6 UNDER 6: A collective review of six low-pH body washes (plus tips for finding more!)

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Bodies are weird. I spent a lot of time taking care of my face, but the skin on my body has its own issues too, so lately I've been trying to give it some extra TLC. One of the ways I've been doing that: Switching to slightly acidic, low-pH body wash instead of harsh soaps.

Some of you may be wondering why I care so much about the pH level of my body wash. There's been a lot of buzz in the beauty community lately about using low-pH cleansers on your face as a means of maintaining healthy skin. (Your skin is naturally acidic, at around pH 5.5.)

A couple of other bloggers already wrote really good posts on the subject, so rather than try to rehash and summarize I will leave these links below—I recommend reading them if you're curious about skin health as it pertains to acidity.

Hair Hacks: 3 ways to get the most out of your everyday conditioner

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You might not believe this if you've ever looked at my haul posts on Instagram and Snapchat, but I'm a big fan of multi-tasking beauty products. There was a time in the not-so-distant past that I couldn't necessarily afford to try out eight thousand different lotions and potions at once, so I'm always excited when I find a single product that can fulfill multiple needs. One of the most versatile things in my bathroom is probably my regular ole, everyday Pantene conditioner—aside from all the non-haircare things you can do with it (like shaving your legs), it's actually really easy to turn one bottle into several different kinds of haircare treatments! Today I'll be sharing three of my most-used DIY hair treatments which are based around—you guessed it—my regular everyday conditioner.

7 Oil Cleansers You Can Find at the Drugstore

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There's a new(ish) trend happening in American skincare, and I like it: Well-known budget brands are adding cleansing oils to their existing product lineups. This may not sound like much of a big deal to my readers in Asia, but up until recently, domestic brands had been very lacking in the cleansing oil department. ("Lacking" as in pretty much nonexistent.) A lot of mainstream drugstore brands have finally started to take the cleansing oil plunge though, so today I thought I'd share all the ones I've discovered so far!

Share a Coke with friends (and your legs): A DIY Cola Body Scrub Tutorial

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Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CokeHappyHour #CollectiveBias

One of my favorite things about summer is being able to spend time with friends outside. Things like picnics, barbecues, or even just lazy days hanging around the beach at Coney Island. Of course warmer weather means showing a bit more skin—and sometimes I feel like I'm still not prepared for that. I was talking with a friend of mine the other day about post-winter grooming rituals and exfoliation, and she complained that her legs were still super-dry and scaly because she hadn't had a chance to really pay attention to them lately. So what to do? Make her a delicious-smelling, summer-themed moisturizing body scrub, of course!

When I think of iconic summer scents and flavors, one of the first things that comes to mind is Cola-Cola. Refreshing Coke to wash down tasty food at family cookouts,  to cool off after nearly sweating to death on the boardwalk, or to perk you up in the midst of a slightly-too-long family road trip. So naturally I wanted to share those memories with my friend—both as a body scrub and in the form of an actual Coke!

My Allergy Season Beauty Essentials

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I don't know about you, but spring is not usually my most beautiful time of year. I have year-round allergies to stuff like mold and dander, but once all the pretty plants start to bloom, I turn into a walking sneeze. Luckily I've come up with a few coping mechanisms over the years to look (and feel) less disgusting during springtime, so today I present to you: My allergy season beauty essentials!

Quick & Easy Red Carpet Lips: Drugstore Edition

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Watching award shows always inspires me to up my glamor game a bit. It's not like I have many occasions to walk the red carpet myself, but when I see someone wearing a bold lip or really stunning eye makeup I find myself saying "I want to look like that!"

Thankfully, one really need a red carpet event as an excuse to glam up. Sometimes I like to go with a bold lip for a regular night on the town, or even just for a night of staying in and watching TV if I'm feeling sassy. Today I thought I'd share my quick and easy method for achieving a crisp, bold red lip, AKA the red carpet classic. No special brushes are required—I just used a few random bits of makeup from my collection and Q-tips Precision Tips (MSRP $3.29 for 170), which are easy to find at drugstores and the like.

Indie Friday: My Storage System for Indie Eyeshadow Jars & Samples

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Who out there has a growing indie makeup collection but isn't really sure how to store it? This post is for you! Today I thought I'd share my methods for storing indie eyeshadow jars and samples in a non-confusing way. Is my way the best way? Not sure about that, but it's worked for me so far. Hopefully this will give you some ideas for your own collection!

Indie Friday: How I store my perfume samples

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Happy Friday, everybody! This post is for all the perfume sample hoarders out there. I don't know about you, but I feel like it's hard to come up with a perfect way to store perfume sample vials. I saw this post on Lipstick & Libraries a while back about keeping samples in a 38/357 Cal ammo case, which is an AWESOME idea—if you're storing mainly standard-sized sample vials. But of course I seem to enjoy sellers who enjoy oddly-sized vials (like Darling Clandestine), so a lot of my treasures won't fit in a box of that size. I'm also sort of cheap frugal, so I decided to repurpose some storage boxes I already had into The Perfume Zone instead.

Want to see what I did? Keep reading ....

5 Simple Uses for Rosehip & Argan Oil

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I don't know about you, but I really like using oils as part of my moisturizing routine. I've found that it actually makes a huge difference in my skin, and there are a number of oils that don't seem to exacerbate my acne, so I'm totally on the oil bandwagon at the moment. I recently found myself in possession of two ENORMOUS bottles of rosehip seed oil and argan oil thanks to InstaNatural, and wondered "How am I going to use this all on my face before it goes bad?"

I have a not-so-secret secret to share with you—oils can be used for more than just rubbing straight on your face. So I thought I'd share a few of my favorite uses for rosehip and argan oil with you today. These ideas aren't really groundbreaking, but maybe some of them will inspire you to use oil in new ways.

Black lipstick: How to wear it, where to buy it

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Hello everybody... how has your autumn been going so far? I can't believe we're already almost a third of the way through October. Time flies when you're doing... stuff. October is one of my favorite months of the year because it's usually when a little bit of chill starts to creep into the air, and of course because of Halloween!

I've always been a fan of bold and costumey makeup regardless of the season, but Halloween is special because you can wear pretty much anything in public without people thinking you're insane. And October is also special because in my mind it's sort of the unofficial "Black Lipstick Month", AKA the time when these bad boys show up in the drugstores and supermarkets:

I'm going to be honest: Fantasy Makers black lipstick is certainly alright for occasional costume or photo-taking purposes, but it doesn't have the best longevity. So what's a gal (or guy) to do when they want to sport a bold black lip all day (or night) long and this is the only thing they can find in their local drugstore? Why, turn to the internet of course!

Today I'll be sharing some general tips for applying black lipstick, as well as a list of a few black lipstick shades from popular brands and where to buy them online. Whether it's for a Halloween costume or just a spooky day in July, it helps to know where to buy the stuff!

What I do with my reject sheet masks

Do you ever buy skincare products, use them a couple of times, then realize you totally hate them but feel bad about throwing them away?

I think that happens to most of us, because it's hard to know 100% for sure whether something will break us out, smell weird, make our skin feel oily etc. Since sheet masks are sort of hard to find locally, I'll buy a bunch off the internet at one time so I can get the most out of the shipping costs, but once in a while I run into one I totally end up hating (like the Vanedo lemon mask I wrote about here). But thankfully I've found a great use for those reject masks...

Air Travel Tips: What's in your liquids bag?

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So my recent trip to Chicago got me thinking: What are the most efficient ways to pack liquids for air travel with the current restrictions for carry-on baggage? Just in case you aren't familiar, they are:

3-1-1 for carry-on luggage = bottle of 3.4 ounces (100 ml) or less (per volume); 1 quart transparent plastic bag hermetically sealed; 1 bag per passenger placed in the inspection container. One quart size bag per person limits the total volume of liquid that each passenger can carry.  The 3.4 ounce (100 ml) container size is a security measure. Medically required liquids, such as baby formula and food, breast milk and medications are allowed in excess of 3.4 ounces in reasonable quantities for the flight. It is not necessary to place medically required liquids in a zip-top bag. However, you must tell the Transportation Security Officer that you have medically necessary liquids at the beginning of the screening checkpoint process. (From the TSA website)

With most domestic airlines in the USA charging extra fees for hold luggage and the liquids restrictions being so strict it can be hard to fit everything into your tiny allotment, especially if you're the type of person to wear liquid makeup (me!) and go on trips for a week or longer (also me!)

I did manage to fit pretty much everything I needed into my quart bag for the week-long trip, so I figured I'd share what I brought and some general tips on packing makeup and toiletries for travel.

My liquids bag. Yes, I really like to push things to limit.
But as long as the bag closes easily you're OK!

Guide to Buying Asian Cosmetics Online Part 1: eBay

So, you want to buy some Asian cosmetics. You've read a million blogs and made a massive wishlist of products you want to try, but aren't sure which online vendors are reputable (or the most affordable). If only there was a list of in-depth tips and reviews for some of the most popular sources...

Today's blog post will be the first in an ongoing series about different websites selling Asian cosmetics. I do live in an area with a rather large Chinatown and Koreatown, but I often prefer to buy my stuff online because (a) shopping online is convenient and (b) certain things are cheaper online (yes, even with international shipping!) Rather than just sit on all my knowledge about this stuff, I thought I'd share a few shopping tips and tricks on various merchants. I will only be reviewing websites I've bought from recently, but luckily I'm constantly purchasing stuff like this so I will definitely have some ground to cover in the days to come!

Now, onto the site du jour: eBay. I'll be doing a brief overview of eBay in general, but if you're just looking for a list of reliable sellers, skip to the bottom! For now, let's start with a quick overview:

Various Korean cosmetics samples I've obtained off eBay.

What is unique about eBay and why should I buy Asian cosmetics there?

"What the heck are sheet masks?" plus Vanedo Beauty Friends Sheet Mask review

So today I'm going to kick off what will undoubtedly be a series on some of my favorite things to buy... Asian and Asian-inspired beauty products! A large percentage of my purchases are from Korean brands, and today I'll be reviewing a Korean brand of sheet masks - Vanedo. But before I get into the review nitty-gritty I want to talk about what exactly sheet masks are.

Now, since this blog is not exclusively about Asian or Korean products, some of you may be wondering: "What the heck is a sheet mask?" I shall elaborate. If you already know, feel free to skip ahead.

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Sheet Masks 101

In the simplest terms, a sheet mask is a piece of thin cotton cloth with eye and mouth holes cut in it that comes pre-soaked in facial serum.  They make you look a bit like a ghost or Jason while you're wearing them, but afterwards, your skin will glow.

How it works: You put the mask on your face (usually for a minimum of 20 minutes) to let the serum soak in and do its magic. There are many brands and many, MANY different types of sheet masks targeting different skincare issues... anti-wrinkle, whitening/brightening, anti-acne, moisturizing, and so on. They are typically aromatic and often contain plant extracts... flowers, fruit and herbs (such as ginseng or green tea) are among the most common ingredients and scents. Sometimes you'll see masks that tout chemical actives over botanics (such as arbutin for whitening). Other times you will see masks that tout natural benefits that are animal-derived, such as pearl powder or snail mucin as anti-acne or anti-aging ingredients. Sometimes you'll see a combination of the aforementioned ingredients. In any case, there's a lot of variety!

A non-moistened, unfolded sheet mask. Looks a little bit like
something out of a horror film, right?  Image from this wholesaler.