Eyeliner -Maybelline - Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner
AlleyCat415 5/23/2011 11:09:00 PM
I went in looking for L'Oreal's Cream HIP Liner and couldn't find it in the stores. Then I turned around and saw a huge display for these and noticed they were on sale, so I picked one up as I couldn't get to MAC as I had run out of my Fluidlines in Dipdown.
The reason I'm giving this 4 stars is because if you're used to using Fluidlines, then the first thing you're going to notice is its lack of pigment. What takes one swipe with MAC takes a good 2-3 coats of this. But ironically I find this one much better for casual day wear because you can smudge it more easily with the lighter pigment. And if you're new to gel or cream liners, this is actually a good one for you to practice with, because you have to layer the liner more than once in order to get a deep true color (I got Espresso) and then there's less chance of screwing it up.
I find the lasting power to be pretty good but as with most gel liners, if you have a poor base under it, it's going to smudge or stain no matter what. Always try to make sure that you're wearing either powder on your eye lids or eyeshadow to help it stick (and this is coming from someone who wears a thick eye cream all over my eyes). I found this one to give me less of the 'matching' crease line at the end of the day. Again, that's due to the lack of pigment. So yes it's going to take you a little longer to put it on. Where it really wins is the price, which is pretty much half of Fluidlines.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Joe Fresh Style - eye shadow - all colours
AlleyCat415 1/27/2011 4:23:00 PM
I'd like to thank Joseph Mimran and Joe Fresh for saving me from my never ending search for a basic pink, non-sparkly drugstore eyeshadow. You'd think some makeup companies would realize that once you hit a certain age, the last thing you want is glitter in your eye shadow. And do you have any idea how hard is it find a neutral pink without some form of frost in it that doesn't cost you $20 for a sliver of 1.5g of shadow?
I originally wasn't going to buy the Pale Pink in this line because in the packaging it looks really dull and much darker than it appears on your skin. What a divine basic pink for everyday use!! I cannot believe you can pick the eyeshadows up at 3 for $10. I use this in conjunction with the basic neutral cream color Silk as a highlighter. With some eyeliner and mascara, it is the perfect neutral eye. Thank you Joe Fresh!
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Shampoo -Pantene - medium-thick hair solutions frizzy to smooth
AlleyCat415 1/27/2011 4:09:00 PM
I got this as a sample and wow, Pantene, what the hell have you done to your hair care line? This left my hair feeling like straw along with it's matching conditioner. I can write pretty much the identical review for the Fine Hair Care line (also another sample). This is not the Pantene of my youth (when I say youth I mean my 20's). Just a horrible revamping of a product line.
And if you go to Pantene's actual website, most of their new line gets scathing reviews. Wait, it gets better. I came across an excellent blog post about how some of the products in Pantene are essentially the same product repackaged: http://www.chateauwhitman.com/2010/08/beware-of-green-washing-rant-about.html
So. I agree with the blogger. Stop thinking your consumers are idiots. In the day and age of the internet, we can double check almost any ingredient list. So get smarter if you want to keep your old loyal fan base of the Pantene line and stop listening to scientists who claim certain new ingredients are better and start listening to your customers. Many of whom are going to leave you because of this 'new' line. It's positively useless.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Conditioner -Clairol - Herbal Essences Drama Clean refreshing conditioner
AlleyCat415 1/27/2011 4:02:00 PM
I find that with the Herbal Essences line, most of the conditioners work the same (at least with my straight hair) and usually I just choose whatever scent I like. This one however is true to it's name and that is a lot lighter. Which is great if you shampoo your hair at night and don't want or need a heavy conditioner to weigh down your hair while you sleep. Scent is fresh too!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Conditioner -Clairol - Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Moisturizing Conditioner
AlleyCat415 1/27/2011 4:00:00 PM
I buy this one every summer. The scent is great and it's a great basic conditioner that does the job.
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Shampoo -Organix - Shea Butter Smoothing Shampoo
AlleyCat415 1/27/2011 3:57:00 PM
Smoothing? Not so much. Flattening dull hair? Very. So disappointing. It seemed so great. SLS free. Great smell. Decent price. Just a big no. My hair was lifeless and I didn't even finish the bottle.
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Shampoo -Unlisted Brand - Kirkland Signature Hydrating Shampoo
AlleyCat415 1/27/2011 3:52:00 PM
I've been using SLS free shampoos for a very long time now because I really like how soft they make my hair feel, so I was hesitant to try out a new one with SLS in it. But a funny thing happened along the way to adulthood. From the days where I started spending more money than I'd like on shampoo, two kids and mortgage later, suddenly paying $10 for a bottle of 350 ml (12 oz) starts to add up when you're adding in things like diapers and the like. It's funny because when I read old product reviews that I wrote in my early 20's on here I can't believe the amount of expendable income I had blown on frivolous and completely unnecessary "salon" products.
There's been a lot talk about this being a clone of Biolage Hydrating Shampoo. Yes the ingredient lists are very similar however they are not identical. If anything the Kirkland brand has more of the good stuff. But as I type this I'm staring at the back of the bottle of the Kirkland and have several web links open to see the ingredients in Biolage. They are not the same product no matter what you're hearing. Sorry to dispel that one.
That being said because of the similarity and the very familiar Biolage scent, you won't notice the difference in your hair. I've used both and spent a big chunk of time when I was younger being addicted to the Biolage line and having used this one, my hair pretty much feels identical to when I use Biolage. The only difference I'm noticing is in my wallet. At $7.99 for 2, 1.18L (40 oz) bottles, I am a very happy Costco customer. I've got my entire family using this now.
In Canada we unfortunately don't get the SLS free version of the Kirkland Shampoos and hopefully they"ll get them here eventually. In the meantime, this is a serious bargain and salon quality product. Just use a clarifying shampoo weekly (as you should with almost any shampoo you use) and you'll be very happy with the results.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lotions/ Creams -Unlisted Brand - spa resource
AlleyCat415 7/17/2010 12:38:00 PM
I'm pregnant with my 2nd child and was looking for a less expensive alternative to The Body Shop's Body Butter's to moisturize with. I remembered Walmart sold this line (which I believe in the US a similar line is called Simply Basic) and instead of costing $20 per Body Butter they're around $5-6. Expecting the ingredients to be full of synthetics, I was very impressed to read that the primary ingredients were Shea, Cocoa and Soybean oils. I picked up the Vanilla Sugar and Coconut ones and they are absolutely identical to the TBS versions. There's a lot of fresh scents that are great. Really wish they'd formulate a Cocoa Butter scent in a container vs a tube (just a preference on packaging for body butter's) because I found the Nut one too harsh in it's scent. But they are just wonderful. http://sparesource.ca/
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Prestige - Comet C-177
AlleyCat415 12/27/2009 10:18:00 PM
I went in to buy Flushed as I had run out. Accidentally picked up this - called Comet. I didn't think I could find something better than Flushed. Surprise! This is Flushed without the Gold glitter in it. Pigment rich. 2 swipes and you're done. I wish I could post this review to all the die hard addicts of MAC's Naked Lunch (I would know I was one of them) and say if you'd like to save yourself about $15 on your next purchase, to try this one out instead. I cannot speak highly enough about the quality for pigment and price point you get with Prestige. The only thing I hope is that they start to create some matte colors in the near future.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Neutrogena - Healthy Skin Anti Wrinkle SPF 15
AlleyCat415 12/9/2009 10:59:00 PM
I don't want to be the dark horse in this product, but compared to the AHA Healthy Skin Lotion, this doesn't hold a candle to it. It comes across as a basic face cream that sinks in really fast. I actually don't think it's moisturizing enough and the Retinol content is so tiny compared to what I'd like. I think this would be a great product for younger skin but it's not cutting it for me as I get older. I've been using it for awhile now and won't be repurchasing this one.
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Moisturizers -Neutrogena - Healthy Skin Facial Lotion
AlleyCat415 12/9/2009 10:52:00 PM
This review is for the Healthy Skin Night version of this product. One day I woke up at 33, with a toddler and looked in the mirror and saw my mother. And I love my mom, but what I mean is that I saw my age for the first time in a long time and I did not like it. I am pretty big devotee of Jamieson Vitamins. You'd have to pry their Vitamin E cream from my cold dead hands. That being said I needed to get into AHA's and BHA's and stronger exfoliation to let my day cream do it's job better because my skin was no longer doing it on it's own.
The first time I ever used this, the next day I woke up and I seriously thought I was in a TV commercial. I haven't had such a good reaction to a product in at least a decade. I've gone through an entire tube of this and the difference it has made in my skin is phenomenal. My pores are smaller, my skin looks like Snow White would envy it and it has lightened my melasma that was under my eyes from pregnancy. I can't believe I can pick this up at the drugstore for under $10 when it's on sale.
I've read the reviews and there's a lot of concern about it burning and stinging and some horror stories of peeling. You have to look at the age ranges of reviewers. This product (personally speaking) probably wouldn't be as tolerable or worked as well on my 19 year old self. Your skin changes as you age. Your cells don't turnover as fast. It feels thicker and coarser on so many levels. Please take that into consideration when you're trying out AHA's and Retinols. They're not user friendly and different skins can handle different concentrations. I am planning on getting a stronger AHA in the near future as it's apparent that it's working well for me.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Pressed Powders -Cover Girl - TruBlend Pressed Powder
AlleyCat415 4/21/2009 3:14:00 PM
For a drugstore powder, this is pretty damn pricey. Regularily it can run you up to $12 - 14 depending on drugstore locations. I have never disliked a CG powder till now. This is just terrible. I got Translucent Light which I thought would be a nice match to my pale skin. I may as well have put baby powder on my face. Then there's the consistency. Thick as hell. I looked like I had on clown makeup and it didn't blend for crap and held onto pockets of areas that were oilier. Very disappointed.
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Mascara -Rimmel - Magnif'Eyes Eye Magnifier Eye Opening
AlleyCat415 4/21/2009 3:03:00 PM
I'm surprised at the low ratings for this. For an inexpensive brand and day to day use this is a pretty damn good mascara. It gives exact definition and while it's not the most volume enchancing, it certainly last long and defines every lash. I really like it.
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Pressed Powders -Rimmel - Stay Matte Pressed Powder (ALL)
AlleyCat415 4/21/2009 3:00:00 PM
For years now I have tended to steer clear of Rimmel's makeup products mainly b/c when they came out I wasn't impressed with a lot of the products I tried (ie. eyeshadows, mascara etc). So when I was looking for a new powder I checked MUA and this one kept coming up so I picked it up on sale for $3 at my local drugstore.
This is by far the best drugstore pressed powder out there right now. I cannot believe the quality of it and how well it sits on your skin. 5 hour coverage is a stretch, but when it goes on, it goes on smooth and holds well and controls shine well. Totally worth the hype.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -New York Color - Liquid Eyeliner
AlleyCat415 3/19/2009 3:31:00 PM
I ran out of Fluidlines and picked this up for $2. Quite surprising in it's pigment and lasting capability. I put it on top of well primed powdered eyes and then lightl coated a matching eye shadow colour on top of the dried liner. It was flaking down by the days end but for $2, it could be a nice emergency liner.
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