Eyeliner -Arcancil - Crayon de couleur - prune
charlotte005 10/4/2007 7:06:00 AM
This soft eye pencil by Arcancil is a lovely product. It's meant for lining the eyes, but can also be used as an eyeshadow product. I've only used it to line with so far and I'm quite pleased. What I love the most about this pencil is the colour. It's a brownish-purplish-cranberry colour that is perfect as a day colour, but can definitely also be worn at night. It's great for my dark brown eyes..it does far more for them than plain black or brown. Since the pencil is so soft, it tends to smudge a little, but I don't mind that. The price is more than fair at 5 euro/piece. Packaging is funny, the pencil really looks like a colouring pencil. The cap is a little loose, though. I take one lippy off for the fact that they are no longer in production. Apparently, you cannot even get them anymore in France, but here in Belgium you still can.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Unlisted Brand - Extra Virgin Olive Oil
charlotte005 9/22/2007 8:45:00 AM
Wow, just wow. I'm so glad I started thinking about the uses of olive oil and eventually ended up reading these reviews. I have a complicated skin type: acne, very oily and uneven skin when I was a couple of years younger and recently dull and dry skin with some oiliness on top. I've gone through countless products: cheap and more expensive, aggressive and very mild and none of them have given me that healthy glowing skin feeling EVOO gives me. I've recently realised that washing, even with the gentlest cleanser (the last one I used was the Avene Cold Cream Gel Surgras, supposedly a very good cleanser) or even with plain water or mineral water left my face feeling dry. Basically, I had dull, parchment-y skin and felt like any facial movement would leave a wrinkle or two. After 5 days of using olive oil as a cleanser, my skin is supple, silky and less oily. The EVOO routine has totally balanced my skin out. When you consider that oily skin is generally a result of overcompensating dryness, then it is only logical that a treatment involving oil has such a beneficial effect on oily skin. What I do is thoroughly massage my face and neck with good quality olive oil (I use a French brand, extra-virgin and cold-pressed) and let it sink in a little. When massaging I can actually feel the dead cells and dirt. Then I proceed to wipe my face with a washcloth. Generally I use a washcloth soaked in warm water twice and then one soaked in cold water...once or twice depending on how much oil is left. I never strip all the oil away so my face remains perfectly moisturised and so far, I haven't broken out at all. I also use EVOO as a moisturiser for body, face (especially the eye area and lips) and nails. It's great to clean up mascara mistakes and whatnots as well. It's also rumoured to be great for shaving and for conditioning hair, but I haven't tried that yet. And for cooking of course. This versatile product is definitely worth the 5 euro I (well, my mum :p) paid for it and is HIGHLY recommended. . . EDIT: I'm still head over heels in love with EVOO, but I just thought that I'd stress the importance of the massaging part (especially for those of you that are stuck with sensitive acne and blackhead-prone skin). Yesterday I massaged for a looong time (40 minutes or so :p) and blackheads just kept coming out! This morning, I noticed a distinct glow on my face. It's not like it's miraculously flawless all of a sudden, but it looks healthier and happier.
21 out of 21 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Treatments -Weleda - Everon lip balm
charlotte005 9/14/2007 7:16:00 AM
I like. It's natural and really does seem to heal and protect dry lips. The only issue I have with it is that if you don't take your time to warm it up a little, you may end up actually tearing your lips or doing more damage. However, if you do, it does a splendid job in my opinion. The price is very reasonable, the scent is not my favourite, but I can live with it and I have no problems with the packaging. I don't use it daily, only when I feel like my lips need it.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Skincare - Face -Avene - Thermal Water
charlotte005 9/14/2007 7:08:00 AM
The Avène Thermal Water Spray doesn't seem to do anything for my skin. I woke up with dry-ish/tight skin today and decided to use the spray and evaluate the effect...well, the results were disappointing, either it didn't improve the condition of my skin at all, or it worsened it slightly...I got it for free with another Avéne product, so I can't comment on the price. The packaging ...well, I had a special sample size that's quite a bit smaller than the regular ones, so I'll refrain from rating that as well and just give it a 3. Overall, I give the product a 2 because it is definitely cooling and thus may help to soothe red areas.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -Avene - Cold cream ultra-rich cleansing gel
charlotte005 9/14/2007 4:00:00 AM
I'm disappointed with this product. It's not that it's very harsh or drying, so there is a distinct improvement when compared to the products I used before, but this cleanser still leaves my skin feeling tight and uncomfortable. Perhaps I had too high expectations, or perhaps it's not the cleansers I use, but the water that's drying. If so, I'll have to edit this post, but for now I feel that 3 lipsticks is enough.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Clinique - Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel
charlotte005 6/28/2007 4:03:00 PM
This is dramatic alright: I've just tried it (got a sample) and it tingled and felt fresh as I applied it, so I thought oh-oh, alcohol and indeed, after ten minutes or so my skin started buuurning. I washed my face and - this is slightly unorthodox, but well - applied everon lip balm on the spots that were affected the most because I had it on my lips and it did such a great job. Instant soothing effect. And I have oily-combination skin, so I don't know...do they make this for elephant hide or something (no offence meant to the people that enjoy it :p)? This is just so tyically Clinique. It's such a rip-off brand with horrible ingredients. Just how much alcohol is in this stuff? Would've given it a fat zero if I could.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Toners -L'Oreal - Pure Zone Pore Tightening Astringent
charlotte005 6/27/2007 5:06:00 PM
This is a horrible product. I seriously think it has damaged my skin irretrievably, even though I hardly use it anymore. It is so unbelievably drying and the ingredients are just plain scary. I have combination to oily skin and this didn't do anything at all for me...the packaging is ok. I use it as a disinfectant for when I scratch open zits (I know, bad me) these days.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -L'Oreal - Glam Shine Moonlight Nude Moon 98
charlotte005 6/18/2007 5:47:00 AM
I love this product. As always with the glam shines, it's relatively expensive for the amount of product you get, but the colour is just so lovely. Rather than describing it, I point you towards this site: http://www.beaute-test.com/gloss_glam_shine_moonlight_l_oreal.php It's the second colour from the right...a pinkish-mauvish neutral colour. For me, this is an almost perfect match for my natural lip colour. It just adds a hint of colour and a pearly effect. Great for pairing with dramatic eye make-up. On the package it says "reflective shine and glamourous lip-plumping effect" and it does look like my lips are plumped...and I didn't experience unpleasant tingling sensations. I also love that it doesn't have any glitter in it so you don't have gritty bits on your lips when the gloss has disappeared. The lasting power is average, I would say. The heart-shaped applicator is easy to use. I will buy this again when I can get my hands on it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lotions/ Creams -The Body Shop - Africa Spa Hand & Feet Honey Butter
charlotte005 6/14/2007 4:55:00 PM
Finally a Body Shop product I really like. The smell...so great. And the texture just feels nice on the skin. It also seems to moisturise well enough. I got this as part of a gift pack so it's in a tiny lipgloss-like pot, but it's still not very practical as it tends to get under my nails when I try to get out some product these days (it's halfway through or something). I also found that you don't need a lot of product to achieve great results. I definitely recommend this one and will be buying it again!
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -The Body Shop - Lip gloss dot - shade 02
charlotte005 6/9/2007 6:49:00 PM
Another no-no from The Body Shop for me. :( I have the product in colour 01, the sheer sparkly one and the glitter just seems so chunky, it doesn't give a smooth and lush effect at all and I can feel the glitters when I apply the gloss. The glitters also instantly irritate my skin upon application and when the gloss has more or less worn off, they get into the creases of my lips and totally ruin them. I gave this product a 1 because the result doesn't look nice, it doesn't feel nice, leaves you with chapped lips, you don't get a lot of product (5ml), the packaging is superboring and it's relatively pricey at that....would have given it a 0 if it were possible. [EDIT] It's also supersticky.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Gels/Soaps -Dove - Silk Body Wash
charlotte005 6/9/2007 2:20:00 PM
Not bad, not great, just a regular shower gel. It didn't strike me as particularly drying, but my skin didn't feel supermoisturised after the shower either. The silk aspect...well, nice try, but it seems like just another marketing gimmick to me. I probably would go for more moisturising shower gels these days. The price is ok and the packaging is nice as well.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Gels/Soaps -Dove - Beauty Bar
charlotte005 6/9/2007 2:12:00 PM
I must have really sensitive skin, because the dove cream bar, just like any other soap (gel, bar form, whatever), dries out my skin. I wouldn't dream of using it on my face, and I actually don't think I have used it on my entire body, just my hands. It's a typical wash basin soap here. Drying is such a big no-no, but I decided to give it a two because I like the design of the bar and because it's so democratic in price.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Top/Base Coats -Nivea - Top, Base & Care Coat
charlotte005 6/9/2007 1:50:00 PM
*This is a review for the Nivea Sea Extracts Base&Top Shine* This is the only top/basecoat I've ever tried, so I can't actually compare it with anything, but I have to say that it does a relatively nice job. It's shiny and it gives nails a healthy, polished look. The reason I gave it only 3 lippies is because I think the lasting-power could be improved. I generally see chipping after the second/third day, which isn't disastrous since it's clear and does no one will ever notice much, but it's still a bit of a disappointment. Also, it feels like it doesn't always protect my nails from pigmentation by my red nail polish as a base coat and lastly, I think the price is just a little on the high side for the results you get. I've technically already repurchased this product because I wanted a separate base and top one (top one always gets contaminated by the colour polish somehow), but I wouldn't do it again, so I put no. I think I'll go for Koh or Herôme next time since they are more specialised in hands and nails.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Treatments -Neutrogena - Lip Moisturizer
charlotte005 6/9/2007 8:01:00 AM
Seems nice and nourishing, brings a cute subtle gloss to the lips, however, turned out to be drying in the long run and I never had problems with flakey lips and stuff before starting to use lip balms (in general). Now I'm just leaving my lips alone and am looking into getting the Weleda Everon Lipbalm for when my lips are damaged in the winter because it's said not to have a drying effect.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Styling Products -L'Oreal - Studio Line Volumatic Full-Up Mousse
charlotte005 6/9/2007 7:49:00 AM
This works pretty well for me when I apply to roots in moist hair, but somehow I have the impression that it just can't be very healthy for my hair. It also seems a bit sticky sometimes and not doesn't always look very natural. I'm moderately satisfied, but I will be looking into other options.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No