Blush -Everyday Minerals - Memphis Rose
sekhmet 6/3/2011 11:51:00 AM
I wanted to review this blush because it is truly a great product. It is a stunning strawberry pink, verging on mauve, with some gold shimmer. It applies and wears beautifully, and I love the minimal ingredients (mica, lauroyl lyseine, +/- titanium dioxide, iron oxides, manganese violet). This color was limited edition, but based on this I would definitely try other EDM blushes. I wish Memphis Rose was in EDM's regular lineup, because if I ever use up my container, I would really like to be able to buy it again.
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Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Maja Eau de Toilette (reformulated and repackaged verison) 
sekhmet 5/27/2011 11:49:00 AM
Sadly, even I (probably an older woman on MUA) don't remember the original Maja, which was one of the grand perfumes back in the day. This review is for the new version, which I indeed found dirt cheap after Christmas. I already knew I liked the fragrance, because I often use Maja soap, which smells divine. I was a little afraid to try the edt, thinking it might be a little too much like its dramatic black-and-red packaging. Well, no fear--this is a pretty, well-behaved fragrance that shouldn't offend anyone! To me, this is just a lovely blend of flowers and spices, with undertones of olive oil and maybe a tiny bit of resin. I guess I would call it a Mediterranean floral, as it evokes a dusky afternoon in the south of France. The spray is lightly scented enough that I have to use 3 spritzes instead of my usual 1 or 2, but the olive oil makes the fragrance linger nicely for a few hours. You can find Maja at the drugstore, but it's not your average drugstore scent.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Cover Girl - Eye Enhancers - Knock Out Pink #460
sekhmet 5/27/2011 11:16:00 AM
I usually don't buy CG, since they still test on animals. But I'd seen this unusual shade of es--it's a berryish pink--and felt like it would really complement my hazel eyes. Enter the $1.50 off coupon, and I bought it. Then I used it, and it's a major fail, with hardly any color payoff. So disappointed! I have yet to try this wet or with a primer, so maybe I can make it work, but I would never have bought it if I'd known how badly it would perform.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Bourjois - Cendre de roses brune #48
sekhmet 5/26/2011 12:37:00 PM
My love affair with Bourjois blush continues! I love everything about them, from the froufrou compacts to the addictive scent. I really wanted this shade, since it is one of the original ones, dating back about 100 years (although I'm sure they've tinkered with the formula since then!). This is just a lovely, classic, natural pink that would look good on nearly anyone. I use this sparingly on my ultra-pale self, but the blush is pigmented enough to be used by someone much darker. If you already have a classic pink color in your blush collection, you don't really "need" this one...but it's so beautiful to have!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Bath Treatments -Avon - Skin So Soft Bath Oil
sekhmet 5/26/2011 12:01:00 PM
I forgot how much I love the scent of (original) SSS until someone I love came up to me wearing it the other day! It's a beautiful, indefinable smell that you can dab (sparingly, please) on your pulse points. SSS is a great multipurpose product, although I use it mostly for its primary purpose, which is moisturizing. Instead of bathing in it, either spray it on or pour some on a damp washcloth and smooth it on your skin after a bath or shower. It's especially good for winter-dry skin, although it can help keep bugs away during the summer. If you use baby oil to give freshly shaved legs a glow, try SSS instead; it smells better. And yes, you can also use it to take the adhesive from bandaids, surgical tape, etc. off your skin. Everyone should have some of this in their bathroom!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Bourjois - Blush
sekhmet 5/24/2011 11:55:00 AM
I'm so in love with these blushes, I'm buying all the colors that I can find and afford right now! First of all, the compacts are adorable, and I can use the little brush in a pinch if necessary. I love the scent, which makes me think of a posh French boudoir from long ago. Also, the formula makes my skin look like satin--and I've never had really good skin. Then there are all the colors; as long as I keep away from the brown ones, they all look good on me! So far, I have not had any problems some other users mention, either with the blush hardening or the container breaking. I wish I had discovered these long ago, but then I might not be having as much fun with them now! I will try to describe individually the colors that I own that are still available (I've already reviewed Rose D'or and Rose de Jaspe). I'm looking forward to using all my Bourjois blushes and adding new ones in the future!
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Lip Gloss -E.L.F. - Shimmer Lip Gloss Collection
sekhmet 5/19/2011 4:59:00 PM
I'm really schizophrenic about this kit, and am contemplating returning it. The glosses are nice and the price was great ($5). The colors looked so pretty in their containers; the shades are Victoria, Miami, Houston, New York, and Pink. I like the consistency and faint melon flavor. The main problem is, these glosses appear to be tinted, and the website says they are tinted, but they're really not. Shimmery yes, tinted no. Only the red and berry shades (can't recall the names) are faintly pigmented, and I really wanted glosses that would accentuate my lipstick or that could be used for color on their own. So, if you're just looking for nice clear/shimmery glosses, these will work. But if you're looking for actual color, look elsewhere.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Sonia Kashuk - Beautifying Blush in Flamingo
sekhmet 4/21/2011 9:56:00 AM
This is a great everyday go-to blush! Very high-quality texture, beautiful shade, wakes up my face. I have the old packaging, so I only gave that a 3. If you have light or medium skin, this makes a great staple item in your makeup box. Highly recommended.
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Blush -L.A. Colors - Toast
sekhmet 4/6/2011 5:09:00 PM
Very nice blush for only $1! This isn't the mineral blush, but the more basic kind you get at Dollar Tree. The shade is called Toast, but the color isn't remotely toasty, or I'd never be able to wear it. Instead, it's a bright rose color that has a nice glowy effect (but not shimmery) on your skin. Obviously, you have to apply it with some care to avoid the clown effect. The color lasts about 7 hours on me before starting to fade. The packaging is a lot like the cheaper Cover Girl blushes--a sturdy rectangle, and there's a hilariously useless tiny brush inside. The blush is not firmly compacted, so it gets powdery when you use it. So it's not the perfect blush, but the basic good quality and relatively unusual color make it a good buy.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Palettes -Urban Decay - Face Case
sekhmet 3/25/2011 11:24:00 AM
I don't usually buy he, so this was an unusual purchase for me and therefore worthy of a review. When I saw this cute palette with eyeshadow, blush, and lip gloss for $15, I thought it would be a great way to try UD. It's taken me a while to really assimilate what I think about this palette, but now I know I like it and it was definitely a good purchase for me. First, I have to say I'm still struggling with the eyeshadows. I think the amount of glitter in them is way over the top; the first time I used MCRA, I had glitter all over my face for the rest of the day. However, now that I've consulted the reviews on MCRA, Grifter, and Twice Baked, I hope to be able to use the shadows more often and with better results. Grifter is the biggest disappointment, as I have hazel eyes and purple shades usually make them stand out. When applied, though, Grifter seems all glitter and no pigment. Twice Baked is just the opposite--or at least it has as much pigment as glitter. I'll probably use it the most often, most likely as a liner. I love blush, and I'm pleased with Afterglow, a peachy-coral shade. You actually get 3 grams of blush in this palette, which for many brands would be a full-size product! Afterglow is really lovely, if a little strong for my extremely pale coloring--I can work with it. There are 3 Lip Shines: Love Junkie, Naked, and Carney. These are perhaps my favorite item in the palette. They are shiny, but they don't come off particularly "colored" on my lips, therefore all the shades look pretty much the same. But I LOVE the formula--for me they work like some of the greatest lip balms ever! They have peppermint in them, but it's not too strong. For a gloss, they have nice staying power. Finally, the packaging. It's a lovely purple plastic case with an unusual texture that takes the quality up a notch. There's also a full-sized mirror and a double-ended brush that looks nice (although I haven't used it yet). I'm still mulling over which, if any, of the items in this palette I would shell out for. But the palette itself is super nice, and would make a great gift for yourself or someone else!
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Blush -Bare Escentuals - Glee/ all over face color
sekhmet 2/25/2011 10:47:00 AM
It takes something special for me to pay nearly $20 for one mu item, but Glee is special! I did some research first to see if any other company made a comparable product, and came up with nothing, so off I went to the BE counter at Ulta. I have no regrets. First of all, the new click, lock packaging is genius; I can use it to expose just two of the sifter holes and tap out the tiniest amount of product for my super-pale skin. The shade isn't my best blush shade, but it works great to do for light skin what bronzer does for darker faces--it gives you a slight bit of color and helps bring out your features. The minimal, mineral formula works great on my skin. Best of all, after a week of using this, I feel like I'm just beginning to discover Glee's potential. I'm looking forward to trying this on my eyelids, mixing it with gloss for my lips, and other things. This is a classic product and would make a great addition to any mu collection!
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Loose Powders -Bare Escentuals - Brilliant Gold Beauty Duo
sekhmet 2/16/2011 12:12:00 PM
I usually don't splurge on products like this, but I bought at as a Christmas gift for myself. I saw the tester at Ulta, and immediately coveted the pretty gold compact and brush! Then I tried some of the product on my hand--it is so fine and silky--and I was hooked! I was only worried about 2 things: that the powder might be too shimmery, and that the compact might not be refillable. Well, the powder is hardly shimmery at all; it just poofs a 'veil' of perfection over your skin--looks lovely and feels good. I've been using this as my finishing powder nearly every day. I haven't used the brush yet, I guess I'm saving it for some time when I want something more glam than the usual in my purse. The tester brush was super soft, though, so I'm sure mine will be fine. As a thrifty person, I'm looking forward to reusing the compact when the powder is gone. This is a truly lovely set in every way, and definitely worth the money!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Revlon - Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara
sekhmet 1/28/2011 12:04:00 PM
Mascara isn't my favorite cosmetic--just something I feel I have to use due to my skimpy, pale lashes. I guess there was something about the idea of a mascara that's supposed to improve the condition of your lashes that appealed to me (even though I don't necessarily believe it), so I sought this out. I got black shimmer, because it came with a free e/s. However, I see no shimmer in this at all--on the wand or my lashes--which is fine as far as I'm concerned. I'm really pleased with this; it just makes my lashes look longer and darker, which imo is what mascara should do. I'd found a mascara I really liked a couple of years ago, but then it was dc. This is the first thing I've found since then that compares to it. The only reason I gave this a 4 instead of 5 is because of the gigantic wand, which makes the mascara needlessly difficult to apply. I think one of the newer rubber wands would be an improvement. As to the claim that GrowLuscious makes your real lashes longer or darker, I'm really not expecting that. If I start sprouting movie-star lashes, I will update. Right now, I'm just happy to have a mascara that I would rate "very good." EDIT: Well, I booted this down to 2 lippies because, as I continued to use this mascara, it kind of dried up and then made my lashes clumpy. And I don't mean it dried out in a year, I mean pretty fast! Also that big ole wand got really annoying to use every day. Sorry, Revlon!
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Eye Shadow -Unlisted Brand - Profusion Colour Me Glow 12 Shades Eyeshadow #3
sekhmet 11/2/2010 12:10:00 PM
EDIT: Simply put, I was wrong about this eyeshadow. I recently resurrected this palette, and it's really pretty good for the price. Today I'm wearing the purple and pink shades, with the white as a highlighter, and they're very glowy and pretty. I haven't found a primer my sensitive eyes will tolerate, so the color fades after a few hours, but that's normal for me. For $1, this is a nice, portable color collection, and I look forward to trying the other shades. Original review: So I went to Walgreen's yesterday to check out the WnW sale, and this little case of eyeshadows caught my eye. It's a small container, about 5 1/2 x 1 3/4", and the colors have a pearly/metallic sheen that really does seem to glow. I already own every color of eyeshadow ever made, but none with this particular kind of shimmer, so for 99 cents, I got it. I'm at work, and I needed to touch up the eyeshadow I put on this morning, so I tested out my new palette. I guess in this case I really did get what I paid for. I couldn't get the package open, so I had to use a thin key to do it. The colors seemed to stick to the applicator, and I could hardly get them to go on my eyelids. The color that did go on was uneven, and overall you can hardly tell it's there. The ivory shade that I put on my browbone does have a slight iridescence. I'll try this again and maybe try a wet application, but at this point I would only recommend it for children playing dress-up.
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Bronzers -Essence - Bronzer
sekhmet 10/29/2010 9:59:00 AM
Most of the time I'm ok with being pale. But I grew up in the 70s and 80s when the ultimate status symbol was a "healthy" (!) golden tan, and sometimes I just get tired of being so...ghostly. That's when I reach for the bronzer, and this is a great one. It's in a clear compact, so you can see the sun-embossed powder on the inside. The shade listed on the back is 01, Bronzing Queen, but I think this is the only color they make. It's a medium bronze shade, and contains golden shimmer that doesn't seem to come out on your face (or at least it's very subtle). I pretty much put this all over my face today--very lightly, of course, and it looks really natural. It just gives my face a little more color and life, so I don't looks so drab. Overall, this bronzer functions like a much more high-end product, and I would recommend it to anyone.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No