Polishes -Rescue Beauty Lounge - Revamp nail lacquer
CarolineSwing 11/8/2006 7:22:00 PM
Revamp is a sort of purpled black infused with red micro glitter. The effect after three coats is black with minor flashes of red. It's more subtle (if black is ever subtle) then I thought it would be.
I don't think it's that special and certainly not worth $18 plus shipping. I would not buy this again, even if I lost this one, no replacement for me thanks. If this was $6 or less, I might consider it. Unless you *must* have this color, skip it. I gave it a four because I will only take one lippie off for not liking the color (and I do sort of like it so half a lippie off, but one must round it off and I choose to round up) and one off for the price. The texture is ok, a little streaky on the first coat, better with two and best with three coats.
Those of you who think you can do black and layer China Glaze Ruby Pumps (or other red glitter) and get the same effect, you are wrong, sorry. But to be honest I think it looks better then Revamp. I've tried several times over the course of two days trying to get a good comparison pic, not happening, the red micro glitter is too subtle for me to get with the camera. If you want a black with red glitter, try layering you will get a better effect imo.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Highlighters -Guerlain - Les Meteorites balls powder
CarolineSwing 6/12/2006 11:54:00 PM
~~METEORITE BALLS / PEARLS PART 2~~
-- I have many Meteorite pics in my account, please take a look since a picture is worth a 1000 words. :)
MYTHIC #01 ~ aka regular or original, permanent color
(gold box w/ multi colored "half moons" or w/ the old style plastic box that is wider & shorter then current cardboard box, was pre-2001)
6 colors:
~matte medium pink
~matte green (used for toning down redness)
~mauve (called mauve but it's the purple ones)
~gold (yellow gold)
~opal (shimmery cream w/ a hint of champagne tones, Guerlain describes as "mother of pearl", same as opal / "mother of pearl" from Mythic, Pink Fresh, Beige Chic, Winter Radiance, Glittering Pearls, Reflects de Nacre)
~white matte
PINK FRESH #02 ~ permanent color
(gold box w/ mostly pink & some peachy-orange half moons)
6 colors:
~maroon (with gold shimmer)
~pink (a little darker then the pink in Mythic)
~orangy-peach (with gold shimmer)
~peach
~opal (same as opal from Mythic)
~champagne (shimmery, same as WR & WP)
BEIGE CHIC #03 ~ permanent color (more warm then most Meteorites, imo)
(gold box with brown & beige half moons)
6 colors:
~matte light brown
~matte beige
~shimmery beige (has the barest hint of pink to it, on it's own not at all pink, but when compared to the other beige, def some pink)
~light peach
~pale gold (lighter then Mythic or Dorees)
~opal (same as opal from Mythic)
GOLD TEMPTATION ~ Holiday 2007 LE
(rose gold box w/ white half moons on top & small stars on side. These balls are much smaller then regular Meteorites)
5 colors:
~silvery-lilac (shimmery lilac w/ silver glitter)
~matte peach
~champagne (shimmery, same as PF, WR & WP)
~opal (same as opal from Mythic)
~white shimmer (same as WP)
PUCCI ~ Spring 2007 LE
(silver box w/ pink, green & cream design. Very similar to Mythic)
6 colors:
~cool dark shimmery pink
~pink (same as Mythic)
~light matte peach
~green (same as Mythic)
~light gold
~matte white (same as Mythic)
PERLES DE VELOURS ~ Holiday 2006 LE
(gold box w/ dark burgundy & red half moons)
6 colors:
~burgundy, light shimmer
~medium burgundy with lots of gold shimmer
~shimmery peach
~matte peach
~opal (same as opal from Mythic)
~champagne (shimmery, same as PF, WR & WP)
WHITE PEARLS ~ summer 2006 LE
(silvery glitter box with pastel rainbow half moons)
6 colors
~light cool pink (same as light pink from Reflects)
~pale green (shimmery, looks more like a bluish green, much lighter then the green in Mythic, same as in Winter Radiance, very few of these in the whole pot, maybe 4)
~pale lilac (lighter then lilac from WR & Reflects)
~champagne (shimmery, same as PF & WR)
~white shimmer (same as Gold Temptation)
~white matte (same as Mythic & WR
WINTER RADIANCE ~ Holiday 2005
(silver box with pastel multi colored half moons)
6 colors:
~light pink (shimmery, lighter then Mythic or pink fresh, but not as light or cool as WP or Reflects)
~pale green (shimmery, looks more like a bluish green, much lighter then the green in Mythic, same as in WP)
~light purple (shimmery white a lit of pink & gold tones)
~opal (same as opal from Mythic)
~champagne (shimmery, same as PF & WP)
GLITTERING PEARLS ~ Holiday 2004 LE
(a dark "black" silver box with silver/rainbow prism type half moons)
4 colors:
~burgundy (with gold shimmery, darker then Pink Fresh 's maroon)
~silvery-lilac (shimmery lilac w/ silver glitter)
~light glittery gold (shimmery gold with gold glitter, lighter then Mythic's gold or Dorees)
~opal (same as opal from Mythic)
REFLECTS DE NACRES ~ Holiday 2003 LE
(silver box with white, pink & red half moons)
3 colors:
~light cool pink (same as light pink from WP)
~lilac (with gold shimmer)
~opal (same as opal from Mythic)
BLUSHY BLUSH ~ Holiday 2002 LE
(red box with dark pink & white half moons)
4 colors:
~dark fuchsia (with gold shimmery, has a bit of burgundy but def more pink then burgundy, very pigmented)
~fuchsia (shimmery, lighter & more pink then the dark fuchsia, very pigmented)
~light pink (with gold shimmer, same as in WR)
~lilac (with silver shimmer, same as lilac in Reflects)
PLUIE DE NACRES ~ 2001? LE (not shown in above pics)
(gold box with multi colored half moons, the older style cardboard box but no metal rim)
5 colors:
~light cool pink (same as light pink from WP)
~pale green (shimmery, looks more like a bluish green, much lighter then the green in Mythic, same as in WR and WP)
~purple (light shimmery purple, close to WR but less pink)
~gold (same as gold from Dorees)
~shimmery white (unique w/ gold & pink flashes)
Unknown older box shimmery balls ~ sometime between 1996-2001 LE
(gold box with multi colored half moons, the older style plastic box, shorter but wider then the current boxes, same as Reflects de Nacre with one extra color)
4 colors:
~light cool pink (same as light pink from WP)
~lilac (with gold shimmer)
~opal (same as opal from Mythic)
~champagne (shimmery, same as PF, WP & WR)
((My review was too long, so the Mono colored Pearls & Perfumed Pearls have been moved to my Part 1 review))
106 out of 106 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Misc Beauty Tools -Unlisted Brand - Zeno
CarolineSwing 5/2/2006 1:31:00 AM
I L♥VE my Zeno! So far it has worked on all but one of my blemishes. I usually only get 1-4 per month so the Zeno works great for me. I have farily normal skin with a little bit of oilyness in the T-zone. I was able to get a good deal for mine on ebay, but if I lost it I'd happily pay full price for another one. If you have mild to moderate acne, give it a try.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Highlighters -Guerlain - Les Meteorites Ball Powder - Pink Fresh 02
CarolineSwing 4/12/2006 3:22:00 AM
I LOVE this stuff! This is such a wonderful color for blush. I don't think I would wear this all over my face very often. But I like this much better then Mythic (original) which is too cool for me, Beige Chic which is lovely but not as good as Pink fresh. I am soooooo happy to have found this.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Shu Uemura - Eye Jelly- Brown
CarolineSwing 2/20/2006 12:13:00 AM
OK, maybe it was just me, but I could NOT get this to show up on me! There was the faintest hint of of goldish micro glitter and that is it. I'd also like to comment on the creepy texture of this stuff. I really, really layered it on in the hopes of some color, but alas, it was not to be. But the surface of this stuff looked like it was brand spanking new, never touched. It is a nasty grainy jello goo that I wish I had never seen. I just kept poking it to see if something would happen, nada. Ick! Nothing like a mousse, it really is like a jelly, an icky hard-ish jelly. No thanks, I will not buy again.
(I'm a PPP with olive undertones)
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Shu Uemura - Eye Shadow- NEW Formula
CarolineSwing 10/18/2005 5:13:00 PM
NEW FORMULA (as of April 2006)
Shu has reformulated their e/s formula recently and will be phasing out the "old" line that is reviewed under the title of "Eye Shadow".
The first installment of 44 (out of a supposed 100+ during the next year) are very nice. They are softer then the "old" formula. Pigment is good, many of the colors show up better then some of the older look-a-likes. But, some of the ME e/s aren't quite as good as the old formula (but the old ones were hit or miss too, for example ME 390, ME 638, ME 945 were just a few that were awesome; but ME 370, ME 388 & ME 780 were only nice, not the awesome-ness of some of the others). These retail for $19.00 US, 2100 Yen in Japan (aprox $18+ US, changes as exchange rate changes)
So far there are several look-a-likes in the new line compared to the old line. I won't list them all, but a few are:
Old = New
Pink ME 125 = Pink ME 150
Gold ME 390 = Gold ME 350
Gold ME 365 = Gold IR 350
Olive ME 480 = Green ME 450
Green ME 555 = Green ME 550
Silver ME 945 = Brown ME 850
White M 910 = White M 900
So far the way the new numbering system works is that each number (150 for example) comes in each of the four standard e/s textures:
ME = Metal, P = Pearl, IR = Iridescent, and M = Matte
So there will be a
Pink ME 150
Pink P 150
Pink IR 150
and Pink M 150
100's are Pinks
200's are Oranges
300's are Yellows & Golds
400's are Light Greens & Greens (some look like olives)
500's are Greens (some look like turquoise)
600's are Blues
700's are Purples
800's are Beiges & Browns
900's are everything else including White, Gray, Silver & Blacks.
The current numbers are: (some are Japan or Asia only)
Pink 100
Pink 150
Orange 200
Orange 250
Yellow 300
Yellow & Gold 350
Green & Light Green 400
Green & Light Green 450
Green 500
Green 550
Blue 600
Blue 650
Purple 700
Purple 750
Beige 800
Brown 810
Brown 850
Brown 860
White & Silver 900
Gray & Silver 950
Black 990
~~July 15th, 2005 (Japan): First 44 are released (Pink 150, Orange 250, Yellow/Gold 350, Green 450, Green 550, Blue 650, Purple 700, Beige 800, White/Silver 900, Gray/Silver 950 & Black 990)
~~Dec 3rd, 2005 (Japan): 12 Brown e/s released (Brown 810, Brown 850 & Brown 860)
~~January 13th, 2006 (Japan): 16 new released with the Sweet Mode collection (Pink 100, Orange 200, Yellow 300 & Blue 600 come in all four textures in Asia only so far). But In the USA only 4 e/s come out with the Sweet Mode: Pink IR 100, Orange IR 200, Yellow P 300 & Blue P 600; no idea if or when the other 12 will be released in the USA.
Some of the stand out colors are:
Brown ME 850 (look-a-like for Silver ME 945), Pink ME 150, Orange ME 250 (a stunning orange that is not quite orange, highly recommend), Green ME 450, Green P 450, Green ME 550, Purple ME 700, Beige ME 800, Brown ME 810, Black ME 990 (a true shimmery black).
Shu has changed the packaging on these too. Not a drastic change, but I think many will like them better. They look more stream-lined and higher end overall. Still clear plastic. I haven't stuck my fingernail in any of the new ones while opening them either. :)
I have some pictures of the new colors and some of the look-a-likes under this Profile or with all my Shu pics under CarolineSwing4. :D
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From my "Shu Uemura, Eye Shadow" review (ie the "old" formula, but this is all relevent to the new ones too):
FYI: If you want to put these in a palette DO NOT BAKE THEM! On the back there is a little circle if you use a toothpick and stick it through the circle the pan will pop right out. I have read soooo many girls talking about baking their Shu pans out of the clear cases and it is not necessary.
To address a question I hear sometimes, there are two "sizes" of e/s pans (3 if you count the Atelier line, but that's a different review). ~~~THE NEW FORMULA ARE ALL THE SAME SIZE AS THE NEWER OLD E/S (I know that doesn't make a lot of sense, but unless you have some of the old ones that are over 5 years old or so, all of your will be the same size, no worry).~~~ Both pans have the exact same amount of product, but one is larger in diameter and thinner. The new ones are the smaller/taller pans and 99% of the Shu e/s you buy will be this smaller/taller size. But if you do get one that isn't the same as all the rest you have, don't panic, it's the same great product with a different container. :)
My only "Rant" is that the regular pans (e/s and Glow Ons) are *not* magnetic! To put them in a Shu palette you use the glue that originally held them in place, yuck. If you do want to put them in a non-Shu metallic palette you have to put on your own magnet. Not a big deal you say? Well, if you want to make your Shu palette magnetic you have to add a magnet strip to the palette *and* to the pans; that can get really thick. Shu pans work great in the Aveda palettes and the MAC 15-pan palette with the insert taken out. But the best palette by far is a Trish Mcevoy Large Planner Page (thanks susant66). Each page holds 24 e/s or 12 Glow Ons. So perfect and only $17 vs $30 for the Shu silver palette (holds max 16 e/s) or the large black Shu palette for $13 (holds 8 e/s max). You can attach magnets to the bottom of the pans. Or I prefer to use good double stick tape, it holds the pans perfectly and I can move them around to hearts content (and I don't have to deal with things not fitting as well). :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I LOVE JOJOBA'S REVIEW OF THESE! IT'S RIGHT ON! :)
19 out of 20 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Aveda - Eye Shadow - Vinca
CarolineSwing 2/17/2005 7:20:00 AM
What a BEAUTIFUL color. Too bad it won't show up *at all*! This is one of Aveda's new and reformulated e/s. It really jumps out from the rest as a vibrant, shimmery medium-dark purple. It shows up as an ultra sheer purple color closer to a faded purple bruise then anything, ick. When I say sheer, I mean a normal sheer e/s after it has been worn for 8 hours, that is how well it shows up. :(
Aveda says the new formula *has* to be applied with a talkon brush (only synthetic will do, yeah right, just a reason to buy more of their stuff). You are supposed to take your talkon brush and swirl it around and around on the pan, not in the normal back and forth motion. It didn't make a bit of difference, still *barely* showed at all. A big thing I noticed was how much product I used up by using the "proper technique". That swirling thing makes a lot of the product go bye-bye. I tried using other brushes,no difference. I tried using my finger, no real difference. This one just sucks!
I did also buy two other new/reformulated e/s (Desert Bronze & Willow), these two showed up much better then Vicna, but still far short of the original version of the e/s. I was also unimpressed with the blushes I bought. Please try these in the store so you aren't sorry at home. I will give Aveda another chance, but this had better be the exception to the rule.
Big fat rant from me so far and as many of you know, I am... er was, a big Aveda fan.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Shu Uemura - P Beige 808
CarolineSwing 1/20/2005 2:58:00 AM
What a beautiful color in the pan. What a disapointment on the eye. The shimmery neutral beige became a clear/non existant color with micro glitter on my eye. Plus the texture of this (and the other products from this collection) are *nothing* like the soft, blendable silk that I expect from Shu. These were rough and chalky.
If you have Beige IR 803, the colors are similar but the 803 sctually shows up and doesn't have any glitter (plus it is the amazing texture of Shu that I expect), just stick with that and save your money for another color.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Palettes -By Terry - Compact with powder refill
CarolineSwing 7/1/2004 5:29:00 AM
I also have the pressed powder Jewel Case. What decadence! A super shinny silver compact with a mirror. Like all the Jewel compacts it comes with a purple velvet drawstring bag (so it won't get scratched I guess). I was able to get mine on sale from eLuxury.com. Mine was a Valentine special where you got the compact and a pink powder that said "LOVE" or "KISS" or a third thing I can't remember. I lucked out and got this for around $50, because it retailed for $144!
The funny thing is my favorite part of the whole set is a wonderful little silver "toothpick". It is for popping the pan out of the compact through a tiny hole in the back. This is soooooo useful! I use it to pop Chantecaille and Stila e/s out of their palettes, Shu e/s out of their little plastic compacts and other things!
This compact doesn't fit any other pans from other brands (I haven't found any, but I'm looking). Since it does have a magnet you could put other brands products in it.
There are 6 of the Jewel items that I have ever seen: Pressed Powder, Loose Powder, Blush, e/s, lipstick and the cutest little lipgloss case. All are terribly over priced, but sometimes eLuxury.com has sales and you can get great prices for these awesome little compacts.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Shu Uemura - Breezing Earth Duo
CarolineSwing 7/1/2004 3:05:00 AM
This is the Brown e/s duo from the Boutique Birthday collection (sold in Shu Boutiques around the world). The e/s come in what would normally be a Glow On blush case, but it has a neat blue and pink design on the front. Retails for $36 USD. The texture, as always, is amazing. Soft and bendable, easily build-able for more intensity. All of the Breezing Duo's are shimmery e/s and no glitter! Breezing Earth is one of the better of the 5 duos (Breezing Blossom, Dew, Sky & Mist too).
The brown shade would probably be labeled as a Beige in the normal line. What sets it apart from your normal beige color is the pink undertones of this e/s. It looks amazing! The lighter color is a very shimmery white.
If you have Beige P 810 and Rainbow IR 900p (or the Aura Spectra palette or the discontinued Atelier e/s #10 Pink Cloud) & either White P 911 or White P 912, you could skip this duo, by layering the Rainbow IR 900p over the Beige P 810, you get a very close match to the darker color of the Earth Duo.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Shu Uemura - Breezing Mist Duo
CarolineSwing 7/1/2004 2:58:00 AM
This is the Purple e/s duo from the Boutique Birthday collection (sold in Shu Boutiques around the world). The e/s come in what would normally be a Glow On blush case, but it has a neat blue and pink design on the front. Retails for $36 USD. The texture, as always, is amazing. Soft and bendable, easily build-able for more intensity. All of the Breezing Duo's are shimmery e/s and no glitter! Breezing Mist is probably the most boring of the 5 duos (Breezing Blossom, Dew, Sky & Earth too).
The darker purple is really just a light shimmery lavender/lilac. While the lighter color appears to be an *extremely* pale lilac, it looks white on the eye. Blah.
If you have Purple P 715 (or Purple IR 712 maybe) *and* any of the white whites, like White P 911 or White P 912, skip this duo completely. It's boring, and I love purple. ;)
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Shu Uemura - Breezing Sky Duo
CarolineSwing 7/1/2004 2:52:00 AM
This is the BLUE e/s duo from the Boutique Birthday collection (sold in Shu Boutiques around the world). The e/s come in what would normally be a Glow On blush case, but it has a neat blue and pink design on the front. Retails for $36 USD. The texture, as always, is amazing. Soft and bendable, easily build-able for more intensity. All of the Breezing Duo's are shimmery e/s and no glitter! Breezing Sky is one of the best, being fairly unique, of the 5 duos (Breezing Blossom, Dew, Mist & Earth too).
The darker of the blues is a wonderful lighter blue with purple undertones! I think this is one of the best out of all 10 Breezing e/s colors. The light blue is *really* pale blue.
I really recommend getting this one based on the darker blue (although it is the same color as the discontinued Atelier e/s in #06 Sky, but it's kind of a rare e/s). The light blue is a little bit darker then Blue IR 600, I would call it Blue P 602 if I could name it. :)
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Shu Uemura - Breezing Dew Duo
CarolineSwing 7/1/2004 2:46:00 AM
This is the GREEN e/s duo from the Boutique Birthday collection (sold in Shu Boutiques around the world). The e/s come in what would normally be a Glow On blush case, but it has a neat blue and pink design on the front. Retails for $36 USD. The texture, as always, is amazing. Soft and bendable, easily build-able for more intensity. All of the Breezing Duo's are shimmery e/s and no glitter! Breezing Dew is one of the nicer of the 5, but not that special (Breezing Blossom, Sky, Mist & Earth too).
The darker green is comparable to the Yellow-Green's in the normal e/s line. It is a medium bright spring like green, very pretty. The lighter color is a white with green & yellow undertones (fairly unique among the regular line). The colors together make a nice light green eye.
If you have Yellow-Green P 407 or M 409 or Lime, you may consider skipping this. But unless you have both the Rainbow IR 900y (yellow) *and* the discontinued IR 900g (green) you may want to try this particular duo.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Shu Uemura - Breezing Blossom Duo
CarolineSwing 7/1/2004 2:39:00 AM
This is the PINK e/s duo from the Boutique Birthday collection (sold in Shu Boutiques around the world). The e/s come in what would normally be a Glow On blush case, but it has a neat blue and pink design on the front. Retails for $36 USD. The texture, as always, is amazing. Soft and bendable, easily build-able for more intensity. All of the Breezing Duo's are shimmery e/s and no glitter! Breezing Blossom is probably the 2nd most boring of the 5 duos (Breezing Dew, Sky, Mist & Earth too).
The darker pink is not very dark at all and even though it looks like a medium pink in the pan, it goes on as a light pink. The lighter color is a white with pink undertones and is pretty, but must be the 5th white with pink undertones e/s that Shu has come out with.
Basically, if you already have Pink P 103 and Rainbow IR 900p (or the Aura Spectra palette or the Atelier e/s #10 Pink Cloud), you can skip this duo.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Aveda - Lotus
CarolineSwing 6/28/2004 9:24:00 PM
I am thrilled with Aveda's blushes! The color range is limited but all the colors are very, very wearable. The colors are matte but seem to have a subtle glow to them. I have several of these blushes and I will continue to buy these in the future.
My HG blush for the last 9 years is Lotus. Lotus is the *perfect* peachy (with just a teeny tiny bit of pink) for my PPP skin with light olive undertones. (I have pics of several Aveda blushes under one of my carolineswing accounts). :)
------
UPDATED (July 2008): Sad to say that Aveda changed their formula for both blush and e/s. I *hate* the new formula!! The color is still good, but it barely shows up, takes much layering. Your only chance to have the original is swap or ebay. It has been about 3 years (2005 ?) since the formula change, so I do wish you luck. I am hording my 4 backups that I got from ebay.
I am very depressed by the formula changes, they are supposed to be "all natural". Just because something is all natural does ***not*** make it better then not all natural. I am done with Aveda unless they change the formula again. :(
The new formula change makes this a 2 instead of a 5
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No