Cleansers -Shiseido - "Perfect Whip" Foam
chickeeduck 5/21/2012 10:06:00 PM
I bought this cleanser on a whim while at the asian grocery store, T&T for $6.49. It was cheap and I needed one. I have combination skin, with a really oily t-zone and really dry cheeks. This cleanser seemed to balance my skin very nicely. I was a bit hesitant to use as the cream seemed a bit greasy, but I have found that it did not make my face breakout, and in fact after I finished the tube and moved to another cleanser, by skin started reacting a bit. After washing my face, I did feel as if it left a slight film after rinsing, but it was a bit refreshing from the tight and dry feeling other cleansers left my face, and there were no breakouts. I use white towels to pat my face dry, so I can see if there is makeup left after washing, and I know this cleanser removes all the makeup. The cleanser itself lathers a lot so a little goes a long way. The texture is a smooth silky light cream. I used it with my Shiseido facial brush and it foams really well.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Elizabeth Arden - Perpetual Moisture 24 creme
chickeeduck 5/18/2012 11:24:00 PM
That is odd. I realized I had not reviewed this one item which I consider among my must have for Canadian winters. I have combo skin with a super oily T-Zone, however I still get flaky skin in the winter. This past winter was mild, so I was not as diligent in applying it, and sure enough, I got some rough patches where my skin started peeling. I have purchased multiple times and I go back to this as a reliable moisturizer to take care of business. I considered other moisturizers from the EA line, but find most of the more expensive lines have a rather off-putting scent. The Perpetual Moisture 24 hour one, in the green jar has a very slight, and nice cucumber scent that fades quickly. I like the creamy gel like texture of it and it absorbs quickly into the skin. Overall, this is a solid product.
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Toners -Unlisted Brand - Rohto Hadalabo Gokujyun Super Hyaluronic Moisture Lotion
chickeeduck 3/13/2012 9:23:00 PM
I am on my third or fourth bottle. And that is not because I go through it fast, because one bottle seems to last forever. Like the first reviewer posted, although it is a serum and people use it as a moisturizer, it is more of a toner, which you are supposed to pat on. If you check the video of it, there is a funny how-to from the company showing a girl literally slapping it on. Back to the product. I was starting to get the dreaded 11's between by brows. I used this and there was a noticeable change, but when I saw a review of this saying it was a toner, I started to follow it with a moisturizer and what a difference it makes. It does take away the wrinkly factor and I use it on my forehead. The only con is if I skip a few days, it starts to show, and I do look a bit haggard. At this price point however it is not a big consideration for me.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Shampoo -Redken - Color Extend Shampoo
chickeeduck 6/17/2011 2:19:00 PM
Having lost a colour job after doing a few olive oil treatments, I decided to use a shampoo that would extend my color and keep the creeping greys at bay. There is no significant smell to write about, and it is somewhat sudsy, but it fails to extend the colour. For the price, this is no different than a Live or Suave shampoo.
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Lotions/ Creams -Neutrogena - Body Oil with Sesame
chickeeduck 6/1/2011 9:20:00 PM
I have bought this numerous times, which means I absolutely love this. It does have a faint smellI, but I do find the fragrance fades within 10-15 minutes. If you do not like the smell however, do not bother. I put in on my skin right after a shower on damp skin. I let my skin absorb it for a few minutes while I get my make up on. I try and apply moisturizer (Aveeno) in the winter for that little extra moisture, but I have found on days I forget, which is often, it makes little difference. The oil definitely gives my legs a bit of a sheen. In the summer I can get away with wearing no pantyhose as the sheen gives it more of a polished look than simple moisturizer does. I do stock up on this when SDM has it on sale, but I do find a bottle seems to last forever. Will keep on re-purchasing.
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Treatments -Moroccanoil - Morrocan Oil Treatment
chickeeduck 4/30/2011 3:49:00 PM
I purchased the small travel bottle to try out and see what the hype was all about and right away I noticed it made a difference to my hair in a way that Biosilk or Redken's Glass did not. My hair was soft and I kept running my fingers through my hair. Normally that would be somewhat painful as my hair gets knotted easily with even the smallest gust of wind. The small bottle lasted a long time and when it was done, I was convinced Argan oil made all the difference. So I decided to purchase 100% pure Argan oil, with none of the cones. Was that ever a mistake. I tried it a few times, trying to adjust my technique...try a little less, a lot less, a lot more, a little more, damp hair, dry hair, emulsify the oil first, put it it directly...it just was not the same. I know it has the much maligned silicones, but the product works for my hair, leaving it silky and very manageable. **Update: I have tried olive oil and coconut oil treatments, but figured they were fading my colour treated hair. I thought this was different and really wanted to love it, because it does may my hair soft and silky, but if fades my colour. I tried applying it only on the ends, thinking it was just aggressive grey hair on the roots, but then noticed my hair starting to get lighter on the ends, kind of the ombre look, which looked bad. I am really disappointed,because it is a good product, and the hair does feel silky and I don't have that Pig-Pen hair,with fly aways all over the place, but it strips my colour, so this is is not for me. If you have coloured hair, be aware it might fade it a lot faster.
6 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -Physicians Formula - Shimmer strips custom eye enhancing eyeliner trio
chickeeduck 4/7/2011 10:52:00 PM
Yep, it is true. This is HG status. I have the greasiest eyelids and I have used felt liners that seem to fade on my eyelids. I have tried Bobbi Brown's gel liner as well as MAC's gel liner, and they were just okay... I found they lasted longer than regular eyeliner, which meant the racoon eyes showed by the end of the day, instead of mid-day. The PF eyeliner stays put all day, until I take it off. I am incredibly thankful to MUA for this find. Never in a million years would I have thought of this drugstore purchase had I not seen the first review by gzheng. I really did not need three eyeliners, but the price is something I would pay for one, so it was no big deal. Hope it never gets discontinued. Jan 2012 update : so wearing these eyeliners really gave me the confidence to try on something else, only to get the raccoon eye reminder of why I gave these eyeliners such a rave review. I did try the nude trio and I thought the colours might be too muted, but they are really nice, and on my dark skin the lightest colour shows up as a bare shimmer, but I used it to blend the light brown colour. I really love this series.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Hair Color -Clairol - Nice n' Easy -new formula
chickeeduck 3/27/2011 10:56:00 PM
I wish I had read the reviews. I used 121A, Natural Deep Brown, hoping to get a more neutral brown as my hair was fading from a previous brown and had a red/orange tinge. I was hoping for the espresso colour on the cover, and yes, just like other MUA said previously, this is goth black. It is ultra glossy, but I have an olive complexion, and the tone is far too harsh for my colouring. Even hubby who never comments on my hair, said it was the darkest he's ever seen my hair, and I am asian with naturally dark brown/blackish hair. This colour really sucks the life out of me and is not flattering at all. It is very aging, which is not the effect I want at all. I might buy the product again, but obviously a different colour, only because of the intense shine, but be warned the colour you see on the box is not the colour you get. 30/04/2011 - update. The roots are now showing and there is a clear demarcation of where the grey starts and where the colour is solidly holding, which i can appreciate. The dark colour faded a bit after repeated washing with Joico shampoo which I know tends to fade the colour, and after applying oil treatments to fade the harshness of the colour. Still, be very careful when choosing colours from this line.
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Blush -Chanel - turbulent
chickeeduck 9/1/2010 7:51:00 PM
I can't believe I have not reviewed this yet. I absolutely love the colour. I went from using no blush at all, to what looks like an electrick pink shimmery blush. It is not something I would have ever gravitated towards, except the SA at the Chanel counter had been chatting with me, and convinced me to try it, and when I did, I could not believe how a little blush could just freshen me up. It goes on very delicately, and is very buildable. It has that fresh look that one gets after a nice run, except polished. I love Turbulent.
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Foundations -Make Up For Ever - HD High Definition Foundation
chickeeduck 9/1/2010 7:41:00 PM
I am currently using 123, which is an absolutely perfect colour match to my skin. I find I only need to use it on spots, instead of the entire face. It is a bit more sheer than I would like it to be, so I do have to build it up, which might account to the fact that I do find it lasts longer than other foundations. It has been a hot summer in Toronto, and I find that it does not melt as others have reported. The one thing I truly like about this foundation is that the colour remains true, unlike other foundations like Merle Norman's Luxiva, which tends to turn orange as the day progresses, or Bobbi Brown's, which tends to transfer quite a bit (and I love Bobbi Brown). I use the HD powder to set the make up. I am really liking it but as I have called other foundations HG before, I will hold off on judgement, but it matches Bobbi Brow's( 4 Natural) MAC NC30/NC35, and seems to outlast the mineral make up foundations. The only minus I would give this is the fact the price, given the amount of product. Will do an update later to see if it is just a crush or if this is the real thing. Update: So I am down to my bottom of the bottle, and I bought another one. Looking at my original post, it has been almost one year since I purchased the first bottle, so expensive as it is, it lasts a long time. I actually get compliments on my skin while wearing this, which never happens. I squirt MUFE on the back of my hand and stipple it with the MAC skunk brush on my cheeks and chin. I then take a kabuki brush and set it with Chanel's Vitalumiere powder. I switch between the HD powder and Chanel's VitaLumiere Eclat, which I found just so so on it's own. Using Vitalumiere gives me more coverage, and while the combo is expensive, combining both seems to give me that flawless look, and given the condition of my skin, that is no easy feat. Keep in mind I had the Vitalumiere just sitting in my makeup kit, otherwise I would have never used these two expensive products at once. Overall, very impressed with MUFE.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Olive Oil as Serum for Hair
chickeeduck 7/11/2010 9:37:00 PM
I warmed about one quarter cup in the microwave for 30 seconds (do not heat longer...trust me), and then applied it on my hair. I found I did not need that much, and could have easily used a third of what I used. I applied it to my hair, and then put on a warm wet handkerchief on top of my head, and then wrapped my hair with a towel for 30 minutes. [ While I waited , I used the extra olive olive with a generous portion of sea salt to scrub my hands and feet for about 5 minutes. I then washed my hands with a soft soap, but my hands and feet were so soft.Just do not wash them to strip all the oil out, leave some oil on the hands and feet, and put on some socks. Your hands will feel amazing for the next couple of days.] Back to the hair... I washed my hair twice, but found it was still very oily. As it was evening and was not going anywhere for the night, I left it as is. The next morning, I washed my hair again, and the hair felt silky without feeling oily. I really liked it, and thought about incorporating it into a weekly beauty ritual. Overall it was good, except I noticed my coloured hair started fading fast. This happened once before, and I thought it was the hair colour, but I think it is the olive oil stripping the colour from the hair. It works great to condition the hair, but it does nothing to maintain hair colour, so this is not for me. Try it if colour is not a concern, otherwise, don't ruin a nice hair dye with this treatment
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Revlon - Post Trauma Nail Treatment
chickeeduck 7/4/2010 5:16:00 PM
Got this on sale after my nails started getting brittle and would chip easily. I have been using it for about eight months, and it has certainly improved the condition of my nails. I like how natural it looks on it's own, however I have noticed that my nails have started yellowing a bit. I don't wear polish on my hands often, other than this nail treatment, so this is a bit discouraging.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Conditioner -Unlisted Brand - The Egg Bomb
chickeeduck 7/4/2010 5:09:00 PM
First off, sorry to be the voice of discontent. I was excited to try this. My hair is medium length, not in bad shape, but we can always use something to make it look better. I followed the recipe to a tee. I am used to coloring my hair at home, so I am used to applying liquid solutions, but the egg bomb seemed extra messy. The smell was strong. I used regular eggs, the omega 3 kind, and I would not say I never noticed a strong smell, but even after washing it three times, I could still smell it. The result was okay, nothing major. Considering the hassle and the benefit, I will not be doing this again.
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Mascara -Clinique - Lash Power
chickeeduck 5/12/2010 10:00:00 PM
Based on the reviews I would have never purchased this mascara because they always flake, run smudge and just do not last on my eyelashes. I did start running, and one of friends got me a birthday gift that included this mascara. She highly recommended it as she always goes running and would not be caught looking anything less than perfect. So reluctantly I tried it on, expecting it to last half day at work and have to wipe the raccoon eyes mid day. Well that did not happen. Then I went running with this mascara, and to yoga...This mascara works amazingly good. It stays put, which is more than I can say for any other mascara I have used. It also comes off with face cleanser, and you don't need separate eye cleaner. It does go a bit flaky when you wash it off, but not before then. Love it. The only minus is the flakiness when I take it off, but otherwise, I would highly recommend.
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Sunscreen -Unlisted Brand - Cliniderm Gentle Protective Lotion SPF 45
chickeeduck 5/12/2010 9:50:00 PM
I was looking for a paraben free sunscreen and as a Neostrata user, the SA at SDM recommended this product which is made by the same company. The cream itself does have a yellowish tint to it when it comes out of the bottle which seems odd, but once you apply it, there is no white cast left on the skin, which can be a problem with higher SPF's. There is not much moisturizing effect going on, which is okay with me, because I use a hyaluronic acid my sister purchased on a trip to asia, and find it hydrates my skin like nobody's business. I find it particularly helpful for my skin after using a peel solution on my skin. I have not had any reactions like other reviewers have experienced, and I have been using it for close to three months.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No