Styling Products -Garnier - Fructis Sleek and Shine Weightless Anti-Frizz Serum
hlnwnyn 3/1/2013 6:15:00 PM
I use this stuff in wintertime twice a week when I need to dry my hair during the winter when it's too cold to let my hair even partially air dry. It's sleek and shiny and NOT weightless. This stuff is mostly non-water soluble silicones and oil. My hair easily can get heavy and greasy from buildup from this stuff so I follow specific rules: Use only twice a week. Any more and it builds up. Use only silicone-free shampoo and conditioners. This stuff has enough silicone already. Apply to only wet hair and blow dry. This stuff is too heavy for dry hair. When I follow those rules I'm happy with the stuff. It makes my hair shiny and manageable in dry winter air. If I use more than twice a week or use more silicone added products I get an itchy and greasy scalp and dry ends. One pump bottle has lasted me for months and I'm still nowhere near the end of it, but once it's gone I'll look for something that not so finicky in its use.
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Shampoo -L'Oreal - EverSleek Reparative Smoothing Shampoo
hlnwnyn 2/9/2013 11:53:00 AM
This is the only sulfate-free and silicone-free drugstore brand shampoo I've found and I looked a lot! Before this I used DevaCare Low Poo for the summer and No Poo for the winter but it got too expensive. Finding an inexpensive drugstore alternative was quite a search though and L'Oreal EverSleek was the only one that had neither sulfates nor silicones. Does it work, though? I'd say it works as well as DevaCare Low Poo though not as gentle as No Poo. My hair and scalp does feel good. Is it a mindblowing, miracle product? No, but it cleans my hair, doesn't dry it out, and it doesn't strip my color. With a good silicone-free detangling conditioner my hair stays manageable and my scalp stays healthy. Some advice for those that use a lot of hair products: This shampoo probably won't work for you. Unless you're using silicone-free styling products I don't think this stuff will be able to get all of the residue out in one washing. I use exactly one product with silicone for my hair twice a week while washing my hair four times a week. It seems to have no problems with that, but if you use more than that every day or every other day then you're better off not using this stuff.
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Conditioner -Alberto Vo5 - Strawberries & Cream smoothing conditioner
hlnwnyn 2/6/2013 5:59:00 PM
I'm quite surprised. I was looking for a drugstore silicone-free conditioner. Wasn't expecting it to come in such a cheap price. After reading the ingredient list twice to make sure I decided for a buck I'll try it. I'm pleasantly surprised! It detangled and my hair felt soft. It was a good basic conditioner for a really great price. Nothing mind blowing but nice. Scent a little too sweet for me. I think I'll try the other scents VO5 has but if I won't mind buying this one if the others don't work out for me.
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Mascara -Sephora - Advanced Lash Booster
hlnwnyn 1/1/2011 9:07:00 AM
I got a sample tube of this along with others as a Christmas gift. This one was the first I tried. I read in an article once that a makeup artist recommended not buying mascaras that claimed to both lengthen and thicken as they don't do well in both compared to mascaras that do one or the other. I'd say that is true for this mascara. Puny if any lengthening and pretty unimpressive thickening. Don't bother with this one.
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Treatments -Acne.org - AHA+
hlnwnyn 10/14/2010 9:46:00 PM
What I love about this stuff: 1. HUGE tube for a great price 2. Absorbs readily into my skin 3. It actually works! What I don't love about this stuff: 1. Not really a drawback but it sometimes works too well. I only use this stuff at night with the BP acne treatment. Daytime I just use a weightless SPF 30 moisturizer. Will NEVER use this in the daytime because not only will it make my skin more vulnerable to UV damage but also after it absorbs into my skin, it starts to peel like crazy! I actually rub off a layer of dead skin from my face with my fingers (over the sink, of course). It's very gross to feel the rolls of dead skin on your fingers as I rub away. After all that rubbing though my face is as smooth as a baby's bottom and not at all red or irritated. Maybe other people don't have this effect with this product. My skin is pretty tough and oily. Overall though this with the acne.org's BP gel has kept my skin near to flawless. So I tolerate a few minutes of gross out for great skin the rest of the day. That's a bargain in my book.
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Shampoo -Organix - Shea Butter Smoothing Shampoo
hlnwnyn 3/26/2010 9:58:00 PM
Less drying than the Coconut Shampoo. The smell is nice too. It doesn't seem to lather as much as my old Pantene but my hair does get clean. I also wash every other day so it has to go through a bit of grime and grease. My ends aren't as rough or dry as before. Not bad and I'd buy this again until I find that perfect shampoo that won't strip or dry and leave my ends all soft and silky without having to use heavy conditioners or product, if such a thing even exists. Update: Growing my hair long and I need to shampoo every day because of acne and pollen allergies. This shampoo was fine for every other day, but every day it's too drying.
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Shampoo -Organix - Coconut Milk Shampoo
hlnwnyn 3/26/2010 9:50:00 PM
Not bad. Liked the smell. A bit drying but not as drying as my old Pantene for color treated hair. It did wash out the silicone from my hair products so no buildup. Not too impressed so won't repurchase. UPDATE: Yes, it's sulfate-free but it isn't silicone-free. Need both.
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Moisturizers -Aveeno - Ultra-Calming Daily Moisturizer SPF30
hlnwnyn 12/21/2009 2:54:00 PM
Agreed with the other reviewers! Wasn't expecting this to work as I never had luck with moisturizers. This is such a miracle! I finally found a moisturizer that doesn't break me out, isn't greasy feeling, and leaves my skin soft and moisturized. I always hated moisturizer. My skin is oily and acne prone so it's so hard to find anything and I was ready to give up. Then I tried this thinking why not but not having my hopes up too high. Wow, this stuff is perfect! It's oil free, fragrance free, and it actually does calm my skin so it isn't red and oily anymore. Even the so called "oil-free" ones always felt greasy and made my face more greasy. I have a feeling because they had ingredients that irritated my skin causing it to make more grease. This stuff doesn't and it has the high spf to boot. I also love that it has a physical sunscreen making it broad spectrum but it doesn't wash out my natural color. Thank you Aveeno! I will never buy another moisturizer again. Ever.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Shampoo -L'Oreal - EverPure Moisture Shampoo
hlnwnyn 10/26/2009 11:28:00 PM
My first review of this shampoo said that it didn't strip my hair like sulfates shampoos do up to the point that it didn't wash off the silicone buildup from my conditioners and styling products either. I had to clarify with baking soda mixed with shampoo for my hair once a week, but I didn't put that against the shampoo. In fact it was a good thing because the conditioners and styling products were for softening and guarding against frizzies. With this shampoo I found I only needed to use styling products 3x week tops. I saved money with this shampoo! I gave it a negative review though because it didn't seem to moisturize. Well, I'm taking that back. The moisturizing doesn't occur immediately but gradually. After repeated use I found my ends to get more moisturized. My hair got softer and shinier by the end of the tube! So in the end yes, I'd buy this stuff again except for one thing: The scent. I like everything fragrance-free or unscented. So still not my HG shampoo but I'll buy this if I can't find anything else. Note to people who use a lot of silicone products in their hair: You WILL have to clarify once a week. The other reviews complaining of a sticky or greasy buildup after using this stuff should look at all the other products they put into their hair. I used to only have to clarify once a month but with this stuff I had to clarify once a week until I cut down on my product use. Update: Switching to a silicone-free AND sulfate-free shampoo. This stuff has silicone in it so I won't be buying it anymore.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Skincare - Face -Stridex - Triple Action Pads, Alcohol Free
hlnwnyn 4/26/2008 8:23:00 AM
This stuff is wonderful! I gave up on face wipes because of all the alcohol; good thing the red box caught my eye in the supermarket. (I use the maximum strength.) I decided to try it because I saw it was alcohol free now. Before the alcohol would burn my face if I used bp also even if I didn't use them at the same time and I need bp. I used this with my Dan Kern's bp gel and it both kept my face clear for a month straight! Then I tried using just the Stridex in the morning and Stridex with bp gel at night. Worked! Thanks to this I can go without bp gel in the daytime and that is great news for my all my colored pullover tops and T shirts. I don't know how many tops I ruined because of the bleaching action of the bp, which by the way still bleaches out dye even when dry on my face. I still need bp and will probably always need it but with Stridex I can limit it at night. I haven't had even one pimple for months! I will buy this always! Note: Unless your skin is very tough and unsensitive like mine don't try bp with a BHA unless you do a patch test behind your earlobe.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Powder -Everyday Minerals - Foundation Matte Formula
hlnwnyn 1/15/2008 8:47:00 PM
I've been wanting to try mineral makeup for a long time. Sticker shock always stopped me. I saw the "starter kit" for Bare Minerals. Wow. Why is it so expensive? Why do I have to pay for stuff like brushes? I have brushes. They're good brushes. I don't need more. I just need a little sample to try it out. Found out that Everyday Minerals gave free samples so I tried it. I had to go through several samples until I found my shade (Light Olive) but I'm so glad I did! Other foundations seem so heavy to me now! I give my face a small dusting of MAC Blot Powder as a primer and then brush on the foundation with my kabuki brush. I finish my makeup and go out looking like I have great skin. With the MAC Blot Powder I'm shine free ALL DAY! When my MAC Powder runs out I'll try EM's finishing powders. That should be in about five years considering EM matte foundation only needs a little to help keep the shine away. And the price is so low considering how much you get and how little you need to use! I'm sticking to Everyday Minerals from now on!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Samples -Everyday Minerals - Free Sample Makeup Kit [DISCONTINUED/REPLACED]
hlnwnyn 1/15/2008 8:32:00 PM
This is the sole reason I tried Everyday Minerals first before the other brands. Once I got my samples I found I didn't need to try the others. All I needed was to order more samples until I found the right shade for me. And that is the kicker: You can keep on ordering more samples until you do find the right shade. I think I ordered four until I found my shade and all of them were free. How much is the Bare Minerals starter kit? $40? $60? My only small gripe is that they don't give samples of the finishing powders but you still get a lot for something you only pay shipping for.
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Eye Shadow -Urban Decay - Smog
hlnwnyn 9/29/2007 10:27:00 PM
Bought this after reading the reviews and boy and I glad. Went home and tried it out. I kept looking at my eyes in the mirror because I couldn't believe how gorgeous they looked! Will always have this on had along with Smog eyeliner. Love it!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -MAC - Select Tint SPF 15 ] [DISCONTINUED]
hlnwnyn 9/29/2007 10:21:00 PM
I love this as a summer foundation. It doesn't feel like a moisturizer but then I don't need one in the summer. It's light enough for my skin and it doesn't break out even when it gets hot and my skin gets shiny. It also evens out my skin and gives me SPF. The coverage isn't great for anything other than some light redness though but I found that a combination of this and Studio Fix Powder (applied with a kabuki brush) will up the coverage. Will definitely buy this for the summer. Update: Switched to Everyday Minerals but still a good product. If for some reason I can't use Everyday Minerals I'll go back to this.
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Eyeliner -Urban Decay - Liquid Liner in Smog
hlnwnyn 7/25/2007 12:16:00 PM
LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS! Look at my eyes! They are so freaking gorgeous! So love this stuff and it stays on forever! And the shade is surprisingly subtle considering the tube looks bronzy green. Makes my brown eyes pop! If only everything in life worked as well as this eyeliner!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No