Primer/ Corrector -Unlisted Brand - Luzier -- Powderbase Astringent
EffieH 2/25/2012 6:26:00 PM
I used Luzier Powderbase Astringent over 40 years ago when I was a teenager with extremely oily skin and acne, and it worked really well to dry up the oil and clear up my acne. I'm so happy to see they still sell it on their web site!
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Treatments -Peter Thomas Roth - Un-Wrinkle Peel Pads
EffieH 4/11/2011 8:38:00 PM
Okay -- I really wanted to love these pads based on all the glowing (pun intended) reviews here. My skin is not at all sensitive, although I do have rosacea I can use facial scrubs and glycolic acids with no problems, but these pads caused my rosacea to flare up every time I used them. But, to be honest, since my skin is not sensitive, I did use them for more like 30 to 45 minutes at a time since I had no burning or stinging, figuring more must be better, right? So, I'm going to give them another try, washing it off at three to five minutes, and using it just a few times a week, and I'll report back with an updated review and more lippies if it works!
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Scrubs -St. Ives - Green Tea Scrub
EffieH 4/11/2011 8:09:00 PM
I saw all the great reviews for St. Ives scrubs here at MUA so I bought a few sample sizes to see which one I liked the best, and this was it! It's very finely milled -- the first time I used it plain on dry skin and didn't realize how powerful it was -- I pretty much rubbed my face raw in a very short time! But now I use it regularly, it works great. I like it a lot better than the grainer scrubs, it gives me a much better and quicker dermabrasion with less scrubbing. It's very mild and doesn't dry my skin out -- but I almost always use my scrubs along with CeraVe hydrating cleanser which helps with any dryness. I have rosacea, so many of the acid/chemical type peels cause it to flare up, but I can use this scrub with no flare ups at all!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Conditioner -Burt's Bees - Super Shiny Grapefruit and Sugar Beet Conditioner
EffieH 4/10/2011 8:15:00 AM
I use the Burt's Bees super shiny shampoo and conditioner, and love them! They make my hair really shiny and strip it of any residue from other shampoos I use. I don't use it every day, only a couple of times a week. It's the only "shiny" shampoo and conditioner I have used that really does make your hair shiny!
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Shampoo -Burt's Bees - Super Shiny Grapefruit and Sugar Beet Shampoo
EffieH 4/10/2011 8:10:00 AM
I got this shampoo and the super shiny conditioner as part of a travel kit that I bought for an overnight stay at the hospital last November. I ended up not using it at the hospital, but I did try it later and I loved it! It's the first "shiny" shampoo I've ever used that actually makes my hair shiny! It does tend to strip your hair of oil, so if you have dry fly-away hair you probably won't like it. I only use it once or twice a week when I want to strip my hair of buildup from other shampoos. And when I use the conditioner with it, my hair is really fluffy and shiny! I love it!! My husband has oily thick hair and likes to use this shampoo every day.
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Powder -Too Faced - AMAZING FACE SPF FOUNDATION
EffieH 4/3/2011 6:46:00 AM
I bought this powder after seeing it MUA's most recently reviewed section -- bought the vanilla cream color and it is just great! I've been using Lauren Hutton's Aqua Elements foundation powder in pink (I'm 54 years old) and although I still love it, the color was a tiny tad too dark for me. But I've been using the Too Faced powder first, with a little bit of the Aqua Elements over it and WOW!! I've been getting so many compliments on my makeup now! The Too Faced Amazing Face really hides so many flaws, while looking perfectly natural! It also stays very matte on my skin without getting shiny later on in the day. I use a powder brush and not the applicator pad that came with it. AND the container it comes in is absolutely adorable!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -L'Oreal - Revitalift Radiant Smoothing Cleansing Towelettes
EffieH 2/27/2011 5:55:00 PM
I bought these on sale shortly before I had surgery last fall thinking I might not feel like washing my face afterwards, but never did use them until several weeks ago when I used them to take my makeup off before bed a few nights in a row. I developed an itchy red rash on my face and at that time I didn't realize that the towelettes had caused it. I switched to CeraVe cleanser which almost instantly got rid of the rash -- then a few nights ago I tried using one of these towelettes again with the itchy rash appearing the next morning and realized what had caused it! My skin gets a little sensitive in the dry winter air. I might be able to use these in the summer time, but don't plan to try them again.
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Sunscreen -DHC - White Sunscreen SPF 25
EffieH 2/27/2011 5:46:00 PM
I've been using this sunscreen for several years now -- its rather expensive but I really only use it around my eyes because other sunscreens run into them and burn so I try to use only really gentle zinc based sunscreens around my eyes. This one is extra moisturizing so at my age, 54, I really appreciate that. So sad they are discontinuing it!! There are other sunscreens I can use around my eye area, but this has been my favorite.
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Moisturizers -Cerave - Facial Moisturizing Lotion - PM
EffieH 1/30/2011 5:18:00 PM
I bought the CeraVe pm lotion to use in conjunction with the hydrating cleanser to clear up some dry itchy patches of skin on my face and upper eyelids that absolutely nothing else was helping. From the very first time I used them the dry scaly itchy patches just disappeared and have not returned!! Afterwards, I bought the AM lotion with the spf 30 and it is just as gentle -- I use the pm around my eyes and am on the rest of my face. Love this stuff!!!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -Cerave - Hydrating Cleanser
EffieH 1/30/2011 5:14:00 PM
I have used Cetaphil for years on my dermatologist's recommendation because I have rosacea. For the past couple of years as I've been getting older I've been getting some really dry itchy patches on my face and upper eyelids that absolutely nothing helped -- I did a little research and tried the CeraVe -- it was conveniently available at my local drugstore and from the first time I used it my dry itchy patches cleared up!! I use it to remove my makeup at night and it gets it all off, easily. I combine it will a little bit of DHC apricot scrub occasionally for my face,and use it plain around my eyes and my face is clean and soft afterwards. It doesn't even sting your eyes and removes eyemake better than anything else I've tried. This is my only facial cleanser from now on!!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Hair Color -Amphigory - Special Effects mixer/toner
EffieH 1/30/2011 4:59:00 PM
After having colored my hair blonde for the past 34 years, I discovered last summer that my hair was mostly silver and stopped coloring it. I've been trying various silver toners such as Manic Panic to whiten my silver, and thought I'd try the Special Effects Mixer/Toner. All I can say is "WoW!" -- I only left it on 17 minutes because some of the reviews I read said it can turn your hair purple, but it looks just awesome -- it really whitened my silver a lot and I'm very very pleased. I like it better than anything else I've yet tried ~ it's very thick and a little goes a long way.
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Hair -Manic Panic - Virgin Snow Toner
EffieH 1/17/2011 10:07:00 AM
I noticed all the reviews here are from younger women so I thought I'd review this product for the older women -- I'm 54 years old and just stopped bleaching my hair blonde last spring for the first time in over 30 years, and was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was now a soft silver color! I've been using the silver shampoos and conditioners, but wanted to highlight the silver hairs as much as possible without actually coloring my hair permanently, so I tried using the Manic Panic Virgin Snow with great results. It also helped tone down the blonde ends as they were growing out. This is a really good product for anyone wanting to highlight their silver hair.
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Concealers -Lauren Hutton - Sheer Concealer
EffieH 12/19/2010 11:10:00 AM
I'm 53 years old and gave up using concealers years ago because they just looked unnatural. I recently bought the Naturals Face Disc in PINK/LIGHT with the sheer concealer, and I have been just amazed at how natural this concealer looks! I've had increasingly dark circles and puffy bags under my eyes, and this concealer takes care of them while looking natural. It does not look like I have concealer on. For me it's kind of a miracle product. I also use it to highlight my eyelids and brows since it looks so natural. I've had so many compliments since I began using her Naturals face disc and definitely plan to refill the sheer concealer!! I love that all of her products are made for older women -- they really work for me!
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Loose Powders -Lauren Hutton - Lauren Hutton's Good Stuff Loose Powder
EffieH 12/19/2010 11:04:00 AM
This is actually a review of Lauren's Aqua Elements loose powder foundation -- I'm 53 years old with rosacea. I've tried several mineral powder foundations in the past, but found that they didn't go on smoothly or didn't have enough coverage for my imperfect skin. I like to wear moisturizer and sunscreen underneath my foundation and even the expensive mineral foundation powders would go on splotchy and looked terrible. Until I tired Lauren's loose powder foundation! I think she formulates this to go on over creams and moisturizers because her instructions say to use them first and then apply her dry products over them. This powder foundation goes on completely naturally over any creams or moisturizers I choose to use underneath it and gives me amazing coverage,even though my skin is ruddy from rosacea! I love this foundation and I plan to keep using it as long as it is available. It is so great to finally be able to use a powder foundation.
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Palettes -Lauren Hutton - Naturals Face Disk
EffieH 12/12/2010 12:23:00 PM
I'm 54 years old and was recently checking Makeup Alley for makeup to enhance my newly silver hair (I stopped coloring it this past Spring to discover that it is a really nice silver color) and came across the Lauren Hutton Face Disk. After a lot of research I bought the Naturals Face Disk in pink on eBay for a really reasonable price -- it was the 5 piece set with the Aqua Elements mineral foundation powder, lipstick, eyeshadow and mascara. I've gradually worn less and less makeup as I've gotten older because it just looked overdone and wasn't really helping me look younger or any better. I was used to comments like "you look so tired - are you feeling okay?" So when I saw that Lauren's makeup is specifically geared toward older women I was really excited. I've been using the Face Disk a few days now -- my favorite part is the sheer concealer. It looks so natural and Lauren's instsructions are perfect! I can't believe the difference in my undereye area and the sags around my nose and lips, which I thought no makeup could ever help!! It blends in so perfectly -- it's the first concealer I've tried that looks completely natural! I never even realized I had "pooches" until I read her instructions on how to hide them -- they were there and the pooch concealer hid them -- awesome!! And the mineral foundation -- I've tried BM before and hated it -- Iove their mineral veil but the foundation never went on my skin smoothly and it looked awful -- you pretty much have to have flawless skin to wear it. But Lauren's was wonderful! A little went a LONG way and looked really natural and smooth -- I have rosacea so I was worried it wouldn't give me the coverage I need, but it did! Another thing I LOVE LOVE LOVE is how she has you put a matte lip balm on your lips, and then pat the cheek powder color over it!! So innovative and so natural looking and it matches the color on my cheeks!! I've also tried eyebrow pencils before because I overplucked my eyebrows for so many years that they are now thin and sparse, too short on the inside by my nose, and have gaps. But all the pencils and powders I tried looked harsh and unnatural so I threw them away. But Lauren's eyebrow shadow applied with her brush is so subtle and looks perfectly natural, it just gives a hint of color that fills them in and lengthens them without looking fake or unnatural or harsh. It's just AMAZING!!!! My only dislike is the mascara that came with the kit --the color is good, but I have very short clear eyelashes that are basically invisible and I don't like mascaras where you have to use several coats to get them to lengthen and show up -- my favorite mascara has been the Loreal Telescoping in brownish black, but now I think I may try it in plain brown to go with the kit colors. I'm really in love with this kit and I think Lauren has done us older women a GREAT favor! I love how the colors are muted -- at my age I don't want a lot of noticeable color -- I want the color to look natural. I just can't believe how many compliments I've gotten on my HAIR (which hasn't changed) -- people can't tell it's my makeup that has changed because it is SO NATURAL looking! I've gotten where I don't like to leave the house without it, when I used to go clothing shopping I'd avoid looking at myself in the mirrors in the aisles because I looked so washed out and tired. Now when I catch sight of myself, I look NORMAL and almost pretty again! It's such a great feeling! I just absolutely love Lauren and I think she is a genius! UPDATE: I've now been using the naturals face disc for several months and I'm still getting so many compliments on everything BUT my makeup -- just yesterday a women told me that the color I was wearing looked GREAT on me -- but I know it's not the color of my blouse, it's Lauren's makeup!! I have to laugh, but I am flattered! My friends who are in on the secret compliment me almost daily on my "makeup!" And, about three weeks after I started using the facedisk, my young boss, (who was only 8 years old when I first started working at my job 24 years ago), came up to me and started giving me this big long speech on how impressed he was by my recent "stepping up of my game" and "coming on board" -- at first I was puzzled because I haven't done a darn thing differently than I have for the past year I've been working for him, but then I realized it was my makeup. Really. I saw Lauren on HSN the other night and she said that this makeup makes you look "smart" and I knew exactly what she meant. My boss just thought I had "stepped up my game!!" This is makeup for life -- I just can't thank Lauren enough! And although this kit might seem intimidating at first, for those of us who hate spending a lot of time on our makeup -- after you have used this for a while, the application time becomes quicker -- I can now have my makeup done in about five minutes! What is not to love?
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No