BB Cream -Boscia - BB Cream SPF 27 PA++
joy2uandme 3/21/2013 10:25:00 AM
I got several samples of this in my last Sephora order because I had asked for Tarte BB samples and I guess they were out so they sub'ed this 1. Color; I'm NC 25-30 and this went rather warm and orangish on me so hardly a 1 color fits all. I doubt whether someone lighter could easily pull this off. Texture: Felt tacky and rubbery on my skin even over heavy moisturizer. Just not a fan of the feel. There is micro-fine shimmer in this but without this would be super flat on the skin. Coverage: Medium coverage. I've had foundations look lighter than this yet didn't cover some healing breakouts. Also made me look swarthy and tree-like so not a good look for maturing skin (or at least my maturing skin) in my opinion. The positives is that this did not break out or irritate my super sensitive skin with rosacea but if this is what a BB cream is all about I'll stick with a tinted moisturizer. This made my skin look like a puffy piece of orange leather.
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Brows -Clinique - Superfine Liner for Brows
joy2uandme 3/14/2013 1:09:00 PM
After using this brow pencil for awhile I found this was a higher priced version, yet more mediocre version of Maybelline's eyebrow pencil. I had both in hand and Clinique's went reddish on me so ended up being a bigger fail. For comparison: Clinique put me in soft brown which definitely had a reddish tinge. Maybelline I had blonde which was a neutral taupe. Me an LLL NC 25 with brown hair. Both pencils were about equivalent size, hardness, and tip size. I even compared them brow to brow. And they applied about the same. Maybelline was just cheaper and for the size appropriately so. Lasting power was the same between products surprisingly. I actually preferred the neutralness of the Maybelline one if I had to choose one.
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Brows -Clinique - Instant lift for brows
joy2uandme 3/14/2013 12:59:00 PM
I really dislike this. They gave me this when I complained about disliking their other brow pencil which turned reddish on me. This one was no better as this one was super creamy and turned greasy in a very short time and I don't have oily skin. I think this would only be perfect on those with extremely dry skin. And beware your color--it will oxidize--so choose lighter than you think. They put me in a brown which was without red but was too dark for me. The only thing I do like is the slanted tip. Since this was already an exchange I guess this will go in the trash; I don't feel up to dealing with the Clinique Nazis again.
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Brows -Shu Uemura - H9 Hard Brow Pencil - Seal Brown
joy2uandme 3/14/2013 12:42:00 PM
Count me as a fan. I was skeptical but after trying I'm sold. I've tried many powders and pencils from DS to HE and this produces the most natural looking brows. No Joan Crawford drawn-on brows here unless you want them. I have thinning brows that I've been trying to grow. Also had them waxed and zealous waxing chick made them super thin. At my age my hair does not grow that fast anymore so it has been a slow process to regain any thickness but with this pencil and the Shu eyebrow gel I can mimic fullness without any weirdness or crazy looking brows.(Come on you KNOW the look I'm talking about!) Another huge + is that this pencil does not oxidize darker with oils as the day goes on like other products I've tried nor does it disappear on me. Where I'm thinnest, i.e the ends of my brows, I've read to add a smidge of setting powder to make the pencil set, which is what I do. Yeah this pencil is a little more expensive than say Lancome or Clinique but the pencil is twice the size of those and hard like the name says so I expect I won't need to reorder for awhile even with daily use.
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Liquid -Clinique - Supermoisture Foundation in Neutral
joy2uandme 3/11/2013 12:28:00 PM
This can look pretty on mature dry skin with a little powder over it; without, I tend to look a tad sweaty. This does tend to transfer easily but it is nice and moisturizing for dry skin. Neutral is a good color for my LLL NC 25 skintone even though first they put me Porcelain beige which was way too rosy so I called Clinique online for help. They seem to get it right 9 times out of 10 without seeing me. After a couple of wears I had a huge rosacea flare to this. Itching and huge cysts, Pustules, irritation. It went on for days. Cortisone cream. I had to give up on this. Not every thing Clinique makes is for very sensitive skin as I've learned over and over. Get a sample if you don't want to deal with condescending Clinique SAs who swear all Clinique products are perfect in every way. Or order online.
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Moisturizers -Mary Kay - Timewise Repair Volu-Firm Night Treatment With Retinol
joy2uandme 3/8/2013 11:12:00 AM
This is a nice fragrance free, dye free cream in a beautiful package like Prevage's push touch jar for a higher-end price. It has some nice ingredients. However wherever I applied this I broke out: Neck, eyelids, chest. I never got to my face proper because I tried other places first and what I learned was that this wasn't working on peripheral areas. If you have sturdy skin and looking for a fragrance free retinol and want it in a stable packaging, then try this. I cannot use this. I'm giving it a 4 because I do have freakishly sensitive skin.
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Moisturizers -Mary Kay - Timewise Night Restore and Recover Complex
joy2uandme 3/8/2013 11:04:00 AM
I've tried both the normal dry and normal combination versions of this moisturizer and I much prefer the normal combination version. Both are a gel moisturizer types. Both are fragrance free but both contain dyes. (Normal dry is pink; combination is purple. Unnecessary.) Where they really differ is that the normal dry one is very sticky and seems to never dry. It stays tacky to the touch, and makeup drags going over it. Secondly if you have oily skin, you probably will not like the normal combination version because it's still pretty emollient and not that much different from the normal dry except for dry time on the face so folks just get the normal combination version if you are considering this. However read on... I used the combination one for 6 months and never saw any positive effects over moisturization so the elevated pricetag is not justified IMO. Just get their regular moisturizer unless your really want a pump. The pump is nice and can be locked for travel but that's about it.
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Cleansers -Mary Kay - Timewise Repair Volu-Firm Foaming Cleanser
joy2uandme 3/8/2013 10:28:00 AM
I've tried this several times so far and there is good and bad for me with this cleanser: Pros: Foaming if you like that, I do. Not particularly drying per se but more drying than Timewise for normal/dry. A little goes a long way which helps offset the price. Does seem to brighten the complexion and tighten pores. Removes makeup fairly well, although I did use it twice when I used it all by itself to make sure everything was off. I tested with a toner and all but makeup by the hairline was gone. Cons: Does contains fragrance with ethylene brassylate which I hate--don't know why--but every time companies put this in it makes me cringe and my skin seems to react. In addition, they put this in a tube with a screw off lid, which makes the packaging awkward. They should have stuck to the flip-top lid especially for something where your hands will be wet. I said no to buying it again because right now I am not using this on a regular basis but maybe as summer is in full swing I will turn to this more. My skin is a little too dry to use this as my one and only cleanser. I could see folks with combination skin liking this more.
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Masks -Mary Kay - Botanical Effects1 Mask
joy2uandme 3/8/2013 10:06:00 AM
My MK SA sent this to me free because I was complaining how dry and irritated my face was acting. I threw it aside because I was worried about it being a scrub and my face was irritated. However after a few days on cortisone cream, I could see the flakes building up on my face and that my cream was not absorbing as well. I tried ClInique's 7th Day Scrub cream mixed with cleanser but that seemed very granular and harsh even diluted so I grabbed this out of my discard pile. This is very finely milled grains. It can just be used as a mask but I use it straight as a scub and lightly rub it on my skin. It is very gentle and perfect for dry irritated skin. Fragrance and dye free. I am so glad I didn't throw this away. It has been a godsend and so much more soothing than Clinique on my flared irritated dry skin.
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Moisturizers -Mary Kay - Botanical Effects Hydrate 1
joy2uandme 3/8/2013 9:50:00 AM
For the last 45 days my dry mature skin has been in a pickle: irritated, dry. flared and causing me a lot of grief. Was at the dermatologist, he told me I was irritated and he put me on a cortisone cream and increased my antibiotics. And he told me I was dry. Charged me 50 dollars and sent me away. Meanwhile I was still dealing with my face. So I started using different things looking for relief. Started at the drugstore, then department store, then went online. This is one of the things I found that helped my skin. It is basic despite the name and it is not all that botanical but I don't care. It is fragrance free and contains no additional dyes. It has helped my dry skin and has not caused me any clogged pores or increased irritation; is in fact soothing. I love the neutral smell. It doesn't sit on top of my skin but absorbs in, which I love after trying many creams geared to dry skin that either left my skin wanting more or feeling smothered. Comes in a tube with a flip-top. After trying this option I'm going to try the rest of the MK botanicals 1 options; I'm that impressed.
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Primer/ Corrector -Shu Uemura - Stage Performer Instant Glow
joy2uandme 3/5/2013 1:13:00 PM
I wish there was a Hell no for would you buy this product again! This is snake oil in a tube! I put this on and saw no difference. So I walked around, did some chores, came back. Still no difference. Gave it some more time. Nada. (I saw no color difference on my skin like other reviewers-am I blind?) Came out of tube white, did not change color on my skin to beige or yellow or gray or any damn color. No shimmer. I have dry skin, sensitive with rosacea. I'm old, have fine lines and some liver spots and freckles to even out. Also always have some old rosacea spots that have healed on my face. In short I need a good primer's effect. This did nothing. No illuminating, no even-ing. Not even any hydrating to speak of. My plain old moisturizer does a way better job. At least this didn't really irritate my skin. Lancome's Eclat Miracle is way better and makes my skin look freshly washed and hydrated. If you're my era try that one. At least that one you don't have to order and you will get immediate results.
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Cleansers -Paula's Choice - Earth Sourced Perfectly Natural Cleansing Gel
joy2uandme 3/5/2013 10:21:00 AM
Sooo slimey, like washing in snail trails. And ugh the taste of this: if it gets close to your mouth, made me gag...and it doesn't go away. It actually made me feel like I was going to yak and I am not prone to that. Also not sure it takes off my makeup that well but I do oil cleanse first however some residue remained anyway so did it do ANYTHING at all besides make me feel sick? I would never subject a poor baby to this stuff as it says on the bottle. If it ever got close to their poor mouth, they would be screaming!
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Concealers -Lancome - Maquicomplet (Complete Coverage Concealer)
joy2uandme 3/4/2013 10:04:00 AM
I've been using this now for a couple of years and I've tried many other concealers trying to find better but this still kicks a$$. It is so easy to work with that I keep coming back to it. My color is camee and it is very good for under my eyes and for spots on my MAC NC 25 C3, Bobbi Brown sand, Chantecaille vanilla, L'Oreal nude beige. Texture is thin but it covers and easily without needing additional brushes, sponges, buffing pads, etc. You can carry this anywhere and add more and make it work. It is not waterproof. Use Lancome effacernes for that. I get very little creasing from this and I have wrinkles around my eyes. Of course I use eye cream first. I love that it has no sparkles. If I want shimmer I'll add that myself. Comes in a doe foot lipgloss-like tube and tube can get messy around the rim. That's why I give pkging a 4 but there is plenty in the tube for the rather hefty price. Also comes in a lot of colors but not all are available everywhere. No this concealer may not completely cover my terrible circles but I have yet to find one that does. I have bad allergic shiners, and a lot of heavy concealers seem to highlight the circles and still do not cover them any better than this lightweight option. And those heavier concealers end up a crepey mess as they dry into fine lines. This is a reliable go-to that gives me confidence to wear. I do not wear this to events where I know I will be crying a lot like funerals. For that I use effacernes under my eyes because that is a proven waterproof option.
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Mascara -Clinique - High Impact Waterproof Mascara
joy2uandme 3/1/2013 4:42:00 PM
Does not hold a curl for very long but does not flake or smudge or did not on my semi-dry mature eyes. Has the same brush as their regular high impact. Not holding a curl and being wimpy in any kind of humidity is a deal breaker for me which is why I choose a waterproof mascara over non. Clinique's non waterproof mascaras hold up this well so why bother with this waterproof version is my reasoning. Did come off without a struggle with mu remover but big deal. Shu's mascara is still my new love.
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Liquid -Estee Lauder - Invisible Fluid Makeup
joy2uandme 2/27/2013 3:53:00 PM
Oh, how I want this to work for me but something in this formulation makes my skin react. Every time I wear this my rosacea flares. I've tried to deny it because the finish of this liquid is beautiful, albeit drying, but I cannot deny it any longer as I have to get out the cortisone cream after applying this each time. The fluid is so light so it would be perfect for summer. I was given 2NC1 and it is perfect for my NC25 LLL skin tone. (I tried 2WN1 and it was too yellow so try these in the outdoors.) I fought with the SA a tad but she was right. These colors run warm and tend to oxidize as they dry. I do think this foundation is hard for those who have dry skin to pull off. I currently am sporting dry skin and this intensifies my dry skin like no other foundation I have. After wearing it, my skin looks extra crepe-y putting me in a cycle of piling on more and more moisturizers just to wear this, making me think this might be better for normal to combination/oily skin types.
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