Pressed Powders -Physicians Formula - Powder Palette Multi-colored Pressed Powder Translucent
Esmay 6/30/2011 3:51:00 AM
I would highly recommend this pressed powder if: You have very, very fair skin with any type of undertones. You have normal to dry skin. (It might not provide enough oil absorption for oily skin types. This is not translucent on pale white skin but will add a natural, light peaches and cream coverage to your face, evening out skin tone, get rid of shine without dulling the complexion and give that poreless natural look. Wonderful for those of us who cannot find anything that doesn't look pink or orange or dead white on our faces. I still might use concealer around red areas on nostrils and although I don't have dark circles under my eyes I use Prestige white eyeshadow (not matte) under my eyes, inner eye and brow as illumination alternative. To apply this powder I use an Ecco brush that is very thick and dense (best ever for applying pressed powder)and when I'm finished applying blush I go over my face lightly with a flat topped bronzer brush. On my moisturized combo to somewhat dry skin, this works beautifully and the powder is remarkably long lasting. Does not look cakey what so ever! Use this every day. One coat for super natural look and two or more applications for more polished look. Great stuff.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Foundations -Avon - magix cashmere foundation
Esmay 4/15/2011 5:34:00 PM
Since they discontinued the tinted compact version which I loved, I thought I would try this new liquid version. While it goes on like butter and the packaging is clean and easy, I would not repurchase. Why? Unlike the compact, the lightest version of this is too dark and too yellow. Although it does apply much lighter then it looks out of the tube, it is still too dark for this paleface. I took a mark off for this. However, if you have light to medium complexion with yellow undertones this could work well for you. Why oh why did they take away the compact version?
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Primer/ Corrector -Avon - MagiX Face Perfector
Esmay 4/15/2011 5:27:00 PM
This goes on like butter, gives me soft, poreless skin ready for whatever makeup I choose to put on. Stays flawless until I take it off. The price is right, the packaging okay and since they have discontinued the compact formula (which I used in 'light' and was perfect!), I will continue to buy until they discontinue this as well (which, knowing Avon, will be as soon as they read this positive review).
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Avon - platinum serum
Esmay 3/28/2011 8:37:00 PM
I have been a faithful user of Avon's Ultimate line ever since it came out and love it but switched over to their Platinum line because I'm over 60 and was curious to see if there was any difference between the two. There is. Platinum serum plumps up my skin and evens out my complexion. It is neither greasy nor drying on my fair, dry skin. The container is good in the fact that it has a pump and one small drop on clean moist skin is all you need. What I don't like about the container is that you can't see how much you is left but that's just nitpicking on my part. I love this whole line but it's not cheap mind you. What I like about Avon is that they do have a lot of sales and that's when I stock up so it doesn't hurt too much! I'm not an Avon rep so I don't get discounts and have no axe to grind here. If you have mature skin you might want to give this line a try.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Coty - Halle by Halle Berry
Esmay 1/26/2011 9:13:00 PM
This was on sale at Macys and it smelled warm and rather nice on paper and on me at first but... within an hour a camphor note ran out and bit me. It kept getting stronger until I felt like wrapping a woolen sock around my neck and taking to my bed. Yes, it took me back to the old Vick's vapour rub days of yor when that stuff was the cure-all for chest colds. If your chemistry doesn't pull out this note, I think you would find it rather pleasant for the money. Try on your skin and let the dry down cut in tho.
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Blush -MAC - Sheertone in Pinch O'Peach
Esmay 11/24/2010 8:16:00 PM
I got it into my head that I would look like Red Riding Hood, or her beautiful grandmother (I lead a rich fantasy life), if I only had Frankly Scarlett blush artfully applied. So I skipped off down Robson to the M.A.C. store. I had no sooner picked up the coveted blush when a mua rushed over with panic in her eyes. She screamed 'step away from the display or I'm calling the police' while at the same time whipping out her blush brush and grabbing a container off the shelf. Quick as a wink, she slathered my cheeks and whirled me over to a mirror. 'Beautiful' breathed I, 'What's it called?' 'Never you mind', said she, while at the same time slapping the blush and a bottle of N1 Face and Body Foundation into my mitt, 'Just take it and get the hell out of here.' I love that kid. Sheertone Pinch O'Peach is not peach but a lovely, lovely soft pink with lots of pigment and yet it still gives me a natural fairytale look on my Tilda Swinton-pale Celtic skin. And the face and body foundation is like a dream come true ...but that's another story.
28 out of 33 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Avon - Sweet Honesty
Esmay 10/27/2010 10:51:00 PM
Just for the record, I'm no perfume snob. I love the oldies like Shalimar, Arpege, and, yes, Tabu. My chemistry adores some celeb frags like Glow, My Glow, Fancy and Covet. I can lunch with Chanel. And, dare I say it? Some of my favorites have been Avon...Flower, Petal, Rare Gold, Timeless, and does anybody remember their Here's to my Heart? Would that one feel as good today as it did then? Does Sweet Honesty? No. Many houses re-work or update the formulas and packaging of their oldies for good or ill and I think in the case of Sweet Honesty, Avon should either do so or retire the brand. The bottle looks like a no-name brand of gargle. The fragrance suffers from VERY inferior quality ingredients. I mean very. There's just no excuse. Sure, they have made it dirt cheap but if it has a sentimental following then at least have the decency to up the quality to present standards even if it means charging a few bucks more. The scent itself is almost a straight-up lily-of-the-valley/powder from opening to drydown. Strong alcohol blast at the opening lasts far too long. So Avon keeps this and immediately drops their beautiful lily-of-the-valley scent for young girls (and old ones too) - Petal, which was packaged in a charming little bottle. Why? Who can fathom the corporate mind?
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Fragrances -mark - rio rhythms
Esmay 5/29/2010 4:14:00 PM
Professor Snape charged his class with the making of an original love potion. Ron Weasley threw an old tire into his bubbling cauldron of cabbage and in a wild gesture of self-preservation his best friend, Harry, grabbed a handful of Hermione's carefully diced flowers and tossed them into Ron's pot. The result was what we now call 'Rio Rhythms'! Harry did a little better with his mixture of boiled yellow vegetables, an orange, and a handful of exotic petals. Voila! Rio Bikini. At least it's wearable with only a very vague sense of soggy veggies masked by floral and citrus notes. (As an aside, and I'm sure you all want to know, Hermoine's love potion not only won the prize but was so potent that the formula is now locked away in a very secret place. Should WWIII ever break out, crop dusters will be loaded with vats of the stuff and sprayed over all the countries of the world whereupon all living things will fall in love with one another, followed by an outbreak of vegetarianism and much mooning about.)
7 out of 10 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -J. Lo - My Glow 2009
Esmay 5/27/2010 8:41:00 PM
The bottle is lovely, the fragrance delightful. The lavender is there, prominent from start to finish, but the freesia, rose, lily and peony notes keeps it from coming on like a cologne for men. Nor does it come across like a linen closet freshner. The green notes, musk, sandalwood and woods notes are blended well with the florals to offer a soft, calm, feminine gracefulness that is in no way from another century. So what the hell went wrong!! You could dump the whole bottle over your head and the smell wouldn't linger in the air or on your skin for more then 45 seconds. This is just unacceptable for the price. So, yes, it's too expensive for an after shower spray, which is all it is. Bummer.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Primer/ Corrector -Avon - Magix Tinted Face Perfector
Esmay 5/11/2010 7:04:00 PM
I have mature combination/dry skin if left to its own devices...but who amongst us would allow that! lol. So, I use Avon Ultimate day moisturizer with spf 25 which, in the summer, can make my face a tad greasy. Enter Magix tinted face Perfector. 20 or so minutes after moisturizing I apply this product with the dry sponge applicator. I have very fair skin with a slightly pink undertone and this tint evens out my skin and mattifies my face without making it look dry. Silky and poreless look that lasts and even gets better as the day wears on. I even put it on my eyelids and undereye area and it does not crease up but makes a wonderful base for eye and blush colors. Very natural looking, even in sunlight. Provides slightly more coverage on me than a tinted moisturizer but will not totally cover red around nose area on certain days and I need concealer for that. In winter I use it on the T zone and lighter in other areas. This is a great product for under 10 bucks Cdn. The packaging is sturdy enough for purse travel and the sponge is in a separate compartment for sanitary purposes. I use the sponge but buff with good brush for an airbrushed look. Works for me.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Tabu - Tabu by Dana cologne splash
Esmay 12/27/2009 12:05:00 AM
Tabu has always been misunderstood. It was, and still can be if you can get your hands on a decent bottle, one of the most seductive scents ever made. But like many perfumes it can all go wrong in the application. I blame the cheap spray bottles they come in. Perfumes should have glass stoppers so we could apply properly. We shouldn't be tempted to spray it around our heads, plugging up our sinus passages, giving ourselves and everyone else a King Hell headache and turning our hair sprays and gels into a hot stink. One smart lady on here says she sprays a squirt into a small dish and uses her finger in place of the old glass stopper. I spray into my left palm, then dip my right pinkie into the perfume and dab a drop behind each knee, between my breasts, and either on my wrists or elbows. Then wash my hands so I don't shriek with chic. Dabbed on away from the head area, real perfumes become subtle and lay very close to the skin. It becomes your skin. It has nuance. Oh, and Tabu was never meant to be worn to church or by little girls. Seductive scents are meant to seduce.
19 out of 22 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Maybelline - color sensational 375 Toffee Tango
Esmay 10/22/2009 7:42:00 PM
I've never met a lipstick I have been entirely in love with...until now. MAC has come close with great colors but their formulas need work. Color Sensational formula is perfect! It moisturizes like the best of all lip balms without any grease feeling. It refuses to feather so I don't need lipliner. And the color lasts nger than any other lippie I have EVER tried. So, Toffee Tango. The color on the bottom of the lipstick tube is pretty true. It's a rose brown with no frost. It looks dark in the tube but it goes on sheer and at the same time imparts a very natural muted rose shade. I'm quite fair with lips that can go a nasty magenta unless I use a neutral concealer before applying gloss or lipstick. My lips are also dry so usually I apply lipbalm, concealer, lipstick (maybe neutral lipliner depending on color) and gloss. With Toffee Tango I can just put it on an I'm good to go. Beautiful natural lips. Add more swipes for more zing.
6 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Neutrogena - Healthy Skin Rejuvenator - The Anti-Aging Treatment
Esmay 9/24/2009 8:18:00 PM
Is this pulsating little gizmo all that much better than micro washcloths and exfoliating face scrubs? Yes indeed! I could immediately see the difference in both my husband's and my skin - both totally different. He has dark, oily skin with some hyperpigmentation and I have very fair dry skin with freckles. We use it once or twice weekly. Our skin is smooth, soft, glowing and getting more even colored with every use. Blackheads on noses gone. My moisturizer sinks in like a dream and makeup goes on smoother. We still use our washcloths daily but no need for scrubs, just regular cleansers. I don't think this tool is overpriced if it lasts for awhile. You have to replace the batteries and buy the blue scruffing pads that attach onto the machine so that's an ongoing expense but I use one pad per week so I don't think it's much more than scrubbin cleansers and a whole lot cheaper than spa microdermabrasions! (although this doesn't take the place of professional microdermabrasion it's close enough for me to be happy with it.) In looking at my skin, a dermatologist told me I had the skin of a 39 year old and I look around 50 (oh that gravity!)...that's okay because I'm 67. lol.
3 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Pressed Powders -Physicians Formula - Powder Palette Multi-Colored Highlighter
Esmay 8/31/2009 11:24:00 PM
I said I would never buy this product again but that's because it will probably last forever anyway. Now, on to the review. This is a dupe for Guerlain's similar product which sells for approx. $70 Cdn. compared to PH's $25 Cdn one. Is there a difference? Yes. Guerlain houses their version in a very nice compact and has "sparkles" instead of "shimmer". They are both nice highlighting powders that can do multi-purpose duty. I use the yellow as a base on my eyelids. I use the green to even out slight red around nostrils. I use white under eyes for brightener. I sweep all over with fan brush and use on upper cheekbones, temples as highlighters are traditionally used for sometimes. I combine a bit on my powder brush after it is loaded with Coty translucent powder, tap off excess and dust all over face as my usual 'foundation'. Settles in, evens out complexion, gives me peaches and cream skin. Is it a necessary staple tho? No. I like it but don't love it.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Parlux - Jessica Simpson Fancy
Esmay 8/24/2009 4:58:00 PM
I have eclectic taste in fragrances but tend to shy away from overly sweet or very very floral scents (with exceptions, of course). I sprayed the white paper with Fancy and also sprayed my skin. To my surprise on both this scent smelled warm and delicious. Foody but not sickenly so. Don't need much - one squirt on the torso and the smell wafts around me, close to the skin for a few hours. I really get the vanilla/caramel combo and, although it's not anything unique, out of all the similar frags, this one settles in the nicest on my skin. For reference, I tried Benefit's Something about Sofia the same way. VERY similar scent but lasted all of 30 seconds on the paper and not long after it was gone from my skin so its out of the running. The bottle caught my eye - it's pretty and well designed and this frag is medium priced. I'll buy for winter months snuggling in with a good book, husband by my side and dog at my feet (THEY quite like it too!)
4 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No