Moisturizers -Unlisted Brand - LANCERx Dermatology - AM/PM Nourishment Cream
jakay 2/21/2013 12:20:00 AM
The AM/PM Nourishment Cream comes with the Lancer Method Luxury Collection as the third step in their 3-step routine. The cream is light and promises to restore firmness in your skin. As with all the products in this collection, it has the scent of lavender. Also, no parabens. I couldn't tell any difference in my skin upon using this, except that it wasn't enough to heal and soothe my raw face after steps 1 (polish) and 2 (cleanse), so I had my mom use it for a while to see if she noticed anything. From the entire collection, she chose to use only the cream (in conjunction with her regular cleanser) and started developing dry patches on her face about a week in. If you have sensitive skin, I would pass on this one.
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Cleansers -Unlisted Brand - LANCERx Dermatology - Extremely Pure Facial Cleanser
jakay 2/21/2013 12:03:00 AM
The Extremely Pure Facial Cleanser comes as the second step ("cleanse") of the 3-step Lancer Method Luxury Collection. The pearly color and lavender scent may add to its "luxury," but this is just your average liquid, foaming cleanser. I like that it doesn't leave my skin feeling tight and dry after cleansing. The cleanser on its own, apart from the rest of the system (which begins with a scrub), does a decent job, but I'm not sure it's worth its price ($50 USD for 4 fl. oz.). Oh, yeah, and no parabens.
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Scrubs -Unlisted Brand - LANCERx Dermatology - Natural Sea Mineral Polish
jakay 2/20/2013 11:52:00 PM
The jar of Natural Sea Mineral Polish I have is part of the Lancer Method Luxury Collection. The polish is the first step of a 3-step routine that claims it will improve your skin (fine lines, discoloration, texture, pore size, etc.) in about a week. I used this polish every day, morning and night, for about a week, but I didn't see any improvement. Instead, it made my skin worse. By the end of that first week, my face was raw and had broken out from all that scrubbing. The scrub is made from baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), and contains lavender essential oil and magnesium oxide, which makes the scrub warm up upon contact with water. None of the products in this system contain parabens, so there's that. If you have sensitive skin, I would recommend that you use the Natural Sea Mineral Polish sparingly or not at all.
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Cleansers -Neutrogena - Naturals - Purifying Facial Cleanser
jakay 1/6/2012 9:24:00 PM
For a few months now, I've had this strange eczema-like dry patch on my face. This is something that has never happened to me before, and I assumed it was something associated with stress, aging, and a change in weather. But no matter what I did (using heavy creams, decreasing the amount of times I wash my face, etc.), it wouldn't go away. It didn't even look like it was attempting to get better. So, the other day, out of curiosity, I checked out the reviews here for this cleanser. I could kick myself for not doing that months ago! All the warnings about allergic reactions really hit a chord with me. I used the cleanser one last time that evening, just to see, and that slight "tingling" sensation I had always associated with the product "working" I realized finally that it was actually just some burning I felt due to my sensitive skin. I immediately stopped using this cleanser and switched to a standby supply of Cetaphil. I didn't change anything else in my routine, but within a day, I already noticed a difference. I was looking for a cheaper alternative to my favorite Boscia products and came across this product at my local Target. I was hoping this would be a perfect dupe to Boscia's Purifying Cleansing Gel. I'm upset that I wasn't able to figure out that I was wrong until just now. Those of you with sensitive skin, please think twice before spending your money on this line of Neutrogena products.
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Moisturizers -Garnier - Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel-Cream
jakay 12/26/2011 6:20:00 PM
As someone with extremely oily skin, I thought this moisturizer would be perfect for me. I'm sorry to report that it isn't; far from it, in fact. I like that it's nice and light, which is great for those of us with oily skin, especially during the warmer months. Unfortunately, it didn't do anything at all as a moisturizer. In fact, it dried my skin out (due to the alcohol content, I assume) and made it even more oily. I can't speak for everyone with oily skin, but if my face doesn't get some moisture, I've found that it will become exponentially more oily. Considering this and the price (a little steep for a drugstore brand), it's unlikely that I'll ever recommend this to anyone.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Makeup Remover -Almay - Oil-free eye makeup remover liquid
jakay 10/15/2010 8:29:00 AM
Doesn't remove waterproof mascara. Dealbreaker.
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Mascara -Rimmel - Sexy Curves Waterproof
jakay 10/1/2010 9:40:00 AM
I liked how Sexy Curves Waterproof dried on my lashes. The formula is pretty lightweight, and it was able to help my lashes maintain their curl. Also, once dry, I didn't experience any smearing, even on my sweatier days - truly waterproof. Unfortunately, it took a pretty long time for the mascara to dry. Most times, I would lose my patience and just end up wiping away any excess mascara to help it dry quicker.
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Eye Makeup Remover -Clinique - Rinse-Off Eye Makeup Solvent
jakay 4/12/2010 9:11:00 PM
I'm glad that they include these in their GWPs; it gives me a chance to try it out before I waste my money on something I don't like. This is basically like bottled water. No matter how much product I used, it did little to remove my eye makeup. Totally unimpressed.
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Cleansers -Biore - Blemish Fighting Cleanser
jakay 2/1/2010 10:08:00 PM
Please be careful if you have sensitive skin!!! I really wanted to like this cleanser, as I generally like most things Bioré. Unfortunately, this made me break out with painful cystic acne. The first time around, I wasn't sure that this was the cause. I stopped using it immediately, and after my face cleared up a couple of months later, I tried it again just to confirm. After only a few uses, the cystic acne started surfacing again.
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Cleansers -Biore - Blemish Fighting Ice Cleanser
jakay 2/1/2010 10:08:00 PM
Please be careful if you have sensitive skin!!! I really wanted to like this cleanser, as I generally like most things Bioré. Unfortunately, this made me break out with painful cystic acne. The first time around, I wasn't sure that this was the cause. I stopped using it immediately, and after my face cleared up a couple of months later, I tried it again just to confirm. After only a few uses, the cystic acne started surfacing again.
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Moisturizers -Josie Maran Cosmetics - Argan oil
jakay 8/16/2009 8:27:00 PM
This is a good, natural moisturizer, but it didn't do for me many of the things it promised. After going through an entire bottle, I still have acne and scarring (no more, but definitely no less). I also didn't notice a "glow" to my skin, other than the sheen from the oil itself. I think this product is good for those of us who like natural products, but I feel like there are many better, inexpensive alternatives out there, like jojoba oil (which, unlike argan oil, is noncomedogenic, by the way). In any case, I would really recommend that you try to get a sample of this from your local Sephora before you actually splurge on a full-sized bottle ($50+ for a 1.7 oz bottle of oil is no joke!).
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Shampoo -Suave - Daily Clarifying Shampoo
jakay 12/10/2008 11:52:00 PM
I use this shampoo about once a week. When I used to use it daily, I did notice that it would leave my scalp feeling a little on the dry side. Now, I only use this just to give my oily hair a good clean scrub down at the end of the week. Other than that, though, this shampoo leaves my hair feeling clean and fairly smooth. Not bad for something that costs less than $2. Also, I think someone else mentioned this, but this shampoo is great for cleaning makeup brushes. Always leaves my MAC 187 looking nicely bright and white!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -MAC - All Lipsticks
jakay 10/21/2008 6:58:00 AM
I really can't say anything about MAC lipsticks that hasn't already been said by other reviewers here. There's a wide variety of colors and textures, the color payoff is great, the colors last on your lips, etc. This is a good lipstick, period. The only thing that I don't like about MAC lipsticks is that they do little in the way of moisturizing your lips. I have a lipstick in just about every lipstick formula put out by MAC. While some formulas are more conditioning than others, unless you're layering with Lipglass or some other moisturizing gloss or balm, it's still not enough to prevent your lips from feeling dry by the end of the day.
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Lipstick -Shu Uemura - Lipstick
jakay 10/17/2008 2:03:00 AM
The Shu Uemura lipsticks are probably the best that I've ever tried. I can't speak for the matte formulas (I'm not really a fan of matte finishes anyway), but the non-matte lipsticks melt on your lips like butter. Mmm! I have two of these so far - Rouge Unlimited in Red 190 (Classic Red) and a Lollishine Rouge in 769 (sheer shimmery brown). They are both the smoothest lipsticks I have ever put on my lips. Even after 4 hours of wear with the red, the color did not fade at all, and my lips were still smooth and moist like I had just put on some lip balm. The lipstick did have a little berry-like scent to it, but it didn't bother me at all. These lipsticks are a little bit of a luxury, but this is one case where you definitely get what you pay for. Definitely makes for a great little gift to yourself! ;-)
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Shu Uemura - Rouge Unlimited
jakay 10/17/2008 1:59:00 AM
The Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited lipsticks are probably the best that I've ever tried. I can't speak for the matte formulas (I'm not really a fan of matte finishes anyway), but the non-matte lipsticks melt on your lips like butter. Mmm! I got the Red 190 (Classic Red), and it is the smoothest lipstick I have ever put on my lips. Even after 4 hours of wear, the color did not fade at all, and my lips were still smooth and moist like I had just put on some lip balm. The lipstick did have a little berry-like scent to it, but it didn't bother me at all. These lipsticks are a little bit of a luxury, but this is one case where you definitely get what you pay for. Definitely makes for a great little gift to yourself! ;-)
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No