Mascara -Clarins - Double Fix
heejoh 11/12/2009 8:46:00 PM
This is super expensive, but it should last forever for me, and it has an extremely long shelf life (unlike regular mascara) so I won't have to rebuy for a long time. I have freakishly greasy lids so every single mascara (whether waterproof or not) smudges and gives me raccoon eyes. But not with this! I just apply a light coat of this over mascara and it is absolutely sealed! I love this!
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Mascara -Unlisted Brand - Apple By Apple - Super Lash
heejoh 11/12/2009 8:44:00 PM
This is my go to daily mascara. I got it for $1.99 at a mexican dollar store in the mission in san francisco. Mine is the pink and green bottle. The formula is a bit drying, but it holds my curl, doesn't really clump too much, and lengthens. Could you ask for more? I have puny asian lashes and after I curl them, I apply a single coat of this. I don't agree that it is completely waterproof and smudgeproof, as I have extremely greasy lids. I apply a coat of clarins double fix mascara over it to make sure nothing will smudge or run, and it does not after this. All mascaras clump somewhat for me, so I use a metal lash comb and that fixes it right quick. Not only does it work great, but it smells like apples, which is so much better than chemicals! The brush is big and nothing to rave about, but I love this mascara! I will use this forever!
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Mascara -Eyeko - Eyeko's Mascara
heejoh 8/20/2009 12:03:00 AM
The mascara itself is ok, but it doesn't hold a curl worth a darn. I put in a lot of effort to curl my stick straight asian lashes, and as soon as I apply this mascara, poof, they're straight and pretty much horizontal. Not what I'm looking for! As far as lengthening and darkening, it's fine. The brush is odd, but you get used to it. It's not real clumpy, but I always use a metal lash comb to keep everything separated out. But losing the curl is a dealbreaker for me, so I won't be purchasing this again.
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Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Walgreens - Alpha Hydroxy Lotion 8%
heejoh 7/29/2009 9:24:00 PM
Ok, I am now a believer! I have been using this regularly for about 2 months. I saw the reviews on here and couldn't resist. Luckily, the closest Walgreens to me is always deserted, so I had no doubt I would be able to find this. This totally keeps my skin break out free. Seriously. When I stopped using this for a few days and I broke out, I started up again and it cleared it up again. Now I will never stop. Does it erase wrinkles? Hell no. Did it make my acne scar red marks disappear? Hell no again. Maybe eventually, but for me, that hasn't happened. But my skin is fairly blemish free, and I haven't been able to say that for nearly 2 years when I initially started having another horrible adult acne bout. Really nothing worked but eventually, it just sort of subsided a bit. And now that I've added this to my arsenal, it feels like I have some control over my skin again. It smells like sour glue. It's a strong smell, and it doesn't really go away even after you've got it on, but it's a small price to pay. The jar is ginormous and you get tons of product. I haven't made a dent in this thing... I expect this one jar to last me a couple of years. Here is how I use it: at night, I wash my face with a gentle cleanser. After I dry my face, I dab the tips of my right three fingers and my left three fingers into the cream. I don't grab tons of this stuff, a little goes a long way. Then I tap it onto my skin. DO NOT RUB! I just tap, tap, tap, lightly smacking the cream onto my skin. I avoid my eye area, and just concentrate on my forehead, cheeks, nose, and chin. Again, I do not put this around my eyes, as this stuff thins your skin, and the skin around my eyes is already delicate and thin enough, I do not want that to get any more thin! Then I sleep with this stuff on. I did not have any purging when I started. And the tingling is minimal in the first week. If you put too much on, it will tingle more! So like I said, use this with a light touch. I recommend this for anyone with acne issues. I'm a total skeptic, but I am now a firm believer in this. And for this price, you cannot go wrong!
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Olay - Complete Defense Daily UV Moisturizer SPF 30 - Sensitive Skin
heejoh 7/27/2009 2:53:00 PM
Unfortunately, this broke me out! I've been a die-hard daily user of their SPF15 version... I wanted more SPF for summer so I got the 30 version... Well, it broke me out. If you pay attention to the packaging, the SPF30 version is NOT oil-free. And blammo, I broke out. It's funny that this is for sensitive skin and not oil-free, while the SPF15 one is oil-free and does not break me out at all. This one also has an extremely strong sunscreen smell, and is thick when you apply. It definitely feels more like you're wearing a sunscreen, and not a moisturizer with SPF. I had high hopes, but was highly disappointed! I had to return.
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Treatments -Neutrogena - On the Spot Acne Treatment Vanishing Formula
heejoh 7/27/2009 12:12:00 PM
I used this forever on and off whenever I had some pimples pop up. Then about a year ago when I had a major acne spell, I tried this. And whoa, my skin freaked out. It puffed up majorly like it had never done before. Wherever I had applied it, it was red and puffed up, like a balloon. Somehow, my skin changed how it felt about benzoyl peroxide. Needless to say, this went in the trash. Now I can only use salicylic acid products on my pimples. Sorry neutrogena, but my face doesn't agree with you anymore!
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Concealers -E.L.F. - Studio Line Concealer Pencil & Brush
heejoh 7/24/2009 3:23:00 PM
Wow! I am so shocked and surprised by how well this product works... I saw some reviews on YouTube for this, and for $3, I thought what the heck I'll try it out. I'm so impressed! It's in a thick pencil form, and the concealer itself has decent coverage. It's not great, but really good. And the other end is an amazing brush. It's sort of shaped like a pencil brush, but it's the synthetic taklon fibers, and you know what, it's perfect for blending this concealer into the skin. One thing that puzzles me is why the cap on the concealer has the self sharpener. That means it's not air-tight, so it makes me think it will get dried out. I've only had it for a few days so it's not been an issue. I'm hoping that it won't dry out! It's not perfect heavy coverage. But it's really good, super handy, and really cheap. It's beyond worth it! And I think the brush is so good they should sell the brush as its own studio line brush! The normal studio line concealer brush sucks, as it's wide and thin and more like a liner brush. This is one of the best items from the studio line, IMO. One thing about the color choices... order one shade lighter than you would normally think! I got the fair and it's the perfect shade, and in real life, i'm more of a light. I am more of a NC25/NW25 type of complexion. ELF concealers in general tend to run dark. OH! And I just realized that this stuff has salicylic acid and tea tree oil to help heal blemishes if you use this on them. Seriously, this product is great!
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Makeup Remover -Clean & Clear - Oil free Soothing Eye Makeup Remover 
heejoh 7/24/2009 2:20:00 PM
So I bought this after reading the reviews here in MUA. Once I got it home, I looked at the ingredients. They're IDENTICAL to the neutrogena one... except some of the ingredients are in different order. Meaning it has a teeny difference in the formulation. Neutrogena is owned by Johnson & Johnson. Clean & Clear is also owned by Johnson & Johnson. Conclusion? These are the SAME. They're both ones you have to shake up. They both leave oily residue. But you know what? This one doesn't work as good as the neutrogena! Ha! I used it to try to remove waterproof mascara. And it took more product and more effort to get it off than it usually takes with my neutrogena. For practically the exact same thing, I have to say the neutrogena wins. Price wise, it's nearly the same. You get the same amount. The neutrogena may be 50 cents more expensive. I'll spend the extra 50 cents and stick with the neutrogena.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -E.L.F. - Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder
heejoh 7/22/2009 7:11:00 PM
I like, not love, the blush in this. It's too much on the gold sparkley side, but it's a beautiful color (and yes, it is orgasm-esque) with excellent pigmentation. I do love the NARS-like packaging, although it's kind of on the big side. The bronzer side I do not and cannot use, because it's just too darn dark! When I tried it, it was like my face literally changed races... I was no longer asian! But I figure it will come in handy if I need it for a halloween costume or theatrical makeup? But for me, the bronzer is not useable in every day life. But the blush is lovely and I've been grabbing for it regularly as my every day blush. It is a bit powdery, as you'll see powder accumulating all over the packaging, but who cares, it's only $3! Well worth it for this blush. The bronzer may work for other people who are a bit darker than me.
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Blush -Jane - Blushing Petal [DISCONTINUED]
heejoh 7/16/2009 11:53:00 AM
This is a lovely pink blush, I like it especially because it's matte. You know sometimes, it's really hard to find matte blush, because everyone seems to be crazy about frosty / shimmery / glittery blushes. Sometimes, you don't want to look like you have glitter specks all over your face, and this comes in handy for that. It's just a nice pink to give you a healthy glow. I don't mind the packaging at all, I find it simple and efficient. The texture is nice, but I do find that it powders up a bit when I touch my brush to it. You tend to have to do a lot of blowing away of the excess powder or tapping it off somewhere. I got mine for only a few bucks, so it's also quite a good deal. Walgreens is getting rid of all their Jane so I've seen it be on clearance at some of their stores, but it's inconsistent store-by-store. I have been grabbing for this pretty much daily!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Foundations -Rimmel - Stay Matte Compact Powder Foundation
heejoh 7/15/2009 7:19:00 PM
I'm also surprised to hear so many complaints about this product. I happened to find one in a clearance bin at my local bed bath and beyond (yes, my bb&b sells makeup) and picked it up on a whim, just cuz it was like $2 or so. I got it in true ivory and it's a perfect match with my skin tone. I tossed the sponge and just use a flat top brush to buff it into my skin. And I love it! It's not super heavy coverage at all, i I would say it's fairly light coverage, and it does mattify my skin and take away the oilies in my t-zone. I just got a teensy bit of a tanrecently, so it's the perfect shade for me right now. I'm probably an NC25 or so in MAC. I've had absolutely no issues with it turning orange on me. It claims 6 hour of shine free and I would say that's just about right. After that, I need to start touching up. The only bummer is that I don't see this color as an option anymore on the Rimmel site, and I've actually never seen this product anywhere with the regular Rimmel stuff in stores. I only saw it in that clearance pile. Which makes me think I'll never be able to find it again. Bummer really, because I quite like it
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Makeup Brushes -E.L.F. - Studio Powder Brush
heejoh 7/14/2009 9:32:00 PM
This is a great multi-purpose brush. I can use it for dry mineral foundation, as it is similar to the EDM flat top brush. I can also use it to apply tinted moisturizer / liquid foundation and use this as a stippling brush to stipple on the color and then buff. I can also use it as a blush brush! Which I especially like to use with blushes that happen to be round... I just tap it onto the blush, and because the blush is round and the brush is round, then I just pat it and brush it onto my face. It works perfectly. Heck, you can use it for loose powder too. It's good for so many things! And it's soft and dense and has not shed on me at all. $3. How can you go wrong with that?
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Blush -E.L.F. - Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder
heejoh 7/8/2009 2:34:00 PM
I like, not love, the blush in this. It's too much on the gold sparkley side, but it's a beautiful color (and yes, it is orgasm-esque) with excellent pigmentation. I do love the NARS-like packaging, although it's kind of on the big side. The bronzer side I do not and cannot use, because it's just too darn dark! When I tried it, it was like my face literally changed races... I was no longer asian! But I figure it will come in handy if I need it for a halloween costume or theatrical makeup? But for me, the bronzer is not useable in every day life. But the blush is lovely and I've been grabbing for it regularly as my every day blush. It is a bit powdery, as you'll see powder accumulating all over the packaging, but who cares, it's only $3! Well worth it for this blush. The bronzer may work for other people who are a bit darker than me.
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Cleansers -Eucerin - Gentle Hydrating Cleanser
heejoh 7/8/2009 2:26:00 PM
I love this cleanser for my super sensitive acne-prone skin. Other than my sappo hill oatmeal soap and dove sensitive skin bars, this is the only other cleanser that I allow to touch my face. It's extremely gentle, non-drying, fragrance-free and removes all my makeup (except waterproof mascara). It doesn't make me break out and it leaves my face super clean.
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Misc Beauty Tools -Unlisted Brand - Salux Nylon Japanese Bath Towel
heejoh 6/28/2009 12:37:00 PM
I've been using this my entire life. So has everyone else in my family, immediate and beyond. It's just part of our lives! It scrubs you nice and clean, and you can control how hard or soft you want to scrub. Yes, it's rough, but that's the point, just use it to your liking! Great for exfoliating, especially legs before shaving, and super easy to use to get your back and any other hard to reach spots. And I use this a couple times a week to gently exfoliate my face with a gentle and natural soap. I know I'll use this for the rest of my life!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No