BB Cream -Dr. Jart+ - Premium Beauty Balm SPF 45 PA+++ 
hbeavers 8/20/2011 6:12:00 PM
I'm happy I gave this a go. It blends well with my light, sallow skintone but I suspect it would look weird on those with very fair or medium-to-deep skin tone. The coverage is surprisingly good--it evens out my skin tone and tones down my visible acne scars. A fast coat of this followed by a bit of Smashbox Halo powder in Light in the center of my face provides a super-fast everyday finish. I do use it over sunscreen when I'm going to be exposed to much sunlight.. It would look masklike if I used enough for significant sun protection. I haven't broken out, it's moisturizing, and superfast. After 3 weeks I still like it, but I'm still holding on to my Sephora receipt.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Styling Products -Schwarzkopf - Zero Frizz - Corrective Hair Serum
hbeavers 7/3/2011 7:34:00 PM
I found this while searching the lower shelves of styling products at my local Meijer's. (Meijer's is a "hypermart" chain that's Michigan-based and also has some stores in IN and OH.) An 8oz "bonus size" bottle was only $5, so I figured I'd try it. If you don't like silicone products, don't try this. If you don't mind them and need to use them, this is HG stuff. I've used John Frieda Frizz Ease serum since it was launched and found it OK and reasonably priced. This stuff is about twice the strength of Frizz Ease and has a per-oz price that's a third that of Frizz Ease. This is the most slippery and viscous shine serum I've ever found. I have extremely thick and curly hair which frizzes obscenely and this stuff tames it. I have to watch the amount I slap on damp or dry hair, because (and this is a first) it can look a little greasy on the roots and mid lengths. Its fragrance is disgusting--sort of like bubble gum or really cheap fruit candy and bugged me for the 2 or 3 hours it took for the scent to dissipate. I really couldn't take it, so I added a few drops of lime oil because the bath stuff and cologne I wear are lime-based (I'm sure any essential oil would work). I just give the bottle a couple of shakes before using it and my hair has a very light, clean scent for a couple of hours.
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Hair Color -Ion - Color Brilliance - Demi Permanent Hair Color
hbeavers 10/28/2010 9:37:00 AM
Great stuff. I have shoulder length, curly, coarse hair with about 50% resistant grey. I'd been having it professionally colored a medium brown a level or so lighter than my natural color with caramel-highlights every 3 months. Because it grows quickly and the color often didn't take well on the grey, I was having to touch up my roots every 3 weeks or so. It was also beginning to feel fried and the base color a little flat. To get it back in shape and with a long view to having my gray forming highlights by picking up less color, my colorist put in a lot of very fine highlights and then used a Redken golden-brown demi to even everything out. After a couple of weeks my gray roots began to grow out so I touched them up with Wella Color Charm demi, which was very meh , didn't cover the gray well, and was too opaque. The salesperson at Sally's suggested I try the Ion brilliance demi. I chose 3W, dark warm brown and mixed it 1:1 with 10 volume as per the instructions for resistant gray, processed the roots for about 25 minutes, then mixed the color w/ 00, the clear and pulled it through the length and processed for another 10 minutes. It came out shiny (which my curly hair seldom was), soft and pretty. It's a little redder and darker than I'd like but still pretty. When I need to touch up I'll mix the 3W w/ the medium neutral brown and pull it through to soften it a bit, and maybe put in an amateur highlight or 2 before I color to add more dimension. I'm not sure how long the roots will need to be touched up, but I don't mind spending half an hour every couple of weeks. As it grows I'm going to let my gray start picking up less color to keep it dimensional. I love this stuff. It's cheaper than dirt (there was also some kind of deal where I got the developer free, too). So shiny, too. On me, much better than the Wella. I swim a couple of times a week, and the pool's chlorine hasn't dulled it. For results like this and considering how cheap and easy to use this stuff is, I'm willing to touch it up more frequently than I would with permanent color. If I screw it up occasionally, it should come out after a couple of shampoos w/ Head and Shoulders. Follow-up: I've downgraded this. It doesn't come out easily--it builds up something fierce. I don't pull haircolor through, but even the little bit of inevitable overlap leads to a darker tone. This kills the highlighted effect I was going for. I do suspect that using this on virgin hair that's starting to gray would give a pretty effect.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Misc Beauty Tools -Clarisonic - Mia
hbeavers 7/3/2010 11:25:00 PM
I had wanted the regular Clarisonic for years, but could not justify spending $200 and giving up my almost nonexistent counter space for the charger. This one was cheaper--I think it lists for 150 but I found 3 or 4 online vendors selling it for 20% off and free shipping. I ended up getting it as a QVC TSV for a lower price and free or reasonable shipping. I like it, but I don't think it does a great job of cleaning out enlarged pores.I sometimes flake on my cheeks and chin, and this doesn't completely exfoliate the dry skin. This may be because I started with the gentler brush head of the two that came with the MIA. Perhaps I'll have better luck when I switch to the regular one. I don't wear that much makeup, so I don't know if it's cleaning off more gunk than cleanser followed by very gentle exfoliation. What I do like: I love the smooth clean feeling of my face after using it, but that doesn't last long. I don't break out that much, but I've had no problems with cysts; pre-Clarisonic I would get a cyst or two every 6 or 7 weeks. It's cute as all get out--I ordered mine in lavender. It's small enough to tuck in with the bath products I keep in a thing hanging on the shower head. The charger is tiny, just an electrical cord that attaches magnetically. It holds a charge for about four weeks of twice-daily use. Most importantly, I love using it--I feel pampered.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Loose Powders -Bare Escentuals - Mineral Veil spf 25
hbeavers 7/3/2010 10:56:00 PM
I don't normally wear powder over BE foundation; when I do, It's the fabulous MUFE HD. For whatever reason, I'm getting much better coverage with the foundation than I did years ago, so I don't really need a powder. I bought this because of the SPF, since I do forget to put on sunscreen every day, especially in the winter. I'd forgotten what a nice finish mineral veil gives. This stuff is much pinker than the color of the original mineral veil. Since I am both fair-skinned and extremely sallow, the slightest hint of pink does unpleasant things. However, this seems to go on fully translucent. After reading a comment here, I will have to check to see if I get orangey or oxidizes to an unpleasant tone late in the day. But hey, it's cheaper than dirt since it lasts forever and easy to work into my fairly simple makeup routine.
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Moisturizers -Peter Thomas Roth - VIZ-1000 75% Hyaluronic Acid Complex
hbeavers 7/3/2010 10:43:00 PM
I like it! I wear it under moisturizer or the matte Shiseido SPF 55 that I wear as a primer/sunscreen. Nice texture--I don't find it sticky once it absorbs after a couple minutes. I also use it under moisturizer at night or over Retin A 0.10 on the 3 nights week I use it (as a treatment rather than for acne). I'm not as flaky as I would normally be in the winter. 1 pump does the trick--one bottle lasts for 5 months. It's not miraculous, but it's helpful. I wear it under a moisturizer or sunscreen as per the instructions. It soups up the moisturizer, but it won't do much if it's worn alone.
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Lips -Clinique - High Impact Lip Colour in Nude Beach
hbeavers 9/19/2008 12:58:00 PM
This is one of the best YLBB lipstick shades I've run across. It's a warm, medium nude that's perhaps 2 levels deeper than my exact lip color, with a nice creamy matte texture. Although Clinique advertises this line of lipsticks as long wearing, it's not. It also transfers. However, it's amazingly cheap at $14, and in a regular-sized tube rather than the common long double color + gloss wand. I don't know--I have a weakness for Clinique lipsticks, even though I don't use any other of their products. The color and finish range is great, and the packaging is attractive without being glitzy. I will definitely repurchase.
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Loose Powders -Make Up For Ever - HD High Definition Loose Powder
hbeavers 6/11/2008 1:23:00 PM
I was given a sample of this at Sephora last week. I don't have great skin--although I'm fairly lineless, I do have some significant acne scarring and discoloration on my left cheek as well as large pores. I used it over my usual Perricone tinted sunblock rather than dusting a little bit of BE foundation over it. About an hour later, I was speaking with a friend who told me "I love your makeup!" Since I'd prefer not to look made up, I was somewhat upset and asked her what she meant. She replied, "Your skin just looks so smooth and glowy." Ok by me! I tried again yesterday with my tinted moisturizer as well as the industrial strength MUFE concealer I sometimes use on discolored patches, then dusted the HD powder over it all. Looked great--and blended in the texture of the concealer beautifully. I checked the 5X mirrir, and the giant pores around my nose looked much smaller. Unless this begins to break me out, I'm hooked.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Laura Geller - Lip Stay in Raspberry
hbeavers 5/19/2008 5:28:00 PM
I bought this product in Copper (garish beyond belief) and Pout (which was described as being caramel, but was more brick). Because they were cheap at $13 a pop versus MAC Pro Longwear, it seemed worth a try. Nice try, but they're going back to Sephora ASAP. They contain about half the product as does the MAC. Not a big deal, since they're cheap, but the tube is so narrow and contains so little product it's difficult to pick up the right amount on the doe-foot applicator. It's thick, and it doesn't apply a regular coat to the wand, so it goes on gloppy. The color's so dry it seems to shrinkwrap my lips and highlight every line. Even after letting the color dry for 10 minutes before applying the gloss topcoat, the applicator picks up color and transfers it back to the clear gloss part of the tube.
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Fragrances -L'Occitane - Honey & Lemon (Miel et Citron) [DISCONTINUED]
hbeavers 4/18/2008 2:43:00 PM
I adore l'O's Honry & Lemon line, but this is my least favorite product of the bunch. I find it overwhelmingly strong and very Lemony-Pledgey on first aplication. The dry down is nice--especially when layered w/ the to-die-for body cream--but it's much stronger and longer-lasting on me than other l'O fragrances. I prefer my fragrance be soft enough that it doesn't drift--this does. However, everyone who smelled me (awful phrase) when I wore it to work loved it and asked me what I was wearing.
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Bath Treatments -L'Occitane - Honey and Lemon Delicious Bath
hbeavers 4/18/2008 2:36:00 PM
Yum, and yum again. This is the lovliest bath product I've used. The price was a bit off-putting, but like all l'Occitane products it lasts forever. A couple of small capfuls flil my bath with fragrance, and I often take half a capful directly on my shoulder sbefore slipping into the bath to surround myself with an extra blast of fragrance. When I use this, my husband always asks that I leave the bathroom door open so the acent drifts out.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lotions/ Creams -L'Occitane - Honey & Lemon Delightful Cream
hbeavers 4/18/2008 2:24:00 PM
I love pretty all of the H-L line, but this is my favorite. Like all l'O creams, the texture is lovely. The fragrance is beautiful--soft, sweet, and clean. The frahrance is quite strong for a body cream, so I wear this as my everyday fragrance instead of an eau d'.
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Lipstick -Bobbi Brown - Lip color - Red
hbeavers 11/8/2007 1:25:00 PM
I've been searching for the perfect red lipstick for my sallowish, light skin (BE fairly light, MAC NC25). I found this color in the V-Day pallete, and loved it so much I bought a tube of the color (Red 10). It's warm without being orangey, and has a lovely velvety finish. Even blotted back into a stain, it'sgot presence--you don't want to use a lot of color elsewhere on your face. My new everyday "finished" look has been reduced to tinted moisturizer, brownish-black liner on my upper lid, and a couple of coats of mascara. It's polished and sophisticated and takes virtually no time. My new HG lipstick.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Awake - Optic Force
hbeavers 12/17/2006 5:16:00 PM
I ordered this when beauty.com didn't have the double-ended Stardom Mascara that I love. Except for the really lovely packaging, this is fairly awful stuff, with none of the virtues of Stardom. The primer brush is an odd "M" shape that does ok curling lashes, but is also pretty good at smearing color on the skin around my eyes. The topcoat is appalling. There's a conventional cone-shaped brush , and try as I might, I end up with clumps. I will say that it neither flakes nor smears, but it's impossible to get it cleaned off without sacrificing lashes. I've never had issues before with cleaning everything off using Lancome's eye makeup remover, but this still leaves color after a couple of passes. My morning shower generally takes care of the rest.
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Highlighters -Bare Escentuals - Natural Light
hbeavers 8/10/2006 2:08:00 AM
I don't get it. I think it's just a gimmick. I was seduced because it was so cute, and got a good deal for this and the light stroke brush on Ebay. And the container, while adorable, is awkward. But it really doesn't do much, and it's clumsy to use as a highlighter--like non-professional attempts at contouring, it looks strange. I'm pretty much convinced that once I've got the foundation, a bisque, a radiance (used instead of a blush), and sometimes mineral veil, I don't need another layer of stuff on my skin. It just adds another 3 or 4 minutes to the routine, what with struggling with the jar. It does, however, work nicely as a very soft and natural eyeshadow combo--the yellow on the brow bone, and the pinker on the lid really does brighten up the eye without looking made up.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No