Skincare - Body -Unlisted Brand - Tea Tree Oil 
deadonarrivals 5/22/2013 11:40:00 AM
I can't begin to tell you how much I love tea tree oil. This natural anti-septic is truly a miracle worker. It helps with cuts, acne even cystic, bites and other skin issues. I use this everywhere as needed. I'm lucky to not be sensitive to tea tree oil. However, if I use it more than two days in a row, I will start to peel a little in that area. I don't get any burning or discomfort from using this daily and I don't dilute it. I use the brand Spring Valley 2fl oz Pharmaceutical Grade sold at Walmart for $7.96. This product has been the best and least expensive acne aid that I have tried. Since I got into my mid 30's, I began to experience issues with acne, mainly cystic pimples that randomly appear along my jaw line and neck. But, I will also get zits and clogged pores on my forehead, cheeks and chest area. Zits are occasional but clogged pores are very common with me now. I never had to use an acne product so I started my search in the drugstore buying products like Clearasil, Neutrogena acne wash, Clean and Clear, Biore etc. I was bummed that my vanity was cluttered with ugly neon cheap looking bottles geared for teens and my Estee Lauder, Lancome, La Roche Posay and other products were tossed in the trash. I became paranoid and let's be honest, crazy from reading ingredients on skincare and cosmetics. I turned into certified nutter and a wannabe chemist studying ingredients and their reactions. So, I found out the two main ingredients out on the market 1. Benzoyl Peroxide and 2. Salicylic Acid don't work for me. They dry out my oily skin and makes it oily and dehydrated. So, I’m left with oily skin AND flakes! Tea Tree oil seems to agree with my skin type and it doesn't dry out my skin or cause any other issues. I simply love this product.
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Concealers -NYX - Concealer Stick - Fair CS02
deadonarrivals 5/18/2013 9:36:00 AM
I had high hopes for finding another great concealer by NYX. I already love their latest version HD liquid concealer and use shade glow. However, I can only use this concealer under my eyes because it makes me breakout. I also got this waterproof concealer stick in glow as well (CS06). The shade was perfect but the formula was horrible. I'm oily all over and even this conclealer was too dry for me. When something is dry for me, everyone better run from that product because that is how oily my skin can get. When you go to use this on a blemish, it makes it appear cakey. Also, I found this concealer to be very sheer and I can't for the life of me understand "sheer or natural finish" concealers???? When using this under the eyes, the concealer is so dry that it tugs the skin and emphasizes wrinkles. The only decent qualities with this concealer is that it is waterproof and will stay in place all day and even in the shower or at the gym. This concealer doesn't budge unless you wash it off with some pressure and warm soapy water or eye makeup remover would be easier. Another plus is that this didn't seem to break me out but I was only able to tolerate and test this dry concealer for three days. So, not positive if with long term use, it will cause any skin issues. NYX take this concealer off the market and tweek it a bit. If you make it 1. creamier and 2. pigmented you will have a real good product!
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Lip Gloss -Neutrogena - MoistureShine Lip Soother Cooling Hydragel SPF20
deadonarrivals 5/13/2013 4:50:00 PM
I have always loved these glosses from Neutrogena! I have dry uncomfortable lips all year long and this gloss really makes them smooth, soft and moisturized. It doesn't matter really what shade you get because these are extremely sheer. Currently, I'm using Sheen appears to be a rose pink in the tube. The hydragel formula feels like aloe gel on the lips and makes them super glossy looking. The formula is heavy so if you don't like sticky glosses you aren't going to enjoy these. The cooling sensation is nice yet not overpowering and only lasts about a few minutes. Even with drinking, the gloss stays on pretty long. These glosses don't have any offensive scents so that is another huge plus for me! I like using this gloss at times when I want something a little bit more polished looking than Chapstick.
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Palettes -Jesse's Girl - Masquerade Palette
deadonarrivals 5/3/2013 11:14:00 AM
So far, I really enjoy this palette. I'm naturally a neutral shadow lover and typically use Urban Decay, Chanel, Lorac, Wet 'n Wild and Shiseido shadows. I really don't spend $$$ on colorful shadows. My limit with spending on colors are typically MAC and NYX. But, this little colorful palette caught my eye and it just jumped out at me saying "Buy me! I'm cheap and fun!" So, I did and I don't regret it. I've played around with about 7 shadows in this palette to come up with different looks and those 7 shadows were all very pigmented and smooth. The colors really show up so vibrant and they last all day long with a primer. This is my first Jessie's Girl product and I'm very happy with it. The shadows are better quality than MAC and NYX! I got no fallout on my face but they are a bit powdery in the pan which reminds me of Stila and TF shadows which also have a powdery consistency. Other than that issue, I really think this bright palette is a steal! I believe I paid under $4 dollars for this and I found it at Rite-Aid.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Essie - Mochacino
deadonarrivals 4/29/2013 10:53:00 AM
This is such a pretty shade that does not work with my skin tone at all but IDGAF I still wear it! I have been in love with Mochacino since I first spotted it about a year ago. It is such a great neutral shade that will pretty much work with any outfit you are wearing. Mochacino is a sheer taupe with tiny multi-colored sparkles in it. To get rich color, I usually apply 4 coats. I love Essie polishes for their shades and formula. I highly recommend mochacino!
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Toners -Neutrogena - Alcohol-Free Toner
deadonarrivals 4/26/2013 10:40:00 AM
I ran out of my HG toner (MUAC Mandelic Acid) and figured I try something else that I can find in every store. I have reactive skin which will let me know right away if it hates a product. I will either get redness, hives or breakouts sometimes all three and it comes immediately. I figured oh this sounds soothing and it is Alcohol Free so I was excited to try it out. First of all, this smells horrible. It smells like baby powder and roses and it lingers. Secondly, it leaves a veil of residue behind so I find I need to rinse my face and wipe it clean after using it. Thirdly, even though it is alcohol free, it really dried up my naturally oily skin. After 5 days of using this, my skin was starting to peel and flake off pretty bad. The previous toner I was using by MUAC didn't cause this issue. Also, I noticed I was getting red blotchy spots and breakouts. I really can't say anything good about this toner. After a week of using it, I threw it out. Back to mandelic acid toner!
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Treatments -L'Oreal - Total Repair 5 Damage Erasing Balm
deadonarrivals 4/23/2013 9:48:00 AM
This seems to be hit or miss for people. In my case, I like this deep conditioning treatment a lot. Because my hair is chemically processed, dry and damaged, I have tried many deep conditioning treatments from salon quality to drugstore brands. This particular product seems to work well with my hair which is very dry, coarse, thick and frizzy. My little rant for having coarse hair. If you are like me and have coarse hair, you don't get many people carassing your locks and you don't typically enjoy touching your own hair. My hair tends to feel like dry wires. I remember being little and jealous of the girls with thin straight hair with barrettes placed perfectly with no frizz that stayed nice all day. My hair, even though it was always combed and cut with perfection, was always a tumbleweed by the end of the day. I remember as a young teen going into a Great Cuts to pay for my very own hair cut and the lady pulled and flipped my hair from side to side and made a face and barked "Your hair is so long and so THICK! How am I going to cut this?" I got scared of what she would do to my hair and walked out and never looked back. Years after as an adult, I ventured off to swanky $$$ salons and they all demand to thin out my mop. They pull out the razor scissors and stab into my hair with lighening speed getting all of that bulk out. After years of highend and also main street salons stabbing into my hair, I'm left with tons of rough cuticles that add frizz to my already frizzball head. The problem with a lot of these deep conditioning treatments is that they weigh my already heavy hair down. They make it so flat and drab. I want something that will make my hair straight, frizz free and light as air and hair that has movement! This is probably the best treatment that I've found that actually makes my hair feel light as a feather. For the first time, I actually enjoy touching my hair after using this because it feels like actual hair and not a bunch of wires. What I do is wash w/ my normal shampoo and leave this treatment on for an hour. After an hour, I rinse and blow dry. I don't need any pre-styling treatments or smoothing creams when using this! I can let my hair go naked and it is completely frizz free and calm! I can swing my head and my hair swings! I can go outside in the rain and my hair doesn't whirly up into spiral knots. I can leave the gym and my hair doesn't look like a tesla coil! Am I happy with this product? Hell yes!
9 out of 9 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Skincare - Face -Unlisted Brand - Dickinson's Witch Hazel
deadonarrivals 4/20/2013 9:59:00 AM
This is one of those products that works FANTASTIC but then totally slaps you in the face and says "I hate you now." My skin is oily to very oily depending on my activity level, weather and season. My oil production progessively increases from Tzone to all over my face and by 5pm, I have this veil of oil that I can't wait to wash off. My skin actually craves something strong like this and if feels good using witch hazel to remove the layer of oil. I started off loving this product but after using it daily it dried my skin up so much that it looked like a piece of leather. It sucked every bit of oil from my face which I assume for my oily skin would be the point but even us oily skinned girls need some moisture to our skin! After about 5 days, I noticed an increase of pimples popping up and surface redness. My skin look rough and dull as well. I stopped using this and switched back to just using Ponds Cold Cream and my skin looks much better now.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Essie - geranium
deadonarrivals 4/20/2013 9:41:00 AM
Geranium is my most recent Essie purchase! I have to say, Essie polishes are my favorite out of them all. I've been getting my nails professionally done for many years and tried various different salon quality polishes. I am very prone to chips no matter what base/top coat is used. However with Essie, my manicures seem to last the longest. Geranium is a rich vibrant orange based red. The name suits this polish perfectly! This shade brings me back to being a kid and living back at home where my mother had a yard full of geraniums. I have skin that looks terrible with any type of blue based red cosmetic so I tend to look for coral or orange reds. Geranium is by far my favorite and looks amazing against my NC40 skin. Now that I'm older, I don't particularly care for those crazy nail art or glitter type polishes so I stick to very low shimmer or just plain cream shades. Geranium has no shimmer and it doesn't need any. The color is bright enough to stand on its own.
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Lipstick -Cover Girl - Lip Perfection - 405 Fairytale
deadonarrivals 4/19/2013 2:43:00 PM
This is actually my first Cover Girl lipstick purchase ever. I only picked up this lipstick because I loved the packaging and Fairytale looked like a fun color for spring. Boy, was I wrong about the color! Fairytale is a considered a pink not a coral, imo. Most corals work very well with my skintone (NC40) Revlon l/g in Coral Reef is my absolute fave coral lip product. However, Fairytale looks very harsh on me. I looked pretty wacked out in this shade. This shade has a neon pink base with a hint of coral. Yuck, just not a fan of this shade. As for the formula, it is bad...extremely poor quality imo. Wet 'n Wild, Revlon, L'Oreal all have a much better formula if you want an expensive lipstick! The formula is dry, gritty and uncomfortable. This also stains the lip a bit and requires firm pressue to scrub it off.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Palettes -LORAC - Unzipped
deadonarrivals 4/4/2013 9:43:00 AM
Love. This. Palette. I love rose gold so this neutral palette really caught my eye because most of the shades have a rosy hue to them. I originally purchased UD Naked 2 because I wanted a different neutral look but I realized quickly that the shades in Naked 2 were making me look washed out and tired. The cool taupes and browns in Naked 2 didn't work well with my medium olive skin and dark circles. So, I exchanged Naked 2 for Lorac Unzipped and I'm much happier. In this palette, you get mostly shimmery shades but also 4 matte shades. I have to say, I love all of the shades in the palette. I even love the matte shades which normally I don't typically care for. The quality of this palette is A+. All shades in this palette are smooth, soft to the touch and pigmented. Along with this palette, you get a mini behind the scenes primer which is also a great quality primer. To compare to my UD Naked 1, there are some similar shades but the overall tones in the two palettes are very different. Naked 1 has a yellow gold theme that runs in all of the shades and the Unzipped palette all have a rose gold tone in all the shades.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Urban Decay - YDK eyeshadow
deadonarrivals 4/3/2013 12:51:00 PM
I love most UD shadows but this one is going back. YDK is a taupe with silver sparkles. It looks beautiful in the pan but not so good on my lids. YDK clashes w/ my coloring (NC42). Also, most cool toned taupes like YDK exaggerate my dark circles. On the plus side, the formula is nice and smooth. The shade itself is very pigmented w/ very little fallout. So, two lippies are for 1. formula and 2. pigmentation.
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Eye Shadow -LORAC - Starry-Eyed Baked Eye Shadow Trio - Star Struck
deadonarrivals 3/27/2013 12:51:00 PM
Some confusion here but Star Struck is a PLUM trio. I posted the correct product picture which is the 2nd pic for this review. Love Lorac shadows in general but never tried their baked trios. I'm usually disappointed with most baked shadows because they come off as sheer and you have to wet them to get any color payoff. Well, these Lorac baked shadows are very well made and have good pigmentation dry. These are super creamy and soft like Lorac's traditional shadows and they have amazing staying power. Star Struck has three beautiful warm toned plums and all have shimmer in them. Just a FYI, these plum shades do come off as having a strong pink undertone to them so if you like more of a purple toned plum, this might not be right for you. All three shades work perfect w/ each other. However, I wish the lighter (highlight) shade was a bit less shimmery. I typically like a low shimmer or matte for my highlight shade. Also, the packaging is really bulky. The top plastic cover is very boxy and doesn't need to stick so far out from the product. But, overall, an A+ product and I will be picking up other trios in this line.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Scrubs -Tree Hut - Tree Hut Brazilian Nut Sugar Scrub
deadonarrivals 3/22/2013 2:45:00 PM
I'm not a doctor and these claims are just my opinion. This scrub is probably my most favored anti-depressant. This is better than Wellbutrin, imo and cheaper too lol. The smell of this really transports my normally miserable self into a smiling fool. I can't help but take long sniffs of my skin after I use this. I smile in pure delight after each sniff. Ahhhhhh Ooooohhhhh Eeeeeeeeee so soothing. I get all giddy just thinking about this scrub. The performance of this scrub is pretty impressive too. I have dry rough skin especially on my upper thighs and upper arms. This scrub really makes my skin so smooth and soft. The texture is like chocolate pudding with small granules that scrub off that nasty layer of dry skin leaving you with glowing smooth soft skin.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -FLOWER Beauty - What a Dai-sy! LG1
deadonarrivals 3/15/2013 4:28:00 PM
LG1 is the lightest gloss in the shade selection. It is a milky warm pink with no shimmer. It has good pigment for a light shade as well. The formula is outstanding, not sticky at all. The staying power is average. I took 1 lippie off for the bad scent. It smells like chemicals and florals.
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