A #BuyProduct @DoveCanada Style+Care Frizz-Proof Cream Serum #Haircare

Buy Product of Cathy Thinking Out Loud:

I'm Thinking Out Loud About What Products to Buy

Dove Style+Care Frizz-Proof Cream Serum 

Growing up my Mom had a term: It is buy-like or look-like. Meaning is it nice enough to actually buy or just nice to look at. Deciding if a product is worth spending your hard earn cash on can be challenging, and I'd like to help by sharing my product experiences with you.

Why it's a Buy Product:

Dove Style+Care Frizz-Proof Cream Serum (under $5) is definitely a #BuyProduct in my opinion. I can't remember a time when I could wash my hair and just run a brush through it, without fighting tangles and knots, even after using generous amounts of conditioner. It isn't just a problem of the ouch factor, my hair ends up breaking and damaged from brushing through the tangles. In an effort to put an end to this "hair-endous" situation I purchased this Dove product for 2 reasons: I'd purchased Dove's Mens Hair products and my kids and Hubby seemed to like them, and the price. Not really knowing what I was looking for or needed, I wasn't willing to invest a small fortune in high-end products while I figured it out. The $3.74 I paid for this serum seemed like a pretty low risk place to start my quest for hair happiness. 

WOW! It worked like a charm!

• This serum worked wonders on hair manageability whether applied to wet or dry hair.
• Cream formula is easy to work through hair.
• Made styling my hair so much easier!
• Almost completely ended my issues with tangles and knots. In the past I struggled with my brush pulling and sticking to my hair, but with this product I can easily brush through my hair without pulling or breakage. 
• Easy to use dispenser.
• It doesn't weigh down my hair or impact volume.
• It goes on smooth with a natural look, without appearing like I have product in my hair. 
• Gives my hair a smooth, shiny look and reduces the look of frizziness. 
• Can't beat the price point. 
• It even smells nice. 

Note: If this came in a foam format making it easier to control the amount and distribution of product, and still worked as well, I'd be over the moon. 

If you have feedback, or know a product you really like, please share. I always feel better shelling out my hard earned cash on a product if I know others have tried it, and were happy with their experience and purchase. 

Yep, just me Cathy thinking out loud about "buy-products" and products worth buying.

Note: I have not been compensated in any way for this post. The purpose of this post is merely to share with my readers my personal experience with these products. All opinions are my own.

My #BuyProduct Recomendation: #SoftLipsCube 5-in-1 Lip Care

Buy-Products of Cathy Thinking Out Loud

My Recommendations on What Products to Buy

Soft Lips Cube 5-in-1 Lip Care

Growing up my Mom had a term: It is buy-like or look-like. Meaning is it nice enough to actually buy or just nice to look at. Deciding if a product is worth spending your hard earn cash on can be challenging, and I'd like to help by sharing my product experiences with you. 

Why it's a Buy-Product:

Softlips Cube 5-in-1 Lip Care: Peach-Mango (around $5) Softlips Cube is a Buy-Product.

Beyond the Balm: What are the 5's in 1 cube? Hydrates, Replenishes, Smooths, Protects, Adds Shine.

Well I'm not sure about replenishes, but it does seem to hydrate nicely, and has SPF 15 to protect, and indeed adds shine.

• I like the look of the design, size and format ... what can I say ... it's cute.
• Small and compact so perfect to throw in your purse, pocket or backpack.
• The format offers a larger surface than a twist-up style, which allows for easy application, and seems less likely to break a twist-up balm.
• I like that it has SPF 15 sun protection. 
• It goes on nicely and leave my lips feeling soft and looking smooth.
• I like that I get some shine without being a full on gloss.
• I doesn't feel heavy or sticky. 
• The Peach-Mango cube I have smells nice, but isn't strong or overwhelming. 
• Over all I think at around $5 it's good value, and I would buy it again.

Note: It would have been nice if I could have found more product information on the Canadian site. Most of the product information I found was on the US Softlips site. My confidence in a brand is influenced by how user-friendly their site is to access information about the product and the brand. 

You can find Softlips Canada on Facebook 

If you have feedback, or know a product you really like, please share. I always feel better shelling out my hard earned cash on a product if I know others have tried it, and were happy with their experience and purchase. 

Yep, just me Cathy thinking out loud about "buy-products" and products worth buying.

Note: I have not been compensated in any way for this post. The purpose of this post is merely to share with my readers my personal experience with these products. All opinions are my own.

My #BuyProduct Recommendations: @MaybellineCAN #FitMeFoundation & #FitMeBlush

Buy-Products of Cathy Thinking Out Loud: 

My Recommendations on What Products to Buy. 

Maybelline's Fit Me Shine-Free Foundation and Fit Me Blush

Growing up my Mom had a term: It is buy-like or look-like. Meaning is it nice enough to actually buy or just nice to look at. Deciding if a product is worth spending your hard earn cash on can be challenging, and I'd like to help by sharing my product experiences with you. 

Why it's a Buy-Product:

Maybelline Fit Me Shine-Free Foundation (under $8)

Maybelline's Fit Me Foundation is a buy-like buy-product in my opinion, and I would definitely recommend this product.

• Good price point.
• 11 shades making matching my pigment challenged skin colour easy.
• Stick format makes it easy to take on the go and and store in a purse with less chance of breakage compared to compact, or to leak like a liquid.
• Stick makes it easy to apply.
• Light-weight and gives a nature look.
• Good coverage to even out skin tone
• Gel outer circle makes this foundation glide on smoothly and blend easily.
• Powder core gives a shine-free matte finish.
• Easily doubles as a concealer. 
• Can be used with compact powder without looking heavy, or used on it's own you still get nice matte coverage and finish.

Note: I love a stick-style gel-powder matte foundation, or basically a hybrid of concealer and powder compact all rolled up into an easy to apply twist-up stick format. This is much harder to find than you'd think, so I was very excited to find this Maybelline's Fit Me foundation. 

Maybelline Fit Me Blush (under $8)

Maybelline's Fit Me Blush is a buy-like buy-product in my opinion, and with a price under $10 it's very good value. 

• Good price point.
• 7 colour shades.
• Lightweight and applies and blends easily with a matte finish.
• I found the "fade-free colour" claim to be true. 
• This worked nicely with the Fit Me Foundation.
• I was pleasantly surprised with the brush, which I thought I would hate. It worked well and stores with the blush making it easy to take in your purse and use when you're on the go.

Note: I personally would have loved if this also came in a stick format similar to the foundation. Not only does it make application easier, and less likely to break.

If you have feedback, or know a product you really like, please share. I always feel better shelling out my hard earned cash on a product if I know others have tried it, and were happy with their experience and purchase. 

Yep, just me Cathy thinking out loud about "buy-products" and products worth buying.

Note: I have not been compensated in any way for this post. The purpose of this post is merely to share with my readers my personal experience with these products. All opinions are my own.

Love the Product, But Hate the Brand: It's a Conundrum #WorthTheRead #BrandRelationships

Love the Product, but Hate the Brand

I love reading interesting and informative posts and articles about business, social media, marketing and blogging. My Worth the Read posts are my way of sharing my take on a given topic, with a few related links I think are worth taking the time to read, and ponder. 

This week's topic: Products vs Brands. 

Brands and products are not the same thing, making it quite possible to love one and not the other. Most of us have been there at least once in our lives, where we love a product, but can't stand dealing with the brand, or more importantly how they deal with us. Instead of sharing other people's posts, this week I'm sharing my thoughts on this conundrum. Since my past experiences with, and how I feel about a brand largely influences the products I choose buy, it really is a conundrum for me.

Brands are like people, in that, we look for the same qualities in brands as we do in people; integrity, honesty, loyalty.

We are drawn to individuals (and brands) who possess those qualities and are genuine, caring and give back to the communities they're in. We view brands as people, because ultimately it's the people behind the brands that set the tone, culture, priorities and messaging for those brands.

I have a theory that at least 50% of all buyer's remorse cases are misdiagnosed, and are in actuality cases of love the product, hate the brand. 

No matter how much I love a product, I almost always regret a purchase where the buying experience or the brand interaction has been indifferent or negative. I can never have a truly positive user experience with that product because I feel resentment each time I use it, and am reminded of that negative brand experience. And there in lies the conundrum. So my question to you is what do you do when you love the product but hate the brand's tone, engagement, service (or lack there of), environmental or human rights policies, or whatever is important to your purchasing experience? Do you even care? Is price the only deciding factor for you?

Even if price is a factor, and lets face it price is always a factor for most of us, is it the only factor or deciding factor? 

Personally price is only part of the equation, and if I can purchase a similar or comparable product at a comparable price from a brand I like, I do. There are a short list of brands I simply refuse to purchase, no matter the price, and would rather pay more than deal with them. My "no-buy, no way, no how" list is very short, but some have been on that list for 15 years and after all this time I still feel the same way. Note to Brands: Even if you're not on the "no-buy" list your indifference begets my indifference and impacts your bottom line. Just as I'm willing to drive further and pay more to avoid the brands I don't like, I am equally willing to do so to buy from the brands I do like. 

If I feel good about my experience I regularly take the time to share that on social media or in person with friends and family. Rarely do I share negative experiences or about brands I don't like on social media, but I also make a point not to engage with them or share their content. And while I may not share on social media I do share both good and bad experiences with friends and family. You know how it goes: I tell two friends, and they tell two friends and so on...

Not liking a brand is almost never about a single bad experience, but instead a feeling that develops over time. 

I'm not necessarily angry with a brand, I just don't like them, and they don't know that "average joe me" feels that way because they don't care. In my experience there are two main reasons for not liking a brand: bad service, or attitude (either, online, phone or on social media). If a brand has the winning combination of both then they're probably on the "no buy, no way, no how" list, and deservedly so. 

Bad Service: On Occasion everyone makes mistakes, and every brand can be caught short staffed, with system issues, or stocking issues. If these issues are more than on occasion, it's a pattern of behaviour and indifference. If you don't value my time, money and right to a good customer experience you don't deserve my loyalty or business. Think about each customer interaction as if you're required to pay each an hourly wage from your own pocket for wasting their time and that should put an end to that. If your service is bad fix it or save everyone time and frustration and put an "I Don't Want Your Business" sign in the window.

• Marketing & Sales 101: I should never feel like I'm in the scene from Pretty Women where I'm not good enough or important enough for your attention or to be acknowledged. Brands shouldn't be snobs! My money and loyalty should be at least as important as the expert or influencer being paid to engage. Based on online engagement and in-store interaction some (not all) of the people working for certain brands are snobs. They believe and convey the message; it is a privilege for me to have the opportunity to spend my hard earned money on their brand. But they are wrong. Just because I don't say it doesn't mean I don't notice and think Big mistake. Big. Huge. I have to go shopping now ... and buy your competitors products.

I can't be the only one who has felt this way, and as a result doesn't buy from a brand.

There must be me x 1000's, which adds up to substantial loss of potential free advertising, profit and sales. You know nothing about me, and never took the time to find out. It's a privilege for a brand to have even a minute of my precious time and money. Just as it's a privilege for me to have even one minute of my readers precious time. In the end brands are responsible for who they hire and the messages they sent. Sometimes what looks good on paper does not translate into real life experience. You may not be able to put into words what it is about a person or a brand that you like, but you know it when you see it. Loyalty, integrity, and honesty are always in style, and there are plenty of brands out there with these qualities that I can deal with. 

What is important in a brand for you, and what is a deal breaker?

Yep, just me Cathy thinking out loud about what I think is worth the read. 

Note: I have not been compensated in anyway for this post. All opinions are my own, and the purpose of this post is merely to share with my readers posts and articles I find interesting.