Skincare - Face -Unlisted Brand - Elayda Continuous Results
catisland 1/19/2012 11:01:00 AM
I love trying new skin care products, and I'm a sucker for skin care infomercials (but only if they include liberal return policies, lol). I was channel surfing the other morning and came across a new skin care infomercial for Elayda Continuous Results and had to stop and watch the presentation. The system is a retinol-based step-up program including a cleanser, retinol foam/mousse moisturizer and daytime SPF15 moisturizer. The first shipment includes 3 bonus items, a spot lightener, an extra hydration cream and an eye product that claims to tighten the eye area. The cleanser that comes with the first shipment is a foaming, detergent based cleanser. It works very well, but is definitely detergent-y/soapy and may be too harsh for some people. This cleanser is replaced with an AHA/BHA cream cleanser after the first shipment -- the rationale behind this, I have no idea. I am not a fan of cream cleansers, so I'm going to have to see if this is something that can be personalized for future orders. The retinol treatment feels amazing! It comes out in mousse form, but absorbs like a lightweight moisturizer, which is enough moisturizing for my relatively normal-to-combo skin. I've always used an OTC retinol product, though, so this initial "step" probably isn't going to produce new results. The website claims you can start with a higher "step", but there's really no way to actually do it online, so you'd probably have to call and speak with a rep. to do this. The day cream is very nice -- a lightweight SPF15 moisturizer. Pretty straightforward, and did not turn my face white, or leave a greasy film, or mess with my foundation. Nice, but probably not unlike a lot of other products -- they claim to have the same anti-oxidants and peptides a lot of products do, but it's hard to tell how much of anything is in the product. The spot correcter is something I have no use for. They also sell a kit including an illuminating product for more money, but their spot lighteners and illuminators are hydroquinone-based, which is not necessarily a safe ingredient, depending on whom you speak with. It's banned in several European countries. The extra hydration product is a rich, shea butter based moisturizer. Won't purchase a full size one because it's nothing special. The eye firming treatment is pure silicone. If there's anything else in there, it's hard to tell. Again, not going to purchase the full size product. This is a nice retinol kit for someone who is just starting out with retinol products, and may be nice for those of us who like a retinol product but have to stay away with the more extreme, harsher versions of retinol or Retin-A. It ain't cheap -- $39.95 per month for a 60 day kit (or $54.99 if you want the skin brightening product). I'm going to stick with it a while longer, although I think it's pricey for what I'm getting out of it. An unexpected bonus -- the box this comes in is beautiful! Heavy cardboard with pretty pattern, and it opens on a hinge, with lovely ribbon accents. Not a reason to buy, but if you're crafty, you can probably turn this into a pretty desktop keepsake or letter box.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Foundations -Cover Girl - Covergirl and Olay Tone Rehab 2 in 1 Foundation
catisland 12/31/2011 1:36:00 PM
New Review/Edit: Unfortunately, this did not work out well over time. Because the Olay/serum portion of the product is a peptide-based anti-aging serum, this foundation ultimately left my skin drier by the end of a full week of wear. This is an issue I've always had with peptide-driven skin care products, so it may just be me. The texture, lasting power, color, etc., are all still wonderful if you don't have this issue, however. Also, my skin ended up looking dry but feeling greasy because this foundation sits on top of your skin -- good for lasting power, finish, but bad if the skin underneath is beginning to dry out. This effect also makes me afraid to touch my face, as if I'm going to rub product off in patches. Good effort on Cover Girl's part, but not for me. If you're okay with less coverage, the Natureluxe foundation is much better, although it's somewhere between a tinted moisturizer and a foundation. Lovely colors, though, and a nice, lasting finish for something so lightweight. **Old Review:So happy to see Cover Girl has a new foundation. After dropping the ball with their Advanced Radiance line, they've finally found a way to combine Olay skin care with a medium-to-full coverage foundation without affecting the color. Smooth, natural finish, pore-minimizing, can skip primer, lightweight, good color choices. I only just purchased this week at Walgreen's (which is currently running a buy-one-get-one-50%-off deal), so I don't know if this improves skin over time, but it's a great foundation. I've been loving Clinique's Laser Renewal foundation (or whatever it's called), but this is even nicer and costs much less.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Shampoo -Pantene - medium-thick hair solutions frizzy to smooth
catisland 12/1/2011 6:20:00 PM
Obviously the label was misprinted...should read Smooth-to-Frizzy. ~sigh~ When you try to be all things to all people, you end up being nothing much of anything at all. Just sayin'.
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Hair Color -L'Oreal - Sublime Mousse
catisland 8/5/2011 2:50:00 PM
Worst. Haircolor. Ever. If I could give this product negative stars, I would. I've used L'Oreal hair color products for close to fifteen years now, and I've never had anything but positive experiences. I saw this product advertised and thought it would be interesting to try a new application format, and I was further seduced by the "healthy, glossy" qualifiers used in the advertising. I chose the medium golden brown shade, which is what I use in L'Oreal's other products, and set about coloring my hair according to the package directions. Easy to mix, easy to apply. All downhill from there... First problem is that I noticed far more hair loss as I rinsed out the product than I experience using Preference or Excellence. Probably 3 - 4 times the hair loss, actually. Second problem, the conditioner was...weird. Not conditioner-y. Very little "slip" or moisturizing feel to it. Difficult to work through hair (shoulder length, in my case). Rinsing it out left my hair feeling weirdly dry and wet at the same time instead of silky-wet with the post-color conditioners from other L'Oreal products. Third problem, hair feels dry, dry, dry when I comb it out to blow dry, and I experience more hair loss as I comb and dry my hair. Also, my hair is definitely dry, flat, scraggly, and dull. It feels awful. Thin and straw-like, dry as a bone. It's not shiny at all. Nail in the coffin -- my roots are an entirely different color than the rest of my hair. Obviously, glaringly, totally a different color, as in visibile-from-space different. Also, the color is NOT a medium golden brown, but rather odd patches of very dark brown hair interspersed with uber-brassy sections, and then a stripe of greyed-down "golden" hair at the roots (looks like a bizarre chlorine incident, or something). Thankfully, I'm headed to a week in Tahoe with hiking, kayaking, etc., and it won't matter much. After a week or so, I hope my hair can stand a second color treatment usuing my usual L'Oreal products (although I'm so freakin' pissed off about this I might switch to Garnier Nutrisse, a product I've had very nice results with as well). ETA: Read through the rest of the reviews and I had to laught when I saw one "outing' the bogus 5 star reviews. Guess MUA has succumbed to the Amazon Review Syndrome. ~sigh~ That's unfortunate. Back to word-of-mouth from trusted friends recommendations for beauty products, I guess.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Foundations -Cover Girl - Natureluxe Liquid Silk Foundation 
catisland 5/11/2011 8:43:00 PM
Wow. Who'd a thunk? I'd sworn off Cover Girl this past year or two since their products took a definite dive southwards, but Walgreens had a deal on this stuff, and the reviews were decent. What a find! It's amazingly light -- so light you think there won't be any coverage at all -- but it covers as well as any medium-coverage foundation out there. It covers, mattifies, and disappears all at the same time. Wow! I do use a very light touch of powder over my T-zone anyway, but I can go all day, in the sun, and not have to touch up. My skin looks natural and real and like my actual skin but better. Not spackled or obviously made up, but the flaws are covered nonetheless. I chose Aspen and it's as if it had been made for my skin tone. Perfect match. I'm light-to-medium with golden undertones these days (moved to Cali, and I get a lot more sun than I used to). Can't say enough good things about this. Don't let CG's use of Taylor Swift as their spokesmodel fool you -- this works very well for all ages.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -Cetaphil - Daily Facial Cleanser (Normal to Oily Skin)
catisland 12/28/2010 8:41:00 AM
Picked this up by mistake (usually use original gentle skin cleanser) and what a mistake it was! First of all, this smells like a harsh, heavy-duty detergent. Secondly, it feels like a harsh, heavy-duty detergent. Now, I don't normally use a cleanser for oily skin, so that may be part of the problem, but I can and do wash my face with soap during the warmer weather when my skin can be oilier, and I never have any issues with that. This stuff, however, just hurt -- my skin was burning, stinging and was painful to the touch. I can't imagine this stuff is doing anyone's skin any good in the long run -- and "gentle"? Really? I don't think so.
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Treatments -Clinique - Repairwear Laser Focus Wrinkle and UV Damage Corrector
catisland 9/17/2010 11:10:00 AM
I'm on my second bottle of this -- definitely a keeper! My skin is smoother, fresher-looking, wrinkles are definitely noticably diminished. It's a lightweight serum, and I use it at night with a retinol serum, and during the day under my regular light moisturizer/suncreen. My only complaint is the ridiculous packaging. A pump would be a great improvement over the silly and messy dropper.
8 out of 8 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Crème -Maybelline - Dream Smooth Mousse
catisland 6/26/2010 11:07:00 AM
I think I have finally found a foundation that suits my drying skin. I used to love the Cover Girl Advanced Radiance creme compact foundation, but hated the replacement, Simply Ageless. This foundation is much better than the original CG Advanced Radiance, better than Aquasmooth, and even better than the high-end foundations I've been trying lately. I literally walked into this foundation by accident -- it's a new product and Walgreen's had put up one of those special displays at the end of an aisle. I rounded the corner and practically knocked it over -- kismet! Anyway, it's cool and slightly creamy going on, very natural-looking, and It's slightly moisturizing without being gloppy or greasy or shiny, which is exactly what I was looking for -- something smooth and sheer and non-drying that wouldn't emphasize fine lines. It's sheerer than Aquasmooth, but can be built up if you want more coverage. "Smooth" is exactly the right qualifier -- my skin looks naturally smooth, even and, well, like skin! Powder is optional -- a light touch down the T-zone, perhaps, and the CG Neutralizer concealer, which I still love, works very well with this -- blends in, covers and stays put without creating a new texture on the skin. . Maybelline seems to be adding and replacing products like crazy right now. I hope this new formula stays around for a while. It's the perfect balance between Dream Matte Mousse and that slimey Dream Liquid Mousse. I also think it's a wonderful option for older skin, more so than anything in their Instant Age Rewind collection.
23 out of 24 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Powder -Maybelline - PureStay Powder Foundation
catisland 6/4/2010 1:18:00 PM
UPDATE: Not so much in love with this anymore. The product does indeed crack after you're about halfway through, and I'm finding it feels heavier and heavier each time I use it. It's still a great powder foundation option, but as my skin gets drier along with the near-desert like dryness of the air here in California, it's just no longer a good option for me right now. I've returned to CG Clean Makeup powder in fragrance free for now. I won't take away any stars because it still seems a much better option than any other mineral/powder formula I've ever tried, but it's just no longer an every day choice any more. What a great find -- who knew this has been sitting in the drugstore all these years? I am not a big powder or mineral foundation fan, but I needed a regular finishing powder and the recent revamp of the Cover Girl Clean line left me without an inexpensive, easy to find option. In a desperation move -- I needed something fast -- I picked this up in the lightest color despite the clunky packaging. The lightest color in this is slightly darker than my CG Classic Ivory, put it's also got much better undertones -- more neutral/warm -- so it actually looks better in the long run. While it's a heavier powder, meant to be used alone as a foundation, I find that using a brush and a light hand creates a much lighter look than if I use the sponge applicator, so you really can use it alone or as a finishing powder. I also switched my foundation to a very sheer, lightweight formula, and that combined with this powder give me perfectly flawless skin. The amazing thing is, it's not heavy -- you can still see my freckles if I use a very light hand -- and it doesn't collect in lines or pores like other powders I've used. Also, unlike powdered mineral foundations, this stuff doesn't suck the moisture out of your face so you end up looking ten years older after three days of use. I use a light primer-ish moisturizer, my lightweight foundation (an Avon one I had an extra jar of -- it's that lightweight one in a glass jar with the gray top -- forget the name, and it may be phased out soon anyway), a touch of concealer (still use CG neutralizer concealer in the lipstick-like container), the PureStay powder applied lightly with a brush, my usual eye/cheek/lip stuff, and then finish it all with a spritz or two of Reviva Rosewater Toner Spray. The result is a lightweight, natural finish that looks completely natural while evening out and covering where needed. Now, with my luck, they'll phase out PureStay now that they have a couple of new foundation formulas on the market. Cheap enough to stock up, though, and if you're using it lightly, it lasts forever.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Skincare - Face -Reviva - Rosewater Facial Spray
catisland 5/19/2010 9:24:00 PM
Great finishing spray, especially if you use powder of any kind. The rose scent is strong at first, but dissipates fairly quickly. The ingredients are simple and functional, it's cheap enough, and it lasts forever. My only caveat is the semi-transparent packaging. Many vitamin/antioxidant ingredients are photosensitive, so you have to keep this in a drawer or cupboard rather than leave it out. It's a full sized bottle, too, so it won't fit into most medicine cabinets.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Skincare - Face -Unlisted Brand - Timeless Secret
catisland 4/2/2010 4:27:00 PM
I came across this product by chance. My husband works for a huge company that often receives sample products from related industries. They received some sample sets of this skincare line and he brought one home, although someone had snicked the day cream from the set and left the rest. At first I ignored the stuff -- I had plenty of skincare on hand and couldn't be bothered adding something new to my am and pm repetoire. Out of curiosity, I googled it and discovered it was a sort of B list infomercial brand, originally plugged by Josie Maran, and currently without the usual spokesfailedwannabecelebperson. I have never seen an infomercial for this, so I thought it was probably a discontinued, failed line, and again made a note to toss the stuff next time I put out the garbage. Then, after over-chemically-exfoliating my skin one evening, I opened the night moisturizer and fell in love with the fresh fragrance and the light, smooth feel of the cream. I applied it and felt immediately better. The next day, I applied my regular moisturizer with spf since there wasn't one in the kit I had, and then applied a baby pea sized dot of the serum-y/primer-y treatment product over it (which is how it's supposed to be applied even with the kit's day moisturizer -- OVER the product, not under...). My makeup never looked better. The treatment product definitely contains some amount of one or another of the -cones, but it's lighter and more liquid than most primers and contains treatment ingredients as well. Next, I tried the cleanser, which is the one product I really could take or leave -- it's sort of foaming, but not really -- it's supposed to have some kind of reaction when you add water that deep cleanses pores, or something, but I didn't really notice anything special about it. It got my face clean, but so do a lot of cleansers, so no biggie. I also used the polishing mask one evening, and it's nice -- it gives you that instant oomph, although I doubt it does anything all that special in the long run. The night cream and the primer/serum-y thingie are fabulous -- I actually ordered a fresh set based on those two items alone. I haven't received them yet, but I'm dying to find out if I like the day cream w/spf 20. All in all, I'm kind of suprised this didn't take off -- it's paraben free, too, which is important for some people, and uses botanical based ingredients. Perhaps Guthy-Renker (Principal Secret, Natural Advantage, Meangingful Beauty, etc.) has a stronghold on the skincare infomercial market and makes it difficult for newbies to be seen, but it's nicer than Principal Secret, is a nice alternative to Natural Advantage for those who can't tolerate acids and retinoids, and is infinitely better than Meaningful Beauty. Definitely worth a try, although it does not come with that fabulous Guthy-Renker guarantee.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -Fresh - Umbrian Clay Freshface Foundation
catisland 2/27/2010 5:03:00 PM
This is one of those foundations I want to like more than I did. The colors, especially for fairer skinned gals, are absolutely gorgeous, and, at first, the consistancy feels wonderful, but it doesn't really wear well, and actually becomes heavier feeling throughout the day. Also, the price is ridiculous. There is nothing particularly innovative or noteworthy about this foundation that justifies the outrageously expensive price. Lovely range of colors, pretty display and "backstory", nice packaging, but there are at least half a dozen drugstore foundations that perform as well or better and for a fraction of the price.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Paula's Choice - Super Antioxidant Concentrate
catisland 8/21/2009 11:08:00 PM
I don't get it either...I'm sure the actual antioxidant components are good quality and the product contains a decent amount of them, but the consistancy is just awful. The word 'suffocating' comes to mind. Sorry, but something that heavy and impenatrable just isn't my cup of tea. Occasionally, I get suckered into the Paula's Choice hype and purchase a couple of her products to see what wonders I'm missing out on and I always regret it. Her really, really, really creepy plastic surgery ought to be my first clue...seems like she's competing with Joan Rivers for the Michael Jackson Plastic Surgery Addiction Award, or something. How can you hawk skin care when you obviously have had several plastic surgeries and continue to have more?
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Tinted Moisturizer -Paula's Choice - Barely There Sheer Matte Tint SPF 20
catisland 8/19/2009 5:30:00 PM
I'm actually pretty on the fence about this still, but given the heat and humidity we're dealing with here in the northeastern US, I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt a little longer. For the most part, this is an excellent tinted moisturizer. The major difference between this product and other highly acclaimed TMs is that it actually does stay pretty matte. I did use a light dusting of setting powder, however, although I haven't touched up much since this morning. The bad news, although it's 92 and about 80+% humidity right now, is that I noticed my pores in the Tzone were really, really noticeable out in the full sun. Nuthin' like that rearview mirror for a reality check, eh? Perhaps on a less hot and humid day, this wouldn't be a problem, so I'll wait and see -- gotta go to San Francisco for a week, so hopefully it'll be cooler and this will hold up. I LOVE the finish. Enough color/coverage to get by for a truly natural look. This, a touch of concealer where needed, and a touch of powder are perfect for a casual daytime makeup. Unlike Laura Mercier TM, my face didn't turn into an alternate energy source by noon, and, also unlike LMs product, the lightest color really is light enough for truly fair skin. Tube packaging is great, but I suspect the last bits will be hard to squeeze out due to the shape and thickness of the tube. Price is average, but there's Paula's usualy sloooowww mail to deal with. All in all, a really good bet for TM. Here's hoping the pore thing is seasonal/situational and not something I can expect every time I use this product. ETA: Not a keeper after all, and I haven't even left for California yet. This stuff is definitely doing something bad to my skin. No breakouts (yet), but my pores become more and more obvious with each use, and it seems to make my skin oilier, but oilier underneath a matte barrier, which is a very strange feeling and even stranger look. Sorry, but this is going back.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Stick -Avon - Ideal Shade Mousse Foundation Stick
catisland 8/6/2009 8:02:00 AM
Great stick foundation. Unlike Bobbi Brown's or even Max Factor's stick foundations, this is truly weightless and sheer. Glides on, good color selection (I'm much lighter in MAC foundation color categories and Nude was just right for me -- I'm a Warm Ivory in Bobbi Brown and Nude was almost exactly the same color, for example), buildable for spots that might need a wee bit more coverage than others.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No