Liquid -Revlon - Age Defying with DNA Advantage Cream Makeup
SirenRose 2/6/2013 12:54:00 AM
Oh, beautiful, beautiful foundation. Smooth as liquid, rich as cream, gorgeous full coverage, extraordinary skin enriching ingredients that actually help make my thirtysomething skin become smoother, softer, firmer, brighter. I use the shade Bare Buff, which works fantastically with my pale, fair, slightly yellow-toned complexion. The texture is like silk and velvet. The rich cream coverage conceals old acne scars, redness, dark circles, even new pimples. The foundation even lasts for several hours no matter the climate, temperature, weather, or humidity. It works wonderfully for dry skin, sensitive skin, and dry sensitive skin like mine. Over a good moisturizer, the DNA Advantage Foundation is so great that my skin looks almost flawless. Too bad the packaging won't fit in my purse!
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Foundations -Cover Girl - Covergirl and Olay Tone Rehab 2 in 1 Foundation
SirenRose 2/6/2013 12:43:00 AM
Okay, this is officially my top favorite drugstore foundation (second is Revlon's DNA Advantage, also for the peptides and coverage). The reason Cover Girl's Tone Rehab Foundation is number one is because the coverage is a little better than the Revlon foundation, although they are extremely similar in feel and ingredients, such as peptides. Tone Rehab really is amazing as far as medium to full coverage is concerned. when applied for full coverage this foundation is just as incredible as many high-end foundations, such as MAC Studio Sculpt (my favorite department store foundation, followed by Urban Decay Naked Skin). Tone Rehab covers everything I can think of: pimples, old acne scars, dark circles, blemishes, redness... plus, it stays put for hours and hours. My shade, Classic Ivory 110, matches my very pale, fair, slightly yellow-toned complexion wonderfully. My skin actually glows a little when I wear this foundation. The feel is velvety and silky smooth, and the consistency is fantastic, holding up in all weather and temperatures and climates. Over time, the ingredients like peptides, glucosamine, niacinamide, and green tea actually do smooth and soften and brighten my thirtysomething skin..
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Polishes -Sally Hansen - Nailgrowth Miracle Nail Polish
SirenRose 11/2/2012 9:59:00 PM
These polishes are amazing. I started out with Divine Wine, noticed amazing nail growth and strength within two weeks, and used various CVS coupons to buy more shades. I now have: Divine Wine (dark wine red), Forbidden Fudge (sparkly gold espresso), Natural Sienna (soft pearly brown), Honor (pale taupe mauve), Beautiful Berry (cranberry rose), Mighty Mauve (pale gold pink mauve), Precious Pearl (seashell gold), Bold Buff (pearly white pink), Innocent Nude (clear pearl nude), Wholesome Earth (shimmery gold reddish brown). The Sally Hansen Nailgrowth polishes actually do make my nails grow faster. Now I just need to learn how to gently and lightly apply just one or two layers instead of four, so the polish stops trying to peel, dent, or spend hours drying. I'm learning! It's fun, and it also helps with my spasticity and fine motor control due to cerebral palsy and fibromyalgia.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Concealers -Kat Von D - Tattoo Concealer
SirenRose 10/24/2012 8:37:00 PM
I was in Sephora, randomly looking at thick, full coverage concealers. I usually use organic, mostly natural, or minimal ingredient concealers and foundations. But seeing as how I use organic skin care, I've started to say "Screw it" about the makeup, and as long as it doesn't have petroleum, which my skin hates, I'll try it. I grabbed Light 16 and tested it on my hand, and it blended perfectly. For some reason, the description claimed there were pink tones, but I didn't see any pink - and I am fair with neutral to slight yellow undertones. I've bought pricier concealers that had far less volume, so I wasn't worried about the price. This is over half an ounce and extremely full coverage! I don't have any tattoos. But I do have plenty of scars, blemishes, dark undereye circles, redness, etc. I applied this concealer all over my moisturized face, and then walked around in various lighting with a mirror. And every time, I kept thinking, "Is this magic? Is Kat a witch? Because this is amazing. Where are my blemishes? Where is my redness? Heck, where did my pores go?" The shade was so very perfect, almost exactly like my MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation in NC15 or my Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation in Shade 2.0 or my It Cosmetics Concealer in Light. My skin was smooth, soft, and honestly without flaws. I was floored. To be honest, I only knew who Kat Von D was from commercials for her tattoo show on TV, and occasionally from magazines. But I figured she would know what she was doing, creating makeup to cover tattoos. Sooo... yeah. I. Love. This. Concealer. I might love it forever, I don't know. But it is right up there with It Cosmetics Bye Bye Concealer, which was created by cosmetic surgeons and dermatologists! Score one for the tattoo artist, then.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Concealers -Cover Girl - Olay Simply Ageless
SirenRose 10/15/2012 2:55:00 PM
Well, all those positive reviews were right. This concealer really is extraordinary for a drugstore product, and it can easily run against many expensive high end concealers. Not to mention that at 0.30 oz, the Simply Ageless Concealer boasts a lot of creamy product for half the price of so many high end concealers. Now, I am extremely pale. I guess the best way to describe my skin tone is Fair with Slight Yellow Undertone - which is Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation Shade 2.0. I also wear MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation in NC15 beautifully. My exact shade in CoverGirl Tone Rehab Foundation is Classic Ivory. So you get the point. One of the reviews here mentioned that because of the white swirls, it's best to buy a shade darker than you would normally buy. Now, I would probably do fine with Very Light 205. However, it really is too light even for my ghostly fair skin. So I bought both Very Light 205 as well as Light 210. Light 210 was perfect. I could have used Very Light easily, except it matched my skin so well that it didn't actually conceal. I know that sounds weird, but it looked like I hadn't even applied concealer, and my dark circles, old acne scars, and redness were still highly visible. Which was how I knew I had bought the wrong shade. A concealer needs to actually conceal, and if you buy a shade too light, it's going to look weird, like the color had vanished into your skin. Now, about the formula: Normally I prefer organic or natural products, but those are almost impossible to find in drugstores. So the next best thing for me would be makeup that offers skin-nourishing ingredients, like peptides and vitamins and minerals that help skin stay smooth, soft, bright, and youthful. I may only be in my early 30s, but thanks to a decade of proper skin care I still look 20. And so I want makeup that keeps up with that. CoverGirl Simply Ageless Concealer does that. It does not settle into fine lines, it does not fade, and it really does make my skin look smoother and brighter! So of course I am very happy. It's creamy without being too thick, and I can cover my whole face with just a few swipes. I love the CoverGirl Tone Rehab Foundation for its wonderful creamy coverage, but the Simply Ageless Concealer is easier to carry in my purse, heh. Honestly, my only complaints were because I do wish it had fuller coverage and more color options. It really is not as good as some of my organic concealers or some of my high end concealers, but it is up there, especially for the price. I'd rather pay $12 for .30 oz than, say $32 for .17 oz, if you know what I mean.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Revlon - Top Speed Nail Polish
SirenRose 10/12/2012 7:57:00 PM
I have to admit, I am flabbergasted and astounded by all the deeply negative, harsh reviews for the Top Speed polish. All I can say is that for me there are no bad effects at all. My nails feel stronger, smoother, and healthier, thanks to the vitamins and minerals in the varnish (including silk powder). I know everyone is very different when reacting to cosmetic products, and that I usually respond extremely well to most products, so I cannot speak for anyone else. I am current wearing Decadent, which is a fantastic, extraordinary indigo with a gorgeous iridescent midnight indigo purple shine. I also own Ocean, which is a beautiful teal with ocean green iridescence. I recetly picked up Dress Code, which I think used to be called Violet, which is a shimmery metallic chrome dark violet. And as far as I have seen the formula has done nothing but good, good things for my nails.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Sally Hansen - Moisture Twist 2-in-1 Primer + Color
SirenRose 5/2/2012 4:04:00 PM
Personally, I think these are the best plumping lipglosses I've used since Aveda Rehydrating Glaze glosses, but I may be biased. I love anything with palmitoyl oligopeptide and nourishing botanicals. MoistureTwist has Argan oil, Sunflower oil, and herbal extracts, which is fantastic. Palmitoyl oligopeptide isn't going to plump lips overnight, and in fact can take months to start plumping, but the benefit is that my lips definitely start feeling more hydrated within just a week. My favorite color by far is Cherry Twist. It is an incredibly beautiful deep cherry red, or cranberry red, or pomegranate red, and I'd go so far as to say vampire red. Just pure neutral to warm red with maybe a hint of brown and pink. Sheer enough that I don't necessarily need a mirror, but strong enough to layer on for a gorgeous bitten or kissed look. I am always on the lookout for a good dark red gloss, and Cherry Twist reminds me of my current favorite, Ginger Lily from Aveda Rehydrating Glaze. Cherry Twist has a lovely bit of glitter and gold sparkle. I also like Berry Blend, a shimmery raspberry with gold sparkle. The formula is soft, smooth, and just creamy enough to moisturize without feeling sticky. It actually feels just like a tinted lip balm! I'm so happy with this gloss that I find myself stocking up on Cherry Twist and Berry Blend whenever I can.
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Foundations -Tarte - Amazonian Clay 12-hour Full-Coverage Foundation SPF 15
SirenRose 2/7/2012 8:46:00 PM
Wow. WOW. This is the second most expensive foundation I've ever bought (behind Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation) and it is completely and totally worth the money. I actually got it for ten dollars off, so I paid less than $30, which is just fine. I've seen thick concealers at $30 that are around 1/4 the amount. And Tarte's Amazonian Clay Full-Coverage Foundation is THICK. It is extremely creamy. It might as well be a concealer. It is very similar to MAC StudioSculpt Foundation, which will always be my favorite high-priced creamy foundation. It may not have as many hydrating ingredients, but it makes up for that in how well it blends and how long it lasts. I have Fair, which is extremely light with some neutral to yellow undertones, and it is PERFECT for my skin tone. When I applied it all over my face, I used a blob roughly the size of a dime, and I did have to do some extra blending around a red mark on my cheekbone. I reminded myself to wait a while for the whole thing to settle, and after a few minutes I saw the red blemish fade beautifully. My dark undereye circles had vanished. My skin had a fantastic, luminous glow, dewy yet matte. Thanks to the clay and the hyaluronic acid, my skin stays smooth and moisturized with no annoying settling that many foundations are prone to. I think this product runs neck and neck with MAC StudioSculpt, and the great news is that a one ounce will last a very long time, considering the price. I might as well stop buying $25 concealers in .25 oz containers, because Tarte Amazonian Clay Foundation in a 1 oz bottle does the job just fine. In the end, paying close to $40 per bottle will save money and frustration. Thanks, Tarte!
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Physicians Formula - Plump Potion - Cranberry Potion
SirenRose 1/9/2012 2:36:00 PM
I wish I had found this lip gloss years ago. Cranberry Potion is one of the most beautiful red shades I have ever seen. It really does resemble fresh cranberries. It is shimmery and shiny and just gorgeous. As for the formula, it's lovely. It's very sticky, but I like that. I smell a little bit of niacin, a B vitamin, which fades quickly on my lips. The plumping formula is amazing. Hyaluronic acid, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Niacin. I love it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Revlon - Colorstay Soft and Smooth lipcolor in 345 Red Velvet
SirenRose 12/27/2011 6:29:00 PM
Yay! I was so happy to find this at my local Ulta. I'd been hearing about Revlon's Lip Butters, especially Red Velvet, for a couple of weeks. I picked up a tube and checked out the ingredients. Coconut oil, shea butter, mango butter, jojoba oil, squalane, palmitoyl oligopeptides... woo hoo! And then I saw... petrolatum. I made a very sad face. Petroleum jelly has a bad habit of sealing skin like plastic wrap and causing dryness over time. However, I decided to buy two tubes. This would be the only lip product containing petroleum jelly in my collection, and I was planning on always applying balm underneath, so the small amount of petrolatum wouldn't be a problem. I am very, very glad I bought this. Red Velvet is absoloutely gorgeous: A very deep, highly pigmented, neutral dark red. I have very fair Mediterranean skin with neutral to yellow undertones, and Red Velvet works with my complexion perfectly. It's a very "bitten" red, kind of bloody and blush-like. It's similar to my favorite upscale red lipstick, Nars' Shanghai Express. I would say, officially, that Revlon's Lip Butter in Red Velvet is now my favorite drugstore lipstick, alongside Black Radiance's Sheer Lipstick tint in Crimson (which also contains peptides). I think that for people who don't like petrolatum but would still want to wear Lip Butter, it's best to always apply a natural balm like shea butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil, etc, before they apply the lipstick. I find it slightly absurd that Revlon would include petrolatum in a product that already has plenty of moisturizing emollients, but it could be for glide and texture. Regardless, I adore Red Velvet!
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Lip Gloss -NARS - Larger Than Life
SirenRose 11/5/2011 8:29:00 PM
I am still so impressed with NARS lip products, and this gloss is extremely impressive. It contains plumping peptides and moisturizing oils, plus rich soft color. I bought the shade Norma, listed as a cherry red. I was at first worried because Norma looked so bright and intense in the tube. But once I applied it to my lips, it turned into a soft, shiny, bitten red, not bright at all and rather neutral. I also tested out Place Vendome, listed as a strawberry pink, and on my lips it is a sweet raspberry color, pretty much the color of a raspberry smoothie. I was surprised by how much I liked the short brush. It's very precise and it doesn't make a mess!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -NARS - Flair
SirenRose 11/5/2011 8:19:00 PM
Oh, wow. I LOVE this color. The website calls it "burnished berry" but it is absolutely a red shade. Possibly like a cherry or pomegranate red. It has a very subtle soft gold shimmer that reflects light beautifully. The color itself is also soft and subtle. It's a deep berry red that is perfect for people who don't like loud or bright reds. Flair is now one of my favorite red lipsticks, and I have a lot of those.
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Concealers -Laura Geller - Real Deal Full Coverage Cream Concealer
SirenRose 10/25/2011 10:34:00 PM
Wow, they are not kidding when they say this is full coverage. It can cover anything. I have a burn scar on my wrist after brushing my hand against a very hot oven, and the Real Deal concealer concealed the scar quite well. So it worked wonders on my face. No more dark circles, no more redness, no more blemishes. I normally prefer organic or natural face products, but the Real Deal concealer has a few plant extracts that I love. It really is amazing. It conceals like a dream and stays for hours! I use the Light shade, and it is perfect for my neutral complexion. I'm so happy!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -NARS - Gipsy
SirenRose 10/18/2011 1:55:00 AM
Well, once again, I have found an ideal red. I've already fallen in love with Fire Down Below and Shanghai Express, but those are semi-matte and a little bold. I wanted something a little more satiny, a little more sheer, a little more creamy. I'd heard of Gipsy for years but always assumed it was just another berry shade. How wrong I was. Gipsy is definitely a red. Yes, it's a berry red. But it's the kind of berry red that makes me think of ripe, juicy fruits in summer. It's a soft, warm red with a hint of pink and a tiny dash of brown. It's perfect for carrying in my purse when I want to quickly swipe my lips with color. And, like all NARS lipsticks, it contains acai berry oil, hyaluronic acid, and various botanical extracts and fruit oils. It's worth every penny, and one tube really does last a long, long time.
5 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -NARS - Shanghai Express
SirenRose 8/24/2011 4:54:00 PM
I have to hand it to Mr. Nars -- he really knows how to make red lipstick. I am very much in love with Fire Down Below... but Shanghai Express is a close second. Shanghai Express doesn't have as much darkness or brown undertones as Fire Down Below -- it's a little lighter and brighter -- but for me, it is just as bloody and flushed and bitten. The website calls it a "warmed brick red" and I can see that, but there is no orange, just hinted tones of brown and blue and pink. It is certainly a noticeable red, but not a screaming red. It's just so... beautiful. A soft, deep, full red. It joins my collection of favorite reds alongside NARS Fire Down Below, BareMinerals Red Zin, Bite Beauty Tanin, Honeybee Gardens Desire, Aveda Maracuja, and Aveda Cherrybud. I am absolutely willing to pay the $24 plus tax. Especially because NARS lipsticks contain acai berry oil, hyaluronic acid, and various fruit and spice extracts. For the price, it should be that awesome!
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No