Eye Shadow -MAC - Cream Colour Base color list (from MAC website)
lilinah 3/20/2012 6:29:00 PM
As of now - March 2012 - there are only FOUR Cream Color Bases: Luna - Bright white with shimmer (Frost) Pearl - Pale gold with icy shimmer (Frost) Hush - Soft peach with icy shimmer (Frost) Shell - Soft pink-beige with shimmer (Frost) As with so many MAC products, there are periodic re-promotes. So it is possible that any discontinued color may reappear in a Limited Edition.
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Hair Color -Clairol - Nice 'n Easy Perfect 10 
lilinah 3/16/2012 7:09:00 PM
I don't color my hair often, but i have used a number of different products, so i am familiar with the process. I have medium-dark brown hair, so i don't expect any extreme color change. I now have a few white hairs scattered through my hair, and a lot of white at the temples. My hair is butt length, so the ends are a bit more fragile. . Perfect 10 claims to cover grey, and that was what i mostly was looking for. The foam is easy to use and doesn't drip. I started with the grey at the temples, to get max coverage, so by the time it had been on most of my hair for 10 minutes, it had been on the grey closer to 20. . Well, it was a bust. I picked what looked like a neutral brown - i don't recall which color now, either medium ash brown or light cool brown. It made most of my hair reddish. When i want reddish hair, that's great, but in this case i did NOT. It took a couple months before it washed down to the color on the box. Second, it did jack squat about covering my greys - well, ok, they had a very faded blonde look. . This stuff was one failure after another, except for the ease of application, which just doesn't cut it if the color is bad. Never again. This as an Imperfect 0.
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Conditioner -LUSH - Retread
lilinah 3/11/2012 3:17:00 AM
Wow! This stuff is surprisingly good. OK, it's terrific! I have butt length hair that looks like much more than there is because it has, uh, so much, uh, body, yeah, that's what i'll call it. An SA at LUSH recommended Retread for my dry, fuzzy, misbehaving hair, but i was ambivalent. So i bought two different limited edition Head Case boxes - Protect & Nourish and Balance & Repair - to test various products. . The real test came last summer when i was camping for two weeks where it was very hot and humid - fortunately our encampment had installed a hot shower, so i bathed every day and washed my hair every 2 or 3 days. . I used Jumpin' Juniper Solid Shampoo to keep my scalp in good shape and Retread Conditioner. The first time i tried the conditioner in the shower, i was uncertain. I was glad that it has neither the excessively floral or exceedingly fruity smells of mass market brands. But it also didn't feel anything like any conditioner i have used in the past 4 decades. I rubbed it on my hair, and especially on the lower more damaged inches, but it lacks the slickery feel of every conditioner i've used since the 1970s. I rinsed it out and didn't feel any great difference. . But once my hair was dry, i could see and feel what a fantastic job Retread had done. It didn't weigh down my hair or leave it feeling coated with gunk, and my usually frizzy boofy hair stayed soft and smooth, sleek and shiny until the next wash. I definitely <3 LUSH Retread. .
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Shampoo -LUSH - Godiva Solid 2 in 1
lilinah 3/10/2012 8:58:00 PM
I switch between this and Ultimate Shine. I love that this is solid, so i don't have to fret about putting it in that tiny 1-qt bag if i'm flying. I love that this is solid, so when i'm travelling for performances (by car or van) it doesn't weigh much or take up much space. I love the intense jasmine scent and i love how easy it is to use. It leaves my hair clean and shiny and smelling good and well behaved. As moisturizing as Godiva is, however, my butt length dry hair needs extra help, so i use LUSH Retread. . I have no problems with Godiva becoming soggy or dissolving. There are a few tricks to using LUSH solid shampoos that are not difficult to learn. First, don't leave it in a place in the shower where the running water will melt it - i look for a drier area in the stall or tub. Second, let it dry after use, don't leave it "marinating" in any liquid that got into the container while you were bathing: I have one of those little round LUSH cans - you can use some other container or even a zip-loc baggie - and i leave the bar standing upright on its edge while i use it - and after use it doesn't take long to dry. . Heck, when i was a kid, shampoo came in glass bottles because there were no plastic bottles until the 1970s - now glass could *really* be a problem in the shower. If we could learn to deal with glass bottles in the bath, you young'uns can learn to use LUSH's naked products appropriately.
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Highlighters -E.L.F. - Shimmering Facial Whip in Lilac Petal
lilinah 3/10/2012 8:33:00 PM
Having heard good things about e.l.f., i decided to check out some of their products. Among those i picked up was a tube of Lilac Petal Shimmering Facial Whip. . There is nothing particularly lilac about this. It is a pale, warm, beige-y pink. However, they weren't kidding when they say shimmering - this stuff is very frosty. It isn't whipped in any way i can tell - it's a rather thin cream. . The tube is tiny, but whaddaya want for a dollar. Like nearly all the e.l.f. products i've tried, it smells bad, but, then, i'm not gonna put this on my mouth or otherwise near my nose (the e.l.f. lip gloss i got i will never use because the chemical perfume stench was appalling). . I always shake it up first to make sure all components are well blended. Somehow i manage to control what comes out of the tube just fine. All you need is a teeny tiny drop for each cheek to get one heckuva lotta shine. I'm between NC15 & 20, and i just put this on top of and above my cheek bone. Because it's so frosty, i put this on first, then buff on powder blush to tone it down a bit. Be sure to just use a little, otherwise you could end up looking like a mirror ball. . It's hella cheap, so if you can't afford anything better - which i can understand in this time of financial difficulty - this stuff works just fine as a highlighter. I have other highlighters i prefer, but the tiny tube fits in a small travel kit, so sometimes i take it to performances. . I won't repurchase, but it was definitely worth a dollar and the price may be just right for other people, since it certainly delivers highlighting shimmer.
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Treatments (Eye) -Clarins - Sun Wrinkle Control Eye Contour Care SPF 30
lilinah 3/8/2012 6:24:00 PM
I was pleased to find a mineral sunscreen specifically for eyes. Unfortunately this irritates my eyes. I still use it occasionally when i'm going to be somewhere very sunny, and each time my burning tearing eyes remind me why i do not use it regularly.
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Highlighters -NARS - New Order Highlighting Blush
lilinah 3/6/2012 4:07:00 PM
OK, it's true, New Order will most likely sprinkle your face with fairy dust... but it's such sweet fairy dust... . My skin is fair, neutral toned leaning to warm. I don't wear blush everyday, so i have a limited number of blushes in my makeup stash. Among them are some NARS blushes on the warm side -- Deep Throat (sorta like Orgasm without the glitter), Luster (pale apricot). But i wanted a cooler color in my arsenal. So i recently picked up both New Order and Gaiety (see review there). . The color in N.O. is quite sheer - but it is definitely pink - while it's pale, it does show up, at least on me. On me the shimmer seems to tend to gold in the almost lilac base. It is also full of fine sparkles - this isn't big glitter, but one can definitely see the shiny bits. I generally use a small fluffy angled eye shadow brush to apply my blush to my cheek bones. And doing so with N.O. i did not incur any fall out. If you use a bigger fluffier brush and cover more of your face, however, i would expect you'd see fall out in other places. . By evening, when i went to take off my make up, i could see very fine silvery sparkles in other places, which i didn't think was excessive. But if you hate glitter, New Order is definitely NOT a product for you. If you wear some glittery stuff but have some hesitations, then you probably would prefer to limit it to night time use. I'm content to wear this during the day. Applied with a light hand the shimmer is not disco-ball-ish, it's no stronger than many other highlighting blushes by other companies (like, oh, say MAC). As i said, the micro-sparkles do travel a bit, but it's like being sprinkled with fairy dust. I thought it was kinda pretty.
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Blush -NARS - Gaiety
lilinah 3/6/2012 3:56:00 PM
My skin is fair, neutral toned leaning to warm. I don't wear blush everyday, so i have a limited number of blushes in my makeup stash. I have some NARS blushes on the warm side -- Deep Throat (sorta like Orgasm without the glitter), Luster (pale apricot). But i wanted a cooler color in my arsenal. So i recently picked up both New Order (a highlighting blush, see review there) and Gaiety, a limited edition blush for Summer 2012. . Gaiety is quite a surprise. It looks rather shockingly intensely bright pink in the pan. And i don't wear my blush too heavy, so i was a bit hesitant. Using a MAC 188 small duo-fiber stippling brush, i applied Gaiety along and just under my cheek bones (i do NOT put blush on the apples of my cheeks - i already have rosacea there i don't want to accent). Wow! So sweet, so sheer, so, well, natural. Of course, like NARS other blushes, it is buildable, so if you like or need your blush more strongly colored, you can work it up. . I'm a pale face, so i don't know how it would work on someone with a darker complexion, but if you wear cool toned blushes, or you're fair to light seeking a blush that looks natural, Gaiety could be for you.
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Blush -MAC - Mineralize Skinfinish in Blonde Degradé
lilinah 3/4/2012 12:09:00 PM
I'm not much of a blush wearer, so i initially got this and Redhead in the 2012 Naturally Collection repromote (sadly they didn't include Brunette) just because they're so beautiful to look at. My skin is fair and neutral with a slight leaning to warm, so i thought Redhead, which is peachy, would be better on me. But Blonde has become my go-to blush... i think it may be my HG! . Each dome of this mineralize powder is not really gradated, but has 4 bars of rather shiny, closely related colors, ranging from light to medium. Blonde is a collection of warm-ish pinks, which i think would work fine on cool-toned skin, as well as warm. The powder can be frosty if applied heavily. I put it along my cheek bone - never the apple of my cheek - and use a light hand to get a lovely pink with a slight shimmery highlight, which looks great with my dewy-finish foundation. . This product is quite versatile. The colors can be, i think are meant to be, swirled together for a complex color. Or use more from one side or the other, or even the middle, for a customized color. Or even use the darker gradient as blush and the lighter one as highlighter. . The powder dome looks pretty big and i don't wear blush every day, so i hope this will last me until MAC decides to repromote it again - at least i sure hope they will, because this blush-highlighter is just gorgeous!
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Highlighters -BeneFit Cosmetics - Moon Beam
lilinah 3/3/2012 4:00:00 PM
Wow, i'm amazed some people say this doesn't show up because i find it intensely shimmery and iridescent if i'm not careful. . Moon Beam has a sort of apricot base full of iridescent golden shimmer. The base is fairly sheer if blended out, but the shimmer is definitely there. This is not glitter, but a powerful gleam. I have basically neutral toned skin, so i can use High Beam, which has a pink base and silver shimmer, if i want a cooler look, or Moon Beam, when i'm going for a warmer look. I recently put a little swatch of the new Sun Beam on my hand, and i want to test it, too. It has a sheer bronze-y base with gold shimmer (not iridescent) - i'm so NOT a bronzer kinda guy, but this appears to blend out into a neutral color, which i think would work well for me. . As others have commented, the "nail polish" type brush in the cap is more than a little wonky, and one reason this cannot get a 5 from me. I NEVER brush this or High Beam directly onto my cheeks, as it would absolutely lead to shimmer overkill. Rather, i use the brush to put a little bit onto the back of my hand, and then use a finger tip to apply and blend. I haven't tried this with a makeup brush yet, so i can't recommend one for certain, but this sparkling creamy liquid definitely calls for a light hand, so a stippling brush might be good. . It's probably a good thing to shake this up a bit, because i suspect some of the shimmer settles. While a bottle seems a bit expensive, you only need a little bit for a definite highlight, so it will last a long time.
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Eye Shadow -NARS - Silent Night
lilinah 2/20/2012 6:09:00 PM
This is a very striking eye shadow. The base is metallic shimmering gold with huge chunks of gold glitter. I love that double punch of gold. I accidentally bought two, because ever time i go by the NARS display carrel in sephora, it catches my eye, and i forgot i already had one - there'll be no forgetting any more:-) . You can't just brush it on like ordinary shadow, though. -- First, it definitely needs an eyelid primer, because, despite what the NARS promo copy says, in my experience the powder eye shadows don't stay put all that well on their own. I usually use UDPP Original, but UDPP in Greed just amps this shadow up for special occasions! -- Next, rather than the usual sweeping brush strokes, as with average powder shadows, you really need to load up a brush and pat it on carefully to get full coverage. Swiping will just lead to weak color and unpleasant fall-out. . These two steps help reduce stray glitter and give a gilded lid. I do get a stray glitter or two after a few hours, but that doesn't freak me out. . I usually wear Silent Night when performing (with gold glitter eye liner :-), for fancy dinners out and other special occasions. I think it works for days, too, if used only on the lid close to the lash line to brighten and enliven the eyelid. . I really LOVE this eye shadow.
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Lip Gloss -Lime Crime - Golden Ticket
lilinah 2/17/2012 6:56:00 PM
Besides the opaque, almost pastel, candy-colored lipsticks for which they are well-known, Lime Crime has expanded into lip gloss with their new Carousel Glitter Glosses. This winter 2011 Limited Edition collection includes 5 colors: Candy Apple (ruby red w/ crimson glitter), Cherry On Top (pink-red jelly w/ rainbow sparkle), Kaleidoscope (deep plum-purple w/ turquoise sparkle, see my review), and Loop-de-Loop (metallic deep sapphire blue, see my review), and Golden Ticket (bronze metallic gold w/ gold glitter - reviewed here). . Golden Ticket is as described, a bronze metallic gold with gold glitter. It's closer to antique gold since it is not a bright gold, but a slightly darkened, which i think enhances its wearability. Never fear, it has plenty of golden glitter, which is not at all gritty. It gives very good coverage and is nowhere as sticky as many other glosses i have, such as MAC. It has quite a bit of staying power, and as the color wears off some of the very very fine micro-glitter remains, so your lips become a more subdued gold. Like Lime Crime lipsticks, it, too, has a slight synthetic vanilla scent, but no flavor. . The case comes in a hexagonal cardboard tube printed in white, pale orchid, and deep metallic purple. The tube is transparent plastic with twisting spiral grooves. The long cap is metallic purple with lavender and white printing in festive curliques and fancy script saying Carousel Gloss. The top of the cap has little stars and a unicorn head embossed in relief. The white plastic wand has a brush applicator which works fine, as far as i'm concerned. . This is a rare and uncommon lip color - it's not unique in the REAL meaning of unique, which is one-of-a-kind. But most of the other gold lip glosses i've tried are quite sheer with larger gold glitter, whereas this gives very full coverage. It works well on its own: since it is darkened, it doesn't look too strange; and it is great to wear over other lipsticks or under sheer glosses to give them a golden glow. . If unusual and unexpected colors are your thing, then, as the Lime Crime website says, "...hurry: this collection melts away with winter's last snow..."
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Pressed Powders -MAC - Mineralize Skinfinish Natural - Light Plus
lilinah 2/14/2012 3:48:00 PM
I have rosacea and somewhat dry skin. I've been searching for a good pressed powder that will give me some coverage, set my foundation, and give me an overall better look when i'm not wearing foundation, while not looking cakey or powdery or settling into facial lines. . I am very happy with this powder. It looks relatively natural and doesn't make me look like a mummy, as some powders, even so-called translucent ones, have. Light Plus is a good match for my skin tone, which is between NC 15 and NC 20, and is neutral leaning slightly to golden. When i'm just wearing moisturizer, i brush this over the apples of my cheeks, my chin, and the sides of my jaw to tone down shine and redness, using a fluffy Kashuk Tools brush (the ones with the black contoured handles) - i think i'm actually using her blush brush (but, then, i use a fluffy angled eye shadow brush to apply blush on my cheek bones). . Will i never try another face powder? Sure, i will. But for now i'm very happy with both the feel of this powder, its finish, and its color.
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Primer/ Corrector -Make Up For Ever - Corrective Make Up Base SPF 18 in 2 Mauve
lilinah 2/14/2012 2:41:00 PM
I bought this now discontinued product back in the 1990s. The short cylindrical bottle had a paddle attached to the lid for getting product out. I didn't like it. . But i did love the product. It had lanolin in it which was very kind to my skin. I sometimes applied this to my face without any foundation on top. My skin is fair and neutral tending to golden with rather pink cheeks (now 15 years later, my cheeks are quite red). This product felt great and evened my skin tone nicely, enhancing my paleness. . While i use the replacement product, HD Microperfecting Primer, it just doesn't feel as nice to me as this old one.
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Eyeliner -Urban Decay - Heavy Metal Glitter Liner in Distortion
lilinah 2/14/2012 2:11:00 PM
This is lovely stuff. The base is clear and it is filled with relatively fine iridescent opalescent glitter. The glitter itself is almost clear, but the light reflective quality is amazing, and it sparkles in a rainbow of pastel and mid-range colors. . Because it is almost colorless - other than those bright iridescent sparkles - and depending on the shape of your eyes and eyelids, it can actually be almost subtle on its own, some may think too subtle. But i like it on its own, to add a glint to my eyes. . It is also nice as a second line: line with your usual darkish liner, then use this to make a second line just above it. As other have said, you can also layer this over your regular liner. . There is little to no fallout from the glitter. It does take a little effort to get off, although in my experience far less than taking off waterproof liner or mascara. I would recommend soaking a cotton pad in eye makeup remover, the putting it gently but firmly against your lid and leaving it for a few seconds so the remover can penetrate. Then wiping it off will be easier. . This is just happy making stuff!
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