Crest White toothpaste vs. 3D Crest White Brilliance toothpaste and there's a huge price difference between the two.  I'd just go with the regular 3D Crest White.

Rating 1 (Poor) - Rating 5 (Good)

Packaging = 5 (Can't go wrong with purple :p )

Effectiveness = 2 (Toothpaste probably helps whiten/keep teeth white.  Polish helps protect)

Freshness/Taste = 3 (Not a strong mint flavour comes thru.  Polish aftertaste = ick :) )

Results:

Like to say thank you to whom ever may have read/visited this post and also a big

thank you to BzzAgent.com, I received this product for free to test from them & also from Crest.

Secrets Scent Expressions Clear Gel

To be honest I never really tried a gel antiperspirant before and I probably would never have except I #GotItFreefromSecret and I have to say I am most likely going to be switching my old regular "never fails to leave white marks" antiperspirant and going with this new Secret Scent Expressions Clear Gel.  I received the Ooh-La-La Lavender scent, which was not too over powering and there are no white marks and it lasts all day.  

My work requires me to move around a lot and by the time I'm finished, I can still smell the lavender and I'm not having to worry about my co-workers having to question that funky smell coming off of my body that may or may not have been there before with my old deodorant.

With the new Secret Scent Expressions Clear Gel.  I have no worries.  

My one itty bitty issue and honestly it's nothing major.  It's more just my preference.  When you put this Gel deodorant on it's coooold.  Lol.  Also you have that wet feeling, but it dries super fast.

Like I said nothing major but for your amusement & if you want me to be really really picky and act like a total B***d (hair colour) on the back of the packaging it says to apply 2-3 clicks.
Now is that suppose to be for one arm or two. LOL.  If it actually is suppose to be 2-3 clicks per arm (which I find 2 for each arm works for me) you might find yourself going thru this quite fast.  But for the price, it's not like your going to spend an arm and a leg on this deodorant.


Rating 1 (Poor) - Rating 5 (Great)

Packaging = 5 (Pretty standard.  They can't really go wrong :p )
Effectiveness = 5 (So far so good)
Scent =  5 (Not to overwhelming)
Price Point = 5 (Local dept. store)

Like to say thank you to whom ever may have read/visited this post and also a big

thank you to BzzAgent.com, I received this product for free to test from them & also from Secret.

#GotItFreefromSecret

Pantene Pro-V Ultimate 10 BB Shampoo, Conditioner, & Creme

So I recently received these three products for free from BzzAgent, and this is my second
time receiving a BzzKit in the mail from them and I have to say I was quite excited to try
these products out.  How could you not?

Claiming to be a "10 - 1 Multi-tasker repairs,smoothes, boss shine & more".

If you have read any of my other posts regarding shampoos you may see that I have a number one shampoo & conditioner already and there hasn't been anything to come close to beating my all time favourite shampoo & conditioner.

With that being said,  let's get to it and see if Pantene's Pro-V Ultimate 10 can take over my #1 choice for hair care.

I always seem to start off by describing the packaging, maybe that's my visual product side coming out but I have to say that the packaging does draw my attention.  Myself, when I see the white packaging I automatically think clean and that's probably a good thing when you want to buy shampoo :)  It also comes across that if it didn't have Pantene written on it that it could be one of those higher end brands.  So that's a plus.  Claiming to be getting all these great benefits in one bottle but not having to pay an arm and a leg for higher end branded products.
The information on the bottles are pretty straight forward and it tells the consumer what each product is "suppose" to do and this time unlike my last conditioner review.  There's directions LOL :p

For the next part I'm basically just going to take a bottle and review each separately.

*  Pantene Pro-V Ultimate 10 Beauty Boosting Formula BB Shampoo:
"10 Solutions For Flawless Healthy Looking Hair"

1.  Repair for rough hair 2.  Strength against damage 3.  Silky Softness 4. Brilliant Shine
5.  Smoothing  6.  Moisture 7.  Frizz Control 8.  Gently Cleaning
9.  Manageability 10.  Detangling

Firstly the smell of the shampoo is nice.  Nothing over powering.  Fresh-clean scent with a hint of fruit.  My first thought was mango's but I don't think I'm right on that one. Perhaps watermelon like the conditioner?   I liked the consistence and  the shampoo did product a good lather, hair felt squeaky clean while washing.  The smell from the shampoo defiantly didn't stick around after I rinsed my hair out.  If I were to rate the shampoo on it's own out of 5, having 5 as being great.  I would have to say it's a 3.  I could take it or leave it.  More reasons to come at the end (after I reviewed the other two and basically my thoughts after I dried my hair)

*  Pantene Pro-V Ultimate 10 Beauty Boosting Formula BB Conditioner:

Also gives all the same 10 solutions for using the conditioner as it did for the shampoo above but it also states the conditioner should be used "with Ultimate 10 BB Shampoo to help block the protein-stripping weakening effects of copper minerals in water"

While using the conditioner it had some promise in making my hair hair feel smooth.  There's not a lot I can really say about the conditioner as a stand alone product.  The smell was actually more pleasant than the shampoo.  It was a different smell all together.  Usually if you buy the same brand of shampoo & conditioning duo they smell the same.  These two didn't.  The conditioner had almost a clear watermelon smell to it.  Or whatever it was it smelled good.  Didn't last though (smell).   Rating the conditioner on it's own I would again give it a 3 out of 5.  Nothing exactly standing out.

*  Pantene Pro-V Ultimate 10 BB Creme :
"10 in 1 Beauty Balm For Hair"
"Care + Styling in 1 Simple Step"

1.  Repair for rough hair  2.  Strength against damage  3.  Silky Softness  4.  Brilliant Shine
5.  Smoothing  6.  Moisture  7.  Frizz Control  8.  Heat Protection
9.  Manageability  10.  Tamed Fly-Aways

"Inspired by skincare's BB phenomenon, this leave-in formula gives hair a healthy look while preparing it for enhanced styling control and a silky smooth finish."

It can be used on dry or damp hair.  In my case I tried it with towel dried damp hair and then blow dried my hair.  I was hoping by using this product it would leave my hair super shiny and smooth but after using this creme and in truth all three products together I was a little disappointed.  My hair wasn't as shiny as I have seen in the past.  It defiantly didn't smooth out my hair as much as I would have liked but maybe in the long run I will see more benefits of using these products.
Rating the BB Creme by itself I would give a pass and say 2 out of 5.

*  Overall

I have to say that my first impressions of the new Pantene Pro-V Ultimate 10 is a fail :(
Did it achieve the following?
(Not sure why but the spacing went all funky after this)

1. Repair for rough hair - Perhaps.  But I have pretty healthy hair so can't judge that one.
2. Strength against damage -  I do blow dry my hair all the time so if it can protect it. Good.
3. Silky Softness - Not as soft as I would of liked.
4. Brilliant Shine - Sadly, no :(
5. Smoothing - No, didn't see that.
6. Moisture - Usually if a shampoo is moisturizing my hair will take forever to dry.  Not in this case, so not thinking it was as moisturizing as much as it claims to be?
7. Frizz Control - Nope.  Had a whole whack of fly aways.
8. Gently Cleaning - I'd say yes, just for the fact that your hair does feel like it's getting a good cleaning but not having an over powering smell (but I kinda like that).
9. Manageability - Somewhat.
10. Detangling - Not amazing but not bad.  Still had tangles.  Especially in the back/bottom layer of my hair.

Ratings: 1 Poor - 5 Great

Packaging = 5

Fragrance = 3

Price Point = 4. The shampoo & conditioner are reasonably priced but the BB Creme is a bit much. 

(Priced locally at a box store & compared to other similar products)

Effectiveness = 2.  If it actually helps protect/strengthen in the long run.

So that concludes my review of Pantene's Pro-V Ultimate 10 BB Shampoo, Conditioner, & Creme.

I hope someone out there may find this useful.  If anyone is interested in trying these products they are available at a variety of locations but Target is always a good place to shop :)

Coupons can be found here:

Smart Source

Click Here For Pantene's Website

#ShineStrong

Like to say thank you to whom ever may have read/visited this post and also a big

thank you to BzzAgent.com, I received these products for free to test from them #GotItFree

Garnier Fructis Color Shield Complete Defense

Garnier Fructis Fortifying Shampoo, Conditioner, and Shine & Care

For Coloured - Treated Hair

Firstly, I like to start by saying thank you to Influenster for including me in the Garnier Fructis #ColorShield VoxBox.  The following three products, I have received complimentary and are solely for testing purposes only.

Okay, let's start off with the packaging.  It's pretty standard.  I'm most likely not going to walk into a store and stand in front of oodles of shampoo & conditioners and go Wow, whats that?  Rush over and grab that bottle.  It does have a nice red colour though.  Me trying to give it some credit here.. 

The down side to the packaging, is actually in the details or should I say lack of details given on the back.  On the back of both the shampoo and the conditioner bottles there are no directions.

HOLD ON.  Yes I know how to use shampoo and conditioner but since when doesn't a product

give instructions?  The only reason I really noticed this is when I'm trying a new conditioner I usually end up checking out the back directions to see if I'm suppose to leave it in for a certain amount of time before I actually rinse it out.  So when I noticed there was nothing for the conditioner, I naturally out of curiosity checked the shampoo and... Zip.  Nothing.  Not a big deal.  Just thought I point it out 

One other thing about the packing which is a plus is that the bottles are "ECO-Fructis".  "Bottles contain 30% recycled plastics and are made of PET, the most widely recycled plastic".

Yay! Go Green.  Moving on...

Garnier Fructis Fortifying Shampoo & Conditioner Color Shield:

  "Love that fresh colour feeling but can't make it last?  With camelia seed oil, acai berry extract and UV filters, our Complete Defense system helps restore hair's power to keep colour looking & feeling fresher for longer"

"Seals & protects color.  Boosts vibrancy, shine, & softness"

I didn't mind the shampoo & conditioner they both smelled good.   You kind of really have to work the shampoo through your hair to get a good lather going though.  The one downside I have to say is that for shampoo, I found it very very runny.  So if you are reading this and decide to try this for yourself be warned :)  You may get more than what you are expecting.  Also like I mentioned above with no directions with the conditioner, I left it in for a minute then rinsed it out and all was good.

* Side Note: The smell of the shampoo & conditioner out of the bottle is kind of a cross between berries & bubble gum.  Haha. Weird I know but that is what I got.  After blow drying my hair my husband did the sniff test (way weird but only way to get another opinion ).   He smelled coconut.  Where he got the coconut from, I haven't a clue but that's our take on the smell :)

Garnier Fructis Color Shield Shine & Care Leave - In Spray:

"Phase 1: Enriched with Xylose. Protects coloured hair"

"Phase 2:  Smoothens the hair cuticle giving it a brilliant shine."

With the leave-in spray it does give you directions.  It can be used two ways.  Both in which I tried.

The first is to apply to wet hair before brushing, to instantly protect hair.  Did this do anything, I couldn't tell you right away.  Give me a few weeks, and if I'm still using this instead of my normal shampoo then we'll have our answer.  

The second way to use the spray is as a "Final Touch.  To boost each finer with brilliance & transform its texture to silky smoothness"  I didn't really notice a difference with this.  I applied it after I had finished blow drying my hair and my hair was already smooth &  light so I don't think the spray was really needed to accomplish this.

With that all being said I am content with how this whole " Color Shield Complete Defense" turned out.  I will have to wait though and see how it goes down the road with how well these products actually help colour-treated hair in the long run.  But they did leave my hair nice and light.  Not so much shiny though.

Will I go and buy these products instead of my current #1 shampoo & conditioner?  No, sorry.  Once these products have been used up I will be going back to my #1. 

If I had to buy these products again I would buy the shampoo & conditioner but I would have to skip on the Shine & Care Leave-In Spray.  Didn't win me over.

Ratings: 1 Poor - 5 Great Packaging = 4 Fragrance = 4 Price Point = 4 (Priced locally at a box store & compared to other similar products) Effectiveness = 4

Overall out of 10, I would have to say that these Color Shield products rate an 8.

Probably a 9 if they hold up their end of the bargain and help protect my hair in the long run.

Again thank you to Influenster for including me in the #ColorShield VoxBox.  

My first ever VoxBox, and I hope in the near future I get to do this again.

If you like what you have read please like, share, comment, follow and all that good stuff.  Thanks :)

*******************

Follow up photo:  After 3 washes the purple has faded quite a bit.  I know purple is an extremely hard

color to keep in your hair, but really was hoping for a little longer than three washes.

*******************

For more information check out the following:

Garnier Canada FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/GarnierCanada

Garnier Canada Color Shield:  http://www.garnier.ca/en-ca/hair-care/beauty/fructis/fructis-color-shield

Influenster: https://www.influenster.com

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush Review

Rating: A

Like so many other people I purchased this brush after reading all the good reviews it was given. I have tried other brushes, sponges, blenders but I have to say, I found this brush to work by far the best for applying foundation. The bristles are just the right length, they haven't fallen out, and they are nice and soft.

 Highly recommend :)

To learn more about this product and/or to see more reviews 

check out Influenster.com by clicking on the link below.

Thank you.

Influenster: Real Techniques Expert Face Brush

EOS Ultra Moisturizing Shave Cream

NICE & SMOOTH BUT...

PROS: Smell & smooth finish

CONS: Price & wasteful 

QUICK TIPS: May need to apply more than what is recommended.

Needing to pick up shaving cream I expected to go and pick up my usual brand but I noticed this EOS Ultra Moisturizing Shave Cream (Pomegranate Raspberry) was marked down so I thought I'd give it a try.

EOS shave cream claims to " delight your skin with 24 hours of ultra-soothing moisture.  With natural conditioning oils, shea butter and aloe, it's so moisturizing you can shave wet or dry.  Nourish your skin every time you shave with eos.".

I found it did l leave my skin feeling nice and smooth after shaving but for staying smooth for 24 hours, I don't think so.  Also it says to pump 2 - 3 times to apply a thin layer.  This definitely wasn't enough.  You don't get much of a lather with this product and I would be to hesitant to try to shave with that thin of a layer of shaving cream.  I don't want cuts all over, thank you very much..  With that said I also never tried it without water.  Again probably not going to give that a go, just for the sake of not wanting cuts.

One other good thing about this is the smell along with the smooth finish I mention earlier.  It's definitely a berry fragrance.

Problems I found with this are:

1.  It will take more than 2 - 3 pumps to feel like you have a good enough lather

2.  I bought this while it was marked down, that's the only reason I really picked it up.  If it was regular price (pricey) I would of skipped it

3.  The bottom design of the bottle is unique and fits your hand nicely but the top part where it's the actually pump, I didn't like this.  Could of just made it like regular shaving cream cans/bottles (if that would of work), so you can spray it out instead of pumping.

If this product was amazing I would go out and buy it at regular price but it's sadly not so I probably won't be purchasing this again.

Giving the EOS Ultra Moisturizing Shave Cream a C, basically for the smoothness & for the smell.