Crème -Stephane Marais - cream foundation [DISCONTINUED]
bastet 7/23/2004 5:54:00 PM
I am a MAC NC15, Stila "a", Armani #2, porcelain/lightest shade in most foundations and wear this in O0, which is the lightest of the yellow based foundations. I am neutral to slightly coolish and can usually wear anything that's not overly pink or yellow. I also own a sample of P0 (lightest pinkish), which seems a little lighter than O0 to me and will probably be more suitable in winter (and for all MUAers that are even ghostlier than me). The O0 shade is almost identical to my Armani MSF in #2, I find that the SM foundations appear to be a bit colour adaptive, since they just blend into my skin-tone. As for consistency, coverage and appearance this foundation comes very close to Armani's MSF. It provides medium coverage and it has the typical silicone-based slip. I did a side-by-side test on my face and Armani looks slightly matter than SM, which gives you the finish of natural skin. During the day the SM foundation held up a bit better and I had to blot the MSF sooner than the SM. I have sensitive combo skin, so my T-zone tends to get shiny during the day. I've experienced no breakouts with this product. The only drawback- this foundation doesn't really look good on flakies and makes them a little more obvious than the MSF does. When I used the SM premakeup cream, this foundation and the SM pressed powder on top my skin looked picture-perfect! I'll write separate reviews for all these products, I'm not yet sure whether the primer is really necessary for the porcelain effect. I have also tried the Kanebo cream foundation, but there are two drawbacks in comparison to SM- Kanebo doesn't offer a shade that's light enough for me and it also settled into my pores in a strange way. My current favourite foundations are SM, Armani MSF and Chantecaille Future Skin (I wear alabaster).
The cream foundation comes in a heavy glass pot with a plastic screw top. It shows some random photos like all of the SM products do. You may have to get used to the packaging of SM products, it doesn't look classy, but I think that's the whole point! It's fresh and new and unlike anything else on the market which makes it stand out. This foundation retails for Euro 34 in Germany.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Pressed Powders -Stephane Marais - Pressed Powder
bastet 7/23/2004 5:33:00 PM
I am a MAC NC15, Stila "a", Armani #2 and porcelain/lightest in most other foundation shades. I have this powder in the shade #0, a very light shade that should suit all pale/fair complexions since it's translucent. I was told that #1 is bronzier and only suits medium to darker skin-tones. This comes in the typical SM plastic compact with random pictures on top, quite unlike any other brands around. The compact houses two consistencies of powder- matte and shimmery. It reminds me a lot of Stila's Illuminating Pressed Powder, but the glowy side is slightly more shimmery. Also the SM powder feels more finely milled than the Stila one. The powder is a bit lighter than the Stila IPP in light and contains 1g less (SM: 6g, Stila 7g). I have sensitive combo skin and have experienced no breakouts with this product. I usually apply this by swirling my brush over both sides and the effect is glowy, non-glittery and thus suitable for every day. I find it somehow *lights up* my face, this powder also never looks chalky! I don't think it is suitable for oil-control, my skin acts like it would without powder when I wear this. I tend to get a bit shiny in my T-zone, but not overly oily. When using the SM primer plus SM cream foundation plus this powder my skin looks picture-perfect. I will write separate reviews for all these products, I am not yet sure that the primer is really necessary to get that porcelain effect. I had to deduct one lipstick because the price is a little steep: Euro 32 in Germany. In Europe we are used to high cosmetic prices and for an exclusive designer brand the price tag isn't even that bad compared to other hard-to-get-brands here. I guess in the States with a wider selection of brands and better prices this might not be your first choice though. Overall I am extremely pleased with this product, although I find it harder to rave for a powder than for a pretty l/s or e/s.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -Laura Mercier - Black Violet kohl pencil
bastet 7/5/2004 5:21:00 AM
This is *the* best eye kohl out there! The consistency is creamy soft, it's easy to draw an even line and smudge if you want to do a smokey look. The LM kohls stay on all day without smudging and the shades are quite unique.
Black Violet is an extremely dark violet that's almost black, but not as harsh. I use this together with my Shu e/s in M Purple #790 for my favourite smokey eye look.
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Eyeliner -Laura Mercier - Purple Sapphire Eye Kohl Pencil
bastet 7/5/2004 5:12:00 AM
This is *the* best eye kohl out there! The consistency is creamy soft, it's easy to draw an even line and smudge if you want to do a smokey look. The LM kohls stay on all day without smudging and the shades are quite unique.
Purple sapphire is the most beautiful vibrant blue based purple with a hint of pinkish iridescence. I can't wear red based purples as e/l shades, they make me look tired, but this is perfect. It is similar to the MAC e/s in parfait amour in the pan, but with less pink iridescence and more blue than MAC violet pigment. Go get this, you will love it!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -Stephane Marais - Intense Eye Kohl
bastet 6/20/2004 5:49:00 PM
The khol intense is not a pencil eye liner, but a gel eyeliner in a small pot. I own this in shade #2, which is a beautiful emerald green (not blackened!). This reminds me a lot of Trish McEvoy's eye definer in lucky clover. It's nowhere as dark as MAC tarnish kohl or Stila's emerald pot, but a brighter shade of medium/dark green. Other shades available are brown, black, navy and violet. The brown looks similar to the Stila version and the violet is unlike any of the other lines, it's much more blue based and not blackened like the BB. Qualitywise this is right up there with BB gel eye liners and Stila smudgepots, but probably the easiest of all of them to apply. It lasts all day long without smudging or budging. This can not be smudged like the Stila pots though, it's only for eye lining. The consistency is somewhere between Stila and BB.
This comes in a little pot with a mirror on the bottom, as with all SM products the packaging is colourful and slightly psychedelic. Along with the liner you get an applicator that even works! I prefer to use my Paula Dorf angle liner brush though. The khol intense retails for Euro 33 in Germany, which I think is the same price as in France.
UPDATE: I also own the violet shade (#4) now. This is such a pretty blue-based purple! It's very similar to the LM pencil kohl in purple sapphire, to Shu ME purple #780 and more blueish than MAC pigment in violet. I find this shade a bit harder to apply than the green eye liner (I've heard the same holds true for some of the Stila smudgepots). Once you've applied it though it stays there all day long without budging! I think the green and the violet are the standout shades of this product, since you can't find similar ones with other brands.
SECOND UPDATE: The best brush to use with these is Trish McEvoy #50 angle liner brush!
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Primer/ Corrector -Becca - Mattifying Primer
bastet 6/12/2004 5:50:00 PM
I have combo skin, so I am not excessively oily, still I found that this product didn't do anything for me.
First off, this is heavily scented. All of the Becca products have this signature scent, but with the primer it actually really bothered me. I wore the primer underneath my Armani MSF. At first I had the feeling that it smoothed my skin a bit and that pores looked slightly less obvious, but after some hours this looked really horrid. I was more oily than I usually get and my foundation somehow "sat" on my skin, looked masky and I wanted to scratch it off with my fingernails, because it looked so caked-on. I tried the primer again underneath my beloved Px Unmakeup, but with the same result. Several tries and varying amounts of primer didn't change anything about the outcome. I have to mention that both foundations usually look *very* natural on me and wear beautifully until the end of the day.
I also think that this primer borke me out in little pimples on my forehead and cheeks. It *could* be stress related, but after the poor performance of this product I didn't feel the urge to figure it out. Usually I don't break out on my cheeks though.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Masks -Eve Lom - Rescue Mask
bastet 5/28/2004 7:14:00 AM
I've used up the whole pot now and I must say I am not really impressed. To me it seems to be a mediocre product, much like all the other (cheaper) cleansing masks out there. My skin did look smoother after using it, but I didn't really feel it deep-cleansed much, also it didn't help with zits at all. Unfortunately it also dried out my (sensitive) skin.
The packaging is not very practical IMO. By the end the product dried out completely since it comes in a srew-top jar and not a tube that restricts air-contact. Not only is this less hygienic, it also makes application more and more inconvenient when you come close to finishing it up. At the end it just stuck to my fingers!
I must say I much prefer my Shiseido The Skincare Purifying Mask where I see real improvements after each use.
Eve Lom products are also available from her website at the UK-price, you needn't pay anything for shipping costs! I definitely won't repurchase this product!
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Styling Products -Aveda - Control Paste
bastet 5/15/2004 4:48:00 PM
I have short choppy hair and this is the perfect product to style it. It provides the separated look and *very* strong hold that I want to go for. Your hair stays soft and you can restyle or "mold" it as you desire. It doesn't look greasy, doesn't make your hair stiff and and also doesn't leave any ugly residude behind like some hair clays do.
The product comes in typical Aveda packaging- a functional plastic pot with screw top. If you don't like the smell of Aveda products then sniff this before you buy. It's not overwhelming, I actually like the scent (a rare thing for me), but of course people's taste differs!
I will certainly repurchase this again and again. I haven't found anything in the hair wax department that works better than this product.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Giorgio Armani - Sheer Lipstick #21
bastet 4/19/2004 11:33:00 AM
#21 was released as part of the 2004 spring collection and is a beautiful wine berry shade with the most subtle micronized blue-green (no kidding) shimmer. The effect is a berry shade with a silvery moist sheen on your lips. If you know Kevyn Aucoin- he suggested using blue/silver on top of red lipstick to tone it down and I have to say that trick gives many lippies an interesting edge and dimension! I compared this to the Sheer lippies #20 and #9 in the store and I find that #21 has a lot more red tones and is less pink than #9 and #20 seems to be a cross of both #21 and #9. The lippie goes on sheer and very moist-looking and can be layered for more intense colour. Like all Armani lipsticks it is taste- and scent-free, a big plus in my book! Unfortunately like all sheer lippies this doesn't last too long on your lips. The packaging is typically Armani- a matte sleek black plastic tube, very functional and stylish. Of course this lippie has also the Armani price-tag, but I find you get such great quality that it's definitely worth forking out the money!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Giorgio Armani - Sheer Lipstick #5
bastet 4/19/2004 11:28:00 AM
This is one of the colours I would simply overlook at the counter when browsing. Luckily, the shade was pointed out to me by a friendly MA at SAKS, who said it would look perfect on me and suggested combining it with lip shimmer #2. I am happy I listened to him, because both are my current favourites. #5 is a matte terracotta red shade- a shimmer-free lipstick version of the lip shimmer #2 if you're familiar with that one. It's a YLBB but not nude shade. It goes on sheer and very moist-looking and can be layered for more intense colour. Like all Armani lipsticks it is taste- and scent-free, a big plus in my book! Unfortunately like all sheer lippies this doesn't last too long on your lips. The packaging is typically Armani- a matte sleek black plastic tube, very functional and stylish. Of course this lippie has also the Armani price-tag, but I find you get such great quality that it's definitely worth forking out the money!
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Lip Gloss -Giorgio Armani - All Shine lip glosses
bastet 4/19/2004 6:38:00 AM
All of the shine lip glosses are pretty, complex shades with non-gritty micro-shimmer. I own #5 (a beautiful red shade with an orange/tomato tinge and metallic red shimmer) and #3 (a nude peachy rose shade with metallic shimmer that gives it a bronze touch). Like all Armani lip products they are taste- and scent-free, a big plus in my book! These lipglosses are not too pigmented, but you can intensify them by layering or applying them on top of liner or lipstick. That way you can vary from a subtle gloss look to stunning red 3D lips. The shine glosses are non-sticky and I think not much different from the formulation of their lip shimmers. The packaging of these glosses is different though: you get a clear plastic squeeze tube with a black cap, very much like Lancome Juicy tubes. The Armani price-tag is expectedly steep, but bear in mind that you get 2.5x the amount with these than with the lip shimmers! (6ml in lip shimmers, 15 ml in shine glosses). This means they even contain more than MAC lipglasses!!! Armani glosses are my absolute favourites!
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Lip Gloss -Giorgio Armani - Shine Lip Gloss #3
bastet 4/19/2004 6:35:00 AM
This is a beautiful nude peachy rose shade with metallic micro-shimmer (non-gritty) that gives it a bit of a bronze touch. These lipglosses are not too pigmented, but you can intensify them by layering or applying them on top of liner or lipstick. That way you can vary from a subtle gloss look to stunning red 3D lips. The shine glosses are non-sticky and I think not much different from the formulation of their lip shimmers. The packaging of these glosses is different though: you get a clear plastic squeeze tube with a black cap, very much like Lancome Juicy tubes. The Armani price-tag is expectedly steep, but bear in mind that you get 2.5x the amount with these than with the lip shimmers! (6ml in lip shimmers, 15 ml in shine glosses). This means they even contain more than MAC lipglasses!!! Armani glosses are my absolute favourites!
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Lip Gloss -Giorgio Armani - Shine Lipgloss #5
bastet 4/19/2004 6:30:00 AM
This is a beautiful complex red shade with an orange/tomato tinge and metallic red micro-shimmer (non-gritty). Like all Armani lip products it is taste- and scent-free, a big plus in my book! These lipglosses are not too pigmented, but you can intensify them by layering or applying them on top of liner or lipstick. That way you can vary from a subtle gloss look to stunning red 3D lips. The shine glosses are non-sticky and I think not much different from the formulation of their lip shimmers. The packaging of these glosses is different though: you get a clear plastic squeeze tube with a black cap, very much like Lancome Juicy tubes. The Armani price-tag is expectedly steep, but bear in mind that you get 2.5x the amount with these than with the lip shimmers! (6ml in lip shimmers, 15 ml in shine glosses). This means they even contain more than MAC lipglasses!!! Armani glosses are my absolute favourites!
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Lip Gloss -Giorgio Armani - Lip Shimmer #6
bastet 4/19/2004 5:41:00 AM
This shade is a beautiful vibrant cranberry with metallic red micro-shimmer (nothing gritty). Armani glosses are absolutely wonderful! Like all Armani lip products it is taste- and scent-free, a big plus in my book! They are non-sticky, all the shades are rather complex, they are not too pigmented, but they look stunning if you layer them or apply them over lipstick or lipliner. That way you can vary from a very subtle to a strong, stunning look. The packaging is very convenient: a slim see-through hard plastic tube with a black cap that contains a little brush. The only drawback is the Armani price-tag, but I find these glosses so unique that I am willing to pay it. Armani's are my favourite lip glosses by far!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Giorgio Armani - Lip Shimmer #2
bastet 4/19/2004 5:38:00 AM
This shade is an orange brick-red/ terracotta with gold micro-shimmer (nothing gritty). Armani glosses are absolutely wonderful! Like all Armani lip products it is taste- and scent-free, a big plus in my book! They are non-sticky, all the shades are rather complex, they are not too pigmented, but they look stunning if you layer them or apply them over lipstick or lipliner. That way you can vary from a very subtle to a strong, stunning look. The packaging is very convenient: a slim see-through hard plastic tube with a black cap that contains a little brush. The only drawback is the Armani price-tag, but I find these glosses so unique that I am willing to pay it. Armani's are my favourite lip glosses by far!
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