Fragrances -Vera Wang - Princess Night
captainflamingo 3/17/2012 10:54:00 PM
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought "Fancy" when smelling this. The notes seemed to be perfect, with amber and jasmine and all my usual favourites. But in reality, Princess Night is a sharper version of Fancy with a touch more floral. I like Fancy so I like PN, but the drydown of Fancy is so much better, as is the lasting power.
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Lipstick -Cover Girl - Lip Perfection in Hot
captainflamingo 2/11/2012 2:44:00 AM
I swatched this lipstick 8 times on my hands(all on separate occasions) before committing. Sometimes, it was the flawless bright red I was looking for. But some times, it was too orange. At others too pink. When CG lip products were on for $6.99 at Shopper's, however, I bit the bullet- thank God! Hot Passion is a warmer toned but very bright red that dries semi matte but doesn't dry out your lips. It brightens my face up. It stains my lips as Lip Perfections tend to do and is a lipstick that bleeds easily, but the colour and the moisturizing formula makes up for it. Another thing is the plasticy scent, but it fades. Packaging is sleek and cute and price was right. No regrets and another 5 lippie rating for Hot Passion! ;) PS: It looks nothing like the scarlet colour Drew Barrymore dons in the ad campaign, although it is supposedly what she's wearing.
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Fragrances -Clinique - Happy
captainflamingo 2/11/2012 2:16:00 AM
Clinique Happy has been reviewed 1000+ times yet I want to add my two cents. Happy's main consumers seem to be women over 30 and girls under 16. I think it's because the women got it when they were girls and never stopped wearing it! It's one of those scents, to me, that is a safe bet. I have a 100ml bottle that's about a third of the way gone. I've had it for about a year and a half and I wore it daily for the first few months but let it sit for a while- it sort of got buried in my growing collection of perfumes because of the bland bottle and smell. I wore it again today and decided to sum up my thoughts. Scent: I do not detect a significant citrus note. I am puzzled why it's always classified as a citrus. The scent certainly has a zing to it, but it doesn't have a heady "lemon" or "grapefruit" note. To me, Happy is a clean, white floral with a lingering sharp note of citrus in the background all tied together with soapiness. Lasting power: It's bulky to carry my bottle around but the perfume gets good mileage on me. It's a sit-close-to-your-skin scent. I used to overspray because of that but quickly learned that it becomes quite overwhelming because of the sharpness. I spritz around my chest and in my hair and let it bloom. Price: It is my understanding that at least in Canada, they hiked up the bottle prices by about $5. I found my bottle at TJ Maxx for $35. I wouldn't may anything more than that because it is an udnerstated scent. Overall: I get compliments when I wear Happy, but it's a different kind of compliment than I get when I wear my usual spicy, woodsy scents. It's more of a "Mm, you smell nice." than a "My goodness, what are you wearing?!" Clinique's Happy isn't anything to write home about. I can understand why it makes some nauseous. Sometimes the notes seem poorly blended. But usually, it's a pleasant floral scent along the lines of Beautiful and Chance(to me). I wouldn't repurchase even if I ran out or would have bought it full price, but I can understand the while appeal this fragrance holds.
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Fragrances -Calvin Klein - CK One Shock
captainflamingo 1/25/2012 2:24:00 AM
2s all around. The first note is straight up mandarin orange. In ten minutes, it softens and little white floral comes out to say hello. Another ten minutes, it's gone. Very juvenile scent. Poorly blended and not complex at all. While it's a pretty scent, I couldn't stand smelling like it for more than the allotted half and hour slot. The packaging is gaudy with a white bottle with hot pink SHOCK scrawled across it. You can't tell how much you have left, either. The price isn't bad for a fragrance, but the unimpressive scent and the nonexistent lasting power makes it not worth 1/10th of it. Fragrance-wise, Calvin Klein will never re-live the days of the original One, Escape, Obsession, and Eternity.
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Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Reb'l Fleur by Rihanna
captainflamingo 1/17/2012 10:32:00 PM
Reb'l Fleur has exceeded my expectations. It's priced right, first of all- $59CDN for 50ml and only ten dollars more for 100ml. The bottle is cute and Rihanna's in the ad so of course, it's gorgeous. The notes of amber, patchouli, berries, coconut, vanilla, violet, tuberose, musk, and hisbiscus all blend to create a perfume in the likes of Hypnotic Poison or Lolita Lempicka. Reb'l fleur is smooth, rich, and sweet with lingering tuberose and musk. It's just floral enough to steer away from the gourmand genre. The most prominent notes are tuberose, coconut, and berries. It lasts a fair amount of time- wafting through hours after I've put it on. But... Despite being a very pretty scent, it does miss a certain element for me. Perhaps it is another zing of floral or a kick of spice that makes it extraordinary. It is missing, so I'm just left with a pretty scent I don't mind, but do not want to smell like.
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Fragrances -Diesel - Loverdose EDP
captainflamingo 1/17/2012 10:15:00 PM
Scent: I hated it at first. On paper, it's licorice- very sweet licorice. But once on skin, it turns a bit muskier and darker, even a bit spicy. Still, the strongest note is the black licorice and I love it, despite not being able to stomach the candy. It is very sweet, but a tolerable, non-candy sweet. It's hard to describe. The candy note is very prominent but tangled with the jasmine, star anise, and amber, does not resemble something you eat. It's strong in the first spritzes so I only spray it once or twice, but it doesn't last too well. It's a headstrong scent, definitely not a classic. Bottle: Kind of awkward. I've seen it displayed upside down, on its back, on the side, at an angle, etc. It's an angular, purple heart. Quite cute. Price: In CDN dollars, it's $54, $69, and a whopping $93 for 30, 50, and 75ml. I think it's pretty high for the lasting power(5 hours max on me) and the amount. I have two samples that I'm working through. I'm seriously considering purchasing, but I'm not sure if it's a scent I want to commit to. Also, I don't believe the whole "2 molecules that makes people feel attraction" stuff at all, but I do receive a fair share of compliments when wearing this scent.
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Fragrances -Nina Ricci - Nina (New)
captainflamingo 1/1/2012 6:39:00 PM
Very sweet and creamy, tart at the same time.I detect no prominent apple, just fruitiness and a hit of floral. In the beginning it's almost too tangy and after drydown, the scent becomes sort of... Flimsy. I frequently wear it at work and people tell me I smell good and I can make a sale. However, during the holiday season, every man I showed this one to shook their heads. Just a heads up, ladies! Although I wear perfume for me and not others. The scent is almost body splash-esque to me. Doesn't last at all. I get an hour and a half maximum. Bottle's cute, price is steep. I know how popular it is, it's just not for me.
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Fragrances -Elizabeth Arden - Britney Spears Believe
captainflamingo 12/27/2011 1:36:00 AM
Filling out the ratings really put things into perspective for me. I bought a 100ml for $20 at SDM the other day. I sniffed the bottle and it seemed like an interesting, complex scent. I do like it, but I don't think it's a perfume for me. I love spice but I don't like patchouli, and Believe is very patch-heavy. It starts out sweet and fresh and then morphs to a more grown up, patchouli scent. It's almost masculine, however. When I wore it to school, my friends were complaining about a strong cologne. I only spritzed it on my wrists! Some days, I find some notes out of balance and the whole thing becomes awful. Other days, I love it. I didn't want to have the guilt of having a full bottle forever, so I tossed it. Britney went out on a limb with this scent. I'd rather her stick to her usual sweet concoctions, although I have learned to stay away from all of her stuff. Not for me!
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Treatments -Clairol - Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship Leave-In
captainflamingo 12/14/2011 12:35:00 AM
When my dad was on a drugstore run, I asked him to buy me some heat protectant. "Nothing expensive," I told him, "just look for the work protectant in it. It'll come in a pump." So he picked this leave in conditioner up. I couldn't blame him, it fit all the criteria. So I am using it. I've had it for months, used it a good ten+ times. I have straight, thick, long tresses. I get many compliments on the health of my hair, but since moving to the midwest where the water and winters are unbearably harsh, I thought extra moisture wouldn't hurt for my ends. I have used BedHead's Ego Boost, Organix, EVOO, and Aussie's spray leave ins before, so I know what to and what not to expect from leave in conditioner.. Perhaps because I have such healthy hair, I do not see the beaming benefits other reviewers have mentioned. This is a cream conditioner, much like the stuff you use in the shower. It's very heavily scented. It's a decent scent, but I don't like anything hindering the way of my fragrances. I need about 6 pumps of the stuff just to cover the tips of my hair evenly. I do have lots of hair and this product is cheap, but it just seems wasteful! I have applied it on both dry and wet hair. Either way, it leaves my hair with a waxy residue that doesn't get absorbed. My hair doesn't have split ends to begin with, but the dried ends are not "quenched" at all. Herbal Essences products, in my opinion, have nothing special about them other than smelling nice, and are actually let downs most of the time. This is no exception. It was only three bucks, but I'd rather let my conditioner sink in a bit longer in the shower than to use this. It leaves me with nothing but a strong flowey smell and a gunky residue. Would not recommend.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Parlux - Jessica Simpson Fancy
captainflamingo 12/6/2011 11:44:00 PM
I'm in love with a gourmand scent... It's true! I detest Pink Sugar(candy+dish soap), gag at Fantasy(when on me), and feel nauseous at Warm Vanilla Sugar(that's what it's called, right?). I avoided Fancy because I knew it was a gourmand. Doing stock at work, today, I came across a discounted bottle of this and decided to take a chance. I am so pleased I did. Fancy blooms into a classy, warm sweet scent. It's definitely vanilla-y, but manages to have notes of amber and florals that takes away from the whole smell-like-a-cookie effect, which I detest. I plan on buying the 1oz bottle for $20 tomorrow and wearing it all winter long. Fancy is the first fruit-free gourmand I have run into. It's sweet and warm, but doesn't remind me off a box of Maynards. Plus, I put it on 5 hours ago and it bloomed into a muskier, sweet aroma on me. Love it when drydowns keep getting better! I don't like Jessica Simpson, but I applaud her for this fragrance.
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Lip Gloss -Stila - Lip glaze
captainflamingo 11/27/2011 1:21:00 PM
I simply do not understand anything about the Stila Lip Glaze. Mostly the price and the hype. $22 for .08oz of sub-par lip gloss when almost for half the price, Mac offers more than double the product. Or even, for tenth of the price, Bonnebelle or Wet N Wild will give you gallons of the stuff. Perhaps I am biased because lip gloss is the one product I don't see the point of investing in. Nearly all products give you the same effect- shiny lips- so why bother spending so much on it? I have this in Cranberry and a discontinued shade called Pink Champagne. Both are decent glosses. They taste yummy, stay on for a couple hours, and give a SHEEEEER wash of colour. However, they are also sticky, less than pigmented, and the application is annoying. I feel like I'm being wasteful not only spending $20+ on so little product, it's so much plastic for something I can't reuse. Overall, Lip Glazes are an extremely underwhelming product that I view as pointless and overpriced.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Sally Hansen - Insta-Dri - Brisk Blue
captainflamingo 11/20/2011 11:36:00 PM
I bought this because the winter blues was kicking in and I had lost my SH Extreme Wear Blue Me Away. This shade is pretty much identical- a bright, creamy lighter blue that is not pastel. I love it, it's very flattering on my darker, caramel skin tone. I have one other shade from this line. I personally don't love the brush. It holds too much and makes very thick strokes unless I constantly swipe it against the neck. However, the colour is opaque in one stroke. For me, it lasts a couple days and then begins to chip. I prefer the chipping to the peels I could do with the Extreme Wear. This is a couple bucks pricier but application is easier. But application, formula, and wear is all below average. The colour bumped up a lippie and I give this polish a 3.
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Fragrances -Sedu - Seductive by Guess
captainflamingo 11/11/2011 4:38:00 PM
The packaging of Seductive is cute, with heart charms and light gold liquid inside. The lid, however, can get stuck and sometimes needs some force to get off. The scent is a vanilla-dominant sweet scent with slight musk. Not the sexy, woodsy love-in-a-bottle I was expecting/it was marketed as. The price is reasonable but the lasting power is about 4-5 hours. Not impressed at all, but suits the plain, attractive brand appeal of Guess.
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Lipstick -Revlon - Colorburst Lipstick in Crimson
captainflamingo 11/11/2011 4:36:00 PM
I am NC40, so it's hard to find a dark red lipstick that doesn't look brown/gothic on me. I took a plunge and spent $12 on this lipstick at SDM. It sort of pained me to spend Sephora-esque prices at the drugstore but 80% of my extensive lipstick collection comes from Revlon and high hopes. And for once, those hopes are met! Texture: Amazing. Buttery-smooth, doesn't bleed. One swipe per lip is all I need. Price: A bit high, but cheaper at Walmart/during sales. Worth it, though! Colour: Deep red. Truly crimson. Very flattering on my Asian skin tone. Packaging: Classy, quilted, sturdy I reach for this colour more than I do any other reds, and I have about 10.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Guess for Women
captainflamingo 11/11/2011 4:26:00 PM
Like other reviewers, I find this perfume very average. I put 3s all around in fact. It's a crisp floral that lasts about 6 hours. Tangerine, Green Apple, Freesia, Pink Peony, Muguet, Peach, Red Fruit, Cedar Wood, Amber, and Skin-Musk are listed as the notes. I guess the peony and freesia, I smell, but not as individuals, just as a mix of florals. Not even a touch of musk or fruit. I can see teenagers my age considering this perfume to be heavenly because it's not prominent in any sort of way. Way too boring for me. Lid gets kind of annoying to open, too.
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