Eye Shadow -MAC - Paint Pot - Groundwork
aibreanx 2/12/2013 11:52:00 PM
This is an absolute HG for me. It looks like nothing in the pot but it's truly a special product. On the eye, it's a neutral light brown with a very pretty understated sheen. It also has that great long wearing and blendable formula that is typical of most paint pots. I use a 217 to apply Groundwork all over the lid ensuring that the edges are well blended. Add some well blended brown liner on the lash line and you've got a quick and easy look that is very polished and professional. My favourite soft smoky eye is Groundwork as a base, Patina over top, Teddy eye kohl, and black mascara. Easy, not too bold, and lasts all day and night. Fantastic product. I highly, highly recommend it.
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Treatments -L'Oreal - Everstrong Overnight Repair Treatment
aibreanx 8/14/2011 4:21:00 PM
This is a fantastic product. I'm really shocked by the difference it has made in my hair. I have long, very dry, wavy/curly hair that is very prone to breakage. I'm so prone to split ends that my hair has to have a good dusting every 5 weeks or it looks quite rough. After a week of using it as an overnight treatment, my ends are smooth and appear damage free. At this rate I can probably get away without a cut for the next month or two. I apply two pumps every night before bed to the last three inches of my hair. This treatment absorbs incredibly well and feels very lightweight. I've now started using it as a leave in conditioner as part of my styling routine instead of using it as an overnight treatment. I wash my hair every other day and I use this treatment as a leave in conditioner after towel drying. I use one pump and distribute it throughout my hair from root to tip concentrating on the ends. I then go through and scrunch and twist sections of my hair to define the curls. The result is full, defined, and frizz free curls. Very pleased with this product and will definitely repurchase!
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -MAC - Satin Taupe
aibreanx 4/12/2011 10:49:00 AM
This is one of the few Mac eyeshadows that really deserves the hype. It's a gorgeous taupe with a slight purple shift. It's a taupe that leans more on the brown side than the grey side which makes it a little more flattering across different skin tones. The texture is great. Better than most Mac e/s, other Veluxe Pearls included. It applies perfectly and blends down into a soft brown haze. Very pretty as an all over the lid colour or as a crease colour. I like pairing it with Vex, Patina, Naked Lunch, and Smut for a deeper look. The amazing thing about ST is that it works with the most unlikely colours. Try it with Cranberry and Expensive Pink. ST is one of my all time favourite eyeshadows. I've hit pan and I will definitely repurchase. It's a staple that everyone should own, I highly recommend it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Makeup Brushes -Sigma - E45 Small Tapered Blending (was SS226)
aibreanx 4/10/2011 9:27:00 PM
Very disappointed in this brush. I was looking forward to getting a dupe of the 226 without paying an exorbitant price. Unfortunately, this brush is no good. The craftsmanship is very poor, the bristles are all uneven and it's very scratchy. It applies eyeshadow in a very splotchy way and blending it out so it looks semi-decent takes a great deal of time and effort. There are better brushes out there for applying and blending crease colour. Look elsewhere, don't waste your money.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Bottle Green
aibreanx 4/8/2011 6:38:00 PM
This is a pro exclusive eyeshadow. That means you can only get it from a pro store or through a phone order. BUT you can get it on the website! I don't know why it's there because it's definitely a pro exclusive. Anyway onto the review... It looks like a deep forest green with a slight teal shift in the pan, and that's exactly what you get when you swatch it. I've experienced few shadows with pay-off as good as this one. What you get in the pan is what you get in a swatch and when you apply it. In terms of the overall quality and texture, it's a matte but the texture is unlike MAC's other mattes. It's incredibly creamy, blends like a dream, and the colour pay-off is out of this world. A little bit goes a long way. You NEED this eyeshadow. In terms of quality, this really represents the best that Mac has to offer and the colour is unique and stunning. Get to a pro store, call the hotline, order online, do whatever just GET IT! :)
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -L'Oreal - Voluminous Million Lashes
aibreanx 4/5/2011 2:19:00 PM
Very disappointed with this product. This is probably the worst mascara I have every tried. I have medium length lashes that are a light brown colour and are fairly curly. I like my mascaras to be really defining and separating. This mascara didn't fulfill that at all. It went on very wet and clumpy making my lashes look worse. I let it dry out a bit for a couple weeks and had the same result. The formula is a fail for me. The brush is made of a thick plasticy material and is very bendable. This turned me off instantly as I like wands that are sturdier. I find they define lashes better and are just easier to use. I can apply mascara fairly well but as much as I tried to work with this wand, nothing helps the clumps. The brush was a fail as well Beyond the brush and formula fails, it STINKS. I couldn't believe how awful it smelled when I first opened it. It was a bizarre burning plastic type of smell that was really unpleasent. I know this isn't a one-off issue because I've heard this complaint from MANY other people. I disregarded the scent and applied it anyway. I walked around that day being able to SMELL MY MASCARA. Absolutely appalling. The packaging also sucks. It's a gold metallic tube that looks really garish. Overall, this mascara failed in every way and I really regret purchasing it.
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Polishes -NARS - Purple Rain
aibreanx 4/5/2011 2:11:00 PM
This is by far the best purple in my collection and probably the best purple I have ever seen. The colour is so rich and the shimmer is strong without being garish. It's absolutely beautiful, the perfect vampy, shimmery polish that is still chic. Few polishes come closer to perfection than Purple Rain. In terms of the polish quality, I am blown away. It seems to have a very thin consistency but it's so smooth to apply it glides on like a dream. It's also incredibly pigmented, with proper application you could get by with just one coat. I find that it dries faster than the standard polish which is always appreciated. I'm usually able to throw on two thin coats in a hurry and be good to go. It dries so fast you don't have to worry about smudging. In my experience, the wear time is better than OPI, China Glaze, and Essie. In my collection, only Butter London beats NARS for length of wear. I'm a student so I'm constantly typing away and too busy to constantly reapply chipped polish. Wear time is very important to me and NARS has been able to deliver. The packaging is unique and sufficiently functional. It really stands out among other nail polish bottles but is still very chic and understated. The squared top is a little awkward to maneuver at first but you get used to it quickly. The brush applies the polish well and is not too thin or too thick like OPI. The price is a serious downfall. This is incredibly expensive for a nail polish. Now of course we all have different interpretations of expense. At least with this product you are getting a level of quality that is pretty worthy of the price tag. Overall, I highly recommend. The colour is stunning and the NARS formula is fantastic.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -MAC - Paint Pot - Constructivist
aibreanx 2/21/2011 10:23:00 PM
I bought this forever ago because I saw it used in a tutorial with beautiful results. Unfortunately I have very dry lids so paint pots are difficult for me to use. Such a gorgeous colour but I gave up on it because it didn't blend smoothly and was a pain to apply. Some time later it dawned on me that I could use paint pots as liners (duh lol) I pulled this out and started using it the way I would use a gel liner. Perfection! It's now my every day liner. It's a gorgeous deep brown with a slight reddish bronze shimmer that really flatters my green eyes and PPP complexion. It goes beautifully with my every day shadows as well (Benefit CCS in Birthday Suit, Mac Patina and Sable) The best part is, the pot will last me forever! It's still very difficult to use as a base which is unfortunate. I've found that the Benefit CCS' are infinitely better as bases for my dry lids. I still use my PPs but only as liners now.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -OPI - I'm Not Really A Waitress
aibreanx 2/21/2011 10:13:00 PM
If you're very pale with cool undertones... this is your absolute perfect red. I'm Not Really A Waitress is a gorgeous rich red with vibrant shimmer. This is the perfect glamorous red polish that really stands out. It's really striking against pale cool-toned skin, you have to pick this up if that's your colouring! The formula and wear time is standard for OPI. Solid, not the absolute best on the market but pretty good. This is such a stand out shade I'm willing to put up with touching up every couple days. I've already gone two bottles and I'll keep repurchasing!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -BeneFit Cosmetics - Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner-BIRTHDAY SUIT
aibreanx 11/19/2010 10:29:00 PM
I bought this about a month ago and I've found myself using it every day for the past two weeks. Benefit's CCS's are great quality. They're very creamy, easy to blend, and the colour selection is beautiful and very wearable. I find myself liking them more than Mac PP's because they're more pigmented and blendable. I have fairly dry lids and I find the CC's entirely crease resistant. I'm able to layer them to really build up the colour and not have any problems with fading or creasing throughout the day. Birthday Suit in particular is a gorgeous bronzy taupe with a shimmer. It's like the grown up and more sophisticated sister of Bare Study PP. It applies sheerly at first but can be layered to really intensify the colour. I love pairing it with bronzes, taupes, and browns. My favourite colours to layer over Birthday Suit at the moment are the left sides of the NARS Tzarine and Rajasthan duos. Birthday Suit really kicks up the average shimmery champagne colour and complements gold-browns beautifully. Overall, this is one of my fave products of all time. I feel like I will actually go through a whole pot and I plan to repurchase.
9 out of 9 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -MAC - Paint Pot in Delft [DISCONTINUED]
aibreanx 11/14/2010 10:16:00 PM
Wow this is BEAUTIFUL. I don't understand why Mac is discontinuing all their coloured paint pots, they're gorgeous! Omg this, Fresco Rose, and Artifact are amazing. This is a beautiful deep blue teal. It has a very creamy texture (which some of the pp's lack) and lasts all day. I love layering Deep Truth over it. It turns Deep Truth from a chalky mess into a deep royal blue just like I wanted. Love it! Wish I had the guts to wear it more often :P
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Lip Treatments -LUSH - Sweet Lips Lip Scrub
aibreanx 11/14/2010 10:11:00 PM
I don't know why I bought this. It's pretty superfluous. You can exfoliate your lips just fine with a toothbrush or a washcloth. I find this stuff didn't even work as well as those two options. Now this stuff is delicious and does smell lovely. But it's not worth the price considering you can EASILY make your own. Sure, go for it if you want to splurge but remember it's just sugar granules and some oil.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Paint Pot in Painterly
aibreanx 11/14/2010 10:06:00 PM
This is one of my absolute must have products. I couldn't live without it and I use it every day. I have very fair skin and very prominent veins on my upper lid under the brow bone. I apply some painterly from brow bone to crease with the 242 and they disappear and they stay gone all day. This is a great product, it does exactly what I want. Now I rarely use this as an eyeshadow base on my lid and in the crease. I find that painterly really eats colours and makes them less vibrant and harder to blend. I prefer UDPP on the lid. However, if I'm working with a darker colour that I want to tone down, I'll use painterly. One pot lasts me forever but I see myself buying this forever!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Hair Styling Tools -Sedu - Revolution Tourmaline Ionic TGR 4000i Hair Dryer 
aibreanx 11/14/2010 9:58:00 PM
I don't blow dry my hair regularly, but I love using this dryer when I do. I have really fine wavy/curly hair with TONS of frizz. I use this with a diffuser attachment and it sets my curls very nicely. It works quickly and really makes my hair shine. I love that this dryer has an extra long cord. I find this so useful because the outlet I use is far away from a mirror. It does have a few cons though. Despite being fairly small, it's heavy! Seldom do I put the effort into round brushing my hair but when I do, it's tiring on the arms. Also, I don't see the difference between the ionic setting and the normal setting. Overall, I'm pleased that I bought this even if I don't use it a ton. It's a solid product to have on hand when I feel like putting in more effort :P
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -MAC - Penultimate Eye Liner - Rapidblack
aibreanx 10/23/2010 2:37:00 PM
Great concept, terrible product. It's black but not an intense black like it should be. The felt tip picks up eyeshadow from your lid very easily causing the tip to get messy and clogged. It also dries up in no time. I think I got a month of use out of this product. I do love how easy it is to use but it's not worth your money.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No