Cleansers -Philosophy - Purity Made Simple (Real Purity Cleanser)
taurusdragonfly 2/17/2012 2:39:00 PM
I used to love this stuff before I turned 30 and my skin went nuts. It's soothing and gentle and cleans really well. The smell is herbal and light and it left my skin perfectly clean without any tightness or residue. It was perfect for my combination or dry skin. It works really well when used in conjunction with the exfoliating scrub. I bought a stash quite a few years ago, so maybe the formula has changed since. But I've been using what I have on hand.
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Treatments -Shea Moisture - Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Reconstructive Elixir
taurusdragonfly 2/17/2012 1:13:00 PM
Calling it a 'reconstructive elixir' is a bit of stretch. It IS a nice medium weight blend of essential oils that do a great job at sealing in moisture and adding shine and pliability that curly/kinky hair needs. It's a bit heavy for fine hair to spray directly - the pump gives a full squirt, not a fine mist. (I spray it in my hands and apply.) The smell is similar to the rest of the moisture retention line (yellow label) nutty and sweet. The scent definitely lingers, but it's not bad. If you like the scent, it's a decent oil blend - not exceptionally distinctive, but good.
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Conditioner -Shea Moisture - Shea Moisture Organic Yucca & Baobab Thickening Conditioner
taurusdragonfly 2/17/2012 1:00:00 PM
Also known as Volumizing This is my favorite Shea Moisture product. I love the scent of the yucca & baobab (green label) products - it's fresh instead of sweet. This conditioner detangles well and leaves my hair almost as smooth as if I had used a silicone conditioner and almost as shiny as if there were mineral oil. It is the best natural product to switch to if you're used to slip and shine, but don't want buildup or synthetic ingredients.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Shampoo -Shea Moisture - Shea Moisture Organic Yucca & Baobab Thickening Shampoo
taurusdragonfly 2/17/2012 12:50:00 PM
also known as Volumizing This is part of my favorite line of the Shea Moisture products. I love the scent of the yucca & baobab (green label) products - it's fresh instead of sweet. The shampoo is gentle and sulfate free like all the Shea Moisture shampoos. It's not quite as moisturizing as the Moisture Retention shampoo (yellow label), but there's barely a difference in my hair when comparing the two. It lathers like crazy without stripping, so the bottle lasts a good amount of time for the relatively cheap price. I even use it on my color-treated hair and it doesn't fade the color too badly.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Bronzers -Cargo - Cargo Bronzer in Dark
taurusdragonfly 2/17/2012 12:40:00 PM
After a few attempts at bronzer that showed up too sparkly, ashy, or dark, I was about ready to give up. Then I found the Cargo bronzer in dark - so pretty. I'm a dark skin girl (chocolate brown) and this is the only bronzer I've gone back to. It is a bit metallic (not glittery), but in the summer when my skin tone darkens and gets redder, it looks amazing. In the winter, it is a great highlighter. With the right brush, it goes on smooth and blends nicely. Too shimmery to be natural exactly, but gives a pretty sheen that looks fab in pics and in nightclubs. A little goes a long way. The tin seems pricey, but I've had mine for years and am just barely hitting the bottom of the pan in the center. Simple easy tin - no spillage.
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Makeup Brushes -Ulta - Professional Synthetic Sculpted Brush
taurusdragonfly 2/15/2012 3:32:00 PM
I have never bought expensive brushes and only recently 'graduated' from the brushes, fluffs, puffs, and sponges that come with makeup compacts to 'real' pro brushes. I tried the flat foundation brushes and found the paint-on application a little too heavy. This Ulta sculpted brush is a revelation. It's velvety soft and buffs on powder perfectly - leaving a light flawless finish. I tried it with cream to powder and liquid foundation and it works perfectly with them too to create an even, natural finish. It doesn't shed and keeps it shape after numerous washings. BIG recommend. It was pretty pricey to me, but soo much better than everything else I had.
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Eye Shadow -Kat Von D - Mi Vida Loca palette
taurusdragonfly 2/14/2012 4:28:00 PM
I wanted to love this palette. Mouth dropped when I saw it in the store. Bright candy colors and the cool packaging we've come to expect from KVD. The light pink color is a nice surprise: cool duochrome which probably looks great on some pale person. Unfortunately, the colors are more pastel and shimmery than bold on my brown skin. They look so awesome in the pan, but like a frosty mess on my face. With primer they do have better pigmentation, but still not as intense as they appear and certainly not pure color to show up on dark skin. The texture of these seems a little different than the older KVD palettes I have. Still very soft and almost creamy, but sooo much fallout and hardly any buildability. :(
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Treatments -Kiehls - Lip Balm #1
taurusdragonfly 2/14/2012 4:14:00 PM
Simple - it's just oils in a tube. I wasn't into the screw cap dispenser. It's relatively thin consistency means it's easy to squeeze out more than you need for your lips (which isn't much). It didn't taste or look like anything but oil. eh. I started to use it as my before-bed balm, bc the oiliness didn't bother me when it soaked in overnight. It works to moisturize, but wasn't worth repurchasing.
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Cleansers -Ponds - Evening Soothe Cleansing Towelettes
taurusdragonfly 2/14/2012 4:05:00 PM
LOVE the soothing smell of these. great for lazy moments when I don't feel like the whole washing routine. They aren't drying, but they don't leave the greasy filmy feel that some wipes do. The packing is simple - not sure why the add the paperboard 'seat'. I was worried that the wipes would dry out, but they were moist down to the last one. They're textured enough to remove most makeup but don't feel scrubby or harsh.
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Palettes -Kat Von D - Ludwig Palette
taurusdragonfly 2/14/2012 3:26:00 PM
This was my everyday palette as I love greens and golds. I even kept it in my purse until the green pan cracked and gave everything a green shimmer. :( Anyway Kat von D palettes are usually great - pigmented, smooth, finely milled shadows. The black powder is so great - true black. I used it as a liner and wish I could buy it separately for that purpose. The ridiculous little brushes included in the pallette are awesome for using the black powder as a subtle liner. The gold and greens showed up nicely. The brown powder I didn't like as much - it had a green tinge on my warm toned brown skin. If I used a primer, then the colors stayed true. Without primer, everything kinda faded to a sparkly golden color.
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Conditioner -Aveda - Damage Remedy Restructuring Conditioner
taurusdragonfly 2/14/2012 3:13:00 PM
This line was my go-to before I went silicone-free. Occasionally I miss the amazing slip, smoothness, boinging coils, and smell of this product. If it weren't so pricey, I'd probably have kept on using it. Eventually I couldn't get moisture back into my ends which suffered from the silicone buildup most. *shrugs But if you like silicones, this stuff is amazing!
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Shampoo -Aveda - Damage Remedy Restructuring Shampoo
taurusdragonfly 2/14/2012 3:12:00 PM
This line was my go-to before I went silicone-free. Occasionally I miss the amazing slip, smoothness, boinging coils, and smell of this product. If it weren't so pricey, I'd probably have kept on using it. Eventually I couldn't get moisture back into my ends which suffered from the silicone buildup most. *shrugs But if you like silicones, this stuff is amazing!
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Lip Gloss -L'Oreal - Infallible Lipgloss "Barely Nude
taurusdragonfly 2/14/2012 2:55:00 PM
If I do a smoky eye, I wear this nude gloss with reddish brown liner (MAC Chestnut or Rimmel Ultimate 046) and it works. I like that it's subtle and not pasty looking on my brown face like a lot of nude colors. It doesn't last 6 hours or through eating and drinking, but it does hold up very well for a lip gloss. It also doesn't give you that residue that some (MAC) glosses can leave where your lips meet either. I always apply something moisturizing under any lip products, so I haven't experienced any drying. But I don't use it every day. Feels a little sticky at first, but then you don't even notice it any more than balm but you still have good pigment and sheen. I also have this in raisin and mauve and like them even more.
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Gels/Soaps -Aveeno - Active Naturals Hydrating Body Wash
taurusdragonfly 2/14/2012 2:42:00 PM
This is the first winter in a long time I haven't broken out with keratosis pilaris or excema on my arms and back (so far). I think it has to do with consistent use of this body wash. (I stick to a fairly consistent and effective detergent-lotion-exfoliating regimen.) I usually use oil of olay w shea or dove sensitive skin soap in the winter to keep my skin calm, but I do enjoy body washes. So glad I gave it a try - my skin has been happy and I really like the smells too. They lather a lot, so a little goes a long way and the bottles last longer than you expect.
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Cleansers -Aveeno - Positively Radiant Cleansing Pads
taurusdragonfly 2/14/2012 2:30:00 PM
LOVE these. Scrubby on one side - soft on the other. Appropriately wet and soapy straight from the jar. The pads are large - for a while I cut them in half. The scrubby side gives the perfect amount of exfoliation that you can control. Helps with blending away my blemish scars and leaves my skin feeling smooth. Not too drying for sensitive skin - I don't use everyday. The giant spacious plastic jar seems like a waste when most other facial wipes come in the peel open plastic bags. I always feel a little bad throwing it away when it's empty. I used consistently for a month and saw a great improvement in the texture of my skin.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No