Fragrances -LUSH - Gorilla Pefume - Flowers Barrow
Tlee 3/8/2013 12:45:00 AM
I didn't love Flowers Barrow in the store. I tried them all. Yes, ALL. Devil's Nightcap -- which was hippyish at first, and after walking around the mall became pipe tobacco. Sun became all sandalwood. Weird. the others changed on me, too. All of them, so I caution everyone to try these one and let them breathe and don't take your first whiff as their definition. I didn't get Flowers Barrow, because it had a bite at the end. I just couldn't do it. I ended up with a few favorite massage bars, and was happy with my expedition into LUSH. An hour later, at home, I am LOVING this scent and can hardly keep from smelling that spot. I plan to return to the mall (which is a TREK) to get some, because it is really, really, lovely on me. These are more shape-shifting than any other oil-based fragrances I haveHever experienced. I cannot emphasize enough -- try them and give them time. how they smell in the bottle is not how they will smell on YOU. Put some time aside to make a decision. This ain't no body spray, chica.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Maybelline - Great Lash Mascara
Tlee 3/24/2012 7:45:00 PM
LOL! I just had to laugh out loud at the youngster, below, who said this mascara is "about twenty years old." No, honey, it's waaaaay older than that. Like, twice that.
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Lipstick -Revlon - Colorburst Lip Butter
Tlee 11/4/2011 10:58:00 PM
Everyone's raving about the Fig Jam and Pink Truffle, but I LOVE the Sugar Plum. The perfect rich&juicy MLBB shade. No brown. I'll go with Berry Smoothie next Spring, but for now I am set.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Concealers -TheBalm - Time Balm
Tlee 10/22/2011 11:02:00 PM
PERFECT concealer. I'm 56, and ever since I got this, everyone's been telling me how "rested" I look. (Was it THAT bad before??) Great consistency. NO PROPYLENE GLYCOL (Bobbi Brown, I glaring at YOU) to irritate eyes. Stays. Easy to blend. I don't know if I'd recommend it for blemish cover. Oh, wait, I have used it for that, and I do. I will repurchase this. I researched concealers, and kept a lovely Spehora SA busy for a good half hour, reading labels with me. She gave me a sample of this and I tried it for a week and then got my own TUB, which should last me till 2525.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Rimmel - Lash Accelerator
Tlee 10/22/2011 10:58:00 PM
I am astonished by how much I like this mascara. I bought it because I had to buy something that day. You know. I HAD to! I was in the drugstore, I hadn't had a treat in a while, and I wanted to try something new. So I went for it. I love the brush. I love the consistency -- it can gloop sometimes, but I touch my lash with a finger and that solves that. I have nice lashes, anyway, but every time I wear this mascara I get comments, especially from children and me of "You look really pretty today." It's because I look all starry-eyed. I almost crashed my car last time I wore this, I was so taken with my own reflection in my rear view mirror. I recommend it. To try. Mascaras are very subjective, we all want different things, and the ingredients can irritate (for me, it's propylene glycol; READ YOUR LABELS). But I like this one. Will I repurchase? Hmm. I'm fickle. And I do love fiber mascaras. So I dunno.
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Tinted Moisturizer -Merle Norman - Luxiva Sheer Defense Tinted Moisturizer
Tlee 10/22/2011 10:52:00 PM
I hate that this costs so much. There, I said it. And they repackaged it, with less in it, and the price didn't reflect that. Dammit. However. I wear it every day. I wear it with the MN Mineral Powder over it and I look like I'm wearing nothing, it's a beautiful finish, and I am safe from the relentless California sunshine. I'm 56, regularly mistaken for 40. That's genes (thanks, Mom), living a life with happy choices, and wearing sunscreen since 1982. MN has some terrific products. Too pricey -- and the sales reps need to update their looks; too much helmet hair and shimmery eye shadow in the daytime -- but I will go there regularly for this foundation combination. It's a great one, for me!
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Maybelline - The Falsies in Black Drama
Tlee 6/18/2011 8:41:00 PM
This mascara certainly works, but it smudges and flakes and then is difficult to remove. I woke up with raccoon eyes. Dark dark, black (of course; dramatic), and I do like the brush and effect. But it's not the look that does a mascara in -- it's the smudging and flaking. I can't be cleaning black smudges off my face every hour. I look drunk.
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Lipstick -Maybelline - Color Sensational High Shine
Tlee 6/18/2011 8:09:00 PM
Hmmm. "High Shine" is a misnomer -- you'll get a lustre finish at best. if you want glossy, you'll have to add gloss. But these feel good on the lips and are very pretty. I have Plumshine (lovely and rich) and also got the Mauve color and ended up returning it. It didn't show up on my pigmented lips at all. These are sheer, and, as mentioned, not really shiny, so having no color meant it was like a non-product, for me. I exchanged the mauve for Fruit Punch and love it. A Reddish coral, quite bright and appealing. Why two Plums? one wonders. And all the Pinks are confusing -- they need better names. No Berries or Reds? What? I had a BOGO deal, and I was pressed to find 2 colors that would work on my fair skin. Let's hope those deeper colors come out in the fall/winter. We need more of these! Ugly packaging. Really? We need high shine to show it's High Shine?
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Lipstick -Maybelline - Color Sensational High Shine Fruit Punch
Tlee 6/18/2011 8:02:00 PM
GREAT color. I have Snow White's coloring and need color on my lips. "Nude Lips" translates to "Dead Look" on me. My favorite is a reddish coral combo and this is perfect. "High Shine" is a misnomer -- you'll get a lustre finish at best. if you want glossy, you'll have to add gloss. But these feel good on the lips and are very pretty.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Revlon - Matte Lipstick - In the Red
Tlee 6/11/2011 8:40:00 PM
A GREAT soft red, fine for daytime and weekdays. It is matte, and I usually steer clear of mattes, but this doesn't bother me, for some reason. It means it lasts longer, but I wore it last night with glass (which got all over the rim of my drinking glass), but when I got home after the party, I still had some color on my lips. I highly recommend this red. I have about 20 reds, and this is a great one. I suspect I'll get another one to keep in my purse. I have Revlon's Crimson there now, but that's darker and dryer and more fall/winter. I like this MUCH better!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -New York Color - Ultra Moist Lip Wear Retro Red 308B
Tlee 5/20/2011 12:39:00 AM
I have now bought this item THREE times in my makeup career and for the third time, I am giving up on it. This time, for GOOD. What's positive: the price, and the color. And it feels great on the lips. What's bad: the staying power, and the SMEAR quality. Really, it's just a shame. If you are just starting out with reds, you should try this. For 2 bux, it's fine. You'll have to reapply hourly, but it's a good "gateway red," as is Sheer Red in this line. But reds -- and several drugstore lippies -- have improved markedly in the past few years, and it's worth it to spend another five bux and get a lippie that lasts and doesn't end up all over your kisser area. Dramatic red lips MUST be clean and crisp and perfect. This lipstick makes that impossible. It makes a mess. Goodbye, NYColor. I can't buy your moist lippies ANY MORE. You make a mess of my mug and then you disappear, leaving a murderous red tinge behind -- and no hint of class. Kisskiss -- now GET AWAY FROM ME.
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Lipstick -Urban Decay - 5150
Tlee 4/21/2011 5:34:00 PM
I was striding past the counters in Macy's headed for Bobbi Brown, when a girl with a makeup apron spilling over with brushes called, "Want to see something fun for your lips?!" I had just gotten out of a frustrating dr's appt, had daubed on some Revlon "Crimson" dry matte stuff on my lips in the car by default, and Hell YEAH I wanted to see something fun. And I have no problem saying "no" if it doesn't work for me, so I twirled around, smiled, and said, "Sure." And, after a half hour, full of a primer talk and a lip liner talk and a UDPP talk and 24/7 pencil talk, etc -- all of which were great, of course, but I really won't do all that in the a.m.(I'm an artist, I work at in my home/studio, and, really, lipstick is the only thing I KNOW I will wear. Tightlining is awesome and my brows can make me look glam, but, really. I don't go out much. And hardly ever at night, so... 5150 is now an HG. I smell nothing and it doesn't taste GOOD, but I don't want to be eating my ipstick anyway, ya know? It's a unique color, with a gorgeous finish, making it worht FIVE lippies, both in rating and literally, and as soon as she put it on me, my green eyes popped right out of my head. Even a passerby stopped and said, "Wow. That's amazing." I'll never be without this. I left it in my car, so I'll never be forced to default to a dry crimson stain again. Thanks, UD. This is in my top 5 beauty products of all time. And I remember Prince Matchabelli!
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Merle Norman - Luxiva Energizing Concentrate
Tlee 4/15/2011 7:07:00 PM
This is a "serum" that is mostly silicones -- it has absolutely NO active ingredients to make your skin better, much less to "energize" it. It does blur surface imperfections, but any primer will do that. I particularly object to the $48 price tag. For what's in it, this is insane. I've used MN off and on for many years; they have gone s far up in price, they have lost my loyalty and good will. I still use a couple of products, but reluctantly. And this item is their best-selling product. Know your ingredients and read this label. Water, mineral oil, propylene glycol, and silicone. Oh, and ginseng extract. Whoopie.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Cover Girl - Lip Perfection
Tlee 2/15/2011 6:41:00 PM
These are lovely and light on the lips, like a gel, and they last a good while. The colors, however, are TERRIBLE. I found one (ONE) color I could take a chance on, and that is Tempt, which is a gorgeous deep fuschia red that will not work for most people, and not at work. No medium plum? No warm rose? Lots of frosty pinks and beiges and browns and then purpley reds. I tried many -- there were quite a few already open, so I really did try them, on my hand. I'll watch to see if more wearable shades show up. Meanwhile, Tempt is marvelous, if you have perfectly shaped lips and white teeth. See? Even Tempt is a tough one. EDIT: Okay, I also found RICH ( a pretty darker rosey-brown),and FERVOR ( a reddish brown) which look lovely on me. I LOVE the feel and finish of these, so am upping the lippie count, here. The colors need to be swatched. Or at least opened. To not do so is like shopping blind.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Tinted Moisturizer -Merle Norman - Luxiva Tinted Moisturizer w/ UVA & UVB Protection
Tlee 2/15/2011 5:17:00 PM
Another "5" here. I bought this based on these reviews, and I could not be happier. Great consistency, a HUGE tube, wonderful natural coverage, and SPF. Win/win/win. I have also tried LM and Sonia Kashuk and others. This is the best, for sure. When I need extra coverage, i wear this, with the mineral makeup over it. GORGEOUS.
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