Lip Treatments -Chapstick - Fresh Effects Invigorating Green Tea Mint
caartist 12/30/2011 4:43:00 AM
Hands down one of the worst chapstick products on the market. It goes on very smooth BUT not moisturizing at all. Within a matter of a 20 minutes it feels like you have nothing on, there is no staying power at all. I think it's smoothness leave ppl to think it's moisturizing, and the smoothness/slipness of this product cause it to run. This is so bad that the free swagger chapstick they give out at variety of tradeshows are markly better. What's even worst is the amount of mint in this product. If you have any chap or very dry lip, the amount of mint in this product will definitely cause a powerful burning sensation.
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Treatments -Origins - Super Spot Remover
caartist 9/20/2011 2:06:00 AM
What a crappy product! This is the newer version of Spot Remover, so the name is now Super Spot Remover. Sadly, there is nothing super about it. 1. It burns like h*** on application - I don't even have sensitive skin. 2. It has that same strong and very potent smell as the original Spot Remover. I generally like the smell of Origins products but not this one. 3. glue-like film-fomer in the product - upon drying, there is a very heavy film spot on the area of application, so much so I can feel it when I try to smile or do any movement with my facial muscles. I guess you can use this at night but definitely not during day time as there is a shiny filmy spot anywhere you apply this 4. liltte to no improvement after multiple uses - in fact, the $3-5 Clean and Clear or Neutrogena spot treatment from Target/Walmart works faster and better. 5. cause redness - claim to have ingredients that calm redness, but no no, increased redness in the area of application. 6. very unfriendly container - this is squeeze bottle but the it doesn't have a pointed tip for spot application. the bottle top is a large circle shape, so the only way to spot application is to squeeze the gel onto your finger, so there a chance of the bottle suck back in exceed product that has already touched your finger. For a pricey spot treatment, I expected more. Unfortunately, there are a ton of better spot treatment that works better yet cost less. This is a big failure.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Concealers -Garnier - Anti-Dark-Circle Eye Roller
caartist 8/15/2011 11:24:00 PM
Simply amazing! I was over at my girlfriend's house and sneaked a little of this since I didn't bring any skin care products... This product went on extremely well and blends so incredibly smooth and natural, I was utterly shocked. I am a guy and I would use treatment products freely but NEVER anything that remotely resemble makeup. This will be first makeup'ish eye treatment that I would use because it is so natural looking. I went out and bought one... after 2 weeks, I can definitely see a slight improvement on my puffiness. Not sure about the proper lingo, but I think my GF said it doesn't crease. In my mind, it means this product doesn't fall into the fine lines and doesn't make the lines more noticeable. I tried the new Estee Lauder Idealist for eye with the gold shimmer. That product crease and settle into fine lines like crazy, but not this roller.
7 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Estee Lauder - Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator
caartist 8/14/2011 1:40:00 PM
My first 1 star Estee Lauder product. I am shocked as you probably are, given I am such a big EL fan. I hardly ever breakout thanks to good skincare routine + Clarisonic. Within 1 day of using this, I started to break out and the more days I used, the worst it got. I counted over 24 breakouts on my forehead after just 5 days, the stress of it probably brought out more breakouts. Before someone tell me I need to moisturize - yes I do, ANR and all... I stopped using the product and within 1 day, the break out calmed down. Within a week, it's almost cleared. Stupid me, started to use this again, and boy another round of 2 dozen breakouts within a week. Just like ppl said, I am aways in a oil slick when I have this one, I have no idea why. I noticed that it did very slightly improve some spots I have. However, just like another reviewer said, this product creates a lot of breakouts, so it can then improve it?!?!?! Also, while on this product, I've noticed a ton of clogged pores and explosive increase in blackheads.. This product does creates a smooth surface on your skin like every othe silicone oil based product but this one clogs pore more than anything I have used.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Neutrogena - Oil-Free Acne Stress Control 3-in-1 Hydrating Acne Treatment [DISCONTINUED]
caartist 8/8/2011 2:33:00 PM
I thought I was going crazy for liking this product since the ultra high rating here. I am suffering from the same issue as the 1 star raters. I have most clear skin but very occasional breakout. Since I started using this, I have nothing but breakout. Like many said, a lot of bumps and white heads, in areas that I NEVER break out from before. I blamed everything on cleaner, and toner to my mask. I eliminated every one of those, one by one, but the breakout persisted. That's until I stopped using this. Within a few days, my skin started to clear!!! I am 100% sure, this product is the cause. In fact, I think it's because this product uses very heavy film fomer, that probably trapped sebum and prevented them from leaving the pore, thus causing the breakout...
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Treatments (Eye) -Estee Lauder - Idealist Cooling Eye Illuminator
caartist 8/8/2011 2:19:00 PM
I am giving it 1 star for the product, and extra 1 star for the ceremic tip. I am a big EL fan as most products really produce good results, but not this one. This is almost a treatment + makeup due to enormous amount of mica in it. As a treatment, it failed to delivery any result. I bought it for puffiness and it did NOTHING for my puffiness. I guess it's better than those other products that claim to reduce puffiness but make me more puffy. As a concealing product, it also fails the mark. This product is loaded with mica more than anything else in the eye cream category. The mica is not grind fine enough, so you can definitely see the mica particle. Because there are so much of them, it leaves a very very obvious and visible gold shimmer. For a girl, it's probably OK, but not so for a guy. It looks like you have gold eye shadow. Overall, a surprisingly poor product from EL. If you are looking for a similar product, Garnier eye roller with tint is actually much much better, at 1/7 to 1/6th of the price. The Garnier roller's tint covers well but is incredibly natural.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Misc Beauty Tools -Olay - Professional Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System
caartist 5/11/2011 7:47:00 PM
Hate to spoil the good review streak here... P&G put this product out as a less expensive but equally good alternative to Clarisonic but this does NOT compete. I have a Clarisonic but travel a lot for work, so I decided to get this unit for my suitcase, and not want to risk losing or damaging Clarisonic during travel. My skin is not as smooth and tendency for clogged pores and breakout is significantly increased while using Pro-X. The brush rotates at very low frequency and simply is not compete with Clarisonic at cleasning and exfoliation. It also uses AA batteries and it's a nightmare to change. If you are calculating net cost, Pro-X is probably not much cheaper for 2-3 yr use due to the constant need to replace batteries. P&G designed in the battery approach to help business for their battery division. Pro-X does a better job than normal manual cleansing, but its performance trail that of Clarisonic. However, I still think this is a decent choice for the suitcase or for when you want to leave your Clarisonic at home.
6 out of 10 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Skincare -Kiehls - Facial Fuel Eye De-Puffer
caartist 5/11/2011 7:30:00 PM
This comes in a 0.17oz stick, looks like a fat stubby lipstick. It goes on cool and feels great on the skin but it stops there. I am mildly puffy from job stress and this thing didn't do a thing for my puffiness. This is a caffeine based product but performs poorly compared to other caffeine based eye gel. Not to say the Gariner is perfect, but the anti-puff roller is much better that half the cost but for 3 times more product. Typical under performing product marketed specifically for men.
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Styling Products -Aussie - Mega Styling Spray
caartist 1/2/2011 4:06:00 AM
Proctor & Gamble has done it again :( They changed the formula on this, and this no longer perform the same. It's wetter but the hair has less shine when it dries, all the while it doesn't hold as well... I don't know what's going on but ever since Proctor and Gamble bought Clariol and Aussie brands, they kept reformulating everything alone with Pantene and manage to make everyone worse with each reformulation.
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Moisturizers -Grassroots - happily ever after [DISCONTINUED]
caartist 8/12/2006 2:43:00 PM
I agree with cho_chang's view about the sun screen and essential oil. For years, I used Origin's stuff thinking the essential oil is good for me. After 4-5 years, my skin is soo desensitized that I feel burned and tingled from very normal products, even Origin's cleanser. I shifted to EL's tri-lipic based products to rebuild my barrier and finally my skin returned to normal. During that 4-5 years, there was NO sign of irritation or rash. I finally believe Paula and cho_chang's ideas about essential oils are skin desensitizer. Finally, NO cosmetic company should never put lotions or cream in open jar, twist top containers. Everything should be sealed and have a pump or squeeze-able dispenser. They used jars to save a few cents, which is just stupid. Not to mention it's bad sanitation, I am sure most of you noticed by the 2nd or 3rd months the product gets thicker and harder to spread because it's all dried up. If you gals want something good with sunscreen, try the good-skin line. The 3 basic care moisturzer all have SPF15 and packed with good antioxidants, no crazy fragrance or oils.
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Self Tanners -Hawaiian Tropic - Island Glow Daily Moisturizer [DISCONTINUED]
caartist 6/26/2006 3:12:00 AM
I realize this product works well compared to others, but it's no mean the best... FAR from being the best. My biggest problem is how rich/thick it is. In order to get any color, you would have to apply it liberally like body lotion--that amount is enough to make you feel icky and sticky in the summer weather. I found my HG at wal-mart--Ocean Potion EverGlow $4.97 for 20.5oz. That lotion is a lot less sticky and it produces a slightly more color. Virtually no smell and 20.5oz lasts months and months...
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Moisturizers -Olay - Complete Touch of Sun Daily UV Facial Moisturizer SPF 15
caartist 6/17/2006 4:22:00 PM
I am a big fan of Olay's >$10 product line, but this is such a major disappointment. What tan??? This thing produce so little color, you can't even tell. Considering my paper-white skin, this is product just doesn't work. I am sure medium skin toned people will not see any difference. Also, the fragrance in this product is very potent, not that it's unpleasant, I just don't like fragrance from moisturizer to last forever. The other reviewer said there is no smell, they are referring to the developed DHA smell. The reason why there is no smell is simple. The DHA content is very low, which explains why you barely see any color; the potent fragrance would have masked any smell from the DHA... This product is also overly greasy, there is a white cast sheen (from the sunscreen) right after application that doesn't go away. Only reason for the 2 star is the SPF did not break me out, which is rare...
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Moisturizers -Cosmedicine - Medi-Matte Oil Control Lotion
caartist 4/18/2006 3:30:00 AM
All the claims about this line of products are B/S. What backed up clinical research???? This oil-control lotion is claimed to have "serious oil control" and not to have "rebound effect." Everything said is simply NOT true. This does NOT control oil what's so ever and it actually makes my skin about 2-3 times more oily. True it's very matte when it goes on, but that's due to the very heavy silicone concentration in this. DO NOT BUY THIS!!! You will probably have better long term result with Lauder's Clear Difference or Origins' Matte Scientist as they use seaweed extract that has some scientific backing to show it actually reduce oil production slightly... I tried 4 products in this line and NOTHING excels.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Misc Beauty Tools -Clarisonic - Pro Skincare Brush
caartist 1/19/2006 3:53:00 PM
I gave an early review on this unit and I raved about it. I still love the difference this products made to my skin, however, I am not so fond of it anymore. This unit has some serious quality issues. For no apparent reason, the energy of the sonic movement would weaken so much that render this thing useless. This problem comes and goes with no way to predict when it will happen again. I also travel regularly for business, so I don't bring the charger. This unit will NOT last the 14 day, twice a day, 1 minute use the instruction indicates, about half of that if you are lucky. I am not sure if the weaken sonic movement has to do with the fact that I leave this in the shower but I usually remove the brush and try to get rid of all the water in between uses, so I think I am taking good care of it already. In any case, I am a regular at Nordstorm, so when the salesperson followed up with me about this unit, I told her about the weaken sonic movement. She was very nice and exchanged it for me 2 times over 6 months span, but all of them fall ill of the same problem. If you have the same problem, please post a review accordingly. I realy like to know if it's just my bad luck or there is something wrong with the design. Update 8/2011 - after using Clarisonic for so many years, I realize it contributes to breakout more than I could ever imagine or willing to admit. The brush head claims to be anti-microbial, but I had a friend did some test in her lab (research scientist) and there is definitely bacterial/microbial build up on the brush head, which probably contirbute to the break out. I replace the brushhead every 3-4 months, so I can't imagine do that any more frequently due to cost. The other aspect is that Clarisonic cleanses so well, it can over dry the top layer skin. It also over stimulate your skin to produce oil. This combination of dry surface but excessive oil production along with bacterial build up on the brush definitely lead to breakout. Over months/years of experimenting, I am confident in saying you shoudl step down the cleanser by 1 to 2 grades (if you were oily, you should try a normal/combo cleanser). You should also get a more moisturizing moisturzer. I am very oily, but with Clarisonic, I have to use much richer moisturzer and more gentle skin, in order to keep the breakout at bay. if you use anti-acne cleanser and anti-acne moisturzer, it will actually cause me to breakout...
7 out of 10 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Styling Products -Unlisted Brand - vavoom - freezing spray
caartist 8/22/2005 3:33:00 AM
This used to be my HG hairspray. It has super mega holding power and an awesome fragrance to boot. However, the formula was changed for California customers due to a newer, tougher, clean air law in California. The result is a super wet, doesn't want to dry hairspray. Because it's so wet, you keep spraying and spraying because the holding power isn't there... An hour or so later, when it does fully dry, you will have ice hard hair :(
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