CoverGirl Lash Blast Mascara - About $8 in drugstores

I want to discuss this product for a very specific reason: I actually went out and bought this product in direct response to a TV commercial I saw for it.

As advertising creatives, we are presumed to be immune to the siren's song of slogans and onslaught of shimmering celebrity spokespeople. But we are consumers, too. And we often pay closer attention to ads (especially television ads) - not to mention scrutinize them more intensely - then your average Jane Schmoe on the street. As such, we're keenly aware of our response to ads, and often, we find ourselves wondering if somewhere out there, someone is enjoying an ad we made, and has jotted down our client's product on their to-buy list.

We are also quite hard on our peers - we jeer at "bad" ads, and most of us are much too cynical to appreciate a cute baby, puppy, or child who may appear in a so-called "sappy" ad. On the other hand, there are ads I love that are selling products I'll never buy (for instance, every Nike ad ever made - I am the least athletic person alive and thus have no need for quality athletic apparel, yet Nike ads have made me drool for as long as I can remember, and were a major impetus for me to get into the biz in the first place).

That's why I wanted to share my CoverGirl Lash Blast experience. The particular ad I saw claimed that the Lash Blast launch was the most successful mascara launch in history (or something like that). I consciously thought to myself, Wow, if it's that successful, it must be pretty special.

And that was the moment that (a) receptivity to a specific message, (b) emotion, and (c) a physical need converged in the much-sought-after Big Bang moment. That ad reached the right person, at the right time, with the right message. I happened to be in the market for a new mascara; in fact, I wanted a mascara that delivered more dramatic results, with the intention of wearing it out during the holiday party season.

Enter Drew Barrymore, batting her gorgeous, impossibly luxe lashes while saying that, in her opinion, "the bigger, the better." Frankly, when it comes to lashes, I could not agree more.

Cut to me in CVS the very next day, unmistakeable orange packaging in hand.

Luck for me and my lashes, the product really delivers on its "bigger, better" promise. I even went so far as to tell my girlfriends that this product is "CoverGirl's gift to womankind."

And that kind of consumer-to-consumer advertising is something not even CoverGirl's budget could buy.

Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush Soothing Lip Balm in Pretty Buff, about $7 at VS

There is one major reason I bought this lip gloss:

VS was doing one of those spend-$60-and-get-a-free-tote-bag deals, and my pre-tax total came to $59.50. I needed something inexpensive to put me over the edge.

However, there were other factors that played into this decision:

1. I really like almost all the cosmetics I've bought from VS. They spend a lot of time and money on the supermodels, as they are the literal faces (and bodies) of the brand, but I personally think they'd benefit from more PR around their make-up and body lines, which are legitimately good products, and can arguably make a woman feel just as sexy on a day-to-day basis as a negligee can make her feel after dark.

2. I am a lip gloss junkie. Seriously, it's like crack to me.

3. I really, really liked the packaging. Unlike some of VS's more overwrought, boudoir-style package designs, the Beauty Rush gloss comes in an understated and elegantly retro tin. The color I bought comes in an apropos nude hue. The actual "Beauty Rush" logo is nice as well, in a handwritten, but not cheesy, typeface.

4. I have a similar lip gloss from VS that comes in a tube, but it's more of a traditional gloss as opposed to a soothing lip balm. But I like it, and I have been wanting to invest in something similar for awhile.

I rate this lip product a 10 out of 10! And that's saying a lot considering, as I mentioned, I have a pretty intense lip product habit. This one's worth a trip to Vickie's - you might even say it's lingerie for your lips.

Nivea Touch of Harmony Body Wash - $6.99 at CVS

I never fail to be astounded at the price of personal care products - and more specifically, how much more they cost at a downtown drugstore than they would at, say, a Target in the suburbs.

When I was unemployed this summer, I bought exclusively the $1 Suave "moisturizing" bodywash, but soon my legs grew so dry that I had to invest in something that was actually moisturizing.

However, I forked over a hefty $7 for this Nivea product for a few reasons:

1. It was payday, and I was feeling rich.

2. I have used other Nivea products (such as their hand cream), and have found them to be indeed very moisturizing (I have very dry skin, so this is a top factor for me).

3. It had a travel size bodywash shrink-wrapped to it, and since I'll be traveling in a few days for the holidays, and my mom NEVER has anything but bar soap, I thought I could really use it for the trip.

4. The name, "Touch of Harmony," though completely devoid of meaning, struck some sort of New-Age hippie chord in me.

5. Despite not usually liking any fake-vanilla-scented bath products, this has a pleasantly mild vanilla essence to it that still manages to smell clean.

6. I wanted to try something new; I've been using St. Ives bodywash in a few different varieties for a couple months now, mostly because that's what they sell at my weird corner grocery store.

One thing that I noticed only after bringing it home was that the packaging boasts, "With a touch of Diamonds, made with real diamond powder." Or something very close to that. Real diamond powder?! There are children going hungry all over the world, yet the Nivea company is pulverizing precious gemstones so spoiled Americans like myself can bathe in them. Geez, I hope they weren't conflict diamonds.

As far as bodywashes go, I'd rate this one a 7 out of 10 - nice lather, good scent, moisturizing without being too heavy or oily. One might say all its attributes are in perfect harmony.

*NOTE: the above photo is actually of the "Touch of Happiness" scent in this same body wash line.