Bath Treatments -LUSH - Up You Gets Emotibomb
Abrial 9/19/2011 1:03:00 AM
I really don't think this product really did anything what so ever. The scent of this was barely discernible, and I kept it out of the stream of the shower and it dissolved almost immediately. I got this in a gift set, so it does not break my heart too much, but this is something that I think is quite pointless...I mean you get this to scent your shower? Yeah not really.
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Blush -E.L.F. - Fuchsia Fusion
Abrial 9/6/2011 3:07:00 PM
This blush is so incredibly bright, I knew I had to buy it when browsing through the isles. The best part about this blush is how pigmented it is, although I found it quite upsetting that this blush for only $3 was better than some of the ones I have that are almost 10x the price. I doubt I am ever going to buy a blush from any other brand again. Fushia Fusion, I have to admit I found the name quite comical, since Fuchsia is spelled incorrectly. I wonder if that is on purpose or just a mistake Anyways, this bright cool toned fuchsia color with a slight amount of silver sparkles has stolen my heart. The smoothness of this blush is something only usually seen in the most high end of brands, ELF is really stepping up. The pigmentation on this blush is really dependent on how you apply it. You could make it so there is only a soft pink glow, up to bright fuchsia cheeks, its up to you how much you pack it on. My favorite way is just to dab my brush into the blush very lightly, just once, and it is more than enough to do both cheeks. As for lasting power, these are absolutely fantastic. Before I found these ELF studio blushes, I always carried around a blush along with a brush. Now I need not worry, I apply this on in the morning and it will go through the even longest of my classes, lab, and a kickboxing class. Even when the rest of my makeup has been basically sweated off, this cheeker is still going strong. I absolutely adore this packaging, its quite heavy duty and feels very solid and sturdy for only a $3 product. The little mirror in this product makes me think of this product almost as being similar to NARS...yet I honestly think that these blushes are better quality. I'm glad I bought these, because I think I will get every one I lay my hands on if they are even a fraction of being as nice as this blusher is.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -E.L.F. - brightening eyeshadow quad - drama
Abrial 9/6/2011 2:51:00 PM
I got this quad, simply because I am too afraid to take my high end palates with me on vacation. I would rather crack and damage something worth $1, than one worth $50+. For what it is, I think it does a pretty good job, but I'm surprised at such bad reviews I've seen on this palate (and that is coming from a person who used to be a makeup snob). I found the pigmentation on this palate to be quite nice, and easy to translate to the eyes. Especially on the white and the black (which I think is way better quality that MAC's Carbon eyeshadow). The two gray colors I can understand some issues there because they are quite glittery, especially the one on the far right. But I've found that if I lightly spray my brush with some water, it goes on smoothly and without fallout. But I see absolutely no issues with pigmentation as others had had, and this palate rivals some of my higher end ones, in addition to being easier on the wallet. The packaging, yes it isn't the best. And the little applicator actually fell apart into three pieces the first time I opened it, right when I got home from Target. But honestly, for $1 I don't think its that bad. It hasn't cracked, and all of the eyeshadows are in one piece, are highly pigmented, and that is all I can ask for.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -E.L.F. - Non-Stop Eye Color -- Butternut
Abrial 9/6/2011 2:34:00 PM
Now I have to admit I got this eyeshadow quad mainly just for the two right hand shadows. I wanted to see if they were dupes for some higher end shadows. I have to admit I was a bit disappointed that the two lighter shadows barely show up on me. There is no excuse butternut! I am pale as can be, and I've never had shadows not even show up on me. When swatched on my fingers they just barely showed up, and when applied to my eyes, it was like nothing was even there. However those two shadow mishaps are not enough to bring the rating of this review down too much. Mainly because the two darker shades are wonderfully pigmented and beautiful as can be. The right hand most shadow is this wonderful golden brown color that is so smooth and silky. The other dark brown is the perfect shade for filling in my brows as long as I use it sparingly, ha to that MAC, I'll spend a dollar rather than get your expensive eyeshadow refills. Those two shadows make the $1 price tag of this quad beyond worth it. I would absolutely love to see ELF make a quad that had the smooth creamy texture of the two darker shades, through every single shadow on the palate, but for $1 I'm not complaining.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Essie - French Affair, Spring 2011
Abrial 8/4/2011 6:38:00 PM
I'm completely peeved with this nail polish...and after how many times I've tried this color I have finally given up. Once again looking at the milky pink in the bottle, it really does not appear the same on the nails as in the bottle, on the nails this is a true bubblegum pink. That would not bother me had the formulation been good. Compared to some of my other Essie nail polishes in which one-two coats is opaque. This however is like none of the rest, streaky to the tenth degree it is necessary to use 3-4 coats minimum to get an opaque rendering. Also to give a good show of quality, I painted this nail polish at 11am in the morning by 3pm I have a gigantic chip in two of my nails, and I hadn't done anything except work on my computer. That is ridiculous, not even my good top coat could save this nail polish...I've given up trying. I'm going to only use this for water marbling and nail decoration, its not worth repairing the chips as often as necessary. The first fail I've had from Essie.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -Aveeno - Aveeno Clear Complexion Foaming Cleanser
Abrial 6/18/2011 11:20:00 PM
I'm quite surprised that I see quite a few bad reviews...but then again that will happen if one does not use a product long enough. It is usually suggested that you should try a product for at least 3-4 weeks before claiming it does not function what so ever. This product yes originally gave me some acne, which is troublesome for a person who does not normally have break outs all that often. But then thinking about it, this product was getting everything out of my pores. After 2 and a half to 3 weeks, my skin was completely clear. Having super dry and acne prone skin makes it extremely difficult to find a cleaner. Everything would make my skin so tight it would hurt, which made matters even worse. But things that tend to be for dry skin, don't work for acne sufferers, so it was quite a conundrum. This is one of the first I have come across that does not strip my skin of the moisture, but still keeps the acne at bay. Its been over a year later, and my skin is still completely blemish free. I'm also surprised how long the bottles have lasted, the pump dispenses the perfect amount. I think it has lasted a good 3-4 months with 2 times daily usage. If you have a bad pump, know that it is a malfunction, I had one bottle like that and it drove me completely bonkers. I tried almost everything before I got to this cleanser, from Fresh, Philosophy, Clinique, Shisheido, Neutrogena and beyond, this is by far the best for my skin.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments (Eye) -Mary Kay - Targeted Action Eye Revitalizer
Abrial 4/6/2011 8:58:00 PM
I have used this for quite some time, and yet absolutely no results. I have dark under eye circles, which is why I got this in the first place. Because of lack of sleep I happen to get a lot of puffiness as well. My circles have not been affected at all, and are still as dark as they were when I started. I know this for a fact because I took before and after pictures. When asking several people between pictures (which I took to see if this worked) every single person thought that my eyes looked better and more hydrated when NOT using this product. Not only that but I'm shocked no one commented on the rank scent. It smells like skin care products that have gone bad with a slightly sulfur smell, I asked a representative and actually checked out my friend's moms same eye cream....yeah all the same smell. Also the packaging is horrendous. The roller ball yes, its great to take down puffiness....if it actually worked. The ball after some time of use starts to come out, which ended up spilling product everywhere. And when you are paying $35 for an eye cream, you would actually like to use it all. I would not mind this had it not been for the fact that this did not help on any level. Did not take down any puffiness, does not help with dark circles, and it smells disgusting to the point that if you put it on other people can smell it. Most definitely not worth the money. I wish I had followed the advice on here instead of the representative, HUGE mistake
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Cover Girl - Exact Eyelights Eye Brightening Mascara Black Sapphire 710 for Blue Eyes
Abrial 3/22/2011 1:10:00 AM
The color in the tube is gorgeous....and well that is why I bought it in the first place. But the gorgeous sapphire shade with silver flecks does not become readily apparent on your eyes. It just looks like any normal mascara. As for those saying it is a blue mascara, it most definitely is not, there is no way it could possibly come out blue enough to be noticeable, I even tested it on the ends of my blonde hair, and even then you could not see any blue. So if you are getting this for that exact reason, you are wasting your time and money But that really didn't bring down this review, I was just looking for a straight up good mascara. Well this definitely was not it. Another problem with this is the fact that it will not come off! I've dealt with other troublesome waterproof formulas that I like for its long lasting power. But this is horrible, I felt like it was never coming off all of the way. I ended up resorting to soaking cotton squares with witch hazel and letting it stay on my face for a couple minutes. I do not have sensitive eyes, but it seemed like this mascara was constantly flaking. I could never see small particles on my face, but my eyes were constantly bugging me, basically always feeling like I had something in my eyes. This was definitely not normal, I've tried dozens of brands from high end to drugstore and I have never come across one so bad. I asked a couple of my friends who have tried it, and every single one said the same thing. They didn't know why their eyes had been bothering them. Well this is the key, I hate to throw out barely used mascara, especially while on a project X pan, but I would rather not deal with itchy eyes all day long. If I could give this product a zero, I would. It does nothing that it promises, it does not brighten up your eyes, nor is it a remotely good mascara.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Makeup Brushes -Sigma - Essential Kit - Make Me Blush
Abrial 2/8/2011 6:40:00 PM
About 4 years ago I got my professional makeup kit stolen, thankfully I had majority of my brushes still on me, but after having to refill a whole new kit, it would have been highly expensive for me to go out and buy more MAC brushes (which is mainly what I had). I like having several extras but after that blow I just could not afford it. When I heard about Sigma quite a while ago I was really intrigued, and bought the brush set (without the roll) just because I needed quality brushes without the MAC price. Are they up to par? Well that is up to personal opinion, there are no brushes I hate, but I have to admit there are some brushes that I do not like as much as their MAC counterparts. One of the brushes that I'm still kind of iffy on is the 224. The original 224 from MAC happens to be quite a bit less fluffy and more tightly packed in order for it to be able to apply dense color to the crease, while still being able to blend out easily. The Sigma version tends to fan out quite a bit more and is good for when you need to cover larger areas of skin. I've been using this mainly to blend out colors, but if you did not have the original 224, I would suggest getting it because it does happen to be one of my favorite brushes. One brush that I love is the 190. I love the application and frankly everything about it. But I do have one HUGE problem with it. I had glue seepage from the farrel, now this did not happen until I washed the brush, but I am excessively precise when it comes to brush washing. So I honestly don't believe it was human error because when drying I even make sure that my brushes are slanted downwards, its not a deal breaker for this foundation brush, but the small amount of aqua colored bristles near the farrell is quite annoying. But my two favorite brushes of all is the 239 that packs color onto the lid, and the 187 a big dual fiber foundation brush (I use it mainly for powder), but I do admit the 187 does shed a little, not a ton but just enough that I always look over my face before walking out the door but I love the finish that it gives. There are some pros and cons, but honestly if you are looking to build up your brush collection, these really are a great investment. Honestly I use the Sigma brushes just as often as I use the MAC ones, and yes they are different. Sigma does not ever say they are exact dupes of the MAC brushes, the owner clearly states that she took what she had and made the brush to what she thought it should be and the way it worked best for her. You do get a lot of bang for your buck, and in todays economy that is a really good thing.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lips -Maybelline - Color Sensational Lipstain
Abrial 2/4/2011 10:02:00 PM
This product worked great for me....once. It was ok going on, the tip I have to admit was quite scratchy, it was a huge departure from the MAC lipstains that I have that just seemed to glide on. I exfoliate my lips each time before using a lipstain and have never had an issue with it looking weird on my lips because of catching on dead skin...but this did second time around. It looked bad enough to attempt getting it off, which was quite easy since the stain only stayed on for about four hours. My biggest issue with these, was the fact that they were completely dried out two days after I had initially opened them TWO days. My best friend got two different colors than I did and she had the same issue. To remedy this and try to get some use out of it I put a little water in the cap which kept it to be moistened. But this was absolutely ridiculous. But then you have to worry about getting stain water on you. You should not have to be struggling to use the product two days after opening because it is dried out. Bad move Maybelline, you have created probably the worst lipstain ever. If I could give this product a zero I would.
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Lip Treatments -Nivea - A Kiss of Flavor Cherry
Abrial 1/29/2011 7:09:00 PM
I have to admit I absolutely LOVE this chapstick, which is a shocker because I'm not the biggest fan of Nivea. The scent of this is so amazing and is actually quite strong, so those of you who do not like a cherry scent will most definitely dislike this. But if you are a lover of cherry like myself you will absolutely adore this. I have friends who love this just based on how it smells. It is not the most moisturizing, I don't think anything beats aquaphor, but I honestly do think that this does feel amazing on the lips. The flush it gives however is the sweetest tint. Now this is no lipstick so it won't give an opaque color, just a nice flush to the lips, almost as if you were out in very cold weather or looking like you just finished eating a red popsicle. Overall I like this chapstick and will definitely repurchase, mainly because of how much I like the cherry scent.
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Polishes -China Glaze - fairy dust
Abrial 1/9/2011 6:37:00 PM
Sorry to rain on everyone's parade but I honestly didn't think this polish was too great. At first I loved this giving a hint of glitter to my polish, but then as the usage went on this polish turned into just a mess. Yes...everyone knows glitter nail polishes are extremely hard to remove, that is kind of a given. But this took absolutely forever to get off in combination with soaking my nails beforehand. The real problem I had about this polish was after about two months all of a sudden it started to get extremely goopy to the point of where it was unusable. I added in acetone to thin it out, it stayed good for a little while, but the very next time I went to use it the thick globs happened to return. There are far better glitter polishes that do not require so much work.
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Moisturizers -Mary Kay - Timewise Age Fighting Moisturizer
Abrial 1/9/2011 4:00:00 PM
At first I was questioning the effectiveness of this moisturizer. My skin is extremely dry and has been troublesome with acne for the last couple months which is highly abnormal for me, before I had been using Bliss's triple oxygen moisturizer (which gets rather expensive after a while) and it just stopped working for me after two years. I went on a skincare hunt, to me skincare is so highly important I don't mind spending a bundle on it if it means I don't have to cake on liquid foundation in order to hide little bumps and imperfections. So I made my way through the Sephora stations trying out what seemed to be the best. My local Sephora is quite nice so when I said I was looking for skincare they gave me several extremely generous samples (I'm talking 1/4 of the bottle, each one was more than enough to wear for a full month) in several different brands. It was highly frustrating to find that nothing, not even high end brands like chanel, clinique, shiseido, philosophy, dior, and lancome moisturizers did absolutely nothing but make problems far worse. My acne was attacking with a vengeance and my dry skin was left feeling dehydrated and tight. Out of sheer desperation I started stealing some of my mother's moisturizer, Mary Kays Oil Free Hydrating Gel. Even though it did not completely sooth my dry skin, acne started to vanish within three days. I called up our local Mary Kay lady and was ready to pay anything for the most moisturizing thing she could give me. After looking at my skin she said I honestly didn't need that and gave me Timewise for normal to dry skin. I was ready to try absolutely anything, so I kept up with my skincare regiment and started to use this. Well my skin freaked out for a little, but when I hit the two week mark things became clear from then on out. My acne was suppressed and my skin was smooth and hydrated. I honestly would have paid a lot more than $24 to get my skin back to normal. I will be buying this from now on.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Cover Girl - Lash Blast Fusion
Abrial 1/4/2011 10:22:00 PM
I started out liking the original lash blast formula. It gave great volume and lengthened my lashes like no other. But with Cover Girl's creation of Lash Blast Fusion they hit a complete home run. The original Lash Blast could clump sometimes, but this formula does not no matter how many layers you put on. One coat will give you defined and separated lashes with a hint of volume, perfect for the office or just around town. But if you want to go for a bit more thickness apply multiple layers and you get the amazing lashes that the original lash blast provides without a hint of clumpiness. Although some may complain about the thick rubberized wand, I really don't mind because it has never been difficult for me to cover all of my lashes. I can imagine it being troublesome to coat some of the lashes near the corners of your eyes, but you get used to it quickly. The reason I originally tried this was because of the fact that a friend said it was so easy to get off, and I loved lash blast but it was the bane of my existence when it came to trying to remove it. Fusion however comes off with any simple baby wipe, there is no scrubbing and massive amount of wiping to get it to come off. Yet it stick on all day (and night) without even a hint of flaking, I've tested this out to the extreme, this mascara lasted through one whole day then a 14 hour red eye plane flight, only to come out to get soaked by the rain and yet my lashes still looked as good as when they had originally been applied. I would definitely say this is an HG product, even though I will continue on looking for better drugstore mascaras. The price does tend to be a little steep and I try to get it on a BOGO, but even still for drugstore it is a tad expensive.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Treatments -Nivea - A Kiss Of Shimmer
Abrial 12/29/2010 12:09:00 AM
I was really sad with this product. Normally I absolutely love everything Nivea, but this product let me down. When I think of A Kiss of Moisture, I know that the product is going to be very hydrating on a whole. This product should not even be on the market. Although a nice idea, it was much better played out in a Kiss of Color, in the cherry color. Which is nice and hydrating while still giving a nice color. The Kiss of Shimmer however did not fair as well, there was no hydration factor and it even dried out my lips beyond compare. The 'shimmer' part of this chapstick however is what annoys me the most. It is a super light baby pink mixed in with white shimmer, which I'm sure would be flattering on darker skin tones. On me a person who is very pale, this made me look sickly because it made my lips even paler. I was not impressed at all, since I thought this would be like putting a chapstick on like all of the other Nivea products but this was basically a terrible white pink lipstick.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No