BB Cream -Unlisted Brand - Holika Holika - Petit BB Cream - Moisture SPF30
Katinthecorner 7/25/2012 11:33:00 AM
It only gets 4 lippies because it's the wrong color for me. I'm on the hunt for an Asian BB cream. The American ones are glorified tinted moisturizers. So I did some research on BB creams for very fair skin, and got some samples. One of the reasons I picked up Holika Holika is a reviewer on MUA said it matched her NW15 skin. Well, it doesn't match mine.(Then again, I've been lobbying MAC to make an NC10 which would really be my perfect match). But then again, not all NW15's are the same shade. The NW15 in Studio Tech is much lighter than NW15 in Studio Fix Fluid or Studio Sculpt. The Fix Fluid and Sculpt are a 20 in my opinion. The Holika Holika is closer to a 20-25 than a 15. And it is definitely an NW not an NC. So it's good for fair skin, but not very fair. Color aside, this stuff is BRILLIANT. The texture is a dream. It's a little thinner than most of the other creams I have tried, but it still provides fantastic coverage. It just takes less elbow grease to blend it in. The coverage is very buildable, though I recommend patting in a second layer as opposed to rubbing it in, or maybe using a beauty blender sponge. I can't really attest to staying power, but I left it on for an hour and it didn't oxidize to a weird color or get ashy at all. It doesn't look cakey either, though I did use Smashbox primer underneath. I would say if your in the NW20-NW30 range, this would be a great BB cream to try.
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Cleansers -Josie Maran Cosmetics - Argan Cleansing Oil
Katinthecorner 6/21/2012 11:00:00 AM
Meh. I suppose this is a good oil cleanser if you have never used Shu Umera. If you have, don't bother. I only bought this because Sephora stopped carrying Shu Umera, and I do like some of the other Josie Maran products. I am so dissappointed in this. It does work reasonably well to remove makeup, and it does rinse off better than Shu Umera. However I find myself using three times as much and rubbing three times as hard to get my make up off in the first place. I'm just totally unimpressed.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Concealers -Bobbi Brown - Corrector
Katinthecorner 6/21/2012 10:55:00 AM
Love this stuff. I have super pale skin, genetic dark circles, and a sleep disorder, so my dark circles are *serious*. I have been on the hunt for a good concealor for literally 20 years. And I have finally found the perfect combination! Bobbi Brown corrector in pink + Benefit Boi-oing Boi-oing is great, but never quite did the job. Enter corrector. It is seems pricey, but if you factor cost per use it's not. I think I paid $25? for the little tub, but you need so little this will easily last me years. I apply a little of the pink corrector from inner corners outward with a concealor brush, blend with my finger tips. Usually I go in and apply another coat to the really dark parts. I let that set for maybe 15 seconds, then add a little layer of Boi-oing over it with my finger tips. The result is FANTASTIC.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Wet 'n' Wild - ColorIcon Palette in Lust [DISCONTINUED]
Katinthecorner 8/31/2011 9:38:00 AM
To start off, I am a makeup snob. There are very few drugstore products I will buy because I'm very fussy, especially about eyeshadow. I like good blendability and high pigment density, neither of which are usually available in a drugstore line. Wet & Wild is suprisingly the exception. I find there shadows to be better than some high end brands (I'm looking at you Stila), and comparable to MAC as far as texture and pigment. I travel a lot, so I wanted one eyeshadow pallate that could take me from day to night. I'm an NW15 (actually 10) with pink skin, and this is perfect. I can either do a nice natural eye, or a smoky purple or smoky gun metal, just by changing my liner. So worth the $5.
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Lip Treatments -Smith's Rosebud Salve - Minted Rose Lip Balm
Katinthecorner 8/31/2011 9:32:00 AM
I've been buying Rosebud Salve since the days when I had to go directly to Bigelow's in NYC. I read about it in Allure ages ago, and hunted it down. I've been hooked ever since. I now buy the mint one, as the regular rose is a little to "rosy" for my taste. Sure this is a great lip balm, but it's a great everything balm. I use at least two tins in the winter because I apply it to every chapped area of my body, nose, elbows, cuticles, etc. This is also great for prepping your lips for dark lipstick or stains. Slather on a nice glob, let it sit two minutes, then take it off with a tooth brush. Here is why this is a brilliiant product (and at least once a year I email the company to ask them to sell this by the pint). I have eczema, so sometimes I get these awful flaky, scaly patches on my skin. I put a dab of this on the scaly part, rub it in, let it sit overnight, and BOOM my skin is almost completely healed the next day. After two or three days, my skin is totally back to normal. I've tried every other thing that is supposedly for eczema, but this is the only thing that seems to heal my skin. This will be the best $7 you ever spend.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Sunscreen -Neutrogena - Pure & Free Liquid Daily Sunblock, SPF 50
Katinthecorner 4/28/2011 11:49:00 AM
I decided to give this a whirl because I was running low on the La Roche Posay sunscreen milk I've been using for a couple years. I like the LRP for my face because it doesn't gunk up my foundation, but frankly I'm not thrilled with the price tag. I'm super pale and have a family history of skin cancer, so I wear at least SPF 50 every day all year. I've always been a fan of Neutrogena sunscreens, so I figured worth a try. I am IN LOVE with this Neutrogena. It's basically idential to the LRP at a third of the price tag. Plus it goes up to SPF 70 (Yes, I'm aware over 30 it's pretty much a moot point, but I like my higher numbers). I didn't notice any kind of white cast to my skin, but when your an NC15 (actually NC10 in a perfect world) it really doesn't matter. I did get a little burning around my eyes for a minute or two, but I get that with any chemical sunscreen. It went away after about 30 seconds, and wasn't even bad enough to tear my eyes up. I really love this stuff, and will definitely switch from LRP to this permanently. UPDATE: Alas, with regular use, this has made me break out like crazy! It's weird because Neutrogena sun screen never makes me break out, but this is the only thing I can think of to account for the massive pimples I have been getting. =( For 99% of people I'm sure this is a perfect substitute for LRP. For me, not so much. Still worth a try though! At $8 a bottle you'd be crazy not to give it a shot.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Highlighters -Too Faced - Absolutely Invisible Candlelight
Katinthecorner 4/21/2011 1:26:00 PM
I wanted to like this. I really did. But this just didn't work out for me. First, if you have a pink undertone to your skin, steer clear of gold highlighters (Duh! on my part). Second, I don't think this is made to go with liquid/cream foundations. It seemed to glue itself to my foundation and cause little globs. I think over a mineral powder foundation it would probably work fine though. This is supposed to be light diffusing, but it looked like I smeared my face with glitter, or butter (And no I wasn't heavy handed in my application) The truth is, I've found much better highlighters at much cheaper prices (I currently use a pink toned one from Revlon). I can see this having some uses for some people, but I don't think it's worth $30. If you want to spend $30 on a highlighter, get a NARS one.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -Bliss Labs - clog-dissolving cleansing milk
Katinthecorner 4/21/2011 1:21:00 PM
Let me start off my saying I have extremely dry, super sensitive, acne prone skin. Fun, right? I can't use most acne cleansers because they dry my skin out, and cleansers for sensitive skin either don't help my acne or make it worse. This is a great face wash, but it's true genius is as a 5 minute mask. I put this on in the shower after I wash my hair, and let it sit while I shave my legs. At the end of the shower any zits I had are nearly gone. This is the only product that has ever cleared up my skin with out drying it out. You barely need any, so it's a great value.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Misc Beauty Tools -beautyblender - the sponge
Katinthecorner 4/21/2011 1:15:00 PM
WOW. Just, WOW. I've been hearing the buzz about this sponge forever, but never bought one. Now that I have one, I can't figure out why I didn't buy this ages ago! It's an absolute MUST for any kind of cream, liquid, cream to liquid foundation. I'm currently using dermablend cover cream, which if anything reminds me of pancake. It's great, but it's seriously hard to work with. I was working with a MAC foundation sponge, and having issues. The blender makes it go on so beautifully! I also tried it with my MAC studio fix (which is also a tricky foundation) and again, perfect application. It's easy to use, just follow the instructions. I love the point for precision application, and the rounded end for buffing. My makeup goes on flawless, and I use about half as much it seems like because it spreads so well. Dust with a little MUFE HD powder, and it's like I have perfect skin, and you have to be an inch from my face to see any makeup. I swear if this had cost me $50 I would have thought it was worth it, so $20 is perfectly reasonable (Plus a good foundation brush which doesn't give as good of an application will cost you at least $30).
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Primer/ Corrector -Too Faced - Primed & Poreless Skin Smoothing Face Primer
Katinthecorner 3/31/2011 9:21:00 AM
WOW. Just WOW. I've been a faithful Smashbox user for years. I never thought I'd find anything that was as good, much less BETTER. This is like a combo of the Smashbox, and Dr Brandt's Pore Minimizer. I used to mix the two together, but this product has it all in one for only $30. And I think it's got an even silker texture than Smashbox. Before buying this I checked out Benefit and UD pore minimizing primers, and neither can hold a candle to this. Benefit doesn't have the good satiny feel, and the UD primer is just unexceptional. My makeup goes on flawlessly, and it really does minimize the appearance of my pores. Plus, a little goes a loooong way.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Concealers -Dermablend - Cover Creme - Cream
Katinthecorner 3/31/2011 9:14:00 AM
I have freakishly pale skin. (NC15, though I think an NC10 would be closer if it existed) I am pretty much clear. So I need a foundation that can cover dark cirlces, veins, capillaries, and NOT look like I'm wear a pound of foundation, cake into my pores, and make me look like I'm wearing a mask. I'm going to start by saying this product has a learning curve. I'm no makeup novice by any means, but after about 5 applications I'm still working the kinks out of my process. It's not the easiest foundation I've ever used, but I think it's worth the effort for the quality of coverage. That's why I gave it a 4 not a 5. It would be nice it if was a little easier to deal with, but as a woman who applies primer/mascara in a 4 step 10 minute process so it's "just right", a little extra work doesn't phase me in the slightest.... That being said, once you get the hang of this product, it is genius! You get a lot of coverage with VERY little make up. I'm always trying to get the most effect out of the least makeup, so something that makes me look flawless after a couple pats? I'm on board. I use Too Faced Primed and Poreless, then some MAC Studio Tint moisturizer for areas that don't need a lot of coverage. Then I apply, with a super light hand, to my forehead, nose, cheeks, chin, and undereye with a damp make up sponge. Dust with MUFE HD powder, and I'm perfect. Flawless skin, but you can only tell I'm wearing make up if you get about 3 inches away. I'd like to say I'll buy this again, but since I use sooooo little, and the tub is huge, I probably won't have to replace it for at least 5 or 6 years....
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Josie Maran Cosmetics - Argan oil
Katinthecorner 12/29/2010 1:43:00 PM
Okay, I actually bought this for my hair. My hair was trashed. It's normally Manic Panic red, and I had to color it "natural" for a wedding, then changed it back to normal. Add in the fact I was on a medication that was also destroying my hair. Plus I use a blow dryer and flat iron. Not regularly, but on already damage hair, it takes a toll. About 4-5 drops, rubbed between my palms, and applied to damp hair. AMAZING. Not only does it make my hair shine without being greasy, it also keeps my sort of wavy hair straight for days after flat ironing. I've only been using it about 2 weeks and have noticed a huge difference in the texture and strength of my hair. So I figured, why not put it on my face too? I have super dry, super sensitive skin. I usually use Hope in a Jar for Dry & Sensitive skin, but sometimes during the winter it's not quite enough. 2-3 drops of this over my prescription retinoid and under Hope and my skin is deliciously smooth, and not at all oily. Pros: Everything. It's brilliant Cons: Expensive. That's my only complaint. It's pricey. But you know what? I've wasted tons of money on straightening serums and conditioners for my hair, and this little vial does that plus more.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Foundations -Lily Lolo - Mineral Foundation
Katinthecorner 12/23/2009 10:49:00 AM
I had wanted mineral foundation for years (ever since the BE buzz began) but I have a terrible time finding foundation for my super pale skin. BE shades are all too dark and too orange (my undertones are pink) I stumbled across this brand on a UK forum. I love that they offer sample sizes, so I didn't have to commit. I was beyond impressed when I got my sample, and immediately ordered two full size jars. This foundation goes on light, and gives me perfect porcelain skin. It works best with a good primer and a good brush. It stinks I have to order it from the UK, but it's still cheaper than BE.
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Cleansers -Neutrogena - one-step gentle cleanser
Katinthecorner 9/12/2007 7:15:00 AM
I wear a lot of mascara. This is the ONLY product I have ever used that easily removes all of my make up and doesn't dry my skin out. My skin is really sensitive and dry. I was using an oil based make up remover with the Neutrogena Extra Gentle cleanser, but now I have just one step! LOVE IT!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Primer/ Corrector -Smashbox - Photo Finish Primer
Katinthecorner 9/12/2007 7:13:00 AM
Adore this product. It makes my foundation go on so smooth and last so long! It also allows me to use about a third of the foundation I would have to normally.
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