Concealers -Everyday Minerals - Sunlight Color Corrector
Dolphin315 8/31/2008 6:07:00 PM
I love this product. I use it to brighten my bluish under-eye area, to cover blemishes and tone down redness around my nose. I was surprised that the light yellow concealer works so well to cover redness. Also surprised that a powder concealer works well under my eyes - just a little moisturizer first and no settling into fine lines or anything like that. I bought the full size of this and I think it's a life-time supply! I probably should have stuck with the mini size.
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Concealers -Everyday Minerals - Mint Concealer
Dolphin315 8/31/2008 6:00:00 PM
I'm another one who's left with a grayish cast from this. I thought it would be good to cover redness around my nose and the mint green color looks pretty in the jar but even the littlest bit looks ashy. I'm surprised at how much better the yellow sunlight concealer works on my fair, pinkish skin.
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Blush -Vincent Longo - Lip and Cheek Gel Stain
Dolphin315 3/23/2008 3:06:00 PM
I'd been using Clinique Gel Blush as both a blush and lip stain for years. I appreciate multi-tasking products, especially for travel. Since the Clinique product seems to be discontinued (yet again!) I embarked on a mission to find a replacement. I ordered Vincent Longo's Lip/Cheek Gel Stain in My Sunshine, TheBalm's Stainiac in Beauty Queen and Napoleon Perdis Barely Blushing in Barely Buff. So far, Barely Blushing is in the lead as a product I can use easily for both lips and cheeks. As a cheek stain, I found this to look natural and the color lasted all day. I applied this by using the applicator to transfer some to my fingertips and then blending on to my cheeks. The consistency is very liquid-y but it blends smoothly as long as I'm quick about it. It's not at all sticky (which I found to the the case with the Stainiac. The color is fairly intense and a little goes a long way. I had high hopes for this on my lips but this color is just not right for me. I have fair skin with pink/blue undertones. My Sunshine was described as "a deep warm red" and looks OK on my cheeks but very orange on my lips unless I just apply the barest amount. When I apply this to my lips with the doe-foot applicator wand, I need to be extremely careful with application and even out the color with a lip brush quickly to avoid splotches. Because it's so long lasting, I will give this product a try in another shade to see if the blending issues would be better if I used a better color match. If Clinique brings their gel blush back, I'll go back to it but for now, I'm mostly using NP's Barely Blushing.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Napoleon Perdis - Barely Blushing
Dolphin315 3/23/2008 2:41:00 PM
I'd been using Clinique Gel Blush as both a blush and lip stain for years. Since it seems to be discontinued (again!) I embarked on a mission to find a replacement. I ordered Vincent Longo's Lip/Cheek Gel Stain in My Sunshine, TheBalm's Stainiac in Beauty Queen and Napoleon Perdis Barely Blushing in Barely Buff. So far, Barely Blushing is my winner as a product I can use easily for both lips and cheeks. Barely Buff was described on the Sephora website as "lustrous mauve" but I almost returned it without trying because it looked very peach-y in the tube and I have trouble with lip colors looking unnaturally orange against my fair pinkish skin. I'm so glad I tried it because the color looks lovely and natural on both lips and cheeks. Of the three products, this one offers the longest working time so it's easier to to blend evenly. It's light and not at all sticky. It holds up all day on my cheeks but is not as long lasting as the other two products as a lip stain. I thought I might prefer the other two products for lips as they come in tubes with doe-foot applicator wands and they were both longer lasting. However, they both require a good bit of care to ensure an even application while I can apply a dab of Barely Blushing with my pinky and distribute it nicely, even without a mirror. A little Paula's Choice lip balm over the top and my lips look pretty and natural. With the other two, I need to be quite careful with application and even out the color with a lip brush quickly to avoid splotches. Because it was so long lasting, I might give the Vincent Longo stuff a try in another shade to see if the blending issues would be better if I used a better color match. My Sunshine was described as "a deep warm red" and looks OK on my cheeks but very orange on my lips unless I just apply the barest amount. If Clinique brings their gel blush back, I'll probably go back to it but for now, I'm quite happy with NP's Barely Blushing.
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Lip Treatments -Paula's Choice - Lip and Body Treatment Balm
Dolphin315 3/23/2008 2:00:00 PM
I've been using this stuff for years and I still love it. Like others have said, it keeps lips smooth for hours. The consistency is perfect. It's not sticky like some glosses or hard and waxy like Chapstick and doesn't slide off like Vaseline. I keep one at home, one in my desk drawer at work plus a spare or two in the cupboard -it's one of the few things I stock up on because I'd just hate to run out. One drawback is the lack of of a convenient purse size so I transfer some into one of the sample size containers I have from Everyday Minerals. I like to put it on with a lip brush (to avoid greasy fingerprints on my iPhone!) over a lip stain for a long lasting, natural look. The price on this has gone up from around 5 or 6 dollars to 10 bucks a pop but I'll continue to purchase it.
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Cleansers -Paula's Choice - Skin Balancing Oil-Reducing Cleanser
Dolphin315 3/23/2008 1:41:00 PM
I use both this Skin Balancing Cleanser and the One Step Cleanser for normal/oily skin from Paula's Choice. I find this one (Skin Balancing) to be a bit more drying and use if when my skin is oilier. I also use it for travel because the thicker consistency is less likely to leak out of my travel bottles. It lathers just a bit and removes all my makeup very well. Packaging quality gets a ding because the flip top tends to break off before the container is empty when I purchase the larger size and the consistency is too thick to work well with the separately purchased pump. Paula's Choice raised their prices since my last purchase so I no longer think they're such a great deal and will be evaluating other options.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No