Mascara -Givenchy - Noir Couture 4-in-1 Mascara
RaeRae2 9/8/2012 6:12:00 PM
Excellent mascara! The wand takes a few tries to get used to it, so don't give up on it. Once you get the hang of it, you'll love this mascara. The formula is so creamy and rich - not at all flaky, dry, or brittle. Your lashes stay supple and soft. The mascara washes off extremely easy with just waster, which I love. It does not flake or fade. The color is very rich black and the formula is both lengthening and volumizing. I had been using Lancome Hypnose Drama and I like this one MUCH much better. The Hypnose gets so dry and flakey and ends up all over my cheeks throughout the day. The Givenchy is really wonderful! I will definitely repurchase.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -Kat Von D - Lock-It
RaeRae2 9/8/2012 10:47:00 AM
I may have found the holy grail of foundations :-) I have gone through 5 jars of Laura Mercier Creme Smooth because I need a creamy, full coverage foundation. I have dry skin and so I tend to stay FAR away from anything matte or demi matte. But the Creme Smooth just wasn't giving me the coverage that I wanted. I felt like I was constantly touching it up and adding more on top of my old acne scars. Throughout the day at work, I would touch up my makeup every 2 hours. So - I went to Sephora and bought the Lock-It and so far it is performing perfectly. I wear Warm Ivory in the Laura Mercier line so I purchased #48 Light in Lock-It. This color actually matches me better than the LM matches. When they say this is FULL COVERAGE, they don't mess around. This is the most full coverage makeup I have ever used. I have seen this compared to Revlon Color Stay, but it is far more coverage than that. I think this is probably comparable to Illamasqua Rich Liquid. I have to apply with a damp beauty blender or else it ends up looking like a heavy gross mask of makeup. I use one pump to do my entire face with the damp Beauty Blender. You have to work on one section at a time and work it well into the skin before moving on. It dries quickly! The ladies at Sephora said the end result of this foundation is directly related to the quality and amount of your moisturizer and primer. They stressed to me that you MUST moisture really well, and use a hydrating primer. I have dry skin and if I moisturize with Cetaphil and use the Laura Mercier Hydrating Primer, the foundation does not seem too dry. If I could list a fault it would be that it burns slightly underneath my eyes, but then many products do that to me. My skin is extremely sensitive and prone to burning and stinging. If you use a concealer brush and dot on a tiny bit over your imperfections, WOW, you end up with a totally flawless, airbrushed looking, perfect face. And believe me, I have acne and I have a lot of redness and old scarring. Because this foundation is SO incredibly pigmented, you really have to get a great match for your skin tone and color. I was lucky that this matches perfectly, but definitely take some time to get a color match, or the line down your jaw and neck will be extremely obvious. I always use the blender to blend the foundation into my ear lobes, behind my ears, and down my neck, so there is a seamless coverage. Overall, this is the best foundation I have used, to date. But I can see where this would be just way overkill for someone with youthful, beautiful skin. But if you have stuff to cover up, this can't be beat. You need NO additional concealer, that's for sure. And the price is excellent at $34. Oh - and you DEFINITELY want to wear a nice shimmery blush and get some good color going on your eyes and lips. This is so full coverage that it will make your face look flat and one dimensional. But if you like to wear a lot of color, like I do, then it will bring your face back to life. Edited to Add: I wore this outside all day doing physical labor, sweating, wiping my face, covered in dirt, etc... I can't believe the foundation STAYED ON. It was faded and wiped off some around my mouth and nose, but that was it. I have NEVER had foundation stay on while I was doing my outside work like that.
12 out of 13 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Dolce & Gabbana - Light Blue
RaeRae2 7/14/2012 2:41:00 PM
I do not like this at ALL. Gross. I got a deluxe sample from Sephora and I used the whole thing up, not wanting to waste it. It smells like an old musty rotting basement. Like a moldy wet rag you found laying in the corner. The smell fades extremely fast to be undetectable which is bad if you like it, but great for me, because the smell nearly gagged me every time I used this. I cannot understand what people like about this fragrance. It is not flattering and is just downright disgusting. I have gotten many compliments on my GAP Dream More, Victoria's Secret Summer Mist, and even scented lotions from VS but no one ever said a word all the times I wore this. At this point I am hoping they couldn't smell it and that's why they didn't comment! I have even gotten compliments on Clinique Happy and that's the most overrated teenie bopper crap you can buy.
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Treatments -Acne.org - Treatment
RaeRae2 7/6/2012 10:56:00 AM
I discovered Acne.Org about 1 year ago. I am 34 and have suffered moderate acne since pre-teen age. My cheeks were breaking out horribly and I was caught in a cycle of using heavy makeup and leaving my hair down to try to hide the sides of my face. I was scrubbing with every kind of "pore cleansing" cleaner and scrubber I could find. My face was incredibly sore, inflamed, and red. The acne just kept coming and WOULD.NOT.STOP! I did not buy the treatment regimen right away. Instead I followed all of Dan's advice about caring for my face to the LETTER. 1. Don't scrub! No washcloths, seeds, exfoliants, scrubbers, etc. Only a feather light touch with bare fingers. 2. Use Cetaphil liquid cleanser and moisturizer 3. No hot water and steaming to death in the shower (reduce the inflammation!) 4. Quit touching and picking at your face! 5. Quit using heavy, long-wear makeup that won't come off easily. I switched to Laura Mercier Creme' Smooth foundation and found that it just melts right off my face with warm water and Cetaphil cleanser. 6. Taught myself to sleep on my back so I'd quit burying my face in the pillow case every night. If you can't break this habit, change your pillow case every day to get rid of bacteria. Use only a gentle laundry soap and don't use fabric softener. After a month or so of just doing those things, I was down to just very mild acne with only 3 or 4 pimples on my face going at any one time. I have just now purchased the entire Regimen and started using it yesterday for the first time. I want to see if I can get rid of the few persistent spots and have an ENTIRELY clear face for the first time in my life! Having had experience with benzoyl peroxide before, I knew darn well to only use a little pea sized drop for my whole face to start off with! That stuff can really burn and dry out your face horribly, yes even the 2.5%! I would use more if I had worse acne, but for how mild mine is, I don't want to create more problems. Today I can still feel some dryness that I didn't have before. But as with my past peroxide experiences, you have to start very slow, build up, and just deal with some dryness for about a week before it gets better. I intend to use the pea sized amount once a day, or maybe every other day for a copule of weeks before I go to a pea sized amount every day. If you jump right in with slathering this on 2x a day, you will end up with horribly peeling, flaking, tight, disgusting skin. Been there - done that - with other products.... The moisturizer stings a bit (not sure why) but it only lasts for a second and then in gone. The jojoba oil is wonderful. Not sure about using the AHA yet. That's a little scary. This morning I did notice that the 4 or 5 active pimples I currently have, were mostly dried up and all the redness was gone! So that's already a huge step in the right direction. I think people just need to be careful with the peroxide and start out REALLY slow, and moisturize thoroughly 2 to 3 times per day. It seems to me that using this system is more about EVERYTHING you do to your skin - it's not just about a cleanser, a treatment gel, and a moisturizer. The way you handle your skin and everything about your daily environment is what clears your skin.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -E.L.F. - Studio Blush in Candid Coral
RaeRae2 7/6/2012 10:33:00 AM
As others have said, the pigmentation isn't great. I do seem to get "decent" color but nothing like you get with a high end blush. This is the only coral colored blush I own and I love the gold shimmer to it. It creates sort of a natural warm highlight on my cheekbones. This seems similar to what I would think NARS Orgasm is??? Anyway, the blush is very powdery and every use I have to shake the pan upside down over the sink to get rid of the pile of loose stuff on top. If I don't do that, it manages to sift out the sides of the pallet into my makeup bag. I don't mind wasting that much product because it's only $3. I said I would repurchase this again, because I would if money were an issue. If you had the money available, I'd just recommend buying a high end blush product like NARS. Wayne Goss (gossmakeupartist on YouTube) reviewed these blushes and also said the pigmentation is not very good, and it's just an "ok" sort of product. I would agree with that.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Tarte - Cheek Stain in Blushing Bride
RaeRae2 6/26/2012 6:41:00 AM
I'm really not understanding the hype on these cheek stains. I bought two of them - Blushing Bride, Full Blossom. First off, the packaging is bad. You have to push it up from the bottom, but there's no way to push it back down without getting it on your fingers and making an indentation in the stain. Also, the color from these lasts all of about 20 minutes on me, and then is faded to nothing. I tried layering and building and all I ended up with was a hot sticky mess. Even if I apply only a thin layer, it never dries completely. It always feel a little tacky and greasy on my cheeks. It does dry down some but not completely. And the fading color that literally dissapears completely after 20 minutes is just not acceptable. These are kind of scented but it's hard to tell. When first applied, the color is extremely vibrant and rich. Almost looks way too heavy. Then it fades and fades until there's nothing left. Just walking around my house in the airconditioning, both colors were completely gone from my cheeks after just a few minutes. The other problem with these cheek stains is that they do NOT handle any kind of heat at ALL. I left one in my makeup bag, in my car for about 4 hours on a 70 degree day, and it was melted very badly. I opened the cap and sticky red liquid poured everywhere. I used a tissue to blot off all the liquid goo from the top. Then on another ocassion I left it in my car again, but this time for about 1 hour before I remembered it. I ran out and got it - same thing - melted everywhere. Whatever you do, DO NOT BUY THESE IN THE SUMMER TIME AND HAVE THEM SHIPPED TO YOU!!! They will be completely ruined by the time they arrive. Only mail order them in the winter! Ack, total waste. I use Laura Mercier Creme' Smooth, or Bare Minerals powder foundation and either way, if you apply these over the foundation, they just smear and ball up your foundation, and the gel stick gets coated in a thick layer of foundation that you have to try to clean off. The other thing - if you have sensitive/acne prone skin, these cheek stains are a bad bad deal. I have very mild acne and can handle a lot of different products on my face without any problem, but these broke my skin out horribly. Undoubtedly because of the thick layer of sticky jelly grease that suffocates your skin. I love the Tarte clay blushes and wish I'd never bought these cheek stains.
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Lipstick -Maybelline - Super Stay 14 Hr
RaeRae2 6/20/2012 9:43:00 AM
I bought this in the lightest color - something Peony.....the color turns out nothing like the tube depicts. The color is an extreme blue based Barbie Corvette pink. Just horrible. In order to get it to work at all, I have to apply it very lightly and then add a darker gloss on top of it. And I am NOT shy about wearing bright colors that make a statement. But this just looks stupid. Applying it just plain on dry lips is a disaster. It is so dry and cakey, it feels like layers of dried paint and chalk. Ugh, the marketing on this product is a COMPLETE LIE....featherweight, never drags, never dries...........come on! And the color trasnfers very badly onto your glass. At most I got the color to last maybe 2 hours before needing to be reapplied. The worst thing about this lipstick is that as it fades and wears off, it leaves that horrible old granny ring around the outside of your mouth with bare lips in the center. Ugh, awful. Just tacky, trashy, awful. Did they not test this product at ALL before it was released?! Overall, a total failure and waste of $9.
4 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Brows -E.L.F. - Eyebrow Kit
RaeRae2 6/20/2012 9:31:00 AM
I have gone through probably 10 of these already and I just keep buying them! I throw them away when they're about half used up because the gel starts to get kind of gross. I have very dark black eye brows so I use the darkest shade they sell. The little brush that comes with the kit is mostly useless but ok in a pinch if you don't have a larger brush with you. I always have one in my purse, one n the makeup bag, one at home, etc.. I mostly use the gel and it never fades, smears, or looks fake. The packaging is fantastic! Securely snaps shut, never pops open in my purse, and the mirror is good in a pinch. This is one product I cannot be without because my eyebrows definitely need some help. I have tried other eyebrow pencils and kits and found that they fade, smear, or just look fake and cheap. I can't believe this is only $3! No kidding, they could slap a high end name on this kit and sell it for $30, it's THAT good!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Maybelline - Volum' Express The Mega Plush
RaeRae2 6/20/2012 9:14:00 AM
Overall, I feel this is a great mascara! I have been using it a couple of weeks, and I keep reaching for it over and over. It gives me great volume and length. I use this instead my Dior, Este Lauder, and Lancome mascara varieties! I wear mascara every day, and I like really black, voluminous lashes. I don't care for the natural, just barely tinted look. So for me, this is a real winner! I have the blackest variety they sell (don't recall the exact name). Perhaps the lighter colors of the mascara make it more natural? There is ZERO flaking, which is always a HUGE problem for me. I have had so much trouble with Dior and Lancome Hypnose Drama flaking that I'm ready to throw them out. This mascara lasts all day, lashes stay soft and pliable, and throughout the day I never find black flecks of mascara on my cheeks like I do with the other brands I use. I also love L'Oreal Voluminous, the original in the matte silver tube. This seems very comparable to that for me.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Urban Decay - Naked 2 Palette
RaeRae2 6/20/2012 8:58:00 AM
In summary: This is the BEST eye shadow I have ever invested in. The colors are very rich and highly pigmented. The entire pallet is cool toned, which works perfectly for my skin. I have a warm skin tone with neutral undertones and bright green eyes. Over the years I have tried hundreds of shadows and combinations and have discovered that warm colors just don't look good on me. These shadows are very soft and easy to apply and blend. Yes there is fallout with the glitter, as others have mentioned, but I didn't find it to be bad. Just enough to have to be a little careful when applying. And yes this is a neutral pallette but it is by no means boring or mundane! The colors come through so vibrant and with the shimmer, you get the feeling of depth and character. I'm not too crazy about matte colors, except to use as a base, so I'm glad there are only a few mattes. I don't have any creasing problems, but then I never do with any shadow (except for a couple of horrible drug store creams). I very lightly sponge foundation all over my lids, and then lightly dust with a skin toned matte shadow, regardless of which eyeshadows I am using. This sets the base for the color, and when I do this, I never have creases or fading and blurring of colors. I have tried eyeshadow primers and ended up with horrible creasing so I don't even bother anymore. "Busted" is a rich eggplant color which works SO perfectly with my bright green eyes! I use "Blackout" as a liner with an angled liner brush and this works great. The brush that comes with the pallette is very nice but I'm not too picky about brushes. Overall, this was an EXCELLENT purchase for me! I am very happy about this pallette and don't even want to reach for any other shadows except the Naked2 pallette.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Victoria's Secret - Bombshell Summer
RaeRae2 3/29/2012 3:45:00 PM
I have the Bombshell Summer body mist, and WOW. This stuff is absolutely AMAZING. The BEST fragrance I have ever owned, or smelled. I have been using it for months, and I never get tired of it. I love those bright fruity type smells. I do not like dark, heavy, earthy musks. This is very similiar to the Coach Summer fragrance I think. I'm not a fragrance guru so I can't give the lowdown on notes and all that like some posters here can. I can only say that this stuff is wicked amazing!
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Mascara -L'Oreal - Voluminous mascara 
RaeRae2 3/29/2012 3:02:00 PM
This is a really nice mascara! I have nice lashes anyway, they are fairly long though not terribly thick. I love that thick, black, heavy mascara look and I have tried just about every drug store brand, and many of the high end ones as well. I have yet to find that ONE awesome mascara, but, this is pretty close I think. I find the formula to be kind of oily, thick, and moisturizing. You can apply coat after coat after coat and it seems like it never dries on your lashes. I never end up with that dry, crumbly feeling. I have a tremendous amount of trouble with flaking and crumbling with other mascaras and seem to always end up with flakes all over my face throughout the day. With this one, that does NOT happen. It is very difficult to wash off, yes. Plain water will not cut it. You have to use an oil based remover. Overall, I am extremely picky about mascara and always throw them out after a few uses because I don't like them, but this tube I just keep going back to and using. You do have to be VERY careful with the brush. You have to pull the brush straight out of the tube, and do not wipe it on the edge of the tube. The formula gets all gooped and clogged up in huge blobs if you do that. You have to stick the brush back in and pull it out straight to fix it. It's so weird and hard to describe. It's like the formula is so wet and heavy, you can get it blobbed up if you scrape the brush.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Revlon - Colorburst Lip Butter
RaeRae2 3/29/2012 2:42:00 PM
Eh, this is just ok. Not great, not horrible, but just ehhhh. I have two colors: Sugar Plum and Brown Sugar. Brown Sugar has a lot of glitter. I'm not crazy about that. I couldn't see it in the tube prior to buying or I would have passed it up. Sugar Plum has no glitter and is a nice rich mauve color, highly pigmented. It actually feels luxuriously smooth and buttery going on but within 30 minutes my lips are DRY, super super dry, irritated, and I'm annoyed. I end up wiping it off and putting on some kind of sticky gloss to kill the dry irritated feeling. Just seems like any other ordinary annoying lipstick. I absolutely LOVE the L'Oreal Colour Riche Balms that have come out. They have enough color to look like a lipstick but are so creamy rich and smooth, I can't wait to apply them to my lips. They never get dry or icky. I have used up two of those tubes completely and just bought a 3rd today. So try those if you're looking for a sheer, creamy rich buttery smooth moisture product. The name of this Revlon "Lip Butter" is COMPLETELY misleading. I will not be repurchasing.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Cover Girl - Lipslicks
RaeRae2 3/4/2012 10:36:00 AM
These are a perfect, timeless classic! I have been using Lip Slicks for 15 years. I could not tell you how many tubes I have purchased over the years. I like all colors, but the lighter ones I apply just like chapstick. They are glossy, moisturizing, long-lasting, and with a hint of color, they are perfect for keeping in your pocket and applying whenever without a mirror. These are neither cakey and waxy, or that awful plastic silicone feel. They are just perfect! I love my expensive, highly pigmented lip sticks, but for everyday, around the house, running to the grocery store type days, these are perfect. I keep the clear one all the time just for moisturizer underneath lip stick. I love the L'Oreal Balm sticks as well. Those two products I think are VERY similar. I agree with the person who said if they had to pick just one lip product, it would be this. I never get tired of these. They do kind of have that traditional waxy, old fashioned lip stick smell, but it's not overpowering, and I can't smell it unless I stick the tube right up to my nose. The only way to make these perfect would be to add some nice fruity smelly and flavor. If they did that, I would probably never even try any other lip products.
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Styling Products -TRESemme - Instant Heat Tamer Spray
RaeRae2 3/3/2012 7:44:00 AM
This is great stuff! I have long hair that I curl with a VERY hot large barrel iron almost every day. I use this stuff religiously and my finished style is soft, shiny, bouncy, and very professional looking. The bottle SUCKS because it is very difficult to handle and use, but other than that, perfect!
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