Pressed Powders -New York Color - Pressed Translucent Powder
Angel_Ling 7/8/2003 3:56:00 PM
Every time I've come to MUA, I hear raves about this NYC powder. I finally caved in--peer pressure! And yes, the raves are true: it is a real find. Quite cheap ($1.99 at Longs Drugs), with bad packaging (no hinge for the compact--just plastic--so I expect it to break off at any time, and it comes with the cheapest sponge imaginable), this powder really soaks up oil like a blotting paper. I have combo skin, which can get quite oily, so I have to reapply about 1-2x a day, but that's not bad at all.
I'm quite fair (MAC NC20), and this translucent powder is almost white colored, but blends into skin invisibly, so no worries. I didn't notice my skin breaking out any more than usual with this, either. Definitely a holy grail (and I have very few HGs, since I get bored easily), and it's so incredibly cheap. Go get it.
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Styling Products -ISO - Bouncy Creme
Angel_Ling 7/8/2003 3:47:00 PM
I didn't really see my waves being bouncy after I put the creme in...but I still like this creme anyway. It's reasonably priced ($9 for 8.5 oz) and it smells so good (perfume-like at first, but there's a second scent of lemon that hits you afterwards). Plus, the texture of it is smooth and silky, not too stiff or sticky or watery like some wave-enhancing products.
This seems to be the only product that doesn't leave the top layer of my hair stringy. It leaves my waves feeling very smooth and soft...almost like it "fluffs" the waves gently, so there are more locks of waves, rather than stringy hairs sitting ontop of a frizzy mass of wave, which happens to me very often, sadly. I also use this when I blowdry my hair straight; my hair winds up feeling incredibly soft and smooth. It's kind of like the best leave-in conditioner you could imagine.
There have to be some downfalls, though, and here they are: don't put too much in your hair, or your hair will feel gunky. I have almost mid-back length thick wavy hair, and normally too much product isn't a problem...but it can be with this creme. 1.5 pumps are perfectly adequate; 2 pumps makes my hair start to feel slightly weighed down. It fights frizz admirably, but there's still slight frizz left. This creme is the best wave-enhancing creme I've ever tried, but I keep hoping that there's a perfect product out there, that will work even better at making my waves look beautiful. But even if you don't use it for wavy hair, it's a great smoothing cream for straight hair.
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Hair -KMS California - Silker Leave-In Treatment
Angel_Ling 7/8/2003 3:33:00 PM
This is a good average leave-in conditioner. I dislike the smell: they claim it's cherry almond, but it just smells like cherry cough syrup (which I loathe). The smell fades once you spray it in your hair, though. I didn't notice any real difference with this in my hair, except that it was a wee bit softer. But there was no difference in shine or strength. It doesn't weigh your hair down, either. It was about $10 for 8.5 oz, so not bad, but I do seem to be going through it quickly. I'd say it's similar to Infusium 23, which I dislike (b/c it didn't do a thing to my hair), but, like I said, I think my hair's a bit softer, so 3 lippies it is!
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Mascara -Maybelline - Great Lash Mascara Blackest Black
Angel_Ling 7/2/2003 3:19:00 PM
I've been trying to use my Great Lash mascara up, so I could purchase a different mascara, but I went to Ulta, and saw this on sale for $0.99! How can you resist at that price? So, now I have another Great Lash mascara to use up....what I've noticed with Great Lash mascaras is that they make my lashes long and defined and more curled up (no plumping up the lashes, or thickening them, though) right after I put it on, but after less than an hour, my lashes droop back to normal. The coat of mascara does seem to be a bit thicker with this Blackest Black, compared to the original one, but all in all, not really worth it. Well, I guess it's worth $0.99. Oh, and the original Great Lash smudges by the end of the day. This Blackest Black one smudges a tiny bit, and if I recall correctly, the older this mascara gets, the more it smudges.
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Moisturizers -The Body Shop - Vitamin E Moisture Cream
Angel_Ling 7/1/2003 6:41:00 PM
I got the "illuminating" moisturizer, for the glowing, dewy look. A lot of moisturizers claim to give you a glow, but they don't--this moisturizer does. It gives the type of glowing sheen commonly seen on celebrities' cheeks and temples lately. Because the glow is actually quite noticeable, I would not recommend spreading the moisturizer all over your face, b/c it might make you look greasy/oily, but just on your cheeks and temples. I don't use it in my t-zone (I have combo skin). It leaves an ever-so-slight pink, light-reflecting tint, with no shimmer or glitter. Also, you have to be careful about really blending it around the edges, otherwise you can tell where you rubbed it on. Overall, this moisturizer is more like a Benefit's High Beam, a dewy highlighter for the face, instead of being primarily a moisturizer. If you want that glowing look, I would really recommend it.
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Hair -Frederic Fekkai - Pomade Cristal
Angel_Ling 6/25/2003 2:12:00 PM
This is a water wax, so it's supposed to be softer than regular wax, and the color is a beautiful light opal color. Not as sticky as Redken's Water Wax, but in all other aspects, I think they are the same--price, consistency, etc. Actually, Redken might be a wee bit cheaper. In any case, as with Redken, I didn't really notice too much of a difference when I used the wax, except that my thick, wavy hair felt more weighted down and heavy. I think it's a bit too sticky to smooth over your whole head to tame flyaways. There was no difference in shine or gloss (don't let the gorgeous shimmer fool you, it won't show up on your hair), so despite its pretty packaging, I'd say this was an average wax.
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Styling Products -Physique - Frizz Control Curl Cream
Angel_Ling 6/20/2003 12:54:00 PM
After hearing so many recommendations about this product in different magazines, etc., I went out and bought it--sells for about $8. Given that there's not that much product (only 3 oz.), I'd say $8 is a little steep. The cream is thick and almost sticky; when you place it in your hair, it's hard to comb through evenly, so make sure that you evenly distribute it with your hands.
The results? When I used the blow dryer, the top layer of my hair seemed to be a bit stringy, while the mass layers of hair underneath were about the same as always (a big mass of wave). I would give this a big ol' thumbs down, but once I put my hair into a french braid after blow drying, and took it out 90 minutes later, the waves were fabulous! Piecey and textured, with no frizz. Amazing! When I used this process, the cream helped with the frizz and also gave some holding power to the waves. Plus, you can apply the cream to dry hair to spot-treat frizz. My perfect hair product, however, would give me this textured wavy look without having to use a french braid...but perhaps I just have my hopes too high.
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Eye Shadow -Almay - Bright Eyes Color Cream shadow
Angel_Ling 6/12/2003 1:29:00 PM
This eye shadow is wonderful. I bought mine in Champagne for $5 at Walmart. The packaging is kinda blah and drab, and once I saw the color of the cream, I was a bit worried since it was a dark bronze color (and I was expecting a lighter vanilla color). However, once you apply it, the color is gorgeous: it has tiny sparkles, enough to reflect light and draw attention to your eyes, but not enough to be frosty. The color goes on quite sheer, too. For this particular color, although it looks dark bronze when you squeeze it out, it applies as a sheer nude gold tone--probably one to two shades darker than your eyelid color, so it highlights the eyes without looking too obvious. It's not too warm for people who are cool-toned, either (like me!). Plus, there was no creasing at all. Hooray!
I did have some trouble wiping it off with my facial cleanser, but if you rub with soap and water, you should be fine. All in all, this eyeshadow has beautiful coloring and sparkles.
Update: I've discovered that this product does indeed crease! Just like every other eye shadow on me. Sigh. Plus, if you layer it too much, it appears more frosty, so I just use 1-2 layers. That amount really seems to make my eyes pop. It's just not the miracle product I thought it was. Darn you, super oily eyelids!
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Conditioner -John Frieda - Beach Blonde- Kelp Help deep conditioning masque [DISCONTINUED]
Angel_Ling 6/11/2003 3:55:00 PM
I think this was an average deep conditioner. The smell is great, reminds me of the beach, and the packaging is cute. Plus, it's only about $6 for a LOT of conditioner.
But as for the actual conditioning properties, I noticed my hair was softer (and smelled great). Perhaps, if I squinted, I could see slightly more shine. I think there are better deep conditioners out there, so I won't repurchase. All in all, slightly above average.
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Lip Gloss -New York Color - Brush-On Lip Glaze
Angel_Ling 6/6/2003 7:06:00 PM
After reading all these great reviews on this, I went out and bought it--it was $1.50, which is quite cheap with a coupon (although normally it's $3). The Bliss color was a nude pink (looks more like a rose color in the bottle) and shiny. The brush applicator was fine, perhaps they revamped it. The texture is slightly sticky, but it was fine with me (and I detest sticky glosses). It was great.
However, almost immediately after putting it on, my lips started to feel tingly and numb around the edges. Since I've had allergic reactions to Chapstick before (weird, I know), it's possible that I was having another allergic reaction to this gloss. However, I did see some other reviewers who described the same numbing feeling. I immediately washed off the gloss, using soap and water, but 15 minutes later, my lips are still slightly numb and tingling. What a pity, b/c the gloss was really great, and oh-so-cheap.
So I recommend to those with sensitive lips, or who have allergic reactions to make-up: be weary of this product and keep your receipt!
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Hair -Alberto Vo5 - Strawberries n' Cream Smoothing Shampoo/Conditioner
Angel_Ling 5/29/2003 4:14:00 PM
The shampoo/conditioner work just as "well" as other Vo5 shampoo/conditioners work--slightly below average. But for the price, what can you expect? However, the smell, esp. from the shampoo, is delicious. The conditioner smells slightly more vanilla, but still good.
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Lip Treatments -Smith's Rosebud Salve - Smith's Rosebud Salve
Angel_Ling 5/28/2003 1:52:00 AM
Since my lips are moderately pigmented, I tried rubbing some of the balm on the back of my hand to see if there was any tint--there was none. However, when I put the balm on my lips, my mouth appears to be more of a great sheer rose color, with some shine. The balm doesn't smell like roses, it smells more like baby powder, but it's pleasant enough. As for its moisturizing properties, this balm has cured my perpetually chapped lips in a mere day--no hyperbole. I'm shocked and amazed. It's not exacly like vaseline--it's harder and less goopy. Plus, it comes in an adorable old-fashioned tin. And it's only $5. It doesn't get much better than this.
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Lip Treatments -Philosophy - Kiss Me lip Balm
Angel_Ling 5/27/2003 3:13:00 PM
This balm is wonderful. The red coloring is deep enough to leave a tint to your lips, but not so dark that it looks as though you've drawn on your lips with a red marker. Plus, it is incredibly shiny. The price is slightly high ($10), but I've seen worse. I've also seen cheaper, but this product is more than worth it. The only bad thing is the smell, which is a cross between lemon pine-sol and band-aids; I don't mind it that much, but my boyfriend thinks it smells pretty bad. Oh well, the smell fades after you wear it anyway. This balm leaves your lips with such a beautiful glossy natural flush that, despite the price and smell, I cannot take any points off. May become the holy grail of lip balms for me.
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Hair -Garnier - Fructis Shampoo & Conditioner
Angel_Ling 5/26/2003 2:23:00 PM
Normally, I ignore products' claims about making hair have "glass-like" shine or strengthen hair, so my expectations were low when I bought this shampoo and conditioner. However, I must say that I'm impressed! It claims that it makes hair 5x stronger....Well, I haven't really seen my hair become that much stronger.... However, the products also claim that they make hair 5x smoother, which adds to the shine. Lo and behold, it does! Okay, I don't know about the "5x" part, but I do notice a difference in the smoothness of my hair, especially when I blow dry it straight. And I thought nothing would work for my thick, wavy hair! I took one point off just because I don't notice a difference in the "strength" of my hair. Other than that, buy it!
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Lip Treatments -Neutrogena - Lip Boost intense moisture therapy
Angel_Ling 5/23/2003 4:08:00 PM
This product does help moisturize lips. However, do NOT believe the packaging when it says it will make your lips plumper and add to your natural color. I suppose technically, it's true that your lips are the tiniest bit plumper, but only because they are hydrated (i.e., have some moisture in them, and when things have moisture in them, they plump up), but no one but you would be able to tell the difference. Nor does it make any difference with the coloring of your lips. I did have the trouble with the water oozing out of the tube; however, I just ignored it, and squeezed out the moisturizer. It is in the form of a thicker lotion, but once it goes on your lips, it's just like any other lip balm. This product also wears off easily. However, I will say that it did moisturize my lips, even in the freezing wind of the midwest during the summer. There are better lip balms out there, so I don't think I would purchase it again.
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