Lady D. has a Pedi-saster!

Hey cupcakes! Inaword...fab's personal beauty reviewer and resident guinea pig, Lady D., is back and she is ready to chat-bout the personal pedicure system, The Ped Egg! Let the drama ensue...

Summertime means sandaltime, and with the beginning of the warm season we are bombarded with a bevy of foot care products to help with the tootsy-baring transition. Personally, those flimsy lotions and creams that proclaim to work miracles do nothing to soften my winter-hardened, Timberland-wearing-on-the-weekend heels (all Brooklyn girls love Timberlands), so when the Ped Egg infomercials began to air, I thought "Ingenious!" and reached for my Visa. (Oh, by the way, no need to order online or via informercial anymore, Ped Eggs are now available everywhere, including the ubiqituous Bed Bath and Beyond chain.) I mean, $10, what the hey...let's give it a try. And so began my strange journey into....well, let me explain, a-hem....

So, let me just say, the Ped Egg is effective. The little blades on the apparatus are serious. However, therein lies the problem! I overestimated the terribleness of my heels and went a bit crazy, scrubbing and slothing while enjoying a riveting episode of some mindless reality show. I probably did this for all of 5 or 6 minutes per foot, and finished my spa night by slathering on some thick-ass lotion and some socks. The next morning, my heels and the bottom of my feet were as smooth as a baby's tushy, looked great and felt great. I was excited, yall.

Around midday, however, as I'm stomping around in my heels at work, my left heel begin to sting. By the end of the evening, it was red and quite sore. Methinks I overdid it with the Ped Egg! I figured I would rub on some ointment and be OK in a few days, lesson learned. No, it wasn't that easy. The redness didn't go away. My left heel actually developed cracks where it was sore. What the.....? Are you kidding? I thought the Ped Egg was supposed to cure these ills? So I go online to my Bible of all things random, Google. And while there is a great many words of praise out there for this product, there are a few warnings. Short take-home message: be careful not to overdo it with the scrubbing, as the blades may cut too deep and cause infection. Great. I found a few complaints about soreness too. Lovely.

So, my sweets, unless your feet are Godzilla-like (ie- crusty man feet), I mean seriously rough and tough, there is really no need to use this product.....a simple pummus stone or footboard will do. An infection really is not worth it. Even I, who is not one to do the weekly pedicure thing, didn't need it as much a I thought. However, if your dogs look as if you have been walking for forty days and forty nights in the hot Middle Eastern sands with Moses and 'nem, and would like to give it a whirl, please, please, PLEASE, do me a favor and do not slough for more than a minute or so in a particular area, and slather generously with a heavy cream afterwards. Use no more than once a week! Because honestly, if you have super-thick calluses, your problems are bigger than the Ped Egg; hit up the podiatrist pronto.

Therefore: a big thumbs DOWN for the Ped Egg. I had high hopes. Too bad, so sad. AND, let me just say, I must give a pinky finger down as well for this product, as the cup-like part that's supposed to hold the foot shavings actually does not. You see, the shavings fall out of the holes near the blades, so that your cruddy foot shavings fall all over your sofa and floor. Nastiness. Yet another reason to stick with a regular foot file!

-Lady D.

Lady D. Does the Wave

Greetings creampuffs! I'd like to introduce you all to Lady D., my beauty advisor, makeup maven and skincare queen, who has graciously agreed to be the resident guinea pig, I mean, provide stellar product reviews for the inaword...fab family upon request. Her first assignment? The Neutrogena Wave! Tell me Lady-luv, is it a must? Or a bust?

The "Buzz" on the Neutrogena Wave

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Those who are blessed to be acquainted with me know that I love to give good face. My mantra when the clothes, hair or shoes are not working out is "...but YO, look at your glowing, smooth, and yummalicious skin. Go 'head wit yaself!" And out the door I go.

Because I am on a never-ending quest for the ultimate facial cleanser, when the lovely Elle asked me to comment on the Neutrogena WAVE for yall's beauty edification, I jumped at the chance. You're welcome. Here we go -

I have been using the WAVE for approximately 10 days, and I tell you, my face has been through all sorts of changes from day to day with this thing. In sum, I think the product is pretty good. It is certainly fun to use...it gives you a very gentle vibration that is quite relaxing (I was almost late to work a few days), and the cleanser has a pleasant, fresh smell to it. I did notice right away that my face was noticeably softer after the first use.

HOWEVER, I must say I have been through it with this thing for the first week, and not in a good way. Here's the prob - the pads have acne medication within them, designed to really clean out the old pores. Good right? Kinda. Upon the first use - BOOM! Pimple city. OK, only 2. The acne meds caused all the yucky oil to spring right up to the surface. Traumatized was I, but they went quickly enough, it actually helped some stubborn bumps I had on my face to erupt and then go away. So I continued onward with the WAVE.

Now, remember I said it was relaxing to use? Brain-surgeon me decides to buzz my face for like 5 minutes at a time. Bad move. The acne meds? They also dry out your skin something awful. I mean, I was desert-city. So days 4-7 saw my face very dry, red and flaky, especially in the areas I thought needed major work, like around my poor little nosey. So I went from pimples to really dry within a week. (Sigh) I remedied the dryness by dousing my face several times a day for about 2 days with thick moisturizer. By the end of the first week, I was somewhat back to normal.

Alright, so most of you would have tossed the thing by now, right? Not I, but for the greater good of smooth-skin-kind, I trodded onward for yalls. And I'm glad I did. With a few modifications, I now see the benefits every is raving about – softer, smoother skin, smaller to non-existent pores, and a sort of glow like I was just with a virile young man for a few hours…..LOL. So, my suggestions for use of the Wave?

1) Do NOT buzz your face for madd long; a minute or 2 will do. Try not to focus too long on one area, or you're guaranteed to be flaking in this area the next day.

2) Until Neutrogena decides to make pads without acne medication, use the WAVE daily, as opposed to twice a day to prevent dryness. I would recommend using the WAVE at night to get all the sweat, makeup and whatever else out of your pores. Try a creamy cleanser in the morning to moisturize. This also keeps you from running out of those expensive-ass pads (they're about $8 for 30, in the initial pack with the WAVE you get about 12).

3) Keep a good moisturizer handy in the event you do experience the drying effect of the pads.

4) Do NOT use the WAVE around the delicate eye area…take the pad off and gently cleanse afterwards, GENTLY.

Overall, I say give the WAVE a whirl. I have pretty sensitive, combo skin, and albeit a few minor mishaps, I'm pretty sure I will still stick with the product. I'm sure others have had vastly different experiences than I, so really, you must try for yourself. I pretty sure that those with oily skin will benefit the most. And, hey, if you hate it, well, it does vibrate……

Darling D, I can't thank you enough for putting your mug on the line for us! Talk to Lady D. in the comments, and if you have a product you'd like her to review, let me know at inawordfab@gmail.com. Kisses!