Fragrances -By Kilian - Beyond Love
enamacheylove 1/31/2013 6:48:00 PM
Amazing. I purchased a few perfume samples, and a lot of them were white florals, since I'm a huge fan of tropical-smelling white florals. At first I was, I don't want to say disappointed, but, well, surprised. I was expecting a big, heady, fleshy tuberose and that's not what this is. This is a light, airy tuberose, much like if you were actually sitting in a warm, tropical garden on a breezy day, as opposed to a humid, balmy night. While I'm still looking for THAT tuberose, I am completely in love with this for what it is. It's not a watered down, cool white floral (looking at you Marc Jacobs) and there is nothing synthetic about it. Also, there are no watery or metallic notes, which I don't like but often are there in tuberose scents *looking at you, Do Son*. It's a warm, airy, and beachy (the coconut notes are definitely there). The perfect day-time tuberose, much like I think Kai is the perfect day-time gardenia.
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Lip Treatments -Palmers - Cocoa Butter Formula Moisturizing Lip Balm w/Vitamin E & Spf 15
enamacheylove 1/31/2013 12:27:00 PM
This seems to be a very hit-or-miss product, and I think I might have an idea why. Most lip balms contain petrolatum, which is supposed to be an excellent lip protectant, and for many people, the key to moisturized lips. This lip balm doesn't, so you won't get that instant creamy effect that you do with other balms, and it won't work the same way petrolatum based lip balms do, but for me that's a great thing. Petrolatum always makes my lips feel nice and soothed at first, but then quickly goes on to dry them out horribly, and turn them into a tight, thin, peeling mess. If you check out reviews for other lip balms that don't contain petrolatum (ie Burt's Bees, Fresh Sugar) you'll see that they also have mixed reviews. Anyway, this stuff is a lifesaver for me! No more flaky lips that feel horrendously dry as soon as the lip balm wears off, this actually moisturizes my lips and makes them plump and smooth. I love the cocoa butter scent too. I wish it wasn't so hard to find, but I actually buy these in bulk now from amazon and have them all over the place, I keep one in my bag, my car, etc. Best inexpensive lip balm there is.
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Conditioner -Terax - Crema
enamacheylove 1/28/2013 7:31:00 PM
I had to re-write my review for this because I got a new bottle. It works the same (extremely well) but this one doesn't smell horrible like the old one, which must have been rancid. This one smells like play-doh, not my favorite still, but not offensive by any means, and it doesn't linger. The old one did and made my hair smell like wet dog, yuck. Anyway, on to performance. It's amazing! This has got to be one of the most moisturizing conditioners I have ever tried, that adds just the right amount of weight to my thick hair. I get the best results when I leave it in for 5+ minutes, my hair becomes absolutely transformed! It makes my hair so easy to detangle, soft, shiny, smooth, just way healthier. Awesome, awesome conditioner for seriously dry, colored, damaged and thick hair like mine.
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Treatments -Leonor Greyl - Lait Luminescence Bi-Phase
enamacheylove 1/28/2013 12:23:00 PM
This is a very nice leave in/detangling spray. I've been extremely picky with leave ins, and have all but given up, but this one is really, really good. It's a pretty decent detangler, and hydrates pretty well, but what it excels in is making my hair strong, smooth, and shiny, which is really what I need from a leave in. Also, perhaps most importantly, it doesn't seem to leave that film that most leave ins do in my hair, I don't know if that's because it's silicone free or not (I generally don't have a problem with cones, but anything that starts with cyclo or ends with -xane is awful for my hair). It has a really nice, light, sweet smell too. My only complaint is the nozzle doesn't really spray a fine mist, and it spray all over, so it's impossible to spray it on my hair without getting it all over everywhere, but the consistency is very liquidy, so it's also hard to spray into your hands and apply it well. Otherwise, no complaints. I'm not sure if it's a 5 lippie product quite yet, but I wish I could give it 4.5. I'll update if I decide it really does deserve 5 lippies and reaches HG status :) UPDATE: I'm upping my rating to 5 lippies, ever since I've been using this I've had nothing but good hair days, soft hair, even on the 2nd day, and no splits on my chemically damaged ends. I need this stuff in my life.
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Lotions/ Creams -Nuxe - Huile Prodigieuse (Multipurpose dry oil)
enamacheylove 1/27/2013 9:41:00 PM
This is a lovely oil. I use it mainly on my hair and face. It's wonderful on my body too but it's a little too expensive to use it on a regular basis for that. It makes my face soft and glowy, and my hair soft, smooth, and super shiny. I can use quite a bit in my hair without it getting greasy, but I have thick, dry hair. It's a lot more moisturizing than you typical silicone based 'oils', like Moroccanoil (although I love Moroccanoil for smoothness, shine, and heat protection, it isn't actually going to improve the health of your hair like pure oils will). The orange blossom-almond scent is really nice too, and not strong.
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Hair Color -Ion - Color Brilliance - Demi Permanent Hair Color
enamacheylove 1/19/2013 2:41:00 AM
I absolutely love this demi. Ok first off, in regards to some other reviews, yes you have to buy the developer separately. This is not a box dye kit, you should have at least a little experience or have done some research before attempting to use professional color that doesn't come with instructions of any sort (well this has some, but not extensive ones, just color to developer ratios and processing times). Now, because this is a demi, it will have the tendency to run dark. Oddly enough on me it is completely true to color (I've used the medium blonde shades, which on me have always come out medium blonde, not even dark blonde) but always do a strand test first because it will be a pain to remove if you get it wrong. I've also recently used redken shades EQ and in comparison, the redken leaves my hair more glossy, but this one lasts a lot longer, and is a lot cheaper, oh and much easier to get, so this is my choice. Adding to the cost-effectiveness, I can cover all of my long, thick hair with half a tube. Considering how inexpensive the developer is, the whole job can be done for around $2.50. Very natural, believable color too. Oh and unlike other hair dyes, this one actually smells great, like apples. Anyway, I highly recommend this, don't bother with drugstore demis or much more expensive professional salon ones, you've got all you need right here.
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Conditioner -Pureology - Super Smooth Conditioner
enamacheylove 12/28/2012 8:27:00 PM
I really hate this conditioner. First of all, there is the smell, in my opinion it is god-awful. I know others like it and I guess if I really wrap my head around it I can see the appeal, but I absolutely HATE it. It is a VERY strong, perfumey, sharp, spicy rose scent that I just cannot tolerate. To me it's a mix of strong, cheap, perfume, and house cleaning chemicals that has gone rancid. It literally made me feel nauseous. I will admit, I can be sensitive to fragrance, but they usually don't make me feel physically ill. With this I was seriously worried about an asthma attack. As for performance, also awful. Left my hair so incredibly coated, every time I touched it I had product residue all over my fingers, and my hair was gummy. It looked like my hair simply hadn't been washed for days after using an 80s music video worthy amount of products. Except it was limp, not at all big. Just thinking about the fragrance makes me shudder. This has to be one of the worst conditioners I've ever used, sorry pureology, but this one was an epic fail for me.
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Conditioner -Pureology - Hydrate Conditioner
enamacheylove 11/15/2012 2:34:00 AM
I've really been loving this conditioner, it might just be "the one". I used to use this years back, when the formula was different and it had a lot more silicones in it. It was great at first but quickly built up. I decided to try it again when I saw the reformulation. My all time favorite deep conditioner is kerastase masque chroma riche, which I suppose could be used on a daily basis, but my wallet won't have it, not that this is cheap either. This reminds me a lot of masque chroma riche, but in daily conditioner form. It's very moisturizing, leaves my hair incredible soft, shiny, and bouncy. Also, I love the minty scent and tingle. Its light in the sense that it doesnt weigh my hair down, or build up, but it really packs a ton of moisture. My hair was so dry before. I was using biolage conditioning balm and terax crema, which are great, but just weren't cutting it anymore. Also, I was using sulfate shampoos, and I think they were too harsh on my hair. I was looking for a sulfate free option, and my hairdresser sold me on this set again. I'm so glad I gave the reformulation a try. This, along with the shampoo have really helped to make my hair healthy, shiny, and strong. It also helps to preserve my color. I highly recommend this conditioner, as well as the matching shampoo, they seem like they'd be great for all hair types, but are especially awesome for dry, lackluster, hard to manage hair like mine. UPDATE: I've kind of fallen out of love with this conditioner. After an ordeal with some other products, I was experiencing bad hair fall out, and thinking back, this combo made me she more than normal too. Nothing dramatic, but definitely more than I was used to. I blame a combination of lack of sulfates to properly clean the scalp, menthol (which I may be allergic to), and too many natural extracts, which tend to be irritants. Also it was starting to leave my hair too soft, making it break very easily, and therefore very hard to detangle. But also, after a while my hair just didn't feel clean. Not just the roots but the ends were sort of waxy and stuck together, like they were really dirty and full of product. I went back to kerastase and my hair is much happier and better looking.
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Lip Treatments -Jack Black - Intense Therapy Lip Balm spf 25
enamacheylove 10/1/2012 12:12:00 AM
I love this lip balm, I have really dry lips and am something of a lip balm junkie. This is definitely one of, if not my favorite. It looks like Vaseline which I wasn't too happy about because Vaseline does nothing for me, but don't worry, it's entirely different! It does have 40% petrolatum which is good for protection, but it also has a lot of moisturizing, nourishing ingredients as well. I LOVE the texture of this too, it's not sticky at all, it's super smooth and velvety. I also like how you can apply a little bit for a matte finish or more for a bit of gloss. Also this seems to really last a long time on my lips, which is a first. I have this is mint and lemon chamomile, I love them both! Subtle but delicious scents. Also the packaging is nice, most balms come in tubs which I understand given the texture of most, but it's still extremely annoying and kind of unhygienic. It's fine to keep at home but you can't just apply wherever, whenever. This is in a nice, small, lip gloss like squeeze tube that I can put right in my pocket. The price is good too. Oh, and like the reviewer below me, I agree that if you want a pop of color, the korres lip butters are fantastic too! Update: this dried my lips out over time, which I suspect is the fault of the petrolatum, which seems to dry my lips out over time regardless of what product it's in, high end, low end... I'm loving Burt's Bees and Palmer's Cocoa Butter lip balm, although they don't feel as emollient right away, they really keep my lips moisturized over time.
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Conditioner -Matrix - Biolage - Conditioning Balm
enamacheylove 9/23/2012 2:01:00 AM
This is a nice conditioner, but nothing earth-shattering. It has pretty decent moisturizing capabilities for sure, but I don't know, it just doesn't blow me away. When I use it, my hair feels soft, but just looks ok. It beats a lot of similarly priced conditioners, such as redken, and I'd say it's the star of all the biolage conditioners, but it's just not the best option out there, at least not for me.
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Fragrances -Guerlain - La Petite Robe Noire
enamacheylove 9/22/2012 2:07:00 PM
I couldn't agree more with the reviewer that dubs this as Lolita Lempicka with a dash of Delices de Cartier. That's EXACTLY what this smells like. I actually quite like it, I used to wear LL a few years ago and DdC, but LL was a little too woodsy, and DdC was too fruity. This is the happy medium. I wouldn't say this fragrance is amazing in my eyes, but I do like it, it's sweet and fun, but not teeny-bopper.
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Conditioner -Dove - Nourishing Oil Care Conditioner
enamacheylove 9/21/2012 12:55:00 AM
Overall, this is a good conditioner, but it isn't my favorite. It claims to reduce frizz and roughness, and let me tell you, that it does. But it doesn't actually seem to be super moisturizing, more like it just coats my hair to keep ot smooth, like most smoothing products. That's not to say it makes my hair feel greasy, or coated in product, just that it feels like it smooths my hair, and has a protective coating, but doesn't actually make it healthier. Kind of like vaseline vs real moisturizer. Sorry if that makes no sense, it's hard to explain. In short, it makes my hair look good, but I don't think it's really helping it. And issue number 2, the main one for me, is the fragrance. It's not a bad fragrance, but it's very strong and I'm sensitive to fragrance. That's completely a personal thing, I'm sure many will love the fragrance, but it's just too much for me. That's not why I'm knocking a lippie though, because that's just me. I just wanted to warn fellow sensitive-noses. The reason I knocked a lippie is because of what I stated earlier, this conditioner makes your hair look good, but it doesn't seem to moisturize it much or improve the overall health. But all in all, this is a good conditioner at a great price, certainly one of the best that the drugstore has to offer, but not my favorite.
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Lip Treatments -Christian Dior - lip maximizer
enamacheylove 4/25/2012 5:45:00 PM
I've used this for about 2 weeks now (the rec'd time to see the plumping effect-it's not instant) and I can say it did help a little bit, however, it's nothing dramatic. I think the creme de rose does a better job at plumping. This gloss is super translucent, so it's basically clear on the lips, which is nice since pale pink glosses don't work for me. I'll only do pale pink if it's matte. This had a slightly cooling feel, but no tingling. It was slightly moisturizing and did have a lovely vanilla mint scent. However, I won't repurchase because there are lip balma out there that plump as much as this does but are much better all around. This gloss is much cheaper than those, so that's nice, but then it doesn't do anything outstanding, and the moisturizing effects are short lived.
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Styling Products -Redken - Blonde Glam Crystal Flash shine treatment for multi-tonal blondes
enamacheylove 4/9/2012 10:15:00 AM
This product is absolutely amazing, I'm so sad that it's discontinued. Redken should seriously consider bringing this back (and NOT changing the formula) and making it a staple. It made my hair amazingly shiny and super soft. I now use Moroccanoil, which is great, but this was so much better. And it smells incredible, not only would my hair look fantastic when I used this but it would smell great too. I was looking through pictures the other day and I noticed that my hair looked great, despite how damaged and processed it was, and this was what I used. I really miss it, please bring it back!
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Foundations -Garnier - BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector Daily All-In-One
enamacheylove 3/31/2012 1:39:00 PM
I have never tried BB cream before, and this one was cheap and a lot of internet reviews and blog posts said that this (the light/medium) is great for the super pale. I didn't consider myself SUPER pale, and I was right. Evidently, I'm super, super, super extra pale, because this is too dark for me. Otherwise, this is great. I have dry skin and this didn't give me that flaky foundation look, it left my skin glowy and gave me that "no makeup" look but still had great coverage and evened out my skin. When I washed it off, my skin actually felt a lot smoother and better! I might be able to use this up when I get a summer tan, but it is just way too dark for me. However, I did learn that BB cream exactly the product I needed my whole life- I hate foundations and tinted moisturizers don't have enough coverage- so I ordered Missha BB cream in #13(milky beige) which will hopefully be a better match.
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