Liquid -Shu Uemura - Water Perfect Fluid Foundation
brockinbeats 10/18/2007 3:11:00 AM
Beautiful finish - not too matte, not too dewy, just natural finish that's oh so slightly satiny. The shade 754 is perfection on me - one of the best matches I've seen (NC25/30, BB Beige). Like the pump a lot - very hygenic although the trade off is the wasted product. 1 lippie taken off for lasting power (I have combo skin, t-zone looks shiny by lunchtime, it's no big deal but Neutrogena holds off better) and no SPF.
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Highlighters -Smashbox - Soft Lights - Smashing Lens
brockinbeats 10/18/2007 3:03:00 AM
Colour: yellow-toned with a peachy-pink tint. Very natural on my skin (NC25/30 / Shu754 / BB Beige) - a light dusting with a fluffy brush on my cheekbones & nose gives a natural luminous glow. Very fine microshimmer - no obvious sparkles, just a beautiful soft focus glow. Looks like warm yellow toned lighting IRL and peachy-pink radiance in pictures. Wore this on my wedding day and the pictures looked fabulous - Angelo at the SF Shu Uemura counter recommended this, he said this was his absolute favorite and he was right! I'm a huge Shu fan and for a Shu MA to recommend another brand, it must be quite something since Shu is a tough act to follow.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Revlon - Fabulash Waterproof
brockinbeats 10/18/2007 2:58:00 AM
Two words: black flakes. Yikes.
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Lip Gloss -Milani - Crystal Gloss in Serendipity
brockinbeats 10/18/2007 2:57:00 AM
More like a 3.5 for me - it's very pretty (golden bronze with gold shimmer). It's much warmer and yellow-gold toned while Oh Baby is malted chocolate / pinkish in tone and less warm, more neutral. On the fence whether I should keep it, I may return it b/c it's just a touch too warm for me (and just a tad too shimmery).
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Eye Shadow -Milani - Touch of Brown Quad
brockinbeats 10/17/2007 12:16:00 PM
Nice colours, great colour payoff and decent texture with a great price. Why a 2? Way, way too darn shimmery (the gold & brown), the champagne shade is downright too sparkly - the gold sparkles fell on my cheeks and refused to be brushed away. I'm walking around the office looking like a glittery Vegas showgirl. Ugh.
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Lipstick -L'Oreal - Color riche star secrets - Penelope red 710
brockinbeats 10/17/2007 11:44:00 AM
Expect stares. Lots of it. Test drove this at lunch - didn't know noon at Midtown could be so nerve-racking. Women and men stared. A table literally stopped their conversation. The barista at Starbucks couldn't look away. Guys on the street slowed down to stare. Not used to this much attention - blotting it down and keeping it strictly for going out at night. Details: fire engine "true" red. It looks nothing like the pic of Penelope. Wearing black today and it comes across as having slight blue undertone, unlike yesterday (wore white) when it looked more tomato-ish red. Texture is gorgeous, semi sheer and moisturizing but intensely coloured. Light glossy finish. Most blue based reds turn fucshia on me - not this one. Blot 2x, apply final layer. Amazingly vampy. NC25/30 / Shu754, light skin w/ yellow undertone, dark hair, can do both warm and cool tones as long as they're not too far extreme in the spectrum.
5 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Crème -Rimmel - cool matte mousse foundation [DISCONTINUED]
brockinbeats 10/17/2007 11:29:00 AM
Not a bad product if you want that Dita-like finish: smooth and matte with good coverage. I can see how this will make my skin look great in photos - smooth, even with no shimmer but for me, it's too makeup-y looking, I'm more of a slightly dewy, tinted moisturizer / light coverage type. As others have mentioned - it dries FAST so apply lightly and blend before it dries (hard to rub once it's done so). The colors are very yellow-based, I got #100, which is way too light. I feel like I'm playing white face. Eurasian NC 25/30, yellow undertone, dark hair. EDIT: 8 hours later, it's morphed into a much more natural finish and it's oxidized some and becomes a little darker. The finish is still matte, it is much nicer now. Will still not use it again tho' - 4 hours of looking kind of mask-like to get this finish is not acceptable.
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Liquid -Neutrogena - Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup SPF 20
brockinbeats 10/17/2007 2:38:00 AM
Very good drugstore product - smooth, even finish that makes my skin look naturally luminous. I like the spf 20 too. Co-workers, friends and even make-up artists at Bergdorf & Bloomies told me that I had great skin! NC 25/30 or BB Beige, yellow-toned Asian/Caucasian mix, dark hair - Golden Bisque is the perfect match, Soft Gold is the next best. I tried the Visibly Even but no color match, the Golden Bisque in that formula is way too yellow. I take off 1 lipstick b/c you need to use a light hand (otherwise it's a bit powdery looking) and because it does slide off my face at the end of the work day. But I do work 12 hour days and have combination skin so it's still a winner for me - on my 3rd bottle. My other absolute favorite is BB Luminous moisturizing foundation in Beige - a dewier finish but at $11 vs $48 (sometimes the drugstore even has BOGO - a smashing deal), I'll take the Neutrogena! Also like the MAC F&B (lighter finish) - may get a bottle of this just for variety's sake :D.
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Treatments -Burt's Bees - Parsley Blemish Stick
brockinbeats 10/13/2007 1:37:00 AM
I'm on my 2nd bottle of this. It dries all blemishes - from the nascent bump to the full blown ones. It takes care those annoying ones that can't be popped (and will leave a scar if I tried) - just apply before bed, and 90% of the time, the bump is dried out by the next morning! The rest of the time, just apply again the night after, it'd be gone the next day. Way better than just about any pimple medication I tried - for the occasional break out, this is pretty much HG status in my book. Not too keen on the licorice smell but I got used to it.
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Lip Gloss -MAC - Oh baby
brockinbeats 10/11/2007 3:11:00 AM
It is such a gorgeous shade - warm goldish caramel with a high octane shine that makes for a camera worthy pout. However, it is a bit tacky (like all Lipglass) and this is not work appropriate for me. I'm in a conservative industry and very shiny, sexy pout + glitter on lips = invitation not to take me seriously. So, as beautiful as it is, I can only wear this to go out and probably won't buy this again.
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Lip Gloss -MAC - Lipglass in Prrr
brockinbeats 10/11/2007 3:08:00 AM
Looks horrid on me. Way too Pamela Anderson and accentuates the flaky lips. May be better for someone with pink undertones.
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Lip Gloss -Revlon - Super Lustrous lipgloss in Glossy Rose [DISCONTINUED]
brockinbeats 10/11/2007 3:05:00 AM
I am ashamed to say that I bought this after seeing a rave review in Lucky mag. Nonetheless, I am so happy I tried it. The colour is gorgeous, a pinkish, peachy coral with micro gold shimmer. I have naturally pink lips, and on me it gives a very pretty light peachy sheen. The texture is great too, goes on smoothly and not as tacky as MAC lipglass. The trade off is that it has a bit less lasting power than the lipglass, but it's still pretty darn good. It can be layered for a more intense colour payoff and shine, but it looks great applied lightly too. Very reasonably priced for a product that is comparable to Dior Addict Ultra Gloss in texture, shine and colour payoff. The smell and taste is eh but it's not horrible, it goes away after a few mins. Will definitely be up for trying other shades.
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Mascara -Christian Dior - Diorshow Mascara
brockinbeats 10/11/2007 2:52:00 AM
The good: the thickening ability (quite amazing) and the deep black shade - they give my lashes such a lush, velvety look. The mixed: the lengthening ability isn't bad, but it isn't all that either. The not-so-good: the flaking. I don't get smudges, but I get tons of tiny flakes under my eyes... not good. Plus after 3 hours, my lashes feel brittle and my eyes started to itch (probably those tiny flakes fell into my eyes). For $23, I think I can do better.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Maybelline - Great Lash Mascara
brockinbeats 10/11/2007 2:49:00 AM
Not bad, it does the job and has pretty darn good staying power (I bought the waterproof version). The good: the jet black shade, the lengthening ability, and the formula that allows you to layer without clumping (if the brush picks up too much, removing extra goop on tissue paper really helps, the trick is to apply horizontally and do it by layers). The 'eh': lack of thickening ability (it defines well, but even with layers it's not really thickening) and it's not the easiest to remove. If I need a basic, everyday mascara, I won't mind buying again because it's really inexpensive and easy to find although I'm always open to trying better drugstore alternatives.
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Eyeliner -MAC - Technakohl in Graphblack
brockinbeats 10/11/2007 2:42:00 AM
The good: the inky, jet black colour. The mixed: the no-sharpening feature. Yes, it's convenient, but with the regular pencil (like the Shu drawing pencil), you can have a very precise tip for lining, with the twist-up pencil the tip gets kind of blunt, which is ok for rock n'roll eyes but not for very precise lining. The not-so-good: the smudging. It lasted about 6 hours with MAC Bare Canvas paint, but then it smudged under my eyes and forget about working out with these - raccoon eyes all over (I imagine it'd be bad during my allergy days too!) I wanted to like it, but I think I'd rather spend the extra $5 and get the Shu drawing pencil, which is just as intense, just as easy to apply (if not creamier) and has much better staying power.
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