Shampoo -Kerastase - Bain Satin 1
DianeL 6/28/2004 12:46:00 AM
Expensive but so worth it. My hair is straight, natural blonde with highlights. I condition my hair a lot because I am often in the salt water. I do not have a lot of dryness except right after highlights. This Shampoo is fabulous. The shine it gives is very well, so it does not take much. It leaves my hair soft, full and shiny. It has a nice smell too. I do use other shampoos every 5-6 times because I have always done that. However my hair never looks or feels as good as when I use Kerastase. When we have house guests I often let them try it and I have yet to find one that didn't have to have it! You can buy the 32 ounce which does save you a little but the better buys are on Ebay. I paid full price on websites the first few times and found a couple of sellers on Ebay that have better prices.
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Fragrances -Floris of London - Malmaison
DianeL 4/20/2004 9:37:00 PM
Malmaison by Floris of London is in my opinion the perfect carnation fragrance. It is everything a carnation fragrance should be and smells exactly like a real, fresh carnation. L. Villoresi Garofano pales in comparison to this beauty. Rich, spicy, ultra feminine, created from the rare Malmaison carnation. An warm, sensuous, and unusual floral fragrance, with a hint of spicy cloves. Created by Floris in the 19th century, Floris re-introduced Malmaison due to universal demand. When I tried this the first time, I could not stop smelling my arm. It is never overwhelming even in hot weather and it is always intriguing, warm, clean smelling and feminine. I know that some think this smells old fashioned. I do not get that feeling with this fragrance. I think it just smells warm and beautiful. In fact this reminds me a lot of L'Artisan Jacinthe des Bois. When I wear this I always get a lot of "What are you wearing? It smells so good." Marcy, thank you for the sample and for introducing me to this wonderful fragrance which will remain a staple in my fragrance collection. An extra bonus is the excellent price for a fragrance that lasts almost all day on me. It comes in 2 sizes: 1.7 ounce bottles 46.00, 3.4 ounce bottles 68.00. You can find it at lusciouscargo.com
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Fragrances -L'Artisan Fragrances - Ananas Fizz Summer 2004 Limited Edition
DianeL 4/20/2004 9:15:00 PM
L'Artisan has been my favorite fragrance house for years but their last couple of new fragrances have been very disappointing to me. Bois Farine was everything I hate in a fragrance. Ananas Fizz was rather disappointing as well. I had hoped that it would have more pineapple, more of a tropical fruitness, and be more feminine. It was far more masculine and had a lot more sharp citrus notes than I had hoped. My dear MUA friend Venda said she did not think it was my cup of tea, and she was right. Not so much because of the wood notes, as she thought, but because of the strong citrus notes. Unlike other past summer splashes from L'Artisan, Ananas Fizz is a spray which is nice. However, it reminds me very much of a stronger Un Zeste D'ete which I never particularly cared for. In the warm, ocean climate where I live, bergamot/grapefruit/citrus fragrances do not do well on me. The bergamot dominates and they take on a sharp, bitter citrus accord. Ananas Fizz is composed of pineapple, citrus essence (lemon rind, orange, bergamot and grapefruit, rose,(where this is I do not know, as I never smelled any hint of rose) vetiver, woods (including the dreaded cedar) vanilla and coconut(I never detected either of these either). This is much longer lasting than Un Zeste D'ete and has more depth. It is also more lively and has much heavier citrus notes. Of the citrus essences, grapefruit and lemon dominate the orange. The cedar is surprisingly understated at first, then disappeared only to appear again about 3 hours later. I never found the wood notes that overbearing. Certainly not as much as Bois Farine. In fact, after 3-4 hours I could barely detect any woods at all. After 5+ hours the notes that dominated on me were grapefruit, lemon and vetiver and a hint of bergamot and wood. Just the barest hint of wood. The lemon lasted the entire time which is surprising because lemon usually is one of the first notes to dissipate on me when I wear a citrus fragrance. I had my husband try it also. He smelled of the wood and complained of a bitterness to it. He did not hate it but he did not like it either and said he thought it was definitely more masculine than unisex. I had my daugther put it on and she said it was okay, but plain. Then she mentioned the dreaded P word of all citrus fragrances..... PLEDGE! It actually reminds me a little bit of Kiehl's grapefruit. This fragrance is not one I would reach for often, if at all. However if you like citrus fragrances, it is a bright, lively and relatively long lasting. For now, Fleur de Carotte remains my favorite as the outstanding summer edition from L'Artisan. I loved it immediately and still do. That osmanthus, the earthiness, the depth, what a fragrance! :) I like unique fragrances. Fragrances that smell unlike any others. That is one of the main things I look for in a fragrance. That is why I love fragrances like Angel, Voleur de Roses, Fleur de Carotte, Rahat Loukoum, and others. They are unique, unusual, and rarely if ever mistaken for another fragrance. Ananas Fizz will most likely be a big hit with citrus lovers and men. The bottle is nice, the atomizer is nice, but try before you buy. I gave it a rating of 3 because it is fresh and long lasting and took away points for lack of originality. What happened to the pineapple? I am still not sure if I ever smelled it. Lemon vetiver and grapefruit reign supreme in this one, at least on me. :) Ananas Fizz comes in a 6.4 ounce bottle and retails for around $110.00. As of the date of this review, as far as I know, it is available at lusciouscargo in the U.S. and the perfumeshoppe in Canada.
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Fragrances -L'Artisan Fragrances - L-eau de Navigateur
DianeL 4/20/2004 8:29:00 PM
This is one of L'Artisan's distinctly masculine fragrances, that is not a particulary big seller. I do not have to have all girly fragrances but this one is very masculine and there is nothing unique about it. It is composed of pepper, ginger, lime, incense, anise, juniper,and cedar. The lime is totally overwhelmed by the incense and woods and it is a not a particulary well balanced fragrance. I gave it a 1 because how hard is it to make a woody smelling fragrance with little depth? If I were buying a L'Artisan for a man, I would choose Mechant Loup over L'eau de Navigateur any day.
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Fragrances -Serge Lutens - Fleurs de Citronnier
DianeL 4/20/2004 5:58:00 PM
I bought a decant of this from a lovely mua friend in Germany. When I first applied it, I thought perhaps this might be a SL that I could really like. After 30 minutes I knew this would not be the case unfortunatley. In fact, I really disliked this one a lot. I just wanted to wash it off. So for now, Rahat Loukoum will remain the one and only Serge Lutens I *really* love. Some have mentioned smelling orange blossom in Citronnier. Fleurs d'Oranger although not what I consider a true orange blossom fragrance, comes closer than Citronnier. I did not catch even the faintest hint of orange blossom and I seriously doubt it has any in it and if it does, it is a minute amount or overpowered by the other notes, at least this is the case on my skin. It is supposedly composed of: IRIS,neroli,tuberose,lemonleaf, honey,petigrain and MUSK. Emphasis on the musk and iris because they tend to over power the other notes. Neroli is from the blossoms of orange trees, *however*... orange blossom is a very elusive. delicate scent and easily buried amongst the other notes. I have searched for years and never found a fragrance that is really close to the scent of an orange grove in full bloom, on a warm Florida evening or day. I believe one has to be around many different varieties of citrus tress in full bloom to realize the profound difference in their fragrances depending on the variety of tree. Many of the linden blossom fragrances, to me, smell more like real orange blossoms in bloom than do most fragrances with Neroli.I can't emphasize musk enough with Citronnier because after 30 minutes that is basically all that I am left with. Musk, Iris and a faint hint of lemon. The musk then begins to overpower and simply dominates so much that the other notes are pretty well buried. I am not a lover of heavy musk fragrances and this one is no exception. It does last fairly long, I could smell the musk for 5-6 hours. Unfortunately, at least on me, that was all I smelled. I found it a little similar to Nicolai's Eau D'Ete at first, only not nearly as fresh and clean smelling. Let me just say this. On my skin and to my nose, this was pretty awful. I tried it for 3 days and could not wait to wash it off each day. LuciaC pretty well summed up what I thought of it as well. I gave it a one because it is smells just like every other generic *perfumey* musk fragrance after it dries down. This was so musky on me that it could have been Jovan from the drugstore and after 3 hours I would not have know the difference. Also, all Serge Lutens fragrances with the exception of Un Lys, FDO and Rahat have this terrible, bitter, almost acrid scent after the final dry down. Maybe my skin or my nose and these fragrances just don't get along. :) I would sample this one before you buy, especially if you do not like heavy musk.
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Lip Treatments -Dr. Hauschka - Lip Balm - pot
DianeL 3/20/2004 5:37:00 PM
Fabulous! This is everything a great lip balm should be. Use it to prevent, not treat chapped lips. I have not found anything better than Carmex to *treat* chapped lips. One or two applications and they are gone. However, this prevents them from getting chapped in the first place. The pot works far better than the one in the tube. No wonder Sephora is always sold out. I have used Kiel's, Laura Mercier Lip Silk and Smith's for years but this beats them all. It only takes a little. It absorbs well and actually plumps and moisturizes your lips, yet it still leaves a nice glossy sheen. It also softens and prevents the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles around the mouth. This is really a great product. It smells very faintly of rose. I use it morning and night then I apply LM Lip Silk over it during the day. I still use Smith's and Kiel's but this is my favorite. Sephora is out all of the time, so either stock up or keep your other balms to use when this is unavailable. $13.00 for .15 ounce available at Sephora.com Ingredients: (from Sephora's website) Castor (Ricinus communis) Oil, Beeswax (Cera flava), Peanut (Arachis hypogaea) Oil, Carrot (Daucus carota) Extract, Wheat (Triticum vulgare) Germ Oil, Anthyllis vulneraria Extract, Calendula officinalis Extract, Rice (Oryza sativa) Germ Oil, Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) Butter, Hypericum perforatum Extract, Silk (Serica) Powder, Jojoba (Buxus chinensis) Oil, Fragrance (essential oil), Lecithin, Glycerin.
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Lotions/ Creams -LUSH - Helping Hands
DianeL 3/20/2004 5:07:00 PM
Helping Hands is made with honey, chamomile,lavender, linseed, almond oil, shea butter and cocoa butter. I do not like the smell of it. It is basically fragrance free however it has that old oil smell as do many of Kiel's products. It does a decent job of moisturizing the hands but I only use it at night because it leaves a greasy residue and fingerprints on everything that you touch. It works quite well at night if you apply heavily, then put white gloves on for overnight. I will use it up, but won't buy it again. I think Santa Maria Novella Almond Paste and Ahave are the two finest hand procducts made,at least for me. Helping Hands price is 3.5 ounces for 11.25.
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Lotions/ Creams -LUSH - Dream Cream
DianeL 3/20/2004 4:51:00 PM
I finally decided to try this and it was about what I expected. Nothing special and I do not care for the scent at first, but the scent rapidly fade to nothing. It does not absorb quickly and it does almost nothing for my skin. My legs tend to get dry if I do not moisturize and this did not moisturize well, yet left a greasy layer as it stayed on top of the skin. Hard to cross your legs with this one and I do not like that feeling. Also, I experienced a slight burning sensation when I used it on my legs. $17.50 for 8.4 ounces. I will stick with my Caswell Massey Beauty Nectar which is one of the best moisturizers I have ever used. The bottle is gorgeous, it smells faintly of peach and the price is great too. http://www.caswellmassey.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=496&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=5&iSubCat=48&iProductID=496 Ingredients of Dream Cream from the Lush website are: Black Safe Synthetic Products Red Natural Products Green Organic Products Ingredients: Oat Milk (Avena Sativa), Rose Water (Rosa Centifolia), Olive Oil (Olea Europaea), Cocoa Butter(Theobroma Cacao), Glycerine, Stearic Acid, Triethanolamine, Tincture Of Benzoin (Styrax Benzoin), Rose Absolute (Rosa Centifolia), Chamomile Oil (Anthemis Nobilis), Tea Tree Oil (Melaleuca Alternifolia), Lavender Oil (Lavendula Hybrida), Cetearyl Alcohol, Perfume, Methylparaben, Propylparaben,
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Gels/Soaps -LUSH - Alkmaar Soap
DianeL 3/20/2004 4:43:00 PM
I like the fragrance of this soap a lot. Until you get it wet, it has little fragrance. It lathers well, is a bit drying and as with all Lush soaps, ridiculously priced. Lush's soaps are fun and creative, but I rarely purchase them again. There are so many much nicer, hard milled soaps out there. Lush seems to make thiers so that they melt away to nothing as fast as possible. Love the bombs, not wild about the soaps unless I am doing a bath basket for a gift. People that have never tried Lush always enjoy a big basket of these unusual products.
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Lotions/ Creams -LUSH - Potion lotion
DianeL 3/20/2004 4:35:00 PM
This lotion is heavily scented. They say it smells like rose and tangerine? I smell carnation and clove. It is a very spicy and warm scent. It contains almond oil for moisturizing, almond oil and cocoa butter to soften and tangerine to tone. Potion is a nice, light, fragrant lotion. However if you have very dry skin, don't expect this to take care of it. In my opinion, it is not a great moisturizer, but the fragrance is nice. It also is very light and leaves no greasy residue on your legs. I do not like lotions and creams that sit on top of the skin and make it impossible to cross your legs without sliding all around. This absorbs quickly and leaves a nice fragrance. 8.8 ounces for 12.95, so the price is right. The ingredients are as follows: From the Lush website:Ingredients: Rose Petal Infusion (Rosa Centifolia), Almond Oil (Prunus Dulcis), Cocoa Butter (Theobroma Cacao), Glycerine, Strearic Acid, Triethanolamine, Fresh Tangerines (Citrus Reticulata), Rose Absolute (Rosa Centifolia), Carnation Absolute (Dianthus Carophyllus), Tangerine Oil (Citrus Reticulata), Cetearyl Alcohol, Perfume, Methylparaben, Propylparaben,
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Eye Shadow -NARS - Heart of Glass
DianeL 3/20/2004 2:41:00 PM
I purchased this because it looked like it would be a wearable blue. My eyes are blue and I do not usually wear blue eye shadow because it competes with my eye color. However this was everything I had hoped for. I do not think the quality is as good as Stila. It does not stay on as long and it is softer but the color is just gorgeous. It is is very pale but highly pigmented. It is an icy white blue that really opens up the eye and is a great color for summer. I apply Heart of Glass lightly over the entire eye area, then more on the lid, with Stila Azur lightly blended in the crease. Then I line with a push brush with Azur and it is a very soft, pale blue/white eye for spring and summer. It is a keeper because so far it's the only blue that looks good with my hair, eyes and coloring.
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Lotions/ Creams -Santa Maria Novella - Almond Paste
DianeL 3/20/2004 1:50:00 PM
SMN is a Florentine monastery pharmacy that continues to apply time tested recipes and techniques to prepare its incredibley luxurious creams, soaps, floral waters, and scents. This centuries old hand cream developed by Dominican monks has a cult following that testifies to its miraculous qualities. Grape seed oil, sweet almond oil, and other natural ingredients nourish and moisturize even the most damaged skin. It also includes a special whitening property to diminish age spots. I purchased this on a whim and expected it to be just another good but high priced hand cream. Little did I know that it would become one of the few products I could not live without. I used this for 2 weeks and my hands were as smooth as silk, BUT the huge surprise was my fingernails. By the third week, my fingernails were growing at an alarming rate and they looked so beautiful! They were shiny, stronger abd the entire area around them looked like the hands of a baby. I was hooked. I ran out of my first jar last week and within a few days I could already tell a difference. I know this is a bit pricey for the amount you get, but if you buy it just for the finger tip area it is not expensive at all compared to the price of some cuticle creams and their small containers. The jar lasted me 2 1/2 months and I used it every night on both hands. I would think if you only used it on your nails, you probably would get 6 months out of it. I hope they never stop making this because I have never tried any pail product that did what this did for my nails. Plus my hands looked beautiful as well. I purchased mine from lusciouscargo.com and it was 38.00 with 5 free samples of your choice, any of the wonderful fragrances carried there. A package from luscious is a treat in itself!
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lotions/ Creams -Santa Maria Novella - Almond Hand Cream
DianeL 3/20/2004 1:49:00 PM
SMN is a Florentine monastery pharmacy that continues to apply time tested recipes and techniques to prepare its incredibley luxurious creams, soaps, floral waters, and scents. This centuries old hand cream developed by Dominican monks has a cult following that testifies to its miraculous qualities. Grape seed oil, sweet almond oil, and other natural ingredients nourish and moisturize even the most damaged skin. It also includes a special whitening property to diminish age spots. I purchased this on a whim and expected it to be just another good but high priced hand cream. Little did I know that it would become one of the few products I could not live without. I used this for 2 weeks and my hands were as smooth as silk, BUT the huge surprise was my fingernails. By the third week, my fingernails were growing at an alarming rate and they looked so beautiful! They were shiny, stronger abd the entire area around them looked like the hands of a baby. I was hooked. I ran out of my first jar last week and within a few days I could already tell a difference. I know this is a bit pricey for the amount you get, but if you buy it just for the finger tip area it is not expensive at all compared to the price of some cuticle creams and their small containers. The jar lasted me 2 1/2 months and I used it every night on both hands. I would think if you only used it on your nails, you probably would get 6 months out of it. I hope they never stop making this because I have never tried any pail product that did what this did for my nails. Plus my hands looked beautiful as well. I purchased mine from lusciouscargo.com and it was 38.00 with 5 free samples of your choice, any of the wonderful fragrances carried there. A package from luscious is a treat in itself!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Vincent Longo - Lip Stain in Nolita
DianeL 2/21/2004 9:08:00 PM
One of the 3 Vincent Longo's I consistently purchase. On me, this is a little nuder and less mauve than Foolish Virgin. I often wear this under Foolish Virgin but it is nice alone if I feel like a little less pink. Creamy and moisturizing as are all of these high quality lipstains. I think VL makes the best lipstains available in the market... Hands down. A winner.
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Lipstick -Vincent Longo - Lip Stain in Cherry
DianeL 2/21/2004 9:05:00 PM
This is the closest thing to red I can get away with because it is so sheer, it is a "your lips but better" shade on me. It is creamy and moisturizing as are all of Vincent Longo's. Love it!
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