Eye Shadow -MAC - Vex
chocmartini00 12/28/2006 7:47:00 AM
Although this is not a must-have color IMO, it's really nice as a wash and coordinates with all kinds of other colors so it's versatile. It is an interesting light grey with pink and green duochrome that is actually flattering on my dark brown eyes. I love to use this when I am in the mood for something different.
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Eye Shadow -Urban Decay - Deluxe Eyeshadow - Zero
chocmartini00 12/28/2006 7:38:00 AM
This is now going to a staple product for me. If you like to do smokey eyes it's a must have. It is highly pigmented with the smoothest silkiest texture and does not fall all over your cheeks when applying, which I hate with dark eyeshadows. This is truly the best black eyeshadow I have ever used so far... the color is really black when you apply, not grey like some other black eyeshadows. At $17 USD it's pricey but worth every penny.
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Styling Products -Garnier - Pure Fix Spray
chocmartini00 10/2/2006 6:53:00 AM
This is a new HG for me. I used to spend around $10 on hairspray and go through bottles, but lately I can't stand the feel of hairspray and I just want soft bouncy hair with tons of volume and strong hold without ANY product residue, stiffness, or stickiness and this product does just that. It has a nice fresh fruity smell that is not strong at all, comes in a cute bright green bottle, does the job well and for less than $3. I seriously cannot rave enough about this product. The way I use it is I spray on damp, nearly dry hair on each section before rolling it up in 1 and 1/2 inch foam rollers, I sleep in them and unroll the next morning. My roots are lifted and I have tight large curls that I brush out at the roots and finger style with some glossing cream and voila! Gorgeous hair that lasts all day.
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Hair -Bumble & Bumble - Hair Powder
chocmartini00 10/1/2006 1:51:00 AM
I have dark brown hair and I purchased this in brown. I like this because if I use a white colored powder like baby powder or Stila hair refresher, it makes my hair look powdery and greyish wherever I used it, which was fine when I had dirty blonde hair, but now that my hair is almost black I felt like I needed this brown colored powder instead. Another plus about this product is that it is in an aerosol spray can so applying it is very convenient. It sprays a lot really fast so you only need tiny quick bursts and that's all. I use this on my crown area to tease instead of hairspray and it does a great job at making it fluffy and keeping it teased without any stiffness. I have tons of fine hair so you can't see any brown on my scalp but man does it stain your hands after you touch your hair! So that last part and the huge price tag are the reasons for 4 lippies instead of 5. Will repurchase until I find something better/cheaper. *EDIT* I now give this 5 lippies, b/c I do not think that there is anything better out there or even anything similar out there and the price is justified b/c it lasts forever. I use it about 5-7 times a week and I still have a lot left in my can that I purchased 6 months ago.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Stilife Paint
chocmartini00 10/1/2006 1:43:00 AM
I love everything about Stillife paint: I love the elegance and the versatility of the light champagne color, I love the intense shimmer (finely milled shimmer, not chunks of glitter), and I love how they do not ever crease or fade. I could use this easily as an eyeshadow, alone with black liner, or with other colors almost everyday if it weren't for MAC Vanilla pigment. The only thing I ever hated about this was using it as a base... I felt like it dried to quickly before I got my other shadows on and it wasn't tacky at all so nothing, especially pigments, ever stuck on to the base very well. So, now that I never use it as a base and only as eyeshadow, this is definately HG for me, a nice option asides from MAC Vanilla pigment.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Bamboom Paint
chocmartini00 10/1/2006 1:38:00 AM
I would have never thought about getting this until I recieved this as an extra in a swap and ever since I've been wearing this almost everyday. In the past I tried using Stillife as a base but it didn't work out too well for me, I think paints work better as an eyeshadow than as a base. They dry too quickly but once they do, they deliver high-quality color on your lids that do not crease ever and stay on for probably days. So these days I use Stillife, a shimmery light champagne, on my lids and highlighting my brow bone then I use Bamboom, this gorgeous soft pinky-brown with golden shimmer in my crease. Bamboom is a very elegant color that can be used daily if you love shimmer and this delivers high impact color without ever creasing or fading... love! Will repurchase when I'm done with this one.
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Misc Beauty Tools -MAC - Brush Cleanser
chocmartini00 10/1/2006 1:29:00 AM
This is probably one of my top 5 HG products that I couldn't live without- I've gone through many bottles of this and just went out to buy 2 more backups today. Washing my brushes with face soap or shampoo or anything was a pain in the butt, because I had to repeat a couple times and it usually left a nasty residue on my brushes. This is so much better in so many ways; it cleans far better than anything I've ever tried in one step, even dried cream products without leaving any residue behind, AND it makes the brushes dry so fast! Another plus is you can use these babies for B2M and it's much more practical than depotting, because if you do the math, it's cheaper to get the PRO pans and buy the lipstick than it is to depot and use the pots for B2M.
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Styling Products -John Frieda - Frizz-Ease Hair Serum
chocmartini00 9/30/2006 1:40:00 AM
I remember when my hair used to be short and frizzy I tried this out in high school. It is a thick, greasy serum that comes in this difficult to use glass bottle with a dropper. I couldn't figure out how to evenly distribute this in my hair and no matter what I ended up looking like I put baby oil in my hair yet miraculously my hair managed to stay frizzy. Definately do not recommend this.
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Styling Products -Frederic Fekkai - Glossing Cream with Olive Oil
chocmartini00 9/30/2006 1:37:00 AM
This is my HG shine product for my hair. I started off with a sample size from Sephora and now I am nearly finished with my 2nd full sized tube. It has a pleasant scent that doesn't linger in your hair and I never use this on wet hair but rather on dry hair to soften and define my ends after styling. On my long, slightly wavy, medium to fine hair I only need a couple teeny tiny dabs and I run them through the ends. What I love about this product is that it not only adds shine and softens hair but it never weighs it down or leaves it looking or feeling greasy like other shine products I have tried. It feels light as if I didn't put anything in it but leaves it bouncy, soft, and shiny.
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Styling Products -Nexxus - Comb Thru
chocmartini00 9/21/2006 9:17:00 PM
I was looking to repurchase my Nexxus DZYN Maker hairspray but I think it's d/c. I can't seem to find it anywhere. In the process of the search I discovered that Nexxus is no longer a salon brand and is readily available in drugstores everywhere. Comb Thru seemed to be exactly what DZYN Maker was so I bought this instead. Maybe it's me, maybe it's because it's because I'm sick of hairsprays and prefer softer hairstyles now but this doesn't seem to measure up to DZYN Maker. Lately I don't like hairsprays and anything that leaves your hair stiff and sticky... this is supposed to not be stiff and sticky but I guess it's less so than more hairsprays. It seems to have a stronger hold and has a stronger scent that I don't like. Probably won't repurchase but will finish up until I find somethig else.
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Conditioner -Sunsilk - Anti-Flat
chocmartini00 9/21/2006 9:13:00 PM
This has the same light fresh clean smell as the matching shampoo and it is a thick consistency that is not heavy like a cream but more like a gel and it is a milky pale yellow color. Did a great job at easily detangling my hair- has great slip. I think it helped add volume to my hair when I styled it later. Did not dry out my hair at all. I think this might make it into my rotation since I'm trying to wean myself off of expensive hair products and using cheaper ones.
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Shampoo -Sunsilk - Anti-Flat
chocmartini00 9/21/2006 9:11:00 PM
I used a $1 off coupon to purchase this. It has a fresh clean smell that isn't overpowering. Product is a clear yellow-tinted gel that lathers easily and rinses clean. Didn't dry out my hair at all and I think it did add some volume to it when I styled it later. This might make it into my rotation.
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Shampoo -Nexxus - Therappe Shampoo
chocmartini00 8/27/2006 5:14:00 AM
I bought this along with the matching Humectress conditioner. Although I was very impressed by Humectress, nothing about Therappe wowed me. Something that surprised me was that they each smell different from each other: Therappe has a light pina colada scent whereas Humectress has a fresh bubblegum scent. I definately prefer the scent of Humectress over this shampoo and although it's a nice shampoo (it did leave my hair moisturized), I didn't like the scent and the way it didn't lather richly... that and there are so many other shampoos I like so much better. For a moisturizing shampoo, my favorite so far has still been L'oreal Nature's Therapy Mega Moisture from Sally's.
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Styling Products -Nexxus - DZYN Maker Sheer Volume Design and Finishing Mist
chocmartini00 8/27/2006 5:09:00 AM
This is an old standby that I've used for years. It is a nice lightweight hairspray that infuses your hair with volume. It doesn't have a strong scent at all and it never leaves your hair stiff or sticky, which can be a plus but the drawback from that is that it doesn't provide a really long lasting and strong hold. This is good if you hate stiffness and stickiness from strong hold hairsprays but if you want more hold and you still want volume I love Kenra Volumizing Spray. Sometimes I use Nexxus DZYN Maker on my hair and Kenra Volumizing on the ends of the curls or at the roots when I tease.
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Conditioner -Nexxus - Humectress Conditioner
chocmartini00 8/27/2006 5:04:00 AM
This was an old favorite of mine back when I would use a leave-in detangler after I got out of the shower. Now I prefer conditioners with slip so that I can detangle w/ a wide toothed comb in the shower to skip brushing after I get out. However, aside from it's lack of detangling abilities, this conditioner really softens and moisturizes hair. I love the creamy gel like consistency and especially the fresh bubblegum-like scent. I notice a huge difference after one use but I don't use this everyday, because it's too heavy for my hair. Once in a while when my hair is parched this does the trick for me.
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