Lip Treatments -Maybelline - Baby Lips lip balm
MandyLeigh 9/25/2012 3:19:00 PM
I am reviewing the tubes that are like lipsticks with a clear plastic cover, not a small cap. I have a couple of these but I like #15 Cherry the best. It smells yummy. It gives my lips a bit of color and it doesn't come off as easy as I thought it would even when eating or drinking. It performed better then the much more expensive product that had just flopped on me. I have noticed with continued use in the past week my lips are in much better shape too. I would like to note that this product or at least some of them say right on the package that it has a long lasting moisture wear. Something crazy like 18 hours. Whatever is used to keep this moisture is what I think might be weirding a lot of people out or making them feel dry or gritty. I have a tube of stuff specifically for extreme dryness and extended long life moisture wear. It has a special oil in it that can be mistaken for a dry feeling and even grittiness at first. I swear I feel it in this too. You may mistake your lips for being dry when really the oil had sunk in or left a moisture barrier that feels weird. Again they both feel a lot like each other and both promise a huge amount of moisture time. So in a nut shell people (me too!) expect what they see, the yummy smelling lip balm but the extended moisture product used makes it feel a little strange and may be a turn off. Personally I like it becuase it not only keeps moisture (in a weird way) on my lips it seems to help keep the color on. I just had ONE of the Sugar Fresh colors flop on me(reviewed that too), it promises much of the same thing as this and I purchased the Baby Lips to tide me over until I returned the other and got a replacement. I twisted both of them all the way to show all the product. The Baby Lips had more product then the much more expensive Sugar Fresh color. So you get a good value, it will last a long time, it keeps the moisture on your lips and gives you some color. For the price it's certainly a good product. If you are not used to the extended moisture weird feeling...thing, it may be a turn off.
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Lip Treatments -Fresh - Sugar Passion Tinted Lip Treatment
MandyLeigh 9/25/2012 1:53:00 AM
I'm bummed. I did a review on the Rose colored one and liked it, I considered buying the full size. Since they are a spendy lip treatment (for me) I thought I would go for a different color so I could enjoy more then one. Do Not Want! :o( This one feels much much more greasy. The color is not a red it's a really really red almost Fuchsia. I ordered this in a kit with face wash and some other goodies as Sephora had them all together just a few bucks more then the lip alone. That is a very decent deal but even so, not worth it now. The color was very patchy, no matter how little or much I used. It moved around a lot, would move to the corners of my mouth and like I said in a previous review about this line of lip goodies the color does not stay. I didn't realize it could get even worse though. The Rose had more staying power. Watch your clothing, even if you are giving your loved one a big hug watch out for their clothing too, this comes off so easy and you don't want to smooch your partner with this on. This was not like the Rose. This one felt like it had been sitting on the dash of a car in the sun. Just way greasy and even a little lop sided. I really do not like returning items I have used. I hardly ever do but this one is going right back and I will be explaining why. The company needs to know they have a decent product but quality and care went down hill.
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Polishes -Essie - Starry Starry Night
MandyLeigh 9/10/2012 11:56:00 PM
I finally got my hands on my #1 lemming. Essie Starry Starry Nights. I can't give an opinion on price and such as I only got the chance to have this from a very sweet friend and got it through trading but I will review it's wear and thoughts on today. I am so surprised at how long it lasts on the nail. Essie polishes do not normally stay on as long as say my OPI's. It's been 5 days and I haven't even had a chip, my hands are pretty busy I have not babied it. I used my normal OPI base coat and my China Glaze Fast Forward top coat. So back when this was made it was done really well becuase it's still on and going strong. That is a good thing considering what people go through just to have it. This polish is much more breath taking in the daylight or good lighting. Don't look at light box photos and think that's how it will be at all times. Sitting in my living room it's just a dark shade. If I am out in the sun or under some ceiling lights it starts to shine through. The layers of jelly and glitter do their thing. The application is not easy. I would love to keep it to just two coats as I like the lighter shade but it's streaky. You can't go from one side and then back to the other or you will pull polish off with it. And it's got the old Essie thin brush. If you are patient and do 3 light coats it's just fine. People will notice some bottles say NightS and some simply Night. Please don't pass up a bottle becuase of the S. It was released more then one time but both are the same polish, it's not a knock off. In fact reading on the web and here it seems Essie did make mistakes like this in other colors as well. I would hate for someone to miss their chance becuase of the discrepancy between Night and Nights. It's the same polish by Essie before they were bought out. Also if you call Essie, while they are really nice people, they won't have information on SSN becuase it was discontinued long before the company switched hands. It's their most called about color but there is nothing they can do. They won't re-release it and they don't have information except it's name. I wanted this for years, I spent a lot of time and money just searching for this polish in every salon and beauty supply store I came across. I never found it. It was only through sheer luck and a super sweet friend that I got my hands on a new, never used bottle. Now that I have it, I plan on trying to re-create and then give the recipe out in as many places as possible. I know there are some out there but many say they do not own SSN and are taking a guess. I hope I can get as close as possible if not exact becuase if I could I would give a bottle of SSN to every girl who was wanting it like I did. Which brings me to this... Is she as beautiful as people claim? Yes! Is it worth hurting yourself financially to finally have it? No. It's still just a bottle of paint and glitter. There are some amazing polishes out there, times have given us really beautiful stuff. Do not hurt yourself financially for it. This is coming from a Nail Junky who tried for 2 years for this polish. It's beautiful but it's not worth financial pain and the gouging going on. No polish is.
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Nails -Zoya - Remove +
MandyLeigh 9/9/2012 7:57:00 PM
I'm not too big of a fan of Zoya polishes but I did end up paying for the little pump of the stuff becuase I heard how great it was and wanted to try it. First, the pump is very well made. I've refilled it over and over and the lid and pump work great. For the product, I loved it so much that when the huge bottles went on a BOGO, I bought two of them. Now $50 for polish remover may seem crazy for just one person but getting two huge bottles of this product for free was worth it. I have enough to last me a lifetime and I've got people asking if they can have some too. This allows me to share. I do think it is a great thing to use prior to applying your base coat. It does prepare your nail bed with out being abusive to your skin. You won't get a sticky feeling either but I do recommend a good rinse if you have just removed polish or you will. The smell: For me, I felt like it was not as strong smelling as the non-acetone products I've tried before however it's still a polish remover. I wouldn't recommend using it and keeping it shut up in a room. (I've done this before! lol) unless you have a covered can. It will linger. I dump my cotton into the kitchen garbage when I am done since that one is covered. Another thing I found valuable is if I get a polish that has been dirtied by say another polish breaking or simply becuase it sat around a salon for so long, this does not remove the paint on the bottle that was meant to stay. It does not leave a sticky residue either. It cleans up the lids beautifully and it does a pretty decent job on glitter. Careful on the bottom labels, use too much and it will remove ink. Like I said earlier the price is a little spendy but for the amount in get in the largest bottles (25$ each) it will take you a long way and give you more benefits then most. Especially when you do catch it on a BOGO. I would gladly do that again and continue to refill my pump bottle and anyone else around me who needs some too.
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Palettes -LORAC - Unzipped
MandyLeigh 8/24/2012 5:40:00 PM
These are just my opinions for my own make up choices and I don't mean anything bad to anyone who purchased other palettes as that's what was right for them. I was so consumed by all the new palettes that arrived by what seemed like every company imaginable. My wallet would only allow me one though so I tested, re-tested and tested again coming home with lines of color all over my hands and arms. I don't want to fall for product that is really hyped up causing people to buy just to have it and I saw a lot of that with the Naked palette. I tried to buy it but I just couldn't. The price and then releasing another that was slightly different besides the colors left a bad taste in my mouth. So from one palette to the next I kept going. My saving grace, the Unzipped palette hit the shelves on my 6th visit to Sephora. I was drawn to it right away. The colors are beautiful, they feel so soft but strong enough in pigment and staying power. It came with a nice size tube of primer and the price, compared to others was VERY good. especially for what you received. I of course went home with out it like I had done with all the others but the next day I high tailed it right back and bought it. My palette hunt was over and I was super happy. I took it to my mother's to show her and she immediately fell in love with it too so she got one for her birthday. It just goes to show how versatile this palette is. My Lorac Palette has worked great from smokey looks to beautiful summer or natural looks, I love it all year round. I wish more companies would work this way. Instead of hyping up a product and then finally releasing it at a large price, mix their good work with decent prices and be more honest. The only complaint I have is the packaging. It looks great, it's a great size to put in my makeup bag no problem. I just wish there was more to it to help keep the product safe. It didn't have to be a metal tin but just little more heavy duty. That's the only thing I could think of and is why I put the packaging quality at a 3. Thank you Lorac for Unzipped. I will be coming back for more becuase of my experience with the price and quality of this product.
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Foundations -Revlon - ColorStay Makeup with SoftFlex SPF 6 for Combination/Oily Skin
MandyLeigh 8/17/2012 9:58:00 PM
Another Revlon surprise for me. When it came to foundation I had stuck to higher priced brands for years when my skin changed on me and I started having acne and Tzome issues. Summer time especially was hard. So I stopped buying drugstore foundations and allowed myself to spend money on a foundation thinking it would be better for my skin.. higher price must mean better product. I am actually upset that I didn't try this before my wedding and stuck to my higher dollar foundation. It was during my honeymoon I found that I had left my makeup case behind. Where I was staying was too far away but I had access to the drug store and I ran in like the emergency it was... I look frantically and grab the one product I can find that contains SPF. Since I do use Retinol it's important that my makeup have some SPF but not too much or I will break out. I also remembered hearing good things about this product and with the right amounts of SPF I decided to grab it up. This review is simply for the foundation not any setting powders. The next morning I nervously put on my foundation hoping it would work enough to get by taking pictures with out thinking about my making up. It ended being a wedding disaster turned great. It went on OK, not as easy as others but my goodness did it cover great and looked better then even my wedding photos with my high dollar foundation. Also I like that they have separate foundation for dry and oily skin. They knew what they were doing as they put less SPF to keep the oil down in the oily version one and it works perfectly. I am now using this product as my every day foundation. Whenever my skin changes again we will see but I will be sure to my research first. This foundation had a lot of good reviews and they were correct for me. Just to note again... on top of this and all it's goodness that I described above I used a powder to set it but not the setting powder they had. Right above the setting powders was the ColorStay Aqua mineral powder. It also had some SPF in it but it uses coconut milk and when it goes on you feel a cooling sensation. They had for dry and for oily as well like the liquid. The reason I chose this is becuase I wanted SPF in my powder as well and I liked the benefits it described. I am well covered now with my SPF but not enough to irritate my skin. I am pretty sure if you are looking to get the setting powder that goes with this foundation it will be just fine. I just worked it like this becuase as we all know sometimes it's a balancing act to get the right combination for your own skin. This combo worked for me. All of it started with the ColorStay liquid foundation though and I am very pleased I found it. A disaster turned gift on my honeymoon.
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Polishes -Revlon - Facets of Fuchsia
MandyLeigh 8/17/2012 8:59:00 PM
I don't usually wear hexagon glitter polishes. And, I don't usually wear Revlon. They never seemed to move me above my other polish brands. It seems they stepped up to the plate though and have been bringing out some really great colors and even dupes that I really enjoy. This one I got for a friend who had been hunting in her own state with out luck so I figured I would help her out as we have plenty in my own. Before I put them in the box however I grabbed one and swatched it onto one of my nails... then another and other. I ended up completing all of my nails and couldn't stop staring. I had to go back out to get her another bottle as I had claimed it for my own. lol It was a big surprise, especially from Revlon. If you don't normally go for this but want some fun TRY IT. The price is right and you may find you really like it, like I did. I did not need a base color for this. The dark jelly held it's own. The formula is perfect. I never had to fish for glitter or the tiny glitter either. It goes on the nail even dispersing the glitter with out any issue. Not too much, not too little. Which surprised me, I expected to have to go fishing. With the dark jelly of this polish, the color of the glitters it just needs a nice top coat and you will get wonderful depth. I now have both of their versions. Facets of Fuchsia and Scandalous which are the same color but when I see it on sale I grab it up. It's one of the first Revlon colors I ever hoarded because I am in love with it. So from a person who never really liked Revlon, or hexogon glitters, or dark colors this polish opened my eyes that not all of them are the same. It may look over whelming when you pick up the bottle but trust me. Give it a go. It's not as crazy as it looks. But... crazy enough to love it. It's a keeper for me.
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Top/Base Coats -China Glaze - Fast Forward Top Coat
MandyLeigh 8/16/2012 2:55:00 PM
I'm a polish junkie so I've tried many many top coats and they are all in a box as I keep going back to my faithful Fast Forward. Even more expensive products don't seem to match up to this. It doesn't bubble on the nail, it seems to even itself out once applied and it tries quickly. Also, I know everyone has their own taste and sense of smell but this product actually smells OK. I don't mean stick it right up to your nose but it doesn't have a strong lingering smell, it's hard to explain. The only thing you have to watch out for is if you put numerous (more then 2) coats of color under this remember the top will dry faster then the polish so it can move around on you or ripple if you don't give it more time to dry. Even so, if it does ripple or move the top coat is strong enough I have just pushed it right back and it's like I never had a issue. I hope they do not stop making this one!
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Lip Treatments -Fresh - Sugar Rose Lip Treatment SPF 15
MandyLeigh 8/16/2012 2:30:00 PM
I really wanted to get the larger size as I like the packaging and it looked really nice when I first noticed it but passed. I thought the price was way too high for a lip treatment, it kept nagging at me though. The packaging is just too cool. I got lucky when my birthday gift from Sephora came around with a box with two minis! One being the Rose and one just the treatment with no color. I have received or purchased so many lip treatments and gloss but I keep going back to this. It just "works". The hydration, the smell... The only complaint I have is the color not staying very long, in fact it will easily be gone with a drink or light tap with a tissue. However the benefits are still on your lips and last. If the color would just stay longer I would never use another lipstick, gloss or chap stick again. Still, I am considering spending the money on the bigger size becuase even as a treatment it's the best I've had. The bit of color even for a short time is a nice perk.
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