Eye Shadow -Aromaleigh - Pure Hue [DISCONTINUED]
GeekChick 5/29/2008 4:41:00 PM
These are a great product! The Pure Hue collection is huge, with wonderful pigmentation and a great variety of colors: brights, neutrals, high and low shimmer, warm and cool colors, truly a little something for everyone! The price is also great, especially when you can catch them on the 25% off sales! Like all eyeshadows, I do need to use UDPP to make this last all day on my oily lids. I have almost too many favorites to list. I love the whites that reflect a different color (Alchemy, Wizard Gold, Angel Wing) as highlighters. Moon is also a lovely highlighter. Adobe is my go-to warm neutral and looks awesome with my blue eyes and pale, warm skintone! Suede, Fox, and Tarnish are other great warm neutrals. Lucky is a gorgeous blue-green, even though it's not the best color for blue eyes, I can't help but wear it every now and then :) Hibiscus is a gorgeous bright coral pink -- it works as an eyeshadow or as a blush (since I'm so pale, I wear it under mineral foundation for a subtle glow)!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Aromaleigh - Pure Blush [DISCONTINUED]
GeekChick 5/29/2008 4:35:00 PM
The Pure Blushes are designed to be very light, sheer colors, and are best for pale skintones or people who want only the slightest hint of color. If you're looking for a bold blush or have darker skin, you may want to pass on these! If you do try them, order a sample first to make sure it's what you want! I have only tried two colors so far. Rosewood is gorgeous on my pale, peachy-warm skintone, but I do need to apply it fairly heavily to make it show up! Peach is a lovely color in the container but seems to blend into my skintone too much to show up. However, it can be used to mix with or layer over too-dark blushes! (And I have a lot of too-dark blushes since I'm so pale!)
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Blush -Aromaleigh - Peach Pure Blush [DISCONTINUED]
GeekChick 5/29/2008 4:33:00 PM
Like the other Pure Blushes, this is a very light, sheer color, and is best for pale skintones or people who want a very subtle blush. You can also use them to mix with too-dark blushes. Peach seems to blend into my pale, peachy skintone too much to be really noticeable. However, it does work well to mix or layer with too-dark blushes to tone them down!
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Blush -Aromaleigh - Rosewood Pure Blush [DISCONTINUED]
GeekChick 5/29/2008 4:32:00 PM
Like the other Pure Blushes, this is a very light, sheer color, and is best for pale skintones or people who want a very subtle blush. You can also use them to mix with too-dark blushes. Rosewood looks great on my pale, warm skintone, but I do have to apply it fairly heavily if I want it to be very noticeable!
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Blush -Aromaleigh - Aromaleigh Verve Pure Rouge [DISCONTINUED]
GeekChick 5/29/2008 4:28:00 PM
I have not tried Nars Orgasm, but I have tried the discontinued Milani Luminous which is supposed to be similar. I don't think Verve looks anything like Luminous -- Luminous was a clear peachy-pink with lots of gold shimmer; Verve is more of a warm reddish pinkish color on me. (I think it looks reddish on me because I'm so pale -- I've heard it described as more pink on girls with more medium skintones!) It's a bit dark for my pale skin, but it looks great when worn underneath my mineral foundation!
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Primer/ Corrector -Aromaleigh - Porcelaine Oil Control Mattifying Primer Powder [DISCONTINUED]
GeekChick 5/29/2008 4:26:00 PM
I have super oily skin, and unfortunately this product does little to control shine for me. (However, I've found very few products that actually make a difference in my shine / oil production so this is no surprise to me!) However, I continue to use this product every day because it makes a great primer -- it makes my Aromaleigh Voile foundation last longer without smearing or rubbing off on my blotting sheets! That's worth the price of the product to me! I've found that it works best when applied with a sponge underneath my foundation. Some people prefer to use a brush, and some prefer to use it on top of their foundation, so experiment to see what works best for you! Also, the colors run very light so sample first! Light-Medium is almost white, but since I'm so pale it blends into my skintone and I can still wear it :) Definitely sample two or three colors first if you're not sure. The price is reasonable -- I always wait for it to go on sale for 25% off then I stock up!
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Blush -Aromaleigh - Pure Rouge [DISCONTINUED]
GeekChick 5/29/2008 4:15:00 PM
This is an excellent line of mineral blushes! There is a huge selection of colors, warm and cool, light and dark, a little something for everyone! I've always had a hard time finding blushes that looked good on my pale, peachy-warm skintone. Most brands would only carry one or two blushes light enough for me, and it was usually an unflattering cool pink. But I have several Pure Rouges that look great on me! Nectar is my all-time favorite blush, it's just the perfect color for me! I actually find it quite similar to the discontinued Milani Luminous (which is supposedly similar to Nars Orgasm, though I've never tried Nars). This difference is that Nectar does not have the gold shimmer that Luminous had, which IMO makes Nectar even better! Nectar just has a very subtle shimmer that's about the same color as the peachy-pink base. Aromaleigh claims that Verve is similar to Orgasm but I don't really think it is, Verve seems too reddish to me. However, Verve is a lovely color in its own right -- since it's a bit dark for me, I wear it under my mineral foundation or I layer Pure Rouge in Innocence over the top to tone it down. (Innocence is a pale peach with more shimmer than most of the Pure Rouges.) Epitome, Glazed, and Ambrosia are great peachy colors for warm skin. Cashmere and Myrtle are two pinkish colors that are surprisingly wearable on my warm skin! Rosette isn't too bad either. Prices are reasonable -- start with samples, which are very generous and will last you a long time! If you like a color, a Mini size is really all you need (unless you wear the same color every day). You can also wait for them to go on sale for 25% off!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyes -Aromaleigh - Eye shadows [DISCONTINUED]
GeekChick 5/29/2008 4:10:00 PM
This is my favorite brand of eyeshadow! With the huge color selection I don't even need to buy any other brands. Quality is great -- a wonderful variety of neutrals, brights, metallics, high shimmer, subtle shimmer, and mattes -- a little something for everyone! There are several collections, each with their own characteristics. Prices are good -- $8 may sound like a lot, but the Frosts and Lustres come in HUGE containers (10g jars). Plus, different products go on sale for 25% off each week. And if it's a color you're not going to wear very often, a sample will last you a loooong time! Samples are an excellent way to collect a huge variety of colors that you might not otherwise try if you had to pay for a full size! (And sample-only orders have free shipping, yay!) Since I have super oily skin and deep set eyes, no eyeshadow lasts long without a primer. I use Urban Decay's Primer Potion, and with it Aromaleigh's eyeshadows last all day just fine! Some of my favorites from each collection (keep in mind I have blue eyes and pale, warm skin): The Lustres are gorgeous, medium shimmer colors with a mix of neutral and fairly bright colors. Olivia is one of my all-time favorite eyeshadows! I also like Angelique, Sophie, Amelie, Edie, Chloe. The Elemental Lustres are gorgeously complex colors with a high metallic shimmer (but not true glitter). They are so shimmery that some colors almost look wet or glossy even when applied dry! Entangle is one of my favorite everyday neutrals -- the metallic shimmer makes it much more fun than a typical "boring" neutral :) Other colors that look awesome with blue eyes include Torrid, Ardent, Blaze, Pyro, and Seethe. I also like Abyss, Swank, and Blast for something different. Startle is a lovely highlighter! The new Gothic Lolita Collection is awesome, a great mix of warms, cools, brights, and neutrals -- definitely something for everyone! Even though it's not the best color for blue eyes, I absolutely love Aqua Nightmare since aqua is a great color for my skintone and I look great in aqua shirts -- I usually just use Aqua Nightmare as an eyeliner to keep it more subtle. Other favorites are Angel Bouquet and Burnt Roses. The Frosts are lovely colors, a little less shimmery than some of the other collections like the Lustres. I like Damask, Gilt, Hazelnut, Wish, and Desire. The Mattes and Carolina Summer collections are two lovely matte collections. I am just venturing into the world of mattes so I haven't tried many of these colors, but so far I like Starfish, Venus, and Latte! The Satin Petals collection is a lovely collection of muted, soft, mostly cool colors. Great for just a soft hint of color! I often use Marigold as a highlighter. Foxglove is a great basic taupe. The Pure Hues are a huge a collection with tons of variety! I have too many favorites to list here! I love the white colors that reflect a different color (such as Alchemy, Wizard Gold, Angel Wing) as highlighters. Adobe is my current go-to warm neutral color. Finally, the Rocks collection is a hybrid collection (not pure mineral makeup). Most of the colors are very bright or very dark, but there are a few surprisingly wearable shades for weekdays too! I love slowburn with my blue eyes. Stillinhollywood is the perfect purple and looks great on both warm and cool skintones!
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Powder -Aromaleigh - Voile [DISCONTINUED]
GeekChick 5/29/2008 3:44:00 PM
This is my HG foundation! I have super pale skin and could very rarely find a foundation pale enough for me, not even in brands that are supposedly good for pale skin like Prescriptives. The few foundations I found that were pale enough for me had the wrong undertones -- some had too much beige tones which made me look pasty and sickly; others were too pink which looked like Pepto-Bismol. After some sampling I discovered that a blend of Voile in Alabaster and 1W is the PERFECT match for my warm peachy skintone! Since I've started wearing this, several people have told me that it looks great and you can't even tell I'm wearing foundation -- such a wonderful change from the mask-like liquid foundations I was wearing in the past! I don't think I will ever switch foundation brands! Besides the perfect color, I love how this foundation has a true matte finish, which is rather hard to find in mineral makeup. (Aromaleigh also sells several shimmery finishing powders if you prefer a shimmery finish.) The matte finish works well on my oily skin. I still need to use primers and touch up with blotting sheets to make the Voile last all day, but my skin is so oily that I've never found a foundation that stayed matte for more than a few hours so that's fine with me! It's also bismuth free so it's good for sensitive skin (though admitedly my skin is not very sensitive). The price is also reasonable -- a bit more than drugstore brands but a MUCH better quality, and much cheaper than department store brands! Wait for it to go on sale to save even more!
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Sunscreen -Neutrogena - Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock SPF 70
GeekChick 5/29/2008 3:36:00 PM
Pros: High SPF, stable under mineral makeup, noncomedogenic (won't clog pores), great price Cons: I found this to be very thick and greasy, and was a horrible texture for my very oily skin! It took FOREVER to dry, so it's impractical to wear under mineral makeup since it's pretty hard to apply dry powder on top of greasy, wet sunscreen! It also left white streaks very easily, and even tended to "pill up" into white balls when I tried to apply my makeup. Gross! I do use this sunscreen if I'm going to be outside all day without makeup (say, at the pool). But this is definitely not good for an everyday sunscreen!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Sunscreen -Hawaiian Tropic - Hawaiian Tropic Oil-Free Faces SPF 30, Sheer Reflections Formula [DISCONTINUED]
GeekChick 5/29/2008 3:33:00 PM
I have super oily skin and am looking for an everyday sunscreen to wear under makeup. I liked this sunscreen because it's not greasy and dries very quickly, it has a fairly high SPF (I'd like to wear at least SPF 30 since I have several risk factors for skin cancer), it's stable under mineral makeup, and it's fragrance free (several fragrances bother my allergies). Plus, the price can't be beat -- $8 for a huge bottle! However, even though I don't normally have sensitive skin, I must have been allergic to this because it made my face burn! I had to return it the next day. If it wasn't for this, I would have continued to use this as my everyday sunscreen.
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Sunscreen -Shiseido - Ultimate Sun Protection Lotion SPF 55 PA+++ [DISCONTINUED]
GeekChick 5/29/2008 3:07:00 PM
I have very oily skin and this was recommended as a good sunscreen for oily skin. Pros: This sunscreen has some of the best mattifying effects I've seen! It's comparable to my other favorite mattyfing product, CO Bigelow Extra-Light Face Lotion. These are actually the only two products I've tried that make any difference in my oily skin! Granted, it only kept me matte until lunchtime, but without it I'd be oily by mid morning. I also like how this sunscreen dried quickly, is stable for mineral makeup users, and has a high SPF (I have several risk factors for skin cancer). Cons: The fragrance! I found this to have a very strong, heavy perfumy fragrance that didn't fade until sometime after lunch! Besides the fact that I don't want to smell a product on my face all day (yuck), the synthetic fragrance really bothered my allergies, giving me a sinus headache (my most common allergy symptom) and making my sensitive eyes burn all morning! I wore this for one day and promptly returned it. Another con is the price tag -- $37 for a tiny bottle! If Shiseido would make a fragrance-free version of this product, I would consider buying it again since it's one of the few sunscreens that worked well for my oily skin, despite the high price tag.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No