Fragrances -Yves Saint Laurent - Parisienne
SZQueue 9/28/2009 5:19:00 PM
Uh, no. Dragged the S.O. into a Paris Sephora and spotted this. Instantly brought to mind the grapefruity In Love Again (I really don't get Paris in this- maybe it's osbscured by the "vinyl accord") with a mixture of the highly commercial Champs Elysees and some cheap vanilla thrown in for an extra measure of pedestrian. That was on the fragrance pad. On my skin it turned to stale hotel soap. Bleh.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Clinique - Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion
SZQueue 8/28/2009 6:46:00 AM
OMG they're still making this stuff? I guess it's a step up from Vaseline, but then Vaseline at least has a humongous rating. Chacun à son goût, as they say
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Lotions/ Creams -L'Occitane - Amande Firming & Smoothing Milk Concentrate
SZQueue 8/26/2009 11:52:00 AM
I'Occitane bats about a 200 with me but I have to say this is one great moisturizer. Light, very elegant almond scent, a great-looking, heavy glass jar and the product really delivers. The cream has a wonderful, silky-light handfeel and smoothes on beautifully, absorbs immediately and really locks in moisture. The pricing is a bit unfortunately high... and they've changed the jar to a not-as-cute format.
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Hair Removal -Silk'n - SensEpil
SZQueue 8/26/2009 11:43:00 AM
**RAVE** The Silk'n Device comes in the original model with five intensity settings (this is the one I'm reviewing) and the Silk'n SensEpil, which has a safety feature that prevents the device from deploying on skintones that are considered too dark to be treated (I'm a MAC NC30-35). The Silk'n works by targeting pigment, much (or exactly) like the IPL device used at "medi-spas" for PhotoFacials and "laser" hair removal. The device is expensive, though thesilknstore.com offers the product for about $550 but includes four lamps, a great deal considering the replacement lamps go for $50 each. I should mention their customer service is Beyond Stellar. So I got this for the S.O.'s back and chest hair but decided to do the trial run on the freckly spots I had previously gotten treated at $400 per IPL session as well as a couple of zaps on my underarms. (You're not supposed to use it on your face so let's just pretend I used the device on a spot on my neck.) After 10 days, I have maybe two stubbly hairs under one arm and one under the other. I've been zapping the freckly spots fairly aggressively as, after several zaps, I got the exact same darkening of the freckly spots as with IPL, and after about 10 days the spots had all exfoliated off (n.b.: I used my Tanda over the spots for a few days and found they exfoliated off like temporary tattoos on a toner-soaked pad rather than peeling like the "cookie-crumbs" one gets after IPL. Both devices have paid for themselves many times over already) and my skin has not been this soft in Years. ** UPDATE 10/1/09 ** We've been out of town for a month, which allowed me to make further observations without my mucking around too much with further treatments: My underarms remain hairless and I continue to be ecstatic with the IPL-like function. As for the S.O., I should note first that he is one of those über-cute guys with lashes to die for, which also seem to be growing on his chest. So a month after zapping some areas on his chest are showing a little regrowth (exactly what we were hoping for: just a diminishing, not total annihilation) where others were growing back like weeds... A couple of spots where I zapped ten or so times because of a patch of dark freckles showed very little hair. Another spot showed the freckles exfoliating but quite a lot of hair growing back and I realized that the culprit is almost certainly uneven pre-treatment shaving as my thinking was at the time to not shave closely so as to absorb as much photo energy as possible; I now realize that the energy was probably absorbed more by the superficial remaining hair rather than being directed at the follicle. Live and Learn. So the moral of the story is: for those with aggressively active body hair, several passes over numerous sessions will be necessary for noticeable results, and a close pre-session shave is pretty critical. The packaging strictly warns against overlapping the zapped areas but given that the freckly areas were zapped repeatedly during several sessions with no appreciable reddening or irritation users should approach their own techniques with caution and on a case-by-case basis. We're repeating the procedure on the S.O. this weekend. ***UPDATE 7/10/2010: since several asked: my own armpits remain 90% hairless after about 6 pulses per area, last done around January- I'll use for spot treating freckly type spots again when my tan fades. As for the boyfriend's chest, we did basically three treatments over about 4 months. If you're looking for near-total eradication you'll probably have to do at least 12 due to growth cycles, etc ; frankly, it was seriously tedious going over an area as big as a chest but his chest hair has settled into a nice- like aesthetically pleasing- length and density (as opposed to Fangorn Forest length and density)
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Shampoo -Pantene - Ice Shine 2-in-1 Shampoo and Conditioner
SZQueue 8/19/2009 12:16:00 PM
This is an incredible shampoo- makes my very thick, coarse, stick-straight hair silky and supple. I condition the ends only weekly or so with this shampoo. The scent is a bit strong and the enormous bottle it comes in isn't so cute so I tend to have a bottle of H2O Milk around for a little luxury but having tried many REALLY high-end shampoos over the years this is a keeper. EDIT: okay, the scent is just bugging too much and while I think this is a great product for the money, I had to take a lippie off (though 5 lippies as a dog shampoo-seriously great on our 80lb mutts) as I have found my HG of HG's, the Fekkai Glossing Shampoo.
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Shampoo -Pantene - ICE SHINE
SZQueue 8/19/2009 12:10:00 PM
I think maybe the negative reviews are for the Ice Shine Shampoo and not the 2-in-1 Ice Shine?? I'm going to request that a new product be added...
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Shampoo -H20 - Milk Shampoo
SZQueue 8/19/2009 12:01:00 PM
I bought this shampoo because of the cute bottle but I'm buying it again and again because it is simply a great product. Lovely, milky-floral fragrance that doesn't follow you around all day and the stuff cleans without stripping dry hair. The lather feels amazing- very silky feel on the hand and I get the sense it's detangling. Great product. As for the cute bottle, the fragile cap is annoying and the bottle is a bit hard to squeeze.
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Conditioner -Alterna - Caviar Age Protectant Conditioner
SZQueue 8/13/2009 11:47:00 AM
I have very coarse, straight hair that gets dry at the ends. This does a nice job- I just treat the ends right before toweling. Nice marine-type scent. Love the package- sits on its cap and doesn't need to be screwed closed. Very clever and convenient for my lazy morning self.
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Masks -Meaningful Beauty by Cindy Crawford - Masque Visage
SZQueue 8/13/2009 11:41:00 AM
I've never felt a pressing need to use a mask- I buy one every few years out of some perverse sense of duty. This one, of course, came with the MB kit and it was the first thing I tried as I was developing an Epic Zit on my chin and couldn't find my Tanda. I have to say the scent alone could merit five stars. I can't really speak to its other traits except that Epic Zit was still there the next day and had to be cleared with the (thank goodness) now-re-found Tanda.
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Treatments (Eye) -Meaningful Beauty by Cindy Crawford - Eye Creme
SZQueue 8/13/2009 11:33:00 AM
The only thing I look for in an eye cream is extra moisture. To that end, I like Origins Eye Doctor and Hope in a Tube. This product just does not deliver on extra moisture. It seems to contain bisbolol and some other stuff so maybe if you have puffiness or dark circles this may be good for you, but for extra moisture around the eyes, this is just not adequate.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Gels/Soaps -H20 - Apricot-Peche Shower & Bath Treatment
SZQueue 5/2/2009 12:34:00 PM
I love the salmon-peach color of the gel- looks great in the shower. I really like that the tube is simple and highly recyclable. The gel itself is fine- good texture, lathers well; unfortunately I find the scent a bit overripe- like apricots that have started to turn.
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Lip Treatments -Peter Thomas Roth - Un-Wrinkle Lip Balm SPF 15 set
SZQueue 4/30/2009 5:52:00 PM
I cannot believe I'm the first to review this as it was lust at first sight. Three giant tubes of lovely gloss in very surprisingly wearable shade for a MAC NC 35... ingredient list is packed with VitC E and A; several polypeptides; and aloe. Lovely, silky, un-tacky texture. I don't care for the vague sweetness or icky-berry scent but $30 for three tubes of color, shine, antioxidant protection and peptides? Fagettabouttit!
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Gels/Soaps -L'Occitane - Cherry Blossom Bath & Shower Gel
SZQueue 4/30/2009 5:48:00 PM
I got it in the big pump bottle just because it requires less coördination in the shower... dislike the off-kilter angle of the bottle and the pink color is a bit frou-frou. Scent is okay- floral and somewhat vanillan and remonds me of Bvlgari Notte (the shower actually smells like you've spilled booze afterward). Haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary as far as cleansing properties. I give it a "meh"
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Lotions/ Creams -Philosophy - Inner Grace Perfumed Firming Body Emulsion
SZQueue 3/3/2009 12:43:00 AM
The ingredients look great for this product and its moisturizing ability is fine but the scent, while pleasant, is so strong that there is no option to wear actual fragrance after applying this. It's a floral, heavy/dirty vanilla that recalls the sillage on Chanel No. 19. I'd hate to have to wear 19 everyday, or alternatively, have to stock multiple body lotions
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Other -Crest - Whitening Plus Scope Toothpaste
SZQueue 1/25/2009 7:58:00 PM
Well who'da thunk- a near-5-star rating for a Crest product on MU! I don't even know how I ran into the reviews for this stuff but so glad I gave the stuff a try. I have to say my teeth haven't felt this slick and smooth for years even with my beloved Sonicare. I've really come to dislike saccharine-containing toothpastes and even the GoSmile products have left me cold... but RAVES for Crest w/Scope.
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