Treatments (Eye) -Olay - Regenerist Eye Derma-Pod
ninaruth 6/18/2007 8:08:00 PM
I'm glad I tried my free sample BEFORE I read all of the bad reviews. Tried it in the morning & went out with my eyes de-puffed, soothed & already looking lovely. Got rid of the dark circles from lack of sleep, too. Has the same effect (look) around my eyes (gorgeous!) as I got with Orlane's "Hypnotherapy" eye cream, except that is over $250 for a small jar (not a hygeinic form of packaging!) & way more false advertising/hype. Orlane's DID work, but why pay that $?! I think the Olay dermapods are great & they worked for me with instant & lasting results, but the bottom line is pure diet & quality sleep are the #1 contributors to "young"-looking eyes!
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Moisturizers -Neutrogena - Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle Intensive Night Cream
ninaruth 6/17/2007 8:22:00 PM
I hesitated for the longest time to get this, as I try to go as pure/organic as I can when it comes to putting things on my skin...the problem I found was that so much of the pure and/or organic skincare I've tried may have smelled great or supposedly had no harmful ingredients...but they DO NOTHING for the skin, by way of any sort of improvement! I was getting discouraged with some of my fine lines & uneven skintone, as well as my large pores in areas...yet dry flakes in other areas. After trying just about every natural/organic item I could sample (Stella McCartney's CARE, Suki's, Daybreak Lavender Farms...even my own homemade items using kitchen ingredients!) I realized that some of these things may have soothed or even moisturized my skin but none were addressing the large pores & fine lines!!! I found this on sale at my local Longs drugstore (25% off) last week & it is FABULOUS! I have very sensitive skin & using it every night to every other night seems to work! It left my skin moist, I woke up with glowing skin & my skin already seems more clear & smooth! A WINNER for sure!
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Moisturizers -Stella McCartney - CARE 5 Benefits Moisturising Fluid
ninaruth 5/23/2007 9:54:00 PM
another delicious-smelling, overpriced product from Stella's CARE line. It didn't do anything bad for my skin...but didn't do anything noticeably good, either...not worth the $ when my dry skin sucked it up in minutes & stayed dry...
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Toners -Stella McCartney - CARE Toning Floral Water
ninaruth 5/23/2007 9:50:00 PM
another overpriced product from CARE. Yes, there are some natural and/or organic things here...but combined with synthetics. Love the scent, like with all of Stella's CARE prodcuts but save your $ & just go to a specialty store (usually Italian or Middle Eastern) & get food-grade rose-water (for dry and/or sensitive skin) or food-grade orange-blossom water (for oilier skins)...it worked just as well/better for me & was like 1/10th the price! And 100% natural, with no alcohol, as it's a food item!
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Treatments -Stella McCartney - CARE Calming plus Soothing Elixir
ninaruth 5/23/2007 9:43:00 PM
love the scent but the product is nowhere near as organic as the products I tried from Daybreak Lavendar Farm! This didn't do much for my skin...didn't seem to break me out or make me red, but didn't seem to do much else, either & my skin was still dry. Loved the smell, but that's about all that was super special about it. Not worth the price, though...outrageous!
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Cleansers -Unlisted Brand - DayBreak Lavender Farm - By U 4 U Facial Oil Cleanser
ninaruth 5/23/2007 9:41:00 PM
Love it! Have tried MAC's cleansing oil, my own plain olive oil, DHC's cleansing oil (both the regular & the soft touch versions) & this one by Daybreak is still my fave! The owner listened to the requests of the customers to create a cleansing oil that would also be healing...and she struck gold with this formula! The rose is pure from Bulgaria & the infusion takes off all my makeup! No breakouts..in fact, I've been blemish-free for almost 4 months now! I love all of their products & everything comes shipped with samples & wrapped beautifully...great prices, too! This cleansing oil is a fave of Cheryl Ladd & was featured in the November "Lucky" magazine last year!
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Toners -Unlisted Brand - Daybreak Lavender Farms Only Rose Petal Toner
ninaruth 5/23/2007 9:37:00 PM
All of Daybreak Lavender Farm's products are amazing & their rose-based products are especially helpful for healing dry, sensitive, rosacea or redness-prone skin. I loved this toner, as well as their whole kit for rosacea or red/sensitive skin. Also love the Sencha toner pads that have this same rose infusion coupled with green tea. Most of all, I love their motto..."Exquisite Ingredients, Lavishly Used!" It's true! I've read their labels compared to other companies claiming to be "organic" or whatever & most other companies use such small amts. of the supposedly beneficial ingredients, coupled with other synthetic ingredients that there's very little "natural" about them at all, especially the hideous perfumey frangrances. All of Daybreak's products are loaded with the actual ingredients (Bulgarian Rose, goat's milk, etc.) & not a ton of other unnatural ingredients. And they use amounts that make a difference! I also love how their website explains every prodcut in detail, the benefits & research behind each choice of ingredient & also they listen to their customers & many of the products have been created because they listened to the customers' needs! Daybreak is a favorite of Cheryl Ladd & other celebs & was featured in Lucky magazine last November for the By-U-4-U Facial oil!
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Tinted Moisturizer -Paula's Choice - Barely There Sheer Matte Tint SPF 20
ninaruth 5/15/2007 6:31:00 PM
I love the texture & sheer coverage...I hate the color selection, though, which is why I took off two lippies! I am fair-skinned, very pink/blue undertoned & I wish Paula would stop being so hyper-fanatical about shying away from "pink" or "peach" tones...she claims that the colors are "truly neutral" but I tried a sample of ivory & though the finish is lovely & it didn't make my hyper-sensitive skin break out, it definitely is too dark/warm for my skin! Paula, PLEASE have mercy on us cool-skinned gals & stop making shades that make us look jaundiced or like orange Oompa-Loompas! Though it may have caused me to break out (still not sure yet), I will have to stick to my Good Skin sheer (also a Tinted Moisturizer, in my opinion) from Kohl's in Cool 2, becaues the finish is similar but the shade actually matches my skin & is more cool/neutral-toned (without being too pink, peach or ashy, which I know are Paula's fears & why she doesn't make cool-toned shades). If you are neutral/warm-toned, you might like this foundation a lot! EDIT 5/22/2007: I got the Barely There Sheer Matte Tint SPF 20 from Paula's Choice in "Fair" & it was a great match for me...truly the only neutral (even a bit cool-toned) of her color choices...yey! I upped it to 5 lippies (had taken off 2 lippies for color selection); I love the formula! Way better than the Good Skin formula in terms of lasting & coverage but still wish she had better colors! My suggestion for those who want to try Paula's...go to her website & order the sample sizes (only 80 cents) of the foundation first to see if you like it. The colors tend to be a bit darker/warmer than they appear on the website, so I'd suggest ordering a sample of the color you think would match your skin & then a sample of one color lighter...for example, I thought that the Ivory would match my skin but turned out that it's darker than it looks & thus Fair was my true match. EDIT: 5/31/07: Looks like I may have jumped the gun...this product (the zinc & titanium) may be breaking me out...still trying to figure it out, but 90% sure this is it. :-(
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Primer/ Corrector -DHC - Velvet Skin Coat
ninaruth 4/25/2007 1:52:00 PM
I dunno...I know this is one of their most popular products, but this just didn't work for me...it definitely made me break out with small pimples all over, especially my forehead...who knows why, maybe a sensitivity to one of the ingredients?!
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Cleansers -L'Oreal - AcneResponse Daily Adult Acne Regimen
ninaruth 4/19/2007 12:03:00 AM
A thousand times better than ProActiv! I am 39 and thus now worrying about blackheads/breakouts as well as not overdrying my skin which is sensitive & starting to show some fine lines. Whereas ProActiv only worked intermittantly on me & also really dried me out, this did not! I loved the cleanser...no hideous fragrance & very gentle. It is not BP like the ProActiv, so far less drying that the ProActiv cleanser was...also, no messy BP to worry about bleaching my hair/clothes! If you want to keep from overdoing it, I recommend using it only once a day... I cleanse with the cleanser in the morning & then use the toner, let that settle & put on my makeup. At night, after taking off my makeup with DHC's cleansing oil, I either just lightly use the 3rd step (the BP lotion) where needed, or sometimes, use the toner again & then the lotion where needed, lightly. Highly recommend...my skin looks so clear, without being red & dry like the ProActiv left it! And at a fraction of the cost! EDIT: 5/31/07: since I tried this, my skin has changed a lot due to some other things going on, so it's kind of invalid. Using salysilic acid (the cleanser) AND the BP (lotion) can be pretty harsh on the skin if it's prone to redness/sensitivity so if you do use this, I'd recommend using the BP only on days when you don't cleanse w/the cleanser. Still might be decent for younger oilier skins, but I do prefer to go a more natural route with my products (Daybreak Lavender Farms is my fave!)
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Palettes -Bobbi Brown - Violet Face Palette
ninaruth 3/28/2007 2:57:00 AM
returned mine! I'm just not that fond of Bobbi's powder shadows & these were so ultra sheer, which I loved, but I prefer her cream shadows in Sandy Gold & also the lilac color (beautiful!). The blush looked horrid on my fair/cool skin, which was a shock, since I'd think that if it'd work on any skin, it'd be mine! Try before you buy, believe me! You have to see it on your own skin to decide...it may work for some, but was a HUGE disappointment to me.
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Palettes -Trish McEvoy - Petite Planner
ninaruth 3/28/2007 2:53:00 AM
I agree w/the reviewer below...I have never spent so much on makeup in my life...and I really didn't like ANY of Trish's makeup...it's average to below-average, so it didn't make the planner worthwhile. :-( I wish she'd make planners compatible with other brands or that someone would come up w/the planner idea but without their own brand of (mediocre!) makeup!
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Palettes -mark - Flip For It PARIS Spring Color Kit
ninaruth 3/28/2007 2:49:00 AM
LOVE IT! I got this in the NEW YORK palette & just love it! This is the best palette for fair skin like mine! The blush is in StarGlo & is the absolutely perfect blush! Very pigmented so even this fair color you have to be careful with...shake a bit off your brush before applying, but once I put it on, it's there ALL DAY & looks very natural...just like a healthy pink glow! I love the lipsticks/glosses (the nude color is great!) & the two eye colors are really pretty & soft! A WINNER!
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Foundations -Vincent Longo - Liquid Canvas "Dew Finish Foundation"
ninaruth 3/28/2007 2:42:00 AM
I purchased mine at Sephora after a lady there recommended it to me for my sensitive skin. I usually ask for foundation samples before purchasing but I liked the scent & texture of this so much (reminds me A LOT of Sue Devitt's but with better color ranges!) that I took the leap & bought it, pricey as it is! I really wanted to like this!!! However, I am pretty certain it was the culprit for a recent bout of breakouts (plus not long-wearing at all!) so I returned it.
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Tinted Moisturizer -Bobbi Brown - Extra Spf 25 Tinted Moisturizing Balm
ninaruth 3/28/2007 2:38:00 AM
I loved the untinted version (SPF 25 balm) & I have sensitive/combo skin...not only did that one not break me out, I felt it actually cleared my skin up, strangely enough, since SPF's usually break me out! I was told this was identical, except tinted...wrong! While I don't think it made me break out, it was SOOOOOOOO greasy/shiny! I wanted to look dewy, not OILY! :-P No thanks! I'll keep Bobbi's SPF but I just haven't found a BB foundation that I care for...I'll stick w/American Beauty's cool/light or MakeupForever (though I wish they'd ditch the hideous scent!) luminous liquid foundation!
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