Primer/ Corrector -L'Oreal - Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base
TimeAndBlame 5/18/2012 1:15:00 AM
This is another of those "I'm on the fence", sort of products.. The packaging is rather nice for being from the drugstore, but I do feel the little glass jar added to the price of a so-so item. I have been using Arbonne primer for around two years, and as a backup The Body Shop Matte It.. Despite them both working well for me, I decided to venture out and try something new. I must admit this caught my eye with it's claims of #1 primer in the world or some bologna haha! It has the typical plain primer scent and similar texture but thicker.. on my face it didn't do much; sort of just sat there and wore off throughout the day. I can positively say my foundation/face makeup didn't apply smoothly, nor did it last longer. It didn't give my skin that extra base it truly needs to help camouflage dry spots and other minor ailments - which I do need. I was pretty disappointed by this product, but did give it 2 lippies, as it seems to work well for other girls I know, just not for my particular skin type I suppose. Would not recommend or repurchase.
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Polishes -Essie - Play Date
TimeAndBlame 5/13/2012 3:06:00 AM
Play Date (released for Spring 2012, Go Overboard! collection), is a light-medium purple, almost lavender. This is silly, but when first seeing it I thought it looked like my two favorite purples (China Glaze in Spontaneous, and OPI Do You Lilac it?), had a nail polish baby! It's *just* slightly darker then typical lavender/lilacs, though it varies of course. Anyways, I must say this is my favorite Essie polish so far; the consistency, application, and the opacity were excellent - no complaints. More often then not I find Essie polishes either too runny, or too streaky so I was pleasantly surprised..The color compliments my NW15 fair skin, and is beautiful for spring/summer! I would repurchase and recommend.
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Nails -Essie - Lapiz Of Luxury
TimeAndBlame 5/9/2012 8:48:00 PM
I was quite disappointed with this polish.. As a blue lover, as soon as I spotted this I had to have it! In the bottle it's a lovely light periwinkle sort of blue. The application overall went poorly; at four, yep FOUR coats I still had issues with streaking/balding patches despite my best efforts. I used a base and top coat, but after two days unfortunately had noticeable signs of wear at the tip. The color is similar to China Glazes Secret Peri-winkle which is a far better option in all aspects. SP, is everything this pretty color should be as a polish: opaque, thick and longer lasting! Would not repurchase or recommend Lapiz Of Luxury :(
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Fragrances -Lolita Lempicka - Forbidden Flower/Fleur Defendue
TimeAndBlame 4/24/2012 6:26:00 PM
This purchase was actually an accident, I meant to purchase the original (in the purple bottle) but the lady at the counter got them mixed up. The bottle like all other Lolita Lempicka perfumes is absolutely charming! But I do find the "stem" part where it sprays a little finicky. I found it fairly similar to the original, except the initial spray was a little too strong for my liking, and the dry down more powdery and floral with a hint of almond and cherries.. Sounds pleasant but honestly as much as I wanted it to, this just didn't work for me. The wear time was not impressive at all, lasting only a couple of hours on my skin before nearly vanishing! I found that the original lasted much longer, was a dreamier blend, and just overall more compatible with my skins chemistry. I would not repurchase, or recommend to those who dislike perfumes that fade easily - but who knows fragrance is such a personal thing.. :)
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Misc Beauty Tools -Tweezerman - Blackhead/Blemish Extractor
TimeAndBlame 4/24/2012 6:13:00 PM
I have tried "knock off" versions of this, at cheaper prices but they didn't really impress me. After reading rave reviews I thought I may as well give this a shot! I have a fair amount of blackheads on my nose and a few on my chin (ick), that no matter what products/techniques I used they wouldn't really budge. In fact, the only way I could get some of the sebum gunk of was to use my (clean) fingertips and squeeze, which I wouldn't recommend as it's not good for your skin at all or a bobby pin (the rounded end). Neither of those are ideal though. This was just over $20 for me at a drugstore and I must say I was slightly put off by the price... I usually use this only after showering or having a bath to "open" up my pores, it does seem to work easier that way! The key to this product is being patient; I got frustrated because not all of my pores would magically or easily squeeze out the gunk. I guess some is just not ready, and if you push to much you could really damage your skin. There are different techniques to use this tool, some work better then others but it depends on the person - experiment to find what works for you! I actually like the "whitehead extractor side (flat/spoon like) for zits. Instead of using my fingers, which again can be damaging, I will press firmly but gently so the zit is inside the hole part, and usually that will pop it with minimal effort or pain. (hopefully that made sense haha) Overall I think it's an okay product, and I will use it until I find something better if that exist. For the price I did expect a little more of a miracle worker, but it still does make extracting blackheads a bit easy and safer.
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Polishes -Sally Hansen - Xtreme Wear - Pacific Blue
TimeAndBlame 4/24/2012 5:58:00 PM
After seeing this in multiple Spring Favorite polish videos, I knew I had to have it! The color is incredible; as someone who has far too many blue polishes I don't have one quite like this. It's a little difficult to describe.. it's medium blue, yet still bright and has the tiniest bit of a different tone to it.. I want to say a touch of periwinkle? Anyways, it really flatters my pale skin and IS a gorgeous color for Spring or any season really. I had full opacity with two thick coats, and the formula was easy to work with. It doesn't dry very shiny, but a good top coat really makes it pop. The wear time was decent especially considering how cheap this polish was, lasting around 5 days before any sign of wear (when using a base/top coat) I will repurchase, and would recommend!
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Polishes -China Glaze - Peachy Keen
TimeAndBlame 4/18/2012 6:00:00 AM
If I was the head of ChG I would have named this polish Creamsicle. As others have noted it is more of a pastel/milky orange yet it somehow still saturated and bright. On my NW15 pale skin, the *slight* peach tone others noticed, does not show up at all.. In fact instead of contrasting or suiting my skin, I felt it made my hands look dirty or just odd. The formula was also disappointing, too thick, yet easily chipped and bald patches against my best efforts. Would not repurchase sadly.. I had hoped this would work for me, for Spring! :(
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Scrubs -Garnier - Pure Deep Scrub Gel
TimeAndBlame 4/14/2012 4:44:00 PM
Lately my skin has been having issues with black head, and flakiness (yuck) on my nose. I bought this in hopes of combating these issues, and to try something new. The scent of this product is rather unpleasant.. I am not sure how to describe it aside from that. The formula is a clear gel like consistency that foams, with blue beads. I actually found them to be quite abrasive and boarder line scratchy. This left my face with that "tight" dry feeling, and no improvement in any sense. I would not repuchase! I much prefer the Garnier Nutri-Pure Microbead Cream Scrub in all areas (scent, formula etc) and will stick with that.
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Gels/Soaps -Calgon - Shower And Bath Gel in Morning Glory
TimeAndBlame 4/14/2012 4:37:00 PM
I used this only as a bath gel, because I prefer other body washes scents and formulas. The scent is clean and simple, but I didn't find it very noticeable once it began to foam in the actual bath water. It does not leave your skin feeling moisturized or anything.. If you are looking for a simple bubble bath formula, at a somewhat cheap price I would recommend but aside from that I wouldn't recommend!
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Fragrances -Lolita Lempicka - L de Lolita Lempicka
TimeAndBlame 4/14/2012 4:32:00 PM
This is one of the perfumes that I really wanted to love, but just could not with my own skins chemistry.. Described as an "oriental vanilla", I found the spiciness and cinnamon notes too overpower the vanilla, and was therefore too sharp and offensive. I hate to say this but it honestly made me feel slightly nauseous! The bottle is beautiful without a doubt, as most of Lolita Lempicka's fragrances are. I must admit when I first spotted this and smelt it, I expected it to be sort of ocean-y smelling, due to the aquatic design. I would still recommend this to others though, because this could just be a case in which it doesn't work with my individual chemistry, and the lasting power is quite acceptable!
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Polishes -Orly - Angel Face
TimeAndBlame 4/14/2012 4:24:00 PM
Angel face is a very sheer, milky nude with a hint of pink. I had hoped this would be the opacity I had been searching for in a nude, but it did not live up to my expectations! At four, yes FOUR coats (see my photo above) I still had some issues with streaking and patching, against my best efforts. I do admire the rubberized grip handles on Orly bottles, but this polish was a miss for me. The lasting power was about average, when using a base/top coat it lasted for 3 days before chipping. For those looking for a very sheer wash of color this could maybe work for you, but it's just not what I had in mind.. Would not repurchase!
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Shampoo -Aussie - Moist Shampoo
TimeAndBlame 4/14/2012 4:21:00 PM
Aside from the wallet friendly price, and the delicious smell I don't have much positive to say about this shampoo (or the conditioner version either)! For reference my hair is somewhat dry and damaged due to dyeing, styling with heat etc. This did not really tame fly-aways or smooth my hair at all, it became my back up for when I ran out of my favorite shampoo/condition (Kevin Murphy Hydrate Me). I wouldn't recommend this unless you have very minimal damage, because in my experience this is not a very moisturizing shampoo at all!
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Fragrances -Juicy Couture - Viva La Juicy
TimeAndBlame 4/14/2012 4:17:00 PM
Viva La Juicy, a gourmet fragrance, is quite youthful and sweet. I am typically a fan of this sort of perfume.. but sometimes I find this can smell almost chemically sweet on myself. The scent from the bottle though is lovely, but a couple sprays of this won't last longer then a couple hours for me unfortunately. The base notes are amber, caramel, vanilla, sandalwood and pralines, which blend together nicely. To some the bottle is rather tacky, but I personally think it's charmingly girly and it does look great on my mirrored perfume tray! But due to the lack of lasting power, I would not repurchase this, but I would still recommend this to the younger crowd.
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Polishes -Orly - Blue Collar
TimeAndBlame 4/14/2012 4:08:00 PM
Eeep! I am loving this color right now.. Blue Collar is a saturated sky blue; kind of reminds me of OPI's No Room For The Blues. The formula on this is practically flawless; creamy, pigmented and just overall easy to work with. This shade is a nice *pop* against my NW15 pale skin, and in my opinion works for any season. As usual, I really admire the grip handle on Orly polishes.. The wear time was good lasting around 5 days before chipping began (when using and base and top coat) I would repurchase and recommend absolutely
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Polishes -Sally Hansen - salon effects
TimeAndBlame 3/23/2012 6:03:00 PM
I recently purchased this in Laced Up, after yearning to try Salon Effects since it came out.. It comes with a cuticle (aka orange stick), mini file and enough strips for each nail including a few extra all in various sizes. I have quite petite nails and still found these to not reach the sides of my nails well. Kind of the same effect as people that leave visible gaps to keep nail polish looking cleaner, if that makes sense. Personally I am not a fan and was bothered by it. The application is simple, yet undoubtedly awkward and messy. Messy in the sense that there is so much garbage/waste from each individual strip. And honestly I find actual polish far more hassle-free, oddly enough as the major selling point here is supposed to be the "convenience ". I used a top coat, filed the excess and followed the directions yet later that evening (of first trying them) I already had tip wear. The tips would kind of snag upwards and begin to peel off to no avail. After the second day a big strip had come off so I removed it all. When it was on it looked pretty, but only for a short while.. Similar to glitter polish, it's stubborn during removal, but I actually was able to just peel the strips right off with little effort.. not really a good sign lol. I wouldn't repurchase or recommend for the $10-11 I would rather buy a bottle of OPI and have less of a waste, more manicures and more wear time! I would only recommend for a really special occasion like prom or a party for a couple days wear at most.
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