Salon Selectives Conditioner Review

After my very negative review of a Dollar Tree beauty item in my last post, I feel the need to balance things out with a much more positive one. For the most part, when I take a chance and buy make-up, nail polish, or another beauty item at Dollar Tree, I end up liking it, so I want to be fair here.

My hair is very long, down to my waist, and tangles easily. I am not one of those carefree, whip-my-hair-around ladies on the beach, like you see in movies and commercials, because if I did, my hair would be full of knots the size of birds’ nests. I dampen my hair, douse it with detangling spray, and braid it before I even think of getting into salt water.

Last year, before one of our beach trips, I decided to get a cheap conditioner, something I didn’t mind using a ton of, and coat my damp hair with it before I braided it. I liked the smell of Salon Selectives Argan Oil Hair Treatment:

Even if you don’t like perfumed products, the scent doesn’t stick around after you rinse it out. I coated my hair with this conditioner before braiding it and swimming, and then in the shower afterward, I spread a generous layer on my hair and let it sit for a few minutes before rinsing it out.

After my shower, I was quite happy with how easily I was able to comb my hair. No little knots or tangles–the comb glided right through my hair, which is unusual for me after swimming in salt water.

Even better, when my hair dried, it felt so soft and light, bouncy. My hair is fine, so I appreciated that this conditioner does not weigh it down or leave a greasy residue. And did I mention that I really like the way it smells?

I had picked up a jar of this conditioner thinking it would be a one-time purchase just to load up my hair and protect it from salt water at the beach, but I ended up going back to Dollar Tree and stocking up with two more jars. It’s now part of my regular rotation in our shower.

This is one product that I absolutely recommend. I experiment with hair products all the time, and this one is high on my list. Not bad for a dollar (and a quarter)!

Glitter Face Mask

After a hectic work week, relaxing with a soothing face mask sounds like a great way to unwind, right? I certainly thought so.

I had picked up a packet of Star Dust Brightening & Hydrating Peel-Off Mask Treatment during a Dollar Tree run earlier this week, an impulse buy, figuring “what the heck, it’s a dollar”. Now, I know some people might say “What do you really expect from a Dollar Tree face mask?”, but I have found some surprisingly great beauty items at Dollar Tree and thought this would be the same. Plus, it is purple and sparkly. What more could I want?

After I washed my face last night, I tore open the little packet and started spreading the mask on my face. My first warning sign, in hindsight, should have been how thick the mask was. I have used peel-off face masks before, and they are a gel consistency. This one was very thick and difficult to spread out, like paste.

I got an upper body workout, getting the mask spread out on my unsuspecting face, then kicked back in the living room for 20 minutes to let it dry, ignoring the chuckles of my husband once he saw my star-spangled purple face. When time was up, I headed to the bathroom mirror to peel off the mask.

There was one little problem: the mask wasn’t coming off. It wasn’t budging. I tried peeling from the edge, and it clung to my skin like I welded it on. As I lifted the edge of the mask, my skin came with it.

Have you ever seen the movie Alien? Remember the face hugger creature that attached itself to its victim’s face, and no one could get it off? Yeah, that is what this face mask reminded me of. Not exactly the peaceful, spa-worthy, self-care ambience I was going for.

Well, no matter what, I needed to get this glittery purple parasite off my poor face. I tugged at the edges, winced, danced around the bathroom on my tiptoes in pain, yelping “Ooooh! Ouch! Son of a bitch!”, questioned my sanity for putting this torture device on my face in the first place, then tugged again. I repeated this delightful sequence of events as many times as it took to tear off a chunk of this dastardly face mask.

I tried splashing warm water on my face to soften the mask. Instead of rinsing off, though, it just turned to gooey purple concrete on my face, like glittery tar. I lathered up with face wash and scraped at it to get it off.

Finally, panting with near exhaustion, I had pried, scoured, or ripped every bit of that face mask off. My face, instead of brightened and hydrated, was red, raw, angry, and blazing hot from the assault it had just endured. I tenderly dabbed hydrocortisone cream on my cheeks and begged my face to forgive me.

As we were climbing into bed last night, my husband said, “You have glitter on your cheek.”

I grunted. If there was any glitter from that damn face mask left, it is now a permanent feature of my face, never to be removed by mortal hands!

It probably goes without saying, but I absolutely do not recommend this face mask. Luckily my face isn’t showing any scarring evidence of the trauma I inflicted upon it last night…except, of course, that stray piece of purple glitter!

The Rose Picture

I was running late for work this morning (what’s new?), so I kissed my husband good-bye, told my cat to be good, and rushed out the door. Along our front walkway, I couldn’t help but notice the roses blooming in our flower bed, with pink, white, and coral roses begging me to stop and admire them. At the end of the walkway, one spot in particular captured my attention, a stem so full of coral colored rose blooms that the branch was leaning over, and the bright flowers against a blue lantern in the flower bed were irresistible.

I wanted a picture. My arms were full, though, with my tote bag, my lunch box, and my water cup, and I didn’t have a free hand to dig out my phone. Plus I was already going to be late. So I simply sighed and rushed to my car without getting that picture.

Later, I was buried in emails at work when I got a text message from my husband. He said he wanted to send me some flower pictures, since our roses were showing off. He sent me a handful of photos of our roses, all different colors, and the very last one was the branch of coral colored rose blooms against the blue lantern that had stopped me in my tracks that morning.

I like that picture even more because that rose captured his attention the same as mine, and that he liked it enough to send the picture to me. I like that we both were drawn in by the same flowers. And above all, I love knowing that when I get home this evening and walk by that rose on the way to the front porch, he will be waiting for me, just on the other side of that door.

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