Shampoo -Kerastase - Bain Miroir 2 Shine Revealing Shampoo
Sixtwelve 7/11/2010 5:23:00 AM
Just for reference I have very thick hair that is oily at the roots and dry at the ends. It's a bit over processed with years of colour build up and has a tendancy to look dull if not looked after properly. I bought this on the recommendation of a hairdresser friend who bleaches their hair regularly and said it made their hair feel like silk. I've tried pretty much every other salon brand under the sun so figured I'd give this one a go too. What I like about this shampoo is that only a small amount is needed to get the hair clean. I tend to focus on really massaging my scalp and getting that clean, rather than trying to lather up the ends of my hair. I noticed that the shampoo leaves my hair smooth and detangled and I could get away without conditioner (I use the matching conditioner just on the very ends of my hair). It seems to balance out the oily roots and dry ends. I'm now on day 3 after washing and my hair still feels fresh. Usually I would have to wash by day 2 with other shampoos due to oily roots. Even my boyfriend commented on how shiny my hair looked and even asked if I had had it coloured recently as it looked so fresh. He never normally comments on my hair! The smell of the shampoo is really non offensive and doesn't linger so won't interfere with any other scents. I've knocked one mark off for packaging only because the bottle is quite bulky and difficult to grip hold of with wet hands. I'm just generally really impressed with this shampoo, it's really worth spending a bit of extra money on this.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -L'Occitane - Rice Ultra-Matte Face Fluid
Sixtwelve 6/20/2010 11:39:00 PM
This is the moisturiser of my dreams! I've tried a few so called mattifying moisturisers over the years that do anything but mattify. Recently I decided to go for this one since I've been impressed with L'Occitanes other products. I have super oily skin. It's oily all over. I have NO dry or combination patches. Just oil. Maybe that's why I love this moisturiser so much, because I don't need to worry about it being too drying on my cheeks or around my mouth. I don't think it would suit a normal or combination skin. It's got a really light texture and a very soothing smell, almost baby powder like. I use two pumps to cover my whole face and it makes my skin feel like silk. Admittedly it doesn't keep my face matte all day but I don't think a product exists that can do that. What it does do it turn my dull, oily skin into a glowing, semi-matte delight. I've only given it 3 for price because it does seem expensive for what appears to be very little product (30ml), but I'll have to see how long the bottle lasts before I decide on it's value for money. I will, however repurchase this and try the other items in the line.
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Liquid -MAC - Face and Body Foundation
Sixtwelve 6/20/2010 11:28:00 PM
I've always been a powder foundation kinda girl due to major oiliness, but occasionally I like to use a liquid for special occasions. This is the first and only liquid foundation of MAC's that I've ever tried. I saw it at a discounted price in a CCO and it was in exactly my shade (C1) so I figured I'd take a chance and haven't looked back since. The first thing I liked about it is the scent. It's quite summery, sort of grapefruity which makes me feel like I'm putting a nice moisturiser on instead of a foundation. Secondly, it's so light and watery, it's actually quite refreshing to apply to the face. It has a nice cooling effect on me and I love wearing it in hot weather. I take good care of my skin so I only have to even out my skintone and this foundation ticks that box for me. It's definitely a light coverage, although I find it is slightly buildable if you let it dry between layers. This foundation works surprisingly well with my oily skin. I set it with a light dusting of the MAC Prep & Prime powder and it looks good until about 6 hours of wear when I'll need to blot a little. It makes me look dewy instead of greasy when the oilies finally take over. I can live with that! For special occasions when I want my skin to look flawless, I'll set it with a powder foundation like the MAC Studio Fix and it sort of helps the powder to adhere to my skin and make it last longer. In short, I love this foundation because it isn't heavy or cakey and it does wonderful things to enhance my skin. I always get compliments on how glowy I look when I wear this.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -MAC - Penultimate Eye Liner - Rapidblack
Sixtwelve 6/20/2010 11:17:00 PM
I love felt tip eyeliners. Years ago I had a Bourjois one that I adored and since I've become a bit of a MAC addict in the past year or so, I figured I'd give theirs a try. I've only practised with this at home so far. It hasn't got to the stage of me wearing it out of the house yet as I cannot get it to work for me. It applies well and I can get a very precise line and it's especially good for getting liner right into the lash line and perfecting the winged eyeliner look. There's just one problem with it; it smudges. It's like it doesn't set on my eyelids and I end up with transfer on my upper lids. Maybe it's just down to my oily lids or the fact that the two times I've tried to apply it, it's been a hot day and it's just melted off my face. Either way, I want to use this eyeliner for night time looks when I'll be in sweaty night clubs so I don't want it running down my face! I need to give this more of a chance before I give my final verdict on it, but so far I'm really disappointed.
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Brows -MAC - Penultimate Brow Marker
Sixtwelve 6/20/2010 11:11:00 PM
It's really easy to get a natural looking brow with this product IF you use a light hand to draw thin hair like strokes. I don't think I'd recommend it for those with super sparse or thin brows looking to fill in large gaps, but if your brows are in pretty good shape and you just need to enhance what you have then this is perfect. Admittedly, the shade won't be right for everyone. If you've got pretty full brows, it probably won't matter but as I've said before, I wouldn't use this product to fill very sparse brows anyway as the texture of the liner is quite wet so it won't look natural on it's own. Additionally, I don't think the colour is an exact match for ANY hair colour, it's quite a bizarre shade. It does have a neutral red cast to it, which I like as I have (dyed) red hair but obviously it's not going to look good on people with blonde eyebrows. My only gripe with this is that it isn't waterproof. I have very oily skin so by the end of the day I can literally wipe this product away with my finger so I have to be very careful not to touch my face for fear of smudging. I may try setting with a brow powder to combat this problem. So in short, in my opinion this is a product for enhancing natural brows and not correcting or filling due to it's texture and colour. I will continue to use this and will probably re-purchase as it works much better than a powder or pencil for me.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Loose Powders -MAC - Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder
Sixtwelve 4/15/2010 7:52:00 PM
Like many other reviewers, I use this as a setting powder for undereye concealer due it's light texture. My concealer will last all day with this powder applied on top and doesn't sink into fine lines as much. It workes well to soften fine lines and fill pores without looking caked on and somehow blends with any skintone, despite the powder being white. It certainly is transparent. Prior to trying this I had bought some straight up silica powder from Coastal Scents as I had read articles on multiple blogs stating that it is a cheaper alternative to the MAC and MUFE powder. While it is cheaper, I found the Coastal Scents silica left a white cast on my face that looked terrible in photos. The MAC powder blends seamlessly into my skin with no white residue. I am on my second jar of this product and will continue to repurchase although it loses a point for price, but such is life with MAC products. The packaging is just okay, nothing too fancy but I find it can dispense a little too much product which can lead to spillages if care isn't taken when removing the lid.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No