Powder -Unlisted Brand - Buff'd Cosmetics - Concealing Mineral Foundation
aishiteru21 10/16/2008 3:07:00 PM
Overall Rating: 3 Price: 3 Packaging Quality: 3 Would I buy this again: i listed it as "yes" for now. **I have light yellow-toned Asian skin and I used the color SAND** I bought 3 different colors for my sample: Sungrass, Wool, and Sand. Sand so far is my perfect match, but I am capable of getting really pale so Wool is my "other match", but for now, Im going to use "Sand". Right now, Im on acne medication pills, Retin-A Micro, and Clindamacyin 1% gel to maintain my skin, so I just wanted to state that for reference because it probably is affecting the way the product goes onto my skin. I have oily T-zones and dry cheeks, and the concealing formula actually emphasized all the dry spots everywhere unfortunately. It had WONDERFUL coverage--in fact, PERFECT coverage, but the dry-emphasized areas disappointed me because I thought this was going to be my HG. However, since Buff'd cosmetics has a Light and Original formula, so I might have a better luck with them, hopefully, to not emphasize my dry spots. I am determined to make this foundation work because the color match with Sand is impeccable. I've never had such a perfect match before. I don't know when I'll get my chance to be able re-order this but I'll definitely give it another shot. In a nutshell for those of you who are in a hurry, here's my quick words about the Concealing Formula: ~use only if you have VERY oily skin because my combination/oily skin had my dry spots emphasized ~gives medium to full coverage ~coverage is SMOOTH. it doesn't look cakey at all ~no bismuth oxychloride and no sulfates (i am allergic to sulfates) ~ affordable sample baggies for $1.50 each, BUT the catch is that you have to make a minimum purchase of $4.50. No shipping costs for the samples, and this is in Canadian dollars so if you're in the U.S., then $4.50 turns out to be about $4.35 USD more or less. ~took exactly 10 days to ship from Canada to Houston, Texas, where I live ~VERY good customer service. In fact, it's AMAZING. The lady who runs it (Jennifer) is very nice and you will NOT ever be disappointed. She gives the best customer service I've ever received. ~Very nice color selection. Again, I'm using SAND and for reference, I am a Fairly Light or Light in Everyday Minerals and a Fairly Light in Bare Minerals. ~Must apply little by little because a little goes a long way. The powder comes out in "small chunks" in a way so you better just dab out a little into a small bowl and then apply. **I will someday hopefully try this out in the Original formula and will update you on it when I do. I hope I helped some of yall out about this product and sorry if I didn't. If yall have any questions, go ahead and send me a message here at MUA :)
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -NYX - Doll Eye Mascara - Volume
aishiteru21 4/11/2008 9:44:00 PM
Product: 4.5 out of 5 (rated it just a tad lower to be on the safe side. I really feel it's 5 out of 5 though) Packaging: 5 out of 5 Price: 5 out of 5. Costs $7.99 at Cherryculture (I better stock up next time! and I meant 5/5 meaning that it has a really good price, i'm going by the scale of 1=expensive, 5=cheap) Length: 4.5 out of 5 Volume: 4 out of 5 Separation Goodness: 4 out of 5 Curl: 5 out of 5 No Smudgies: 5 out of 5 Removal: 5 out of 5 This mascara is officially HG Status!!! I tried over 10 diff mascaras and I finally found it & it's affordable too! hoorah for NYX! For reference: I have straight Asian lashes that are medium in length and average in volume. So I FINALLY got my hands on the NYX Doll Eye Mascara Volume, and I'm gonna share with yall what I experienced and what I think about it. First of all, this mascara somehow to me, requires a tiny bit of technique. My first attempt got me unbelievably CLUMPY lashes. BUT, after I tried applying it a slightly different way, I got really nice lashes! So this mascara depends on if you can find it's "sweet spot application style" so to speak. You gotta play around with it to get the hang of it. Cost: $7.99 Packaging I really like the box it comes in. It looks elegant and fancy with the design. As for the tube itself, it reminds me of one of Bourjois' mascara tubes. It's your basic black tube. The wand is in this slight "hour glass" shape. Formula I read on MUA that the formula was a bit dry, and I must agree with that. Now it isn't unbearably dry at all. I actually LIKE it that it's sorta dry ish because when I get "wet" mascaras, they completely de-curl my lashes. The formula, aside from hanging on the slight dry side, is relatively smooth--but not as smooth as like Blinc Kiss Me mascara, for example. I can compare the "smoothness" level to Maybelline Full N Soft, the one that has been my temporary HG mascara. Brittleness/Moistness of your Lashes This mascara does NOT make your lashes feel brittle at all. When you feel your lashes, they don't feel as dry as the formula at all. BUT I do have to say my lashes feels "smoother" than my Maybelline Full N Soft. Lengthening For a volume mascara, this really gives good length! I was really scared of buying Volume because I thought that it might give me "thick, but stubby" lashes, if you know what I mean. I wanted length too--and thank god this mascara actually gives length! whoo hoo! It gives quite a considerable amount of length. You will see in the photos. Volume As for the volume, yes it does give volume. I will compare this to Maybelline Full N Soft a lot because it is quite similar to it in my own experience. Other people may say something different since everybody has their own opinion, but for me, this is what I feel and think. Curl Factor This is where this NYX mascara BEATS Maybelline Full N Soft. My maybelline does a beautiful job at separation, length, and volume, BUT it droops my lashes and uncurls them so I constantly have to recurl my lashes. Now for this NYX mascara, I do NOT have to recurl my lashes. At the most, I "finger" curl my lashes only a little bit, not repetitively like I would need to for the Maybelline. This is what makes this NYX better than the Maybelline. Clump Issues Like I said at the beginning if you don't put this on the right way, you WILL end up with clumpy lashes. Now if you apply it correctly, you will get slight clumps, but they are pretty minor in my point of view, and everybody is entitled to their own opinions. The pictures below I felt that my "correct way" of applying the mascara gave me pretty clump-free lashes in comparison to what I normally experience, but it's your call. If you don't like how it looks, then don't get this mascara. Overall it separates pretty nicely, but of course, not perfectly, but it seems "perfect" enough for me because of the price and the fact that it doesn't have Sulfa in the ingredients! The Smudgies I am only wearing this inside my house right now, and from what I experienced after purposely wiping my eyes as if they were "itchy", so to speak, it didn't make me have raccoon smudgies, BUT, it did make my lashes "smash" together and "clump". So, although it may not make the formula "run", it will make your lashes clump if you wipe your eyes, so be careful! The Flakies I haven't experienced any flaking even after testing out "the smudgies". I didn't really have any mascara "fall", so this is good news for contact lens wearers like me, and it's good for everybody in general not to have the flakies. Removal of the Mascara EDIT#2: Like I said before, this mascara is hard to remove since it has such great staying power even though it's not even waterproof. I got the Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover and it takes this mascara off VERY easily, so now I can wear this mascara with minimal removal problems at the end. I usually hesitated to wear mascara since its always a pain to remove but now this isn't a problem. As long as you have an eye makeup remover of some sort, it should take care of this removal problem. :) *NOTE* I have TONS of pictures of this mascara at my bloggie: http://ichigobunnie.blogspot.com/2008/04/my-nyx-doll-eye-mascara-volume.html I put up pictures of my lashes before and after the mascara application as well as pictures of the packaging and zoom-in pics of the mascara wand/brush. I basically copy/pasted my review onto MUA here because it takes too much to type ^^() UPDATE: wore this to school many days, and its a 6hr day at school and I have NO sign of ANY smudging AT ALL and NO flakes & my contact lens are NOT irritated
26 out of 29 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Pressed Powders -Jane - Oil Free Finishing Powder
aishiteru21 4/9/2008 9:40:00 PM
Overall Rating: 4 EDIT: down to 3 Price: 1 (costed me $3.79 at Walgreens to be exact) Packaging Quality: 2 (just your average plain black packaging) Would I buy this again? sure why not//UPDATE: No, will not repurchase MY SKIN: -extremely oily -very acne prone -light asian yellow-undertone skin -I am about (NOT exactly--only approximately) Fairly Light in Bare Minerals and Everyday Minerals. I also use Classic Ivory in Neutrogena Mineral Pressed Powder, although Classic Ivory is a TAD too light for me ***I used the "Colorless" color for this powder*** THE POWDER I am honestly surprised that this feels really smooth. But be careful not to be TOO much on or else it will look slightly cakey. This feels smoother in comparison to my Neutrogena Mineral Pressed powder actually. It's finely milled and goes on smoothly. BUT get rid of that awful puff they give you. It is RIDICULOUS. Go out and buy a sponge applicator and get rid of the one they gave you! On a scale 1 through 10, with 10 being HG smoothness and 1 being downright gritty, I would rate the smoothness around an 8, nothing higher. COVERAGE Worn alone without actual foundation underneath, this actually gives decent coverage! With a light hand applying this powder, you can use it to set your foundation, OR you can use a SLIGHTLY heavier hand to get up to a medium coverage without looking cakey. But don't depend on this powder to cover all your flaws. If you have acne scarring like me, you want to cover it with some concealer first. This powder does cover your pores decently though. It "mutes" but does not completely "eliminate" the appearance of my pores on my nose, but it "mutes" them enough where if you stand a few feet in front of me, I look just fine. COLOR This is why I didn't give this powder a full 5, because of the color range. Now it isn't meant to be a foundation powder, but still, the Colorless actually has color to it. It does match my skintone decently, BUT it has this SLIGHT "dull" cast to it. Worn alone, it doesn't give any "glow" to your face. Your face looks a bit too matte and a bit too dull. Now there are some matte powders out there that make you still look alive and thriving, but this type of matte you get from the color isn't that great, but hey, it was $3.79 right? you can't expect EVERYTHING to go right =/ . I wish Jane created more colors in general. **NOTE** colors run DARKER than what you see in the pan!!! Expect to get at least 2 shades darker than what you see in the pan. HOW LONG IT LASTS To be honest, I've never gone outdoors on a full-day with this powder alone by itself. BUT I did use it as a finishing powder to set my cream-to-powder foundation, and it kept my oilies away for hours at my Sadie Hawkins dance at school. I only had to touch up my face ONCE. If I end up going outside with just this powder on (and probably some Milk of Magnesia as my primer), I'll update yall on what I experience. THE PACKAGING It isn't cute, but isn't dead fugly either. It's just "very basic". The compact is 3 inches in diameter and is all around black colored with "jane" spelt smack dab in the middle. It is very easy to open with no problem, and they provide you a mirror inside. There is just one thing I don't like about the packaging: there is no separate compartment to put your puff/sponge applicator so I feel it's a bit unsanitary to have your puff sitting on top of your powder. On the bottom/back, jane provides you the list of ingredients along with the color name. I noticed a lot of users of this product here on MUA have had bad experiences with the package breaking very easily, but I have been lucky and haven't experienced any breakage even after dropping it on my carpet floor a few times. Hopefully I won't break mine!! INGREDIENTS (courtesy of drugstore.com): Talc, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Zinc Stearate, Juniperus Communis (Juniper) Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Extract, Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Extract, Sambucus Nigra (Elder) Flowers, Propylene Glycol, Tocopherol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Diazolidinyl Urea, Butylparaben, Ascorbyl Palmitate, May Contain: Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Ultramarines UPDATE: It's not so colorless, honestly. I made the mistake of trying to use this as an actual powder to cover my face. Now it has enough pigment to cover your face, but this is specifically designed to be a FINISHING powder, so it doesn't work out too well since the coloring is soo off (only about 4 color choices). So as long as you use this VERY LIGHTLY, it helps, but other than that, don't use this as an actual powder to cover your face and to depend on because the coloring makes your face look very DULL. Though coverage is great, it's DULL. I don't think I will be repurchasing this, but again, I bought it for only $1.79 including that $2 coupon, so I don't feel as bad. This product got great reviews here on MUA, but its a hit or miss product so it's worth a try since it's so cheap, and it actually keeps my face relatively dry and oil-free, which is a great attribute of this product. If only they made this into an actual coverage type of powder and a wide variety of colors, then this would be worth to get, but since they colorings make you face look too flat and dull, I won't repurchase. Moved from 4 stars down to 3. It's not a bad product--its just the color choice(even though I know this is designated as a finishing powder) and the dull cast--there's no "glow" or anything--you look sort of ....dead. I'll just keep using this as a super light coat on top of my creme to powder makeup
10 out of 11 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Shampoo -Suave - Daily Clarifying Shampoo
aishiteru21 3/5/2008 9:57:00 PM
Overall Rating: 5 (I rarely give 5's, so this must be a good product if I give it a 5 since I'm picky on giving 5's!) Price: 1 (it's like $1 something cents. How can you beat that?) Packaging Quality: 3 (just your basic clear plastic) Would I buy this again: I already have like 3-4 times So my boyfriend recommended this product to me. Yes, my boyfriend, and I'm so glad he pushed me into using this because now, I am totally Dandruff-free. Even though this isn't labeled as a dandruff shampoo, it totally kept my dandruff down to the minimalist I've EVER had--I'm not kidding. I even went to a doctor years ago to get prescription. That's how bad the dandruff got. I just wish I knew about this product sooner since it's SOOO cheap and it works immediately for me. PROS: 1) Cheap cheap cheap price. Love it. You can buy 4 of these bottles for the price of ONE Pantene. 2) They give you a great amount of shampoo that'll last just as long as other higher-priced shampoos. 3) Keeps me dandruff-free. I'm NOT kidding. I ran out of this shampoo and used my thick-white-Pantene shampoo and got my dandruff back literally within less than a week. Then I just went to CVS today with my boyfriend and we bought 3 of these bottles. After shampooing, I literally felt a huge difference in the feel of cleanliness. I felt CLEAN. My hair felt clean, everything's clean. I love it. So basically, this little gem just made me go dandruff-free in one day today. 4) They have decent scents. I have the regular daily scent, and the Green Apple Scent CONS: .....I honestly really cannot think of any. Usually I list at least one con for my reviews to show every last detail of a product, but for this product, I actually cannot think of any cons--it's that good. I sooooooooo recommend this. I hope they never discontinue them.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -E.L.F. - Earth and Water Mascara Duo
aishiteru21 3/5/2008 9:46:00 PM
Overall Rating: 0, yes ZERO. But since MUA doesn't allow a 0, I had to put it to a 1 Price: 1 (it's $1, I wish all mascaras that are good could cost this cheap!) Packaging Quality: 2 (a bit cheap, but hey, the price is too) Would I Buy this again? NO WAYYYY PROS: 1) The price CONS: 1) Clumps galore 2) STICKY formula 3) Super dry formula that makes your lashes extremely brittle and stiff 4) No length, no volume, NOTHING. 5) Gave my eyes stys (it's like a pimple on your eye). They hurt really bad and my eyes were sooo irritated by them. 6) Made my lashes fall out! I was determined to like this product since it was just $1 and I'd love to get hooked onto a product and call it good especially if it's that cheap. I love cheap finds, but this one, its just plain CHEAP. I hate it! Each time I tried this on a few lashes came out. Awful. Terrible terrible terrible. do NOT get it! Even though it's $1, use that to get their lipglosses or something, just not this!!!
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Powder -Neutrogena - Mineral Pressed Powder Foundation
aishiteru21 2/21/2008 10:12:00 PM
Overall Rating: 4 (eh, I would give it a 3.7 or 3.8 if I could with the rating system) Price: 4. at $13 for a drugstore brand, price is a bit expensive to me Packaging Quality: 3 (Organized and works fine) Would I buy this again? Yes *NOTE* I have light Asian skintone that is extremely acne prone and oily. I used the color in Classic Ivory. I also used Milk of Magnesia as my primer to control oil and create a smoother canvas to put the powder on. THE POWDER 1) I wouldn't call it super silky, but I wouldn't call it chalky either. I would say the smoothness is good enough where I don't consider it bad at all. On a scale 1 to 10 (10 being silky smooth), I'd rate this a 6.5 t 7. 2) As others have mentioned, this seems to be yellow-based powder--yay! But I must say, it isn't completely yellow based. I feel that it has some neutrals with it so neutrals and yellows can get away with this product on their skin without looking too off-colored. 3) I needed to use the MoM with this powder. I tried it on without the MoM, and my skin oiled up quicker. Not only that, but the powder didn't look as smooth. I mean, it still is smooth, don't get me wrong, but it just doesn't like AS nice with the MoM on. COVERAGE 1) Not full coverage, not too sheer (unless you apply it lightly). I felt that when I first apply it on over the MoM, it looks heavy, too matte, and too light for my skin. BUT after waiting for the powder to sorta "sink in", the color seems to match my face pretty nicely. It's still on the lighter side, but my face is naturally lighter than my body color, so technically I'm matching my face's actual color, but not my body color. 2) Doesn't necessarily hide my pores/blackheads on my nose, but it sorta "mutes" them. When taking photos, you usually can't see my pores that much because the powder seems to make it look smooth even though if you stood right in front of me, you could still see some pores. But, I find it okay that this powder stays on the light side since I'm not looking for full coverage ( I have other makeup for that). This is good for a "my skin, but much much better and less oily" daily face. Also, I have lots of acne scars (that aren't extremely dark, but dark enough where you notice I have scars) and this powder "mutes" them out, but doesn't completely cover them, which is okay to me. I'll just use some light concealer. STAYING POWER With using MoM, on a regular school day, I apply this on around 6:30am ish and get to school by almost 7:30am. By 10:20am, my skin looks slightly oily, but not enough where I need to use a blotting sheet. However, I usually don't apply the powder thickly either, so if I had put on the powder thicker, my face probably wouldn't oil up at its usual 10:20am mark. I apply it lightly to light-medium, to give you an idea of how much I put on my face. I honestly wish it had much more staying power than this, but I guess I can't wish too much since my skin is, afterall, really oily on its own. I'm lucky enough to hold it out for almost 4 hours since applying it at 6:30am ish. PACKAGING I like the packaging since it's sanitary, but I have to say, I don't like how you have to flip back and forth with getting the powder onto the makeup sponge (which is actually decent and very usable btw) and toggling back to the "sponge compartment" to use the mirror. I find that part inconvenient. But overall, the packaging is sturdy, clean-looking, and good. Overall, I like this product, but I definitely would like it better if this product would be like $8-9 dollars instead of $13, because if you're buying this product alone, tax would make that $13 go to like $14 or 15, which is a lot for a drugstore. Plus since it has SPF 20, I find that such a HUGE plus! And it's pressed mineral powder, rather than having to deal with the messy loose mineral powder. This is much more convenient. I'll continue to use this since it's definitely not a bad product. I'd say give it a try. If you don't like it, return it :). (btw Walgreens has a better return system than CVS IMO. I returned a product and they never questioned why or anything. They called the manager immediately and gave me my return on the spot. No hassle) I have used this product for almost a month now, and I do not see any pimples forming due to this product. I don't feel any irritation either. I am simply getting pimples just because I'm a teenager with the hormone crazy thing going on which I have separate medication for. If you have ANY questions, don't hesitate to message me and ask :) EDIT Ingredients (info courtesy of drugstore.com): Active Ingredients: Titanium Dioxide (6.6%) Inactive Ingredients: Mica, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Zinc Stearate, Silica, Dimethicone, Oryza Sativa Starch (Rice), Magnesium Myristate, Methicone, Ascorbic Acid, Tocopheryl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Pantothenic Acid, Panthenol, Glycine Soja Flour (Soybean), Alumina, Silk Powder, Water, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, May Contain: Iron Oxides, Nylon 12, Carmine
8 out of 10 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Concealers -Jane - No Show oil-free concealer
aishiteru21 1/31/2008 10:17:00 PM
Overall Rating: 4 Price: 2 Packaging Quality: 5 Would I buy this again? Yes NOTE*** I am reviewing for the concealer that comes in a squeeze tube, NOT the one in the tube that has the wand applicator. I use this concealer to cover up dark circles under my eyes and to cover up acne scars I used the color: FAIR #01 For Reference: I have light Asian skin with moderate yellow undertones that is VERY acne prone and really OILY PROS: 1) VERY pigmented, therefore you need the TINY-est amount to cover. I squeeze the tube til it gets near the opening, and then I put my finger at the end and squeeze it til the concealer just only TOUCHES my finger. I never squeeze any concealer out. I only let it touch my finger and that's enough to start off with. I can build later. I only needed that "touch-amount" of concealer to cover up my horrible acne scar. How nice is that? 2) VERY HYGIENIC packaging. I like that so much better than the applicator because the applicator would have touched your face a million times that you use it, so the squeeze out tube is so much cleaner. Not only that, but it's small so it's so convenient! Yes, the tube is small, but like I mentioned before, I only needed such a miniscule amount to cover what I needed. This one tube will last me FOREVER 3) SO CHEAP. At $3.79 (I had a $2 coupon so I only had to pay $1.79 for it!!) it's such a bargain. You pay that cheap to have a tube that will last you forever. 4) Yellow based for my Asian skintone. Now, it isn't completely yellow I have to say. It's more of yellow neutral so it doesn't match me completely, but darn close! But it's enough yellow to satisfy my Asian skin. 5) OIL-FREE!!! How awesome is that for a person who's acne prone and has super oily skin like mine?? I love the oil-free-ness of it!! awesome! 6) No sulfates! I am so allergic to sulfates and I'm so glad Jane didn't include any sulfates in the ingredients. 7) I don't smell any fragrance. I took a sniff right at the opening to make sure there isn't any fragrance, and actually , there is such a slight fragrance that you had to get that close to the tube to smell it. If you put it on your finger and face, you can't even smell a thing. Great for Jane NOT to include such horrible odors and fragrance like other companies do! CONS 1) Dries pretty quickly once you put it on the skin so you have to work quickly to blend it in, but remember to be gentle to your sensitve eye area! :) Other Information: -Amount of Product Given: .33 FL. OZ. / 10 ml -Made in Canada Distributed in New York Directions on tube: Dot on blemish or under eye area SPARINGLY. Pat to blend with cosmetic sponge or fingertip. Great product. Go get it!
11 out of 11 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Crème -Milani - Smooth Finish Makeup
aishiteru21 1/31/2008 9:42:00 PM
Overall Rating: 4 Price: 2 Packaging Quality: 4 Would I buy this again? Heck yes :) Color I bought: Buff #09 For reference: light to light/med moderately yellow undertone Asian skin thats VERY acneprone and oily. My face color references: Though NOT a perfect match, my skin color is closest to Bare Mineral's and EDM's Fairly Light. Both of those colors are SLIGHTLY too light for me, so that gives you an idea where my skin lightness is. NOTE*: When I went to CVS, there were two colors of Buff. One that was darker and one that was lighter. I chose the lighter one because it looked more yellow. I guess Milani updated their "buff" color? Or maybe I got the old color? Or I got the new color? I don't know, but I like the shade I got. I'll have to make sure I get the same one again PROS: 1) SMOOTH. It is truly a cream to powder. It glides on very nicely for me and then it feels smooth and powdery, but not powder in the sense that you just put powder on your face. This feels half powder half cream, which makes me very happy. It's the exact texture result I want. 2) Nice packaging. I like how the mirror is on the top and the makeup is in the middle with the pan and that pan flips up to reveal the compartment for the applicator. This applicator is actually nice! I like to use it. However, I definitely will need to buy replacements as to not create any breeding ground for bacteria. This package is this frosty gold color on the lid thing with MILANI printed in gold on top. The bottom part where the sponge applicator compartment is, is a shiny gold color. I just love how it's so convenient-designed! 3) The price I bought it for was $6.99, and with tax it ended up to be just a little over $7, which is very good for cream to powder makeup. Usually cream to powder makeups tend to cost at least $10 at drugstores, but this one was $7 and I find that such a bargain. 4) No sulfates in the ingredients . I am severely allergic to sulfates so I'm so glad that Milani chose not to add sulfates or else I'd be really sad! 5) Buildable. Can go from light to medium/slightly slightly full coverage. If you do one regular sweep over your skin, it'll give you light coverage. 2nd sweep over the same area will give you light/med. 3rd sweep is medium coverage. I like the buildability of this. I can control how much I want on my face. 6)Doesn't feel heavy on skin 7) The color is yellow-based for my Asian skin. Buff is still slightly a shade lighter than my skin, but I can still make it work. My face naturally is lighter than the rest of the body, so Buff actually matches pretty well with my face, but I can never find anything to match to the rest of my body. It's so hard, and Milani is the only one that has come the closest to matching my skin color. Yay for Milani for creating yellow-based cosmetics!!! 8)OIL-FREE!! whooo!! The only "oil" I see in the ingredients is Soybean oil, and since it's soybean, I'm sure it shouldn't harm the skin. CONS/NEUTRAL: 1)I'm not sure how long it lasts, but with powder to set the makeup, I wore this around my house and it was sort of "disappearing" slightly. BUT I wasn't wearing any primer, so perhaps that's why? ALSO I put this over my already-powdered face that wore off during school so maybe that hindered the staying power. I don't want y'all to think the staying power is horrible because I have yet to really validate y'all on what really happens with it. I will update when I have the chance to wear this out for a long period of time. 2)No spf. I wish it has spf =/ 3)The pan that the makeup is stored is is hooked up with a hinge so it can flip back and forth between makeup+mirror and to the applicator compartment right? Soo the pan flips "quickly" in that it doesn't have anything to make it flip "slower". I'd hate to flip it so quickly that the pan slams down. The flipping thing feels loose in a sense. It's not any defect at all. I'm not saying it's breaking at all. The hinge area is just naturally loose to flip back and forth. 4)It has this very unique scent. I don't consider it a bad smell though, but for those who hate scents, I'm putting this here just to warn y'all. I personally don't mind the scent because it disappears after you apply it to your face. However, it would be nice if the scent/fragrance wasn't there, but since it is there, I definitely am able to deal with it. 5)Hard to find for me. It seems that only CVS and select Targets carry it. And I got the last one at my CVS. Now it wasn't the last last one, it was just the last one of my shade/color. 6)Didn't completely cover my acne scars, but it did "muted" them a bit so the scars wouldn't look as obvious, but I didn't want pile on this makeup so I used concealer instead, which is completely fine by me, but I honestly would prefer if I could cover the acne scars in one step.But that doesn't bother me enough to make me upset. 7)Accentuates dry areas.Make sure to moisturize those dry spots before putting this on. 8)NOT fit for pale skin. Buff is lightest.Limited colors EDIT 2/17/08: HG Foundation for me! Went to Sadie Hawkins Dance. Danced and slightly sweated, but makeup stayed put. I have pictures to prove it! FYI: I used Milk of Magnesia as my primer and Jane Oil-Free finishing powder to set the Milani makeup. PERFECT. Extra fyi: I finished putting this makeup on at 6:30pm and I came home around 10:40pm ish with makeup still together. Slight touch up needed with powder.BTW, I walked in heavy rain too with this makeup (with coat hood on though) & makeup stayed put. INGREDIENTS: Dimethicone, Isopropyl Isostearate, Neopentyl Glycol Diethylhexanoate, Tribehenin, Isostearyl Behenate, Silica, Nylon-12, Tridecyl Trimellitate, Talc, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Myristyle Myristate, Polyethylene, Sorbitan Trioleate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Isopropyl Titanium Triisostearate, Ethylene/M
25 out of 25 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Jane - Max Lash 2 Precise
aishiteru21 1/31/2008 7:08:00 PM
Overall Rating: 3 Price:3 Packaging Quality: 3 Would I buy this again? No, such a shame. I really liked the bristles For reference: I have sorta thin, but medium length straight Asian lashes PACKAGING -packaged exactly like how CG Lash Exact is: wand is separate from tube and the tube has a screw on cap WAND -it seems "smaller" than Lash Exact, comparing the width, but I like that so the brush doesn't oversize my lashes -not goopy -minimal goop at the tip -plastic bristles like Lash Exact -the wand stick(not the bristles) is slightly shorter than Lash Exact FORMULA -thank god it didn't have Sulfates in it so i'm not allergic to it! -feels watery on the lashes ish, not thick CURLING FACTOR -decurls on 2nd coat so I had to recurl with my fingers, not metal lash curler. -I had to recurl with my finger after each coat after the 1st one, but after you "recurl", your lashes stay that way unless you add another coat. It'll stay as long as another coat is not added LENGTHENING FACTOR -not very lengthening. the package claims that it'll give you like...6X more lashes? or 60% more lashes? something like that, and it didn't get THAT much more. Only a little bit of lengthening. -a very natural look for the lashes. definitely daytime mascara VOLUME FACTOR -not too voluming because the formula feels rather thin (that's why I think it's more of natural lashes look) and watery -you're not gonna get drama night time lashes with these. This is strictly a day-time mascara IMO SEPARATION/CLUMP FACTOR -separates VERY well on the first 3 coats. If you look at the pictures, the 4th coat gets clumpy, so I'll stick with around 3 good coats. You can still go to the 4th coat, but I'd recommend you comb your lashes after. The clump factor is NOT horrible, it's honestly bearable. It only looks clumpy when you zoom up close like I did with the camera. If you looked at me in person, you probably can't tell it's clumpy. RATINGS 3/5 stars -for $4.99 and just mediocre performance, I think that's too much to pay for a mascara that doesn't perform at an excellent level. This is just an average mascara to me. I made the same review on asianbeautyblog and copy/pasted what I wrote on there to save time. I do have plenty of pictures of this product at that forum that I'm a member of. Here's the link if y'all want to see pictures of this mascara after 1 coat, 2 coats, 3 coats, and 4 coats, as well as packaging and ingredients. http://members.asianbeautyblog.com/entry/Snugglebunny/93789/Je_MaxLash2_Precise_Mascara_Review Hope this helps!
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Crème -Clinique - superbalanced compact [DISCONTINUED]
aishiteru21 1/26/2008 3:01:00 PM
*NOTE* I did not purchase this item. I'm here to just provide the ingredients because, I , like many people, need to know the ingredients to see if we're allergic to anything. I emailed Clinique specifically for these ingredients so I know they are legit/real. I want to try this product out but haven't had the chance to. Active ingredients: octinoxate 2.80% [] zinc oxide 2.00% ingredients: cyclopentasiloxane [] water\aqua\eau [] octyldodecyl neopentanoate [] nylon-12 [] butylene glycol [] euphorbia cerifera (candelilla) wax\candelilla cera\cire de candelilla [] peg-10 dimethicone [] dimethicone [] silica [] ceresin [] hydrolyzed soy protein [] sodium hyaluronate [] trimyristin [] tocopheryl acetate [] hydrogenated lecithin [] glycerin [] zinc pca [] silica silylate [] lauryl pca [] coconut acid [] cetyl peg/ppg-10/1 dimethicone [] polyglyceryl-4 isostearate [] hexyl laurate [] trimethylsiloxysilicate [] sodium chloride [] caprylyl glycol [] lauric acid [] alumina [] triethoxycaprylylsilane [] pvp [] hdi/trimethylol hexyllactone crosspolymer [] disodium edta [] sodium dehydroacetate [] chlorphenesin [] methylparaben [] propylparaben [] [+/- mica [] titanium dioxide (ci 77891) [] iron oxides (ci 77491, ci 77492, ci 77499)] hope that helps!
5 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -New York Color - Liquid Lip Shine in Sungold Pink
aishiteru21 1/10/2008 8:30:00 PM
Overall Rating: 1 Price: 1 Packaging Quality: 2 Would I buy this again?: GOD NO!!!!! NO nononononono For reference: I am a light-skinned Asian with moderate-full yellow undertones and moderately pigmented lips PROS: 1) It was $1.99 where I bought it at CVS. What a lovely price. It definitely would be nice if all other lipglosses costed this cheap. 2) The gloss itself wasn't that sticky, nor was it non-sticky. Just in the middle, which is relatively good considering this costed $1.99 CONS: 1) Tastes like soap. At first I liked the smell in that it smelled clean...but when I put it on my mouth...it felt like I had took a dollop of soap and smeared it across my lips 2) WAY TO METALLIC!!! I didn't seen ANY pink at ALL when I put this on my lips. AND I tried doing all sorts of things. I tried putting a lot on my lips. Then I wiped it off and tried to put only a little bit on to see if there's a difference. Then I wiped that off and decided to put concealer on to block of my natural lip pigment to see if that would make any difference: NO! That made it WORSE! I tried all forms to make this lipgloss work, but alas, I looked like someone spilled fun-metallic-glitter paint that came from Hobby Lobby/Michael's or some craft store. Great look on projects, but NOT on lips! 3) If you wipe this color onto the back of your hand, like I did at CVS to test out the color before I bought it, OR if you wipe it onto a white tissue paper, you will notice that the pink will stand out more than the glitter. In fact, it looks like the color I want to put on my lips, but no, when you put it onto the lips, you end up going back to Con#2 where it's all metallic-ish. This pissed me off so bad that it looked nice on a tissue paper yet looks like I got slapped with a Ganguro look. Awful! 4) FROSTY!!! Oh man does this make me look freakin plastic & fake. I looked so washed out with this color. Since I did a review on this on the forum I'm in, it has pictures of this on my lips if you want to see some pictures: http://members.asianbeautyblog.com/entry/Snugglebunny/60287/Snugglebunny_Hates_NYC_Sungold_Pink NOTE: I added a flashlight to help show the awful metalic because the camera itself doesn't show an accurate picture. Spend your $1.99 on something, else, just not this. And I agree with what "yayitskelsey" said on her post. I agree with every single word she described about this product. This product was just awful. UPDATE: Because I'm not really sure if I'm able to return this product ('it's just $2, so what do I have to lose?), I mixed this lipgloss with other products, and I have to admit, it looks REALLY good when you mix it with other stuff. For example, I have this bright fuschia lipgloss that I never really use because it's too bright for me, so I use that lightly on my lips first, and then overlap with a layer of NYC Sungold lipgloss and it creates one of the prettiest colors ever. They work together. NYC tones down the extreme brightness of my fuscia lipgloss and the fuschia lipgloss tones down NYC's metallicness down to a beautiful slight-gold shimmer (really pretty) Another thing I did, was used (discontinued btw) Victoria's Secret Mirror Mirror Shiny Lipgloss in Crimson Kiss (medium bright red) to overlap the NYC lipgloss. So I basically put on NYC first and then since VS's lipgloss is in a pot, I used my fingers to rub in the red lipgloss into NYC, and for some reason, it creates this really nice pink-nude color--just what i've been looking for. I don't use red that often at all and I sure won't use NYC alone EVER, so having those two (fuschia and red lipgloss) to work with is great so I don't waste all 3 of those products. BUT, don't ever use NYC alone on your lips--you'll look dead and washed out! (if you look good with NYC Sungold pink on, then you are SO lucky!! Wish it could have worked out for me too)
9 out of 9 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -Aveeno - Ultra-Calming Foaming Cleanser
aishiteru21 1/5/2008 12:07:00 PM
For reference: I have combination-oily skin, and have moderately sensitive skin Overall Rating: 4 Price: 3 Packaging Quality: 3 Would I buy this again: Yes. Already have 3 times I first picked up this product because while going up and down the skin care aisle, this was one of the very few facial cleansers that did NOT have Sulfates, which I am heavily allergic to. PROS: 1) I am not allergic to this. Such a plus for me personally 2) Actually calms down my face, but no drastic calming if you know what I mean. This calms down my face moderately where you see a difference 3) Affordable at $6.99 to 7.99, although I always like it when prices are cheaper :) 4) Has a pump. CONS: 1) As another reviewer has mentioned, if you don't moisturize your face afterwards, your face feels "tight". But since I do moisturize (with Aveeno Ultra Calming moisturizer), my face doesn't get that super tight feeling. 2) Doesn't seem to last long for me. I read another member's review that it lasted them a few months, but for me, it lasts maybe a month and a half, which I find not a long time. I thought it would last around 2 months, but maybe it's because it's my fault. I might have pumped out more than I should. I'll do 2 pumps now instead of 3.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Makeup Brushes -Everyday Minerals - New Flat Top Brush
aishiteru21 1/3/2008 9:43:00 PM
I ordered this on Dec.29, 2007 and received it January 3, 2008, so in total, it took 5 days (including the time to process the order) to get this product to me, which is pretty fast considering it's including the process time. Usually it takes 2-3 days to process, AND 5 days to ship, but this came all in 5 days, which is good. Overall Rating: 4 Price: 3 Packaging Quality: 3 Would I buy this again: YES YES YES YES YES!!! For reference: I have moderately sensitive skin PROS: 1) Decently affordable at $10, but plus shipping and tax makes it around $14, which is slightly pricey in my opinion, but is a really good price for the beautiful quality, and is not like $35 like some MAC brushes and Sephora brushes 2) SOFT SOFT SOFT SOFT SOFT. My goodness, I didn't want to stop brushing this thing!!! This is a wonderful upgrade from my Essence Of Beauty brushes (they bleed, shed, and after you wash them once, they lose their softness). This is like brushing silk on my face. I LOVE the softness!!! I just can't get over how I spent about $14 on something as soft as MAC and Sephora for at least half the cost! 3) After cleaning this brush for the first time by spraying on the brush cleaner and "brushing out" the mess, the brush still kept its softness, which is such a plus because as I have mentioned in Pro#2, my EoB brush completely lost its softness after only one cleaning. This totally did not lose any softness at all, which is wonderful. CONS: 1) As a previous reviewer has said, I don't really like how the handle is just way too short. It definitely sinks into a cup and it's hard to get it out. I wish the handle would be 4 inches by itself rather than have the whole brush(including the bristles) be 4 inches total. ______________________________________________ I definitely would like to see Everyday Minerals make a Long-handled premium flat brush. I'll probably email them about it too (**and hopefully y'all will too so they can get the message to create a long-handled flat brush for us**). Also, it definitely would be nice if they can create a retractable flat-top brush, using the same soft bristle construction they used in this premium flat top brush so that us girls can tote this beyond-great brush into our purses. Overall, I'd definitely buy this again, but I'm going to wait until they create a long-handled one. I want to buy 2 more. One for blush usage and one more so I can actually put this brush in a cup without it drowning behind other brushes. For the current one that I have, I'll just use it for now and if a long-handled brush & retractable comes out, I'll let this brush be a brush to carry on vacations to save space, and let this be an emergency brush. Other than that, I LOVE this brush. It's just so freakin soft. love it love it love it!!!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -NARS - Orgasm Blush
aishiteru21 1/3/2008 11:42:00 AM
For reference: I am a light-skinned Asian, with medium-yellow undertones PROS: 1) Beautiful peachy-pink with subtle shimmer Some people think there's too much shimmer, but I don't see that there's too much shimmer. There's just enough. 2) Pigmented. I don't have to put much on my face for the color to show up for a nice glow. I like a clean fresh look and this gives me just that. However, I think this is suited more for light to medium skin. It'll still work for deeper skin but I don't think it'll show up as much, seeing as other reviewers couldn't get the color to show up as well as they wanted. But for my skintone, it shows up very nicely and I don't need to do much to get a good wash of this color on me. CONS: 1) My god this costs $25! EXPENSIVE!!! (but I know since this is pigmented, it'll last quite a while, but still, too expensive!!!) 2) The packaging. The pallet thingy that it's in collects dust or any powder that falls on it. I like how it comes with a mirror though. 3) No brush included. Us girls like to have stuff convenient to put into our purse so we can use it for touch ups or for emergencies, but I can't seem to use this for touch ups or emergencies if I wanted to, unless I buy a retractable brush and carry that in my purse. 4) Contains Talc and Bismuth Oxychloride. I don't mind Talc too much because I know I'm only using it on my cheeks, but the Bismuth bothers me because I tend to react with itchy skin and break out a bit, BUT since Bismuth was listed as one of the very last ingredients used, that means NARS doesn't put a lot of this, and so far I don't feel or see any bad reactions to it.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Misc Beauty Tools -Tweezerman - Eyelash Curler
aishiteru21 1/2/2008 9:27:00 PM
*NOTE* I am reviewing for the Classic Lash Curler (metal) *For reference, I have straight semi-weak Asian lashes Overall Rating: 4 Price: 3 Packaging Quality: 3 Would I buy this again: Yes :) PROS: 1) Fits my eye better than my other drugstore brand eyelash curlers & it beats the E.L.F. curler and it fits better than the Sephora and Shu Uemura eyelash curlers that I tested at Sephora. 2) Doesn't need a lot of pressure to give a nice curl. I can press it with medium pressure all around to get a gradual curl, or for those who like a sharp curve, you can press it with medium pressure at the very base. This curler caters to what you want, or at least in my opinion. You also don't need to press it down for the usual 10 second-recommendation. I just do quick-presses and my lashes are curled. 3) Comes with 3 (purple) refill pads. Others usually come with none, one, or max. 2 refills, but this gives 3, so that's a plus. CONS: 1) Bought this for $8.99 at Linens & Things, and I find that expensive for a non-high end brand. But this isn't an official drugstore brand either, even though it could be found at a drugstore. This brand falls in the middle between drugstore and high end, but I still find $8.99 a bit much. I'd say a better price for this would be like $5-7. 2) Usually with other curlers, you can "open" the curler a lot, but this one you can't, and that doesn't really bother me because I don't open the curler that big anyway, but for those who like to open their curler up wide before they curl the lashes, then this may be a Con for you. Extra info: --It comes in a medium sized clear thin flexible plastic box and is propped up with the same clear thin flexible plastic. --Made in Japan
8 out of 8 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No