Skincare - Body -Palmers - Skin Therapy Oil
rossjen 12/27/2009 11:21:00 AM
Even though it has a lot of claims on it about reducing stretchmarks and evening out skintone, I bought it primarily for moisturizing. I mostly used it on my body; it absorbs really well without greasyness, and a small amount goes a long way. I do have lots of stretchmarks from puberty that I never did anything about, but I figure that no product will help clear those up at this point. But if you love to use body oils, this is a really delicious cocoa-scented one that will soften your skin right up.
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Shampoo -Alba Botanica - Plumeria Replenishing Hair Wash
rossjen 12/24/2009 11:48:00 AM
It took me a while to warm up to this shampoo, but after going through an entire bottle of it, I would consider it again. My hair is extremely oily, so the more cleansing a shampoo is, the better. This is a clear formula, and the cleansing properties are really good, with the added bonus of not drying the rest of my hair. I think it would be good for clarifying of styling products, if that's what you're looking for. The fact that it is ph balanced is really important to me. Initially, I did not know what to make of the scent of this shampoo at all. Even though I don't know what a real plumeria would smell like, I get a decidedly more fruity smell from this shampoo, rather than anything floral. But it is not offensive in any way, just not my favorite. I think the performance of this shampoo more than makes up for that little complaint.
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Powder -Silk Naturals - Mineral Foundation
rossjen 12/11/2009 10:45:00 PM
This is the best mineral foundation I have ever tried. In my eyes, it blows EDM out of the water. I was a bit apprehensive at first about the mix-it-yourself concept, but it turned out to be very easy for me, since I had an idea of my undertone already. I bought a trial bag of original foundation and olive base, and it turned out to be an ideal match. I'm with the other reviewers: It is amazing how such a finelly-milled powder covers so well. It is so smooth and not chalky whatsoever. Now I never have to worry about ordering multiple colors in a foundation to find a match, I can adjust the color according to season, and buying refills works out to be very cheap also. So glad I found this company.
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Moisturizers -Weleda - Almond Soothing Facial Lotion
rossjen 11/22/2009 9:42:00 PM
I wish I would have bought about five more tubes of this when I saw it on clearance at Target a while ago. My skin is pretty dry, but I still don't like greasy cremes. Texture-wise, this reminds me quite a bit of Cetaphil body lotion, but without the filmy afterfeel. It absorbs without tackiness, and a small amount less than the size of a pea is enough to do the job. I am loving this as a nighttime moisturizer. No scent, it feels really soothing, and my skin has not reacted adversely in any way. The one caveat: This is pretty highly-priced for a one-ounce tube, so I will keep a lookout for sales. It is a pretty basic formula without any fancy ingredients, so I don't understand why it is as expensive as it is. Try it if you have sensitive skin,
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Makeup Brushes -Ecotools - Bamboo 5 Pieces Brush Set (Mineral Makeup)
rossjen 10/16/2009 9:13:00 AM
After falling in love with the EcoTools foundation brush, I decided to look into getting a set, and when I ran across bamboo 5 piece brush set, I didn't think twice about picking it up. In the hemp/cotton bag are four mini brushes that are advertised as being "great for mineral makeup." I have to agree that these are great for that purpose: They are nice and soft, and the density seems to be just right for applying powders and eye shadows. The major selling point for me was the fact that they don't shed when you wash them, as other brushes have done on me. My only tiny complaint is the shape of the kabuki brush; the bristles don't seem to keep their rounded shape well, it is more triangular. I don't think it impedes its performance though. I love the look of these brushes, the price is right, they are environmentally friendly, and they work really well. What's not to love?
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Lips -Bonne Bell - lipLITES Glossy Tint
rossjen 10/13/2009 4:06:00 PM
I guess I'm in the minority on this one. My feelings towards this are indifferent, or maybe my taste has changed to other things. I think the latter is true. I swapped for the vanilla flavor, and while the flavor is the typical sweet, cake-batter scent you come to expect from Bonne Bell, the consistency was very grainy. It's not very moisturizing either, and applies unevenly. Vanilla is a frosty, metallic milky pink which I cannot wear on its own, but it is OK as a highlight over darker lipcolors.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -Garden of Wisdom - Simply Clean Tea Tree Oil Cleanser
rossjen 10/10/2009 11:32:00 PM
This review might be a bit biased because I really love the GOW cleansers I've tried so far :) I use the Green Tea Shea cleanser daily, but I for one week a month, I switch to this one to combat the hormonal breakouts. Using it twice a day realy helps to soothe my skin and keep things under control. I've got drier skin, and this is one lathering cleanser (although the lather is not excessive) that does not make my skin feel drier afterwards. If your skin does well with tea tree oil like mine, this is a good face wash to look into for its nice soothing ingredients. I love the herbal smell too.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Shampoo -Unlisted Brand - Terressentials Pure Earth Hair Wash Organic Shampoo
rossjen 9/27/2009 12:14:00 PM
I'll start with some background on my hair: Very fine (will not hold a curl, easily damaged by heat or styling), not color treated. Very oily scalp. Routine-wise, I have to wash very frequently, as it only takes two days for my hair to look oily again. I never use conditioner because it isn't necessary. I bought a bottle of this initially because I thought it would balance out my scalp and volumize my hair. Well, I gave a full 16 oz. bottle of this a try for the past six weeks, and used no other products as to not interfere with the treatment. In the beginning, I expected to go through a detox period like the instructions state, but all in all, it wasn't too bad. My hair felt cleaner, softer, and I had less hair breakage on the ends. Fast forward 6 weeks on, and things turned for the worse. My hair is oilier than it has ever been, and I developed a horrible case of dandruff and scalp acne (sorry about the unpleasant description), which I have never dealt with before. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and shampooed with a lathering product, and my scalp sighed with relief. So for me, this turned out to be a fail. It is also very expensive for being just bentonite clay and aloe juice, and you have to use quite a bit, so it won't last very long (a 16 oz. bottle of regular shampoo would last me six months, this product barely lasted 2 months, and I did not shampoo daily). I don't know what type of hair this would be suited for ideally. I have no idea if my problems came from this not cleansing thoroughly enough, or perhaps cleansing too well. Either way, I'm going back to my old routine.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -Rachel Perry - Citrus-Aloe Cleanser
rossjen 9/22/2009 11:04:00 PM
The smell of this is absolutely wonderful, just like lemonade. The texture is a lovely pearly whipped cream consistency, and I've found that it cleans most makeup off really well, with the exception of my heavy zinc oxide-based sunscreen (need to follow it up with a gel cleanser afterwards). I don't know how it fares with waterproof mascara and foundation either, since I don't wear these. My skin is clean and really soft afterwards.
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Lip Gloss -Revlon - Super Lustrous Lipgloss - Nude Lustre
rossjen 9/8/2009 10:37:00 PM
I am reviewing the older version of this gloss. The color shows up as more of a peach with maybe just a hint of pink in it; pretty, but nothing spectacular. I find the gloss pretty thin, which is nice because it isn't horribly sticky. But consequently, it doesn't stay around for very long, and I find myself reapplying quite frequently. It also wasn't very moisturizing, so I had to apply lipbalm underneath it. I probably won't buy it again after I use my tube up.
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Lotions/ Creams -Bath and Body Works - Pumpkin Body Lotion (Fall 2004 The Perfect Autumn)
rossjen 9/8/2009 10:15:00 PM
Like others have said, I smell more spicyness in this lotion than pumpkin. Not bad, but not my favorite scent. The lotion itself is quite thin, and I don't think it is particularly moisturizing. I don't think it would be rich enough for extremely dry skin.
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Tinted Moisturizer -Jane - Be Pure Aguaceuticals
rossjen 9/8/2009 6:41:00 PM
I wanted to love this so badly, but alas it is not to be. Texture-wise, I would say this is medium coverage. It applies smoothly, does not look dry, there is no smell to it that I can detect, and it wore well through a warm day. I got the lightest shade for fair tones after reading that the undertones are more on the warm side, which I have. It is warmer-toned alright, and sadly, a bit too dark for me. (and I do not wear the lightest shades of foundation normally). At the end of the day, it looked orange on me. If the color selection were expanded and improved on, I would go back to this in a heartbeat, but it just doesn't work for me like this. I will put this one up for swap for someone who loves it.
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Sunscreen -Unlisted Brand - Natural Instinct - Natural Mineral Sunblock Cream SPF 30
rossjen 9/4/2009 11:14:00 PM
Were it not for the reviews on here, I would have never known about this. I've been searching for a zinc oxide based sunscreen without the accompanying stickyness/whiteness factors for quite a long time. Along with my desire to find something that does not immediately slide off in hot weather, it was a tall order that I thought would never be fulfilled. Well, this sunscreen does everything I want it to do: It has a cosmetically elegant finish after it absorbs (as someone below said, you have to apply this evenly, you can't just slap it on and run out the door), my skin feels smooth, and there is only the slightest hint of a white cast (which could be do to my not rubbing the product in completely around places like the bridge of the nose, etc...). I am extremely impressed. Since I'm in the US, I'll have to order it online from Australian retailers, but I will put up with that minor inconvenience to keep having this around. Price-wise, I find this really reasonable, it is about even with what you would pay for USA sunblocks in drugstores, maybe even slightly cheaper.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Powder -Everyday Minerals - Foundation - Intensive formula [DISCONTINUED]
rossjen 7/12/2009 1:45:00 PM
I've been very happy with the original glo formula from EM, but awhile back when I was still searching for my ideal shade, I decided to throw a container of the intensive formula into my sample order. The reason I didn't really give it a thought was because I thought it would be drying to my skin, particularly after I had a negative experience with the semi matte formula. I took a chance and pulled this out when the weather started becoming warmer. I used it on its own, and even mixed it with my sunscreen lotion to make a custom tinted moisturizer, and it worked really well both ways. It is more mattifying for my now oilier face, holds up well in the warmer weather, and it does not look chalky at all. I've found my ideal summer foundation formula.
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Lip Treatments -Chapstick - Ultra SPF 30
rossjen 7/11/2009 5:36:00 PM
I bought this after a particularly bad sunburn episode at high altitude this year. From that point on, I decided that I should have an SPF lipbalm in my arsenal at all times. It was not my first choice for SPF lipbalm, but at the time, this was the only one available. I like it, and it definitely protects my lips from the sun. I do not find the lemon scent bothersome at all, and I haven't had issues with it migrating from my lips. The texture is slightly waxy, but not overly so that you end up dragging the stick across your lips. I've applied lipliners and lipcolors over it without problems, so I find it to be a great base. It is not a product to get for any soothing purposes, but as a protective layer, I think it is a great product.
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