Treatments -Unlisted Brand - NuFountain CelSignal Support
frckls 12/11/2012 10:33:00 AM
I'm 24 of asian heritage, golden medium tone, combo-oily that can get dehydrated in winter. I have problem with uneven skintone and hyperpigmentations (freckles, post acne-pigmentations-faded). I have been using this for a little bit more than a month and I'm only down to a-quarter to one-third of the bottle. One squirt is enough to cover my face and neck. Two would leave my skin a bit tacky. This is a quite thick liquidy serum and absorbs very quick. CelSignal is feels really hydrating and nice and plump. But I would still put a light moisturizer on top of it, just to seal the hydration in. Although I did leave it once or twice without putting anything on, and although it left my skin a bit tight (I'd guess from the Niacinamide), but does not feel dehydrated. It makes my skin super soft and almost poreless (save the nasty sebaceous filaments that still lurk around), no breakout (except TTOTM). Granted, my skin is quite resilient and can stand almost anything, except harsh cold wind. After a month, I can say my skintone is getting more even although still not yet get to the level I expect. I also see slight improvements in my faded post-acne hyperpigmentations. The freckles are still there but they don't quite stand out the way they used to. My skin is less oily on the T-zone, and I never wake up with oily face anymore. I guess with treatments like this, real reasults can only be seen in a long term period of usage. I use this in conjunction with some other anti-aging product (pls see my np), so they might help, too. I love how smooth my skin look with my Lucy Minerals original foundation on, but I feel pretty good in my own skin, too. :) But when I put the foundation on, my skin looks AMAZING like I had a serious facial regimen. My boyf likes me without makeup, but when I put it on he can't stop saying how amazing I look. I always believe that no matter what makeup you put on, if the skin is healthy and good, anything will look amazing. I feel CelSignal makes my skin a little more plumper, but then again I gained back a little weight since I started using it, so that might also be the culprit. :) It comes in glass amber bottle with a pump. And professional looking label with the manufacturing date of the serum written on it. So the aox inside is granted well-preserved. The CS is very, very helpful. They responded to my mails really quick and they went an extra mile to make sure that the package gets to me at the promised time. Awesome. I used to use Silk Naturals Super Serum, and I like it because it has MSM and Venuceane, but less MAP. In comparison, SS feels less hydrating since it only has tamarind extract and panthenol as the hydrator. I always needed additional hydration (SN's Oatmeal Hydrating Serum - AMAZING stuff), but too lazy for additional step, I opted for NF's CelSignal that has both serum's functions in one. Definitely repurchase. :)
7 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Powder -Tarte - Smooth Operator Micronized Clay Finishing Powder
frckls 11/24/2012 4:49:00 AM
I got the sample size of this product on a blogsale, so I can't really complain on the price. But I am aware of how much this thing cost and considering the product, I wouldn't agree much. I am not going to talk about the packaging much because it's a sample sized one. But i gotta say that the little holes at the center with the stopper is weird. When it's still ful it's handy because u can just press the sifter and the product oozed out from there. Too bad, never the correct amount. I'm not a big fan of the product itself. It does a pretty good job setting the makeup, but i find it's too chalky for my taste. Does not melt easily into my skin, although it holds up the oil pretty good. I get what people say by this powder makes the skin looks like porcelain, but for me it's way too matte for my taste and just kills the glow I'd been working on my face before. Ick. Silk Naturals Ultime Luxury Powder does a much better job and gives the smooth glow than kills it for $18. Never gonna repurchase.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Skincare - Body -Unlisted Brand - Egyptian Magic Healing Cream
frckls 11/23/2012 6:52:00 AM
Well, first of all this is no overnight magic by any means. But considering its whole wide range of usage and what it is capable of, I'd say it's pretty awesome. This stuff saved me so many times. Chapped lips, dried out tight face skin (winter), rashes (no need for cortisone cream), cuts and scrapes (for my pets as well), spots treatment, night facial moisturizer (woke up less oily and brighter softer plumper, and I've got pretty oily skin), wp eye makeup remover, etc. And it lasts a looooooooooooooooooong time to finish. Packaging sucks and unhygieneic, but I don't think it can be any other way and it's lightweight. I just scooped out some with a spatula into smaller jars. However, I am aware that since it contains bee products, it disinfects by itself. Still kinda gross, tho. I'm on my second jar that I've had for a year and still got half left. It's a definite staple on my vanity.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Makeup Brushes -Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman - Brush Collection Core Collection
frckls 11/1/2012 9:32:00 PM
I got this in a swap and brand new from a lovely lady here in MUA. (*wave* you know who you are! :D) I really love this set. The bristles are oh-so-soft. It picks up product amazingly and does not absorb too much products as other brushes tend to do. They also dry super-fast after washing. They don't bleed or shed, either. Wow. Buffing brush: it really buffs my Lucy Minerals foundation perfectly into my skin, there is no trace left of patchy or obvious looking foundation on my skin. Although the head is smaller, I don't find it takes longer to apply foundation, and the size is perfect for blush application, too, and contouring in a pinch. Contour brush: love this!! it fits perfectly to my cheek hollows, just right for the side of nose. it blends the contouring products beautifully, too. plus, it can also be used to highlight and apply blushes. score! Pointed Foundation brush: i don't really use liquid foundation/base, plus i thought at first the size is too small. however, i find this perfect to apply and blend concealers and fits perfectly under the eyes. even when i use Lucy Minerals dry as concealer. and trust me, Lucy is a tricky one to please. ;) you usually need to buff it into the skin real good, but with this brush, there was not even a sign of streak or patchiness. serious magic. Detailer brush: i haven't found so many use out of this, since i use the foundation brush for concealers as i need to conceal quite some large areas rather than spots. i rarely apply lip products with brush, too. but i've tried applying colors to lower lashline using this brush and it's pretty great. Panoramic case: this is sheer genius and perfect for traveling. i can fit all my brushes (except for the obese EcoTools Bronzer Brush and TBS Mineral Powder Brush) into this. well, i really don't have that many brush since i only keep what i use. i think with the 4 brushes from the original set, i added MAC 187SE and 4-5 eye brushes. For traveling, i removed the other brushes and put in my brow pencil, eyeliners, eyebrushes, illuminator and foundation (i put them in small pump tubes) and cream stick blush. only need a tiny pouch for powders and my Unii. it fits EVERYTHING. cannot be happier. Definitely repurchase if they start to fall apart. But I really hope they never will!
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Highlighters -Boots - No7 Skin Illuminator
frckls 11/1/2012 8:56:00 PM
I got this in Peach as I have golden undertones and this is just beautiful on my skin. It has to be applied lightly, tho, otherwise it will look way too frosty and shimmery. But at the right amount, it gives serious healthy glow for my face. The way I apply it is to tap and stroke lightly with a brush (I use RT's pointed foundation brush from the core collection) or just use my fingers. I use it on my upper cheekbones, browbones, center of the nose, cupid's bow, and inner corner of eyes. My face looks healthy and radiant. I share people's disliking on the packaging. The brush is too big for me and catches too many products. Such a waste. Although I like the sleek tube for storage purpose, one can easily dispense too much product. I pulled off the nozzle, dispensed some to a 5ml pump bottle and popped the nozzle back to prevent the product from oozing out. I only need one squirt out of the small bottle for one face. This product will last me forever, but I will repurchase when I run out.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -MAC - Espresso
frckls 11/1/2012 8:10:00 PM
I am now around NC35 and I use this color for contouring and it's just perfect used light-handed. Too much and it's mud-face. But lightly, it gives my face the perfect dimension and sculpted without looking too made up. It also lasts all day long. I use this to contour the hollows of the cheek, jawline, temples, creases, and sides of the nose. My biggest gripe about this product is that the surface easily frosts/hardens. The girls at the MAC contour explained to me that it always happens when it has contacts with oil, as it usually gets stuck on the brush. I clean my brushes once a week and it turns out to be not enough. I hate having to keep scraping off the surface. Another thing is that I find the packaging takes too much space since the pan is thin anyway, although I like the lid as it snaps shut tight. I will buy again if I can't find a dupe that doesn't harden/frost as the color is just perfect.
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Bronzers -BeneFit Cosmetics - HOOLA
frckls 7/25/2012 2:50:00 AM
To start with, I'm right now somewhere in between NC30-NC35/Lucy Minerals 50-50 Creamy Bisque-Golden Medium/MAC F&B C3/Tarte TM "Agent 010". However, after I got tanned to NC35-NC40 in summer, I switched to MAC Espresso. This, for me, is the PERFECT contouring colour for only under cheekbones, jaws, and temples. The color is yellowy-beige, which at first I thought is not cool enough to be a contouring color. It proved to be the one, giving me the muted contour that I like. With this on, my face looks contoured but very subtly. Most of my friends and my sisters don't realize I've done contouring until I told them, although they did notice something different. However, on me this does not work well for nose and crease contouring. I use more chocolate MAC Wedge to do the job. The product itself is lovely. I only need to tap my brush lightly on the surface. The product is not chalky and too powdery, very easy to blend. A little goes a long way. The surface does not harden as well from the moisture from my face that stuck on my brush like MAC's eyeshadows. I'm not a fan of Benefit Box o Powder cardboard packaging, although I have to admit it's cute. I can imagine myself destroying it really easily. Luckily, I depot every powder product and put them in a palette, so the packaging can't bother me much. But I don't appreciate Benefit keeping up the price and cutting down the amount of product. They thought they could compensate it with flip-top and mirror? That is called f*****g your loyal consumers. I'm definitely looking to find a dupe from a more respectable brand. It's probably going to be hard as this is the most perfect contouring shade that I've tried. In the meantime, I have no choice but to repurchase.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Treatments -Jack Black - Intense Therapy Lip Balm SPF 25 - Lemon & Chamomile
frckls 7/19/2012 6:09:00 PM
I really have to give due credit to this product. I've been long despise my boyf's refusal to pocket a tube of balm for his constantly chapped lips. He said he hates looking like women applying lipstick. It's such a vain to explain to him that it's just normal and how I HATE kissing his dry, flaky, chapped lips. It was when we used to live in Indonesia. Stupid, stupid peer pressure. Thankfully, he started to see the light when we moved to the Netherlands, as all of our male friends tot around a tube of balm in their pocket. Even then, he still refused to use anything at all, saying he's 'okay', while we were going through harsh winter! Thank God I found this through Temptalia, and I tried coaxing him being this a men-skincare brand and all. The manly-looking little blue-colored tube helped, too. I bought him this flavor for him. He actually likes it so much and never parted with it until it fell off his suit pocket last week. I had to pay for EUR9 for a tube, but that's worth all the money in the world to be able to kiss smooth lips! Plus, it tastes exactly like the lemon bars I usually make. Now that I barely have time to cook it, this makes a lovely substitute. LOL. I'm repurchasing another stockup for boyf and me while typing. :) PS: I have to knock off a lippie for the company not being straight off honest about the ingredients, and that they're not completely natural as everyone first thought. I can't leave this yet since it's the only thing my stubborn boyf would use, as it took me a good 3 years to convince him to use lip balm. And it works real well, too.
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Eyeliner -Maybelline - Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner
frckls 7/18/2012 7:52:00 PM
To start of, I have seriously oily lids, and my eyes waters a lot. Living in a place where the wind blows hi-speed most of the times, doesn't help to keep my eyes not to get watery. The Product I like it. The black is deep although not so glossy. It's easy to control, but takes some time to set. Maybe it's my eyes, or maybe it's just how it is. It holds up fine through the day, and snow and rain and wind. However, it does smudge a bit at the end of the day. It smudges, too, when I don't apply mascara to "seal" it. Not raccon kind of smudge, but it does transfer to the lower lashline. I've tried swatching it on the back of my hand, waited for it to set, rub it. At this point, there was some color transfer to my index finger but the swatch did not look budged. I put it under running water from the tap, it didn't budge. Then I tried to rub it again, and it came out in flakes. It took so long for me to make it faded. It stayed on the back of my hand until the next day. However, a friend borrowed this once. It held up fine on the night out, but completely gone after she had a crying fit for 2-whole hours afterwards. On top of it, she had a bad case of cold, so she was rubbing her eyes all the time. I've had it for 5-months, and it doesn't look dried at all. The Packaging Living in NL, I got the international packaging version. I love it. The tiny frosted glass and the tin screw-top lid. Perfect. I think from all other gel liners out there, I love this packaging the most. The top screws fine, too, as my liner doesn't show any sign of drying. The Brush People rave about the brush they got with the liner. At first, I did think it looks fine, too. But when I used it for tightline, the bristles poked my lid. I though it was too stiff because it was new, so I washed it again. Nothing changed. It didn't go to waste, tho, since I use it to put shadows on my lower lashline. The Price EUR11 or 12 here in NL. Rip-off. For some reason, Maybelline, L'Oreal, Garnier, Max Factor, and Rimmer cost AN ARM AND LEG. Maybelline Falsies is sold for EUR16 here. Crazy ass. Will I repurchase? Yes, if I don't find something better, and if I can get it through swap or having some good samaritan in the US send it to me or bring it to me.
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Mascara -Essence - Maximum Definition Volume Mascara
frckls 7/2/2012 2:49:00 PM
This mascara is AMAZING. I've got a set of sad-looking really thin, pretty sparse, somewhat short, albeit not needing a lash curler. Silk Naturals lash gel helps filling my lashline and lengthen the lashes, but still far from extravagant. The mascara has nylon bristles and slim, flexible wand. I never found a need to use its flexibility (it's not like I'm bending it around), but it does reach my little stubs in the corners. I like it that it makes the tube not too bulky like most big brush mascara. The combination of the wand and the formula really make the difference to the eyes. This mascara does seriously lengthen and separates on the first. I always go for the second and the third to add volume. And it will not go clumpy. It is also long-lasting and not flaky, unless I sleep on it. But it sure hits 10-hours mark alright. It doesn't claim to be waterproof, but I wore this biking through the rain and it didn't budge. Amazement. Now I need to test it for a dip before I go to Greece. Taking it off is not a huge pain. I just need to wet a cotton pad with Yves-Rocher Micellar Solution, floatingly rub the lashes, it will melt by its own, then I can wipe my eyes and the whole face just fine. This mascara is not really a huge drama one, but for me it really surpasses natural-looking mascara expectation. My drama mascara is Too Faced Lashgasm and this is not too far behind for EUR2.5! I must be going out of my mine if I don't repurchase!
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Silk Naturals - Ultimate Luxury Treatment Powder
frckls 6/22/2012 1:15:00 PM
I LOVE this stuff. I first tried out this product when my skin was purging and breaking out. It was sore, dull, and flaky from tretinoin. This product helped my skin calmed down a lot. That was a long time ago. I finally bought the full size a couple of months ago. If I wear it at night, it leaves my skin so soft and looks bright in the morning. Wearing it as a setting powder, it acts like an HD powder, diffusing all the imperfections and makes my face glow. It tends to leave a whitish cast at first (NC30), but after it melds with your facial natural oil, it looks perfect. t helped me a lot when I went back to my hometown for a short vacation. It was super hot and humid all the time, and my face keeps looking slick and sticky. A dust of this was all it takes to make my skin looks gorgeous. My skin is nowhere near perfect, but it looked a gazillion times better than may Chanel-powder-flashing-friend when we hung out together. ;p I just wish that the jar has a rotating sifter. It would be perfect.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Yves Saint Laurent - Creme de blush LE
frckls 6/22/2012 1:04:00 PM
I'm NC30 and leans yellow. I have this in #1 Velvety Peach. I have to say that I really love this stuff. It feels like mousse and seems like it "seeps" into my skin. Not dewy, no sheen, not flat matte, but really natural. Just like it's the color of my skin. Very blendable and I always do it with fingers, and it always blends seamlessly with Benefit Hoola I use to contour beforehand. Oh. And it lasts a good 8-hours, if not more. SCORE. PS: The real pot is super tiny and it's filthy pricey here in the Netherlands (as the case with all cosmetic products), but I manage to get it on 25% discount if buying 2 products. My girlfriend got a Guerlain shadow palette, I got this. Plus, I've had it for a good 3-mo and I haven't even gotten to half the pot. Everybody's happy. :D
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Silk Naturals - Sonic
frckls 6/22/2012 12:45:00 PM
I'm around NC30, and leans yellow. I love this products for highlighting, smokey-eyes lid color, and sometimes highlighting the face on evening events. It looks gorgeous on me and my sisters (we all have different skin tones). It lasts quite overnight, too.
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Eye Shadow -Silk Naturals - Propinquity
frckls 6/22/2012 12:42:00 PM
I am about NC30, and "yellow" yellow. I've always avoided pastel pinky/purple-y shade. NEVER looks good on me. But then I got hooked on the color description for Phantom. But it's PINK. Then, Jen from Silk Naturals suggested Propinquity instead. Boy, was I hooked! It's a no-brainer color wash. I even apply it to the inner corners and under the eye, too. I get the light adorable mauve on the lid, and the golden sheen on the inner corners and lower lash line. The golden sheen is so, so pretty. My only gripe is that I can't press this color without losing the gorgeous color effect, since I've pressed almost all my Silk Naturals shadows for easy storing and traveling. I will definitely repurchase when I'm out, although I can't see when. These SN shadows last for eternity.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Silk Naturals - Oatmeal Hydrating Serum
frckls 6/22/2012 12:33:00 PM
I LOVE THIS STUFF! I first tried this when my skin was breaking out badly and I was put on tretinoin treatment, and my skin flaked. THIS repaired my skin and gave the glow back! I can never live without this stuff ever. It's the best skin hydrator and it costs only $10 for 2oz! The ONLY time it couldn't work alone was when I was skiing last February in Czech and it was -18 Celsius, and Holland just got its snow and was -15 Celsius, too, before I left. My only gripe is the pump sometimes spurts randomly. I have been and always will repurchase! PS: I started it off with my sister. We were exactly experiencing the same thing. She got her friends addicted to this, too. LOL.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No