Eye Shadow -Clarins - Eye Quartet Mineral Palette in 01 Pastels
OSusanna 5/18/2013 1:28:00 PM
This eyeshadow quartet is lovely and it's a nice idea to have summery colors in one palette. The 01 Pastels quartet won't give you a smoky eye for sure because the colors are quite light and shimmery. The quartet contains a white/ivory shade that is shimmery, a mint shimmery shade, a glittery (but not too glittery) peachy pink shade and a taupey brown. All shadows apply like butter. The pigment could be rated at a 3 out of 5 and the texture is not as good as Dior's Earth Reflection quint that I use also. The packaging is a gorgeous metallic compact that will probably hold up well over time. Staying power of the shadows is good and really, this is a good basic set of eyeshadows for those who want a lighter, casual summery look.
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Skincare - Face -St. Ives - Scrub Free Exfoliating Pads
OSusanna 5/15/2013 5:50:00 PM
This is an elegant and effective product and a great find! Wonderfully priced, these exfoliating pads seem to take care of the little flakies that occur sometimes. After using them, treatments seem to sink in a bit better. The pads are quite thin and a little difficult to get out of the jar but they disperse enough product per use just fine. The smell is not overwhelming and yet still attractive. Overall these are a good buy.
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Sunscreen -Cerave - CeraVe Suncreen Broad Spectrum SPF 30
OSusanna 5/12/2013 5:38:00 PM
Thick, white and sticky. However, all those things aside, still quite effective. Lots of zinc in this one, 23.65% and then also titanium dioxide at 2.5%. I have dry skin and need a moisturizer under this but the product itself does not dry out my skin. The label claims that this product has InvisibleZinc but this is still quite white. I am pale so this is not an issue for me and I can apply makeup over this and not be affected. I suspect that after rubbing it in a bit that the whiteness goes away. It smells a bit like Coppertone and not overwhelmingly so. I have also used Coppertone's sensitive skin formula and found that to be quite like this but that formula was less elegant than this one, making the CeraVe on better for the face. Overall I think this is an adequate drugstore find and works well for me. I will probably repurchase and use on high UV days and continue to use my Eucerin spf 30 for regular daily use.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Eucerin - Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Sensitive Skin Creme
OSusanna 4/23/2013 10:49:00 PM
There are times when the weather deals my skin a nasty blow and this is surprisingly during the dry times of the summer. I usually need to put on a thick cream during that part of the year. This cream will do the job but only on a 6 out of 10 scale. It is not as thick as I need it to be, possibly doesn't contain enough oil and doesn't sink in completely. All that being said, it still fits a need in my skin care arsenal. It is what I would buy if I could not get to a department store and needed something fast. Out of all the drugstore options out there, I think this is probably the most elegantly formulated moisturizing cream available. My skin likes this better when the weather isn't dry and then I use it with more satisfaction under my sunscreen in the mornings. It's a medium thick cream that takes about 15 minutes to sink in if it does at all. It's got a very slight waxy feel to it. A good buy for someone with normal to dry skin. For those who deal with dry skin daily and sometimes very dry skin, it is a satisfactory temporary substitute.
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Primer/ Corrector -Cover FX - Cover FX Skinprep FX Nourishing Foundation Primer & Anti-Aging Serum
OSusanna 4/8/2013 4:07:00 PM
I've tried many a primer and some are different textures than others. This one looks and feels like a serum. It hydrates just a bit but not too much and causes any foundation, including the Cover FX creme foundation to stick to your face. It also causes any powder foundation to be a little too tenacious and cakey on me (might be my application!) Good for creme foundation, not my favorite for powder foundation. When used with the Cover FX foundation, it really helped with avoiding foundation sinking into my pores and didn't exacerbate current flaky areas. Apply this first with fingers, then use a flat foundation brush to apply the Cover Fx foundation. I got the best finish this way.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Concealers -Estee Lauder - Ideal Light Brush-On Illuminator
OSusanna 4/5/2013 12:18:00 AM
I bought this and the Double Wear concealer at the same time. Both are excellent products but the DW does have more concealing pigment and is just a bit more opaque. However, this illuminator is still a fantastic concealer and has better luminosity and the finish is better. I love DW but sometimes the finish is cakey and I'd rather have a more dewy finish. Great packaging, beautifully portable and attractive. Coverage is about 85% of the DW concealer. Both rate a 5 for me as they do different things for me at different times. I especially like this illuminator to take with me in my purse for touchups.
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Highlighters -Physicians Formula - Mineral Glow Pearls- Translucent Pearls
OSusanna 3/30/2013 3:29:00 PM
When I look at this in the packaging, it looks like it's going to be a big glitterbomb. Never fear, it's really finely milled and goes on gorgeously. I am very pleased to find a highlighter at the drugstore that is a quality as this one. I am fair and so Translucent is the right color for me. I apply this after my blush and bronzer to the tops of my cheekbones. The compact is cheap and ugly and will probably break. PF powder products are usually very soft and so they can come off dusty in the pan, but this one isn't as dusty as their bronzers or other powders. Overall a good drugstore buy, particularly if there is a good sale.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Physicians Formula - Mineral Wear Talc Free Blush Pink Glow
OSusanna 3/30/2013 3:23:00 PM
A nice pink blush but not too pink. I have a warmer undertone and this still works fine. I would say it's a neutral pink. I put this on the apples of my cheeks and it appears to stay on for a decent length of time. Basic product, a little pricey for drugstore, and I would only recommend purchasing if there is a good sale. I am expecting the compact to break, I don't think that it is very sturdy.
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Bronzers -Physicians Formula - Mineral wear talc free CORRECTING BRONZER
OSusanna 3/30/2013 3:19:00 PM
A decent bronzer, a bit orange. I have it both the medium and the light and the medium is often a bit too dark for NC20 skin. I think that it is very pigmented and I have to be careful about how much product I put on my brush. It appears to last all day just fine. Packaging is very bad and I have to put a rubber band around my Medium one because the compact is broken. These are dusty and it appears that there is a lot of product wasted when swirling a brush around. It takes me eons to go through bronzer so I'm not perturbed by that. Overall a decent drugstore buy but only if there is a sale.
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Powder -Physicians Formula - Mineral Wear Talc-Free Mineral Airbrushing Pressed Powder SPF 30
OSusanna 3/30/2013 3:13:00 PM
I have this in Translucent. There's still quite a bit of coverage for NC20 skin and the color is fine. This powder almost has a creamy feel to it and it buffs nicely into the skin. It feels creamier and less dry than MAC studio fix powder. I have dry skin and this does not exacerbate any dry patches and leaves a bit of a dewy type sheen to the skin. That may not be to everyone's liking. There is no bismuth in this formula that I can see and so my skin appears to be tolerating this very well. My PF items seem to break after being in the makeup bag for awhile so I don't expect this packaging to hold up either. If you can find a good sale, I think this could be a good buy.
5 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Clinique - Moisture Surge Intense
OSusanna 3/11/2013 5:58:00 PM
For those of us that have consistently dry skin I can't recommend this product. For people who have occasional episodes of dry skin I think this might be perfect. I received this as a sample from sephora and I've tried it approximately 6 times. It has a chemical smell to it and a gel-like consistency. I am used to thicker creams that have shea butter or other oils in them that leave a little bit of a creamy film. This leaves more of a gel like film on the skin, a bit sticky. It can do the job for some but I found it not the finish that I wanted and I really didn't like that chemical smell. I have not looked at the ingredients but it wouldn't surprise me if the oil content was low and the silicone content was high. This is not what I'm looking for, however I can appreciate that others might like this. I'm glad I got a sample and didn't purchase it.
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Mascara -Clinique - Naturally Glossy Mascara
OSusanna 2/10/2013 6:30:00 PM
This is a great basic and the best part about this mascara is that it holds up all day without smudging. It's not the best volumizing or lengthening mascara but still a great basic mascara that doesn't clump. Beautiful packaging. It's a slim reflective silver tube. I did notice that when I used this that my lashes didn't hold a curl so well afterward. Other than that I'm overall pleased with the product.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Clinique - Color surge Duo in Something Blue
OSusanna 1/26/2013 5:22:00 PM
I like this a lot. It's a duo with a shimmery silver light blue and a medium blue. The shimmery silver blue is just fine on its own as an wash over the whole lid. When done that way, it appears more silver than blue. I really like the light blue and today I used it over the lid and up to the crease and then added UD toasted in the crease and then some champagne color that I have for the highlight. These are buttery eyeshadows with a nice color payoff. The compact is well designed and elegant. For the money, this is a good deal. The wear on these shadows was good for with at least 10 hours of wear without creasing when not using a primer. Blue eyeshadows can be difficult to wear. I think this is the most wearable duo of blue eyeshadows I have seen.
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Pressed Powders -Revlon - PhotoReady Powder - Fair/Light
OSusanna 1/26/2013 5:14:00 PM
Excellent portable setting powder. I can't see the shimmers when I use this on over a traditional foundation so I don't have a problem with any shine. I have dry skin and this sets whatever makeup I'm using whether that be a traditional liquid or cream foundation or just my sunscreen plus it adds just a bit of coverage. I do not use this over the Photoready liquid foundation that I have because that would then be double duty of shimmers and I have seen that effect and I don't like it. The finish reminds me of the Guerlain Meteorite balls in Mythic that I used up a couple of years ago. This is a fraction of that cost and just as effective in my opinion. I don't carry this with me as a touch up powder so I can't really attest to its use for that. Simple, cheap and effective for the dry skinned ladies as a setting powder.
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Treatments -Clarins - Double Serum Generation 6
OSusanna 1/1/2013 3:56:00 PM
Frightfully expensive, yet basic ingredients, however nothing else is quenching the tightness quite like this. I'm using only Clarins right now and it's helping the parched dry skin on my face and even seems to be restoring the skin because it feels sometimes a little more dewy than before I switched to this brand. I do not like the price of this serum or the packaging but 3 pumps on my face seems to settle down any cracking, flaking and tightness that I might have. While I think it might not be the most advanced formula out there, it is better than anything I have found in the natural store or the drugstore. Sometimes I need a moisturizer afterward and other times I use it just at night after toner. So far so good.
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