Lip Treatments -Burt's Bees - Beeswax Lip Balm
cinderly 6/24/2012 4:49:00 PM
Ouch! I love that this product works, but hate how it feels. I live in an arid climate and have dry skin, so I have to be diligent about applying and keeping moisture in my skin, especially during our 9+ months of winter. This product helps me do that, but it can be painful to use at times. Pros: effective, love the menthol smell, goes on even when it's cold out Cons: stinging/tingling can be painful, feels slightly waxy on
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Mascara -Clinique - Lash Power
cinderly 6/24/2012 4:40:00 PM
LOVE this! It's a great workhorse mascara and my go-to, especially when I want a polished-but-natural look. The mascara goes on smoothly, refuses to clump, and lasts all day. It doesn't build lash length or volume in any significant way, but it does darken and slightly thicken my lashes without making me look obviously made-up. Pros: great color, no clumps, finishing touch Cons: mid-range price
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Maybelline - The Falsies Flared Waterproof 
cinderly 6/24/2012 4:28:00 PM
This mascara worked for me - once. The first time I used the tube, it gave me gorgeous, slightly winged lashes. I was pretty sure I'd found my HG mascara. Then, a few days later, I tried it again. And it was a clumpy mess with tons of fallout. Because I can be a hard-way learner, I tried it several more times, always with the same results: clumpy lashes and mascara chunks sitting alluringly on my cheeks. Pros: good color, love the packaging, price Cons: poor results
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Moisturizers -Aveeno - Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer SPF 30
cinderly 6/24/2012 4:20:00 PM
This is my daily moisturizer and has been for several years, but it's not quite HG status for me because, occasionally, the chemical sunscreens are too irritating for me to use. I like the product (although the tinted version is hit or miss for me, since it's too dark for me, most of the year), but wish I could get the benefits of this product without the irritation. I did notice an improvement in skin texture and tone when I switched from my old, purely moisturizing moisturizer to this one. Pros: moisturizes well, SPF 30, improved skin's appearance Cons: can sting, single-shade in tinted moisturizer version
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Self Tanners -Jergens - Natural Glow
cinderly 6/24/2012 4:08:00 PM
I have a love/hate relationship with this product. (I've got the older version - I understand they've reformulated and rebooted the packaging.) For my fair, neutral-to-cool pinkish skin, the hint of color that develops after the first application of the Fair to Medium lotion is a reasonable approximation of the color that develops after actual sun exposure. In short: it does what it says it will, so it's great for making my legs match my arms and making my myriad of bruises and scars less noticeable on my otherwise nearly reflective skin, without the zebra-stripe streaking I've experienced with other self-tanning products. The problems, though, are reminding me of why I had a mostly-full tube in the back of my medicine cabinet. It STINKS going on and the smell gets worse over time. It's sticky if applied to parts of my body that aren't as bone-dry as my lower legs, and stays that way for several hours. It can make the keratosis pilaris on my upper arms redder, although that effect is not long-lasting. I'll keep using it on my legs, but the all-over glow won't be happening from this tube of lotion. Pros: cheap, provides light color, easy to apply Cons: stinky, sticky, worsens KP
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Fragrances -Estee Lauder - Beautiful
cinderly 6/24/2012 3:50:00 PM
I've loved this fragrance since I discovered it as a sophomore in high school. Then, I wore it as a flowerbomb - sprayed on, heavily, for maximum silage. What's surprised me about this perennial addition to my Giftmas stocking is how well I've been able to continue wearing it as I've moved solidly into adulthood. To keep things modern, I wear it as a skin scent, applying a tiny spritz to a cotton ball, then transferring the scent to key points: wrists & elbow-crook pulse points, breast bone, and small of back. Provided I keep the application light, it gives me a lovely, light-floral scent that lingers just above my skin, so only I (and those I want very close to me) can smell it. Because it's such a strong scent, it lasts for hours on me. It's a blended scent, so the top-note/dry-down experience is pretty limited - it's fairly straight-floral from application to skin, in my experience. This isn't a problem for me, as I'm not always looking for a scent that changes over the course of the day. Because it lasts, it makes a great base for other scents, as well. Pros: floral scent, lasts all day, versatile if applied carefully, great for layering Cons: easy to over-apply, can feel dated
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Scrubs -Fresh - Sugar Face Polish with Strawberries
cinderly 6/24/2012 3:38:00 PM
I adore this product. I've used it for several years, now, and it works, and works well, without irritating or drying out my dry, sometimes fussy skin. Like most of the Fresh Sugar line, it's lemon-scented, but the scent here is light and generally dissipates quickly after rinsing the polish from my face. Because it's a polish, rather than a traditional scrub, the grains are very fine. This translates to a gentle, subtle retexturizing effect for me, provided my face is just damp when I put it on; the slightly waxy moisturizing part of the action happens only if I leave it on for 5-10 minutes after applying. It's gentle enough that I can use it several times per week, smells wonderful, and leaves my skin smooth, soft, and oh-so-subtly glowing. The standard-issue container lasts me about a year, making the price point a bit more tolerable. While I've yet to have a mishap, have a heavy glass jar in my shower does make me nervous and the death-grip I use to hold it during use is probably not particularly good for my hands. Even with concerns about price and packaging, this is my desert-island facial product - if I could only have one thing to maintain my skin (after sunblock), I'd choose this. Pros: lovely scent, gentle & effective exfoliation, retexturizes skin, lasts forever, leaves me glowing Cons: price point, glass-tub packaging
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Scrubs -Yves Rocher - Pure Calmille Aqua Gommage-Aqua Scrub
cinderly 12/2/2011 10:09:00 PM
I like this scrub, but it's not perfect. Like all Yves Rocher products, it's scented. The fragrance is light and aquatic but doesn't linger. The fine grains of the scrub are suspended in a thin gel, but it's not runny and easy to apply - even in the shower. This is my back-up product for when I run out of my favorite scrub because it's fairly effective without overly irritating my skin or drying me out, despite the tingling sensation present immediately after application. It remains a back-up instead of a go-to, though, because it doesn't seem to alter my skin's texture and even things out as much as I'd like and because I do get occasional redness if I use it more than once a week. Pros: pleasant scent, easy to apply, effective exfoliation Cons: tingles, no visible difference in skin texture, occasional redness immediately after application
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