Powder -Jane Iredale - Amazing Base Loose Finishing Powder
dancing_girl 12/3/2006 5:08:00 PM
I have been wearing this product for about 8 months now and am very happy with it. About me: my skin tends to be dry, I have moderate acne, and and I have old acne scars. I am in my mid-30s and have fine lines and enlarged pores. Bare Essentuals was a disaster for my skin. I looked hideous in it, plus it had no staying power. Jane Iredale's Amazing Base, however, works GREAT for me. It does not emphasize pores or fine lines. It gives me a smooth, healthier-looking complexion. And, very important to me, it does not look like I am wearing makeup. It also stays on and looks good throughout the day and evening with no touching up. I also like how it feels -- as if I am not wearing makeup. When I wore liquid foundation, I felt it all day. (I wore Make Up For Ever's Face & Body foundation, which is the best liquid foundation I've tried, but I am much happier wearing Jane Iredale's mineral makeup.) With this stuff, I forget I'm wearing makeup. I use Light as concealer (I apply it with a concealer brush just to my acne scars), and then cover my whole face with Natural. Even though it contains sunscreen, I still wear SPF 30 under it everyday. (I use Olay Complete defense). As with other mineral makeup, it's important to let sunblock absorb into your skin for several minutes before applying the foundation. Otherwise the foundation cakes on it. To remove it, I just use Cetaphil cleansing liquid and wipe it off.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -NARS - Amour
dancing_girl 3/25/2006 10:03:00 PM
This is a nice peach blush with a pinkish tone. I have pale skin (sorry, I am not familiar with all those initials/numbers everyone here uses to describe skin color!) and it does warm it up a bit. I'm not sold on this blush, though, because I find that it does not last all day and I have a difficult time applying the right amount. With one stroke of my brush, you can't even see it. With 2 strokes, it looks like I rubbed my face in it for hours! My favorite brand of blush is Sue Devitt. It is silky, lasts the entire day without fading at all, and goes on in just the right amount. I like the color of NARS Amour, so I'll probably look for a similar one from Sue Devitt's line.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Powder -Bare Escentuals - Bare Minerals in 1.2, fairly light
dancing_girl 3/25/2006 9:49:00 PM
This product is simply awful for me. It looks terrible on my normal/dry skin. It makes my skin look even drier than it is; it makes my skin actually look flakey. I am 33 years old and have some fine lines under my eyes. This product makes me look easily 10 years older (at least now I know what I have to look forward to!). I have some melasma/chloasma splotches on my upper lip, cheeks, and forehead. If I use enough Bare Esscentuals to cover them sufficiently, it looks completely caked on and obvious. I really, really wanted to like this product. I like the idea of it. I've tried it about 5 times, following the instructions carefully, just to make sure, but there's no getting around it -- it's disastrous on my skin.
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Polishes -GAP Beauty - GAP Polish Nail Color - Pink
dancing_girl 6/11/2004 3:40:00 AM
This nail polish is a terrible consistency -- it is so thick that it does not go on smoothly and evenly. The color ends up being a pastel pink, more opaque than sheer. It was not flattering on me, so I would have disliked the polish anyway, but the consistency is what really turned me off. Waste of money. I would not even put this on my toenails!
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Polishes -Sally Hansen - Beyond Perfect Protein Nail Color - Sheer Lotus Petal
dancing_girl 6/11/2004 3:37:00 AM
Finally! The sheer pale pink I have been searching for! This is a lovely palest of pinks. It looks like I might be wearing clear polish, but there is enough of a pink blush to make my nails look better than they did before. It also has a nice texture and goes on smoothly. There was another shade of the Beyond Perfect polish that seemed almost identical. I think it was called Sheer Summer Blossom, or something like that. I couldn't really tell the difference between the two in the bottle, but I am glad I got this one because it is just what I was looking for!
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Moisturizers -Olay - Complete Defense Daily UV Moisturizer SPF 30 - Sensitive Skin
dancing_girl 6/11/2004 3:33:00 AM
I am editing my review from long ago because Olay has changed the formula for this product. The new formula makes my skin and eyes burn (even though I don't put the product near my eyes -- but just having it on my cheeks, nose, and forehead makes my eyes burn). I used this product for years but will not be using it any longer. Old review: I like this product because it is light, not greasy, and yet still moisturizing enough for my normal skin. The sunscreen seems fine -- it only gives a slight white cast to my face if I put a lot on. But that might only be noticeable to me. It is not so bad that I would avoid wearing it.
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Masks -Queen Helene - Mud Pack Face Mask
dancing_girl 6/11/2004 3:30:00 AM
I prefer the Mud mask to the Mint Julep mask. This one is less drying, more soothing, while still cleaning and exfoliating well. This scent is pretty bad -- smells like rosewater, but I can handle it. It seems to lessen as the mask dries. I leave this on for about 30 minutes, sometimes a bit more. Otherwise it does not seem to dry out completely, but perhaps I put it on too thickly. The packaging is fine -- functional, nothing special. And, of course, the price is low enough that I decided to try this mask on a whim. I am glad I did. Now I will save the Mint Julep mask for only occasional use.
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Treatments -Clean & Clear - Persagel 10
dancing_girl 6/11/2004 3:26:00 AM
This helps clear up my blemishes but does not dry out the surrounding skin. My skin is normal, tending toward dryness, but I still get zits. It is great to have an effective treatment that doesn't create irritation at the same time! It also dries clear, so I don't have white blotches on my face. I've been using this for years and am still happy with it. It also is very cost-effective because a little goes a long way.
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Treatments (Eye) -Origins - Eye Doctor
dancing_girl 6/11/2004 3:23:00 AM
I buy this over and over again. I am 31 and have fine lines under my eyes. I love this product because it feels cooling and soothing on my skin, it is a great texture -- not too heavy and not too light, and it has a light, refreshing scent. I use it both at night and in the morning. I like to use it before my undereye concealor. It keeps it from caking. The hydrating effects seem to last for several hours, but it is not greasy in the least. The texture is not liquid or creme. It is sort of "whipped."
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Toners -Burt's Bees - Garden Tomato Toner
dancing_girl 6/11/2004 3:18:00 AM
I am currently on my second bottle of this toner. I have normal (to dry) skin that usually has a few zits but nothing major. This toner is not drying, even though it has alcohol in it. In fact, when my skin is dry, this toner almost seems to help moisturize it. I don't understand how, but it's true! It also clears off the flakes of dryness, which makes it better for moisturizing. And it simultaneously helps clear up zits. I've noticed that sometimes my zits die down immediately after using the toner. (I don't mean to make it sound like a miracle product, but it has worked for me! No dramatic effects, but nice, noticeable ones.) I do not use this daily, but I love it after I have sweat a lot, or if I wore a lot of makeup that day, or if my skin happens to be more oily or more dry than normal. I really love the scent. It is refreshing and clean smelling. I dislike perfumey scents, and this is the opposite to me. I love the bottle. It's beautiful. I just wish I could think of a way to reuse it afterward!
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Styling Products -Bumble & Bumble - Curl Conscious Calming Creme
dancing_girl 6/11/2004 3:11:00 AM
This makes my fine, wavy-curly hair more curly. It keeps the friz down and the curl in. What more could one want? :) It sometimes feels a tad crunchy, but sometimes it doesn't -- and I have not yet figured out why that is! Even when it is crunchy, though, it is not that way on my whole head, just a few curls or so.
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Treatments -Kerastase - Age recharge firming mask
dancing_girl 6/11/2004 3:06:00 AM
This stuff does wonderful things to my fine, dry, frizz-prone hair. I use it on dry hair and it calms the friz, moisturizes the dry, and leaves my hair soft and never weighed down. I've bought it twice, even though it is so expensive.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Styling Products -Bumble & Bumble - Straight
dancing_girl 6/11/2004 3:04:00 AM
I have fine, wavy-curly, long hair that is often very frizzy. Straight works well to smooth out the frizzies. I apply it before blow-drying when my hair is damp. I often mix it with Bumble's Leave-In Conditioner (about 1/2 and 1/2). It creates a really nice shine, smoothness, and softness in my hair. I also sometimes use it after my hair is dry. I have to be very careful only to apply a small amount and not near the roots (it will look greasy). But it really helps on the ends of my hair. Great product. I've been using it for a long time.
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Conditioner -Bumble & Bumble - Leave in Conditioner
dancing_girl 6/11/2004 3:01:00 AM
I have long, fine, wavy-curly, highlighted hair that gets very frizzy. I used this conditioner for a long time and then started switching around. Now I am back to it and glad I still had some left. It leaves my hair very soft and helps keep it from becoming frizzy. I also find it to be an excellent base to mix with some of Bumble's other products. For example, I will mix it with some Straight (about 1/2 and 1/2) before blow-drying my hair straight. Sometimes I feel like it is a bit to heavy for my roots, so I try to be careful only to apply a bit to them and concentrate on the middle and ends.
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Treatments -Burt's Bees - Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream
dancing_girl 6/11/2004 2:56:00 AM
Not only "would" I buy this product again, but I "have" bought it again! I now own 2 so that I can keep one by my bed and one with me at all times. This stuff has truly fixed up my ragged cuticles. At first I was putting it on a billion times a day just because it smelled so good! But then I realized that it was making a major difference in my cuticles' appearance and how they feel. They are soft now! Keeping my cuticles in tact helps me avoid biting my nails, so this is very helpful. They seem to have changed the packaging a bit. It used to have a rounded top, but now the top has a lip on it that makes it easier to grip.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No