Cleansers -LUSH - Aqua Marina Cleansing Roll
kawright 5/8/2013 12:20:00 PM
I wanted to love this product. I've been a pretty big fan of every Lush product I've tried so far, but this is the first cleanser of theirs that I've tried, and it just wasn't for me. I started out using it twice daily but found it incredibly drying. After reducing use to once daily I still found it drying. It left my face with an uncomfortably tight, almost astringent feeling, and left a powdery, flaky residue on my face after use, making it feel coated. Using toner afterward got rid of the residue, but even using extra moisturizer did not compensate for the dry, flaky skin this left me with. The smell is also rather off-putting, sort of like a combination of chalk and cough medicine. It's just a weird product all around. The texture makes it kind of fun to use, and going in to the store and watching the sales associate cut off a sushi roll of product and packaging it up for you is entertaining. The packaging makes it difficult to get the appropriate amount of product out of the container, though. Like I said, I wanted to love this product because it just seemed like so much more fun than a regular cleanser. But I can't recommend it for dry, sensitive skin.
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Treatments (Eye) -Booths - Black Licorice Eye Cream 
kawright 4/26/2013 5:57:00 PM
Pretty average product. Not the greatest eye cream ever, but not the worst either. It's OK as far as providing moisture without irritation to my undereye area, but did nothing to combat/prevent fine lines or signs of aging. Takes a bit of time to completely absorb, so it's probably better for use at night. Also did nothing about my dark circles, but I've never found an eye cream that has done anything to fight those, so I can't hold that against it. It was difficult to get the last bits of product out of the container, so the packaging could use a little work. Decent drugstore-quality eye cream for a drugstore price, so go for it if all you're looking for is moisture in your eye cream.
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Toners -Clean & Clear - Deep Cleaning Astringent-Sensitive Skin (blue)
kawright 5/18/2010 5:44:00 PM
A pretty basic toner. Not too drying, but didn't really help prevent breakouts like it claims either. I was surprised that this wasn't drying since it has a ton of alcohol in it. Didn't really notice any difference in my skin when using this. It was really good for reducing redness and swelling after plucking my eyebrows, though, but that is not enough of a reason to buy it again.
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Cleansers -Clean & Clear - Sensitive Skin Deep Action Cream Cleanser
kawright 5/14/2010 11:43:00 AM
I used to love Clean and Clear products in college, but the Foaming Cleanser became too drying, so I thought the Cream Cleanser might be a little less harsh. I guess I should have known better, and I'm probably too old and have too sensitive skin to be using C and C products, but this cleanser is so cheap I couldn't resist picking it up. While it feels wonderful going on your skin, smooth and silky with that pleasant menthol tingle, it leaves a residue behind that ended up breaking me out in a few days if I didn't use toner afterward. It does make your skin feel amazingly soft after rinsing, but I think that's just the residue it leaves behind, because I did find this drying after about a week of use. Bottom line: probably not for sensitive skin because of the menthol, but if you're oily and have used menthol before with no problems, give it a try, but make sure to use toner afterward.
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Masks -The Body Shop - Honey & Oat Scrub Mask
kawright 1/18/2010 12:57:00 PM
This is one of the few products from The Body Shop that has ever impressed me. Although calling it a scrub is a bit of a stretch, it's very calming and moisturizing as a mask. The scrubby bits are oat pieces, and they are too large and there are too few of them to really exfoliate well, so don't expect this product to perform as a scrub. As a moisture mask, however, this product performs very well: my skin is always very soft and glowy after use, no matter how dry, flaky, or irritated it was before I used the mask. It does help control redness and irritation, even to the extent of making any blemishes look less red and inflamed. Your skin will feel and look very good after using this, especially if, like me, your skin gets dry in winter. It smells amazing too. Does have a tendency to make my skin a little itchy for the last few minutes of use, however, so those with sensitive skin should be wary.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lotions/ Creams -The Body Shop - Almond Oil Intensive Hand Rescue
kawright 12/26/2009 11:41:00 AM
I bought this product to use at night as an intensive treatment for my extremely dry hands. You could really only use this when going to bed because it takes about ten minutes to completely soak in and is very greasy until then. However, in the morning my hands would be just as dry as they were before applying the moisturizer. I thought maybe it was the kind of thing where continued use would improve the product's performance, but after using up the whole jar I am still unimpressed. You can get much better performance out of a drugstore brand moisturizer for a quarter of the price of this stuff. And don't get sucked in by the scent either. At first this cream smells amazing but that delicious almond scent gradually fades and is replaced with a very artificial plastic smell. Not recommended.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Shampoo -Aubrey Organics - J.A.Y. Desert Herb Shampoo
kawright 11/2/2009 4:00:00 PM
As other reviewers have mentioned, this shampoo is pretty drying, and my hair felt pretty stripped of moisture after using it. However, it does get your hair just as clean as any sulfate shampoo, so if you have oily hair and you're looking for a good sulfate-free natural shampoo, this one could be for you. The smell was also pretty bad, sort of fishy and herbally at the same time. Not something I wanted to walk around all day smelling like. The only reason this shampoo is getting two lippies rather than one is that it made my hair super shiny whenever I used it. I'm talking ridiculous, Pantene commercial shiny. Overall, not worth the smell and the dry hair it left me with though. I might try another shampoo in the Aubrey line in the future, though.
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Gels/Soaps -Philosophy - Cafe Au Lait 3-in-1
kawright 5/19/2009 4:54:00 PM
This product was very disappointing for what it cost. While it smells good and has a very strong scent in the shower, the scent lingers longer in your bathroom than it does on your skin. The scent is also more caramel than cafe au lait...sort of like caramel coffee creamer. It also dried out my skin a little and left me with some flaky patches on my arms and legs. I never used it on my hair, but if it was drying to my skin I can't imagine what it would do to the hair. Unless you have oily skin and absolutely can't resist the scent, pass on this one.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Aveda - botanical kinetics exfoliant
kawright 3/24/2009 5:39:00 PM
I wanted to love this product. It's a great concept, the ingredients seem very beneficial to skin, and it has a great tingly feeling when you apply it that really makes you think it's doing something. But I really haven't noticed any difference in my skin since I've been using it, and it's too expensive to buy again when I'm not sure it's making a difference. Also, I can't get past the smell. Since I usually love the Aveda scent, I was really surprised at how bad this product smells, but it honestly kind of smells like vomit to me. Definitely not conducive to making me want to use it.
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Cleansers -Aveda - Purifying Gel Cleanser
kawright 3/24/2009 5:29:00 PM
I should start off by saying that this product is formulated for normal to oily skin, and I don't have oily skin. So I guess I shouldn't be surprised that this cleanser dried out my skin like crazy, right? But I wanted to try the Botanical Kinetics line, and the sales associate recommended the gel cleanser for me since I have combination skin. While the cleanser smelled great, the texture was a little too sticky for me and I felt like it took forever to wash off. Did nothing to keep my skin clear and dried out my nose and forehead to the point where I had little flaky bits that even moisturizer wouldn't get rid of. If you have combination skin, stay away from this cleanser.
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Moisturizers -Aveda - Hydrating Lotion
kawright 3/15/2009 5:36:00 PM
I was really disappointed by this product. It was simultaneously too oily and not moisturizing enough. I love Aveda hair products, so when I bought the sample Botanical Kinetics skincare kit, I was expecting to be impressed. I am so glad I only bought the sample size, because I would definitely not want to be stuck with more of this lotion. The one thing I can say that I loved about it was the smell, which was a fabulous green scent, very light and fresh. But other than that, it was basically a waste of money. It left my skin shiny and oily-looking, even when I only used the tiniest amount, and did nothing for the dry patches. My skin looked and felt worse after using this product.
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Toners -Aveda - Toning Mist
kawright 3/15/2009 5:22:00 PM
While I was pretty disappointed with the rest of Aveda's Botanical Kinetics skincare line, this toner was actually a pretty good product. It was one of the few toners I've used that I felt actually did anything. It feels very refreshing and kind of tingly when you put it on, and it helps to soothe any irritation or inflammation, so if you have sensitive skin like me it's great. It smells fantastic (if you like that signature herbal scent that all Aveda products have) and doesn't smell at all like alcohol, which is a problem with most toners I've tried. I didn't find it drying at all, in fact it helped to counteract the dryness that the cleanser left me with. The only thing I didn't like was the spray bottle it came in. I'm a fan of the old-fashioned cotton ball application system for toner, and I felt that I couldn't get even application using the sprayer. I know a lot of people like the spray bottle though, so it might not be an issue for you. I just sprayed it onto a cotton ball and applied it that way. The only reason I might not buy this toner again is that I'd like to find a toner that helps more with keeping my skin clear as well as just moisturizing/balancing.
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Toners -Neutrogena - Pore Refining Toner
kawright 8/15/2008 10:01:00 AM
This is one of the few toners I've ever used where I actually noticed a difference in my skin while including it in my regimen. With most toners, if you're using the toner in the same line with the cleanser and moisturizer, it's hard to tell if the toner is actually doing anything, but this one noticeably evened out my skin tone and made my pores appear slightly smaller. It also helped to counteract some of the dryness the Pore Refining cleanser left me with. It has a nice tingly feeling on the skin and my skin felt so soft after it absorbed the toner. I did have a problem with the fact that it smells very strongly of alcohol. It's not surprising, since it is the second ingredient on the list, but the scent lingers for a long time. My moisturizer didn't seem to absorb as well after using this toner either, it just seemed to sit on my skin for a while. Basically I wouldn't advise against trying it, it's a pretty good product, just not right for me.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -Neutrogena - Pore Refining Cleanser
kawright 7/29/2008 9:36:00 PM
I thought I would like this product, since I've had some success with products containing glycolic acid in the past. I do think this a pretty good, low-priced drugstore brand cleanser if you're looking for a product with both AHA and BHA, but it just didn't work with my combination skin very well. Though I found that using the product twice a day kept my skin very clear and smooth with a nice glow, it also dried out my nose and forehead. When I tried using it only once a day I found it didn't dry out my skin, but it also didn't keep my skin as clear either. A decent product, did what it promised, just too drying for me.
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Gels/Soaps -Aveeno - Skin Relief Body Wash Fragrance Free
kawright 2/28/2008 8:55:00 PM
This stuff is definitely moisturizing, so it did help with dry winter skin. But it certainly was not hypoallergenic, because it made my skin itchier than it was before I started using it. I'm not sure what ingredient this contains that my skin doesn't like, but I was definitely allergic to something in it, as I broke out in small red itchy bumps on my neck and chest after using it. It doesn't lather very well, you need a lot of water to get a decent lather, otherwise the gel is really thick and sticky. Though the gel is fragrance-free, it does have a strong, unpleasant scent, sort of like a medicinal oatmeal smell. If you have really dry, flaky skin and nothing else has worked for you, I'd say give it a try, but for those with sensitive skin I would advise you to stay away.
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