Hair -L'Oreal - Elnett Hairspray
Mandim508 11/26/2011 12:09:00 PM
I purchased this after seeing it used backstage at fashion week... It seemed that every stylist had it in their kit, even when the shows were sponsored by hair product companies. It holds a curl in my hair which is usually an issue. I can brush it out and it just feels like my hair is naturally that way, and it stays for days until I wash it. I love it. And most of the complaints here are about the smell... It's not that bad. The smell barely lingers on your hair anyway.
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Tinted Moisturizer -Kiehls - tinted moisturizer [DISCONTINUED]
Mandim508 10/22/2011 11:05:00 AM
I love this product! It's a nice coverage and decent moisture -- although on my dry skin, I layer it over a heavy moisturizer by Mario Badescu. I get lots of compliments on my skin and it doesn't look like I'm wearing makeup. For perfect made-up skin, I layer it under Make Up For Ever HD foundation. 100% coverage and no cakey look. The only downside is that it may be too pink for some skin tones. Also, after you shake the bottle, it tends to spew out of the opening of the flip cap. By the time I get to the end of my bottle, it's a mess.
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Moisturizers -Mario Badescu - Caviar Day Cream
Mandim508 10/22/2011 11:02:00 AM
This is my go-to winter cream. My skin turns into a nightmare as soon as the first below-50 day shows up in the fall in New England where I live. This year, I had itchy red bumps that I've never seen before, and as soon as I pulled out my jar of Caviar cream, I saw an improvement. Seriously, it happened two days ago and my skin felt textured and almost hurt. Right now I'm pairing this with Mario Badescu Elasto-Collagen Night Cream. The caviar cream is thick and almost waxy, which is what I need to seal in moisture. Looks good under makeup and helps with the dry patches that came with those unsightly red bumps. I love it even more under Kiehl's Tinted Moisturizer. I rarely purchase products twice and I'm on my third jar of this.
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Hair Styling Tools -Unlisted Brand - Sultra Seductress Iron
Mandim508 10/7/2011 12:42:00 PM
Bought this to replace a Sedu Pro Ionic Ceramic Tourmaline Iron. Thought I'd review since that was a popular iron and I couldn't find any comparisons. Let me start this one with my hair type: medium-thick, somewhat tightly wound, curly italian hair. Lots of frizz. Tons of hair. Very dry. Color-treated. Long. Split ends. Lots of work to get a look that I'm happy with. Babyliss, Hot Tools, Chi, anything "basic" ceramic or gold does nothing good for my hair. I had been using the Sedu 1 1/2" flat iron after seeing great reviews of it on Folica. Here's the story of my Sedu: I got my first one about five or six years ago (whenever they first got big) and I loved it. Gave me a gorgeous look, was easy to use, and I recommended it to everyone. I took it to Italy with me on a trip in June 2010 and plugged it into my adaptor... it buzzed once, and then died. Should've known better. I promptly ordered another so it would be there when I got home. Something about the new one was different. The design had changed minimally -- it now had a swivel cord (nice) but no longer had the little rubber hanging loop that it used to have (not nice). I noticed that the plates weren't matching up as well as they could have. It still felt hot but it seemed like I had to pass it over my hair more times to get it straight. It felt like my hair with my 2nd Sedu wasn't resisting humidity as well as with my first one. It didn't look as good (I compared photos and it's such a big difference in shine and health). I wasn't happy. It's almost like -- and this is just my uneducated guess -- that maybe Sedu made their product a little cheaper with all the demand? It took longer to do my hair and I was getting very frustrated with it. I heard someone talking about the Sultra Seductress and I thought I'd give it a shot since I didn't want to use my Sedu anymore. I'm VERY impressed by it. I only have to do one slow-ish pass on a normal section of hair to get it straight and it really looks better than it did before with the Sedu. It's easier to use. Takes less time. Hair feels super soft. It claims to "seal" hair while it straightens. I'm not sure about this, but my hair at least looks a little less split-endy. The design: It's got a rounded outside so you can do flat-iron curls with it. I probably won't use it for this, but it helps if i want to turn the ends of my hair in/out. The Sedu was too flat to do anything but straighten. Comes with a 2-year warranty and heat protect pad. Heats up in seconds and has automatic turn-off if you don't use it for 30 minutes. Good to know since I'm always paranoid about leaving irons on when I leave home. If you're choosing between the Sedu and the Sultra, I'd say go with the Sultra, especially if you have difficult hair. I suppose the Sedu is fine for you fine/wavy-haired girls who think you need a heavy-duty iron ;) but for me, the Sultra is a good investment.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -MAC - Lavender Whip [Limited Edition]
Mandim508 2/9/2010 9:34:00 AM
Really pretty color... definitely not for every day. I use this under my Voile Slimshine (a yellow/gold glittery glossy color) and it really amps up the lavender. I love this lipstick for going out, although I wish it didn't dry my lips out so much. Sometimes I need to layer it with balm or else the little lines on my lips really pop out.
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Lotions/ Creams -Eucerin - Aquaphor Healing Ointment
Mandim508 2/9/2010 9:31:00 AM
This is an overnight lifesaver in the winter! I sometimes use this on my chapped lips during the day, although it does give a bit of a greasy feel. I find that it works best when used at night. Put some -- a lot -- on your feet at night (don't even rub it in, just slather it on) and throw some thick socks over it. Sounds gross, but feels like you're waking up with a pedicure. I also use it VERY liberally on my lips at night. I just have to make sure that I avoid the corners of my mouth where my skin starts... it did make me break out a little. Definitely helped some big peeling and cracks I had in the middle of my lips. I keep a big jar in my nightstand.
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Hair -Bumble & Bumble - Hair Powder
Mandim508 2/9/2010 9:27:00 AM
I bought this because I have black hair which I straighten as infrequently as possible, and regular white dry shampoo powders and sprays were giving me an annoying grey tint at my roots. Although this does help a bit with oil... watch out. I only sprayed a little on my roots and it went EVERYWHERE... I had black powder on my face and on my fingers... and forget even trying to touch your head afterward... you'll just get dirty fingers and nails. Waaaay not worth the price.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -OPI - Moon Over Mumbai
Mandim508 2/9/2010 9:22:00 AM
I was really looking for a solid, creamy grey color, which was what this looked like in the bottle. Unfortunately, this was waaay too sheer for my liking. I can't blame the polish though -- I couldn't really try it on in the store. Anyway, I ended up putting Mad As A Hatter over two coats of Moon... and the results were very pretty. I guess this is going to have to be one of those polishes that only goes over or under something else. If anyone has any suggestions for an opaque, non-shimmery grey polish... let me know!
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Lipstick -MAC - Voile Slimshine
Mandim508 2/4/2010 2:14:00 PM
I LOVE this! Not only is it a beautiful color by itself, but it makes any regular lipstick into a shiny, different color. I had a habit of wearing this over a thin coat of Lavender Whip. The glitter is nice and subtle. The only problem I have is that these lipsticks run out SO quickly... I feel like after two weeks of use, the stick is already too far down the tube.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Treatments -Fresh - Sugar Rose Lip Treatment SPF 15
Mandim508 2/4/2010 2:09:00 PM
I don't know what I'm doing wrong with this product... yes, it moistens my lips and gives a decent color, but for $22, I thought that this would do more for my lips. It's winter and after using this for a week, my lips are still peeling and dry. I was stupid to assume that the word "treatment" would actually fix any problems that I had. I think that I'm going to save this one for the summer, even though the stick has already kind of started to melt. I feel like I blew $22 on a glorified chap-stik.
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Powder -LORAC - wet/dry powder makeup
Mandim508 2/4/2010 1:48:00 PM
I use this over my MAC studio fix and it really gives off a nice, matte finish. It doesn't have that super-powdery look that clings to every little tiny hair and pore on your face. All I need for this is a big brush and a light hand -- the included sponge can be a little too much if it isn't used correctly.
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Moisturizers -Mario Badescu - Ginseng Moist Cream
Mandim508 2/4/2010 1:44:00 PM
I was a little disappointed with this product. Bought it at bluemercury, where the SA seemed to know what she was talking about. I told her that I have combination skin with some very dry, flaky areas, and I needed a moisturizer to keep my face from drying out under my makeup. I wanted something similar to what I was using -- the moisturizer jar from Ahava for extra dry skin -- and I ended up with this cream. It's not as thick as the Ahava, but it does have a better smell. The jar says that it is supposed to be good for winter months, but I really didn't experience this. It also made my skin feel a little sticky when I put my foundation over it. I will probably save this one for the summer when I wear less makeup. It wasn't bad enough to throw out.
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Top/Base Coats -Orly - Sec 'N Dry Multi-Layer Quick-Dry Topcoat
Mandim508 2/3/2010 2:24:00 PM
This is one of those products that ended up being good for me for the wrong reasons. Let me explain. I bought this because I was tired of having tacky, sticky nails for an hour after my manicure was finished. I assumed that this would just dry my nails instantly, and I'd be able to go about my day. Although my nails dried a little faster than with a regular clear topcoat, I wasn't impressed by the speed. HOWEVER... once my nails were 100% dry and hard, I got to see the real beauty of this product. I'm on day #6 of my manicure, and my nails are still very shiny. I also only have two or three tiny chips on my black polish. I'm a bartender, so my hands go through a lot on a normal night... slamming my fingers against glasses, wet bottles, all of the alcohol, cleaning products, the buttons on the cash register... they really held up to a lot. I guess I will put up with the waiting time if my manicure will last this long.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Top/Base Coats -Essie - Ridge Filler
Mandim508 2/3/2010 2:17:00 PM
I think that my hopes were too high for this product when I bought it. I had just taken off my acrylic nails that had been on for over a year, and I thought that this would fill in some of the weird lines that were leftover. Although it didn't fill in all of the random ridges, I guess it took care of some. I thought that it would be a thicker consistency than it was. The reason I gave it 4 lippies instead of 3 was that it ended up being a really good base coat. My manicure didn't start chipping until day FIVE, and I bartend for a living, so my nails go through a lot of wear on a normal night. I was very, very impressed with the way this stuck polish to my nails... although, I guess my Orly top coat might have helped too.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -MAC - Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15
Mandim508 2/3/2010 2:10:00 PM
I love this foundation! It's great to use for those days when your face looks like it's five different colors -- it will even everything out. Sometimes when i see this in the daylight, though, it looks a little too much like, "wow, that's a lot of makeup"... so if I think I'm going to be seen in true sunlight, I'll mix this with a little moisturizer (about 1/3 moisturizer and 2/3 foundation). It helps my dry skin stay moist longer, and it thins the makeup out a little so you can still pack on blush and bronzer and all of that and not look too made up. The versatility of this product makes me like it more, I just wish they would include a pump with the bottle.
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