Mascara -Rimmel - Scandal Eyes Lycra Flex Mascara
jskellis 5/8/2013 12:22:00 AM
I seldom return things, but this was yet another dumb purchase for which I couldn't forgive myself so I went and got my money back and bought a bibble tea. It was money much better spent. This was a very dry formula and flaked all over pretty much instantly. There was a little length, but the tips faked off within a few hours. The volume was decent, but there are far better drugstore mascaras out there, rimmel usually has awesome mascaras like glam eyes and sexy curves. L'oreal telescopic shocking extensions has good volume and great length. The other reviews have positive marks for this but I'd be prepared to return it.
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Foundations -Wet 'n' Wild - Coverall Cream Foundation
jskellis 4/29/2013 10:23:00 PM
Euphemisms are great, I can call myself "frugal" or the even fancier "economical", to explain why I buy cheap makeup. In more straightforeward terms, I'm broke but I want to look really nice. With giftcards or a few extra shifts I have bought high end products and even repurchased some of them since they'd become irreplaceable holy grails. This amazing foundation I found for $3.99 before the 40% off sale. It blends into my skin beautifully and "fair" the lightest shade is perfect for my ultra pale skin. My other foundation love, CG 3-in-1 keeps me slightly more matte but the finish and shade match aren't quite as perfect. Both are 5 star foundations, and much cheaper than tarte, nars, EL, dior, MUFE, and many others I have sampled! Awesome foundation for such a tiny price!
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Wet 'n' Wild - Color Icon Trio - Walking on Eggshells
jskellis 4/21/2013 12:17:00 PM
Walking on Eggshells, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.... Pros: Beautiful colors Pigmentation Longevity Blendability Price Cons: Slight fallout The colors are all so useful and gorgeous. They're not at all glittery, but all have a shimmer to them. The browbone color is a light off-white (eggshell lol), the lid color is a lovely, unique peach, and the crease is a coppery brown that isn't as dark as it looks in the pan. But it's really the price to quality ratio on this product is what's most amazing about it. These are UD quality shadows for only about $3!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Highlighters -Physicians Formula - Mineral Glow Pearls- Translucent Pearls
jskellis 4/17/2013 1:12:00 AM
I have pale NC5-10ish skin, so this acts as a nice, subtle every day highlighter. NARS Albatross is sublime, but I can't go around pretending I'm a glowing extraterrestrial/supernatural creature on a regular basis or really very often at all, as much as I'd like to. Physician's Formula is a pricey brand, but their ingredients are good, and this highlighter should last about an eternity. You pay a lot but you get a lot, and if you want a subtle highlight you might end up using this every day.
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Mascara -Cover Girl - Lash Perfection Volumizing Mascara
jskellis 4/16/2013 11:32:00 PM
It's really interesting how the meanings of words are distorted for monetary (or political, or social) gain. Advertising and elections have perfected (and I do mean perfected) the use of euphemisms and verisimilitude. This is not a bad mascara. But its effect on my lashes was nowhere near "perfection". Like all consumers I'm completely oblivious at this point to those kinds of words that companies like CG are using to sell their products. Of course it's amazing when you hear that from the people who are trying to feed their families with the revenues of its sale. It's just now that I sit down and write this review that I wonder "what did this product say it would do? how did it succeed or fail me?" I guess since this product goes and promises "perfection" it has sort of set itself up to fail. But I'll just get to the pros and cons! Pros: Volume Some length Easy to use Pigmented Cons: Clumps/looks dry Flakes Doesn't hold a curl So ultimately it does half of what it says it will- it provides volume and pigment, but does not "perfect" (lengthen, define). I would probably finish the tube (I can work around the clumping) if it wasn't so flaky but I end up with black dust all over my cheeks within a few hours.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -E.L.F. - Baked Blush in Peachy Cheeky
jskellis 4/9/2013 3:09:00 PM
Once again ELF strolls right into the makeup game, smacks the ball out of the other kids' hands, and sends NARS and MAC and Chanel all crying to the corner with bruised egos. I have been searching for that perfect peach-pink that's not quite as pink as coral but not pure orange. Orgasm satisfies my need for coral and benefit georgia is there for days when I want to wear orange. I've been searching for a shade that's smack dab in betwen and on my pale neutral-warmish skin Peachy Cheeky is the missing link! It has been compared to the mac skinfinish blushes but it doesn't have that pretty wet looking shimmer. I'm perfectly ok with that because the shimmer in peachy cheeky is subtle and appropriate for everyday/work makeup. It's so cheap but it lasts long and blends very nicely. This is truely a 5 star blush if I've ever seen one!
5 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -China Glaze - Mimosa's Before Mani's
jskellis 4/8/2013 11:32:00 PM
Big disappointment from CG! The color looks like a peach/coral in the bottle but dries to a much darker "weathered lawn flamingo pink". The formula was ok, but nowhere near as nice as other CG polishes I've used. Really looks very different from the color in the bottle. If you're looking for a warm pink it might be for you, but not my cup of tea at all.
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Liquid -NARS - Sheer Glow Foundation
jskellis 3/17/2013 1:36:00 AM
I got a sample of this from sephora, which I was able to use 6 times. I didn't hate it completely but I would never purchase this. I have an excellent primer that makes my make up go on beautifully and controls my oil all day. It plays nicely with every foundation I've used with it. NARS sheer glow manages to circumvent my primer and emphasize my pores (the sebaceous filaments on my nose OH GOD) and fine lines. It has a mask like effect and is pale enough but too yellow for my skin. When I tried to use less, it dried too quickly to blend. Like sheer matte, this dries extremely fast. From a distance in a mirror, I looked flawless. This is VERY heavy coverage and you need it, you might not mind my complaints.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Cover Girl - Lash Blast Clump Crusher mascara
jskellis 3/11/2013 7:33:00 PM
Pros: Separates lashes well Doesn't clump Lengthens decently Cons: FLAKES. All over. Lengthening is temporary because flakes so much off the tips. Brush shape totally unnecessary and awkward. There are better mascaras for the same price out there. Anything from Rimmel is great, but Sexy Curves and Glam Eyes are my favorites. I'll use this on casual days but I'm sticking with my HG Benefit They're Real for work.
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Conditioner -Redken - Smooth lock butter silk
jskellis 3/4/2013 4:16:00 PM
I work at a retail salon that sells everything under the sun. I have a generous discount and plenty of samples come my way. I used this both on my virgin hair and on my friend's highly chemically processed hair. I've been bleaching his mohawk to be totally white. His hair is dark brown so we had to bleach it a couple of times to get the yellow out and I've been having him use violet shampoo, which is good for toning but isn't the most moisturizing. This time around, I brought him the Butter Silk and it made a world of difference! His hair went from being rough to the touch to soft and silky. He lets it soak in for a full 15 minutes. As for my hair, it is very long and naturally pin straight. My biggest problems are greasy roots, tangling, and terrible split ends. So far, this is the BEST deep conditioner I've been able to try. It makes my hair incredible soft, shiny, and prevents tangling. My roots didn't get greasy overnight and my split ends were totally masked. I let a friend of mine pet my hair after I used this and she said "oh my god, it's like baby hair!" I wanted to touch my hair all day too! It's pricey but I'll still be picking up a bottle for myself.
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Crème -Revlon - ColorStay Whipped Creme Makeup
jskellis 3/1/2013 2:05:00 PM
I HATED the original colorstay. I got the oily/combo liquid and it made my face oily, emphasized my pores, caked with even only a small amount. It had such great reviews and I was really disappointed. I'm glad I went ahead and tried this one. The only similarity with the original is its staying powder, which is excellent. The formula is soft and blends into the skin much better, though not perfectly. The color match is also much better, the lightest shade in whipped being lighter and more neutral than the original liquid. I rated it four stars and almost listed "no" for repurchase because you don't get much for the price and it goes FAST. I like the 3-in-1 from CG a little better but this is a really amazing foundation too so I'd repurchase in a heartbeat if that was out of stock or discontinued.
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Foundations -Cover Girl - Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 Foundation
jskellis 3/1/2013 1:59:00 PM
Wow, Cover Girl. I hate to be the "I've tried all kinds, high end and low, blah blah blah" reviewer, because, most of us have tried a ton of foundations with different results, I'm not special in struggling to find a foundation. But this foundation is truly amazing, and after a couple weeks' use has basically beat the s'ht out of my HG, married its wife, moved into its apartment, and in general kicked it to the curb. Sorry NYX HD, we just weren't meant to be together forever. I still cheat with Revlon Whipped, but I still have two jars of that and it's a great foundation with a slightly better color match. But it's a 4-star foundation. CG 3-in-1 is a 5-star foundation, and they're coming out with an 800 so that color match problem should be taken care of :) The 805 is slightly too dark, but that will be my summer color after I pick up the 800 when it's finally in stores! I bought this because of all the rave reviews, and it really was worth it. Give it a try, it might save you a lot of money in the end!
7 out of 8 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -Cover Girl - CG Smoothers All Day Hydrating Makeup
jskellis 3/1/2013 1:47:00 PM
EDIT: this oxidises. Please disregard the review below :/ CG advertises this as a moisturizing, "light, natural" finish foundation. CG delivers on its claims and quite well! I find this to have the consistency of a TM, and use about two layers for a very natural finish. It puts a soft focus on my face and with translucent setting powder, it doesn't look like I'm wearing liquid foundation. I wear this as an "I'm on my day off" or "f-ck it, I'm just going to the grocery store" foundation. I need concealer to cover blemishes with this, but when my skin is good I love how natural the finish is.
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Blush -NARS - Orgasm Blush
jskellis 2/27/2013 10:24:00 PM
I swapped for this and it is absolutely sublime. The shimmer is barely noticeable and it is a beautiful peachy-pink. I am very fair and this is not too bright at all, though it looks bright gold-pink in the pan. Awkward when my grandma asked what blush I was wearing though :/
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Makeup Brushes -Ecotools - Bamboo Bronzer Brush
jskellis 2/18/2013 1:52:00 AM
I use this brush to apply blush, and although I find it way too big, I just use a small section of the bristles. This is such a soft, dense brush for being drugstore brand. All of my blushes blend effortlessly with this brush. Often with natural or ecofriendly products there's a compromise we have to make between ethics and quality. This product is both good for the planet and good for my face :)
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