Moisturizers -First Aid Beauty - Ultra Repair Cream
philosophin 6/22/2010 9:18:00 PM
First off, a warning: if you have rosacea, tread with caution. Before I was diagnosed with rosacea, I used this on the very dry and red areas on my face at night. The good: works better on my dry spots than anything else I've tried, not heavy, and if I remember correctly it doesn't have any added fragrance. Also seemed to have no effect on my acne-prone skin. The bad: my skin was already itchy, and sometimes I found after applying this that my skin became insanely itchy and even redder. I had to wash it off. I think it got a little burny too. Now that I use Metrogel and the itchy part of my rosacea is mostly under control, I really want to try this again. I am desperate to find something that will clear up the severe rosacea dryness, and I see that other rosaceans have tried this with great success. Bottom line: if you have rosacea, especially if it's a bad flare, I would ask for a sample of this before committing to buying a whole jar.
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Moisturizers -Cerave - Moisturizing Lotion
philosophin 4/27/2010 2:34:00 AM
Sadly, this just doesn't work for me. I bought it to help moisturize my rosacea-prone skin. My red rosacea patches are quite dry and this simply doesn't work. On the plus side, the texture is nice, a little goes a long way, and it doesn't irritate sensitive skin. *edit 6-22-10* I could be wrong, but I think there may be something in this that breaks me out. I've heard people say that about Cerave PM (a completely different product, but the same brand).
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Foundations -Everyday Minerals - Golden Fair
philosophin 10/25/2009 8:30:00 PM
I'm pale with slight yellow undertones and I found this to be both too light and extremely yellow. So I would only recommend trying this shade if you are extremely pale with either strong yellow undertones or cool undertones because maybe the warmth of the color will help to balance out the redness. Or it could look awful, I dunno. I gave it 3 lippies because it simply didn't work for my skintone, but I like the formulation (intensive).
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Powder -Everyday Minerals - Soft Butter Peach Foundation
philosophin 10/25/2009 1:13:00 AM
I've been using this color on my face for a long time now. I'm pale with a slight yellow undertone. It kind of looks scarily dark in the container, but it looks lighter on the face. I should say that this color is not a perfect match for me; it's a bit too dark. However, being pale, I could use some extra tint on my face. I've tried almost all of the fair EM shades and find this one to be the best match. In the wintertime I usually mix in some Cool Fair to make it less yellow and lighter, or just wear Cool Fair (a significantly lighter shade than Soft Butter Peach) by itself as it helps to neutralize yellow undertones. I should add that I use the Intensive formula of EM foundation, for what it's worth. The coverage is medium-heavy and that will obviously intensify the resulting color when applied.
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Shampoo -Neutrogena - T-Gel Stubborn Itch Control
philosophin 3/22/2009 10:43:00 PM
I have a chronically itchy scalp, which spells disaster when coupled with my long-ingrained habit of intense scalp scratching. So it's probably mostly my fault, but...This uses a coal tar complex to control dandruff (seems to work pretty well) and couples it with a satisfying tingly hit of menthol. The menthol has no anti-dandruff properties, but the tingling helps calm down the irritation and at least temporarily reduces the urge to scratch. The hardest part has nothing to do with the shampoo, though...you have to do the best you can not to scratch your scalp. I use this every time I wash my hair which is 3-4 times a week and I love that it doesn't make my hair feel like straw like most dandruff shampoos (of course you should still condition afterwards). One negative is that it does not come cheap. If you have serious itching/scratching issues give it a shot! update: They changed the formula to have a new scent. It smells terrible and I have no idea what possesed them to do that. I don't feel the menthol tingle and thus it doesn't give that temporary reprieve from scalp itching. If you find the older version, stock up b/c the new one sucks. Edit 5/18/11: I have since learned that coal tar is a potentially cancer-causing ingredient, therefore I am definitely not going to buy this again.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Concealers -Everyday Minerals - Peach [DISCONTINUED]
philosophin 3/22/2009 10:18:00 PM
Bad, bad, bad for people with pale skin. It's a VERY intense peachy-orangey shade that in theory would be good for neutralizing blue undereye circles. But it's way too dark for me. If you have pale or light skin don't even bother.
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Concealers -Everyday Minerals - Abbott's Perk Me Up Concealer
philosophin 3/22/2009 10:10:00 PM
When I first put this on I was thrilled with the results. It's good for people whose undereye circles are blue and purple, since it's a mix of the sunlight and peach concealers. The problem is that the color is pretty intense and a huge contrast with my much lighter foundation. I'd recommend giving this a shot if you have blue and purple dark circles, but you may have to play around with it a bit. I'd like to try adding some of my foundation to lighten it up, but for now I'm just using my foundation as my undereye concealer.
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Makeup Brushes -Everyday Minerals - Eye Kabuki Brush
philosophin 3/22/2009 9:57:00 PM
I'm still not quite sure about how I feel about this brush. If you just want a wash of eyeshadow on and above your lids it's great. Using it to apply undereye concealer is a little iffy because it's so big you can't really finesse it at all, and I think finessing is a good thing to do for that area. I'd prefer for it not to cover immediately below the lower lids because it settles in lines. With a brush this big that's a little hard to accomplish. Nevertheless, I use it everyday to apply my undereye concealer because it's such an easy and quick application. It's worthless for zits, don't bother trying it just for that. Hope this review helps someone!
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Concealers -Everyday Minerals - Mint Concealer
philosophin 3/22/2009 9:45:00 PM
This is decent stuff, but it's a little tricky to use. It's best used by dusting lightly over the face if you have a pale but ruddy face to calm down the redness a bit. It's a really light green so I don't know if this would work with darker skintones. Use a light hand because it will probably make your skin look paler. You should definitely wear this under a foundation. t's ok for toning down the redness in zits, but it doesn't do any better (and maybe worse) than just applying some EM foundation with an eyeshadow brush. Overall, I think it's worth experimenting with if you have ruddiness issues.
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Powder -Everyday Minerals - Foundation - Intensive formula [DISCONTINUED]
philosophin 3/22/2009 9:22:00 PM
I have very oily, acne prone skin (so I want coverage) and I find that this does the job pretty well. It probably depends on the condition of your brushes and which ones you use (I use EM flat top), but at the very least it will do a good job of evening out your skin tone. There are tons of shades to try and what I love about EM foundation is that it's very easy to make your own custom shades. None of the colors match me exactly so I fiddle around with shades a lot. I don't think it protects against oilies, but it definitely doesn't exacerbate them either. Once you have the inevitable shiny meltdown for the day the foundation seems to have migrated less than liquid foundations I've tried. If you have skin like mine, give it a shot! Just get a free sample kit and if you don't like it then you haven't wasted a bunch of money.
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Makeup Brushes -Everyday Minerals - New Flat Top Brush
philosophin 3/22/2009 9:09:00 PM
This is very good quality for the price. I am finding after constant use for a year or so that it might be heading downhill (parts are loosening)...so maybe it's better to get a more expensive one that lasts longer. I don't know. It helps foundation to cover pretty well and the part I like the most is that it imparts a smooth look to the face. It doesn't look like powder just sitting there. I've had no problems with bristles falling out, but I don't wash it as much as I should. Overall, two thumbs up.
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Samples -Everyday Minerals - Free Sample Makeup Kit [DISCONTINUED/REPLACED]
philosophin 3/22/2009 8:59:00 PM
This free sample kit is awesome (you have to pay for shipping which isn't much.) More companies should do this. I was able to try out a few foundation formulations and shades which helped me get going in the right direction. And the sample sizes are quite generous. Sweet!
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Concealers -Everyday Minerals - Sunlight Color Corrector
philosophin 3/22/2009 8:54:00 PM
As a very yellow concealer, this does a good job at reducing the purple tones in undereye circles...but it's very yellow. I think it would require some mixing with other concealers or foundations to tone it down enough to be wearable. For now I'll say no on the repurchase.
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Conditioner -Dove - Intense Moisture Conditioner
philosophin 12/1/2008 2:37:00 AM
This stuff is a hot commodity! I went to a nearby Rite-Aid and they only had one bottle left. I was going to get the shampoo too but that was all gone. I don't remember how much it cost but I'm sure it's economical because the bottle is pretty large. Anyway, I've been using this for a while now and it seems to make my uber thick hair soft and shiny. (It probably also helps that I usually let my hair air dry.) I take a dollop and bend my head and start applying it to the ends, working my way up the hair shaft. I do the conditioning ASAP in the shower so it can sit for a few minutes while I wash myself. Then I rinse it out thoroughly--say, for at least 30 seconds. This conditioner has kind of a strong generic perfume-y smell to it. The packaging is just fine but I wish I could get it in a pump dispenser. (I saw one at my MIL's house.) Word of caution: this may be too heavy for those with fine hair.
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Cleansers -DHC - Deep Cleansing Oil
philosophin 11/29/2008 5:21:00 PM
I bought this while I was in Japan to see what the hype was all about. They had it at the grocery store! I wear full coverage mineral makeup so I was enticed by the many descriptions of it removing makeup like magic. Well, it doesn't. After using it, I wash my face with my regular cleanser, and even after that I can STILL have remaining traces of makeup if I go over my face with a toner! I might as well just wash my face extra-thoroughly and skip the oil. The packaging is not the best. I don't know if you can close the spout without getting oil everywhere, so it's not very portable. But it is in pump form which makes it hygienic and pleasant to use. The one thing that maaaay get me to buy it again is that it's good to use around the eyes--it won't sting them like regular cleansers/makeup removers do. I also find it pleasant to use--the oil feels nice on your face before you rinse it off and you get the feeling of intense moisturization while rinsing. Of course, since you want to rinse it off thoroughly, that feeling won't last, especially when you follow it with cleanser.
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