Fragrances -LUSH - Gorilla Pefume - Flowers Barrow
TeeTeeRarr 5/17/2013 2:50:00 PM
This is hands down THE BEST and TRUEST rose geranium perfume out there and I have tried so many- Frederic Malle, Miller Harris, Parfums de Nicolai etc! I dabble with therapeutic grade essential oils and have always wanted a perfume based on rose geranium whose scent I adore much more than roses and I can say that I have finally found it! Flower's Barrow does the rose geranium full justice. It does not try to tweak or "control" it or even gender it like many perfumers do even with their unisex offerings. Geranium, like lavender, is wonderful, complex and genderless in nature. This perfume respects rose geranium, accepts every facet of this plant and allows it to shine. If you love geranium, especially the rose geranium variety, you have to try this. This is a refreshing scent with some spiciness to it (like the real thing) and some bubbly quality to it from the blackcurrant. It has moderate sillage and amazing lasting power!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Montale - White Aoud
TeeTeeRarr 2/14/2013 4:25:00 PM
Urrggh, this is SOOOOO cloying, I want to puke! It seems that cloying sweetness is the signature for Montales. Sure you can smell the medicinal aoud in this one but only for the first 30 minutes as the rose pleasantly plays peekaboo with you, whispering sweet nothings about a fairytale trip ahead.... which you soon realize is a trick because once your blindfolds come off, you find yourself at yet the same destination of Montales- The lands of giant, screaming candy coated cloy fests!
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Liners -MAC - Half-Red
TeeTeeRarr 12/16/2012 9:47:00 PM
Half-Red is quite an enigma to me. This is one of those lip pencils that you must try yourself regardless of what reviews describe it to be. I say this because the color changes depending on your skin tone. Even though it is called Half Red, there is nothing red about it on me. Instead, it comes out as pink on my NW45 skin tone. The MAC girl that was helping me tried it on her much lighter complexion and it came out as a deep purple on her! This wears well, lasts a long time and is such a lovely color on me, I can wear it alone. When I am too lazy to deal with reapplying lipsticks, I just shade my lips with Half-Red, line the edges with Cork and finish off with the Viva Glam Nicki Pink Lipglass and I am good for the day.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Maybelline - Color Sensational Let Me Pink
TeeTeeRarr 12/15/2012 2:26:00 PM
I am having a pink month! It is crazy and it feels great. I could never find the right pink shades and thought old time purple and newly tried fuchsia were all that would work on my skin tone in this category but since the middle of November, I have amassed quite the pink collection! Let Me Pink is my most recent addition and it is a lovely, lovely one at that! This is yet another VERY flattering pink on dark skin. I am NW45 in MAC and this looks STUNNING on me! I keep receiving complements everywhere and even the cosmetics staff at Rexall, where I got it, could not take her eyes off me or stop with the complements lol. Let Me Pink does not have shimmer. It is an opaque and satiny medium to deep pink shade. I have a hard time describing this beauty but I really LOVE that it is a rich yet soft pink which makes a lovely alternative to your everyday nudes, peaches and corals. Go ahead and have a pinker day! Let your lips pink ;)
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Revlon - Super Lustrous-- Love That Pink
TeeTeeRarr 12/15/2012 1:54:00 PM
WOOWWW!!! I cannot believe that I have FINALLY found a STUNNING true rich and deep pink shade that is flattering on my NW45 skin tone. It took me a while to branch out of purples and browns and I actually thought my exciting Revlon Fuchsia was a pink shade until I tried this. Silly, I know lol. I even went to MAC to look for a true pink but they kept matching me with peachy/nudey/brownish pinks or fuchsia-like pinks which had purple in them. I did not want another purply shade in my collection and while I loved the nudey and brownish pinks (MAC Glamourdaze, anyone?), what I ached for was a true bold pink and much to my surprise, I found it at Shoppers in the Revlon section. Love That Pink, a completely befitting name by the way, was love at first try. It is a deep, no shimmer, opaque and satiny bold pink that looks AH-MAZING on dark skin! It is a very build-able shade that you can wear subtly or boldly and it looks gorgeous whichever way you choose to wear it. I hope they never stop making this! Now, I am in a hunt for the perfect pink lipliner!
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -Sephora - Liquid Eyeliner
TeeTeeRarr 6/16/2012 10:10:00 PM
This liquid eyeliner and I are having a very steamy love affair! I met this Black 01 mistress a month ago and everything is just so great. I think she might be the one! I have always wined and dined the shiny babes but this matte ebony beauty has me dancing tango! I always brought home waterproof liners but this non water proof mistress has got me past the point of no return. She has many tricks up her sleeves. She stays on me all day ;). She is very independent and removes readily with water. She stays away from my eyes since she would rather have me doting on her beauty all day than struggling to remove color pigments from my eyes as with other eyeliners. Yep, she is that awesome. I take off a star so that Sephora knows that I am just spellbound not incapacitated. If she preserves all her qualities but is water resistant, she gets 20 stars from me!! But then again, if she was as water resistant as I would like, she would have attachment issues and not wash off my lids so readily and for such effortless removal, I replace the star. Oh yea, she is definitely going to be my wifey.
5 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Brows -Elizabeth Arden - Dual Perfection Brow Shaper and Eye Liner
TeeTeeRarr 4/24/2012 1:12:00 AM
This product is THE BEST for eyebrows. This is perfect for people with half eyebrows. While pencil might be your first thought, this powder is the most natural looking product you can use. It does not even look drawn and it stays on! The included slant brush is just perfect. It is ergonomic and has firm bristles that pick up the right amount of powder and allow for easy application and blending. I had this powder before and it lasted forever. Despite years of daily use, the container was still full. I lost it and couldn't replace it because they stopped carrying my shade, Ebony in Canada (darn it!!). I recently purchased it online, YAY!! This product is very pigmented which means more bang for you buck so please apply with a very very light hand and then you can darken it according to your desired intensity. It is always better to start with very very soft brows and then adjust the intensity to your desired look. Trust me, this is very pigmented. My brush barely touches the powder and it is very rich. I don't think you can ever run out of this powder. Like me, you will only ever replace a lost (or stolen) one. It really does last forever. Just a warning if you find yourself wondering, I also got the shade "Natural" Black but its actual color is a blue-greenish grey so I don't use it (feel free to contact for swap). Just wanted to point this out. Great, great product!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -L'Oreal - Super Liner
TeeTeeRarr 4/20/2012 3:24:00 PM
This review is for L'oreal Paris Super Liner Black Lacquer in Black Vinyl. This liner is certainly intense and dramatic. They are not kidding about that. As someone who shies away from liquid liners, this is really easier to apply. I love how rich, black and shiny the color is. This has no shimmer. It is completely matte but it doesn't just sheen, it shines and that makes it pop! Unlike some of the other reviewers, I find that this eyeliner actually stays put all day. I am giving it a 3 star rating because I cannot use it everyday as I would like to. This is because it flakes into my eyes which is very uncomfortable. Yes, it does look perfect all day but there are micro flakes that make their way into my eyes and I find myself running to the nearest sink to flush out my eyes. That is not pleasant and I really shouldn't have to flush my eyes everyday just for the sake of beauty! I don't even wear glasses or contacts but I imagine that this would be a contact lens wearer's worst nightmare! **CONTACT LENS WEARERS BEWARE!** It really would have made the perfect black liner if not for this issue. I sure hope this is not a norm with liquid liners otherwise people will have eye problems soon enough.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Scrubs -Burt's Bees - Citrus Facial Scrub
TeeTeeRarr 3/6/2012 9:48:00 AM
This review is for the ORIGINAL recipe!! Oh how I miss thee!!! For those who have used this scrub for a while, you would have noticed a change in ingredients, ratios and consistency. I believe this happened when the original owners sold the company. I loved the original because it was very thick. In fact it did not move. That is how concentrated it was in the jar. This meant more bang for buck. The higher concentration meant you only needed very little and it lasted forever! It really was gentle enough for daily use, a rare find for a tub scrub. It was not harsh on contact and never irritated or dried out the skin. The texture was very fine, no chunky or large granules like most scrubs. It left your skin soothed, comfortable, moisturized and glowing!! This in addition to giving you an excellent exfoliation! The newer formular uses cheaper ingredients and is a lot less concentrated (more water. Bad!). While the original looked like a moist solid, you can actually see the liquid when you open the jar of this newer version. It is less effective and more expensive in the long run because you are buying more. You are paying more for less. I have been hunting a good replacement ever since the formula was changed but I have come out short. I prefer scrubs in tubs to those in tubes so if any of you die hard fans of the original formula have found a suitable replacement that can be used daily, please help me out. Message me the info. RIP Original Citrus Facial Scrub :(
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Bronzers -TheBalm - Betty-Lou Manizer
TeeTeeRarr 3/1/2012 8:37:00 PM
OMG!!! This is THE best highlighter EVER!! For years I have sought out the perfect highlighter and for years I have been terribly let down. I came across TheBalm products for the first time at a Rexall Pharmacy. Their packaging reminds me of another product line whose name starts with "B" lol. Anyways, I tried this and was blown away. I couldn't get it out of my head so I rushed back and bought one. Think of Betty as a smoke of illumination where others are a shower of glitter. The difference between Betty and other highlighters/bronzers I have come across is that you cannot make out ANY glitter particles. It is THAT blended together, like a fog and that is exactly what I love about it. That and the fact that it matches my NW45 skin tone perfectly :). If you are like me and you like the glow but hate seeing or making out the individual glitter particles, you will love Betty. TheBalm makeup may not be for all skin tones but their illuminators are. Betty is darker and more golden where Mary is lighter and faintly pink when applied. For those of you complaining about this being too dark, why? They have the Mary Lou-Manizer which is a much lighter faint champagne highlighter/illuminator that would suit your taste. Betty is the opposite of Mary. Surely, you are not expecting them to repackage the SAME light pale shade under a different name now, are you? Of course Betty Lou-Manizer is darker and more yellow. It is meant to be darker and warmer than Mary.
12 out of 13 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -Weleda - Gentle Cleansing Milk
TeeTeeRarr 1/29/2012 4:15:00 PM
I tried this one and the One Step Cleanser/Toner so excuse the comparisons that come later. The first step to determining your best cleanser is to know exactly what you want from it. You need to know which texture you like and how you want your skin to feel when cleansed. Some like the onomatopoeic squeaky feel and would tend towards foaming cleansers or soap bars. I love the soft, glowy, dewy and moisturized feel so I will naturally tend towards cleansing milks plus I just hate foaming cleansers. I also stay away from those drug store cleansing milks. They just feel weird and yucky! Anyways, this Gentle Cleansing Milk is nice but for me, the One Step is even better because it makes my skin glow which is awesome. This GCM is for much drier skin because it goes the extra mile of impacting even more moisture than you would expect from a cleansing milk so take note :). You really can't go wrong with Weleda cleansers. I think they are top notch. All the cleansers I have tried from them achieve the dewy feel that I love and don't strip your skin of moisture.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Vichy - Aqualia Antiox
TeeTeeRarr 1/18/2012 1:37:00 AM
In all my life, I never experienced a product reaction until this Vichy Aqualia Antiox Pro-Youth Deoxidising Cream. Yes, I got the cream because it is supposedly richer and more moisturizing. The "beauticians" at Shoppers Drug Mart keep pushing those expensive lines. I asked for a good night cream and sure enough, they moved me from the Olay aisle to try this. BIG MISTAKE!! Yes, my skin felt soft but with each passing hour, breakouts were feasting on my skin! YUCK!!! Since I couldn't believe this was even probable, I gave it another go the next night. This time, I woke up to an architectural landscape on my face! Yes, I know all of this sounds a bit hyperbolical but if you are someone who is not used to breakouts, you will understand just how traumatizing this experience was for me. I felt like a lawsuit was in order and still do. This product has made me paranoid about face products. I am soooo scared, it is not even funny. I gathered just enough courage to pick up an Olay night cream. This is the second night and it is clearing out Vichy's assault on my skin. Needless to say that when I ran back and dumped this toxin at Shoppers, the skin care associate goes "I don't see any breakouts...... Oh you mean those? No one's skin is completely smooth.......Well, the breakouts mean the product is working." The NERVES!!!!!
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Brows -Clarins - eyebrow pencil
TeeTeeRarr 12/16/2011 2:11:00 PM
Wow!! This is amazing. I never thought a "brown" pencil could work on me. My brow hair is black. Unlike most people, it is much darker than the hair on my head so I had to use black eye pencil on them. I know some makeup "experts" advise against black but given the options, the black was the most natural look on me. Wearing regular dark brown, reddish or greyish colors were just wrong on me. Then I came across Clarins Eyebrow pencil in 01 dark brown. I actually had to ask the checkout girl to make sure I wasn't crazy. I said to her "this is not your usual dark brown, is it?" and she said no that it was a much darker brown because Clarins customers are in the two extremes: very fair hair and very dark hair. All I know is that I am glad I found this. I can look natural without being afraid of using too much like I would with my regular black. Contrary to the light color swatch on the Clarins website, this color is more of a blackish brown aka black/brown. It is that dark and I LOVE it! For those wondering between a pencil and a powder: unlike most people, my brows naturally stop half way. As one of the Clarins ladies joked "half of your eyebrow is missing so pencil is better" lol! If your brows don't stop halfway, you can still use this pencil for filling in and darkening because it really does have this soft natural look to it. It is a hard pencil which is much better for your brows and it has a brush attached to the other end for blending. If any part of what I wrote above resonates with you, then you owe it to yourself to try this pencil.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Scents of Time Nenúfar
TeeTeeRarr 11/5/2011 7:32:00 PM
Well well well! Finally, a gem is born! From the Scents of Time sampler I received, this one haunted me so much so that I had to purchase a full bottle! I have hundreds of samples but so far, this is the only one that has resulted in a full bottle purchase. Now that is saying a lot! This perfume does not fit into any of today's standard fragrance classification but since it gets its inspiration from the past ages, this is understandable. If I were to attempt a classification, I would call it a floral aquatic gourmand but I don't think this would do Nenufar any justice. This is the most unique fragrance I have come across and I have been searching for a unique scent like FOREVER! I can't pick out all the notes because they are seamlessly blended and their perfectly harmonious relationship births a completely unique beast that is individual and different from the parts that comprise it. I do get impressions of buttery almond, nutmeg, soft smoke, and mysterious watercolor florals but again, this is not really what you smell. They blend into something most unique! This perfume is a midnight blue to me. This does not mean that it is strictly for night time. This is just the color that comes to my mind, black blue. I wear it 24/7 lol but that is because we are new lovers and can't get enough of each other. I would definitely assign her for special occasions. I want to add a note to Pennypencil's review. From my experience, what Nenufar has in common with Pennypencil's listed fragrances is the gourmand aspect, in this case almond. For me this is as far as their similarities go because the gourmand component of Nenufar is actually quite different from Pennypencil's listed scents. Even its almond is different from the one in L'eau d'hiver, a powdery perfume whose almond I find a bit too dry and rather masculine. Also, please note my above attempt at classifying this scent because unlike L'eau d'hiver, the gourmand aspect of Nenufar only lends itself as supporting role. To me, L'eau d'hiver is your classic gourmand fragrance. Nenufar is not. As noted earlier, It simply does not fit any classification. Sampling those other scents are great. In fact, I would encourage you to do so. They are lovely in their own ways but just know that they do not give you a good idea of what Nenufar is about, not even close. Nenufar is strange. She is the angel in your nightmare and trust me, you want to experience her! Just be warned, she WILL make the straightest girl gay.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Etat Libre D'Orange - Secretions Magnifiques
TeeTeeRarr 8/10/2011 12:17:00 AM
So I finally got to try SM. I may be in the minority unaffected by the hype and able to embrace the scent for what it is, I dunno. I do believe, after trying this, that the bad rep it has gotten is more a result of conformity than anything else. Perhaps due to what it is supposed to represent and a few bad reviews by esteemed reviewers, others are quick to reject it without giving it an unbiased testing. I do not find it vile in the least. There are scents that are FAR more disgusting which are surprisingly praised by many and I am willing to bet they got the thumbs up from some respected reviewers/bloggers too! My low rating is because of me not SM. All you need do is look at my review history LOL. It is very hard for me to really like a fragrance so do not count this against SM. On first whiff, I smell what will soon become the death of the fragrance for me at least, a deep inky metallic note but it is yet to overcome the florals at this stage. As time goes by, this inky metallic note becomes a bully and possesses the scent. SM actually bears some similarities to Comme des Garcons Odeur 53 and 71 because of the metallic note. The difference is that CdG is easier on the nose due to the metallic note being fused with citrus to make for a less cloying and more bearable scent. I think on the right person, this is very wearable. Hey, if you like CdG and some other inky/ metallic scents, you just might like this..... or you just might genuinely hate it but whichever the case, this is a unique experience to be had.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No