Mascara -Shu Uemura - ultimate expression
SuzieDVv 4/10/2010 6:52:00 AM
I'm not feeling the love for this mascara at all. I'll start by prefacing my comments with this : - I may have a bad/old tube of it. Reading the other reviews it doesn't sound like we're using the same product so maybe I just got a rogue one! It seems to take an age to get this to actually show up on my lashes. With Masterpiece Max, or Lancome Virtuouse, for example, I can just do a quick brush over my lashes, just one coat if I'm in a hurry, and they are on and they are visible and lashes look full and lovely. With this it just seems like hard work. The end result is no better than a basic drugstore mascara. Positives : It doesn't clump. I got this in brown and it's a nice shade of brown. Cost £20. That's about $30 US at today's exchange rate. So it's more expensive than Lancome Virtuose, which I love. And it's double the price of MF Masterpiece Max. Honestly I'd think this was a £5 or £6 basic mascara if I didn't see the packaging. Disappointed in this.
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Moisturizers -Bobbi Brown - Hydrating Face Cream
SuzieDVv 3/28/2010 5:37:00 PM
If you have any skin sensitivity I would absolutely advise you to try a sample of this cream first. This was rec'd to me by the MA at my local BB counter to help my dehydrated combo skin. This feels lovely going on, nice and hydrating, and best of all it is quickly absorbed. However my skin hates one of the ingredients in this. I'm guessing it's one of the essential oils but I dont know for sure. Within 10 minutes of application my face is hot and red and feels parched and looks tight and horrible. It's taken a week and my skin still hasn't settled down completely.
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Skincare - Face -Garden of Wisdom - Chamomile Hydrosol
SuzieDVv 11/25/2009 10:45:00 AM
My skin loved this. It was soothing and didn't clog my pores. It helped to hydrate my parched face. But I couldn't get past the smell of it. I can't understand it - I drink and enjoy chamomile tea, but the smell of this I had to stop using it.
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Cleansers -Garden of Wisdom - Jen's Green Tea/Shea Cleanser
SuzieDVv 11/25/2009 10:43:00 AM
My oily dehydrated skin does not like this product at all, but I've been using it for a year because my skin reacts inconsistently to it. Sometimes it's fine, other times it isn't and it's taken me several months to realise that the cleanser is just too harsh for me. I think it's the decylpolywotsit. The old version was way too harsh for me and would create a blotchy redness all over my face within seconds of me using it. The new version is milder but my skin still doesn't tolerate it very well. Good points about this cleanser are that you only need to use a teeny bit of it. It removes MMU without any problem. I use Revlon Colorstay and I use several (!) cleansing wipes first to remove that, then do a quick wash with the Jen's Green Tea. I can see how some users would really like this. It's not a bad product, it's just not right for me.
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Moisturizers -Garden of Wisdom - Immortelle HA serum
SuzieDVv 11/25/2009 10:34:00 AM
I think my two year love affair with GoW is almost over. I got their oily/dehydrated kit back in March 2008 and used it and for a couple of weeks my skin looked great. Well I've been using GoW products ever since and realised just this week that actually, my skin is not looking great and hasn't done for a long time. It's time for a complete reassessment of my skin care routine. So to this specific product. GoW suggest that one or other of the HA serums is an essential step for all skin types. Well I've tried this one, and the Cranberry one and the basic HA with nothing added, and I'm really not convinced that the product actually does anything. I don't even notice a little improved hydration or plumping effect. So I will stop using this and see what happens to my skin. If it deteriorates I'll update my review and will chow down on humble pie...
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Cleansers -Philosophy - Purity Made Simple (Real Purity Cleanser)
SuzieDVv 9/27/2009 8:23:00 AM
My skin hates this! I don't have sensitive skin, although I do seem to have issues with some foaming cleansers..but nothing as bad as this. I love the concept - use it on damp or dry skin, it takes off eye make up as well and it rinses off. All of that is something I've been looking for in a HG cleanser. But it's way too harsh for me, I actually had an allergic reaction to it. My face felt stripped dry, irritated and turned very red. It was awful. The redness stayed for several hours after use. It looked like a really bad sunburn. Like a fool, I tried the cleanser once more, just to check and that time it was even worse. So I'm sensitive to one of the ingredients in this.
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Liquid -Make Up For Ever - Mat Velvet PLUS Matifying Foundation
SuzieDVv 9/19/2009 4:00:00 PM
Not in love with this. I'm so disappointed. I've wanted to try this for ages, but MUFE is hard to find in the UK. So I bought it in France on a trip recently. It was around 28 euro. I was matched to shade #30 but I don't think it's quite right for me, I think it's either too dark or too warm or something. It goes on nicely and the coverage is quite good. Although it's not as good as I hoped it would be. The first 30 minutes or so it looks good, a reasonable match to my skin. And it is very matte. But looked in the mirror after a couple of hours and it had darkened considerably and now was looking quite orange. Also I started to get some shine about 2 hours after applying it. Temperatures today were average September temperatures and it wouldn't hold up on a warmer summer day. Overall, I think this is a pretty average foundation.
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Liquid -Clinique - Superbalanced Foundation
SuzieDVv 9/17/2009 6:29:00 AM
Well this is another of those foundations that gets very mixed reviews, seems to be love or hate! This is awful on me. My face felt oily within 10 minutes of application on my T zone but my cheeks felt tight and uncomfortable! It's very runny and messy to apply. The colour I was matched to is called 'Ivory' but this is NOT Ivory as most sane people would understand it...on me this is ORANGE. This is not a good colour for PPP skin. I'm not sure if the shades are the same between UK/Europe and North America and other countries, but the SA described this shade as 'very fair' for neutral skin tone which sounded perfect for me. It is not.
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Powder -Jane Iredale - Pure Pressed Base
SuzieDVv 8/4/2009 11:43:00 AM
I'm envious of those of you who can make this work. The concept, a mineral make up that isn't messy, is a base and concealer in one, and that can be brushed on quickly, sounds fabulous to me. But it doesn't work for me.I was layering and layering to get any coverage, using the JI Handi (which is a great brush). I would need to buy one of these compacts at least once a month to use it daily and get any coverage. Three hours after application my face was bare - the MU had gone. Oh wait, no it hadn't. Where I'd layered it to conceal some skin naughtiness, it was stuck to my face looking really obvious. Yet another horrible MMU.
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Conditioner -Clairol - Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Moisturizing Conditioner
SuzieDVv 8/4/2009 3:50:00 AM
I was really hopeful aobut this product when I used it. It feel so rich and...unctuous (is that a word?). But my hair hated it and turned to straw the next day. I'm looking for a much cheaper alternative to Aubrey Organics HR which is pretty expensive here in England, and sadly, this isn't it.
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Shampoo -Clairol - Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Moisturizing Shampoo
SuzieDVv 8/4/2009 3:48:00 AM
This didn't work for me. More like 'Hello Straw'. The day I washed it (using the HH condish too), my hair looked pretty good. And I love the smell of this one. The day after my hair looked and felt like straw. Gave the product another chance and used it again. Same effect. Horrible stuff for me.
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Lipstick -Clinique - Long last Lipstick - Bamboo Pink
SuzieDVv 8/1/2009 6:22:00 AM
Oh but this is awful on me. It's a silvery mauve-y shade that does absolutely nothing for me. Still searching for that perfect everyday pink.
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Liquid -Illuminare - Fantastic Finish Foundation
SuzieDVv 7/21/2009 12:45:00 PM
How frustrating. This applies beautifully - and looks so gorgeous for about 30 minutes after application. But my face turns into an oil slick about an hour after I apply it, and 2 or 3 hours in,it's disappeared off my face. I'm finding the Ultimate All Day foundation wears much, much better than this one, not surprising given my skin type. But that one is a pain to apply..this goes on smoothly, that one takes a lot of care and blending.
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Liquid -Illuminare - Ultimate All Day Foundation
SuzieDVv 7/6/2009 10:49:00 AM
This keeps me matte for about 5 hours during humid summer days. Not great but probably better than most other foundations.The coverage is medium. The finish is very matte. I'm definitely liking this better than any other MMU that I've tried. It's easy to apply if you follow the instructions on the video on the Illuminaré home page, and you have their fast pad sponge thing to apply it with. Do not use too much. I'm quite fair and can wear Portofino Porcelain and the next shade up which is Florentine Fair. Expensive per oz but I don't need to use much of it, and the packaging is cheap looking. But overall, it's a pretty good foundation.
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Bronzers -Rimmel - Sun Shimmer Instant Tan Make Up - Light
SuzieDVv 6/12/2009 12:34:00 PM
I really like this. I only use it on my body, never tried it on my face. It goes on easily and the colour is natural on me. Most fake tanners don't even turn brown on me and I've tried a lot of them! The smell of it is nice enough but that's my one gripe, when I've applied this I can wash and wash my hands several times and get rid of the colour from them, but I can't seem to get rid of the smell. It lingers on my hands for hours after. But overall, a good product especially in its price range.
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