The Chronic Consumer

Since I use Clinique makeup almost exclusively, it makes sense that I would also use one of their cleansers as a makeup remover. I received a sample bottle of the Clinique Foaming Mousse Cleanser with a purchase several years ago, and have been hooked on it ever since.

The Clinique Foaming Mousse Cleanser is very light and gentle on my face, yet is extremely effective at removing foundation, eyeshadow, eyeliner, and lipstick in one fell swoop. All it takes is a pea-sized drop of the cleanser from its pump bottle to take care of your entire face. Because it foams so well and because I don’t wear makeup every single day, I find that a standard 4.2 oz bottle lasts a good, long time — like over a year. Since the product costs $19.50 at discount beauty supply stores, I’d say that’s a pretty good deal.

I should post a couple of warnings about this product, even though I’ve experienced no problems with it myself. First, I’ve heard that the Foaming Mousse Cleanser can leave your face extremely dry and flaky, to the point where you definitely wouldn’t want to use it anymore. Since I have oily skin, I haven’t encountered this particular issue, but I want to put it out there for you just in case.

In addition, even though the product is called a “cleanser”, it’s actually meant to be a pre-cleanser. In other words, you’ll probably want to follow it with other products, including toners and moisturizers, instead of just leaving your face be after using it.

Overall, I have been very happy with the way Clinique’s Foaming Mousse Cleanser works as a makeup remover. I can’t imagine relying on anything else at this point!

With the real estate market currently in a big mess, I know the conventional wisdom that buying is better than renting has been turned on its head. These days, a lot of so-called experts are telling us that renting may actually be the smarter financial decision, mostly because it will take many years for the housing market to rebound and for homeowners to recoup their cash.

But even though the experts are touting renting, it’s hard for me to get behind that philosophy. I’ve always been taught that renting is simply throwing away money because once the lease is up, you’ve got nothing to show for the dough you’ve spent. I mean, I can understand wanting to rent an apartment instead of buying a house if you don’t have enough cash for a down payment or whatever, but I don’t understand why you should rent if you can buy instead.

The same holds true for transportation. Leasing a car is one of the biggest money traps that you can get yourself into, so I wouldn’t recommend doing it. Instead of insisting on driving the newest vehicle on the lot, why not buy a used car to save money? Better yet, check out used Harleys to get an even better deal and save money on gas expenses to boot.

Personally, I would always choose to buy, but then again, I’m not much of a financial expert, so what do I know?!

The last post I made yesterday was from a restaurant while I was having dinner with my family. As I said, I was testing out blogging via cell phone, and am very stoked to see that everything worked smoothly. Being able to blog while out and about will allow me to make timely posts about interesting sales I come across, cool products that I want to buy, or even just great deals on Anoretix or whatever.

Posts that come in from my cell phone will likely be a heck of a lot shorter than they usually are, but that’s because even with a full QWERTY keyboard to work with, it takes a long time to punch out all the words.

Anyway, I’m very excited about posting with my cell phone from time to time — for now, at least. I’m sure the novelty will wear off soon enough!

This is a test post made from my cell phone. It is just from the phone browser itself, not from a third party app like Utterz or anything like that. If this works, then I will be able to post a bunch more stuff from my various shopping excursions!

Crossing my fingers now….

My husband recently bought a pretty cool “airsoft” gun that shoots 8mm plastic BBs. It’s an M.E.U. (Marine Expeditionary Unit) replica, and is a lot of fun to play around with. In fact, he’s currently thinking about joining a local club that has airsoft gun battles (similar to paintball fights) on the weekends.

Even though these battles would be waged with plastic BBs, there’s still the possibility of getting hurt, especially if opponents are using high-powered guns or rifles. So before joining up, Jerry is going to have to buy some tactical gear first. It doesn’t have to be the fancy bulletproof stuff, of course, just some lightweight stuff that’s camouflaged and will provide a little padding against the BBs.

I even took a few turns shooting the M.E.U. at a target, and thought it was awesome! Who knows, maybe I’ll end up joining in the fun as well!

I’ve got a whole slew of birthdays to buy for in September, including my grandfather’s. He’s getting on in years, and will be 88 (or maybe 89?) when his next b-day rolls around. He’s not doing very well health-wise, so I kind of want to get him something special — just in case this is the last birthday we get to celebrate together. I hope that doesn’t make me sound morbid; I’m simply trying to be a realist.

Anyway, at first I considered buying him a portable oxygen concentrator to help with his sleep disorders and general respiratory problems, but then I thought he probably wouldn’t like being reminded of his medical difficulties on his birthday. So now I’m trying to come up with something fun yet practical. Maybe a bigger flat-screen TV for his room since his failing eyesight makes it hard to watch his favorite shows now.

The good news is I still have three weeks to find the perfect present for Gramps. The bad news is I still don’t have any idea where to start!

I like to buy a few new Chicago Bears items before the start of each football season. Not only does the new apparel help get me psyched up for all the Sunday action, but it’s also usually necessary because I wear my football-related gear so much that it doesn’t last all that long.

This year is no exception, as I’ve been shopping around for some great products to add to my collection for ’08-’09. While browsing over at FansEdge.com earlier, I came across this very cool throwback jersey shirt that I would LOVE to have. It’s made from soda-rubber washed 100% cotton (whatever that means), with felt/distressed cotton applique lettering on the chest and chainstitch embroidery across the left shoulder (the words National Football Conference appear there).

Apparently, this is the kind of jersey that the old Chicago Bears wore, and I think it’s awesome! The only problem is that it costs $44.99, which is a bit on the high side for a long-sleeved shirt.

I’ve got one week until the season starts, so if I’m really gonna get this jersey, I better order it soon!

With as much time as I spend watching TV shows and movies here at home, I think investing in some nice home theater furniture would be well worth it in the long run. Well, I made the first step last week by purchasing a nice leather recliner for the living room, and am now thinking about what I should buy next. A popcorn machine? A sound system? Or maybe a real theater-style chair?

Whichever new product I decide to go with, I’m just happy that I’m making progress with my dream entertainment room!