Garnier's Hair Honey Repairing Serum

I received a small complimentary product sample of Garnier's Hair Honey Repairing Serum, a leave-in hair remedy. I've been applying it after I step out of the shower before blow-drying my hair.

The Hair Honey Repairing Serum is blended with sustainably sourced acacia honey. It is non-greasy and non-sticky.

Reportedly it reduces up to 94% of split ends, gives us 6 times smoother hair, 4 times less breakage, and 20 times more moisture.

Garnier further claims it fights up to 1 year of surface damage plus provides heat protection up to 450 degrees. It's blended without parabens, phthalates, mineral oil, drying alcohols, dyes, and DMDM hydantoin. All of Garnier's products are marketed as cruelty-free and come in recycled bottles. 

I can say the Honey Repairing Serum leaves my hair clean with a mild pleasant scent and my hair looks conditioned and healthy after use. Since I also use a hair conditioner [this one right now], I put only about a dime-sized amount through my hair concentrating on the ends. The treatment product passes my hand test. When a hair conditioner or treatment feels clean on my hands, it always leaves my hair soft and clean too. 

Reasonably priced and available at drugstores, Walmart, Target, and Amazon, Garnier's Hair Honey Repairing Serum is a hair serum I like and recommend.

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It's A 10 vs Pantene Miracle Rescue

It's A 10 Miracle hair conditioner is a brand recommended by celebrity hairstylists. The trademark's formulas come in a (1) daily, (2) leave-in, and a (3) deep conditioner plus (4) special hair treatments. It's pricey yet affordable. Still if used every day the expense would add up to quite a chunk of change over the span of a year.

I tend to splurge on skincare but save on haircare. With my skin, I try to prevent damage from happening, but our hair is already dead, so I simply trim off any damage.

A worthy competitor at a lower price is Pantene Miracle Rescue Deep Repair Condition. Pantene's line has the corresponding formulas to the It's A 10 brand. What I like is, Pantene is recognized as a great brand for hair products with a ton of satisfied customers. It's available at drugstores, Walmart, and Target so there are promotions further lowering its price if you wait for them, and with the money saved, you can also buy the shampoo, as well as, put some change back in your wallet.

Difeel is a T.J. Maxx discovery I use daily.

On hair products, there's no need to splurge for high-end brands since it's easy to save without compromising. You'll find new outstanding hair care shampoos, conditioners, and treatments in the beauty aisles of T.J. Maxx! Always worth a browse.

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Art Naturals Deals, Deals, Deals

Art Naturals is a stellar clean beauty brand I previously featured on THE SAVVY SHOPPER. It has everything we want: beneficial antiaging ingredients in the right combinations free of toxins and high prices.

If you need to restock your skincare, haircare, bath & body products, or you embrace aromatherapy now is the time of the year to grab the best bargains from the brand. In addition to 20% off of the line consider buying the gift sets for even more savings. This also gives you the chance to try a few new products at a steal of a price.

Several years ago, I slowly began swapping out my unnatural commercial beauty (and household products) for brands with simple and cleaner ingredients, but I didn't want to go broke using them. If you have the same goal, Art Naturals is an outstanding brand to try. The line of products is also conveniently sold at Rite Aid and Walmart along with other drugstores. 

I picked my 3 favorite items to display but you can browse the website to find yours.

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8 Skincare Products I Use Daily And Highly Recommend

Photo: Adobe

Through experience, you inevitably learn about skin care products like which ingredients really work, and which knockoffs, identical to their more costly name-brand counterparts, to buy.

Here's what I now use every day in my skincare routine, as well as, for my senior mother whose skin still feels baby soft. I like to pamper her with mild, good clean ingredients to keep her skin healthy and moisturized. I've reviewed the following beauty items in prior blogs, so if you wish to know why they're good for your skin click on their links for a description and list of ingredients. Today's blog will try to save you a few bucks when purchasing them:

8 Skincare Products I Use Daily And Highly Recommend:

 

1) SheaMoisture Soap(s) - to wash with during a shower. T.J. Maxx often carries the bars at $3.99/bar.

2) Noxema Cleansing Cream - to wash my face before bed. I also use it to soothe my mom's dry skin where she needs it, such as her arms. Alternatively, I love the face washes from CeraVe and Cetaphil, as well as, their Walmart Equate knockoffs. Walmart also has a Noxema dupe only for in-store pickup. However, Noxema, the name brand, usually selling at under $5, is cheap enough.

3) Coconut Oil - I buy food-grade coconut oil often from Puritan's Pride, to use as after-bath oil to lock in moisture. The reason for the food-grade coconut oil is to simplify my life and not have to buy 2 different coconut oils. {The same applies to white vinegar for cleaning my home. I buy food-grade, not cleaning-grade white vinegar which lies in the cleaning products aisle of supermarkets. When cheap enough, reduce to one multi-tasking product you have to stock. Saves time! Looks like Puritan's Pride no longer sells what I use, so here's another good online retailer. Costs: $6 - $10 for 16 oz.

If I need extra moisturizers in the fall and winter to slatter on dry skin, I add the following to my skincare routine --

4) Equate Moisturizing Cream (a dupe for CeraVe) - Cost: $10

5) Equate Beauty Gentle Skin Cream with Long-Lasting Moisture (the dupe for Cetaphil). - Cost: $6.40. Cetaphil is a tad thicker than CeraVe. Both knockoffs are excellent, plus they work wonders in moisturizing your face, so mild, light, and absorbent that you can skip buying a separate face moisturizer.

6) Target's Up and Up or Walmart's Equate Baby Powder - We use it after bathing and I often apply a sprinkle with a makeup brush to my face to prevent a shiny complexion. Real face powder has a finer texture, than the cornstarch ingredient in baby powder, but baby powder with cornstarch is still a super substitute. Talic (a finer grain) in body power has been removed in the USA. Price: $2.99 for 22 ounces.

7) Daytime: I use Equate Beauty All Day Moisturizing Sunscreen Lotion for Skin, Broad Spectrum SPF 15. (the dupe for Olay Complete Daily Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin, SPF 15). I'll use whatever I can get, for normal or sensitive skin. You'll pay about $4

8) Nighttime: I apply Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair - I use the cream formula but have also tried the serum. If only buying one of these, get the cream. Cost: $16 at T.J. Maxx or $13 - $16 on eBay. $25 regular retail price.

By learning what's in skincare products, and focusing on key effective ingredients supported by science, you can find knockoffs for less. Look in health food stores, small batch-start-up companies, and drugstores that offer both name brands that go on sale, as well as, drugstore dupes to lower the costs of your everyday skincare. Toss in Equate (from Walmart) and Up and Up (Target's store brand).

We're talking about effective, clean, high-caliber skincare for less. Skincare without compromise you can afford to use 365 days of the year without going broke! You are welcome.

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Cetaphil Launches Purified Peptides Anti-aging Skincare For Sensitive Skin

If you're a skincare enthusiast you know retin-A and its over-the-counter derivative retinol is the gold standard of anti-aging skincare. We hear it over and over. But they can be brutal on virgin or sensitive skin, leaving it red and raw. What gives this most medically studied anti-aging ingredient its effectiveness is how often you apply it to your face over how strong the dose is. The reason non-prescription retinol is more beneficial to virgin skin than jumping to prescription strength Retin-A is mainly because if you don't slowly build up a tolerance for the prescription strength, you'll have to stop using it after your skin quickly becomes red and raw.

Nowadays science has tested and also given its seal of approval to other less harsh products better tolerated by sensitive and virgin skin which can give you similar anti-aging benefits like retinol and retin-A, such as softening fine lines and wrinkles and stimulating the production of collagen. We're talking about immediate anti-aging improvements without the side effects of peeling and pain! {Bakuckiol is one such retinol alternative milder for sensitive skin. I've covered it in a prior blog.}

Cetaphil is launching new anti-aging skincare for all skin types including sensitive skin. The new line goes by the name Cetaphil Healthy Renew which aims to improve skin's firmness, texture, and tone, 3 benefits you also get by using retinols. The Cetaphil new product line is great for treating dry skin too. It keeps the skin barrier balanced with up to 24 hours of hydration.

The 4 beauty anti-aging elixirs in the launch are (1) a face serum, (2) an eye cream, (3) a day cream (with sunscreen), and (4) a night cream.

The key ingredients in the new products are anti-aging peptides (the brand calls them purified peptides, obviously, a marketing term😊) to help minimize fine lines and wrinkles; vitamins B3 (niacinamide) and B5 (panthenol) to hydrate, soothe, and repair the skin barrier; plus Rice Lees and Edelweiss (botanicals) to target dullness and uneven skin tone.

Cetaphil is developed by dermatologists and sold at drugstores. Universally, skin doctors do recognize the role of peptides in fighting some of the signs of aging. They endorse using peptides to erase fine lines and wrinkles as not a waste of money.

Note that you can improve your skin, taking years off your appearance, simply by hydrating and nourishing your skin barrier ... so moisturize your face with a good brand like Cetaphil (or CeraVe, both) available at drugstores! What's more, getting rid of old dead skin cells with botanicals like Rice Lees and Edelweiss encourages new skin cells to rise to the surface. Your skin will be more supple, elastic, and radiant in about 2 weeks. BTW, Retin-A takes about a year before you can tolerate using it every night.

The more brand and ingredient choices the better! For sensitive skin, I'll also link several blogs that detail other science-based, anti-aging ingredients below.👇

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Naomi Watts' Stripes Hydrating Serum

Photo: Oprah Daily

The talented and beautiful actress Naomi Watts has developed a skin and hair care line of products called Stripes which for now is exclusively sold at Sephora. Her hydrating serum is getting a lot of media buzz and customers with dry skin give it positive reviews for its effectiveness. But at $80 a pop, I'll spotlight 3 worthy alternatives for less moola. I always say it doesn't matter how good a product is if you go broke using it daily. 

So let's examine what ingredients are in the Stripes serum to
treat dry skin that also has some anti-aging benefits:

💥Ectoine - protects and moisturizes the skin sometimes it's an ingredient in sunscreen.

💥 Mushroom extract - a skin hydrator, it mimics hyaluronic acid, and the antioxidants in mushrooms (selenium and vitamin C) fight free radicals giving it anti-aging properties.

 💥 Hyaluronic acid - reduces the look of fine lines by locking in moisture.

When you are trying to substitute less pricey beauty products for expensive skincare, you may not be able to find the exact ingredient for ingredient matches and yet sometimes you can either come darn close or find products with ingredients that do much the same thing, i.e., give you similar benefits of the ingredients in the expensive product. 

Start by asking what is the main function of the expensive serum? In the case of the Stripe serum, it tells us in its name. The primary purpose isn't anti-aging, it's to hydrate the skin. {In fact, the holy grail of an anti-aging serum is retin-A or its non-prescription derivative retinol. Stripe has a retinol serum that also sells for $80. On THE SAVVY SHOPPER you'll find a ton of effective retinol serums for less with a search.}

Excellent Substitutes For Less include:

1) e.l.f. Superhydrate Gel Moisturizer  - is a moisturizing gel with mushroom extract, squalane, vitamins B3 and E, and cica (an herb rich in fatty acids, vitamins, and amino acids that is used in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicines). It's the closest match if you're intent on using a cheaper beauty serum with mushroom extract. 

If you focus on only Stripe's main function to hydrate the skin other worthy substitutes are:

2) The Ordinary Natural Moisturer Factors + HA - Contains Sodium Hyaluronate, Arginine, Sodium PCA, PCA, Lactates, Lactic Acid, and Minerals. The Ordinary has an entire category of different hydrating serums and I'll name this one product but link you to the entire line so you can compare and contrast what's too numerous to list!

3) CeraVe face moisturizers - Developed by dermatologists and sold in drugstores. Frankly, all the CeraVe formulas for face and body are so mild and moisturizing that in winter I use both to hydrate my face without issues. CeraVe makes facial moisturizers for AM or PM, with the AM formula containing the addition of sunscreen, so you won't have to buy or apply sun protection separately. All contain hyaluronic acid and ceramides (lipids naturally found in the skin) and MEV (multivesicular emulsion) technology, a delivery system to make ingredients more hydrating and lasting. The CVS and Walmart store brands are identical. We are beyond fortunate to have skin doctor-created moisturizers in drugstore aisles!

Creating and marketing a skincare line isn't easy. It takes research, finding backers with deep pockets, and a ton of hard work to get it on the market, so I have nothing but respect for Naomi Watts for achieving it. Nonetheless, not everyone can afford $160 for 2 serums: a hydrator and retinol, the barebones of what you need for daytime and nighttime skincare.

With knowledge of anti-aging ingredients that really work and skincare brands, you can save $130 - $145 per purchase simply by selecting the right substitutions. My gosh ... inadvertently this entire week has become a skincare trilogy as I couldn't stop writing about it!😆 Linked below are the other 2 blogs if you wish to read all 3 blogs = the week of a skincare trilogy.🤣🤣🤣

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Vitamin C Serums That Work

Dermatologists agree: Applying Vitamin C serum to our faces benefits our skin. It should be part of our daily anti-aging routines. After washing our faces each morning we should use a vitamin C serum under our sunscreen and makeup. Vitamin C brightens the skin, reduces dullness, and encourages new skin growth. It also helps sunscreen work better to protect the skin against the sun's harmful rays.

Personally, I try to keep the expense of beauty serums under $25 whenever possible and therefore have featured many effective budget-friendly skincare potions, including vitamin C serums, in previous blogs (which you can pull up via THE SAVVY SHOPPER'S search box on the upper left). Nowadays we can find steller skincare brands at drugstores, Target, Walmart, and Ulta without emptying our wallets and therefore can afford to use them every single day without skimping. 

Here are 7 more dermatologist-approved Vitamin C Serums with a range of prices from cheap to reasonable to more expensive:

1) CeraVe Vitamin C Serum - Has 10% of ascorbic acid, the purest form of Vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, and ceramides.

2) Maelove Glow Maker - Contains Vitamins C, E, Ferulic Acid, and Hyaluronic Acid.

3) Olay Vitamin C + Peptide 24 - Olay recently launched its serum along with a face and eye cream. The formula, "crafted with Vitamin C, Vitamin B3, and Lactic Acid, visibly brightens and hydrates skin." Lactic Acid also treats acne. 

4) Drunk Elephant C-Firma Fresh Day Serum - With antioxidants, fruit enzymes, and a potent 15% of vitamin C.

5) Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster - Features a light formula for fast absorption. 

6) BioBare Vitamin C, B, E & Ferulic Serum - Defends against free radicals, dryness, and aging.

7) Biossance - Squalane + 10% Vitamin C Dark Spot Serum -  Uses 10% vitamin C and white shitake mushroom to treat dark spots and stop new ones from forming.

Although it's fun to try different brands of serums, CervaVe at $16 works superbly ... and is as dermatologist-approved as are the other choices, so you may not need to spend more. But, selection is a Savvy Shopper's best friend for spotting sales and bargains. At times you find a 2 for 1 Olay sale at your local drugstore which halves its $29 price. Sometimes what works for one person is irritating to another's skin, so being in the know by having options based upon science is a very good thing!

Photo: BeautyEdit

 

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POP Beauty

Nowadays you never have to venture beyond a drugstore to find quality beauty products. The aisles of many drugstores are starting to look like one big, expansive cosmetic counter because so much is there. At CVS recently I discovered a "new" to me fantastic UK beauty brand for less.

POP Beauty has the highest standards in skincare with rich pigmented makeup that is 100% vegan and cruelty-free made from responsibly sourced ingredients. The beauty brand offers the highest quality natural ingredients in uncomplicated products with simple packaging for less ~~~ a lot less, so why would you pay more?

Although the packaging is simple, it's fun and colorful, so practical items can liven up your bathroom, as well as, make attractive gifts! I think the best part of gifting beauty is the eye-opening introduction of a winning affordable brand to somebody else who can then start buying a new love for themselves. Over time, it saves them tons of money without compromise ... a great gift in and of itself!

Golly! Does this look like a CVS pharmacy to you?

POP Beauty is conveniently sold at drugstores, Walmart, some Targets, and Amazon.

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TruSkin Skincare

Nowadays you no longer need to spend a fortune on skincare as so many effective products are in the aisles at Target, Walmart, Amazon, and local drugstores, there's no need to look elsewhere! Selling at affordable prices -- with monthly promotions to boot -- making transformative skincare almost a steal!

TruSkin is a brand committed to producing advanced premium formulas with superior ingredients in the right combinations and potencies. It's made in the USA without fillers or animal testing. The elixirs treat all skin concerns, and they are budget-friendly, which is exactly what we want! After you know what you desire to be treated, you can select skin products that are right for you to do the job.

I will feature a few of the company's offerings:

1. Vitamin C Serum - To nourish the skin and fight free radicals. Creates a glow by treating dark spots, fine lines, wrinkles, and uneven skin tone. Use every morning.

2. Retinol Serum - Improves fine lines, wrinkles, skin tone, skin texture, color, pigmentation, as well as your skin's hydration levels. Clinical-strength retinol that is gentle enough for sensitive skin. Use nightly.

3. Hyaluronic Acid Serum - Supercharged with a powerful anti-aging complex that includes Vitamins C and E, Green Tea, Aloe Vera, and MSM to plump the skin with moisture. Use in winter, or as needed to soothe dry skin.

4. Tea Tree Super Serum+ - A blemish-bursting blend that includes tea tree essential oil, vitamin C, retinol, niacinamide, and hyaluronic acid. Use 2 - 3 nights per week, or as a spot treatment.

5. Vitamin C Brightening Moisturizer - Layer up with this ultra-hydrating vitamin C brightening cream containing Retinol, Hyaluronic Acid, Niacinamide, and Salicylic Acid. It targets discoloration, firmness, fine lines, and blemishes. Use daily or as needed to "cocoon" the skin so it stays soft and supple.

6. Retinol Moisturizer - Provides a layer of moisturizing cream to your face that contains hyaluronic acid, vitamin E, B5 green tea, and propolis. Improve fine lines, wrinkles, skin tone, skin texture, color, pigmentation, as well as your skin's hydration levels. Use nightly.

TruSkin has a wide selection of affordable cleansers, toners, moisturizers, treatments, sizes, and skincare kits for every type of skin ... and it's so convenient to find. I found it at CVS. Next time you go to your local drugstore, check the beauty aisle.

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The Beauty Products I Use Right Now

 

Once a month I notice YouTubers post their empties to recommend beauty products they enjoy using. Today I'm doing likewise ... but fortunately, my bottles are filled... and they are in my bathroom being used by me right now. As it turns out, I reviewed nearly all of them on THE SAVVY SHOPPER in previous blogs. Still, loving them and for sure, I'd buy each again, as well as, grab them whenever I see them for less:

Skincare - Daytime Routine:

1) Noxema Cleansing Cream - My old tried and true.

2) Art Naturals Vitamin C Advanced Moisture & Brightening Serum - I have the set and use the retinol at night on nights I don't use the Neutrogena retinol oil.

3) Olay Complete All Day Moisturizer with SPF 15 

4) Cooking grade coconut oil - As an after-shower body moisturizer. It's cooking grade to simplify gathering -- no need to buy 2 coconut oils. Once gone, I'll switch over to extra virgin olive oil for even more simplicity.

Skincare - Nighttime Routine:

1) Noxema Cleansing Cream - used again before bed.

2) and 3) - Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Oil followed by Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Regenerating Cream - They came full-sized as a kit found in the beauty aisle at T.J. Maxx for $16 bucks ... how could I not grab 2 kits -- to use one immediately and put one on deck? Before finding the set, I was already using the retinol cream and after I finish the retinol oil ... do I need both? I'll decide later after I run out.

Hair Care

1) Shea Moisture Peace Rose Oil Shampoo - A stellar overall brand, I buy any formula I see with the Shea Moisture label on it. I've never had a failure with any of the retailer's formulas despite mixing and mismatching the varieties of formulas of their shampoos with their conditioners. I enjoy trying the entire line, but the peace rose smells so AMAZING, I  love it especially!

2) Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen & Restore Shampoo - I don't yet have the matching condition, but if I see it at T.J. Maxx, it's my next beauty buy. After you try Shea Moisture's many hair products, you can find them at drugstores, Walmart, Target, and Amazon, so you'll never go broke using this none-better, excellent brand!

3) Shea Moisture Manuka Honey & Mafura Oil Intensive Hydrating Shampoo

4) Shea Moisture Superfruit Complex 10 in 1 Multi-benefit Hair Mosque - As fantastic as the other formulas, I grabbed the mosque as another hair conditioner. It leaves your hair clean, not greasy. Again ... 3rd time saying it, you simply can't go wrong with a Shea Moisture formula!

So these are the beauty products I'm now using, folks, my not-so-empties that I'll buy again and again as needed. In recent years I've tried to switch over to as many organics as I can afford, as well as, to simplify my personal care regime, plus find everything needed in the aisles of a drugstore for less! 

It looks like I have lots of hair shampoos and conditions, doesn't it? My goal is to reduce: I keep 1 shampoo and 2 conditioners in the bathroom open and using ... with one extra shampoo and condition in stock waiting in the wings to replace an empty. I'm nearly at my one + one quantity aspiration. #WorkingThroughMyStash.

Drugstores have stepped up their offerings of quality and clean beauty making it unnecessary to shop anywhere else. So convenient and cost-effective for products that truly work!

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