Scrubs -Unlisted Brand - Skin Milk - Facial Scrub
Murielle 5/3/2008 9:55:00 PM
Wow, this stuff is great. I am way picky about scrubs, hate almost all I try (St Ives - ick, Kiehl's - meh, PTR - whatever) so I was very surprised this turned to be such a winner. At first I thought it wasn't going to do much since it felt like there wasn't enough scrubbies to get the job done, but the results were outstanding. My skin hasn't been this smooth and soft in ages. Also it seemed to leave my skin calmed. Typically it's a red angry mess after a hot shower, but I noticed normal colored skin after I toweled off today. Maybe it's the oat flour in it? Not sure but yay. I like the milky scent too.
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Powder -Everyday Minerals - Pressed Powder in Fairly Light Golden
Murielle 5/3/2008 9:32:00 PM
Love this! Took a chance on it since the loose EM foundations seem to break me out but it's working great. Color is a great match for me - I'm an NC25 and this is not too light (like the fair/light loose) not too dark (like the medium loose). Color compared to other foundations I use: it's between BB Sand and Beige (exactly what I needed). Great texture. Looks smooth and not dry. Seems to meld with my skin. Wears well through the day. Easy as heck to apply - use a big powder brush (MAC 136 I think) and gently buff. The only reason this powder doesn't get a 5 rating is that it doesn't do much to conceal my pores, at least as well as other foundations do - but some EM finishing powder applied on top takes care of that so it's forgivable, just not the ultimate perfection in a foundation. I'm fan of the cardboard packaging. Seems less wasteful. Overall this is a winner!
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Demeter - Grapefruit Tea Pick me Up Spray
Murielle 2/6/2007 11:50:00 AM
Weird. I don't get any grapefruit and nothing I recognize as tea. Smells like a deodorant soap, reviewer below that said Irish Spring has it nailed. Very disapointed. For matching it's name, deserves a 1 lippie rating but it's not a horrile scent, so I bumped it up a notch. If soap is your thing you should try this, if you want grapefruit go for an essential oil.
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Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Stieva-A tretinoin gel
Murielle 5/16/2006 1:15:00 PM
Cheap enought but didn't do the job. This is a generic Retin-A product available by prescription in Canada, manufactured by Stiefel. I purchased 3, 25gram tubes of 0.05% strength, the cost was only $33 including shipping. Having really oily skin I wanted to use a gel form of tretinoin for anti-aging and clogged pores. I had previously used the European 0.05% Kefrane tretinoin gel which worked well but the texture was insanely sticky and unspreadable. The texture of the Stieva-A gel is very unusual, not sticky at all but it's almost dry feeling when you put it on. The base ingredients are very simple: alcohol anhydrous, butylated hydroxytoluene and hydroxypropyl cellulose. I wasn't able to find the alcohol percent but it feels very high. Eventhough I adjusted to the peeling, my skin could not take the alcohol burn when I put it on. Unlike other tretinoin preparations I have tried, this one did not help my clogged pores at all. Even using a heavy Renova generic (Retacnyl) I could see my pores cleared the morning after use. This one nothing. Another annyoing aspect of this product is that in trying to counteract the alcholol burn with applying moisturizer first, the gel would only ball up when applied on top (or even when applying moisturizer on top). Overall, not worth the trouble.
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Bronzers -Jane - Oil Free Bronzer Powder - 09 Sahara
Murielle 5/14/2006 8:16:00 PM
Love it! I'm around an NC25-30 and love the shade, not too olive (like benefit hoola), not too yellow (LM), not too orange - just a pretty tan, with maybe a hint of peach. Great soft texture too. Doesn't call attention to my skin problems.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Alpha Hydrox - 10% AHA Gel
Murielle 5/14/2006 12:20:00 PM
Didn't do anything for my lines. From what I've read, AHA needs to be in an emolient formula to do the job, although Paula's Choice AHA Gel works fabulously. I did use this around my eyes and it did take care of the fine crepey lines there so it's not completely useless.
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Sunscreen -Unlisted Brand - Vanicream spf 15
Murielle 5/13/2006 6:24:00 PM
This sunscreen has all the things I want and none of the things I don't. I concede to the slight whitening cast for assurance that I am being protected, but since I normally wear powder foundation it's easy to counteract. I have very, very oily skin and this doesn't make me any oilier and actually works more like a primer in keeping my foundation in place longer. I did have to learn to love it though. At first I hated it, but because I wasn't able to find anything better I kept coming back. The realization at how great it is came when instead of smearing it straight on my face from the tube, I spread and 'sheered' it out over my fingers then patted it onto my face. Voila.
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Loose Powders -Laura Mercier - translucent loose powder
Murielle 4/27/2006 2:03:00 AM
Pros: Lovely, refined, delicate texture. Cons: My oily skin kicked its a$$. The pressed version actually does a better job at oil control and diffusing the appearance of my pores, but then MAC Blot is even better than that. Overall: If you have nice skin it would work, but then why would you need it?
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Crème -Sue Devitt - Triple C-weed Whipped Foundation
Murielle 4/23/2006 10:21:00 PM
Love this! Similar to Chantecaille Future Skin but better. Buidable coverage that takes away redness, hides pores yet beautifully marries to my skin so that it doesn't look fake or masky. If I moisturize first, it will have a dewy finish, otherwise it's matte. I'm an NC25-30, initially tried Granite Downs, but that seemed to darken on my skin later in the day. Switched to Tanami which is good for winter. Will try Sandy Desert next which will probably be perfect. Doesn't cause breakouts or skin problems.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Dawn Spencer Hurwitz - Green coconut
Murielle 4/23/2006 9:03:00 PM
Agree with rnornan below, this smells like corn. I thought it was canned cream corn in particular. Asked my companion what it smelled like, he said "masa" (ground corn hominy). Pretty disappointing, I would love to wear a scent that was really green coconut.
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Mascara -Max Factor - Lash Perfection
Murielle 4/9/2006 10:33:00 PM
Flakes! Nearly never does a mascara flake on me but I end up with bits of black chunks beneath my eyes after a few hours of wear. Otherwise goes on smoothly with no clumps, doesn't smudge. Maybe looks a little spikey. Not a horrible product, flakes can be wiped away, but no HG either.
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Scrubs -Origins - Modern Friction
Murielle 5/31/2005 2:08:00 AM
I can deal with the goopy texture, I can deal with the packaging, I can even choke down the price, but what I can't deal with is the MASSIVE BURNING SENSATION it gives my skin!!!! I have never felt more sheer pain from any product before, and I had not even scrubbed. It's their moronic notion that anyone needs citrus oils like bergamot on their face. Worked wonderfully on the back of my hand when I tested it at the shop, left my skin soft and smooth. I was really hoping for something wonderful for my face. NOOP. A huge disappointment!
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Concealers -Vincent Longo - Cream Duo concealer
Murielle 5/30/2005 1:39:00 PM
Love this! Best product I've tried for my undereye circles. It's creamy but not greasy, great coverage, lasts all day with minimal creasing, easy to apply with fingers or directly from the stick, no milia, and my favorite feature is the finish texture - better than my real skin. Yay Vincent! (notes: 40s, some fine lines, oily skin, NC30; previous products: LM Secret Concealer, KA SSE, Lancome Maquicomplete, have tried Becca, Paula Dorf, Dior Anti-Fatigue, Cle de Peau, YSL TE, Bobbi Brown kit, Mary Kay)
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -Biomedic - Purifying Cleanser
Murielle 9/5/2004 2:17:00 PM
Holiest of holy grails. I’ve used this over the last 4 years and haven’t found anything that comes close. Cleans my oily skin really well, takes off the makeup and physical sunscreen I wear daily. No noticeable scent. Never caused irritation like so many others (Philosophy Real Purity, Keihl’s Non-Detergent, Neutrogena anything) and doesn’t sting my eyes one bit. Leaves my skin feeling fresh and healthy. When La Roche Posay -- the maker of one of the WORST cleansers ever (Effaclar) -- bought Biomedic I was fearful they would screw around with this product, but (keeping fingers crossed) so far so good. Just wish it was a little easier to purchase. The price is expensive, but each wash requires such a tiny drop the bottle will last a very long time and is well worth the cost. Overall, made a big improvement in evening the tone of my skin and keeping pimples away.
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Fragrances -Demeter - Tomato
Murielle 8/22/2004 3:03:00 AM
I’d call this a classic for Demeter. Not particularly easy for me to wear but very fun and energizing to take nose hits off – really does Pick Me Up. Love the green leaf scent but I catch the ripe red beefsteak in there too. Decent lasting power, 4+ hours.
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