Mascara -Maybelline - Define A Lash
AstridVue 10/18/2012 3:03:00 PM
Worst mascara I have ever used and I've tried many from drugstore to high end department store kinds. I get very similar results to the pics that have been posted by another reviewer and maybe it's just a matter of preference that I don't like this look for mascara. This mascara "defines" all my lashes into three big spikes for one scary look. The flimsy, wobbly stem and brush annoys me to no end, though other reviewers seem to like it. I feel like it gives me absolutely no control over how I put the mascara on. Forget wiggling the brush at the roots, it just makes the mascara go everywhere! My lashes are long and plentiful enough for me, it's just they're blonde and can't be seen without mascara. I'm looking for simple definition without flaking or smearing. And because I wear contacts, any kind of flaking is not an option (oh the pain!!!). This flakes like crazy, even brand new. I will also add that it dries out faster, as well.
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Lips -Revlon - Just Bitten Lipstain - Dawn
AstridVue 5/25/2012 9:56:00 PM
I have very pigmented lips and Dawn's peachy-nude shade basically takes them about two shades darker. Very natural and very flattering. I also have very, very dry lips (I used to take Accutane and they've never returned to normal since - and it's been 10+ years) and while the stain stings a little when I apply it, the wonderful balm soothes any discomfort away. I took one lippie away for the stinging, though realistically the discomfort is only worth a half- or quarter-lippie. As with any lip stain, make sure your lips are well exfoliated before applying. to avoid accentuating any dry flakiness. Through an entire, sweltering Midwest summer day, I never had to reapply the color but I did reapply the gloss several times. But as I said before, I have dry lips anyway and reapplying lip balm is an all-day, second-nature thing. I probably even do it in my sleep. :) I highly recommend using a lip stain that comes with its own balm. When I tried applying my own lip moisturizer over the Cover Girl one, it ended up just taking off the color.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -Burt's Bees - Radiance Facial Cleanser
AstridVue 5/17/2012 12:59:00 PM
For a product made with royal jelly, which I normally find very soothing, this gave quite the opposite effect. This leaves my face feeling dry and stripped. It foams well and removes most of my makeup, but stings my eyes and the skin around my eyes and mouth. It has one of the worst scents I've ever smelled in a cleanser. For a 99.9% natural product, the .1% unnatural must be this chemical fragrance. Blech. The pump quickly gets clogged with dried product and produces what I call "cosmetic boogers" lol every day. It also drips down the side of the bottle and I end up having to wipe it down after every use. I think I'm maybe halfway through this bottle and can't bring myself to finish it. I will be throwing this away, which is a first for me with a facial cleanser.
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Tinted Moisturizer -Olay - Definity Color Recapture with SPF 15
AstridVue 1/22/2012 8:19:00 PM
I'm on a mission to find my perfect tinted moisturizer. I used to use Laura Mercier's oil-free one and it is just too thick and suffocating for me. Feels more like a foundation. So I have gone out and bought a variety of tinted moisturizers available at CVS and Target. Olay Definity Color Recapture SPF 15 felt like the right consistency when I put it on. But then it took *hours* for it to sink in. I have combination skin, but it is definitely drier this winter. Not dry enough, apparently. So after it finally sank in, I checked it out in the mirror. VERY, very light coverage and tint. I can agree that there might be a little orangieness to it. I have some melasma, most noticeable on my forehead and on my cheekbones beneath my eyes. It is fading, but I was hoping this would help even out my skin tone. It did not. But what's worse, I had red blotches that weren't there before I put the moisturizer on! They appeared mostly around my mouth area. I felt the littlest bit of tingling when I put it on, but nothing like the burning sensation other's have spoken of. I tried correcting cream & powder. Nothing helped. I finished putting the rest of my makeup on and wore it for most of the day. It never looked particularly good. I took it off a bit early (around dinner time) because I was so disgusted. Here's the crazy thing, when I took it off (with my Boots No. 7 facial wipes) THEN it started burning and tingling a bit more intensely. Even now, my cheeks feel kind of feverish. Olay usually has quality product that, even if I'm not wowed by it, it mostly does its job. Not this one. The packaging is cool and I admit it drew me in. But nothing is going to get me to use this on my face again! Back to Target you go, Olay.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Comptoir Sud Pacifique - Eau des Artes [DISCONTINUED]
AstridVue 3/9/2011 3:56:00 PM
Wow, I can't believe glrsims review was just posted a few days ago! And your review is spot-on. Such an obscure perfume but, I dare say, my favorite fragrance ever. There being only vintage bottles of this out there, I too get the over-ripe alcohol-y smell when I first spray the bottle. The more I use it, however, the more that goes away. (I thank CSP for the foresight of using the opaque aluminum can which has helped preserve the ingredients very well.) It is definitely a powdery floral but the styrax ads this wonderful leathery-civet note as the drydown develops on my skin. The combination is to-die-for and the sillage is close and lasting power is good, especially for a CSP (5-6 hours on me). I have several scarves that smell of it and I keep them stored in plastic to keep that smell in. Yes, I am obsessed with this fragrance! It heartens me to hear from others voices praising this masterpiece. While I treasure it, I do find it something I enjoy even more if I can enjoy it with someone else who appreciates it's uniqueness. The list of notes that glrsims found is, I believe, from Basenotes where I (Astrid_Vue) posted an inquiry and was given a very accurate response from member "kewart". This fragrance does have all the ingredients mentioned above plus styrax in addition to sandalwood in the base. I have two bottles of this, which I bought over the course of two years of careful combing through of websites and ebay. I got one from California seller on ebay and one (their last) from fourseasonsproducts.com. I originally bought a bottle of it at Nordstrom in Seattle when it first came out back in the mid-90s and used every last drop. I can't find anything else that comes close to it, although it is a cousin of YSL Paris (80s vintage), though she's forgotten her worn leather jacket. Maybe even a distant relative to Cuir de Lancome, but she's missing a few flowers from her bouquet. Truly it is just a unique, gorgeous scent that I don't see being reproduced anytime in this fruity-floral future of fragrance. Which makes it all the more precious to me! p.s. If anyone know the history of the house of CSP in it's early days - '70s & '80s - please let me know. I can't find anything about who the noses might be behind these earlier fragrances.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Estee Lauder - Bali Dream EdP
AstridVue 4/22/2009 3:06:00 PM
I bought this from TJ Maxx (hence the "dirt cheap" price rating) in a package with 2 Bali Dream and 2 Emerald Dream minis. I'm now searching for a fb of the Bali Dream. There was a perfume from the 80s called X'ia X'iang - I think it was produced by Revlon. I loved that perfume and have not been able to find one comparable since. This is the closest I've come. If only they had amped up the plum a bit more, I think it would have almost nailed it. I thought I was going to prefer Emerald Dream over this one but ED is so chemical-aquatic, I'm giving away one of the bottle and keeping the other one just because it's so pretty. (If anyone else has X'ia X'iang comparisons to recommend, please feel free to email me. Thanks!)
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Palettes -E.L.F. - Elements 4-pan Compact
AstridVue 4/4/2009 1:32:00 PM
In my last order with E.L.F. I ordered 20 of these. I have tons of loose Lancome e/s testers and they fit perfectly in this compact. Now I don't have to worry about the colors mixing or the shadow breaking apart when they were sliding around loose in the plastic storage bins I originally had them in. The only reason I gave the packaging quality a 4 is because they don't fit my Stila or Fresh e/s singles. The e/s stay secure, the latch stays securely shut and I've dropped them several times (I'm clumsy) and found no damage. For one American dollar a piece, this is the bargain of the decade to me.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Laura Mercier - Ambre Passion
AstridVue 3/29/2009 6:31:00 PM
This fragrance is kind of, er, arrogant. I mean that in a good way. I'm not very arrogant myself, but sometimes I wish I could be more so. On one particular night-out I wore this. My girlfriends said I smelled rich and one even said she thought it made me appear taller (lol). But the best reaction was from the guys. I have never had so many men in one night approach me and say "Oh my god you smell great!" All of this gave me a boost of confidence and a swagger to my step. Several of my friends went out and bought bottles the next day. Unfortunately, it seems it's being discontinued. It was pulled from the shelves of my local Laura Mercier counter.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Bulgari - au the Rouge _Red Tea_
AstridVue 3/28/2009 12:33:00 PM
I received a bottle of Eau The Rouge for free when I was an SA at a dept store, but I would have bought this for myself anyway. It is very different from any of the other Bulgari frags and it is vastly different from any of the other scents our store carried. I was a bit alarmed that this had pink pepper in it as this note has been beaten senseless by the fragrance industry recently. But it is used well and subtly in this composition and compliments the fig and rooibos tea notes perfectly. I am not good at describing fragrances. When trying to describe fragrance to someone I end up just comparing it to another. It's hard to describe what a fragrance means to me. This one I nailed on the first sniff. I took a deep inhale and said in wonder "It's like I just finished raking leaves in the fall and jumped head first into the leaf-pile." Anything that conjures up that wonderful of a memory for me deserves a spot on my vanity.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No