It’s time for Mrs Raines spring review! Over the last month or so, I have been trying new items. Some items are hair related and others skin related or body related. Some items were purchased, some I received as gifts and others I just couldn’t resist ads or walking past them in the stores. Either way, I have tried some great products and others that didn’t stand up to their advertisements.
First up….The Ped Egg. Now I know you’ve either seen ads on TV or you’ve walked past this thing in the store. It looks like a egg mixed with a cheese grader. It’s cool because you can literally use the Ped Egg anywhere. the cheese grater scrapes dead, dry, scaly, cracked skin off the bottom of your feet and turns it into little particles of dust. Those particles are trapped in the bottom of the Ped Egg and you unclasp and dispose. This makes a great gift, retailing for only $9.99. You can also buy extra cheese grater attachments. My only issue with the Ped Egg is that if you flip it over, all those little skin flakes fall all over the place. Other than that minor detail my feet are super soft and instead of paying for a pedicure ($20+), I only have to pay for a color change ($5). This is already saving me money because this item has paid for itself already!!
A few years ago, people we’re heavy into Mac makeup. Everyone wanted the “flawless” look. Right now mineral makeup is in 
fashion, however, I am a few years behind schedule. My cousin tried Mac makeup and it ended up being too dark or too light depending on her tan and overall skin tone…since I live in Florida, I am almost always tan. Therefore, while visiting, I took the Mac off her hands. It’s usually very expensive and only sold in high end department stores. It’s a perfect match. It goes on smooth and lasts all day. The only drawback here is the price. I decided to wear my cheap drug-store makeup on most days and wear my newly acquired Mac on special occasions. Yes, I am turning into my Grandmother with my “special occasion” stuff….With the price of gas going up…being like Grandma isn’t such a bad idea.
Speaking of expensive….I priced Chi flat irons a couple of weeks ago. Chi flat irons retail for 
around $100. I would rather spend that type of money on a salon quality dryer so I will be content with roller sets and saran wraps for now. However, that being said, I recently purchased Chi Silk Infusion as well as the Thermal Heat Protectant (Iron Guard). The silk is light enough to use daily to give you shine while maintaining bounce. It’s perfect for roller sets and I love the smell! The Heat protectant is water based so you get more bang for your buck and it is so far-so good. I don’t use irons in my hair often, but when I do, its nice to know I am protected. I noticed the stylists in my salon using Chi products and every head that leaves that salon looks fab. The only downfall here is that I can’t really afford the iron. The products are cheap but I find that the cost is minimal since these items will seemingly last me a long time. The great thing about Chi products is that I can find them in my neighborhood drug store or grocery store.
Since May 2006 I have been very select about using direct heat. I recently started getting my hair roller set at the salon. After being roller set, I get my roots blown out with a round brush and blow dryer. This is great for long stretches. I limit my visit to the salon to once a month. So being the “Uncle Pennybags” that I am, I decided to go out and get a round brush to try to copy this style at home. I found that I am not nearly as coordinated as I goosed myself up to believe. Needless to say, I did away with the round brush. Then after 2 months of struggling with the round brush and dryer, I found the Conair Hot brush. This thing blows like a dryer (but not as hot) and there is a cool shot button too. This tool fits well in your hand and takes a two-tool job down to one. It’s much easier to handle and now I can blow my own roots straight. If only I thought of this 
sooner! Only beef here is that the small attachment is not boar bristles like the larger brush attachment. I like using the small attachment for my nape and edges but I won’t risk using plastic bristles. A great add on to this tool is the Revlon-T Studio hot rollers. I can wear my hair straight all week and then use the hot rollers on the weekend to go curly or to give my hair body before saran wrapping (yes I have been know to saran wrap dirty hair by hot rolling first). This saves time when you don’t want to go through your whole hair routine to get the look you desire. The hot brush retails for around $10-15 depending on the style you get and the Hot rollers retail for about $25 and can be found at any major retailer (Target, Walmart etc).
I’m gradually getting my workout routine together. I purchase Billy Blanks boot camp but have yet to go through the DVD (naughty me). I did however get something that is both practical and muscle toning. I purchased ankle weights at walmart. I’ve worn them to work a few times and I wear them anytime I walk my dog. I try to take the dog out at least 3 times a week for 15-30 minutes around the neighborhood. I find that my legs feel more worked out then when I get on my Eliptical for 30 minutes. Plus I get some fresh air and my dog gets some much needed excercise. Only down-side here is that I can’t seem to motivate myself to do leg lifts or lunges in these things. I think I have a mental block….all of a sudden I have a taste for ice-cream…lol..Now I know its a mental block! Retail price here is only about $5-6.
Before the Ped Egg, I purchased Gel socks. I had some a few years ago and they worked pretty well. I paid $9 for some from 
Walmart and I must say I was dissappointed. Unlike the Ped Egg, it took sleeping in those things for a week before I noticed a difference. I noticed the difference with Ped Egg within 24 hours ( I nearly cracked my head open in the shower because I no longer had my lizard-skin feet to keep me steady). The gel socks were mostly a waste of money, however, lately I have been moisturizing my feet before bed and putting the socks on once a week or so in order to maintain the Ped-egg-icure. Downside: not a standalone product, feet must be pretreated in some way for these socks to do you any good. Upside: they come packaged with a small packet of tea tree oil foot moisturizer, this stuff smells pretty good and a little seems to go a long way.
My old camera finally gave way, so I searched online for a new one. All were pretty expensive and I didn’t want to spend more than $150. I ended up going to Target and finding a cute litte pink camera that had all the specs of my old camera with even more features. I picked up the Polaroid 631 for $99 (price cut). It boasts 6.1 mega pixels, several different picture modes, video mode, 3x optical zoom lens and more features then I could name. I even have the option to add fun frames and audio messages to my pics. The only downside is that there is no rechargeable battery. This thing takes 2 AA batteries. I can easily accommodate because I have purchased a rechargeable battery wall unit complete with four rechargeables. I also have a supply of regular cells in case of emergency. It doesn’t come with a lot of internal memory so I purchased a mini sd card for $19.99 and I can take 500+ pics on this thing on low resolution. All in all, a great find. It’s pink due to breast cancer awareness and I can’t think of a better charity to donate to by product purchase.
Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker is a sweet fragrance that I happened upon when buying my favorite scent (Chanel No5) at 
Macy’s. I know, Chanel is expensive but it takes me 2 years to go through 3.4 oz bottle ( I switch interchangeably between most scents including Bora Bora which has been discontinued…) I digress…so I now have 2 sample sizes of Lovely and I had been keeping them in my purse for a rainy day (for touch ups when having to be somewhere after work). The clerk gave me a few in my bag, along with several others. Today, my hubby told me he really enjoys that fragrance and its not at all overpowering like some of the stronger frangrances I wear. I didn’t buy it yet but I plan to. I found this scent online for around $35. That is pretty reasonable and at least I got a chance to try before buying. So ladies, if you have some sample sizes at home, give them a try, you never know what you may find!
Last but not least, I have been trying my hand at new hair clips, clamps, claws etc. My hair is finally a respectable length so I am happy to try new little hair trinkets to keep my styles fresh. As some of you may or may not know. I have been in love all over again with banana clips. I was so used to fitting all my hair in a big banana clip that I didn’t even consider half up-half down styles or small banana clips. I was able to find some in a few different stores and I am loving these clips. The closure is a lot better than traditional clips. Only downfall here is that these things pull your hair back tightly. You’ll have to play around with them in order to wear them comfortably the entire day. The first few times, I had to remove them and adjust them to my liking. Retail is $3-5 for a package of 3 (black, brown, white). Some more adorned types retail for upwards of $15-20 but they are worth it if you want to dazzle up your do.
So now that you know what I tried….lets discuss my wish list for 2008. I really want a salon quality dryer. The Pibbs is 
probably the best value for my dollar but the price tag is hefty. I would prefer to get a more reasonably priced dryer with simailar features. The dryers in my salon aren’t Pibbs yet they do a great job. I found a few on amazon.com that are just what the doctor ordered, retail price $125.
While searching online, I came across “clip on bangs”. Now to most naysayers this sounds like a bad idea. I disagree. Clip on bangs allow you the freedom and versatility to have bangs one day and chin length layers the next. It has taken me 2 years to grow out my bangs. I don’t want to sacrifice them for a style. Most people argue that you can sew in tracks in front for the same effect. I don’t have time to sew in tracks so for me clip-on is the next best thing. I see these advertised for $20-50 onlline. I plan to get a few tracks and some wig clips to make them myself. If the cost of the clips, tracks and thread exceed $20 then I will contemplate purchasing online. My final wish list item is a Chi for Fhi iron. I know they are expensive but I really don’t want to risk my length on a cheap iron with hot spots and ceramic coating. I’ll keep on trucking with what I have for now but if I run across a deal….lets just say I will be one happy girl!
