Cleansers -Cetaphil - Daily Facial Cleanser (Normal to Oily Skin)
beautydork 7/1/2012 1:25:00 PM
This made both me and my mother break out. So if you're acne-prone just beware, but everyone's skin is different. This is a clear, gel that lathers up into a nice foam and is a bit drying, even for my combination/oily skin (but not terribly so). Overall, it's definitely not one of the best cleansers I have tried...
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Misc Beauty Tools -Shiseido - Eyelash Curler
beautydork 7/1/2012 1:21:00 PM
This is the eyelash curler I have used for the past two years and I think it's great. For comparison, I've tried the Shu Uemera and the Revlon lash curlers but they have been too round for my flatter eyelids. If you have a problem with pinching, try out the Shiseido curler!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Makeup Remover -Neutrogena - Oil Free eye makeup remover
beautydork 7/1/2012 1:19:00 PM
Pros: -gets your eye makeup off very well, even waterproof mascara Cons: -oily feeling afterwards, so you have to rinse your eyelids after using this -can blur your vision if it gets in your eyes (especially if you are a contact lens wearer) I find that the Sonia Kashuk eye makeup remover removes your eye makeup as well as this makeup remover without the oily residue.
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Top/Base Coats -Seche Vite - Dry Fast Top Coat
beautydork 7/1/2012 1:16:00 PM
I love the finished look of this top coat but I don't think it's worth buying because it gets impossibly thick over a short amount of time and the smell is stronger than most other top coats. Pros: -the finish is uber shiny and "jelly-like" -it just makes your nails look nice Cons: -gets goopy very quickly and when you near halfway of the bottle, the thickness makes it impossible to apply without any streaking -the smell is stronger than some other top coats I've tried -there is a terrible amount of shrinkage (which is common with some fast drying top coats, but I find that Sally Hansen's Instadry has less shrinkage than Seche Vite) -It's a little more expensive that some other top coats
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Moisturizers -Clinique - Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel
beautydork 7/1/2012 1:11:00 PM
I have gone through a few bottles of this moisturizer. I think it's most suitable for people with oilier complexions and don't need as much moisture. I personally have combination skin leaning on the oily side and I found that this didn't give me enough moisture for my drier areas like my cheeks and only seemed to make my oilier areas (forehead, nose, chin) even oilier. Overtime, I also found that it was breaking me out with only a few spots here (which is why it took me a long time to realize that the moisturizer was the culprit). I don't think it's a horrible moisturizer but for the money, I don't think it's worth it. I find the Simple Lite Hydrator to have a similar texture and feel to this moisturizer.
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Polishes -Butter London - Come to Bed Red
beautydork 6/24/2012 2:19:00 PM
Price paid: $14.00~ This is my all-time favorite red nail polish because of the color and opacity. This red has a blue/violet undertone that makes the color flattering on the nails. Usually, the wrong reds bring out a "muddy, sallow" undertone in my hands that isn't the most flattering... It takes two coats for me to reach opacity, but sometimes I prefer wearing just one medium coat to get a "light" effect for the spring or summer because with one coat, the color is slightly less of a bold red. The brush is a little on the thin side, but it's not difficult or impossible to work with and the formula is a thinner consistency (which I prefer). I haven't had any problems with the packaging. The cap fits perfectly, you just have to match it up with the nail polish bottle (if that makes any sense). Plus, I think the packaging is one of Butter London's selling points and the rectangular shapes make it easier for me to store. Overall: It's great red that really flatters a range of people due to its blue undertones with a nice formula.
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Treatments (Eye) -Boscia - Enlivening Amino-AG Eye Treatment
beautydork 6/24/2012 2:07:00 PM
Skin type: Combination that leans towards the oily side (oily T-zone, normal cheeks, slightly oily eye-lids at the end of the day, but nothing out of the ordinary). Price paid: $38.00 at Sephora Although I am rather young, I thought this lightweight eye treatment would help me get rid of the slight wrinkles I have at the corners of my eye. I was also hoping that it would hydrate the eye lid area and makes it look "plump". I got a small amount on my finger and spread it along the skin on my eyelid, my under eye, and "the orbital bone". There was a bit of a cooling sensation, and a bit of stinging (but this is common with a few eye products I have used before). It was easy to work it since it is a light, milky, gel-formula. A few hours later, I went shopping and my eyelids felt itchy but I thought nothing of it. When I arrive home, I see tiny little bumps all along my eye lid and orbital bone area where I had applied this product. It felt warm, itchy and uncomfortable. I don't have particularly sensitive skin and I have used an array of eye products like gels and creams before, so this was a surprise to me. (For instance, I sometimes use a retinol eye cream). This also caused me to get little bumps on parts of my cheek as well. I have gotten these bumps before from using the lemon facial scrub (homemade) and therefore know that my skin gets these when it is irritated or allergic. I'm assuming these bumps on the eyes were of the same origin. Side note: If you get these little bumps from any cosmetic product and you believe they are a mild allergic reaction, please stop using that product immediately, take some Benadryl or other antihistamine and be gentle to the skin (no exfoliation etc, I use Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser if I get these bumps). For me, these allergic reaction symptoms last about a week or week and a half. For some others, it can last up to 3 weeks or for 1 day. Try and conduct a skin test on the inner elbow if you are unsure if this product is okay for you to use or not. Leave the product on that area for a day and see if any symptoms occur. So overall, my experience with this product has been upsetting to say the least because these bumps are not aesthetically pleasing to the eyes. But I generally really like Boscia products (have been using their Clear Complexion cleanser for years now) and I hope this review won't turn other people away from this decent brand. Just please make sure to do a patch test because I've been doing further research on this product and have found out that quite a number of other reviewers have reported the same outcome.
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Misc Beauty Tools -Unlisted Brand - Sirius - Aurora Light Therapy System
beautydork 5/27/2012 10:14:00 AM
I usually don't review many products but my experience with ordering from this company has caused me so much stress. This review is mostly in regards to the company in general and their customer service that I've had to deal with. I'm sure from the reviews here that the skin sonic brush works great but their nonexistent customer service has made it entirely too difficult to work with. Also, this review is for the Aurora tool specifically but my review also regards the company in general. So firstly, they don't provide any shipping information and their "confirmation e-mail" is a blank message with only a subject line with your confirmation number. So they don't even provide you an electronic receipt (which you need if you want to return your product). Since I had heard before that they don't send a shipping confirmation, I contacted a customer representative for a tracking number via e-mail. She gladly sent it to me and every few days I would check where my product was. For 10 days, the status of the package was "Electronic Shipping Information Received". For 10 days, I thought it was alright but at the end of the 10 days I finally decided to bother them once more and turns out there had been a "sorting mishap" and that makes me wonder what would've happened to my product if I hadn't contacted them about the tracking number and about the very late shipping. So already, I was peeved about the inability to talk to a real service representative. Their phone number that they have posted on their website is an automated voice message, saying that the customer representatives are "busy" and to leave a message so they can contact you back. There are no customer representatives that are "busy" and they will never reply to your messages and call you back. But more about this later... So I get the product and it feels cheap and for ($140~ forgot exactly how much it was), I don't think it's worth it and this whole "light" therapy already made me dubious of whether it could work or not. So I decided to return it within the 60 days to get my money back. So I e-mail about not ever getting a receipt (not in paper form in the shipment OR via confirmation e-mail). They take DAYS to respond back to your e-mails and totally disregard your ACTUAL questions. I asked what I could do for my receipt (as this is one of the stipulations of returning your product) three times and the customer representative IGNORED it three times. I've e-mailed them once again but have yet to receive a reply. I'm still trying to return my product which has turned out to be a two week ordeal. I've also asked for an actual customer representative telephone numerous times, all of which have been ignored. I just wanted to post this review as a warning to people looking into the company because when I first heard about the light therapy products from Elle on Youtube (Allthatglitters), I did some research on it myself and thought it may be a good product to get rid of scarring, but this company is shoddy at best and the customer service doesn't even seem to exist. So please don't order from this company if you are not 100% sure that you want to keep the product, it isn't worth it for all the trouble. I've never experienced such bad customer service in my life. Update (June 24, 2012): The package was shipped back to the company in the beginning of June and my tracking confirmation told me it had arrived a long time ago so I e-mailed customer service again since they don't believe in using their phones apparently. After a few days (about 2-3 days), a representative e-mails me back to send the tracking number I used so I e-mail her back as soon as I received the e-mail (about a minute after). I'm still waiting for her reply and have not gotten my refund, which is disturbing and stressful as this product cost quite a bit of money... Update: June 30, 2012. The refund has finally gone through. Overall, never doing business with this company again. The lack of customer service is just terrible and and nonexistent. Too much trouble for what the item is worth. Update: June 30,2012. Realized they only refunded 118.00 instead of the 149.00 I paid. I don't know what is going on so I e-mailed them today and haven't gotten a reply back yet. This company is a nightmare to deal with. July 3: "The refund does not include the 15% restocking fee and our shipping costs." ....... Ridiculous.
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Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Sirius Beauty Pulsar
beautydork 5/27/2012 10:04:00 AM
I wish I could give this product a zero star rating. I usually don't review many products but my experience with ordering from this company has caused me so much stress. Also, this review is for the Aurora tool specifically but my review also regards the company in general. So firstly, they don't provide any shipping information and their "confirmation e-mail" is a blank message with only a subject line with your confirmation number. So they don't even provide you an electronic receipt (which you need if you want to return your product). Since I had heard before that they don't send a shipping confirmation, I contacted a customer representative for a tracking number via e-mail. She gladly sent it to me and every few days I would check where my product was. For 10 days, the status of the package was "Electronic Shipping Information Received". For 10 days, I thought it was alright but at the end of the 10 days I finally decided to bother them once more and turns out there had been a "sorting mishap" and that makes me wonder what would've happened to my product if I hadn't contacted them about the tracking number and about the very late shipping. So already, I was peeved about the inability to talk to a real service representative. Their phone number that they have posted on their website is an automated voice message, saying that the customer representatives are "busy" and to leave a message so they can contact you back. There are no customer representatives that are "busy" and they will never reply to your messages and call you back. But more about this later... So I get the product and it feels cheap and for ($140~ forgot exactly how much it was), I don't think it's worth it and this whole "light" therapy already made me dubious of whether it could work or not. So I decided to return it within the 60 days to get my money back. So I e-mail about not ever getting a receipt (not in paper form in the shipment OR via confirmation e-mail). They take DAYS to respond back to your e-mails and totally disregard your ACTUAL questions. I asked what I could do for my receipt (as this is one of the stipulations of returning your product) three times and the customer representative IGNORED it three times. I've e-mailed them once again but have yet to receive a reply. I'm still trying to return my product which has turned out to be a two week ordeal. I've also asked for an actual customer representative telephone numerous times, all of which have been ignored. I just wanted to post this review as a warning to people looking into the company because when I first heard about the light therapy products from Elle on Youtube (Allthatglitters), I did some research on it myself and thought it may be a good product to get rid of scarring, but this company is shoddy at best and the customer service doesn't even seem to exist. So please don't order from this company if you are not 100% sure that you want to keep the product, it isn't worth it for all the trouble. I've never experienced such bad customer service in my life. Update (June 24, 2012): The package was shipped back to the company in the beginning of June and my tracking confirmation told me it had arrived a long time ago so I e-mailed customer service again since they don't believe in using their phones apparently. After a few days (about 2-3 days), a representative e-mails me back to send the tracking number I used so I e-mail her back as soon as I received the e-mail (about a minute after). I'm still waiting for her reply and have not gotten my refund, which is disturbing and stressful as this product cost quite a bit of money... Update: June 30, 2012. The refund has finally gone through. Overall, never doing business with this company again. The lack of customer service is just terrible and and nonexistent. Too much trouble for what the item is worth. Update: June 30,2012. Realized they only refunded 118.00 instead of the 149.00 I paid. I don't know what is going on so I e-mailed them today and haven't gotten a reply back yet. This company is a nightmare to deal with. July 3: "The refund does not include the 15% restocking fee and our shipping costs." ....... Ridiculous.
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Moisturizers -Boots - No 7 Protect & Perfect night cream
beautydork 1/2/2012 11:02:00 PM
This is a great product for the winter. It's not too heavy but it moisturizes well. It comes in a jar, which is not my favorite type of packaging for moisturizers (I just use a Q-tip to get some of the product out). The smell isn't that overpowering either (it smells a little like cucumbers). The texture, at first, seems heavy but as you work it into your hands to put it onto your face, the texture becomes lighter. At first, I thought I disliked the product, but I found out that I was simply just using too much for my combo skin! You really need a half of a pea size amount for your entire face. If you put too much product on, your face can look like a greaseball. Also, I use this cream during the day as well and I don't think it looks too oily. I also have extremely acne prone and sensitive skin an am using Paula's Choice 2% BHA Liquid (which is a tad bit drying), and this night cream has helped immensely with my dryness. It also hasn't irritated my skin nor has it caused any acne. I would definitely recommend this product, even for younger people who are in dire need of hydration!
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Other -Boscia - Fresh Blotting Linens
beautydork 1/2/2012 10:52:00 PM
These little blotting sheets are wonderful. I love that this is a no-frills product. There isn't any powder on them, which is a plus for me. With these, I use a sheet front and back for my entire face. On days where I am very oily, I'll grab another sheet or two but compared to other brands, these blotting sheets are pretty cost effective (about 10 cents per sheet). I have repurchased these over and over and I love them. Hope you will give them a chance as well. (The Green Tea Blotting Linens are wonderful too).
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