Queen Helene

Queen Helene is everything I love about products in general:

•   Obscure brand no one’s ever heard of? Check
•  Strangely cheap? Check
•  Actually works? CHECK

Most famous for their Mint Julep Face Masque [old-time spelling? Check,] Queen Helene has an impressive range of lotions, scrubs, washes and of course masks [masques?]

The majority of their products are under $5, which would make even me a bit wary, but trust me they're great.

The Mint Julep Masque is my HG face mask.  It’s very thick in consistency, and a little tricky to get out of the bottle sometimes;  I’ve had several accidents where a big glob of product explodes out of the bottle and all over my hair.

The mask is minty and feels cool when it’s on. But the best part is that as it dries, you can see it pushing the oil out of your pores and onto the surface. When the whole mask is finally dry, there are little black dots all over your face, that’s the dirt and grime that was in your pores [it’s very cool in a gross way.]

ps. boys LOVE this mask [my brother likes to pretend like he doesn't wear it.]

Similar Masks:

•  Mud Pack Masque [pretty much the same as the Julep mask, but without the minty-ness.]
• Grape Seed Peel Off Masque [meh, nothing special.]

The Oatmeal 'n Honey Natural Facial Scrub is another favorite for me. It’s rough enough to get rid of dead skin but not so rough that it irritates my skin. I use it every time I remember to exfoliate [which is really not often enough.]

The Cocoa Butter Hand and Body Lotion isn’t the best of its kind, but it’s a great bedtime lotion. There’s nothing worse than going to bed with lotion on and getting it all over the sheets, but this lotion is thin enough that it get absorbed into the skin super fast and it really is very moisturizing.

Queen Helene is not widely available, at least not around me. The Mint Julep Mask is always at Walgreens, and I’ve recently seen huge displays at Wal-Mart for the Cocoa Butter Lotion. However, the only place where I’ve found a variety of their products has been at the Dollar General Store [not for a dollar.]

Sephora by OPI: What a Broad

My relationship with this polish is like a real relationship, complicated.

I love the color. It's the perfect shade of purple, not so light that it turns into a gross lilac mess and not so dark that it ends up looking brown.


However, it chips like there is no tomorrow. No matter what: topcoat, no topcoat, base coat, no base coat, topcoat and base coat, it does not matter.

To its credit, the chipping is only tip wear [when a polish chips at the tips of the nail from general everyday wear] and not big chunks of it peeling off like other polishes. The problem is that it starts to chip within an hour of application! It's beyond upsetting.


And yet, I continue to wear it every few months just because purple is so great and I always hope that the crazy chipping was a one time thing. It never is.

If you keep up with painting the tips and re-applying a top coat every day, it lasts for a while. That picture was taken 5 days after I first put it on! I guess it beats most other polishes. ** please notice the tip wear on the middle finger...ugh

Like I said, it's complicated.

Generic Value Products

There are many things to love about Sally Beauty Supply, but their line of Generic Value Products is at the top of the list.

GVP basically makes generic versions of some of the most popular hair products: Paul Mitchel, Matrix, Redken, Biolage and CHI, to name a few. The coolest part is that on the back of the bottle, GVP has the ingredient list for their product and the one they're copying so you can see that they're both exactly the same.

I've tried various GVPs and they've all been great. The only downside is that as far as I can tell, they only sell them at Sally. So, if one particular store isn't well stocked, you have to trek around to several ones until you find what you're looking for.

Here are my all-time favorites:

• GVP Sculpting Foam: Compare to Paul Mitchell Sculpting Foam With Conditioners

The PM sculpting foam is amazing because it's lightweight but somehow still holds waves in place. But at 18 bucks a pop, it's a bit ridiculous for me [especially because I use a ton of mousse every day.] The GVP copy is exactly the same, down to the signature coconut smell.

Note: there are two sculpting foams, one with and one without conditioners. Apparently, the one without smells horrible, so I suggest sticking to the one with.

• GVP Smoothing Serum: Compare to Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum

An anti-frizz serum, Super Skinny is a must have for anyone who owns a flat iron or anyone who lives in a humid climate. The GVP version lives up to the original and performs beautifully.

• GVP Moisturizing Shampoo: Compare to Nexxus Therappe
• GVP Moisturizing Conditioner: Compare to Nexxus Humectress

I always loved Nexxus, but I didn't love the $14 a bottle it was costing me. I've been using the GVP version for about 6 months now and I don't feel a difference, except now I can buy 3 of the knock-off bottles for the price of one original.

• GVP Leave-in Treatment: Compare to Sebastian Potion 9

I didn't even know what Potion 9 was when I bought this, but I'm a sucker for leave-ins so I bought it anyway. I've still never tried the original, but I love this conditioner.

GVP also has a line of styling tools that I've heard is great but have yet to try. Apparently, the irons are jus as amazing as the CHIs.

So, put down the Redken, head over to your local Sally and enjoy not having to give up your firstborn for a can of mousse.

Best Drugstore Conditioners

At times, my hair is either my favorite feature or the bane of my existence.

On a good day, it's shiny and full of gorgeous waves. Other days, I look like a sheep who got caught in the dryer. Bad hair days [Sheep Days, if you will] are usually the product of over processing or bad weather. Whatever the reason, the only way to fix sheep hair is with conditioner.

Conditioners don't repair hair [there's actually no such thing as repairing hair as it's already dead, but that's another topic in itself,] they just put a coating on it to seal the cuticle and keep it from being further damaged.

There are so many conditioners out there that it can get exhausting trying to find a combination that works, but after years [seriously] of experimenting with all brands and types, the following have proven to be the best quality:

Aussie Moist 3 Minute Miracle Deeeeep Conditioner

I've been using this for years and it's the only deep conditioner that actually feels like it's doing something. The smell can be a little overpowering if you're not a fan of Aussie, but I personally love it. This isn't an everyday conditioner, of course. I only use it whenever I clarify my hair to protect it since clarifying shampoos are so harsh.

Infusium 23 Leave-in Treatment

I loooooved this when I was younger, and it really helped to smooth my hair. The bottle is annoying because it's not a spray but the conditioner inside is liquid. You have to somehow pour the liquid into your hands and rub it on your hair, but it turns into a huge mess if you're not careful. I always ended up just pouring it directly on my hair.

Nexxus Humectress Ultimate Moisturizing Conditioner

This has been my regular conditioner for about a year now. It's not necessary to use it with a Nexxus shampoo. The smell is great and the conditioner is concentrated without leaving behind any filmy residue like others [ahem, Pantene.]

Aveeno Nourish + Condition Leave-in Treatment

Another great leave-in. This one comes in a spray so it's super easy to work with. My favorite part is that the scent is so faint that it doesn't mix with my styling products to make a weird smell. It also lasts forever in spite of being a relatively small bottle.




Neutrogena Triple Moisture Daily Deep Conditioner

I'll be honest, I haven't tried this yet, but everywhere I look, people are raving about it. I'm not a fan of Neutrogena products ever since their face wash dried out my face and made me peel, but this seems to be an amazing conditioner.





This is a very short list of conditioners, but it's a good place to start. The important thing to remember is that conditioners don't have to be super expensive to work, these are all available at drugstores for less than $10 [with the exception of the Nexxus one which is a bit more.]