Eye Shadow -MAC - Lucky Green
deadonarrivals 12/3/2012 10:46:00 AM
I love green in any shade! Lucky Green is no exception. Lucky Green looks a bit bright in the pan but on my skin (NC40) it makes my eyes look awake. On me, LG is a warm toned shimmery light grass green. I love using LG when I want a change from my usual neutrals but still look appropriate for work/day time. I use LG very conservative by applying to my lid up to the crease area and blending a eggshell high light shade up to the brow bone. I like to finish the look by lining with a brown liner and topping it off with 2 coats of mascara. I find this particular shade is nicely pigmented and blends on the lid with ease.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -Christian Dior - Diorskin Nude Skin-Glowing Makeup SPF 15
deadonarrivals 12/3/2012 10:32:00 AM
***REVIEWING OLD FORMULA - DISCONTINUED*** My HG foundation because it doesn't break me out and makes me look healthy and fresh. It's a medium coverage foundation that blends so easy on the skin. It requires no fuss, goes on with fingers, sponge or w/ a makeup brush. It doesn't cling to my dry patches on my chin and it doesn't make me look like an oil slick. My shade in this is 040 Honey Beige and it is a perfect match for my medium olive skin. The bottle is heavy glass with a nice pump. Plus, Grandpa approves it! My very critical 85 year old Italian Grandpa that has no filter and will tell us if we gained weight, look ugly and what not. He lightly smacked my cheek a few times and said "You gotta nice complexion kid." Update: So upset that Dior changed their Nude liquid formula. The new formula that is sold in stores now contain additional ingredients and one of them being Bismuth Oxychloride. My skin can't tolerate this ingredient as it produces hives all over my face.
10 out of 10 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Concealers -Bobbi Brown - Corrector
deadonarrivals 12/3/2012 10:15:00 AM
I purchased this corrector about 4 years ago and didn't like it. I believe the SA matched me to a light peach and it clearly wasn't working for me color wise. I decided to pick up this corrector again to see if it will work any better. I purchased the shade Med/Dark Bisque for my NC40 skin. I feel that this shade is absolutely perfect for my skin tone and for the color of my dark hereditary circles. My circles are severe at all times. I was born with them, thanks Dad! My circles are navy blue and if I'm sick they actually turn darker to a faded black :( I've played around with different correctors, mostly the peach and salmon tones but find they make my circles appear darker. I've learned that pink corrects my depth and tone better. The other famous correctors that I've tried were: 1. Eve Pearl 2. Erase Paste and 3. Paula Dorf and all were fails. I do like Bobbi Brown's color choices in this corrector and she understands that some people work better w/ pink (Bisque) or peach tones and as a makeup artist, she does have knowledge about the struggles that come with dark circles. She makes it easy for anyone with any skin tone to find the right corrector for them. I'm going to say that I do feel that this is a good product for mild to moderate circles. However, even with 4 layers, my circles were still quite visible. But, this is better than using no corrector at all. I do love the formula of this corrector. It's not greasy like most pot correctors that I've tried. It's creamy and glides under the eye nicely. I have oily skin and I've found that this doesn't travel or crease. I also like how this works well under my concealer and foundation. The corrector just melts into the skin making you look very natural. The price for this corrector is affordable too at $24(US) and available in most department stores as well as Sephora. The only con is that I wish it had better pigmentation for us with severe dark circles. I've decided to keep this instead of return it. But, I'm still on the search for my perfect corrector. I rate this product a 3.5.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Dolce & Gabbana - The One
deadonarrivals 11/29/2012 12:13:00 PM
I get weak in the knees for amber vanilla and jasmine and this fragrance has them all. The One is a warm pretty scent that is spicy enough for a night out yet calm enough for day. The dry down is more floral on me wheras the base notes of amber, musk, vanilla and vetiver plum hit me at the initial spritz. I feel this is a perfect winter scent for those that enjoy spicy florals.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Pressed Powders -Laura Geller - Matte Maker Invisible Oil Blotting Powder w/Brush
deadonarrivals 11/29/2012 12:02:00 PM
Again, I try to like Laura Geller's products but they just don't meet my standards. I love watching her on QVC and she appears to be a very knowledgable makeup artist with a sweet personality but I haven't found a single product from her that works for me. Being an oily person, I do need to carry a powder with me. I've tried several and still looking for the ideal one and this isn't it. In fact, this powder was very poor quality. Even with the slightest tap on the face, I still got a massive circle of flakey white powder. I find this powder is too chunky and doesn't blend into the skin at all. Also, it clings very bad to any flakes making them look rough. I've tried using two different powder puffs, a makeup sponge and also a powder brush, all left the same chalky white finish. My New York Color Smooth Finish Translucent Powder for $2.99 works way better than this powder. Also, the packaging is bulky and only contains a half of a mirror. I purchased mine at Ulta and it didn't come with a brush.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -Ponds - Deep Cleanser Cold Cream
deadonarrivals 11/28/2012 9:53:00 AM
I love this and can't believe I haven't tried it sooner. Well, I know why I haven't because now that I'm in my 30's, my skin is not only oily, it is now acne prone. Hello, welcome to adult hormonal acne. My problem areas are my chin and jaw line. I get big cystic blemishes there. I had flawless skin as a teen, nothing could upset my skin. Now, the wind can blow too hard and my face turns beet red with bumps. As I get older, I'm noticing that chemicals in skincare and the enviornment are now making my skin on the sensitive side. Because I've always had oily skin, the thought of putting a cold cream on my face was insane. Wax and mineral oil? To wash my makeup off? Are you crazy? But, I'm getting frustrated by the lack of performance in other products so I picked this old cult favorite out of desperation. My normal skincare routine was this: 1. remove makeup with 2 makeup wipes. 2. apply a salicylic acid face wash w/ Clarisonic brush and cleanse skin. 3. Tone skin. 4. apply a serum. 5. moisturize skin (even though I have oily skin, I'm also blessed with dry flakes around my chin area. Again, this is a new skin problem for me). Last night, I tried a new simple approach to my pm routine. I got rid of a few steps. 1. apply a thin layer of Ponds Cold Cream directly to my face full of makeup. I let it sit on for about 2 minutes. 2. dampened a papertowel with warm water and wiped it all off. 3. tone skin 4. moisturize skin. Actually, I really didn't need to moisturize my whole face, only my dry chin because after wiping off the cream, there is a moist residue left behind that feels nice but doesn't make me appear oily. Best of all, all traces of makeup were gone! gone! gone! No wait, best of all is this. I was so afraid to wake up with about 20,000 new blemishes, clogged pores and what not. But, when I got up and out of habit, grabbed my blemish concealer to dot my spots. When I looked up in the mirror w/ my concealer in hand, I was thinking Damn, my skin actually cleared up! The only thing I had to cover up was an old acne scar on my chin. Sooooo, now I don't need that $200 Clarisonic thingy to cleanse my makeup off. Hmmm, I wish I discovered this $6.99 miracle cream 2 years ago before I purchased the Clarisonic. The only con I can find with this product is the smell. I wish it was unscented. Update: I'm finally done with my first tub and I'm buying another to replace it. I love this product now just as much as the first time using it. This one product has saved my skin. Forever will be a tub on Ponds near my bathroom sink!
9 out of 9 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Foundations -Almay - TLC Truly Lasting Color
deadonarrivals 11/28/2012 9:05:00 AM
I usually stay away from drugstore foundations because I have a hard time matching my medium olive skintone. Often times, drugstore foundations lean too yellow or pink and don't contain enough depth to accommodate olive skintones. The two darkest shades offered were Sand and Warm. Sand appeared to be a nice neutral to warm shade and Warm actually looked very pink to me. I wear NC40 in MAC, 040 in Dior, 5 Mat Honey in Givenchy and 6.0 in UD for reference. I ended up purchasing Sand. So, we can't test a sample at a drugstore so I had to purchase and take it home and try it out. I wiped off my makeup on half my face. I applied a thin layer of TLC to my right side to compare sides. I brought it down under my chin and to my neck. Right away, I noticed a cast even after blending it in. It clearly was too light for my skintone. Getting the next darker shade wasn't an option, I know it will be too pink. As for the finish, I didn't care for it. The coverage was sheer and it clinged to my dry patch on my chin. I returned it the same day.
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Cleansers -Biore - Facial Cleansing Cloths
deadonarrivals 11/27/2012 10:59:00 AM
BEWARE: THESE WIPES BURN! I don't have very sensitive skin, I would say I'm mildly sensitive and can tolerate most skincare products without irritation. Biore Cleansing Cloths were the only wipes so far that caused great discomfort and I've used many different cleansing cloths brands. I really didn't see the point to these because they didn't remove makeup that well. I don't use waterproof makeup, primer or full coverage foundations so there was no excuse why these wipes failed at removing makeup. Upon instant contact with my skin, these wipes caused burning and irritation especially around the eye area. After using these wipes, my combination to oily skin was bone dry and red. Also, I experienced breakouts from these wipes. I don't know why I ever stray from my HG Equate (Walmart Brand) cleansing wipes!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Nail Magic
deadonarrivals 11/26/2012 9:29:00 AM
So far so good! The lengths we go for beauty. I did read the reviews here on mua before purchasing Nail Magic and was a bit concerned by the amount of people that experienced pain and burning while using this product. Well, that didn't stop me from going out and buying it. I purchased Nail Magic at Sally Beauty Supply Store and it was relatively inexpensive ($7.99) for what you would pay for a salon brand nail tx. I did read the directions this time with this particular nail product because I was already aware of the potential side effects of it. It did say do not apply to nails that were recently exposed to acrylics and do not use near open skin or damaged cuticles. The product states that if you are using on bare nails, to apply 2 thin coats every 3 days and remove old coats prior to applying the new coats. Okay, I got it. So, I gently applied 1 thin coat to my pinky nail to test any reaction. Thankfully, I didn't experience any side effects of pain or burning with this. Within 2 days! 2 days, I noticed a difference! 9 nails are growed out so that there was a nice sliver of a clean white tip showing. I was pretty impressed that all 9 nails grew out evenly, that never happens with my nails! I say all 9 because I did experience 1 chipped nail and the product guidelines did mention that you will experience some chipping during the initial phase. I've only had this product on my nails for 4 days now and I really like what I'm seeing! I'm very happy that this product doesn't cause peeling like some other nail hardeners do.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Pink Bronze Pigment
deadonarrivals 11/13/2012 1:21:00 PM
Love this pigment. Such a pretty warm fall shade. It's like an explosion of the sun and fall leaves. The base color is copper with pink shimmer. Very pigmented, a little goes a long way. Also, this stays on my oily lids for hours even without primer. I actually like to reach for this on my lazy days because it requires no blending or primer. Love it.
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Lipstick -Revlon - Super Lustrous in Coral Berry
deadonarrivals 11/13/2012 9:50:00 AM
Pretty warm toned coral-pink. Pigmented, not too bold at all on my lips or against my skintone (NC40). But, there is something off with this color. I usually look great in corals but this one comes off as a bit unnatural on me. The formula is a little drying but I find this lipstick does have wonderful staying power. I give this shade 3.4 lippies. It's just okay, not my favorite coral.
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Brows -Milani - Brow Tint Pen
deadonarrivals 11/12/2012 4:21:00 PM
I picked this up only because it was on sale. I really wasn't in the market for a new brow product. But, I'm so happy I picked this up. I have naturally thin wimpy brows and I added insult to injury by overplucking them which was on trend in the early 90s hip hop era. I'm left with two little squiggles now and need to use a brow product daily to look, well normal. I like that I have control over my shading with this. The harder you press down when shading the brows, the deeper the shade comes out. I purchased the shade Dark Brown and it is a red toned brown. It works for my hair coloring but it could look odd on someone without redtones in their hair/brows. To be honest, I wish Dark Brown was more dark. It's a tad too light for my liking and Milani doesn't have a darker shade. To prevent the product to come out watery, you need to shake the pen several time to get good pigmentation. I like that I can create a more dramatic brow without looking fake. I also like that this product stays on all day until you wash it off!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -L'Oreal - Double Extend Beauty Tubes
deadonarrivals 11/12/2012 10:20:00 AM
I didn't like this mascara at all. In fact, I used it twice and decided it was better off in the trash! I usually don't have luck with L'Oreal mascaras and out of the hundreds that I've tried from this brand, I only cared for the "original" Lash Architect sold in the early 90's. Double Extend Beauty Tubes is a tubing mascara in which it is geared to create full long lashes that don't budge until you take it off. One side, there is a primer that you use first and on the other side is the mascara. For one, I hate the brushes on both sides. Both brushes are the same and they are thin pokey little spoolies. The wands are short compared to the long brush and I found it awkward to maneuver. The second problem are the two barrels on the end that hold the product. They have pointed bottoms so you can't place them down, you have to hold the tube in one hand while using the brush in the other which I don't like. The third issue was the product performance. I felt like the primer was useless and the mascara had an extremely dry formula. I couldn't layer this mascara because it was so dry and it clumps very easily. After a few hours, I noticed flakes around the outer corners of my eyes. The forth issue was the overall effect. I experienced no lengthing or volume with this mascara. In my opinion, Beauty Tubes provides a natural lash look. The last issue was the removing process. Beauty Tubes is very difficult to remove. After some vigorous scrubbing, the mascara finally rolls off in tiny balls. Because mua forces us to give at least a 1 lippie, that is what it gets. But, in reality I would give this a zero.
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Lip Gloss -Clinique - Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss in Currant
deadonarrivals 11/8/2012 2:02:00 PM
I usually stay away from these types of glosses in a tube. They tend to be very sticky and goopy. The brands that I've tried and disliked are the Urban Decay Lip Junkies, Lancome Juicy Tubes and Dior Kiss Balms. I got this in the sample size and I'm actually extremely impressed with the quality of this. Clinique's Superbalms are thicker than normal glosses but they somehow don't feel it like the other brands I've mentioned. My lips don't feel sticky at all. My lips feel smooth and hydrated as well. Also, I love that these don't have offensive scents like the Lancome ones. Man, those stunk! The color current is very pretty but is sheer on my lips. I usually don't have luck with Clinique products but I'm really happy to find something so nice in this brand. I can't wait to buy other colors!
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Lipstick -Revlon - Super Lustrous - Black Cherry
deadonarrivals 11/1/2012 12:34:00 PM
Gosh, I really wanted this shade to work. Unfortunatley, it makes me look too goth and dead. I have olive skin and dark circles. Black Cherry doesn't have enough of a berry hue to work with my skin. Black Cherry is in fact just like the fruit - rich dark and cool. On me, it shows up as a dark black red like a Merlot.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No