Lipstick -MAC - Lady Danger
TheShe 3/20/2013 10:30:00 PM
There's not much to say about this lipstick that hasn't already been said. I'm pale with green eyes and red hair, and I love the way it looks on me. I'm writing a review to note that, if you're like me and prefer MAC's more matte and dry shades (like Ruby Woo) because they're super long-lasting and don't smudge very easily, this is another color with that texture. Others might want to stay away because they're really dry, but for me it's a huge plus.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Hair -DevaCurl - No Poo
TheShe 1/24/2013 12:20:00 AM
I have 3A - 3B curly hair that is not too dry. I almost always blow-dry my hair straight, so it is probably heat damaged but it looks fine. I went to Hawaii last year and air-dried my hair (too hot to blow dry), and to my great surprise, my curls actually looked pretty good. At home when I air-dried, my curls wouldn't form and I just had a giant frizzy brillo pad on my head, so I never wore it curly. But with all the humidity in Hawaii, my hair had enough moisture to curl up and look good! So, when I got home I started looking into how to moisturize my hair. I read about the CG method and tried it (with Suave Naturals co-wash), but it wasn't working very well - my hair felt greasy and I couldn't get past it. Plus when I tried to straighten it, it looked terrible (lank and stringy). Then I heard about Devacurl from the naturallycurly site, and had my hairdresser friend buy me some at wholesale price. I tried it and I've never looked back. I really love it. First, it gets my hair CLEAN. It actually lathers up into bubbles for me. The trick is you have to use a lot, and really work it in with your fingers, AND there has to be enough water mixed with it. It leaves me with hair that is literally squeaky clean. This is important for me because while my hair needs to be moisturized to look good curly, it's also pretty fine, so it gets weighed down if it doesn't start out really clean, and when it's weighed down it won't curl up well. Second, the difference with my curls is NIGHT AND DAY. I can't stress enough that my natural texture was a frizzy mess with NO curl definition, before No-Poo. Now that I've been using it for about a year, my curls are really gorgeous, shiny, soft (not crispy), defined ringlets. I'm getting married this summer and I plan to wear my hair curly, and that is not something I would have ever even IMAGINED doing before. That's how good my hair looks after a year of No-poo. Third and most surprisingly: my hair still looks amazing when I blow it out straight. Not only is it so much less dry-looking (I color process it with bleach), but if I straighten it and then it rains or is really humid outside, my hair just curls up and looks great, instead of turning into a gross frizzball. There is one catch, though. You have to commit to eliminating ALL silicones from your hair's "diet". That most likely means you will have to use all new products and conditioner. If you continue to use products with silicones, YOU WILL GET BUILDUP, because the whole point of no-poo is that it doesn't contain drying sulfates, which are the only thing that can wash away silicones. For conditioner, I use Deva One Condition. For products I use Devacurl B'Leave-in mixed with AnGel and a bit of their styling cream. It's just easier to use Deva stuff, since I know they won't have silicones in them and I don't have to spend forever squinting at tiny-type ingredient lists on other products. The other, serious catch, is how expensive Devacurl products are at retail prices. I am really lucky that I can get them from my friend for 50% off. The retail prices are highway robbery - it's the only thing about this brand that I don't like. But, considering how much my hair has improved after using it, I would find a way to keep buying this stuff even if I didn't get the discount. Its worth it.
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Mascara -L'Oreal - Double Extend Beauty Tubes
TheShe 12/14/2012 2:54:00 AM
Ok weird: I tried this stuff years ago and hated it, and wrote a crappy 1-lip review of it here on MUA, then totally forgot about it. Years later I've recently picked it up at the drugstore again, tried it, and I love it. It's exactly what I need in a mascara. I have oily lids to start with, plus I do use jojoba on the skin around my eyes semi-regularly, so it makes ANY mascara really tough to keep on. I've found that the only mascaras that work on me (don't give me raccoon eyes) are tubing ones like this, and Blinc. But spending $25 per tube on Blinc was getting annoying, so I tried this one again and I actually like it better. My lashes look much more full and black. However, you get very little product for the price. At full retail it costs half of what Blinc costs, but it only has half the amount of mascara as a tube of Blinc, so it evens out in the end, cost-wise.* *Except that you can almost always find L'Oreal on sale somewhere. Good luck finding Blinc on sale.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -MAC - Retro Matte - Ruby Woo
TheShe 12/14/2012 2:36:00 AM
There isn't much to say that hasn't already been said - I love the color and find it really flattering on almost everyone. The one reason I'm adding my two cents is to say about the dryness: I LOVE that it's so dry. When I'm wearing red lipstick I'm always a bit worried about it smearing, so I end up checking it in a mirror all the time and that's annoying. But I never worry about that with Ruby Woo, because it's so dry, it just literally doesn't go anywhere. It lasts longer and smudges less on me than those "long wearing" lipsticks you paint on and use a topcoat. I love it. Will always re-purchase.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Maybelline - Color Tattoo 24hr Cream Gel Shadow in Bad to the Bronze / on and on bronze
TheShe 5/29/2012 6:01:00 PM
This is so nerdy, but I just got really excited to write a review of this eyeshadow! I've been using it almost daily for a couple of months and haven't written one yet - oops! Bad to the Bronze is AMAZING. Awesome color (bronzey taupe - no glitter (!!), smooth metallic finish), very pigmented, it looks best applied with fingers which I love because I have fewer brushes to wash, and it ACTUALLY STAYS ON ALL DAY (over a primer)! A wash of this color on my lids, applied in under 30 seconds with my finger, looks just the right amount of "done" for daytime. Add a darker bronze or brown liner and it's perfect for night. This is seriously the most flattering shade on me - I've really never seen anything like it before, it's crazy to think it came from a drugstore. I'd willingly pay dept. store prices for this. I also got the dark grey, gold, and taupe Color Tattoo shadows and it's 50/50 - I don't like the grey or gold, I like the taupe, but this one is the clear winner for me. Desert island material. *edit* After I wrote that I remembered that this was the ONLY shadow that I took on a recent vacation to Kauai, so I have literally taken this as my one item to a (sort of) desert island. And it held up pretty well in the million-percent humidity, too!
7 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -NARS - Lhasa
TheShe 3/6/2012 1:23:00 PM
I am in love with this color. I've got hazel/green eyes, so I'm always looking for a purple shadow that reads as purple but doesn't look like Halloween makeup - until Lhasa, that was basically impossible. This color is really a godsend for me. It's a perfect lavender grey - enough lavender to make my eye color look amazing, but decidedly grey enough for daytime office wear. I get about 7 hours of creaseless wear with this, over a primer. I have oily lids that crease everything super fast, so that's actually pretty great.
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Eye Shadow -Chanel - Illusion d'Ombre
TheShe 1/15/2012 4:44:00 PM
I got this is Mirifique (the black one with rainbow and silver sparkles), and I really wanted to love it. I mean..it's Chanel. So fancy! How could it be anything less than excellent, especially for $37, right? Wrong. It goes on very, very dark - you only need the lightest touch of the stuff on your brush/fingers to get crazy pigment payoff on your lids, and the sparkle when you first put it on is really dazzling and so, so gorgeous. Until two hours later when you look in the mirror and ALL of the pigment has migrated into your crease or otherwise disappeared, the rainbow sparkles are gone and you're left with a slight greyish smudge and a ton of silver sparkles. And this was on well-primed lids, for the record. From the reviews I can tell that this stuff works for a lot of people, which is great, but I felt compelled to add my two cents - it did not work for me AT ALL. On my lids it looked great for a few minutes, and then melted away to nothingness. So much for the infallibility of Chanel. It's going back to the store ASAP, and my search for a truly long-lasting cream eyeshadow continues.
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Polishes -Unlisted Brand - Nina Ultra Pro - Punki Pink
TheShe 9/21/2011 10:54:00 PM
AMAZING true fluorescent pink color, but...remember those Tinkerbell brand nail polishes from the 80s and 90s that were made to peel off, so little kids could paint their nails and not have to use acetone to remove it? This stuff peels even worse than that stuff did. Bummer!
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Mascara -Maybelline - Great Lash Mascara
TheShe 9/9/2011 3:25:00 PM
For those saying they'll "never understand the hype" about this crappy mascara - it's really not hard: it's about MONEY. Understand that basically nothing you read about in mainstream fashion mags (products/designers/etc) is purely editorial - these are not really personally-beloved products by models and editors and other fancy ladies. They are products/brands which have paid for "personal" endorsements. Period. This terrible mascara keeps turning up on best-ever lists because they shell out the most cash for the honor. That's really it. Actual review, since of course I've tried it along with everyone else (who wears makeup) in the world: Thin consistency, never really dries on your lashes, smudges AND flakes (how it does both I have no idea), and the brush is basically designed to clump your lashes together. No bueno all around. It's cool that there are those out there who find that this stuff works for them, and I'm not saying they're all brainwashed or anything - it's a hugely successful product that most everyone has tried once, and with those kinds of numbers its impossible to not amass some kind of loyal following, but yeah. To me, this is just a seriously terrible product. Maybe it was good in the early 1990s when there were only like ten mascaras on the market, but times have changed and formulas have (thankfully) improved a lot.
19 out of 19 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Makeup Brushes -Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman - Blush Brush
TheShe 9/9/2011 3:10:00 PM
It's definitely huge, which freaked me out at first but I quickly grew to love this brush. I've been using it for a few months now and it really is the most foolproof, does-the-work-for-you blush brush I've ever used. And, like another reviewer mentioned, the white tips are great for letting you know how much product you have on the brush before you slap it on your face.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Makeup Brushes -Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman - Foundation Brush
TheShe 9/9/2011 2:58:00 PM
When I first heard Sam Chapman was coming out with a signature line of brushes which included a foundation brush, I had to laugh because in pixiwoo videos she's always the one applying her foundation with her hands. So much so that she inspired me to start using MY hands to apply foundation again, after years of using a brush. But of course I had to check out the line, and of course I picked up this brush. It's a "meh". Does the job, doesn't shed, it's soft enough with a good spring to the bristles, and small enough to fit around your nose and into other tight spaces. With that said, I'm back to using my hands. Can't beat them for dexterity and cleanliness.
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Eye Makeup Remover -Almay - Moisturizing Eye Makeup Remover Pads
TheShe 6/29/2011 9:49:00 PM
I had no problem with the oiliness of these pads - I use oils to clean my face anyway so the feeling doesn't bother me. That is the ONLY pro of this product, for me. Cons: - doesn't remove waterproof mascara THAT well. I had to use about 2 pads per eye and really scrub, to get off waterproof Lash Blast. That's what I would expect from using plain jojoba oil or even just soap, but with a remover - it's gotta be easier than that. - and this is the big one: these irritated my eyes SO BAD. I must have had a serious allergic reaction to something in the formula, OR just all the rubbing with the pads (even though I always try to be gentle) did it, but every time I used these I woke up the next day with red, puffy, VERY irritated eyes. Super weird for a company that identifies itself as being for those with sensitive skin. So yeah - I would never buy these again.
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Mascara -Maybelline - Volum' Express The Falsies Waterproof Mascara
TheShe 5/11/2011 4:50:00 AM
Pros: - I recently began using an oil-based moisturizer around my eyes, and since then every other mascara smudges on me, except this one. It's really remarkable that it doesn't smudge, considering EVERY other mascara does (and I've honestly tried over a dozen). - When the tube is brand-new, it applies great and looks AMAZING. Length, volume, no clumps, the works. Cons: - The brush is completely stupid. The formula overcomes it but you have to wipe a lot off. - After about a week, all the product in my tube completely dried up and was unusable. I'm used to regularly replacing mascaras for anti-bacterial reasons, but not once a dang week. That's ridiculous. I said I would buy it again, but I'm undecided. I'll try it one more time and see if the drying-up thing was a fluke.
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Moisturizers -Cetaphil - Moisturizing Cream
TheShe 4/15/2011 2:09:00 AM
I have used a hundred different facial moisturizers, none of which were able to keep my dry skin from looking patchy under foundation by lunchtime. My way around this was to apply moisturizer TWICE every morning before I put on makeup, which took forever and still didn't really work. I had heard about cetaphil cream, but the petrolatum in it kept me away, as I'm also acne-prone. But recently my dryness seemed to be getting worse, so I did some research and it turns out petrolatum ISN'T comedogenic! Whoda thunk it. So, this is my third week using this stuff every day, morning and night. And I know this sounds dramatic, but my skin has seriously never, ever looked or felt better in my life. It's miraculous. It takes so little in the morning to keep me flake-free all day and it makes my foundation look absolutely smooth and amazing. And absolutely no breakouts so far - in fact my skin is more clear than normal, but that may be coincidental. This stuff is not for those with very oily skin, of course, but for people like me I'm ready to call it an absolute godsend. The ONLY drawback, of course, is the tub packaging. I'm a little uptight about keeping my products sanitary but at the end of the day it's whatever - this cream is so good I'd keep buying it no matter how they package it.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Tinted Moisturizer -Clinique - Moisture Surge Tinted Moisturizer SPF15
TheShe 3/28/2011 9:29:00 PM
In general I agree with all the other positive reviews of this product, but I'd like to add a couple of points that are specific to my experience with it: - It's a moisturizing foundation (more on that later), but not really a "tinted moisturizer". TMs tend to be pretty light coverage, and in my experience this stuff has medium coverage at least. Which to me is a big plus. - Over the past couple of weeks I've been having an allergic reaction on my face, consisting of INCREDIBLY dry skin (think crocodile) and huge red blotches. It's been hell, because I am incredibly vain about my usually-pretty-perfect skin. As I'm sure most of you know, redness can be covered up but dry, flaky skin actually looks a million times worse with foundation on top of it. I just happened to have a sample of this lying around and figured that since it's supposed to be moisturizing it might work a little better on the dry/red areas of my face. AMAZINGLY, I was right and this stuff not only didn't cake up on me, but seemed to soothe and smooth out some of my dry patches. And I was impressed by how well it covered my redness. This is what convinced me to switch to this as my everyday foundation. - For anyone who has tried Clinique's (now discontinued?) Supermoisture foundation - the difference between that and Moisture Surge is that MS is WAY more liquid in consistency and most importantly: NO GLITTER. Hallelujah.
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No