Liquid -Rimmel - Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation
Aishteru85 8/31/2012 1:42:00 AM
I have heard so much about this. Some even say this was on par with Rev CS, which I love. For ref I am NC35 in Mac PLW, Tawny in ELDW, 310+330 in Rev CS. I have very oily skin and live in a hot and humid tropical weather and I have a mild to moderate acne scarring. I have Asian-Yellow undertone. Shade: I got this in Nude 202. I feel that this matches my skin to a tee. This has a yellow undertone which is great. It wasnt too yellow like some of MAC's. I find that this has the best undertone for my skin of all the foundation I've tried. And the good part also is that it didnt oxidize on me, stays true to color all day. Application and Texture: I find the texture rather runny, usually a long wearing foundation would be slightly thick, but this is runny, which is weird because some dewy foundations are thicker than this. You'd think that since it's runny, it would be easily blended right? Well, no. Upon application, this left my face feeling tacky. I tried using a flat top brush, Elf and Sigmax F80, and I find that it sat on top of my skin and created a cakey mask. It went on super streaky and tacky and would not blend into my skin, no matter what. I had to stop using the brushes and used my fingers, only then it melted slightly to blend in. Applying using fingers although helps the foundation melt and blend in, it's still super tacky and streaky. It took awhile to blend in properly,in short it was a lot of effort i didnt expect to put, bcuz i didnt really have problems with foundation being so hard to blend before, and I never had to put so much effort in trying to get it to blend and melt into my skin, no not even with revlon cs which is considerably thicker than this. This is a first for me. I wouldnt say it was hard to blend because it dried quickly-honestly it wasnt drying quickly, i feel that the tackiness of the foundation made it hard to blend and it took a while for it to dry/set. A good news is that it didnt settle into pores and didnt highlight any flakies I have, and it wasnt drying my skin out-felt slightly hydrating after the tackiness had gone. Coverage: This gave a medium coverage. And not really buildable, in the sense that when you layer it it would be suppperrr cakey and just sat on top of the skin, since it is very hard to melt and blend into the skin in the first place. In the event you successfully manage to build it, which still left your face cakey you could skip concealer with this and it does cover acne scarring well. Honestly, this isnt a foundation that could be layered without getting the mask face. Longevity: This didnt control my oil at all. I was super oily in my 3rd hour of wearing and had to constantly blot through out the day (Constantly like 6-8 times). Lasted for a at least 7- 8 hours, but then disintegarated on the 8th hour and showed all my acne scarring. which is horrible cuz i usually work up to 12 hours a day. On a day where I had to walk around and sweat a little more and not just sit in my air conditioned office, this melted off my face on the 5th hour of wearing, and left me supeer oily...I feel that this is a foundation where you can put on if you are not running around or sweating or doing anything moderately active, but if you are, look elsewhere. however I feel that this would last fairly well on someone with combination/normal and dry skin as it is slightly hydrating. As I do tend to have crazy oily skin and i live in the warmer region, this isnt great for me. This might be great for someone who lives in the cooler region. Packaging: Comes in a squeeze tube, which is hygienic and costs less than USD10. All in all, would I recommend it? Well, if you're oily-skip this. Not worth the money. But if you have combi/normal/dry skin. Although I think this would last so much better on your skin type, the blendability and texture is bad at least for me. Try a sample first if you could get your hands on them. See how it blends on your skin. Hope this helps.
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Eye Shadow -Urban Decay - Naked Palette
Aishteru85 8/25/2012 10:52:00 AM
I have had this awhile, I jumped on the Naked bandwagon only earlier this year. It was kinda late. The colors are beautiful and when swatched are supremely pigmented. It has quite a bit of fall out but the texture of the shadows are buttery smooth. Why then do I give this a 3. Well, i feel that the colors while beautiful and pigmented when swatched and in the palette itself. It doesnt translate quite as pretty when worn on my eyes. I am an NC35 btw, most mid tone colors on the palette show up looking very similar to each other on my lids. I dont know whether my skin tone or undertone has something to do with the colors not translating well on the lids, but it was pretty disappointing. Without primer, the colors barely even have any decent color pay off on my lids. With primer, the colors look pretty much similar to each other and when blended in looked very muddle. The vibrancy of the shadows were amazing when swatched but on my lids with primer, looked muddled and dull. Without primer, it looked like i had cheap glittery shadows on. I'm a little disappointed as the wear and texture of the eyeshadows are great, and the colors when swatched are also beautiful, but nonetheless it didnt translate well on my eyes or skin tone. And the fact it costs around USD60.00 is even more disappointing.Great palette, but just doesnt work for me. Quite disppointing when a cheap eyeshadow like WnW works well on me and a thousand times more vibrant than UD Naked. Sigh~~
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Highlighters -Milani - Illuminating Face Powder
Aishteru85 8/25/2012 3:32:00 AM
I got this in Amber Nectar. I wanted to get this because the packaging with the cute roses and the soft colors just sucked me into it. It was meant for use as a bronzer, highlighter and a blush. To be honest, I had watched reviews on this on YT and it was negatively reviewed. I still wanted to try it because the powder is so cute! Anyways, honestly this took quite bit of an effort to get it to show up on my medium-tan skin NC35 to be exact. Worn on top of foundation and powder, it takes at least 6-8 swipes before I notice a color pay off. I use this mainly as a blush cum highlighter. On my cheeks this shows up peachy-pink with gold sheen, which is beautiful but getting it to show up was a pain. When worn alone on the skin, this took at least 4 swipes to get it to show up. On my sister whose skin is NC20, it took at least 3 swipes before it showed up on her. Pigmentation is quite low on this, and the texture isnt powdery. The good news is that it comes with a large amount of product that will probably last a while. This stayed on for a mere 4 hours before disappearing. This might work as a highlighter for skin deeper than NC35, but for paler girls, this could work as a bronzer. Would I repurchase, weird but yes....solely because the packaging is too cute to resist, and the color after much effort of layering does show up a beautiful peachy pink with gold sheen, which reminds me of TheBalm Hot Mama blush.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Unlisted Brand - Organic Aid Vitamin E Moisturizing Cream
Aishteru85 8/25/2012 1:59:00 AM
I was in the market for a moisturizer that is very very moisturizing since my very very oily skin was ruined by Benzoyl Peroxide and turned it into angry, itchy, red, dry-oily, peeling mess. I started using Benzoyl Peroxide, a while ago, as a measure to control the number of my acne. It was quite bad, at some point. While, the BP did help in reducing the number of my breakouts tremendously, it also ruined my skin. My regular moisturizer wasnt moisturizing enough to help combat the side effects of BP. So, I picked it up since I saw the very minimal list of ingredients this has. On first application, I was quite scared. The cream was supremely thick and it felt like one of the Body Shop Body butter. If you've tried those, you know how thick this cream is. I was quite skeptical about it since it was thick that I thought it would clog my pores. I applied very little on my face and blended in. Wow, did it take my energy to blend in, but once blended in, it disappeared into my skin and it wasnt the slightest bit oily! Amazing, can you imagine a thick gloopy cream that blended in without leaving the skin oily at all. My skin felt moisturized, hydrated and comfortable without being greasy. I was amazed. So, began my love affair with this cream, within 3 days, I noticed that my face has calmed down, it wasnt red or angry anymore, no more peeling and drying. The cream took care of my skin and brought it back to normal (I was still using BP at this time). My skin became normal and it countered the side effects of BP. Within a week, i saw improvements of my acne scars. My hyper pigmentation has reduced tremendously. And I had not experienced break outs from this. Now, I have stopped using BP, I have switched to other treatment that was less harsh on my skin, but I'm still using this. Now, my skin has returned to its crazy oily ways, but even on my now very oily skin, this is still amazing, doesnt break me out and blends in well, hyrdates without leaving me greasy. I love this. So, if you have combi/skin or dry skin or very oily skin. This suits every skin type there is, improves scarring tremendously, hydrating and moisturizing and so non-greasy, a tub is less than USD 10.00 that will last you at least 6 months. The downside of this is that it comes in a tub, it can be unhygienic, but with cotton bud dipping, it helps keep it hygienic.This saved my skin, and is still helping me improve my hyper pigmentations. Truly and highly recommended. I hope they will never stop making this. HG moisturizer!!!
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Lip Treatments -Nivea - A Kiss of Flavor Strawberry Tinted Lipcare SPF 4
Aishteru85 8/25/2012 1:32:00 AM
This is a decent lip balm, not my fave but decent enough to moisturize my lips and giving it a hint of color. First off, in terms of formulation, i prefer a lip balm that has a creamy formulation with a hint of color. This doesnt have the formulation that I like. It's moisturizing yes, but not in a creamy-moisturizing way more like oily-moisturizing way.This is not waxy at all. In short,this feels like a lighter version of tinted vaseline on my lips. The wear is okay, lasted about 2 hours without food or drink intake, and gives off a slight hint of redness on your lips. Has a good spf 4. The price is really cheap. So, if you're just looking for a lip balm that will hydrate your lips and arent too picky with the formulation like me. Give this a try. Pretty darn good.
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Lotions/ Creams -Crabtree & Evelyn - Nantucket Briar Hand Therapy
Aishteru85 8/22/2012 10:02:00 AM
I use a hand lotion every night right before bed and usually use the Gardeners Hand Therapy, but I got bored and wanted to switch it up a little. I think this performed pretty average. It does moisturize my hands but not as good as the Gardeners. Do note however, i sleep in an air conditioned room and my hands can get a tad dry especially after hand washing. After application it usually absorbs pretty easily and doesnt leave my hands greasy the texture is just nice not too thick and not runny either nicely done in the middle, however most of the time, after half an hour to one hour later, i find my hands feeling tight and needing to reapply this lotion again. The morning after, i find my hands to be pretty normal, not soft and silky just normal. Note, that this never happened with the Gardeners. Usually with the Gardeners, I do not need to reapply the lotion, it pretty much kept my hands moisturize until the next morning and usually when I wake up, my hands are pretty soft and silky. Needless to say, this isnt as good as the Gardeners and the price is the same. This lasted me about 6 months with every night usage. I will be switching back to the Gardeners or may try other variant or even other brands. This retails for about USD22.00 where I'm at, pretty darn expensive...Not recommended, if you want to try a hand therapy from C&E, try the Gardeners instead.
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Misc Beauty Tools -Clarisonic - Acne Clarifying Collection
Aishteru85 8/22/2012 12:49:00 AM
I bought this since it launched earlier this year. I have been wanting to get MIA for sometime and when this launched, I was super excited as I do suffer from acne. Not severe but mild to moderate, and was supremely thrilled when this came out. I ordered it and including shipping it was around USD200.00. Yes super expensive, since I dont live in the States. The Mia that comes with this set is a MIA 2, which comes with a tea timer and adjustable speed. Honestly, the speed option is useless cuz I only ever use the slow speed. but I feel the tea timer helps a lot, so that I know when to move on to a different area of my face while cleansing. The set came with MIA 2, acne clarifying brush and an acne clarifying cleanser which contains Salicylic Acid of 2%. I honestly dont like the brush, I feel that its too soft and doesnt give my face a good clean, and since then have switched to the sensitive brush head. And the cleanser is a pretty basic cleanser that helps a little in controlling break outs. All in all, does this help vanish all my acne? Well, no. Not an acne miracle tool. This helps especially if you wear make up to get rid of any gunk stuck in pores-and it does help you get clogged free but no, it would not prevent future breakouts, however with the cleanser, it does help reduce the number of acne, but not by much. It does however help your skin becomes slightly softer and will definitely improve your skin's texture overtime. All in all, I feel that this is an essential tool if you wear make up daily and want to be sure that all make up is cleansed off, but if you dont wear make up and you're looking to buy this thinking it would help eradicate your acne, well this isnt it. Look elsewhere. Nevertheless if you want to get the MIA, I'd suggest getting the MIA 1 OR 2, no need to spend the extra cash on this one, or better yet try Hitachi Hada Crie-and that one I'm in love with!
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Eyeliner -Avon - Glimmersticks eye liner
Aishteru85 8/21/2012 5:38:00 AM
Wow, this truly is one very horrible eyeliner. This smudges on me like no tomorrow! I look like a panda! Its sad because, it glides on effortlessly without tugging my eyelids and has a creamy texture and supremely pigmented color-black, not only that this is like super cheapy! But it smudges really badly and made me look like a panda. Maybe with someone who does not have oily lids, this would work out for them. But on me, this is a no-go.
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Crème -Revlon - ColorStay Whipped Creme Makeup
Aishteru85 8/21/2012 5:27:00 AM
This is a great foundation. I love Rev CS liquid but this is even better! For ref I am an NC35 in PLW, Tawny in ELDW, 310 +330 in Rev CS. I have very oily skin and i live in a hot and humid tropical climate. Coverage: Gives a medium to full coverage. Covers my moderate acne scars well and I can skip concealer. Finish: A semi-matte finish. Application: Great using fingers and F80 sigmax. Gives a flawless airbrushed look. Great blendability, applies like a dream-smooth and creamy doesnt dry quickly. Gives room and time to blend properly. Texture is luxuriously thick creamy-puddingy...LOVE, the texture! Feels lightweight and airy and doesnt feel mask-like as compared to Rev CS. Shade: I got this in 330 which is a shade darker than me, with a strong pinky undertone. I have yellow undertone. Far from being a match, but once blended, you can get away with it. Will be trying out 320 in warm golden soon. Wear: Holds up on my very oily skin for at least 12 hours, even then it has faded only slightly. Controls oil reallyx8 well. Wore it at 7am and by noon I was not the slightest bit oily. That is a miracle on my very very oily skin. Removal: The only downside is removal. I feel that this leaves gargantuan traces behind even when cleansing with Clarisonic. My cotton pad still is dirty with this foundation. So, double-triple cleansing is important so that it doesnt clog pores. So far with proper cleansing, I have not broken out from this. My new fave. I hope 320 matches me better. Highly recommended!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Powder -NYX - Stay Matte but not Flat Powder Foundation
Aishteru85 8/21/2012 5:12:00 AM
UPDATE 3/11/2012-I have almost hit pan on this powder, been using it so much with my bb creams that are a shade too light for me, i'd like to add that, this doesnt get cakey no matter how much you layer it on...so it isnt like MAC studio fix where you have super caked faced... I got this in No.6-medium beige. I am an NC35. This is actually 1 1/2 shades darker than my skin tone after oxidation, which is rare bcuz I have never stumbled upon a powder that oxidize. This is a first for me. On initial application this suits my skin well, but after layering and oxidizing, this left me looking muddy and dirty. Hasnt broken me out. Texture is a little powdery. Stays on for at least 4 hours and then i started getting oily.I have not worn this alone as, I use this mainly to set my foundation so I couldnt comment on the wear of it-when worn alone. I now use this to color correct any foundations that I have picked up that is lighter than my actual skin tone. Thanks to this, I can now use all my foundations that are a shade lighter than my skin (accidentally purchased and couldnt return). When worn on top of foundation that is lighter, it darkens it to suit my exact skin tone. Coverage is a medium. Layering this after foundation, gives an added coverage. Comes with a mirror and a puff. Doesnt control oil all that well. All in all, a mediocre powder. But I would repurchase this solely for its ability to color correct my liquid foundations when worn on top.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Bourjois - Rose Coup de Foudre 16
Aishteru85 8/21/2012 4:44:00 AM
A beautiful color. A peachy pink blush with a slight shimmer that is just nice without being overwhelming. Texture wise, not powdery but not creamy either, the dome shape powder is hard. A little weird, but the powder is like a big round block of hardened flour, if that made sense. Not pigmented enough, had to swipe a good 5-8 times, to get it to show up on my NC35 skin, lasts arorund 6-8 hours on the cheeks. Hasnt broken me out. Giving a three for the lack of pigmentation, when it hardens...a nice interesting color though. Has a strong fake rosey smell, that may induce vomiting. Will not repurchase.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Foundations -NYX - Hd foundation
Aishteru85 8/21/2012 4:30:00 AM
I bought this after reading the glowing review on here. This is actually a decent foundation. For ref, I am an NC35 in PLW, Tawny in ELDW, 310 +330 in Rev CS. I have supremely oily skin and live in a hot and humid climate where on any given day the temp could reach to at least 38-40 degrees. I have an asian yellow undertone Coverage: This gives a light and true medium coverage and buildable without being cakey. Building is not a problem as it stays somewhat satiny like and doesnt give the mask like effect. You can skip concealer with this, once you've built it up quite a bit. gives a satiny finish. Shade: It has a good range of shade, but dont be fool by the shade number. I initially got this in Shade 4, thinking its darker than shade 3. But unfortunately i was mistaken. Shade four is lighter than shade 3. Shade 4 has a yellow undertone while shade 3 has a pinky undertone.Anyhow, shade 3 is a good match for me albeit having pinky undertone. Once blended, the undertone was not so obvious. Texture: Texture isnt thick and isnt runny. Nicely done in the middle, spreads evenly and quite easy to blend and doesnt dry too quickly. Giving you time to blend in properly. I find applying this with fingers or F80 sigmax gives off the most airbrushed and full cover look. Reaction: No break outs so far. Wear time: This is the down fall/down side of this foundation. This is all round a great foundation but the wear time sucks. at least on my oily skin, by 3pm (applying it around 7 am), this would have started to disintegrate-meaning by the 8th hour all my acne scars are showing through like i didnt wear any foundation at all. In short, this probably would work so much better for someone with normal/dry skin. Oily skin, not so much..The good part is that it doesnt oxidize on me, stays true to color throughout the day.Doesnt control oil that well, have to blot on the 2nd third hour of wearing. Packaging and Price: Packaging is nice, comes with a pump, and it dispenses just the right amount of product without being wasteful. Comes in a plastic bottle. Price is pretty expensive plus shipping for a drugstore product. All in all a pretty decent foundation,would work much better for normal/dry skin...very oily gals should skip this...
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Powder -MAC - Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation
Aishteru85 7/20/2012 2:19:00 AM
I have this in NC40. I have very oily skin and I live in a tropical climate. This actually stays on when worn alone for at least 10 hours on my very oily skin, even when I sweat like a pig this stays on and only started to disappear after the 12 hour marks. It has medium to full coverage and the color is just a perfect match for me and isnt too orangey/muddy. Oil controlling properties is actually pretty decent, keeps me matte for at least 5 hours, considering I'm naturally very oily.This hasnt broken me out. The downside of this powder is that it gets cakey if you try to achieve full coverage. It looks unnatural and powdery. It looks as though you powdered you face with flour. After a few hours, it makes your face looks grainy/and is actually quite drying, even on my oily face. It also highlights all flakies you might have. And sometimes, when I wear this after the 5 hour mark, my skin itches a little bit. All in all, this has its pros and cons for a full cover foundation and you need to spritz on a setting spray after applying this, to take off that powdery look. Price is a little on the expensive side. But lasts a very long time. Packaging is the standard MAC black packaging. Would I recommend? Well 50/50. Try a sample first and see how you like it...
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Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Home Health - Blemish Treatment Lotion
Aishteru85 7/19/2012 4:36:00 AM
This has cut down my pimples by almost 60%. Yes. I am not kidding. I have mild to moderate acne at any one time. On any given day, I'd have at least 5-6 active pimples, and the rest would be post acne marks. I have been battling acne all my life until i stumbled upon this with glowing review on iherb and it was always rapidly going out of stock and I figured it must be quite good, if not it would not be selling like hot cakes. This and many other products are not available in my country but the the internet is so helpful! I picked it up from iherb at an amazing price for such a great shipping rate. This is not a lotion the consistency is of a toner. I usually use this without the cotton pad. I apply it directly on my hands and rub it in on my face. Any active pimples I have that night, would have been so minuscule in the morning....And this has helped me get almost a clear face. And what i like abt this, that this is not as drying as compared to when i use Benzoyl peroxide. AT one point, I have acne free face for at least 3 days. Something I have not experienced in a long long time. Now, on any given day I may have one to 2 pimples active, much less than before. Thanks to this product, my breakouts have been reduced tremendously. It really works, at least for me...it doesnt cure your acne but it sure helps reducing their number...and thanks to this, I get closer to acne free skin..highly recommended
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Liquid -Sephora - Perfecting Cover Foundation
Aishteru85 7/19/2012 4:03:00 AM
I got this in no.25-beige. For ref I use ELDW in Tawny, MAC PLW in NC35, Rev CS in 330 + 310, Bourjois Healthy Mix in No.55. I have very oily skin, I have moderate acne scarring and I live in a tropical climate. The reason why I include my skin type and coloring is because when choosing a new foundation, I rely on MUA to get my right shade. SAs frequently matched me to a shade too dark. Anyway, I love the texture ...it is almost mousse-like and so airy. Very lightweight and offers a medium to full coverage. Great at covering my moderate acne scarring and I didnt need concealer. And for a full cover foundation this is supremely airy. It blends well and the color I picked was an exact match, it wasnt too yellow orangey on me, the undertone is yellow but not MAC yellow. It blends into my skin and become almost undetectable. It doesnt get cakey even after layering, it literally adapted into my skin. Did not highlight my flakies and did not leave me looking flat as it has almost a satiny finish.Did not oxidize on my supremely oily skin. This would have been my HG foundation had it not been for the bad staying power. I mean...damn it...damn it..damn it...It stayed on less than four hours and then it started disappearing. I was in an air conditioned room the whole time!.......If you are looking for a medium to full coverage foundation that isnt cakey and If you have normal to dry skin. This might work well for you. But on me, this lasted a mere 4 hours. Worst staying power I have ever seen in a foundation....Other than the staying power....this is aaaaaaaaammmmmmazing. So give this a go if you have normal to dry skin. This might work for you.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No