Treatments (Eye) -Cosmedicine - Opti-mologist with Light Diffusers
Barbiegrrl 4/29/2010 8:41:00 PM
Felt like I was putting Vick's Vapor Rub under my eyes, ick! I didn't see any "light diffusers" in the product nor on the surface of my skin. My concealer and foundation didn't go on smoothly over this product, either. Don't waste your money!
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Treatments -Unlisted Brand - ken paves healthy hair shine serum
Barbiegrrl 8/4/2009 5:18:00 PM
I was a little skeptical about this product because I'm tired of the whole Jessica Simpson/Ken Paves market oversaturation. A friend loaned me her hair serum when we went out of town and I realized I forgot to pack my Biosilk. Wow! Am I ever impressed! First of all, it has a nice fresh citrusy smell to it. Just a few pumps in the hand and work the serum through your wet hair (squeeze out the extra moisture, but DON'T towel-dry before applying the serum!) After blow-drying and styling, my baby-fine hair felt light and smooth. I normally wash my hair every-other day, but was actually able to skip washing it for 2 days. My hair felt smooth and clean. It didn't get heavy and greasy as it sometimes does a day after applying hair serum. I highly recommend!
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Lipstick -Maybelline - Superstay lipcolor
Barbiegrrl 11/16/2006 1:42:00 AM
I have had some terrible experiences with the "longwearing" lipcolors, so I was skeptical when I tried this. Wow, am I impressed! I chose "Sand", a sheer pinky-nude with gold. GORGEOUS! There's a faint fruit smell to it (watermelon or strawberry?), and it comes with a clear balm on the other end of the tube. It didn't dry out my lips and lasted several hours. I'm definitely going to check out some of the other shades in this line!
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Moisturizers -Clean & Clear - Oil-Free Oxygenating Ultra-Light Moisturizer
Barbiegrrl 4/26/2006 7:18:00 PM
I never bothered with any products in the Clean & Clear line because I thought it was predominantly for oily acne-prone skin. I received a full-sized bottle of this from an online giveaway, and I'm impressed! This moisturizer goes on light and silky, and has a wonderful fresh scent. I have very sensitive skin and I apply this in the morning after applying a medicated topical gel for my rosacea. The medicated gel makes my face feel a little tight after it dries, so I usually have to apply a very basic moisturizer afterwards. The Clean & Clear moisturizer feels cool and soothing, and didn't have any adverse effects on my skin. No stinging, no burning, no redness. It has a built-in SPF 15, which certainly helps. This is a great product for spring and will probably take me well into summer (I tend to increase my SPF during July & August).
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Eyeliner -MAC - Peacocked Softsparkle Eye Pencil
Barbiegrrl 4/12/2006 10:28:00 PM
I had no intentions of buying any of the Softsparkle Eye pencils. The idea of glitter around my eyes just didn't seem appropriate for someone over 30. Then I saw this in person, this is gorgeous! Peacocked is a soft and creamy eyepencil, blue-green (teal) with micro-glitter. Great staying power, didn't budge or fade on me, and I didn't end up with glitter falling all over my face.
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Eyeliner -MAC - Reflecto Softsparkle pencil
Barbiegrrl 4/12/2006 10:20:00 PM
The texture of this pencil is great, soft like a kohl. The glitter is a micro-glitter, not like the scratchy chunky glitter in the Urban Decay or Hard Candy pencils. I'm just not keen on the color. A gray blue or even a cobalt blue would've been beautiful. This reminds me of the frosty blue eyeshadow of the 80's.
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Lip Treatments -Too Faced - Lip Injection
Barbiegrrl 4/12/2006 8:32:00 PM
I bought this in Techno Tart after trying it at Sephora and not having a bad reaction to it. In retrospeck I now realize it was probably because I was wearing lip balm at the time, so it didn't irritate my lips as much. THIS STUFF HURTS!!! Sure, sometimes we have to suffer to be beautiful and this product definitely plumps, but be forewarned. On the Lip Injection packaging is a picture of a giant needle. It's not an advertising gimmick--my lips felt like several needles were stabbing it all over! Not a little tingle, but PAIN! I checked the ingredients to see if perhaps there was something I was having an allergic reaction to. No chemical allergens, but there was the ingredient Capsicum. Capsicum comes from chili peppers, as in the fiery-red peppers that make you gasp and guzzle water to cool the burn. My DH was laughing at my reaction to this, so I smeared a big wet kiss on him to see what he thought. He said it felt like after a Novocaine shot starts wearing off (and he's someone who eats Habanero peppers all the time!) Don't get me wrong, I enjoy spicy food, and my face and lips look pretty flushed after chowing down some tasty Mexican food. Concentrated form in a lip gloss though, is a bad idea. And if you have any sort of allergies to chili pepper, stay away from this product. To desensitize my lips, I had to slather on the lip balm. My lips stung (like a sunburn) for hours. I wish this would have worked for me because it was a pretty color and smells good.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Pigment in Golden Olive
Barbiegrrl 4/12/2006 7:56:00 PM
I received a sample of this in a swap and loved it so much that I went and purchased a full-sized jar! Extremely versatile; I've mixed it with mascara to create a gorgeous mascara, wet it and lined my lashes for a beautiful foil, and worn it dry for a sheer flash of gold. When I wear it on the outer corners of my eyelid along with MAC's Little Madam (center of lid) and Goldmine (inner corners), I've received lots of compliments. I've had a lot of fun experimenting with this pigment--it can be worn with blues, greens, browns, pinks, whatever. On me it shows up more as an antiqued gold (my eye color runs the gamut from gray to blue-green). It flashes pale gold-green when the light hits it, but overall is more of a gold. This color looks good on everyone, regardless of eye color. The packaging isn't great if you're a klutz, and you definitely have to be careful when you unscrew the cap (especially if the jar has been upside down or lying on its side.) For the amount of product you get and how little you need to use, I think this will last me a long time...
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Deodorants -LUSH - Aromacreme [DISCONTINUED]
Barbiegrrl 7/1/2005 6:50:00 PM
I have sort of mixed feelings about this deodorant. I love it because it doesn't contain aluminum, which I refuse to wear. It keeps me very dry, and odor free all day. I've noticed other reviewers use the entire solid bar to apply the product, but I've discovered if you just take a pinch between your thumb and forefinger and apply it under your arms, that's all you need without any ill effects (such as chafing or rashes). The combination of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and ylang-ylang gives it a very strong baby powder smell. Almost a little overpowering, but at least you know it's working and it's better than having body odor. In its original form it's a bit dry and crumbly, so when you apply it let it melt a bit between your fingers or use the warmth of your armpits before spreading it around--you'll have a softer, smoother consistency that way. I wish it came in a traditional deodorant stick form, because I don't really care for applying it under my arms with my fingertips. Since you only need a pinch, this stuff will last you a lonnnng time!
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Powders -Dessert Beauty - Powdered Sugar Kissable Body Shimmer in Delicious
Barbiegrrl 11/18/2004 4:48:00 PM
When I read a description of the Taste line, I didn't think it sounded very good. The Delicious Fragrance is a combination of Tahitian vanilla, white chocolate, coconut cream, honey and apricot. It sounded absolutely sickly to me. I tested it in a store and was delightfully surprised! It comes in a small shaker jar (.35 oz) with a pink metallic plastic screw top lid with an adorable pink puff accented with a pink marabou feather (not the most practically puff to hold, but it sure looks cute). It leaves a beautiful pink-gold shimmer on your skin and smells delicious! I didn't smell Tahitian vanilla, more like a general sweetness, although I did detect the fruity apricot. Kind of like a diluted version of CSP's Vanille Abricot, but in powder form. Like everything else in the Dessert Line, it's overpriced. For quantity the UD flavored powders are certainly a better deal (.63 oz for $25), but for the fragrance, taste, and quality packaging, I will likely buy this again.
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Lip Gloss -Dessert Beauty - Pillow Talk Plumping Lip Fragrance Gloss Set
Barbiegrrl 11/18/2004 4:21:00 PM
Well, I'm going to go against the majority here, and just say I hate this stuff! Agreed, it's one of the better values in the Dessert line--you receive six .3 oz tubes of Creamy (vanilla/caramel), Juicy (berry), Dreamy (chocolate/coconut), Luscious (buttercream), Slip (cherry) and Slide (caramel). Let me start by saying I couldn't even get past the smell of some of them when I opened them--ICK!! I was nauseated. Since the Creamy fragrance is one of my faves, I decided to sample that one on my lips. Unfortunately, the flavor isn't consistent with the other products that feature Creamy. These are supposed to be "plumping" lip glosses, so there's a little tingle in them, and what I detect to be mint. It had a plastic vanilla-mint taste to it, not at all like the sweet vanilla caramel flavor featured in the fragrance. All I could smell and taste was plastic-mint, UGH! Next I tried Slip, as it smelled the most appetizing (sweet cherries). Again, the tingle and the mint--it was like Robitussin Cough Calmers (cherry-flavored cough suppressant lozenges), absolutely sickening! Maybe I'm a mint purist--I love the smells of peppermint and spearmint, but not combined with other food scents (such as vanilla or cherry). As for the plumping effect (I couldn't see any), I'll stick with DuWop's Lip Venom.
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Fragrances -Dessert Beauty - Deliciously Kissable Hair and Body Mist in Creamy
Barbiegrrl 11/10/2004 4:22:00 PM
I really liked the scent of Creamy, but couldn't bring myself to spend $45 for a small 1.7 oz bottle of the fragrance. This is a nice alternative. Agreed, the scent doesn't last as long (since it's water based), but the bottle says it's a hair & body mist, not a fragrance. If you try using it like a fragrance, you'll be disappointed, but if you use it as a refreshing body mist, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. A spritz is all it takes--more than that in the same place, and you'll have the product running down your skin. It's refreshing, has a nice sparkling shimmer to it (shake bottle before spraying) and smells and tastes yummy! At $32 for 8 oz, it seems like one of the more reasonably priced products in the Dessert line. Try spritzing it around your decolletage, base of your neck, or across your collarbone--when your significant other nuzzles you, they'll have a sweet surprise and not the nasty alcohol taste of traditional perfumes-Have fun!!
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Fragrances -Clean - Clean
Barbiegrrl 8/26/2003 8:42:00 PM
After receiving a sample in a Sephora catalog, I had to visit the store to check out the whole selection of Clean fragrances. I was disappointed to learn from the sales associate that it's ideal to spray on the Clean and then spray on the Clean Sweet Layer to create the scent that was in the catalog's sample. I mean, why not just combine them in one bottle to start with? I prefer the Sweet Layer to the original Clean scent. It's a great summer fragrance--light and citrusy (sweet orange, grapefruit and lime) with a bit of sweetness (neroli and rose), but not overwhelming. One girl asked me what shampoo I used, she was surprised to learn it was a fragrance. The Clean Soft Body Lotion is wonderful, it smells a lot like Fresh Sugar lotion (another fave of mine). The Clean fragrance is OK, but it didn't really appeal to me. It smells similar to Sweet Layer, but had a stronger soap smell (probably due to the white musk.) Much as I wanted to recreate that wonderful scent in the Sephora catalog, I only purchased the Sweet Layer. At $76 for a 2 oz bottle, it's pricey. I would have loved to purchase the lotion, but at $59 for an 8 oz bottle, I just couldn't do it.
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Fragrances -Comptoir Sud Pacifique - Vanille Banane
Barbiegrrl 7/8/2003 5:36:00 PM
A new favorite summer fragrance for me! I tend to shy away from banana-scented products because they're usually overwhelming. I was pleasantly surprised with how yummy this was! To me, it smells like those tropical-flavored Life Savers. I only wish it came in a larger size; it seemed a bit pricey for 1.6 fl oz, and the canister didn't even feel that full. Nonetheless, I loved it and will definitely buy it again!
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