Self Tanners -Jergens - Natural Glow
ex0ticbarbie 3/1/2009 1:56:00 PM
I used to use Jergens Natural Glow back in high school. Since I have combination skin, I found that the dry areas of my face really grabbed onto the self tanner causing those areas to become darker and really stand out once the lotion began to fade. It says to apply this lotion until you get the desired colour you want. Well I have used it two days in a row - after the first day, I got a light golden colour but after using it the second day I was a tanned but orange colour. It was very unattractive. Every time I used the lotion I would only use it for a day, then wait for it to fade or start fading before using it again. Once it started to fade, it didn't fade evenly but instead caused my face to look like I had weird patches of colour over it. I did not have to wear foundation or powder after the first day of using it, but after a few days and once it began to fade, using some sort of cover up was a MUST to disguise my uneven skintone. After using it for a day, many people asked me if I went to a tanning salon, which I guess is a plus since it looked natural. The worst part of this lotion was the smell. I found the smell absolutely disgusting. It smelled like a mixture of chemicals and urine. Gross! When I sat in school, I could literally smell the lotion on my face and was paranoid that others around me could do the same. The lotion did not stain my clothes and it dried pretty quickly. It also did not stain my palms or fingers, but it did turn my nails a yellowish shade underneath. This lotion does tend to make people look more yellow instead of orange. In my case it was fine since my skin is fair but has yellow and golden undertones. The price is really cheap too and this product is easy to find, however the smell of it is what will prevent me from using it in the future.
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Polishes -Sally Hansen - Hard as Nails with Nylon nail polish
ex0ticbarbie 2/24/2009 6:30:00 PM
I bought this nail polish only because the colour of it attracted me. I wanted a light pink nail polish that had only a very slight shade of purple to it. The colour is really hard to describe, but I have seen other girls wear it and it looks great. The nail polish looked a bit too purple in the bottle, but once I applied it to my nails it looks awesome. The formula is a bit thick so you have to be careful applying it. I actually prefer this since I absolutely HATE streaky nail polishes and having to apply a million coats in order for the polish to look somewhat opaque. This nail polish is definitely opaque with only two coats. It also dries with a super shiny finish which surprised me since most nail polishes need a top coat in order to look shiney. I applied a top coat anyways since I want to extend the wear. The nail polish dried somewhat quickly too and I did not have any problems with dents or bubbles. I use my fingers a lot for typing and I wash my hands a lot. It has lasted a day after without ANY chipping, and some nail polishes chip even a day after. I did not feel like buying a $10 nail polish such as OPI and choosing the wrong shade, since I was looking for that very specific shade of pink. The price of this nail polish is great too - only $2.07 Canadian at Walmart. I would definitely repurchase it again, and may even try out some of the other colours they have available. For anyone that is curious, the nail polish turned out VERY similar to this when it was on my nails: http://polishaddict.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/opi-bubble-bath-pink1.jpg except that it was only slightly more purple. It was definitely not purple at all, but you could tell that there was only a very, very minimal amount of purple mixed in as well. In case you're curious, the nail polish shade I used was 'Fairy Nice'. The colour name is kind of hard to see as it is written in very small letters at the back of the bottle where the ingredients are listed. My boyfriend complimented me on this nail polish today and said that it looks very sexy. It makes my nails look fake too. Edit: A week has passed and my nails have hardly chipped. There is a VERY minimal amount of chipping. I don't think anybody would notice it since there really is that little. I of course do, since they are my own nails and I am a bit of a perfectionist :) I can't believe that a $2 nail polish is this great. Super shiny colour, quick drying and lasts a week! Wow! I am impressed and am actually very happy that I didn't spend $10 on an OPI or China Glaze nail polish. Edit: If I could give this nailpolish 10 lippies I would. This nail polish is *such* good quality, I can't believe it. I wanted to paint my nails to match my outfit for a party, but since I was in a rush I didn't have the time to apply a topcoat. I quickly applied this nail polish and let it dry. It dried super quickly and ended up lasting me 5 days. 5 days without a topcoat and not a single chip. I was AMAZED. I'm definitely going to keep using this colour over and over again. This shade is also gorgeous. I will probably try out some other shades. Hopefully they are as nice as this one.
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Brows -Annabelle - Eyebrow Pencil
ex0ticbarbie 2/17/2009 2:57:00 PM
I love this eyebrow pencil. I have dyed jet black hair and medium brown eyebrows. After I put on my foundation and powder, it tends to make my eyebrows look a lot lighter than they are. I use this pencil to make them darker and it does a great job. I use "Medium Brown 040". The colour is a perfect shade of brown - not too cool looking but definitely not warm (which I avoid since warm browns tend to make my eyebrows look slightly orange). This pencil is super cheap and easy to use. It is not super soft and smudgey but it is not so hard that it scratches your face while applying it. It also comes with a little brush attached to the lid so you can smudge it around. I believe I paid around $2-$3 at Walmart which is super cheap. I would NEVER pay more than $5 for an eyebrow pencil - and no I'm not cheap I just don't think they are worth more than that! This pencil also lasts a really long time. I can't remember the last time I bought mine and I use it every single day. Edit: I'm a blonde now and have switched to using the "Taupe" shade. It looks so natural with my blonde hair! The only complaint I might have is if I'm taking pictures and the camera flash is too strong, my eyebrows look a bit light on the pictures. When I know I'll be taking a lot of pictures, I just use my "Medium Brown" pencil (but put it on lightly) and my eyebrows look great. :)
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Mascara -Maybelline - Great Lash Mascara Blackest Black
ex0ticbarbie 2/14/2009 5:32:00 PM
I hate this mascara so much. The only good thing about it is that it really is the darkest mascara I have ever tried. However it makes my eyes sting and water like crazy. Also if it gets into my eyes, then someone save me because the pain is unbelievable. I have tried this on a few occasions because I thought maybe my eyes were a bit more sensitive some days than others. That was definitely not the case - this mascara is just sooo irritating (and my eyes are rarely sensitive to other products). I will never repurchase this again.
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Liquid -Rimmel - Recover illuminating anti-fatigue foundation [DISCONTINUED]
ex0ticbarbie 2/13/2009 3:05:00 PM
My sisters always use this foundation so I decided to give it a try. I have fair skin with warm/yellow undertones and even though I am light my skin is not that light compared to other fair skinned people. My sisters use 'True Ivory' and they are both really pale, and for some reason this colour suited me too (although I did not try any of the other shades). I was looking for a new foundation mainly because my Revlon Colorstay in 'Nude' began to look kind of orange on me. I'm not sure if it is because I am applying too much or maybe my skin is just getting a lot lighter? Anyways I am really paranoid about having orange skin and I do not want to look like an Oompa Loompa while I'm outside. This foundation is very smooth and very blendable. I have a few small blemishes here and there as well as acne scarring. Nothing can fix actual scarring but this foundation does not make them look super obvious. The smell is also great and the foundation lasts all day. This foundation makes my skin look like porcelain and definitely not orange in the daylight. What I did find made my skin orange is if I were to apply too much of this foundation on the area where my acne scarring is. I guess piling it on is not a good idea. I don't think this has heavy coverage at all (compared to my Natural FX when I'm going out or even Revlon Colorstay). I think it has medium coverage. Just a little bit on and you'd have a sheer look but as you pile more and more it would obviously get heavier. Even when I have applied a lot of this on, other than having the orangeness on my scarring, it doesn't look cakey or mask like. I also did not notice ANY glitter in this so I'm unsure what others were talking about. I lost the lid of this foundation and even though the bottle is almost empty, the foundation is still leaking out and it made a mess in my makeup bag. I guess that is my own fault though. What I also like about this foundation is that it washes off easily. When I use Revlon Colorstay I could still see the foundation on my skin and acne scars even after I have washed my face. With Colorstay I literally have to scrub my skin like crazy to get the foundation off and there is STILL some left over.
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Eye Makeup Remover -Nivea - Eye Make-Up Remover
ex0ticbarbie 2/2/2009 11:24:00 PM
My review is for the Nivea Visage Eye Make-up Remover that comes in a white bottle. It says that it "removes waterproof and long-lasting make-up". I bought this eye make-up remover in hopes of finding one that would not sting my eyes or leave a greasy residue behind. I used to use baby oil as a young teenager (big mistake I know! LOL) until I realized that it was actually very bad for my skin. I also always hated how the baby oil would leave my whole eye area greasy and cause me to temporarily have difficulty with seeing if it got into my eye. I tried numerous amounts of eye make-up removers in hopes of finding one I would really like. This make-up remover is definitely a product I will continue using. It removes all make-up easily (I wear a lot of black mascara and black liquid liner). This remover really gets everything off. All I do is put some on a cotton ball and wipe my eyes. All the make-up is immediately removed. I then rinse with water and my eye area is left clean, soft and with a nice moisturized feeling. This eye make-up has NEVER irritated my eyes nor caused my vision to temporarily become blurry. It has also removed all make-up perfectly and I do not wake up with black eye liner or mascara residue under my bottom lashes in the morning. It costs about $6.50-$8.50 depending on where you purchase it (Walmart tends to sell it for cheaper while Shoppers Drug Mart sells it for more) and it comes in a 125 mL bottle. I tend to be clumsy with my bottle and toss it into my bin of products and it has never spilled its content or had the lip open. I will continue repurchasing and using this product as it really satisfies all my needs. It also lasts me about 3 to 3.5 months (since I wear make-up everyday) which is not bad at all!
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Treatments -John Frieda - Beach Blonde- Life Preserver hair conditioning oil
ex0ticbarbie 2/1/2009 4:48:00 PM
Last summer I was going on a tropical vacation and was looking for a product that would protect my hair. I have never used a hair product that had an UV protection in it or anything but since I have really long hair I figured it was better to protect my hair beforehand than to have to chop a lot of dead ends off afterwards. I found this product for $5. I didn't think it was a bad price, although the bottle is not too big. I figured since it was an oil you wouldn't have to use too too much and that it would last a while. I applied the oil to my hair every time before I went out in the sun. When I look back at my pictures from vacation, I realized just how great this product made my hair look. I have naturally curly and thick hair and this product really helped my curls look better and more defined. I had also dyed my hair jet black right before vacation and this product really made my hair super shiny and sparkle (not sparkle in a glitter way since this product does not contain any glitter. But have a sparkley effect on my hair when the sunlight hit it). I also noticed that after using this product every day during my two week vacation, it made my hair a lot healthier and more manageable. Usually my hair reacts really badly with hot and humid weather, but during this vacation my hair has never looked better before! The smell of this oil is also great. It smells like coconut and sun tanning oil/lotion. It is truly a heavenly and summery smell. My boyfriend also used this oil on his hair to prevent his brown hair from fading to blonde. It actually worked great for him too. I would highly recommend this product and I will definitely take it with me on my next vacation. This product can be used on wet and dry hair as well.
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Fragrances -Dolce & Gabbana - Light Blue
ex0ticbarbie 2/1/2009 2:38:00 PM
I love this perfume! It smells really clean and citrusy and is great for going out. I believe that it may suit the summer months more and that a warm scent such as Hypnotic Poison would be better for the colder, winter months. The staying power is not that great but it does last a few hours.
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Mascara -L'Oreal - Voluminous mascara
ex0ticbarbie 2/1/2009 2:32:00 PM
This mascara is ok - nothing too bad but not great either. I like to play around with different mascaras so I usually tend to try different ones everytime I need to buy a new mascara. I have long but thin eyelashes and even though I am a natural brunette my eyelashes are very light. My bottom eyelashes are unfortunately not long at all, are very thin and blonde :( I love the look of false eyelashes and I find that I don't really need length, but instead tons of volume. This mascara doesn't deliver any length but only a tiny bit of volume. It is not bad but because I like dramatic looks it does not deliver exactly what I want (which may not be accomplished by ANY mascara, but only with false eyelashes instead). What I do like about this mascara is that it lasts all day and does not irritate my eyes. It also does not make my eyelashes feel stiff and dry, and it does not clump at all (I tend to put on a million coats of mascara on my eyelashes lol). I tried my sister's Colossal mascara one day (see my review) and couldn't wait to remove it. The Colossal stung my eyes like crazy and I realized how much better my Voluminous mascara was. I also hate it when mascara flakes off and I end up with dark spots all over my cheeks. Voluminous mascara does not do that at all. I would probably try out other mascaras before buying this one again, but if I could not make up on my mind then I'd probably return to this considering it does not irritate my eyes, clump or flake off.
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Polishes -Maybelline - Salon Expert
ex0ticbarbie 1/31/2009 12:49:00 PM
I bought this in 'Extreme Black Current'. I was looking for a dark purple nailpolish that was not black but a darker shade of purple. I was afraid of buying something that was too light in a bottle and I didn't want a purple nailpolish that had a warm-reddish tint to it or a blue tint. I bought this nailpolish hoping that it would be want I wanted since it looked dark in the bottle but you could still tell it was purple and not black (at least in the store lighting). When I put it on, I found that it was much darker than what I had liked. It looks black and you have to look really close to notice that there is a slight purpleish tint to it. If you try to apply one coat the colour is a lot lighter but extremely streaky, so two coats is a must. However the more coats you apply the darker your nails look. I think this is my fault considering black currents are very dark coloured and this nailpolish colour matches the colour of a black current exactly. I find it looks a bit harsh against my fair but warm skintone. It may be because I am not used to dark nail polishes and have never really worn them before. I paid around $5.34 Canadian for this. I find that the nailpolish is very thick so you have to apply it carefully since there is initially too much on the brush. It also seems to dry very quickly which is great for me since I absolutely hate waiting around for my polish to dry. The quality of this nailpolish is not bad. I guess I just chose the wrong shade since the colour was not what I was looking for. That is why I would not repurchase it.
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Hair -Moroccanoil - Moroccan Oil
ex0ticbarbie 1/30/2009 1:08:00 PM
I have never actually owned this product but I have had stylists use it on me. I know some people who are beauty students so when I go to the beauty school to get my hair done, I talk to the teacher and students about what products are good for my hair. The teacher used MoroccanOil on my hair two different days when I use it and I can really feel that it makes a difference on my hair. My hair is naturally extremely thick, curly, long and frizz-prone. It also takes a very long time to comb it out and blow dry it, as well as straighten. When I wash my hair no matter how much conditioner I use my hair still feels coarse before I use products (and its not damaged. It is just the way it is). MoroccanOil makes it very soft, silky and manageable. It always speeds up the blowdrying process by a lot. The only thing that would stop me from buying this product is the price. It is ridiculously expensive.
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Liquid -Cover FX - Cover FX - Natural FX
ex0ticbarbie 1/28/2009 11:19:00 AM
I really like this foundation. I have acne scars that used to be dark purple/blue in colour before. The colour is gone but the holes are unfortunately still there. I tried this foundation before as it was recommended to me to cover up my scars. The shade 'E20' matches my skin perfectly. I have a light skin tone with warm/yellow undertones but have a really hard time finding a foundation that matches my skin. My skin is light but is still a lot darker than "Ivory" and most fair skinned girls, but is too light for medium foundations. Foundations either make me glow because they are too light or too orange. With this foundation there is absolutely no orangeness. It looks perfect both inside and outside in the natural light. It is also highly pigmented which means that it covered up every single mark and scar. The foundation is a bit pricey (I believe its around $43 Canadian) but it really does last a long time. This foundation makes my skin look like plastic and flawless (which I love) and in photographs it looks as if my skin was airbrushed. I love it! I have been repurchasing this foundation over and over again for a few years.
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Foundations -Pro Activ - Proactiv (R) Solution Sheer Finish Compact Foundation
ex0ticbarbie 1/28/2009 1:21:00 AM
I used to use the whole Pro Activ set for my face but had to stop because it was making my skin way too dry. I do think that Pro Activ helped clear a lot of my acne that I had before but unfortunately it severely dried out my face so I had to stop. So anyways one day when I was buying the facial cleansing kit the sales associate recommended that I tried this compact foundation. I don't remember how much I paid for it but I believe that it was around $30-$35 Canadian. I had bad cystic acne and dark (purple-ish/blue) acne scars before. This foundation was the BEST foundation I have ever tried! It was very creamy and it covered my dark acne scars really well. Of course it did not cover the cystic acne as they were not flat and no amount of makeup would help with that. This foundation literally made my face look plastic and flawless. It did not break me out or cause any reactions to my skin such as dryness or redness. It was long lasting and I always got complimented on my skin afterwards. I chose the fair shade as I have pretty light skin with warm/yellow undertones and it matched perfectly. The staying power was great as well. The only problem with this foundation is that it has been discontinued in Canada. If I was able to buy this foundation again, I definitely would! EDIT: So I finally realized that they actually have this stuff again. I was *so* happy that it came back. I bought it this summer and I must say, I still LOVE it. It gives me beautiful looking perfect skin even though my skin is absolutely horrible covered with dark marks, cystic acne and acne scarring. This make-up makes my skin look airbrushed. It's beautiful. My only problem is that it costs $40 and when you're a student on a tight budget that can be a problem. It also only lasted me two months after using it every single day.
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Fragrances -Christian Dior - Poison
ex0ticbarbie 1/27/2009 12:14:00 AM
I can't stand this perfume. I have never owned it but my mother is obsessed with it. It has a VERY strong smell. I am usually not bothered by smells nor do perfumes make me feel nauseous but this perfume is just too strong for me to handle. It lasts very long time though and if you apply it in the morning you can still smell it at night. I'm not a fan of the green or dark Poison bottles but I am IN LOVE with the white Poison as well as the red one (their scents are *very* different from the green and dark Poison that I am reviewing right now). If you must wear this perfume or if you really do like it, PLEASE spray lightly and only use two sprays - otherwise you will most likely make everyone around you feel nauseous!
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Polishes -Rimmel - 60 Seconds in 270 Shocker
ex0ticbarbie 1/24/2009 12:37:00 PM
I am already on my second bottle of this nailpolish. I LOVE it! The colour is a very bold, fuschia .. but it does not look tacky in any way. I have fair skin with yellow undertones and it looks great with my skin tone. I wear this colour during every season, but it looks especially great in the summer on my toenails with sandals. I always get complimented when I wear this colour - even from my boyfriend! I find that this colour looks more mature than wearing a neon pink colour. Don't get me wrong, I love neon pink nailpolish - but this nailpolish looks less childish. Its pretty cheap and lasts long if you wear a top coat over it. It dries with a shiny finish but I still choose to wear a top coat over to preserve how long it lasts. The nailpolish dries really quickly and looks great on both long and short nails. I'm in love <3
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No