Top/Base Coats -Sally Hansen - Double Duty Base & Top Coat
Ancatje 3/11/2013 7:27:00 PM
After using several much more expensive base and top coats, I have realised this is the one for me. I haven't noticed any strenghtening properties on my nails, but as a base and top coat it works great! My nails with only nail varnish on its own chip within a day (I do use my nails quite a bit when opening different things etc), but the Sally Hansen gets them through maybe 5-6 days with minimal chipping - even more on my toes. For the price, I can't ask for more than this. The top coat does take a bit to fully dry (20-30mins?), but then again so do lots of other top coats.
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Foundations -Rimmel - Wake Me Up
Ancatje 3/10/2013 3:22:00 PM
I like the feel and coverage (medium) of this foundation, that it doesn't look cakey and that it lasts well through the day. However 2 major issues with this make me give it a 3 rating. First, colour selection! I am an NC15 - so, pale but not THE palest person out there, and bought this in their lightest shade 100 Ivory. It is too dark for me! I bought this last summer when it was fine because I was a bit darker, but I'm not able to use this other times of year. I wanted to use it again a couple of weeks ago, thinking it's fine I'll just blend it down my neck as well - which brings me onto my second issue: Sparkles in the foundation! When just applied on the face, the sparkles aren't that obvious. You can still see them if you pay attention, but you're not gonna look like a glitter ball. However, when I applied this down my neck as well, the sparkles on that area were so noticeable! I don't know if it's because it's a flatter area compared to your face or what, but even my boyfriend noticed and went "why is there glitter on your neck?!" The shimmer also transferred onto my hands from touching the areas through the day. And you know how shimmer is hard to get rid of/ wash off... So sadly I will have to use this in the summer only, which here in the UK is only about 3 weeks a year. *sigh* But for you darker skins out there (NC20 and above should be fine) and that don't mind the sparkle, it is a good choice.
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Liquid -Bourjois - 10hr Sleep Effect
Ancatje 3/10/2013 1:46:00 PM
I really love this for a light foundation. I have combination skin and if I just powder my oily T-zone I can wear this with no problems. It gives a healthy dewy look, isn't cakey and does not cling onto dry patches which with my dry-ish cheeks is important for me. The coverage is light but it is buildable so you can get a light-medium coverage if needed. I did notice a bit of transfer, but only when I used a heavier moisturiser underneath (which you probably don't need to do since this foundation is moisturising), and not on my clothes, but on my phone, on the one or two occasions that I was on the phone for longer than 30-40mins. Thus one lippie off. I reckon if you set this on your cheeks with powder as well this wouldn't even happen, and it definitely doesn't happen if you're only on the phone for a normal amount of time! Highly recommended for those of you who like lighter coverage or have drier skins!
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Makeup Brushes -NARS - 27 - Yachiyo
Ancatje 3/9/2013 4:43:00 PM
I resisted buying this for so long, since at £37.50 it is so expensive. I finally gave in and HAS NO ONE NOTICED HOW DAMN SCRATCHY THIS BRUSH IS????!! I honestly cannot give it more than 1 lippie for this reason. It genuinely hurts and irritates my skin because of how coarse the hairs are. How can this be the case with the extreme price tag? I don't understand. The shape and size is absolutely perfect but after a few attempts it's been left unused in my brush holder. I wish we had good returns policies like in the US, then I'd return this in a second. My cheapie £3.50 ELF brushes, at less than 10 times the cost, are 10 times soften! I orderded this online, so I recommend if you really want to buy it, please go and have a feel in an actual shop before splurging!
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Maybelline - Define A Lash
Ancatje 3/7/2013 7:44:00 PM
I really like this mascara for a more natural but still defined look for my lashes. It's easy to apply and get all my lashes, it doesn't smudge or flake, it lenghtens well and volumises slightly. I love how even if I don't use eyelash curlers, I can easily get a great curl in my lashes with this mascara and it lasts the whole day, without my lashes being crisp like other mascaras can make them. The only downside I find is that it can stick your lashes together easily if you're not careful, and not be as... defining, as it should be. It's not clumpy, but it can just not separate lashes that well, so you need to zig zag the wand properly and pay attention to that. Really pleased with it otherwise.
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Lips -Sleek - Pout Paint - ALL
Ancatje 3/6/2013 10:55:00 AM
I have 4 of these and how great they were - initially! When I first bought them, they were extremely pigmented. I then forgot to use them for a while, and the product separated so that when I wanted to use them again, a much less pigmented glossy liquid came out. I tried and tried and cannot get the product to the original state, so now I have a couple of sheer slightly pigmented glosses on my hands... I imagine that if I continue to use them, at some point I'll run out of the clearish liquid and will get the pigment back - but I don't think I want a drying liquid without the gloss! Otherwise the feel is great, my lips are quite dry and these are non-drying and apply easily and evenly, even straight from the tube. The gloss isn't sticky, which for me is great because I actually don't like lip glosses. If these didn't separate, I'd buy them again in a heartbeat. As it stands, I am left disappointed.
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Liquid -L'Oreal - Lumi Magique Foundation
Ancatje 3/6/2013 9:05:00 AM
I LOVE this foundation! It feels so smooth and light on the skin, and definitely gives a luminous look to my face. Coverage surprisingly is very good, a good medium and buildable and it doesn't look cakey even with 2 layers on. This is definitely not for oily skins as it's too wet and would be greasy, but with my combination skin I can still wear it fine - just need to powder my very oily T-zone. It lasts very well, only wears off a bit on my aforementioned oily area after maybe 5-6 hours. I took a lippie off for the limited shade selection. I am an nc15 and I wear their c1 rose pearl which is too pink for me - but looks fine once my blush is on. They only have about 6 shades I think, none of which matched me. My skintone is very common in the UK, and many places in Europe, so the fact that I can't find my exact shade is unacceptable. I'm in love with the formulation though so will keep repurchasing the slightly too pink shade.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -L'Oreal - True Match Super-Blendable Makeup SPF 17
Ancatje 3/6/2013 6:57:00 AM
If it wasn't for the huge colour range, I'd give this a 2. My main problem with this foundation is that it dries so quickly! About as fast as the Revlon Colorstay for oily/combo skin. Even if I just work in areas and don't dot the foundation on my whole face from the beginning as I would with anything else, by the time I get o blend it it's already too dry and hard to blend. Needles to say it ends up looking cakey and clings onto any dry patches. He result is a little better when applied with a damp sponge/ beauty blender, but not a whole lot more impressive. In the UK we have the pump bottle one which is great, but the small nozzle always gets dry foundation buildup due to the dry formulation, which leads to wastage. Coverage is good, medium I'd say, and it lasts the whole day, but the final effect is just not as beautiful as with other liquid foundations and it's hard to work with, so I would not buy it again or recommend it to anyone.
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BB Cream -Superdrug - MUA - BB Cream (All In One Beauty Balm)
Ancatje 3/3/2013 12:47:00 PM
For £4, you can't go too wrong with this. I'd say it doesn't feel like a BB cream though. It's quite thick, and can look a bit cakey on my dry-combination skin. I usually like to apply BB creams with my fingers, but I find this is best applied with a dense brush (e.g. kabuki) and then patted in with fingers where I find it still looks a bit patchy and cakey. I sometimes spray a light mist on top as well to get rid of cakiness. The coverage is quite good, a light-medium, but more towards medium than light. I can easily just put this on and skip concealer, if I'm just going somewhere casual. I am very pale (NC15) but yellow toned and have this is Light (shade 1). I have to say it matches me very well! With my oily T-zone, I have to powder this or it looks greasy, but it's fine on my cheeks, and last well through the day. If you're on a budget, this is a good choice.
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Mascara -L'Oreal - Telescopic in Carbon Black
Ancatje 3/3/2013 12:35:00 PM
Good mascara, with a nice formula, not too dry not too wet, gives lots of lenghts and even some volume to my lashes. Doesn't smudge or flake through the day and keeps a decent curl. HOWEVER, I find the brush very annoying. It's very slim and the rubber bristles are very short, which means it takes me a lot longer than I'd like to get the desired effect. It's quite hard to get the inner and outer lashes and it's very easy to get your lashes clumped together. Which is why I took a lippie off. If you're willing to spend a little longer putting your mascara on, and deal with the fact that it may need combing through afterwards, this mascara is a good choice!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Scrubs -The Body Shop - Shea Body Scrub
Ancatje 3/2/2013 9:04:00 PM
PROS: - Smells very nice. - Is oil-based so leaves my skin smooth so that I don't even need lotion after showering, even with my dry legs! NEUTRAL: - Gentle, in the sense that the particles aren't harsh as other scrubs are. This is good for sensitive skins but less great because it doesn't exfoliate as well as other body scrubs do. CONS: - Makes my skin sting like hell if I use it within 24 hours of shaving my legs. The burning sensation does go away within 10mins. - Packaging is crap, I really have a lot of trouble opening and closing the lid. Nowadays I just tend to leave it almost open and just make sure not to touch it and accidentally drop the whole thing everywhere. Overall a nice scrub and I would buy again, if only for the nice smell and moisturising properties.
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Misc Beauty Tools -MAC - Foundation Pump
Ancatje 2/28/2013 8:30:00 PM
This is a very handy product with a nice design (for a foundation pump!) but the reason why I give it 4 lippies not 5 is the fact that it does not fit my Revlon Colorstay foundation bottle (I have another foundation without a pump lying around somewhere, I'll update if I manage to find it and try the MAC pump on it.) Yes, I know that obviously the MAC pump is not made for the Revlon bottle, but I still can't help but wish that it would fit it because that was my main reason for purchasing. Otherwise I could've just put my Colorstay in any old empty foundation bottle, and not necessarily like the reviewer below says, buy the pump for a MAC foundation and then when that one finishes, transfer the Revlon into it...
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Treatments -Origins - Super Spot Remover
Ancatje 2/27/2013 8:06:00 AM
I bought this to compare it to my La Roche Posay Effeclair AI by which I swear. Well I have to say, even though the Origins is an effective treatment, I still prefer the Effeclair. Why? Because the Origins is very drying, while the Effeclair is not drying at all but does the same - if not a better - job. I feel the Effeclair is better at reducing redness than the Origins, because it's not as irritating to the skin. The Origins is good for huge irritated pimples because it dries any liquid out, but I don't find it as effective for spots that haven't come out yet. And because it's so drying, if you try to use makeup on the spot the next day, it will just look cakey. Not so with the Effeclair, and you get more product for about the same price as well! UPDATE: I've updated this from 4/5 to 5/5 because I found I can use it during the day on my forehead, unlike the Effeclar. It basically forms an almost transparent layer on top of the spot and stays put all day, and because I have a fringe/ bangs, I can use it on areas that my hair covers, helping to heal those spots even faster! (Still find it too drying though, but I'll live with it.)
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Lips -Revlon - Just Bitten Lipstain + Balm
Ancatje 2/26/2013 8:02:00 AM
I bought 2 of these about a year or two ago. The shades that I have, Forbidden and Twilight, although very pretty, just go on very patchy and uneven most times. It's hard to build them up and they tend to just gather in random places and form little balls of product, so that 80% of the times that I try to use these, I simply have to take them off straight away, My lips aren't even that dry and chappy, so I really don't understand. It's like your lips have to be completely dry and soft for this product to work, and not even then is that guaranteed. When they do work, the results is beautiful and lasts, but I wish that happened more often than 20% of the times.
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Highlighters -E.L.F. - Studio Shimmer Palette
Ancatje 2/24/2013 4:39:00 PM
ELF products are more misses than hits with me, but this shimmer palette is definitely a hit! I am so impressed with this. You CAN see the subtle differences between the shades, unlike previous reviewers said, and we're talking even on my paler than pale skin. It's very creamy and easy to work with and it's a great multi-task highlighter for face & eyes, and even collarbone for example. On eyes I would only recommend them over a good primer though, otherwise they would crease because they are so creamy. There's no glitter in here, just fine shimmer, so it looks as natural as a product like this can do. Only thing is, I don't think this would be suitable for darker skinned women - I have a feeling all shades would look quite ashy.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No