Pressed Powders -Bourjois - Healthy Balance Unifying Powder
Emma13 5/14/2013 9:51:00 AM
I have this in the shade 52 vanilla. The colour is perfect, it is quite yellow and that is what I look for to counteract the redness in my face. My previous face powder was the Clarins mineral powder. This compares as follows to the much more expensive Clarins: shade – Bourjois just about trumps Clarins (more of a neutral yellow shade). Mattifying power – the Clarins was just about useless in this respect so Bourjois is better. It does hold reasonably matte during the day, and I normally do get quite shiny very quickly. Finish – this is what lets the Bourjois powder down: it has quite a dry, powdery finish and emphasises any dry flakes on my skin. It also goes on cakey if I put on too much. It has a lot of coverage, even too much as I like my powders on the sheer side. The packaging is also annoying as it does not accommodate any kind of puff. I have used this powder for a couple of weeks now, and based on this though I think it is decent especially for the price, I would not repurchase.
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Lipstick -Revlon - Colorburst Lip Butter - Candy Apple
Emma13 12/1/2012 6:18:00 AM
I had to try these, and given the very limited colour selection where I live, I chose candy apple. I figured, if it's unwearably bright then at least it didn't cost much... This colour is a bright, orangey-coral red on me. I do not see any blue in it at all. It looks best as a sheer layer of barely there colour, or a brightening top coat on top of another lipstick. The texture is very moisturising. I would buy the product again, but not this shade - it would be great in a natural rosy-pink.
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Conditioner -Peter Thomas Roth - Mega Rich Conditioner
Emma13 12/1/2012 6:09:00 AM
I got a small tube in a hotel I was staying. This conditioner is not "mega rich", it's just average, light-weight conditioner. it was fine, left my fine wavy hair soft, but nothing special. I like my Garnier triple condition much better and I can imagine that this would be expensive, too. Possibly PTR should stick to skin care, which they do well.
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Eye Shadow -Clarins - Wet & Dry Eye Quartet Mineral Palette (All Shades)
Emma13 10/27/2012 9:47:00 AM
UPDATED with further detail. *** I happened upon these new quads while travelling, and my eye was caught by "Odyssey" #09. I love this quad even though it has one very odd colour I may never use. The shadows are wonderfully silky in texture and have a great finish, they can be used wet or dry. I haven't tried them wet, but I used them dry (over primer) on a business trip and was pleased how well they hold up over the course of the day. The first three colours in this quad are neutrals but more on the warm side. They give me a perfectly "finished" look that is subtle and grown-up. All the colours bring out my cool green eyes beautifully. The lightest colour is a shimmery oatmeal shade that is even borderline frosty. I would prefer a tad less shimmer, but on the other hand it brings light to the inner corners of eyelids in a way that is rather flattering. The middle shade is very close to Bobbi Brown's "burned sugar" metallic, but less shimmery. This is definitely a warm yellow-based shade, it can look too warm if I apply too much. It has a very subtle golden sheen that reads as almost matte (but not flat) on the lids. It makes a beautiful crease shade and works also as a wash. The darkest shade is a cocoa-brown with barely discernible golden sheen. It also is gorgeous with my green eyes, and works as a subtle liner or a smokey eye. Unfortunately this shade is hard to blend, and can go on patchy. Now the fourth shade - it really is rather silly but I couldn't resist the others so I put up with it. This is a gold - a real, metallic reddish gold that is not a powder at all, but feels like a cream and goes on in huge flakes... on my hand I can make it look like real gold foil, but on my lids I have not yet worked out what to do with it. Possibly that is due to the fact my eyelids aren't completely smooth any more.... I guess could make it work as a gold liner for a new year's party... but the effect is so ridiculously over-the-top all I could think of when I had it on was "showgirl"! It might work better on someone young. .... so anyway despite the weird over-the-top party gold, I very much like this quad. It can take me from day to night and I know my eyes will look great. The only thing I need to add is black mascara and (if I want a more emphatic look) black liner. So I give it an A+ Naturally, I would buy it again. Caveat: For those who own plenty of eyeshadows, the shades are not very unique and I imagine you could easily find dupes in, for example, MAC. But for me, it's a very useful thing to have all the shades I need (plus one I don't) in a chic compact.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyes -Bobbi Brown - Day to Night Shadow Options palette
Emma13 10/23/2012 10:10:00 AM
UPDATE: I am putting this up for swap. While these colours make very pretty eyes for someone who likes a grown-up, chic and natural look, I just realised that because I have to wear glasses, these shades are just too subtle to show up behind my extra-strength goggles... :-( If I could use contact lenses on a daily basis I would surely keep this beautiful palette! **** I bought this palette at the airport. It is a sleek, black case with seven eye shadows and a double-ended brush and a mirror. It looks gorgeous. The shades are cool rather than warm. Ivory is a matte base or highlight shade, exactly as the name implies. Dusty Plum is a metallic light mauve. Eggplant is a warm purple shimmer wash, that applies lightly or darkly depending on how you layer it. Star is an off-white sparkle. Volcano is a warm grey sparkle. Diamond is a shimmer wash that looks a light blueish grey in the pan but goes on a silvery shimmer. Caviar is an almost-black matte. I love eggplant and caviar - they make beautiful liner shades. Eggplant and Dusty Plum look great on my green eyes. Diamond is a little cool for my skin (very yellow and ruddy). The sparkles are quite sheer but the microglitter in them is rather grown-up and, dare I say chic. I would use them to "top up" other shades. This looks like a great and versatile autumn-winter collection.
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Eye Shadow -Bobbi Brown - Eyeshadow in Caviar
Emma13 10/22/2012 5:03:00 AM
I have this as part of the day & night shadow options palette. At first it looked like Charcoal (which I have also) but then I realised that while Charcoal is absolutely black, Caviar is a not-quite-black, actually very deep brown. It looks like black but slightly less intense, hence less harsh. I like Caviar very much as a liner shade, it has excellent colour pay off and stays put very well especially when applied with a wet brush (just like Charcoal - and Smoke which is a similar shade but I think just a tad lighter). Given that BB's dark shadows are so excellent, I really wonder why her lighter ones often have very poor colour payoff. They really are very hit and miss. I would buy Caviar again if I run out.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Bobbi Brown - Shimmer Wash Eyeshadow in Eggplant
Emma13 10/22/2012 4:57:00 AM
I have this as part of the day & night shadow options palette. (This shade was part of why I bought the palette, actually.) As a previous reviewer said, this is not exactly a "deep purple," but more a shimmery wash that can be light or dark depending on how you layer it. I like the fact it isn't too too shimmery. I use it as a liner and it looks beautiful with my green eyes. Haven't tried to do a more dramatic smokey look with it yet. A nice quality shadow.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Bobbi Brown - Ivory 51
Emma13 10/22/2012 4:52:00 AM
I have this as part of the day & night shadow options palette. I also have Bone, which is my go-to base shade. Ivory is somewhat lighter than bone, but not bright white. However my main gripe with Bone is the lack of pigment - and this shade has if possible even less! It's almost like applying pale-coloured face powder, that's how transparent this is. I don't understand how people can say it "evens out" their lid colour. I have to apply it over primer to even get it to show up at all on my fair skin (Chanel ML 20/clair) With more pigment it would be a great neutral matte highlighting or base shade; as it is now it is just Incredibly Disappointing. Texture as usual is fine and silky.
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Moisturizers -Nivea - Pure and Natural Moisturizing Day Cream
Emma13 10/6/2012 9:10:00 AM
Pros: very moisturising, got rid of skin flakes. Cheap. Cons: made my skin sensitive. I didn't break out from it, but my cheeks became red each time I applied it. Clearly there is some ingredient here that is sensitizing. I rarely react to skin products, by the way. I would not buy it again.
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Foundations -Meow Cosmetics - Pampered Puss Mineral Foundation
Emma13 6/26/2012 4:05:00 AM
I have used PPMF now for a couple of weeks straight, and I'm really enjoying it. I ordered tons of samples from them first, because they have so many colours and the choices are quite overwhelming. In fact there were more than one shade that matched me, finally, and I went for Abyssinian. I need quite a yellow shade because while my face is not that yellow, my neck and chest/body skin tone is. Yellow fdn also helps even out the redness in my face. So, this foundation then. I normally use liquid Chanel mat lumiere in 02. I tried some other MMU and did not like them (e.g. Jane Iredale), mainly I don't like any shimmer or glow in my foundation. Meow thankfully is matte. The powder goes on easily, a little goes a long way but if I put on too much it's pretty easy to buff off excess. I apply this with the Jane Iredale flat kabuki brush. On my nose I add a little using a puff, to cover pores better. The finish is very natural. This is not a full coverage powder, not even medium I'd say but rather light. I have uneven skin tone and some redness in my face, and this powder certainly does not cover all of it. But it does even out things so that I look 10x better than without makeup, and it does so while looking like I'm wearing virtually no makeup at all! I prefer this look to a heavily made up one. For a formal occasion where I needed to look perfectly polished, I would not wear this foundation though, I'd go with my Chanel liquid. But this is fine for everyday - including for the office. The munchkin package is a good size, the price is nice. Samples are cheap, and that's just as well because you absolutely need to try samples first. What's to complain? Well, the colours as other people have said are not very logical; I needed to order a ton of samples to find my shade; the names are frankly silly; and there seems to be a shade missing between "frisky" and "naughty" - in every colour! I had to buy both shades, because frisky alone is a bit too light and naughty alone is too dark. Finally a word about "purrfect" and "flawless". The latter offers more coverage but I felt it could look at bit chalky too. Purrfect is more transparent. Out of all three, I preferred pampered because it still looks perfectly natural while giving a bit of coverage.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Pressed Powders -Clarins - Ever Matte mineral powder compact
Emma13 5/24/2012 11:20:00 AM
Updated **** I still like this for its wonderful feel and natural finish, but it does not to the main thing that I expect a face powder to do: keep my face from getting shiny. So I downgraded it to 2 lippies. Those with dryer skin might really like this though. **** I just bought this to replace my Chanel powder compact (great finish and colour, but very poor at combating shine). I wasn't aware that this was a "mineral" powder, but never mind. I got shade 01, which is excellent for me as it is yellow-based. This is _not_ a powder foundation, so doesn't have much coverage - which is what I prefer. For me a powder should fix foundation and matify, while ideally looking as if there is nothing on the skin. So, I've only used this 2 days so far but I'm very impressed. Even when applied with the crappy applicator (as I didn't have my brush handy), it applied beautifully and left a non-cakey, natural matte finish. The staying powder was quite decent: I have combination skin with surface dryness yet I get shiny very easily - a strange and unwelcome characteristic! This lasted a good few hours before I needed a touch up (in warm weather, with emollient moisturiser underneath foundation =shine city!). Applying with a buff will definitely give a more lasting finish than brushing it on, as I discovered today. What I like is that it kept my foundation (Chanel Mat Lumiere in "clair") looking virtually perfect the whole day, even when the shine broke through. Touching up did not create cakiness. I hope it will keep performing like this - dare I say it I hope I'm on to a winner here! Scent: none that I can detect. Packaging: plasticky gold, not chic exactly. Puff inside is rubbish, but the mirror is good and large, and the lid opens wide. I thought the price was nice, but then realised that the compact only holds 10g as opposed to the Chanel 15g - so not that cheap actually. But I would most probably buy this again. EDIT: yes it IS scented - strange that I didn't notice at first. There is quite a strong floral scent.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Treatments -Palmers - Cocoa Butter Dark Chocolate & Peppermint Lip Butter
Emma13 4/2/2012 9:01:00 AM
This is an okay lip balm. It's quite glossy, and smells nice. The moisturising effect does not last long however. My Biotherm lip butter is more expensive but also much more effective.
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Moisturizers -Paula's Choice - RESIST Cellular Defense Daily Moisturizer SPF 25
Emma13 3/25/2012 7:04:00 AM
I have combination skin, prone to surface dryness, slightly sensitive. I used a sample and found this product very thick and greasy. It does not, however, leave a white cast on my skin. But my combo skin despite not feeling very well hydrated, is left shiny and greasy. I might use this in winter time, but given the SPF factor I was hoping that it would work for summer. Alas, no. I need a lighter product. I ended buying Olay's Complete SPF30 which is so much more lightweight, not to mention a heck of a lot cheaper! I love PC products but this one, and the Barrier Repair from the same series, have been disappointing. Their prices are also creeping up in a way I find annoying.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Paula's Choice - RESIST Barrier Repair Moisturizer
Emma13 3/25/2012 7:00:00 AM
I have combination skin with tendency to surface dryness and flaking; slightly sensitive. I used a sample of this product. Given the name, I expected a rich moisturiser, but the product is more like a cream-gel consistency. I wanted to like this, as it has a lot of good ingredients, but it simply was not hydrating enough for my skin and my face felt tight and uncomfortable. Possibly this could work for me in a warmer, or more humid climate but as it is, I would need to layer it with a very hydrating serum. Might try this again in the summer, but for now it's a fail unfortunately.
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Lip Treatments -Biotherm - Beurre de Levres
Emma13 12/16/2011 6:38:00 AM
This is an excellent lip balm. I'm very picky about balms because I have chronically dry lips. I don't generally do well with stick lip balms. I ran out of my favourites (Blistex in a pot and a lip treatment from a Scandinavian brand called Favora), so I bought a tube of Aloe lip treatment from The Body Shop - it was absolutely terrible and made my lips flake even worse! So in desperation I grabbed this at the airport duty free shop. I'm pleased with it, it does the job very well, soothes and has eliminated the dry bits on my lips. What more do I need? The price was actually not bad, 7 euros for a reasonably big tube at the airport shop, so I reckon it's either the same price or even cheaper than TBS. I would definitely buy this again.
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