Remember back here, when Amanda admitted that she is a product whore?  Well, I suffer from a similar affliction, except mine is a little more ‘lowbrow’.  I’m a bit of a pharmacy floosy.  I can NEVER leave the pharmacy without spending at least $40, but often much more than that.  The argument could be made, that if I curbed this addiction slightly, I could save some money and purchase some really fancy products.  But I remain one of those people who buys into the whole ‘the top pharmacy product is just as good as La Mer skincream’.  Don’t get me wrong,  I do splurge on some Yves St. Laurent/Armani/Dior make-up stuff every so often.  But there’s something about the $2.99, $6.99, $9.99 price tags at the pharmacy that makes me think that I am getting some craaaazy deal.

Anyhow, all of that to say, my counter tops are littered with elastic, pins, foundation, eye shadow, lip balms that have been purchased and essentially forgotten because they just weren’t that good.  But, every so often, I come across some items that become staples.  And here are two of my newest faves.

The Goody Spin Pin

When we were in NYC, I witnessed Amanda quickly throwing her hair up into a bun before we went out, and she was using these pins.  Admittedly, Amanda has long, luxurious, thick hair, and so every hair accoutrement seems to work on her (headbands, barrettes, clips, pins, etc.), whereas I have shorter, thin, fine hair (thanks, Mom…).  So I was skeptical that these would work on me.  But, then I saw the smaller version at the pharmacy and had to try it out.  I think it was $5.99 for 3.  And they TOTS work.  I mean, is my bun super full, messy and sexy like Amanda’s?  No.  No, it’s not.  It’s small.  See?

Actually, that photo makes it look like it’s not so small… So I’m going to leave it.  Even though it’s not really representational of my true small bun.  Funnily enough, in most pics that are not representational of me, I tend to like the ones that are flukey, but in that they make something on me look SMALLER… like my ass.  Not bigger.  Like my bun in this case.  I know there is some AH. MAZ. ING play on words to be had here, but frankly, this post has already taken me too long and is literally WAY too long, so you do the math on that one.

For some reason, I feel like I look a little more put together with the bun than when I just double my ponytail… you know what I mean… when you make a ponytail but then only pull it halfway through so … oh, forget it.  I can’t describe that properly. 

But the point here is that even for someone like me, with thin hair, these things totally hold a bun in place.  I don’t know how, or why, but it works.  And I felt the need to pass this info along because there are probably thousands (if not dozens) of thin-haired women, with their sad little double ponytails out there, thinking “Why can’t I put my hair in a bun without using 6 bobby pins, which just ends up looking like a jumble of bobby pins with some feeble little hairs poking out because my hair is not thick enough to actually cover the pins, and it’s too fine to be able to be held together by less than 6 of these f^&*ers?“  Or maybe that’s just me.  But thin and thick haired women unite.  The Goody Spin Pin works for us all.

Next up, Maybelline Falsies Mascara.

I have always been devoted to Maybelline Great Lash mascara (you know, the pink and green one?), but after months of doing false eyelashes about a year ago, and then stopping because on the couple of days in between lashes, I felt like my eyelids were bald, and became obssessed with every other woman’s lashes (FYI that feeling passed.  It was just an illusion because I was so used to seeing them long and full.  As it turns out my eyelashes are pretty normal.  Just so you know).  So, at that point, I went on a mascara-trying rampage.  I would try any new mascara that I came across, and then spend hours examining the results up close in the bathroom mirror.  Ahahaha.  That’s a total lie.  I try to spend as little time as possible examining myself and my perceived flaws in any mirror.  It just feeds the beast. 

But, I did actually try a LOT of different brands, from the cheap to the most expensive.  And honestly, I really like Maybelline Falsies.  The curved wand is really soft and flexible, so you can get all the little lashes.  I like it even though though in the print and TV commercials, the model has ridiculous lashes that are CLEARLY FALSE… see…

There’s even that little disclaimer that shows up on the bottom saying model has lash inserts to enhance the look, or something similar to that, which is just SO stupid, considering they are trying to sell you a product that makes FALSE LASHES unnecessary.  Who is the marketing genius who came up with that??? It would be like making an anti-airbrushing ad, and then AIRBRUSHING the model… Aaargh.  It actually makes me angry.  

Anyhow, I didn’t buy the product because of the ads, I bought it because it was on special for $7.99.  I’m not proud of it, but that’s why I originally bought it.  But it turns out, it actually works, and is totally worth the $7.99.  In fact, I might even spend $12.99 on it.  Craaaaazy, I know.  But try it and see for yourself.

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Beauty, Brands, On The Shelf by Marnie