Mascara -Avon - EXTREME VOLUME Flexicoat Mascara (Waterproof)
Sashayy 10/18/2005 12:26:00 PM
I've been pleasantly surprised by the quality and staying power of this mascara. It goes on quickly and clump free, gives me big fat curled lashes (though I should point out my lashes are naturally curly anyway) and is neither dry nor wet in texture, so I needn't worry about smudges or "oopsies". When I'm in a hurry and want a slightly more dramatic lash, I find I'm reaching for this Avon tube these days instead of my old Lise Watier Splash or Paula's Choice mascaras. My only comnplaint is the overly thick tube that takes up a lot of space in a makeup bag, though I do like the colour of the tube. Other than that small quibble, though, I will repurchase!
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Palettes -MAC - Tailormade warm eyes--Nordstrom Exclusive
Sashayy 10/17/2005 6:33:00 PM
I bought this on a whim from eBay and haven't been disappointed. I've used all of the colours, surprisingly, considering I didn't think I would like the lustres in this palette. The two darkest shades are great liners, especially if you layer Honesty or the darker pink lustre shade French Cuff on top for some added oomph. My favourite two looks from this palette are:
1) Vex as a wash, Honesty in the crease, Classic White to highlight the inner corners and browbone and lined with Boutique Brown.
2) Honesty as a wash, French Cuff in the crease, Classic White to highlight inner corners and browbone, lined with Women of Means.
For reference, I'm a super pale (NC15 is too dark) neutral/warm PPP with red hair and olive brown eyes. I usually wear Shu M Peach 40 or NARS Orgasm blush with either look. Lips for the first one are usually something peachy and for the second look I really like Beaux Lustreglass.
The packaging size is great though I'm not a huge fan of the fabric top or the overly prominent MAC logo medallion thingie stuck onto the fabric. Makes it bulkier than it needs to be. It travels well, though I wish MAC would come out with a dual-ended brush that has 213 on one end and 266 on the other, so I'd not have to tote around a Stila dual-ended brush in order to have a liner brush with me.
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Fragrances -Coty - Shania by Stetson
Sashayy 9/21/2005 2:37:00 PM
When I first caught a whiff of this at a distance in the store, I was excited because I could smell the roses in it. They listed the notes as being made up of an "Original western heart accord" of "wild prairie rose, vivid freesia, country honeysuckle, laced lightly with raspberries and pomegranate" though having grown up on the Canadian prairies myself, I can't say I've ever heard of pomegranates growing there ;-)
So based on the notes, it should have been fantastic. Sadly, it wasn't to be. Once it was sprayed on my wrist, the suggestion of roses dissolved into a chemicals-and-soapy sweet gagging scent that I could not wait to wash off as quickly as possible. Sadly, I had to wear it for three hours before I could do so, and the soap smell only intensified with time. Yuck. Pass. This is one of those scents that makes a poster child out of samplers and testers – sounded wonderful in theory but was awful in reality.
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Eye Shadow -NARS - Fuji
Sashayy 9/19/2005 3:37:00 PM
Eureka! I have found it! After going through MAC, BB, Smashbox, Fresh and countless other lines, looking for a dark green shimmery e/s to use as a liner shade, I found this. Love at first sight!
On my very pale neutral-to-warm PPP skin with olive-brown eyes and red hair, one of my favourite eye looks is a nude-peach-bronze-copper eye with deep green liner. Also, because my eyes are somewhat heavy-lidded, I like to keep my liner shades shimmery so that they reflect light a bit and don't close up my eye. This is the liner shade I've been looking for - no blue or gold in it, only the tiniest hint of brown when applied dry and smudged, and the shimmer in the green intensifies when applied wet. I tend to pair this liner shade most often with NARS Heaven or Key Largo duo.
I apply Fuji dry with a tiny smudger brush along the upper 3/4 outer lashline and bottom 2/3 outer lashline. I then wet a thin fine-point liner brush with Visine and go over my line, getting as close to the lashline as possible. The second wet application of Fuji brings out the shimmer and intensifies the smudgy depth of the dry application.
Love it, love it, love it! My HG! Finally!
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Eye Shadow -NARS - Key Largo Duo
Sashayy 9/19/2005 3:30:00 PM
This palette is another of my favourite duos from Francois Nars. While somewhat dark and sparkly-looking in the pan, both the peachy-nude and the bronzey-brown shades go on somewhat sheer.
This is an easy duo to wear, even on super-pale neutral-to-warm PPP redhead me. I sweep on the nude shade as a wash, put the dark shade in the crease lightly, line with my HG of green liner e/s shades, NARS Fuji and then mascara. Voila! A clean, pretty, polished and defined eye that doesn't look too done up yet brings out all the olive-green and gold flecks in my olive-brown eyes.
I tend to pair this with Shu M Peach 44 blush or Too Faced Snow Bunny bronzer and a nude to slightly peachy lip. I've gotten so many compliments on this look using this duo that I have made it a staple in my away case when I'm travelling.
I should point out that I don't see this duo working well on cool-toned girls - it is most definitely a warm toned set!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -LORAC - Lip Polish in Delicious
Sashayy 9/19/2005 2:59:00 PM
This is my first introduction to LORAC's lip polishes and it isn't a raving success. I'm a super-fair neutral-to-warm redhead PPP. Therefore, this colour, Delicious, a cool blue-based mauve with opal-white frost is entirely wrong for my complexion and unpigmented lips. Far too frosty white and it manages to both accentuate the natural ruddiness of my complexion and yet still wash me out. Definitely not the colour for me. I also didn't like the tingle of it, that seemed to live on longer than the colour. Not sure if that's suppose to act as a plumper, but as I'm not into such products, I don't like it much in a regular gloss.
With that said, the thicker consistency, smooth texture, minty taste and decent wear of the gloss formula is quite nice. I might consider buying it in another shade, if I can stand that tingling sensation in exchange.
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Candles -Tocca - Candle in Florence
Sashayy 9/17/2005 3:23:00 PM
This is it! One of my two HG candles of all time...the other being Yma from Tocca.The quality of Tocca candles is outstanding! They burn clean and true, with no smoking. Unlit, they can still scent a room, even the smaller travel sizes.
Florence is a sweetly citrusy floral, with the tuberose scent only whispering through. Keep in mind these are tuberoses, not regular red/yellow roses, so the scent is sweeter and softer as a result. Florence is the kind of scent you want in a boudoir, powder room, dressing room or lady's craft room, feminine, refined, pretty, happy. I've burned my way through a few of these already since first discovering them this past spring and I can see myself repurchasing this scent endlessly and often. It is the smell of spring in a candle - wondorous and perfect!
In Canada, unless you live in Toronto near the Sephora store, you can find these sometimes at better boutique gift stores. Otherwise, it's strictly online only from Sephora, Beautyhabit or Lacreme. The large size is usually about $32 US.
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Eye Shadow -NARS - Strada
Sashayy 8/31/2005 3:19:00 PM
As everyone else had noted, this is a pretty medium purple with gold sparkles. When I first aquired this, I had the same problem as everyone else here has noted with the glitter disappearing. So I tried applying it wet - big difference! The glitter stays put and the colour darkens just enough to make it that much more interesting, especially as a liner for my version of a purple smokey eye.
I use this most often with the NARS Tokyo duo and BB Woodrose. I apply Woodrose all over as a wash, then put the darker smokey lilac of Tokyo in the crease and the light opal cream shade of Tokyo on the browbone and inner corners. I then heavily smudge Strada into my upper lashline with a dry smudge pencil brush and then go over it with a dampened angled liner brush on both top and button. Voila! A pretty smokey slightly twinkly purple eye which really makes the green in my olive brown eyes pop. One of the few smokey eye looks that my husband has actually noticed AND complimented. The golden sparkles on the lashline give a subtle sparkle that alleviates any potential for a bruised look on pale me. For reference, I'm a very pale neutral toned PPP with red hair.
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Hair Color -Garnier - Nutrisse Permanent Creme Hair Color
Sashayy 8/28/2005 5:33:00 PM
This has become my regular colour to hide my telltale signs of aging, such as grays and the fading of my naturally strawberry-blond hair (the redhead's curse, I call it). It is easy to mix, easy to apply, smells good and looks natural. I can often get it on sale at Zellers or Jean Coutu for $7CDN. In the summer, I use colour 84 Mandarin (Medium Copper Golden Blonde) and in the fall/winter, I darken it somewhat with 76 Persimmon (Red Copper), though I've also tried and gotten raves for 66 Pomegranate, which is rather dark for me and makes quite a contrast with my super pale PPP skin. I find the red shades last quite well and fade in a natural way. The colour never looks fake on me. The smell is quite nice and not at all chemically - a nice departure from Clairol shades.
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Fragrances -Les Parfums de Rosine - Roseberry
Sashayy 8/26/2005 2:44:00 PM
I agree with the other reviewers here that this is a rare misstep from Rosine. Someone else here mentioned it as aldehydic and while I still don't claim to totally understand the morphing power of aldehydes in scents, I can tell you that this scent, on my chemistry, is very soapy and old lady-ish. It is nothing special - smells like something from Crabtree and Evelyn or a body spray from B&BW. Not multi-star worthy like much of the rest of the Rosine line. Glad I sampled before buying because I'll be passing on a full bottle of this.
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Eye Shadow -NARS - Kilimanjaro Duo
Sashayy 8/23/2005 4:51:00 PM
Another outstanding duo from NARS, especially for warm-toned super pale PPPs (like me!). Francois Nars likes to see some skin on the eye, so he often makes his shades somewhat translucent. In the case of these two shades, the translucent effect is what makes them so desirable.
The left-hand lemony white-gold is super pretty and provides a hit of shine and definition without looking drastically white or yellow or overly golden, due to its slightly sheer quality, which makes this shade utterly wearable for daytime as a lid wash and/or under-brow highlighter. The golden pink shade is also pretty and both pair well with Iceland, my other favourite white pair from NARS.
I've worn this duo alone as well as combined both with Tokyo, Heaven, Sea sex and Sun and with Meditarranee as crease and liner shades and have liked Killimanjaro's versatility. Fabulous! Do check this duo out.
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Blush -mark - Good Glowing Powder Blush -After Glow
Sashayy 8/21/2005 12:45:00 PM
I'll add another positive voice to the chorus of raves for this mark blush. It is very pretty on my super-pale freckled PPP skin and looks natural and vibrant. I tend to pair it most with the Golden Glow blush. I wear this brushed on the apples of my cheeks in an upside triangle, with the Golden Glow as a cheekbone contour shade and it makes me look awake, alive, vibrant, young. I get a lot of compliments on my face when I use it, so it has replaced Stila Quaint as my favourite blush of this shade.
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Blush -mark - Good Glowing Powder Blush - Golden Glow
Sashayy 8/21/2005 12:41:00 PM
This is a very pretty everday blush for that natural "What makeup?" look on my super-pale freckled PPP skin. I wear it just under the cheekbone blended up as a contour and it provides definition to my face without a lot of obvious colour. If I want more of a pop of colour, I usually pair it with the pinky-peach mark blush "After Glo" (a NARS Orgasm lookalike, but much cheaper at only $6!) brushed onto the apples of my cheeks into a triangle. There is some sparkle, but for some reason, it doesn't come out very overt on my cheeks nor does it emphasize my pores, so I'm happy with it.
Wear on this is average and the size is generous, especially considering the price. Another hit from mark!
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Palettes -Too Faced - The Quickie Chronicles - The Beach Bunny
Sashayy 8/16/2005 8:31:00 PM
I bought this from eBay and have been quite happy with the natural glowy beauty it lends to my face. As a super-pale freckled warm PPP with red hair, I use the gold e/s shade as a lid wash and brow highlighter, then I use the warm golden tan e/s in the crease and put a bit of the golden pink in the outer V. I brush on the golden nude and shimmery blush (my favourite item from this palette), use the nude gloss all over my lips and then a dot of the warm shimmery golden nude in the centre of my lower lips and I'm done.
The glosses are sheer and satiny smooth with no tackiness. The blush stays put on my dry skin and doesn't streak. The eyeshadows are a bit harder than I would like but they do stay put all day just as well as my Stila, NARS, MAC and BB shades.
I have a few issues with the palette though. The two uber-pink gloss shades seem out of place and the lightest of those two don't show up at all as any colour whatsoever, even on my unpigmented lips. I also don't like the fact that there is no blush brush and the cardboard clamshell packaging, while super cute and slim, makes it tough to use this as a travel palette, as there is nothing to protect it from opening up in your purse and getting smeared. Also, there is no mirror, though that bothers me a bit less.
Overall, this has made me curious particularly about other Too Faced palettes, blushes and glosses. A good product from a good company.
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Eye Shadow -NARS - Iceland Duo
Sashayy 7/26/2005 1:39:00 PM
This is an amazing duo! One of my three HG duos from NARS. While I guess others see it as a highlighter set, on me it is a fantastic set of wash and highlight colours, as I'm a super pale PPP with neutral to warm tones and olivey-brown eyes. I wear this most often with the green-white shade washed all over and the pinked-purple opal shade lightly applied on the outer corners. Some green, plum or brown liner and mascara and voila! I look fresh, wide awake and the green neutralizes any redness in my eyes from not enough sleep or too much time spent at the computer. I sometimes use the shimmery shade from AAE or the coral shade from Heaven in the crease too and that also looks fab. I haven't tried layering these over other shades but I should do. This is the one I carry along with AAE and Heaven in my "emergency" makeup kit, that I toss into my uni backpack or gym bag or weekend travel bag when I'm in a rush to get out of the house and will make myself up later. A definite must have duo from NARS if you're also a PPP. Would love to get Killimanjaro too and try mixing the two duos together.
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