Episode 77 - Product Junkies October Edition - What We’re Into (And Not) Right Now (Full Transcript)

This is a full transcript of the Nirvana Sisters podcast Episode 77.

Editor’s Note: Please know that this podcast transcript is automatically generated and may contain minor errors such as typos and word switches. For more information, be sure to listen to the podcast here or view our podcast episode guide.

Amy: 0:06

Welcome to Nirvana sisters podcast where we take the intimidation out of well being and beauty to help you achieve your highest state your nirvana. We are sisters in law and your hosts I'm Amy Sherman and I'm

Katie: 0:19

Katie Chandler so let's get into some real conversation

Amy: 0:27

go back to Nirvana sisters Nirvana sisters family it's Amy and Katie and it is October and we are here with our October product junkies episode we're excited to jump right in. We are reviewing our latest things that we're loving right now and I'm gonna kick it to Katie to start us out.

Katie: 0:45

Start us off I'm trying to think if I which way I want to I want to go I'm gonna go with my three and one and you'll see why I say three and one as we go along. New makeup brand that I'm obsessed with maybe you're seeing it on social media because they're definitely they like their marketing and social media is on point that's what reeled me in and when I say it's a three in one I will slowly over time. introduce to you this like three product stage three product step process for your cheeks, okay for like, contouring the whole thing. Oh, so Marin, have you heard of merit? M er T M E R it?

Amy: 1:29

Yeah. Did I just Oh no. Yeah, I love merit. They have beautiful packaging. And I've been wanting to try it. I have been doing Westman atelier. Yeah, which I am not reviewing, but I will review but it has like a similar look and feel. So

Katie: 1:41

the whole thing with merit is that it's that like, no makeup makeup look that's really easy to throw on and just like blend in and boom, you're ready to go like talk about a five minute flow. This is like a two minute flow. Yeah, so this first product is their bronze bomb. It's a shear bronzer, and it goes on. It's kind of like an a lipstick tube almost. And it's really like shear and blendable. It has like a lightweight satiny finish and you contour your face with it, you know, like this line, the line on your forehead, etc. And then use a good blending brush and it just melts into your skin, it melts so easily and seamlessly. And it looks very, very natural. And it does a very good job of contouring. This one. I think that branded as it happens to be healing vegan and cruelty free. And the bronze bomb shear bronzer is $30. It comes in like I want to say six colors maybe. And the other really great thing about merit, their color matching, like tool guide on their website is very, it's very well done. It's very, very clever. They give you a lot of images to help you understand what color you should get, which I really liked that.

Amy: 2:58

So I have a question because I because I have the Westman Atelier a bronzer stick, which is very similar, which I love. And my question is, do you just use it for contour? Or do you use it as a bronzer too? Because I get confused. Can you use the contour for I use it

Katie: 3:13

for both? What do you do and I have seen these girls like on social media show you the way to do like the differences. And if you want to use it yet, we're just contouring, then you just kind of do like thinner lines like I would do here. Right like that. And then along your jawline, and then kind of just like a little bit up here. And if you want to do thicker and you want like the bronzy I just got off the beach look, you just do you just apply more like it's a really it's literally that simple. Like you just kind of make your your your lines thicker and fuller, and blend in a little bit more.

Amy: 3:53

But that's not bronze or though because you put bronzer in a different location on your face.

Katie: 3:57

Oh, well, I guess you know, it's super versatile because I think because it is so sheer that you could put it on any location and play with it, which is really nice. I mean, I always tend to look better with a little bit of a bronzed glow. So I use it kind of more for that. But I am using it in contouring. Yes as well. That's because it melts into the sky now.

Amy: 4:19

I've been trying to use as a contour to Yeah, and it looks supernatural. I love it. Okay, that's great. I've been wanting to try that. So yeah. All right. What do you have? Since that's the first step second seconds. Wow. Wait,

Katie: 4:31

oh, are you doing I'll do I'll do I'll reveal as we go along.

Amy: 4:35

Got it. Okay, so I will do if we're talking about skin I'm going to talk about a product that I recently got which I'm really enjoying which is the OSA Hyaluronic C serum. It's a serum it's by OSA Malibu which we've talked about on the show great brands clean and this is the hyaluronic C serum. It's $88 But a little goes a long way. It's really fast absorbing and it's a really, really nice Hydrating Serum because I have a lot of serums but I don't think I had one that was hyaluronic acid. And this one is just it feels just when you put it on your skin, it just feels very very moisturizing in the fall like I'm starting to get a lot drier. So I've been putting this on Morning night I went to get a facial and they had this there and I asked her I was like, What's the best like Hyaluronic to put on morning and night and she recommended this and I've been using it for a few weeks. And I actually really, really enjoy it. Yeah,

Katie: 5:35

nice. I recommend love a good hyaluronic acid. All right, my next one is part of my three and one. So Plaxton is merit. And it is their flesh balm cheek color. So this is the reason why I say it's a three and one because this is just another step to like getting that nice like contoured bronze blush like highlighted situation. That's a Bing Bang Boom deal. It's super fast. So it's so cute because they come in these. I don't know, it almost looks like a lip balm. Oh, it looks like yeah, maybe when you just kind of like put it I put it higher up on my cheeks above where I've got the bronzer situation going and blended in. And it's the exact same consistency as the bronzer. This is $20. And you know, it's like, you swipe one, you swipe this one, you blend, boom. It's very, very just easy and streamlined. And actually, they are this product is an Ulta Beauty 2022 award winner. So it's a good one. And they have five shades to choose from. And again, vegan, clean, cruelty free. This has vitamin E in it. So remember, we've heard about this unification of these products like putting these great things for your skin inside of the makeup products, which is really exciting. So I love that one.

Amy: 7:04

That's great. And I love having these little as we call it our five minute flow products because for example, if you're going on a trip, you could just bring like that, that and one thing. Good. Okay, so I'll stick with the skin theme. And the next thing I have is called the Obagi physicals events 50 mineral sunscreen. It's like a tinted. Yeah, sorry, mineral sunscreen, lotion, SPF 50. So it's lightly tinted, lightweight and share. So again, this was from like another treatment or facial or something I had a while back a while back, but I don't think I reviewed it. And it's a really nice tinted moisturizer. It's very, very light, and very like kind of creamy, but it like thin and creamy. So it doesn't because I was looking for a new sunscreen because I love as you know the unseen sunscreen from Supergoop. But I was just kind of getting sick of it. I don't know it just like sometimes I would find at the end of the day it would like kind of I don't know, I just wanted to try something new. Yeah. which never happened to me before. I don't know why. And I love also, the other favorite one I have from Supergoop, which I've talked about a million times is the low screen which is also a tinted sunscreen moisturizer. So I use that a lot. But sometimes it's a little too glowy in a way, this one's kind of like glowy, but not too much. So I've just been putting it on sometimes in the morning, or if I'm going out to dinner at night, I just want something to smooth out my skin. And it's really great. And it has an SPF 50 Because I was getting sick of like putting on makeup and then putting on my sunscreen. So this is a really really good one. And it's a really great brand Obagi I feel like I see it in a lot of the kind of like places where you get facials and stuff like that. And it is $59 And again, SPF 50. And it's also mineral based, which is great, and I've been really happy with it. So adding that to my list.

Katie: 9:05

Alright, so this is the last of the three and one the last of the merit that I'm going to review today, but there might be some more coming at you in next episodes. This is again a part of the like cheek situation and it is the dayglo highlighting balm and they only have three shades but I mean it's for highlighter it's not doesn't really have to have like a lot of pigment into it. But so this then goes like on the highest point of the cheekbone. And you know, the light catches it really nicely. And this one Yeah, that's a really pretty color. I don't know it's like kind of like champagne color. It's 30.

Amy: 9:44

So you just put those three on and now Yeah,

Katie: 9:47

I did buy their blending brush. It's a really good one. And it's just like it blends and melts into your skin so easily and so quickly. And it looks just really Natural I've like, you know, I've been doing the whole selfie thing and all different lighting to, to test it because I feel like that's the only way you really know. So yeah, yeah, I love it. I'm in. I'm in on merit.

Amy: 10:11

And how much does that swan

Katie: 10:13

is 30. So they're all about the same price point.

Amy: 10:17

They're all very reasonably and Dr. sighs

Unknown: 10:18

Yeah,

Amy: 10:19

yeah. Because I've been testing out the Westman until a which I love and Lauren Miller recommended the highlighter and one of our product junkies episode months ago, but I just tried, I've been trying the console, and the blusher on the end, like another product I can't remember. And it's beautiful. And I love it. But it is expensive. And Merritt seems like very similar at a much better price point. So I'm really, you know,

Katie: 10:41

the other good thing that I was concerned about when I first got it, because it is so blendable and kind of melts into your skin, I thought, This isn't going to hold up, like by the end of the day, it's going to be off, you know, like it's going to literally melt off of me. But it does it legitimately stay these days holds up for the whole day. I mean, I might reapply here and there for a little bit of I'm gonna just like go out to dinner or something. I need to be done a little bit more. But it's good. It's good quality.

Amy: 11:09

Okay, what do you have? Okay, so I'm getting into the hair category. Now a couple of new hair products. I've tried that I want to talk about the first one, I have a sample of it, and I'm going to get the bigger one. It's the way Oh,

Katie: 11:22

you say I've always wondered how you say that one. Yeah,

Amy: 11:25

and it's, they're leaving conditioner. And I bought this for a trip because I A wanted to try the B I liked how it was small and I like the bottle. But this has been great. First of all, it smells really good. Second of all, it's I'd like for someone who doesn't wash their hair every day. I'm sure you don't either, because you have thick hair and it doesn't really get greasy. This is a great way to just judge up the hair. So I'll just put on a couple of sprays in the morning. And it just kind of like puts the moisture back in my hair. And I love that it's a spray instead of a leaving conditioner that you have to like rubbing your hands on whatever speaking of getting ready quickly, you just literally spray this on and it's good to go. So I love this. And I'll do another one because it's in the category of hair. So that I love the other thing when you are washing your hair and you're doing a blowout I've been dying to try this on again, I'm really into like the little sample bottles. This is the WoW Dreamcoat. super natural spray. I don't know if you've seen this. It's, it's like always gets these high reviews. I've heard a lot of people talking about it. And essentially, it's like a spray that you put on after the shower when your hair is wet before you blow dry your hair. And it only works if you're blow drying your hair like the guy activates it, but it makes your hair really shiny bouncy gives it a lot of volume. I've only tried it like once or twice and so far, so good. But I really really really like it has like my hair looked so good after I did it. And I didn't really spend a lot of time drying it, I just use my Dyson and just kind of went through it quickly. But it definitely gave it like an extra shine and an extra volume. So I'm really liking this right now. And then the last one I have speaking of like leaving conditioner and then something just squaring your hair, when you're going to dry it. This is a everyday hydrating hair balm by igk. And it's vegan and cruelty free. And it's essentially has it's it's leaving conditioner similar to the one by the way, it's a little bit thicker, but it really doesn't weigh down your hair. So for me with like dry, coarse, frizzy hair, this is like a little bit of a heavier kind of feel. And so it just kind of depends on how my hair is feeling and say for every day that leaving conditioner use but this I'll use when my hair is feeling a little drier, I'll put it on the ends. So I'm really liking this too. And the price is for all of these which I forgot to mention. So for the igk it's called mistress hydrating leaving conditioner, hair balm $29. The Wow, the color well dream coat, super natural spray $44. And the way leaving conditioner is $28. But my advice would be to get all the samples because at Sephora, they have so many samples now all the stuff that I've just buying so many samples now because they actually last a pretty decent amount of time I actually had a hair oil from the way that I bought from Ulta months ago. And I think I just finished it and it was this big, which is like what one and a half ounces.

Katie: 14:22

So you're talking about Yeah, in the checkout line at Sephora, where they have all of Nike checkout

Amy: 14:27

line. They have all the samples, they have all the really good brands and the brands you hear about. Also at Ulta they have it because I got a little sampler of the hair oil. So that's my latest thing. I've just been trying these little samplers and then I'll travel with them. I'll use them and if I liked them then I'll buy the big one. Unless I know I really want it but so that's been like a good hack, if you will all these samplers I just love that all these brands are now doing these sample sites. I love

Katie: 14:52

so smart. You brought that up because you know we were recently talking about that we don't wear perfume anymore. Like it's Tuesday. On Campus headaches etc I've been smelling this the scent on women like passing the pie around town and I was I just like fell in love with it I was obsessed with it but I didn't want to buy a big bottle because I was afraid that I won't be able to tolerate it like what we were talking about. Sephora now has sample sizes like not the little teeny tiny sample size that you're thinking of. It's like it's like this big so it's maybe six inches long and it's just a tube that's maybe as thick as this is of perfumes of all of these different super high end expensive perfumes so I found the scent I was just went through and smelled them all found the one that that I've been smelling on people and I bought it and I love it and I can tolerate it like can't tolerate it every day. What is it what's the sad I call it is and I've never heard of this brand until actually someone gifted me a candle it's the Mason Louis Murray brand which I'm assuming it sounds very French This is the number four it's it's in French so I'm probably gonna butcher it was de Balan court is the scent means

Amy: 16:13

whatever it's not small Ira

Katie: 16:14

it says the highlights are. It's a earthy and it's an earthy and woody family. Fragrance family and as like warm Woods scent type. Sandalwood vetiver whatever that is Amberwood I don't know it's just a berry. It's just kind of like, mysterious and sexy. And I like how it smells. And it's not super

Amy: 16:41

it's I love it. And I love that you can wear it and you know it doesn't bother

Katie: 16:44

me and I got it in this perfect little sampler size.

Amy: 16:48

That's so cute. I love that. And that's so good for travel too. Is it like a rollerball, right? Yeah, so spray Oh, yeah, better. So you can just like walk through it. And it's just very, it's funny. I even said it's also Yeah, yeah, I can't wait. I can't wait to smell it next time I see you. I actually have a I have a perfume that I'm actually testing out now which I'll update everybody on if I like it to see if I can tolerate it. So far. I'm tolerating it, but I'll stay for

Katie: 17:15

another time. All right. One, it's really silly. But I'm obsessed with these things. I have bought three of them and I just have to share it with my Nirvana sisters family. For 480 and 85. on Amazon, you can get the coziest slippers that I do. Obsessed with these. Here we go. I love them. They're there. Okay, so they're by par lovable. They're the women's cross band slippers soft, plush, very cozy open toe shoe and faux rabbit fur. And I have bought two gray pairs. Like wore them kind of you know that I can still wear them but they're not as fluffy and soft. They lasted a long time now. And now I've got a nice beige. Yeah, I'm wearing two beiges and grays this year, which is very new for me. So this is a beige pair but at this price, you could buy all 12 colors and just rotate them. Yeah, I'm

Amy: 18:16

that that's

Katie: 18:18

the thing that I like them is that you slide your foot into them like a flip flop and they stay on your foot like a flip flop whereas like I've always had a hard time with slippers. I don't know like the round toe ones off and then the ones I have to actually put on and they're not that comfortable. These are great. Yeah.

Amy: 18:35

That's really funny. I have those I don't know if it's the same brand but I got them at some point. And I have a camo color and that just reminds me I'm like maybe I should get another pair and like keep them in in the yard of the house. So I don't have to always look for my slippers because I feel like I'm always losing them or the dogs have them so I love that and those are so cozy. Okay, the last thing is something that I was testing that I do not like so I wanted to share it with our interesting family. So this is a brand I'm sure you've seen it on Instagram. Be tayo I

Unknown: 19:10

haven't

Amy: 19:11

it's this brand Malema. You haven't seen this. And a Ely s and they have I really wanted to like it. They have all of these different products for like lifting and firming and this one specifically is called be tight lift and firm booty mask and it's supposedly supposed to give you a firmer looking booty. It's a best seller. It's clinically proven to reduce the appearance of cellulite and help visibly from the look of skin around the booty in the thighs. Now I don't know if it works or not and I'll tell you why I stopped using it. So first of all, I've seen it all over the place and like of course got influenced to buy it and then I had a friend who I spoke to who also has that she has a for her stomach. There's like a stomach one. And she said it had tightened her stomach and she can tell when she's not using it that It makes the difference and I'm like, awesome. So I tried it obviously for like the cellulite on my thighs. And it's essentially kind of like a mask. It's like a thick cream and you just put a lot on and rub it in and all of that. The thing with it is it burns, which I don't like. And it's supposed to be I mean, let me see if I can just pull up the ingredients really quickly. Okay, so in the ingredient list, it says it's free of parabens, SLS, phthalates. It has pink. I can't say this pink pepper slim, which helps smooth the look of fatty skin. It has hyaluronic acid, which we just talked about. It has Guarana seed extract, which wakes up tired skin. Those are like the main ingredients. And then if you click there's like a bunch of other ingredients. So when I was first reading this, I was like, Oh, it seems like it has a nice ingredients like whatever. But it does have this sensation on the skin and they tell you that that it has like a warming sensation. But I just think it's weird, did it so like did

Katie: 21:08

my comrades burned uncomfortably or just kind of like a tingle?

Amy: 21:13

Yeah. No, it burned uncomfortably for me. So I don't know. It could just be my skin is sensitive to it. But then I asked my friend, and she had used it on her stomach. And she said, yeah, it does burn a little bit. You just like power through and you get used to it. I'm like, okay, so I used it a couple more times. And I was just like, I don't know, I had it on. And then like, my legs were kind of like burning, and I was like, Okay, well, it's working. So that's good. And then I put on jeans. And I'm like this is kind of uncomfortable. I'm like, I don't want to do this. So I still have it. Maybe I'll try it again. But I'm kind of just not into it because it burns and it just feels it almost feels like an I know it's not this. But it feels a bit of a chemical burn when you put on something like that happened to me once I put on like Ben gay and I went in the shower, I didn't realize you're not supposed to get it wet and like burned. Like it had that feeling of burning. That's what this felt like to me. So I'm like, How can this be good for you? Just a little bit.

Katie: 22:04

It's interesting, but also like the timing in once you did it like you did it before you were gonna have to put jeans on and go somewhere. Maybe if you did it at night when you could like how long do you have to have it on?

Amy: 22:16

It's just it's almost like you use it as your moisture. So you don't take it off. Yet. You just use it. Why wouldn't you? So it's not like you put it on and take it off. Right? So I and I have done it with like Just Sweats before because same exact thing. And it burns for like, it's not like five minutes. It's like half an hour or so. And then it goes away, then it goes away. So maybe it gets better over time. I have to like research more and anyone in the audience if you've tried it, please DM us and let us know. I'm just curious, I'd love to survey because, you know, for a lot of people it's gotten really good results. But so you feel now the reviews are really good

Katie: 22:53

even get the chance to see if it's effective.

Amy: 22:56

I didn't really give it the full chance. I only I've only used it maybe five times because I was just like this is so uncomfortable. Like I don't want to deal but maybe for other people would be different. But anyway, so that was my non recommendation of a product. Don't fall for it. It burns and if you don't want to sit around feeling a body part burn, then I wouldn't probably recommend that.

Katie: 23:16

I like this don't that we're going to that you just added I think that I might be able to bring one with me next time too.

Amy: 23:24

Yeah, because I think in the past it's like well, we'll we just don't talk about the things that we don't like but I think it's good to throw in here are there things that we like strongly do not agree hands, right. So anyway,

Katie: 23:36

all right. We will leave our listener Yeah, that was a good fun October junkies episode and we will be back in November with the next one. Hope everybody has a good Halloween.

Amy: 23:49

Hi. Thanks for listening to Nirvana sisters. For more information on this episode, check out the show notes please subscribe and leave us a review. also find us on Instagram at Nirvana sisters. If you loved what you just listened to or know someone that would please share it and tag us. Tune in next week for a fresh new episode of Nirvana sisters will continue to watch out for all things wellness so you don't have to. Bye.