Conditioner -Clairol - Herbal Essences "Tousle Me Softly" Conditioner
deepseadivingsuit 10/13/2011 9:27:00 AM
This doesn't condition my dye-damaged hair as much as I'd like it to. But boy, does it soften my hair! I have coarse Asian hair, the type that slips out between scissors, doesn't hold a curl, can be used instead of fishing line in emergencies and so on... when it falls on my shoulders, it doesn't feel soft and light, it PRICKLES and itches like nothing else. The concept of breakge is foreign to me. Anyway, this conditioner works as claimed, on my hair at least. Softer - no waves, but if a hair curler doesn't work, I didn't really expect a conditioner to. And it smells very nice. I usually mix this with Dove Intensive Care conditioner in a 1:3 ratio to get more conditioning. This is definitely my favourite conditioner in the HE range.
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Polishes -Unlisted Brand - Ulta3
deepseadivingsuit 10/13/2011 9:13:00 AM
I love these. Generally super pigmented and super cheap (although I think the price has recently increased from $2 to $2.25/$2.50 - oh the horror!). Perfect for a cheap pick-me-up, I think I own about 30 of these beauties. They're also great for frankens, since they're cheap and guilt-free, and they come in so many colours. There is an excellent colour guide at morenailpolish.blogspot.com. My favourites: - Twilight Fever (brown with purple shimmer) - gorgeous, Paradoxal dupe. - Lily White (thick white creme) - it doesn't go with my skin tone, but in creme frankens it's AMAZING. It adds a great creamy consistency, comparable to good OPI cremes. The frankens I've made with lots of LW so far all stay chip-free for > 5 days. - Wild berry (dark bluish elephant grey creme) - surprisingly pretty! Especially with Gold Rush Fever drag marbling. - Metal (the colour of shimmery dark lead pencils) - yeah. Never thought I'd find a colour that's so much like lead pencil. - Black plum (dark reddish/purple shimmer) and Waterlily (purple shimmer) - gorgeous on the toes!
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Skincare - Face -Unlisted Brand - NOW Sweet 100% Pure Almond Oil
deepseadivingsuit 10/13/2011 8:59:00 AM
I only use Sweet Almond Oil under my eyes, and so far it's lightened my dark circles by about half. My permanent purple-grey dark circles are pretty bad - I've had makeup artists flummoxed as to how to cover them up, since they're also full of creases - and I didn't think anything short of Vitamin K/dermagen would lighten them, but seeing the good reviews on MUA and how cheap it was from iherb, I added this to my order, thinking that if it didn't work, I'd still be able to use it for my hair and cuticles. I was amazed when I saw noticeable results after only 2 nights of usage! It hasn't done much for the creases, although the whoel area is far more moisturised now. The flip-top dispenser can get a bit drippy and messy, so I unscrew it and dip a cotton bud in, then gently wipe it under my eyes after my nightly shower/cleansing routine. I sometimes rub it in gently with my fingers afterwards. It's almost completely absorbed/wiped off by morning. and I sometimes reapply after my morning cleanse. Overall, I'm very pleased with this product. It works for me, and I'd encourage all dark-circled girls to try it before turning to expensive creams and gels since it's so cheap. And if it doesn't work on your dark circles, just use it as a moisturiser or hair/cuticle oil. :)
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Top/Base Coats -Seche Vite - Dry Fast Top Coat
deepseadivingsuit 7/4/2011 10:36:00 AM
My two favourite topcoats are Seche Vite and Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri. The difference is: * Seche Vite dries faster * Insta-Dri makes manicures last longer Drying time: SV is touch-dry within minutes, and bump-proof after about 10 min. As other reviewers have said, bumps early on flatten themselves out magically! Great for doing manicures at night. SHID is also touch-dry within minutes, but not bumpproof for about 30 min. Longevity: Unfortunately SV always chips on one or two fingers by the third day for me. I haven't had a problem with peeling, although it's easy to peel off SV if I try. On my toes it's a lot better, my current pedicure is chip-free after 10 days :) I've had manicures last perfectly past the 7 day mark with SHID. I usually use SHID as a refresher topcoat over SV, but more often than not I've already had to redo some nails. If only they could combine the drying ability of SV with the longevity of SHID!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -OPI - Cuddle By the Fire nail color
deepseadivingsuit 7/4/2011 10:28:00 AM
The colour isn't very nice on me (too light - kind of white and dead-looking on my Asian NC25 skin), so I'm going to try mixing it with Malaysian Mist. My main complaint though is the formula - with three coats (no base/top), this didn't dry properly after 12 hours, which I think is a bit excessive! I think the culprit is either toluene or dibutyl phthalate, both of which aren't in my other OPI polishes. I'm going to try my luck with Seche Vite on top, but if that doesn't work I'm considering leaving the lid off for a bit then adding in ethyl acetate which will hopefully lead to a better drying formula. I don't know why other people don't have this problem though, maybe there's more than one formula?
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Moisturizers -Olay - Active Hydrating Cream - Original
deepseadivingsuit 6/24/2011 3:35:00 AM
Oh, Active Hydrating Cream, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways: * I tried your more expensive sisters - none of them left my skin baby smooth as you do. I threw everything I could find at my permanently dry cheek patch, and you fixed it in three days, you clever thing, you! * You are kind on the wallet and easy to acquire. You are an equal opportunity blessing! * You smell good. This is important as you linger by my nose. * You began as my night cream, then I couldn't get enough of you and started wearing you during the day as well, which you were perfectly happy with. I may have to give you up during summer, but rest assured, I will return for you. * Sometimes I am overenthusiastic with you on my T-zone and you break me out a little. But it's always shallow one-day pimples, and the skin around them is sooooo moisturised. * You are one-step. After struggling for years with three pots of overpriced crud in my bag, vainly hoping for dry-patch salvation... you are a revelation! * You disappear into my skin so quickly! My skin is in the best condition it's been in since childhood. Please stay good to me, Active Hydrating Cream, and you will have a home forever. :)
15 out of 17 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Masks -My Beauty Diary - Natto Mask
deepseadivingsuit 6/24/2011 3:06:00 AM
In general, I'm not a fan of sheet masks. I have very large cheekbones which means the one-size-fits-all cutouts always leave unmasked spots all over the place. This particular mask is my favourite of the My Beauty Diary 20-variety pack I bought for about AUD15 in Hong Kong (it came with an adorable necklace too!). It's the most moisturising of them, and left my skin feeling smoother and refreshed. However: * With all of the MBD masks I've tried, my face gets very itchy and tight after 15 min, and afterwards I have some pinkish patches. I have quite oily skin, and I can imagine people with sensitive skin might fare worse. * I find the fragrance quite pleasant, but strong.. Again, this might be irritating to some. * The effect seems quite temporary - 2 days maybe. For me, masks are a once-a-week deal, due to time constraints. This mask is probably best used regularly, and at the price, you probably could. But since it's really just a long-exposure toner on me, I don't think it adds much to my skincare regimen, so I'll stick to my homebrew yoghurt/oatmeal/honey gloop for now.
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Polishes -OPI - Skull & Glossbones
deepseadivingsuit 6/24/2011 2:38:00 AM
Love this colour! It's nice against my East Asian colouring (I used to be NC25 but I tanned over summer) - it shows up as an almost-pinkish soft grey in the sun, and is greenish in the shade. It's edgy and unboring, but sophisticated enough to wear anywhere. This is my first OPI polish and not a disappointment - rich formula, even coverage in 2 coats. The rich whitish base makes clean-up a bit annoying though as I couldn't tell what was polish and what was acetoney dry skin :( I like the Pro-Wide brush, it's easy enough to use if you're careful about where you set down the brush, and it made a huge difference in preventing stroke marks. Overall, it's likely that this will become a high rotation HG nail polish for me... until grey polish becomes passe I guess!
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Cleansers -Neutrogena - Fresh Foaming Cleanser
deepseadivingsuit 6/23/2011 2:28:00 AM
I love this product! I can see why other people might not though. It's great for my oily East Asian skin - it leaves it feeling clean, and I have no problems with drying out since I always moisturise afterwards. It goes on and, more importantly, off very easily since there's no gel that can stick to your face. The thing I love the most is the self-foaming dispenser - it foams far better than I can, and I only ever need half a squirt. One bottle managed to last me 2 whole years with daily use! My only complaint is the menthol smell/tingling - it's refreshing, yes, but that means I mainly just use it in the morning. I recently bought another Neutrogena self-foaming cleanser, so I should be set until 2013... :)
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Conditioner -Dove - Heat Defense Therapy
deepseadivingsuit 6/23/2011 1:40:00 AM
I don't really heat-style my hair so I can't comment on that claim, but as a conditioner for my dye and wind-damaged hair it's pretty good, although not as good as Intensive Repair.
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Treatments -Clairol - Long Term Relationship Mask
deepseadivingsuit 6/14/2011 5:46:00 AM
It's pretty meh as a mask. The ingredients, appearance, smell, effect are almost identical to the conditioner. The tub is slippery and difficult to unscrew in the shower. If it was marketed as a conditioner I'd be far less underwhelmed...
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Shampoo -Clairol - Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship
deepseadivingsuit 6/14/2011 4:08:00 AM
Smells nice but causes lots of greasy buildup on my scalp and doesn't seem to clean all that well. It's ok if you alternate it with a deep cleaning shampoo. The lid breaks easily too if you drop it.
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Conditioner -Clairol - Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship
deepseadivingsuit 6/14/2011 4:05:00 AM
I have mid-back length, coarse Asian hair that's been salon-dyed a few too many times. I bought LTR due to rave reviews by various Australian beauty magazines, but I'm a bit disappointed by the results. LTR smells lovely - in fact, I bought a massive range of HE just for the scent and the cute names :) But as a conditioner, it's not very effective, especially for my dry, splitty ends. My hairdresser commented on my ridiculous split ends and tangles, and I found myself using a second conditioner after LTR. But since I love the smell so much, I'm going to keep mixing it in with a better conditioner, like Dove Intensive Repair :D
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Lips -Nivea - Hydro Care
deepseadivingsuit 6/14/2011 3:49:00 AM
Like other reviewers have said, it's not long-lasting at all. I have large lips which are more often cracked and nasty than not, so it's pretty useless for me.
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Lip Treatments -Nivea - Lip Care - Repair
deepseadivingsuit 6/14/2011 3:45:00 AM
This is probably my favourite of the Nivea lipbalms I've tried. I use it at night before bed and it keeps my super-dry lips moist until morning. You need to apply more than one coat though, I probably draw it back and forth 3 times. I like it way more than Hydro Care, which seems to disappear after half an hour. The smell is inoffensive and non-minty-medicinal, unlike what seems like every other brand of non-fruity lipbalm.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No