Mascara -Cover Girl - Lash Blast Clump Crusher mascara
Dimplesgalore 5/22/2013 8:31:00 PM
I've moved from mascara to mascara over the years and for the last few I've been using the CoverGirl lash blast in the orange tube. It gives nice volume and can actually add a good amount of length if used properly. I grabbed this on a whim when I saw the "200% more volume". While I wouldn't say it delivers 200% more volume, it easily outpaces the orange tube in lash separation, clump crushing (oh dear), and does produce nice volume. I think the lash separation feature is what makes it my new favorite. One coat gives me sweet girl next-door lashes. Long, dark, and fuller. A second coat gives me a bit more volume and great definition, a real wide awake in a good way look. Add a third coat or more...BAM. Drama. All without any clumps or lashes getting glued together. I will say that the brush took a few tries to get the hang of. Especially when doing my lower lashes. I plan on making this my go-to mascara for everything.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Bronzers -Wet 'n' Wild - Ticket to Brazil
Dimplesgalore 5/19/2013 9:30:00 AM
This is lovely on my olive/yellow skin. When I'm tan I turn a golden bronze color but when I'm pale I am a yellow/pale green-ish. Most bronzers are far too red based to complement my skin tone, but this one is a WINNER. In the pan it looks like nothing special. Typical bronzer with a hint of gold tones, a very small hint, and depending on the angle has some flecks of shimmer. Not big chunks of glitter, or overwhelming metallic frosting, but just enough to add some dimension but remain in the grownup cosmetic realm. The pan is huge and the packaging generally sucks. The domed lid latches onto the base with some gripping power but I could see weakening over time. The bronzer cake is really soft and it's easy to end up with too much on your brush. Using my big ELF flat top brush, one firm swirl around the pan produced enough loose powder on the bristles and in the pan for more than one application, but honestly I'd prefer that to powder you have to wrestle with. It went on extremely silky, satiny, and smooth. Very easy to blend in to my bare skin. Felt lovely, looked fabulous. My hubby, who notices subtle changes but usually can't put a finger on what they are, told me he liked my new lipstick (I was wearing some) and that I looked pretty. Ticket to Brazil is my ticket to glowing skin.
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Toners -Garden of Wisdom - Beta Exfo Tonic
Dimplesgalore 9/26/2012 12:05:00 PM
Amazing. Simply amazing results. I have acne and sensitive skin. I can't use most topicals but salicylic acid is one exception. This product far exceeds any 2% s.a product found in stores. After one application, and 8 hours of sleep, my skin saw a 50% improvement in little spots and bumps, and 80% redness reduction. It was also extremely moisturized. Blackheads were easier to remove, everything seemed like it was loosened and able to be cleared out. I'll be using this along with the Mandelic Acid to help my skin battle acne, hyperpigmentation, and to keep those fine lines at bay.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Sinful - It's Electric
Dimplesgalore 9/16/2012 1:46:00 PM
Update: This stuff chips like nobodies business!! It could have been my application, but compared to their other polishes it's a disappointment. Maybe something about asking particles to migrate through the polish messes with the stability of it once dried. One lippie off. This is one of Sinful Colors magnetic polishes from their new line. This was my first venture into the new-ish magnetic trend, mostly because of the prohibitory cost, but when I saw this for less than $5 at RiteAid I had to give it a go. There were 5 colors to choose from (from what I can remember) and they all had the same starburst design. I chose this one for its midnight blue look and I am very happy I did. Even without the magnet the color is pretty. With the magnet, and some time spent learning, it's actually really easy to get great results. Turns out that the recommended 2 coats is a bit overkill. Still turns out fine but no better than using one coat. My Tips: 1. WORK ONE NAIL AT A TIME!!! No matter how good you already are this stuff dries FAST and will not work if it's dry. Dry = no ability for particles to migrate. 2. Base coat really didn't do anything to help the magic. 3. Two coats are a waste. Use a non magnetic polish to conserve the fancy stuff or just use one coat of the magnetic polish. 4. Apply a slightly thicker coat, not globs since too much will cause a blurry image, but enough to be opaque. 5. Get the magnet over the nail ASAP and hold it there for 20-30 seconds. I found that a little longer gives a better image but if held for too long it gets blurry (or I was using too much polish). It's easy to test the magnet on the side of the bottle to see where the design is, and you can try your regular fridge magnets too! I found I have some that will give me stripes. Also, the design will settle slightly after the magnet is removed. I haven't found a way to prevent this but it's not that big a problem for me since they're still pretty. I plan on getting some more colors and finding (or making) some cool magnets to go with them.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Garden of Wisdom - Mandelic Acid Serum
Dimplesgalore 8/19/2012 3:19:00 PM
Update #2 10/3/12: My skin has improved dramatically since beginning to use GoW products and cutting out all the traditional commercial products that I always knew were irritating my skin. I now have a full sized bottle of the 5% no alcohol no seaweed, and a sample sized bottle of the 10% no/no. This pared with their Beta-Hydroxy 2% gel, and a few other GoW odds and ends. My old hyperpigmentation marks are fading rapidly, if new ones form they are way less noticeable than they would have been, and my skin is smoother, more even toned, and has a better elasticity. At 24 that's not my main concern but it's a nice additional benefit. Update 9/1/12: After a particularly bad stress related breakout that I, being stressed, picked at and made 100x worse the 5% no alcohol/no seaweed has cleared my face in record time. I still have some hyper-pigmentation marks but many, many others have disappeared completely or almost completely. My skin tone looks like it belongs on the same face, my pores are smaller, blackheads are easily removed, the open pores with gunk in them (not blackheads but not whiteheads...) can be cleaned out easily too. I have never ever had results like this. The only "downside" (not really a downside at all) is that this does make my skin purge a little bit when first using it. However, it's not all at once. More of a slow purge that takes time to get to the surface. I can handle that. I like it so much I just ordered a 2 oz size of the 5% and a sample of the 10% to see if I can get my more prominent and stubborn hyper-pigmentation marks to hit the road. I'm also thinking the stronger 10% formulation would make a nice active acne spot treatment while using the more mild 5% on the rest of my skin to keep it clear, smooth, toned, to prevent fine lines, and just looking generally happy. I also ordered one of GoWs acid blends and a sample of a new 2% salicylic acid tonic serum (no alcohol). I'm looking forward to adding these into my skincare routine as it seems my skin has no idea how to properly shed skin cells, without a lot of help. Even though my skin is sensitive it responds well to regular exfoliation, even daily exfoliation if mild enough like the 5% Mandelic acid serum. End update. I received a sample of the 5% no alcohol/no seaweed in my last order and have begun trying it out over the last month. I have acne prone sensitive skin and at first I over did it. My face got worse but I'm pretty sure it was my fault. After letting my skin recover I tried again. This time using it every other day or less. I use it at night before bed and in the morning my skin looks so much better. Any spots I have are smaller, less red, not as tender, just so much better. The rest of my skin has a more even tone, looks hydrated and firm, smoother and generally healthy. This makes extracting the gunk from my pores a breeze and helps to shed the dead skin from healing acne. It also reduces my hyper pigmentation marks, almost overnight. It's amazing stuff. I will say that it can have a mild *tingling* effect when first applied but it settles down shortly after it dries. I like the watery consistency. To give it a thicker appearance would require extra ingredients, and those ingredients would serve no purpose other than to thicken the product. For my skin, less is more. Fewer applications and fewer ingredients keep my skin happy and healthy. The smell... It's not an over the top perfumed concoction. It's no supposed to be. It's a fabulous facial treatment that does its job and happens to smells nice at the same time. I plan on ordering a full sized bottle soon.
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Moisturizers -Unlisted Brand - Argan oil
Dimplesgalore 4/24/2012 7:58:00 PM
Update: So I had to downgrade it from 5 to 4. Still great stuff but not as perfect as I had thought. Fabulous to use in mixtures for hair and skin. Best when paired with another oil. Got mine from Garden Of Wisdom. Best stuff ever!! Love it. My skin drinks it in. Less oily than jojoba but the benefits are as good or better. Sinks in very quickly and leaves my skin looking healthy, dewy, plump, perfect. Well, as perfect as it can look with acne and hyper pigmentation spots. For my hair, it's nice. I don't really use it for my hair as much as for my skin, but when I do, I mix it with what ever I was going to use anyways. Sometimes I'll use a drop and apply it to the very ends of my hair. Just the very, very, end bit. My hair is long and even though I don't heat style or otherwise torture my hair, my SO has a tendency to, umm...play with it and pull on it during certain activities. So I do have some damage that the oil helps to alleviate.
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Skincare - Face -Garden of Wisdom - Neem Oil
Dimplesgalore 4/24/2012 7:45:00 PM
Holy hell this stuff stinks!!!!! I read the reviews and saw the comments about the smell and thought, I like garlic and I like peanuts. And to be honest the smell of burning rubber doesn't bother me all that much, so I figured for the benefits I could stand the smell. Boy, oh boy, was I wrong!! At first when I opened the bottle I thought, okay so not great but lets see what it can do before I give up entirely. So I mixed a drop of neem with a few drops of some other oils (hoping to lessen the smell) and applied the mixture to some acne and irritated spots. That lasted about 45 seconds. In hindsight it probably wasn't the best idea to apply the mixture to my chin, since it's below my nose. I wiped it off and then washed it off to get rid of the smell. Maybe I could stand it if I liked Indian food? Oh well. I guess I can use it as a bug replant or fungicide on things other than myself.
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Treatments -Garden of Wisdom - Synergistic Anti-inflammatory Niacinamide and B-5 Serum
Dimplesgalore 4/24/2012 7:32:00 PM
A-fricking-mazing. I got a sample of this and tried it out on some rather angry looking red spots on my face. I dabbed it on and went about my business. I have a few GOW products and love them all and have seen some remarkable results, but redness is one problem that nothing has ever been able to truly tackle. Aspirin can reduce the intensity but only for so long. Well, the next time I looked in the mirror I was shocked. The redness was GONE. I don't mean that my face was magically cured and all the spots had vanished, they were still there but were no longer red angry little monsters. I have since ordered more, but have noticed some important things to consider when using it. Make sure it is the first thing you apply to the spots. If there is anything between it and your skin it does not work nearly as well. Waiting a little bit after applying before adding anything on top helps too. It has a thin consistency, but try and apply a decent amount to the area needing treatment. This means I may have to apply a little bit and rub/pat (gently) it in, wait a bit, then apply more. I have tried using it all over my face but as the rest of my face is not red...well I think that's self explanatory. Wonderful product!! Everything I've ordered from GOW has been superb. I have to restrain myself when I look at all the wonderful lotions and potions they have.
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Deodorants -Unlisted Brand - Certain Dri
Dimplesgalore 2/3/2012 1:38:00 PM
Update 6/3/13: This stuff is still amazing. Once I reach the point where it's working I really don't have to apply it until I notice it begin to slack a little. Sometimes (in winter) that takes up to 2 weeks! Summer is a different story and I'm applying it at least once a week. I have not noticed that swimming, showering, or scrubbing makes any difference in the length of time but the amount of time sweating does. The more I sweat the more often I need to apply it. I have figured out that if I apply too much and my pits begin itching if I take a damp towel or even just a towel and gently rub my pits it helps with the itch. Seems counter intuitive since if you apply it to wet armpits it makes it worse, but once applied it's not a problem. I have not used it anywhere else on my body but my army boyfriend mentioned that he knew some guys who applied it to their feet when they went on long marches. The bottle still sucks. MUST keep it upright or liquid will drain into the cap and will dribble out all over the place to bleach your stuff. The rollerball is nice, smooth motion, no issues there. At first the liquid has no smell but after using it and rubbing it on your skin it starts to take on a "you" smell. Not surprising since you're rubbing it all over your underarms night after night. I've started using my perfume as deodorant. My underarms don't smell bad because they don't sweat, so all I smell is my perfume! The warmer I get the more I can smell it and it smells wonderful. I'll say that again... My armpits smell wonderful!!! End Update 4/18/2012: I have grown to love this stuff. I hate that when I apply it, if I use to much I'm an itchy mess, and how if I fail to wait for it to dry before laying down it can bleach my sheets, and it makes my underarms feel strange (not really waxy but close?). However, when I remember to apply it at night every 5 to 9 days, I am pit stain free!! As the week progresses I can end up with some sweat after I exercise but I am 100% fine with it. I will continue using this for as long as it shows to be working. Update End. I sweat a lot. Not only so I sweat a lot, my body seems to have the wiring backwards. When I am sitting or just moving moderately, like in class or on my way to class, my pits are drenched. After putting on a clean t-shirt only a few minuets later I have large pit rings, and I mean like less than 10 min. When I am exercising I sweat a lot less, sometimes my pits are dry (ish) by the time I'm done running. I do sweat in more places when I am exercising, so maybe there is some kind of dispersal effect, but it still makes no sense to me. If I am lounging around the house in a tank top I get liquid running down my arms, gross, sorry. I also gave up on antiperspirants about a year and a half ago. Nothing was working. I had moved up to the "clinical strength" and was sweating through it by midday. Yes, I was using it correctly, applying it at night, etc. Since they were doing nothing for me I stopped using them because they were ruining my clothes and were making me smell even worse. Cut to earlier this week. I have been fine having wet marks on my clothing at school, working out, but... I was NOT comfortable looking like a sweaty, nervous wreck on my upcoming date. So, even though my skin is extremely sensitive and itching is my least favorite feeling, I caved and bought this stuff. I figured even if my armpits ended up horribly rashed and bright red, as long as I wasn't a wet mess I could survive by layering. I showered and rinsed off my deodorant and waited until right before bed to apply it. I laid down on the floor, swiped very sparingly and rubbed the liquid into my skin. I then remained on the floor until it was mostly dry. I used way less than I thought necessary to avoid the irritation and possible negative side effects. It was ITCHY!!! Another reviewer had said she wanted to scrub her armpits with steel wool, that thought crossed my mind a few times. However, I resisted the wool but did scratch a little bit and went to bed. It did not keep me up and by morning it no longer bothered me. I AM DRY!! I don't think I have ever been this dry. It is amazing!! I did top it off with deodorant this morning but I will be continuing to use this for occasions where worrying about my armpits would be a hassle. I'll update if things change.
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Styling Products -Garnier - Fructis Sleek and Shine Weightless Anti-Frizz Serum
Dimplesgalore 1/30/2012 10:36:00 AM
I use to use Garnier products in H.S. Probably because I had yet to develop a decent defense against advertising and their commercials were really hypnotizing with all the long beautiful hair being swung all over the place to catchy music. Looking back now, I really should have stopped using their stuff sooner, it did nothing for my hair and smelled really really strongly of chemicals and "fruit". I haven't used anything from their product line in ages, but when the argan oil insanity hit the scene I figured I would give it a try. Cut to me in the shampoo/conditioner isle at a store Robbin Hood would probably like, and this caught my eye. I was hesitant until I turned it over and read the list of ingredients, argan oil was 3rd. I couldn't believe it, all most every other product claiming to have the magical healing powers of this exotic oil had it waaaay to far down the list to be of any real benefit. I took a sniff and was surprised, not your typical G smell. It was mild and dare I say, nice? I took it home but even with the glowing reviews could not bring myself to use it, less it leave my hair greasy and limp. I did eventually use it, not bad. Not great, but not bad. Did it de-tangle my hair? Sure, but no more than any other non argan product. I don't really have a big problem with frizz, my BS length wavy hair is rather low maintenance so all I really need is some tangle prevention. It was just ok. I do really like the bottle, the new less spherical shape is great and the pump makes it easy to dispense the right amount of product. However, I won't keep a so-so product just because of the bottle, so it went back. I gave it a good amount of time to prove itself, and I even went as far as to use my blow drier a few times just to see if that made a difference (I rarely use heat tools). So, 2 star product but an extra star for the bottle and the fact that argan shows up so high up on the list. Although, that could just mean 99.9% of it is the first 2 ingredients and the rest make up the 0.1% since the list is just in order of amounts, and there's no way to tell what those amounts are. If it works for you that's great, but it did nothing for me.
3 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Garden of Wisdom - Blue Mallow HA serum
Dimplesgalore 1/11/2012 6:10:00 PM
Picked this a one of the samples in a sample pack. Its a very good serum. After applying it my skin looks a bit less red overall (no amazing redness reduction but it does help), healthy, plumped and soothed. Of the three samples I ordered, Blue Mallow, Lavender, and Green Tea, I like this one the best. However, I also chose a sample of their new Beta-carotene rich HA serum and it is simply amazing. It far surpasses the other ones, and I will be ordering a full sized bottle very soon. I did say I would order this one again, I couldn't say no based on the fact that I liked another one better since this one was also so wonderful. Just so you know I have sensitive, clog prone skin, and acne.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Jo Malone - Nectarine Blossom and Honey
Dimplesgalore 12/8/2011 12:22:00 PM
I bought the large bottle of this after smelling it on someone else. Thankfully that someone else worked where they sold it so I got a nice discount, but it was still very pricy. I wore it for a while and really liked it until summer rolled around. It turned on me and ever since has not worked well with my body chemistry. I wouldn't say it smells bad now, just not as good as it use to. When I wear it I do get complements, but I cant stand the smell after a while. I have a ton of the fragrance samples, lime and cedar, amber and lavender, jasmine and mint, grapefruit, pomegranate, and a bunch more but none of them smell nice on me. They all turn medicinal, like church incense, or I smell like a hardware store, kinda musty and woody but with an odd unpleasant tinge I cant put my finger on. I would not but anything from this line for myself, something about the formulation does not mesh with my skin.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Kai - perfume oil
Dimplesgalore 12/5/2011 8:35:00 PM
I got a few samples of this perfume oil and my first impression was, this stuff is STRONG!! I hadn't even opened the packaging and I could already smell the lovely gardenia and plumeria. When I applied it I was hit with lots of flowers and an obvious green-ness, the leaves and grass got bottled along with the flowers. It seemed to change, gardenia, jasmine, plumeria, back and forth all intermingled in a wonderful lush hawaiian paradise. It mellowed down into a softer lighter sent that smells mostly of gardenia and plumeria, less green but its still there, with a hint of...? Maple syrup?? Yep, there it is hiding in the background. Does that make this a gourmand? I don't know enough about perfumes to describe them properly but I do really like how this one plays with my chemistry. My skin reacts strongly to perfumes and the results can be really good or reeeealy bad with most falling in the latter category. I look forward to wearing this and may consider buying a full sized bottle.
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Polishes -Sinful - Rich In Heart
Dimplesgalore 12/2/2011 9:20:00 PM
I do not wear red. Not as clothing, makeup, not as anything especially nail polish. The color just does not go with my coloring, olive. That being said, I really like this polish. In the bottle it looks veeeeery dark. Like a beautiful Cabernet in a tiny bottle. When I applied it I was actually shocked, it was even darker on! It looks almost black, but that makes me love it even more. My nails have this sheen, a glow, a shine. The same you see reflecting off of an ornament hanging on a tree. It can be hard to tell what color my nails are, but I'm fine with that. A little mystery is a wonderful thing.
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Treatments -Joico - K-Pak Color Restorative Styling Oil
Dimplesgalore 11/14/2011 7:47:00 PM
My hair is long, fine and depending on the length can be wavy (when its shorter) or somewhat straight (when it gets longer). It also can easily become oily if I do not wash often enough or if I pile on the products. I do not heat style my hair often. I probably use a blow drier a few times a month and usually only when I'm running late or its really cold outside. I ride horses and have to put my hair up inside my helmet where it gets sweaty and damaged by hairnets and hair bands. This stuff makes my hair feel amazing. I don't have a bottle with a pump so I can not attest to how many pumps I use, but I can say I use around a pea sized blob from the ends of my hair up to just below my ears. My hair is layered and reaches a little past BSL. I usually use it after applying my silicone free leave in, in the hopes that it seals in the natural moisturizing ingredients. It really does reduce drying time. It seems like minuets after applying it my hair is almost completely dry. It smells really good, kinda odd but good. It makes me think of clean laundry fresh out of the dryer. I'm sure my small bottle will last forever so while it is initially more expensive, in the long run it is no more expensive than lesser quality/inexpensive products that require me to use 3 or 4 times the amount. Yes, I will be buying this again when I run out.
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