Lotions/ Creams -Gold Bond - Ultimate Healing Skin Therapy Lotion
blondeambitioned 1/19/2008 2:16:00 PM
I am surprised that I am in the minority here - but I really did not have any luck at all with this product. I went out and bought this lotion after my skin got extremely dry and itchy from the winter weather - a problem I always have every winter. I liked the fresh fragrance, but I felt like the lotion sat on my skin in one big, heavy coat and didn't sink in at all. I did not feel that the itching improved very much, if at all - I still woke up in the middle of the night clawing at my skin. I also put this on a patch of stubborn eczema I had - and woke up the next morning to find that it got tremendously WORSE!! Whatever was in this seriously irritated my skin and my patch of eczema, which had been disappearing, grew 3 or 4 times in size! I was horrified. I used this every day for about a week hoping that I would see some improvement and didn't. I was not impressed by the ingredients at all - just take a look at the main ingredients - dimethicone (silicone that actually dries out skin but makes it 'feel' like it is smoother), petrolatum (mineral oil/irritant), cetyl alcohol (alcohol obviously dries out skin), stearyl alcohol, cetearyl alcohol, propolyne glycol (irritant). Not impressed at all - went back to my trusty sweet almond oil.
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Styling Products -Bumble & Bumble - Tonic Lotion
blondeambitioned 1/19/2008 1:06:00 PM
I really couldn't live without this product. Ever since I switched from my former detangler to this my dry, brittle, fragile fine color-treated hair went to silk. My hair does not break at all anymore and does not get dry, even in the wintertime!! Makes my tangly hair a breeze to comb through and doesn't weigh down my hair at all. My hairdresser says this has even cleared up patches of ezcema for her... I haven't tried it but I wouldn't be surprised, given the fact that it has tea tree oil. I love the fact that this is *almost* all-natural but I'm not a big fan of the fact that it contains parabens - so I keep it away from my scalp. Regardless, I don't think I will ever stray from this!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Makeup Artist's Choice (MUAC) - Copper Peptide Serum
blondeambitioned 1/16/2008 9:28:00 AM
I liked most of the MUAC items I have tried so far, but the quality of this 'serum' is really sub-par. I used to use NuGlow's Copper Peptide Serum and had amazing results, so I tried this hoping this would be just as good. Not even close. First off, this does not have a 'serum' consistency - it is a watery, runny, copper solution. It comes in a cheap-looking plastic bottle that does not keep the solution stable. I didn't notice any effects on my acne marks at all - with the NuGlow I would see distinct lightening of marks overnight, with this, I see absolutely nothing. I would rather pay more money and get a higher-quality GHK Copper Peptide serum that really works.
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Cleansers -Everyday Minerals - Everyday African Soap
blondeambitioned 1/3/2008 1:39:00 PM
I have been crazy about most of Everyday Minerals' stuff lately, especially their all-natural beauty bars, soaps, and lotions! This was one of the last products I tried.... mainly because I have very temperamental, oily, acne-prone skin that throws a temper tantrum every time I use a new skincare product. I have stuck to the same cleanser for years, in fear that anything else will make me break out. I thought I would give this a try since I am trying to move to all-natural products, and I am so glad I did! I thought that the claim that African Soap clears up breakouts is a myth (I've heard that said about many things) - but it's true!! I have been using this every morning and have not experienced ONE breakout. It also has helped relieve the itching with patches of eczema! For me, that's a very big deal! I am especially surprised because the soap gives you that 'sweaky clean' feeling (due to the glycerin, no doubt), which made me think that the natural oils were being stripped dry from my face and would cause me to break out worse... but that has not happened at all. I have been using this in the winter and have not felt that this has irritated or dried out my skin.
For $3.50 for a bar, you really should give it a try!! I am happy I did :)
Ingredients: Black Soap powder, Saponified Olive Oil (Olea europaea oil), purified water, Palm oil (Elaeis guineensis oil), Coconut Oil (Cocos nucifera oil), sodium hydroxide, Shea butter (Butyrospermum parkii oil), Tea Tree Oil (Melaleuca alternifolia oil), Eucalyptus Oil (Eucalyptus globulus oil), rosemary oleoresin extract (Rosmarinus officinalis oil), Lavender Essential Oil (Lavandula angustifolia oil), Honey, vegetable glycerin, Vitamin E (tocopherol)
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Masks -Makeup Artist's Choice (MUAC) - Pumpkin Exfoliating Masque
blondeambitioned 1/1/2008 8:55:00 PM
I'm surprised that there hasn't been any reviews on this product yet, since Makeup Artist's Choice claims that this is one of their best-selling products. I can see why - this mask is intense! Although it is recommended for people with dry or normal skins, I have oily skin and this suited me just fine.
If you have tried MUAC's glycolic masks before, you should have some idea of what to expect from this. This is a professional-strength mask - much stronger than any mask you would find in a store. It is a blend of mashed pumpkin blended with 5% glycolic acid and essential oils. When you put it on, you will have mashed pumpkin all over your face! They say that you will experience 'slight tingling', though I would categorize it as 'mild burning'. My skin is probably sensitized from the retinol products I have been using - although I discontinued use a few days ago.
After 5 minutes, I washed the mask off with a non-soap cleanser (I recommend Alpha Hydrox's cleansers). Water alone will not wash this product off. My face was red as a beet afterwards, but after a few minutes (and application of their copper peptide serum) the burning was gone and my skin went back to its normal color. My skin looks nicely exfoliated, although I saw better results with the 40% Glycolic Peel. Not sure if the added pumpkin makes much of a difference, although I do like that this product is almost entirely natural!
Ingredients: Cucurbita pepo (Pumpkin), Aqua (Water), Glycolic Acid, Propylene Glycol, Vaccinium myrtillus (Bilberry) Fruit extract, Saccharum officinarum (Sugar Cane) Extract, Acer saccharinum (Sugar Maple) Extract, Citrus aurantium dulcis (Orange) Fruit Extract, Citrus medica limonum (Lemon) Extract, Kosher Vegetable Glycerin, Matricaria chamomilla (Chamomile) Essential Oil, Cinnamomum cassia (Cinnamon) Bark, Zingiber officinale (Ginger) Root Powder, Pimenta officinalis (Allspice) Essential Oil, Myristica fragrans (Nutmeg) Powder, Pimenta officinalis (Allspice) Powder, Methyl/Propyl Parabens, EDTA
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -Everyday Minerals - Cosmetic Wet Wipes
blondeambitioned 12/28/2007 4:59:00 PM
I know I have been raving about Everyday Minerals' products lately... but this product is absolutely amazing!! Us oily-skinned gals would be hard-pressed to find a 'cosmetic wipe' that doesn't break you out, contain nasty chemicals and/or fragrances, or leave nasty film on your skin. I love toting these for use before/after the gym to keep my skin clear, but many brands (like Boots, for example) contain harmful parabens and leave a film behind, making it feel like it did more harm than good! Well, girls, I think I've found the perfect wipe! For $3.50, you get 80 large towelettes (baby-wipe sized, not the wimpy 'cosmetic wipe' size), and get this... the ingredients are all-natural and organic, and they smell amazing, despite the fact that they don't contain a trace of synthetic fragrance. A few swipes with this and you are left with clean, makeup-free skin... it wipes every trace of oil, makeup, and dirt away... I really think this could possibly replace a traditional cleanser! Honestly, you would be crazy not to give these a try. One of the best beauty bargains I think I have ever found!
**My only gripe, and a note to fellow ingredient hounds.... While phenoxyethanol is an organic compound that prevents bacteria from forming, it is toxic and is classified as an irritant, however, it is used in many cosmetics.... considering this is low on the list of ingredients, I would think many people could use this product without experiencing irritation. Just follow with a few pats of moisturizer to keep skin from getting too dry.**
Ingredients: Water, Aloe Vera, Lavender Hydrosol, Organic Lavender Essential Oil, Organic Grapefruit Essential Oil, Extracts of Green Tea, Chamomile Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Potassium Sorbate, Grapefruit Seed Extract, Citric Acid.
18 out of 18 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Skinceuticals - Refining Night Cream With .5% Pure Retinol
blondeambitioned 12/26/2007 11:46:00 AM
This product is expensive, but the results are worth it. The esthetician that I go to uses this on her skin religiously, and she has young, fresh-looking and nearly wrinkle-free skin at 40! My skin is thick, oily, and highly tolerant of most topical treatments, so I thought I could jump the gun and start putting this on every night at first - bad idea! My skin got mildly irritated and very flaky. I toned it down to once every other night and those effects subsided. If you have sensitive skin, you should really stick to the guideline of 2X week for the first few weeks. Once your skin 'adjusts' and you start seeing positive results, you can slowly move up to using it every night. You will start seeing more even-toned, 'brighter', and younger looking skin within 3-4 weeks! The only complaint that I have is that this does not help clear pores at all like some other topical retinoids do (Avita Gel). In fact, some of the ingredients in this product (i.e. silicones) probably contribute to clogged pores.
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Skincare - Body -Avalon Organics Botanicals - Lavender Hand & body Lotion
blondeambitioned 12/9/2007 9:15:00 PM
You'd be hard-pressed not to find a good body lotion nowadays that isn't chock full of harmful parabens or synthetic ingredients. This one stands up to the test - it glides on and leaves the skin moisturized and silky, while delicately fragranced with organic lavender oil. The pump bottle is very convenient and tidy. Perfect to keep on your desk at work - prevent your hands from getting dry, and let the lavender scent ease your tensions away. Ingredients: Purified water, cyclopentasiloxane, cetearyl alcohol, polysorbate 60, organic helianthus annuus (sunflower) oil(1), cetyl alcohol, vegetable glycerin, sorbitol, stearyl alcohol, dimethicone, organic lavandula angustifolia (lavender) flower(1), calendula officinalis (calendula) flower(1) and chamomilla recutita (chamomile) flower(2) extracts, babassuamidopropalkonium chloride, bisabolol (chamomile), organic theobroma cacao (cocoa butter)(1), organic linum usitatissimum (flaxseed) and cocos nucifera (coconut) oils(1), sodium chloride, beta-glucan (oat), ethylhexylglycerin, arginine (amino acid), stearic acid, organic lavandula angustifolia (lavender) oil(3) and other essential oils.
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Lotions/ Creams -Everyday Minerals - Coffee Everyday Everywears
blondeambitioned 12/9/2007 1:21:00 PM
Mmm, wearing this is like a (guilt-free) trip to Starbucks! The 'Everywear' is designed to be used just about, well, everywhere, and you can use it on your body, lips, face, anywhere! It comes in a small tin for $4 - the tin is quite small, even for the price, think smaller than EM's mineral powder tin. It has the annoying screw-off top, which isn't easy to open when your hands are slick with lotion. What is inside, however, is well worth the money. The lotion has the consistency of a whipped balm, and smooths on like silk over any rough spots. It doesn't sink in completely into your skin (which is good if you plan on using it as a lip balm), so it is better to use it sparingly. However, it does not give you a 'greasy' feel. This definitely has a true 'coffee' scent, and it does contain caffeine, which is good for stimulating circulation on your lips or hips :) This makes an amazing petroleum-free lip balm, and it's well worth the money if you plan on using it for this purpose, but I doubt this would last more than a few weeks if you plan on using it on your body.
So Everyday Minerals, put this little gem in a bigger (and better) bottle, please! Ingredients: Sweet Almond Oil, Lavender, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil
7 out of 8 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Gels/Soaps -Everyday Minerals - Bergamot Clary Sage Niaouli Cleansing Bar
blondeambitioned 12/9/2007 1:15:00 PM
This amazing little all-natural bar is a steal at only $3.50! Whole Foods would easily sell this for over $8. The combination of bergamot, clary sage, and niaouli makes for a refreshing scent in the shower. I work up a lather using a shower puff and scrub away! This gives you a very 'squeaky clean' feeling (due to the glycerin, no doubt) but doesn't strip your skin dry. The olive oil, coconut oil, shea butter and vitamin E are very soothing to the skin. This is another gem in Everyday Minerals' whole line of amazing all-natural products!
Ingredients: Saponified Oils of Olive, Palm oil, Coconut oil, Soybean, Shea Butter, Purified Water, Essential Oils of Bergamot, Clary Sage and Niaouli, Vegetable Glycerin, Crushed Sage Leaf, Vitamin E, Bamboo Charcoal, Honey, Rosemary Extract
11 out of 11 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lotions/ Creams -Everyday Minerals - Horsetail Everyday Everywears
blondeambitioned 12/9/2007 1:05:00 PM
I love Everyday Minerals products, and have been extremely happy with my mineral powder purchases. I am a devotee of Ayurveda and believe in only using all-natural, pure products on my skin. Imagine my surprise when I saw the new skincare section on their website, complete with all-natural soaps and lotions for under $4!
The 'Everywear' is designed to be used just about, well, everywhere, and you can use it on your body, lips, face, anywhere! It comes in a small tin for $4 - the tin is quite small, even for the price, think smaller than EM's mineral powder tin. It has the annoying screw-off top, which isn't easy to open when your hands are slick with lotion. What is inside, however, is well worth the money. The lotion has the consistency of a whipped balm, and smooths on like silk over any rough spots. It doesn't sink in completely into your skin (which is good if you plan on using it as a lip balm), so it is better to use it sparingly. However, it does not give you a 'greasy' feel. The 'horsetail' scent is almost indistinguishable and 'herbal', but it is not offensive at all. Makes an amazing petroleum-free lip balm, and it's well worth the money if you plan on using it for this purpose, but I doubt this would last more than a few weeks if you plan on using it on your body.
So Everyday Minerals, put this little gem in a bigger (and better) bottle, please! Ingredients: Sweet Almond Oil, Lavender, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Wet 'n' Wild - Mega Eyes Trio - Egyptian Sands [DISCONTINUED]
blondeambitioned 12/8/2007 10:33:00 PM
Wet 'n' Wild? Really? I wouldn't have expected this quality from this brand, but the silkiness, pigmentation and quality for this inexpensive trio will blow you away. The colors aren't the most exciting ones that Wet 'n' Wild offers (I prefer the Belgian Chocolates over this one) but this is definitely a combination that will flatter just about everybody. Good for a toned-down workday look. ** One lippie off for the absolutely insane amount of harmful ingredients: talc, mineral oil, phenoxynol, 4 or 5 different parabens, bismuth oxychloride, among others. Yikes!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Wet 'n' Wild - Mega Eyes Trio - Belgian Chocolates [DISCONTINUED]
blondeambitioned 12/8/2007 10:29:00 PM
Wet 'n' Wild? Really???? The pigmentation blows all my MAC and Smashbox shadows out of the water. At $3.99 for each kit, you're crazy not to pick these up at the store. ** One lippie off for the absolutely insane amount of harmful ingredients: talc, mineral oil, phenoxynol, 4 or 5 different parabens, bismuth oxychloride, among others. Yikes!
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Lotions/ Creams -Everyday Minerals - Lavender Everyday Everywears
blondeambitioned 12/8/2007 10:22:00 PM
I love Everyday Minerals products, and have been extremely happy with my mineral powder purchases. I am a devotee of Ayurveda and believe in only using all-natural, pure products on my skin. Imagine my surprise when I saw the new skincare section on their website, complete with all-natural soaps and lotions for under $4!
The 'Everywear' is designed to be used just about, well, everywhere, and you can use it on your body, lips, face, anywhere! It comes in a small tin for $4 - the tin is quite small, even for the price, think smaller than EM's mineral powder tin. It has the annoying screw-off top, which isn't easy to open when your hands are slick with lotion. What is inside, however, is well worth the money. The lotion has the consistency of a whipped balm, and smooths on like silk over any rough spots. It doesn't sink in completely into your skin (which is good if you plan on using it as a lip balm), so it is better to use it sparingly. However, it does not give you a 'greasy' feel. The lavender scent is great, but it fades away very quickly. I do think this is worth the money if you plan on using it as a lip balm, since it will last for a long time, but this won't last more than a couple of weeks if you use it on your body.
So Everyday Minerals, put this little gem in a bigger (and better) bottle, please! Ingredients: Sweet Almond Oil, Lavender, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Bindi - Neem Oil
blondeambitioned 11/21/2007 3:22:00 PM
Bindi claims that Neem Oil has a "magical effect" on skin conditions, including "itching, eczema, psoriasis, dandruff and herpes."
****record scratch****
Um... what? Well, I wouldn't know about its effects on herpes, but I do know that this oil truly does have a magical effect on acne! I have oily, acne-prone skin (somewhere between Pitta and Kapha skin, even though I have a Vata-Pitta constitution overall) and this has cleared up my skin beautifully! I can't rave about this stuff enough! The smell, to many, might be off-putting, it does have a very 'herbal' smell, similar to Tea Tree (which I wouldn't be surprised if it was related to.) I don't find it offensive at all, especially since this is mixed with sandalwood, rose, basil, and camphor - to me, it smells very pleasant. I just rub a few drops in my palms to warm the oil, then pat it lightly into my skin (rubbing will work it into your pores). Once it has soaked in for a couple of minutes, I buff my mineral foundation over it. It does not clog my skin or make my skin look shiny! Then it goes to work making my breakouts disappear. I can't stress how much this has helped my skin. Quite amazing, if you ask me! I have also used it on my occasional eczema, and it has worked well to clear that up, it also works well on cuts to prevent infection, and putting on irritated skin around piercings (my ears get infected occasionally - this fixes the problem overnight!) There doesn't seem to be a thing this little bottle won't do! There are no preservatives or artificial ingredients. If that hasn't sold you on the product, it comes in a 1 oz bottle for only $3.00!
Ingredients: Neem, Brahmi, Basil, Camphor, Essential Oils of Sandalwood and Rose.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No