Powder -Unlisted Brand - Geisha Ink- Pressed Mineral Foundation
Charlies7thAngel 3/5/2011 10:51:00 AM
I hate to break the perfect score, but unfortunately the lightest shade this foundation comes in (Aiko) is just a tad too dark/yellow for my complexion. A couple minutes after application it seems to oxidize and looks a little orangish on my chin. I normally wear Alima pure mineral foundation in Neutral 2, which perfectly matches my skin tone. There are still a lot of positives however - Geisha Ink's foundation formulation is very silky. When I use it with the bare minerals primer, it just glides on (with sponge or brush) and feels very very smooth on my skin. The finish is between matte and satin for me, but not as glowy as Alima or a liquid. It wears well throughout the day, better than the Alima pure, but I do need to reapply as it doesn't keep the shinies at bay on my nose and side of my nose. I have combo skin and since this is a powder, you do have to ensure you're well moisturized as it'll pick up the flecks of dry skin otherwise. I feel that is inevitable with most powders though. One other caveat is that the clasp on the compact doesn't want to stay shut when the sponge is in its bottom compartment. If this came in a shade lighter, I would repurchase as the quality and consistency is definitely top notch.
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Mascara -Unlisted Brand - Geisha Ink- Ultra Volume Mascara
Charlies7thAngel 3/5/2011 10:29:00 AM
I am always scouting MUA for the next best mascara. I have to agree with efreber - this mascara is OK, but not HG which is what I was expecting from all of the rave reviews. I got this about a month ago on eskinstore.com, along with the pressed mineral foundation, and have used it daily. I also like a lot of drama, and this doesn't deliver. I pile on coat after coat after coat, and while I'll get some volume, it just doesn't lengthen very well. It doesn't seem to build. On a positive note, it does leave your lashes soft and it doesn't really clump either. But it flakes a bit - not terrible but just enough to land annoying bits of mascara in your eye throughout the day that you have to fish out. It comes off very easy basically with water (flakes off), but doesn't smudge or raccoon throughout the day. My biggest complaint about this mascara other than the lack of lengthening/volume is that it deflates my curl (I use the shu curler) seconds after application. Needless to say, I won't be repurchasing and will continue my search. It was $25 + shipping from Canada to the US so it was not cheap. My HG was a max factor that got discontinued in the US, and I have been searching ever since...
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Skincare - Face -Obagi - CLENZIderm MD
Charlies7thAngel 12/4/2007 9:21:00 AM
I am reviewing this product on behalf of someone I know that uses it and has had wonderful success. My friend is in her early 40's and has had severe, cystic, scarring acne since puberty. She has tried everything and anything - the only extreme she wouldn't go to was accutane - NOTHING worked. This product has been the only one to clear up her skin! I was amazed knowing the history of her skin and how severe her acne is. She has been using for a few months now and it only took a couple weeks to work. Be forewarned though - if you skip it at night, your acne may resurface. She did say she has to be diligent about using it otherwise she gets flare-ups. I can't give a detailed review of this product, but if it works for her, I can only imagine it will benefit many people with as severe or less severe acne. I am going to try it myself soon - so I will let you know my personal experience.
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Self Tanners -Jergens - Natural Glow- Face
Charlies7thAngel 7/11/2007 1:45:00 PM
I have been using this product for three weeks now. I have very fair skin and have been tanning (I know - bad!), but I usually put sunscreen on my face so as to at least protect that part from wrinkles! To compensate for the difference in color between my face and the rest of my tannish body, I bought this. I bought the tube for medium skin tones because I didn't think the fair tube would be dark enough to match my body. Well, even the medium tube seemed to do very little to tan my skin. It does not turn your skin several shades darker as the indicator on the back suggests. I expected slow, gradual color, and it does depart a slightly glowly look, but don't expect to look "tan" from this product. On a side note, I use PTR 10% glycolic hydrating gel every day. However, I tend to only use it on my cheeks, nose and chin. I have been using the Jergens all over and on my forehead, and I do not notice much of a change there either. Use this if you want VERY SUBTLE results.
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Shampoo -Unlisted Brand - Nizoral AD Shampoo
Charlies7thAngel 6/14/2007 1:22:00 PM
This product always works for me to get rid of my occassional [seasonal] dandruff. I use it when I need it...because, agreed, it is not the best shampoo for conditioning my hair. So whenever the flakes come back, I use it for about a week, and they're gone. It does what it says it does every time, which is why this one got 5 lippies from me.
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Skincare - Body -Unlisted Brand - Surgi-Wax Microwave Hair Remover
Charlies7thAngel 11/6/2006 7:27:00 PM
I have tried both formulations for body and face, but not the brazilian kit. The wax is messy. It gets stringy, sticks to your fingers and fingernails, and when you try to remove excess wax from the applicator, it drips down the plastic container so that you can't fit the lid back on once it has cooled. When you go to heat it up again, the previous drips will make a mess of your microwave unless you put something under it or wrap it in a paper towel. I've tried to avoid the mess, but it seems an impossible task! The recommended heating times printed on the box have always been completely off the mark for the various microwaves I have been subject to...usually taking much longer to soften up than the box says. The wooden applicators are clumsy and don't provide for precise application. The small plastic applicator that comes with the face wax kit is slightly better. Surgi-Wax usually DOES remove my hair. But, sometimes it misses the fine, blonde facial hair--which usually isn't AS noticeable, but can be just as long and/or numerous as darker hair. I also find the promise of "smooth, hairless skin for 3 weeks" to be completely bogus. I usually have to use it every week to remove the random new-growth hair that wasn't visible/grown the previous week...as hair grows in cycles, this might be true for most. I've been using it for a couple years now, mainly for lip/chin waxing, but I've finally had it with the mess and I'm hoping to find a less-messy, inexpensive and effective alternative. UPDATE***** I am pretty sure this makes me break out where I use it...and although I do have acne-prone skin, not very many things cause me to break out like this does. It is a guaranteed pimple on my lip every time. And it's still messy and doesn't get thin or little hairs. I am wondering if the professional version of Surgi is any better...
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Styling Products -Sexy Hair Concepts - Big Sexy Hair - volume mousse
Charlies7thAngel 2/21/2006 7:35:00 PM
Hated this. It does tend to volumize or thicken my hair, but it totally dulls my hair and makes it look gunked up and ratty. Makes my hair so unsmooth and it just looks like a mess---and NOT a sexy, bedhead mess either! I will not repurchase this product as there are better products in this line and elsewhere.
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Styling Products -Sexy Hair Concepts - Big Sexy Hair - What a Tease - Backcomb in a Bottle
Charlies7thAngel 2/21/2006 7:25:00 PM
Oh, where do I begin with this one. Most hairstylists I have been to love this product. It works by clumping your hair together ---literally sticking strands together so that it feels like you got some crispy gunk in your hair when it dries. For one, it definitely dries out your hair, no doubt about it. Unfortunately, the only products that have successfully given me volume are products that are extremely drying. It is not meant to be used all over your head, but in the general areas that you would normally tease your hair (at the crown). If I just spray this at the roots of the hair at my crown, it does not work. It does not give me volume. All it does it just clump that hair together there. However, if I tease my hair, and spray this on the teased parts, and then try to smooth my hair over it, it does tend to work to keep the tease in tact. But it isn't reliable. Because my hair is so pin straight, usually spraying the teased spot just results in a big noticeable lump where I sprayed it. Then I try to gentley comb it out a little to get it to...sort of merge with the rest of my hair, but then it usually stops volumizing ---OR it results in a huge knot in my hair. IF you intend to use this as a hairspray (not how it is supposed to be used), it does work. I notice that it gives me an amazing amount of hold if I use it before I set my hair with rollers or curl it with an iron. BUT BEWARE: You must use the LIGHTEST mist of product if you are going to use it like a hairspray because if you use too much, it'll tangle your hair together AND leave white residue. When I use this sparingly before and after I curl my hair, the curls stay for a really long time ---but it also dries out my hair so bad that it is a terrible catalyst for snarles and knots when my hair is curled. If that's the price to be paid for having amazing curls for a day, so be it. This product is fickle at best, sometimes a blessing, but most of the time a curse. Oh, and the nozzle always get gunked up so you'll have to run it under hot water or try to scratch off the build-up each time you use it. Make sure you do this otherwise it'll end up spraying in some oddball direction that you hadn't intended it to go (such as it did when I intended to spray my hair but got my face instead--OUCH). I am not giving up on it yet though...I am determined to make it work in more ways than just one.
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Styling Products -Sexy Hair Concepts - Big Sexy Hair - Volumizing Gel
Charlies7thAngel 2/21/2006 7:04:00 PM
I have very long, pin straight, fine hair (but lots of it). It is next to impossible for me to get volume from even the most promising products. This works for me but only because it really dries out my hair. Dry hair=volume for me. Also, I have to use a TON of product in order for it to work properly, and I must always use is in conjunction with a hair drier. I can never get it to coat my hair evenly and it always seems like certain parts of my hair get more product than others...i.e. I find it difficult to work through my hair. Of course, when I'm practically pouring the bottle on my head, getting straight to the roots isn't usually an issue. I gave it four lippies because, however annoying it may be for me to use, however drying it may be, it gives me a superb amount of volume more often than not and is in my opinion the least sticky or heavy product in the Big Sexy Hair line. I recommend but it isn't my HG.
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Styling Products -Paul Mitchell - Super Skinny Serum
Charlies7thAngel 2/17/2006 8:46:00 PM
I haven't read the reviews on this yet, but I wanted to share that this is my favorite slenderizing, smoothing, straightening product to date. I'd like to say HG but it's rare for me to feel completely satisfied when it comes to hair products. Granted my hair is already pin straight, I have highlights that've intensely dried out my hair, making it prone to snarls, breakage, ragged ends and flyaways. When I use this product, my hair has that smooth, silky swing about it that I previously thought only possible with the use of a CHI iron. The light, non-sticky, non-greasy formula gives my hair that slippery sheen that we all associate with healthy, moisturized locks. This knocks Biosilk Silk Therapy out of the running for me, which I find to be heavier and greasier compared to this. I think the Super Skinny Serum has silicon which gives your hair that slip. It makes wet hair more managable to comb through (but its in no way a substitute for conditioner/detangler) and is an absolute necessity for me when I blow-dry (which is often). I have repurchased a few times already. My only complaint is the packaging. Be sure to store this upright, put this in a plastic bag or a water-proof container if you are traveling with it, because its highly likely that it'll leak and coat everything else in your travel bag. It'd be nice if it came with a cap to cover the pump.
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Concealers -BeneFit Cosmetics - Boi-ing
Charlies7thAngel 2/17/2006 8:24:00 PM
I feel pretty luke-warm about this concealer. One of Sephora's MAs recommended it to me and I apply it with Sephora's concealer brush. PROS: It lasts forever. The texture is creamy and is easy to blend. The packaging may or may not be a good thing. It hasn't broken, is sturdy and has a very handy mirror in the cover, but somehow it seems the product can get dirty...like it gets dust in it or can attract lint or something. I don't know if this can be considered the fault of the packaging, but I don't leave the container lying open anywhere and I use my concealer brush strictly for this product, so I don't know exactly why this happens. CONS: The product itself always settles into my fine lines. It seems to rub off too, even after being set with powder. I have a combo-acne prone/PPP complexion, but I definitely don't feel my skin is oily enough to warrant this disappearing act. The color (01) wasn't a terrific match for my palest of pale skin and I've had to make sure this was ultra-blended or else it would appear too dark or orangish. My biggest complaint is really that it settles into lines but seems to wear off everwhere else. I have yet to find my HG concealer.
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Pressed Powders -Origins - Silk Screen
Charlies7thAngel 8/29/2004 10:10:00 PM
This is my HG powder. It is the only product I've found that does not make my face look cakey after multiple applications. If you're going for a flawless, matte complexion, this will do it for you. It offers a good amount of coverage, but definitely the best thing about this product for me is that I can use it when I get that midday oiliness and it just melts away the shine without gunking up or looking as if my make-up is seeping out through my pores. I use the lightest shade, Cloud, for my PPP skin tone. Haven't had a bad experience with it showing up dry patches on my face, but then again it is summer and my skin tends to be oilier during the heat.
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Lotions/ Creams -The Body Shop - Indian Gardenia Body Lotion
Charlies7thAngel 4/7/2003 6:05:00 AM
I love this stuff! I bought it at random because I had just gotten a "love your body" card for my birthday and I needed something to fill the 16-oz requirement for my free product. This was it, and now I'm absolutely hooked! I love exotic, spicy, sensual fragrances, and the lotion itself is extremely moisturizing. I use it out of the shower and my skin is silky smooth for the rest of the day! I liked it so much I went out and got the corresponding Indian Gardenia Scrub (which is a bit pricey, but is now a staple in my after-shaving routine). I can't get enough of this lotion!
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Lip Treatments -The Body Shop - Colourings Lip Scuff
Charlies7thAngel 4/7/2003 5:57:00 AM
A combo of drying acne medication and a daily sub-zero windy, snowy, 15-minute trek to class at an Upstate NY college made my lips super-super chapped. They would be so dry that any lipstick would just absorb into clumps where my lips were the driest and I'd continually be biting at my lips trying to remove some of the excess skin. It was NASTY! I tried blistex and chapstick medicated and softlips all before I'd go out in the cold, but still, once those wore away, my lips would be just as moisture-less as ever. Until I found Lip-Scuff. I use it after I wash my face at night, I put it on and rub my lips together for a little bit to allow the grains to exfoliate the skin, and when I wake up in the morning, my lips are soft and smooth. I like the minty taste, and though the light green appearance on the lips isn't the most attractive sight, the greeness usually soaks in after having it on for 15 minutes. I love this product, it is perfect for getting rid of my dry-lip! I would also recommend following up with the Body Shop's vitamin E stick for lips after exfoliating with this. A little pricey, but worth it for my winter lips.
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Moisturizers -Cetaphil - Moisturizing Cream
Charlies7thAngel 4/7/2003 5:31:00 AM
This is a great product for dry skin, especially if you're on some sort of over-drying acne medication. I've used all sorts of other moisturizers with fancy acids, vitamins, minerals, acne meds, etc, but this stuff is non-commodegenic, absorbs quickly and is the first moisturizer to not irritate my skin with new-fangled acidic assortments or heavy fragrances. My dermatologist recommends this as the only moisturizer to use that won't irritate my acne-prone skin, and it hasn't caused me any breakouts. I'll switch to the lighter, quicker absorbing lotion for the summer, but for winter skin, this is a great non-irritating, gentle moisturizer that can fully live up to the claim it makes: to moisturize.
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