Lip Gloss -Prestige - Vinylwear in Spark
awful_cherry 12/3/2005 2:48:00 AM
Love the color, hate the scent. It smells like powdery old lady perfume. I bought this at my college bookstore not expecting much, but I figured it's cheap and I was there anyways so what the hell. I love it! The color is kind of strange; it is like a cool color with warm flecks. I have cool toned skin so I can't wear really warm colors, but this looks great on me. My lips are pretty pigmented on their own, and this is like a particularly intense YLBB shade for me. I can't wear dark colors because my skin is pale and it looks too harsh, but I hate wearing colors that are lighter than my lips, and I hate pinks. This color is probably my new favorite lipsticks. It's just as high quality as my stila lip glazes and the color is better. I put this on, ate a brownie, drank eggnog, and took a 2 hour nap, and it was still all on my lips. Plus, it made them so soft! This will be the new lipgloss that I have in my bag everyday.
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Eye Shadow -Almay - Intense i-Color powder shadow Trio for Browns
awful_cherry 12/3/2005 2:42:00 AM
I wish these colors came individually packaged. I ADORE the middle shade. It's perfect shimmery coppery brown. I have more brown eyeshadows than most women do shoes but this one is my favorite. The other colors are just okay. Very high quality shadow for the price, I love how it glides on like a cream but better, but those two shades are pretty generic -- I have so many eyeshadows and they just don't stand out well enough among my collection to make me want to buy them. I may repurchase, though, because I like the middle color so much.
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Eye Shadow -Almay - Intense i-Color
awful_cherry 12/3/2005 2:35:00 AM
I LOVE the individual shadows. I have the brown quad and I'm very impressed with the quality of the shadow. The middle, light brown color is amazing -- very smooth and shimmery, and it glides on almost like a cream shadow. I just wish that it came in either individual colors (I've never used regular almay eyeshadows; they might be similar quality but I've never found a color I really liked at the drugstore) or there was more than one quad for each eye color. I rarely wear all the colors together, and I don't know that they're any more flattering to my eye color than other safe-for-brown-eyes colors would be (I have a large collection of brown eye shadows) but they're very high quality shadows for the price.
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Concealers -Almay - Wake Up Call concealer
awful_cherry 11/30/2005 10:29:00 PM
It stings my eyes like crazy! Seriously, my eyes water so much that it washes away anyways, along with the rest of my eye makeup. The colors are all a bit yellow, which annoys me -- cool-complected people do exist! Supposedly yellow concealers help conceal purple circles, like grean concealers help conceal red blemishes, etc etc -- imo that's a load of crap. They need to start making concealers that come in skinlike shades rather than these weird hues of yellow, because in my experience it always looks best to have one that matches you.
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Cleansers -Burt's Bees - Orange Essence Facial Cleanser
awful_cherry 11/30/2005 3:03:00 AM
I love the idea of burt's bees. Their ingredients are actually natural, as opposed to brands like The Body Shop that present an image of naturalness but are just as artificial as any other brand, and they do give a lot of money to good conservation efforts. However, their products suck! I must say that they've turned out to be one of the most overrated companies I've bought from. This cleanser didn't make my face feel clean and left behind so much residue, I had to wash with another cleanser. It's not cleansing enough for oily skin and the residue would probably irritate anyone with sensitive skin, and if your skin is normal or dry there are still so many other, better cleansers you could use.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Stila - Lip glaze
awful_cherry 11/30/2005 2:58:00 AM
I didn't pay much for my Stila lip glazes -- I got a 3 pack of mini ones (with a wand applicator, not the normal one) at a cosmetics outlet store for $18. I'm not disappointed with them for what I paid. They had reasonable staying power, were not shimmery (I hate shimmery/frosty lips), and didn't dry my lips out. However, I would not repurchase for the retail price. They're decent lip glosses but they would have to be much more than decent for me to pay $20 for one.
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Lip Treatments -Burt's Bees - Beeswax Lip Balm
awful_cherry 11/30/2005 2:53:00 AM
Not hydrating at all. Just sort of waxy and tingly. This brand in general is overrated, imho. If you like the minty feeling, though, check out their lip shimmers -- those are the only Burt's Bee's product that I'll repurchase.
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Styling Products -TiGi - Bedhead Small Talk
awful_cherry 11/29/2005 11:40:00 PM
One of my favorite products for styling my wavy hair. It's a very versatile product. Most mornings I comb this and a leave-in conditioner through my hair, scrunch, and wrap my hair in a towel until I leave the house. It gives the right amount of definition while keeping frizzies down somewhat. When I first started using it it took me awhile to get the right amount of product -- too much and your hair is very stiff and wet-looking or greasy-looking, too little and it's not effective enough. It's quite easy to master though. I also use it when blow-drying my hair -- straightening my brastrap-length, thick, wavy, stubborn hair is pretty much impossible unless I have at least an hour to spend on it, but when I use the small talk and blow dry, I can at least get it shiny, smooth, and only slightly wavy. I don't know if it really functions as a thickifier and energizer, as my hair has more volume than I can handle already so I've never used those. Unfortunately it's not a miracle product for me and I would still like to find a product that offers a little more weight and makes my curls more defined, but with my hair texture that may never happen and this product is the best I've found so far.
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Lip Gloss -Revlon - Gloss to Gloss - Peppermint Kiss
awful_cherry 11/27/2005 9:36:00 PM
With lip glosses, I usually want a YLBB type shade -- looks like my lips, but with some depth and shine. I have pigmented lips and cool undertones so this is hard to find -- most nudes are too neutral or warm and I don't like pinks. This gloss is sort of a darkish looking red, so I thought it might work. It doesn't at all -- on my lips, it's bright red, and just doesn't look right. Don't even think about applying it without a mirror -- it's much too bright, any mistakes or smudges will be obvious. I like the idea of it being packaged with the lighter, shimmery color, because I don't like shimmer all over my lips but a dab of it in the middle of your bottom lip and on either side of your top lip is supposed to make your lips look plumper. However, the lighter shade doesn't even show up! I rubbed my finger around in the stuff for awhile and kept trying to put more and more on but I couldn't even see a difference. Also, the packaging is horrible. I ripped the sticker on the back trying to get the plastic seal off, and the compact is so hard to open I thought I was going to break it. The formula isn't terrible, but it isn't the best. Not moisturizing at all and it made my lips tingle a little bit. Also, I just prefer a wand applicator so I don't have to find something to wipe my finger on after I apply it. This will be taken back to CVS and exchanged for something hopefully more flattering.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Skincare - Body -Unlisted Brand - Fruit of the Earth Aloe Vera Gel
awful_cherry 11/27/2005 3:05:00 AM
Love this as a moisturizer. Also, while I was using benzoyl peroxide, I was having a problem with irritation from it -- using this on top of the bp completely cured that. It does leave a filminess, so I mostly use it at night. It also can work as a makeup primer, though -- if your makeup is very emollient, a little of this underneath it can make your skin feel fresh and smooth and control oiliness (I wouldn't use it under drier or powder makeup, however, or without puttig makeup on top of it during the day). It's a very versatile product. Ironically, the one thing I don't use this for is sunburn -- I find it's too drying for use on my body, does absolutely nothing to prevent peeling, and can make me itch. If you're looking for something to soothe a sunburn try some Palmer's cocoa butter.
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Primer/ Corrector -Philosophy - On a Clear Day Protection Cream
awful_cherry 11/26/2005 7:30:00 PM
I got this in the acne kit. I've never used a primer before, so I have no real basis for comparison. If you're using the acne kit, this is a must. The H2O2 cream tends to be kind of cakey, and the serum sometimes makes my skin flake, so my makeup looks awful unless I use this stuff. However, if you're not using those products or any others with the same effects, I wouldn't waste your money. I will repurchase because I like the acne kit, but I wouldn't buy this product on its own. I've had almost-as-good results by just using moisturizer and aloe vera gel, which is much cheaper.
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Masks -Queen Helene - Grape Seed Extract Masque
awful_cherry 11/26/2005 4:53:00 AM
This isn't a miracle product. Long term, it's not going to do anything amazing to your face. But most products that cost 10x this much don't do what they claim, and it's so cheap, who cares? It does make your face feel and look smoother and tighter and gives you a big of a glow, and one tube lasts forever, so it's definitely worth investing in. Try using it before a date, or some other time when you want to look really fresh and radiant.
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Shampoo -Aussie - Moist Shampoo
awful_cherry 11/26/2005 2:27:00 AM
This isn't moisturizing at all. It dries my hair out. Okay for the price range or if your hair isn't dry but I will definitely not use it again. If you have dry hair, try a creamy shampoo like Redken All Soft.
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Lotions/ Creams -Neutrogena - Skin Smoothing Body Lotion SPF 15
awful_cherry 11/25/2005 4:11:00 AM
This product works really well. It evens out skintone and exfoliates wonderfully -- shaving is much easier when you're properly exfoliated. However, it smells awful. I love what it does to my skin but I just can't take the smell! Most products like this just smell for a few minutes, but this scent lingers. I don't know if it's the acids or the sunscreen but the smell doesn't go away. I can't use it during the day because I would smell awful, and I can't use it at night because it would stink up my sheets and whatever clothes I slept in (they smell until you wash them, even if all you did in them was sleep). If they came out with a similar product that didn't have the stench I would buy it in a second, because it's a great lotion. However, I don't want myself, my clothes, or my egyptian cotton sheets to reek, so I stopped using it.
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Cleansers -Philosophy - On a Clear Day Super wash for Oily Skin [DISCONTINUED]
awful_cherry 11/25/2005 3:09:00 AM
I bought this as part of the Acne Kit. It's a decent cleanser. If it weren't part of the kit, I wouldn't pay the full $18 for it, but put together in the kit it's a good deal. 4 lippies instead of five because it hasn't done anything outstanding, isn't worth the money unless you buy it in the kit, and I generally prefer gel cleansers. It's removing oil and makeup without drying me out and hasn't made me break out, so I have no complaints. It actually feels quite nice on my skin, and the medicinal smell is kind of nice -- I feel like I'm putting something "nice" or effective on my skin instead of a generic cleanser.
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