Skincare - Face -Ole Henriksen - Truth Serum
mimimachine 9/30/2010 11:19:00 PM
I have a friend who is a sales rep at Sephora and in my quest for the perfect brightening serum, she gave me a bunch of samples of this that would last me about a month. I used this before I used my Caudalie vinoperfect serum samples. This stuff made my face feel like it had some kind of weird tightening mask on it until I put moisturizer on. And it claims to have have a high concentration of vitamin C, 10% I believe but I didn't notice a difference and used it diligently every night. It wasn't a bad product but it wasn't a good product either and I didn't see it doing what it claims to do. My skin is clear but has some old acne faded spots and they pretty much look the same. My skin tone is a bit more even but I just didn't really like how this felt on my face. I'm trying to stick to more natural, organic and paraben free products and I've heard great things about Ole. A friend of mine loves their stuff but so far, I've had no luck with this line.
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Treatments (Eye) -B. Kamins - Bio-Maple Therapeutic Eye Cream
mimimachine 9/30/2010 11:15:00 PM
This gave me a HORRIBLE allergic reaction. I get seasonal allergies to ragweed and I was applying a sample of this from Sephora every morning and evening and I thought it was my allergies acting up but then I realized it was this eye cream! My eyes would literally start to puff up and water and turn red and I do not have sensitive eyes. Apparently this cream contains vitamin K and this is one of the few proven effective treatments for dark circles but the reaction I got from it wasn't worth me trying it for a long period. I used it for about a week. I did not see a difference in my blue-purple dark circles (which literally do look like bruises) and I actually found this to be rather greasy. It claims to reduce puffiness which I get a bit of in the morning and it did not do this. I will keep my very generous sample from Sephora and try it out on any bruises I get on my body (away from my face!!) to see if the claims about it making bruises disappear are true or not. For $110 this is WAY to much for the teeny tiny tube you get. I'm not sure how B.Kamins bio-maple schtick works but I think that's probably what caused my allergic reaction. They need to lower their prices.
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Treatments -Caudalie - Vinoperfect Complexion Correcting Radiance Serum
mimimachine 9/30/2010 11:10:00 PM
I used this for three weeks faithfully every night and didn't really notice much of a difference. I have some old minor acne scars that are faded spots and a bit of sun damage but I'm 29 with normal skin. I'd like it to be more even, hence my search for a brightening serum. I use Skyn Iceland's glycolic peel pads and I adore them and used this after using one of the pads every night. I found the fragrance of this serum to be overwhelming and it seemed very 'fake'. It was literally like a perfume and for a mostly natural product (supposedly) this concerns me since it's obviously heavily artificially fragranced. Also, it's VERY watery. For the price, I would expect greater results and I just didn't see any difference at all. It didn't harm my skin but I didn't see any miracles happen as the sales rep at Sephora claimed. I would not buy it. The fragrance is a huge turn-off.
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Hair Color -L'Oreal - Excellence Creme Blonde Supreme
mimimachine 9/8/2010 9:48:00 PM
NEVER AGAIN. I decided to try save some money and do my own root touch up this month instead of going to my hair dresser. I have medium blonde hair that pretty much matches the darkest shade on the back of the box, which showed my hair would turn a lovely ash blonde. I bought the Ultra Light Ash Blonde. My roots turned ORANGE. Not only did my roots turned orange but any part of my hair that was already colored this stuff touched turned it a HORRIBLE SILVERY BLUISH PURPLE!!! I literally washed it out and almost dropped dead at how awful this is. All I wanted to do was my medium blonde roots, about 1/4 inch! Horrible product, DO NOT BUY! This does not work! I called my hair dresser freaking out and will now learn my lesson as I pay for her to color-correct my hair tomorrow. Don't make the same mistake I did!
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Moisturizers -Christian Dior - Hydra Life Pro-Youth Comfort Crème
mimimachine 9/4/2010 10:33:00 PM
This product is just okay. It's not bad but it's not great either. I am a big fan of Skyn Iceland's Cloud Cream but got recommended this by a Sephora SA and had a generous sample. He said he swears by it and made it seem like some kind of miracle worker but honestly, I don't see any benefit in the two weeks I've been using it and it's actually kind of greasy so I wouldn't use it as a day cream. I've got the version with no SPF. It's not bad, as I said, but there are better products out there for that price. I have normal/combo skin (drier in winter, oilier in summer) but in general my skin is pretty balanced. Maybe with months of usage this would make a difference but I'm not willing to shell out that kind of money for a 50/50 shot. I'd rather stick to Skyn Iceland--which is paraben free, unlike Dior. Plus this has a weird kind of overly fragranced smell.
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Lip Treatments -LUSH - Sweet Lips Lip Scrub
mimimachine 9/2/2010 1:11:00 AM
Tastes great but this is a) totally useless and b) easily made at home and c) MESSY! This stuff has terrible packaging. It's not hygenic, for one, as you're dipping your fingers into the jar over and over and the product seems to sort of spill out and get everywhere. As for scrubbing, I think this might actually do more harm than good for your lips. Washing or licking your lips dries them out and in order to get this product off you have to either wash or lick (or wipe) your lips which means you need to either apply lip balm ASAP or your lips will get chapped. Also, it's rather abrasive which can be worse in the long run for the lips and for the $8 I paid for it, I could EASILY make this at home. It's just white sugar and oil with some flavoring. Not worth it. Won't buy again. I've become increasingly disappointed with the quality of Lush's products. They've gone WAY down hill over the last few years and the prices have sky rocketed. Not cool, Lush.
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Concealers -Kat Von D - Tattoo Concealer
mimimachine 7/8/2010 11:38:00 PM
At Sephora, had the salesgirl try various concealers on my very dark circles. I've heard this concealer can cover tattoos so I figured I'd have some luck with my under eye circles. It was applied by the salesperson using a concealer brush and it looked like it made no difference at all on my under eye circles. In fact, I didn't even look like I was wearing product at all. On my hand, it was thick and cakey. Kat Von D's makeup line is nothing but a cheap gimmick... just like her tattoos. Would never buy this especially not for the ridiculously high price, crappy packaging, and certainly would NOT pay for her name.
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Mascara -Cover Girl - Lash Blast Length Water Resistant
mimimachine 7/8/2010 11:33:00 PM
HORRIBLE! Usually Cover Girl mascara's are pretty decent for a drugstore brand. I use their Eyelights one when I want to wear a waterproof mascara and it's great. However, THIS stuff is CRAP. For one, it does not do what it promises. It does not lengthen, thicken, or volumize lashes. If you goop it on with a million coast, you maybe get the effect it claims but this truly borders on plain old false advertising. Secondly, it clumps like no other mascara I've ever experienced. It clumped on the brush, it clumped on my lashes after the first coat, and when I put the brush out, it even COMES OUT in clumps. Third, this is NOT water proof. It's barely even smudge proof. I'm shocked because the waterproof Eyelights ones is VERY waterproof so I expected the same for this. This comes off with even the teeniest bit of moisture. It flakes. It's trash. Do not waste your money on this. Cover Girl, this product is an EPIC FAIL.
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Concealers -Smashbox - High Definition Concealer
mimimachine 6/14/2010 11:08:00 PM
Bought this and returned it the next day. I was actually looking to buy Makeup Forever's HD concealer but noticed this Smashbox one and it was much cheaper so I thought I'd try it. I bought it in "light". I have pretty bad dark undereye circles and have literally spent YEARS searching for a concealer that will really cover them up. I'm currently using Benefit's Erase Paste which seems to be working the best of them all but I had high hopes for this. I knew I was in trouble when I opened the tube and a watery gooey concealer POURED out. And I mean poured. This stuff is SO WATERY. And though the product is "buildable", you have to put so much on that it begins to look like you're wearing concealer--not a good thing. I would have given it one lippie except for one factor--it did brighten my undereyes. The tube is awful. The stuff literally oozes out. I had to blend and blend and blend the stuff to get it to into my skin. And I literally had to put on tons of it to even remotely get concealed eyes. it actually did a decent job at concealing a couple PMS blemishes I have but you could still SEE the product even though the shade matched my skin perfectly. I refuse to pay $22 CDN for garbage. My high hopes for this concealer went buh-bye and I returned the product within 24 hours. Stay away from this thing. Smashbox, fix your formula!
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Masks -Aveda - Deep Cleansing Herbal Masque
mimimachine 4/2/2010 11:52:00 PM
Got a very generous sample of this from the Aveda store and I definitely have no plans to buy it. I don't think this is any better than any standard clay masque. I just started my period and have some PMS related breakouts going on and I was hoping it would calm those a bit and it didn't. In fact my skin feels sort of irritated and dry and I do not have sensitive skin. My skin is combo. I don't think this really made any difference at all and I've used it probably 3 times or so since I got the sample. As usual with Aveda products, I don't see the appeal and for what they charge, the products should be better than they are. Aveda is just not for me.
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Lipstick -MAC - Viva Glam Cyndi ] [DISCONTINUED]
mimimachine 4/2/2010 2:15:00 PM
Saw this in the MAC store and thought it was pretty. I have lots of lipsticks but am more of a pink fan and definitely more of a lip gloss fan than a lipstick kind of girl. I didn't try this on my lips at the store because I already had something on and tried it later when I got home. It looked completely different on my hand/in the tube than it did on my lips. I am fair with (dyed) blonde hair and brown eyes, more warm than cool and this turned into a horrible coral brown on me. Not red, not nice. I rarely wear darker colors in spring/summer and thought this would be sheer enough but nope. I returned it. Not a fan. Most people seem to love this shade but on my skin, it made me looked washed out and my lips look smaller. Not good.
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Cleansers -Skyn Iceland - Glacial Face Wash
mimimachine 3/30/2010 1:08:00 AM
I'm a huge (new) fan of Skyn Iceland. I discovered their product line in Sephora and started out with samples. I quickly fell in love. I started using the Cloud Cream, the glycolic peel pads, and the eye cream. I was worried that the Glacial Face Wash would be drying on my combo skin--esp in winter--but it's not. My skin feels hydrated yet clean. I didn't feel tight at all. I am currently using a sample of this but I will definitely buy the full product from Sephora. Skyn Iceland's products are something that you need to give a bit of time to really show how amazing they are. I started using their line consistently about 6 weeks ago and I get constant compliments on my skin. My female friends notice how my pores look smaller, my skin looks smoother and I barely even need foundation anymore. It's really awesome. Plus having no parabens in this line is a big bonus. It may be pricey but it's worth it. Edit: After over two months, I had to return this to Sephora. For some reason, it started really irritating my sinuses (probably one of the plant-based ingredients) and giving me an allergic reaction similar to seasonal allergies! I also found it balances my skin nicely but didn't take off all my makeup when I had primer on underneath. I LOVE Skyn's other products but sadly this had to be returned and I've replaced it with Ole Hendrikson's Red Tea African cleanser.
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Masks -Aveda - Tourmaline Charged Radiance Masque
mimimachine 3/30/2010 1:03:00 AM
Got a very generous sample of this at the Aveda store, about enough for 4 applications. I used it once and I highly doubt I will use it again. My skin feels like it has a weird layer of film over it and it's actually made my pores feel clogged and within a few hours of using it, I broke out. I have combo skin which tends to get surface dry in the winter and my skin is not sensitive. I don't normally break out with products. I really don't see the appeal of Aveda products. I've tried so many and had almost no luck with any of them. I hate their hair products and most of their skin care line. There are far better 'natural' products out there and Aveda is overpriced and overhyped in my opinion. If the products did what they claim they are supposed to do, I would not mind paying higher prices but as far as I'm concerned, Aveda products are crap. This mask joins my "no" Aveda pile. Luckily it was only a sample and not a purchase.
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Treatments (Eye) -Kiehls - Abyssine Eye Cream
mimimachine 3/28/2010 3:20:00 PM
As with the Abyssine cream I got as a sample from the Kiehl's counter, this started out okay and then felt greasy. I do not have really any wrinkles under my eyes but at 29, I'm looking to prevent aging. I do get dark circles and morning puffiness so this cream would not be for me as it doesn't address those issues. My eyes felt gross and slimy. This would be a terrible base for concealer or foundation. I'd never buy this. Ever.
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Moisturizers -Kiehls - Abyssine cream
mimimachine 3/28/2010 3:18:00 PM
I gave this two lippies because at first it seemed like a good product. My skin felt nice and smooth and then within an hour, it was a greasy mess. I got this as a sample from the Kiehl's counter. I'm 29 with combo skin and looking for some preventative anti-aging stuff, for preventing wrinkles and whatnot. The sales girl recommended this and also gave me some of the eye cream. I'm new to Kiehl's and have never tried their products before. This stuff would maybe be good for VERY VERY dry skin but I felt like I had a layer of gunk on my face. I wanted to actually wash my face and put on my usual stuff (Skyn Iceland products) and the next day I woke up and my skin STILL felt greasy. I do not really have oily skin, especially in winter and just coming back from traveling up in the mountains, so to have it feel that gunky and gross was odd for me. It even made me break out a bit. The texture is thick and nice but this cream is not good. Apparently this is their cream for women entering their 30s. I would never buy this. In fact, I threw away the sample.
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