Powder -Lancome - Ageless Minerale Skin-Transforming Mineral Powder Foundation SPF 21
ceciliathegreat 3/22/2009 4:43:00 PM
General comments: Excellent mineral powder foundation!!! I've always been skeptical about these mineral powders and even more so after trying several of the hyped up brands (yeah... bare minerals is horrible imo). So with the same mindset, I tried Lancome's because I'm a HUGE fan of this brand's products and of course, I'm blown away. Lancome's products have never failed to exceed my expectations! Product performance: excellent! Helps to erase lines and small pores (large pores are eccentuated however... took off a lippie for this). Works well even on dry flakey skin! I know because I just splattered my face with a whole bunch of acne creams so my skin was super dry, but the powder worked well nonetheless. I think the trick is in the brush and the translucent setting powder. In comparison to Bare Minerals, Pur Minerals, Bare Escentuals....etc (except MAC's), Lancome's is a lot LESS shiny/irredescent. My skin is oily, so I obviously prefer matte looks. Application: 1. Open up lid and turn the sifter into the open position 2. Tap out a TINY bit of powder into the lid 3. Take brush, swirl in lid 4. Take a look at the brush, if the powder's unevenly distributed, then tap off excess and swirl in lid again. (If it's nice and lightly distributed over the brush head, then I personally do not tap off the excess...) 5. Apply to skin in circular motions. 6. To cover troubled areas, DAB first and then do circular motions around it 7. Redo the above steps but with the translucent setting mineral powder now. THIS IS CRUCIAL! At first I didn't understand why you would need to set a powder with another powder (and I still don't lol), but just use it and you'll see that your skin becomes so much more even and natural looking. Oil absorbing: not really... You'll need to blot and reapply again, but it's not too much of a hassle since the lil compact and brush are very portable. Coverage: Light-Medium for 1 layer of the mineral foundation and 1 layer of the translucent powder. I find applying more will result in a cakey finish... Brush: Amazing! I've never thought that a synthetic brush could be soooo SOFT!!! Most people want natural hairs, but synthetic brushes are better for picking up powder. Also, these brushes are HANDMADE and are the same quality as the ones that you buy separately! Packaging: EXCELLENT! as always with Lancome products. The quality of the containers are excellent and they contain a plastic sifter that you can turn to close for easy portability and then turn again to open to release the powder. Also the brush comes with a sleeve for easy portability again. Reference: I have this in the LE Natural Ivory 20 and 30 + setting powder + brush set.
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Fragrances -Jo Malone - Pomegranate Noir
ceciliathegreat 12/23/2008 4:20:00 PM
Too strong for me and after a few hours starts to smell like my medicine cabinet. Combining it with a very light floral Jo Malone fragrance helps a bit to "dilute" it, but still, not my cup of tea.
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Fragrances -Jo Malone - Nectarine Blossom and Honey
ceciliathegreat 12/23/2008 4:17:00 PM
Nice name, but the scent is an utter disappointment for me. Wayyyyy too sweet and fruity.
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Fragrances -Jo Malone - French Lime Blossom
ceciliathegreat 12/23/2008 4:14:00 PM
My comments here will be similar to that of my review for Vintage Gardenia. French Lime Blossom on its own is just above average imo, but when combined with a few other Jo Malone fragrances, they've drastically changed my opinion about it and now I love it! Some of the fragrance combining recommendations by Jo Malone are not suitable for this scent imo, so definitely experiment with it yourself and try to make your own signature scent cuz it really goes well with many other scents. The price of Jo Malone fragrances is very affordable in the 100mL version (here I paid 118$CAD or 133$CAD with tax). You get a much better deal this way than with the 30mL version (~80$CAD). Packaging: I think they can do better than to just put three stickers (front, back, bottom) on the glass bottles... Not to mention that one of my bottles (Honeysuckle and Jasmine) had a huge bubble entrapped in the front sticker and that the bottom bar-code sticker was peeling off. And for this reason, I will take off (at least) 1 lippie for all their fragrances. However, I do love their signature cream-black boxes.
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Fragrances -Jo Malone - Vintage Gardenia
ceciliathegreat 12/23/2008 4:08:00 PM
Beautiful scent! I really like it together with one of Jo Malone's other fragrances (my own concoction which I won't reveal lol) and together they smell DIVINE. Although I do admit that Vintage Gardenia on it's own is not enough to lift me up to heaven lol. Also, I personally find that the recommendations of fragrance combining by Jo Malone are not suitable for this scent, so I highly recommend that you play around with it yourself and hopefully discover something exciting and unforgettable cuz it has a lot of potential imo. The price of Jo Malone fragrances is very affordable in the 100mL version (here I paid 118$CAD or 133$CAD with tax). You get a much better deal this way than with the 30mL version (~80$CAD). Packaging: I think they can do better than to just put three stickers (front, back, bottom) on the glass bottles... Not to mention that one of my bottles (Honeysuckle and Jasmine) had a huge bubble entrapped in the front sticker and that the bottom bar-code sticker was peeling off. And for this reason, I will take off (at least) 1 lippie for all their fragrances. However, I do love their signature cream-black boxes.
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Fragrances -Jo Malone - Honeysuckle and Jasmine
ceciliathegreat 12/23/2008 3:58:00 PM
Honeysuckle and Jasmine is my absolute FAVORITE Jo Malone fragrance! My grandmother used to make a 'jasmine-brooch' for me every morning by taking our backyard's jasmine flowers and assembling them together on a pin. Jasmine is not very often seen in the west, but where I grew up in Asia, our backyard was full of pots of these flowers and they're commonly found on the streets in our neighborhood too. I really love this fragrance for all the memories it brings forth! I personally think that this fragrance is best when worn on its own. It's clean and simple, and not to be cluttered with other scents that can mask its delicacy. The price of Jo Malone fragrances is very affordable in the 100mL version (here I paid 118$CAD or 133$CAD with tax). You get a much better deal this way than with the 30mL version (~80$CAD). Packaging: I think they can do better than to just put three stickers (front, back, bottom) on the glass bottles... Not to mention that one of my bottles (Honeysuckle and Jasmine) had a huge bubble entrapped in the front sticker and that the bottom bar-code sticker was peeling off. And for this reason, I will take off (at least) 1 lippie for all their fragrances. However, I do love their signature cream-black boxes.
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Fragrances -Jo Malone - Orange Blossom
ceciliathegreat 12/23/2008 3:44:00 PM
Wonderful refreshing fragrance that reminds me of my childhood back in Asia where there was a field of orange trees near our home. I love it not only for its unique scent on its own but also how well it combines with other fragrances! I personally do not find that it wears off too fast, I mean, it is a cologne (or somewhat equivalent of a EDT) afterall, so it really doesn't make sense to compare its lasting effect to that of an EDP and/or Parfum. With EDT, one should layer the scent, or use more than 2 sprays and either way works well for me and I can still smell it 5 hours later. The price of Jo Malone fragrances is very affordable in the 100mL version (here I paid 118$CAD or 133$CAD with tax). You get a much better deal this way than with the 30mL version (~80$CAD). Packaging: I think they can do better than to just put three stickers (front, back, bottom) on the glass bottles... Not to mention that one of my bottles (Honeysuckle and Jasmine) had a huge bubble entrapped in the front sticker and that the bottom bar-code sticker was peeling off. And for this reason, I will take off (at least) 1 lippie for all their fragrances. However, I do love their signature cream-black boxes.
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Powder -Chanel - Mat Lumiere Luminous Matte Powder Makeup SPF 10
ceciliathegreat 7/29/2008 10:43:00 PM
Well Chanel finally came out with something similar to replace their beloved Double Perfection powder, but Mat Lumiere is not at all the same... It's much more powdery, does not have enough pigment, and the powder is not as soft. The harder consistency and lack of pigment really make me "dig" into it, rather than just glide the sponge on like I used to with the Double Perfection. It's 13g and I paid ~70$CAD after tax, so I guess that's 60$CAD before taxes, can't remember. Anyway, I'm not completely satisfied and am still wondering why they discontinued Double Perfection...
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Lipstick -NARS - promiscuous
ceciliathegreat 7/29/2008 10:35:00 PM
I really like this! It's a nude lipstick with shimmer. Very wearable and easy maintainance. Cons: no SPF and I think all NARS' packaging looks cheap...
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Lipstick -NARS - Catfight
ceciliathegreat 7/29/2008 10:32:00 PM
I really like this colour. I usually go for nudes or soft pinks, so this is my first "dramatic" lipstick lol. Obviously I'm kinda scared of doing deep reds and other bold lip colours, so this is also what I like about Catfight cuz it's very much wearable. It's not high maintainance at all (so I don't wear a lipliner, actually I've never worn one lol)! In fact, I originally got it for my mom but I liked it so much that I went back two hours later and got another one! lol Only downsides: no SPF and the packaging is kinda cheap looking imo (as with all NARS' products...)
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Blush -NARS - Deep Throat
ceciliathegreat 7/29/2008 10:23:00 PM
For a long time I've been wanting to try NARS' blushes but haven't really gotten around to them cuz (1) I USED to not bother with applying blush (not anymore now that I've got Deep Throat lol) and (2) I wanted to finish my Lancome's Blush Subtil in Cedar Rose first. So finally I got annoyed with Lancome's cuz the blush was turning hard and got Deep Throat! I know there's all this hype about the Orgasm blush, but after comparing them, I actually prefer Deep Throat more cuz it's got a bit more pigment and does not have as much shimmery glitter as Orgasm (I have oily skin, so I don't want too much glitter when I'm already an oil-slick lol). Anyway, great blush with subtle shimmer. I have porcelain pale skin so just a lil dab is enough for me. The only downside I can think of is that the packaging is a bit drab imo... (like all NARS' products...)
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Paint Pot in Blackground
ceciliathegreat 7/29/2008 10:16:00 PM
I LOVE THIS!!! It's my HG paint pot and the one that I grab whenever I do a smokey eye! ooooh I LOVE how it's super black with fine shimmery glitters (even though I usually despise them lol)! Lasts all day for me, no creasing, smudging...etc. It's LOVE I tell ya! LOL
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Eyeliner -MAC - Technakohl Jade Way
ceciliathegreat 7/29/2008 10:14:00 PM
When I applied this on my hand, it was a beautiful, dark, highly pigmented, forest green colour with a tiny amount of shimmer. However it was a totally different on my eyes: it would not go on my waterline! No matter how much I glide it on, I just can't get the same pigmented colour as that on my hand. I guess I have very watery eyes, but still, I have the Technakohl in Graphblack which does NOT lose its pigmentation when I line my lower waterline, so it's definitely a problem with Jade Way. So I went back for an exchange.
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Eyeliner -MAC - Technakohl in Earthline
ceciliathegreat 7/29/2008 10:06:00 PM
I got this along with two other Technakohls (Graphblack and Jade Way). The MAC artist was really pushing this toward me saying how it's such a "unique taupe" so I got it thinking that it's a pretty staple brown that I'd surely use. However, I find myself always grabbing another Technakohl (Graphblack=HG) instead, so I went back to get an exchange since I practically never use it (minus one lippie). The consistency is like all the other Technakohls which I love, but I find it's not as pigmented and I have a hard time applying it on my lower waterline. No matter how much I apply, the colour just doesn't go on, nor does it stay after a few minutes. Probably cuz I have really watery eyes, but Graphblack doesn't do this on me...
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Tempting (LUSTRE)
ceciliathegreat 7/29/2008 10:00:00 PM
Nice staple brown. It's one of the "prettier" lustres since it's not as glittery as most imo. I don't use it all the time, so it gets 4 lippies.
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