Lipstick -NARS - Flamenco
ivy68 4/4/2012 1:38:00 PM
Flamenco is a terrific color, a nice true red. My bigger issue is with the formula. It feels nice on the lips, and I find it never feathers or bleeds into fine lines. However, I don't find the sheerness works very well on me. It's buildable only to a point, and I find it applies and wears unevenly so I don't look like I'm wearing a nice sheer red lip, but as if my red lipstick has faded. I'll keep looking for a semi-opaque red in this color range.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyes -NYX - Glitter Cream Palette in All
ivy68 11/1/2011 2:26:00 PM
A rare miss by NYX. This looks great in the palette (though the palette itself is pretty cheap looking) but the application is terrible -- dry, clumpy, doesn't blend out well, the color is nowhere as rich as in the pans, and the various colors don't read the way they do in the pans once applied. Trickier to use loose glitter, but worth it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -NYX - Candy Glitter Liner - Disco Queen
ivy68 11/1/2011 2:24:00 PM
This is a fun one -- multicolored holographic glitter in a sheer black base. I wish the base were more pigmented, but I handle that by applying over black liquid liner. It's a nice product to give a teeny glimmer of sparkle to an otherwise ordinary evening look, but of course you can amp it up too. It gets a teeny bit gloppy on the brush, but nothing terrible. I do love the tasseled container! Not for the sensitive, I suspect.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Giorgio Armani - Gloss d'Armani Pink 503
ivy68 9/6/2011 5:15:00 PM
I can't read the color on the bottom of my gloss, but I believe it's the Plum shade, not this Pink. However, my comments on the excellent formula are applicable anyway. It's wonderful. Truly a long-wearing gloss that feels comfortable to wear. It goes on smooth, but feels more substantial that many smooth-textured glosses. It's.....glossy in texture. As it wears, the feeling becomes a little drier and stickier, but it's not a sticky gloss that you feel your hair would stick to it. It dries to such a comfortable finish that I tend to expect to find it's worn off, only to look in a mirror and find that it looks pretty much as I'd applied it. Not too much transfer to the glass when drinking. I do find that most of it wears off when eating, but other than stains I find most lip colors do. The Plum color is just lovely, rich but not too dark, good amount of pigment, very pretty frost. It's a very wearable color, alone or over lipstick.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -MAC - Woodwinked - veluxe pearl
ivy68 8/1/2011 4:56:00 PM
This is a beautiful glowy bronze that is an extremely versatile neutral. It's metallic without being glittery and works beautifully as an all over lid color (I use Brown Down with it as a crease color) or, on days I'm looking for a lighter look, as a crease color with a vanilla all over the lid. It's got richness and multifaceted color that you just can't find that easily with this kind of subtlety.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Jesse's Girl - Liquid Glass Lip Gloss
ivy68 7/15/2011 2:15:00 PM
Picked up this gloss for $3.99 on a whim in Blossom, a deep rose with gold frost. I swatched it on my hand when I got home, and the next morning could still see traces of the pigment, even after a shower. On the lips the color payoff is excellent, though it doesn't stain the way it did on my hand. The texture is incredibly smooth and entirely non-sticky. In fact, I'd classify it more as a liquid lipstick than a gloss, as it's more shiny than glossy. This suits me fine. It's got a light vanilla scent but no taste. It lasts decently, for a gloss product, but I did have to reapply several times throughout the day to keep it even. Nice product, definitely more to it than meets the price point.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Top/Base Coats -Seche Vite - Dry Fast Top Coat
ivy68 6/17/2011 4:03:00 PM
I love this stuff. With a full time job and three little kids, it's hard to find time to change my nail polish, which is something I love to do several times a week. With Seche Vite, I can actually change my polish at the end of the day or even before bed and be confident that it will be shiny and smudgeproof in no time. The shine and polish last long on me, too. With certain polishes that are prone to lots of tipwear I find that Seche Vite doesn't prevent that, but I'm otherwise very happy with the shine, durability, and incredibly fast dry time.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -NYX - Rouge Cream Blush - Rose Petal
ivy68 6/8/2011 2:30:00 PM
This is a very nice warm rich rose cream blush without any sparkle or glitter -- nice for a change! It's extremely smooth and well pigmented. Some reviewers seem to find it too pigmented to use comfortably, but if you're accustomed to using a cream blush and the blending required it shouldn't be unusual. Nice compact (black with clear lid).
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Primer -Jesse's Girl - Eyeshadow Primer
ivy68 5/25/2011 12:01:00 PM
I would defy fans of UDPP to distinguish it from the Jesse's Girl eyeshadown primer in a blind test. It's the same color and consistency, and performs equally well. In fact, I find this packaging easier to use in terms of getting product out of the tube. The applicator doesn't have a bend in it like the UDPP, but I never cared for that anyway. Really, a great bargain product.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Zoya - Adina
ivy68 5/19/2011 11:27:00 AM
This is one of my all-time favorite colors, a soft grapey purple with tons of emerald green duochrome. The end result is a color that looks like a dragonfly wing -- primarily purple in some lights and primarily silvery green in others. Two coats is great, and I bet three would be even better. Excellent long wear, too.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Zoya - Alix
ivy68 5/19/2011 11:25:00 AM
This is a terrific rich red, not too bright or dark. Two coats dried to a glossy finish, but with some thin spots. I'd recommend three coats for a perfect lacquer. But the wear is excellent.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Zoya - happi
ivy68 5/19/2011 11:23:00 AM
This is a very upbeat and pretty color, happy, I dare say. It's a bright warm pink with tons of gold duochrome that reads overall as a warm golden pink or even coral is some light. I agree with the review that said it's reminiscent of NARS Orgasm. But I don't agree with the review that says this is a common, easy to find color. The amount of gold in it sets it apart from other metallic pinks. Two coats covered nicely. I saw some brushstrokes, but not too bad. I did find that it wore quickly on the tips, which I find is more of a problem with metallics than creme finishes. It's worth paying extra attention to your tips when applying this color.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Revlon - Super Lustrous Lipgloss - Firecracker (Summer 2010)
ivy68 5/19/2011 11:16:00 AM
This is a nice sheer orange-red, perfect for a wash of color. The orange tone makes it perfect with my redhead's coloring, and it's also a nice one to layer over red lipstick. Personally I think I'd get a little more use out of it if it was a teeny bit more pigmented. As with all the Super Lustrous glosses, it really is comparable to Chanel and MAC in quality and packaging.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Brows -E.L.F. - Eyebrow Treat & Tame
ivy68 5/13/2011 4:29:00 PM
Though I haven't used the Treat side (really, the last thing I need to do is to encourage my brows to grow MORE), the Tame side is really excellent. I am a natural redhead with strawberrry blonde brows, and the Medium color is a near-perfect match for my hair color, letting me tame and color my brows in one step. I love that just the right amount of product clings to the brush without need for wiping. The packaging has a luxe feel, too. $3, it's a bargain!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -E.L.F. - Cream Eyeliner - Midnight
ivy68 5/11/2011 2:42:00 PM
While other entries in the e.l.f. cream eyeliner line are terrific (I am thinking particularly of Metallic Olive and Ivory), Midnight was a real disappointment. The cream is not smooth, but goes on the brush unevenly, and the pigmentation is pretty terrible. I had to go over and over the line to even get it to show up, and no way was I going to achieve a nice thin, even, dark navy blue line. I may try to salvage this to use as a cream eyeshadow, but frankly at this price it's probably not worth it.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No