Fragrances -Laura Mercier - Vanille Gourmande
OcMd 3/11/2011 4:10:00 PM
the other day i decided i NEEDED a vanilla perfume. i found the perfect one....van cleef & arpells orchidee vanille. AMAZING. However, $168. So yeah. Vanilla. Back to the drawing board. Found one at Anthropologie that was only around $18...not so bad, but REALLY sweet. Then stumbled upon this one. It is, as others have pointed out, a bit more grown up. My recommendation is definitely to spray and walk into it-I feel like that application method helps you get to the lovely drydown more quickly. It is sweet and a sweet price too-only about $50 and definitely lasts on me. I can see layering this scent with other orientals or floral. Here are the notes: vanilla orchid & vanilla liqueur, vanilla musk, heliotrope, daylily, bourbon vanilla, sandalwood & amber.--really its alot of vanilla though. : )
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -MAC - Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation
OcMd 2/24/2011 11:58:00 AM
For all the expensive things I do to and for my skin, I have been using Revlon foundation bc my skin is SUPER dry, sensitive and reactive! I frequently try new products and have to instantly remove bc of redness, stinging, itching, tingling etc. This product could be my new fave! I had a little challenge coming home the first time with the wrong color (after being color-tested aka frustrating) I am VERY neutral and just learned that although it would make sense that MAC's NW means Neutral Warm, it is actually the opposite and the NW's come out cool. So NW20 and NW25 samples in hand, I finally got the right color. I've read people on here who have said this product makes them look greasy? I would give a digit on my pinky to look greasy-being dry dry dry and living in the THE dryest state-CO. So. So far its working. Dewy as promised. Not sparkley or shiny-just nice and dewy. No burning stinging or itching and GREAT medium coverage you could easily build. The color match is perfect. I am LOVING it thus far. : )
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Self Tanners -L'Oreal - Sublime Bronze Airbrush-Effect Dry Mist BODY
OcMd 1/10/2011 12:34:00 PM
In my opinion this is the best self tanner on the market. I dont like lotions bc I think they are too hard to manipulate, streak easily, etc. This spray is just like Mystic Tan. Shower. Exfoliate if you need to. Get out. Dry off. Moisturize. Wait like 15 minutes. Then put a towel down in the tub for your feet and spray away. I focus on my shoulders, arm, thighs, butt, stomach. The product falls onto your feet, so I go extremely light. Once you do your whole body, theyve already been hit, so dont go overboard. On my face I go lightly too. I hit my cheek hollows and bridge of my nose and under chin extra. Dont dry with a towel and dont get dressed for at least 10-15 minutes. Wear loose clothing if you can. The best time is to do this on the night before you wash your sheets and tan before you go to bed so you dont have to walk around smelling like crackers all day. You will be a bronzed goddess. : )
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Philosophy - when hope is not enough replenishing cream
OcMd 1/10/2011 12:27:00 PM
I am 34 years old (just turned-ahhhhkk!) and live in Denver. A facialist once told me that Denver is equivalent to the Sahara Desert as far as dryness goes. I believe it. I have extremely dry AND, more importantly, REACTIVE sensitive skin. So. I live in the ongoing quest to find a moisturizer that doesnt make me react, but that also provides anti-aging properties I need nowadays. Since its winter, I commonly find myself reaching for my aquaphor or vaseline. They dont make me react and the cold, dry weather makes my eczema go a little nutso and they help because they are thick and mild. However, anti-aging they are not. When Hope is Not Enough sounds like it will do the trick. It burned a tiny bit after I put it on, but I had also just finished my first Micro-Delivery Peel. WHINEnough goes on a little bit greasy, which I am ok with. Now that it has settled, the greasyness is gone. My skin seems to be ok with it so far. I will edit this review after I use it for a while.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Aquolina - Pink Sugar Sensual
OcMd 9/30/2010 11:22:00 AM
This perfume is NOT chanel, but it isn't terrible. To me, the original pink sugar is better-suited to teenagers. Super sweet and young. I love gourmands and orientals. This perfume is good for the office. It opens up terribly on me, but that only lasts for about 15 minutes. Initially, it is plastic flowers, with an emphasis on jasmine, which i have never really gotten a feel for. The middle is ok, but it settles down nicely. The scent I am left with is vanilla and sandalwood. Aka slightly powdery with some creamy vanilla and sugar. Good for first dates. The office. Meeting the parents. Not a little black dress to me, as some have said. For a black dress try Coco EDP (not EDT), Coco Mademoiselle, Miss Dior. All in all: not bad. I did get a compliment from my girlfriend the first time she smelled it on me, so we will see.
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Hair Styling Tools -Conair - Infiniti You Curl No Clamp Curling Iron
OcMd 9/27/2010 5:30:00 PM
WOW! Who would think that a different type of curling iron could make such a big dif! I have every size of regular barrel curling irons.I used to have to straighten my hair and then curl it. I was looking to get Taylor Swift beachy curls for my fine, long (but lots of it) hair. This curling iron is super easy to use and gives me exactly what i want: beachy curls. So So So recommended! The one end is fat and the other end skinny, so it will work whether you have fine or coarse hair. I start half way down.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Maybelline - Volum' Express The Falsies
OcMd 9/27/2010 5:11:00 PM
ever since i can't find last stylist (which was the BEST for volume and length) i've had a tough time finding a good mascara. this one is good-it definitely adds to length which is nice. i've noticed that alot of mascaras that add length sacrifice volume. this one is better than most. i haven't tried a more volumizing product underneath which may be my next move. i was using full and soft and think this will replace it. EDIT: this mascara does not come off easily, so remove gently with vaseline.
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Liquid -Revlon - PhotoReady Makeup
OcMd 9/27/2010 5:05:00 PM
i have dry sensitive and reactive skin with very small pores and i love this foundation. the only other thing i've found that works for me is from clinique-their moisture line and this is about as good and may even be better because although its not quite as moisturizing, it does provide moisture with really great flaw-diminishing coverage. i can never find foundation that has a good mix of moisturizing and coverage and stays on as long as anything i've tried that provides coverage with moisture and really hides flaws, shadows and circles. i have learned that i am natural beige and that many makeup lines go along titling their colors similarly. although the bottle is similar aesthetically to many drugstore brands, the dispenser is clean and efficient.
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Concealers -BeneFit Cosmetics - Erase paste
OcMd 5/4/2009 5:50:00 PM
i am 32 with hardly any wrinkles and with blue toned dark circles. I just bought this and I also have the bobbi brown product that is similar. This one is less creamy, but somehow more effective. it is amazingly sheer and i think will be a fabby product in summer time. it is also less $$ than the bobbi brown i think and is definitely worth it. they should change the packaging to be more user friendly, but overall, if you have bad circles, i like this better than bobbi brown or the mac one i used to have that was similar as well.
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Moisturizers -La Mer - Creme de la mer moisturizer
OcMd 7/25/2008 6:51:00 PM
This product made my sensitive skin react. I think it's the fragrance, but I didn't have a good experience with La Mer. The packaging is glass and clunky. Wow. I guess I am just not a fan of this product. Sorry!
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Fragrances -Lolita Lempicka - L de Lolita Lempicka
OcMd 1/31/2008 4:38:00 PM
Another perfume for my carefully selected collection! I am a tough audience when it comes to fragrance-its an exclusive club and memberships are rarely up for renewal or open for consideration. That said, I am a fragrance junky and forever on the hunt for the perfect depth with the sweetness to draw a sniffer in to come closer. The bottle is beautiful and will look lovely in with my Chanel ladies on my sink, but it is serves as no accurate indicator of what you’ll find inside. There is nothing nautical here….naughty, but not nautical. Someone below said Nag Champa and vanilla together and I agree, but L is quite more complex-it’s the mix of vanilla and precious woods feeling like incense, but don’t let that scare you if you crave sweet and sultry-this is a mix I haven’t stumbled upon too often. Upon first spritz, you get hot and heavy vanilla tempered by the bitter orange and you wonder-is this fruit too fruity? Too much bitter in the bitter orange? It cuts the vanilla, co-existing in sweetness with an edge-good for the girl who knows what she wants, but keeps that as her secret. Mingling with these two sweetie-pies is the welcoming Miss Cinnamon; a little lusty, like Mae West leaning back on a velvet covered sofa with a side-ways glance -delightful. Warm, but complex. Fire with smoke and sparks. And just a little marshmallow that was dropped in blaze. Sexy for sure. This is my favorite leg of this fragrance marathon and I do wish it would last a little longer. Cinnamon isn’t found too often with vanilla and musk. The only other player is Givenchy Organza Indecence, which I once loved, but it was hard to find and then served as a sacrificial lamb for my tiled bathroom floor. The cinnamon & orange subside in about 25 minutes with the EDP to bring back the vanilla and this phase; it’s a first date, a second anniversary, a walk in the park looking casual, with underlying entendre of something mommy wouldn’t approve of. Sexy, but not screaming: “look at me.” The vanilla equals innocence and childhood with the fellas-I think it hits them somewhere on a primal level with the musk and for that I’ve found it effective for lots of things. L ends up being warm with vanilla and musk. Comforting, but a little girl next door come-hither naughtiness….boyshorts with a wife-beater and nothing else, the girl who eats cheeseburgers and fakes natural makeup and reads books and who gets an A-plus in flirting with all her teachers. Naughty and nice which equals extra naughty. PS by the luck of the mermaids who covet this bottle, I found the 1.7oz of EDP at Loehmans (like TJ Maxx) for $20!!!! Total Score!
23 out of 27 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Stila - Poppy Convertible Color
OcMd 1/13/2008 10:38:00 PM
Oo la la. I bought this several months ago...mainly because of the adorably chic compact it comes in. Poppy is a very sheer, blue-based red. True red. McIntosh Apple red. On my lips, I've gotten feedback that it is just so so, as it is very striking compared to the neutrals I typically wear. So here, I am reading to use it as a blush blush blush. Why didn't i think of that before??? Silly me. I will try it and re-review. Maybe it will go from barely 4 lippes to 5. :)
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Hair Styling Tools -Farouk CHI - Chi Ceramic Flat Iron by Farouk
OcMd 1/13/2008 10:31:00 PM
I la la looove this flatening iron. I have the bigger size, which I got for a gift. If I repurchased, I would definitely go for the smaller version, just because it would be easier to use. I have fine hair, that is naturally curly, but straightens easily. This makes it shiny and very flat as long as I do it right and start at the roots. It gets REALLY hot and works smoothly. ***Ok, so I have naturally curly, fine hair but alot of it and WAS wearing it blown dry then 1 1/2 inch barrelled for loose sexy waves. I have now gone straight. Stick straight and the reviews are in: FABBY BABY. Even the random Starbucks guy who never talks said, and I quote: your hair looks fabulous. La la la love it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -Cetaphil - Gentle Skin Cleanser
OcMd 1/13/2008 10:29:00 PM
I have extremely sensitive skin that trends towards dry, but thats really more due to it being reactive. I used cetaphil for years, thinking it was the safest cleanser out there. In turn, I often got milia (sp?) which, I'm told, are a sort of clogged pore, but not quite a zit. Cetaphil IS very gentle, but I would recommend it for a boy or someone with dry, sensitive skin who didn't wear makeup. Because its so gentle, it doesn't necessarily seem to really get it all off.
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Blush -NARS - Cream Blush in Penny Lane
OcMd 1/13/2008 10:02:00 PM
I have never really gotten into cream blush even though I tend to have pretty dry skin and live in super-dry colorado. I tried Penny Lane because the color drew me in....I'm so glad I did. Prior to using this blush, I was hooked on MAC Pink Glow forever, occasionally using NARS Orgasm...Anyway! Penny Lane, as you can probably tell from the colors above, is quite a bit lighter. It goes on very smoothly. You can use as much as you want and it won't look like too much. t would work equally well on a blonde as it does on me, a brunette. Would not recommend it if you have yellow undertones...It is pink with a subtle touch of peach. No sparkle. Perfect for work! For evenings, I use extra Laguna bronzer in conjuction with Penny Lane. Overall, it is just a teeny bit more understated than my prior looks. Highly recommended and I will definitely try more cream blushes that are $23 ($2 less than the powder blushes).
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