Eye Shadow -Urban Decay - Walk of Shame
dustyjil 3/14/2013 8:49:00 PM
I LOVE this eyeshadow. It doesn't look exciting in the pan, or palette, but it is a workhorse! this shade has become my go- to all over shade and I use it almost every day. considering my eye shadow collection that is saying something. As mentioned I use this as an all over wash and then can move on. for a quick and easy casual day I add a crease color and a bright eyeliner and I'm done. I can do a more complicated shadow look as well. the highest praise (besides using it each day) is that I have purchased full priced back ups.
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Powder -Sephora - Microsmooth Foundation Powder
dustyjil 11/28/2012 9:33:00 AM
I currently use and really like the Benefit Hello Flawless! powder. I need to mix 2 shades, so I wanted to try this as a substitute. It just doesn't have the same creamy texture as the Hello Flawless! and it is drying.
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Liquid -Sephora - Instant Radiance Foundation
dustyjil 11/28/2012 9:30:00 AM
I am sorry to be the downer, and it is most certainly due to my age/skintype. I have dry skin and winter is approaching. My daily foundation is a bit sheer and doesn't last all day, so I wanted to find a foundation with a little more coverage. This foundation is nice, and applies well. It provides a bit too little coverage and is drying for me. My MA at Sephora matched me nicely, but alas I will have to return.
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Eye Shadow -Urban Decay - Naked 2 Palette
dustyjil 11/28/2012 9:23:00 AM
I had never tried Urban Decay. If I had played that “first thoughts” game, “Urban Decay” would earn the response “Glitterbomb”. I’m not sure what got me interested, perhaps all the hype about the Naked and Naked 2 palettes. I read a review about matte shades (sorry, I cannot remember where, it was a late night search). The blogger mentioned that Urban Decay had surprisingly nice matte shades, and that most shimmer shades were nice as well. So, I when I was browsing Sephora later that week, I stopped by the Urban Decay section. Nice mattes is an understatement. I also agree that most of the shimmer shades are not OTT. So, Naked and Naked 2 were in my sights. Which to choose? It was a very hard choice, but I opted for Naked 2 even though I had some misgivings. I am light complected with red undertones. I make many warm tones turn that aforementioned Dorito orange. Yet cool tones don’t really suit me either, they turn ghastly purple and red on me - even when the SA has no clue there are red tones in the shade. I was hesitant to try Verve and Pistol, even thought they are beautiful in the palette, they are the shades I love, but hate on me. I am thrilled that they stay truly gorgeous and silvery, no purple or red. My eyes look awake and green! Suspect and Snakebite were another test. Gorgeous gold and bronze - again they compliment my green eyes. Tease is a subtle, flattering crease color which tones down the shimmer of Pistol and Verve. Again, I love it in the palette, but it has a hint of plum that normally spells disaster. I use primer and Walk of Shame as a base. These have lasted long days - nothing hot, yet. But perfect for fall, winter and spring. If the shimmers fail the summer test I’ll stick to the mattes. The Naked and Naked 2 palettes are such a great way to try different shades. They are full size, just different shape pans as the singles. For about the price of 3 singles, the palette gives you 12 coordinating shades to play with. I like the lip gloss so much I may buy a full size, and Naked is on my list for after the holidays. All my pigments, Bobbi Brown, MAV, Lancome, Clinique, LORAC, Tarte and miscellaneous other brands will be relegated to the back of the stash, I have found my eyeshadow brand!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Palettes -Urban Decay - Smoked
dustyjil 11/28/2012 8:40:00 AM
I have a confession. I am about as far off the spectrum of a typical Urban Decay user or their targeted market as one can get. I am older than I’m comfortable admitting. I have never been hip, more like the pretty girl next door. I would be the nerd in the beginning of those transformation videos and end up rockin’ a look worthy of the Urban Decay name. I do love watching videos of those you who can and do rock the smokin’ eye. I just can’t (or don’t have the confidence to) wear them myself. I also LOVE this palette! On me and for my lifestyle, I prefer the Bobbi Brown look. I own countless of her palettes, LORAC, Tarte, Lancome and others. All have failed to look attractive on me - or my skills (more like a lack thereof) have led to their failure. Bobbi Brown’s mattes and shimmers end up looking dry and powdery on me, even with primer. Tarte shadows irritate my eyes and the deep colors end up looking black and spotty. LORAC turns orange on my lids. Enter Urban Decay. In my wildest imagination I would never have thought of Urban Decay for mattes, flattering shimmers and great subtle looks. Sure they are the brand with the cult status Naked palettes, but most of the videos/reviews with these palettes (that I had seen) focused on the high shimmer/glitter and smokey looks. During a late night random search I came upon a review which mentioned how wonderful Urban Decay mattes and shimmer shades were. This blogger mentioned that the most of the shadows in the Naked and Naked 2 palettes were surprisingly friendly to aging lids. Hmm, off to Sephora and the Urban Decay websites for more reviews. Hmm, the quality of the mattes are mentioned frequently. What does this have to do with the Smoked palette? Well, it explains why someone like me would love this palette so much. Okay, cover your eyes. *whispers* I use the Smoked palette to do the most incredible clean, matte eye. With a splash of color that I love! Urban Decay has what I’ve been searching for. With the Smoked Palette I can use UDPP, Kinky from lash to brow as a base, Mushroom lightly all over the lid and slightly in the crease, and one of the deeper colors to line. I can also use UDPP and the base of Kinky, with Freestyle to subtly define my crease and a thicker line of a color (today it’s Loaded) along my lashes. I can also use that same base of UDPP and Kinky and incorporate the Naked 2 by using Tease in the crease and a touch of BootyCall on the lid, and again one of the darker shades to line. Crazy as it may sound, this is perhaps the one palette I’d take on a cruise or desert island. Of course, once the Naked Basics is released tomorrow that my change. I wouldn’t NOT bring Smoked, but I would bring Naked Basics as well.
8 out of 8 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Mary Kay - Cream Eye Color
dustyjil 2/11/2012 8:53:00 PM
I have this in 3 shades. Pale Blush is a semi-opaque satin finish pale pinky shade that reminds me of Painterly paint pot. Beach Blonde is a golden translucent shimmery shade. Glacier Gray is a shimmery, semi-transparent light gray. I like Pale Blush and Glacier Gray the most and use one of them each day. I like Pale Blush as a base, and sometimes casually on its own. Glacier Gray is a nice base, but I like it alone on my lid. Beach Blonde is my least favorite, it's not so shimmery that I can't wear it, but it doesn't cover the redness in my eyelids enough to wear alone. I have a back up of Pale Blush. I'm considering a back up of Glacier Gray and trying Iced Cocoa.
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Mascara -L'Oreal - Voluminous mascara
dustyjil 4/28/2010 8:53:00 PM
I have to agree with Chrystina. This clumps (which I can live with) and smudges (which I cannot). It looks gorgeous after some work, for an hour or so and then the smudges start appearing! I have even tried the waterproof and no luck with a clean undereye.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Palettes -Cat Cosmetics - Hello Gorgeous
dustyjil 8/5/2009 10:07:00 PM
I hate to bring rhe rating down, but I had high hopes for this palette. I want to like Cat Cosmetics, what a great inspiration. But..., this is too yellow and pink for me. I have other Cat palettes that I have kept for the Whiskers Blush and Catnip Bronzer. So that didn't help justify this one. The two lightest shades are too yellow and pink, I love the two darker shades. But, I already have a palette and a backup of Whiskers and Catnip. The two shades I really liked didn't justify even the sale price.
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Eye Makeup Remover -Avon - Moisture effective Eye makeup remover
dustyjil 7/9/2009 8:28:00 PM
I love this when I'm not wearing waterproof mascara. I found that it just doesn't handle Voluminous Waterproof. It is gentle and effective for everything else. I stock up when Avon has sales, which is often.
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Primer/ Corrector -Avon - MagiX Face Perfector
dustyjil 7/9/2009 8:26:00 PM
I have to say that I really like this primer. It makes my face matte (but not dry) and smooth, and keeps my makeup on all day. I am normally dry, but the summer humidity wreaks havoc on my skin/makeup. This works well and a little bit goes a long way. Not to share too much info, but my nose is smooth and shiney. I have a heckofa time getting foundation to stick and not settle into my pores. This does an outstanding job there! The best of the primers I have tried including Monistat and Smashbox. I use Laura Geller Spackle on my face when it's not humid, but will continue to use this on my nose throughout the year. The price is more than the Monistat, way less than Smashbox, but very reasonable with the many sales Avon has.
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Eyeliner -Sally Hansen - Natural Beauty Inspired by Carmindy- Forever Stay Eye Pencil
dustyjil 7/9/2009 8:19:00 PM
I got this during one of the rare B1G1 free (or half off, I cannot remember) sales at CVS, so that makes this even more affordable. I selected Deep Jade which is the most gorgeous deep green. It doesn't turn black on me, it makes my green eyes glow. I actually use a BE flat liner brush to apply a very fine line along my upper and lower lashes and it is really flattering without screaming eye liner or color. It lasts all day and doesn't irritate my eyes.
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Other -Ulta - Ulta- whole store
dustyjil 11/11/2008 9:43:00 PM
I am surprised by all the negative reviews. I have to say that my experiences are almost always positive. I've had a few neutral visits, but not a negative one. I have shopped at 5 Ulta's at various times over the last few years, and I have liked them all. My experience is that most of the associates are very helpful and more than willing to assist me and other customers. Sometimes they don't know alot about the particular product I am discussing, but I expect that given the breadth of their stocked lines and item range. Again, I have to say that Ulta is fantastic and I enjoy shopping high, mid and low end products there.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Ice Elements - 2-Minute Miracle Exfoliating Gel
dustyjil 2/28/2008 10:32:00 PM
This is amazing! My skin is super prone to irritation and this has not bothered it one bit. My skin is so soft and smooth after I finish. I'm also sensitive to fragrance and this is fragrance free - Hooray!!! I would highly recommend this product. It took me two tries to get the application down, the IceElements.com board provided wonderful assistance.
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Moisturizers -Clinique - Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion
dustyjil 9/24/2007 4:27:00 PM
I'm sorry this has caused so many problems for so many folks. My skin likes it during the spring and fall. Then it requires either more in winter, or less in summer. I use Clinique m/u so I have many small (but who'd think 1 oz was small?) GWP tubes around. If you've got some that you don't wnt to use on your face I find it works well on my hands and elbows. Go on, give it a try!
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Pigment in Vanilla
dustyjil 8/26/2007 10:08:00 AM
This is an exceptionally versatile product. It is very shimmery if applied alone, and I don't really like high shimmer, so I had put it away. Then I continued to read reviews about other uses for this. The color is wonderful and sheer. I have strong pink undertones, and anything pink brings this out. This doesn't clash, but doesn't accentuate the pink. My favorite way to use this is as a light final wash over my e/s. Although I don't like shimmer, I'm not fond of flat matte either. I have struggled to find something with a nice sheen/glow. Enter BB mattes topped w/MAC Vanilla! I have several BB matte shades, I was afraid I'd have to spring for the shimmerwash versions. MAC Vanilla saved me tons of money. I cannot imagine ever using the entire jar, but if I do I will certainly buy another!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No