Primer/ Corrector -Unlisted Brand - Milk of Magnesia
JadelynKaia 6/1/2012 4:14:00 PM
I have absurdly oily skin. Like, I would do my makeup at 7, leave at 7:30, by the time I use the bathroom at work around 10 or so, I would already be shiny. I have managed to get it kinda under control with Garden of Wisdom's face care products (Green Tea Shea Cleanser, Sebum Control Serum, Raspberry Fruit Spray, Coconut Renewal Cream) so that I could make it to early afternoon before I started blinding people with my reflective forehead, but I was still having to pour on the shine killer (literally, Evil Shades' loose powder named Shine Killer) every afternoon and would still be oily when I got home. With this, I don't have to blot or powder at all, and by the time I go to wash my makeup off at night, I am only mildly glowy, nothing anyone would think of as out of the ordinary! I pour a little bit into the cup that comes with it, dab a cotton round in that, squeeze off excess - you want a really light coating otherwise it doesn't dry well - and swipe over oily areas. (For me, that's my whole face, but if you have combo skin or just an oily t-zone, stick to using it only where you need it, because MOM can be drying to normal skin.) Let it dry, it'll look powdery white on your skin, then put on your makeup and you're good to go! I actually use this under my BB cream in the mornings, so my routine is "cleanser - serum - MOM - BB cream". I wasn't sure about using a primer under BB creams, since they also function as a moisturizer and you don't normally put primer under a moisturizer? But it works fine for me. Hope this helps those who are having trouble making this work! Oh. One more thing. DO NOT BUY THE FLAVORED KINDS THEY DO NOT WORK AS WELL. Get the regular flavor, not the mint or pink or whatever. They have sugars and additives that make it tacky on the skin and interfere with your foundation.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Unlisted Brand - Morgana Cryptoria - Fire Sparks
JadelynKaia 5/29/2012 1:45:00 PM
I love Morgana Cryptoria's gloss formula. It is hands-down the best one I've ever found - slick without bleeding at the edges, creamy, not sticky or goopy, and wears down beautifully to a soft stain. (And it takes several hours to wear down; this gloss sticks around on me even through eating and drinking.) It's very shimmery, but doesn't feel gritty. I'm absurdly picky about lippie formulas, as my lips are extremely sensitive and tend to react poorly to most products (peeling, drying out, etc), and Morgana's gloss gives me no problems at all, so consider that high praise and a very good recommendation! This particular shade wears on me as a deep cool-toned pink warmed up by a coppery-golden sheen. The reason I didn't give this 5 stars, as much as I love it, is the packaging. I bought the smaller size, which came in a small pot. If I had known how much of a PITA that packaging would be, I probably wouldn't have bought it until I could afford the bigger tube. The pot doesn't fully seal, so I have to wrap it in a tissue or paper towel before putting it in my purse for the day, and it is goopy and messy when I open the pot to apply. Thankfully, the pots and large tubes have been discontinued in favor of small tubes. I'll actually probably repurchase this color before I run out, just so I can have it in user-friendly packaging for on-the-go. Now, if only it were available in a wider range of "everyday" shades...the blues and purples and such are pretty, but I'm pretty sure my office would frown on me wearing that to work.
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Lip Treatments -Unlisted Brand - The Lip Slip- Sara Happ
JadelynKaia 5/25/2012 2:27:00 PM
I have the "gloss" version, but from what I hear it's almost the same thing anyway. I only bought the gloss because I wanted a kind of packaging I wouldn't have to stick my fingers into or use a lip brush for. So it's a pretty fantastic lip balm. I have perpetual problems with chapped and dry and peeling lips, which is exacerbated by the fact that I love lippies of all kinds, but my lips do not, and I wear them anyway. I got this on Wednesday, and have been wearing it almost constantly since then. As of midmorning Friday, my lips are not chapped at all, and with all lippies wiped off, they're still smooth and pretty soft. The gloss has a really seriously sticky texture, so if that bothers you, steer clear. It sorta bothers me, but I can deal with it if I apply a VERY thin layer, and I personally feel it's worth the texture to get the smoothing and softening benefits. YMMV. As a gloss, it leaves a nice subtle shimmer and shine, and it definitely sticks around forever. Worth the price tag? Depends. If you're ok with the texture enough to use it regularly, and have lips that don't get enough benefit from regular balms, yes, totally worth it. Otherwise, I'd try cheaper alternatives first.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Hair -Sally Hansen - No-Heat Gel Wax Strips
JadelynKaia 5/25/2012 1:22:00 AM
Edited to add, one week later: DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT. If you absolutely MUST try it, please test it on a small inconspicuous area of your face first! It's now been a week and I have the worst breakout I've had since I was 16, all along my jawline and chin where I used the strips. I haven't changed a single thing else about my face care routine, so I know it's these strips. I'm just glad I didn't need to use it on my upper lip, because I can hide a breakout on my jawline a lot easier than one in the middle of my face... I bought the ones for face and bikini, to use on my face. It got...*most* of the hair off. Eventually. But it took me longer than using a depilatory cream would have (which is what I normally do), and I had to do a lot of tweezing to help things along, and went over areas multiple times. And I still have patches where I can feel fuzz if I run my fingers over it! Oh, and it gave me a nice half-dozen little mini-zits along my jawline. Such a thoughtful parting gift! Edited to add: another 12 hours later (so about 24 hours after the original use), I now have probably two dozen small zits/whiteheads, pretty much covering the whole area of my face that I used these stupid things.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyes -Milani - Shadow Eyez - 03 Champagne Toast
JadelynKaia 5/23/2012 12:10:00 PM
I've now bought all of the shades they offer so far except the white one which was sold out (this one, a bright turquoise, royal purple, forest green, and slightly bronzy chocolate), and I really hope they come out with more! This shade is, as best I can tell, a really close dupe for Stila Kitten. (I can't say for sure as I don't own Kitten myself, but I have another drugstore shadow which several bloggers had rec'd as a dupe for Kitten, and this pencil matches that almost exactly, so yeah.) It does set a little fast, so you'll want to keep your blending brush handy while you're applying these. But it's a great color, well-pigmented, smooth-applying, and long lasting - I have oily lids of doom, and this over TFSI with no powder shadows on top lasted me through a full workday (although I probably wouldn't try to make it last through an evening out as well). Be careful when you cap it, though - I've already gone through one of these and had to buy a new one, because one review I read advised keeping them tightly capped to prevent them drying out, and I was, shall we say, a little vehement? About getting it on tightly. And broke the cap and smushed the point of the pencil. So there's a happy medium, but yes, do make sure the cap is on tight, as I've had the cap pop off the purple one in my bag once already.
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Cleansers -Garden of Wisdom - Jen's Green Tea/Shea Cleanser
JadelynKaia 5/2/2012 12:08:00 AM
I have absurdly oily skin, mildly acne-prone, and sensitive as well. I've been on a quest for years to find some combination of products that would help me get it under control. Well, I've found it! And this cleanser is the star. I use the gentle version morning and night, with GoW's sebum control serum, anti-blemish gel if necessary, a light spritz of raspberry fruit mist, and their coconut magic cream moisturizer. This cleanser is effective enough to clear away my usual oily excess (and my makeup, and the ten tons of blotting powder I have to use throughout the day), but extremely mild and neutral enough to not irritate my skin or cause breakouts. It's an absolute HG for me! On the downside, the smell is...pretty terrible, to me. But I feel it's worth it for the performance I get out of the cleanser. The price, too, is a bit steep for its size, but well worth it, especially as you barely need a pea-sized amount each wash.
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Top/Base Coats -Sally Hansen - Salon Speed Shine 10 Day Top Coat
JadelynKaia 2/21/2012 12:22:00 AM
It's a quicker-drying polish than I expected, and I like the thinner consistency a lot better than Poshe and Seche Vite. It's not as shiny as Seche, or the Milani Glosse topcoat that's my usual go-to, but it's a great backup polish when you're between bottles of your usual topcoat!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Hair -Jerome Russell - Punky Color
JadelynKaia 8/15/2011 4:26:00 PM
This product stained ALL THE THINGS, seriously. And the results were nowhere near good enough to be worth the trouble. I have mid-back-length wavy hair that I have been dying red with Garnier Intense Auburn box dye for several years. I decided to try Punky Color in Red Wine layered over my current color and ashy-brown roots without bleaching, hoping the "highlighted effect on unbleached hair" would be enough to bring the red back to vivid and camouflage the roots. First of all, it was a pain in the ass to apply, taking twice as long as my usual. I let it sit for about an hour after applying, then hopped in the shower to rinse (I'm not a contortionist and I live alone, so I can't stick my head over a sink or in the tub to rinse without it rinsing down my body). All down the back of me was dyed brilliant hot pink from the dye rinsing out, and my tub was so badly stained I grabbed the cleaner and started spraying and rinsing WHILE I WAS STILL IN THE SHOWER RINSING, because I was afraid the color would set and I'd lose my deposit over some shitty ass hair dye. It took an hour to rinse thoroughly, then even after it was fully dry, it stained my shirt, my hairbrush, my hair straightener that I used the next day, and my fingers while I was trying to style it. And the color? On the length, it's nice and vibrant. On the roots? Pffft. "Highlighted effect" not so much. More like a faint pinkish tinge to the skin and a very slight softening of the roots line. It's been two days and I'm sick of ruining my clothes and staining my skin and hair styling implements. I'm going to be doing my usual Garnier dye over this shit tonight and hope that stops it. Unless you really need the unnatural colors and are going to bleach and everything, don't even bother with this crap, it's not worth the pain in the ass. Even if you do need that kind of green/blue/purple/whatever color, I'd go with Manic Panic, which I've used before and which didn't stain my whole apartment like this one does.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Wet 'n' Wild - Idol Eyes - Creme Shadow Pencil - Pixie
JadelynKaia 6/13/2011 4:48:00 PM
I bought these to try instead of the NYX pencils, and I have to say, I'm really disappointed. I might use them as a base sometime, but I really wanted them to use standalone because the colors are so lovely. This morning I tried the purple one for the first time. I put it on, did the rest of my makeup, shot a quick vlog (<10 min) and left. Getting into my car to leave, I checked my makeup in my rearview mirror, and THE PENCIL SHADOW HAD ALREADY CREASED. That's under half an hour wear time. I used a mattifying powder primer AND TFSI under it, a combination I've been using forever and which keeps all my other products neatly in place, but this acted like a cheap eyeshadow swiped onto bare, oily lids. I can't believe I didn't even get a full hour of wear time out of this, and it was so pretty too! >.<
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Polishes -Zoya - Yasmeen
JadelynKaia 3/13/2011 11:56:00 PM
Everyone raves about Yasmeen, and while it's a pretty color - deep rich purple with reddish-gold shimmer - I was mildly disappointed because Zoya's website describes it as a "cool" purple, but the warm-toned shimmer warms it up so much it was almost burgundy most of the time that I looked at it. It's a nice color, but not really what I wanted. Oh, well. I'm sure I'll still wear it occasionally.
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