Treatments -TiGi - Bed Head Colour Combats Colour Goddess Leave-In Conditioner
felgoj 8/16/2012 9:49:00 AM
The shampoo girl at my salon told me this smells like butterscotch cupcakes & as I'm huge on butterscotch I checked it out after my haircut. It really does smell delicious. Only the conditioner & leave-in spray were available, so I bought the leave-in spray. I don't like to use silicone products on my hair anymore, but I decided to give this a try anyway, thinking one product can't hurt that much (& I see it got good reviews here). The spray is very lightweight & doesn't make my hair greasy, heavy or coated. It sinks right in (I applied it to damp hair). Currently my hair is virgin, so I'm not a good candidate for its color purposes, however now that I'm older my hair grows in dry & ratty... :( ...so I thought this product might be particularly useful during the summer after drying beach days. I'll update in the future if anything changes. For now, the primary reason I bought this product is the scent, which I like very much.
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Gels/Soaps -Giovanni - 3 in One Shampoo, Body Wash & Bubble Bath
felgoj 8/3/2012 10:41:00 AM
I bought this on clearance sale for $4 in Tropical Medley which smells divine! A soft, fruity, sweet mix of what smells reminiscent of pina colada & summertime. I bought it solely for the enjoyment of the fragrance since the price was so cheap. As a cleanser, it's not the best in the world. The liquid is rather thin & runny, & the pump dispenses only small amounts of product with each press (on the other hand, that's good portion control). So far I've only used it as a hand soap. The lather is weak but still effective for hand cleansing & smells great. I like that it's sulfate-free but I don't like that it contains phenoxyethanol as a preservative.
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Lotions/ Creams -Booths - Monoi Body Souffle
felgoj 7/30/2012 1:36:00 PM
I AM UTTERLY IN LOVE WITH THIS! It smells sultry & seductive (in the same vein as Nars Body Glow II monoi oil), which is just what I was hoping for. I've been trying out a number of monoi products lately, on the hunt for a scent like Nars. I'm happy this souffle has it! I love that it's relatively easy to obtain online & is REALLY inexpensive! I got my 8oz tub for $9.50 but later discovered I could have gotten it for even less elsewhere ($5.50), though I haven't seen this anywhere locally. I find this souffle to be like a grey-colored gel-creme that feels luxurious when applying & fully absorbs after a short while, so it doesn't remind greasy on skin like a body butter might. Fairly good moisturization. Fantastic scent! Would buy again anytime.
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Lotions/ Creams -Unlisted Brand - c. Booth - Tahitian Monoi Body Souffle
felgoj 7/30/2012 1:23:00 PM
I AM UTTERLY IN LOVE WITH THIS! It smells sultry & seductive (in the same vein as Nars Body Glow II monoi oil), which is just what I was hoping for. I've been trying out a number of monoi products lately, on the hunt for a scent like Nars. I'm happy this souffle has it! I love that it's relatively easy to obtain online & is REALLY inexpensive! I got my 8oz tub for $9.50 but later discovered I could have gotten it for even less elsewhere ($5.50). I find this souffle to be like a grey-colored gel-creme that feels luxurious when applying & fully absorbs after a short while, so it doesn't remind greasy on skin like a body butter might. Fairly good moisturization. Fantastic scent! Would buy again anytime.
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Skincare - Body -NARS - Monoi Body Glow II
felgoj 7/24/2012 4:34:00 PM
Intensely delicious scent! But very expensive. It's the scent of gardenia mixed w/something else I can't quite pinpoint. Maybe that's the pure scent of monoi oil, but since I noticed that all monoi products have added fragrance to them, it's hard to tell what real monoi (or tiare flower) is supposed to smell like - I was disappointed to find that various monoi products all smell different. For instance, Yves Rocher Monoi de Tahiti smells close to Nars but it has a sharper gardenia scent - something about Nars is different. And other monoi products smell like bright florals such as lilac & hyacinth, strangely enough. The first monoi I ever smelled was Nars & that's what I fell in love with - all other monoi alternatives have to measure up to it. So far, none surpass the delicate yet sultry fragrance of Nars. The oil is very lightweight, non-greasy, & absorbs into the skin quickly. Very enjoyable to use on skin (have yet to try it in my hair), feels like a rich experience, but unpleasantly expensive....hence my hunt for less costly alternatives....none of which smell exactly like it. I love the little tiare flowers in the bottle.
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Skincare - Body -Yves Rocher - Monoi De Tahiti Gardenia Oil
felgoj 7/24/2012 3:57:00 PM
I bought this from eBay b/c I don't know it to be available anywhere locally. This oil has a lovely soft gardenia scent, closer to the scent of Nars Body Glow II oil than any other monoi oil product I've smelled so far (ie: B&BW Tahiti Sweetie, TheBodyShop Monoi Miracle Oil, Monoi Tiare gardenia shampoo). Nars Body Glow II & Carol's Daughter Monoi hair products have the heavenliest smelling monoi fragrance I've ever encountered. I was surprised (& disappointed) to find that not all monoi products smell alike. I'm waiting to receive Monoi Tiki Tahiti Tiare in the mail to try - that brand seems to be the most well-known & popular. This oil comes in a clear glass bottle with a screw-on cap, but as long as I pour carefully I find it's not a messy experience. I apply it to my legs & hands (I have yet to try it in my hair). The scent dissipates shortly after the oil has absorbed into the skin - I wish it would last longer. The moisturization is lightweight & non-greasy. This is really not an "oily" oil at all. It's made of 50% monoi coconut oil & the rest is mineral oil. It has that light golden yellow color that's typical of monoi. Very nice to use, this is a less expensive alternative to Nars Body Glow II oil (which I adore).
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Lip Gloss -L'Oreal - 8 HR Infallible Le Gloss (Posy 135)
felgoj 7/23/2012 4:55:00 PM
I love this color too. Looks a little unnerving in the tube - a bright fuchsia pink with a ghostly blue tinge. On lips is beautifully transparent, natural & subtle in color (not neon bright), & the blue tinge doesn't look obvious, it merely enhances the natural beauty of a person's liptone. I love that Infallible is a line of sheer, glossy colors that cling to my lips & moisturize them. Color fades pretty quickly (certainly doesn't last 8 hrs) but this product doesn't dry out my lips. I paid full price for it ($11.50) which I think is ridiculous, but I still love it. I think this color would flatter most if not all skin tones.
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Lipstick -L'Oreal - Colour Riche Caresse- US shades
felgoj 7/23/2012 4:30:00 PM
I noticed these newcomers @ Duane Reade, so I picked up 2 shades for $10.50 each. I got Sheer Linen which looked like a lovely plum-tinged nude swatch on my hand but on my lips @ home it was a dreadful pasty pottery-clay color that makes me look dead. There was hardly any sheen or dewyness to the texture. It's an awful disappointment & I'll have to refund it. I took a chance on Cherry Tulle w/o swatching it at all. It's a sweet-looking, sheer cherry red shade that's natural looking on my lips. I like that the color's not overpowering the way many reds can be. It's blue-toned but not too much.It has a dewy moistness but not a lot of shine. It's very lightweight on the lips & appears translucent in opacity. This shade has good mistake-proof application & easy clean-up. The packaging is okay, nothing exciting, & the cap can be used as a mirror, even though it is goldtone. I'm not a big lipstick person & I don't like the way the dewyness wears away quickly, leaving behind a matte stain of color which needs gloss applied over it. It's nice that the stain is balmy but the color lightens to more of a rose color, which I don't like. Not glossy enough for me... I think I'll just stick w/lipglosses instead of trying more lipstick colors. The weightless texture is excellent, however, if you're a lipstick wearer you might like this more than I do. It's not cakey, heavy, greasy or waxy @ all.
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Lotions/ Creams -Bath and Body Works - True Blue Spa Island Get Away Tahiti Sweetie Body Lotion with Monoi Oil
felgoj 7/16/2012 12:42:00 PM
I couldn't find this lotion locally to sample its fragrance, so I took a chance purchasing it online. It'ss OK but not what I was hoping for in terms of scent. I wanted it to smell more like Nars Body Glow II monoi oil (the bottle w/the tiare flower in it), but instead this smells highly sweet & a lot like pineapples or peaches (there's peach extract in it). My mom says it smells like white peaches & I agree. The scent is fun & summery, but not what I was looking for - I wanted sultry, spicy, warm gardenia Nars type of smell. I'm holding off on buying Nars due to its high price. This lotion's texture is lovely - it's very light & silky, easy to spread & rich in moisture but not greasy. If I apply only what I need, it sinks right in & leaves my skin feeling moisturized yet normal (not greasy or dry) & smelling very sweet. If I apply it more generously, it still sinks into my skin but leaves behind a mild sheen that I love, a look of dewy health that's very appealing & still not greasy feeling. My skin is silky to the touch but not slick. I value the sheen-factor in a product & have a hard time finding a good lotion that fits all my criteria. I expect I'll particularly enjoy using this lotion on beach days (dry skin!), but I'm not sure that I would try to buy it again - besides the scent being not what I wanted, this product unfortunately also contains phenoxyethanol AND 5 types of parabens (WTF!), which is disappointing - I know these chemicals are in most commercial products but they trouble my conscience about health. If I could combine the sensual scent of Nars Body Glow II with the natural ingredients of Korres body butter, I'd have the perfect body lotion. My real rating would be 3.5 lippies - I like it more than 3 but not quite as much as 4.
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Lotions/ Creams -The Body Shop - Spa Wisdom Polynesia Monoi Moisture Balm
felgoj 7/12/2012 2:57:00 PM
I'm looking for skincare products with that sultry gardenia scent as closely identical to Nars Body Glow and Carol's Daughter Monoi shampoo as possible. I smelled this in the store & it doesn't smell gardenia-like. I tested some on my arms & got a bright, fresh floral scent similar to lilacs & hyacinth flowers, which is nice but not what I was looking for. Disappointed, I didn't buy it. I'm sure the butter is very emollient, but here I was searching for a specific scent, which I didn't find & have to keep searching. (The Body Shop 'Neroli Jasmin' EDT is very lovely however - somewhat similar in scent to Nars Body Glow.)
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Highlighters -NARS - Body Glow
felgoj 7/10/2012 1:24:00 PM
My God, this stuff is pricey! I've known about Nars Body Glow since Sephora's early days, & I've always loved glowy body shimmers, but at that time I didn't like gardenia scents & was disappointed how little shimmer payoff I got compared to the amount of oily slick on my skin. I also found the glass bottle difficult to control (God forbid it should slip out of my hands & shatter on the floor!). That turned me off & I turned my back on Nars Body Glow for 12 yrs, moving on to other shimmer products (usually lotions, sometimes powders). It's funny how tastes change over the yrs! Recently I fell in love with all things monoi after buying Carol's Daughter Monoi shampoo & conditioner. I thought the gardenia scent might give me the creeps but it proved exactly opposite - smells DIVINE! Now I adore Nars Body Glow for its luscious Tiare gardenia monoi scent, for its blissfuly lightweight moisturizing texture (so silky!), & for the bit of glow it gives to my summer-tanned skin (doesn't appear on my winter pale skin). It doesn't bronze me up but it does very subtley enhance my tan by giving it a gentle sheen. I put this on my lower legs yesterday & I like how the light oil didn't attract dirt to my skin the way heavier oils have while commuting through the smoggy, sooty city. So far I haven't bought a bottle because of the $60 price. I'm going to try less expensive monoi alternatives, since I'm more keen now on the fragrance as opposed to the shimmer. I'm sure somewhere down the line I will be grabbing a bottle of Body Glow for myself. It's a luxurious product I now enjoy, finally, 12 yrs after the fact.
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Sunscreen -Hawaiian Tropic - Protective Tanning Dry Oil Spray SPF 12
felgoj 6/22/2012 1:41:00 PM
I used the same can for 2 summers of beach sun protection & I love it. Hawaiian Tropic is one of my favorite brands, I love the scent of their products & they give reliable sun protection. I mean, it's not my primary sunscreen, but I bring it to the beach as a backup refresher after extended swimming - oil moisturizes my dried skin from the sun, sand & salt water. The spray makes it all easy to apply. Though I live in a major city, it's not always easy to find. The sleek aerosol can is convenient to use, spill-proof & closes easily w/a twist of the nozzle. I paid full price for it, but it was worth it. Smells great.
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Lotions/ Creams -Korres - Body Butter - Guava
felgoj 6/5/2012 10:30:00 AM
I love the body butters of Korres - they are rich like a cream, light-textured like a lotion, leave the skin dewy & soft, but not at all unbearably greasy like body butter packaged in tubs & jars (hello Body Shop). Guava is one of the better fragrances (sweet & fruity) but I find the heavy guava scent eminating from my skin after I apply it to be overpowering, which makes it an unpleasant experience when all I want is for my skin to smell fresh & slightly tropical. Ultimately, the scent does fade, thankfully (but not quick enough for me). The tube is big, so it should last me a good while. But when I finish it up (or pass it on to a family member halfway through), next time I'll try to find a milder scent (maybe Yoghurt? or Lemon Basil?). I would love it if Korres made an unscented version. The feeling this butter leaves on my skin is phenomenal.
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Polishes -Unlisted Brand - Nails Inc - Baker Street
felgoj 5/30/2012 10:38:00 AM
Baker Street, you beautiful thing! Why hasn't a listing for you been started before? I own several Nails Inc polishes, mostly the glitter ones b/c their glitter quality/density is really excellent. What I hate most about this brand is the $9.50 price, but it's the same price as OPI & Sephora-OPI so the splurge for something blingy is worth it when other brands don't have exact dupes of what you want (that's the case here). Baker Street is a gorgeous, bright, neon cobalt/royal blue creme that's opaque in 1 coat. It applies smooth & rich, which prevents any dreaded streaking or cuticle flooding. But the 2nd coat can be goopy, so I have to be careful or just forgo it altogether. This hot color has been out of stock @ the local Sephora stores for a while, so in the meantime I collected a bunch of similar blue cremes which are pretty in their own right but none of them match the shade & brightness of Baker St. Finally, I landed this color last wk & am wearing it now - beautiful, bright, gorgeous, unique. It's not a flat blue & doesn't darken or change color after applying topcoat like some other blues I have (that's you, Pure Ice French Kiss...though you're still beautiful as a medium navy). LA Girl Disco Brites 'Deejay' is a close & very pretty second (great price for $2.50), but there's no match for Baker Street that I've seen yet. It's worth buying even if you already have a lot of blues like me. It's absolutely eye catching & unusual, & it's not so loud like a neon pink/orange - it attracts attention but doesn't make you feel self-conscious or obvious.
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Polishes -OPI - Funny Bunny
felgoj 4/26/2012 3:15:00 PM
There's no dupe on the planet (so far) to exactly match my HG favorite Bourjois Lissant Blanchissant which is long since discontinued (*weeping*), but OPI's Funny Bunny is a nice sheer white in the interim. I've tried a few others & this seems to be about as clean a white as I could find in a sheer polish. It isn't stark white but it isn't overly beige either. I'd call it eggshell white. (I'm very fussy about white polish being exactly pure white with glowy brightness to the color while being sheer & not chalky or opaque.) Kinda streaky even on my small nails, so I have to apply quickly & carefully, & layer it on to fill in bald spots while building the color. To give it as clean a white look as possible, I use a blue-tinted yellow stain neutralizer as a basecoat. I marked that I'd buy this again, even though I'll probably never finish this bottle. It's a good polish, but I sorely miss my perfect Bourjois fave. *sigh*
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No