Pressed Powders -Josie Maran Cosmetics - Argan Pressed Powder
joyousjoy88 8/6/2011 11:40:00 PM
I just bought my 2nd compact of this stuff and I love it! For reference I have dry sensitive skin and this powder gives a nice finish, not too matte and not too dewy or shiny. I wouldn't say this gives much shine at all. This doesn't have shimmer or glitter to it nor any spf. The argan oil may break some people out so test it before you buy. The argan oil in this is the reason I bought this powder because most powders can be too drying for me and this is perfect for my skin. I think I also really like the fact it isn't a stark white powder like most translucent powders. Although I have dry skin, my sunscreen at the moment is slightly greasy and shines throughout the day and this does a great job of taking away the shine without drying out my skin. It has a light peach tint to it and it looks more natural when applied. Though I do think if you are darker skin tone, it may still be too light. The packaging is very minimal. It is light and thin. It doesn't come with a sponge which is why it is so thin, there is no room. The reason for this I believe is that Josie's products are supposedly environmentally conscious and the compact is so thin and no sponge is to reduce packaging material use. Something like that. I didn't buy this powder for that reason. I just liked the idea of argan oil. Adding to that, for thoes that are environmentally consciouss, EWG's Cosmetic Database rates this powder very low (2) in terms of health concern. The fact it doesn't come with a sponge is okay with me as I prefer to use a brush. I never cared for the sponges in compacts anyways.
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Lip Treatments -eos - Smooth Sphere Organic Lip Balm in Honeysuckle Honeydew
joyousjoy88 7/30/2011 11:13:00 AM
Great lip balm. I have super dry lips, where regular chapstick, burt's bees or blistiex doesn't cut it for me. I normally only use Aquaphor to keep my lips mositurized. This lip balm is very moisturizing without feeling oily and does not have that menthol feeling which is actually even more drying to this lips. This has a nice fruity scent that isn't over powering, though I don't taste anything when I put it on my lips which is good. I hate flavoured lip products. From what I know, you cannot get this lip balm in Canada (though rumours is that only Quebec has them). I was in the USA and I picked up 2 of these, mainly because of the packaging. Some people say is isn't the most functional. I agree it doesn't fit nicely in the pocket. But, I found that because of its bulky-ness I haven't been able to loose this lip balm. I tend to always loose stick lib balms. I have nearly finished this eos balm (sphere is now flat) and I still have it. This is never the case for stick lipbalms for me. If I visit the USA again I will stock up on these for sure.
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Toners -Lancome - Tonique Confort
joyousjoy88 7/29/2011 9:48:00 PM
I've had this toner for about half a year now and I have used half of it. I cannot say anything good about this toner. It is meant for dry skin which is what I have and claims to hydrate. I found it did nothing good for my skin. It is HIGHLY fragranced. My skin is also sensitive and eventually did not like me using this toner. For somethign that is very expensive ($35 CAD) I would not rebuy this or use this ever again or recommend it. If you look up the ingredients, there is nothig good in it for your skin other than maybe glycerin. I also do not find this to clean very well. The toner is pink and has a gel like consistency and typical Lancome packaging. Overall I'd rather purchase a Clinique toner over this. As for the remaining toner let in the bottle I use it to clean my glasses. Don't waste your money on this like I did, it will do nothing good for your skin.
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Lip Treatments -Burt's Bees - Beeswax Lip Balm
joyousjoy88 7/13/2011 9:40:00 PM
This is not moisturizing at all for my dry lips. I really liked the pomegranate oil version from Burt's Bees, so when all their lip balms went on sale for $2.99 at Shoppers Drugmart I bought 5 random ones. I hate this one the most out of all. Why? When I first put this on is does have a nice cooling feeling. It also feels waxy and not moisturizing at all. I thought it was moisturizing at first feeling the cool tingly sensation but as I continued to use this during the days, noticed more flakes and the sides of my mouth cracking and bleeding from dryness. I keep reapplying this but it wasn't helping. It hurt to open my mouth. It was only when I stopped using this and used Aquaphor that it went away. It was a sign that my lips weren't getting the moisture they needed. The cooling feeling is false hope that this lip balm is actually doing any good for your lips. I will not repurchase this particular Burt's Bee balm ever. I'll stick to the pomegranate oil.
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Other -Boscia - Fresh Blotting Linens
joyousjoy88 7/13/2011 7:28:00 PM
I have dry skin, first off. So why would I be using these sheets? Well, since it is summer, my sunscreen is very greasy. I do take the shine away by powder, but by the middle of the day, I start to get shiny and probably because it is summer. I got a sample size 25-sheet pack from 500-perks at Sephora. I tried this one day and I was pretty amazed. These sheets are very thin and are 3 1/2 inches by around 2 inches in size. They do not have power or anything coated on them. What I love about this is that it lives up to it's claim. It removes the oil and shine without disturbing your make up. My foundation stayed in place, even when I pressed the sheet on my fact and pulled away. I don't rub the sheet on my face, I gently press on the oily areas then gently pull the sheet away and it picks up virtually all the shine. It's so quick and I get a matte face that lasts (though I am dry skin, and the sunscreen along with the summer is causing the oil). It also doesn't irritate my sensitive skin. I only use about 1 sheet a day, so this sample pack has lasted me a little over a month (I don't use it everyday). I will buy the full size 100 sheet in the future! Love these sheets!
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Cleansers -Boscia - MakeUp-BreakUp Cool Cleansing Oil
joyousjoy88 7/10/2011 12:04:00 AM
This has been great for my acne-prone dry sensitive skin. I love how it removes everything easily, (from sunscreen to waterproof makeup) and gently without clogging or being irritating. I first was introduced to this cleanser through the 500-perk Boscia set at Sephora. I've had a mini 55ml sample that has lasted me about 4 months and I have used this to remove a full face of makeup (foundation, mascara, eyeliner, etc.) 4-5 days a week. This lasts so long. I am so surprised as I previously had a mini 50ml Lancome Bi-facil make up remover that lasted me less than a month and I only used it to remove eye make up. This oil also breaks down waterproof mascara easily and hardcore foundation like Dermablend without much effort. This oil spreads like no other. You don't need a lot or even a cotton ball. I use a very small amount and dab it on my face and with my ring finger I gently spread it all over my face. I like the fact that since the oil is very slippery, you don't need to tug on your skin to remove make up like you would with cleansing pads or towels and lead to wrinkles. After you put this on your face and massage it in, I rinse off with water to get it all off. I do follow up with my face cleanser as insurance, to make sure everything is off my face. I am a strong believer that just because you may not see makeup on your face, there could still be small traces left behind, especially when you use a clear primer. I know this claims to be a makeup remover and cleanser all-in-one, but I would not sure it by itself. I am acne-prone, and I am paranoid that even if you wash off the oil with water that the oil still remains. Overall, it removes make up easily, without having to tug on skin and it does give a cool effect. I bought a full sized bottle which is 150ml for $26usd/$31 cnd. Sephora sells the mini 55ml for $12. The full size may seem pricey, but I am sure it will last you a year. The mini lasted about 4 months for me, and the full size is close to 3x more than the mini so it should last more than 10months and you don't need to use a lot to remove an entire face. Love this! I have also noticed clearer skin since using this. I have been using dermablend for acne scarring and this helps remove my make up thoroughly, and less acne.
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Lip Treatments -Burt's Bees - Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil
joyousjoy88 6/24/2011 10:29:00 PM
I really like this Burt's Bees lip balm way more than the original one. This for me, is very moisturizing and I have very dry lips prone to flaking. I find that the moisture lasts longer than the original. The original one is actually drying. This is one is a tinted lip balm with a reddish-pink tone. Some people say it doesn't give any colour but it does on my lips. You can't expect it to have lipstick quality colour, it is only lip balm. If I swatch this on the back of my hand some colour does show. Maybe other people who say there isn't any colour have darker or more pigmented skin. Overall, I will re-buy this, and I have since it moisten my lips. Only downside is that there is no spf, but I use a separate one for sunscreen.
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Eyeliner -Bobbi Brown - Long Wear Gel Eyeliner in Black Ink 
joyousjoy88 6/22/2011 8:00:00 PM
[PROs]: Easy to apply, natural looking, easy to remove and long lasting. I really want to give this a 3.5/5, closer to a 4 but not really. Here's why: [CONs] I wear contacts and have watery eyes, this liner doesn't stand up to that. By the end of a work day I find it to smudge and end up with raccoon eyes. Black Ink isn't as dark as others. Also, this is really pricey at $30 cnd, and you need a good liner brush. I hate to say I regret my purchase, but I will continue to use so it doesn't go to waste. I will not repurchase.--------------------- I am normally a liquid liner girl but when my HG liner got discontinued I wanted something to top it. I heard the hype of this liner and bought it. It is really creamy, easy to work with and easily comes off. I had used Wet'n'Wild's cream liner and although it was a much darker black than BB's gel liner, it was so hard to remove. This gel liner comes off easy but as mentioned, not as black as other liners out there.
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Concealers -Clinique - All About Eyes Concealer
joyousjoy88 6/4/2011 7:31:00 PM
When I initially bought this, I loved it for a couple of weeks. It is really creamy and a little goes a long way. Some may say it is really thick but the key is to use very little and pat it into your skin. I like the packaging in that it is a tube but I find that I end up squeezing out more than I need, because you don't need a lot, it is very opaque and build-able but can be sheered out if you don't need that much coverage. It also covers blemishes on other areas of the face very well. For me, even though I have dry skin, this needs to be set with powder or it slides off my face. I will not repurchase this mainly in that it is only good on bare skin. I find that this concealer "balls up" (forms solids) when I try to put it over my moisturizer, eye cream, sunscreen or primer. It would not go well with any of my other face products, which is unfortunate. Also, for a 9-5er, it's staying power isn't that great. I find it settles in fine lines and travels south by the end of the day. I got this for about $18 cdn at Sephora. Tube has a lot of product and will likely last a long time.
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Makeup Brushes -Quo - bent eye liner brush
joyousjoy88 5/22/2011 2:29:00 PM
Love this bent eyeliner brush from Quo! I have tried other Quo brushes and hated them! Especially the powder brush. I really wanted to try a bent liner brush but didn't want to spend extra on a brush at MAC or Sephora. So, like others, there was 40% off sale at SDM and so this brush was around $6. Because it is bent you can apply your eyeliner without having to tug on your eye. I seriously can apply my eyeliner with one hand, quick and easy without any mistakes! My hand doesn't shake when I am applying either. A quick stroke from left to right on my top lid and it's done! Some reviews say that they've had trouble using it on the top lid, but I don't have this issue. I don't wear liner on the waterline, just on the top and the brush works amazing for me. The brush tappers at the tip and depending on how you use this brush you will get a thin or thick line based on your preference. I've used this brush to apply gel liners from Wet'n'wild, Maybelline and Bobbi Brown and it works well with all of them (high to low end liners). I've been using it for 4 months now. It is easy to clean and doesn't shed or bleed. The bristles are two-toned, where the tip of the brush is black and the rest is blonde. When there is another sale I will stock up!
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Treatments -Sally Hansen - VitaSurge Cuticle Gel
joyousjoy88 5/22/2011 2:13:00 PM
[INFO] : This VitaSurge Cuticle Gel by SH, is new for 2011. Packaging says it is a gel with microbeads full of Vitamin E and botanical extracts. It claims to hydrate and restore dry cuticles so they become smooth and healthy. It come with a sponge tip applicator in a clear bottle. Instructions say to apply over cuticle or nail area and reapply as needed. Massage the gel over cuticles with applicator or fingers. The gel is orange and has a very light citrus smell to it. [VERDICT] : Overall I give this product a 5. During the winter months my cuticles took a beating being so dry and cracked looking from the cold. Lotions and creams were not cutting it for my nails. I came across this at Walmart, on sale for around $5 so I picked it up. Since there wasn't a maximum number of times that you could apply this on your nails I was using it 2 or 3 times a day, in the morning and night. I saw results within days of using this gel. My cuticles really did look softer and smoother. They were also easier to push back when during my manicure. I've had this product for about 4 months now and I don't have to use it daily as my cuticles are not as bad as they were. I do still use it weekly to maintain them. Now that summer is coming, I found that this works as well on the cuticles on your feet. My cuticles there were much worst then on my hands and this gel is really helping them. Though I don't use the applicator to apply them on my toes, I use a cotton swab instead. This gel is a great staple to keep for nail care as for me it worked as a treatment for dry and cracked cuticles and now it acts as a maintainer to keep them soft and healthy. I will repurchase when I run out. Will update on how long this 13.3 ml (0.45 fl oz) bottle lasts.
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Top/Base Coats -Sally Hansen - Mega Shine Top Coat
joyousjoy88 4/14/2011 10:10:00 PM
I'm really surprised with the low ratings of this top coat. After several 'manies', I have come to the conclusion that this is the best top coat for me. I originally have been using SH's Insta dry anti-chip top coat for years and loved its performance. I didn't think I would find anything else that would beat it. This mega-shine top coat, (an acciental purchase) keeps my nail colour as shiny through at least 5 days without chipping! My nail polish looks as good on day 4 as it did within day 1. I normally get antsy after 3/4 days of nail polish and want to change, but this top coat keeps my mani so fresh looking each passing day that I get lasy to remove. Only until they have chipped like crazy that I will remove it, which will be at least 6+ days after the mani. Anyways, overall I will rebuy this. It has great shine, seals polish in like a rock and is long-wearing. (In Canada it's about 8 bucks at Shoppers or less at Walmart.)
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Lip Gloss -Clarins - Color Quench Lip Balm - 07 Raspberry
joyousjoy88 3/20/2011 11:34:00 PM
Great colour pay off. Moisturizing and not that sticky. Packaging is like a juciy tube. No spf. My main reason why I do not like this is that it doesn't taste good. It has a really bitter taste to it that lingers on your lips and if it gets on your tongue you will taste its bitterness.
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Powder -Korres - Wild Rose Powder
joyousjoy88 2/26/2011 10:06:00 PM
I bought this in early January 2011, and I hit pan so review time. What drew me the most to this powder was that it is made of natural ingredients. I have dry skin and most powders dry me out even more. With this wild rose powder, it has jojoba oil in it which doesn't dry out my skin like others. This is also paraben-free for thoes concerned about parabens. This has no shimmer or shine to it and is completely matte. I wear a sunscreen that is greasy and has an extreme white cast and most powders can't hold up to it. At the end of the day I would be shiney and gross looking. But this keeps the shine away for a long time, so I would say it is long-lasting.It is not a foundation powder but it does say the coverage is buildable. I would say the coverage is sheer to medium. It has a great natural looking finish and you can apply a lot of it to an extent that it would not look cakey. I paid about $35 CND for it. --Love the powder but the packaging is my biggest complaint. I don't mind the square compact but it is bulky and way too thick. It is misleading in that you think you get a lot of product but when you open the compact the powder takes up very very little of the depth of the compact. Below the powder is space for a sponge. This is where there is so much wasted space. The area below is deep, making up the bulk of the packaging and the sponge they give you is so much smaller than the space made for it. Yea, the packaging is a fail for me. I think though if I found a flat brush that fit in the area I will change my mind. Otherwise,the packaging is way to bulky, unless the company decided to up the amount of product given.
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Moisturizers -First Aid Beauty - Ultra Repair Cream
joyousjoy88 1/14/2011 8:27:00 PM
[UPDATE] : I bought the large tub of this and still love it! I use it less because since I started using this cream, my skin is better able to retain moisture. My skin isn't as dry as it normally is. It's unfortunate that you can't get this in stores in Canada but ordering online is okay with me as long as I can get this cream! It also has helped calm and reduce the redness in my skin. Great cream for face. I have very dry, sensitive skin and I have eczema. This really did help my facial skin when it was going through a difficult time with the transition from summer to fall and fall to winter and my skin just kept getting drier and prone to itching and redness (eczema pretty much). I have been using this for a month and I have noticed a significant difference in my skin. I think the cream has helped my skin seal in moisture because I no longer have the dry patches, itching, redness or tightness. I definitely recommend this to those with eczema. The cream is not too thick and it quickly absorbs into the skin and does not feel greasy. Because I have very dry skin, I globbed this on my face where initially the white cream was visible all over my face, but within minutes it was absorbed into my skin. This cream also has antioxidants which is suppose to be good for your skin. This comes to my next comment. I bought this in the tube which keeps the antioxidants more potent than it would be if it was in the tub. Also, I live in Canada and I bought this online from Sephora. You can't get this product in Canada so you have to order from the FAB site or Sephora, which is a hassel. This is my first tube, and I didn't know what to expect but in the end it really has turned my skin around I will repurchase. The tube (70.9g, 2.5 oz) is around $15 American. What I paid on sephora including shipping was around $30 Cdn. [According to the bottle] :This cream does not have parbens, harsh chemicals or colorants. It is an intense therapy skin protectant with anti-oxidants. It is used to hydrate dry, parched skin, relieve minor irritation and itching due to eczema and other conditions. For face and body.
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