CD/Books/Movies -Unlisted Brand - The Skin Type Solution - Leslie Baumann MD
KarmaChameleon20 6/30/2008 1:58:00 PM
I first bought this book two years ago, when all the magazine editors were raving about it. I was 18 years old and knew nothing about my skin. I considered myself oily because I got the occasional pimple. I used acne systems like Neutrogena to help but ended up with flaky skin. Out of frustration I bought this book. And in retrospect, I'm very glad I did. It taught me everything there is to know about skin. Little did I know, I have dry skin. After following her product recommendations, my skin tone improved and the pimples, although not completely wiped out, were smaller, fewer, and far less frequent. Unfortunately, not all of her product recommendations were gold. A lot of it is, of course, trial and error. I was disappointed to find that the products that worked best for me, were very expensive and most of the time could only be ordered online. I was getting paid a lot less back then, and basically put myself out trying to pay for all these products. Also, it does seem that she contradicts herself. For my skintype, (drpw), she recommends that I avoid alcohol or detergents that foam vigorously, however almost all of her cleanser recommendations contain alcohol and a couple of them do foam. Also, she recommends the md skincare alpha beta peel which on the packaging advises you don't use products with alcohol during usage. And yet many of her product recommendations contain alcohol. All in all, this is a great book if you need some guidance about your skin type and which ingredients to use and avoid. Her product recommendations offer a good starting point, but I can't consistently buy them b/c they are so expensive. As with all things, do not expect this book to be the miracle solution to the mystery of skin. She offers good guidelines and insight and if you feel fed up or frustrated, this book may really be able to give you new hope. Everything I know about skin comes from this book and from the reviews on this site. I do not always follow the Dr. Baumann recommendations but I never buy a product now, without reading the ingredient list.
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Blush -Stila - Convertible Color Lillium
KarmaChameleon20 5/8/2008 11:38:00 AM
I am a huge fan of most Stila products but I would have to say that these convertible colors take the cake as my favorite stila product ever. I have one in peony and lillium. For a cream blush, they go on very smoothly, and although dipping your finger in is not the most sanitary, it allows you to control just how much you want. It blends beautifully, so you can either just apply it to the apples or blend it up to the cheekbones like you would with a powder blush but without that terrible 80s racer stripe look. They look darker when you first put them on but after a second or so they blend and just look so natural. Which was my main concern with cream blushes. I've been using these for a year at least so I can say with confidence that they don't break me out. In fact, I usually get compliments on my skin when I wear lillium because it gives such a lovely pink flush, like you just went out for a jog. I also love it on my lips too which gives me a really pouty, matte lip look. The price is fantastic considering you're getting the illusion of good skin, a nice natural flush that's quick and easy to apply and a lip color all for only 24 dollars. I rate the packaging a little lower because when you get a new one, they're kind of hard to open if you have long nails. I mean not ridiculously hard to open but it takes a little effort.. But it becomes easier the more you use it. I also love the way the compact looks in my cosmetics bag or on my vanity. It looks so feminine. I have very very fair skin, light brown eyes and dark brown/blackish hair. If you're like me, you should try lillium, it's a beautiful color.
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Skincare - Face -Philosophy - A PIgment of Your Imagination SPF 18
KarmaChameleon20 4/29/2008 12:40:00 AM
I'm surprised that so many people dislike this product. However, I believe that the reason I like this product so much is really because of my skin type. I have normal to dry skin, with very few breakouts, freckles, and some very minimal pigmentation from some zits I've picked at in the past, (bad, I know). This sunscreen/moisturizer does not make me break out at all, makes my skin glow, which is difficult for my skin since I'm usually pretty dry, especially in the winter, it moisturizes great for a day moisturizer and I really think it helps to lighten dark spots. People have actually commented on how much lighter my freckles are, and I get complements on my skin when I wear this moisturizer. If you wear face makeup, I suggest waiting fifteen minutes before you put it on. I wear B.E. mineral makeup so I'll usually put this on, do my hair, get dressed, brush my teeth, whatever, and then apply my makeup before I leave. This may seem like a hassle to some, but I've found that this is true of most moisturizers. You have to give them time to sink in before you apply makeup. The packaging could use a little improvement but I just open it upside down so no more comes out than needed, and squeeze. The opening is a little bit too big so sometimes too much product comes out if you hold it right side up. But this isn't a big deal for me, I'd still much rather have this in a tube than a gross jar that you stick your fingers in like some products. Overall, I would definitely buy this product again and I have. It may not work for acne-prone or oily types but if you're normal, dry or have pigmentation issues, this is for you. Check out the ingredient list, arbutin and kojic acid are great for lightening spots.
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Treatments -Philosophy - Save Me
KarmaChameleon20 4/23/2008 11:24:00 AM
I tried Philosophy Save me in an attempt to combine two parts of my daily routine, my vitamin c serum in the morning and my retinol treatment at night. This had both, and was also recommended in Dr. Baumann's book (my skincare bible) so I thought it looked pretty promising. However, I tried it just with my basic DDF cleanser and morning Philosophy Pigment of your Imagination moisturizer and found that it did absolutely NOTHING for my skin. It didn't break me out, but I usually don't have problems with that anyway. It didn't lighten any dark spots or freckles, it didn't exfoliate at all like my regular retinol treatment (philosophy help me), it didn't shrink pores or help with the creases on my forehead. I would have returned it except by the time i realized it wasn't doing anything, it was pretty much gone. 60$ for one ounce is expensive, worth it if the product is a miracle but this did nothing for me. Save your money and get Philosophy Help Me retinol treatment instead.
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Moisturizers -Clinique - Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion
KarmaChameleon20 4/8/2008 1:02:00 PM
Wow, so this right here is proof that not all people have the same skin. This is Clinique's best selling moisturizer but look how many people hate it! Personally, for my skin, I LOVE it. My skin type is normal to dry, I'm still young and don't have to worry much about wrinkles and acne is not an issue either. This moisturizer is a daily must-have for me. The price is great considering how much you get. I LOVE the packaging because it seems like most moisturizers for dry skin come in a jar or tub and I hate that because I feel like I'm contaminating it every time I put my fingers in it. Clinique ddml makes my skin glow, doesn't break me out, and adequately moisturizes. For me, this is a must have.
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Skincare - Face -Shu Uemura - Depsea water
KarmaChameleon20 4/3/2008 2:30:00 PM
This was my first time ever using a facial water and I bought it sort of as a luxury item, not expecting to buy it again, or really expecting it to become a necessity. However, I'm really impressed with this. I got it in "orange flower" which is just the faintest faintest scent but it just feels lovely going on and I really do feel like my moisturizer moisturizes better and my makeup goes on smoother. I will continue to use this facial water and maybe even try it in a couple different scents. I think the price is completely justified in that I bought it a month ago, use it morning and night (a couple spritzes both times) and the bottle still looks as though it's completely full. I'm using it in combination with my shu cleansing oil premium and I'm not quite sure how I feel about the cleansing oil but this facial water is from here on out going to be a staple. What a pleasant surprise :-)
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Moisturizers -Unlisted Brand - Atopalm MLE Cream
KarmaChameleon20 4/3/2008 2:24:00 PM
This review is for Atoplam MLE Face Cream in a tube. Overall, this product was okay for me. It's not super moisturizing so I tried pairing it with a couple different cleansers. It works best when paired with a cream or oil-based cleanser and with a facial water like lrp's or shu's sprayed underneath for extra moisture. I first bought it to help my skin use retinol but it did not help at all with this. My skin remained just as peely and red as ever. I've since given up on my skin ever adjusting to retinol and stopped using it. As a basic moisturizer tho, Atopalm is just alright. I do feel like it calms my skin down when I've been using glycolic cleansers and the ingredient list sure has some promising things on it. I took off a lippie for the price, which is terrible for such a tiny tube. It really takes quite a lot to really moisturize. I've been using it every now and then as a base for my clinique ddml. Overall, this is something you might want to have in your medicine cabinet just for those times when your skin needs a little extra tlc. I might buy it again but not with the intent of using it as an everyday moisturizer. With the way I go through moisturizer it'd be gone in two weeks.
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Blush -MAC - Mocha blush
KarmaChameleon20 3/20/2008 5:26:00 PM
I LOVE this blush. This was my first blush to ever try of Mac's and was recommended to me by an s.a. there. Since then I've tried other Mac blushes (honour and peaches) and Stila blush as well as Benefit. Overall, my favorite is Mac. It seems like all the colors I have seem to look pretty natural on me which is a huge accomplishment because my skin is WHITE. I'm extremely fair so most colors make me look like a clown. But mocha is my favorite of any blush I've ever tried. I've had it for over two years and I keep on coming back to it. The color is perfect for my fair skin with neutral undertones. It's easy as pie to apply and stays on all day. I would recommend it to anyone with fair skin. It looks darker in the pan than it will on your face.
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Cleansers -DDF - Brightening Cleanser
KarmaChameleon20 2/19/2008 7:36:00 PM
This is a pretty good product. I feel that it does help with brightening and lightening. Spots from past pimples have faded significantly and so have freckles. I also love that after using this, my skin GLOWS. Unfortunately, this cleanser is extremely drying (probably due to the salycilic acid and gel texture) You MUST use an eye cream with this otherwise you'll get these little dry lines under your eyes just with DDF glycolic cleanser. Anyways, I'm going to put this one in my cabinet for now and give it another try in the hot and humid summer. It's February now and it's just too drying. It would probably work really well for someone with oilier skin. Also, although it is expensive, I've used DDF Glycolic cleanser before which is the same bottle type and let me just say, it lasts FOREVER. Literally, almost 8 or 9 months. I would say that's pretty inexpensive. I've tried things twice this much that only last a month.
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Treatments -La Roche Posay - Active C Light Texture for Normal to Combination Skin
KarmaChameleon20 2/19/2008 7:30:00 PM
I have repurchased this twice at the recommendation of Dr. Baumann for my skintype (drpw.) The first time I used it was in the summer, combined with a glycolic acid cleanser and a retinol treatment. I remembered that summer having great skin and decided to repurchased this. Unfortunately I think the credit was wrongly given. I do like this serum. It is a serum for me because it does not moisturize at all. I think it might fade some dark spots like post pimple marks and freckles but if it does, it does it so slowly that I wonder if it would make any difference whether I used it or not. As for helping with wrinkles I am only twenty and wrinkles are not my primary concern. I do have this permanent crease between my eyebrows in my forehead (frown lines) that nothing has been able to help, including this. The packaging is nice because only as much as you want comes out. However, as you get towards the end of the tube, the sides start to rip and product is wasted out of the sides of the tube. I know the metal tube is necessary to keep the vitamin C "active" since vitamin C is light sensitive. Overall, this is a decent product. It didn't break me out, or make me peel, or sting or have any bad effect. And it MIGHT do something good but it's hard to tell. Basically, it's a nice addition to a skincare routine but definitely not a must-have. If you're short on money, you can get more bang for your buck with something else.
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Shampoo -Frederic Fekkai - GLOSS Glossing Shampoo
KarmaChameleon20 2/18/2008 9:19:00 PM
Fortunately, I only bought the travel sizes of the Frederic Fekkai Glossing Shampoo, conditioner and cream. First of all, I LOVE the cream. And the shampoo and conditioner was just okay. I will admit it made my black hair shinier than anything I've ever used before but I heat style my hair almost every day and had recently dyed it. My hair was really dry and this shampoo, although it made it very shiny, my ends were really suffering. No matter how I styled my hair, my ends looked cooked and my hair did not feel smooth. Redken all soft does a better job for me. This might be great for you if you don't have damaged hair.
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Cleansers -DDF - Glycolic Exfoliating Wash 5%
KarmaChameleon20 1/29/2008 8:01:00 PM
Okay, first the packaging. Some people have complained that the two caps make it bulky in the shower. However, most glycolic cleansers I've tried are packaged that way so I figure it must have something to do with glycolic acid. If it bothers you, you can just throw the outer cap away. Now for the price. Yes 32$ at Sephora is expensive for a cleanser but this stuff lasts FOREVER. It was too strong for me to use morning and night but it did last me about 8 months which is way longer than I expected. As for the actual product? I love it. It makes my skin GLOW and I had the best skin of my life while using this product. I would and have purchased it again. The reason I took off a lippie is because, although it does an excellent job of removing makeup, it's really rough on the eyes and it's impossible to wash my face without getting at least some in my eye area. I got really deep under eye wrinkles that looked really dry and crepey and most eye creams did nothing for it. Other than that, I loved how it lightened my dark spots, and made my skin glow. Because it is a gel cleanser and I have normal to dry skin, I only used it during the summer and do not know how my dry skin would react to it during the winter. Good luck ladies! for info, i am a 20 year old with drpw skin and got this recommendation from Dr. Baumann's book. I prefer this cleanser to Gly Derm's 2% and MD Forte II and MD Forte III which were both too high of concentrations. Hope this helped!
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Treatments (Eye) -Nivea - Q10 Plus Wrinkle Control Eye Creme (SPF 4)
KarmaChameleon20 12/11/2007 10:47:00 AM
I bought this eye cream on the recommendation of Dr. Baumann's book for my skintype. Although she's been dead on with almost everything else I was so disappointed with this eye cream. The glycolic acid cleanser I've been using has left my under eye area a little dry. After two months of using this I've finally come to the conclusion that this doesn't help those little lines but actually makes them worse. Save your money, don't buy this stuff.
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Cleansers -Clinique - Take the Day Off Cleansing Milk
KarmaChameleon20 11/20/2007 12:12:00 PM
My mom bought this product and let me use it. First of all, I have dry skin naturally so the milky consistency is great for me. What I didn't like was that it did not remove my makeup at all, and made my eyes BURN when it got in it. Plus, most of the makeup I wear is eye makeup anyway and I don't have time to use a separate eye makeup remover and prefer a gentle cleanser that is safe for the eyes. I would warn anyone who actually wants a makeup remover to stay far far away from this product. Just buy a gentle cleanser like Cetaphil or Topix Replenix Fortified cleanser instead. Both remove makeup better than this.
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Moisturizers -Philosophy - Hope in a Jar - for all skin types
KarmaChameleon20 10/22/2007 12:27:00 AM
I don't understand all the hype about this product. It tops sephora's best selling moisturizers list and is in almost every magazine. Despite all the bad reviews here on mua, I decided to go ahead and purchase it. I tried to give it a shot, I really did because I wanted it to work for me (especially at the price i bought it for) but after one week of use I had four or five nodular pimples, which is very unusual for my normal-to-dry skin, even when I use no products at all. So i had no choice but to believe that it was hope in a jar that was causing all my skin troubles. Maybe this does work for some people, but not for me. I prefer Philosophy's Save me vitamin c treatment and Help me retinol treatment to this. Both are excellent night treatments that moisturize and smooth the skin. Don't waste your time on this.
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