Blush -Hard Candy - Blush Crush Baked Blush in Pin Up
anaelleee 1/4/2013 1:08:00 PM
After the raves on HC blushes and bronzers, I decided to go and pick this shade up as I thought it would suit my nc20 skintone the best, and would be a good blush and highlight combo. A lot of people already described its finish and colour, so I wont go into too much detail, but I do agree that the pinky/peachy sheen (not glitter chunks) is quite lovely on the skin,and you do get quite alot of product for the $10 price. So why do I only give this 3 lippies? I usually contour with my blush as well, (so I tend to keep the colour on my cheekbones, not the apples of my cheeks), and when I did this with this blush, it gave me a nice glow when I was standing in my room. However, when I went in the sunlight and held a mirror up, I looked a bit...glittery. And I do not have a heavy hand since I DO have acne and scars, so I learned long ago that less is more when using blush because I dont want to bring out the redness from my current blemishes. So one lippie off for looking a bit crazy (at least for my taste) under natural light. Im glad that so many others loved the glow it gave them though! As a highlight, it was a bit too dark and peachy for my skintone, so it looked like I applied shimmery highlight in the wrong place, and as a blush, it was just too shimmery for my taste (and current skin condition). The other lippie I took off was its lasting power. Obviously makeup looks better right after application, but this one does rub off really easily and fades, leaving shimmers on my cheekbones/cheeks, and this accentuates pores and whatnot. Again, perhaps if I had really good skin, I wouldnt mind, but I don't, so I havent been using this blush at all. It was worth the try though, and I still feel excited when I hear and read raves about HC blushes by other women (and men of course =)! ), until I realize I wasnt able to make this product work for me. Good luck guys!
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Mascara -Kiss Me - HEROINE MAKE long and curl mascara (black)
anaelleee 1/2/2013 5:39:00 PM
This is not a mascara that is readily available to me here in Canada, but I made sure to buy two back-ups on a vacation trip to Hong Kong this summer. I have medium length, thin straight lashes, and this is one of the only mascaras I have come across (and Ive tried dept mascaras like Estee Lauder and Clinique, to drugstore ones....more than 20 different types!!!) that holds my curl, lengthens and volumizes my lashes. After about 10 hours of wear, my lashes arent as perky as when I first applied, but that I okay with me. I have cried with this mascara on, and it did not run. 90% of the mascaras Ive tried in the past smudged on me, as I do have monolids, but this one has yet to budge. Speaking of budging, I admit that this mascara is quite difficult to remove......and I use organic coconut OIL to remove my eye makeup! A tip though (for any harder-to-remove eye makeup): Hold your cosmetic pad with the remover on the eye area for several seconds, to allow the remover to break down the products :) If I convert the price back into CDN dollars, I paid around $17 for this at Sasa.......which is a crazy high price for a mascara imo (yes I have slurged several times when I caved in and tried higher end mascaras), but I really do love this. I will repurchase and stock up on this mascara (long and curl/volume and curl are basically the same, they give the same results, really) when i travel back to Asia :)
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Pressed Powders -MAC - Studio Careblend
anaelleee 12/28/2012 3:36:00 PM
It pains me to write a negative review on this powder :s I want to like it so badly, because it sounded like the perfect light coverage/low maintenance setting powder I was looking for. Too bad I break out from using this! The finish is def not matte, more like satin, and even If I only use a bit, it does look obvious that im wearing powder. Also, My T-zone still gets oily relatively fast, so thats another disapointment. The reason why I stopped using this though is the breakouts. Ive given it several tries, and I always have new bumps by the end of the day, which sucks because I wouldve used this powder up anyway, even if it did not look entirely natural and did not control oil that well. I like the idea behind this powder and the packaging, but I cannot use this at all :s
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Mascara -Cover Girl - Professional Mascara
anaelleee 12/28/2012 11:47:00 AM
I have medium-length thin and sparse lashes, and the only waterproof mascara I have found that does not flake/smudge/budge on my monolid eyes is the Heroine Make Long and Curl/Volume and Curl mascara, but it is not readily accessible to me in Canada. I remember liking the Super Thick lash mascara by CG (Non-WP), except it didnt hold a curl, so after doing some research, I bought this one. It sounded promising, but it did not leave me with the results I want from a mascara. That is: Holds a curl, defines, stays in place, and adds a bit of volume and length...basically what every mascara-user wants, right? Anyway, It actually made my lashes droop a bit, and I cannot stand (!!) the strong chemical scent my tube had (idk if its just mine). But I decided to give it a fair chance so I wore it for the day anyway. Within 2 hours, I already had raccoon smudges under my eyes, and I do NOT rub my eyes/have watery eyes. When I got home and began removing it, it took way too long for my oil-based eye-makeup remover to break the mascara down. My Heroine Make mascara does also take a long time to remove, but it gives me the effect I want when I wear it and does not budge (Even cried with it on), so I do not mind spending extra time removing it. Spending 5 minutes removing a mascara that does not even work is just unacceptable for me. Since this IS a cheap mascara ($6.99 CDN for me) and many people seem to like it (yay!), I do still recommend you to give it a chance, but personally, I am CERTAIN that there are better drugstore mascaras out there. I just need to find the one (for me)..
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Blush -New York Color - Riverside Rose 651A
anaelleee 12/16/2012 8:31:00 PM
This is the first blush that I own from the drugstore that I dont mind using on a daily basis because guess what? IT DOES NOT make my acne scars/current blemishes look worse like lots of other blushes do! It's true that the pigmentation is NOT the best, but I actually consider that a good thing because its more versatile and harder to overdo and look clownish. The colour is a perfect balance of peach and pink, a great natural shade for my skin tone (nc20), its crazy how natural it looks, and the fact that its matte is an added bonus. As mentioned above, I have skin with lots of blemishes and matte blushes do not accentuate the pores and scars. (If I wanted to add some dimension back into my face, Id just use a bit of a highlight) Packaging-wise, it is very cheap looking, but I paid very little for this so its no biggie. The clear cap is convenient as the colour can easily be seen, I use this daily and it does fade a bit throughout the day (Im out for 8-12 hours on weekdays) but I can still see some colour by the time I get home. When I pass by this blush in the makeup aisle, I always want to pick up a back-up, but I might try to find a dupe (doesnt matter if its another drugstore one or a dep. store one) because im not too happy with the ingredients in this product, but i love it nonetheless!
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Makeup Brushes -Ecotools - Bamboo Bronzer Brush
anaelleee 8/19/2012 10:09:00 PM
UGH OMG :( I am SO on the fence about this brush. When I first got it 3 months ago, I was obsessed with it. I still have an unopened back-up. But for some reason, even though I take gentle and proper care with this brush as I do my other ecotool brushes and makeup brushes from other brands, this one began shedding like CRAZY for the past month. Like if I gently grab the hairs, a bunch come out. Every single time. Like really? Come on. I love how soft this brush is, and how it gives heavier coverage so I can cover up my acne a bit better, but I can't stand the constant shedding. I dont know if I should open my backup or return it and buy something else from ecotools because everything else I tried from them I loved. but this.......I don't know anymore :(
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Eye Shadow -Maybelline - Expert Eyes Eye Shadow - Sunbaked Neutrals
anaelleee 6/23/2012 12:24:00 PM
This mini palette actually contains gorgeous colours that can be suitable for day or night time. I however only like the colours in the first two columns, and the last column. Also, the last two columns are very powdery for me and I always experience a lot of fallout, when Im trying to pick up product with my brush, and when I apply it this problem is fixed (mostly) if I used my fingers, but I prefer brushes). I love the looks I can create with this palette and it's definitely versatile, but I find on my non-oily monolids, It does not last that well. It always almost half gone by the time I get home from school. it's a bit better with primer underneath, but still does not last as long as I'd want. The last thing I want to mention is that I chose "Would not repurchase". Two reasons. firstly, Maybelline tests on animals and thats a no-no for me. you might be wondering why I have this then, it's because I received this as a gift, so personally I would not repurchase. Also, the other thing I want to point out is that this mini palette has quite a lot of harmful ingredients, such as 5 parabens. wet n wild doesnt test on animals and has some really nice palettes and trios for the same or lesser price and although they do unfortunately have parabens as well, they have 2 as opposed to 5.
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Blush -NYX - Angel
anaelleee 6/3/2012 12:18:00 PM
From the reviews on here, it would seem like the blushes are a bit different depending on the batches? Mine is a light pink with some very small shimmers. The staying power for this is not bad and the colour looks natural enough on my nc20 skin, but it is so powdery. I had the same problem with another blush by NYX in the shade Dusty rose (the only 2 NYX blushes I own). No matter how gently i tap or touch the blush with my brush, A HUGE amount of powder appears on the top and it's a hassle to not get it all over the place. This is an okay product, nothing to rave about, but I'd say give it a try if you don't mind powdery fallout :)
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Blush -NYX - Dusty Rose
anaelleee 6/3/2012 11:45:00 AM
This had good pigmentation and lasting power was not bad, but I had the same problem with this blush as I did with the NYX Angel blush. They were both very very powdery and everytime I would VERY lightly touch or even just tap the blush, a lot of powder would appear on the surface and it was just a hassle trying to not get it everywhere. The colour would look good on many skin tones, but I am not quite sure whether it would look nice on olive skin tones? It has a good amount of pigmentation, so I feel like it is safe to say that women with slightly darker skin tones would also get good results with this. It would also look nice as a winter blush because it is a bit darker. I say give it a go if you don't mind quite some powder fallout :)
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Misc Beauty Tools -E.L.F. - Mechanical Eyelash Curler
anaelleee 5/31/2012 10:27:00 PM
The only good thing about this is the price, and I thought it did barely anything for my lashes, so I will not even use this for when I travel. It didnt fully curl my lashes at the base, didnt match the shape of my eyes, so my lashes would only be curled from the middle onwards, and even then, the curl wasnt curved. It barely curled my lashes! It was also uncomfortable for my eyes towards the inner corner of my eye, and it felt like something sharp was poking my eyelid EVERY SINGLE TIME I tried giving it another chance. when I was curling, for some unknown reason. there are better ones for only a few extra dollars like Revlon. Ive only owned 4 curlers, but the rankings are (from fav to least fav.) KAI, Shiseido, Revlon, elf. However, price-wise, elf definitely wins. I recommend giving it a try if you don't mind the cons/are on a tight budget and need a curler REALLY badly because if you don't like it, you will not be heart-broken at all. But don't expect too much. EDIT: I had kept it in my "bleh" makeup drawer hoping I might magically like it one day. I tried it yesterday again and finally chucked it out. truly a piece of crappy metal and plastic.
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Powder -Physicians Formula - Talc-Free Mineral Face Powder Creamy Natural
anaelleee 5/30/2012 9:15:00 PM
This product makes me very sad, because it gave me the coverage and finish i wanted, but my skin did not seem to like it, because I broke out from it within the first 5 hours of usage. So for ratings, 5/5 for coverage and finish, as well as colour (i chose translucent medium and am nc20-25 in mac for reference), but only around a 2.5/5 for overall because It broke me out. The price I paid for this, after taxes, was a little over $16. It seems pricey for a drug-store product, but you get 14g. The packaging isnt the best, because it is quite bulky, but to me, the product is what counts. I think it may be the boron nitrite that messed up my skin (i'm not sure though, because i've never used a face product with this ingredient until now), but def i'm disapointed because after much searching I thought I had finally found my everyday foundation and powder. The finishing is not completely matte, but not shinery or even dewy...i'd say something between matte and dewy, def a gorgeous finish. In terms of coverage, although I could still see my acne scars (without the use of my studio finish concealer or glamoflauge), it evened out my skin and gave me a sort of airbrushed look (I applied it with my favorite brush, the ecotools bronzer brush). It did cake a tiny bit, but unless someone stares at you very closely, it is not noticeable. I have combo oily/dry skin (oily t-zone, dry rest of the face) and as long as I moisturised, this powder did not stick to flakies or anything like that....ugh I wish it had worked for me. I will probably end up trying it again in a few days/weeks to make sure that it does break me out before I chuck this/give it away. It's a bit disappointing that PF would stated that it's "non-comedogenic" when it did break me and a few others out (I understand everyone's skin is different, but if it does break some people out, then it is not truly "non-comedogenic"). I still recommend this, but try it on a small area of your face first! Happy shopping :) (also, if you dont have the ecotools bronzer brush yet..GO GET THAT AT THE SAME TIME!!!!)
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Powder -Physicians Formula - Mineral Wear Talc-Free Mineral Loose Powder
anaelleee 5/30/2012 9:15:00 PM
This product makes me very sad, because it gave me the coverage and finish i wanted, but my skin did not seem to like it, because I broke out from it within the first 5 hours of usage. So for ratings, 5/5 for coverage and finish, as well as colour (i chose translucent medium and am nc20-25 in mac for reference), but only around a 2.5/5 for overall because It broke me out. The price I paid for this, after taxes, was a little over $16. It seems pricey for a drug-store product, but you get 14g. The packaging isnt the best, because it is quite bulky, but to me, the product is what counts. I think it may be the boron nitrite that messed up my skin (i'm not sure though, because i've never used a face product with this ingredient until now), but def i'm disapointed because after much searching I thought I had finally found my everyday foundation and powder. The finishing is not completely matte, but not shinery or even dewy...i'd say something between matte and dewy, def a gorgeous finish. In terms of coverage, although I could still see my acne scars (without the use of my studio finish concealer or glamoflauge), it evened out my skin and gave me a sort of airbrushed look (I applied it with my favorite brush, the ecotools bronzer brush). It did cake a tiny bit, but unless someone stares at you very closely, it is not noticeable. I have combo oily/dry skin (oily t-zone, dry rest of the face) and as long as I moisturised, this powder did not stick to flakies or anything like that....ugh I wish it had worked for me. I will probably end up trying it again in a few days/weeks to make sure that it does break me out before I chuck this/give it away. It's a bit disappointing that PF would stated that it's "non-comedogenic" when it did break me and a few others out (I understand everyone's skin is different, but if it does break some people out, then it is not truly "non-comedogenic"). I still recommend this, but try it on a small area of your face first! Happy shopping :) (also, if you dont have the ecotools bronzer brush yet..GO GET THAT AT THE SAME TIME!!!!)
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Makeup Brushes -Ecotools - Bamboo 5 Pieces Brush Set (Mineral Makeup)
anaelleee 5/11/2012 12:13:00 AM
OMG THESE ARE SO CUTE AND AMAZING AND USEFUL. I use them everyday and its a nice bonus that this brand is cruelty free and more eco friendly then many brands out there, high end or drugstore. I got this at my local drugstore for almost $20, which is a bit expensive, but it seems like everyone else managed to buy these for around $10-15. Although they were a bit pricey, they are a good investment (comes with a cute pouch for it too! Mine has a zipper though, not a button) and should last a really long time with good care ofc. I actually like this set just as much as my bobbi brown brushes...if not a little bit more, actually. Like everyone already mentioned, these are super soft, and if you have sensitive skin, dont worry about scratchy bristles! I can assure you every eco tools brush that I own was very soft (: I could just brush these against my face all day haha The Kabuki brush is suggested as a finishing brush, but experiment! I like using it for blush, and also it's good for buffing out excess powder :) The powder brush is similar to the kabuki, just a bit easier to control (for me) and a bit flatter, a little less dense, and a tiny bit more tapered. I enjoy using it for bronzer/blush/to set my foundation/bb cream when I choose to wear that. I usually just use it to put a light dusting of loose powder on my T-zone and to set my concealer. the mini concealer brush is amazing and also very versatile. It can be used for concealer, but is also great for applying cream shadows, bases, es primers, etc. It's also soft, but also dense, just perfect! My normally cakey concealers, eg mac studio finish, which is a bit dry, looked great when I used this. It made my under-eye area look brighter and natural. The eye shading brush is the brush i use the less. I have monolids, and its a bit too big for me to blend my eyeshadows. I think it may just be because i'm not used to it, but it makes my eye shadows look a bit muddy and it's a bit messy for me. I do like to use it to set concealer with it under my eye, so just swirl it in your powder, tap off excess, and dust it under the eye, or any other area your normal powder brush may not always ready, eg sides of the nose. This brush is also the only brush in this set that began losing it's shape just slighty, but it's no biggie. I definitely recommend this set and all the other eco tools brushes, I just cannot praise them enough! they also look very nice, feel great, and are super high quality stuff! The price is not as bad as my bobbi brown brushes, but $20 for drugstore was a bit steep. Good investment though, give it a try. EDIT: Already bought a back-up set of these brushes! as well as the ecotools bronzer brush!! Definitely the best brush and brush set from ecotools for everyday in my opinion, applies everything from blush to bronzer to foundation to powder like a dream...love them!)
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Eyeliner -Essence - Liquid Eyeliner
anaelleee 5/10/2012 5:58:00 PM
The W-P. ONE: I have tried many liquid eye liners and have always stuck to gel and creme liners because Liquid always flaked and smudged on me. I've bought mostly drugstore eyeliners, but I have tried a few high end ones that did not impress me. This is actually the first liquid liner that has not smudged on me, and that is saying alot because I am also a monolider, meaning my eye crease is invisible as it is very close to my lash line, making liners crease/smudge/fade even more easily. This liner is very dark and black, and I believe that it is the only colour available. It did take a minute or two for the liner to dry. One last thing for the wp liner before I talk about the non wp one. It might be just me, but when I used only this liner on my lids, it actually made my lids feel tight and it was a bit uncomfortable. I could feel that I had liner on my lids, if that makes sense.. THE NON W-P. ONE: I liked this one better than the wp one. This took less time to remove and was WAY easier. The other one actually tugged at my eyelid when I tried removing it with AN OIL-BASED remover. This also didnt make my lids feel tight and flaked less, but still cracked on my lids after 3-4 hours. I might try this over gel liner to see if it cracks less, but it is not very convenient, because I am always rushing to get to school. It has a nice dark colour like the wp one, but I actually felt like this one stung my eyes a slightly. for those that are wondering, I prefer the washable version over the wp one. The packaging is sturdy and compact, and good for travelling or carrying around for touch-ups, but that wont be needed because this liner will not smudge on you! The applicator is quite nice, supple but not too flexible so its easy to draw a steady line. The tip isn't too point/precise, but practice makes perfect! I'm saying all good things about this, so why only 3 lippies? Because it did crack and flaked a bit on me. I wore this to school one day from 8-5pm, so about 9 hours, and when I got home, it had cracked and flaked a bit. However, I wasnt ready to chuck this in the trash just yet because IT DIDNT SMUDGE LIKE ALL THE OTHER LIQUID LINERS, so I will test some more and maybe edit later. EDIT: The WP one runs a bit too easily, the slightest MIST of water and its running down your face. This and the fact that both versions sting my eyes have made me stop using them, but still worth a try if you guys are on the lookout for a liquid eyeliner!
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Lotions/ Creams -Aveeno - Daily Moisturizing Lotion
anaelleee 4/8/2012 8:33:00 PM
This is just a basic moisturizer, and although it seems its natural with its "oatmeal", it does contain some questionable ingredients. For me, this moisturizes a bit, but nothing too amazing. If I put it on my face, it doesnt get rid of flakies and makes me feel kinda oily and tacky actually...The last thing that made me never want to purchase this ever again was the fact that I found out Aveeno tests on animals, just like all Johnson & Johnson products (Aveeno is owned by J&J) :( Im happy it worked for so many, but there are lots of cruelty-free options that work just as well if not better. My everyday go-to option atm for moisturizing is organic coconut oil. I have combo oily/dry skin and i was worried it would make me break out and oily, but it absorbs into my skin in a few minutes (:
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