Liquid -LORAC - Breakthrough Performance Oil Free Anti-aging with sms complex spf 14 
redheadjane 1/3/2011 2:10:00 PM
As a Foundation junkie (I have tons), I will rate this one a 4 in the category of Satin finish, medium coverage foundation for Normal to dry skins. This is not a foundation for acne prone or Oily folks. It's oil free but has emollients in it to give you a satin finish to the skin, not matte. I typically wear long wearing, full coverage foundations. But now that my skin is looking nice (Ladies, skin first, makeup second), this makeup is perfect for everyday, running errands etc. I found that it evened out my skin tone, covered some redness but with blemishes, you will still need a concealer. I also use a finishing powder on my t-zone as I'm combo skinned. For winter this is a great foundation to stay hydrated. In summer, I'm afraid that once the humidity and heat hit, this probably will be too oily for me as that's when my T-zone oiliness kicks in. I am wearing SM2. I think it's a half shade darker than my skintone but SM1 was very Pale. Overall, decent foundation but I would not buy it again as there are others out there that are better and less expensive.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Revlon - Illuminance Creme Shadow Quad - Not Just Nudes
redheadjane 1/3/2011 10:36:00 AM
These are ok for throwing something on when you got to get out the door. You have to use an eye primer with these to get them to last on your eye and to prevent creasing. Nice colors for daily wear, smooth and easy application. I prefer Mac for cream eyeshadows, but these are cheap and are a decent drugstore find.
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Highlighters -Lancome - Éclat Miracle
redheadjane 1/3/2011 10:33:00 AM
This is just ok in terms of Highlighters. It works better as a eye highlighter than a face highlighter. I found it pretty much disappeared into my cheekbones with no effect whatsoever. Benefit makes much better highlighters, this one is going to my "Dead soldiers" bin.
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Cleansers -Clarins - Gentle Foaming Cleanser for Dry or Sensitive Skin
redheadjane 1/1/2011 11:27:00 PM
This is a creamy gentle cleanser that is formulated for Dry or Sensitive skin. Both of which I currently have but I am more combo/Slightly dry. Unlike dome of the ladies reviewing this, I did not find this drying in the least. It foamed up very well and I only need about a quarter sized amount per washing. I like the tube design, makes taking it to my boyfriend's house much easier. It has a fresh botanical smell which I found luxurious. After using drugstore cleansers and Clinique, it is certainly a step up in quality. I do use Lancome Radiance cleanser at night and this one in the morning. It does a good job at removing makeup but I still use makeup remover and a toner to complete the cleansing process. I am also a devotee of the Chamomile toner which works very well in conjunction with this cleanser. I do think that for the summer months I will go back to the Pure Melt Cleanser which I think is better at getting all the dirt and debris off my face when I get sweaty. For winter, this one works much better.
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Blush -Laura Mercier - Wild Bouquet
redheadjane 1/1/2011 9:41:00 PM
This is a beautiful blush that suits my Fairer skintone and Darker red hair. It doesn't Scream "BLUSH" when I wear it and is fantastic for daily use to ad a bit of flush to your Cheeks. This is an excellent peachy-Pink toned color that would look best on those with Golden and yellow undertones. I would say this is more suited for Light to Medium skintones and maybe lighter olive. I've had the same blush for almost a year and about 1/2 of it is gone, so the price is worth it because it's a quality pigmented blush and they should last forever.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -Revlon - Colorstay Eyeliner
redheadjane 1/1/2011 9:30:00 PM
I use a lot of higher end makeup but this is far my favorite eyeliner, the one I reach for every day. Eyeliner is one of those things that doesn't seem to stay well on me at all. I need long wearing, bullet proof liner that lasts and doesn't smudge. Colorstay liner is right now, my favorite. I like the applicator, no sharpening is always a plus for me. It goes on smooth and their dark brown is my absolute favorite brown out there. I'm a redhead and don't really do black too much on my lower lids. So I have the black for the top and brown for the bottom and use the brown pretty much daily,. I've probably re-bought this liner about 5 times. It holds up in just about any weather and I even use this on photoshoots under super hot lights and it doesn't budge.
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Primer/ Corrector -Tarina Tarantino - pearl glow primer
redheadjane 1/1/2011 9:25:00 PM
I so wanted to really like this after reading some reviews. But alas, it really did not work for me at all. As a matter of fact, I believe this was a contributor to a huge clogged pore I got on my nose. I'm not really a primer fan, but I know I need one for my enlarged pores. I was hoping to add a little luminosity to my skin with this particular primer. I got neither. No pore minimizing, no luminosity at all. It really did nothing at all for my skin, my makeup was sliding off my face after a couple of hours and seeing as I am more dry rather than oily, I thought that was weird. I am returning this to Sephora.
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Shampoo -Alterna - Caviar Anti-Aging Volume Shampoo
redheadjane 1/1/2011 6:17:00 PM
I got several samples of this and the anti-aging Conditioner. I really like them both. I'm 38, been going prematurely gray since 17. I noticed that my hair texture is changing and is harder to manage flyaways. I have fine hair, color treated, dry. the combo of this shampoo plus the conditioner, calmed my hair down without me having to pile on silicones after drying. It's a bit expensive but I am going to Ulta for their sale tomorrow and picking both up, I like them that much. My goal this year is to get my hair in really good, healthy condition and hopefully get it back down to the middle of my back. I;m looking forward to trying both shampoo and conditioner from this line to see what it does for my Aging hair. It is supposed to be used for by older women or women with premature grays, not young-uns.
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Foundations -Clarins - extra firming foundation
redheadjane 12/29/2010 9:31:00 PM
This was a kind of a disappointment for me as I love Clarins in general. Their products are well researched and formulated and generally one of the few High end lines that often delivers what I want from skincare. So I decided to try this foundation. I'm 38 combo skin a little dry in the winter. I wanted something somewhat moisturizing for the winter months. I typically like Long wearing foundations and quite honestly probably should have went with their everlasting instead but I was afraid it would be too drying and show all my well earned fine lines around my eyes. #1 Clarins Foundation colors are odd. And I'm not just talking for this particular one but all of them are either very pink or too yellow. I really need a neutral color because I often get red and pinky in the winter and need the neutral to look normal. Yellow based foundations are ok, but these were Too yellow, very similar to MAC foundations. The SA, who was extremely nice and attentive first matched me in Toffee. Way too dark/Orange. I'm really More Fair colored than medium and sometimes I'm very fair if my skin is in the right condition. I match to either Buff #2 or Ivorie 4 in Lancome, to give you a basis on color. So I brought back the toffee and got the #109 Wheat. Hmm...still too dark, strange orange undertones. I also found that after wearing this for about 4 hours that I actually started to look kind of tired and old. Maybe it was the color, I don;t know. But back it went. I'm going to have to stick with Lancome Teint Idole as my long wearing foundation for the meantime. Which is actually too drying in the winter for me, Still searching for that one.
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Lotions/ Creams -Clarins - High Definition Body Lift
redheadjane 12/29/2010 9:22:00 PM
Wow, one of the most expensive body treatments I've ever bought and guess what, worth the price and lives up to the hype. I lost a ton of weight about 6 years ago and have struggled ever since with saggy thighs and arms, they are not bad but very noticeable to me. After using this for a week, my boyfriend even asked me if I was doing something to make my legs smoother!! He never says much about anything, like most men, he knows to keep his mouth shut...lol Firstly, I bought this because they have the Double sizes around Christmas. I got the double size for $85...ouch. But I knew my Clarins SA and she said if I don't see an improvement in a week to bring it back and she would refund my money. So I took a chance. I started with just putting it on before bed. It's very tingling and medicine like feeling. Makes your legs feel cold, if that makes sense. It has a gel like consistency with encapsulated beads. It has alcohol in it as part of the delivery, but surprisingly enough I did not find it drying on my winter dried out skin. I followed with a moisturizer after I had it on for about 20 minutes and the tingling stopped. After using both Night and day for a week, I can really see a physical difference in my thighs and as I said, so did my boyfriend. I started using it to also tighten my arms. I'm very muscular but with the weightloss, I still don't like wearing sleeveless outfits, I'm very self-conscious about them. I hope to see improvement there as well. Overall, this product gets a 5 plus in my book. I tried other products like fatgirlslim and even some expensive Elemis products with no success. I'm now raving about this product to all my girlfriends!!!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Clarins - Multi Active Night Cream
redheadjane 12/29/2010 3:46:00 PM
This is a really nice moisturizing night cream that does not leave you greasy and makes you wake up with softer, more even toned skin. As for wrinkle reduction, I've seen a few small lines get softer, especially the ones under my eye area above my cheek bone. I'm 38 years old and this cream is geared for late 20's to age 39. there are two versions of this cream, one for combo-oily and one for dry. Because I am dehydrated in the winter, I am using the Normal to dry. Typically I like highly moisturizing night creams but find that a lot of them clog my pores on my chin. I have been using this one for the last ten days and can say that I have had a reduction in clogged pores overall since starting a Clarins routine, including the Multi-activ Serum and day cream. I'm still a bit dry in areas but use the Santal Oil for my dry patches. All their products are meant to work with each other to help give you really beautiful and smoother skin. My number 1 reason that I like this cream is that within a few nights my skin was as smooth as a baby's bottom, may makeup went on so much better in the morning. I had a refreshed look about my skin. Is it a miracle? No cream is a miracle. This just gives you better looking skin!!! I'm sold on Clarins products so far. I'm very pleased with the way my skin has looked lately. My skin texture has been awful lately and this cream with the other multi-activ line has pretty much taken care my bumpies and unevenness. I like waking up every morning to see what my skin looks like!!!
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Toners -Clarins - Toning Lotion w/ Chamomile for dry or normal skin
redheadjane 12/29/2010 3:38:00 PM
After realizing that I was using toners that were too harsh for my skin, I decided to be more gentle and thus hopefully lessen breakouts from irritation. I already am using some Clarins products and got this along with the Foaming cleanser with Shea Butter. I have to say, this is a very refreshing and non-irritating toner. It gets off any excess makeup without being drying at all. I love the smell, especially in the morning, it wakes my face up. I'm not sure if it does anything to helps minimize my huge pores because I'm using other products for that, but as a after cleansing toner, it's perfect for my finicky skin. I'm combo but slightly sensitive and dry in the winter. I'm not sure this will work for me when I'm more oily in the summer but for wintertime use, I'm very pleased with this and all my other toners have pretty much been put away. For those who don't think toners do anything or are not necessary, let me tell you that after doing some studying on the matter, it can make a difference in your skin. After we cleanse our skin, our skin Ph balance is often unbalanced. A toner basically is the last step of cleansing, it's supposed to be refreshing to the skin. ts. By toning, you calm and balance your skin. this is a very good toner for those who want to tone but have sensitive skin. It contains no alcohol, so it's not drying in the least. I use this with a cotton ball at night before moisturizing and in the morning I just put some in my hand and splash it on my face since I don't deep have makeup removal as an issue. Since I starting using Clarins and being more gentle with my skin, my pores are smaller, my skin is more even toned and just generally a lot calmer and hydrated. My breakouts from using harsh products are finally clearing up. Yeah for Clarins! And if anyone doesn't like their products to have fragrance, might not want to use any French made skincare at all. almost all of them have scent, it's a European thing. Clarins scents are natural and botanical, they are not synthetic, so people who cannot normally have scented products can often use their line.
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Fragrance -Giorgio Armani - Black Code
redheadjane 12/29/2010 2:16:00 PM
I bought this for my Boyfriend for Christmas this year. I got the whole gift set. It's a sensual and sexy scent without being too overpowering. This is the kind of smell that men should smell like. I dislike "Girly" scented colognes on men. I want my man to smell like a man. This one delivers. I love to cuddle with him after he has put this on. It also smells much better on the skin then in the bottle. After it warms up to his body, you can smell the Tonka bean in this. Kind of Vanilla without being a female vanilla. Let's put it this way. He put this on and I pretty much attacked his neck (sniffing him of course...lol)
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Eyeliner -Make Up For Ever - Aqua Eyes 23L
redheadjane 12/29/2010 2:11:00 PM
I'm starting to think that all Make Up For Ever products are pretty much over hyped and over priced and this eyeliner is pretty much no exception. Like the reviewer before me, I also had a difficult time getting this to show up on my lids. I kept having to reapply. I had their Aqua Eyes in three colors and all them, the same problem. I also have the green one and it's smudged so bad, I had to wash my eyes and start over. I have way better luck with Cheap-o Drugstore liners than with this eyeliner and bbelieve me, I'm a high-end Makeup gal and when Wet n Wild is better than a $8 pencil, that tells you something. If you want really good eyeliners,go with MAC or Lancome. Or if you want a cheaper one, Almay is always a good bet.
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Moisturizers -Clinique - Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel
redheadjane 12/29/2010 2:06:00 PM
I really hate this stuff. I'm typically more oily in the summer and bought this as a light daytime moisturizer. #1 it broke me out in tiny whiteheads after the first two days. I wasn't even using makeup at all, just a cleanser and this #2 even with an oily T-zone, it did nothing to hydrate my face. I was actually drier after about an hour of this sitting on my face than I was with nothing at all. #3 Expensive for what it is, If I'm going to pay good money for higher end moisturizers, Clinique is not the company I would go for. They may be good for younger women with smaller pocket books who want a non-drugstore option, but that's who they are marketed for. You can get a much better moisturizer in a drugstore. I hate to say it but Lubriderm is better than this stuff.
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