Liquid -Yves Saint Laurent - Teint Touche Eclat Foundation
Sayoko 9/22/2012 11:57:00 PM
I was really excited when YSL announced the launch of this foundation with a shade range to cover darker skintones. As a woman of colour, it's difficult to find high end foundation shades that match my skintone I'm an NC50/C7 for reference. When the foundation came out, I went to my local Sephora to check it out. This foundation is very light weight, it glides easily on the skin. My face looked natural,luminous, fresh and flawless, a look I prefer. This did not look cakey( a look which I hate), and for my normal combo skin, I did not have to set this with powder. I got about 7 hours of wear with this which by far exceeded my expectations of this foundation. I was not this impressed with a foundation since NARS sheer glow. Now with all of the great things about this foundation, there is a downside. I was in between shades in the range. If you are an NC50 you will need shade #7 and #8 combined for a perfect match. shade 7 was too light, and shade 8 was way too dark. I loved the texture, the overall look of this foundation once blendedso much that I bought both shades to achieve the look I had. Once they're finished however I do not think i'll repurchase. My YSL experience for 2 shades was pricey!! unless YSL expand the range to add more colours for women of colour. For my NC/NW55 ladies you're in luck with this one
6 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Wet 'n' Wild - Color Icon Blush - Berry Shimmer
Sayoko 11/26/2011 9:53:00 PM
I love this blush!! Deep berry with gold/bronze shimmer. It reminds me of NARS Torrid or what I call the WOC version of Orgasm. This looks absolutely gorgeous on my skintone NC50/C8 for reference; this gives me a beautiful glow, berry shimmer works well all year round Very pretty, as far as the quality, this Blends easily and stays on well, about 6 hours a lot longer than a couple of NARS blushers I own one of them being Torrid ironically. I love this so much I bought 3 back ups. This is definitely worth the $3 I spent at Walgreens. The only issue I have with this is the packaging it's crap! it's not travel friendly not even in my everyday make-up bag, I have to depot this before I ruin it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Hair Styling Tools -Unlisted Brand - VOLUMINOUS HOT ROLLERS
Sayoko 11/11/2011 5:18:00 PM
Finally, T3 has a hot roller set! I purchased this during the Sephora F&F sale. The T3 Voluminus hot roller set comes in 2 models one for shoulder length and longer hair and one for shot to medium hair. The set includes a travel case, a heating base for rollers, 8 rollers and 8 clips with the detachable plug. I purchased the one for longer hair. This Heats up fast 250F, easy to use, clips hold the rollers well; I have APL length hair, coarse in texture. I was skeptical about the number of rollers included in the set as I am used to 20 rollers in my jilbere hot roller set. Surprisingly, the 8 rollers included worked nicely! the results were beautiful soft waves! the waves lasted several hours which is not the case with my other hot roller set, I was really surprised. Pros: -Heats up very quickly, does not cool really quick resulting in beautiful soft waves. -Smooth shiny finish to my hair after using the hot rollers -comes with a storage case - takes up less counter space making it perfect for travel. -comes with an instructional booklet Cons: -The price while the product is up there in quality, it could have been cheaper, I'm happy I bought this during FF. I would definitely buy this again in fact I'm thinking of purchasing the set with the smaller rollers.
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Liquid -Chanel - Perfection Lumiere
Sayoko 10/15/2011 3:48:00 AM
I was really excited when Chanel announced this foundation as this is the first time Chanel expanded it's foundation range for darker skin tones. When this foundation came in, I was contacted by my SA, and I got colour matched(94 Ambre), I'm NC50/C7, for reference. When I first applied my foundation my face looked great, very natural light to medium coverage a look that I like, as I'm not into the whole "mask" look, also i did not experience oxidization with this foundation as others have. Unfortunately that's where the good part ends. After an hour or 2 of application, my face felt VERY dry and tight! I think the alcohol content in this is too much. For $60 dollars it isn't worth it. I think I'll stick to MUFE mat velvet plus and my Revlon colourstay foundations.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Concealers -Make Up For Ever - Full Cover Concealer
Sayoko 10/15/2011 2:56:00 AM
This is the best concealer I've used thus far. The Full Cover Concealer is a matte finish concealer with medium to full coverage. It works best for normal to oily skin. The price is $30 at Sephora for 0.5 oz./15ml. which may seem expensive to most, but really cost vs use is pretty good. IMO my last tube lasted over 9 months, and I'm pretty much an everyday make-up wearer. One of the good things about this MUFE full cover is its very concentrated, so a little goes a long way like others mentioned. I personally use it over the occasional pimple large pores, and blemishes, as well. This works really well with my skin I have not had any allergic reactions to it. This worked well for me during the summer months when I was more oily, and it worked well in the winter months as well. I wouldn't recommend this for under the eyes if you have fine lines as it has the tendency to crease in the lines(really bad). I use the full cover concealer with my sigmax precision eye brush P82(a synthetic round shape brush) with works really well. PROS-Great coverage, works well with my skin. - a little goes a long way my first tube lasted a long time! - Excellent range of shades from light to very dark -Drys matte which is great for really oily skin CONS- It drys quickly so you have to work fast! overall, I will definitely purchase this again.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Misc Beauty Tools -Clarisonic - Pro Skincare Brush
Sayoko 5/15/2011 12:10:00 PM
I started out with the 3 speed(the pro model) back in 2007 before Clarisonic introduced the new plus and models from my dermatologist office. I eventually upgraded to the new pro model when it was introduced in late 2009 early 2010. I have been using the Clarisonic for over 3 years now, prior to that, I visited my local spa for facials once a month. I have normal to combo skin with whiteheads, and occasional breakouts. I wanted to improve the overall look, and tone to my skin; I must say that using the Clarisonic have greatly improved my skin so much so that I no longer need dermatologist, and spa visits for facials. Since using this, I noticed that I use less product especially moisturizers as it saturates my skin. I no longer use medium/heavy coverage foundations I just use a light coverage foundation or tinted moisturizer! My skin went from hyper pigmented to smooth clear and even toned. My occasional breakouts has been reduced to a minor bump or two during that time of the month. The pro has 4 speeds pro,high,normal, and low. The pro setting works well for deep cleaning, also Clarisonic recently introduced a brush head for the purpose of deep cleaning. This model of the Clarisonic has 2 speeds for the body constant and pulse. (which I love as I use this to exfoliate the rough areas it works great on the body as well) I use my brush with my own foaming facial cleanser( Estee Lauder perfectly clean splash away foaming cleanser) as I find that it works best for me. I really hated the sample facial cleansing system that came with the Clarisonic, So using the cleansing system with the Clarisonic is optional. I would not recommend use of the Clarisonic for people suffering from Rosacea, or cystic acne, and as it worsens these conditions Pros- Over time this was well worth the price for me since using this, my skin requires less product usage(moisturizers,serums,creams etc..) resulting in huge savings $$$ overtime on Products, facials, and Dermatology visits. Cons-This is a little too big for travel, but I got the Clarisonic mia to solve that problem!
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Makeup Brushes -Sigma - F80 Flat Top Synthetic Kabuki (was SS197)
Sayoko 2/25/2011 3:44:00 PM
This brush is really good for the price ..To apply liquid foundation, normally i'd use the mac 187 and then the 180 to buff it out. The F820 is like the 180 and the 187 in one. the results from the F80 is fabulous!.. I can't say this brush can replace my mac 180 brush but their performance is quite comparable since the 180 is discontinued, the F80 is a good alternative. I would say this brush seem to work well with liquid and powder products best. I wouldn't pay the insane ebay prices for a mac 180 if I didn't have one. I would definitely buy this again... I already bought one for my travel brush set.:-)
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Cover Girl - Lash Blast
Sayoko 2/25/2011 3:29:00 PM
This Mascara was just OK. I like the formula, the fact that it's pretty easy to remove at the end of the day, even the bristles on the brush it reminds me of chanel intimable brush with the latex wand..the only problem that I have with this mascara is the size of The brush it is enormous and for someone who has short thin lashes and eyes that are deeply set, I just can't get close enough to get all lashes, and forget about my bottom lashes because it smudges; I wish Cover girl would make a smaller brush.(a girl can dream) With that being said it is one of the better DS mascaras on the market.
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Mascara -L'Oreal - Voluminous in Carbon Black
Sayoko 2/25/2011 2:55:00 PM
Since it's recommended that mascara need to be changed every 3 months, I buy drugstore mascaras to save on $$$ I must say this mascara did really well for me. I usually buy the original Voluminous mascara, but decided to buy this version since a lot of youtubers recommend the carbon black. I put two coats of this on my lashes and wow, my lashes look very dark, defined, and full(I have thing short lashes). It didn't clump, or flake( unlike maybline colosso volume) on my lashes either. I was very very impressed! the downside to this though is that it can be difficult to get off. I just use witch hazel on a q-tip to solve that problem. I like this version so much I think I'll get this again.
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Blush -MAC - Matte Blush - Bite Of An Apple (Venomous Villains)
Sayoko 10/23/2010 3:10:00 PM
I've had this blush since the day it was released and I have used it several times. I must say, I don't get the hype. Yes, yes, yes, it looks vivid in the pan, but... for me, at least, it was disappointing. On my skin (NC50) it's just a soft coral pink not the MAC pro apple red vividness I was expecting from it. It is not anything different from what I own and I have several coralesque blushers. If you have marine life, joyous, hipness, MSF in stereo rose, then this is a definite skip. Pros: it's matte so it's not a disco ball, cons: well, it's not as pigmented as expected. The packaging could have been better than that.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Highlighters -MAC - Marine Life [DISCONTINUED]
Sayoko 5/27/2010 7:53:00 PM
For WOC, This highlighter/blush is gorgeous. the pigmentation and/ or brightness in this that many find unappealing works really well with our complexions, This complements my NC50 skintone beautifully. if you can get this at retail, it's worth it! (I know due to the hype, that may not be possible). I wouldn't pay the insane prices on ebay that's for sure!! The only thing I didn't like about this is the cute little seahorse being an overspray. pros: -great on all skintones like the beauty blogs/press predicted. -pigmented, lasted several hours on Cons -the gold overspray -the hype
7 out of 8 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -NARS - Cream Blush in Enchanted
Sayoko 5/17/2010 11:08:00 AM
After hearing from MA at the NARS counter in Saks how much this is similar to Guele de nuit, I decided to give this a try. In the pan, it is a gorgeous gold-flecked peach with a slight hint of pink. I was skeptical because it looked so light in the pan, once applied to the skin, this looked like an ashy mess of glitter on my cheeks not good. this did nothing but accentuate my pores making them larger. The only thing positive that I can say about this blush is that the texture is a dream!(one lippie for that) my assesment? this is no way similar to guele de nuit not even close.
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Hair Styling Tools -GHD - IV Styler (all sizes)
Sayoko 5/14/2010 8:28:00 PM
time saving, heats quickly I have VERY thick and course hair and have literally over the years purchased high end flat irons such as the CHI and the SEDU hoping for great results. The CHI fried my ends, and the SEDU worked ok, but in the end it didn't control the frizz. After my CHI broke I decided to get the GHD. I must say it's worth every penny!!Here are the basics: *Literally heats up in less then 30 seconds *Doesn't scorch the carpet or bedding (whatever its resting on) even at its hottest *I have thick course hair, and have to run it through each section MAYBE 3 times tops *NO FRIZZIES!!!! *My ends aren't nearly as frayed or fried like the others tended to make them *Shuts off after about 20-30 min, so if you're in a rush and you realised that you left your straightener off as you head down the road...no worries about coming home to a half burnt down house :) Totally worth every penny -- I've had mine for three years and it still works just as good from the day I got it -- no random scorching hot spots or worn areas...I've heard people have had it for over 5-7 yrs and its still going strong!! ONLY Negative...Sometimes my strands get caught in the panels...its rare, but the only negative thing I could think of
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Make Up For Ever - HD Blush (all)
Sayoko 5/14/2010 7:47:00 PM
I liked colors #2, #11 and #12, but after trying these out, I'm not in love. It's unique in terms of packaging and being more sanitary, but I much prefer NARS cream blushes, in my opinion those are more pigmented, and easy to work with, and they don't appear "flat". Pros: 1.packaging is great as it's more sanitary 2. some of the colours are very pigmented a small amount of product is needed Cons: 3. This dries quickly, so you have to work fast 4. once this is applied on the cheeks this tends to look flat on the skin. 5. the colours that aren't very pigmented do not last very long at all. 6. The price. I just don't think one is getting what they paid for.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -NARS - Cream Blush in Gueule de Nuit [DISCONTINUED]
Sayoko 5/14/2010 11:32:00 AM
NARS calls this a "peach coral". In the pan, it's dull and not at all interesting - a dark rosy mauve colour with a satin finish. when applied however, it brightens up to a peachy coral with a sight golden metallic sheen. The texture is smooth, not greasy , a characteristic of NARS cream blushes that I love! personally I think NARS makes the best cream blushers on the market in terms of colour and texture(JMHO) this is very pigmented, and it's definitely buildable. This unlike turkish red lasts about 8 hours on me. (NC50 for reference) NARS is discontinuing this so get it on the NARS site while you can. I'd buy this again if I needed to.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No