Blush -BeneFit Cosmetics - Benetint
hippiexchic 12/27/2008 11:53:00 PM
PROS: -looks natural (it gives you that winter wind-kissed blush) -shows through most foundations (sheer to medium coverage, i put Benetint on before i put on my powder foundation - Shiseido sun protection compact foundation) -easy to put on (for me at least.. it takes me less than a minute, the packaging doesn't bother me at all) -it's water-based so it doesn't clog up my pores, doesn't break me out, and it doesn't look like a paste. Also, it dries up quickly. -it's blendable (it will also stain your fingers when you blend it, but it comes off after a few washes with soap) -it's waterproof (for me.. i wash my face twice every night with a washcloth to completely remove it) -love it on my lips (along with the gloss - BeneFit Pocket Pal) CONS: -it's a little pricey (that's why I bought the BeneFit Pocket Pal $20, i love the lip gloss that comes with it anyway) -I only put it under my foundation (I haven't tried putting it over my make-up for fear of messing up my already-bleneded foundation on my face... I'll try it one of these days.) Simply put, I cannot, and will not go anywhere without this product on my face. I hate powder blushes, I have oily skin and, by the end of the day, my blush is gone (somehow my foundation seem to melt it) so I have to touch up, and when I do touch up, the oils somehow mix with it and make the blush look too red.
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Foundations -Shiseido - Sun Block Compact SPF 32
hippiexchic 6/5/2008 6:58:00 PM
i love this product! i've been using it for 2 months now, almost everyday, and i'm now on my second refill. i prefer to put it on with a wet sponge as it lasts all day for me that way, but i do touch up from time to time specially when the weather's hot and humid. it is not sticky nor oily, and it does not clog my pores as long as I wash it off at night with soap (the instruction that came with the powder suggested the use of Shiseido clenser to completely remove the powder off, but any soap i used worked fine, took it off completely) which is beneficial for my uber oily, acne-prone skin. it covers everything (provided you have the right color match). it is actually better than the cream foundation i bought at cinema secrets. it has a matt finish, so i would not suggest this to someone with dry skin. also, i noticed the whole month i used this, my breakouts lessened and my complexion got better (i only recently got over the appalling result i got from using murad acne complex - see my review) so this really helped repair my broken out face. the compact it came with is ok, it actually is quite adorable. it has the shape of a pebble, perfect for the beach. the compact alone costs $7+, which isn't too bad. the refill costs $24+ at Nordstrom, but i heard you can buy it cheaper elsewhere. UPDATE: I'm still using this compact for 6 months now, and I am still completely in love with it. No regrets! UPDATE 10/19/09: It's been a year now and I'm still loving this product! It does get a little heavy on the pocket, I have to buy a refill every two months (I use this everyday). But I wouldn't go out without this on my face! Cinema Secret is still awesome, but it's only wearable for me in winter and on special occasions, specially when the weather's dry and windy, and my face doesn't get too oily in the winter.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Crème -Cover Girl - AquaSmooth SPF15 Make-up
hippiexchic 4/24/2008 2:09:00 AM
The coverage is sheer to medium, depending on how you apply it. I used my fingers to apply it because somehow I get more pimples with the sponge. I like the way it feels on my skin. I have oily skin and it does tend to get oily specially around lunch time when the sun is way up, but i rarely got acne when I was using this. The reason I stopped using this was because I wanted to try another foundation that actually matched my skin tone. They have few color selection. I used creamy natural, but it's sort of pinkish more than yellow, and I have an asian light-yellow skin tone. I have to put it on my neck to match the color on my face, and I noticed in pictures that my face seem to have a lighter color than the rest of my body. PROS: light, velvety smooth (on the skin), doesn't break me out, cheap CONS: color selection, oily, not good in photos (for me)
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Almay - Almay Hydracolor Lipstick
hippiexchic 4/24/2008 1:11:00 AM
I bought mine at CVS because it was on sale (buy one get one free) It's a pretty ok product for me. The color that I bought was teracotta, it looks good on my skin tone, but it's a little too red for my taste, so I just dab on Estee Lauder lipgloss my mom gave me so it looks a little lighter and less matte. It does deliver hydration but only for a short time. I have to retouch after eating or drinking. I like it because it's not too heavy on my lips compared to regular lipstick, and it doesn't have that weird lipstick smell. It's not flavored, though.
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Skincare - Face -Murad - Acne Complex©
hippiexchic 4/15/2008 4:29:00 AM
Used it for over 2 months, but it didn't work. Actually, my face got worse. They said it will get worse before it gets better, I waited for it to get better, it didn't. I counted the zits on my face one night, and I got 14, 7 on my forehead. I've never had that many zits before in my entire life, and I considered myself acne-prone prior to using the Acne Complex. They hurt like heck, too. I remember crying over it at one time because it's just painful and frustrating to see my face in that state. I finally gave up on using this last March '08. I turned to benzoyl peroxide, which was better, dried up every pimple, but left my face severely dry... I guess I shouldn't have used it every night, now I'm only using it sparingly. The only thing I liked about the Acne Complex is the spot-on treatment (that's why I gave it 1 lippie), which contained sulfur that dries up the sebum that the sebaceous gland produces (too much sebum can clog up the sebaceous gland, which causes acne/skin irritation). So sulfur is good for managing existing acne. I will neither suggest that you do or don't buy this because I know it really depends on skin types and which type of acne medication your skin is used to. But I will suggest that if you want to try this out for yourself, buy the set that's in the canister, that's what I bought and, if it had worked on me, it would've lasted 4 months. It's enough to see if it works on your skin. I bought mine at Sephora for $35. The SA suggested that I should buy the bigger pack, the one that costs $60+ because he said that it totally works. I told him I just wanted to try it out first and not committ myself to something that expensive just to find out that it doesn't work.... I was right.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Crème -Cinema Secrets - Cinema Secrets
hippiexchic 12/3/2007 5:10:00 AM
This is probably the best foundation for me! I have some acne scars that I wanted to cover up, and the 300 series (301 and 302) totally matches and evens out my skin tone, and completely covers up the acne scars. I have tried Cover girl, MAC, Estee Lauder, Clinique, Lancome, Neutrogena, Avon foundation, L'oreal, Shiseido and a lot more and none of them came close to my light-yellow Asian skin tone, or the coverage I wanted. Either it was to beige or too yellow/orange (considering I had help from a MA), too light, too cakey or oxidizes after a few hours. I was getting frustrated. Then I saw a review for Cinema Secrets cosmetics (by accident, as I was searching for other foundations) and I was intrigued. I've never seen a cosmetic line with so much good reviews. Learning that they actually use this make up on celebrities made me more curious, and since I was desperate to find the right foundation, I thought I'd try it. What with it being so inexpensive, what's the harm in trying? and I found it! I found my HG!! I've been using this foundation for three weeks now. I'm getting second-looks from guys and some acquaintances from church (I'm in a choir) lol! and I've been complemented on how my skin looks by so many people, it's amazing! I couldn't believe it at first. I mean, don't get my wrong, I like my skin without make up, but it's just so uneven, pink on some parts and light-yellow on others, and some brown spots from my dried-up acne, and like I said, this evens out my skin tone perfectly. All in all, this is the foundation for me! I'm so happy and contented with this product, my search for the right foundation is finally over!
UPDATE 04/12/08: It has been 4 months since I reviewed this product, and I must say, it still is the best foundation for me. Best color match for my skin tone, and best coverage. Although I don't recommend this to people who have severely dry and severely oily skin. I have recently used benzoyl peroxide to get rid of my seasonal acne (that's what I call it because it makes my skin/acne worse whenever the season changes, usually from winter to spring and vice versa) and it turned my skin severely dry for almost a week, and it hasn't been easy covering it up with this foundation. It accentuated the dry spots, making my skin look so dehydrated and old. You'll need to put a moisturizer on before applying this foundation. But the problem for me is that I break out more if I put on moisturizer before this product. I never had a problem with this foundation before using the bp. So I stopped using the bp, and, probably to compensate for the moisture lost, my face became severely oily. I tried to cover up the dried up acne scars, but then my oily face would not hold the foundation (also, It tends to feel heavy specially if you have oily skin). So what I do is I apply the mineral veil I bought from bare minerals after I apply the foundation, and it really helps! It lasts all day. I didn't do this before because, like I said, I didn't have any problem like this before the bp. This is still a great product for me, the color match is phenomenal - disappears onto my skin, and doesn't make me look fake.
8 out of 10 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No