Primer/ Corrector -Almay - Smart Shade Perfect & Correct Primer
dcarpend 10/26/2012 8:47:00 PM
Huh. Interesting. I didn't look at the reviews here before I bought and tried this product, and honestly, I'm surprised at the hate. The first day I used this, I kept looking in the mirror, thinking how good my makeup looked. I read the reviews, and thought, "What did I miss?" So I've used it for two more days, and I still think it makes my foundation -- Cover Girl TruBlend -- look a lot better: smoother, more natural, with a glow. Don't notice a lot of correcting of redness, but my makeup definitely looks better. My ratings reflect the fact that I haven't tried a lot of primers -- just the Sally Hansen illuminating primer in the Carmindy line, and one of the anti-chafing creams that got great reviews here as a primer. I think this beats them both, but clearly I'm outnumbered.
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Misc Beauty Tools -Unlisted Brand - LightStim LED Light Therapy- LightStim for Wrinkles
dcarpend 10/12/2012 1:31:00 AM
Bought this when it was the QVC "Today's Special Value." $165 isn't cheap, but it's peanuts compared to botox and fillers, much less surgery. QVC gave a 90 day return on the LightStim, so I decided to do an experiment: use it on only one side of my face for 80 days to see if I thought it was worth keeping. Two weeks in, there is a noticable difference between the sides -- the treated side is firmer, everything a little more taut and higher. Most exciting, the bag under the eye on the treated side is about gone. It's tempting to start doing my whole face, but I'm going to continue for the 80 days. Then I'll post a photo of my lopsided face, and immediately set about evening it out. Still, I'm convinced already it was worth the money and will be worth the time.
7 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Revlon - Colorburst Lip Butter in Fig Jam
dcarpend 2/4/2012 4:46:00 PM
I had already bought a couple of shades of this lip butter, but had skipped the Fig Jam because, like many here, I didn't find the color of the tube appealing. After reading the reviews, I lemminged this -- and it's now my go-to lip color. I'm 53, warm-toned complexion, coppery-red hair -- considering the number of women who say they love this with their cool complexion, this tells me that this is a truly universal shade. It's in the MLBB category for me -- great for casual wear, which for me would be the vast majority of the time. Doesn't look like I'm wearing much of anything, I just look prettier. Am I the only one who finds this a perfect match with the WnW lip pencil 666?
6 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lotions/ Creams -Lubriderm - Advanced Therapy Triple Smoothing Lotion [DISCONTINUED]
dcarpend 2/21/2010 2:09:00 PM
Holy Grail product. I'm 51, and have wanted an affordable glycolic body lotion for a long, long time. This stuff is dirt cheap, so I can afford to slather it on after every shower. It does fabulous things for my skin; it's smoother, brighter, and younger looking. It doesn't smell pretty -- doesn't smell bad, either, but doesn't smell girly-nice -- so I mix it with a little scented body cream in my hand, whatever appeals to me that day. I have nothing bad to say about the packaging; it's not fancy or decorative, but the bottle's huge and the pump works fine. I will buy this stuff until I die or they discontinue it, whichever comes first.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Powder -Wet 'n' Wild - Ultimate Minerals Powder Foundation in Stage Light
dcarpend 7/18/2008 6:22:00 PM
I really wanted to like this foundation; I wanted something that would work for sweaty summer days. It went on easy, gave me enough coverage, and looked good, too -- natural, but better. Then after about a week of daily wear, a half a dozen big zits popped up on my chin, and a couple on my cheeks, where I almost *never* break out. I'm bummed out, both because I liked this stuff, and because of how I look! I guess it's back to WnW tinted moisturizer, which doesn't break me out at all -- I'm just wondering how to keep it on in summer weather!
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Moisturizers -Clean & Clear - Oil-Free Dual Action Moisturizer
dcarpend 12/12/2006 7:44:00 PM
Definitely an HG product for me! I'm 48, and sadly I'm in the position of worrying about wrinkles and zits at the same time. Clean and Clear Dual Action Moisturizer keeps my skin clear-clear-clear. It's not moisturizing enough for the driest areas of my face during the winter, so I use a heavier cream over it (Alba firming treatment) on my cheeks and forehead, avoiding my nose and chin. In the summer, C&C is moisturizing enough. It's been mentioned here that Target has a knockoff of this product. I tried it. I started breaking out, and ended up with five or six zits by the time I could get to the store for more Clean and Clear. Never again! As I write this, I've been using the C&C again for just two days, and my face is already visibly clearer. I've never found *anything* that keeps my face clearer than this, no matter what the price -- and the price of this is teeny. Just a truly, truly great product.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Hair Color -John Frieda - luminous color glaze in radiant red [DISCONTINUED]
dcarpend 7/25/2006 4:13:00 PM
I'm using this along with the Brilliant Brunette Luminous Color Glaze -- since my hair is colored chestnut with auburn highlights, I mix the two together. This is a new Holy Grail product for me. Why? Because under my dye, I'm solidly grey, and this color glaze helps to blend in my regrowth so my roots aren't so glaringly obvious. As I write this it's four weeks since I colored my hair, and I have to part my hair and really look to notice my roots -- no hard grey line! My roots are a light auburn instead. Glory hallelujah. What a gain for a big three minutes in the shower every morning. Won't do away with the need to re-dye my hair every 5-6 weeks, but it makes me look vastly better in the meantime.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Self Tanners -Vaseline - Healthy Body Glow Daily Moisturizer - Medium [DISCONTINUED]
dcarpend 4/10/2006 10:36:00 PM
I went to my local CVS to lemming the Hawaiian Tropic "glow" moisturizer, but they didn't have it. So I looked at all the "glow" moisturizers in stock, and bought the Vaseline because it was the cheapest -- figured I might as well start at the bottom price and work my way up. I won't be bothering to work my way up! A week later, I'm thrilled with the results of the Vaseline Healthy Body Glow. I've never really been happy with self-tanners before, but the "glow" moisturizer idea really appealed to me -- I figured there'd be far less chance of splotching or unevenness, since it goes on in small increments, layered. I was right -- there's not a splotch anywhere on me. Just a nice, even, natural-looking light tan -- not orange, tan! Too, self-tanners always wore off unevenly on me before. Since this goes on in a light layer every day, there's no evidence of it wearing off at all. No funny orange knees, or orange spots between my toes, or on my ankles, or around the edges of my feet, either. I've given knees, ankles, elbows a cursory wipe with a damp washcloth after application, and that's all -- and I'm nice and even. Overall, I'm thrilled. And for $6 for a big bottle, this is going to become a staple for me. Forgot to mention -- I can barely smell the "self-tanner" smell on this stuff. Doesn't bother me at all. Much more pleasant to wear than the usual self-tanner.
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