Not Your Mother's Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray

RATING (out of 5 stars): 2.5 stars

COST: $5.99

THE SKINNY: Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray has a few good points.

This is not a salt spray that's going to make your hair sticky, crunchy or look wet. It adds texture and a little grit to my fine hair and helps me get a few waves.

It's made, so says the advertising, with Dead Sea salt and sea kelp. It doesn't leave my hair feeling dried out or damaged.

My one warning is with the spray nozzle, which is huge and sprays in a wide arc. If I had a lot of hair, I might appreciate it. But I have fine hair that's pretty short. So I end up spraying my face and shoulders and a lot of the bathroom floor.

The price is decent for the product. Most good salt sprays cost closer to $20. I got this at CVS for $6.

KEEP OR TOSS: Keep, but only because I paid for it. I don't love it, but I don't hate it either.

CHECK IT OUT: Find this product in drugstores and higher-end makeup stores such as Ulta.

-- Tested by Shay

Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette

RATING (out of 5 stars): 3.5 stars

COST: $36

THE SKINNY: This is a great neutral palette that is perfect for everyday wear. Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette includes nine great shades -- some more matte, some with more shimmer -- the go great with almost anything.

The colors are deep and rich and long wearing. With a little primer, the color held all day long. This palette by Too Faced is comparable to Urban Decay's Naked line ... and works almost as well.

I really enjoyed the included "Glamour Guide" to help create specific looks using the palette.

The shimmery colors have just enough sheen to not be obnoxious if you are older than 17 and the matte browns provide perfect accent. (Mix and match mattes and shimmers for the most refined looks.)

Seriously though, can you ever have enough great browns?

KEEP OR TOSS: Keep!

CHECK IT OUT: Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette came in a recent Pop Sugar Must Have box (worth more than the cost of the box alone). I highly recommend this monthly box. Try it now!

-- Tested by Carrie

24clearit Acne Treatment System

RATING (out of 5 stars): 4 stars

COST: $39.95

THE SKINNY: The 24clearit Acne Treatment System is a four-step skin care system similar to products such as Proactiv. But I like 24clearit a lot better.

While I did change the instructions a little to suit my skin, it was a lot more nurturing and less drying than other treatment plans. I used the kit for 30 days and saw a pretty significant difference.

Even as a 30-something, acne tends to pop up. But I need something that does not stress my skin out. The day and night moisturizers in this kit left my face feeling pretty awesome and the cleanser was easy to use and did not feel too medicinal.

Plus, my somewhat unpredictable skin looks better -- fewer blackheads and pop-up zits -- than it has in a while. This system does warn that some drying is possible when you are starting the program but 72 percent of users started seeing results within the first two weeks of use (so these things cancel each other out).


Here's how to use the kit:

And this is how I used it:

• Cleanser -- Once per day
• Toner -- Occasionally, but most often after a post-workout shower
• AM Treatment -- Every other day before makeup
• PM Treatment -- Every other night, opposite of the AM treatment

KEEP OR TOSS: Keep.

CHECK IT OUT: You can buy this kit right now for half off from Total Beauty Shops using this link and the code 50OFF (while supplies last).

-- Tested by Carrie

DISCLOSURE: Total Beauty Shops provided the product for this review.
The opinions stated are those of Beauty Test Dummies alone. 

Laneige BB Cushion

RATING (out of 5 stars): 4 stars

COST: $34

THE SKINNY: This is the best BB cream I've tried. That's saying a lot because I've been a devoted fan of Urban Decay's Naked Skin BB cream for years. But Laneige is better because it's even lighter on the skin, something that's really important now that summer is here.

This BB cream is very wet and glides onto the skin, correcting little lines and blemishes and leaving my skin with that "dewy" look we older girls crave. The coverage lasts all day, and I don't feel the product on my skin.

The sponge thing is a little weird. Honestly, I'd much rather have a lotion. But a lotion would never go so lightly. (So thanks, Ipsy, for putting a the sample in my bag.)

This product is SPF 50 and offers UVA and UVB protection. But don't think about that. I don't use nearly enough of the BB cream to get any sun protection benefits from it.

Your options are light, medium and dark. My skin is pretty fair, even in the summer, and I can wear either the light or the medium, depending on how much coverage I want. Medium, not surprising, seems to mask more.

KEEP OR TOSS: Keep.

CHECK IT OUT: You can find Laniege BB Cushion at Target, among other retailers.

-- Tested by Shay

Hang Ten Classic Sport SPF 50

RATING (out of 5 stars): 2 stars

COST: $12.99

THE SKINNY: I remember Hang Ten sun products from the 1980s. Who knew the brand was still around?

Not me. I had a little chuckle when I opened a recent Ipsy bag and saw a large sample of Hang Ten Classic Sport.

The product is exactly as I remember from the '80s, too. That's not good. Today's products are light, oil-free and often come in aerosol cans. Hang Ten Classic Sport is watery and a little sticky and left my skin feeling oily.

I used the sunscreen during a recent tennis match in partly sunny and 90+ degree temperatures. I didn't get sunburned, but if I touched my skin I got that sheen on my fingers. At the end of the match, I just felt sticky.

KEEP OR TOSS: Keep, but only because it's good to throw in my workout bag.

CHECK IT OUT: If you want to try it, buy online at Hang Ten's site.

-- Tested by Shay