I did actually go to Ulta and Target the other day! Yay me!! I got a few different concealers to try out, most of them are “drugstore brand” concealers, mostly just because I wanted to try the less expensive varieties and see how they worked before I spent a ton of money and invest in a premium concealer.  Also, because I tested out a few of the higher end ones (which is one reason why I love Ulta; they have testers of almost everything) and some of them were so thick.  I was just testing the feel of them on the back of my hand and some of them felt so heavy and the last thing my oily skin needs is a heavy/weighty concealer.  I did grab one higher end one, which wasn’t that expensive because I liked that it didn’t feel super heavy.

So, here’s what I got from Ulta and Target:

From left to right:

1. Revlon ColorStay Under Eye Concealer in Light: I’ve heard a lot of really good things about this product.  I really like that it twists at the bottom and dispenses the product into the little sponge at the top.  This way you don’t put on too much.  It was pretty lightweight in the store and it seemed to blend pretty nicely, too.
2. Smashbox Studio Skin 24 Hour Waterproof Concealer in Light/Fair: This was the higher end product that I got because out of the ones I tested, this felt the lightest.  I also like that it claims to last all day and is waterproof.  My eyes have a tendency to be runny/watery, especially in the spring so makeup doesn’t last long around them. And while it was the most expensive one I bought, it’s a pretty decent sized tube; it seems like it would last a pretty long time.
3. Sonia Kashuk Take Cover Concealing Stick in Dawn 19: I grabbed this at Target because I’ve used Sonia Kashuk’s products before and liked them.  This is, I think, the closest color match to my skin tone, too.  It blended almost seamlessly when I swatched it.  And I like that it’s a stick, it makes it easy to apply.
4. Almay Age Essentials Concealer in Light 200: This one, I’m not sure about the shade, but I liked how it felt on my skin when I swatched it, so I wanted to try it.  Plus, it was another stick, which I kind of like the idea of.
5. Pixi by Petra Colour Correcting Concealer in Brightening Peach:  So, this I also grabbed at Target and it’s not actually a full concealer, it’s meant to be a color corrector.  There’s a higher-end one by Bobbi Brown, that;s obviously a bit on the expensive side and I’ve heard a lot of good things about the Bobbi Brown one.  The purpose of this, though, is that you use it with a concealer.  The corrector is meant to…well…correct the dark/purpley color that happens with the dark circles, so that your concealer can work better.  So you use it under your concealer and it should almost look like nothing is there whatsoever.  So, I wanted to give this a try with the concealers to see if it amps up results or not.

So, I’m going to try these guys all out and see if I like anything and what happens and hopefully there are some good things that happen.

I did say that there was a funny story, too, didn’t I?

When I was at Ulta, I also got a couple of their travel size shampoos to try out because I can’t seem to find a color-treated shampoo/conditioner that I love.  I have Pureology’s volumizing set at home and I’m returning it because I really don’t like how it makes my hair feel.  So I grabbed a couple of trial size shampoo sets, including Pureology’s Hydrate line.  Despite not liking the volumizing, I wanted to try the hydrating because it’s so highly recommended and I figured worst case, in a small size, I only lost a couple of dollars if I didn’t like it.

I went to wash my hair with the Pureology Hydrate set last night and I smelled it a little in the shower, in the bottle, just because I like to know what my stuff smells like.  I got a nice peppermint waft, which I love peppermint, so I was excited by that.  I shampooed and put the conditioner in and left in for a few minutes while I washed my body (which is what I always do in the shower).  By the time I was ready to rinse the conditioner out, my head and my back where my hair was touching it, was SO COLD.  Like, I felt like someone turned the AC on in my shower.  I’m literally standing there for like 30 seconds so damn perplexed before I realized or remembered…oh yeah…there’s peppermint stuff in this isn’t there?

And I had to laugh at myself because here I was like five minutes earlier all excited by the peppermint and how good it smelled and then I’m here wondering what the hell is wrong with my head and completely forgetting that peppermint is a cooling element and that it’s in my shampoo.

I have special moments from time to time.  It’s okay as long as you can laugh at them when it’s over.

Also I think I’m done with Pureology.  My hair wound up smelling like weird medicine after the fact and it didn’t really hydrate and still made my hair feel weird.  So, I think I’m going to let Pureology be….done with my life.  So, sorry all the Pureology fans, I’m not joining your tribe.  So sorry.