Eyes -MAC - False Lashes
Cara_M 9/9/2012 7:22:00 PM
Mac eyelashes are expensive, yes, but I have to say I find they last a bit longer than brands such as Eyelure, Ardell and much longer than all the smaller brands you can pick up in Boots/Superdrug. I've tried so many pairs of lashes over the past few years, but Mac's truly are outstanding. They have some great styles, the case they come in is great to store them in between wears, they're super easy to apply (Duo glue is a must though, don't skimp here), they feel soft, and are light and comfortable to wear (unlike Eyelure's Double wear range which were scratchy, heavy, diffucult to apply and kept popping up at the corners). My latest pair are 7 weeks old - I've been wearing them twice a week, and it's only now that I'm about ready to retire them and try another pair. If you are a lash fiend, at least give them a try once for comparison purposes!
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Lipstick -MAC - Vegas Volt
Cara_M 8/31/2012 12:21:00 PM
This color looks just awful on my NW20 skin - a weird orange peach that really jars with my complexion. Such a shame - the pics on makeupalley show a gorgeous coral with reddish pink undertones, but I don't get any of those on my lips. Formulation and packaging etc are all fine - the 3 rating is just due to the colour, which I find so hard to wear :( Next time I must remember to test before I buy!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Rose & Co. Apothecary. Rose Petal Salve
Cara_M 8/23/2012 3:40:00 PM
Sorry to be the lone hater, but I'm totally not impressed by this. The balm itself is a really pretty pearly pink, but it might as well be clear as it doesn't show up at all on the lips (vs Smiths Rosebud which shows up very slightly or vaseline rosy which shows up quite a bit). I wouldn't mind this quite so much if it had a really great effect on my lips, but actually the opposite is the case - I'm using this morning and night and my bottom lip has actually cracked and scabbed slightly for the first time ever! My lips don't feel soft and nourished at all. I've even tried this on my feet (which are in decent condition, only a little bit of tougher skin on the balls of my feet) - even leaving this on over night has no discernable effect. I'm not really a fan of the smell either, or the taste it leaves on my lips. Disappointing all around really - I can't wait to use this up and get on to something better! For the price you can do better - my favourite cheap balm is a shea butter one from Avon that I borrowed from my mom and LOVED - which actually helps improve my lips condition, rather than making things worse!
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Lotions/ Creams -Caudalie - Soin Nourrissant - Nourishing Treatment
Cara_M 8/12/2012 7:04:00 PM
I received a sample of this in a beauty box. 30ml lasted me around 3 full body uses, so not enough for a fully comprehensive review, but enough to know I'm underwhelmed! As a body moisturiser, this is OK enough, but if I pay a premium price for something, I'd like better results than I can achieve at a lower pricepoint and this fails to impress. My skin feels hydrated enough and has an ok-ish glow, but if I'm spending the $$$, I'd go for Kiehl's creme de corps over this every time. Otherwise, there are any number of brands that deliver similar results for a lower price (Aveeno, Soap & Glory, Nivea, Palmers etc)
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Mascara -L'Oreal - Lash Out
Cara_M 8/3/2012 8:42:00 AM
This is a solid 3 for me...it's an OK mascara, looks quite nice on for a DAY look, but has quite a few flaws which mean I won't rebuy. I bought this as I'd heard Jennifer Aniston loved it - obviously a PR thing though! The tube on this is the ugliest and most dated looking I've EVER seen on a mascara, it does flake on me slightly at the end of a day of wear, and if I layer on a few coats without combing, although the mascara itself isn't clumpy, my eyelashes do stick together a bit more than I'd like. I don't find it amazing for lengthening or thickening either - I'm just using it up for day until I can move on to the next mascara in my stash. Also, this is SO hard to come by in the UK - I stumbled upon it in a beauty discount store (I never go in these usually). I'd stick with Clinique High Impact or Diorshow Classic or Extase over this every time, so worth the extra £!
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Shampoo -Redken - Hair Cleansing Cream
Cara_M 7/18/2012 8:49:00 AM
This works great, much better than Bumble & Bumble Sunday shampoo, and I prefer it to the Aveda clarifying shampoo that had previously been my HG, for scent, bottle design and results. I moved from a soft water area to a hard water area, and my long, thick hair started going crazy - dry ends, greasy roots, coated, sticky feel, totally unmanageable and just looked awful! I was at my wits end until I did my research and bought this wonder shampoo. I use it once a week so my hair looks as nice as possible when I straighten it for the weekend. The rest of the week I use normal or sulphate free shampoos as I'm trying to preserve the life of my color and Brazilian blow dry, and can really tell the difference. I use a deep treatment after this shampoo, so haven't noticed my hair being any drier than usual as a result of using this. Try this ladies!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Kerastase - Masque Oleo-Relax
Cara_M 7/18/2012 7:24:00 AM
I forgot how much I love this - it was one of my staples, but then I went travelling for 8 months and never really got back into using it. I picked it up again a few days ago and remembered why I loved it so much. It makes my hair smooth and soft like few other masques ever have, and even in a hard water area, it doesn't weigh my hair down. Even now, 2 days later, after washing again, my hair is still smooth and soft, which I attribute to this masque. Definitely try this if you have thick dry hair!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lotions/ Creams -Aveda - Foot Relief
Cara_M 7/16/2012 3:54:00 PM
This foot lotion is great. Personally I love the fresh minty smell, and the cream works well to smooth and soften any patches of hard or rough skin on my feet/heels and generally make my feet softer to the touch. The texture is nice and rich without making my feet feel gunky and sticky. The packaging is inoffensive, some foot creams can be really gross looking to have on your night stand (I like to put mine on before bed so it soaks in overnight), but not this one! I bought the mini size, but will definitely repurchase the full size as soon as I'm done with the DHC foot cream I have as a backup.
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Lotions/ Creams -Kiehls - Creme de Corps
Cara_M 7/16/2012 3:30:00 PM
Crazily expensive in the UK, but nothing comes close to making my skin as silky as this lotion. I always have a bottle on hand for skin emergencies (or occasions when I want my skin to be extra soft). Sadly I can't justify the price of this for everyday use, no matter how amazing it is. The good news is it works instantly, so even if I've been using a cheaper lotion for a few days, I reap the benefits of upgrading to this as soon as I start using it. However, I'm intrigued to see if my skin would get even better if I used it for 10 days straight as Kiehl's suggest...
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Treatments -Kiehls - Lip Balm #1
Cara_M 7/2/2012 11:25:00 AM
I've resurrected a tube of this that I had in my makeup bag for a while. I hate using this because of the gross oily smell and taste, I wish I had one of the fragranced versions. I quite like the texture, it's substantial yet still liquid, and I like that it's in a tube (but a slant applicator would be a plus). Re the product performance, it seems fine for maintenance while my lips are in good condition, but as this balm was SO hyped, I can't help but feel a bit disappointed. I have picked up so many balms it would take me a lifetime to use them all, but even if I was to run out tomorrow, I doubt this would be on my shortlist to rebuy - I want to try Clinique Superbalm next.
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Bronzers -Rimmel - Sun Shimmer Instant Tan Make Up - Deep Shimmer
Cara_M 7/2/2012 11:07:00 AM
This is a terrible product, probably the worst tanner or body makeup I've ever had the misfortune to use. Don't get me wrong, in a dark club you may get away with this, but in daylight, or even low light, this looks a streaky dirty mess! The product is black/brown with no golden or bronzy tones at all. It was strangely sheer, although it was so dark, so the effect was of pale leg under sheer black goop. I found it really hard to rub in, and there were streaks galore which refused to blend out. When I applied a bit of water, this ran like crazy in black rivers down my leg. Even at £3 (half price) this seemed terrible value to me. I wanted to wash it straight off as it looked so bad, and it made me feel really self conscious, but I was running late so had no option but to wear it out. It wasn't quite so bad in the dark, but I had Scott Barnes Platinum Body Bling on my upper body, and the difference in the application and quality of finish was HUGE. This may be cheap ladies, but it SUCKS. There is much better out there! Try Too Faced Tanning bed in a tube, any of the Guerlain body bronzers, Lancome, Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs, St Tropez, Nars body glow, Huile Prodigeuse Or, Mac...all those I've tried and liked, but honestly, anything must be better than this nightmare!
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Cleansers -MAC - Cleanse Off Oil
Cara_M 6/17/2012 11:47:00 AM
Cleansing oils are amazing for getting off makeup - I recommend them to everyone, and wish I'd discovered them sooner (I've been using them for 3 or 4 years). I started with DHC, then moved to Origins and now the MAC. The MAC oil is quite good - I like that I can back to MAC the packaging, the price wasn't outrageous, there is no mineral oil in this, it doesn't break me out and MAC doesn't test on animals. The cons for me are that the packaging leaks when I take it on weekends away, and I don't feel it cleanses quite as deeply as the other oils I've tried, and is harder to wash off - my skin looks clean, but makeup comes off on my towel and on my cotton pad of toner. I think I need to double cleanse if I'm using this oil, which puts me off a bit. I'm not saying I'll never repurchase this, but when I'm finished, I'm trying another brand first.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -Philosophy - the microdelivery exfoliating wash
Cara_M 6/16/2012 7:08:00 PM
I sought this out because it gets so much love on MUA, but I must say that I'm disappointed. It's an OK cleanser, but if I don't moisturise soon after, my skin starts to flake, which is a sign that it's too stripping. It's also not something I'd use to remove makeup - I use an oil for that, but it's fine as the second stage in a double cleanse. This does absolutely nothing to help prevent or clear my breakouts either. I think I prefer to use a stronger exfolator less often, or exfoliate chemically, as I don't really like the scrubby beads in this. The bottle seems to last ages - I've been using around 5 times a week for 6 months or so and it's still going (albeit the lid is all clogged up now). However, I'm keen to finish this so I can try something new, and I definitely won't be rebuying.
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Moisturizers -Neal's Yard - Rehydrating Rose Daily Moisture
Cara_M 6/16/2012 6:57:00 PM
Neal's Yard isn't a brand I'd ordinarily look to for skin care - I'm a more a high end/cult brand kinda girl, but this was a freebie with a magazine, so I couldn't say no. I've been using this daily, and although it isn't exactly bad (hasn't caused breakouts, is reasonably moisturising) I just feel that now I'm in my thirties this is a little simple for me - it has no SPF, antioxidants or anti aging ingredients, and any moisturiser I'd buy myself would ideally deliver these as well as moisture, without overloading my skin. If I knew any teens I'd offload this on them, but as it stands, I can't wait to finish this and get on to something more powerful.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Paint Pot in Painterly
Cara_M 5/14/2012 4:54:00 PM
I LOVE this - it's such a secret hit for me. I'd never have picked it up at the store as my eye is always drawn to the bright colors and shimmery things, but I tried it round at a friend's house and instantly fell in love with how useful this is. Previously I'd been using concealer on my lids (or sharkskin shadestick under dark shades) but didn't really love either. I wear painterly under everything as it removes all eyelid discoloration, goes on smooth and matches my NW20 skin perfectly (soft ochre is probably better for NC ladies). It's also great on its own for work days. I always want this in my kit.
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