Hey, wanna hear about stuff I bought recently? If so, it’s your lucky day. If not, well … it’s not your lucky day, but it could be worse. I could be talking about knitting again. Ba-dum-tish! (Although, in the interests of full disclosure, there is a post on that very topic waiting in my draft folder. You have been warned.)

Amope Pedi Perfect Foot File

I loathe feet. Have I ever mentioned that before? I’m sure I have, because my loathing is strong and of long-standing. I include my own feet in that statement, so summers are a trial for me from that perspective. I do what I can with salon pedicures, but it never seems to be enough. Being too easily grossed out to try that whole Baby Foot business, I decided to go a more modest route with this Amope foot file [non-affiliate link]. It’s cheaper on Amazon than at Shoppers Drugmart, which is the extent of my consumer research into this product. It’s okay. It doesn’t work as well on heels as that blade thingie they use at the salon, but if used consistently, it does seem to keep my feet looking somewhat presentable between pedicures.

I thought I would be ingenious and use some of my (skincare) acids on my feet – skin is skin, and a little chemical exfoliation wouldn’t hurt, right? Well, it turns out that, no: the skin on my feet probably needs a more nuclear option (like the aforementioned Baby Foot) in order to see any results, because a little glycolic acid made no difference whatsoever. So now I just use Aquafor to try to keep my hooves as soft as reasonably possible.

L’Oreal Mythic Oil Huile Originale

This is basically fancy leave-in conditioner. I bought it at Shoppers on a whim, after remembering that my old hair stylist used it once on my hair, years ago. This would have been around the time of my second or third perm – remember those days? – when my hair was very dry; the oil, I seem to recall, made a big difference. Considering the current length of my hair and the fact that I don’t colour it (and barely style it), the Mythic Oil is probably overkill. But it’s nice and it does wonders as a detangler for my daughter’s waist-length, naturally wavy hair. I’ve also started using it as a leave-in conditioner for my son’s hair, which is very thick and wiry. A little goes a long way, so my current bottle (which was around $28CAD) should last the family a while.

Castor oil

I bought this after a bout of pink-eye forced me to ditch all my existing eye products, including my beloved EyEnvy serum. A friend told me that castor oil is good for stimulating hair growth and, well, it’s a lot cheaper than EyEnvy. I did use it on my eyelashes for a few days with no adverse effects, but then I chickened out and went back to the EyEnvy. Now, I’m using the castor oil mostly on my eyebrows and my hairline, in spots where I have some hair thinning. It’s only been about a month, so it’s too early to have a good sense of results (or lack thereof), but I think I’ve seen a little bit of improvement in my (patchy) eyebrows. Will keep you guys posted.

Stila Color Balm Lipstick

I found a couple of shades of this lip stuff at Winners for $8.99 and … well, I’m weak, you guys. After Rimmel discontinued my favourite lip crayons, I still haven’t found my replacement Holy Grail lip product. So I keep looking and succumbing to various temptations. The good news is that this Stila stuff in Raisin is the bomb. It’s a great reddish brown that nails the whole “my lips but better” thing. The finish is somewhere between shiny and matte, which is great for everyday, and it doesn’t dry out my lips. I am less fond of the Avery colour; it’s a sort of coral that doesn’t really work for my complexion, and it has that minty smell I dislike in lip products (which, oddly, the Raisin does not have). I’m not sure if these are still carried by Stila, but I like Raisin enough that I will probably investigate further once my current tube runs out; the regular retail price is likely to be too high for me, but we’ll see.