Fragrances -Pacifica - Tuscan Blood Orange 
greeneyesies 12/28/2012 8:47:00 AM
I usually abhor fruity fragrances, as most smell horribly childish and generally 'off' from the actual fruit they're trying to impersonate to me. This though is absolutely true to the fruit - gorgeous, juicy blood orange. It's utterly delicious and one of the only fruit fragrances I've encountered that haven't wanted to eject from a window (along with its wearer). The only problem is, as mentioned by other reviewers, that it has next to no staying power. I have the solid perfume in the tin and it lasts maybe ten minutes, tops. You get a quick and wonderful burst of scent which then quickly dies down to nothing. Great for a quick pick-me-up but no good if you want to smell the fragrance throughout the day. If Pacifica could fix this problem and make it a bit longer lasting, they'd have a winner on their hands. As yet, though, I wouldn't repurchase.
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Liquid -GOSH - X-ceptional wear liquid foundation
greeneyesies 6/21/2012 10:04:00 AM
This foundation definitely aged me. Strange, sticky texture on application, sinks in fine lines and shows up any dry patches. I think it made me look 5 years older and strangely tired, where a decent foundation can take 5 years off me. The packaging is good, the colour match was OK and the price is excellent, but the performance is really bad for someone with my skin type (older, rosacea, SD dry patches). Certainly will not repurchase!
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Other -The Body Shop - TBS - Whole Store
greeneyesies 5/20/2012 8:29:00 AM
The last time I bought and liked products from The Body Shop was the 1980s. Back then there was an understanding that many customers wanted something different to the usual useless scented rubbish hawked elsewhere - they sold many reasonably-priced products that weren't packed with scents and irritants - I remember well the scent bar that allowed you to fragrance bass products as you wished, or not at all. I loved their Foaming Shower Gel (unscented), which was non-irritating and moisturing for dry skin, their Honey and Oatmeal Face Mask which you could see the honey in and was made from some good quality kaolin and was one of the few things that actually helped my at-the-time prone to eczema face. I also liked their cucumber water toner and their walnut oil deep hair conditioner. You could buy small packages of henna there, unadulterated with rubbish and filler. Everything I used worked incredibly well. By the late 90s, however, most of the stuff I loved had either disappeared or been reformulated into bog-standard cosmetic garbage, full of scents, filler and bore no resemblence to the original in appearance, texture or efficacy. The products that previously worked for my skin and hair looked very different in the jar/tube, either did nothing for or irritated my skin badly and the hair stuff either failed to condition or just weighed down my hair and left it greasy in the same way cheap low-end shampoos full of 'cones do. On the few occasions I visit TBS these days (usually on a whim if I'm out and have time to spare) I inevitably leave emoty-handed. There's nothing that appeals - just endless crappy scented, overpackaged, curiously sparkly (ugh) ranges designed to appeal to the gift market (seriously, my local store has more shelf space devoted to packaged gift sets than anything else) and overpriced make-up that I wouldn't touch with a bargepole given I can get equal quality for a lower price elsewhere.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Hair Color -Schwarzkopf - Palette
greeneyesies 3/15/2012 5:47:00 PM
I used #500 (chocolate brown) on my medium/dark brown hair to enrich the colour and cover some bits of grey. Pros: Overall, I can't fault Palette for colouring. The colour turned out exactly as it said on the box, covered all my grey hairs and didn't dry my hair out at all. The formula is thick and doesn't drip at all so application is easy and it causes less bathroom mess than my usual hair colouring adventures. Cons: Another reviewer mentioned the strong chemical smell. She's right; this forumla contains ammonia and you get a blast of it when you first apply the colour. It made my eyes water a bit and I had to open a window to get some air in. Sadly, while it was gentle to my hair it was actually quite irritating to my scalp and caused itchy, dried out patches which have been bothering me for several days since application. I do have a sensitive scalp prone to SD and dryness though, so possibly this wouldn't affect other users as much. The other peeve was the disgusting synthetic fruit fragrance added to the conditioner which followed me until my next hair wash, which I did not appreciate. This isn't unique to this product though - I've found that most boxed dye manufacturers feel the need to make their conditioner this way for some reason. Conclusion: even though the colour result was great, I wouldn't buy this product again because of the scalp irritation issue.
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Hair Color -L'Oreal - Casting Creme Gloss
greeneyesies 11/27/2011 10:38:00 PM
I used shade 323 - Dark Chocolate - on my shoulder-length mid-dark brown hair. After reading some of the reviews here I was a little worried about the result, but everything went as planned and I ended up with nice glossy dark brown hair and all my grey (white) hairs covered nicely. I followed the instructions precisely and, left the colour on just under 20 minutes. My hair isn't 'black' which seems to be a major complaint of people using the darker shades - it's the colour promised on the box. I think it helps that my hair is in generally good condition and I wasn't trying to drastically alter the colour , just boost what was there and add richness and depth to it more than anything. I always think that trying to alter your colour more than a couple of shades up or down with a box dye is inviting disaster, especially if it's over already very stripped, coloured or treated hair. Anyway, I'm very happy with the result and will definitely buy this brand again. Maybe I'll experiment with another of the darker brown shades but I would happily use Dark Chocolate again.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lotions/ Creams -Aveeno - Skin Relief Moisturizing Lotion
greeneyesies 5/24/2011 5:41:00 PM
I picked this up at Boots on a whim last winter after finding my skin was reacting oddly to my usual E45 cream. I have dry, itch-prone, eczema-prone skin that needs twice daily moisturizing and is sensitive to fragrance. Most lotions are either perfumed and therefore totally unsuitable for me, just nowhere near moisturizing enough or contain something that aggravates my skin. I didn't hold out much hope that this would be any different but I was pleasantly surprised. This formulation, with shea butter, is heavy enough to hold in moisture and actually has the promised calming effect on my skin. The skin on my arms, legs, back etc has been much smoother, calmer and co-operative since I started using it. After a few months use, I ran out and had to wait two weeks until I could get my hands on new supplies, during which time I returned to E45 again. My skin's condition took a nosedive and only got better when I returned to using this product. I've gone through about 15 big tubes so far and will continue to repurchase.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Gels/Soaps -Unlisted Brand - Malki Dead Sea Natural Sulphur Soap
greeneyesies 5/17/2011 4:45:00 AM
I have recently started using this product to control my recently-diagnosed facial seborrheic dermatitis and in the week I've been using it I've been overwhelmed with how effective and gentle a product it is and how much better my skin is looking already. Unlike even the most 'gentle' detergent cleansers and face-washes, it doesn't sting my face at all, even around the senstive and fragile eye area and it doesn't strip it or otherwise aggravate already fragile skin. Sulphur has major keratolytic (meaning it helps exfoliate dead skin cells), anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties and is indicated in a wide range of skin conditions so people who suffer from acne, psoriasis and eczema may also benefit from using this product. I also have facial rosacea and am prone to eczema and am sensitive to 90% of commercial products but I can use this soap everywhere successfully, which is highly unusual in any product for me. It smells sulphurous and salty which may bother people used to the usual synthetic over-fragranced products on the market, but it's just the smell of the active ingredients which are helping your skin and I'm relieved there's no masking fragrance or essential oils in there to aggravate skin and ruin an otherwise great product. It's actually a clean, very natural spa-type (for those of you who've ever visited sulphurous springs like at Bath in the UK, it's like that) smell to me and at this point, if it helped my condition I'd have no problem if it smelled like week-old rubbish. Use: I massage it gently onto a wet face with a soft cosmetic sponge morning and night, leave for a minute or so, then rinse off with cool water - never hot.. Hot water will aggravate the seborrhea and make it worse. After use, my skin feels soothed and refreshed, looks less red and has a better, smoother, cleaner-looking texture. It costs around £3.75 for a 90g bar which you can buy at Boots online or instore and at some health food shops. Keep the bar dry and it will last well. I can't recommend it enough - it really been a breakthrough product for me it the control of a seriously emotionally distressing and physically painful condition. Ingredients: This soap uses palm, olive, coconut oils, sulphur and dead sea salt.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lotions/ Creams -LUSH - Dream Cream
greeneyesies 5/10/2011 8:48:00 AM
I've suffered on and off from eczema and dry skin in general most of my life. This product is pushed at people with eczema so I gave it a go a few years ago, when my skin was actually in reasonable shape, easily prone to irritation, inflammation and rashes, but with no serious eczema patches. Well .... it actually irritated the already irritable bits more. I suspect it was the essential oils, which are not alwasy great for people with sensitive, easily irritable or eczemous skin, not matter what the advertising says. It was an OK moisturizer on the normal patches of skin, but so are many basic, much cheaper moisturizers. I ended up just using it as a hand and foot cream. It is 'nice' but I wouldn't ever recommend it to anyone with real skin issues. Also, the price is ridiculous. Aveeno lotions have done 100x more for my skin - smoothing, calming and moistrurizing - at a fraction of the price.
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Cleansers -LUSH - Angels on Bare Skin
greeneyesies 5/10/2011 8:21:00 AM
I used this a few years ago, when my skin was more combination than it is now (now it's just dry all over, with sebborheic dermatitis and rosacea issues). It's gentle, but messy to use and after a week or so of use, I started to get nice, juicy, very poppable zits appearing on my nose, chin and cheeks. I do not suffer from acne and the spots went away when I stopped using it, so I definitely put it down to this product. I have since discovered that products with a lot of 'natural' oils - or even straight oil-cleansing, will always have the same result on my skin - zits. Definitely will never repurchase.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Misc Beauty Tools -Unlisted Brand - Salux Nylon Japanese Bath Towel
greeneyesies 1/20/2011 8:02:00 PM
Amazing product. I hve dry, sensitive body skin with tendancy to clogged pores and this towel has worked miracles on it in terms of texture and tone. It's best when I soak in the bath for 10 minutes and then get to work with the towel (the water turns grey with shed skin cells - it's fascinating), but it's great for a quick shower too. Most exfoliting products I've used in the past (scrubs, loofah, microfibre cloth) have managed to annoy my skin in some way - this hasn't at all. I can use in on my legs, back, arms, chest ... everywhere except my face without irritation. My skin is so much smoother and healthier-looking since I started using this product, barely a clogged pore in sight. I can't think of showerng without it now, I wouldn't feel right.
8 out of 9 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Skincare - Face -La Roche Posay - Thermal Spring Water
greeneyesies 1/20/2011 4:52:00 PM
I have dry, very sensitive rosacea and eczema-prone skin and this spray is the best I have yet to try of its kind, better than Avene and Vichy waters. It definitely soothes and cools my reddened skin after a shower. I spray, let it sit a minute or so, then dab off the excess with a tissue, leaving my skin damp, then apply my LRP moisturizer and all is well. Great stuff, will definitely repurchase.
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Moisturizers -Cetaphil - Moisturizing Cream
greeneyesies 1/10/2011 4:22:00 PM
I tend get very dry, irritable, flaky skin in winter and this winter has been the worst for years as I work in an overheated building and the weather has been very cold and dry. I am also eczema-prone and suffer from rosacea, so it is hard to find sufficiently moisturizing facial creams that my skin can tolerate. I had high hopes for this cream as I like the Cetaphil cleanser very much. The cream is actually incredibly moisturising and cleared up my extreme dryness almost overnight. However, after 2 days of application, morning and night, my skin started to feel weird and coated then became hot, red and itched like crazy. I had to clean off every scrap of the thing first with cleanser then with a plain unscented soap then spray with mineral water to cool down. Once the cetaphil cream was removed and I had applied some Avene skin Recovery Cream, my skin recovered. Looking at the ingredients, I think the dimethicone may be to blame. It's a shame, as this product did hold moisture in my skin very well. However, the horrible reaction ensures it'll never go near my face again and I certainly will not repurchase.
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Misc Beauty Tools -LUSH - LUSH - Whole Store
greeneyesies 1/9/2011 4:35:00 PM
I do not understand the appeal of this store or its products which, whether cleansers, toners, shampoo, conditioners or whatever all seem to be based on the formula of food + cheap and nasty standard-issue detergents + heavy perfume) . I've tried quite a number of products from its catalogue and found neary all of them all horribly aggravating, super-grease-making, super-drying or clogging to my skin/hair and scalp. I don't think I've tried a single product from LUSH that hasn't negatively affected my skin. The stores have increasingly pushy salespeople who will recite a load of rubbish learned verbatim from their sales script to push unsuitable items on customers. Also, the price point of the products is simply too high for what they are and moreover, for the fact that they simply don't work. The appeal of the company seems mostly based on the appeal of the so-called 'natural' product (haha, people, please read the ingredients list of these things!) and its eco-credentials and the strange appeal smearing food on your skin instead of eating it holds for many women.
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Crème -Avene - Couvrance Compact Foundation SPF 30
greeneyesies 5/20/2010 8:20:00 AM
I have dry, sensitive, rosacea-prone skin that needs decent coverage so I though this product (the Riche formula in 01 Porcelaine) would be perfect for my needs. After all, I find Avene skincare to be excellent, so shouldn't the make-up be suitable for me too? You'd think so, right? Wrong. The coverage is weird. Even using as instructed, pressing it into the skin with the sponge and building up coverage gradually, it looked thick and cakey on and never sank into the skin or set properly, even though I used powder. It felt oddly sticky on my skin all day and much worse, towards the end of the day, my skin started feeling irritated. By the time I got to take it off, I had bright red patches all over my face and by nighttime, burning, stinging and the beginnings of swelling. My left eyelid actually puffed up mightily overnight and I looked and felt absolutely dreadful by morning. Yeah, another high-end, so-called sensitive skin product that produced an allergy. I usually use much cheaper, lower-end foundations and these never produce these disgusting reactions, btw - it's always some high-end thing that does it. It also gave me an instant giant rosacea pimple on the side of my niose. Haven't seen one of those since I tried the Bobbi Brown Moisture Foundation a year ago! So, yeah, I would definitely not use, let alone buy this foundation again. I'm sitting here with an icepack for my eye and stinging skin after dosing myself with antihistamines and covering my face with Avene's Skin Recovery Cream, a fantastic product. The lesson I've drawn from all this is that I should just stick to my usual L'Oreal foundation not bother trying any other lines - and that Avene shoud stick to what it does best - making skincare - and stay out of the make-up market. I've never reacted so badly to a make-up product in my life.
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Lip Treatments -Burt's Bees - Beeswax Lip Balm
greeneyesies 11/26/2004 8:14:00 PM
Why in the world did they add irritating peppermint oil to this product? Surely chapped lips need soothing, not irritating? As well as giving me an unpleasant burning sensation on my lips, I also found the scent overpowering. The balm itself didn't moisturize my dry winter lips adequately at all. Weird product. Was given it as gift and would not repurchase under any circumstances.
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