Eye Shadow -LUSH - B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful Pressed Eye Shadows
monsterbeans 7/30/2009 11:13:00 AM
Okay, I own one B Never eyeshadow (I got it free when I bought a truckload of their other stuff) but thats mostly because in the last year I have OD'd on Urban Decay shadows. Anyway. Yes they are sort of expensive. But you only buy the fancy pot once, as B Never make refills for all powder shadows, which are half the price. Hey, if you have a metal tin thats magnetic, you can use that (thats how the pans stick to the pots) and save the dosh. I own Bay, which is a pretty green-blue colour that changes dependant on the base colour (over Sin PP by Urban Decay it goes more of a mossy colour, for example) Its smooth and blends beautifully. The only reason why they are not 5-star is because they contain triethanolamine, a common ingredients in lots of brands of cosmetics, but one in my opinion that is a bit dodgy. Since others have written their reviews, I believe B have altered their int'l shipping rates and also have added purples such as Blur, Breathless and Barrow
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Hair Removal -Unlisted Brand - King of Shaves Woman - Azure Razor
monsterbeans 7/9/2009 4:14:00 PM
I hate razors. This is the only one I have ever had that hasn't mashed my legs to a bloody pulp. I generally use UK supermarket own-brands like Sainsbury's because I know that Sainsbury's don't allow or commission any animal testing. Nearly all the big shaving companies (Gilette, Wilkinson Sword etc) have very sketchy animal testing policies. Anyway. My boyfriend has been using the male version, the Azor for a while and really liked its performance and the slim, simple design. He has had it for ages and whilst the original package comes with 3 cartridges, he is yet to buy another refill pack. Luckily, they came out the women's version recently (available from the King of Shaves website, Sainsbury's, Boots and maybe some other shops), which is basically a gold Azor, with blades more suited to a woman's skin. I like the unusual colourway and design, really makes it stand out from the bulky pink razors that all the others look like. It is also fully designed and manufactured in the UK, so the people making it are getting a fair wage and good conditions. Onto the nitty gritty...the performance. Its very good. Because the blade is hinged it moves with the shape of your legs etc and so it bounces off curves, rather than hacking them to pieces. The 'Endurium' cartridges also stay sharp for a long time as I mentioned previously. It leaves all areas shaved nice and smooth even for a shaving dunce like myself! In the UK, the Azure is priced £4.99 for the razor and three cartridges. I think the blades are about £3.99 for a pack of three as well, but don't quote me on that! They recommend using a KoS shave gel, but I find a good conditioner (I use American Cream by Lush) is just as good. If you are looking for a new razor I urge you to try the Azure instead of a Gilette/Wilkinson Sword one, not just because of the animal ethics but also because I genuinely think it is a good and innovative razor. get your boyfriends, dads and brothers to get the Azor as well!
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Loose Powders -Unlisted Brand - Barefaced Beauty - Mineral Setting Powder
monsterbeans 7/8/2009 9:11:00 AM
This review is for two shades: Jasmine and Ice. I have recently started to use mineral makeup by Urban Decay, and my De-slick powder from them had run out. To continue the mineral theme I decided to buy a loose rather than pressed powder. There are lots of mineral makeup brands, but I wanted one with really clear animal testing policies that were located in the UK. I found Barefaced Beauty and emailed them. They have a Fixed Cut Off Date for animal testing of 1980 for both them and their suppliers. Anyway, onto the product. I bought the sample versions of both shades, which are £2. You get a good amount in a miniature sifter jars with screw lids. I have never used a standard mineral makeup sifter jar before, but it is easy to control the powder into the lid. Ice is a translucent powder that I chose because it resembled the De-Slick powder. I think this may be a touch too light for me to use all over, but it is a very good powder for mattifying oily areas. Jasmine is my favourite. It is described as a light yellow toned powder. For the first fortnight, I wondered how I ended up with a nice dewy gold glow after applying makeup. After all, I thought the setting powders were for matting... I then took a closer look at my face...Jasmine does matt, but not as much as Ice and furthermore, it does have a soft opalescent gold glow that looks lovely on my yellow-undertoned skin. If you are looking for a straight up matting powder and have fairly light skin, then Ice is a good choice, but I prefer Jasmine for a softer dewy-looking setting powder. There are two other shades in the range for pink undertones and one for darker skin tones, but I don't know whether these have the same glow as Jasmine. Good thing they make sample jars!
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Lipstick -Urban Decay - Lipstick
monsterbeans 6/22/2009 7:09:00 AM
Okay, I am not a lipstick connoisseur. The last one I bought cost about £4 and that was about 3 years ago. I don't own lip liner. I'm more of a balm/gloss girl or a tint/gloss. Buuut. I am addicted to Urban Decay and also on a big coral/warm pink kick at the minute with clothes and makeup. The problem with my tints is that I have to apply them with my fingers, and in my job and on nights out, that is a bit grubby to me! Lipstick needs no fingers! (Apart from to open it...but yanno) I bought Tease, described by UD as a sheer pinky coral. It's not quite so aggressive in person as its full on coral counterpart 5150 (which was jampacked with shimmer) . I was a bit scared as I generally steer from brighter colours on my lips. Normally its gold toned gloss or something of a darker berry stain. I was pleasantly surprised. I am a warmed toned 'English rose' and Tease lifts my complexion and looks flirty, bright and happy! Unlike others, I can't even smell a scent on it, and I like the packaging. Its not a super long wear lipstick, but I like its sheerness and it seems to have reasonable staying power when just scholcked onto bare, unlined lips. Who knows....maybe I'll buy a lip liner now?
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Concealers -Urban Decay - 24/7 Concealer Pencil (all)
monsterbeans 6/17/2009 6:15:00 AM
So, after about 450 years, my £2.50 M&S concealer ran out. Whilst it covered reasonably well, I was looking for something a bit more heavy duty. As Kevyn Aucoin often said, you can often get away with just concealer and powder, and I was striving to use less foundation everyday. Being limited ethically in my choice of brands, I picked my old mainstay, Urban Decay. They seem to really get makeup for my sort of skin (combo, light and yellow toned). In the liquid Surreal Skin I wore Dream, but have converted to the mineral and wear Illusion now. I'm glad I went to a shop to pick this out, as the website is rather misleading. I picked up FBI, which is described as medium and looks very dark on website. It is actually a lot lighter in person. Initially I literally drew all over my dark circles and blemishes, which was product overload. Now I just dot and get the same coverage. It covers better than any cheaper concealer I've ever used, so I'm willing to spend the 8 quid or so on it. It does give my skin a better all over appearance, and because my dark circles/blemishes and under-the-skin-spots aren't so visible, I don't find I need as much foundation now. It lasts all day on me. I'm not really that oily normally, but under hot conditions my skin is the first to show the effects, but so far, so good. Only gripe is that virtually no sharpeners fit, so purchasing the Grindhouse is a must, which always seems to be out of stock where I live! (EDIT: To UK people, Boots pencil sharpener -in the pink bag- fits these pencils and is much cheaper and always available!)
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lips -Unlisted Brand - B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful - Lip Cream
monsterbeans 6/11/2009 12:54:00 PM
Ahhh, B Never. The makeup for people who love kitsch and hate minimalism. These heart shaped pots are bright, and are now perfect. Previously, the lids were unattached and the lids used to fall off in your bag so all manner of grime would get into the pot but NO MORE. They are now hinged lids! Each product comes with a small bit of gold leaf on the top, but it doesn't work its way into the product. I currently own Baffle, which is a mid-pink berry colour. These are quite dry I find applied by themselves and won't spread very well, hence the 4 mark, not 5. This is solved by using a lipbalm prior to application. No problemo. Okay, they seem expensive (£8 something or other) but you use hardly any on each application, so they last for ages and those little pots are deep. Everything in them is v. moisturising, they are vegan and no animal testing involved.and they have a pretty wide range of colours too
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -Barry M - Pencil Eyeliner/ Kohl
monsterbeans 6/11/2009 12:47:00 PM
Barry M is most famous for its nail varnish and dazzle dusts, but some of its other stuff is pretty funky. Take these eyeliners. About 3 years ago these were my staples before I discovered how to apply eyeshadow that didn't make me look stupid. I rely mostly on liquid eyeliner now cos I prefer that but these still come in super handy. I own black, white, brown, grey, gold, purple, blue and green, so I can comment on the range comprehensively. They are soft, and the colour of the pencil tip is the colour that turns up on your eyelid and they stick really well given they are like dirt-cheap (£2.95ish) My only gripe? That the colour selection is mostly on the light side. Unlike Urban Decay, Barry M don't really produce any pencils on the edgy side of the purples etc (though they manage a red...eh?) like anything comparable in colour to the 24/7 pencils in Rockstar or Lust. The reason why I compare the two is that they are two brands, commonly available in the UK that DO NOT test their products or ingredients on animals. So yeah. For your basics, Barry M pencils are pretty sweet. If you've got a hankering for copper, dark cyans and deep purples and care about fluffy wuffy little animals as well, Urban Decay is there as well, but will set you back a bit more...
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Bronzers -Urban Decay - Gilded
monsterbeans 6/7/2009 12:11:00 PM
Ah, my first attempt at bronzer buying led me to buy Gilded. I bought it in summer last year, and it still looks brand new, and I add a sweep to my cheeks every other day or so, so at 15 quid-ish, I've definitely got value for money. I chose Gilded because I love gold toned stuff and I love shimmer. When applied, the gold veins that run through the product in the compact leave a subtle shimmer on cheeks. Thats why I like it, but its also the reason I wouldn't recommend it as an all over bronzer as you would end up like a shiny disco ball! The colour can be easily built up, as I am quite pale, but its easy to apply just enough to not-look-dead!
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Concealers -Unlisted Brand - Marks and Spencer - Concealer Stick
monsterbeans 6/7/2009 12:05:00 PM
This is the concealer from Marks and Spencer's budget range. For a £2.50 concealer, this has withstood everyday use pretty well, as I bought it last year and still have a fair whack left. The simple packaging (like a standard lipstick style container) has held up through flights, festivals and my boyfriend hoofing my makeup off my bed. It comes in two shades, light and medium. Light works well on my skin, and it covers reasonably, though its not a total camoflage, and it blends well. Whilst I would buy it again in a pinch and if I suddenly had a tight budget, when it runs out, I will probably look for a different concealer (another non-animal tested brand of course) that has more shade options and maybe a more natural based ingredients list.
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Lip Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Yaoh - Hemp Lipbalm
monsterbeans 6/7/2009 12:01:00 PM
I work in retail, and in my university course I deal with all sorts, chemicals, dead stuff, really old dusty stuff etc etc so whilst my HG of lipbalms is Lush's Honey Trap and Lip Squeak, those screw tops are a nightmare when my hands have been sneezed on by other people (yes, I know....) or I've had to clean up some nasty spill. Thats where Yaoh's lipbalms are my saviour. The twist-up means my dirty hands stay away from my mouth and I don't get awful chapped dry lips. I've tried the Strawberries and Cream (smells like sweets...mmmmm) and the Mango & Kiwi and the Blueberry and all are amazing. So why should you buy these instead of your bog-standard chapstick? Yaoh don't test on animals. These lipbalms are full of natural ingredients, rather than petro-chemical deriratives...NICE! Yaoh's website has a list of shops and online stockists. And they are only like £2.50 each...WIN!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Unlisted Brand - B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful - Dirty Face Protector
monsterbeans 6/3/2009 6:57:00 AM
This product is part of the men's range of 'Dirty' products from B Never, though it is my fave under-makeup moisturiser I have ever tried. I used to use Ultralight by Lush because of its SPF, but I was wary of the St. John's Wort interfering with my mini-pill if its absorbed through the skin. Anyway, on the Lush forums, there were various folks talking about how great the Dirty Protector from Lush's sister company was, and it has SPF in it, which was the main factor for me. As soon as I was in London next, I bought a tub and since them, whenever I have been to London I have stocked up on it! It comes in a big silver tin, and the contents can only be described as a 'minty jelly', though the mint smell is not overpowering. As it is designed for men, the jelly is moisturising without being shiny or greasy, to make sure the act of guys keeping gorgeous isn't obvious. Because it isn't greasy, it sinks sublimey into the skin (good for preventing liquid or mineral foundations from 'sticking' and going splotchy) and it leaves a wonderful matte finish to skin as well. A little goes a long way, so the initial price tag of nearly £9 is well worth it if you either have a B near you (London, Leeds, Poole) or live in the UK with mailorder.
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Shampoo -Unlisted Brand - Lee Stafford - Poker Straight Dry Shampoo
monsterbeans 6/3/2009 6:48:00 AM
I love Lee Stafford's products, they are all brightly coloured, do their job and are not tested on animals. This comes in two sizes at Boots, a 'trial/travel' size and the full size. It smells lovely, and once absorbed and brushed out, the white powder isn't visible on my mousy brown hair or my boyfriend's very dark hair. It really does make my hair feel refreshed and clean and I find that the full size lasts for a long time.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Foundations -Urban Decay - Surreal Skin Mineral Makeup
monsterbeans 6/3/2009 6:43:00 AM
This was my first foray into mineral makeup. I gave up with UD's liquid Surreal Skin as I found out it contained triethanolamine, and whilst I don't normally take any notice of 'health scares' like that, the stuff I found on the MSDS sheet and from many sources made me think it wasn't great to have it on my skin everyday. Unfortunately, most liquid makeups contain substances like this, so I decided to try mineral. My choice is limited as I refuse to buy products tested on animals or owned by companies who test, so I stuck with what I knew, Urban Decay. In the liquid Surreal Skin I wore 'Dream' all year round. Whilst the shade names are the same for both the liquid and mineral, the mineral shades are slightly darker, so I bought the lightest shade, 'Illusion'. I love the coverage, as it is buildable. Its probably the bismuth (I haven't experienced a reaction yet. I suffer from eczema on my body but my face is pretty resilient) that gives a glow to counteract the matte powder aspect of mineral makeup. But my skin does look truly flawless and not fake in this. I hesitate to say, but maybe its my Holy Grail foundation? I wasn't sure how mineral makeup would 'stick' to my skin so I took the tub with me on the first day I wore it, a 10 hour shift at work on the hottest day in the UK so far! Amazingly, it stayed on. The only areas it mildly caked were around my undereye area (solved by putting concealer on before, not after the makeup) and around my nose, which was easily gotten rid of by my finger. I haven't gone clubbing in it yet, so maybe that will be the true test of this makeup! To apply, I peel the sponge from the sifter and tap the powder into the lid and use my skunk brush (I haven't got a kabuki) to apply, then stretch the sponge back over. But I do like the sponge thing, I think it will come in handy for touchups, travel and festivals. EDIT EDIT EDIT: I found a mini kabuki and tried this with that. It was baaaad...streaky and cakey, the skunk brush is so much lighter and softer, and easier to layer. Perhaps this isn't my holy grail after all. I love it, but I have discovered a local company in the UK (Barefaced Beauty) and want to try their products. When my UD mineral is finished, I will try that. But I still give it 5 stars.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Crème -Dr. Hauschka - Translucent Make-up
monsterbeans 6/3/2009 6:32:00 AM
I came to get some samples of this makeup because I was looking for liquid makeup that did not contain triethanolamine and was not tested on animals. I bought samples of 00 and 01 shade from the UK Dr. Hauschka website The actual makeup is more like a sheer-to-medium foundation than a tinted moisturiser, though it does feel very light and have a dewy glow upon the skin. I have normal skin, and so the 'dewyness' may be too much for oily skins or humid summers. The 01 shade was not suitable for me as I am quite yellow toned, and this makeup is very pink toned. If cool or pink is your skin's undertone I think this would work very well. 00 is a lot lighter than 01, and doesn't have any of the pink undertones that 01 does, but for my skin at the minute, it was perhaps too pale. It seems like it would be good for me in the winter.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Urban Decay - Sellout
monsterbeans 5/29/2009 2:59:00 PM
I bought Sellout after nearly running out of Sin in my Ammo palette, and there were no 'Sin's for cheapsies on ebay (I know, I know) but they had Sellout. What I like about Sellout is that it is a instant eye brightener, without the pink tone that Sin has, so it goes with everything. However, I think in the fact it is more a golden, neutral shimmer, it doesn't have the softness that Sin has against the skin. But its still one of my everyday-use colours
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No