Cleansers -Garnier - Simply Essentials Comforting Cleansing Milk
carltonbp 11/17/2011 10:23:00 AM
I've been pleasantly surprised by this. In winter I need something a little more moisturising and this is perfect. I use retin-A so I can't have anything that strips the skin or that clogs my pores. I use Dr Nick Lowe Purifying foaming cleanser then follow with this. Leaves my skin clean, soft and plump. No filmy layer, no clogged pores, no irritation no dryness or tightness. Just what I wanted. I use a microfibre cloth gently. If you have spot prone skin and want something that moisturises, doesn't irritate and cause spots I really recommend this. Doesn't contain parrafinum liquidum which causes red large spots on me. Only cost £3 as well and you don't need much. I bought it when it was on 3 for 2 so I'm glad I like it.
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Skincare - Face -Vichy - LiftActiv HA yeux/eyes
carltonbp 9/24/2011 3:52:00 PM
Doesn't moistrise, left my eyes looking dry, crepey. Doesn't do anything for lines, but then I think none of them do and I've focused on moistrising at night and SPF during the day. The spout/dispenser is a gimick. Did nothing for lines, didn't even moistrise, what's the point of it? Bought it on a 3 for 2 at Boots. 4 products from Vichy, 4 lots of wasted money, will be avoiding Vichy from now on.
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Moisturizers -Vichy - Aqualia Thermal UV hydrating treatment SPF15/PPD18
carltonbp 9/24/2011 3:43:00 PM
I found this greasy and it didn't sink in and it gave me blackheads. It also managed to make my skin feel oilier. It has a reflective sheen as well which makes your skin look like you've put butter on it. On the plus side it didn't smell awful like the other Aqualia moisturisers I bought. Very disappointed in the whole line, 4 items I bought from it that are sitting unused, at least it was 3 for 2 at Boots when I bought them. I'm going to try it again more towards winter and see it that helps, perhaps it was too rich in summer.
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Moisturizers -Vichy - Aqualia Thermal Light
carltonbp 9/24/2011 3:34:00 PM
It smells like cheap aftershave - awful It's tacky after putting it on and stays that way for a good 5mins It's not very moisturising It's very basic - It's a light moisturiser, that's it. Very over priced for what is a basic moisturiser, you can get L'oreal, Garnier light moisturisers for less than 25% of the cost of this that do the same basic job. Mine came in a glass jar whilst nice still doesn't justify the price Very disappointed.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -Boots - No 7 Radiance Boosting Hot Cloth Cleanser
carltonbp 9/8/2011 5:48:00 PM
If I had to sum it up it would be 'I expected more' I googled the ingredients list and it's not great. The only one which wasn't bulk, filler, to adjust the PH etc was Shea Butter and that's about it. It's maybe a little bit moisturising so not too heavy if you have problem skin. If you do wait for the £5 off promos and then it's just £5. Seems to remove make-up ok but you do need quite a bit so it doesn't last as long as you'd think. Should also point out that I double cleanse with a microfibre cloth. It cleans, doesn't clog, doesn't dry out your skinbut Doesn't do anything else. Bit like the Cetaphil of Hot cloth cleansers. I bought a few with the £5 off offer and wish I hadn't. Other cleansers do far more. Prefer Nick Lowe's Secret is Out Cleanser.
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Masks -Unlisted Brand - Good things - five minute facial mask
carltonbp 9/8/2011 5:28:00 PM
I really like this for 4 reasons Draws out the oilies Doesn't dry you out, it really doesn't Exfoliates leaving skin very smooth The next morning my skin has a much more even tone. This is perfect for winter when central heating plays havoc with my skin. Draws out the rubbish but keeps you skin soft and smooth. If you like Queen Helene Advocado and Grapefruit mask you'll love this, it has the same effect but without the stinging. As of 08/09/11 it's on offer at 1/3rd off in Superdrug.
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Mascara -L'Oreal - Lash Architect 4D
carltonbp 6/11/2011 10:32:00 PM
I've been on the hunt for a good mascara for a while. All I want is something that separates and fully coats, doesn't take 4 coats and 10 mins to apply. I've recently tried Boot No7 Extreme Length utter rubbish doesn't even coat L'Oreal Collagen and Million lashes, Collagen was better but neither lived even remotely up to their hype. Max Factor Masterpeice Max - it was ok, False lash effect and false lash effect fusion, clumpy and hard to apply, brush was huge and unwieldy. What a lot of wasted hard earned money. I bought this on a whim, wasn't holding out much hope but it had £3 off so thought I'd risk it. Wow The brush Is excellent it seems to hug lashes coating all off them and separating. I didn't know I had that many lashes. It also tapers at the end making it easy to apply to the edges. Great brush. Volume Give a good amount of volume without making you look ridiculous Length It actually does lengthen. Surprised me too. Curl IT CURLS. it really does :-) Application I'm fine with just one coat, it dries quite quickly so if you want more you'll need to be quick. It's quick and you can easily coat all lashes. I love the way I also don't get mascara all over my eyelid but it gives a subtle eyeliner effect. Last and removal Lasts all day and I've been able to remove it easily and completely with a microfibre cloth and water in the shower. My organic remover worked fine too. Nothing left in the morning. Best brush, lengthening, definition and curl I've ever had and it's all in one mascara. Possible cons I'm thinking this may dry out quite quickly. Remains to be seen but that's my hunch. Best mascara I've ever used. Better than the Lancome Amplicils and Hypnose. I recommend you give this a go. I honestly don't think I've ever reviewed something this postively on here. *UPDATE* 10 weeks later it's still going strong so I was wrong about the drying out. Still astonished about how how good this is. UPDATE AGAIN - I'm wondering if L'oreal have production issues with this. I went to use my second tube and it was awful just like many reviews on here. Clumpy, hard to drag through lashes, no curl and didn't lengthen. Unusable. I had a third tube I'd bought as I got a free gift with it and that's like my first tube. Brilliant. Strange.
11 out of 11 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Loose Powders -NARS - Loose Powder
carltonbp 12/28/2010 1:18:00 PM
It's now 35gms instead of 45gm. Just bought a new pack. Weighed it against my empty old one and it's definately 35gms. Hate it when companies do that. 23% less product for the same price. Just lost a customer and this is going back to SpaceNK tomorrow.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Boots - No7 Extreme Length Mascara
carltonbp 9/12/2010 10:13:00 AM
I have been wonderfully guided by the reviews on MUA for a few years now but this time it hasn't worked. This mascara does very little, doesn't lengthen, doesn't curl, doesn't thicken. It does however stay on and you don't have panda eyes by 3pm which is why it has 2 stars. The brush is super bendy so you have to be careful, don't press too hard when applying or it springs and you end up with mascara below your lower lashes. It requires 2-3 coats and takes up 5mins of my time in a morning to apply. Really don't know why they're all these good reviews. Having tried a couple of other No7 mascaras, it's clear unlike Max Factor No7 do not do good mascaras. Unfortuantely the UK doesn't have the same rights of return just because it's not very good as the US or this would be going back.
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Mascara -Boots - no7 Dream lash
carltonbp 9/12/2010 10:04:00 AM
As others have said, it does nothing. If you already have rich, full, long lashes that you just want a thin coat of colour for then this is for you. For us mere mortals please do not waste your money on this. It really does nothing, not even after 3 coats.
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Cleansers -Ponds - Deep Cleanser Cold Cream
carltonbp 7/10/2010 9:23:00 PM
I expected this to break me out, it didn't and it moisturised which was fantastic. I was a bit concerned about how much I was pulling my skin to get it to spread it was so thick. If you have spots and are using a treatment that is drying such as retinol I do recommend you give this a go. Also have a look at Noxema deep cleansing cream which I now use. top tip - toner, I didn't dare not use it and microfibre cloths, fantastic and help remove much of the product. But, it's not cheap £3.99 for 50ml. When you consider most cleansers are 200ml that's £16. It was 75ml for the same price until recently but the manufacturer (Unilever I think) has taken away 33% of the product and kept the price the same. Stuff that, I'm sticking with Noxema and if I want something a bit more moisturising then I'll use Boots Traditional which is £2.37 for 200ml. I really recommend you have a look at the reviews for the Nozema and microfibre cleansing cloths I mentioned on here.
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Lip Treatments -Sally Hansen - 24 Hour Lip Treatment
carltonbp 5/9/2010 2:46:00 PM
Got it from the 99p store. It's got a nice light scent and goes on fine with a light sheen. As others have said it doesn't stay on long but what is most surprising... After wearing your lips actually feel drier! I checked on here to see if anyone else had the same problem and as you can read I'm not the only one. Do brands not realise if they just churn products out without testing properly then the likely hood of people buying their brand again reduces.
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Treatments -Clarins - Intensive Age-Control Bright Plus Program
carltonbp 3/13/2010 4:20:00 PM
I found a pair of Salon sizes on Ebay, there is no way I could have justified the full price for this. I don't have wrinkles and I don't sun worship so there's no pigmentation problem from sun exposure. However I do have some minor acne scars on my chin from using Neal Yard's Frankinsence Hydrating Cream which has the dubious honour of being the only product to have given me cystic acne and I am concerned about uneven skin tone. It's not harsh on the skin and part two is a good moisturiser without being greasy. It didn't cause any spots and it did even out my skin tone but nothing that made me think wow amazing. So it does do what it says and I think perhaps if you're from somewhere like Australia, West Coast America and are more likely to have sun damage then this will help more. It also does help the acne scars. So I did a week and next month I'll do another week. However my skin did start to go a bit blotchy again although not as much and it was that time of the month. I since tried Neals Yard Power Berry Daily Moisture which came free with Marie Claire. After trying the Frankincense I was a bit apprehensive but it's more moisturising than I thought, it doesn't break me out and it is fantastic for even skin tone. So perhaps the combination of these products will help. If you have quite bad sun damage or acne scars then this is perhaps worth the splurge, if not then save your money, many companies are doing brightening products now so have a look at those first. L'Oreal does a creamy cleanser in the UK that's good, it contains Vit C and Hydro-novil which are probably just gimmicks but it doesn't break you out, make your skin dry and gently exfoliates without being abrassive. As I mentioned the Neals Yard cream is good for this problem and I'd also recommend having a look at the reviews for microfibre cloths on here. I highly recommend them for getting your skin clean and it clears off the flakey bits which helps. L'Occitane also do a brightning range which I haven't used but there's reviews on here. I've tried Olay's Definity which was a waste of money for my skin. For uneven skin tone I've found BHA's and fruit acids to be the best.
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Moisturizers -Neal's Yard - Frankincense Hydrating Cream
carltonbp 5/9/2009 8:53:00 PM
I really wanted to like this. It does leave your skin lovely and soft. But I have tried it now 4 times and I have to admit defeat. Each and everytime I have used it I got big cystic spots on my chin. I get the occasional spot but nothing like this. I think it might have even caused me to have a little pit in my skin following one of the spots. I have been careful to avoid other new products and hormonal times of the month when using it. Unfortuantely it is this cream. The longest I tried it for was approx 10 days and my skin around my chin got worse than it has ever been but still I persisted but it just got worse. I give up. Perhaps if you have dry skin that doesn't break out I would really recommend this as it does leave your skin feeling lovely and soft.
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Foundations -Max Factor - Miracle Touch Liquid Illusion Foundation
carltonbp 11/17/2007 3:38:00 PM
Initial review after a few more wears will change if needed but as it's a new product I thought I would add a few keys points to help others make a decision. The sponge they market as specially designed - it's a circle and it's not specially designed. I didn't like applying it with the sponge it seemed to just move the product around my face from one part to another. I tried a foundation brush - much much better. Good even accurate coverage. If you have one I recommend you apply it this way. It's a light foundation so it will not cover up any blemishes so you will need concealer but the concealer sits ok on top of it. It is a bit irridescent and this gets worse when the oilies start. However it doesn't slide off with the oilies so if you want it to last all day you just need to pay attention and blot a bit more than usual. I have been looking for a long lasting but not heavy foundation and unfortunately this isn't the answer but it's a good weekend foundation At £12 it's not cheap and the best thing you can say about the packaging is that it's simple. There's no mirror for touch-ups which is a shame as it clearly is designed as a product to use out and about. Hope this helps you make a decision.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No