Conditioner -TiGi - Catwalk Your Highness Nourishing Conditioner
CarolinaMidwife 11/2/2012 10:35:00 AM
Horrible. Terrible. Rotten. I don't see how this made it out of the testing phase at TiGi. The buildup was unreal; combine it with the shampoo and your hair actually looks dirtier than when you got in the shower. Fail.
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Shampoo -TiGi - Catwalk Your Highness Elevating Shampoo
CarolinaMidwife 11/2/2012 10:32:00 AM
If there is one thing I absolutely hate in a shampoo it's sneaky residue. Oh, sure, it's fine the first time, even the second time... you think you like it. Then one day you can't figure out why your hair looks greasy as hell. You wonder if you forgot to rinse out conditioner. Nope, your shampoo leaves a build up. While this is not the most egregious build up I have ever encountered (ahem, L' Oreal Royal Jelly, I'm looking at you) it's enough to make this product completely useless.
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Blush -Physicians Formula - Happy Booster™ Glow & Mood Boosting Blush in rose
CarolinaMidwife 7/30/2012 7:58:00 PM
I actually like this and I am generally a cream or cheek stain girl. I do have to tread lightly or I end up with clown cheeks. It has a nice glow. It has a scent but that doesn't bother me. I like the mix of colors and the hearts are just cute. Through brush it comes with away, it sucks.
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Lips -Revlon - Color Burst lip butter - Cotton Candy
CarolinaMidwife 7/30/2012 7:53:00 PM
I like this stuff. It's a nice medium between lipstick and lipgloss. Has a nice amount of color but still manages to be sheer. A nice texture. Doesn't freak out if my lips are dry. I will definitely try other colors.
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Pressed Powders -Physicians Formula - Mineral Wear® Talc-Free Mineral Correcting Powder - Creamy Natural
CarolinaMidwife 7/30/2012 7:46:00 PM
I generally don't like power because I like a dewy finish, however, I have recently developed the most annoying patch of hormonal rosacea on my chin and it has put a kink in my routine. It turns out red skin is damnhellass hard to cover. Seriously. I have tried 300,000 products over the past year and this is the ONLY one that disappears the redness. This stupid red chin is the bane of my freaking existence. In all fairness I went looking for the all green version and have just not been able to find it so I have had to keep buying the swirly version. It really does level out my complexion.... I just have to trade having a matte face which I really don't care for. You will want to make sure that you buy the right shade as the last one I bought it a shade too light and it makes me look like a vampire.
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Self Tanners -Fake Bake - flawless self tan liquid
CarolinaMidwife 7/20/2012 9:12:00 PM
I have done A LOT (and I mean, a lot) of fake baking and this is, no question, the best at home fake tanner I have used. The sun can (literally) kill you, not to mention age your skin like crazy so I just avoid it altogether. Unfortunately, I look about a trillion times better with a tan thus my constant search for self tanners. The color is a nice deep brown, no orange at all. It has a bronzer (which I know bothers some people who feel like it's a lie) that allows you to see where you're applying. When you can't see what you're applying you're going to get streaks, for sure. The bronzer helps avoid the streaks and helps you keep things even. As with all self tanners, persistence is the key; you have to keep applying it. Apply it as long before your next shower as you can and then apply it again after your shower. Don't expect to do it once and keep your tan. Also, definitely use the minkee mitt and the gloves it comes with. I think the mitt is critical to the streakless application. The downside is that it will come off on your clothes; on the plus side it washes out easily. Also, it has the fake bake smell, they all do. This one actually smells less than most and has a tropical scent mixed in. I don't think there's a way to avoid the fake bake smell. For the time being this is my holy grail self tanner. ***update*** In the past several weeks of using this tanner I have discovered one annoying flaw: you cannot become wetted in any way while the bronzer part is still on your skin. Any splash or drip or splatter or any kind will completely remove the bronzer (and a lot of the tanner) and leave you with a giant pale blotch (or drip, streak whatever.) If you have done a lot of tanning you know that the first thing you do when you're done is wash your hands.... you have to be scrupulously carelyful that the water doesn't run down your arms towards your elbows. If you get splashed on your legs, same thing. It's not a great part of this product. You can fix it by running a damp washcloth over the area but fixing it seamlessly is a learning process.
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Cleansers -Simple - Exfoliating Facial Wipes
CarolinaMidwife 7/20/2012 9:00:00 PM
I cannot believe these have positive reviews. I always use facial wipes at night because I'm too lazy to wash my face right before bed. These were fine for about two weeks and then I had a HORRIBLE cystic acne breakout. I don't generally breakout and so I was all confused about what the hell was wrong with me before I realized it was the wipes as they were the only thing about my routine that had changed. Unfortunately I had made it 2/3 of the way through the package. It took about a week for my face to clear up after I chucked these puppies in the garage. Oh, also, they "exfoliating" side is scratchy as hell. Rough, even by my standards and I sand a layer off my face every three days. For the record, I use oil of Olay regenerist wipes or soap and glory wipes without any problem at all.
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Conditioner -Garnier - Pure-Clean
CarolinaMidwife 6/28/2012 12:44:00 PM
No no no. In my quest to go paraben free I thought, 'why pay $18 for conditioner?' and decied to try garnier. My 8 year old and I use the same shampoo and conditioner and I kept accusing her of not rinsing her hair enough. It looked greasy the same night as her shower. Greasy and weighed down, coated with something. Then one day I spent an hour trying to dry my hair before I realized it wasn't wet but was coated with some kind of horrible greasy glop. I had encountered this once before with a L'oreal product. Sigh. As much as I appreciate their attempts to go more natural, avoid this product line like the plague.
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Toners -Laura Mercier - Perfecting Water - Rich
CarolinaMidwife 5/8/2012 1:26:00 PM
I must be missing something. This does NOTHING for me. I have dry skin, too. It's, I guess, kind of nice to splash something on your face... I don't know.
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Self Tanners -Unlisted Brand - Versa Spa
CarolinaMidwife 4/29/2012 1:27:00 PM
For anyone who can't or won't fry their skin in the sun but hates looking pale Versa Spa is your holy grail. Thanks to melanoma I can no longer be in the sun without a shit-ton of protection but I'm Italian and I look like crap without any color at all. For the past 10 years I have tried EVERYTHING to achieve a realistic color. Mystic Tan was a step in the right direction but it still has some problems. Versa is as close to perfect as you will get without getting an airbrush tan. The booth itself is pretty cool; it gives loud and clear instructions and it has a heater which is very nice because getting a spray tan can be quite a chilly experience. It has moving sprayers that spray you up and down in the various positions you have to assume and after each products is applied you get two passes with the dryer. You are not dripping with tanner like after Mystic and you will not need to towel off when you get out. You can choose level 1, 2, or 3 with or without tint and with or without moisturizer. I get level 2 with tint and moisturizer and I leave looking like I have spent a week in Hawaii. It actually manages to impart the same multi-dimmensional glow that a real tan does. It is not orange even a little although I have been told that the level 3 color is too much and to stick to level 2. Don't get suckered into a tan enhancing lotion; the one time I tried it my tan came out the worst and lasted the least amount of time. Instead exfoliate before you go, follow the directions WRT the barrier cream and how to stand, and don't shower for at least 12 hours after if not longer. The tint will wash away so if you want to look really bronzed for a function or something DON'T shower first. But, the tan itself lasts about 4 days before it starts to fade. The only problem I have had with it is my own doing because I have not yet mastered how to effectively barrier cream my hands. Anyone who has self tanned knows t hat your hands are always the downfall of your fake tan. It still looks pretty awesome though.
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Treatments -Makeup Artist's Choice (MUAC) - Radiance Peel
CarolinaMidwife 4/18/2012 5:15:00 PM
So... I have done A LOT of peels. A lot. I started by getting them done at the spa and then quickly realized I could do them at home. I have done all kinds from glycolic to fruit. This is my new HG peel. I get immediate results with this, my skin looks amazing right after. Day two and I have some peeling around my nose, on my forhead, and chin. I have only left it for 3 minutes, I think I could achieve more peeling at 5 minutes. This peel rocks.
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Polishes -Essie - Navigate Her
CarolinaMidwife 4/18/2012 5:08:00 PM
I like this a lot; it's a good replacement for last spring's minty greens. It's like a pastel pistachio. Looks great on toes.
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Shampoo -Batiste - Dry Shampoo - Blush Scent
CarolinaMidwife 4/18/2012 4:52:00 PM
This is only my second try at dry shampoo but so far I do like it. I have brown hair but it's very highlighted, when my hair is greasy it shows at the roots, for sure. This takes away nearly all of the greasiness and although it has a scent it isn't cloying and it doesn't shout, "I didn't wash my hair!!!" like some dry shampoos... Ahem, suave. So, for a mid range priced product, I think it was around $7 ay Ulta I say go for it.
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Treatments -Kiehls - Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution
CarolinaMidwife 3/15/2012 10:04:00 AM
So, I only had about two weeks worth thanks to my Birchbox but I used it religiously during that time and did not notice one iota of lightening of my sun spots on my cheeks. I don't feel particularly brighter either. Maybe if I had 6 weeks worth I would have seen a difference but I'll never know because there is no way way I'm paying $50 for this product.
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Misc Beauty Tools -Tweezerman - Super Curler Eyelash Curler
CarolinaMidwife 3/9/2012 12:35:00 AM
Oh my, do I hate this thing. I had a tweezerman eyelash curler in the mid-90s that was blue and it was awesome. I threw it away in a fit of cleaning and suffered through various metal curlers until I decided to buy another tweezerman. This one, however, is clear and it sucks. 1. It pinches 2. It crimps unless you shove it so close to your eye that it pinches 3. It doesn't curl My left lashes have a permanent weird bend from this piece of crap. As soon as I can determine which brand doesn't suck I'm going to pitch this sucker. P.S. About three days after I wrote this the piece of crap broke in my hand while I was using it. It must have known I was talking smack about it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No