Liquid -Sonia Kashuk - Perfecting Luminous
characterarc 3/22/2011 5:42:00 AM
Very nice foundation. I purchased 02 Vanilla, I'm NC20/25. Also purchased Buff, and on me its darker so for perhaps NC30 people try that out. My face is a bit darker than my neck/chest (much like Lisa Eldridge) and matches out my face to everything else. It's a natural finish foundation. Light-to-medium coverage. I don't find it cakes at all on my combo skin but when it gets dry spells, this doesn't sit as well. I still need concealer with this, but indeed I do enjoy how natural and dewy it looks. With primer and setting powder, it lasts about 6-7 hours, but it definitely doesn't keep oiliness at bay so I do need to re-powder, not a big deal. For $11 you get .7floz of product, as opposed to the usual 1oz for many liquid foundations, so it's kind of pricey for a drugstore foundation. One pump is enough for my face. One star off because ingredients are not listed on the packaging, nor on Target.com, or Sonia Kashuk's website.
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Lips -NYX - Soft Matte Lip Cream
characterarc 3/9/2011 12:46:00 AM
I'm not sure if the white balance was off when NYX did the color swatches of these lip creams on their website because they look NOTHING like they do in real life. On my monitor, Stockholm looks like an ugly orange-brown. When I swatched it in-store at Ulta on my hand, it looked like a typical warm pink with brown undertones, but leaned more brown than pink for some reason, so I was afraid it would look muddy on my pigmented lips, but out of all the choices, Stockholm looked like the best MLBB option for me, so I bought it anyway. I lean NC25 with pigmented lips, for ref. Stockholm is paler and brighter than my natural lip color, but it looks fantastic. It's a nude shade for me but still gives my lips some color, which I need, otherwise I'm washed out. In natural light I'd say its like a slightly deeper Barbie pink and I hate those kinds of shades normally cause I don't find them wearable, but this one just brightens up my complexion, and doesn't look garish. I can actually line my lips with the doefoot applicator cause the formula is so great, no need for lipliner. It's been said that you need to moisturize your lips and/or exfoliate them before using mattes, and it goes true for this too, cause it's not forgiving on my lips if they're chapped and dry. Lasting power is about 4 hours on me.
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Polishes -Rimmel - Bare Naked
characterarc 3/9/2011 12:27:00 AM
Wonderful nude color on my NC25 skin. 2 coats gives you a slight sheer pretty salmon color. To me its more opaque than sheer, but there's still some sheerness to it... haha does that make sense? 3 coats intensifies the color to completely opaque salmon, but it no longer looks nude-ish on me. It's definitely a great shade for spring. Will repurchase. EDIT: This is still a pretty shade, for about a day or two, until it turns into an ugly shade of light orange that resembles vomit. WTF? The formula is too goopy and applies unevenly and streaky.
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Moisturizers -Eucerin - Sensitive Facial Skin Q10 Active Night Anti-Wrinkle Cream
characterarc 3/3/2011 4:29:00 AM
Love this cream. Didn't really buy it for the anti-wrinkle effects (which I don't think have done anything), but needed something hydrating for my dry skin. Bought it at Walgreens for $11 back in November and today I ran out; 5 months. I haven't used it every day either so it'd probably run out faster if I had. Anyway, I like the consistency, I like how once I rub it into my skin, it feels refreshed almost. I really only wear this at night. It's a bit more difficult to spread around if I try and mix it with another moisturizer. Good stuff. Will repurchase.
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Mascara -Cover Girl - Lash Exact Waterproof
characterarc 2/24/2011 9:30:00 AM
I love this mascara! New HG. But I didn't mean to buy this initially, was looking for Volume Exact instead but for some reason I had a brain fart and went for the wrong item. Length is something I do not really need, my lashes are long, I just need to fatten them up and keep them curled. True to its claims, this does not clump on me. It separates wonderfully while adding, yes, length to my lashes and decent volume. It's a great daytime mascara. I think it adds extra punch to your eyes without it necessarily looking over the top. I can build it up without clumping, too. The brush is thin and has short, stubby plastic bristles, I find it easy to maneuver and can even get into the outer lashes but I have to use the very tip only. Overall, a definite keeper. I'll try VE next and see if its just as great.
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Blush -Milani - Smooth Finish Blush - Luminous
characterarc 2/11/2011 10:12:00 AM
Nice color on my NC25 skin. My biggest gripe is the lack of pigmentation. I have to swipe my brush with this stuff a few times before any color shows up. The minibrush it comes with is worthless I think, you're better off buying the mini travel size kabuki brush from Essence of Beauty. The color doesn't wow me though, or look completely natural I think. Nor is it long lasting. Its an average pink blush. Something about it just doesn't make this a re-buy for me.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Tinted Moisturizer -Pixi - illuminating tint & conceal
characterarc 2/11/2011 9:37:00 AM
Ehhhhh. Skintype: Acneprone, combo, some scarring and some large pores, some redness here and there. For a tinted moisturizer, $30 or not, you only get 1oz of product. Sure, it comes with a bonus concealer but, really, I don't need it, as I already have concealer. The bonus concealer itself is not very pigmented - I had to swipe it over my dark circles and HP spots a few times, and even then it still didn't provide full coverage. I found it drying and easy to cake. I dont have the best skin but its getting better. Right now I am looking more for something to even out skin tone and diminish redness. This is really sheer stuff, which is fine I expect that, but I didn't see it helping out evening out my skin tone. Also - glitter. Even after I powdered, throughout the day I looked shiny and sweaty. I'm NC25 and used Bare Glow.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Stila - Convertible Color Lillium
characterarc 2/10/2011 5:09:00 AM
I love this shade. I bought it back in 2008 and used my fingers to apply. A bit unsanitary but I was unaware of stippling brushes back then. It showed up as a lovely natural flush of color on my NC25 skin, dark brown hair, brown eyes. I wore this blush to a small venue concert ("venue" haha - it was a coffeehouse) in August of that year, in Vegas heat (dry, and very warm, night temps in the 90s to low 80s at the most). In the coffeehouse, with a bunch of bodies standing all close together in a small space with limited ventilation, Lillium persevered and at the end of the night, my friend took a photo of me with Lillium showing up on my cheeks as a great natural sweep of glowy brownish pink. Sadly, I foolishly tossed this a little bit after that, I think because I was tired of using my fingers and having to wipe off remaining product with a tissue. I will repurchase this tomorrow I think and use a brush this time around.
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Eyeliner -Urban Decay - 24/7 eyeliner in Rockstar
characterarc 2/5/2011 8:56:00 PM
I have large brown eyes, and hoped this would work for me. It is almost too creamy - after EVERY application, I had to sharpen this and it made my eyes water, not a good sign. It also did not stay on throughout the day, more like a few hours and it faded quick. The shade showed up too dark to discern that it was a purple shade, and it didnt make my eyes pop. There are a few drugstore eyeliners that work way better than this. For the price, I am disappointed. Definitely wont repurchase.
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Liquid -Boots - Lifting & Firming Foundation SPF 15 [DISCONTINUED]
characterarc 1/30/2011 7:43:00 PM
Right now this is the only drugstore foundation I prefer. I have generally oily skin with hyperpigmentation from acne. I occasionally get dry patches around my eyes and corners of my mouth. I originally bought this in Nude. I'm NC25-30, (never used MAC foundation though). Nude came out really yellow and really light on my skin, reminds me of Grey Poupon or something. Went back and purchased Blonde, more of a warm beige. It blended sooo nicely into my skin! I actually have trouble sometimes figuring out where I applied it and where I didn't, attesting how true a shade match Blonde is for me. OK, it blends nicely obviously, a typical liquid foundation. I alternate between sponges and Sonia Kashuk blender brush, or Sephora's Professional #55 brush. Obviously a brush will give you more coverage. I'd say this is medium coverage, as I need concealer still for under my eyes and HP spots. I use Monistat's Anti-Chafing whatever that everyone loves for primer underneath. It doesnt cake on me, butttt I do notice it can fade a bit throughout the day. With the occasional dry patches I get, this foundation will make accentuate them soo if you are prone to those, I'd suggest extra spot-moisturizing on those areas. Since I do get an oily T-zone, and this doesn't control oil, I still powder blot throughout the day.
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Eye Shadow -Physicians Formula - Baked Collection - Baked Sands
characterarc 10/20/2010 7:27:00 AM
Can't believe I haven't reviewed this yet. Love this trio, probably the most-used DS eyeshadow/s I own. I have NC25-30ish skin, heavy-lidded brown eyes and hair. I use these shades for day and night. Very pigmented. My sliiight gripe is that the packaging feels and looks cheap but as long as the product works, hey.
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Makeup Brushes -E.L.F. - Studio Blush Brush
characterarc 10/20/2010 7:20:00 AM
I needed an affordable contour brush, not being able to afford the MAC 109 or even the Essence of Beauty brushes. However, I hate angled powder brushes, just never liked using them. Saw this at Target for $3. I could tell right off the shape of the brush wasn't ideal for blush but I figured it could work well for what I needed. And I was right! Easy enough to work around your face and blend. I like that it's all black, doesn't make it seem as cheap it is. Fibers are decent, not stiff, scratchy, or otherwise unpleasant, but not the softest fibers either. Not expecting super-soft bristles for $3 though. haven't washed it yet, hopefully it doesn't bleed or lose hairs on me (no issue with that yet either). So very nice product from ELF, the only thing is they need to rename it.
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Mascara -Cover Girl - Lash Blast
characterarc 10/10/2010 8:27:00 AM
I bought a tube of this months ago along with Maybelline Colossal. Colossal ultimately won me over. Lash Blast is a different story. I have long, pretty straight lashes that need curl and volume/definition. Shu Uemura curler couldn't save my lashes against this - LB destroyed the curl within a minute after application. I really like the brush for some reason. It looks fun and practical to me. I think it's the only aspect of LB that wins over my HG Colossal; sometimes the Colossal brush annoys me in getting into the outer eye lashes. The actual mascara formula of this stuff, aside from weighing down my lashes, isn't great either. When I put this stuff on, it makes my lashes stick together and doesn't do anything in terms of definition and volume. It somehow manages to LOOK cheap on my lashes. I really like dramatic-looking lashes and this didn't do it for me. So, no thanks LB. Might try Fusion out and see if its an improvement.
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Mascara -Maybelline - Full 'N Soft Mascara Waterproof
characterarc 10/10/2010 8:09:00 AM
I remember using this in high school. I believe I used the non-waterproof formula and while I don't remember much, I remember the black claw-looking marks below my eyes everyday so wasn't impressed. I decided to repurchase this, thinking to give it another chance. This time I got the waterproof formula. The wand seems pretty flexible and I like the size of the brush. It didn't clump, held a curl well throughout the afternoon/evening, and provided impressive lash separation/definition. Only problem? FLAKES. Gonna return this today. Probably might buy regular Full N Soft but doubtful. EDIT 10/20/10: So for whatever reason, I ended up giving this another shot and flakes were no longer a problem! So for an everyday-wear mascara that isn't too dramatic but still enough to give my lashes attention, I will use this.
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Crème -Maybelline - Dream Smooth Mousse
characterarc 10/4/2010 12:05:00 AM
I've used this for a few days now and am so far impressed. I need a more moisturizing foundation right now so I opted for drugstore since I'm tight on money and cannot repurchase my usual foundations right now (MUFE F+B, Laura Mercier Silk Creme). Youtube reviews mostly gave this a positive review so I went to Ulta and picked it up. I'm an NC25, oily skin (it's kind of normal-dry right now), and picked up 200 Creamy Natural going by what other NC25ers used. For some reason, I still expected it to be either too dark or too light. To my surprise, it is almost an exact match to my skintone. I do use a sponge with this, but not the one it comes with - I buy packs of disposable sponges and toss them after each use. I dampen them and then dab the foundation around (after primer). Sometimes I sweep it on; other times I stipple it on. I'd say it provides moderate coverage. Might need concealer to hide redness. The finish is indeed dewy, and after I set it with powder, it stays put all day for me, with zero caking. I will get shiny again at times of course so I just repowder (with Maybelline Dream Matte powder in Sand, another fine product). At times I think I apply a lot of product because it's not that pigmented to me it seems, but it is drugstore and it is $10 so if I run out in a month or something my wallet wont be crying. If I get horrible results with this product I'll edit my review but I'm pleasantly surprised with this product. Never used Maybelline foundation before and heard horrible things about Dream Matte and Dream Liquid, etc, but this delivered for me. EDIT 10/6/10: Few days after wearing this, a zit broke out by my mouth, and then another one below my nose. I stopped using it for a while to see if it was the makeup doing it, and I haven't had new breakouts since. I'm really bummed, because I truly loved how it looked on my skin. If anyone has good recommendations for cream foundations, please message me!
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No