Mascara -Maybelline - Volum' Express The Mega Plush Waterproof
elleLace 7/15/2012 3:45:00 AM
I had great expectations for this mascara. I miss my Full N' Soft but they don't sell it in my town anymore! AHHHH... I thought maybe Maybelline would use the glorious same concept and formula for this. I have been mistaken. The wand on this brush is terrible. It is hard to control because the middle flexes and you can't push it into your lashes to coat or get between them very well. I don't think it lengthened at all... though I naturally have fairly long lashes. It certainly didn't add any volume. It made my lashes dark. Thanks.. This mascara didn't really clump with additional coats and any clumps during application brushed out pretty easily. But the flaking. Oh. My. Gosh. THE FLAKING. It was hot and sweaty and it held up alright for the first half of the day but then BAM all evening and night I had mega raccoon eyes and flakes everywhere all over my cheeks even. Even after I washed it off it was flaking from somewhere... it was just all over. Sadly, I've used worse mascaras. For short more natural looking wear, this stuff isn't too shabby. For the expectations I had? I'm quite sad.
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Moisturizers -Garnier - Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel-Cream
elleLace 6/29/2012 4:59:00 PM
I'd like to say that I love Garnier products. I love their toners, washes, shampoos, you name it. My skin usually likes their stuff a lot and I have very sensitive skin, so finding something that doesn't irritate is nice. Unfortunately, this moisturizing gel hit a miss. I don't know what exactly is in it. (I read the ingredient list and it was mostly stuff that had awful chemical names, which surprised me. I looked up a few and they were "synthetic" chemicals in replacement of real ones. After using it for 2 or 3 days straight I think it started to give me a bit of a rash. Although, I'd like to say this stuff applied uniquely. I think it went on light, thin, spread easy with very little product. I don't feel like it moisturized much for me, but if you have oily skin, this stuff would be great for you! It really is thin and not greasy one bit. It has a nice refreshing scent but it has a "cooling" ingredient which is a synthetic form of menthol which I dislike the feeling of greatly. One last thing, I couldn't wear this stuff under my BB creams. (I know I didn't have to but sometimes I forgot.) It would clump up and get a weird texture and just didn't blend at all. I'd assume it would be the same with a SPF lotion. Terrible.
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BB Cream -Garnier - BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector - Light/Medium
elleLace 6/29/2012 4:43:00 PM
I haven't tried any other BB creams but I wasn't ever a giant fan of tinted moisturizer, which is what I fee like this is. I was a little worried with this product only having two shade options, (L/M & M/D) but it actually blended into my very light skin pretty well. It is only the tiniest bit too dark, and with a powder foundation on top I don't think it is noticeable at all. I'd say it has light medium coverage. Probably on the lighter side, but it blended very well into skin and you could add layers to it to a degree. If you wanted a little more or a little less in an area, you could do that easily. It was really nice to put concealer over top of too and they blended nicely together. It does have a smell but I don't find it offensive at all and it isn't THAT strong as people complained about, to me anyway. This stuff didn't streak at all when applied, or even throughout the day if I touched or rubbed or sweated. This stuff seemed to either just fade off over time or stay put but didn't become "gross" looking. Which is a ++ Complaints: I find when I'm running around at work or chores my skin does get oily, and this stuff may have sped up the process a bit. When I first started using it, I thought it made me break out a tiny bit. I can't tell if it is this product or just bad timing. But it's something to watch for. As far as skin benefits? I'm not finding any really. I don't think it's healing my skin at all and when I wash it off it feels very minimally smoother, but it doesn't last. It's basically a nice quality tinted moisturizer with light coverage. But I like it for the price.
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Mascara -Maybelline - Great Lash Lots of Lashes
elleLace 6/29/2012 4:30:00 PM
The "heart" shaped brush wasn't too bad, but I prefer a baguette shape. It did grab my lashes and I think it applied evenly and pretty nicely on my lashes but they're naturally pretty long anyway just need some colour and volume. Problem was that it lasted no time at all. This stuff flaked like crazy, even after like an hour of wearing, OR LESS. To sum it up No clumping at all, applied well with a strange but ok brush, flaked like black Christmas snow and didn't last long.
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Mascara -Maybelline - Great Lash Mascara
elleLace 6/29/2012 4:25:00 PM
I saw so much advertising for this product and when I saw it on sale I thought, why not? It's so cheap and it does exactly what I want! Ugh, yeah, not. It applied pretty nicely on my lashes but they're naturally pretty long anyway just need some colour and volume. Problem was that it lasted no time at all. This stuff flaked like crazy, even after like an hour of wearing, OR LESS. Like right away all day I was running for a mirror and trying to rub it off from under my eyes. (that was never a problem for me with most mascaras, so that made this a total flop in my books.) To sum it up No clumping at all, applied well with a strange but ok brush, flaked like black Christmas snow and didn't last long.
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Mascara -Maybelline - Volum' Express One by One
elleLace 6/29/2012 4:17:00 PM
I have mixed feelings about this mascara. At first, I didn't like how it applied (didn't separate lashes enough for my taste, which is what its supposed to do.) I also usually wear water-proof mascara because I have long lashes that the tips always rub below my brow line whenever I look straight for up. I noticed sometimes this mascara would leave marks even if I'd been wearing it for hours and it was dry. Maybe my skin was moist from working, either way, it looked dreadful. Other than that one small thing, I thought it stood up well. It didn't flake which is a must for me. I abandoned this to try the water-proof version but found that it applied and looked even worse. It had a thicker stickier formula that separated my lashes even less. A last random note: I didn't use this mascara for a month or so and when I started running out of my others I used it a few times again.. and I found that the formula applied a lot better. It thickened just enough my lashes didn't stick while applying it and it looked great- for now, it is my favourite mascara. To sum up Brush 5/5 Formula or 3-4/5 (because it got better with age) Flaking 4/5 (almost none) Clumping 5/5 (Didn't for me, but I use only 1 coat.) Lasting 4/5 (Great only if you don't sweat or have long lashes)
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Liquid -Cover Girl - TruBlend 
elleLace 6/3/2010 5:34:00 AM
I find for my very light skin the colour was ok, the blending was sort of ok. I'm not particularly fond of this foundation's texture. The bottle I had also kept messing up the consistency. I would pump a tiny bit out, and it would be sort of foamy one second, and the next a runny liquid and sort of greasy. I would have to discard the runny pump and do it again until it got the normal texture back. (Which I also didn't like and found far too thick.) So, the actual compound of this stuff isn't so bad and probably evens out skin tones, and if done right is pretty silky smooth. However, it doesn't work for covering stuff up at all, and I guess this product is trial and error. Not worth the hassle.
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Moisturizers -Aveeno - Skin Brightening Daily Moisturizer SPF 15
elleLace 6/2/2010 2:04:00 AM
I found this product was too expensive for the little effect it had, on top of I didn't like how it felt on my skin. This product didn't irritate, but it also didn't moisturize my skin at all, in fact, I hated how it felt thick like my skin wouldn't accept it. This probably works good for other people, but something in the products was not my sensitive skin's friend.
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Moisturizers -Nivea - DNAge Night Cream
elleLace 6/2/2010 1:43:00 AM
This cream claims to be good for aging skin and fading spots, but I don't find it does those things. I am young and have 'age' spots, (maybe from sun?) and I have been using this cream for months and it has done nothing to them. I continue to use this cream because I like the other aspects it has. This cream goes on very smooth, clear, and a little goes a long way. This cream is very gentle on my skin and great for simple moisturizing and doesn't cause breakouts like others I have tried. I have a few dry patches of skin that this fixes up perfectly. Also good to use under makeup. This product is perfumed, almost a hint of sweet. (Some may not like it, I don't mind at all.) The cream itself has little to no taste. You can use it on lips and don't have to worry about anyone tasting it.
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Moisturizers -Nivea - DNAge day cream
elleLace 6/2/2010 1:31:00 AM
This cream claims to be good for aging skin and fading spots, but I don't find it does those things. I am young but have some spots, and I have been using this cream for months and it has done nothing to them. I continue to use this cream because I like the other aspects it has. This cream goes on very smooth, clear, and a little goes a long way. I find that unless it is rubbed in a lot, or unless I use a powder after, it can look a tiny bit oily, but that goes away after a bit. This cream is very gentle and great for simple moisturizing and doesn't cause breakouts like others I have tried. Simple perfumed smell, almost a hint of sweet. (Some may not like it, I don't mind at all.) The cream itself has little to no taste. You can use it on lips and don't have to worry about anyone tasting it in kisses, if such things should go down that way. Also, I prefer the "night' version of this cream, even for daytime wear.
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Toners -Garnier - Fresh Toner
elleLace 6/2/2010 1:18:00 AM
I really like this product and I can't use most toners because my skin is far too sensitive to alcohols. It works well to remove left over dirt and makeup without being harsh, painful, or over- drying. This isn't quite as strong as some other Garnier toners. I prefer the "Pure" version of this toner which is for pore tightening and works better if your skin is a bit more oily. It is also fairly gentle, as toners go. The packaging is good but I have bought a few where the cap on the lid breaks, and it doesn't seal fully so may leak if you knock it over or tilt it. I also notice a few of the bottles on the shelf when I buy it have this problem already before purchase.
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Eye Shadow -L'Oreal - HiP Bright Duo - Flare
elleLace 6/2/2010 12:54:00 AM
This is nice and easy to blend. The colours are pretty true and strong but I didn't like them on myself. The orange was a little too bright- but that is what a lot of people are hoping for. Another good point is that orange eyeshadows aren't that common, so this is a pretty unique look. I think the packaging is nice, but my shadows are breaking up already. (probably my fault but I don't remember dropping this one) Still a good buy for the price.
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Eyeliner -Annabelle - Eyeliner
elleLace 6/2/2010 12:41:00 AM
This is a pretty cheap eyeliner that goes on true to the colour, it is strong and smooth and nice to apply. The black is very black, and not gray, which is nice. The reason it is cheap is because it doesn't last all that long and gathers in the corners of my eyes some, which I just dab away with a q-tip then is fine. Almost all eyeliner I have tried does this for me, so why bother spending more? Good for the price.
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Brows -Cover Girl - Brow and Eye Makers
elleLace 6/2/2010 12:34:00 AM
I think this works well, I use it off and on, but it is not my favourite. I find that it can be a little waxy in texture if applied to more sparse areas of the eyebrow. I use 'soft brown' which is actually pretty dark, and I found not much lighter colours without going into blond. I only use this with my freshly dyed hair, because the strength of the colour matches. Overall: long day wear, stays on nice strong, but they need more variety of colours.
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Brows -Annabelle - Eyebrow Pencil
elleLace 6/2/2010 12:30:00 AM
I bought this in taupe and I think it is very nice. This product doesn't seem to be waxy as some other brands of brow pencils I have tried. It has long all day wear, that I could even shower with and as long as you don't "scrub" your face, it will stay on and look nice, doesn't smear. If you make a mistake it is easy to get off right away, and blend into hairs.
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