Shampoo -Oscar Blandi - Pronto Invisible Volumizing Dry Shampoo Spray
lslouffm 2/2/2012 1:47:00 AM
This product does nothing it claims on the label -- with one exception: it is invisible. It's invisible in every sense, actually. Yes, unlike other dry shampoos, you can't see it when you spray it in my light brown hair. That's a plus. But it also doesn't have any measurable effect on my hair when I spray it in. It looks as oily after I spray it in as it did before. I was trying to use it to skip a day in between baking soda shampoos, in the third week of my no-poo regime. I have fine hair that gets oily if I don't shampoo or baking soda every day, but I'm trying to give my hair time to get back to its natural balance by taking a day off every other day. This wasn't the product for that. The days I've used it, I've had to add cornstarch to my hair afterwards and deal with trying to get the whiteness out. The Oscar Blandi shampoo does absolutely nothing. Thank heavens I bought the small bottle (not a bargain in itself, at $12.50 at Sephora) to test before shelling out nearly $30.
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Bath Treatments -LUSH - Gingerbread House bubble bar
lslouffm 2/2/2012 1:39:00 AM
Bought this for my bubble fanatic daughter at Christmas. I can't say it smells much like gingerbread or any other holiday smell. Mostly it just smells overpoweringly synthetic. I wasn't impressed. Also, a bar this big can last multiple baths, but it's very difficult to break up.
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Bath Treatments -LUSH - Ma Bar Bubble Bar
lslouffm 2/2/2012 1:37:00 AM
My toddler is a bubble fanatic. She was SOOO excited when I told her I'd bought chocolate bubbles for her; mere words can't describe the absolute delight. For her, the brown colour this bar imparts to water is a boon -- it shows that chocolate bubbles are in the water. Another plus is that I can make this last over four baths -- you can split the bar in quarters and still get luscious bubbles in each of the four baths. The problem is that it doesn't smell anything like chocolate. The bar does, a bit, but when you put in the water none of that scent remains. I've had three of these in in the last few months, and it's been the same with each. So if you really care about smelling chocolate, this isn't your bar.
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Tinted Moisturizer -Stila - Sheer Color Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15
lslouffm 2/2/2012 1:31:00 AM
It's sheer. If you don't want sheer coverage, don't buy a tinted moisturizer. I find this gives me a little coverage without looking fake, and that's what I want. The colour looks quite natural. I do have to use concealer on any problem areas, but that's not new, even with regular foundation. One plus is the packaging. It's not as small as the Cargo foundation, but it's not glass, so it's quite easy to carry in my luggage (I travel a lot and travel-worthiness is important to me in my packaging). I've been using this for years, but I will probably go for something more in the foundation category as my skin ages.
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Moisturizers -Korres - Quercetin and Oak Antiageing Antiwrinkle Day Cream Normal/Combination
lslouffm 2/2/2012 1:24:00 AM
Sephora gave me a sample of the version for dry skin, and it was the only moisturizer I've ever used that made a visible difference in my skin. It reduced redness and gave me a nice, dewy look. I don't have dry skin, so when purchasing I went for the normal/combination version. It's perfectly adequate as a moisturizer, but I don't find that it has the same effect on my skin as the dry version. It leaves my skin soft, without being heavy. I don't notice the smell (note: I collect perfume and am sensitive to scent; this one doesn't bother me or even rise to the level of notice). Unlike other moisturizers, it doesn't make me break out, yet still leaves my skin feeling moisturized, so I'm giving it a four. I do wish it had a bit more moisture, and did more for redness; if I buy more I'll probably buy the version for dry skin.
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Lip Treatments -Korres - Lip Butter - Wild Rose
lslouffm 2/2/2012 1:18:00 AM
I've been very happy with this lip butter. It's lightweight, but still moisturizing. It gives my lips just enough colour that I can fake it if I don't put any lipstick on when I leave the house in a hurry to go to work, but the colour isn't overpowering. If I'm going for straight moisture, I'm still going to the Kiehl's tube in my purse. But if I want some colour and some moisture, this is my go-to. And it lasts a long time -- I use it frequently and have had a jar in my purse for about a year now, and still have plenty left.
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Treatments (Eye) -Korres - Quercetin & Oak Antiageing Antiwrinkle Eye Cream
lslouffm 2/2/2012 1:13:00 AM
Anti-ageing? No. But seriously, show me any eye cream that makes a real difference. I've tried lots and none of them can change the fact that I'm getting older. It's life, deal with it and chalk it up to experience. As just a moisturizing eye cream, I've been happy with this. It's not that expensive, the pump makes it easy to get just the little bit you need, and it's not greasy. It's not as protective or moisturizing as one or two other creams I've used, but it works well under makeup. I've been using it for months now, with none of the stinging other reviewers have mentioned. Overall, I find this a good basic eye cream.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Andy Tauer - Carillon Pour Un Ange
lslouffm 2/2/2012 12:59:00 AM
I so wanted to love this scent. I love all of the notes -- lilac, lily of the valley, rose, leather, ambergris, mossy woods. But this one's a weird Tauer scent -- I get no rose off of it at all. All I get in the top notes is overpowering lilac, with lily of the valley quickly added. I get killer sillage -- lilac-y lily of the valley -- for about an hour and a half. Then the scent fades off very quickly into soapy nothingness, with a hint of sporty wood. A bit more rose in the top notes would add needed complexity. Any hint of the leather claimed by Tauer would also be a welcome addition. Alas, not sure I need a full bottle after spraying on twice, on two different evenings.
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Styling Products -TRESemme - Fresh Start Dry Shampoo for Oily/Straight to Normal Hair
lslouffm 1/19/2012 12:09:00 AM
Bought this on the recommendation of a Globe & Mail article on no-pooing. If it'd cost more, the joke would have been on me. Basic cornstarch from your cupboard will do as good a job, without clogging. I have light brown hair, and when I use this product, I look like I've gone grey at the roots -- even after brushing it out. The sprayer clogged after three uses. It doesn't add much volume to my fine hair, and while my hair is a bit less oily after using this, it still feels quite dirty. Also, there's a strong smell of alcohol when you spray this. Save your $7 -- you can use cornstarch and get the same results, while being greener.
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Fragrances -LUSH - Breath of God
lslouffm 1/4/2012 3:13:00 AM
I tried the solid. First 15 min.: Interesting smoky fruit -- intriguing. Next 15 min.: Smelled like a Lush store. Ugh. Next 15 min: Balanced out, fruity but not a Lush store, some smoke & vetiver, different & intriguing each time I sniffed. Next 2 hours: drugstore aftershave from the 80s. Ick. First 45 minutes would be worth buying, but the last 2 hours + in the dry down negate all that was interesting, alas.
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Fragrances -Bond No.9 - BRYANT PARK
lslouffm 7/29/2011 12:35:00 AM
This perfume was my one big mistake -- I knew better than to buy right away based on a spray in the shop, but I had a gift certificate for a perfume store in Seattle, and not much time in Seattle, so I made that very expensive mistake. I should have known it was going to go badly when the SA steered me straight to the Bonds, which I generally don't like. I do, however, like rose perfumes, although I don't like the really boozy roses or heavy roses like FM Lipstick Rose. (I go for roses like TDC Rose Poivree or Feu d'Issey or Eau d'Italie Paestum Rose -- rose with a weirdness to it.) The opening of this perfume was decent -- a light-ish rose with some fruit to it, but not overly boozy. So I was pleasantly surprised -- I generally don't like the Bond perfumes -- and I took it. 30 minutes after leaving the shop, it turned to bug spray. I have to be very careful with citrus; a lot of citrus turns to bug spray on me. This was one -- it was a scrubber. Ugh. I returned it. If you're in the market for something a little better than the average fruity celebrity perfume, and you can wear citrus, you might want to take a look if you're in the mood to spend a lot of money on a cool-looking bottle of perfume. Otherwise, save your $200 and find something else.
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Fragrances -Chanel - 31 Rue Cambon
lslouffm 7/29/2011 12:21:00 AM
This is my go-to "grownup" perfume. It's classic, yet has enough of a modern edge that I don't feel grandmotherly wearing it. It's a chypre, but I'm picky about my chypres, and can't stand the fuddy-duddy ones. Frankly, this is probably the most perfect chypre that I've found -- I can't handle anything too powdery, and 31, rue Cambon doesn't come off as powdery in the least on me. I can wear it any time of year -- I basically wear it whenever I have an important meeting or presentation and need to dress up and be professional. To me, it says classic, but not hidebound or overly traditional; grownup and sophisticated but not old. It has a fair amount of sillage and good staying power. If I put it on in the morning, it's there when I leave work. People know I'm wearing perfume during the day, but it doesn't have the killer sillage of, say, a Tauer perfume. It's an expensive perfume, and I was fortunate enough to get it as a birthday gift from DH. But the nice thing is that it also smells expensive, unlike, say, the Bond No. 9 perfumes, at least in my experience. So at least if you're spending the money, you get your money's worth.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -CB I Hate Perfume - Memory of Kindness
lslouffm 7/29/2011 12:09:00 AM
You're either going to love this scent or hate it. Whichever it is for you probably depends on whether you've spent a lot of time around tomato plants. On my grandparents' farm, I picked tomatoes every summer for years, so to me this scent encapsulates summer. I adore it because of the memories it invokes -- and like many of the perfumes in this line, that's the point. It's highly personal. Also like the other CB I Hate Perfume perfumes I've tried, this one doesn't have a lot of staying power. (I've had it both in perfume absolute & water perfume, and it's the same for both.) You wear it for the memory, and then you change later in the day. I actually quite enjoy that, and I think that's also part of Christopher Brosius' philosophy. This is a pretty linear perfume, and it's simple. I find I don't wear it as a perfume as much as a way to invoke a mood or a memory. If you want something more complex, you should layer -- that's part of the point of CB I Hate Perfume, anyway. But the bottom line is, if you don't like the smell of tomato plants, or aren't familiar with it, you probably aren't going to like this perfume.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -CB I Hate Perfume - Black March
lslouffm 7/29/2011 12:01:00 AM
I adore this perfume. I should qualify that by saying I'm one of those people who, when someone tells me they have a perfume that smells just like soil, runs to snap it up. (That happens very rarely, except for this perfume.) Nothing to me smells more like spring than this perfume. My grandparents had a farm, and would start their tomato plants in the greenhouse in February. Nothing evokes the experience of planting seeds in soil in a greenhouse on a wet spring day more than the opening of this perfume. In the drydown, the soil stays on but is much less aggressive, and it just smells like earthy, green moss. I've owned both the water perfume and the perfume absolute, and neither has amazing staying power. They last maybe half the day and stay close to the skin. That's fine with me, as wearing this perfume (and a number of the other CB I Hate Perfume scents) is a very personal experience that I don't necessarily want to explain to others.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Serge Lutens - Bois de Violette
lslouffm 7/28/2011 11:52:00 PM
I live in the Northwest, where in recent years summer never seems to come. Bois de Violette is one of my go-to perfumes for those rainy spring, summer and autumn days. This perfume encapsulates much of what I'm looking for in a perfume: a nice dark flower, but not flower-y because of the lovely wood scent. It has enough staying power to get me through the day, but stays close to the skin -- the sillage isn't overpowering, so it's a good work perfume. I only wish I had a bell jar; DH ordered it from the US when it was finally made available there, so I've got only the boring, small rectangular bottle.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No