Shampoo -Kenra - Kenra Clarifying Shampoo
renia22 2/3/2012 12:04:00 PM
Back in the mid-90s The Body Shop had a great grapefruit shampoo which I loved, and when I was searching for grapefruit shampoos in hopes of finding something similar, this one came up. This does smell nice and fresh, like pink grapefruit. It's a thick pink gel that lathers well and rinses clean. My one issue with it, is it tangles my hair quite a bit and I end up having to use way more conditioner on my fine hair than I would like, and I end up with flat hair. I use this only once in a while.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Shampoo -Finesse - Volumizing Shampoo
renia22 1/30/2012 9:17:00 AM
This is a great shampoo for fine or oily hair, or if you want to remove build-up. I love the smell, it reminds me of the 80s. You can buy this for under $5 at drugstore.com, but this volumizing version is hard to find in stores. I do need to use a little bit of conditioner with this one, or I use the texture enchancing formula on the second lathering to reduce tangling. Overall, a good clarifying shampoo that gives body. Probably not for those with dry or chemically treated hair.
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Skincare - Body -Unlisted Brand - Hugo Naturals Body Butter, Unscented
renia22 1/26/2012 9:15:00 AM
This body butter, made with shea butter & jojoba oil, has the texture of butter or shortening and is unscented. I purchased it to use on the backs of my hand and cuticles, where I am experiencing a lot of dryness & cracking in the winter months. This is a very thick, greasy butter/balm (like a salve), but that is what I wanted. Beware if you are looking for a thick cream or fast absorbing lotion, this is not it. A little goes a long way. No smell, which is a plus. I have also used it around my eyes & on my lips at bedtime. Great ingredients, and my skin looks better in the morning.
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Skincare - Face -Avon - ANEW REVERSALIST Night Sterling Emulsion
renia22 1/1/2012 11:54:00 AM
This emulsion/ gel is amazing. At first it seems a little different, it's sparkly and feels a bit oily, so it is best to use it at night. But in the morning my skin is rosy and clear and it plumps up fine lines. The scent is perfumey. It would be better if it were packaged in a tube & avon either reduced or eliminated the heavy perfume. I also checked out the ingredients at cosdna.com, and it contains minimal acne causing ingredients. I really like this very much and will continue to use it.
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Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Indigo Wild Zum Mist Lavender-Mint
renia22 12/20/2011 2:35:00 PM
This review is for the Indigo Wild Zum Mist in Lavender-Mint. These mists come in a plastic 4 ounce spray bottle. They can be used on your body, in the car, as an air freshener, pillow mist, etc. The ingredients are water, glycerin, aloe and essential oils. The lavender-mint is described as sweet flowery mint, but to be in smells mostly of spearmint, I can't really detect the lavender. The scent isn't super long lasting. These cost $10.95 full price from indigowild.com, but certain websites have them at a discount (luckyvitamin, iherb, vitacost, soaphope etc)
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Skincare - Body -Unlisted Brand - Indigo Wild ZUM JOY Fir Needle Peppermint, All Products
renia22 12/15/2011 8:18:00 PM
This review is for the Indigo Wild Zum Joy Fir Needle & Peppermint products. I have it in the mist, laundry detergent, candle & hand wash. The green/ yellow/ red decoration on the packaging is very festive. The products are a little on the expensive side & they use plastic packaging that could be nicer. The laundry detergent is $21 for 64 ounces, the mist is $10.95 for 4 ounces, the hand soap is $13.50 and the soy candle $15 This scent is fun, though. I love the combination of fir needle & peppermint. Smells like mint & pine, very Christmas-y. The Zum products are a little different & they have a large variety of scents and products, so if you can afford to spend a little more than average, they are great to try. They tend to charge an arm & a leg for shipping, so I signed up for their email list and usually wait until they send me a discounted or free shipping offer. I would recommend this scent & these products around holiday time.
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Polishes -Sally Hansen - Diamond Strength Silver Anniversary
renia22 12/15/2011 7:58:00 AM
Walgreens had these on clearance, so i don't know if it's just the packaging they are updating or what. This color, Silver Anniversary, looks to be a fine shimmery silver, but once on, when the light hits it, the silver actually reflects pink/ lavender/ blue. It goes on smoothly and it's very sheer, so you can use it as a top coat over other colors, or build the amount of coverage you want if used alone. No streaks that I can tell. I am wearing it over China Glaze's Rainbow (an opal color that looks pink/ lavender in the light), and the color is so pretty. Silvery shimmer with pink/ lavender/ blue reflected in the light. The wear is okay, it does start to chip after a couple of days. It cost $2.50 on sale
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Polishes -Essie - Nailpolish
renia22 12/14/2011 7:51:00 AM
I bought these in 'Sweet Talker' (a shimmery pale blue) and 'Muchi Muchi' (a creamy pale pink). The blue one looked okay and mostly opaque with some streaks after one coat, but sort of thick and gloppy after two. The pink one is beautiful in the bottle, but applies streaky. For $8 a bottle, I was not impressed. Not sure if I would spend money on another color after having a negative experience with 2 of them already. On a positive note, these polishes did not chip right away, and I like the smaller brush because I have small nails. However, like others have mentioned, they take forever to dry.
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Skincare - Face -Avon - Dramatic Firming Cream
renia22 12/3/2011 8:19:00 PM
After finally clearing my skin up with some Paula's Choice recommendations, I made the poor choice of buying this for my neck and I used some on my face too. My face broke within 3 days of starting this cream. Acne sufferers beware, this product contains several highly comedogenic ingredients, including the second ingredient on the list, myristyl myristate gets a rating of 5 and, the 3rd ingredient, apricot kernel oil, gets a 3 (on a scale of 0-5, 0 being the best, 5 the worst). I went through most of the ingredients and those were not the only offenders. I will very carefully use this on my neck only, but if the break-outs continue, I'm done with this. It smells musty/ musky (sort of like a cross between Bath & Body Work Moonlight Path and the way clothes smell after being in a damp basement for a while?) and I paid 3 for $8.99 on sale. http://cosdna.com/eng/cosmetic_273767730.html
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Shampoo -Unlisted Brand - Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific
renia22 12/1/2011 12:01:00 PM
My sister was going to the Vermont Country Store in VT so I had her pick some up for me to save on shipping. I'm a sucker for discontinued products or items from the 1980s. This is one that I don't remember that well, but I was dying to try it. However, it's a disappointment. It doesn't smell that good, more like a strong, fake, synthetic chemical floral. Worst of all, it dries my hair out terribly and makes me shed like crazy. Hair everywhere! In the drain, on the bathroom floor, on the comb. I thought maybe using a moisturizing shampoo on the second shampoo would help, but it didn't. This shampoo is a waste of $14.95!
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Moisturizers -Avon - Clearskin Professional SPF 15 Lotion
renia22 11/27/2011 11:02:00 AM
Avon has some skin care products that I have liked in the past, so when I saw this on sale 2 for $6.99, I bought it (normally $16 for one). My skin is still prone to acne at 40, yet I want spf protection, so I thought this would be a good bet. Unfortunately, I found it to leave my skin feeling very coated and shiny. I had to use several blotting sheets on my face and especially my nose to get rid of the shine. It seemed to accentuate my pores, which normally aren't my biggest skin issue. Also, I hated the strong scent. It would be nice if Avon made some fragrance free products. I will use this up on my body, but it did not work for me on my face. My skin was a little pink and irritated from it. My skin can handle glycolic acid (which this contains), so I think it's from the added fragrance and other irritants. I gave it a 2 since it does contain spf protection. It does contain several comedogenic ingredients: http://www.cosdna.com/eng/cosmetic_f8a767863.html
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Treatments (Eye) -Avon - Solutions plus Maximum Moisture
renia22 11/27/2011 9:05:00 AM
I have gone through at least 4-5 jars of this eye cream so far and like it very much. Like the previous reviewer stated, it does not contain a bunch of anti-aging ingredients, but is simply an unscented moisturizing eye cream. I like to use it over anti-aging gels, etc to add some moisture. It's not super intense or thick, more like a light gel-cream, but it absorbs well and does not irritate my acne or my eye area. Recently I ordered a back up and it was $2.99 on sale with free shipping. They must be phasing this one out since it was in the 'outlet' section, so if you like it, stock up while you can.
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Treatments -Alpha Hydrox - Retinol Night ResQ
renia22 11/25/2011 8:54:00 AM
I have been using this for a few of months now and just ordered 4 more tubes since they are having it on special for $4.99 at alphahydrox.com (normally $14.99 for a 1.05oz tube). I use this every 2-3 nights or so, alternating it with Paula's Choice 8% Alpha Hydrox Gel (my skin starts to dry out and get too pink if I use this more than that). During the day I use a bit of Paula's Choice acne gel in problem areas and Olay's 7 signs fragrance free lotion with spf 15 (which contains niacinamide). Considering that I drank and smoked up until my mid 20-s and had a lot of sun exposure without sunscreen prior to age 20, my 40 year old skin has been pretty clear of acne and it looks decent for my age due to these products and improved habits (young ladies who smoke & worship the sun and still look good..it does catch up with you eventually, unfortunately). This lotion is light and fragrance free and absorbs well, and alternating it with glycolic acid (and the other products) has very much improved the condition of my skin. My pores look smaller, there's more of a firmness/ rosiness to my skin, my acne is being kept at bay and my acne marks have faded. All I use is a touch of concealer and a light dusting of translucent powder. Alphahydrox.com oftentimes has specials and free shipping deals, it wouldn't hurt to try this one. Skin care expert Paula Begoun highly recommends this one and and has retinol as an "A" list ingredient: "Retinol is the term used for the entire vitamin A molecule. Applied to skin, retinol is a beneficial cell-communicating ingredient and an antioxidant. Simply put, it helps skin cells create better, healthier skin cells and increases the amount of skin-support substances. Retinol has been shown to increase the skin´s collagen production and glycosaminoglycan content, resulting in firmer skin with an improved texture and enhanced barrier function. Although it is not the only ingredient to look for in an anti-aging product, it deserves strong consideration by anyone who wants to keep their skin in top shape through the years. In skin-care products, it is found in the form of retinol, retinyl palmitate, and retinylaldehyde. In prescription-only skin-care products, it is in the form of retinoic acid (also called tretinoin)." (from paulascoice.com)
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Gels/Soaps -Avon - Naturals Antibacterial Peach Hand Gel
renia22 10/27/2011 8:40:00 AM
This is a great hand gel. It comes in a 2.5 ounce tube, and the lid snaps securely closed. The texture is thick enough that you can control how much comes out. I wish these came in a large pump bottle, but the tube is good for travel. I use these at work and like them much better than the ones from B&BW. The peach scent is fresh and clean, but the vanilla one is good too. I think the peach has been discontinued but you can still get a good deal on Ebay.
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Lip Gloss -Hard Candy - Mouthing Off Sheer Lip Shine Drama Queen
renia22 10/16/2011 9:58:00 AM
I am on my second tube of this sheer, shiny red lip gloss (no glitter or shimmer in this one). It tastes faintly of vanilla. It's not particularly long lasting, but the pretty sheer red color goes well with my coloring. It cost $6 at Walmart.
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