Styling Products -Unlisted Brand - Miss Jessie's Baby Buttercreme
tempescape 10/25/2012 12:20:00 PM
I got a sample of this at a hair show. Seeing the long list of crap ingredients made me wary of using it but I decided to give it a try anyway. My hair loved it. As soon as I put it on my hair became soft. I have 4c afro hair and it basically shrinks a little when washed. As I said my hair loved this product but my nose didn't. For something that could be used on kids hair the scent it way too strong. I'm grown and was wary that I could smell this product all day every day when it was in my hair. Because of this and going to Target to see that 2oz of this costs over $20 I declined to even think about purchasing this product. Instead I went to Madina'.s and bought a $10 jar of Shea and aloe butter mix (1lb in weight) to try that out and to my delight found that it worked exactly the same on my hair without the overpowering scent and crap ingredients. It only had 2 ingredients so unfortunately Miss Jessie's lost out on my cash. I noticed though that in Target and Ricky's Miss Jessie's has been put on display at the front so I guess people are either buying it or the company is paying to have it pushed in your faces to force you to take notice of it. It just didn't make sense to me to purchase it at such an extortionate price. Question: Why would you spend so much money for a product that has petroleum, mineral oil and fragrance as the top 3 things on the list?
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lotions/ Creams -Cetaphil - Restoraderm skin restoring moisturizer
tempescape 10/3/2012 3:28:00 AM
Within minutes of putting this on my face my cheek started to break out in tiny whiteheads. I've come to the conclusion that none of these lotions that contain oil in the ingredients does anything for my skin but break me out. This also leaves a waxy feel as the oil just sits on top of your skin no matter how lightly you put it on. Around my eyes also started to feel like it was burning after a few minute. I'll stick to the normal Cetaphil lotion.
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Other -Unlisted Brand - Uncle Harry's Toothpastes - Tooth Powders
tempescape 8/3/2012 4:21:00 PM
I switched from drug store toothpaste to Uncle Harry's and Eco-Dent tooth powders and pastes after discovering that I had four cavities. The only cause I could see for this was my switching brand of drug store toothpaste to Pepsodent. I liked the taste so used it for about 5 years. It was also the only toothpaste brand that did not irritate my teeth and gums BUT it obviously has no protection at all from cavities. Whenever I flossed in between my teeth the floss always smelled terrible. I couldn;t understand it. I kept changing toothbrishes thinking that was the cause but nothing worked. I rinsed well and did the same thing as I had done for years when I had perfectly healthy white teeth but the smell that came after half a days eating would not subside. Horrified that I had new cavities as well as now dark stained yellow teeth I Googled everything I could about better health care for teeth and remineralization and set out on a quest to remineralize my teeth without using glycerin or flouride-based products. My teeth have never felt cleaner. I no longer get the smell on the floss and my teeth are now squeaky clean (as opposed to slippery glycerin feeling). My gums, which were turning brown have gone back to a healthy light pink and I have absolute NO MORE SENSITIVITY. Interestingly I can even use the Eco-Dent Ultra Brite and Uncle Harry's Tooth whitening pastes with no ill effects whatsoever. I will continue to use both. My Uncle Harry's products in my bathroom cabinet are: Spearmint toothpaste, tooth whitening toothpaste, organic tooth powder, all-natural remineralzation powder and the Uncle Harry's Alkalizing Remineralizing Kit which contains: Miracle mouthwash, remineralization for tooth enamel, all-natural tooth powder. .... The difference between Eco-Dent powders and Uncle Harry's powders is that Eco-Dents products are sodium bicarbonate based so they are effervescent, while Uncle Harry's are calcium carbonate and salt based and do not froth. ....Uncle Harry's products have a more intense minty flavor (think drug store strong mint toothpastes x2) but he makes a version for kids that is less intense. Eco-Dent has a very alka zeltzer feeling and taste in your mouth. Both clean teeth 100% better than any drug store toothpaste I have ever bought. Even better, you are able to take both in your luggage when going abroad as they are powders. WEEK 2 UPDATE: Still no smelly floss. Amazingly I can actually see my teeth getting shades lighter and even more starangely is that now when I floss I can barely get the floss down in between my teeth when a week ago it just slid down easily. I can scrape my back teeth lightly with my fingernail and there is no thick white plaque as there used to be even after using drug store toothpaste. I'm totally impressed. Definitely well worth the money. .
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Other -Unlisted Brand - Eco-Dent Daily Care tooth powder - toothpaste
tempescape 8/3/2012 3:40:00 PM
I use this, the whitening version as well as Uncle Harry's tooth powders and they are all equally good in different ways. Uncle Harry's has a stronger minty flavor so it resembles toothpaste and has a slightly salty taste. It also doesn't foam while Eco-Dents powders, due to them having different primary ingredients, foam like crazy and give a bicarbonate soda taste. Both cost the same. Eco-Dent is easier to find in health food stores, Uncle Harry's is a little harder to find in stores but available on the website..... These are the actual products I own: Eco-Dent Daily Care, Extra Brite, Tartar Guard. Neither of these give me tooth sensitivity as do regular drug store toothpastes. If you are looking for a good natural tooth powder I would try both and see which one you prefer....See my Uncle HArry's tooth powder review for more info on my teeths progress.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Other -Trader Joe's - Antiplaque Toothpaste with Fennel, Propolis & Myrrh
tempescape 8/3/2012 3:31:00 PM
Unfortunately I did not have positive results with this toothpaste. The flavor was o.k but within days of using it my teeth got very sensitive and I had to stop. I don't know what was in it that was causing the sensitivity. I also noticed that it did not give a lasting fresh breath feeling.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -Unlisted Brand - Authentic African Black Soap-Product of West Africa
tempescape 6/10/2012 1:17:00 PM
I tried this before from a different BBS seller where i live a few years ago and it made my naturally skin extremely dry, burnt and basically was so strong for my skin I had to get rid of it. 2 years laster I tried again. I started getting a break out from something 3 days ago and ventured into a Muslim store to see if they had anytihng natural ot use and spotted it again. This time instea dof being wrapped in cellophane it was wrapped in newspaper so I bought the smallest block for $2.50 and washed ym face with it for 2 days. My clean felt clean, no burning, no overpowering burnth smell like the last batch and miraculously after 2 days washing with it and using pure shea butter to grease with all my facial blemishes are fading amazingly quickly........... I found that even without using the shea butter my face doesn;t need a moisturizer at all and as I said I have the dryest skin. I've also been showering with it and it's beter than any soap I've tried. My skin feels smooth and soft afterwards. The piece I bought is soft and has dark and lighter brown mixed of what definitely looks like banana. The first day before i sued it it was soft and crumbly kind of like dry dough. After showering with it for 2 days and leaving the lid off it seems ot have got softer. It's excellent for me anyway.One persons review seems ot show that what I bought was black soap from Ghana.
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Hair Color -Unlisted Brand - Bigen Permanent Powder Hair Color in Oriental Black
tempescape 6/8/2012 11:33:00 PM
Made my 4b/c hair extremely dry. I noticed the same reaction as other people here. My scalp itched and felt like it was 'blowing up'. Strangely, about 5 years ago Bigen didn't cause this reaction but it seems that something in the ingredients has changed and made it more harsh. I would not recommend this product to anyone. Beter safe than sorry.
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Liquid -MAC - Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation
tempescape 5/17/2012 5:24:00 PM
Strangely enough i'm prone to breaking out from most foundations and this one didn't cauase any. Even stranger is the fact that it went onto my extra dry skin with ease and stayed there all day without a hint of tightness. It would be great it the color I use, NC50, had more yellow tones to it but I am suitably impressed by this foundation so far. I use Imans concealer in Clay, which is a inty bit lighter, under my eyes and along where my laugh lines would be (if I had any). The two mix together perfectly. Neither blocks my pores. Considering this foundation has spf15 it doesn;t give a great tint at all. It's pretty much equal in good strong brown color to Iman cosmetics.
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Lotions/ Creams -Aura Cacia - Protecting Macadamia Oil
tempescape 5/10/2012 7:59:00 PM
This is only my first day using it on my face but my hair loves it. It has a very nutty smell and you only need a little. It moisturizes really well. I have no dry or tight patches on my ultra dry skin.
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Moisturizers -Unlisted Brand - Avocado Oil
tempescape 3/27/2012 3:23:00 PM
NOW BRAND. DO NOT BUY THIS. This is either not pure, is used with hexane or some other derivative. Week1: Bought the Now brand not expecting it to do anything much other than sit on top of my skin. It didn't. It melted right in and made me skin really soft. It's totally different to any other oil i've tried. I'm about to mix some with pure shea butter and coconut oil to use on my skin. Interesting..... 2 week update: OK folks, here is the update. The first bottle of thins brand of avocado oil I bought was fine. I used the whole bottle within a week as a hair conditioner and for my skin. Jump to 2 days ago. I was so impressed with it I went back to Fairway Market where they had a ne batch and bought another bottle. This time though on opening it, it had a completely different smell. The last bottle was really strong and kind of nutty/fruity smelling and was a yelow green, this one smelled exacty like the vegetable cooking oil I fry with and it was much thinner and a bright yellow like strong pee. I also have a bottle of real avocado cooking oil from Spectrum that smells like the oil should. I tried some of the Now brand on my skin alone and it didn't melt in. Instead it dried my face out just like other oils. I used it alone for 2 days on my body and this morning I was horrified to find the whole of my body from head to toe covered in what looks like little red spots, my face i spuffed up and my eyes are itching. I've never had this before in my life. I had to scrub my skin, scrub my scalp with Bronners soap and then wash everything I wore the previous week immediately in order to get rid of the oil. The bumps are obvious, raised and red (and i'm a chocolate skinned black person so if bright red it's showing up on my skin you KNOW it's serious) like a severe skin rash. I'm about ot take my antihistamine tablets and unfortunately will crash into a sleep coma and miss completingmy essay because of it. I am NOT impressed. Please, if you're thinkin of buying this buy the real thing.
7 out of 11 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -Unlisted Brand - Burt's Bees Anti-Blemish Purifying Daily Cleanser
tempescape 3/19/2012 10:11:00 PM
The label reads: Burt's Bees natural anti-blemish solutions: purifying daily cleanser. There seems to be a gel version of this but the version I bought is from a beauty supply store that stocks a lot of products that the original manufacturers stop making. This liquid is the same consistency as Burt's Bees body washes (kind of like castille soap). It cost my $4.99 and from looking at the price of the gel on Burt's Bees website i'm thinking that it would have originally cost $15 for 5fl oz also. The cleanser gives no later which is strange, but left my face feeling like silk. I was starting to have break outs again and just one wash made my face clear again. I love it so far but don;t know what to make of the lack of lather.
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Foundations -Stila - Natural Finish Oil Free Makeup
tempescape 3/19/2012 11:28:00 AM
The first day I put it on I was like "whoah! What is all this GREASINESS" but after figuring out you use this without using a moisturizer first it felt better. Complete crap coverage though. Day two I developed what I call a 'water bubble' on my upper eyelid. This only happens when something I put on my face doesn't agree with it. Day three after I stopped using this foundation and with a thorough face scrub the water bubble is subsiding. Results: Not for me. No coverage. Too greasy (and i have dry skin, I can'y imagine the mess people with normal to oily skin look like with this one). Luckily I got it from Cosmetics Market in Manhattan NY as a ridiculously low price compared to what it costs in averag e stores.
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Cleansers -Unlisted Brand - Up & Up Age-defying Cleansing Towelettes
tempescape 3/15/2012 10:08:00 PM
I saw these for $1.99 at The Cosmetic Market in NYC. As everything is cut price there i'm not sure how much it is in drug stores but whatever ti is, its certainly worth the money. These soft towelettes cleaned my make up off thoroughly and left my skin silky smooth without leaving it dried out. The packet says it contains retinol, vitamin C and A and collagen that helps minimize the appearance of fine lines, removes oil and impurities from the skin. I love it's light scent.
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Masks -Unlisted Brand - activated charcoal
tempescape 3/7/2012 12:34:00 AM
I buy the AC by the bag from the local health food store. Once or twice I week I take one teaspoon mixed in a glass of water and drink it down. I also use it as a facial scrub on its own, as a hair rinse/scrub for my scalp with plain water AND twice a week to brush my teeth as it cleans teeth and draws out toxins much better than any whitening toothpaste I have tried and it actually helps and heals your gums too. In fact my trio of Cerasee tea, activated charcoal, baking soda and apple cider vinegar are the most 4 essential items items in my house for body detox and cleansing.
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Unlisted Brand - African Royale - Hot Six Oil
tempescape 3/1/2012 3:17:00 PM
Ignoring every product I've read reviews about on the hair boards I bought this solely because it had an extremely light fragrance and didn't look watery. I was looking for a replacement for olive oil, which I now can't stand the smell of. All I read was it had oils in it that were natural and it didn't stench so that was good enough for me to buy it. I'm surprised that this oil works so well. It leaves my hair scalp and hands soft. 1 WEEK UPDATE On day 1 I loved it. Day 2 also but the strangest thing happened, the smell changed on my skin to something very chemically. It got more intolerable as each day passed so I had to stop using it.
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