Skincare - Face -Ole Henriksen - Truth Serum
ickdragon 6/16/2010 7:29:00 PM
Smells great, absorbs easily, skin instantly looks brighter. No sticky, goopy residue left behind. Glass bottle with pump top stores easily and locks into place for travel. Other reviewers mentioned the serum not being shelf stable since the glass bottle exposes the vitamin c to light. I keep mine in the medicine cabinet and sometimes under neath the sink, so light exposure is limited. If you think about, no product is completely safe from light or exposure to any kind of elements. I've been using this product for over 3 months now and have well over half left of the bottle. Best yet, the patches of discoloration on my forehead that appeared last summer after being in the sun following use of AHA have finally started to go away! This was purchased as part of the 3 Little Wonders Set and I would definitely repurchase!
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Treatments -Burt's Bees - Natural Acne Solutions - Targeted Spot Treatment
ickdragon 6/16/2010 7:19:00 PM
My little miracle worker! Smells pleasant enough, doesn't sting, 100% natural and yet completely effective. Works very quickly to reduce breakouts. I recently started running on the treadmill and noticed some chest and back breakouts from sweating. I've been applying daily for a little under a week and things are pretty much back to normal! My only gripe is how small this bottle is for $9.99. It's annoying to think I've already used 25% of the bottle in such a short time, but for results such as these, I would be willing to shell out the money again.
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Treatments (Eye) -Clinique - All About Eyes
ickdragon 6/16/2010 7:13:00 PM
All About Eyes is a solid eye moisturizer. The formula is rich and hydrating. You do need to wait a couple of minutes before applying eye makeup to ensure there's no weird waxy residue. All About Eyes claims to diminish under eye circles, fine lines and moisturize the eye area. I agree with 2 out of the 3 claims. This is the first eye cream that has ever reduced the appearance of dark eye circles. My eyes look significantly less tired and the dark shadows have lightened. The eye cream keeps my eye area nicely moisturized throughout the day! There's no need to reapply at a later point in the day - it really lasts that long. The downfall of this eye cream is the inability to help my fine lines. Perhaps it hasn't been long enough (I've been using it for 4+ weeks), but I haven't noticed any changes.
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Treatments -Burt's Bees - Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream
ickdragon 7/28/2009 11:51:00 PM
As far as cuticle creams go, this stuff works. I chew on my cuticles (yes, it's gross, I know) and have raggedy cuticles as a result. When my hands start looking particularly haggard, I apply this cream at night (sometimes for a few nights in a row) and I wake up to better looking skin. This seems to be the trend with all Burt's Bees products. Once you work the cream in, it's not really greasy. It has a lovely lemon scent that I find positively intoxicating. I believe this retails for right around $6, but I know I've purchased it before on sale for about half.
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Lotions/ Creams -Burt's Bees - Coconut Foot Creme
ickdragon 7/28/2009 11:47:00 PM
I love me some coconut and this product smells so yummy!! Interesting to note that you can actually eat any of the Burt's Bees products because they are natural, but I think I'll still pass. ;-) This is a thick, almost jelly like cream that is wonderously moisturizing for dry cracked heels. I love nothing more than to slather this on at night, don a pair of socks and then wake up to great smelling and super soft feet. Make sure to do a good washing the next morning before putting shoes on because even after a night, not everything sinks in. If you don't, let me warn you - your shoes will be slippery. Even thought this is called Coconut Foot Cream, there are actually two dominant smells: coconut and peppermint. The coconut oil is super moisturizing and healthy for your skin and the peppermint oil is relaxing to the senses and helps recharge your skin. A tube of this is around $8 and can be purchased at Whole Foods, Longs/CVS and Target. It lasts forever and ever, but even if it didn't, this would still be a great purchase!
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Eyeliner -BeneFit Cosmetics - Eye Bright
ickdragon 7/28/2009 11:40:00 PM
I wanted to try Benefit's Eye Bright after seeing Carmindy use the product on What Not To Wear. Surprise, surprise, it actually works. The light pink pencil is creamy and blendable. I would have loved this product if lasted longer, both in wear and in use. It didn't even last the whole morning after being applied around 7am. Since I had to reapply it so often and then continuously sharpen it, the product itself was one in no time. That's a quick $20, let me tell you. I really like the concept, but to me, it's not worth having to pay that much and then go through the product so quickly.
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Blush -BeneFit Cosmetics - Coralista
ickdragon 7/28/2009 11:35:00 PM
Meh. What a disappointment. I craved this pretty coral pink blush from the moment I saw it. When I swatched it at Sephora, I was so excited to see how well it went with my skin tone. I rushed right home to apply and was sad that the effect on my face wasn't the same! Instead of looking like I had lovely flushed cheeks, I looked garish and over done. And this was with a one-coat light hand approach. I washed off my other makeup and tried again, only to have the same effect. Boo, just boo. Thank you Sephora for your wonderful return policy...otherwise I would have been sad about $30 I spent and lost. On a side note, this could just be the bitterness talking, but $30 is, realistically, quite a bit of money for a little box of powder. I've always thought Benefit's blushes were overpriced, but I overlooked that fact when I first saw Coralista and decided I really really wanted it. Oh, well.
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Highlighters -BeneFit Cosmetics - High Beam
ickdragon 7/28/2009 11:28:00 PM
A lovely pink glowy highlighter. A little goes a long way so be careful not to overdue it. I never really notice the effect of High Beam in real life, but in pictures, my skin looks really nice. I'm impressed that it lasts as long as it does even on my oily skin. The bottle is really cute and looks like nail polish. I wish High Beam cost a little bit less, but what can you really do?!
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Brows -BeneFit Cosmetics - Brow-Zing in Medium
ickdragon 7/28/2009 11:20:00 PM
This little kit, while darling, is pretty expensive and not worth the cost. It's nice that all the essential elements are there - tweezers, little brush, wax and powder - but it's TINY! I purchased the Medium shade, but it wasn't a perfect match. I had trouble getting the powder to adhere to my brows and little sparse areas. The wax didn't help much and definitely didn't hold my brows in place. It actually made my brows feel really thick and coated. Sadly, I think I originally purchased this kit because I thought the itsy bitsy tweezers were darling, but it ended up being $30 I threw away.
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Mascara -BeneFit Cosmetics - BADgal Lash
ickdragon 7/28/2009 11:08:00 PM
I really didn't like this mascara, but as it turns out, my Mom loves it. I found the wand too large and clumsy to handle and the mascara formula itself wasn't anything special. It creates some volume, but for me, it didn't last very long. My Mom, on the other hand, loves using this mascara as her finishing touch. She uses a couple of different regular mascara and then she'll do a final coat of Bad Gal, focusing on the tips and the outer lashes. It really does make a difference for her and she's happy my loss was her new treasure.
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Concealers -BeneFit Cosmetics - Lemon Aid
ickdragon 7/28/2009 11:06:00 PM
As far as eye primers go, Benefit's Lemon Aid would not be my first choice. It doesn't mattify or hold eyeshadow, but it does do wonders for evening out your skin tone. With my oily eyelids, it creases like crazy - which is a no no for me. If Benefit could steal Urban Decay's Primer Potion formula and just insert the lovely yellow, it would be the perfect product for me!
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Primer/ Corrector -BeneFit Cosmetics - Dr Feelgood
ickdragon 7/28/2009 10:58:00 PM
Ew. Dr. Feelgood is hands down the most disgusting cosmetic product I've ever had on my face. I received a mini makeover at the Benefit counter and the sales gal told me the product would be great for my oily skin. Too bad it felt like sludge going on and looked like an oil field on my face. This was one makeover that wasn't over soon enough. I wiped my face clean the moment I got into the car, which makes me sad because makeover are supposed to be a good thing! I'm not sure why I had such a bad reaction with this product - maybe too much was used - but I will never ever use it again!
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Concealers -BeneFit Cosmetics - Boi-ing
ickdragon 7/28/2009 10:54:00 PM
I wasn't super impressed with this concealer mainly because it just didn't last very long on my skin. I purchased this in the middle shade (Shade 2) and it was a fairly accurate match for my skin tone. I really also liked that the compact came with a mirror (always a bonus!) and snaps securely in place. Unfortunately, after about an hour's time, I had massive creases under my eyes. I tried to adjust the amount I used, but then either the dark circles would still be showing or I would end up with the creases. Kind of a lose lose situation for me. I have pretty oily skin, so I think this product would work best for those with dry complexions since it is so creamy.
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Brows -Anastasia Of Beverly Hills - Anastasia Brow Gel
ickdragon 7/28/2009 10:47:00 PM
I absolutely love Anastasia's eye brow gel and cannot be without it! It's an expensive purchase at $21, but I've never had success with any other brow gels or clear mascaras. They never lasted as long, didn't flake and stayed put the way Anastasia's gel does. The wand always disperses the perfect amount on my brows to keep them nicely in place, instead of looking plastered or crunchy. I wish the product amount was a little more generous for the price, but luckily, one tube lasts for months and months. (I think my last purchase was about 6 months ago and I just ran out last week.) If you have unruly brows or just would like to add some polish, consider trying this brand. I prefer the clear gel, but Anastasia also offers a couple of color gels as well.
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Lotions/ Creams -Alba Botanica - very emollient body lotion - daily shade formula
ickdragon 7/28/2009 10:40:00 PM
This is Alba's SPF version of their Very Emollient Body Lotion. I believe it's SPF 16, which isn't much, but it's still better than nothing. Personally, I hate sunscreen and I intentionally purchased this lotion to wear during the summer when I'm going to get a little bit of sun exposure (walking around, driving, etc.) So far, I like the lotion. It doesn't smell of sunscreen, but it also doesn't have that normal "Alba smell." Whatever it smells of, it's light and so far, hasn't bothered me. It applies a little thicker than my regular Maximum dry skin formula Alba, so I just have to remember to give myself more time before dressing. I noticed it takes on a sort of wet feeling as it's drying, but that passes once it's all absorbed. The regular price is $9.99 (I believe) at Whole Foods. I waited until it was on sale and saved about $2.
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