New rubric -

I've promised it a while ago - "I ain't no Paris Hilton". As you probably have guessed, it's about money; or, rather, about not having much money. I'm not going to annoy you with stuff like "make your own reusable kitty litter"; instead, I will talk about great products - and by "great" I mean both effective and affordable.

Let's start with cuticle oil (lotion, cream, pen, balm - you decide). A definite must if you want healthy and good looking nails.

The choices are overwhelming: from Dollar Tree finds to whooping $12.

I really wanted to know if a higher price=better quality and results. So I performed a little experiment. I picked two cuticle oils:
A Fancy One - Barielle Intensive Nail Renewal Oil, $12.5
A Homely One - Haken Cuticle Oil available from Sally's, $4.99

Fancy guy ingredients: GLYCINE SOJA OIL, VITIS VINIFERA SEED OIL, ORYZA SATIVA BRAN OIL, TRICAPRYLIN, PERSEA GRATISSIMA OIL, PRUNUS ARMENIACA KERNEL OIL, JUGLANDS REGIA SEED OIL, BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII, ROSMARINUS OFFICINALIS LEAF OIL, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, OLEIC ACID, PALMITIC ACID, RETINYL PALMITATE (AND) CHOLECALCIFEROL, PARFUM
/Sorry for excessive caps here, I just copy-pasted from Barielle web site/

Haken: Sufflower oil, apricot kernel oil, canola oil, vitamins A and E, essential oil (they need to elaborate here, don't you think?) and jojoba.

I have been using Barielle and Haken on my left hand - pointer/ring finger and middle/pinky, respectively. Yes, two oils on the same hand - for the sake of my experiment.

The results:
Click on the picture to open a big one, and tell me if you see a difference, I dare you.

They both apply and sink in very well. Cuticles look and feel moisturized immediately after you apply either Barielle or Haken. Haken smells much better, thou, and comes in a range of scents: Strawberry Kiwi, Vanilla Almond, Mango and Tropical.

Bottom line: expensive cuticle care delivers great results (as long as you don't forget to use it); but so does affordable, readily available cuticle oil. As long as you use it regularly. Even olive oil will whip your cuticles into shape, just massage it in at least twice a day.


PS: I got Barielle in a local TJMaxx for $4.99. But it's not relevant.