Lipstick -Yves Saint Laurent - ROUGE PUR COUTURE
Bellona 12/29/2011 1:42:00 AM
I love YSL lipsticks. They are imho the best out there. They give great pigment, lasting color, and don't dry out my lips. I have two from the rouge volupte line, and then one from rouge pur couture. I bought the red #1. It's the most beautiful wearable red I've seen yet. I get tons of compliments every time I wear it and it lasts all night. My lips stay moisturized and the color just looks amazing. LOVE IT.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Estee Lauder - Sumptuous Extreme
Bellona 12/29/2011 1:37:00 AM
I love this mascara. I think I've finally found my HG! Yay, something I can actually stick to ;) I've been on the hunt for a great mascara that comes from a company that doesn't test on animals. I used to love YSL but I found them on the PETA "bad" list, and so am trying to replace the things I use from them (although I think their lipsticks are hands down THE BEST and also love their touche eclat). Anyways, back to this mascara. LOVE IT! It gives me amazing defined thick black lashes, and the drama is build-able. With patience, you won't get clumps. Just an amazing thick black fringe of lashes. I will definitely repurchase and highly recommend. I've tried tons of different mascaras, from cheap drug store brands to luxury lines and this one is the best yet.
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Treatments -Estee Lauder - Idealist
Bellona 12/29/2011 1:29:00 AM
I used samples of this, enough to last me two weeks straight. I'm only giving this 3 lippies for the following reasons: - the mica in it, or whatever it is that leaves this weird iridescent sheen on your skin seems highly un-natural to me, and can't be good for your skin. It's like a shiny layer on top to trick you into thinking your glowing. Not cool - it didn't really do anything to change my skin tone. I have sensitive skin prone to redness across my nose and cheeks and this did nothing to alleviate that. On the other hand, it didn't irritate my skin or make me break out. So that's why I think 3 lippies is fair marks for this.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -OPI - Drip Dry
Bellona 12/27/2011 8:35:00 PM
I love this product. It does what it's supposed to do. Dries your polish quickly, but also has the added bonus of hydrating and making your polish looks amazing! It really does give your finished mani/pedi a fantastic end result. I have used this for almost 5 years and wouldn't buy anything else. Fast dry top coats may work faster than drip dry but they also lead to peeling and cracking polish. It's expensive but lasts FOREVER! I would highly recommend. I even bring mine with me when I go for a professional mani/pedi to use at the end instead of whatever the salon/spa I'm visiting uses. HG for sure!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Styling Products -Sebastian - Shaper Plus Hairspray
Bellona 12/27/2011 7:23:00 PM
BEST HAIRSPRAY IN THE WORLD. So sad to hear they've changed it. I'm still on an old bottle because it lasts me years, but will be very disappointed if I learn what everyone else is saying is true :( EDIT - 03/01/13 - I finished my bottle and won't repurchase. It's not the same as it used to be :(
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Treatments -Farouk CHI - CHI Organics Olive Nutrient Therapy Silk Oil
Bellona 12/27/2011 7:18:00 PM
I hate to be the debbie-downer on this one, but this stuff is just "ok" to me. I've used many different oils, from pureology, davines, redken, chi silk (regular), silk therapy, moroccan, and so many others that I could write forever. Also, I used to work for a wholesale distributor that carried: joico, davines, lakme, pureology, iso, kevin murphy, etc. and have tried A TON of hair products in my career. This one was not heavy enough for my coarse wavy hair. It did moisturize, but didn't do enough to really tame my frizzies. It felts at time like the oil just sat on top of my hair shaft and didn't really penetrate it. I didn't really like the smell either, it smelled odd to me. I wouldn't buy this again, there are better ones out there on the market imho.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Styling Products -Paul Mitchell - Awapuhi Styling Treatment Oil
Bellona 12/27/2011 7:12:00 PM
I bought this in a set that included the entire line from Paul Mitchell Awapuhi. I love this stuff! This was the best discovery in the set, and the only thing I would repurchase. It kicks ass on Moroccan Oil! Seriously, this is the best oil I have tried. I use it when my hair is wet after washing to tame the frizziness when I air dry. I also use it after styling with hot tools to smooth down the end results. It keep my hair moisturized, smooth and tamed all day. I would highly recommend this product if you use a styling oil in your regime!
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Conditioner -Paul Mitchell - Awapuhi Keratin Intensive Treatment
Bellona 12/27/2011 7:06:00 PM
I bought this conditioner in a set that contained almost the whole line of products. This is a weekly treatment to strengthen and repair damaged hair. It moisturized way better than the other conditioner in the line (Cream Rinse) and I feel like it did help to make my hair stronger and healthier. However, because I found the smell of this, and the entire line, overwhelmingly strong, I have to take off a lippie and wouldn't repurchase.
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Conditioner -Paul Mitchell - Awapuhi Keratin Cream Rinse
Bellona 12/27/2011 7:03:00 PM
I bought a large size set of the Awapuhi Collection, and have reviewed each product separately. It contained: Awapuhi Shampoo, cream rinse, intensive treatment, styling oil, styling sea salt spray, and hairspray. This review is for the Keratin Cream Rinse. In sum, I didn't like it at all. I used it until it was gone however, as it wasn't so terrible I wanted to waste my money and throw it out ;) It didn't condition very well, and I had to use a ton of it just to be able to comb through my hair after. It didn't moisturize good enough, and I found the smell of the entire line overbearingly strong. I would pass on this conditioner unless you like strong smelling beauty products and have fine or thin hair, as this conditioner doesn't weigh down hair at all.
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Shampoo -KMS California - Head Remedy Dandruff Shampoo
Bellona 12/27/2011 6:56:00 PM
I bought this shampoo when I started to get dry flaky dandruff on my scalp. I used it to exfoliate the dryness and it worked. However, I don't think it cures the dandruff, and in some cases I almost feel like it irritates and dries out my hair and scalp. I've been rotating this with my regular shampoo and will use it until it's done, but probably not re-purchase. I think it probably does the same job as head and shoulders for 3x the price. I've never really had dandruff before and struggle to understand why it's happening now. I'm not sure if it's a product i'm using or some other reason....but this shampoo helps a bit to keep the flakies at bay.
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Cleansers -Chantecaille - Rice and Geranium Foaming Cleanser
Bellona 12/27/2011 6:52:00 PM
I received as sample of this and the Flower Harmonizing Cream (which I will review separately). This cleanser is quite good. A little goes a long way, you literally need a pea size amount and it lathers up well, taking off all my makeup and deep cleaning my skin. It definitely exfoliates gently as well. I think with this cleanser you could probably eliminate weekly or harsher exfoliating from your regime, as this really cleans the skin. It hasn't irritated my sensitive rosacea prone skin either. My only complaint (and reason why I had to give it only 4 out of 5 lippies) is that it's a tad drying. Mind you it is winter time and I find that I'm very dry during this time of year, so I would still buy this and use it maybe one or twice a week, and in the summer months when I'm oilier. This would be a fantastic cleanser for those with oily or acne prone skin, as it cleans and exfoliates wonderfully without irritation. My very sensitive skin was also fine with the natural fragrance of the product.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Shampoo -Paul Mitchell - Awapuhi Shampoo
Bellona 12/23/2011 3:01:00 AM
I bought the entire PM Awapuhi line in a small size kit at the hair salon. It contained the shampoo, creme rinse, treatment conditioner, beach wave styling spray, hairspray and styling oil. My review here is for the shampoo only. I didn't like it because it irritated my scalp and dried it out, gave me dandruff. I'm not sure if it's because it's too harsh, or the strong smell. They must put a ton of perfume in it, as it smells nice, but way too strong for me personally. Pros: - beautiful lather - smells nice - moisturizes decently Cons: - smell may be too strong for some - irritating, and dries out scalp I wouldn't re-purchase and will go back to my Aveda Pure Moisture.
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Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Reversa - Antioxidant Booster Serum
Bellona 11/15/2011 1:48:00 AM
Another amazing Reversa product! I currently use the Reversa cleanser and eye cream, and have added this to my regime. I use it as a night cream, and it's wonderful. It's just enough moisture for my skin (although I may need to add my Vichy Balme when the Canadian winter kicks in) and it soothes my irritated rosacea-prone skin. I just recently got another round of IPL/V-Beam treatment on my "red zone" (nose and cheeks) and this was gentle enough to use even when my skin was swollen and sensitive from treatment. I wake up in the morning to a glowing complexion - and not in the greasy or red-shiny way- just smooth, even toned and moisturized skin. It hydrates, calms and reduces irritation and doesn't break me out at all. I highly recommend. The packaging is great, a pump bottle that lets you get every drop and keeps germs out. Perfection.
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Styling Products -L'Oreal - L'Oreal Elnett Extra StrongHold UV Hair Spray - 11 oz.
Bellona 10/17/2011 11:05:00 PM
Excellent hairspray. I can see why pros use this. It holds up-dos, is workable for volume and styling, and never flakes. Fantastic. Highly recommend.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Avene - soothing serum
Bellona 10/17/2011 11:03:00 PM
I'm not sure if I'm writing the review under the correct one? There are 4 different choices for the same serum????? In Canada, this is called Soothing Hydrating Serum (Unless I'm wrong and it's different?). Anyways, I tried this and didn't like it at all. I don't know why companies create products for sensitive skin and then include fragrance????? This is a rich and heavy serum that comes in great packaging, a glass pump bottle. It's too heavy for my face, even as a night cream which I was using it as. Even in the fall in Canada, sigh. I had high hopes for this as I love the thermal water spray from Avene. This did nothing to relieve my redness (slightly red across the nose and cheek area, possibly mild rosacea). And it made me break out in little red bumps. My face felt greasy every day wearing this, even after waking up the next morning to wash and put on makeup. I just always felt shiny and greasy when using this. Add to that the little red bumps, irritating fragrance and non-redness reducing effects, and I returned this to Shoppers today.
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