Hair -Wen by Chaz Dean - Sweet Almond Mint Cleansing Conditioner
Raddit 8/8/2012 4:15:00 PM
I've only been using this product for a week and I will report back after using the rest of the bottle. I have very fine, thin, straight blonde hair. I am naturally a dishwater blonde, so I feel I have to do something to my hair, either darken or lighten it, so it isn't quite so meh. Because its so fine and I have colored it often, it is damaged. The texture is also meh, because its not perfectly straight, but has enough of a wave (okay, I wouldn't even call it a wave) in the ends to be annoying...so I have to straighten it, curl it or blow it out to get it to look decent (damage, damage, damage). I am trying to grow it out to about the length of my bra strap and its currently a little past my shoulders. My hair has been quite dry lately, probably from all of the products I have been using with protein in them, to attempt to strengthen my hair. So I was looking for something to moisturize my dry hair and this stuff seems to be the ticket. I bought the sweet almond mint, because it is said to be the universal cleansing conditioner. My first impression upon pumping it into my hands is that it feels very waxy and thick. I got my hair soaking wet, and then worked the product in, two pumps at a time, until I had used about 8 total throughout my hair. I ran my head back and forth under the shower twice and then proceeded to work it into my hair and scalp. The smell was strongly minty and I liked how it made my scalp feel tingly and clean. It did feel a little, tiny bit foamy. After a couple of minutes, I gently combed through it with a wide tooth comb and then clipped it up for the rest of the shower. After I did everything else one does in the shower, I rinsed. And rinsed. And then rinsed some more...until I felt no residue on my hair. I then mixed half of pump of the conditioning cleanser and the sweet almond mint styling cream into my hair. Afterwards my hair felt clean and looked shiny. It felt almost like my 6 year old daughters hair...soft and smooth. I didn't really get any special volumizing benefit from it, but then I'm using this to grow my hair out more than anything. A couple of notes about this...It is REALLY time consuming. And with all of the scrubbing you are expected to do while you are working this stuff in, I have to question if that isn't doing some kind of damage anyway? I really like the way my hair feels after using this, but I can't get over how time consuming it is. I think if you want to use a product that is more traditional with similar (but not the same) results, you should try the Morrocanoil moisturizing shampoo and conditioner...much faster, but the results aren't quite the same. I'll keep using this for now...love the results, but not so much the super long shower. Oh and I would say that you don't have to wash your hair everyday while using this, but I do, because I workout everyday.
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Highlighters -Rouge Bunny Rouge - Sea of Showers
Raddit 8/8/2012 3:16:00 PM
This review is for Rouge Bunny Rouge Seas of Illumination Highlighting Liquid in Sea of Showers. That is quite a mouthful, isn't it? Anyway, down to business. Oh and as a disclaimer- I have tried a handful of Rouge Bunny Rouge products, which are largely, in my opinion, overpriced bottles and packages of "meh." Rouge bunny rouge excels at giving a very diffused, soft, you-but-better look. A lot of products can do that for half the price (for example, any number of mineral makeup products on the market)...although they won't come with the overly whimsical names or added luxury. To me, its really the end result that matters most, not the bottle it came out of or the label or price. So, my opinions about their products are probably not going to be the most popular around here. But their eyeshadows ARE worth it and unique. ANYWAY. I bought this after reading all of the hype on the beauty board and read the description of SOS, which said a warm, peachy gold highlighter. Since, I tend to look really good in peach colored anything, I took the plunge. The bottle is truly gorgeous and the pump is high quality...very luxurious. The first time I applied this product, I used a full pump on the back of my hand and applied with a foundation brush. I looked like King Midas...my husband walked by and asked why I looked like I had dipped my face in liquid gold. This highlighter is overall too dark, too metallic and too orange toned for my face, even when I do manage to squeeze out 1/4 of a pump and mix it with my foundation. NC25 is the most universal description I can give for my skin tone, although I tend to be more peaches and cream and MAC doesn't really have a shade for that. The product itself is really lovely. It feels silky and smooth and has a nice, very light fragrance. I might like it if I had actually managed to get a lighter shade that would work better for me, but we don't have a counter here and I'm not willing to spend another $70 to try and find a better match. Part of me wonders if these are all strongly metallic looking anyway. I know these get a lot of love, and trust me I wanted to love this, but when you end up throwing a 70 dollar highlighter in the trash, you tend to hate it.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -Estee Lauder - Double Wear (old formula)
Raddit 8/8/2012 2:45:00 PM
I said I wouldn't buy this foundation again, but a more accurate answer is "maybe." I have a love/hate relationship with this foundation. First of all, it feels like slapping oily putty on your face and when it dries down, it feels like you have a clay mask on. If you are like me, you will feel like your face must have turned into a cakey mess and run for the nearest mirror, only to find that you still look flawless. This foundation is bombproof. This foundation, and pretty much the rest of whatever makeup you put on top of this, won't budge until you take it off. I've worn it to funerals, overnight camping trips (I was younger, please don't judge), full days of doing highlights and blowouts in the salon in the middle of summer, my wedding, anything where I need to look to good and need to know that my makeup won't move. Its great for after hangovers, covering acne, eczema, dark circles, texture issues - whatever. It will make you look porcelain doll perfect, no matter what is going on underneath. It is also my go to foundation for when I know I will be having my picture taken. Now you might be thinking to yourself, "Wow, so what is the problem? What is to hate?" Like I mentioned before, it feels awful on your skin, very heavy and kind of tight. And whenever I used this foundation longterm, my skin never looked good. It was like I could not ever get it truly clean. I had the same issues with my foundation brushes...like trying to clean skin colored glue off of them. And I used an oil cleanser for my face and olive oil and dish soap for my brushes! Bottom line...its not terribly expensive. But I really would not recommend it for daily wear. But its not a bad foundation to keep in your kit for those days when you really need it.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -Chanel - Vitalumiere Aqua
Raddit 8/8/2012 2:26:00 PM
I ADORE this foundation. It has a finish like no other- it FEELS like sheer, matte satin, but looks glowy. I have combination skin with congestion and breakouts in my T-zone (mostly around my nose and chin) and it magically covers imperfections, but still looks and wears light and natural. I was matched in BR10 in the dead of winter, and throughout most of the year, it is the best match I have ever had in a foundation. Right now, I am tan, so its too light, but if I really want to wear it, I just swirl some bronzer on top. I love that it comes in a squeeze bottle that sits upright... hygienic and it doesn't spill out when not in use. It is definitely long wearing on me and keeps my skin feeling matte throughout the day. I also don't think it oxidizes much at all. You wouldn't have to powder it, but I go over it lightly with MUFE HD powder, lightly or Smashbox Halo to up the coverage. Now to the cons...you don't get much product for your $50. It is truly a tiny bottle of foundation and I have gone through it faster than any other foundation I have owned- typically it takes me a year or two to finish a bottle, but I've gone through this in about 6 months. Granted, I pretty much never wear the same foundation two days in a row...I have a couple that I rotate through. I also don't think it photographs well and it won't cover texture issues or really bad breakouts. I still really love this and will repurchase when I run out (hopefully by then Chanel will offer a bigger bottle for my $50).
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Blush -MAC - Mineralize Blush - Warm Soul
Raddit 8/8/2012 1:59:00 PM
This is a really unique and interesting shade of blush. Almost like if you took Nymphette lipglass and made it into a blush. Its pretty neutral on me, but its hard for me to describe...but it has shades of pink, bronze and beige in it. I might even describe it as a very shimmery version of Blushbaby. Anyway, its very flattering on me and really makes me green eyes standout. It makes my cheeks look velvety, not sparkly. I tend to wear this more in the fall and winter, but really you could wear it with almost anything and I'm pretty sure it would be flattering on most skintones, anytime of year. The only gripe I have is that I really don't like the packaging MAC uses for its mineralize blushes. It has sort of a bubble on top, rather than being flat, like the other blushes, with makes it hard to stack or organize.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Laura Mercier - metallic creme eye colour - platinum
Raddit 8/8/2012 1:50:00 PM
This is a very shimmery, metallic, cream eyeshadow. It has tones of champagne and light pinky peach. The previous reviewer who commented that it is similar to Mac's stilife paint is right on the money :-) There are a couple of major differences between the texture and staying power though. First of all, the Laura Mercier goes on like silk. It is easily one of the smoothest and easiest to spread cream shadows that I have tried. The problem is (on me, anyway) that it has a tendency to crease and if I wear it without any sort of eyeshadow (powder) on top, my eyeliner melts into my crease. Its a very nice color and I adore the texture when I'm applying it, but the staying power isn't that great, in my opinion. At $22, its not super expensive (it will last forever, because you only need a tiny dot for each eye), but I won't buy again.
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Brows -BeneFit Cosmetics - Brow Zing in Light
Raddit 8/8/2012 1:31:00 PM
Let me start off by saying that this brow product is for a bolder look - more when you want a more luscious, glamourous eyebrow look, not necessarily a natural one. I was matched in the light kit at Macy's. My brows are a very light ash blonde and somewhat sparse...really almost invisible, unless I do something to enhance them. This kit is on the darker side of what I would use on daily basis (Chanel eyebrow pencil in blond clair), but it gives me a really glamourous, full looking brow that I will never have on my own. It is great for photography or special occasions, in my opinion. The product itself is really nice...one side is a powder and the other is a tinted wax. The SA who matched me put the wax on first and then filled in with the powder on top, but I do the opposite...feather on the powder first, then go over the top with the wax, which gives a softer look. The powder is really creamy and I don't have any fallout from it and the wax is not too dry and not too soft. I use a Clinique slanted liner brush to apply and then smooth through it with a spoolie brush. I've had this product for over a year and its still nearly full (although I probably use it once or twice a month on average). Its a great product, but at 30 dollars, I probably won't buy it again when it runs out because I use it so infrequently. But if full, sexy brows are your everyday look, I highly recommend this.
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Eye Primer -Too Faced - Shadow Insurance - Candlelight, Softly Illuminating Anti-Crease Eye Shadow Primer
Raddit 6/18/2012 8:47:00 PM
I really love this primer! HG for me. I have really bad darkness around my eyes from allergies and I feel like the yellow tone/shimmer in this brightens everything up. I literally use a pinhead size amount per eye and I smooth it on with the Mac 252 shader brush. A little goes a really long way and I'm sure this tube will last for ages. It helps my shadow and liner last all day and intensifies the color. I also tend to get creasing (I have deep set, hooded eyes) and this prevents it completely. Awesome product, will repurchase!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -Chanel - Perfection Lumiere
Raddit 6/18/2012 8:33:00 PM
I bought this foundation in an attempt to replace my beloved Mat Lumiere. I was matched by a really lovely SA in shade BR20, which is also my shade in Vitalumiere Aqua (which is a perfect match for me). I have sort of a hard time finding a good match for my skin tone, which is very much peaches and cream, sort of a mix of pink and yellow and most foundations tend to be one or the other. I have found my best shade match in Clinique, but I don't really care for their foundation formulations. Anyway, she sent me home with a sample to try and in my bathroom lighting it looked really nice. I went back and purchased a full sized bottle quickly, because I wanted to use it at my wedding which was coming up in a week. Well, the next day, I noticed in day light how much it had oxidized. It was a shade or two darker and much more obviously pink toned. I really like how it wears and feels on my combination skin...very satiny and smooth but still matte and not greasy feeling, but the color change is too much for me to repurchase. Also, I took a couple of points off for the packaging because the pump always seems to leak product after I put the cap back on and make a mess. Not the worst foundation I have ever used, but I won't be buying it again.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No