Mascara -L'Oreal - Extra Volume Collagen Mascara Blackest Black
AriSatomi 12/10/2011 6:13:00 PM
I used this mascara since this January until May (not the same tube), and what I remember the most of it is that it flakes like mad, no matter rain or shine, winter or summer. It is a really dark black, which I like for dramatic looks, but it smudges under my eyes and looks quite awful after wearing it for a while. When it came out, I was drawn to the fact that it contained collagen. The packaging was also really nice, looking more like a HE product than a DS one. However, the performance of this mascara leaves a lot to be desired. Unless you have no smudging problems with *any* mascara, as well as a great tolerance for flakes, you'll like this. I wear contact lenses daily, which means that any flake in my eyes gives me the biggest pain. It also does not keep a curl, so I normally use this over a WP mascara or only on my lower lashes (which causes more smudging, as I have later discovered). I will most definitely not repurchase this mascara, and I do not recommend it.
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Lip Gloss -Revlon - Flavor Gloss
AriSatomi 12/10/2011 5:46:00 PM
I have the Apple-tini one, and I made another review page for that specific shade\scent. I was drawn to the lucious smell of this gloss the first time I smelt it. It feels juicy and fresh, exactly the opposite of the gloomy winter days we are having right now. I immediately bought it! It is somewhat expensive for a DS gloss, but what I like about this gloss it the unusual green tinge to it. With the golden and champagne shimmer dust inside it, it looks just so pretty! I had to have it. I see myself using this a lot, because not only does it smells great, has lasting power, it also tastes sweet! :) My BF normally detests lipgloss because he hates the taste and the sticky feeling, but now he'll probably change his mind! I can imagine that a lot of people wouldn't like to have a green gloss on, but the color is very sheer (to go with the summer theme I suppose), so no worries in that part! It feels moisturizing and lasts for a good 3 hours before it starts to wear off. It doesn't bleed around my lips and is somewhat sticky. Clearly it doesn't compare to MAC's clear lipglass, but I can't stand having my hair stuck onto my lips so I'm happy with this gloss. It contains 15mL of juicy goodness, and I can definitely compare it to Lancôme's Juicy Tubes! The Lancôme glosses, however, have an extremely strong scent, which irritates me, in addition to their boring color selection. Overall I'm very happy to own this gloss, and I will repurchase! Oh Revlon, why not make this permanent? It's better than their slippery Colorburst glosses and those gloopy Super lustrous glosses too!
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Lip Gloss -Revlon - Flavor Gloss in 025 Apple-tini Fizz
AriSatomi 12/10/2011 5:44:00 PM
I was drawn to the lucious smell of this gloss the first time I smelt it. It feels juicy and fresh, exactly the opposite of the gloomy winter days we are having right now. I immediately bought it! It is somewhat expensive for a DS gloss, but what I like about this gloss it the unusual green tinge to it. With the golden and champagne shimmer dust inside it, it looks just so pretty! I had to have it. I see myself using this a lot, because not only does it smells great, has lasting power, it also tastes sweet! :) My BF normally detests lipgloss because he hates the taste and the sticky feeling, but now he'll probably change his mind! I can imagine that a lot of people wouldn't like to have a green gloss on, but the color is very sheer (to go with the summer theme I suppose), so no worries in that part! It feels moisturizing and lasts for a good 3 hours before it starts to wear off. It doesn't bleed around my lips and is somewhat sticky. Clearly it doesn't compare to MAC's clear lipglass, but I can't stand having my hair stuck onto my lips so I'm happy with this gloss. It contains 15mL of juicy goodness, and I can definitely compare it to Lancôme's Juicy Tubes! The Lancôme glosses, however, have an extremely strong scent, which irritates me, in addition to their boring color selection. The packaging is nice, because it is pratically completely transparent, which tells me how much gloss I have left! I have a bit of OCD regarding my products because I just *have* to know the exactly amount that I have.Overall I'm very happy to own this gloss, and I will repurchase! Oh Revlon, why not make this permanent? It's better than their slippery Colorburst glosses and those gloopy Super lustrous glosses too!
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Liquid -Giorgio Armani - Designer Lift Smoothing Firming Foundation
AriSatomi 12/10/2011 4:41:00 PM
Update 20-12-11: While using it everyday, I find that it has much better coverage when layered with another highly pigmented foundation, for example my Vichy Dermablend Fluid. Correction about the pigmentation: it is sheer coverage on itself but can easily be built up wherever you want to, while looking completely natural and glowing. I like this, but since I am just starting Accutane and I still have a lot of PIH on my cheeks and chin, I returned it because it is simply not sufficient. However I definitely see myself coming back after my Accutane session, for the sheer-medium beautifully natural look it gives me. Update about the ATP in the formulation: ATP is a naturally occurening biochemical in our body that transports energy from cell to cell during metabolism. However, there has been absolutely no research about it being an "anti-irritant" or "providing a glow" when applied topically. Its topical functions are, at the moment, unknown. I wonder why they added this specific molecule into this gorgeous foundation, but I am not falling into their so-called scientific gimmick. I love the foundation, that remains unchanged, but I feel like customers should educate themselves better before plunking down their money if the ATP is the thing that convinces them to do so. Original review: This provides to my dried out skin a luminous, but not overly glowy look. In one word, it's gorgeous. Gorgeously natural, that is. The moment this was brushed on my skin, it felt just right. I didn't feel any burn or itch, it's as if I didn't have anything on my face! The coverage is very adequately medium to full: as I am on Retin-A and Mynocyline at the same time right now, my skin easily get raw, dry and extremely sensitive and reactive. Sometimes, if my skin doesn't agree with a product that I'm trying, it gets red, feels tight, and even breaks out in a matter of hours. This foundation, however, is very different from the products that I've tried lately. It feels very much like my Vichy Dermablend fluid, which is full of silicones. This is also full of silicones, but what differs between the Vichy Fluid and the Armani Designer Lift is that the shade selection in GA is amazing compared to the poor selection of Vichy. Finally, I found a color that has the right depth, as well as undertone as my skin. I was matched to #4, which I find a tad light for me, but according to the SA, it will oxidize after a while to my perfect shade. However I think that the difference of shade is absolutely minute, and since I like to use a shade that is a teensy bit lighter than my neck/chin area, much like how Lisa Eldridge uses her foundation for everyday, I feel like I won't need to go a shade darker. It feels like nothing! I have it on now, and it feels like my face is naked! It is extremely expensive, I've never even consider spending so much for a single product, but right now, I feel like I can say that it is worth it. In fact, the very helpful and knowledgable SA told me that a face product is much more important, and deserves to be more expensive. A mascara gets thrown away after 3 months, so it's a waste of money to buy it from an expensive brand, but foundation covers a lot of your skin everyday, so I also think that it's better to find something that is nicely formulated, which could cost more than DS products. She used this on me after I told her I was going on Accutane. She has been through the whole process of Accutane and knows how it feels to be on it, which reassured me, since it means that she can recommend to me the exact products I need. The pump gives a lot of product when it's pressed, so I have to be careful not to push very hard, because this foundation, even with its watery texture, has great coverage. It looks a bit dry for the first 20 mins, but after it wears a bit, it looks just like my skin, but absolutely flawless!! :) I can't wait to show this to my friends and BF to see their reactions, because the difference between this and my normal Dermablend fluid is enormous! I will definitely repurchase, but since so little of this goes such a long way, I wonder when I will have to buy it! :) I recommend this to anyone that wants medium-full coverage that looks just like skin and feels like nothing!
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Liquid -MAC - Pro Longwear Foundation
AriSatomi 12/6/2011 2:22:00 AM
The first thing I noticed when I applied it onto my skin is that it was really hard to blend, like a lot of other reviewers says here. When it went on, it felt cakey and dry, and when I looked at it in daylight two hours after application, it looked exactly like how it felt: cakey and dry. It also oxidised on me into a pinky orangey darker shade that makes me look like I'm having a fever. I have highly reactive skin that is acne-prone and hyperpigmented from recent breakouts, but I had clear skin (no pimples nor clogs) when I tried this foundation on. My chin and cheek areas are most prone to having clogs and reactive breakouts. At the end of the day, some foundation was left on my face, but not in a good way. I looked as if I had really bad skin! The slight dryness of my skin due to use of retin-a was very pronounced and when I removed my foundation, I found at least 10 more pimples than the morning before I put this on. Note that this was the first time of me trying it!! My skin also looked extremely red and irritated, and it never does when I remove my normal daily foundation, Vichy Dermablend fluid. I threw away the (very full) sample jar right after I saw how my skin reacted to it. Overall this is a very deceiving formulation and I regret being sucked into trying it by its glowing reviews. I should've known better, I hated absolutely every single Mac foundation and concealer they had before they started coming out with newer formulations.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Paint Pot - Nubile
AriSatomi 11/27/2011 3:35:00 PM
I find that this color has the same effect as Coral Crepe on me: they both make me look a bit sick and tired. The red tones in this shade is what makes me dislike it because other than that, it is extremely creamy, soft, pigmented and beautiful. The satin finish makes it a perfect pop-on-and-go shade, if only it was less red, it'd probably have HG status for me. I used this and immediately had to counteract the redness with a gold toned beige so that I don't look like I've been crying for hours. Dommage, I really wanted it to work on me. I think this would look amazing on darker skin tones because it will look like a peachy pink on them, which will brighten their eye area and open them up. I also think that this can be a very good base if you want to do a red shadow look, which is very trendy lately (Lisa Eldridge did a tutorial of it on a half asian girl). Overall, this is a great product, if you can pull it off.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Paint Pot in Blackground
AriSatomi 11/27/2011 2:38:00 PM
I love this as a liner! It looks more natural than plain black, more cold toned than brown, more interesting than gray and less intimidating than colorful liners. I set it with Rum Spice from Clinique and it looks like a deep taupe with gold, bronze and silver shimmer. I find it amazing as a liner and I also used Quite Natural PP in the same way. I'm giving this a 4, because the price is rather high for a middle-range product. However, I think it's a great product and I will repurchase! Update 07-12-11: I've grown to love this PP more and more! I now use it everyday with Quite Natural and Bare Study. It's absolutely effortless in the morning, and it takes me around 30 min to get my makeup done, compared to the 50 min it took me before! Blending shadows was never my strong point, but now I don't have to worry about it anymore because a few dabs of Quite Natural, a highlighter in the inner corners and this used as smudged liner is all I need! :) I'm so happy that I succombed to the beautiful color of this cream shadow! Giving it the full 5 lippies!
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Paint Pot in Quite Natural
AriSatomi 11/27/2011 2:29:00 PM
I love this PP! I've been on a natural colors kick lately and I purchased Blackground and Quite Natural to use them as liners to define my eyes. I used to always use black liner, but I wanted to try new colors and since then, I haven't touched my Black Black Chromaline! I use this to line and then smudge it with Maybelline's gel liner brush. It has great lasting power (greater than Fluidline, I must say) and looks more natural than Dipdown on me. Overall I think most of the PPs are worthwhile, and I will definitely repurchase this!
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Lip Gloss -MAC - Goldensoft Lipgelee
AriSatomi 11/27/2011 12:02:00 PM
I bought this before it was discontinued, along with several other shades of lipgelee. I regret my purchase because I never reach for this shade (or moonstone for that fact). I find the color (bronzey gold with too much shimmer) is too orange on me, and the shimmer makes my lips look frosty, almost metallic. I really have to sheer it down and mix it with another lip product to make it work. However, the formulation of lipgelees are amazing: they last, moisturize and don't feel as sticky as lipglasses. What's more is that they give you way more in a lipgelee tube than a lipglass one. I won't repurchase this shade, but I'm already on the lookout for more wearable shades (Moistly, anyone?)
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Lip Gloss -MAC - Lipgelee in Moonstone
AriSatomi 11/27/2011 11:56:00 AM
I regret buying this. I bought it when the SA told me that it was going to be discontinued, so I wanted to own at least one lipgelee in every color. It was a bad idea. I wish I exchanged this for Moistly because that's the only gelee I see myself using frequently. The formulation is amazing because it is cushiony and moisturizing, but lasts at the same time. I find lipgelees to be much more superiour to lipglasses. This color on me shows up as the frostiest color I've worn and I find that it looks cheap, so I can only use it extremely sparingly, mixing a tiny speck of it with other lip products. However, I don't have the luxury to mix my lipcolor every morning and everytime I want to touch up, so this basically is of no use for me. I will not repurchase this color.
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Lip Gloss -MAC - Lipgelee Jellybabe
AriSatomi 11/27/2011 11:51:00 AM
It's a terrible thing that MAC is getting rid of so many of their lipgelees. They feel so much better than lipglasses and last just as long on me, not to mention the intense rip-off you get when you pay the same price for lipglasses (3/4mL) and lipgelees (15mL). This color is very pretty because it is a muted sheer peachy nude. The scent is ovbiously to die for, as is with all the other lip products from MAC. I just wish they actually listen to their customers for once and bring all the lipgelees back!
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Eye Shadow -Clinique - Colour Surge Rum Spice
AriSatomi 11/26/2011 10:36:00 PM
This is a very red dark brown on me, for reference I'm NC/NW23 (if they made that shade). If your eyes are the least bit red, this shadow will definitely accentuate that. I'm usually tired, because I'm exhausted if I don't get 11 hours of sleep everyday, so I know what tired looks like ;) the first time I saw this color, I just had to have it. Somehow, the store's lighting made the color look very neutral with a bit of bronze shimmer, and I thought I found a dupe for the dark shade in Nars' Cordura duo. No such luck! I brought it home and immediately tried it on. Imagine my surprise when I saw that this was in fact a burnt penny brown! The red tint of this shadow seems OTT for me, because I usually gravitate toward real browns and ones that leans on taupe. However, I found that the pigmentation, formulation and the staying power of this specific Clinique single amazing. It takes me two-three dabs with my brush to have enough color for my lid or my crease, and the amount of shadow that's given is phenomenal. I really have no complaints about it other than the plastic smell of the shadow when it's still new. I've had mine for around two months now and the smell is finally starting to fade. Someone compared this to Mulch from MAC earlier, and I have to disagree on that. I own Mulch, and in fact, I don't use it that much at all. Rum Spice is redder, has more depth, is more pigmented as well as being much more warm toned than Mulch. If Rum Spice was mixed with Amber Lights and Satin Taupe, that would result in something like Mulch. I absolutely love this when I want to use a shadow that is too cold toned, for example blueish grays, I can use a sheer wash of this shadow first to counteract the excessive cool tone. It does a great job of cancelling out the blue and gives more depth to the colors I put on top. I've been layering Blackground PP (as an eyeliner) under Rum Spice (to set the liner and blending it out) and it looks way more interesting that just plain black or brown liner! Overall I find this shadow very useful and I will be looking for other shades from this range.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Paint Pot in Indianwood
AriSatomi 11/25/2011 10:57:00 PM
I know that this is a popular PP because it is creamy, blendable and long-lasting, but my problem with it is that it turns bright orange on my lids with a sheer layer of golden shimmer. I love the fact that it is so creamy and creaseproof at the same time, and I wish all of my PPs had this one's texture, but the color is just so wrong on me. If you want a less warm brown, try Constructivist. It's red based and darker, but sheered out, it gives me the effect I wanted from Indianwood. I will not repurchase and I do not reccomend this shade to people that are lighter than NC/NW30. I am a NC23 if that existed.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Black Black chromaline
AriSatomi 11/24/2011 10:03:00 PM
This doesn't get nearly as praise as does Fluidline and BB long-wear gel liners, but it tops both of them. In fact, I should say that Chromaline is the best of the bests. Granted, the color selection is rather unuseful for non-pros, since the range consists of bright colors that are mostly for artful purposes. However, (OH!) the lasting power, pigmentation and texture of this little pot of black gold is out of this world. Never has it failed me, rain or shine, primer or naked lid, over shadow or by itself. What's even better is that at the end of the day, my foaming cleanser takes it right off (I always cleanse twice, 30sec each time, once to take off the makeup and once to properly wash). HG status, as long as I'm going to wear black liner.
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Lip Gloss -MAC - Resort Life Lipgelee
AriSatomi 11/23/2011 10:30:00 AM
I bought this from the Disney Villains collection, and I'm kind of disappointed. The color in the tube looks like a pearly peachy nude with loads of opal, silver and champagne sparkles, which is extremely gorgeous. However I find that on my non-pigmented lips (I normally wear one lip product at a time because layering is time consuming when touching up), only the gorgeous sparkles show up. They are not gritty so it's not uncomfortable, but the peachy nude isn't existent on my lips. Also, after wearing this lipcolor for a while, my lips seems to dry out. They aren't really peeling off or anything, but the sparkles migrate around my lips' lines, making them look old :( The packaging is the normal Lipgelee tube, which leaks a bit when you've left it alone for too long. Overall, it's a gorgeous color that looks lovely on the center of the lips to give them a full look, but it doesn't look nice allover the lips on me. I will not repurchase (doesn't look like I can anyway, it's LE), but it's a nice Lipgelee to have.
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