Top/Base Coats -Sally Hansen - Mega Shine Top Coat
jillirific 9/27/2010 11:45:00 AM
I gave up on OPI's top coat due to it being a gooey, never-drying mess, so I tried this and I like it alright. I like a very shiny finish and it gives me one. But the best part of this is that it dries very quickly. It's saved me tons of time and nail polish since my OPI top coat manis and pedis would usually be ruined due to its snail's pace drying time. I can do my nails in no time now and they look great. It is very prone to peeling, though (good for glitter polishes, not for anything else) and I find it spreads unevenly on application. It almost seems to separate from itself and create ridges. It's better than OPI fail coat, but I think Seche Vite wins. The drying time and shiny finish alone make it worth it for me in a pinch or if I don't plan on wearing a polish for very long (then I won't waste the Seche Vite).
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Scrubs -St. Ives - Apricot Scrub
jillirific 8/23/2010 2:10:00 PM
I have pretty sensitive and very dry skin and have no issues with this product. I also don't violently scrub my skin with it. It's very affordable (especially if you buy the large jar/tub) and versatile - I use it as a body scrub as well. It leaves my skin very smooth and feeling clean. I use it in conjunction with a standard acne wash and it helps keep pimples at bay. As long as you moisturize after washing your face (which you should anyway), I haven't found that this dries out my skin. My only issue is that I always find it all over my shower walls or some on the tub floor as it's thick and doesn't rinse clean down the drain without some help. If you are worried about this product from what people have said about it, consult a doctor or dermotologist. Everyone is different and this product may or may not work for you.
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Polishes -Zoya - Ali (La-Di-Da)
jillirific 8/17/2010 12:29:00 PM
I have been on the hunt for the perfect neon pink nail polish. I've found many and I like all of them (Essie's summer neons especially), but this is almost exactly what I want. Pause for tale of woe: I'll probably never get what I really want, as my perfect hot pink was at a salon who got special polishes made by a retired chemist who lived nearby and the polishes were not for sale, nor did he ever make the same shade twice. This pink is as close as I can get to the one I fell in love with, though Ali is a bit darker. I also really loved China Glaze Shocking Pink at a salon I went to but CG either changes the formula or the salon mixed colours in the Shocking Pink bottle, because I've never been able to recreate it. Ali has a slight orange undertone and dries quickly due to the neon formula. I find it wears quite well and I get a ton of compliments. It's neon but not TOO neon - not like the neon pink from Claire's or Essie's Punchy Pink. I'm not a huge fab of the bottle but I don't display nail polish on my counter or anything so I don't care. I'll be repurchasing for sure...and I'll keep searching for my ultimate neon pink.
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Misc Beauty Tools -MAC - Brush Cleanser
jillirific 8/15/2010 2:23:00 PM
I was not satisfied with how baby shampoo was cleaning my 187. I use it for foundation and blushcreme everyday therefore I wash it everyday. Shampoo wasn't cleaning it as well as I wanted it to, and it was leaving a film. After reading that people use this and water to wash their brushes, I figured I'd give it a shot. I'm glad I did! This solves my filmy problem really well. It works great for spot cleaning too. I don't know how fast it dries as I just clean my brushes when I'm finished. As others have complained, the cap sucks, but I can deal with it.
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Treatments -Vaseline - Vaseline
jillirific 8/14/2010 2:39:00 PM
I don't use this for half of the creative things the ladies here seem to use it for, but it's excellent for any dry skin on your body. It's my before-bed lip balm (extremely soft lips when you wake up!), dry patches on your body like elbows and feet, around and inside your nose when you have irritation due to the cold, dry air or illness...I love to put it on overtop of lipstick to add gloss or to blend or mute the colour a little bit. The packaging isn't great for travelling, but at such an affordable price for such a great product, I can't really complain (EDIT: I have just discovered that they make this with a flip-top for travel - zero complaints now!) Will definitely repurchase again but I use such small amounts that I don't see myself needing a new jar for a very long time.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -MAC - blushcreme ladyblush
jillirific 8/12/2010 10:13:00 AM
I LOVE this blush. I have not used any other cream blushes however this one is wonderful. It blends like a dream (I use a 187) and the colour is perfect for my very fair skin. It provides a beautiful, natural rosy flush that creates a fantastic dewy glow. You just radiate health! I tried Posey and it was just way too dark for me and made me look sunburned, so this is the perfect shade that can be layered for more colour. Fair skinned ladies, this is perfect for any and every time! The value is awesome, I've used it often for a couple months now and I can't even say that I've made a dent as you use so little each application. An MA told me these will be discontinued (whether to reformulate or have new colours entirely, she wasn't sure) so try Ladyblush asap before it's potentially gone! It really is perfect.
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Top/Base Coats -OPI - Top Coat
jillirific 7/27/2010 10:49:00 PM
First, the good: this absolutely makes my polish remain chip-free for longer than other/cheaper top coats have. It's a noticable difference. I also don't have my polish peeling off which happens with other top coats. When it's a new bottle, it applies nicely. It is a good product. However, I do not think it's good value at all. I have never been able to remotely finish a bottle - or make it past much more than half the bottle - without it turning into a thick, gooey mess. Horrible application once it gets to that state. Also near impossible to get the damn lid off since it glues itself together. It also takes a very, very long time to dry. Right when you think it's dry, you end up with marks from your bedsheets or other dents and mysterious patterns. Since I throw out half the bottle and need to either apply more top coat or redo my polish all over again, I think this is just awful value. I also tend to have problems with OPI packaging (usually only their top and base coats actually) as the brush comes out of the lid. That's annoying, especially when you've got wet nails and have to do all sorts of things to try and twist it back on and off to get the brush back on. I also prefer a finish with more shine. This is too expensive for the trouble it brings, even though when it's good, it's pretty good...when it finally dries. (P.S. It's $10 most places I've encountered here in Canada, and in response to some of the older reviews, I've seen OPI polishes go for $12/$12.50 at higher end spas. Ridiculous, but real.)
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Bonne Bell - Lip Smackers
jillirific 7/18/2010 2:59:00 PM
I've been through about a million of these (I only buy it in Strawberry - it doesn't really have much of a smell or taste compared to others) and like many others, I've been using it since I was a kid so there's a nostalgia factor too. It's kept my lips perfectly moisturized. I have absolutely no complaints about the product itself and I pretty much swear by it. I don't like change so I'm not wild about the new logo, but whatever, hardly an issue. Doesn't leave any colour on the lips (at least my strawberry one doesn't, though I had a frosty strawberry-kiwi and various other scents over a decade ago that made your lips frosty) but makes them slightly glossy. It's usually under $2 at most places and I have several on the go constantly - one in my desk drawer, one beside my bed, one in my purse, everywhere! They're so inexpensive that you don't have to worry about losing it. It's great when you go somewhere and don't want to bring your purse; they're so small you can just put one in your pocket. Perfect little cheap drugstore product to keep your lips hydrated!
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Polishes -OPI - Absolutely Alice [DISCONTINUED]
jillirific 7/16/2010 12:24:00 PM
This is an absolutely stunning nail polish. Truly beautiful with its blue/silver/gold fine glitter. Looks amazing on toes! Especially when it catches the light and sparkles. However it chips extremely quickly (likely due to how thick it is and how much you have to put on for it to be opaque) and is an absolute PAIN to get off. The poor girl doing my pedi spent a good 10+ minutes trying to chip the stuff off in between trying to remove it with remover. I should have learned my lesson then, but I painted my toes again with it and then had to take it off myself...horrible! I know this is a glitter nail polish thing but it really sucks. I will definitely not repurchase and I honestly don't know if the removal and crappy wear is worth how beautiful this looks...so I don't even know if I'll ever wear it again. Beware of these things when purchasing!
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Polishes -OPI - Teal the Cows Come Home
jillirific 7/14/2010 8:47:00 AM
This is easily my #1 pedi shade. It looks so nice on my toes and it's a really fun colour. A light, shimmery teal (I'm currently starting my second bottle and it seems lighter/bluer than my last - maybe as my last one got older, it got deeper?) that applies thinly so you need at least 2 coats - I always do 3 on my big toe. I don't like wearing frosty or shimmery shades on my fingers so I haven't tried this as a mani yet but a girl who was about 10 was having this done on her fingers at the salon and it was striking, especially with the black and white design she was getting. I think this shade would look great on almost every skin tone though probably best on cool, highly recommend it!
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Concealers -MAC - Studio Finish Concealer
jillirific 7/10/2010 9:10:00 PM
I like this concealer well enough. Unlike MAC foundation, NW15 matches my skin extremely well so that's already a plus for me. I use it for pimples and undereye circles and apply it with a small concealer brush. The packaging is cute, looks like a MAC eyeshadow, however the clear plastic circle has popped out a few times - this is a problem I've had many times with MAC products with this packaging. The price is reasonable for a higher-end concealer. This is a pretty moderate/heavy coverage concealer so use it sparingly or it does get cakey. It's quite thick/creamy so for my undereyes, I always apply eyecream first and blend the concealer immediately after. It thins it out and makes it much less cakey and then it blends nicely into my foundation. Pretty good product, worth a shot if you're looking for a concealer, especially one for pimples.
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Eyeliner -Urban Decay - 24-7 glide-on in Electric
jillirific 7/7/2010 9:52:00 PM
This is a stunning bright turquoise eyeliner with silver glitter. It is smooth as butter and has amazing staying power. It can be hard to sharpen because it's so soft and it doesn't stay very pointy, as other reviews stated as well. It's a great, albeit expensive, eyeliner that would look striking on brown eyes especially, however it looks terrible on my blue eyes. I would buy this again because it's a great product but I think I'll try it in a more flattering colour (I'm eyeing the bright purple!) EDIT: had to take a lipstick off - I tried one of the liners on my waterline and it was so uncomfortable and irritated my eyes like crazy. It was as though someone sucked the moisture from my eyes. This liner is great for the lid but I will never put it on my waterline again! Ouch... I guess I should have thought glitter=pain but I thought the main selling feature was the fact that they stay on so well, and the only time I have issues with eyeliner staying on is when it's on my waterline!
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Cleansers -Neutrogena - Wave™ (Power-Cleanser And Deep Clean Foaming Pads)
jillirific 7/6/2010 11:50:00 AM
Like many, I bought this on sale out of curiosity. Save yourself the money even if it's on sale - this is no good. No better than anything else. The "vibrations" are a total gimmick (and I, for one, am getting sick of all these thinly veiled sex toys for bashful teens - vibrating razors and facial cleansers? They don't do anything! Shaving exfoliates on its own!) They claim this is waterproof but it stopped working after a few uses. Sometimes if I smacked it hard enough in my hand, it would work, but not always. I left a couple lipsticks because the cleanser pads themselves were fine - they cleaned my face well enough - but overall as a product, I do NOT recommend it nor would I ever purchase it again.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Essie - Mint Candy Apple
jillirific 7/5/2010 9:49:00 AM
This is one of my favourite nail polish colours. It's my go-to when I can't decide what to wear. The colour is fantastic - a minty aqua - and while some believe it looks best on darker skin, I must respectfully disagree. I am practically see-through and this colour looks amazing on me. My friends are also quite fair and they all adore this shade. So I think it's pretty universally flattering - even better! It's pretty bright though slightly pastel, and I think it looks best on fingers (but I am not big on pastel-ish colours on toes; a totally personal opinion). The formula is a little thick, but a few polish remover drops in the bottle helps that nicely. Two coats covers perfectly and the wear is pretty good (I think it depends on your base and topcoat as well). I really love the look of Essie bottles but I don't always love their brushes; they can be a bit small. This one isn't too bad though. Price isn't too bad - it's cheaper than OPI at least. And I don't know if it's an exact dupe but I think it's pretty close to the Chanel light turquoise that's, what, $30 for two drops?, and is pretty popular. It's all the same colour family. A good, cost effective alternative, I think. I get compliments whenever I wear this! Photos don't do it justice - even swatching it on tape at Trade Secrets isn't good enough. You gotta have it on your nails! I was reluctant as hell to buy it because I was so unsure about the colour but I am so glad that I bought it. I already bought a backup!
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Blush -MAC - Mineralize Skinfinish in Northern Light
jillirific 6/28/2010 11:44:00 AM
Like most MAC addicts, I like my MSFs. However, I'm incredibly picky about them. I have a drawer-full of them and don't touch most of them because I bought them out of MSF lust and nothing else. I've since stopped doing that but I unfortunately bought this MSF back then. It's not that there's anything necessarily BAD about it. If you like glitter, get this. If you have the skintone to support a reddish-brown bronzer/blush hybrid, by all means, snatch this up. I don't, on either statement. So this will be sold, swapped or given away to someone I know who likes all of the above, and obviously never repurchased again.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No