Eyeliner -Bobbi Brown - Forest Shimmer Ink Gel Eyeliner
joodles 8/28/2009 1:30:00 PM
Based on the product name I expected this to be greener. In the jar it looks like a greenish gray brown with shimmer. Against my medium skin (NC30ish, MUFE HD 120, MUFE face & body 32) and brown eyes it looks more gray than brown and I think the greenish tinge prevents the gray from looking too dark and harsh. Aside from the fantastic staying power and texture, I absolutely adore the shimmer. At first glance it looks like your typical gold but upon close inspection you can also see bits of violet, cobalt blue, orange and green so I guess the shimmer is actually iridescent. I would like to emphasize that the shimmer particles are really small and gold is the predominant color so don’t be worried about it looking tacky or over the top. When I blink the shimmer catches the light and a subtle flash of gold emerges but overall it’s barely detectable unless you’re less than 6 inches away. August has been hot and extremely humid and after 10-12 plus hours I only had a bit of smudging around the corners of my eyes but otherwise my liner looked perfect-no flaking, fading or shimmer fallout. After 16 hours, roughly 50% of the liner remained intact and I started to look like a raccoon but I predict the staying power will improve once the summer ends. This is my first BB gel eyeliner and I think it’s comparable to my beloved MAC Fluidlines in terms of quality, staying power and ease of application. I prefer the less dry consistency of Fluidlines but it's not a dealbreaker for me.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Brows -Tweezerman - Tweezerman Brow Mousse
joodles 3/27/2009 12:41:00 PM
My brows aren't very thick but they grow in various directions, including downwards so I need a really strong gel that can hold my brows in place all day. At best this provided hold for about 6 hours and flakes a bit. The bristles on the spoolie brush are also too far apart, making even application difficult.
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Lipstick -Prescriptives - Colorscope Lipcolor in Bare
joodles 3/17/2009 1:53:00 PM
If you’re familiar with the Prescriptives Colorprint system, Bare is designed for those in the Red/Orange family (peach undertones). I am a Y/O (golden undertones) and was surprised to discover how flattering this was on me. Despite what the name suggests, Bare is not nude but rather a medium pink with a touch of peach. This is one of those no fail shades that seems to go with almost everything and for that reason I leave it in my makeup bag at work. If I had an interview tomorrow I would definitely wear this as it makes me look polished without being too overdone. The staying power is pretty good and wears off evenly. Around half of my lipstick lasted through lunch, a beverage and several small snacks. It comes in a slightly moisturizing crème formula and has a very soft shine. While it’s not a MLBB shade, if you’re a R/O, it might be yours.
NC30ish, MUFE HD 120, MUFE face & body 32, Px Photochrome (y/o) warm beige
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Makeup Remover -Make Up For Ever - Sens Eyes
joodles 3/16/2009 2:16:00 PM
Sens’ Eyes is a must have if you wear stubborn waterproof eyeliner or mascara. In the past, I’ve had a hard time removing my eyeliner completely without harsh rubbing which made my eyelashes fall off. Oil based removers are usually more effective at taking off long wearing eye makeup but I avoid them since they tend to leave behind a residue, blur my vision and can ruin my contact lenses. I love how Sens’ Eyes gently and effortlessly removes everything in its path with minimal pressure. No more tugging, rubbing or losing lashes! At $23 for less than 3.5 ounces, it’s not cheap. I need around one squirt per eye to remove my eye shadow, liner and mascara. To make the bottle last longer (when I’m not being lazy) I apply rub a pea sized amount or less on a Q tip, run it over my eyeliner then use the other end of the Q tip to remove anything left behind. Removing my eye shadow is not a challenge and can be accomplished with any cheap eye makeup remover and the mascara I’m currently using, Kiss Me, comes off easily with water and pressure. If you plan on using Sens’ Eyes to only remove your eyeliner and mascara one squirt may be sufficient for both eyes.
Ingredients: Aqua (Water), Isododecane, Methylpropanediol, Acrylates Copolymer, Ageratum Conyzoides (Ageratum Conyzoides Leaf Extract), Butylene Glycol, Butylparaben, Chlorphenesin, Disodium EDTA, Ethylparaben, Glycerin, Gossypium Herbaceum (Cotton Seed Extract), Isobutylparaben, Mel Extract (Honey Extract), Sodium Methylparaben, Methylparaben, Panthenol, Phenoxyethanol, Propylene Glycol, Propylparaben, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sorbic Acid, Tromethamine, CI 42090 (Blue 1).
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Stila - Sparkle eyeshadow
joodles 2/3/2009 12:13:00 PM
I never thought I would say this about a Stila eyeshadow, but I’m pretty disappointed. The color is a light bronzey brown with lots of golden shimmer. It has the same buttery softness of many Stila shadows (except for some of the newly reformulated mattes), has nice pigmentation and blends like a dream. The staying power is also pretty good as it lasts all day without creasing even in the absence of a primer. So why the disappointment? In a word: the shimmer. They don’t adhere very well to my eyelids so I’m often left with shimmer under my eyes and on my cheeks, much like MAC Lustres. I have discovered that when my eyelids have a bit of oil on them shimmer fallout minimizes so I prep my eyes by adding a small amount of moisturizer on my lower lids. To increase the intensity of the shimmer, I like to apply the shadow with a wet brush. It also looks great as a highlighter on the inner corners of my eyes and on the waterline. I don’t think Sparkle is a must have since the color isn’t unique and the overall quality is not that great for a Stila eyeshadow.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Foundations -Make Up For Ever - HD High Definition Foundation
joodles 1/6/2009 2:54:00 PM
My expectations of this foundation were very high because in the year since I started using MUFE products I had never come across anything I didn’t love. At that time, my skin was recovering from a horrible case of cystic acne caused by a skincare product and I needed a medium to full coverage foundation to mask the pimples and red hyperpigmentation spots from healed blemishes that were taking over my face. I was blown away at how shade #120 matched my NC30ish/MUFE F&B #32 skin exactly and despite offering good coverage it felt as if I had nothing on my skin.
Unfortunately I had a hard time making this work on me and in the end I gave up. This foundation made my combination skin look very oily and magnified dry patches on face I didn’t even know I had. Applying a primer underneath helped but if I had trouble controlling oil during the winter when my skin becomes normal to dry, would everything be helpless during the warmer months when my skin becomes oilier?
My Prescriptives brush gave me the most natural looking result but it gave me medium coverage and I needed almost full coverage. I also tried using two different sponges, a kabuki brush and the MAC 187 brush but it was difficult for me to achieve the desired level of coverage without having it look heavy and obvious.
I can see why this is a HG product for some but with the skin I have now, it’s not right for me but I might consider repurchasing it in the future…
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Polishes -MAC - Abstract
joodles 12/9/2008 2:12:00 PM
Abstract is pretty and understated light pinkish mauve that instantly makes my hands look polished (no pun intended). The finish is described as a frost but it is more of a subtle sheen rather than the tacky chunky shimmer from the 1980’s. Even with a base and top coat, this polish lasts 2-3 days before chipping occurs but as a frequent hand washer not even OPI or Essie polishes last on me. The color is not terribly unique and the quality is average but I have never come across a nail polish I love as much.
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Misc Beauty Tools -Cover Girl - Pencil Sharpener
joodles 12/3/2008 12:32:00 PM
This sharpener can handle three different sized pencils. There are two holes, one for regular sized pencils and another for larger multipurpose pencils. Included with the sharpener is a removable ring that fits over the large hole to accommodate medium sized pencils. Cover Girl should have provided a warning that this should not be used on pencils with a plastic coating such as MUFE Aqua Eyes and MAC Powerpoint liners. I watched in horror as it nearly destroyed my beloved MUFE Aqua Eyes liner, I was trying to sharpen the tip a bit and the blade grabbed onto the pencil shavings and would not let go. If you’re not sure if your lip or eyeliner is coated in plastic, look at the tip. If it’s wooden and looks like writing pencils, it’s probably fine. If it’s smooth and hard then it’s most likely coated. The sharpener gets a 5 for versatility when it comes to working with different sized pencils but a 0 for practicality. What good is it if it doesn’t work with all types of pencils?
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Blush -MAC - Sheertone Blush in Peaches
joodles 12/3/2008 12:24:00 PM
It was love at first sight the first time I tried on Peaches, a gorgeous pigmented true peach without a hint of pink or shimmer. I used to think that the most flattering shades of blush should have a pink undertone in order to mimic the hue cheeks get when people blush but I was so wrong. Peaches instantly brightened my face, added a warm sunkissed glow and is surprisingly very flattering. This is my fourth MAC blush and like the others, it blends easily, isn’t chalky and has great staying power. I love pairing this with reds, peachy pinks and peaches. At the moment my favorite combination is wearing this with MAC Entice lipglass, a salmon colored peach. This would look fantastic on many skin tones, from pale to dark.
8 out of 8 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -Make Up For Ever - Aqua Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner Bronze Green 5L
joodles 8/12/2008 12:32:00 PM
When it comes to eyeshadow and eyeliner, I’m not very adventurous and tend to stick with shades of brown, gray or black. 5L is a pretty bronzy olive green with tiny flecks of golden shimmer. It adds a subtle hint of color that is not over the top, even for a conservative work environment. It glides on smoothly without tugging. The staying power is the best I’ve come across in a pencil form, better than MAC power point, Revlon Colorstay, Clinique quickliner and Lancome Le Stylo eyeliners. After 12 plus hours, a tiny bit of smudging occurred around the outer corner of my eyes but aside from that, my eyeliner looked the same as it did when I applied it in the morning. My eyelids become oily during the summer and the only thing that is 100% budge and smudge proof during the heat and humidity are MAC Fluidlines (as long as I don't rub my eyes) but the Aqua Eyes pencils are pretty impressive.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Treatments -Clinique - Superbalm Lip Treatment
joodles 7/23/2008 2:27:00 PM
This review is for the clear Superbalm in the green tube. I’ve been using Philosophy’s Kiss Me Red for over 5 years and although it works very well, I avoid using it during the day because it comes off easily while eating or drinking and it tastes horrible. My search for a hydrating lipbalm that didn’t taste unpleasant led me to Superbalm. At first, I thought I spent $11 on something that has the look and consistency of Aquaphor but it’s a bit more moisturizing. Unfortunately, neither provided long lasting hydration. Once the balm wore off, the feeling of soft hydrated lips went away as well. I purchased this during the early spring and used it twice a day for 1-2 weeks and was shocked to discover I had chapped lips for the first time in ages. In contrast, I used Kiss Me once a day (a generous layer before bedtime) for many years and never had chapped lips even during the winter. I’ve had this tube for less than 4 months and it already smells rancid.
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Lipstick -Laura Mercier - Creme Lipstick in Cinnamon
joodles 7/6/2008 1:02:00 PM
This is a rosy pinkish brown that some may like as an everyday lip color because it gives a nice pop of color without being too bright or dark. I was looking for a medium warm pink lipstick that I can wear to work and hoped this would be it, unfortunately the pink has a slightly purplish undertone which doesn’t look that great against my skin’s yellow undertones. The lipstick is very moisturizing but the staying power is not good and wears off unevenly without leaving behind a stain. For reference I have medium warm NC30 skin.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Makeup Brushes -MAC - #217 Blending
joodles 7/6/2008 12:58:00 PM
I thought the 224 was my HG blending brush but the 217 does a phenomenal job at blending, more so than the 224. The 224 is fluffier and has longer bristles that taper to a slightly pointed tip. In contrast the 217 brush has shorter but wider, slightly rounded bristles. Both have equally soft bristles, white for the 217 and black for the 224. The 217 is flatter than the 224 and this design enables me to do a neater and more precise job at blending since the bristles fit in the crease of my eye perfectly and do not splay out. I still love the 224 brush but now I use it for applying shadow as a wash on my lids and sometimes for a sheer application of pigmented shadows.
7 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lotions/ Creams -Aveda - Hand Relief
joodles 7/1/2008 2:32:00 PM
Based on the list of ingredients, this has the potential to be a very effective hand cream. Among other things, it contains glycerin to help skin retain moisture, retinyl palmitate to keep skin looking youthful by stimulating collagen production and to exfoliate, lactic acid to exfoliate dead skin and various oils to keep hands moisturized. Although the hand cream is a bit pricey ($18 for a 4.2 ounce tube), only a small amount is needed to moisturize my hands. It absorbs quickly without leaving behind a waxy or greasy residue. Being a frequent hand washer, I was happy to discover that this lasts through several hand washes. The scent reminds me of MAC’s cleansing oil, which someone described as lemon biscuit like. Since this product contains a retinol based product, your skin can become more vulnerable to the sun’s harmful rays and using sunscreen is essential to prevent unsightly premature aging and brown spots. Will this be able to adequately protect and hydrate my hands during the frigid New England winter months? Probably not since it’s summer and my hands don’t feel more hydrated compared to the dozens of other hand creams I’ve used but I will provide an update if I’m wrong.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Essie - No Pre-Nup
joodles 5/29/2008 1:56:00 PM
No Pre-Nup looks like a bubble gum pink in the bottle but when applied it enhances the pink in my nailbeds giving me a your nails but better look. One or two coats add a natural sheer pink tint, after 3 plus coats the color starts to turn into a slightly milky candy pink and although it may not sound attractive, it’s actually a fun, pretty color for the summer. I wash my hands frequently and this polish managed to survive 5 days before the color started to chip.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No