Moisturizers -Dr. Hauschka - Rose Day Cream
luluhalabaloo 2/14/2011 2:12:00 PM
Love roses, and I like the tube. The price isn't overly expensive either. BUT, it did nothing for me. I actually managed to get a tube for $20 on sale at SDM so I will keep that tube for general moisturizing, but I had bought a second one at a different SDM with points earlier in the day (the prices, there is no consistency between each store) for full price but it included a sample rejuvinating mask. I will return the full price one. I really don't like it. I don't love the smell, I don't love the oil that sits on top and it is completely not moisturizing. As a protectant layer, yes, maybe, but I used it today with a moisturing serum underneath and again, nothing, just oil and no moisturization. Dare I say I am feeling a bit dried out to boot? Too bad, wanted to love this cream. I also bought the Lite version but I think I am going to go back to paraben laced moisturizers like Shiseido which actually do work. Boo hoo. EDIT: Wow I cannot believe I wrote that! I use it everyday! BEST thing for my red painful mild rosacea cheeks! I put it on my cheeks only during the summer, all over during the winter, and I got rid of the rotten feeling in my right cheek! I stopped using it for a coupe of weeks because it is so hot here right now, and my cheek hurts again. This is a keeper. I adjusted my star rating! UPDATE: Adjusted down to a 2. I have been pretty faithful to the product, and my face just started to look worse and worse. Pores were getting larger, I was getting redder and hotter and my skin was burning more and more. I would get these horrible pimples that took ages to disappear, actually they never did. Stopped using it finally, went back to my Clarins Longer younger balm, and voila, everything went away. My skin looks better, no more burning, normal red cheeks but not the craziness I was having, and no more oily mess. I used to sweat with this stuff on! That's gone too. I guess for me, it was just too oily, too rich. But that is not to say it would not work for others! OK update: I burnt myself with toothpaste. Yes toothpaste. And Sensodyne, no less! I had a pimple while traveling on my chin. I needed something to pull out the whitehead stuff, and a touch of toothpaste can work in a pinch since I had nothing, absolutely nothing else. I put a little on, I mean I barely touched my skin and it burned! And FAST! I had a teardrop, large teardrop shape burnt on my skin, right before an interview. I didn't know what else to use, so I put some of this cream on to keep it moisturized. That night, I used Polysporin, but that burnt. I put this on again, and have been putting it on all day for two days. Most of the dried yellow skin has peeled off, leaving just red smooth skin that I can at least cover up. I am pretty angry at Sensodyne, but yeah to this cream. Seriously, you have to apply it often to get it to moisturize, and I am still trying to remoisturize my cheeks, but this is the easiest season change I ever had with my skin. Thank you, Dr H!
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Eyeliner -Chanel - GRIS SCINTILLANT
luluhalabaloo 1/29/2011 11:09:00 PM
This is a very nice, darker gray/silver with a shimmer. It is a warmer gray, not a blue-gray, and goes lovely with a burgundy eye, or even a tauper gray. I wear it alone or with shadows, in fact, it is finally the eyeliner I was looking for to go with some Dior palettes that I could never match up nicely. Run it on the inner lower lid and it is beautiful. I am surprised no one has remarked on this yet because it is lovely, but then, I wasn't going to try it at all thinking I don't need another blah eyeliner. This is far from blah and it goes really well for a gray with my warm hazel eyes. Works for a cool or warm face, but frankly, I think this is the first gray that works really well for warm tones. I would love to see it on a cool face!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Chanel - Black Pearl
luluhalabaloo 1/27/2011 8:53:00 PM
I was not going to buy this. No way. But then I tested it. Darn it, it was lovely. Beautiful Tahiti pearl effect. Feels night summer to me, classy, shiny, hides ridges and smooths the nail nicely. Dried fast and lasted quite a while! Yes, I like it and because it is so easy to apply and it looks so nice, it's the polish I can take anywhere like Kalidescope because I don't need a basecoat of a top coat for it to look nice.
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Polishes -Chanel - Pearl Drop
luluhalabaloo 1/27/2011 8:50:00 PM
Very pretty, pearl with a touch of gold to warm it up. It looks nice against my skin colour and doesn't make my fingers look red. Covers very well in two coats (I use a base coat as well) and lasted OK, if not as well as the darker colours. It's my light one for the summer and I am not going to buy another one. I'm not, I'm not, I'm not!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Avene - Rich compensating cream
luluhalabaloo 12/28/2010 2:59:00 PM
Dead of winter, skin dry, trying anything. I had a sample and gave it a whirl. This is strictly a moisturizer. It goes on nicely, no real scent apparent to me, sinks in quickly. The makeup goes on quite nicely, no stickiness that bothers the makeup but enough tackiness to keep powder on only, which I like. It stays matte, maybe glowing, but not oily. Outside of moisturizing, it doesn't do anything for true lines outside of dehydration issues, so if you need something that has more of a lift or wrinkle filler, this isn't it obviously. That said, easy on the skin and is non-irritating, not the best ever not the worst, but better than most, I would give it a 7 out of 10. The price is ok, usually can find it 20% off.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Lippmann Collection - Bad Romance
luluhalabaloo 12/21/2010 11:17:00 AM
Thin base colour, I use this over Chanel Vendetta as the purple in both work very well together. Very easy to apply, I use only one coat over 2 coats of vendetta. The glitter isn't glittery, just like bright purple spots over dark purple polish. Do I love it? it's ok, wouldn't buy again, wouldn't wear it alone, it's interesting for a change, it's fun for a party yes, but it's not going to be a staple at all. I am a bit disappointed as I thought it would be glitter, not spots, but it's ok as I said for fun. Dries fast.
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Scrubs -Dermalogica - Daily Microfoliant
luluhalabaloo 12/11/2010 11:16:00 AM
This is a dry product. You put a little in the palm of your hand, mix with warm water to create a paste and rub on your face (or anywhere else!). It has no scent. It melts fairly quickly so be sure to apply it quickly. It washes off easily and leaves my skin very soft and glowing. It is not a cleanser. It is made for every day or every other day and is quite gentle. It does not irritate my very sensitive skin or eyes (don't use on the eyes, but when I rinse it doesn't irritate). There is a heck of a lot of product for the money and will last ages - I may spend less than half on EL's scrub, but I go through that so much quicker and it contains other sulfactants I don't want, I just want the scrub separately. I love this product but you need to use it correctly to see results.
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Fragrances -Estee Lauder - Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia
luluhalabaloo 11/7/2010 10:30:00 AM
Tested this yesterday. Sprayed a good four sprays and send the rest of the day shopping and cleaning. It was there until I took a bath, and I want to say, I was sorry it washed off in the bath. I could wear this everyday. It starts to true, so flower, so tuberose and so gardenia. It stays that way. Then, when it settles later, a hint of clean is there, a clean, fresh scent, and I smell better than I do coming right out of the shower. There is still a hint of flower too. My skin smells delightful and it smells like it is my body chemistry, not something lying on top. This reminds me of spring, the boys don't love it (they love anything vanilla - so sick of vanilla) but this reminds me of a beautiful, really clean and organized garden, no weeds, relaxing and a pleasure. By the way, it tends to curb my appetite, I don't want to eat while I smell this, not because I am nauseated, but the thought of food smells clashing with this feminine, lovely scent, nope, I plan to buy it as my diet! haha
10 out of 10 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Chanel - Rouge Allure Laque Dragon no 75 [DISCONTINUED]
luluhalabaloo 11/7/2010 10:20:00 AM
I have an event I wearing black and white to, so I decided on red fingernails and lips. Of course, I picked up I think what may be my first true red nailpolish, Chanel Dragon, and even with all my red lipsticks, the other day while returning my second bottle of Paradoxical (which I don't love), I exchanged for this gorgeous lip lacquer. It stays on the lips, it does not wander, I would use a lipliner, maybe an invisible one or a red one, but generally it stays put. A little drying on me, but nothing serious. I love the colour, fantastic red, true blue-red (not orange based at all). Makes teeth nice and white and has an edge to me. Not easy to wear I would think unless you are all black and white including the face (smokey black/cool gray/cool white or silver) black eyeliner, lots of black eyeliner, fake lashes (yes!) and cheeks, as pale as they come with a touch of maybe a red blush just under the cheek bone....a touch. Hair sleeked back, power look! Love, will try more colours now that I am hooked!
4 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Yves Saint Laurent - ROUGE PUR COUTURE
luluhalabaloo 11/7/2010 10:13:00 AM
This is only a review for NO 12, white. I was hoping for white, but it was just a really old looking frosty. The lasting effect is good, the feel is great and it is very moisturizing, so I love the formula but I had to remove lippies because the white is awful. I was really hoping for an opaque, creamy white. The SA said that it was really supposed to go under the other lipsticks, but it doesn't say Primer or Balm, it says Lipstick. So it is a lipstick. Anyway, one thing I should mention - don't buy at Holt Renfrew cosmetics unless you plan to keep them or you "have an immediate reaction" which means that it happened when you tried it in the store and you wouldn't have bought it. Either Holt's is heading out of business and trying to conserve cash by limiting returns (also only two weeks and boy what a hassle they give you), or, ah, who knows, but I tell you, Murale is the best place by far to shop for cosmetics now. Unfortunately no YSL at my Murale. But if you know what you want and you are going to keep it, obviously there is nothing wrong with Holt's. Anyway, this is a no but I would love to try other colours and I will on my next time in the States. I wish YSL would allow other companies to carry their products in Canada.
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Polishes -Chanel - Le Vernis Nail Colour in Paradoxal #509
luluhalabaloo 11/2/2010 8:47:00 PM
Very muted edgy for the office or on a first date, maybe a classy daytime function, but not my favourite. It is a muted, purple grey, it is dark but not black, darker than Particuliere, very creamy, no shimmer at all that I can see anyway. Different than the bottle. Definitely, as with all polishes, needs a top coat. Dries quickly but not solidly for some reason, but reds (and this obviously has to have a touch of red in it for the purple) seem to dry slower. On my heads it is elegant and easy to look at, actually it is kind of non descript! but it goes with my skin tone. I definitely would not buy again and to me, this isn't a winner, but I am going to try it with Lippman's matte top coat to see if I can up the edge factor. But, again, it is classy. An updated neutral.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Earthly Body - Marrakesh Oil
luluhalabaloo 10/19/2010 12:11:00 AM
Soooo, I try a sample of this last night after washing my hair. My hair is going through the change of season - getting really dry and stiff, and I already made the dreaded hair appointment to cut it off. It is quite long now and when it looks good, it looks great, but when it is dry, it is a tangled awful mess. I used the whole sample in my hair, and my hair dried super fast just by air. I was kind of surprised how fast it dried. I braided it, went to bed. When I woke up, my hair was soft and not at all stiff, in fact, almost natural feeling! I used a 11/2 inch barrel to just wave my hair and take the kink out from the braids. My hair looked wonderful and soft all day. The colour was gorgeous, the shine was back and at night, it was not tangled and super easy to braid. I could put a comb through it all day! I have spent a fortune on Aveda, Redken, you name it, I tried it, own it, bought the t-shirt, last week I tried coconut oil (ooohhh baddd) and this is by far, the one thing that is saving my hair. I am probably going to cancel my hair appointment now and just buy a bottle of this stuff. For the record, my hair is home-coloured, periodically professionally highlighted/lowlighted, and has 25% gray (which I colour). It falls in long layers to my waist. It is blonde, but naturally I am a brunette. I straighten or curl it every week or so, and I was washing it once a week because I couldn't stand the tangles anymore, using baby powder every third day to keep it fresher. In short, very dry, very frizzy, broken, very blonde at the ends, no way to control it, a hot mess. It looked fabulous today, in fact, better than I have seen it in a very very very long while. I am very impressed. Oh yes, I happen to love the smell, but either way, it goes away once your hair is dry. (Unlike Aveda curl control - I hate that smell and it stays and stays and stays).
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Eye Shadow -Urban Decay - The Black Palette
luluhalabaloo 10/19/2010
I love the darks, and I loved Chanel Les Boutons, but I find that Chanel eyeshadows bother me a bit. UD never bothers me. I haven't tried all the colours yet, just Libertine because I wore green today. I will add comments on the other colours after I wear them. I found that it was very pigmented. I did get a dark green out of it - it was true to the pan - but I did use UD primer under it. First suggestion, make sure that the primer is completely dry. It grabs hard, so where you touch your brush, the shadow will stick. Blending is not so easy. My suggestion: use a highlighting power over the whole eye, liberally, before applying the UD shadow. I use a small Chanel 15 brush to apply. I love this brush, it picks up just the right amount and it is very easy to use. I also use the pencil brush blender thingy from makeup forever that I love for blending afterwards - great for getting into the crease and making the V. Actually both work easily as well. There was no fallout whatsoever. I had to brush nothing away. That, in and of itself, was pretty amazing. It sticks to the skin like a magnet. I wore it for 16 hours straight and not a budge and no touch up needed. I was able to blend it to a nice smokey shade for day and it was wearable no problem and the colour was not black which was nice. I kind of liked the pencil it comes with - very easy to apply, nice and soft and makes a good line, but a little waxy maybe and it melted throughout the day. I prefer a wet liner with a dry brushing on top to even it out. I am not sure I would buy this pencil...would have to use it some more. This is a great palette for smokey eyes and I know smokey eyes and smokey eye palettes. I like the ease of the palette and the variety of darker shades, including the inky black. The names are great and I do love a good name. It isn't horribly expensive, and you get quite a bit for each colour, but the mini liner and the mini Eden which I am not in love with at all but hey, I get to try it without spending money on it. I would always like to keep a palette like this in my stash, especially for the fall and winter months. I think I will make very good use of the palette. More to come later on the other colours....if there is something to report! Oh yes, and this palette absolutely does not bother my eyes. Update: I did Jet today, the purple one. It was purple, but more black than purple. Very dark purple when smudged, didn't make my eyes pop per se, BUT, what the shadow does, with a lot of blending and work, it made my eyes sultry and come hither, a look I really liked. With a great finished complexion and just a light lipstick and gloss, I definitely got my fair share of looks. Still a keeper, but it is hard to apply so be sure to allow enough time. Oh yes, this time, I put it under my eye and used Chanel Clair on my inner bottom of my eye and then just mascara, no eye liner. It looked good. Update: Yesterday, I did barracuda with Clarins teal on the lid. Blend blend blend, had a TON of compliments. I always get compliments with that Clarins teal anyway, but with the barracuda underneath, at the edge and in the crease, this seems to be a winning combination. Today, I did Sabbath, it is a dark blue and it seems to stay that way on me, but I am going to try it with a touch of Dior periwinkle on the lid. I think I am coming to the conclusion that these are great colours WITH something brighter blended in and it is a matter of finding the right combination. Update: the more I use them, the more I don't love them. I am back to Chanel Boutons and I think I achieve a better look, a softer look. But, the blue.silver combo I wrote about works, it is just not buildable colour and if not careful, what a dark mess. That said, if you love smokey dark eyes, this is nice, and the colours can be fantastic liners! UPDATE: Ages later, I am still periodically trying to wear this. Barely made a dent in them. Too much fallout when applying, too dark too fast, no blendability. The pencil I never use anymore, too slippery and it gets messy pretty fast. I use UD potion everywhere, doesn't matter, the pencil is just too soft, too oily. Nope, this palette is a loser. I am giving up. Downgraded to two stars - one for high pigment payoff and lasting power, and one for non-irritating.
8 out of 8 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Chanel - Joues Contraste in Plum Attraction
luluhalabaloo 10/17/2010 6:51:00 PM
I was immediately attracted to the pigmentation of this product - so wonderfully dark plum in the pan! But when appiled, nope, it is still deeply pigmented, so use a light hand. It gives such a fresh sharp look, not a glow, but a definite look - a look that is in right now. I love the plum colour itself, it doesn't turn orange or red but stays true and doesn't make my pink cheeks pinker. Fandango was my first of the dark colours since the 80's and I had to relearn how to apply and what it works with. Now, I am ready for this one and I do love it. I have warm tones, but I can see it working for cooler gals as well - I think it all depends on your lipstick and eyeshadow on the warmth it has. I have used it with Coco Rouge Baroque and it looks very nice. I am going to try it with a plummier lippie tomorrow, and with dark eyes. A keeper - definitely worth a try!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -Chanel - Le Crayon Khol in 69 Clair
luluhalabaloo 10/17/2010 6:46:00 PM
I had a white pencil and a yellow pencil from Lancome from years ago, but they were soooo hard and poked my eye! I tried this the other day and have worn it every day since. I love how it brightens my eye in a soft way, blends, looks natural but makes my eyes look bigger without a noticeable white line. It is soft enough, buildable, and it stays on. I never have to retouch it except if I go out at night I like to freshen a bit. Otherwise, I love it and will repurchase. BTW, I wear with a smudged liner underneath the lash line - looks so nice like that!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No