Skincare - Body -Softsoap - SoftSoap shea butter hand soap
thespacecowgirl 10/4/2011 10:53:00 PM
The very strong scent, very similar to BBW Enchanted Orchid, nevertheless gets old in a hurry. There's nothing moisturizing about it - it leaves a residue on my hands, but it doesn't sink in. I use just as much lotion as I would with other soaps, if not more. I have to press pretty hard to break the occasional "shea butter beads," which do nothing other than make a mess in my sink or get stuck under my fingernails. I won't buy this again.
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Top/Base Coats -Essie - Good to Go! The Fastest Drying Top Coat
thespacecowgirl 9/24/2011 8:48:00 PM
While living in Toronto, I used Essie To Dry For topcoat and was very happy with both the quick-drying powers and the longevity of my manicures. This is the closest product I could find here in Dallas, and it just doesn't deliver the same results - my polish frequently smudges even hours after application, and it seems to cause shrinkage as well. Furthermore, my manicures don't last any longer than they would with any cheap topcoat. Alas, back on the hunt for a great topcoat.
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Polishes -Sally Hansen - Complete Salon Commander in Chic
thespacecowgirl 9/24/2011 8:43:00 PM
When I originally bought this shade, I gave it away without wearing it because I have a horror of anything brown against my skintone. I bought it again and actually tried it this time, and was pleased to discover that only in nighttime monitor light does it appear noticeably brown - the rest of the time it looks like a dusty grape-y purple, a steel gray, or a mushroom-y taupe. It never looks muddy or dirty on me, which is what I was afraid of. It's much darker on the nail than in the bottle, edging into vampy territory, and in a creme finish, which makes it look very sophisticated. After ~14 years of nail polish ADD, I've tired of my stash; this is what I'm using on my fingers for the foreseeable future, because it's neutral enough to go with everything yet not boring. The brush is perfect for my rather amateurish polish application skills, and this shade is opaque in two coats. It lasts for several days when used with SH Insta-Dri t/c, but chips within a day or so with Essie Good to Go. The polish itself is a good not-too-thick consistency and easy to work with. Dries in about 15 minutes per coat.
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Polishes -New York Color - Long Wearing Nail Enamel - Starry Silver Glitter 105
thespacecowgirl 9/19/2011 5:38:00 AM
This is a combination of tiny silver holo glitter and larger light pink and bright blue round glitter in a clear base. It's fine to spice up a boring color, but don't expect to ever get any opaque coverage out of this - in fact, the only way to get more than a few specks of glitter on any given nail is to dab it on rather than brushing it on in strokes. Dries fast even when globbed on, about 20 minutes. I wore it over a neutral light gray (NYC Sidewalkers) for something fun but sophisticated. :)
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Polishes -China Glaze - Platinum Pieces
thespacecowgirl 8/26/2011 7:37:00 PM
This is a light, shiny silver crackle topcoat with lots of very fine silver glitter, almost shimmer. It "shatters" well as long as you don't go over the same area twice. I've tried it over a blue/purple duochrome (not enough of the base polish showed for it to be worth it), a neon purple (love), a neon yellow (also love), a deep but vivid purple (extreme love) and a pale lavender creme (not enough contrast). I've noticed that it's quite fast-drying compared to other ChG polishes (~10 minutes), and also lasts exceptionally well (almost a week), which is good since multi-layered manicures tend to peel off the next day. My only criticism is that it's already pretty goopy and needs to be thinned, which makes it difficult to get even coverage in one coat. Since two coats won't crackle, that doesn't work so well. Regardless, it's a great look, and I can't wait to try the black over an orange polish for my Halloween mani! Can't comment on the price as I received this, along with the black, as a lovely gift. <3
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Lip Gloss -NYX - Round Lip Gloss - Peach
thespacecowgirl 8/9/2011 7:46:00 PM
On my dark pink pigmented lips, this gives a slightly brightening effect. In other words, it's sheer. The texture is nice - thick but not sticky, very unusual. The applicator is nice, a very soft doe foot that picks up plenty of gloss. While the tube is very attractive (black with lacy/scroll patterns, none of the cheap-looking white print that a lot of NYX packaging is plagued with), I had a near-impossible time getting the stupid bar code sticker off - it took a good 45 minutes of rubbing with isopropyl alcohol and acetone nail polish remover to get it off, which ruined the glossy finish on part of the cap. It has a fake, but not too furniture polish-like, lemon scent that isn't really discernible in the tube, but is quite noticeable and pleasant while applying, then disappears after application. I won't buy this again just because the color doesn't do anything in particular for me. US$1.75 @ Cherry Culture.
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Lipstick -Maybelline - Color Sensational High Shine Fruit Punch
thespacecowgirl 7/26/2011 3:31:00 PM
On my dark pink pigmented lips, this is completely opaque warm deep pinkish red/coral. It isn't at all glossy - there's no way you'd get the look in the ads without putting a gloss on top. It does have some colorless microsparkle in the tube, but that doesn't show up on my lips. The formula is very smooth and relatively nondrying, especially for an opaque lipstick, although I wouldn't call it moisturizing per se. It has a faint, pleasant citrusy scent and comes in a beautiful iridescent silver mirrored square tube, replete with a pink-tinted transparent top that lets you see the shade inside. I'd certainly try some of the other colors, although most of them appear to be either too dark or too bright for my taste.
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Styling Products -Suave - Professionals Sleek Anti Frizz Cream
thespacecowgirl 7/22/2011 8:10:00 AM
I love this product. I'm rarely impressed by smoothing creams/serums/et. al., mostly because very few of them do much of anything to smooth my flyaways. A dime-sized amount rubbed between my fingers makes a noticeable difference, especially when used on dry hair. Plus, it makes my hair very soft. Also, it doesn't cause crunchies or greasies even if I accidentally use a bit too much. The only things I don't love are that it does make my hair crunchy if I use it on wet hair, and the scent - while the shampoo and conditioner smell like coconut with a hint of cherry, the anti-frizz cream smells like the allergen-removing Pledge furniture polish, and the scent lingers in my hair. I hope that by the time I buy a new tube (ages from now), that will have changed!
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Lip Gloss -Hard Candy - Plumping Serum Volumizing Lip Gloss
thespacecowgirl 7/15/2011 7:07:00 PM
I have Jellyfish (sheer; a medium-gloss neutral purplish fuchsia tint with sparkles on my dark pink pigmented lips), Girl Next Door (sheer, a medium-gloss cool pale pink with very fine, very slightly iridescent white sparkle), and All American Girl (my everyday gloss; also sheer; a medium-gloss neutral, light slightly pink nude that appears light neutral pink in the sun, with very fine, very slightly iridescent white sparkle). I love the texture - I'm partial to sticky glosses, and these are nice and sticky, especially as wand glosses go, yet creamy at the same time. I also like the cold feeling and slight tingling, although I don't notice any visible plumping. I don't mind the slight vanilla/cocoa butter scent, although it reminds me of cheap lotion somewhat. The tubes are huge and frankly a bit unwieldy (at least 6" long x 3/4" wide), but the black scrollwork design on the silver cap is pretty. The nice plush doe-foot applicator picks up plenty of gloss - I have a fairly large lower lip, but I only need one (sometimes two) dips to get coverage though, as noted, both of these shades are sheer. The pretty colors, texture, cool tingle, and ease of application may make these my new favorite glosses after years of devotion to L'Oreal Colour Juices - I just wish there were more shades at my Walmart, since all I saw were sheer sparkly ones that would all look pretty much alike on my lips.
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Lotions/ Creams -Bodycology - Coconut Lime
thespacecowgirl 7/11/2011 8:33:00 PM
I got the body cream. This scent is great - light coconut, not too suntan-oil-like, with a zing of lime and just a hint of a little turmeric/ginger spice. It smells like a vacation in Southeast Asia. This isn't quite as thick and rich as the Brown Sugar and Vanilla, which actually melts into an oil as I massage it in, but it does moisturize my hands nicely - my cuticles, however, need a more than one application, or an oil.
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Fragrances -Viktor & Rolf - Viktor and Rolf Flowerbomb
thespacecowgirl 4/23/2011 3:32:00 AM
Indistinguishable from Bath & Body Works Sensual Amber on my skin - warm, sweet, woody white floral; the distinct impression of amber without being true amber.
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Fragrances -Bath and Body Works - Country Chic
thespacecowgirl 4/5/2011 4:08:00 AM
BBW sent me travel sizes of both the body mist and the body lotion, very nicely wrapped, for free. It's a lot like Twilight Woods without the smoky note, and has a lemon topnote. There's also some Cotton Blossom in there, and I get the "wildflowers" note that's described. It's a very "country" smelling scent, and therefore appropriately named. A good soft, clean, inoffensive scent; not too fruity, not too floral, not too clean. However, neither the lotion nor the body mist scent stick around on my skin for very long.
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Conditioner -Bath and Body Works - Bath and Body Works Signature Collection Volumizing Conditioner in Coconut Lime Verbena
thespacecowgirl 3/23/2011 12:53:00 AM
This definitely volumizes - my hair is nice and fluffy (but not dry or frizzy) after using it. It's a very lightweight, easy to rinse out consistency, but still works through easily. And, of course, it leaves my hair smelling wonderful. I prefer something with more smoothing power, however.
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Deodorants -Unlisted Brand - Sure Deodorant Invisible Solid Unscented
thespacecowgirl 3/22/2011 6:01:00 PM
Works better and lasts longer than any of the other deodorant brands I've tried. It's also the least scented unscented deodorant I've ever used - most have a little bit of a powdery or perfume-y scent to them, but with this it's almost undetectable. It really isn't invisible, though - I can see streaks when I apply unless I'm very, very light with it.
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Polishes -Sinful - Midnight Blue
thespacecowgirl 3/13/2011 7:01:00 PM
A beautiful slightly metallic sapphire blue. Unlike a lot of Sinful polishes, this one is opaque in 2 coats. However, like other Sinful polishes, it dries to a very brittle texture and chips off easily, which is always disappointing. I can't see myself repurchasing this since there's probably a very close dupe in a brand that doesn't chip so quickly. The Sinful cap/brush is very slippery and not terribly ergonomic, making fine brushstrokes a little difficult at times. Sinful polishes also lack "balls" to help the polish mix when shaken. 2/US$3 on sale @ Walgreens.
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