My first thought was “who the hell would do this?” but I did a little more research and found that this new beauty trend already has a celebrity to back it up. Jennifer Love Hewitt advocates vajazzling on Lopez Tonight, while promoting her new dating book.

“After a breakup, a friend of mine Swarovski-crystalled my precious lady,” Hewitt said. “It shined like a disco ball so I have a whole chapter in there on how women should vagazzle their vajayjays.”

Personally, I think it’s weird, kinda gross, and a waste of money. But history demonstrates that our perceptions of “sexy” have evolved vastly over time. Remember just ten years ago, when Brazilian and bikini waxes were considered taboo? So, who knows what the future holds for our “precious ladies” (thank you Jennifer Love Hewitt)!

I can’t bring myself to post any true pictures or videos on my blog about this. But, other writers were much less shy and posted tons. See here and here.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you know anyone who has gotten vajazzled?

Since then, 49 articles have been posted here. That’s almost one post every week since it began. True, my blog is small in the grand scheme of successful blogs, but it’s an accomplishment for me and I’m very proud of it.

The Confessions of a Product Junkie is very close to my heart and I’d like to take this time to thank all of my friends, family and readers who have supported this blog and encouraged me to write it over the past year. I’d also like to thank all the amazing beauty bloggers in the Beauty Blog Network whom I’ve been reading religiously and have inspired me to write. Some day, I hope The Confessions of a Product Junkie can be half as established and successful as your blogs!

In honor of the one year anniversary of The Confessions of a Product Junkie, I’ve compiled a brief collection of my favorite posts to this blog over the past year. Enjoy!

The Secret to Healthy, Shiny Hair – Mayo?
I love this blog post because I got the chance to tell a story with this post, which always makes for a better read. I also got the chance to try something crazy (beauty-wise), which is always fun. Special thanks to my friend Brittany for taking pictures of me in the bathtub!

Bumpits – Surprise! They work!
I had secretly wanted to try Bumpits for a long time and a blog post was the perfect excuse to do it! They totally work, but I have only used them once since I wrote the post.

L’Oreal Paris Double Extend Tubing Mascara
My friend Brittany and I had fun putting this blog post together. I kept telling her to close her mouth for the picture and she kept insisting that she couldn’t apply mascara with her mouth closed. I lost the argument. This is actually the mascara I use now – I’m a total convert from my old standby, Lancome Hypnose’. I’ve also converted a bunch of my friends to this mascara as well, and they love it.

How to WEAR Red Lipstick
Last winter, I had a serious obsession with red lipstick. I wore it every time I went out. I still think it’s super sexy, but it’s better suited for fall or winter than summer. So, I’ve retired my Urban Decay red lipstick until fall rolls back around.

How to clean your makeup brushes
I like this post because I had a bunch of people come up to me after I wrote it and tell me how helpful it was for them. That’s always really nice to hear.

A Search for the Ultimate Mascara
If you couldn’t already tell, I’m an eyelash freak. I’m obsessed with making my eyelashes as long and thick as I possibly can. I like this blog post because I had the opportunity to collaborate (through comments) with readers and come up with a good list of mascaras and ratings for each.

Thanks again, everyone! One of the good things (or bad/expensive things, depending on how you look at it) about being a product junkie is that I have tons more ideas for future posts. So look forward to what’s to come! It’s been a fantastic year and I have a feeling that this next year is going to be even better!

You heard me right. Twilight has infiltrated the beauty industry with “Twilight Beauty.” Below is a peek at the various Twilight products that will be available starting August 17th. What do you think? Twilight fans and those of you who have managed to avoid the vampire frenzy, how do you feel about the vampire-inspired makeup? Is it something you’d try? I’m going to keep my opinion to myself because I’d like to hear from you.

DuWop’s “Twilight Venom”

I’m guessing the folks over at DuWop were peeing their pants in excitement when they heard about the Twilight books. The five minutes of fame that Lip Venom got several years ago could finally strike again. Even I must say though, the incorporation of a product with “venom” in its name and vampires makes sense. Some of these other products are a little far-fetched, though.

Volturi Twilight

Twilight Beauty also has various products inspired by the Volturi (in case you’re not a Twilight fan, the Volturi are the evil band of vampire royalty), which range from eye makeup to face makeup. Such products include “Foreshadow Eyelid Primer,”
$11.00, (I thought that name was kind of clever) and “Immortal Liquid Body Shimmer,” $19.00. There are a number of others as well. Check them out here.

Nox Twilight nail polish

The Nox nail polish is the newest edition of products from Twilight Beauty. These polishes are inspired by the Cullen coven (our dear Edward’s family). Every bottle has the Cullen crest on its center. Nail polish shades can be bought separately or together. For $65 you get the entire set, which includes:
Red Velvet – Classic cherry red
Chiffon – Soft delicate pink
Debutante – Fresh peachy-pink
Sugar Plum – Plummy iridescent
Disco Darling – Glimmer shimmer
Wine & Dine – Sparkling champagne
Talon – Forbidding navy
Sangria – Vampy bordeaux
Black Tie – Best-dressed black
Poseidon – Sky blue
Crush – Sassy hot pink
Citrus – Energizing bright orange

This is just a preview of the makeup that can be found on Twilightbeauty.com. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Recently, my friend Marcy went to the salon and lightened her hair. The color came out yellowy-gold tone and she hated it.

So she went back to the salon. Still, her hairdresser was unable to fix the problem. She ended up going to another hairdresser and after spending an abundance of money, her hair was finally the color she wanted it.

In my opinion, the most frustrating thing about this story is that although she was able to get her hair color she wants it, there’s no guarantee it won’t go back to gold after washing it a few times. This is exactly what happened to my other friend, Emily.

Emily spent a good part of college trying to acquire a oh-so specific shade of blonde hair – ashy, bright, and gold-less. Whenever she would go to the salon, she’d come back with a hair color she liked. But after a few days, it would turn yellow again. This must have happened a dozen times. She became so frustrated that she gave up on blonde all together and dyed her hair brown.

My point? Marcy and Emily, among other women, are suffering from what I’m going to call “yellow-blonde syndrome.” Luckily, I have found a (very simple and affordable!) solution to this problem!

Have you ever had a hairdresser use a toner on your hair to remove the yellow? Toning hair is more effective than re-dying it because toners designed to remove yellow are actually violet in color (the opposite of yellow on the color wheel) and they counteract yellow/gold tones. Bonus: Toners are conditioning agents so they’re much better for your hair than re-bleaching it. In fact, they’re actually good for your hair!

I know that Emily’s hairdressers used toners on her hair in the past, but they wore off after several washes. In addition, getting toned at the salon costs extra money. It’s a good idea to tone your hair regularly, on your own, to maintain your ashy blond color that you love so much. The easiest way to do this, without making any drastic changes to your haircare routine, is with shampoos that have toners in them. They’re really inexpensive AND they won’t destroy your hair. I promise.

Before recommending home-toning to my readers, I obviously tried toner shampoos on my own hair. (I too have been suffering from yellow-blonde syndrome.) I tried Clairol Shimmer Lights Silver Blonde shampoo ($13.25 on amazon.com – recommended to me by my friend Brittany) AND Nexxus Aloxxi Plaitnium Pro Colour Toning shampoo ($7.99 on amazon.com). Both gave me similar results. They both brightened my blond hair and made it more ashy than yellow, which it what I was going for.

This is what my hair looked like after 3 toner washes - almost no yellow/gold.

I’ll probably use the toning shampoo once a week to maintain the tone, and use my sulfate-free shampoo for my other washes. If you over-tone your hair (by using toning shampoo every day), it could develop a violet tint.

Using toning shampoo is not complicated, but I’ll walk you through the process anyway:
1) Shampoo as usual
2) Leave the shampoo in for 1-5 minutes
3) Rinse it out

It’s pretty simple. But I should warn you that these shampoos are very PURPLE when they come out of the bottle, so avoid getting them on your clothes.

The shampoo on the left is the Nexxus toning shampoo and the one on the right is the Shimmer Lights.

Happy toning!

I had an epiphany the other day at the hair salon. Well, I’m not sure if epiphany is the right word, but I came to the following conclusion about my life: I’m not going to go tanning anymore. Yes, I always knew it was bad for me and I’ve been trying to kick addiction for a while. But at the hair salon, I made my final decision.

To make a long story short: My hairdresser Ambrosia (from Magnum Opus salon – Ambrosia is fabulous, by the way!) told me a terrifying story about a client of hers. The client is a girl who is younger than me. She used to go tanning all the time in high school and college (like me!) and got skin cancer at the age of 20.

My head was spinning when I heard this. 20? That’s so young! It never occurred to me that something like that could happen to someone so young.

More than anything, the story was a wakeup call for me. And it was enough to persuade me that a little brown isn’t worth the consequences.

Luckily, there are other options for those of us who enjoy a bronzed glow. UV-free tanning has gotten way better than it was when it first hit the market in the 1960s. In fact, it has gotten much better than it was when I started playing around with it in the early 2000s. Back then the likelihood that your skin would turn streaky and orange was more than a little high. Trust me, I’ve had my fair share of sunless tanning disasters.

But now, there are many good sunless tanners on the market that provide a quick, natural-looking tan. And they come in all sorts of consistencies and styles to fit your personal taste. You have your tanning lotions, sprays, foams, gels, wipes… The list goes on and on.

The best sunless tanners:

Clarins Self Tanning Gel, $32.50 – Obviously, this is a gel. It’s a really great sunless tanner. I’ve never had any problems with streakiness or orangeness when using this self tanner. It’s a little expensive, but it’s a really good buy. And it lasts forever.

Jergens Natural Glow Revitalizing Daily Moisturizer, $8 – This is a good option if you’re willing to wait around for your tan. It’s a moisturizer that builds a tan over time. Personally, I find the concept a little bit silly. If you want to be tan and moisturized, why not buy an INSTANT tanning moisturizer? But I guess it’s good for tanning newbies and people who are scared of commitment. It provides a nice, even, natural-looking tan. And the price is right.

L’Oreal Sublime Bronze Self Tanning Towelettes, $5.99 – This tanner comes in the form of a wipe. I like the tan it produces but I have had slight issues with streakiness from these wipes. Also, I find that one wipe isn’t enough to coat my entire body. So, I usually end up wasting another wipe on my legs. Still, it’s cheap and produces a nice color.

Neutrogena Instant Bronze Sunless Tanner and Bronzer in One, $7.89 – This sunless tanner is in foam form. It colors your skin instantly, which makes it easy to tell if you’ve missed a spot. The color is very natural. This was my favorite sunless tanner in high school. It’s a great overall body tanner, and it’s cheap. However, the tan doesn’t last as long as it does with other tanners.

Bare Escentuals Faux Tan Self-Tanner, $22 – This is my favorite sunless tanner of the moment. It also has an instant bronzer, so it’s easy to see where you’re putting it. It smells much better than other tanners, which is a major plus. And I’ve had really good luck with the color and the consistency. I highly recommend this product.

I haven’t yet tried any spray-on self tanners (other than mystic tanning). But I ran into my friend Chardae this morning while I was getting coffee and we got talking and she told me that she swears by her spray-on self tanner. She couldn’t remember the name of the brand, but I’ll follow up with her and let you all know when she tells me.

My sunless tanning tips:
+Exfoliate before you tan. Your tan will last longer and it’s less likely that it will turn out streaky.
+Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. This will make your tan last longer too.
+ALWAYS wash your palms immediately after you use sunless tanner. Otherwise, they absolutely will turn 100% orange. I learned that the hard way.
+For a less dramatic tan on my face, I like to mix some of my favorite sunless tanner in with my daily moisturizer, then apply.

So, next time you’re considering going tanning in a tanning bed, think about the girl who got skin cancer at the age of 20. Then, think about all the UV-free tanning options there are on the market right now.

No offense to this gorgeous city that I go to college in (Eugene, Oregon), but it’s not a great place to get beauty treatments done. I think that most University of Oregon ladies can attest to the fact that practically every salon here overcharges and does a crumby job.

But after four years of college, I’ve finally discovered a few places worth going in Eugene. As I’m about to graduate and depart from this fine city, I want to leave those of you who plan on sticking around with a short list of local beauty recommendations.

For Nails:
City Nails and Spa
440 Coburg Road, Eugene, OR 97401
(541) 636-4432

Takes walk-ins and appointments.

Highlights – City Nails and Spa:
+Does a fantastic French manicure for, I believe, $17. I got my nails done four days ago and I’m yet to see a single chip. Everyone keeps asking me if they’re real. Yes, my nails are 100% natural. This salon just did such a great job that they look acrylics.
+Clean facility.
+Friendly staff. You can tell that all the employees actually enjoy working there, which I think is pretty cool.

Image: My four-day-old manicure from City Nails and Spa:

For Waxing:
Hair Masters
609 E 13th Ave
Eugene, OR 97401
(541) 484-3143

Call ahead and MAKE SURE you ask for Norene! (She doesn’t work Wednesdays.)

Highlights – Hair Masters:
+Cheap waxing! Eyebrow waxes are around $10 and Brazilians are around $50.
+Norene is the best thing about this place. She’s a total sweetheart and does a great job. Over the years that I’ve been seeing her, she’s become more than my waxer, she’s my friend. And she’s the only person I trust to do my waxing at Hair Masters.

For Tanning:
Alright, I’ll admit it – I tan every so often. But I’m really, really trying to stop completely! As I’m sure you all know, it’s absolutely horrible for you. But if I’m going to go tanning, I make sure I go to a place that has high quality beds so that I can go for less time and absorb fewer harmful rays. Sunsational Tanning is the best place I’ve found in Eugene.

Sunsational Tanning
450 Coburg Road
Eugene, Oregon 97401
(541) 338-8267

Takes walk-ins and appointments, but it gets busy so you probably want to call ahead.

Highlights – Sunsational Tanning:
+The stand-up bed! You’re guaranteed to get color, but I’ve never gotten burnt from it.
+ When you buy a tan or a package, you’re really buying minutes. So, if you’re pale like me, you can get two tans out of a 12-minute single stand-up bed purchase.
+Attractive and clean facility.
+Walking distance from City Nails and Spa (and Chipotle! ☺)

For Spray Tanning:
A MUCH healthier way to get a summer glow!

Color of Beauty Tanning Salon
36 East 17th Avenue
Eugene, Oregon 97401
(541) 686-8846

Call ahead to make an appointment!

Highlights – Color of Beauty:
+The Versa Spa treatment at Color of Beauty gives an incredibly natural, non-streaky, non-orange glow. I’ve been getting spray tans for years (since my sophomore year of high school) and the Versa Spa is by far my favorite.
+It has a hilariously cheesy picture to promote it on the website! I just have to post this:

+Color of Beauty is doing a Versa Spa package for the month of May! Get a free spray tan with the purchase of any spray tan package. Ask about this deal at the register.

For Hair:
I’ve gotten my hair done at a million different places in Eugene. Sadly, I don’t recommend any of them. Take a day trip out of Eugene and go to Magnum Opus in Portland if you want someone to do a good job on your hair.

I hope this guide to beauty treatments in Eugene, Oregon was helpful! Please, feel free to leave comments letting myself my readers know of other salons that you recommend in the city.

I was watching the 1960s version of Batman the other night and as much fun as it was to laugh at the cheesy renditions of the Joker and the Riddler, it was the Cat Woman who really caught my eye.

Lee Meriwether was strikingly beautiful in the movie, and some of her allure can be attributed to her 1960s pin-up girl eye makeup: Big, long (fake) eyelashes; thick, black (liquid) eyeliner on her upper lids; and a touch of eye shadow to top it all off.

Makeup in the 1960s really was at its prime. The look had finally shifted from the “siren pout” (in the 1950s) to be all about the eyes. In my opinion, a welcome change.

As I was silently admiring Cat Woman’s beauty, one of my guy friends piped up with a comment that affirmed my though process. “I wish women still wore eye makeup like that,” he said.

Lucky for the modern woman (and my guy friends), 1960s eyes are making a comeback! I swear, I didn’t make this up. Check out Katy Perry, Alicia Keys and Lauren Conrad channeling their inner Marlyin Monroes.

And this retro-glam look is actually very easy to create. Hub Pages has some great advice on how to do it. All you’ll need is:

+Liquid eyeliner
+Foundation
+Fake lashes or a really excellent lengthening AND thickening mascara
+White eye shadow
+White eyeliner
+Another eye shadow color (blues and greens were very popular in the 60s)

1. Apply foundation all over your eyelids.

2. Apply white eyeshadow all over your eyelids and blend it.

3. Use your liquid eyeliner to line your eyelids close to your lash line from the inner corner of our eye all the way along the outer corner. Then, go over the line again, making it thicker at the outer half of the eye.

4. Apply medium color all over your eyelids and blend it up into the crease and up on the brown bone, but not up to the brow. The white shadow should still be visible.

5. Apply false lashes, if you have them.

6. Then apply mascara. Start the wand at the base of your lashes then gantly zig zag it from side to side while combing through the lashes. Make sure that every lash is coated. Apply a heavy coat to bottom lashes as well.

7. After the first coat of mascara is dry, apply a second. Allow you lashes to stick together (this was actually a sought-after look in the 1960s).

8. Top off your look with a generous coat of white eyeliner on the inside of your eyes along the top and bottom lash line. This helps open up your eyes and make them look bigger.

I really like to pair this eye with red lipstick, or a pink lip gloss, (such as Nivia Pink Glossy Lip Care).

Okay ladies, lets give Cat Woman a run for her money!

As promised, I’ve compiled a list of the mascaras that I’ve tried. These are the ones that came to mind when I was thinking about it today (April 26, 2010). But I know I’ve worn dozens more, so I’ll continue to add to this list as I remember others (and as I try more). If you need to find this blog entry again, go to the side of my blog and click on “mascara,” under the Tags section.

Below is a list of mascaras with a 1-5 rating and a short review. If you have any suggestions of mascaras that you love (or hate!), please comment on this post and give your own reviews! I want this list to be a collaborative effort so that all of us product junkies can work together to find the ultimate mascara!

Declaimer: These reviews are based on my own experiences with the following products. Mascara works differently on different types of eyelashes, so your opinions about a product may not be the same as mine.

Blinc – Kiss Me Mascara. Similar to L’Oreal Paris Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara, Kiss Me Mascara forms a “tube” around your lashes so that it can be easily removed with just warm water, sans any smudging. It’s a really great mascara, but practically identical to L’Oreal’s version. But L’Oreal’s Double Extend comes with a mascara primer, and this one doesn’t. So, in my opinion L’Oreal’s $8.99 mascara is a much better deal than Blinc’s Kiss Me mascara.

+Rating: 3.5/5
+Price: $25.00
+ Buy it here: Blinc.

Christian Dior – Diorshow Mascara. Although this mascara gets excellent reviews on most websites, I was not impressed when I tried it. It clumped on my lashes and hardly gave them any length. And it only did an okay job of volumizing. In my opinion, it is not worth the high price tag.

+Rating: 2/5
+Price: $24.00
+Buy it here: Sephora.

Lancome’ – Hypnoses’. This is the mascara I always end up going back to because it’s amazing! If I was a normal makeup wearer, and didn’t have the attention span of a two year old, I could stick to this mascara for the rest of my life. It lengthens, volumizes, and looks fantastic all the time. I always get compliments when I’m wearing this mascara.

+Rating: 4.5/5
+Price: $24.00
+Buy it here: Lancome.

Lancome’ – Oscillation. This mascara has endless lengthening power, but I don’t think it’s worth the extra money for the vibrating brush. Lancome’ Hypnoses’ is just as good, and about $10 cheaper.

+Rating: 3.5/5 (only because it’s so expensive)
+Price: 34.00
+Buy it here: Lancome.

L’Oreal Paris – Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara. This is a fantastic mascara and it’s actually what I’m wearing at the moment (04/2010). It makes my lashes go on for days. Also, when I’m ready to take it off, it slides right off my lashes instead of smearing when it gets wet. In a previous post, I wrote a more detailed review of L’Oreal Paris Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara.

+Rating: 4/5
+Price: $8.99
+Buy it here: Amazon.

Maybelline – Great Lash. A very inexpensive mascara and an overall solid product. It looks nice on your lashes but it doesn’t do too much lengthening or volumizing. However, it’s a great deal for the price.

+Rating: 3/5
+Price: $4.89
+Buy it here: Drugstore.

Sephora – Triple Action Mascara. I was happy with how well this mascara curled my lashes, but I didn’t notice much lengthening or volumizing from it. Overall, I’d say this is an extremely average mascara. And we can all do better than average, right?

+Rating: 3/5
+Price: $14.00
+Buy it here: Sephora.

C.O. Bigelow Lemon Lip Cream and C.O. Bigelow Mentha Lip Shine are $7.50 each and the best lip gloss purchases I’ve ever made!

The Lemon Lip Cream conditions my lips and it tastes like a lemon pastry (Yumm!) It’s not sticky AT ALL and goes on creamy and smooth. Buy C.O. Bigelow Lemon Lip Cream on Bath & Body Work’s Web site or in stores.

The Mentha Lip Shine combines “high gloss, incredible moisture and long-lasting breath freshening with a refreshing, minty, cooling sensation.” (Bath & Body Works) I love that it’s not very sticky and it gives me fresh breath whenever I wear it! Buy C.O. Bigelow Mentha Lip Shine on Bath & Body Work’s Web site or in stores.

XOXO,
Sarah
Your PJ

In general, I wear department store makeup. But that doesn’t mean that my beauty drawer (yes, I have an entire drawer filled with beauty products…and some baskets too) isn’t overflowing with drugstore bargains. The question is, does a high price tag really mean better quality?

My answer: Sometimes.

In this post (Part 1), I’m going to be discussing foundation, mascara, lipstick, lip gloss and makeup brushes. In Part 2, I’ll discuss other makeup items and dig into skincare and haircare products.

People will debate the heck out of this topic, but based on research and my own personal experiences, I can say with confidence that some drugstore products are comparable to department store brands and some are certainly NOT. Below is my guideline to splurging versus saving on makeup.

Bobbi Brown Foundation

Check out the post I wrote a few weeks ago, raving about my favorite foundation.

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara

However, like many women, I’m very picky about my mascaras. Because of this, I’m in the process of compiling a list of all the mascaras I’ve tried and giving them ratings, which I’ll post in a separate entry and keep adding to as I try new ones. This way, others can benefit from my extensive research.

In the mean time, check out the post I wrote about how new and innovative L’Oreal Paris Double Extend Mascara is.

Lipstick

Check out the blog post I wrote about choosing the perfect red lipstick and applying red lipstick so that it’ll stay put.

C.O. Bigelow Lemon Lip Cream

Some great budget glosses:
+CoverGirl Wetskicks Amazemint Lip Gloss ($6.35)
+Burts Bees Lip Shimmer ($5.50)
+Mark Glossblossom Ripening Lip Tint ($6)
+Victoria’s Secret Beauty Rush Lip Gloss ($7)
+Mark Glow Baby Glow Luxe Hook Up Lip Gloss ($5.50)
+e.l.f. Plumping Lip Glaze ($1) http://www.eyeslipsface.com/lips/gloss/plumping_lip_glaze
+ MY ALL TIME FAVORITES!!! C.O. Bigelow Ultra Mentha Lip Shine ($7.50), which freshens your breath while keeping your lips looking amazing. AND C.O. Bigelow Lemon Lip Cream ($7.50), which makes your lips soooo soft and tastes like a pastry! Right now these glosses are buy two get one free at Bath & Body Works.

Makeup Brushes – SPLURGE: Cheap brushes have the tendency to be irritate your skin, fall apart, and leave bristles behind on your face. Also, they usually don’t offer as even of coverage. For these reasons, myself and most experts agree that you’ll be a lot happier if you invest in a quality set of brushes.

Check out the blog post I wrote about a discounted rate on antibacterial brushes. Also, check out my blog post about how to clean your makeup brushes.

And that’s all for Part 1 in this series, folks. Tune in soon for Part 2!

XOXO,
Sarah
Your PJ