Liquid -NARS - Sheer Glow Foundation 
itsjustme 6/8/2010 7:20:00 AM
ryssakaprincess below me gave a very accurate review of the product. This is more medium to fmedium full coverage depending on how you apply it. Firstly, I would describe the texture as very liquidy and spreads easily and evenly, I read somewhere that you can only use this with a water based primer, this is not true. I spent a day trying it with the nars primer (water based) on one side and MAC Prep & Prime on the other. I noticed the nars primer helped it to blend better but apply anything after this including blusher and it gets a lil cakey. It will also fade quicker and be less transfer resistent, even using blotting sheets took some makeup off which has never happened before. Back to the foundation, I could not apply it with my fingers, maybe I am so used to using brushes but it came out a bit streaky. I even compared one side with my 187 and one with fingers. With the 187 it gave more coverage (i like medum to full coverage) and it looked much more even, slightly airbrushed. After 3 days of experimentation, I noticed the best way for me to apply it was pouring onto my hand which gave it warmth, then with the 187 and stippling it onto my face then blending slightly. I noticed with this foundation you can NOT blend too much, this was my mistake at first and I hated it as it stuck to my pores and spots, making my face look weird. The foundation drys to a sticky finish. It is almost like it sticks to your face but still feels sticky to touch. I would compare it to the way MAC lipglass sticks to the lips. As a result of this I found stippling it was the best as moving it in circular motions and buffing too much thinned it and made it cling to pores and spots euugh. Because this foundation drys quickly it means you may have to work a bit faster then if you are used to working with liquid foundation with dewy finish. However as a positive, because it drys quickly it means as soon as you have done 1 layer, you can add another layer for more coverage straightaway and it will not look cakey. I apply 2 layers every day and use about 1 and a half pumps so not actually that much. I have tried using 4 layers bout 2 pumps and found it gave full coverage. THE FINISH OF THE FOUNDATION- if you were looking for a dewy foundation or a sheer foundation like a tinted moisturiser, this is not for you. It gives just a bit less then medium coverage with 1 layer of foundation and the glow comes from the way it reflects the light, it is a semi matte finish. It must be set with powder but it will last ALLL day. I tried it 1 day without any setting powder and it lasted 8 hours but was easily coming off with only a slight touch and was not the same coverage as when I first applied it. With settting powder it lasts bout 16 hours. I noticed this foundation gets better as the day goes on, it mixes more with my natural face oils and lives more up to its name 'sheer glow' as for the first two hours, it was a bit too matte for me. For this reason I would advise to sample this for the day. THE COLOURS: the colour range is absolutely fantastic, this is the first time ever with a foundation that I have been able to wear 2 shades of the same line (new orleans and benares). Usually I struggle finding 1. I cannot really comment on the lighter colours but for the ladies of colour, I would suggest to try on at least 3 different colours as the colour range is not so straight forward, some colours are listed as being lighter than another but actually they are not. Also it seems some colours come out differently on different skin colours that are not that different, it seems to be something to do with undertones? I would say for example I found new orleans which is listed as medium dark to come out darker than new guinea which is listed as dark. Then trinidad(dark 3) which is listed as having yellow undertones seemed more reddish and was lighter than benares (dark 2) which it is listed after. I think it is important for this reason to go somewhere which sells the ENTIRE range so you do not miss out, If you live in London this would be Selfridges and Liberty. Harvey nichols space nk had most of it but seemed to be running out and other space nks only go up to new guinea (dark 1). The shades I had to choose between were new orleans and benares. I have yellow undertones but my skin colour is slightly reddish. both colours looked orangey which i guess works as yellow plus red= orange. Both seemed to have yellow undertones with benares being just the slightest bit of a red tone. new orleans was a bit too light but would be perfect for winter. new orleans is the shade naomi campbell uses. Benares is perfect for MAC NW47 but was a bit too dark for me. both seemed to work as honestly in the bottle benares and new orleans look so alike. 1 is just slightly darker, (benares). I noticed if you have oily skin, the foundation will oxidise without a primer, I first tried it on without one and benares went way dark and orange after 4 hours. With a primer though as a barrier I had no problems, more so with the MAC P+P than Nars primer. Also the colour is very concentrated and I think thats how the coverage looks fuller as it gets more concentrated as the semi matte loook wears off and gets more of a glow. NEGATIVES- the only negatives I can find is that possibly I might have to mix 2 shades for an exact perfect match and that it has no pump, otherwise it is PERFECT and lasts alll day.
15 out of 16 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Primer/ Corrector -Illamasqua - Matt Primer
itsjustme 5/21/2010 4:31:00 PM
Spot on jenrowe, I felt this was good at first but realised soon after it was just because I mixed it with my illamasqua foundation. (it was the omly primer that could thin it effectively as opposed to a moisturiser which would make my skin feel greasy) . This does seem to be breaking me out. I had 5 spots on each cheek and I was itching like a ferret. When I used it on its own...I hated it, to be fair it seems to be okay used with the rich liquid foundation but on its own it is just dry and does not even mattify that well (lasts bout 5 hours) and does nothing for the pores or the laydown of the fondation. It also made my skin paler even though I used not that much, did make my skin feel softer though. O do not get me wrong, illamasqua is a great range but this for £21 is just called stealing. It is a smaller amount and not as effective as Smashbox anti shine, MAC PREP& Prime, Smasbox photo finish which by the way are all at least 3 quid cheaper and in bigger tubes/ bottles.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Lancome - Cils Booster
itsjustme 5/21/2010 4:21:00 PM
please understand this is great, I honestly feel people who say it is not must either be onto a really good primer that costs like 50 quidies or not using it properly. It is a creamy white primer and when applied it should be coated over the lashes completely.I find the key is not to apply the mascara straight away or it will just take off some of the primer on your mascara brush so you do not get the full effect. However, you must also not let it dry or it will be clump-o-rama and make lashes feel brittle and mascara will not apply evenly. What I do is apply primer on 1 eye then the other, then quickly zig zag the base returning to the first eye and then do the second. There is a noticeable difference when I use this, my lashes are so long that once I went to Oxford street london and no lie, everyone kept stopping me to tell me I had beautiful eyes. Once I ran out of this and I made my boyfriend run to a department store (I live in Knightsbrige, London...PHEEWWW) to get me 1 as I refused to go out. This is how much this primer means to me, it is a necessity. I am not even lying when I say I have dreams and even in my dreams I am wearing this.
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -Estee Lauder - Perfectly Clean Splash Away Foaming Cleanser
itsjustme 5/21/2010 4:11:00 PM
I love the smell of this product. It smells absolutely gawjus and you only need a small amount with this ladies. I wet my face, then squeeze two big squeezes in a clean palm and work into my face in a lather so a tube lasts me about 3 months (50 ml tube) and I share with my fiance who is addicted to tis . His pores are so huge and they have really helped minimise them as they have mine. I think it is important not to use too much or your skin will be dry. It does make my skin feel tighter but I like this as it shows my skins really clean. Also it is important that if you are using this, you must use a toner after drying the face, if not i think your skin would be very dry. I use estee lauder balancing toner which might help those who do not have oily skin by restoring some moisture and taking away dryness. I wait 60 seconds then i follow with moisturiser. Finally, i think this is marketed wrong it should be for oily/ combination skin rather than normal/combination. I think if you have dry skin you wold definitely need a moisturising toner.
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Moisturizers -Philosophy - Hope in a Jar - for all skin types
itsjustme 5/21/2010 3:59:00 PM
Okay i jus brought a cheaper copy of this off ebay. It is white cream which feels really light. I would compare it to the mousse like foundations around these days except a bit lighter and thinner. The smell is bad but not terrible. My fiancee would not kiss me with this on ...but I did not care I was fly and he was not nahaha. But on a serious note, this may well be too heavy for oily skin types. I have combination skin and found it a litttle to heavy for day wear so I am using it as a night moisturiser. It is EXCELLENTLY effective and though it is light, you need just the smallest amount, I take out 2 pea sized amounts for my whole face and it is best to throroughly rub in as this seems to be more effective when worked with the heat of the hand as it smooths in more and does not feel so heavy. It has just the slightest of tingling effects when on, this comes straight away and it works straight away. I have a problem with flakey cheeks and this thoroughly moisturised them out of existence. It also made my skin feel soft right away and my pores a bit tighter/ smaller. It has further effect for the longer it is worn as 2 hours later I inspected my face and there was a definite glow. In the morning, I noticed my skin which has so many different tones of pigmentation was just the slightest bit more even, especially on my forehead which tends to be significantly darker. I also noticed my spots on the sides of my face were clearing and have continued to clear after 2 days of use. I put on my foundation today and my skin was so exceptionally smooth that if it had not been so well moisturised (twas an oily day), I could have applied the foundation directly on top for a seamless blending effect. It had smoothed my skin like a primer. In fact when I put my actual mattifying pimer on top, I was full of woe as I think It would have blended even better with just the moisturiser underneath. Finally I LOVE LOVE this, it is expensive but lasts so long...I was a bit of a dirty girl and didn't actually cleanse till evening when I had put this on the morning before and my skin was still deliciously moisturised and smooth like a babys bum. My fiance has been trying to jump on the bandwagon and stroke my face too he he. If you have the money buy IT, it will go such a LONG WAYYY.
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Liquid -Illamasqua - Rich Liquid foundation
itsjustme 5/6/2010 2:04:00 PM
Packaging is amazing ...nice twist cap and squeezable tube which is sooooo important in these recessionista times. I want every last drop..! I am usually between MAC NW45-50 for reference but only in colour as I have really obvious yellow undertones so most of their foundations come out red on me in natural light(as they have red undertones). I was matched up with shade 325 by an amazing makeup artist which was perfect. 325 does have neutral undertones but was actually perfect under all LIGHTS- I tried department store, house light 30/ 40 WATTs, indoors with natural light and sun light before I laid down any money. With the under the sun test, the sun shone right through it and still looked amazingly natural. I think all black skins should opt for this foundation. I actually found I could have even gone darker to match my neck as the next shade down was perfect too. I have never had this with any foundation brand, it is usually 1 colour or nothing. I have combination skin so I do not have problems blending this at all specially in summer where my natural oils are always on my face so did not have problems blending. For reference, I also used the matt primer and did bout 2/3rds primer and 1/3rd foundation. You really should probably use more primer. I know most make up artists suggests 4 parts to 1 for everday wear with this however I like that made up look (afterall I spent 21 bucks on it, I want ppl to KNOW bout it.) I dot it onto my skin with MAC 187 and then i buffed like crazy till it felt dry and no longer tacky. The matt primer makes it go dry quicker as the matt primer has the effect of drying quickly for a smooth oil free finish. I honestly do have to say though if you use the matt primer with the foundation which is semi matte, you need some sort of highlighter, bronzer or illuminating cream as it covers skin and looks more opaque when matte so can make you look a bit dead.Not dry if you are oily but dead. I think I might mix in a touch of illuminating oil with this next time as well as primer. Finally It lasts long, I am so hot today and I just touched my face and it feels smooth, the makeup is not transfering and it gives this uniform look to the skin almost airbrushed. In winter I plan to use this with the satin primer (which I am frankly too scared to touch in this humid summer) as I love a dewy finish. Thank you MUA without you I woulda never tried this, I am very conservative with makeup and have been a loyalist prescriptive for 4 years but this ish is BETTER. UPDATE- no more cheap foundation, only prescriptives was cheap but still delivered. This was too dark and made my skin look mudddy, had only 4 shades for dark skins and realise mine was just too dark for my face. My nice and complimentary mummy told me i looked grey. It such as shame as the coverage and finish is great but just wrong colour and undertone.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Crème -Sacha Cosmetics - Creme to Powder Foundation
itsjustme 7/11/2007 11:38:00 AM
I tried some samples of sacha and it is just so thick it is just bad. i had the creme foundation, i felt like it was just going to suffocate my dayum skin. The problem with sacha is that the philosophy is great, we do need a line of yellow based foundations for all women of every colour and if any make up artist was planning on making such foundations i would willingly invest in it as i think a yellow base can be pulled off by most women it is the orange base that other companies have and proclaim to be yellow that is a no go. The colours for sacha are good, but the way they come out on skin is terrible, ashy and too made up. It should have been obvious really when looking at the website and they have women who look like they just fell face first into a bucket of foundation, something you never get with MAC or bobbi brown for example. Worse still, the stuff just feels so cheap, like hard to blend and just not right if you get me. For such high prices, this is NONESENSE!. Dont buy please, just get prescriptives and wear mac prep and prime underneath to stop oxidisation.
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Primer/ Corrector -MAC - Prep + Prime Skin
itsjustme 7/11/2007 11:29:00 AM
This is my HG primer, it is just amazing. my friends can even tell when i have this on and when i do not (as in my skin does not look as good without) . I, like most people did not think primers were necessary but it is, this makes your skin feel silky and uniform even before you have even put foundation on, it kind of fazes the skin like it has been airbrushed or something. This has the affect of making you put on less and also makes your foundation blend much better, As well as this, my skin looks natural but yet like a barbies if you get what i mean as it looks smooth and perfect. It has a little shimmer but this makes the skin glow (only a bit) i think and can be good for giving a bit of a glow where other primers totally mattify your face within an inch of its life. i have combination skin but my T-Zone is crazy while the rest of my face is normal so i need something to control the oiilies. This does a great job with that though i get some oil by about 1pm (when i put it on 7:30am) so that is quite good but hardly a lot, just a blot with some blotting paper and gone. Also i notice that this keeps foundation on majorly, it is a semi struggle to even get it off! i have never seen a primer which controls the oilies and YET ALSO makes skin look fantastic and fills in pores majorly. This is GREAT!!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -Christian Dior - Style Liner - Intense liquid Eyeliner
itsjustme 7/11/2007 11:20:00 AM
i have to agree completely with the girl below me. This is my HG eyeliner, i will never look elsewhere, it is shame not many people know about it. It reminds me of something very very christian Dior, it fits the essence of what the great man is all about. Classic, timeless, film noir elegance. It is so thin that you can shape it into whatever shape you like. i like to do the cat eye look and put it on my top lid and thicken as i go outwards. I find that you only need one coat to get that intense black look with a bit of shine and once it dries it is soooo long lasting. I have had water thrown on my face with this on and it still stayed on. In terms of black colour, does it annoy anyone how some eyeliners which say they are black come out greyish? GRRRR!! that pisses me OFF! This and lancome artliner seem to be the only ones that come out BLACK. But i think this is better then artliner as it lasts much longer and artliners big brush can make it not come out as intense as it soaks up so much liquid on application. Also, artliner does not last nowhere near as long as the big brush just sucks it all up Dior liner has lasted me a year and it is still just as intense and fluid. UPDATE- This is 2010 and i still love this eyeliner, it is hard to get these days but i struggle on. Also 1 bottle lasts me every 8 months. I just cannot find anything so long lasting and intense
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -NARS - Crazed
itsjustme 7/11/2007 10:58:00 AM
this blush is really good, i like to apply my blushes more on my cheekbone as opposed to the whole apples of my cheek as that makes my face look weird. So i love crazed for doing that, and i am darke skinned. (MAC NW45-50) so i can just about get away with it. The colour appears more reddish than pinkish on me, i'd say 60% reddish and 40 pinkish. I think it is the kind of blush you would wear for a dressed up look rather than everyday unless like people have said you do apply with a skunk brush. I love this blush though not as much as taj mahal, and i must add it lasts all day..a benefit of pigmented blushes. Please do not be scared of the intense colour, this is great!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -Prescriptives - Virtual Matte
itsjustme 7/11/2007 10:52:00 AM
i think that the person who said prescriptives foundations are too whatever their undertone is are completely right, for example the yellow orange ones are too orange BUT only when they oxidise a, especially the dewy finish ones, so i would advise put MAC prep and prime on underneath, trust me this works, it really stops oxidisation and keeps the foundation as it appeared in the morning. Also i think that prescriptives do this because when the sun shines on your face, the undertones are much more prevalent, that is why, wearing prescriptives it looks much more natural in the sun then most other foundations, ahem...shame about when it oxidises in normal light though.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Yves Saint Laurent - Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils
itsjustme 7/11/2007 10:38:00 AM
YSL is an excellent mascara, girls i have to say as a mascara hore, yes i do take to bed witrh a new mascara every so often! The best ones are Lancome Hypnose, cils design pro, Diorshow blackout and YSL faux effet for thickening and lengthening (they can all give the false lash effect) but for different reasons. I really could not tell you which of the four was better but try these 4 and i can guarantee one of them will be your HG for thickening mascara. YSL is not black enough but it majorly thickens and lengthens which is why it is so great even on the first layer. I think it is best used after diorshow because Diorshow blackout gives it that major blackness and instant volume but does not lengthen or seperate as much. YSL can also be built up without clumping for thickness, not as well as Hypnose but then hypnose does not add so much volume and lengthening at the first stroke. To sum it up, if you are always in a rush in the morning but want dramatic thick lashes with a swipe then diorshow blackout is for you, if you like the thickest lashes that you could ever get and you have time to layer and wait for it to dry then lancome hypnose is for you as it really can just make your lashes look scarily thick if you apply more coats, this also applies to the cils design pro but it gives a more styled effect with lifted curled lashes and you can create cat like eyes. For an instant thickening mascara but with a lot more seperation then diorshow (which is not so good for defined seperated lashes) YSL is really the one, it gives an almost false lash effect instantly but defines and seperates more. Well thats all girls, hope that helps!
32 out of 33 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -NARS - Taj Mahal
itsjustme 3/6/2006 3:48:00 PM
I LOVED THIS PRODUCT, looked really natural on ma nw45 skin. This is definitely a summer blush it made my skin sparkle in the sun....wow i just felt too good wearing this. I must have sum crazy skin or sumthin though cause it barely showed up on my dark- px smooth cocoa skin at first stroke and this was with a bobbi brown blush brush it took like 3 dips to get colour to show but not like obvious colour or anything. Thas pretty good though as usually i can be there for like half a morning dipping.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Chanel - Cils a Cils Lash Building Mascara
itsjustme 1/23/2006 3:31:00 PM
nice looking mascara but i was not impressed, maybe its because i have such high expectations but i had to put on coats of it to get any kind of thick affect. Just not really impressed.x Hypnose for me
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Mascara -Lancome - Hypnose
itsjustme 1/4/2006 1:34:00 PM
love, love lancomes mascaras...that and dior are the only things that touch my lashes. This is my HG, false lashes defo. Beautiful, length, curl and volume...gosh im shocked.
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