Skincare - Body -Clarins - Bust Beauty Extra-Lift Gel
ForgetfulDebbie 1/18/2013 6:32:00 PM
If you're expecting a miracle, you won't find it here (in fact, I don't think you'll find it ANYWHERE). However, this is by far the best product of its kind that I've come across. Unlike most bust gels, it's very pleasant to use, has no offensive odor, isn't yucky or sticky, and, over time, definitely provides a subtle, but unquestionably noticeable firming and lifting of the bust. I'll definitely keep buying it. My only complaint is that it goes VERY fast, so, while a bottle isn't prohibitive in cost, given that a bottle will only last you 3-4 weeks, it's definitely pricey.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Tinted Moisturizer -NARS - Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer
ForgetfulDebbie 6/16/2012 5:48:00 PM
OMG where has this stuff been all my life?!?!?! I've never found a foundation that I liked and for the longest time all I've used was Monistat Chafing Relief Powder Gel as a primer (it's the BEST by the way) followed by Makeup4ever HD powder. But, I really wanted something to even out my skintone. AND, in the interest of simplicity and paring down what I was layering on my face, I wanted it to have a sufficient SPF. I tried a series of the top-rated tinted moisturizers and bb creams. NONE worked for me. Either they left my face looking like an oilslick (beware of products that promise "dewy" pffft) or they balled up and rolled off my skin as if I was in the final stages of a medium peel. Ugh. FINALLY, with the lowest of expectations, I tried this. WOW!!! It's just fantastic. But for the totally flawless image looking back at you in the mirror, you'd never know there was anything on your face! I no longer need a primer or a sunscreen and I only occasionally will dust with powder. I'm seriously considering buying a bunch of the stuff and stockpiling it!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Primer/ Corrector -Hourglass - Veil Mineral Primer SPF 15
ForgetfulDebbie 6/16/2012 5:38:00 PM
I thought I would love this product since I'm a big fan of Hourglass products. I didn't. Not only did I not love it, I have to say I disliked it enough to return it (very rare for me). It didn't do much as a primer and it caused anything I used over it to ball up. Back to my hg Monistat Chafing Relief Powder Gel ;-)
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Styling Products -Living Proof - No Frizz Wave Shaping Curl Defining No Frizz Styling Spray for fine to medium hair
ForgetfulDebbie 3/6/2009 7:41:00 PM
Earlier, I reviewed Living Proof's No Frizz Straight Making Styling cream for medium to thick hair. (Yes, I loved it) I also wanted to try one of the Wave Shaping products. I couldn't decide whether to go for the cream or the spray. My hair really isn't fine, but I was afraid of that crunchy feeling that you get with some curl defining products, so I decided I'd try the spray. My hair isn't curly. It's wavy. Well, actually, it's sort of a hybrid between wavy and not wavy. I've NEVER been able to just wash my hair and go. I either style it straight or use one device or another to curl it (although I don't do this very often because it takes too much time). When I do curl it, it holds the curl well enough, but I've also wished I could get those fantastic, beachy, sexy waves without having to do any work. Well, I'm happy to report that the Wave Shaping spray has FINALLY allowed me to wash-and-go. I sprayed it on my damp hair, scrunched it a bit and off I went. Frizz free waves ALL day without that crunchy, almost wet-looking hair that accompanied any other "curl defining" stuff I had tried. It's a very lightweight spray that dries super fast and leaves hair with incredible shine and ZERO. Apparently, the lightweight polymer is what's responsible for giving your waves and curls just the perfect amount of added definition. It really is great stuff ! Ingredients. SD Alcohol 40-B, Water, PolyfluoroEster, VP/Vinyl Caprolactam/DMAPA Acrylates Copolymer, Fragrance, Dipropylene Glycol, C10-40 Isoalkylamidopropylethyldimonium Ethosulfate, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Styling Products -Living Proof - Straight Making No Frizz Styling Cream for Medium to Thick
ForgetfulDebbie 3/6/2009 7:15:00 PM
My hair is cut in long layers and, although I've been coloring my hair for a long time, it's generally very healthy. But, let a little humidity enter the picture and I'm miserable. I HATE FRIZZ. My hair looks good curly, wavy, and stick straight. It NEVER looks good when frizz sets in. Although some mua members are generally very down on products that contain silicones, my hair tolerates silicone well enough, but I'm just not crazy about it. It's also the case that its effects don't really last. So, when I first read about this product, it definitely perked my interest. I didn't necessarily believe the hype that claimed it was the biggest breakthrough in haircare in 30 years (yes, I confess, I'm a little bit cynical about grandiose claims), but I still put it on my list of things to try. I only got around to trying it about a week ago. My comments? WOW ! No really - I mean it W O W !!! This stuff is thoroughly amazing! It's a really lovely, velvety lotion/cream. I didn't have to use very much of it at all and I must say it TOTALLY ELIMINATES frizz. The first time I used it, the weather was really miserable: pure mist in the air. On top of that, the garage where I normally park my car was undergoing some kind of maintenance so I parked like 5 blocks from my office. Normally, this would be a recipe for hair disaster. My hair looked absolutely fantastic and it stayed that way all day. The next day? Still fantastic! This stuff doesn't seem to leave any kind of tangible residue. Two days later? STILL no heavy, greasy, oily feeling! I honestly don't know how I ever lived without this stuff. It isn't cheap, but I have ALOT of hair, and just a little goes a long way. If you haven't tried this stuff yet, and you have ANY kind of frizz issue, get your butt over to Sephora, or wherever and get yourself some of this stuff. You won't be sorry. BTW, I also tried the Curl Making stuff. I'll review that separately..... Ingredients: Water, PolyfluoroEster, Myristyl Alcohol, Polyacrylate-13, PEG-8 Stearate, PPG-2 Myristyl Ether Propionate, Polyisobutene, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Fragrance, Polysorbate 20, Sorbic Acid
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -NIA 24 - Skin Strengthening Complex
ForgetfulDebbie 1/12/2009 10:46:00 PM
Having just stepped up the strength of my Retin A as well as coping with dread DRY forced air heating at work, I found that I needed something additional that was moisturizing without adding oiliness. I had been using Solvere to compensate in the meantime, but ran out and found that I had a bunch of samples of this product that I had neglected. I'm so happy I finally got around to trying this stuff. It really is EXCELLENT, expecially at night. I wake up with skin that is incredibly soft and "plumped." Even when I lose sleep, I look well rested. In fact, I'm pleased enough with this that I've decided that it will replace the Remergent product I was using. I like this better, it's less costly (though certainly not cheap), and now I don't have to mourn the fact that Remergent has now been gobbled up by the Estee Lauder monster. Although I've been generally pleased with the Remergent, this gives me better results. I'm also impressed with the literature on this product, both for the ingredients (listed below) and the delivery system. Definitely deserving of 5 lippies. Ingredients: Water, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Myristyl Nicotinate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Cyclomethicone, Squalane, Butylene Glycol, Dimethicone, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Cetyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Polyacrylamide, Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed Extract, Juglans Regia (Walnut) Seed Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary ) Leaf Extract, Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Oil, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Pentadecalactone, Methyldihydrojasmonate, Dodecahydro3a,6,6,90-tetramethylnaphtho(2,1b)furan, Myristica Frangrans (Nutmeg) Kernel Extract, Maltol, Ceramide 3, Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A Palmitate), Sodium Hyaluronate, Ceramide 2, PEG-8, Phospholipids, Tribehenin, PEG-10 Rapeseed Sterol, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Dimethicone Crosspolymer-3, BHT, Laureth-7, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Polysorbate 60, Diazolidinyl Urea, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Methylparaben, Propylparaben.
9 out of 9 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments (Eye) -Unlisted Brand - Relastin Eye Silk
ForgetfulDebbie 1/12/2009 10:27:00 PM
On a recent out of town trip I managed to forget my usual eye product. I had a bottle of this tucked away in my travel kit and considered it a stroke of luck - fate - whatever..... I had purchased this based on raves I'd read but, truth be told, I never got around to using it since I purchased another eye product that I ended up loving right around the same time. I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE HYPE THAT SURROUND THIS STUFF!!!! I didn't hate it - it didn't do any damage. But, it also didn't do a single bit of good. It feels like a primer. Doesn't penetrate, doesn't moisturize, doesn't do anything positive as far as I can see. Also, I rarely complain about packaging, but this comes in one of those airless pumps that invariably fails to work. I had to twist it off and use a treatment pump from another product. Although this product isn't fabulously expensive, it's expensive enough to expect decent packaging. Grrrrr. I ended up going to the drugstore and picking something up there. It didn't compare to my usual eye product, but at least it moisturized, which is more than I can say for the Relastin. No matter what your particular eye needs are, you can do alot better than this stuff. I don't recommend it.
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Sun Science Nourishing Lip Therapy
ForgetfulDebbie 1/12/2009 5:12:00 PM
Wow.... WHERE has this stuff been all my life??? Winter always seems to take a terrible toll on my lips, and this year, with inlaws who recently located to Park City, Utah, I've already spent more time on the slopes than I have since college. During a recent trip out there, I threw a few sample tubes of this stuff that I got with a skincare rx order into my bag, figuring it could only help.... Wow..... yes, indeed, WOW WOW WOW. This stuff is amazing! It not only did a fantastic job of protecting my lips, but it made my lips look absolutely gorgeous; better than they look with all the gazillion different lip plumpers I've tried in fact! Not only that: unlike many other lip treatments, it's totally pleasant to use. The subtle peppermint taste and the fact that it has an SPF15 is a nice bonus. It also lasts! The cost? A mere $8.95 and right now, if you buy it at skincare rx, you can take an additional 15% off all Sun Science products. We've been back home for 2 weeks and I'm using this each and every day. My lips have never, ever looked so good. 5 lippies plus 5 more if I could.... Full ingredients follow below. Active Ingredients: Octinoxate 5%, Octisalate 3% Inactive Ingredients: Octyl Palmitate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Polyisobutene, Stevia Extract, Lanolin, Wheat Germ Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Flax seed oil, Vitamin E, Allantoin, Bees Wax, Balm Mint, Peppermint.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lotions/ Creams -LUSH - Lemony Flutter
ForgetfulDebbie 10/23/2008 5:15:00 PM
I'll repeat what I said when I reviewed LUSH's Buffy. I'm not a LUSH fan. I find their stuff to be overhyped and overpriced. With that said, this stuff is absolutely a must have. I don't have many products in my HG category, but this is one of em. Has been for quite some time. It keeps my tootsies purdy, virtually eliminates hard cuticles forever (important for me, cause if they're there, I bite them ! ), and it is moan and groan inducing from dh when I massage it into his feet. He's an avid runner and his feet take an incredible beating. He PLEADS for this stuff. Grin.
12 out of 20 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Scrubs -LUSH - Buffy the Backside Slayer
ForgetfulDebbie 10/23/2008 5:11:00 PM
In general, I find LUSH products to be overhyped, overpriced, and poorly packaged. That should give you an idea of just how much I have to love Buffy to give it 5 lippies! I've tried a multitude of other solid scrub bars, my favorite probably being the one from Go Bare Skincare. BUT, I always come back to Buffy. Probably always will too. ;-)
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Hair Color -Wella - Wellasol Color Remover
ForgetfulDebbie 10/17/2008 3:28:00 PM
I have dark hair that grows VERY fast. Normally, that wouldn't be something to complain about, except for my increasingly gray roots. I'm pretty careful about how I do my color, and I do it enough so that I'm very skilled at it. With all that said, however, this wouldn't be the first time that I ended up with way too dark, muddy haircolor. This time, I ran out of my normal Satin haircolor and dashed down to Sally's and bought some Wella Color Charm. Before you gals introduced me to Satin, it was my brand of choice and I never had a problem with it. This time it seemed to be one mishap after another. I had to settle for a shade other than the one I wanted. Then, when I was doing my hair, I got an emergency call from work that kept me on the phone - and kept my color on - way longer than expected..... In the past, when this has happened, I"ve used Color Oops with varying results. On the positive side, it does work (sometimes) without damaging my hair. On the negative side, as often as it does work, it doesn't. You also have very little control. So, when I couldn't find any Color Oops, I grabbed this stuff. At $8, it seemed to cost a bit less than Color Oops, but in fact, when I opened the box, I found six packets - enough for six applications - which makes this WAY cheaper than Color Oops, even after you include the cost of 20 v developer, which is what you mix the packets with. The box comes with instructions on how to achieve various levels of lift. It's easy to apply, and you can literally see it working. The longest you can safely keep it on your hair is 30 minutes, but it lifted the color from my hair in about 15 minutes. I washed it out, recolored, and my hair looks fantastic - better than it did when I started. And, if it did any damage to my hair, it most certainly isn't apparent. I'm much happier with this product than any other color remover I've used. I like the way it's packaged, I like the tremendous amount of control I have with it, and yeah, I like the price! I've already recommended it to several people at work and did so without the slightest bit of hesitation. Same here ; )
16 out of 18 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Treatments -Sally Hansen - Line Smoothing Mineral Lip Treatment in Alexandrite
ForgetfulDebbie 10/14/2008 2:40:00 PM
Columbus Day off meant reorganizing my bathroom cabinets and finding this (packaged with another shade) still in the wrapper. I embarassingly admit that I have no clue when I acquired this, but it looked so close to my beloved Hourglass lipgloss that I decided to try it. OMG! Ladies, I agree: RUN DO NOT WALK and get yourself some of this stuff. It is just wonderful!!! Uber smoothing, not sticky, and the color is pretty as can be. I'm also betting that it's universally flattering. A truly terrific find!
4 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Essie - Nailpolish
ForgetfulDebbie 10/14/2008 12:29:00 PM
My general experience with Essie is that your nail must be absolutely ridge free or the result is going to be very streaky, no matter how many coats you apply. For the price, it's hard to beat, though. I only use it on my fingernails after a coat of OPI Nail Envy. I know it would be a disaster on my toenails.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Sukí - SukiColor Pure Cream Stain - Dahlia
ForgetfulDebbie 10/11/2008 7:23:00 PM
I'm a big fan of the concept behind Suki and I enjoy the skincare line. Although I don't wear alot of makeup, I was excited when they launched Suki Color, and planned to try some of the line out right away. Ah, but as always, life intervened and I kind of forgot about it. But, since I had a gift card at makeup.com, and since they already give a hefty % back via ebates, I figured it was high time I gave some of the line a try. First up, the Cream Stain for Lip & Cheek.... Let's talk color first. I went for the Dahlia, which they describe as a deep,. rich natural red with brown undertones. To be honest, I was a little bit concerned. Often, when something is described as having brown undertones, the result is the color of LIVER ewwwwwwwwwwww!!! Not so here. This is a truly pretty natural red - very subtle and without question a good choice for me. As for the product itself, the list of ingredients, which I'll post at the end, is very impressive. The feel of this stuff is extremely creamy, luxurious, and super hydrating. Although I had originally planned on using it only on my lips, I've ended up using it on my cheeks as well. The natural pigment provides a healthy, totally natural flush. It's downright sweet! The subtle chamomile aroma is a beautiful and, I believe, beneficial bonus. The only minor drawback is that the color doesn't last very long on my lips. (It's fine on my cheeks, however.) This isn't surprising for a natural pigment based product though. All in all, I'm delighted with this and am now anxious to try some other items in the line. As promised, here are the ingredients: ingredients: organic sunflower seed oil, castor seed oil, non-gmo corn starch, candelilla wax, shea butter, beeswax, kaolin, organic rose hip seed oil, cetearyl alcohol, organic jojoba seed oil, carnauba wax, pure rose wax, organic mixed tocopherols, chamomile extract, tea tree leaf oil, fragrance (made only from pure, steam-distilled essential oils) [may contain: mica, titanium dioxide, iron oxides, carmine]
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Sally Hansen - Natural shine
ForgetfulDebbie 10/10/2008 12:02:00 PM
I purchased this in the hope of finding a replacement for my Neutrogena Instant Nail Enhancer and was sorely disappointed :(((( . It brushes on easily enough and it does indeed dry quickly. However, the finish isn't nearly as nice as the one the Neutrogena product achieved. While the finish isn't awful, it is strictly mediocre - not even as nice as when I just buff my nails. Even less desireable: by the very next day it was wearing out and visibly uneven and I really had done very little that would have stressed the condition of my nails. I won't purchase this again and I won't recommend it. I'm happier using Opi's Nail Envy Matte. But I truly mourn my beloved Neutrogena. Sigh.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No