Mascara -Maybelline - Volum Express The Falsies Flared
LipstickLil 3/23/2012 8:38:00 AM
This is the best mascara I have ever found, and I have tried literally dozens, both high and low end, over the years. I picked it up purely on a whim as I used to love Full'n'Soft, now unavailable in the UK, and Boots does not sell Definicils. For information, I have medium length, fine eyelashes. The brush does always need wiping, and I coat the top of my upper lashes once as well as the undersides. I brush up several times, redip the wand and apply another coat. The result is just amazing - I actually cannot believe it! My eyelashes get volume, length and that curved upwards look, all fanned out. They really do look almost like false eyelashes, but in a good way false - like my own eyelashes have improved ten-fold. If I hadn't tried this, i would never have believed it! No clumping, or smearing or migration, lasts all day and comes off with warm water. Will never buy anything else again and can't mark it too highly. Best beauty product I have found in a long time! :-)
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrance -Acqua di Parma - Colonia Intensa
LipstickLil 4/15/2011 6:40:00 AM
This smells so wonderful on my son that I "borrowed" it to try myself! I think it is definitely unisex, although perhaps better for women as a lovely, refreshing summer perfume, rather than all year round. It does go on rather "aftershavey" strong, but these topnotes only last a few minutes. What is left is a lovely citrussy/leathery combination, but not at all harsh. It's clean and soapy and with moderate sillage. Beautiful for the summer! I think I may have to borrow it again! :-)
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Bulgari - Jasmin Noir
LipstickLil 1/8/2011 11:36:00 AM
I'm quite surprised by some of the negative reviews for this perfume - I have the edp and find it a very easy to wear, luxurious oriental. On me, Jasmin Noir is a beautiful blend of jasmine and almond in equal parts, with just a tiny, barely discernible, amount of licorice, and then with some vanilla in the dry down It's a soft scent, staying close to the skin with only moderate sillage, although it lasts well. Gorgeous for evening wear, and a beautiful cold weather scent. It comes in a chic, sleek, contemporary black bottle with a gold cap. I love it!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Laura Mercier - Rose Glace Lip Gloss
LipstickLil 12/11/2010 4:36:00 PM
Lip Glace in Rose is a very pretty medium pink gloss on me (NW25 with fairly pigmented lips.) The consistency is of a soft, liquid lipstick and it's very easy to apply, lasting well without bleeding over the lipline. The colour isn't quite clear - it has a very slight milky quality to it - and the shine is subtle. It's a lovely gloss, but I must say the smell of it is so disgusting (ultra sweet vanilla) that I'm almost tempted to take off one lippie. Fortunately it doesn't last long.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Chanel - Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss - Emoi (58)
LipstickLil 12/11/2010 4:16:00 PM
Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss is a quality product in its sleek black square tube. Emoi is a deep berry pink on me (NW25) and the consistency of the gloss is wonderful - it just glides on so smoothly without being sticky and it has a smooth clear shine. It feels very comfortable on the lips. It's heavier than the Aqualumieres but still has translucency and it lasts very well without bleeding over the lipline. The applicator is a shaped doe-foot which is designed to contain the perfect amount of gloss for one application without having to reinsert it into the tube. I find this one application is perfect for me, but the colour can be intensified and deepened by adding more layers. I love this gloss!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Child Perfume - Child
LipstickLil 6/13/2010 7:17:00 AM
I was sent a sample of the edp recently and fell in love with this gorgeous perfume. The opening notes are very strong, green and stemmy and you have to grit your teeth for a few minutes (!) but it's worth the wait! Child is a beautiful tropical floral, simply but perfectly done! It is a light, cool, clean, white blend of pikaki and jasmine that melts into the skin and wafts around gently - it does not have huge sillage. It is quite linear, and not at all heady on my skin, although I do get a tinge of warmth and a hint of musky-banana in the drydown. It smells deliciously soapy, romantic and feminine on me - perfect for a white linen sundress! If you like Fidji, Fleurissimo and l'Air du Temps (original version) then I think you would love this!
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Kai - Kai
LipstickLil 6/11/2010 8:16:00 AM
Kai perfume oil is a lovely fresh green gardenia-based perfume, ideal for the summer and very portable in its little roll-on bottle. The topnotes are very piercingly green but then it settles down into a soft tropical blend with gardenia uppermost. As is usual with gardenia on me, I get the impression of ripe banana in the background, but here it is not as sweet as it is in Monyette Paris. It becomes more musky as it dries down but is never cloying. I love this perfume, but it does lack sillage and also is not very long-lasting. Still, well worth buying and one of the best gardenias out there!
5 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Chanel - Beige
LipstickLil 6/10/2010 9:31:00 AM
I was quite shocked to find Beige not nearly as nice on me as I had expected from reviews: Chanel perfumes usually work well on me - but not this one! For me it is reminiscent of FM l'Eau d'Hiver in that it has the same licorice/anise note - I'm not sure whether or not this comes from the hawthorn note that they both contain. Apart from this, Beige is a powdery, sweet floral with honey and freesia notes, slightly fruity. It is too sweet for my taste and, sadly, also reminiscent of feminine hygiene products on my skin. What a shame!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Estee Lauder - Tom Ford White Suede
LipstickLil 5/31/2010 7:48:00 AM
I have to say firstly that I do not like white caps on perfume bottles! Also, leather and suede notes in the same perfume? Hmmmm! What I smell in this perfume is leather and rose and a little lily-of-the-valley. White Suede does not have huge sillage, but quite enough for me! I really enjoyed wearing this for the first two hours and for a leather perfume, I found it quite sweet. However, for me those first two hours were the best and then the musk and amber became more prominent. I actually didn't like the dry-down as much, which is a shame, because up until that point White Suede was looking promising! However, for leathers, nothing can beat Chanel Cuir de Russie and Cabochard!
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Guerlain - Aqua Allegoria Flora Nymphéa
LipstickLil 5/31/2010 7:33:00 AM
Flora Nymphea is beautifully presented in its golden trellis bottle and I love the name, but for me it is a watered down, simplified, inferior version of Petit Guerlain. It is a very soft scent, which needs liberal spraying even on my skin, which makes most scents last for ages. On me it is a blend of orange and honey - very gentle and sweet, although not over-sweet - and so light that it is barely discernible after 2 or 3 hours. Petit Guerlain is vastly superior.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Christian Dior - Escale á Portofino
LipstickLil 5/31/2010 7:24:00 AM
Escale a Portofino is one of the best straight citrus perfumes out there for those people who love citrus perfumes. The lemon note is truly lovely, realistic and refreshing and persists throughout the four or so hours this perfume lasts on my skin. However, this perfume is a one-trick pony on me - it is linear, and I can't smell the much vaunted almond note at all. There is a little orange blossom and then some musk as the scent dries down, but that is all. I love the bottle and for a quick pick-me-up it's ideal, but for me the citrus is just a little too prominent and it needs more floral notes to be worth my buying it!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Lancome - Juicy Tubes - Raisin
LipstickLil 12/15/2009 6:53:00 AM
Raisin is the only one of the Lancome Juicy Tubes that I can wear, since it is a well pigmented gloss - some of the others hardly show up on my pigmented lips. This is a lovely clear, deep berry-pink colour, on the cool side, and wonderful for autumn/winter. I'm not a big fan of the plastic applicator - prefer Chanel's doe-foot - but it does the job. I also don't like the taste particularly, but this soon wears off! All in all, it's a lovely gloss, shiny without being over-the-top, and feeling very comfortable on the lips. It doesn't go over the lipline, but it is quite thick - I like this though, as it means the lipgloss lasts well.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Chanel - Cherry Blossom aqualumiere gloss
LipstickLil 12/10/2009 5:01:00 PM
Cherry Blossom is a beautiful colour - a clear, medium-deep cool pink on my pigmented lips. It can be built up to give more intensity, but still is a clear colour, with no frost or sparkle. The packaging is very elegant, and the lipbrush makes the gloss easy to apply. It lasts fairly well, although not as well as the glossimers, and doesn't bleed over the lipline. The gloss feels very comfortable on my lips and has a beautiful shine, without being over the top. Quite simply, a gorgeous, top-quality product, and my favourite of the Chanel aqualumiere glosses, just a whisker ahead of Party Red!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Thierry Mugler - Angel
LipstickLil 12/10/2009 4:14:00 PM
Angel has the dubious distinction of being the worst perfume I have smelled in a long time! It certainly is misnamed, whether this is intentionally ironic or not, and really has no redeeming qualities that I can think of. For some reason I smell liquorice - liquorice and patchouli. I think it is the combination of caramel and patchouli that gives this effect on my skin. Horrible! The patchouli is no surprise, as this is one note that my skin always amplifies, but this patchouli is a particularly dirty, muddy one. Truly hideous on my skin. And, as if that wasn't enough, there is a cloyingly sweet vanilla note as it dries down. Needless to say, it lasts for ever. Couldn't wait to scrub this one offf - but it took some scrubbing!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Candles -Diptyque - Pomander candle
LipstickLil 11/30/2009 11:53:00 AM
Diptyque candles are very expensive - but they are the best there is. Pomander comes in two sizes now - the smaller one burning for about 20 hours, I believe - and it is presented in the traditional, simple, chic glass with the oval name on the front. It gives off a wonderful aroma of clove studded oranges, vanilla and a little floral-smokiness. The throw is very good and it scents the whole room and beyond so easily that you only have to burn it for a little while. It smells just like Christmas should be! Full marks!
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No