Liquid -MAC - Face and Body Foundation
franzvonstuck 1/25/2013 8:19:00 AM
I was searching for a light water-based foundation as I stumbled upon Macs face and body foundation. I try to give you the most accurate information on my skintone, skintype and skin issues, so you can make a guess, if this foundation could work for you. Skintone: Iīm a quite pale-toned girl with slightly yellow undertones in my skin. Not too warm-toned, but definitely not cool toned. Neutral leaning towards yellow would be the closest description. Like everyoneīs skin, my skin is a mixture of colours: I have some redness in my skin, especially around my nose, which can make my skin look ruddy and uneven. Some brown spots from too much melanin in my skin and some red-purple scars from pimples. And the smallest bit of pink in my skin as I lean more towards yellow-olive-beige pigments. My skin usually looks dull and lifeless. Donīt get me wrong my skin is not that bad, itīs just that the mixture of all this results in a very uneven skintone. Iīm Mac NC 15-NC20, BB sand, Bourjois Vanilla 52. Skintype: My skin is basically combo skin, which is sensitive, dehydrated, acne-prone and getting dry when wintertime arrives. And I have dry patches sometimes, which are really annoying because itīs so hard to make your foundation work with these. Skin Issues: Besides the general discoloration in my skintone, I have a melasma on my upper lip, pigment spots and lighter pimple scars from hormonal break outs. My skin is acne-prone, but I never broke out from foundation. I never even knew I could react towards a foundation until I tried the Bourjois healthy mix and got major pimples. Generally, my skin suffers from a lack of glow and healthy appearance as my skin looks dead, pale and dull. When I wake up and look in the mirror - OMG. I look ghostly with this skin. What do I want from the foundation: The foundation should get the redness out of my skin and even out my skintone. Should make my skin look more uni-coloured and not like the usual mess of redness and pigmentation. Also should not cling to dry patches, not make me break out or even dry out my skin. And I like the most natural finish thatīs possible for my skin with the most accurate colour match I can get. Thatīs a lot to ask for. But the f&b did it! Surprisingly, I got the perfect colour match for my skintone with C1. I was surprised as MACs NCs were always too yellow for me and I couldnīt wear NW. But this seems to be more neutral toned. I looked at the foundation in daylight, artificial light and sunlight and what can I say: Itīs undetectable in the best way. I even applied it only on one half of my face and the only difference I saw was that the redness was eliminated and my skin looked like "my skin but better". Thereīs no difference in the colour of my neck and the colour of my face when Iīm wearing this. Famous MUA Mary Greenwell suggested, that you check the colour of the foundation on the side of your neck. I did test it on my face AND my neck. My skin gets that dewy look I always long for and looks fresh and healthy. But I will not lie to you, this may be buildable, but itīs a very sheer foundation to start with. My approach on foundation is to use the lightest formula I can get away with to even out my skintone and then cover up blemishes, spots and remaining redness with a heavier concealer like BBs face touch up stick. I donīt see the need to totally cover my face in heavy foundation, when the major part of my skin is alright and only small areas in my face need more coverage. Cloaking my skin 100 % with full coverage foundation while only 2 % of my skin needs extra coverage would make me look unnatural and cakey. This minimalist principle even works with acne skin, if you want the proof, check out Lisa Eldridges video on acne/blemish covering make up. You must give the bottle a good shake before you apply this, otherwise, you get a greasy mess out of the tube. Before I put on foundation, I always apply a hydrating serum, moisturizer and a spf 50 sunscreen. I apply this with my clean fingers to really massage it into the skin and make it even more natural. The warmth of the fingers and the massaging makes it look like skin. I wear no powder on top, because powder takes the lovely glow of the floundation away. It lasts 8 hours on my skin and doesnīt settle in the dry patches and fine lines. I cannot tell yet if this breaks me out, but the MAC foundations I used never broke me out. So I hope, this will work for my skin too as I would be devastated, if this broke me out. Right now, Iīm happy to have such a light and fine foundation with the best colour match I ever had. I dare to say, my skin looks gorgeous with this foundation. Sorry for the long review, but hope, this was helpful.
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Styling Products -Kevin Murphy - Anti Gravity
franzvonstuck 1/20/2013 2:53:00 PM
So, my hair is fine, limp, soft and without any noticable volume or texture. Itīs long, not colour-treated and although itīs fine, I have lots of hair. My hair tends to be more oily at the roots and my ends are healthy, but sometimes need a little moisture. Almost anything weighs my hair down and Iīm the type of customer, that wants big hair, but not necessarily wants to pile tons of product and have a gritty feeling.When I run my fingers through my hair, I donīt want to feel crunchy, knotted hair. I tried different products and brands, but found out, that Kevin Murphy makes the best "feels-as-if-you-have-nothing-in-your-hair" products. In my case, thatīs a huge plus for his products and I plan to test even more products from Kevin Murphy as I liked the ones I tried so far. So, the anti-gravity is an oil-free volumizer. It comes in a square plastic bottle and you simply squeeze the product out. The product looks like a slightly tinted gel. The smell is very clean with a lavender perfume, that is not too overpowering. Iīm pleased, that it doesnīt contain silicones, which are the death of my hair and just ruining any volume in my hair. I use anti gravity on damp hair by putting a small amount on my hands, rubbing them together and spreading the product evenly first in the mid-lenghts and ends and then in the roots. The amount of product depends on your hair, so just start with a small amount. I am always careful not to put too much product on, but with this one, you donīt have to worry of getting gritty hair. After that, I just blow dry my hair upside down. When Iīm almost done, I take a large round brush and use it while blow drying to give my hair a little extra volume. Easy and takes no time at all. The result is soft hair, but at the same time texture and volume. I donīt want to fool you and say your hair looks like a huge Brigitte Bardot teased hair when you use this. But it adds some volume and texture while leaving your hair feeling good. I can run my fingers through my hair and I like the feeling of it. This is probably a "boyfriend/husband friendly" styling product, because you can play with your hair, touch your hair and it feels good and smells nice. I definitely recommend this styling product even to people who normally hate styling products. And of course for people with fine thin hair, that needs volume and a little (!) texture. It makes my hair look better and more polished with a light as air finish, that doesnīt weigh my hair down. Love it.
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Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Differin Gel
franzvonstuck 1/12/2013 4:53:00 PM
Iīm 36 now and it got my first prescription at the age of 31. I suffer from skin that keratinizes too much and therefore, my pores around my mouth and chin area clog easily. Iīm nowhere near having a full acne, but my chin and jaw area looked quite bumpy, sometimes with red spots and I had underlying impurities. I used it only a few months, but concentrated on my mouth and chin area, not using it on my whole face. At the same time, I used some erythromycin cream on my face. My spots dissappeared and my skin cleared up. Thereīs a huge warning from my side: DO use a high spf sunscreen when you use this! Your skin may become thinner and more sensitive to sun exposure, so use at least spf 30 every day. As I didnīt want to use this in long term, I changed my skincare routine and eliminated comedogenic ingredients. By finding a skincare regimen, that worked for me (took me years!) and knowing my skin, I reduced my breakouts to the unavoidable hormonal breakouts once a month. But I returned to this just last year because I got a melasma on my upper lip. My derm wanted me to use aha or bha, but that didnīt work for my melasma. So I got the second prescription of differin gel at the age of 36. Studies have proven, that retin-a works for melasma, but it takes 6 months at least for it to work. You have to be patient, but it improved my melasma in just a few weeks and I hope, it will eventually remove it completely in the next few months. Again, I used it only on a small area in my face, on my upper lip to target the melasma. I didnīt want to use hydroquinone or other treatments for my melasma and I was willing to use it every night for months in order to make it work. Treating a melasma is so difficult, but if your skin tolerates retin-a, you might try differin as a treatment. Of course, I wear spf 50 every day to prevent my melasma from emerging once again and I avoid being in the sun with my face. I put on a hat and apply loads of sunscreen when I go to the beach. So, the differin gel helped me with different skin issues and I really recommend this. But I donīt want to use this over years and years, because there certainly are side-effects. And there are people, who just cannot use this at all, because their skin doesnīt tolerate the adapalene. For me, itīs a concentrated treatment for serious skin issues, but definitely no long-term product.
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Polishes -Essie - Wicked
franzvonstuck 1/2/2013 1:46:00 PM
Wicked was supposed to be my substitute for Chanelīs rouge noire or vamp. Chanel never performed well on my nails, so I switched to this colour. Bad idea! While the colour is very beautiful, a deep red with brown undertones, that appears almost black on my nails, the application is nothing short of a nightmare for me. This colour streaks as hell when you apply the first layer, so you have to apply a second layer. The colour gets opaque at the second layer but still, the colour is not easy to apply and Iīm not really a nail pro. Such a shame, because itīs really close to Chanelīs rouge noire and such a classy edgy colour. I own other colours from Essie, so I know that there are colours in the range, you better stay away from and other colours, that you can apply easily and streak-free. If youīre patient and really good at applying nail polish, you probably donīt mind the messy application and just enjoy the pretty colour. Now for me, that is a dealbreaker, because I just canīt get this colour evenly on my nails. Wouldnīt buy this again.
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Shampoo -Aveda - Pure Abundance
franzvonstuck 12/22/2012 4:45:00 PM
O.K., so my hair is fine, limp, flat without texture or definition. It is actually the healthiest hair possible, but at the same time so soft, itīs not manageable. Seriously, it doesnīt have volume and my greasy roots only add to the problem by making my hair lying flat against my head. But I adore this chic tousled look with lots of volume, that is so hard to archieve for me. So, I went and bought the pure abundance shampoo. First, it smells like the typical herbal Aveda scent, which is described as a blend of jasmine, peppermint and ylang ylang. If you donīt like the smell of Avedaīs products, please stay away from this. Then it has no sulfates as ingredients, so it lathers not very much. It also doesnīt contain silicones, which are the death of fine, soft hair as they are weighing it down and making it even smoother and softer. There are tons of rich nourishing shampoos on the market, but shampoos, which give texture and volume without my "personal bad ingredients" -betaines, silicones, sulfates- are rare. I always shampoo my hair twice, but I wonīt lie to you: I use quite a large amount of this shampoo. It makes my hair clean, even if I used many styling products for my hairstyle. By using this, I get the "shampoo add hair", meaning the full and sexy hair I long for. For me, this shampoo delivers bouncy, gourgeous smelling hair and furthermore, a bit more volume, texture and definition for my hair. And it cleans my oily roots well and keeps them at bay. This is good news for people with hair like mine. But I donīt expect miracles from this shampoo. I blow dry my hair upside down and sometimes I use a round brush and dry my hair in sections to get the best result. The shampoo provides a little more volume and the texture,that helps to hold the style. I also found out that using some styling products for volume at the roots like the volumizing tonic or for texture like a surf spray helps my fine limp hair to look best. Sidenote: For years, I made the mistake to expect, that a shampoo helps me to get the look of hairstyles I saw in magazines and adds. If you see, how many producs even the hair stylists need to create these looks, then you just cannot deny the fact, you need to combine the right shampoo and conditioner with the styling products for the look you want to archieve. This shampoo is probably the nightmare of people with dry, coarse, damaged, tangled or colourtreated hair. Canīt imagine how this could work for them. The downside of this product is the high price and the high amount of shampoo Iīm using. Quite pricey, but it works. Then I sometimes have a little static in my hair. Thatīs no problem, because I always use a finish cream as Phyto 7 or Avedaīs light elements texturizing cream for my hair, which removes the static. I didnīt notice any build up, but I always use other shampoos from Lush or Aubrey Organics during the week as I never use only one shampoo. I highly recommend this for people with fine, soft and limp hair like mine.
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Styling Products -Aveda - Air Control hairspray
franzvonstuck 12/22/2012 8:44:00 AM
I am actually a hairspray hater. I tried many drugstore-brand hairsprays and was always disappointed. My hair was crunchy, lifeless and smelled like alcohol or even worse. After all of these years when hairspray had made a really bad impression on me whenever I tried one, I went and bought the Aveda air control hairspray. My hair is fine, limp, flat and has no texture. That makes my hair look bad, when I wear it down and makes it hard to style a good updo with my hair. I went to an Aveda salon, explained my issues and the stylist recommended me this. I also asked for the pure abundance hair spray, but the stylist said it would be "too wet" for my purpose. I didnīt know what she meant, but she showed me by spraying it on her hand. Indeed this oneīs a "dry " hairspray. Just spray it on and you donīt have to wait for your hair to dry or something like this. How I use it: I spray a little all over my hair when I wear it open to soften the frizz, lift it and give some volume and texture. When I spray it on with my head upside down and run my fingers through my hair, this gives me the voluminous, messy, bedhead look even with my limp hair. Before I style an updo, I lightly tease my hair and spray it all over, so the hair gets grip and I can get a nice texture and hold in my updo. When I braid my hair or make a messy bun, I use it to spray it on stray hairs or to give a little more texture to the hairstyle. It smells heavenly and nothing like the typical hairspray I knew. If you donīt like the typical signature pure-fume scent of Aveda, stay away. The scent is strong, thatīs why people complimented me on my perfume, when I was wearing this hairspray. It does actually perform very well and is very versatile, because it has such a flexible hold. I can use it without having to wash my hair immediately when I come home. No greasy film, no residues, no flaking. Just soft hair. It is meant for a natural styling, that looks as if you donīt wear hairspray at all. It has a flexible, minimum hold. If you want a strong hold, this is not for you. I recommend this especially for fine, limp hair, because it doesnīt weigh down the hair and gives a nice texture to the hair. Highly recommended.
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Styling Products -Aveda - Pure Abundance Hair Potion
franzvonstuck 12/18/2012 7:48:00 AM
I bought this product, when the hair powders got very popular. Drugstore brands just never delivered what I was looking for, so I went straight ahead to Aveda and bought the pure abundance hair potion. Again, itīs the kind of product you really should know, what you want from it. Itīs simply too expensive to waste your money and find out, that itīs not working for you. My hair is oily at the roots, fine and limp, but I have a mass of hair, which is about shoulderlenght. I need volume at the crown and nothing greasy or rich, which would weigh my hair down. The hair potion comes in a plastic bottle with a cap. You should never ever let the hair potion get wet or shake it. That ruins the powder and you wonīt be able to get the powder out of the bottle. Now thatīs the tricky part with this product: You need to find out for yourself, how much product you need and where to apply it best. Honestly, too much product just makes a greasy mess out of my hair. I usually apply the product at my crown, near my scalp, because thatīs where I need the volume. You apply it on dry hair and there are separate ways to apply it. The powder can be put into your palm and then you rub your palms together and spread the liquified powder on your hair. But thereīs a technique a hairdresser at the Aveda salon showed me and you can watch it on Avedaīs youtube channel in the "How to: Weightless volume in 3 ways" video too. You part your hair at the crown or on top of your head, so you have 2 sections. Then you take the bottle, position the cap of the bottle just where the hair is parted, maybe hold it horizontally and squeeze the bottle. The powder comes out in a little powder cloud and gets directly at the roots, where I want the volume. I do this several times around the top of my head. Then you get with your hand in the hair and shake it to activate the powder and create volume. It takes a little practice, but is effective. Itīs one of these products, you need to have the right technique to use it or itīs worthless. The finish is matte finish, so if youīre into glossy hair, this one may not be the right product for you. Otherwise, itīs pretty undetectable and you wonīt feel like you have any product in your hair, given you didnīt use too much. It gives texture and volume to the hair and holds my oily roots at bay. If I use it, Iīd say, I get a pretty good bedhead, messy, surfer, rockstar style for my hair. Looks effortless and with the right technique only takes my a few minutes to style my hair. To re-activate it through the day, you can just get with your hand in your hair and shake it a little bit. Especially on bad hair days (which means limp, oily, lifeless hair with my hair type) this boosts the volume and saves my hair from looking really bad. The downside of this product is the price: I paid 23 Euros for the very small bottle. But it lasts and delivers good results with my hair. I honestly donīt know, if this works on other hair types than fine and thin hair. But if you have fine, thin, limp or oily hair, you might give this a try.
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Lip Treatments -Clarins - Eclat Minute Natural Lip Perfector 02 Apricot Shimmer
franzvonstuck 12/15/2012 2:59:00 PM
This product falls into a category of its own, because it is a mixture between a gloss, a lip balm and a lip treatment. More of a lip embellisher, which is the original french name of it "Eclat minute embellisseur lévres". The name implies also that it instantly transforms and beautifies the lips. One of these products that are hard to describe, but really work well. I stumbled upon this product and tried it out at my beauty department. Let me say, Iīm not really into lipglosses as they tend to be sticky. I use the eight hour cream on my lips at night, but the product is a little bit too much for daytime. Colour doesnīt imply that it has an opaque colour or gives much colour payoff. It just gives a hint of colour, but still I tried all 3 colours. The pink one was too cool and the beige one was to neutral, so I choose the apricot one. The lip perfector smells very like cocoa butter and vanilla, a sweet smell, but not offensive and not long lasting. First time I applied it, the SA gave me way to much product and it was sitting on my lips in a very glossy way. This only happens, when you put a load of product on your lips. When the product wore off a little bit, I looked at my lips and thought: Whoa, this really looks amazing. The thing is, this gives you a "your lips but better" not in colour, but in texture and feeling of your lips. It transformed my winterridden and chapped lifeless lips into healthy-looking, luscious and at the same time looking-like-no-make-up-is-involved lips. Like a glammed-up version of my natural lips. It feels smooth on my lips and lasts quite a while. And even when it wears off, my lips still feel nourished and protected and look better. So thereīs a longlasting effect of the lip perfector. Thereīs definitely some good nourishing stuff in this like shea butter and mango butter. The tube with the sponge applicator tip is quite nice and I carry the tube around in my hand bag all the time. I reapply it 2 or 3 times a day and my lips are in good condition during wintertime. Youīve got to know what youīre buying, because itīs not fitting in one category, but is a product of its own. But I adore it and use it frequently as I love the way it makes my lips look. It is frequently sold out and thereīs a good reason why. This has the qualities for a beauty staple in my make up case.
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Conditioner -Aveda - Pure Abundance
franzvonstuck 12/12/2012 1:59:00 PM
This is clearly not a conditioner for everyone. You got to know what you buy with this conditioner or youīll be sorely dissappointed. FYI: My hair is fine, limp, soft and shoulderlenght, but I have a lot of hair. It gets oily at the roots, but the ends are in good condition as I donīt use heated styling tools or colour/bleach my hair. This combination causes the problem, that my hair is weighed down by the sheer quantity of hair and the oiliness of my scalp makes my hair look flat. I never seem to manage to get volume at the crown and most conditioners make things even worse, because they weigh down my hair. I donīt even think about hair masks, because they mean limp hair for days in my case. To be honest, I have the type of healthy shiny hair without the slightest damage, so I could get away with - gasp- using no conditioner at all. Enter pure abundance. The conditioner looks like a brown muddy paste and has the typical Aveda signature scent. Itīs hard to describe: A light herbal scent with jasmine, peppermint and ylang ylang. Be aware of that, because it seems this is a dealbreaker for many people as the scent is a love or hate thing. I personally love this scent and to me, it smells so clean, expensive and at the same time yummy. I like to smell my hair after using this, because I rarely find something so yummy-smellling as this scent. The ingredients are quite good and - very important for me- no silicones. I use the conditioner on wet hair at the ends, not at my crown and rinse it off. I blow dry my hair and Iīm done. The effect is bouncy hair with a little more body and my hair is not weighed down at all. Seriously, my hair looks like the hair in these shampoo ads, not like my usual not-so-spectacular hair The conditioner is neither a deep rich repairing conditioner nor will it give you much shine or high gloss finish. It gives body to the hair and a slight messy beachy effect. My hair is more manageable and not so soft. Makes my hair look like Iīve spent a lot of time to style it. All this will make this conditioner to the worst nightmare of people with dry, thick, coarse, coloured, bleached, curly or damaged hair. People who like ultra-glossy and ultra-soft hair and a very moisturizing conditioner will also be disappointed. But for us fine and soft-haired girls, who want body and have more "solid" hair, this is a very good conditioner. It makes the hair look good, feel fuller and stronger and never weighs your hair down. When I go for an extra va va voom for my hair, I combine this with the volumizing tonic from Aveda, which I spray on my roots. This is a combination made in heaven for fine, limp hair. I am really not into styling and blowdrying and spending a lot of time to make my hair look good. This is an easy product for me to use and gives my hair that messy tousled french chic or out of bed rockstar look with no effort at all. Itīs pricey, but in the end, it works and Iīd rather buy one product, that works than buying one useless product after another. Because these useless products just stand in my bathroom cabinet and eventually, I throw them away. Plus, I donīt use conditioner every time I wash my hair, so the bottle will last me a very long time. I recommend this to all the people with hair similar to mine to get beautiful bouncy and gourgeous smelling hair.
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Blush -E.L.F. - All Over Color Stick in Pink Lemonade
franzvonstuck 12/7/2012 2:17:00 PM
I was hooked on this product in a Lisa Eldridge video called "morning after make up". She used it as a cream blush and as she has the same skintone as I have, I thought, Iīd give it a try. The stick is dirt cheap, I paid not even 2 Euros for the stick. Amazing price. Iīm pale (MAC NC 20, BB sand, Bourjois vanilla 52) and literally have no colour in my cheeks, meaning I look pale and struggle with dullness in my complexion. Furthermore, my skin can get dry and flaky in wintertime. Powder rouge, as lovely as my MAC pinch me blush is, can unfortunately add to this problems, especially in wintertime. Cream blush is always a good option to not only give my cheeks a little bit of colour, but also a certain glow, that counteracts the dullness of my complexion. The colour stick in pink lemonade looks a little scary if you see the colour for the first time. I saw it in swatches and thought it too dark and bright. Add the little sparkle in the stick and I thought, Iīd get the eighties disco look with this stick. But donīt be scared of the colour and the sparkles. This really can help you to get a glowy, dewy, flushed look on your cheeks. The first time I applied it, I just slapped it over my make up to see, what the texture and pigmentation is like. And I was surprised in a very postitive way. The pigmentation is not that heavy and you can blend it easily into your skin. You can just blend it with your fingers and make it part of your skin, so it looks all natural and pretty. On my skin, once blended, it turns into a lovely rosy shade with a subtle shimmer in it. The deal with the shimmer is, that in wintertime when skinīs dull and lifeless, this shimmer, which might be a little over top in summertime sunlight, gives you just the right amount of glow, that often lacks. The key is the proper blending of the product. No use in putting it on top of already powdered skin, I use it just diretcly after I put my liquid foundation on and the warmth of my fingers just makes it seamlessly blend into the foundation. I donīt use powder on my skin anyway, so I canīt tell you, how the stick would look with powder on top. But I think using powder on top ruins the finish of the creamblush in my opinion. I canīt judge the effect of this stick on other skin types or skin colours, but for me, it works. I had cream blushes from Bobbi Brown that didnīt work as well as this stick. Really makes me look all glowing and healthy for a really amazing price. Recommended for pale skins and especially in wintertime to add a little va-va-voom to your cheeks and complexion.
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Liquid -Bourjois - Healthy Mix Foundation ] [DISCONTINUED]
franzvonstuck 11/30/2012 2:31:00 PM
I wanted to get my hands on this foundation for such a long time and itīs difficult for me to get it. Iīve been using the Healthy mix serum for a few months,so I can compare the 2 Foundations. The colour is very good for people with yellow or neutral olive undertones as I could detect no pink undertones in the shades. Iīm a MAC NC 20/BB sand and I use the shade vanilla 52, which matches my pale skin with a yellow undertone very good. The texture is light but buildable with a semi matte finish. It has medium coverage, so I can even out my skin tone with it. The finish is very put together and perfect for daytime/office. Makes your skin look natural and good with not too much obvious shine. As I have combo to dry skin, I think, itīs suitable for my skin type. My t-zone is not oilier than usual and my cheeks donīt get dry. I donīt think it works for oily skin or very dry skin. Compared to the Healthy mis serum foundation, I like the serum better. It gives me a more glowing look, whereas the normal foundation can make me look chalky or washed out. But thatīs just my skin and Iīm prone to looking pale and washed out anyway. It also works much better for my skin as I found out the hard way that this foundation makes me break out like nothing before! I never ever broke out from a foundation, but since I use this, I get red bumps and little white cystic pimples around my mouth and chin area. And thatīs exactly where I put the foundation on, because I only use the foundation to even out my skin tone or on areas with discoloration. I stopped using the foundation and hope, that my skin will get back to normal again, because every day I used the foundation gave me more bumps and pimples. I didnīt want to recognize, that it was the foundation that gave me this horrible break out, because I liked it as an alternative to the serum foundation. If your skin tolerates this foundation, it is a good foundation with matching shades for people with yellow undertones. The reason, I gave the foundation 4 lippies is the good performance, but only on people, who donīt break out from this. Roughly estimated from all I read, there are about 20 percent of people, who break out from this and the other 80 percent can use it without breakouts or other skin issues. Just be aware of this fact.
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Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Cosmetic Skin Solutions Hydrating B5 Gel
franzvonstuck 11/22/2012 3:03:00 PM
I received a sample of the skinceuticals at a local pharmacy in Germany and liked it, but I admit, I was too stingy to pay almost 60 Euros for the original Skinceuticals serum. I ordered this product directly from the u.s. website of the company and I used it up, so I canīt say anything about the returning policy or so. I paid about 25 Euros for 30 ml, which is cheap compared to the Skinceuticals, which costs about 45 Euros for 30 ml in the cheapest German online store I could find. I have sensitive, dehydrated, acne-prone combo skin, which is sometimes flaky and patchy. I wanted much moisture to smooth my skin and make the dry spots go away. Another issue was a minimal ingredient list as my skin is sensitive and freaks out if I use too many products with too many ingredients. Basically, I searched for a very neutral and very basic moisturizing serum. I received the serum and used it up, but I admit, I found it a little more sticky compared to the sample of Skinceuticals and it didnīt really sink into my skin. The serum surely did a good job of hydrating my skin and has minimal ingredients , which is a godsend for people with sensitive skin, who donīt want essential oils, too many or highly irritating ingredients. I liked the serum and would recommend it to anyone, who is on a budget and wants to have a good hydrating serum. The difference between the 2 serums is minimal and obviously the css is way cheaper than the Skinceuticals. Personally, I decided to get the Skinceuticals, because I took another sample of their b5 serum with me on a beach holiday and used it a whole week with fabulous results, which I didnīt get from the css. If you can, try to get samples from both serums and find out for yourself, which one you like better. But I can definitely recommend the css serum as I had much more expensive serums from other brands, which were not as good as this one.
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Moisturizers -Avene - skin recovery cream (US name: cream for intolerant skin)
franzvonstuck 11/13/2012 1:16:00 PM
Iīve been using this for years and years and this gem is a staple in my bathroom. In Germany, there a two versions of this cream, a richer and the normal one. I had the normal version of the cream. FYI: My skin is combo-sensitive-dehydrated and acne-prone. The name couldnīt be more precise, because if our skin cannot tolerate any other creams, this one might be the saviour for your skin. The base of this cream is Aveneīs famous thermal water and just a few other minimal ingredients you can see in the ingredients listed above. As mostly people with skin problems use this cream, I recommend to check first if you are allergic to one of the ingredients before use. But if you are lucky and you can use this cream, then you might love it. Many people use it as a daily moisturizer, which may be helpful, if you literally canīt bear putting any other cream on your skin. But my use is that of a S.O.S cream, when I really messed up my skin with a new product. This cream saved my a... so many times. Several times, I got on the verge of having a perioral dermatitis, because I played around and tested too many new products or samples on my skin. The result was itching and red skin around my nose down to my mouth. And my skin got too warm and was feeling uncomfortable. Sometimes, I got a red and dry spot on my left cheek to show the intolerance for a certain product or ingredient. If I would keep using my normal creams, it would get worse and worse as I know from painful experience in the past, when I needed to go to a dermatologist, who set me on a "cream diet". But this cream saved my skin along with a strict regimen for reacting skin. I wash my face with Eucerin re-balance cleanser and spray loads and loads of thermal water on my skin to cool down and restore the skin. Then I use this cream and nothing else for a few days. What can I say, it works magic. I notice that my skin is always getting better with this cream and it helps my skin to recover fully again from hypersensitivity. But I never use this cream over weeks or months. To be honest, it never broke my out or caused any weird reaction. I think, itīs just not a daily moisturizer for me as I normally can tolerate other creams, so I am not depending on using this as some people with severe skin problems. If you have put your skin in overload, then this is the cream to calm your skin down and save you from having a periorale dermatitis. I also read that some people had cured their perioral dermatitis with this cream. This cream is a must have if youīre a beautyjunkie like I am and sometimes try too many products. I highly recommend this cream cause it does what it claims: it saves you when you need help to recover and calm your skin.
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Scrubs -Origins - Modern Friction
franzvonstuck 11/1/2012 6:49:00 AM
Iīm not the greatest fan of manual peelings and rather use enzyme peelings like Kaneboīs silk peel powder. My skin is combo-acne-prone dehydrated with a tendency to look dull. While my skin is pale, I also struggle with melasma and an uneven skintone. I was given a deluxe sample of modern friction by a SA I know and she told me to try it, because she liked it a lot. I checked the ingredients first and anyone whoīs allergic to plant extracts or doesnīt react good towards a strong concentration of vitamin c should be careful. You might get an allergic reaction or a burning feeling. I tried the peeling wet as I didnīt want the peeling to be too harsh. The peeling comes in a tub and is a thick white paste with grains in it. Smells good as always with Origins like lemon and plants I put the peeling in my hand (quite a generous amount) and added some water. Then I put it on my skin and massaged it in. After that, I put more water on my face and lathered it more up. I went on with that slowly putting more and more water on until I splashed my face with loads of water. The peeling takes some time to be removed. And accidentally, while splashing my face, some of it came to my eyes. Ouch. As the other reviewers said, be really careful beacuse the vitamin c burns like hell in your eyes. The result was at first a skin with some red spots the immediately went away. I didnīt react allergic and my skin can take higher concentrations of antioxodants as vitamin c. After that, I put a calming and moisturizing mask on (Nuxe or Avene), but be careful that the mask just gives plenty of moisture without further "pushing" the skin. My skin had the slightest afterburn and felt thisty. I wanted my skin to calm down and soak up some moisture with the mask,which was exactly what happened. The slight afterburn just stayed all day and after the mask, I put on my Avene rich moisturizer. My skin looks good and feels babysoft after the peeling. The longlasting effects are to be seen, but I will update about it. I really wouldnīt advise tho use this mask every day, because this is a strong peeling and your skin can just go into overload from the excessice peeling. Many reviewers just used this peeling too often and I couldnīt help but wonder, how much damage such a strong peeling used every single day can cause to your skin. Can destroy your natural skin barrier and skin balance, cause a lack of moisture or oils in the skin and broken capillaries. So, less is more with any peeling, I would say. In fact, I would say, use it once a week, maybe even less often. And you have to use sunscreen after the peeling, because ths skin is sensitized to sun exposure. For myself, I would use it once or twice a month when I want a peeling with a little more va-va-voom than my usual mild enzyme peeling. And I have skin, that kreatinizes too much, so that should tell you, that this peeling is tough stuff. Many people with sensitive skin or allegies wonīt be able to use this at all. I suggest to try and get a sample, because this is not suitable for everyone. For me, this works as an extra for my skin from time to time and is a great additon to my usual mild peeling. Update 03112012: This is a big no and I changed from 5 lippies to 1 lippie. This gave me a red dry spot in my left cheek and it proves, yes, you have to be careful with that peeling. Pampered my skin with a rich moisturizer and some eight hour cream and thank god the spot is gone.Needless to say I wonīt buy a full size and I recommed to be cautious with this peeling.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Club Eye Shadow
franzvonstuck 10/28/2012 2:37:00 PM
Like many girls, I had a hard time to make this eyeshadow work. Club is officially described as "a red brown with a green shimmer". I would say, the colour is more complex when you look at it, like brown, green and blue mixed toghether. It sparkles and looks different depending on the way you wear it. I swatched it on my hand and was sold. Such a pretty colour. But - and thereīs a huge but here- it was hard for me to wear it like I wanted it to wear: Shimmery with all the greenish-blueish-shimmer really coming out! All I got first was a reddish-brown colour and I canīt really wear warm-toned shadows, so I looked horrible. But I figured out, what to do to bring out the real beautiful complex colour of this eyeshadow. First, I used it wet as an eyeliner and it really rocks. Being more flattering than black liner, glamorous with the shimmery colour and at the same time subtle enough to wear in daytime. A bit more tricky was the use as an actual eyeshadow. Thereīs no use in slather it on your lids without a good base like a MAC paint pot. I use a paint pot in ochre as a base and then pat it on with an eyeshadow brush. No stroking or wiping the colour over the lid. If the colour gets a little reddish where I blend, I put a little of copperplate eyeshadow on and blend it well. This avoids the gruelsome reddish brown, which makes me look like I cried myself to sleep. I use mostly greys with this shadow to make the colour look more cool-toned. Sometimes, I use it wet as an eyeshadow, with just a tiny bit of water to create a thick paste, that I pat on my lids. But again, this only works with a good base like a paint pot. Depending on how dark you want it to be, you can also put a middle or dark toned eyeshadow like copperplate, typographic or carbon over the paint pot first and then add club. Or use blackground as paint pot if you want a more colourful, shimmery smokey eye. I can say, that I love this colour now that I found out how to use it. Itīs not the easiest colour from MAC, but love it all the same.
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