Mascara -Kiss Me - HEROINE MAKE volume and curl mascara (black)
Zedar 6/13/2008 2:27:00 AM
This mascara is wet - not as waxy or thick as my faves. It has some great properties:
- No flakes or budging (I wear this on gym days)
- Useful curved brush with short bristles on one side and long on the other. The thin liquid quality of this mascara works like both a mascara and a "liner" to fill in between my lashes when applied to the base of my lashes with the short bristles .
-Curls lashes
Unfortunately, this mascara does not offer the lush volume compared to my favorite mascaras (Voluminous and Diorshow). It makes my lashes HARD and I can't wash it off (I use Lavantine cleansing oil and cleanser). I always have raccoon eyes after I wash it off (and have to wash it off again and again). Despte the fact that it makes my lashes hard like paper mache, it does not bind stray lashes to the rest of the lashes.
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Conditioner -Aubrey Organics - GPB Conditioner
Zedar 6/8/2008 3:28:00 PM
This is the best conditioner without petrochemicals that I have found so far. Plus, I love the soft coconut protein shake fragrance better than Aubrey's other conditioner fragrances. (It smells a bit better than the matching shampoo.)
GPB Conditioner has a unique, thick consistency, maybe since it doesn't have the petrochemicals that other brands have (including other "natural" brands like Nature's Gate). I have to use a lot to fully condition my long hair, but I really enjoy the aromatheraputic experience.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Conditioner -Aubrey Organics - Island Spice Replenishing Conditioner
Zedar 6/8/2008 3:15:00 PM
I was initially quite disappointed by this product. It didn't seem to condition my hair enough or make my hair shine and was hard to wash out. The allspice fragrance is too simplistic. I much prefer the warm, spicy fragrance of Nature's Gate Herbal Conditioner to this. In fact, I prefer the Nature's Gate Herbal Conditioner to this in most respects, except that I think Aubrey's has fewer chemicals.
After my initial dissapontment, my appreciation for this Island Spice product grew when I delighted in a sample Aubrey's GPB conditioner, which has a lovely coconut like fragrance, IMO. I noticed the consistency of the GPB conditioner is similar to the Island Spice conditioner, and, since I had to use the full GPB sample bottle on my long hair to get it fully conditioned, I tried using much more of the Island Spice conditioner and experienced better results. Good enough to finish the bottle, but I will be repurchasing GPB instead.
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Hair -Aubrey Organics - Primrose Tangle-Go Hair Conditioner, Lusterizer, & Styling Spray
Zedar 6/8/2008 2:53:00 PM
I have blonde, thin, long hair with a frizzy flyaway problem. As a leave-in/detangler, I think this works better than some other products I have tried and I love the 2-oz. try-me size. Unfortunately, I do not like much else about this product. I cannot stand the smell of this product and neither can my husband. I have been using the White Camellia Jasmine spray instead, which smells addictive and is less waxy. I will buy the jasmine spray again, but not the primrose spray.
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Gels/Soaps -Aubrey Organics - Sea Buckthorn Skin Care Bar with Sandalwood
Zedar 6/8/2008 2:47:00 PM
This orange yellow bar soap is nice. I bought it to help fight acne/KP/demodex on my back and arms. I use it in conjunction with anti-mite lotions and creams, so I don't know how much the bar soap alone contributed to the major improvement to my skin (back breakouts healing and almost no KP left), but I really like it for my whole body and my husband likes the sandalwood fragrance.
Blue Sage Naturals soap may have better/more Sea Buckthorn, but it is more expensive and doesn't smell nearly as nice as Aubrey's.
The soap does leave a film, but overall it is a great value compared to body washes, especially sea buckthorn body washes and soaps. When this bar was sold out, I ordered Blue Sage Naturals' ultra moisturizing bar instead, and it was $30 (compared to about $5 for the Aubrey bar).
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Hair -Aubrey Organics - White Cameliia & Jasmine Shine Conditioner Spray
Zedar 6/8/2008 12:22:00 AM
This is kind of addictive. I have been using this White Camellia Jasmine spray as an aromatheraputic detangler/conditioning spray to condition the lengths of my long hair.
I am using it instead of Aubrey's primrose detangler, of which I can't stand the smell. For purposes of comparison, the jasmine spray isn't as waxy or sticky as the primrose spray, but both are free of petrochemicals.
The Aubrey web site has a good selection of "try me"-size products in general. I bought the 2-oz. size which fits on my shelf and is good to go! Perfect size.
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Bath Treatments -LUSH - Geo Phyzz bath bomb
Zedar 6/8/2008 12:09:00 AM
I love "green" baths!!! This bomb has a lot of coarse salt and left a brown ring in my tub but I still love it. Salty blue green water and very refreshing. Will definitely repurchase.
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Gels/Soaps -LUSH - Almond Buttercream
Zedar 6/7/2008 11:59:00 PM
I received a one-use size sample and am surprised by all of the negative reviews here. I really liked this product, especially compared to ultra-moisturizing mainstream body washes like Olay Ribbons bodywash, and Caress Moroccan... for example.
The Lush product is desserty, not too oily or sweet and has ground almond shells in it for somewhat effective exfoliation. I found it to condition my skin with a nice balance of aloe and citrus oil (+ cinnamon). Will most likely repurchase next time I make a Lush haul.
Watch out in the shower because it is slippery!
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Treatments -Epicuren Discovery - Placenta Serum
Zedar 5/26/2008 6:08:00 PM
No serum I have used has obviously improved my skin and this was no exception. (I have used La Mer and Olay and many in between). This watery serum is expensive and I could tell no difference in my skin after using a bottle. The pump dispenses too much. By the way, the Placenta Serum does not contain placenta or any animal products and is soy based. (Why Epicuren calls this "Placenta Serum," I do not know.)
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Conditioner -Avalon Organics Botanicals - Tea Tree Mint Treatment Conditioner
Zedar 5/26/2008 5:57:00 PM
Unfortunately, this left my long, thin hair in snarls!
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Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Zhongzhou - Zinc Oxide and Sublimed Sulfur Ointment (ZZ Cream)
Zedar 5/26/2008 4:38:00 PM
This product seemed to greatly improve my blemished skin, but not cure it. I stopped using it and started using more sulfur and AHA products together with BP and blue light treatments to treat my adult acne and what may or may not be a demodex problem.
Since there aren't any other reviews of this product, I am giving a long review with as much info as possible:
When I first read of "ZZ cream" on an acne message board, I thought it was spam/a scam. However, I know the doctor to whom the post referred, so I realized that it was most likely simply a user post, not spam. This caused me to look into the ZZ cream and the premise behind it, which is hard to believe:
Some doctors in Asia report ordinary disgusting skin mites ("Demodex") - the same parasites that western doctors aknowledge exist in the skin - can overpopulate the skin and cause most cases of acne and many cases of rosacea, including "brandy nose." When I told my husband and aesthetician about this, they both thought I was crazy, but I bought the ZZ cream and Xin Fumanling cream (with 3% metronidazole) from Demodex Solutions in Hong Kong anyway. I was disappointed that my aesthetician did not have a microscope to test for the mites, which Demodex Solutions describes how to do on its web site.
Also, I was a little worried about buying a product that was not FDA approved, but I feel the same way about buying cosmetic products in the USA, which I do all the time. The ZZ cream seems to contain natural ingredients and the Xin Fumanling cream might have the same active ingredient as metrogel in the USA, IIRC.
I used one cute plastic green and white jar of menthol-laden ZZ cream and 1/2 a jar of the Xin Fumanling cream and went back and bought six more ZZ creams because the change in my skin is amazing - even my skeptical aesthetician admits. I don't think I am done killing off all of the mite colonies on my face, but my millia and deep cysts are greatly reduced!
Here's the rub: Many people report their worst breakouts ever during the first month(s) of treatment. The ZZ cream seems too harsh for many people, causing severely flaking skin in the beginning. (The Xin Fumanling cream seems milder to me, though it is less natural.) Due to this and the horrible breakouts, many people discontinue treatment.
I have experienced extreme flaking skin before (a symptom of demodex), so when the ZZ cream caused my skin to peel and flake, I sloughed it off with potent glycolics and abrasive scrubs and used probiotic facial cream in the day time. My skin is pretty tough after fighting acne for so long, so I can see how this would be too harsh for many people. At any rate, I seem to be one of the lucky few ZZ cream users whose skin became clearer immediately without unusually bad breakouts. This may be attributable to the blue light treatment that I received from my aesthetician on the day that I began the ZZ cream treatment. (However, blue light treatments were not previously effective for me.)
I suggest researching the Demodex mite (causes mange in dogs) if you have problems with acne. I would rather find information from an unbiased third party, but the demodex solutions web site itself is one of the most informative and there is a message board with positive and negative user posts, so it is worth checking out.
Overall, this product has been quite effective in fighting my facial acne, but I have had better luck treating my body acne with other products (Nature's Cure Body Acne Treatment Spray, Desert Essence Cleansing Bar Tea Tree Therapy and a Salux Nylon Japanese Bath Wash Cloth).
10 out of 10 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Skincare - Face -Epicuren Discovery - Epicuren Probiotic Emulsion
Zedar 4/20/2008 5:31:00 PM
I used to use yogurt as a mask on my face to prevent the recurrance of uncontrollable peeling, flaking and scaling that I suffered for years after using retin-A (which only went away after I took the candida treatment Diflucan, therefore I believe such peeling skin was caused by some kind of yeast infection on my skin, although that may or may not be the case).
More recently, my aesthetician suggested this probiotic emulsion as part of my skin care regimine for acne, although I am more excited about this product as a convenient and moisturizing alternative to the above-mentioned yogurt masks, although it is definitely more expensive.
I don't know how effective this probiotic emulsoin is in preventing acne. Although my acne has improved somewhat, it has improved in conjunction with using several treatments including this one. Still, this seems like a good moisturizer for people with acne prone or oily skin, or people who are struggling with scaling, flaking skin, like I used to.
In the AM, I mix a dime size amount with an equal amount of aloe vera gel as a moisturizer after my other treatment products and before sunscreen. Whether you add more aloe or not, this moisturizer is pretty light, and it smells like pina colada yogurt. It has mostly natural ingredients including Aloe, Safflower Oil and Jojoba, but it does contain some parabens.
Other people may not like: the smell (although it doesn't bother me) and that may not be moisturizing enough. I use a more moisturizing cream at night.
By the way, my aesthetician also has me taking probiotics orally.
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Skincare - Body -LUSH - Each Peach Massage Bar
Zedar 4/4/2008 11:20:00 PM
This is a beautiful lemondrop butterlike bar. I thought the citrus smell was spendid, bright and seasonal for spring and summer. However, my husband didn't initially want to touch it (he said it is "like a greasy lemongrass chiffon overload"). However, upon his further review, he now wants to make lemon pancakes out of it. I hope he doesn't get sick! I have to admit it reminds me a little bit of lemon dishwashing detergent.
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Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Bye-Bye Blemish - Drying Lotion
Zedar 3/30/2008 8:29:00 PM
I was suprised at how effective this is as a spot treatment for my cystic acne. It is my treatment of choice. I wish the bottle was 1/3 inch shorter and I hate wasting a Q-tip to apply it, but my biggest regret is not trying it sooner!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -LUSH - American Cream Perfume
Zedar 3/30/2008 7:43:00 PM
I really cannot stand the smell of this. It smells like Skinny Dip, which I stopped using due to the smell. I bought most of the other fragrances, which I like much better.
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