Scrubs -Neutrogena - Energizing Sugar Body Scrub-Fresh Citrus
hesterC 2/8/2010 8:09:00 AM
Disappointing, starting with the smell! This is anything BUT a fresh citrus, I can't place it but it's musty and sickly as all hell, very strange. The sugar crystals are too sparse and disappear too soon. I like the oiled feel of my skin afterward, but no, this almost does not exfoliate at all. Big loser.
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Gels/Soaps -Kiss My Face - Moisture Soap in Peaceful Patchouli
hesterC 1/27/2010 3:08:00 PM
When faced with the comments of the 'smells like dirt' variety, I have to giggle and think, seriously, Americans, get over it! We're animals! If only really dirty, fecal dirt smelled like this! This stuff smells FANTASTIC, like you've just had a roll in the most amazing loamy earth, it's just dirt-ey goodness through and through - the scent lasts, too! It seems moisturising on the hands and I like the pearly white consistency, as well as the sweet container. Epic win!
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Lotions/ Creams -Kiss My Face - Peaceful Patchouli Moisturizer
hesterC 1/27/2010 3:04:00 PM
OMG SUCH a great earthy patchouli scent!! Just amazingly good, but I guess only for patchouli lovers. It lingers, too! This moisturises very pleasantly, and the tube is convenient and good to use (no mess nozzle). It's not really moisturising enough for dry hands, but fine, that's not really the intention. My first KMF product, and I'm SOLD! I'm SO buying out the entire stock of my local (exclusive, I'm in South Africa) supplier, like, tomorrow!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Jean Paul Gaultier - Ma Dame
hesterC 1/27/2010 2:22:00 AM
Somewhat feeble lemon cupcake with somewhat bitter vinyl-neroli icing. Not really sweet, thankfully, and wearable, but not compelling in any way. A very young crowd may find it witty. Not heinous, but no more than competent. Lovely bottle!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Hermes - Eau des Merveilles
hesterC 12/22/2009 5:30:00 AM
Certainly a stand-out, unique perfume! The only one it smells related to is Terre d'Hermes, which smells like its older brother. EdM has a milkiness up top which TdH does not, but other than that, they share the orange popsicle-ey goodness rolled in a dusty, flinty mineral powder with a sprinkling of salt. Staying powder is very good, though it's almost a skin scent on me - even gallons doesn't result in much sillage. I haven't had a compliment, and I admit i find it a touch hard to wear for a full day - the flintiness does get a touch much. But it is very different (totally unisex), very witty, definitely appropriate for almost all events.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -LaLique - Le Baiser
hesterC 12/22/2009 5:26:00 AM
Awwww, such a sweetie! Yes, it is cousin to YSL Paris, but much, MUCH softer and less assertive. It's basically just a mildly tangy rose fragrance, not powdery, grown-up but not too mature or serious. The bottle is lovely in the extreme (my mini, a few years old, is even lovelier, with a couple kissing in glass relief). The lasting power is not great, sadly.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Powder -Estee Lauder - Double Wear Stay-in-Place Powder Makeup
hesterC 12/22/2009 3:21:00 AM
So this is pretty awful! I got it free at work, wouldn't have bought it, and now I know why. It goes on really powdery-cakey, even when using a brush and trying to go very very lightly, and the absolute pits? It made my reasonably ok pores look absolutely HUGE, like craters in my skin! Nothing has ever done that before! No sir, this stinks. Shame on Estee Lauder.
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Fragrances -Issey Miyake - a scent by issey miyake
hesterC 12/22/2009 2:46:00 AM
Well paint me surprised. I can't stand the Issey Miyake aesthetic, and his original scent is loathsome in the extreme. But this!! It really walks a fine rope; it could SO easily have gone toilet spray soapy, but no, it stays perfectly poised on the fresh and witty side of the abyss. I really really like wearing it, it keeps it's cool and helps me feel poised, too. It's green without veering to extremes, it's clean without feeling soapy, there's flowers without floralcy... actually, this is quite an amazing feat. EDIT I'm on my second bottle! Started with a 30 ml, now graduated to a GIANT 150 ml. Very happy!
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Bulgari - OMNIA Crystalline edt
hesterC 12/7/2009 9:10:00 AM
VERY strange stuff! Highly ethereal, yet wildly persistent and somehow cloying in that modern 'clean' way. I like it a lot for five minutes, but then I'm so so sick of it, and it will not LEAVE! I can't say a word on notes, I can't seem to pick up what this is meant to be doing on my skin. I love original Omnia, but this scares me. The smell seems like some industrial fluid that smells surprisingly pleasant, yet is clearly toxic and straaaaaange.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Elizabeth Arden - Green Tea Exotic
hesterC 12/7/2009 8:57:00 AM
I bought this as part of a gift set with the original Green Tea, which I'm gifting. Exotic is much more a watery floral than a real tea fragrance. The tea seems to serve as added zing, a little bite to make the flowers interesting. It's very pleasant, great for spring or summer, definitely office friendly. I had hoped for a more tea-based scent with hints of flowers; this is the other way round. Nevermind the alleged pyramid; I find no woods or ambrette seed in the drydown; it's resolutely floral to my nose. It reminds me of a tangier Jesus del Pozo Halloween. Lasting power is much better than the original Green Tea.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - J. Del Pozo Halloween EDT
hesterC 9/21/2009 9:56:00 AM
I am quite shocked by how much I like this. For reference: I love Avignon, Rochas Femme, Bal a Versailles, Jasmin Noir... NOT light and airy little floral numbers! But this one, magically, I really enjoy. The topnotes are horrid aquatic nonsense, but happily this fades away quite quickly and what's left is a happy ozonic floral, not sweet, a bit tangy, just right for spring, in fact! I really think this is well done and would be a hit if available here in South Africa, although the name is idiotically mismatched. I won't be wearing it a lot, but I'm glad to have my little mini.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Revlon - Colorstay mineral lipglaze in perpetual plum - 550
hesterC 9/8/2009 3:14:00 AM
Interesting product. Colour is not quite as intense as one might think from the tube, but well pigmented. I'm quite pale though, and this still is quite subtle. The finish soon goes from shiny-gloss to a sort of cream lipstick finish - interesting effect! Quite unique in my experience. We'll see about longevity, but that's not my primary aim, so. It feels smooth and moisturising on, nice, not sticky at all like a real gloss. This makes me suspect the colour will stay for hours, but any shininess will soon be completely gone. For shine, this is not a good bet. Now for the bad part: the absolutely horrific smell!! Awfully strong boozy coconut (I WISH I got a citrusy smell like other reviewers!) and it persists!! Someone just said oh something smells nice, and I'm pretty sure it was my lipglaze, not my perfume! When people are smelling your lipgloss, there's too much scent to it! WHY, Revlon, why?!? This may put me off buying one, actually (got my current one free). Truly terrible scent.
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Fragrances -Donna Karan - Gold
hesterC 8/28/2009 5:04:00 AM
Ahhhhhhh!!! I always tend to forget how happy this EDP makes me when I wear it. The first two minutes of the topnotes are a tad too much lily, which sometimes puts me off deciding on it. My boyfriend also finds this phase nose-searing. But oh, the rest of its hours and hours of life on my skin! The flowers, the masses of flowers, up top, the honeyed caramel-ey goodness down below (which is boyfriend-approved BIGTIME) ... this really seems like a genius perfume to me. NOT shy, strong, almost feral in its richness. If you're feeling even slightly under the weather, it's a big no: you need to feel strong and on top to carry this, at least I do. Big, beautiful, landmark perfume. SO sad if it were to be discontinued. But I have a lovely big bottle, so I'm ok :)
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Rimmel - Lasting Finish - Coral in Gold
hesterC 8/28/2009 4:49:00 AM
I got this free. Hmm. It's... good, I guess. The colour, while severe in the tube, is quite nice on, just as the name suggests, a goldy-coral. I don't love the somewhat flat finish, i prefer it with a gloss over, and it seems a touch drying. It definitely accentuates fine lines on lips. But with gloss over, lovely, fresh colour. The smell is STRONG, vanilla-ey, like a cookie. Unnecessary, but not off-putting. All in all, a good one, but the flatness of the finish and the rickety, cheap-seeming tube would prevent me from buying it. I have a long-discontinued true coral from Lauder that does the trick of supplying a sheer wash of coral much better.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Clinique - glosswear for lips
hesterC 8/28/2009 4:26:00 AM
I have a little set of 5 mini's. GREAT stuff. The lighter shades are basically glimmery-clear, the darker ones deposit lots of pigment, just perfection. Stays on for HOURS, too, in fact, needs to be removed with make-up remover! One thing: if they get warm at all, oh my, the horrid smell!! I left one in a tent during a summer trance party, just overnight. BIG mistake, that one now smells too rancid to use
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