Category: beauty

In search of a fix for my thinning hair, I found Youtheory Collagen tablets. But I wasn’t sure if they’d work, and I didn’t fully trust the profit-driven world of supplements.

Trigger warning: animal cruelty, discussion of hair problems

On mom’s side of the family

Hair starts to thin, starting at a certain age. I saw this happen with my grandma and 2 of my aunts. My mom, sister, myself, and a first cousin—our hair has started thinning, in varying degrees.

The issue seems to happen with the women, and seeing this in my family, I’m thinking it’s maybe in our genes. And as a non-medical professional who, like many of us, Google health or existential stuff at night while eating potato chips and ice cream, the issue is maybe female pattern hair loss.

So I started with a Google search…

And I found that collagen was something that could improve my skin, and possibly make my hair stronger. But reading some parts of those articles made me go like…

Collagen supplements, according to Harvard

This Harvard article talks about collagen supplements being beneficial for the skin, based on “randomized controlled trials.” Improvements in hair, in particular, are not made clear, and there isn’t enough data on human studies.

(Surprise) Research is funded by the industry…

The article adds that “most if not all” of the research is funded, in part or in full, by those that may stand to gain something from a good press release on collagen. It remains unclear if collagen supplements really are as effective. Some may also have heavy metals in them.

Lastly, there is not enough data to support the idea that consuming collagen instantly means better skin or joints. What’s recommended is eating food that will help the body produce collagen, rather than supplementing with collagen.

Food sources of collagen cited are red meat and fish. And then there are foods that have the amino acids that create collagen: poultry, beans, lentils, peas, dairy, eggs, and soy.

Read more of the informative article here.

PROS / What I LIKE about Youtheory Collagen

Probably my 5th or 6th bottle of Youtheory Collagen

A quick search on Amazon showed me these collagen supplements that came in the form of tablets. The product piqued my interest because of the ratio of positive to negative reviews. Its pricing was also competitive. It seemed more affordable than a lot of the collagen peptides.

What’s in these collagen tablets?

Each tablet contains 1 gm (1,000 mg) of hydrolyzed collagen. The back of the product shows that 6 tablets per day is recommended for adults. Is that a lot?

But the proof is in the pudding

And if that pudding is my thicker hair, then I think this product works.

At least for me. Idk. It seems I have thicker hair again on my head and brows, compared to before using these.

How does Youtheory Collagen make me feel?

While I didn’t buy Youtheory Collagen (YOUTHeory / YOUtheory) to grow my hair and mostly wanted to restore some of my hair’s thickness, my hair seems to have grown faster than usual.

Another thing is that I either have REALLY nice coworkers, or they’re experts at faking a shocked expression and saying, “There is NO way” when I tell them my age.

And to think that right now, I’m taking less

Than the recommended amount. Because I’m frugal and try to save money. There is another reason that I’m doing this, and I’ll go into this below.

Still, to me, there is a visible difference in the thickness of my hair now versus before. In fact, my sister grabbed my ponytail the other day and said that my hair looked and felt thicker.

How thick?

Thick, I guess, for me, and compared to how thin my hair had become prior to taking Youtheory Collagen tablets.

Of course, this is relative. Even if I were to water a Japanese maple tree daily for 20 years, it would never grow into the size of a mighty sequoia. That said, my hair likely won’t get as thick as that of a person who naturally has much thicker hair.

I do feel that Youtheory Collagen has made my hair possibly as thick as it can get, given my age (I know I sound teenager-ish, but girl… my OB said I was “advanced maternal age”), genetics, and the fact that I’m not taking the recommended 6 tablets daily.

What makes me believe Youtheory Collagen tablets work?

There aren’t other supplements that I’m taking for my hair or skin. Plus, my diet has stayed the same for 20-something years.

This is why I’m finding it hard not to assume that the Youtheory Collagen tablets work.

In some twisted way, a part of me wishes I could say that Youtheory Collagen turned out to be one of the many fraudulent products on the market.

So I don’t need to keep buying it. lol.

(It’s like when you buy seafood so cheap that you end up not eating it… because it’s probably radioactive, right?

Or maybe they dropped it on a really dirty street and forgot it there for 2 hours. Idk.)

I’ve probably bought fraudulent supplements in the past. Random products with many hollow promises and claims. Maybe a lot of us have. That said…

I seem to have much less hair fallout

I used to have a ton of what looked like “bangs” (or cowlicks or whatnot) that stood up, around my hairline. Except they weren’t bangs.

They were baby hairs from my hair falling out and then slowly regrowing one by one.

Now those unasked-for non-salon bangs are no longer bangs because they seem to have clung on to my scalp long enough to turn into the length of my other hair. It seems this only began happening when I started taking Youtheory Collagen tablets.

Youtheory seems transparent

At least it doesn’t look like they’ve tried to hide information. Like the source of their collagen. On that note…

CONS / What I DON’T LIKE about Youtheory Collagen

On the product’s Amazon page, it states that the product is “Dairy-free, Soy-free and contains No Gluten Ingredients.” But they also claim that they source their collagen from bovine + “may also use sources from fish and/or chicken” (scroll down to the quality first area of the Amazon infographic).

‘bovine’

almost like a euphemism for “cows”

Am I the only one that finds the whole dairy-free yet bovine-sourced thing a bit strange? Maybe even misleading? Because it’s kind of like saying…

Hair grows everywhere

And because I wouldn’t stop talking about Youtheory Collagen to my sister, my sister has also decided to try these collagen tablets. She also takes extra biotin. We had a conversation the other day about how in taking these, hair seems to grow faster everywhere.

My sister’s mentioned that she’s starting to hate how often she’s had to shave. Not an issue for me, but my sister is not the biggest fan of it.

Am I contributing to climate change?

By also using a product that’s mostly sourced from cows? Probably.

Is it a unique product?

It isn’t. There are plenty of collagen peptides and similar products on the market. I also wonder about the product’s purity. I have used other highly rated collagen tablets throughout the years, and they seem to have worked in helping maintain my mane.

And because I’ve been using alternatives, I’m not sure anymore which one is most effective.

At this point, I have to wonder if some tentacled, green collagen monster is about to pop out from somewhere and go…

Similar Collagen Products

21st Century Super Collagen Plus Vitamin C Supplements $

Spring Valley Collagen Type 1 & 3, Plus Vitamin C $

Vital Vitamins Multi Collagen for Women & Men $$

Would I recommend Youtheory Collagen?

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🌠(4.5 / 5)

Youtheory Collagen tablets were effective for me. I wanted to maintain my hair’s thickness, and the tablets seem to have helped me do that.

You can decide for yourself if you want to try these. You may experience improvements in your skin and hair, too.

Have you tried Youtheory Collagen or similar products? Share your thoughts with me in the comments.

I saw the Too Faced Mr Perfect Foundation Brush and it was love at first sight. My other foundation tools were meh. But did Mr Perfect sweep me off my feet?

A journey of trial & error

I learned how to apply makeup from makeup artists in my town. They mostly used sponges, and it looked like makeup sponges applied foundation just fine. Of course, I had no basis for comparison.

On YouTube, every beauty influencer hawks beauty tools

Telling us they’re “the latest must-have,” these tools always pique my interest. ‘New’ must mean new and improved, new discoveries, better technology, better overall product. Better than what I’m using.

We want what we don’t have.

I tried a bunch of these tools. Yet each one had issues. One left streaks, while another developed mold. A certain brush seemed to work well but absorbed a lot of foundation.

One silicone thing wasn’t porous, so no mold worries. Except it didn’t apply foundation well—as if it didn’t understand pores at all. In effect, failing to serve its only function.

There were so many products that I had to draw the line somewhere. And this was at using latex (yes, the one for protection, to apply foundation). Anyone remember that era? Don’t use that on your face.

And so when I got an Ulta gift card for my birthday…

I paid $30+ for Mr Perfect, and had my mail-order maybe soulmate shipped to me. This was a splurge. Because I tend to gravitate towards cheap things that work well. And I don’t like being sold to.

But the gift card was just for Ulta, and I figured this foundation brush should blow all the other foundation application tools out of the water. I mean, it’s pricier, and people always say that “you get what you pay for.” Besides, he’s called Mr Perfect. So he must be the right one..?

PROS / What I LIKE about the Mr Perfect Foundation Brush

Seeing Mr Perfect Foundation Brush for the first time was, of course, love at first sight.

How does one not fall in love with Mr Perfect?

The bow tie, the robin’s egg blue or muted teal, the gold on the handle. This is the brush version of Casablanca’s Rick Blaine, Funny Girl’s Nick Arnstein.

In a world of makeup brushes that are just randos, Mr Perfect has a strong, unique, breathtaking identity.

Kudos to Too Faced for this good marketing strategy.

The Mr Perfect Foundation Brush doesn’t absorb foundation like dairy cattle

Natural brush bristles seem to absorb foundation in a way that really soaks up the product. And I think this is why it’s easier for those other brush types to stain.

Mr Perfect, on the other hand, seems to use some type of brush material that does not absorb foundation into its bristles.

And while I’m not sure exactly what this artificial material is, the ProArte article “Natural Vs Synthetic Makeup Brushes: What’s The Difference?” tells us that synthetic hairs are usually made of “nylon, polyester, or other synthetic materials.”

It maintains its form

Almost as if Mr Perfect goes to the gym. The brush, with its synthetic bristles, seems to wash fine and maintain its form.

Will probably last a long time—maybe a decade or so

While the bow tie comes off and is likely to get lost, the brush itself does seem durable. This does seem to be a foundation brush that will last a long time.

Although in shopping-crazy America, do we still buy cheaper things that we expect to last forever?

I feel like many of us sometimes buy new things to fill that void from being overworked. 🤷🏻‍♀️

CONS / What I DON’T LIKE about the Mr Perfect Foundation Brush

As I used this foundation brush daily, I got to know Mr Perfect. And I realized that with its synthetic bristles, foundation stays on the bristles. In theory, this might be a good thing. No stains, less bacteria buildup, and it’s easier to clean the brush. But because I don’t clean my brush after each use, foundation tends to build up and clump on the brush.

And I’m probably not alone in doing this. Google results tell us that it’s best to wash our makeup brushes about once every two weeks. You could probably bump that up to once every 3 days, if you’re thorough. As for this working mama with a toddler, no. Gurl. I just can’t find the time.

It felt plasticky on my face

Since the brushes are synthetic, it probably makes sense that the hairs will feel like plastic on your face. Yeah. Like using tiny plastic bristles on your face.

Mr Perfect Foundation Brush vs Mr Whatever

I compared the result of the Mr Perfect brush to the cheap, flat contour brush that I’ve used to apply foundation before writing this review. Just to remember and confirm. And yep, the cheaper brush is better. Which is just unfortunate because I paid much, much more for Mr Perfect.

I feel a bit scammed, really.

And then there were streaks

This is likely from the residue foundation on the brush, which makes the bristles clump in places and create spaces between them. I remember seeing the streaks even after buffing out my foundation for a bit.

I stopped seeing Mr Perfect…

Whenever it came time to apply foundation, I would just use whatever brush or tool was available. This was something I did for a while without realizing it. Until one day, I woke up and came to realize that…

Sadly, the romantic appeal of Mr Perfect is its biggest selling point.

Now, at any given time, I’m ready to profess my undying love to Estée Lauder, the brand that owns Too Faced, because they make the Double Wear foundation and eyeliner that I swear by. But I really feel like the Mr Perfect Foundation Brush is hyped and overpriced.

Reminds me of that time I visited a cute NYC café…

This NYC café is popular because of a cute rom-com that was filmed there. People who loved the movie make a pilgrimage to this place. But no matter what I did, I couldn’t convince myself that their special chocolate drink was anything to write home about. So when my mom called, I told her it was just OK.

Sometimes it’s just the story that makes people feel good about a product and deem the product special.

And I guess that goes for many things with a good story. And Mr Perfect is no exception.

Similar Foundation Brushes

Now that my whirlwind romance with Mr Perfect is over and mascara tears have run down my face from regret, here are 2 similar foundation brushes to consider.

Real Techniques Expert Face Makeup Brush $

Tarte Shape Tape™ Double-Ended Complexion Brush $

Tarte The Buffer™ Brush $$

I can’t recommend the Too Faced Mr. Perfect Foundation Brush

⭐⭐⭐ (3 / 5)

At the end of the day, I feel like the Mr Perfect Foundation Brush is a lot like that one good-looking person you once dated. A lot of us have dated someone like that. You know the one—the cutie we were always excited to introduce to random people. Until it dawned on us that since day one, we’ve been paying for everything.

Expectation vs reality

I think I never needed the Mr Perfect Foundation Brush. What I thought was the perfect solution turned out to be a broken promise. I’d just dreamt up a fairytale.

So it wasn’t a happily ever after with the Mr Perfect Foundation Brush

At this point, I’ve gone back to my meh foundation tools and often use the cheap flat contour brush to apply foundation. The one that absorbs a lot of product. But at least it doesn’t streak leave streaks. I’ve gone full circle and also sometimes use makeup sponges—the flat ones.

The cheap contour brush I came crawling back to is loose around the ferrule and is barely hanging on to the handle. Nothing some hot glue can’t fix. 😉

But I think I can live with that. This is my knight in non-shining armor rn. I don’t care what people think anymore.

Maybe perfection doesn’t exist…

Or maybe I say that because I haven’t found it.

Maybe sometimes someone something seems perfect, and it all seems as advertised and looks good on paper.

Then you run into them at a remote breakfast nook at 4:14AM after a night out with your friends, and they’re wearing the same immaculately fitted oxford shirt as the guy they’re with that looks a lot like them.

You realize they’re really not the person—err—brush you thought they were.

Letting go of Mr Perfect Foundation Brush

I started this review years back. Never got to finish it because life happened. I tried finding the Mr Perfect foundation brush again, just so I could post additional pictures, like of the streaky foundation, etc. But idk. I can’t find Mr Perfect anymore.

Maybe that’s OK. Because Mr Perfect was never what I was looking for. And somewhere in the deep corners of my mind, I hope Mr Perfect is out there, happy to have found their Mr Perfect.

Got any foundation brushes or tools to recommend? Please share in the comments.

Seeing the Anastasia 7B Brow Brush in a video ad piqued my interest. I’ve simply gotten to that age where my brows are desperately hanging on. Below, I review the 7B brush, used with the Anastasia DIPBROW pomade.

Summary (TL;DR)

Since we have hair thinning in our family

Past a certain age, the women in my family experience hair fallout, and hair thinning around the hairline. What this also means is thinning brows. I’m at that point where my brows are struggling to hang on, and it’s become important to use quality brow products now, more than ever.

When baby and I pick up brother from school, I feel the need to do this very basic, polished look .

The purpose of this is simple: so the kids at the school don’t get scared.

For the most part, this polished look means keeping my hair and brows neat.

Less brows = more freedom

With my brow hairs being barely there, I realized that I was free to recreate whatever brow shape I wanted. So now my brows can become whatever they want to be, depending on my mood.

I went through a period of experimentation where I was obsessed with finding the perfect brow shape for my face. Maybe there’s one that could look even better than my natural brow shape?

#1 can obviously look great—on others. Including IMO two of the world’s most beautiful women that ever lived, Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor.

On me, though? Nah, brah.

When I tried #1, I feel like I looked really lost and angry. It was as if suddenly, my brows were this drill sergeant, and the rest of my features were terrified of the drill sergeant.

Maybe no part of my face should be much stronger than the rest, I thought.

Deciding on a brow look

After some experimentation with different brow looks, I figured I like brows that are natural-ish. Fuzzy as a whole, like powder brows, but the outline that would otherwise form the blocky brows look is blurred out and given definition. This is done by drawing in individual brow hairs that appear brushed diagonally upwards.

No straight lines forming 1 big brow block, as with #1 up there—this is not a look that I like, personally.

And I figured, the best brush for this would likely be a thin, stiff brow brush that could draw “brows.”

Seeing the 7B brow brush at work in a video ad

This was probably a targeted ad, as my smart phone knew what I was looking for.

I saw the girl in the ad using the dual-ended Anastasia 7B brow brush to draw in each brow hair. The drawn brows looked so good on the girl. Granted, beauty brands will hire a beautiful model.

And as these things go, the video suggested that maybe I—I mean my brows—could look like that, too.

So I ended up buying the brush. At the time, it was $18 online. It’s $20 now at the official Anastasia Beverly Hills site, and around $27 at Sephora.

PROS / What I LIKE about the Anastasia 7B brow brush

The #1 thing that attracted me to the brush was the thinness of the strokes it could draw.

Picks up product well

Whether that product is brow powder, or brow pomade. Is it the brush’s synthetic material or the bristles’ firmness? Whichever one it is, it’s easy to love the 7B’s perfectly even bristles. Which applies product in a controlled manner. Pigment is applied where you want it to go.

The bristles are firm

With this, the Anastasia 7B brow brush appears to get pigment a bit deeper into the skin, and I assume this makes the product stay put more somewhat, compared to a brush with softer bristles that don’t really get the product in there.

The other end has a spoolie

Though far from unique, it’s nice to have a spoolie for brushing brow hairs into place. Or blurring out any unwanted harsh lines that start to form the blocky brows look. At least I use it for that purpose, too.

Above, the Anastasia 7B brow brush showed strength and consistency by drawing a sharp, clean line, compared to the other brow brushes. See how the one on the far right created the messiest stroke. Some of those other eyebrow brushes were cheap. Maybe sometimes, you really do get what you pay for? 🤔

It’s also hard not to value the fact that the synthetic Anastasia 7B brow brush is ‘cruelty-free.’

Works great with the ABH DIPBROW pomade

The taupe shade that I got the Anastasia Beverly Hills DIPBROW pomade in seems to be 1 of the rare taupe shades that shows on my olive or tan complexion.

Now I’m that person that doesn’t always like to buy what others are buying, or believe hype. I like to see things for myself. I don’t think that slapping the ‘designer’ or ‘high end’ label onto something instantly means that something is a quality product. Or that it’s worth its higher price tag.

That said, the ABH DIPBROW pomade is heavily pigmented, and has a good, creamy consistency that is easy to work with. It also has 4 grams of product, which should last a while. This is a gram less than 2 comparable brow pomades, which are the Tarte Big Ego Frameworker and Benefit’s POWmade.

CONS / What I DON’T LIKE about the Anastasia 7B brow brush

The Anastasia 7B brow brush and DIPBROW pomade may be less expensive when cost per use ($0.06 x 1 year) and cost per gram ($5.25) are factored in, but all in all, I feel like I compromise my time and convenience when I use these 2.

This is the process of using the Anastasia 7B brow brush and DIPBROW pomade:

dip, draw, dip, draw, dip, draw

It’s like writing with a quill. Which is an old timey thing. As are pomades.

Now if you’re drawing in like 3 brow hairs per brow every time, that’s probably fine.

But if you need to draw in like 60% of your brows strand by strand x 2 brows every time, then it is a pain.

So then it comes down to this one question: how much time do you have?

Not time-friendly

As with the Mr Perfect brush, you also need to clean the 7B brow brush at least once every couple of weeks. Granted, it is a small brush and will clean and dry fast. But cleaning is necessary, to avoid bacteria and product buildup.

“Well dog my cats, it requires cleaning?! Ugsome.“

The Anastasia 7B brow brush drew sharper lines at first

But after some use and with more product ending up between the bristles, the brush somehow started drawing slightly more blurred out ‘hairs.’ For a sharper line, it needs to be cleaned more regularly.

It’s a bit expensive

The 7B brush seems to be upper mid range in price, when it comes to highly rated angled brow brushes. But maybe the precision is worth it, as it seems to be the thinnest brow brush available for drawing in “brow hairs.”

For reference, I own the Morphe M165 angled “boy brows” brush ($5), is around a quarter of the price of the 7B. There’s also the Sonia Kashuk™ Professional Angled Brow Makeup Brush with Spoolie No. 301 ($7) from Target.

There are also more expensive designer brow brushes, like the NARS #27 Brow Defining Brush costs $22, and the Dior Backstage Double Ended Brow Brush No. 25 is $32.

I didn’t end up looking like the girl in the ad

Not that I expected to. Or idk. Maybe I kind of did. 😉

The butterfly logo

I’m being petty here, but I can’t say I’m a fan of the Anastasia Beverly Hills butterfly logo. The rose gold does add that pop of oomph, consistent with designer/luxury branding.

But I feel that the shape of the butterfly could be updated.

The form somehow reminds me of earlier shapes, like the font Script MT Bold, which was created for Microsoft in the 90’s.

Comparing the 7B brush and DIPBROW pomade with another brow product

When I’m pressed for time, which is a lot of times (I’ve said about 100x now that I have 2 kids and a night job), using the 7B brow brush and DIPBROW pomade is not my best option.

In fact, these 2 ultimately pushed me towards alternatives: micro brow pencils.

Yes, those are an entirely different product, and in many ways not a fair comparison. But drawing in “brow hairs” being my main goal, it seems micro brow pencils and similar products give me “brow hairs” with less fuss, compared to the ABH duo.

Although for what it’s worth, micro brow pencils are shockingly more expensive. Take the 0.08 gram Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil, for example. At $27, the cost per gram of product would be an astounding $337.50. That’s 64+ times more expensive than DIPBROW at $5.25 per gram.

And with such a small amount of product, it’s easy to go through a few micro brow pencils per year. But they don’t need maintenance, and you just draw, draw, draw. No dipping or sharpening required, either. This seems to offer the path of least resistance in getting “brow hairs.”

But maybe the 7B that will likely last a decade and DIPBROW pomade ultimately mean less waste.

Consider, too, that the shelf life for pomades and eyebrow pencils is the same: about 1 year. So even if you’re left with more DIPBROW pomade at the end of the year, and you weren’t able to use all of it, it’s time to throw it out just the same.

The 7B Brow Brush vs a Micro Brow Pencil

The DIPBROW pomade dried up fast

Finally, while the Anastasia DIPBROW pomade pot had plenty of product in it, it didn’t last a full year.

It dried up within months, and became unusable.

Similar brow solutions

Tarte Big Ego Frameworker Brow Pomade $$

Billion Dollar Beauty Eyebrow Brush $$

MAC 208S Angled Brow Brush $$

Procedures: microblading, ombre brows, powder brows $$$$

I could recommend the Anastasia 7B Brow Brush

⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4 / 5)

And the DIPBROW pomade, if you can use that much product within months. Unless they’ve reformulated it, the product, it seems, will dry up fast.

Despite my issues with the 7B, it’s impossible not to appreciate its relative precision, and the fact that it will very likely last a long time. I think I still have some makeup brushes in good form, from over 10 years ago.

Is the 7B the thinnest angled brow brush available?

It seems to be, but I think I have smaller angled brushes that are possibly the same or similar in thinness.

Is the 7B brush rare, or a rip-off?

Rare? It seems. A rip-off? The comparative price is not bad. And the Anastasia 7B brow brush does seem like a quality brush.

And I always welcome the opportunity to add a quality brush to my arsenal.

What brow look do you prefer? Is there a brow brush that you swear by? Any must-try brow products you’d recommend? Share your experience in the comments.