Eyeliner -Make Up For Ever - Waterproof Eyepencil in Pearly Brown 2L
KamiSue 2/22/2012 11:10:00 PM
This was my first MUFE liner purchased and it got me hooked. It goes on so smoothly and its staying power is excellent on my dry skin. It can “migrate” away from where you put it, maybe if you’ve used too much eye cream, but it doesn’t really smear once set. I now curl my lashes with my Shiseido curler prior to applying my eyeliner, otherwise some liner will transfer to the curler and you’ve got to work to get it off the curler. This was also the first brown liner I’d ever bought and I really adore this pearly colour. It’s a softer look than my usual black liner and the gleam makes it just a little different. Urban Decay’s 24/7 and MAC’s Powerpoint eye liners work just as well for me, but for just a couple of dollars more than the MAC, MUFE gives my makeup bag a little French joie-de-vivre.
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Misc Beauty Tools -Shiseido - Eyelash Curler
KamiSue 2/20/2012 8:17:00 PM
After trying both the Shiseido and Shu Uemura eyelash curlers, this Asian woman is decidedly a fan of the Shiseido curler. After using the Shu for many years, I finally purchased a Shiseido eyelash curler as a Japanese “souvenir” over two years ago at the Narita Airport in Tokyo. There were three Shiseido eyelash curlers on display: a regular size, a wider size and a partial curler for inner or outer lashes. The sales associate recommended the wider size, to be used for bigger eyes, for me. Since the day I took it out the packaging, I’ve never gone back to the Shu. My one problem with the Shu was that I’d routinely get my lashes pinched in the curler. The Shiseido has never pinched and manages to get my stick straight lashes to curl. I love that the curler came with a replacement pad and the cool gunmetal colour hides the inevitable eye shadow and liner transfer. I’d bought the Shu based on what I’d read in magazines, but if I’d done more research I would have purchased the Shiseido first and saved my wallet and lashes from some damage.
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Eyeliner -Make Up For Ever - Aqua Eyes Pencil in Shimmering Plum 4L
KamiSue 6/25/2009 12:53:00 PM
Stay away from the 4L, but do try other MUFE Aqua Eyes eyeliners as they are fabulous! This was the third MUFE Aqua Eyes eyeliner that I've purchased in the last five months. I purchased the 2L (pearly brown) and loved it so much (I was wearing it every day for two months!) that I purchased the 1L (star black). I thought I'd add a purple to my eyeliner collection and bought the 4L as it was more a true purple than the 6L (purple black). The 4L just doesn't work on your eyelid. It will glide across the back of your hand when you test it in the store, but it doesn't draw a nice smooth line on your eyelid. I took it back to Sephora and exchanged it for the 6L and I'm happy!
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Fragrances -Narciso Rodriguez - essence
KamiSue 5/14/2009 12:11:00 PM
Essence made a visually-striking first impression with me. This perfume’s name, combined with its lustrous, silver flask-like bottle made me think the contents might be pure, strong (perhaps almost masculine?) and, hopefully, refreshingly intoxicating. My expectations, in hindsight, were high based on NR’s first perfume (I almost fell in love with his initial offering, but didn’t purchase as I conceded that it definitely smelled more delicious on my gorgeous friend, Joy, who was also at the perfume counter with me). I totally agree that it all depends on an individual’s body chemistry as to how a scent will smell on them. So I thought the perfume might smell “pure” and I did get an undiluted “green” note, but it was very shrill, with no floral, fruit or wood notes to enhance it or mellow it. I thought this fragrance might be strong and it definitely was assertive, but it was more brash than confident. I was hoping for refreshingly intoxicating and instead I was feeling like I was hung over --- a little queasy and on the verge of a headache. I’m surmising that this is supposed to be a “fresh” scent, as it smelled overwhelmingly of Palmolive dishwashing detergent and freshly cut grass on me. Essence is essentially too much of a singularly unpleasant note for me. Note: For others also not charmed by essence, I did try Bulgari’s fairly new perfume, Omnia Green Jade EDT, at the same time. While I didn’t swoon over Green Jade, it’s pretty and I think it’s a more successful and nuanced attempt at a “fresh”, daytime scent than essence. On me, Green Jade’s got soft floral and “aquatic” notes and has good lasting power for an EDT.
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Lip Treatments -Bath and Body Works - le couvent des minimes honey and shea butter lip balm
KamiSue 3/17/2009 6:01:00 PM
The yummy honey scent of this balm makes me happy. I rub this on my lips and I instantly feel relaxed, so relaxed that somehow I don’t freak out about the mysterious white bits in this balm and the fact that I have apply this product by sticking my finger in the balm’s pot. I just keep rubbing in the balm until most of the white bits end up on my finger and then I manually pick off the few bits that might be left on my lips. My lips end up looking so soft and moist and smelling so good! This is fantastic because the second I don’t wear any lip product, my full lips go dry, flaky and white. Previously I was using Labello by Nivea’s SOS balm in the tube; it had a slight “chemical” smell, but I preferred that to really fake minty or fruity scents, and it worked for me. I found this balm as I wanted a more “natural” scented balm and I purchased it in a two for one offer, which worked out to $7 CDN/pot. As much as I love this balm’s scent and it works for me (after picking white bits off my face!) I think that’s the most money I’m prepared to spend on lip balm. EDIT: 03/27/09 GinnyGordon emailed me and advised me to pop the balm pot, without the lid, into the microwave. Genius! When the balm solidified, it was completely smooth. Bee-you-tiful!
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Mascara -Smashbox - Bionic Mascara
KamiSue 2/5/2009 12:51:00 PM
Bionic, huh? Well I arranged a match between Bionic and L’Oréal’s Voluminous mascara, and stroke for stroke on my lashes, Voluminous knocked out Bionic and made it look like a 99-pound weakling. I’m Asian and my lashes are stick-straight but surprisingly long. I need mascara that thickens and plumps my lashes. Bionic made my lashes look a little longer and blacker, but still puny. I like the black tube’s long, sleek and minimalist design, but its contents are weak and anaemic.
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Hair -Moroccanoil - Moroccan Oil
KamiSue 1/19/2009 1:31:00 PM
Using Moroccan Oil has become a beauty ritual for me. I bought this product five months ago from my hair salon and it’s become a lovely part of the boring task of drying my hair. I carefully pour a teensy tiny amount of oil from the dark brown, glass bottle (I like its old-school, apothecary-style) into my palm until it spreads into a thin, dime-sized blob and massage it into the ends of my hair. It absorbs easily into my hair and I adore the smell, which I would say is Oriental. My hair is very low maintenance as I have short, straight, Chinese hair that is currently not coloured. I like my hair to look super healthy and shiny, with no flyaways. I’m not a hair product addict (I might treat myself to a Bumble & Bumble product at my salon once in a blue moon) and I have to admit I balked when I heard the price (CDN $40 incl. taxes!), but I’m happy with this purchase. This product didn’t revolutionize my hair, but it did make it shinier, softer and delicious smelling. As only need a tiny amount is required for use, I can rationalize the price as this bottle will last me two years. Interesting fact: Moroccan Oil is made in Israel.
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Fragrances -Ralph Lauren - Notorious
KamiSue 12/1/2008 3:27:00 PM
The folks at Ralph Lauren would have been more truthful if they had called this perfume Noxious. Did anyone smell this before it was released, or was everyone busy spending their time and millions of dollars coming up with an intriguing name, a pretty bottle and an elegant ad? The concept of a fragrance that captures the essence of a 1940s, film noir femme fatale sounds dangerously glamorous, but the execution of the juice is a fiasco. I’ve been smelling all the new fall 2008 fragrances (Shiseido’s Zen, Vera Wang’s Look, DSquared2’s She Wood, Boucheron’s B, Versace’s Bright Crystal, David Yurman, Juliet Has a Gun’s Citizen Queen, etc.) and this perfume is the worst one I’ve sampled. It’s not the most repulsive perfume I’ve smelled (that honour belongs to Alexander McQueen’s Kingdom), but I think I probably had a look of disgust on my face once I smelled this perfume on my wrist. All I could smell were asphyxiating fumes of alcohol and hairspray. I could not get to a sink fast enough to wash this stuff off.
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Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Wood by Dsquared
KamiSue 11/20/2008 1:45:00 PM
When I first spied this fragrance I’d felt that indescribably delicious feeling you get when you unexpectedly chance upon a fabulous find in the most ordinary of places. I’m deep into my hunt for a new daytime perfume and was checking out new fall 2008 fragrances at a local department store. I felt excited because I’d heard nothing about this fragrance and hoped that I was about to discover an unknown gem. DSquared2 clothing is not quite my personal style, but I appreciate their quirkiness and frequent references to Canada (only DSquared2 could make lumber jackets cool!). The perfume name and bottle design have definitely got that DSquared2 quirkiness. But I was a Feminité du Bois fan, so if you call your fragrance such a sillily simple name like She Wood, you’ve got my attention. The bottle unexpectedly blends modern and natural elements by combining that sleek Prada rectangular glass look with a bit of wood on the top of the bottle. But what really matters is the juice and there’s not much to say IMO. Wood smells pleasant. Whereas Feminité used to transport me to the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, She Wood makes me feel, and smell, like I’m dating a carpenter and I borrowed his sweater. The scent smells light, clean, woodsy and lacking in complexity. On me, this fragrance was unchanging once I applied it --- no different top, heart or base notes. I read at Elle.com that the Caten twins said, “We made our women’s fragrance pretending to make a men’s fragrance.” Yet there aren’t the darkly delicious wood or spice notes I wanted. I guess there was no hype for this fragrance because there’s not much to hype.
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Fragrances -Shiseido - Zen
KamiSue 10/15/2008 1:25:00 PM
I’ve enjoyed all the incarnations of Zen and I was extremely curious when I heard about the new, gold Zen and that it was a “fresh, floral woody scent. I’ve been looking for a new daytime oriental fragrance and Zen sounded perfect! After smelling some of the other new fall 2008 fragrances in a department store, Zen at first whiff seemed like it was a serious contender. When I sprayed some on a paper strip, I was drawn to this elegant yet warm, floral fragrance. I also admired the gorgeously simple, rectangular bottle with gleaming gold. From Shiseido’s website, Zen’s top notes are grapefruit, pineapple, blue rose; the middle notes are freesia, violets, lotus flower, Chinese rose and base notes are patchouli, musk and amber. I was hoping these delicious notes would add up to something lovely on me. I got a sample and discovered while the dry down is ok, my chemistry is mixing with something (violet?) in the middle notes to create “eau de old lady” which also happened when I tried Guerlain's Insolence and My Queen by Alexander McQueen. I'll continue to haunt the perfume counters...
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Polishes -Essie - 651 bermuda shorts
KamiSue 8/11/2008 1:06:00 PM
I should have visited MakeupAlley before purchasing this product! But I saw the Essie ads in several magazines and fell in lust with this shocking purple colour (what fuchsia is to pink, Bermuda Shorts is to purple...at least in the bottle anyway). I was thrilled to nab the last bottle on the shelf and that was the last time I felt exhilarated about this colour. This polish goes on disturbingly matte. I did two coats then brushed on Sally Hansen Megashine top coat. When I moved to a different room with different light, I saw that the polish on my big toes looked really streaky. Back I went to apply another coat of polish and another coat of top coat. I thought the colour now looked ok, but in the fluorescent lights at work today, I see my toes look streaky. This was my first Essie purchase and the only positive comment I can make is that I like chic, minimalist look of the bottle. But I'm looking for both substance and style and this product definitely didn't deliver.
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Fragrances -Nina Ricci - Premier Jour
KamiSue 11/16/2007 7:07:00 PM
I’ve been wearing Premier Jour since it was introduced in 2001 and I still adore this “floriental” scent. It’s a wonderfully soft fragrance that’s also quite sensual; it’s feminine but not girlish. The delicate yellow mandarin note brightens this fragrance and keeps it fresh and not too sweet. The middle notes are gardenia and vanilla orchid; the base notes are musk and sandalwood. I love this perfume’s subtlety. Once you’ve sprayed some on, it’s almost as if this delicious scent is coming from your skin naturally and not from a bottle. The bottle itself looks like an off-kilter stack of chunky, frosted and clear Lucite bangles. Nina Ricci has again used frosted and clear elements, but this modern bottle design is not destined to be a classic like L’Air du Temps. This is a perfect daytime scent (I wear it at night too) and I think it would be acceptable if your honey was fragrance-phobic. Soft, serene and sensual.
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Lipstick -Lola Cosmetics - Lip Creme-Penelope
KamiSue 10/24/2007 5:38:00 PM
Whenever I reach for my Penelope l/s, I’m reminded of Odysseus and his loyal wife Penelope. Although Odysseus has many, many adventures far from home, Penelope turns away other suitors for 20 years and remains faithful to him until they are reunited. Although I have several other l/s in rotation, I return again and again to Penelope (my first Lola purchase). It’s my tried and true “neutral” l/s and a great everyday lip colour. It’s a pinky, brownish shade that doesn’t wash me out, but provides a tiny bit of “pop”. The texture is creamy, moist and highly pigmented; this l/s is unscented. The packaging is more sassy and fun than chic. The red case is easy to spot in a crowded bag and the built-in mirror is clever and super convenient. It’s an expensive ($26 CDN) but worthy treat. Love it!
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Fragrances -Calvin Klein - Euphoria
KamiSue 10/18/2007 2:06:00 PM
Two years ago I was looking for a new night time fragrance: something bolder than the softer fragrances I’d been wearing (Nina Ricci’s Premier Jour and Calvin Klein’s Contradiction) --- not to replace them but to round out my fragrance wardrobe. I patiently headed to a perfume counter whenever a new fragrance debuted. L’Instant de Guerlain and YSL’s Cinéma were contenders for my new fragrance (yes, I adore Oriental perfumes). During the Toronto International Film Festival in 2005, I had time to kill between films so I headed to a department store to see what was new. It was then that I fell in love at first whiff with Euphoria. When a perfume is right for you, you just know it. There’s no need to have your friend offer their opinion, after sniffing your wrist, if they think that a perfume suits you. I love the tart initial notes of persimmon and pomegranate, then the heart of black orchid and lotus blossom and the lingering base notes of amber and wood. The silver bottle is modern, elegant and stylish; the purple juice inside complements the deep purple bottle of Shiseido’s Feminité du Bois on my dresser. I spray on Euphoria and I feel sophisticated, sexy and a bit mysterious. Last summer I rushed to meet a friend at a screening of Paris, Je T’aime. The movie had already started, so I located my friend in the dark theatre and sat down, Euphoria wafting around me. We enjoyed watching all the different short films paying homage to one of the most fabulous and intoxicating cities of the world. Then as the credits rolled, my friend turned to me and asked, “What’s the name of the perfume you’re wearing?”
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Polishes -L'Oreal - Pro Manicure Nail Polish - Caught Red-Handed 470
KamiSue 10/4/2007 4:26:00 PM
I ended up buying Caught Red Handed after I resisted buying Stiletto by SpaRitual. I spied the rich, burgundy red Stiletto in a beauty boutique and almost splurged on the beautiful colour, but I really couldn’t justify spending $14 CDN on nail polish. I hit the drugstore determined to find a great red for fall and was delighted to discover Caught Red Handed. (I love a clever product name and I think L’Oreal’s name is just as fun as SpaRitual’s.) The colour seemed a good match to the glamorous Stiletto at less than half the price! CRH goes on smoothly, has good opacity and comes in a simple and elegant bottle. The colour is fabulous and as rich as rubies. I think CRH would complement a lot of skin tones. I’m pale and have received a lot of compliments on my CRH clad toes, but I’ll be using it for my hands as well. CRH is a sexy, sophisticated and expensive looking colour that’s perfect for the polished look of fall 2007.
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