Sigma Makeup Brushes: Four Years Later

I can't believe that it's been over 4 years since I started writing this blog! Time really does fly. :) I still remember being around when the YouTube beauty community was in its infancy and Sigma makeup brushes were ALL the rage. Everyone talked about how they were the absolute best alternate to MAC brushes, which were so crazy expensive that most folks couldn't afford to buy them. And like many girls, I rushed to load up my brush collection with Sigma brushes, buying what now seems like a crazy 27 brushes in one go. Truth be told, I went through a bit of a crazy makeup phase in 2010 altogether, and am still trying to work through a lot of the products that I bought that year!

That said, at the time I wrote a glowing rave review on my Sigma brushes and followed up with a blog post on how to clean/take care of them. For the most part, I don't really take back much of what I said in those original posts, but needless to say, I thought it would be interesting to share a unique perspective on how these brushes hold up after four years of nearly daily use.

Let's start with a couple of generalizations, and then I'll get into some specifics around certain brushes. Overall, I find that Sigma's eye brushes hold up WAY better over time than their face brushes. Of the 12 face brushes that I started with back in 2010, a mere four of them remain in my collection to-date. Over time, I found that even with gentle care, their densely packed blush and powder brushes just started to shed all over the place, and that is a huge pet peeve of mine. There's nothing more annoying than having to spend 10 minutes picking tiny brush hairs off your face after using a brush. Several of the other brushes just got really coarse or lost their shape over time and wound up in the trash can.

That said, of the 15 eye brushes that I purchased, I still have 13 of them in my collection, and of those 13, I actually lost one of them, so really and truly only one eye shadow brush has gone in the trash in 4 years. The brush that I tossed was their goat-hair pencil brush (was the SS219, not totally certain what it's called now) because the fibers got so incredibly coarse that it actually became painful to use. Outside of that one brush, the only other obvious wear has been in the form of two of the synthetic blending brushes shedding consistently -- the SS224 blending brush continues to shed a lot and has lost some of its softness, but is still useable. The SS??? (all the writing has rubbed off sorry!) blending tapered brush honestly isn't tapered any more, as most of the brush hairs have fallen out, but it still works as a great crease brush so I don't mind all that much. Outside of that the only complaint that I can make is that some of the lighter colored brushes have taken on some staining over time, but I think that's probably normal and partially my fault, since I don't clean them every single day.

The latest brushes to bite the dust

Specific to the face brushes, outside of the shedding, the large foundation brush (SS190) that I complained about having a loose handle 4 years ago is still hanging on, but since it hasn't fallen off the brush still gets some use every now and again (although I've primarily moved on to Real Techniques for face brushes, which I'll talk about in another blog post). The brush that lasted me the longest and only recently met its maker was the angled contour brush (SS168), which like the pencil brush, just became so coarse that it was uncomfortable to use (that and the fibers totally lost their shape so it wasn't very effective any more).

All in all, I am highly impressed with how the eyeshadow brushes have lasted and truly believe that I can easily get another 4 years out of them, which makes them tremendously worth the cost. I know Sigma's prices have gone up over the 4 years (I originally got 27 brushes and a brush roll for $225 and now their 29 brush kit is over $400), but their brushes are still cheaper than MAC brushes, so among the higher-end brush market, I believe they are still a good deal.

Would I recommend buying their face brushes? I'm not honestly sure. I don't think I'd buy back the ones I had in their original collections, but they have expanded their line SO much in four years that I might try some of their newer lines, like the Sigmax Kabuki Kit or Mr./Mrs. Bunny line -- those look to be made of different material that may hold up better with less shedding.

Have you ever purchased brushes from Sigma Beauty? Have they held up over time? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Review: EcoTools Pure Complexion Facial Sponge

Shannon Sullivan, one of my current favorite YouTubers, recently started using a konjac sponge to clean her face, so it was through her videos that I first heard of the idea of using a facial sponge. I had wanted to try one and probably would have purchased one in my next VitaCost haul, but instead I got lucky enough to receive something very similar in my most recent VoxBox from Influenster! This sponge was by the brand EcoTools, which just so happens to be a favorite brand of mine, so I was doubly excited to try it.

The promise of this product is that it's a gentle cleansing and exfoliating alternative to some of the more popular motorized cleansing products on the market, like the Clarisonic. Personally, I had tried the Clarisonic years ago and really didn't like it -- even when using the sensitive brush head, I found it to be way too harsh and irritating on my sensitive skin, and I actually felt like it made my skin MORE oily because it was buffing away too many of the natural oils on my face. I know many people really like the Clarisonic, so it's definitely an individual experience -- it just wasn't for me.

The EcoTools sponge is specifically marketed as being good for sensitive skin. It's made with 100% natural ingredients, is fragrance and colorant free, and made with konjac, which is a root plant that grows in south Asian countries. I've done some research on konjac, and it appears to have a lot of infused minerals and vitamins in it, and has special properties that make it particularly gentle (this site has an interesting explanation). Although I'm not certain how much of those ingredients are infused in the EcoTools sponge, I can most definitely attest to its gentleness!

When I first took the sponge out of the packaging, like any kitchen sponge you'd buy, it was really hard and rigid. But just like the box says, it becomes incredibly soft and supple the moment you get it wet. The sponge also has a tapered edge on one side, which makes it great for getting into the creases and crevices, especially around your nose.

I've been using the sponge for about 2 weeks now, and I'm still not sure if I see a huge difference in my skin because of it, but it certainly makes for a more luxurious and pampering kind of face washing experience, and I'm enjoying having it in my routine. I guess time will tell if any of the benefits truly pay off.

The box claims that the sponge can last for 1-3 months, which is a kind of large window if you ask me. My one complaint is that even after ringing out the sponge and laying it on the side of my sink to dry between washes, if I use the sponge twice a day it never really fully dries between uses. I know that wet things can harbor bacteria much more than dry things, so it makes me think that the shelf life of this sponge might be way closer to the 1 month mark than the 3 month mark, although in doing some research I've found that some people sterilize their sponges by placing them in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes or by placing them in a bowl of warm water and microwaving for 2 minutes. I haven't tried this yet, so I'm not sure if it works or if it ruins the fibers, but I can let you know in a few weeks if that's of interest.

At just $5.99 per sponge, it's really affordable, especially compared against the price of Clarisonic brush heads, and even within the konjac sponge market (Boscia charges $18 for their sponge and even Dr. Sponge charges $8.50).

Have you used a konjac sponge in your beauty routine? Share your thoughts below!

Review: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Nail Polish

As I mentioned yesterday, as part of the Influenster Vow VoxBox, I received a complimentary bottle of the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure nail polish in the color Barracuda, which is a light blue that goes along with the bridal theme of the VoxBox. And since you already know that I am semi-obsessed with nail polish (I counted the other day and I have more than 40 colors...yikes), I tried this one the day that it arrived in the mail.

I loved the color immediately and got a ton of compliments from my co-workers, but wanted to test it out a second time and document the experience for you guys so you could get a really thorough review. Let's start with what the Web site claims this product is supposed to be -- 7 products in one -- a base coat, strengthener, growth treatment, color, top coat, chip-resistant and gel shine. It claims that the "unique precision brush" and "VitaCare technology" leads to a flawless finish and 10-day wear. It also provides swatches for the 60 colors available (wow), although I'll say right off the bat that the color they have listed for my shade, Barracuda, really isn't a great match (their swatch is much more gray and muted than the actual polish).

Generally speaking, I really love the color and I think the application is standard. The pic stitch really shows the progression of my nails -- the top right is after the first coat (pretty thin and streaky), the middle picture is after the second coat (getting there although not 100% opaque) and then the bottom picture is after 3 coats. The big picture is three coats plus a top coat, because even though they say this has a built in top-coat, I'm not sure I trust it. :)

I'm not sure how I feel about the "unique precision brush" because I actually found it to be too big to really be precise on my small fingernails. It does have a tapered edge, which is hard to see in the picture, but I found that the brush nearly covered my entire nailbed in one stroke, which made it a little hard to get in the corners. However, for some this could be ideal, because it means you can paint your nails faster.

I'm not sure that this polish really lives up to the 10-day, chip-resistant claim, but I will say that the two times I've worn the polish it has lasted longer than I expected, and that's 4-5 days. Typically nail polish tends to chip on me pretty quickly (within a day or 2) so this definitely exceeded my expectations! And although I think you'd really need to wear this polish consistently over a period of time to notice the effects of the growth treatment and strengthener, I did feel like my nails were stronger and longer after wearing this polish (whereas with other polishes I wear my nails always feel more brittle and breakable afterwards).

I've had some poor experiences with Sally polishes in the past, but this one gets an A in my book. Have you tried any Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure nail polishes before? If so, let me know what you thought and what your favorite color was!

Always a Bridesmaid: The Influenster Vow VoxBox

As you know, I'm part of an online influencer community called Influenster, and every quarter or so, I get a wonderful box of products to try and tell you guys about. Recently, I qualified for the Vow VoxBox, which made me a laugh a little, because it's clearly geared toward women getting married, and although I am attending four weddings this year (and am a bridesmaid or maid of honor in two of them), I am about as far away from marriage as a gal can get.

At the end of the day, it meant that a couple of the products (like a coupon for a free wedding web site) just weren't relevant to me, but I'll still give you a rundown of what was in the box (and a sneak peek of what I plan to blog about shortly!).

1. Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure nail polish in a gorgeous shade called Barracuda -- it really is the perfect bridal blue (and stay tuned, because a Nail of the Day featuring this color and my review of it is coming next!).
2. A Tide to Go pen -- ladies, I don't care if it's your wedding or not, this is something I keep in my bag at ALL times because I am a perennial spiller and can't seem to get food into my mouth. Although it's not good for all fabrics/colors, it works wonderfully on simple cotton or poly-blend items and can really save you when you're in a pinch.
3. An Eco-Tools Pure Complexion Facial Sponge -- Eco Tools is a great brand that I really love, and there has been SO much hype around these facial sponges lately that I was really excited to get this guy. Review coming soon!
4. Pure Silk shaving cream and Olay Regenerist Luminous, both of which I am gifting to my best friend Melissa who is indeed a bride, since the ingredients don't quite meet my eco-standards. So maybe she'll review them on her blog soon. :)
5. A coupon for a Riley & Grey wedding website, which again, doesn't quite apply in this situation.

Overall, it was bit hit or miss, but I was super excited to receive the first three products and look forward to sharing more about them soon. Thanks Influenster!

Aveda loves its Customers! All about their awesome birthday freebie.

Lately, I feel like I've been talking about the fact that I work in marketing a lot (sorry, I hope it's not getting annoying). But I say it because I think it predisposes me to be a bit more critical of companies. I don't just care about the actual products that they sell, but I care about the WAY they sell them and how they treat their customers. Ultimately, no retail company would be able to exist if we, the customers, never bought their stuff. Yet so many companies take us for granted and act greedily, or just don't treat us like they have our best interests at heart.

Not the case with one of my favorite skin care, hair care and body care companies, Aveda! I've been shopping at Aveda for years, as I feel like their brand really fits me -- I'm not a crazy tree hugger, but I have a true appreciation for the power of plants and natural, earth-based beauty products. Although their products aren't 100% safe/non-toxic, they are all formulated without parabens, phthalates and sodium lauryl sulfate, which for many people are the "big three" to avoid, and for the most part when I review the ingredient labels, I don't see a ton of stuff that I find particularly startling.

Now, aside from my love for Aveda, I should also mention that July is my birthday month, and there's nothing I love more than beauty products and celebrating my birthday, than celebrity my birthday with FREE beauty products. A lot of companies have started instituting various loyalty and retention programs that reward you with something special on your birthday, but boy oh boy do those rewards vary. At DSW, I got a $5 off coupon. At Sephora, as I'm sure you're all familiar with, I got a Make Up for Ever sample with a mini lipstick and mascara (probably worth a similar $5). Stuff like this is nice, and I certainly enjoy receiving anything at all, but in the scheme of things it doesn't move the needle a whole lot in terms of increasing my spend with the company or making me love them more as a brand.

Aveda, on the other hand, has got it right. I got a coupon in the mail saying that if I came into the store I would get to enjoy their Pure-Fume experience where they give you a free beauty product made with a custom blended aroma of your choice. Now, I was expecting to walk in, get to sniff a few scents and walk out with a travel sized perfume sample, but that wasn't the case at all. The woman helping me sat down and showed me a chart of aromatherapy oils, then explained the essence of the scent and what emotion each was supposed to help with (i.e. calmness, energy, comfort, etc.). In between sniffing each, she asked me to sniff some coffee beans to neutralize the scent (how fancy) until we found the "one" that really spoke to me. When we found my scent, she asked if I wanted it mixed into a body lotion, shower gel or perfume, and I asked for a body lotion.

From there she disappeared behind the counter and returned to hand me a giant, 6.7 fl oz bottle of hydrating body lotion mixed with my scent. I was floored! I never expected to receive a full-size product! I stopped to ask the woman if this was right, and if I was being given the birthday gift meant for VIP customers or something, but she just smiled and said she hoped I enjoyed the lotion. I thanked the woman, left and immediately visited the Aveda web site where I saw that their 6.7 oz body lotions typically cost $27!  

Normally, companies really do reserve these super special, expectation-exceeding moments for their very best customers, of which I don't think I fit, as I spend roughly $50-$100 a year at the store, at most. But this showed me that they really do appreciate me as a customer and appreciate the business I bring into the store, regardless of the amount. And really and truly, it's elevated how I feel about the brand, and may very well make me think a little harder about other products from their line that I'd like to try.

If you want to learn more about Aveda, you can visit their Web site, and if you too want to get an awesome birthday freebie like I did, simply sign up for their emails and they'll send you a coupon in your birthday month. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Are there other companies that do a really great job at showing they appreciate you? Let me know in the comments below, even if they are outside the beauty industry!

How I fell OUT of love with Tweezerman tweezers: Sharpening Review

If you follow my blog regularly, you may recall that a few weeks ago I posted about my experience at the Benefit Brow Bar, and in that post, I commented that I was there to try out the service specifically because my Tweezerman tweezers had become dull and no longer gripped and plucked my eyebrows as they used to.

What I may or may not have failed to mention in that post is that I'm a bit of an eyebrow phenom. First thing I do every morning as I sit down to do my makeup is flip my mirror over to the magnifying side and stare at my eyebrows. For some super strange reason I get such joy out of finding those sneaky dark hairs trying to mess up my brows and then yanking them out (is it just me?). So when I bought my Tweezerman tweezers a few years ago, I breathed a hefty sigh of relief and said to myself: "Finally! I have found that magical pair of tweezers that I will own for life thanks to their free sharpening guarantee!" Since the tweezers were over $20 (plus tax), and I had been used to buying the $5 or less cheapies at the drug store, this was a big splurge for me. But I had heard from countless people that these were the creme de la creme, and the reviews online were nothing but stellar.

In all fairness, the tweezers DID do a great job for the first 2 or so years that I had them. At first, dare I say, they were TOO sharp and I had to be careful not to cut or pinch my skin with them. But slowly over time, and quite naturally I assumed, the tips became dull and eventually would only grip the longest, most easily accessible hairs, which didn't do me much good.

So off they went to the free sharpening gods and, true to their word, it took a whole 6 weeks for my tweezers to arrive back in my possession. It not only cost me $6 to ship the tweezers to their New York office, but also cost me ~$40 in eyebrow waxes that I simply had to get while I was waiting for their return (ok, maybe I could have purchased a cheap pair of tweezers to tide me over, and true, they didn't charge for return shipping, so I should give credit where credit is due).

I was SO excited to get my tweezers back, and initially, I was SO impressed. They packaged my tweezers in a really nice leather storage case and added a protective plastic "shield" to the tips. But then I went to use them, and said to myself, "Wait a minute, these aren't working any better than when I shipped them in the first place." At first I tried to convince myself that my tweezing technique was just a bit rusty after a six week break. But I've now been using the tweezers for a month and it isn't getting any better.

No joke, it seems as though the fancy tweezer gods didn't do a darn thing to the tweezers that I sent them. No matter how I turn the tweezers, grip the tweezers, switch hands or angles, the damn thing will not grip my eyebrow hairs. The experience has turned my favorite morning ritual into one that I now dread, because I know that I will be taunted by those annoying little hairs that I can no longer pull out with the flick of a wrist.

If this were just a normal pair of tweezers, I wouldn't care a lick. But when you promise to the world that these are top-of-the-line, that you'll have them for a "lifetime," and that there is free sharpening to guarantee all this, the company really has to deliver! There's nothing that disappoints or angers me more than a company that makes false promises to try and sell their product.

At the end of the day, the tweezers still did their job for 2 years, so I probably paid the same amount for my Tweezerman tweezers as I would have for a number of cheapies that get duller faster. But people let's be real. Don't sell me some snake oil and tell me it's a cure for cancer.

Have you ever purchased a pair of Tweezerman tweezers and had them sharpened? Did your experience go better than mine? Let me know in the comments below.

Nail of the Day: OPI's Mermaids Tears from the Pirates of the Caribbean collection

I seem to be on a cool color kick these days, despite the fact that you'd think summer is the perfect time for all of your gorgeous pinks, reds and oranges. I wanted to do something a bit more funky and different so I chose Mermaids Tears from OPI's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides collection. It's definitely an unusual color and not one that I wear often. 

Surprisingly, this polish has pretty decent opaqueness -- it took just two coats to get the solid finish shown here. 

Is there life left in my lipstick? How to get the most of your makeup with Every Drop

Let's start with the obvious: beauty products 'aint cheap. Then, if you want to use mostly natural and organic makeup, that can feel like the understatement of the year (shouldn't the products that are good for you be MORE accessible rather than less?). Add to the situation the fact that I am most definitely operating on a beauty budget and don't have free reign to purchase whatever I'd like, whenever I'd like to, and it becomes that much more important for me to fully use up the products that I do buy and enjoy.

Of course, here's where the manufacturers dupe us! They put lip glosses in extra long plastic tubes where neither the brush nor a Q-tip can reach, leaving a giant glop of product stuck at the bottom. Foundations are in odd-shaped glass bottles where product clings to the sides and feels irretrievable. Lipstick manufacturers try to trick you into thinking that you've used up the product when it no longer twists up past the top, but secretly they've stored a good inch of product below the surface. And don't get me started on perfumes! How many times has an expensive scent's pump just magically stopped working with plenty of product left inside, yet the top doesn't come off no matter what you do?

I can't say that I've solved the perfume problem, but I have made headway when it comes to scraping out every last drop of other hard-to-reach items like foundation, lip gloss, lipstick and anything that comes in a tube (eyeshadow primer, concealer, face primer, etc.), primarily thanks to a product line by that very name: Every Drop.

Perhaps off topic, but in case you didn't know, I am pretty obsessed with The Container Store (so obsessed that I have been to TWO grand openings in the last year). Now, you may have never really thought of The Container Store as a great place to shop for beauty items, but their displays at the front of the store almost always have some awesome beauty hack items (in addition to the products I'm about to talk about, I've also gotten a really fun Herban Essentials aromatherapy towelette kit from this section and an adorable sunglasses-shaped contact case).

The last time I was there, I was desperately searching for a few low-price items to push my order over the $100 mark (I was at $90 and if you spent $100 or more you got a free $15 gift card for your next visit). While I'm searching through the racks I spot these babies:

At $3.99 and $4.99 each, the price was perfect and I just knew that I could put them to good use. Let's talk about the Beauty Spatula on the left first.

• This thing totally saved me when my Gabriel Cosmetics foundation (beautiful glass bottle, but incredibly hard to get all the product that clings to the sides out) started to run out. The unique tapered and flexible edge of the tool allowed me to get into nearly every crevice of the bottle, and it kept me going in foundation for 2 weeks after I normally would have tossed it.
• As the packaging says, the other great thing about this tool is that it's made of plastic, not cotton like a q-tip, so it doesn't absorb any of the product that you're trying to scrape out, rather it's all there for you to actually use!
• Although I didn't need the length this time, another cool thing to point out is just how long this tool is. So if you're trying to scrape the last bit of shampoo or body lotion out of a tall container, this baby's got you covered in that arena too. 
• My ONLY gripe about this guy is that it's actually a bit harder to clean than you would imagine, and because the tip is white, it's got a tendency to stain a bit. I routinely wiped mine off with a tissue after each use, but tiny bits of makeup tend to get stuck on the underside of the wand and in the crevices where the tip meets the base. Even when I rubbed it with rubbing alcohol, I couldn't get it 100% clean. Since I know the alcohol disinfects I am fine continuing to use it, but they may want to make the tip removable so that you can fully clean it at every angle.

Now let's talk about the lip spatula!

 

• All of the benefits that I previously talked about definitely still apply here, although the cool thing is that this guy can actually be used as an applicator as well. I've tried it out with both lipstick and lip gloss, and although I didn't think it did a great job at applying lipstick (it's not quite flexible enough to truly apply to the contours of your lips, it works great with lip gloss. 
• For some reason I find this one easier to clean and I love that the tip is pink (plus I've noticed less staining on this one -- I think the tip is actually made of a less porous, more rigid material here, which might be helping). 

When scraping out the last drips and drabs of your lipstick tube, I actually like using my Sigma lip brush the best, because it can get the product out and be used as an applicator. Using my lip brush has allowed me to extend the life of my favorite retired MAC lipstick shade for 2 whole months! Like I said, you'd never know just how much lipstick is actually left in the tube if it was up to the makeup companies...just try it next time you think you've used up your lipstick and you'll be shocked!

Theres's one other product I want to talk about quickly. I purchased mine at The Container Store, but notice that Every Drop also sells a variety of these (and they may be better, but I can't say since I haven't tried them myself). The product I got was the Squeeze Ease Tube Squeezers to help with the annoying problem of product being stuck up inside a tube -- you know it's there, but you just can't get to it! The premise behind this product is that it squeezes out the air within the tube so that it pushes the product down and it can't escape back up into the tube. As you move it down, it shifts the product toward the nozzle so you can squeeze it out easier.

Although my tube squeezers worked ok on medium sized tubes like a toothpaste tube, I found them to be less effective on smaller tubes for beauty items because the seal wasn't tight enough. Conversely on larger items, the tail end of the tube was actually too big for the tube squeezer to fit around. So, great in concept, but lacking a bit in practice.

All in all, having these tools at my disposal has saved me a lot of money and has kept me from needing to run out and buy new versions of my favorite products as quickly. Do you have any tips or tricks for sticking to your beauty budget or using up every last drop of your products? Let me know in the comments section below!

Review: Michael Todd True Organics Acne/Oily Skin Regimen

I've been sitting on doing this review for more than 6 months now, because I wanted to make sure I was giving you the most robust and fair information. More often than not, I find that people do these skin care product reviews after only using the stuff for a few weeks, but I truly believe that the test comes with time. It's easy for you to feel like you're seeing dramatic results after a few uses, probably because your excitement over having a new product colors your perspective. But after using something over the course of a few months you have a much better idea as to the impact the products are having on your skin. One other thing to keep in mind: I have very oily, acne-prone skin, and even beyond that, the quality and receptiveness of my skin to certain products will always be a very individual experience. So use these reviews as a foundation to craft your opinion, but remember that your results may be markedly different!

Let's start with the positives:

• The folks at Michael Todd truly make an effort to eliminate the most widely recognized "harmful" ingredients. All of his products are paraben-free, sulfate-free and free of phthalates, triclosan, formaldehyde and other really toxic stuff. Most are 90%+ vegan, and although these products aren't listed in the Cosmetics Database, I checked some of the ingredients that sounded less familiar and nothing came up as higher than a 4 on the toxicity scale.
• The products are all incredibly gentle, which is great for my sensitive skin. Nothing I used made me breakout or feel irritated, and even the toner was gentle, with absolutely no stinging.
• Most of the products come in big containers that last a long time. I've been using the face wash for more than 6 months and am just now finishing my second bottle. I'm less than halfway through my second bottle of the toner, and because I use scrubs sparingly, I've still got about 1/5 left of the scrub (I rescind this comment when it comes to the serum and moisturizer, which I'll comment on shortly).
• I really do like the Charcoal Detox cleanser. It's probably my favorite product from the line and something I would definitely repurchase in the future. The gel cleanser consistency feels great on the skin, and it really does an excellent job at removing makeup without ever making your skin feel tight or stripped. A small amount goes a long way, so again, the product will last you a long time.

Now we need to talk the negatives:

• The company's practices give me the skivvies a bit. They border way too close to those infomercial/used car salesman marketing tactics that just rub me the wrong way and make me wonder if anything they are saying is actually true. Case in point -- they position their regimens (and a number of other products) as "on sale" with great discounts that are valid only until a certain date. But I have visited their site tens of times and this regimen has never once NOT been on sale at that same deep discount. As a marketer myself, I understand that this makes people feel more urgency to buy the product NOW, but as a customer, I want companies to not treat me like an idiot.
• The packaging for their serums (and some moisturizers) is TERRIBLE. They are put in packaging with a pump that cannot be removed, so once the pump gets clogged, malfunctions or just can't reach the rest of the product, you're stuck and have to just throw the product out. This happened with my carrot facial serum, which ran out after less than 1 month of using one tiny half pump per day.
• I'm really not convinced that these products are the be-all, end-all of acne skincare. Sure, if you look on their web site they show one picture of a woman whose cystic acne was completely cured using these products, but I'm skeptical. I found the cleanser to be very effective, but didn't feel like the other products did much at all, and they certainly did not cure my acne. If you have hormonal acne, or acne caused by something going on INSIDE your body (not just acne because you sleep in your makeup and never wash your face), no skin care regimen is going to completely change your biology. So buy these products with a grain of salt, use them for what their worth and just temper your expectations.

Talking specifically about the products, I also really like the Jojoba Charcoal facial scrub. It's a medium grit scrub that does the job without being overly abrasive. The color is black (as is the cleanser), so it might startle you a bit initially, but if you can get past that, it does a nice job. I'd pass on the moisturizers and serums, as I think you can get a much better product at a better price, and I'd say the toner is very take it or leave it (I don't notice an effect from using it at all).

I previously did a review on the Michael Todd True Organics Pumpkin Facial Mask and that stuff I LOVE. It's got glycolic acid in it so it gives you a great peel, and the smell/texture is just like pumpkin puree. Check out that full review for more information. :)

Have you ever tried products from the Michael Todd True Organics line? If so, tell me what you think in the comments below!