Hair Color -Ion - Color Brilliance Brights
LashFlashingLeda 6/10/2012 1:54:00 PM
I am a little stunned by how good this is. It's dirt cheap (and mine came with a free packet of lightener! Yessss, free root touchups) but works amazingly well. I bought it in the teal to dilute out to mint green (use conditioner, just mix til the shade is right). It comes out of the tube a sort of cobalt blue and looks even more blue when you dilute it, which is alarming, but you can see it turn teal when it hits your hair. The color processes quickly and evenly, is bright and vibrant, and lasts for ages. Very impressed! I'll never use another brand if I can help it. So long, Manic Panic!
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Mascara -Maybelline - Full 'N Soft Mascara 
LashFlashingLeda 2/9/2012 6:26:00 PM
This doesn't add a bit of length to my lashes--which is great, and exactly what I wanted. My lashes already hit my glasses lenses, so I wanted something that would get them dark and fluffy without making them super long. Full N Soft is it. I have no problems with this clumping, which is pretty miraculous given my awful mascara application skills. It provides a nice natural look (I am not a fan of uber-dramatic lashes) and has never irritated my eyes. My one gripe with it is that it transfers to my lower eyelid, which I've never had another mascara do. It's pretty discreet though, and since I favor a look with a lot of black eyeliner you can only tell when I've gone with something more subtle. I will give the waterproof one a go and see if that holds still while providing all the same awesomeness.
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Eyeliner -Physicians Formula - Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Kohl Kajal Eyeliner Trio
LashFlashingLeda 2/9/2012 6:19:00 PM
This is the quickest I have ever returned a product, and I am pretty irritated because this is way more than I usually spend on makeup, because I am a tightwad. Absolutely awful. No staying power, and although I am quite used to using kajal-type products and understand that they are designed to smudge (which is why I love them) smudging is not the same as smearing all over before vanishing. Also the payoff is awful, especially for something claiming to be a kajal-style liner. It takes several strokes to get an opaque color. Add to that the fact that you cannot sharpen the pencils (what the hell!) which I didn't realize when I bought the things, and you get a big fat one star review. Boo, Physician's Formula. BOO.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -L'Oreal - Color Infallible Eyeshadow Eternal Black 14
LashFlashingLeda 1/12/2012 5:14:00 PM
I really love the packaging on this. I'll just get the nice part out upfront. I was lured in by this and since I love a good glittery black that isn't too obnoxious I gave it a try. Infallible? Pfft. Even with primer this smudged INCREDIBLY badly on me, and even though I am all about the "slept in my makeup" rockstar look, I can't imagine I will ever wear it again. Considering the price, that's a pretty huge waste. I am gonna try a different shade and see if it's a problem with the formula or just this shadow, but I'm reluctant. I was extremely disappointed by this and having tried the Maybelline Eye Tattoo in teal at the same time, can report that the latter stayed put and looked great while this one was embarrassing me in public. I can't in good conscience recommend this shade, at least. Which is a shame-it looked great when I first put it on, with little fallout.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -L'Oreal - Owl's Night
LashFlashingLeda 1/12/2012 5:07:00 PM
I honestly don't think the color is all that incredible or special once it's on the nail (looks awfully nice in the bottle though!) but I am writing this review as a response to all the tip wear comments. YMMV but I get better wear out of this polish than any other I have tried (although my polish experience is admittedly slim). I tend to get MAJOR tip wear and chipping within 24 hours and two thin coats of Owl's Night with NO TOPCOAT (! what!) have held up with minimal tipwear at 48 hours here--so minimal you can only see it if you're closely examining my nails which. hopefully, only I am doing. I don't know if this is just a fluke and if it is I will come back and edit accordingly, but I am so excited about the wear time on this I will wear it even if the color isn't everything I hoped it'd be.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -Milani - Mechanical Glitter Eyeliner
LashFlashingLeda 1/12/2012 4:56:00 PM
I love Milani eyeliners. I really do. They have rarely led me astray. Liquifeye in black and aqua are both incredible, and their mechanical eyeliners have all been good to me in a pinch. Until this one. I picked this up on accident meaning to get the regular, non-glittery retractable one, and boy, was that a mistake. I am not sure why, but it seems to smudge and run more than the others and not set as fast. Aside from those complaints, allow me to say to you that this is not a product for the faint of heart. When you hear "glittery eyeliner" you may picture a coquettish shimmer, a subtle sparkle when you turn in the light, drawing discreet attention to your eyes. This is not a subtle eyeliner. There is nothing discreet about it. I can get behind a little glitter; I can even get behind a lot of it's fine and evenly dispersed and stays put. But this looks like a parade full of drag queens puked all over your face. And I do mean all over. The glitter does not adhere to the liner and I had glitter cascading down my cheeks and even all over my nose by the end of it. I even found it stuck to my glasses lenses where it had migrated down my lashes. It was a LOT of glitter. You can see it even looking at the pencil: the inside sparkles like the inside of a diamond mine. It is an OBSCENE quantity of the stuff. If you're into that, pick this up. If you want something a little sparkly, don't. You will be picking glitter off your pillow for the next two months no matter how carefully you wash your face. And you're also going to have big raccoon eyes hours after you put it on, if you're me, since this stuff just did not want to stay put--adding insult to the sparkle injury.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Brows -E.L.F. - Eyebrow Kit
LashFlashingLeda 1/12/2012 4:47:00 PM
I don't have anything to compare this to as this was the first brow product I ever bought, so take with a grain of salt :) I am pretty fond of this little kit. I don't love the brush but I consider that a minor drawback. Other aspects of the packaging are pretty awful, though--it looks nice and sleek right out of the box, but within days both the pans popped out for me, and then the little window did as well. I glued the pans back in but now I have exposed product because the window broke when it fell out. Kinda gross. I'll probably just buy another to replace and handle it more carefully, since it was so cheap, but beware this knocking around in your makeup bag. That said, the product functions as promised and is a heck of a deal. Even the gel by itself is great and long-wearing for me, although it can be clumpy if I am not careful. Nothing a quick combthrough with a spoolie won't fix, though, even if I screw up. Paired with the powder I get even longer wait and a great, natural-looking brow. As mentioned above, I've never tried any other brow products (except a couple of crappy pencils) but I am having a hard time imagining using something else and thinking, "Wow! This leaves ELF in the dust!" since this functions perfectly well and looks great and holds up. Were it not for the awful, flimsy compact I'd have awarded this a five. As it is, it gets a solid four and my vote for a rebuy.
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Eye Primer -E.L.F. - Mineral Eyeshadow Primer
LashFlashingLeda 1/12/2012 4:40:00 PM
My major problem with eyeshadow is immediate fading and creasing. I can't afford expensive primers, so when this was recommended to me I thought I'd give it a go. In terms of color boosting and intensifying, this is no UDPP. I didn't notice a difference on that front at all. It also makes blending noticeably more difficult for me, meaning my eye routine takes a little longer. I was so irritated by this and the lack of intensifying power that after I used it the first time I was resolved to come here and give this a one rating. And then I looked in the mirror throughout the day and what to my wondering eyes should appear but completely impeccable shadow. I don't have particularly oily lids so I can't speak for people who have more of a problem in this area for me, but this product is a lifesaver for long wear. I only get the faintest creasing after 9 to 10 hours of wear if I use this first, and since it was only a dollar, well--I'm sold. Despite the application problems this causes (which for all I know is a problem for all primers, I have no idea), I use this all the time now. When even your boyfriend notices your eyeshadow is holding up well you know you're on to a winner. Until I can afford to try something more high-end this has become a vital part of my routine.
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Lipstick -Bare Escentuals - Buxom Big & Healthy Lipstick in Monte Carlo
LashFlashingLeda 1/12/2012 4:34:00 PM
Great little pencil! Not quite as eye-searingly bright as I was hoping, but pretty true to the descriptions above. Very long lasting on me considering I tend to chew my lips--barely moves even when I eat with it on--and not at all prone to feathering. the pencil shape makes application super simple and precise, and I actually LOVE how tingly and cold this feels. I don't think it does any plumping (I never notice that any plumping product does what it says, I think it's a gimmicky fraud), but it certainly feels great, and the feeling sticks around for a while. I'm also impressed that despite the wear this has yet to dry out my lips. Awesome!
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Eyeliner -Wet 'n' Wild - Mega Eyes Creme Eyeliner - Eggplant
LashFlashingLeda 1/12/2012 4:30:00 PM
Despite the fact that I have awarded this product in the Black shade holy grail status, I cannot wholeheartedly recommend the Eggplant. Same great wear time for me on the lid, although less on the waterline. Gorgeous shade in the jar. But on? Patchy as hell, lacking the intense pigmentation that makes the black shade so great for the price. It works in a pinch but it's no HIP, even if I prefer the actual color of the Wet N Wild product to HIP's shade of the same name. Between this, the Petal Pusher 8 pan, the Kitten eyeshadow single, and the purple liquid liner, I suspect Wet N Wild's product development team must have something against purple--all of them uniformly disappointing!
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Eyeliner -Wet 'n' Wild - Mega Eyes Creme Eyeliner - Black
LashFlashingLeda 1/12/2012 4:28:00 PM
I wear this every time I do my makeup and have gone through two pots in a year. Considering I only wear makeup about once a week, that's a lot of eyeliner! I do a lot of heavy goth-y looks with a lot of smudged liner, hence the usage, and this is ideal for it. It is dirt cheap, smudges easily in the first half-minute or so, and then sets up so well it'll stay for hours and hours. I've used it to make clean sharp cat's eyes with equal success, if you discount my inexpert application. Paired with the ELF primer (I like cheap stuff!) it goes for 12+ hours on me on the upper lid and easily lasts six or seven hours on the waterline despite my watery, irritable eyes. It will run/smudge a little if I cry or sweat or have an allergy attack, but less than any other I've tried. Makes a great creme base for shadows too--I like to use it under MAC Club. It creases a little for me if I use it all over the lid, however. To those saying it dries up: this happened to me once when I failed to close it properly. The lid is pretty crappy so that's easy to do, so I'd fault the packaging. Just add a teeny drop of saline solution and give it a stir, it will come right back to life. I've had this problem with HIP liners too so I don't think it's an issue unique to this product, and given the price difference, well... let's just say I won't be buying HIP any more for black eyeliner. Unfortunately I've tried the Eggplant shade and cannot give it the same raves :( But for the black, you will not go wrong buying this. If it dries up just revive it with some saline. Holy grail status!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Rimmel - Lasting Finish - In Vogue
LashFlashingLeda 8/4/2011 12:45:00 PM
A great lipstick. A little drying, as lasting formulas tend to be, but nothing a slick of good balm below can't help. The formula is amazingly perfect: thick and creamy without being heavy, without settling into lines, long-lasting (so far). Applies much easier with a brush than from the bullet--the bullet seems to be a little soft and it was hard to keep it from smudging around, but I use a brush for a bright lip anyway. I also tried blotting it transparently with my finger and it was lovely. I am not a fan of the smell, myself, but it disappears instantly once it's on my lips, so I don't have to deal with it long. The packaging is nothing special but isn't bad, either--and the color, my goodness, the color. Someone recommended this to be as a substitute for WnW 511B in a better formula, but it's darker and more red. It's a clear, beautiful fuchsia-pink-red, enough on the red side that it doesn't feel like you're wearing cartoon lips but enough on the fuchsia side to be very bright and unusual.
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Eye Shadow -Wet 'n' Wild - Color Icon #252B Nutty
LashFlashingLeda 6/3/2011 11:24:00 AM
I decided to write this review to throw it out there that on some people this swatches, not taupe, but a sort of chestnut brown. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing, but I do think it's worth noting that this isn't even remotely true to pan on a lot of people (including me). That said, it's still well-worth picking up: whether it goes taupe on you or chestnut I can't imagine it looking bad on anyone. It seems like such a universally flattering color, it's dirt cheap, and the quality is extremely nice, especially for the price. Not a trace of powderiness: buttery, silky, and highly pigmented. Less fallout than a lot of my other WnW too! I rated this five overall lippies despite my disappointment that it doesn't even remotely resemble the pan on me (or some other people)--so do take this review as the whole-hearted endorsement it is, with a grain of caution that your skintone may cause this to look quite different on you!
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Concealers -Hard Candy - Glamoflauge Concealer
LashFlashingLeda 2/17/2011 10:46:00 AM
I don't get the hype :( Even with a well-moisturized undereye I am really unimpressed by this. The first hour it's on, it looks AMAZING and I was totally smitten. I really understood all the great reviews... for that first hour. After that began the quick slide into awfulness. It flakes--and I have never, ever had an undereye concealer flake; my eye circles are not of the dry type--and creases horribly even with the very light application I did. It also settles immediately into lines that I didn't even know I had and am now horrified to see are standing out and making me look about ten years older. It also has no longevity, which I suppose is good considering how awful it's making me look. I rub my eyes a lot and even hours into the day it's still coming off on my hands, which is not a problem I ever had with another concealer. Someone below compares Glamoflage to PF Rx. That's actually my preferred concealer, and I picked this up thinking it would be an even better alternative--wrong! PFRX isn't perfect, but I'll be going back to it. The thin, light formula is miles more flattering than this thick stuff. Maybe the problem is in how I applied it, but I tend to think that being able to easily apply your concealer is a plus! Not recommended at all and will not rebuy--but people more used to a thick, gel-like concealer might enjoy this product. It really did look great for the first hour.
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Skincare - Body -Palmers - Cocoa Butter Formula jar
LashFlashingLeda 2/14/2011 1:49:00 PM
I am surprised people are saying this is hard--it's only hard for me if my house is freezing cold, like when I come back from a weekend out. I do agree with the general trend that it's way too greasy to use during the day, but it's the best thing ever to slather all over just before bed. Completely rescued my winter-dry skin in the course of a week, and I can tell the difference if I stop using it. And cheap! So cheap! The tub lasts forever. My go-to moisturizer. I also use it around my nose, where my skin gets dry and chapped, and it works miracles there as well. I am hesitant to use it on the rest of my face due to how greasy it is.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No