Eye Primer -Too Faced - Shadow Insurance, Anti-Crease Eye Shadow Primer
carbonbased 1/31/2008 6:55:00 PM
i have been wearing this stuff every day for the past week, and it is amazing. everyone go try it NOW! this stuff lasts >12 hours on me--even through naps--without fading at all. i've never been a huge fan of udpp (even though ud is one of my favorite brands), and i normally use mac paint in bare canvas or mac shadestick in beige-ing when i want a nude base. but the mac stuff is still a little bit visible (beige-ing is really shimmery, too), and the tf stuff is very light and invisible and doesn't change the shadow you're putting on at all. it does make pigment stand out like you're looking at the pan. GREAT! i like the packaging, too, which is a simple squeeze tube with a screw cap. i use only about 1/3 a rice grain-sized amount per eyelid, and it works fantastic. this tube is gonna last quite a while.
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Lip Gloss -Urban Decay - Ultraglide in Video
carbonbased 12/22/2007 4:23:00 PM
i have tried hundreds of lip glosses, and this product is one of my favorites. the gloss is very moisturizing (i have dry lips), and the color is pretty much my lip color but makes my lips look even and pretty as opposed to chapped and disgusting. i don't usually like my lip gloss to smell like baked goods, but video smells so good, like cake. the gloss is not overly sticky or overly runny, and i really have no complaints about the product itself. i noticed many other reviewers complaining about the shitty packaging, and i have to agree. i am super careful with my makeup and don't tote it around with me, so i haven't had any explosions or breakage with mine yet, but i can tell that it is a very crappy plastic that the tube is made of and that cracks/splits in the tube are a likely probability. i get that urban decay is trying to gimmick up the ultraglide lube tube aspect of the product, but the product is so good that if they just put the gloss in a regular juicy tube-esque tube and used decent quality plastic, i'd seriously buy every ultraglide flavor out there. as it is, i own quiver and video (i don't like quiver as much because the color is not as natural, but it's still a damn good gloss), and i would like to buy o, but i'm resisting buying it because i want to see how well the packaging on my existing tubes fare. i've had my tubes for about a year now, and they are still fine. if they're still okay after another year, maybe i'll buy o. anyways, even with the awful packaging, i'd still rebuy video because the gloss is THAT good. i'd just put it in a little clear container instead and not take it out with me.
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Lotions/ Creams -Korres - Quince Body Butter
carbonbased 12/22/2007 4:14:00 PM
this stuff is quite expensive, and i don't like the smell at all (quince is the only one i'm able to [barely] tolerate; guava, fig, and yoghurt make me gag). BUT it is the most moisturizing and long-lasting body butter i've ever tried, so i have to use it. my legs get super dry in the winter; they start looking dry and flaky and resemble lizard skin. fabulously disgusting! other body butters i've tried will fix the dry skin problem temporarily but the next morning, my skin will be just as dry again. korres body butter is the only one that keeps my legs moisturized for hours. i can put it on a couple hours before bedtime, and when i wake up, my legs are still nice and moisturized and definitely not reptilian scaly. as an added bonus, this stuff is never greasy or oily. other body butters i have tried are ones by clinique, philosophy, the body shop, bliss, l'occitane, and lots of drugstore brands. this is the only one i can use in the winter when my skin is seriously dry. in the summer, i can get away with a lighter, less moisturizing one (i like philosophy body butter in lemonade because it smells yummy). i only wish that korres would make an unscented version because i don't like any of the scents.
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Mascara -Christian Dior - Diorshow Mascara
carbonbased 11/8/2007 5:47:00 PM
i should not have strayed from my HG (UD Big Fatty), but i did b/c of the hype over this product. that was a mistake, since diorshow doesn't do a better job than big fatty but is more expensive. i also do not like the diorshow smell very much (smells flowery, like roses). i will say that diorshow is far superior to any drug store mascara i have tried before since it holds curl well and adds length. i just wish it were a little more volumizing and BLACKER.
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Cleansers -LUSH - coal face soap
carbonbased 11/2/2007 4:57:00 PM
i'd heard good things about this soap for a long time but never bought it b/c it looked funky (black) and is pretty expensive. i prefer liquid cleansers and am biased against using bars of soap on my face. i might have continued in this tragic state for god knows how long if a nice lady at lush hadn't offered to let me get a small slice of the soap. she cut off a piece about the size of a hotel room soap and then gave it to me for free, which i did not expect (i was pulling money out of my wallet). i've been using it 2x a day for 15 days now, and i love it! i lather it up in my hands and then gently put it on my face. then i pat dry with a towel and immediately put on moisturizer. i know a lot of people don't like the smell, and i didn't like it at first, but it is a very unique smell, and i like it now. besides, once you've dried your face off, it's not like your face smells like the soap for the rest of the day. the soap is quite drying. i've noticed that if i wait too long between drying my face off and putting on moisturizer, it's not a good result for the skin. but when i put moisturizer on right afterwards, i don't have any problems with dryness. i don't have super oily skin, either; i have combination skin that is pretty dry in places and slightly oily in the t-zone. i was surprised that the soap actually takes off ALL my make up. i definitely wasn't expecting this since no other cleanser i've ever used takes everything off, but coal face is amazing. i only wish it had some kind of packaging, but i'm using a plastic travel soap dish at the moment, and it seems okay. aesthetically ugly, but practical. i'll definitely be getting more coal face in the future. edit on 12/22/07: i bought more coal face. it is the best face product i've ever used. yeah, it's pricey, but it actually noticeably improves my face. i noticed my blackheads (i don't have a lot of them to begin with, and they weren't big, so i never was obsessed about them the way some people are) went away just by using this soap--an unexpected bonus. also, my face isn't overproducing oil to compensate for the soap or anything. it fact, it's more matte, and i get less breakouts. coal face has exceeded all my expectations!
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Eye Primer -Too Faced - First Base Eyeshadow Primer
carbonbased 12/14/2006 5:52:00 PM
i love first base, although i'm obviously in the minority if you read other reviews for this product. a too faced ma at sephora showed me how to use it about a year ago, and now i always use it. i have also used urban decay primer potion, which i think is okay but not as good as first base. i also use mac shadesticks a lot, which i like, and mac paints sometimes (i don't like paints as much). i know that the general consensus is that udpp is the best and that paints are far superior to shadesticks, so maybe i'm not the best person to listen to for most people. that said, first base adds a little bit of shimmer that makes me look more awake while being subtle, and it is really easy to apply. you have to add the eyeshadow(s) immediately after applying first base to get the best effect, so do one eye at a time. lastly, this stuff lasts a very long time--much longer than udpp.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Coquette (satin)
carbonbased 12/14/2006 5:46:00 PM
this color is like a weird matte gray-green-brown color, if that even makes sense. when the mac MA first showed this to me, i was not impressed. but, it makes my brows look so natural when i use coquette to fill in the sparseness (what does that say about my brows if a gray-green-brown color is the best, most natural match?). i have one of these in pan form and another one in pot form because i love it so much. even on days when i'm running late, i have to sacrifice the thirty seconds it takes to put on coquette to make my face look decent. i have smashbox browtech in brunette and taupe also, but coquette is the superior product.
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Bronzers -Guerlain - Terracotta Light Sheer Bronzing Powder-Blondes 01
carbonbased 12/14/2006 5:20:00 PM
i only recently got into guerlain because for some reason i always thought of the brand as being associated with grandmas and rich women (i have no idea why i thought this). i am not blonde, but this bronzing powder is amazing. it blends really well with other products, like highlighters and blush, and it always looks natural. i have never had it look orangey or dirtlike (nars laguna, anyone?). you know a product is truly awesome when you hate the fugly old-lady packaging and the high price but still use the damn thing because it's so amazing.
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Misc Beauty Tools -Unlisted Brand - Zeno
carbonbased 12/14/2006 5:17:00 PM
i love zeno! i have tried pretty much every acne product ever invented, and so when i heard about the zeno, i was pretty suspicious and nonbelieving. the idea of improving acne with some heat sounds crazy to me. however, i decided to try it out and return it if it did nothing. this was a year ago. i have since apologized to my zeno for ever suspecting, unjustly, that it would be useless and futile. i know the directions say you can only use it on some kinds of acne and you have to zap every x hours, etc.--but i zap 3 zits in the morning and the same 3 zits in the evening, and my god, what an improvement! i have also used it on all kinds of acne, and not just acne that is about to surface like many posters mention. for me, it works well on any kind of zit. i only wish you could zap more than 3 per charge cycle, but it's a pretty good product, and i would never travel anywhere without this thing. if you can afford it, i highly recommend trying this product from sephora. that way, you can return it if it doesnt work for you.
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Skincare - Face -DDF - Glycolic 10% Exfoliating Oil Control Gel
carbonbased 12/14/2006 5:10:00 PM
i had to write a review because the rating on this product is so high on mua, but i don't see why. i bought this because of the raves here, and have been using it faithfully once every night for about six weeks now. i have seen no improvements whatsoever, and this stuff isn't that cheap. if it did anything, i would love the product because i like the packaging style with the pump, the smell doesn't bother me, and it doesn't burn/hurt my skin. in the six weeks of daily use, my skin has not changed one bit, suggesting that this product works for some but not all.
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