Eyeliner -Wet 'n' Wild - Megaliner Liquid Eyeliner- Turquoise
nanshi 2/15/2008 11:00:00 PM
I've only JUST put this on, and already I want to go back to Walmart and buy up the remaining two tubes...!!!! That's how awesome this is! I had originally tried on a similar liquid liner from MAC (at five times the price too!) the other day and LOVED it on me. My friend commented I should buy the MAC one, but I remembered that Wet n Wild had a teal liquid liner too and I was like, "I'll buy that first because I don't know if I can commit to the MAC one just yet." So I finally got around to picking it up today and I LOVE IT!!!! You think it would be really loud and garish, but for some reason, when you put it on, it's just like a nice bright "pop" of color! No gaudiness or garishness here, just a little sparkle of color to really brighten and open up the eyes. It would look even prettier if layered with black eyeshadow underneath, I think. That gives it a bit more drama, just by itself is nice too! It's bright enough to show up even on my super pale skin (where most pigments get washed out because they're not bright enough).
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Toners -Nivea - Alcohol-Free Moisturizing Toner [DISCONTINUED]
nanshi 1/15/2008 3:51:00 PM
Really great overall toner for skin that just needs a little polishing and a little "finish" to a cleaning regimen. Has made a great difference in the way my moisturizer is absorbed and I realized that my skin began to look a little more even and glowing once I started using it. I stopped using this about a year ago because of persistent stress/hormonal acne and switched to witch hazel. Unfortunately, the 'natural' alcohol content in witch hazel didn't cause my skin to immediately feel dry, but I would wake up in the morning (after using witch hazel) with pores the size of California and oily skin (remnants of my skin's own overcompensation). At first I thought it was my moisturizer, but then I decided to abandon witch hazel (actually, toners overall) and my skin quickly rebounded. So I recently started using this toner again and haven't regretted it at all! My skin is feeling more supple, moisturized, and overall healthy in general! Great toner!
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Bronzers -Wet 'n' Wild - Acapulco Glow
nanshi 1/13/2008 10:21:00 PM
I decided not to review this until I almost used up one compact. Yes, I am obsessed with this stuff. I'm not particularly pale (not as pale as some of the other people here are on this board), but for some reason, I find that this actually DOES work as as a decent bronzer for me. It gives me a slight slight flush of color and that sheer shimmery glow that I really love. I just look so soft and glowy when I wear this, and I love it! It doesn't turn orange, it's like dusting gold onto my skin. I swipe a bit of this on my lips and then dab on vaseline and I have a beautiful golden-pink lipcolor that is matte and stays and looks beautiful! Multiple uses! I love this stuff (not too crazy about the other shades though, to be honest).
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Pressed Powders -Wet 'n' Wild - Pressed Powder
nanshi 11/7/2007 6:21:00 PM
I bought this because of a concealer tip that I read the other day about using concealer and then PRESSED powder (not loose) over the concealer to set it. Well, I was in the market for a cheap pressed powder because I was a little skeptical at this technique (I own tons of loose powders, but no pressed powders) and I was pleased to find out that WnW had a pressed powder line (I usually go to WnW when I'm experimenting things or such because their products are so cheap). I really like this! I used it a few times over concealer, but I used it once or twice as actual foundation, and I was surprised at how nice it is! It really does make my skin feel soft and matte. There is almost no visible appearance of makeup on my face, my skin just looks more even-toned. Granted, I have pretty okay-skin, so I usually just use foundation to balance out skintone. I haven't used this often enough to determine it it breaks me out out or not, but for the decent price and the coverage (It's light-to-medium converage, but it's easily buildable)... it's great so far! EDIT: I had to take away a star because halfway through the day (the time I usually go to the bathroom), I noticed that my face looked suspiciously orange... not cakey, just orangey. Took awhile, but I realized the culprit was this stuff!!
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Cleansers -Noxzema - Original Skin Cream
nanshi 11/5/2007 2:09:00 PM
I LOVE the way this tingles and go on my face, but when I used it yesterday, it got NONE of my concealer (MAC Select Cover-Up) off. took a few more rounds with toner to clean my face. Since it's oil-based, I thought it would be a good makeup-remover and that's why I persisted in keeping it around. No go there. It might work for lighter makeups like mineral makeup or light-medium coverage, but for the heavy coverage that comes with my MAC concealer... this just doesn't cut it. I can get small sample trial jars, so no big deal when I just want something soothing and cooling. Eh... also leaves a slightly waxy layer. There's better cleansers out there for a better price.
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Cleansers -Basis - Basis Cleaner Clean Face Wash
nanshi 10/8/2007 4:17:00 PM
I bought this awhile ago but stopped use because I went overseas to tropical climes and my skin broke out terribly while I was other there. Greasy fried food and humid sticky weather paired with jetlag, exhaustion, and just general... stress on my entire system probably had more to do with my breakouts than this cleanser. But I just recently went back to it (I have a half bottle floating around) and I was so surprised at how alive and awake my skin felt after using it! Rinses well, foams great, cleans off makeup (even gel eyeliner!)... just a great and simple cleanser. I'll go back to it now that I'm home and see how it fares on cleaning up residual acne. No extra active ingredients so maybe that'll help in cleaing my skin!
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Treatments -Neutrogena - Oil-Free Acne Stress Control 3-in-1 Hydrating Acne Treatment [DISCONTINUED]
nanshi 10/7/2007 5:49:00 PM
I don't know if this is HG yet, but WOW! I stopped using this for a few days and my skin got soo oily so fast. I layer this under my usual moisturizers (including sunscreen) and then... no oilies for the day! Granted, it doesn't do much to clear up my acne, but this paired with ANY moisturizer gives me smooth and matte skin, which is just lovely! The SA certainly helps keep my skin a little clearer than usual, but I usually don't use pore-clogging moisturizers anyways. I'm not too sure if it's done anything in terms of decreasing my acne (I do a lot of things so I'm not too sure if this is the one)...but I would just buy it because it keeps my skin matte and soft! Plus, it's so light that it doesn't feel like I'm layering a lot of moisturizers on. EDIT: For some reason, after using this stuff for a little over 6 weeks, I stopped using it for about a week. I went back to apply it over a blemish and the next morning I woke up with a suspicious burning feeling over the blemish and shock that it basically looked like the blemish had been BURNED away... it literally looked like a blister had popped on my face. I won't be using this anymore until my skin and open blemishes clear away completely and just returned a unopened bottle of the stuff that I got on clearance.
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Scrubs -St. Ives - Apricot Scrub Blemish and Blackhead Control
nanshi 9/27/2007 9:10:00 PM
Great stuff for a mask! Yes, that's right, I actually use it as a mask. It's cheap enough to spread it thickly all over my face as a mask. I was getting discouraged from not seeing results from any of my numerous cleansers. I have a bunch of stubborn acne scars that just don't seem to want to fade and seem to want to stay there and be red and bumpy forever. After reading an article about how cleansers need to absorb into your skin -- yes, I was always in a hurry so never really thought about it-- I decided to whip out this cleanser and spread it on as a mask. Left it on for about ten minutes and then rubbed it in gently (I DO think the beads are a little too big and abrasive, but at least they're not microbeads which I kind of despise) and then rinsed off with cold water (I think the cold water helps a great deal too). The result? Smooth, glowing skin, slightly faded acne scars and a very happy me. So if this isn't giving you the greatest results, try applying it like you would a mask and leave it on for awhile for the stuff to do its work! Chances are you'll see a little difference afterwards!
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Lips -Wet 'n' Wild - Entire Product Line
nanshi 9/16/2007 12:35:00 AM
I never thought that I would come to enjoy Wet n Wild products as much as I have these past few months. and yet... they surprise me continuously. I have not tried their foundation/concealer items, only a few lip items, their blush/bronzers, nail polishes, illuminator, and one mascara. But from what I've seen, they've changed greatly since my first exposure to Wet n Wild with the waxy-looking lipsticks in the bright garish colors and the cheap eye pencils with silvery lettering. Seeing their updated packaging and low prices, I had to purchase a few blushes and bronzers just to try it out. WOW... I was totally blown away at the pigmentation, amount, and lovely color that showed up on my cheeks. Lip gloss? Great. Color and shimmer. The mascara? Defies what I expected. I didn't even know what I was expecting (I got Lash Define)... I just wanted a cheap mascara that would hopefully pick up my sparse and almost invisible lower lashes... well, it didn't do that as well as I'd hoped, but it worked great on my upper lashes. Several coats later, no clumping, just thick, longer, and more defined lashes. I will definitely continue to buy this product loyally. And for a few bucks here and there... well, you can dare to experiment without draining your bank account. I don't have the courage to buy the more potentially 'harmful' products (like the concealer or the foundations)... but for anything, yeah... i'll give it a go. Probably my most reliable go-to drugstore brand.
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Highlighters -Wet 'n' Wild - MegaGlo Face Illuminator [DISCONTINUED]
nanshi 9/16/2007 12:13:00 AM
I just bought this earlier today after reading about it here at MUA. I can't say I'm disappointed at all. I have been looking for a good illuminator/highlighter for my face for awhile now. Something subtle and not clown-like and easy to put on... especially for my brow bones. I'm an Asian with virtually no eyelid crease or recessed eyelids at all, so being able to create even the illusion of such is a great thing for me. I wasn't too sure which shade I wanted when I spotted these at Harmon so I just grabbed the lightest and most neutral shade: Blushing. I was pleasantly surprised when I got home to find out that it was a cream (I actually kept on swirling my brush in it wondering why nothing was going ont it)... and I just dabbed a touch onto the tops of my cheeks and right under the eyebrow arch and ...wow! My face instantly took on a natural and healthy glowy flush. Nothing too shimmery or frosty or too pigmented (something I have an issue with)... just a soft subtle glow. Like "my natural color, but better" look. My "perfected" natural color, if you will... I am going to enjoy experimenting with this for the upcoming winter months where a nice pale flush should be quite pretty...!
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Mascara -Maybelline - Great Lash Mascara
nanshi 9/15/2007 7:01:00 PM
Urgh. Probably like most other reviewers, I found out about this on one of those "Best [product]" lists in popular fashion/beauty/style magazines. I think this was one of my first ventures into the mascara world and I figured for such rave reviews and about $3 a pop, it couldn't hurt, right? Yeah, it didn't hurt... but that's not all Great Lash CAN'T do... in fact, Great Lash is only good for people with great, thick, full BUT light eyelashes. For everyone else that actually wants their mascara to do something other than color your eyelashes, find something else... It doesn't hold a curl, it doesn't thicken, it doesn't lengthen...it just gives a little color (which I really don't need anyways) plus it clumps. The only reason it doesn't get a complete "1" is because it was cheap and well.. it does give color.
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Other -Ulta - Ulta- whole store
nanshi 9/12/2007 8:08:00 AM
Well, the reason why I adore Ulta so much is because the stuff there is moderately priced and you can get a nice mix of high-end products (Smashbox, Too-Faced, Bare Escentuals, etc...) and also drugstore products. I don't know about other people, but Ulta carries a lot of "drugstore products" that I can't find anywhere else (save the Internet). I've heard really good things about Got2b's In Your Face line of facial masks, and couldn't find them anywhere but Ulta. Plus, they usually have a much better stock for drugstore products than most drugstores. Yes, the price is a bit more than what you'd probably pay at Walmart, but I find the prices to be only a few cents difference (or at most like .50) than Target and it isn't more expensive than CVS; plus Walmart isn't exactly known for a wide selection of cosmetics. Plus, they also offer their "house brand" which is quite inexpensive and still pretty good quality and frequently on sale. It's like a downscaled Sephora in a much larger atmosphere (the Sephora I go to most frequently is so tiny and compact) and you get a good array of products from high end to typical drugstore fare. Unfortunately, Sephora is REALLY far away from me whereas Ulta is only a 20min drive away and I can pretty much be assured that they will probably have what I want...I can't comment on their makeup artists or their salons, but I do say that I have always enjoyed going into Ulta and will continue to do so loyally!
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Lip Gloss -E.L.F. - Hypershine Gloss - ALL
nanshi 9/9/2007 9:05:00 PM
I probably would buy this product again if I could. I don't have an ELF retailers around me and I really can't bring myself to buy it online after reading so many horror stories about its online-ordering quality (or lack thereof). For some reason, a great deal of ELF products can be found at my local Burlington Coat Factory... but most of them come in these prepackaged 'kits'... and their stock varies depending on the day that one visits the store. Since Burlington Coat Factory gets pretty much overstock from other stores, the stuff is pretty cheap. I got a box set of the Hypershine Lipglosses (8). The color is REALLY REALLY sheer, and you have to really slather it on to get a noticeable glossiness (the reason why one buys lipglosses) and/or color. But then of course, you get that 'goopiness' that comes with the color and the concentration of the product.It tastes really bad, like old makeup and is fairly sticky on your lips. The good thing is that since the colors are so sheer, you can grab almost any color and just get a touch of a shine without really having noticeable color... but then again, you might be better off with a regular old lipbalm if that's the case (and minus the icky smell and the stickiness). Also, I dislike the lipbrush immensely (some of them have started shedding on me already) and the click-pen is just annoying.
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Toners -Burt's Bees - Garden Tomato Toner
nanshi 8/31/2007 11:26:00 PM
I would give this a 2.5 but since MUA doesn't do half-ratings... I really don't like this toner. I also got recommended to it from Ricebunny at xanga.com. She's a popular blogger with flawless skin and is really renowned on xanga (and a few other online forums) for her great skincare masks/tips/tutorials. Since she had flawless skin, I was eager to run out and buy this stuff and I was really happy to finally have found it at a local grocery store. It was definitely on the pricey side considering I don't like to spend more than $8 on my toners, this was pushing it at $11.99. I don't really consider toners an essential part of my typical skincare regimen, so I didn't care very much for this. Then I started using it. After sticking with alcohol-free Nivea toner for several years, getting this toner was a HUGE and unhappy shock for my skin. I used it in conjunction with the tomato garden complexion soap... and well, they say that these two products are supposed to be used for trouble skin. YES THEY ARE! DO NOT use either of those products if you have dry, normal, or even combo skin. It completely DRIED out my skin and was just too harsh. Disappointing from a line that is supposed to be 'gentle.' I have normal bordering on combo skin and it worked "well" for about two days before my skin started getting too dried out... not for me.
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Powder -Physicians Formula - Mineral Wear Talc-Free Mineral Loose Powder
nanshi 8/24/2007 9:02:00 PM
I am Asian with light-to-medium skin. Lighter in some lights, more medium in others. I bought this in Translucent Medium (the translucent usually catches my eye really quickly) since I wanted a 'shine control' powder because of my heavy winter moisturizer and not any real coverage/foundation. Anyways, this was my first venture into mineral makeup. I bought this about a year ago when mineral makeup first came out. Being a strong believer in putting as few chemicals on your face as possible, I ended up selecting this. This was actually pricier back when I bought it (a whole dollar or two more)... but I considered it an okay investment considering it was mineral and a lot 'safer' than the other stuff I could buy. I adore this stuff to pieces! I've gotten around to using other types of makeup and other mineral makeups, but I think this is superior because of the price, amount of product, and the easy accessibility. I just have issues with purchasing things online. I'm much more comfortable waltzing into a store and purchasing things (especially makeup where I like to be 100% sure of my shade before selecting something). I recently pulled this out for a friend's wedding, and I'm happy to say that it looked fantastic and I had a great sheer glow! I think I was paler back when I bought this powder because now when I put it on, it makes me look a little whitish, so I'm contemplating going back and buying a darker shade and leaving this as maybe a 'finishing powder' (because it is a translucent shade).. Aside from that though, it's great. [only not quite HG status because I don't wear makeup regularly enough to really count on anything to become HG status]
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