Primer/ Corrector -Unlisted Brand - Monistat - Chafing Relief Powder-Gel 
jhonellej 2/17/2011 1:17:00 PM
The last primer I tried before this was the Revlon Beyond Natural primer, which is a tiny tube for $10. Wasn't impressed. Then I heard the glad tidings of the Monistat primer (wink wink) and decided to give it a try. I mean, what the heck, it's like $7 for a pretty decent amount of product: 1.5 oz, I think. This product...is PURE WIN. I would like to thank whichever thrifty makeup genius discovered this one. Goes on smoothly and makes my foundation practically glide unto my face and stay there longer. Furthermore, it doesn't irritate my irritation-prone skin or cause breakouts. In fact, by keeping makeup out of my pores, it may actually be helping to prevent breakouts! All I know is, I am running low on this, my second tube, and I will soon be scurrying out to replace it.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Wet 'n' Wild - Color Icon Blush - Berry Shimmer
jhonellej 2/17/2011 12:16:00 PM
Pigmented. Sooo pigmented. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think it might be TOO pigmented. Applying this feels like a delicate mission. I actually ended up trying to tone it down with some powder foundation - and still getting quite a wallop of color! I think the super-pigmentation might actually be a bit of a drawback; some products, like blush and brow powder, shouldn't be too pigmented, or else it's unnecessarily difficult to work with them. This blush doesn't blend as well as a blush this pigmented should. Sigh. Well, at least it's a pretty color, and it's $2.99 and it's so uber super pigmented, it should definitely last a while...
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Unlisted Brand - NYC - Cheek Glow
jhonellej 2/17/2011 3:08:00 AM
Straight up chalky. Flat color. Blotchy. Overly powdery. Next to no pigmentation. Shoddy packaging, prone to breaking. Overall, I am just not impressed. There are many far better offerings in the world of drugstore blushes. This one should be overlooked.
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Lipstick -Jordana - Terra Cotta
jhonellej 2/4/2011 1:07:00 AM
Amazing stuff. I've already given a general review of the Jordana matte lipsticks, but when I saw that Terra Cotta had its own reviews I had to throw my two cents in. This color just brought my lips to life. It's terra cotta alright, but much less brick-y than I typically associate with terra cotta. It's got almost a hint of peach to it that warms up my lips. I can even wear it as an MLBB. Love it love it love it, and for less than $1.50 at my local dollar store, you know I'm stocking up asap!
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Lip Gloss -Ruby Kisses - All Products
jhonellej 2/3/2011 11:29:00 PM
Yes yes yes! This review is for the Shine Seduction Crystal gloss (with shea butter! a tiny banner on the label cheerfully proclaims). I love this cheapy BSS gloss! I absolutely adore the shade 'Lush', which shows up clear on me, but with the most perfect unobtrusive shimmer that gives me that flawless, wet-lip look without going totally glass-like. It gives me smooth, perfect looking, almost luminous lips. I also love the texture - none of that cheap, feels-like-I-just-swiped-on-olive-oil texture you often get with cheap glosses. This one has a 'set' to it without any stickiness, and the staying power is pretty darn good. Also, it was like $2 at a local BSS. C'mon - what's not to love?
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Jordana - Matte Lipstick
jhonellej 2/3/2011 11:20:00 PM
Love these lipsticks. The regular ones are alright, but the matte ones shine - figuratively speaking, of course... 'Natural', 'red' and 'terra cotta' are my faves, terra cotta being my absolute love. These lipsticks are creamy and pigmented and don't taste like nauseating fake-fruity smelling perfume the way most cheapie BSS lipsticks do. I mean, they don't taste like vanilla bean frapuccinos or anything, but I'm not bothered by the unobtrusive and slighty minty scent. I picked these up for less than $1.50 each at a local dollar store and at that price, I find myself picking up a new one every time I wander by. Heck, I think I'm going to buy them all, even the colors I wouldn't normally try. At less than a $1.50 each, why not?
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Unlisted Brand - Absolute! beeswax moisture lip gloss
jhonellej 2/1/2011 2:07:00 AM
Not the worst BSS lip gloss I've tried - some are honestly nothing short of HORRENDOUS (nicka k lipshines, I'm looking at you...). This one isn't bad, even though the packaging blatantly lies to you. They were trying to copy the look of the Burt's Bees glosses, I think, but sure as hell not the ingredients; the first two ingredients in this 'natural, beeswax' gloss are polybutene and mineral oil and the rest are Unpronounceables. Mmm hmm. Natural my ass. That said, I actually really like two of the colors: AB705 and AB703. Catchy, huh? AB705 is a nice, shimmery, peachy, bronzey rose thing, and AB703 is a lovely bright ruby red with a hint of shimmer and surprisingly good staying power and color payoff. Just a little of this one gives my pigmented lips an extra pop of color. Win on the colors, fail on the ingredients, false advertising and cheap product smell...y'know that weird, baby-powderish scent you sometimes get with cheap makeup? Yeah... All in all, not great but not bad.
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Lips -Nivea - A Kiss Of Shine Natural Glossy Lip Care
jhonellej 1/4/2011 9:47:00 PM
I would like this product very much...if it didn't leave the most nauseating, perfumey, obnoxious taste on my tongue - even if I don't lick my lips, which I simply do not do. It's HORRIBLE! The actual look of the gloss is nice and subtle with a very light touch of shimmer, and the texture isn't sticky. But the way this cloying taste invades the mouth is unforgivable. It literally turns my stomach. It's a shame, because that is really the only thing wrong with this, but it is SO WRONG that it really drags the product down. I wouldn't even take off lippies for the lack of SPF, but the taste is intolerable. Ugh. UPDATE: Okay. I've had this for a few weeks now and, while the taste is still pretty bad, I must say that the texture, look and feel of this product are damn near perfect. The one I have is 'natural', and it's got the perfect amount of innocuous shimmer to make your lips look full and juicy minus the disco-ball effect; it's just enough to reflect a little light - nothing more. It's not sticky or overly glassy, and the staying power is surprisingly good, so I'm tacking on one extra lippy. Just one though, because damn this thing still tastes bad. I have to hold my tongue to the roof of my mouth when applying this in order to ensure none gets in my mouth, and I would never even dream of subjecting my poor boyfriend to this one, and I've put him through a lot, bless his heart..
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Lip Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Natural Beeswax Lip Balm
jhonellej 12/24/2010 12:27:00 PM
I second the good review! I saw this at my local Family Dollar for about $1.50, and for that price I just grabbed two. This balm has the same ingredients as the Burt's Bees Lip Balm, but with the added ingredient of castor seed oil. I prefer the texture of the Oralabs Balm to that of the Burt's Bees - it seems to go on more smoothly, even in the cold. I'm only leaving off that last lippie because it doesn't last as long on the lips as I'd like. So to sum up: comparable ingredients (better, because castor oil is the bomb) , better texture, and almost a dollar less than Burt's Bees... I will definitely repurchase if I ever see it around again.
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Mascara -L'Oreal - Voluminous Million Lashes
jhonellej 12/4/2010 11:47:00 PM
Smells like Maybelline Colossal's old formula...but works waaaaay better. It gives a really defined look to the lashes with just the right amount of length and volume, just not big bushy volume. One coat = polished and defined; two coats = va va voom! When I got home from my first time wearing it - six or seven hours after putting on one coat - I decided to see what two coats could do, so I put on another coat over the old dry one, and got a more dramatic but still polished result. It really seems to multiply lashes in a way that gives my eyes a wide open look. I experienced zero flaking, and even on top of an old, dry coat, I got no clumping either. Also, my lashes don't feel crispy-fied - they're still soft and bendable. Good stuff. I can't really imagine high end being THAT much better. Scooped this up for a dollar off on sale (about $8), and I definitely got my money's worth.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Makeup Brushes -E.L.F. - Blending Brush
jhonellej 11/20/2010 9:33:00 PM
BROKE COLLEGE STUDENT ALERT! Good crease/blending brush for less than the cost of a pack of gum. However, I've purchased two at two different times and in two different places and gotten two different brushes. One had longer, more tapered bristles and felt much softer than the one I bought at an outlet store. I've ended up just using them for different things. The longer one I actually use for blending my eyeshadows, but the shorter one is SURPRISINGLY GOOD AT APPLYING CREAM CONCEALER. I was getting totally frustrated at trying to use my MAC studio finish concealer with a traditional, flat concealer brush; I just ended up looking a hot, cakey mess. However, using this brush instead got me much more even, much less cakey coverage. Who knew? EDIT: I forgot to clarify - when using this brush to apply cream concealer I use a stippling motion, and that gets the job done beautifully. Just bought three or four more from my local Telco, which fortunately carries some of ELF's products so I don't have to pay shipping. Yay! UPDATE: I am taking off a lippy because this is the most inconsistent brush I have ever seen a company make. No two ones are alike, much less the same! I bought three or four more, only to find they were all completely different and some so short and stiff as to be unusable. Jeez - is it that hard to make this brush???
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Revlon - Beyond Natural Cream to Powder Eye Shadow
jhonellej 11/9/2009 8:24:00 PM
While I can't really disagree with the negative reviews I'm seeing here - the shadow doesn't show up, it creases and generally makes a nuisance of itself - I have to say that it reinforced my philosophy of not tossing makeup unless it's spoiled or something, because you never know what uses you can find for it. I have it in Buff, and while it doth righteously suck as a shadow, the two lighter shades make decent face highlighters. So, if you've already bought the crap and are stuck with it, there's at least that.... EDIT: I have it in Spice, not Buff, but I guess the same principle applies to Buff as well, depending on your undertones...?
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No