Moisturizers -Unlisted Brand - Dermaglow Radiance Glycolic 8% Smoothing Moisturizer
khourianya 10/28/2011 10:39:00 AM
My skin was feeling like hell and I was starting to get really down about it. I had been using Avene Diacneal for about 3 years and was really happy with the results...and then they discontinued it and replaced it with the completely useless Triacneal. The hunt was on for something that could improve the texture of my skin...and fast. I headed to Shoppers on my lunch break and talked tothe skincare lady there. She had a few recommendations for retinols that could help and then she offered me a sample of the Dermaglow moisturizer. After doing some reading, I decided to start with this...and I am in LOVE!!! The next morning, when I woke up - I immediately reached up to touch my skin and it was soft and smooth! No longer felt like sandpaper under my fingers. This was even better than how it had felt with Diacneal...and it came in a format that i could a) use less of, and b) had no offensive smell (hubby often complained about the scent of Diacneal). I've been using it for a few days and I am almost ready to say this is my new HG! I am loving the new texture of my skin - just using this at bedtime. I also bought the 10% Glycolic Peel yesterday, but it is too soon to review that yet. I'll update this review once I've been using it a few weeks.
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Treatments -Avene - Diacneal Acne Treatment [DISCONTINUED]
khourianya 10/26/2011 4:13:00 PM
For 3 years now (well - except during my pregnancy), I was a faithful user of Diacneal. Having suffered from severe cystic acne since my teens - I was sick and tired of it and was willing to try anything. After reading reviews here and doing some hemming and hawwing - I took the leap and fell in love with Diacneal. Within days - the pores on my nose were clearer. My clogged pores elsewhere on my face cleared up quickly. If i did get a cyst - it didn't last for more than a few days...short enough of a timespan that I could tough it out and keep my hands away from it. I enjoyed 3 years of nice, clear skin. Then, one day last month, I went to buy a new tube and discovered that Diacneal was no longer available. This Triacneal had taken it's place and the packaging didn't mention any of the ingredients that I had come to associate with Diacneal. I bought it anyway, because I was desperate to keep going and figured that maybe I was mistaken about the ingredients. Next thing I knew - my chin and upper lip had 4 of the most painful cysts I had ever had (and I've had ALOT). I chalked it up to stress, not immediately associating it with the change in product. These cysts also took too long to heal - going on 3 weeks now and still hardly improved. I started to think maybe it was this cream. Today I was at the drugstore and started to talk to the skin care consultant they had there. She said they reformulated and it no longer contains the retinaldehyde. BINGO! Culprit found (hopefully). So, while I would give the old Diacneal six lippies...Triacneal gets only one. I'm not happy with the change and am now on the hunt for something different. here's hoping a new miracle cream is out there for me.
4 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -L'Oreal - Voluminous mascara
khourianya 3/26/2008 9:41:00 AM
A few years ago, when I was preparing for my first wedding - I went out and bought all L'Oreal makeup for it. To me, at the time, THAT was high end. One of my purchases at the time was Voluminous mascara. and how I loved it. It is probably the first tube of mascara I had ever used up. Didn't smear or smudge - just hung on to those lashes all day without getting flaky on me. Fast forward 7 years and I am on the cusp of my second wedding. I hadn't repurchased Voluminous in the time in between because I was trying my way with department store mascaras (when I wore mascara at all). None of them made me happy and I was starting to get a little antsy about what would go on my lashes for wedding #2. I happened to be in a drugstore makeup aisle and spotted voluminous and had instant flashbacks to how happy I was with it. So I bought 2 - one waterproof, one non. That big fluffy brush had me at first swipe and my lashes are now perfect again! I am now in Mascara Heaven again. I have realized my HG and I will not stray again. Plus, for $7.99 - how can I go wrong?
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Shampoo -Unlisted Brand - LaCoupe orgnx - EM|body shampoo
khourianya 3/25/2008 5:31:00 PM
I was reall;y surprised by the last reviewers take on this shampoo. I am on my second bottle and really like it. I have a problem with developing folliculitis when I use sulphate-free/organic shampoos and I have had no problems whatsoever with this line. It leaves my hair manageable and soft and the smell is really lovely. I plan to keep repurchasing until it stops working for me. My only gripe is that it is a bit pricey for a drugstore shampoo...for the amount you get, it is almost comparable to what I would pay for salon shampoos...
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Blush -Jane - Blushing Earth Sheer
khourianya 3/25/2008 12:08:00 PM
I have completely fallen in love with Jane blushes, thanks to this website. I now own Petal, Blossom and, my new HG - Earth Sheer! I can't even begin to describe what a difference using this colour of blush has been for my skin...it is like my whole face was awoken with the colour. I feared it would be too peachy, but it is the perfect shade for my skin. It just makes me look completely alive. I love the little pot with the screw on lid. I love that it is nicely pigmented and that a little goes a long way. I just love everything about it And to have discovered it a week before my wedding...is fate! THIS is what I needed to complete my look!
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Mascara -Clinique - high definition lashes
khourianya 3/11/2008 7:32:00 PM
I got this as a sample from Sephora and was really disappointed. I've liked Clinique mascaras in the past, but this one was horrible. Clumped really bad and didn't last me through the day - wore off by noon usually. I won't buy a full sized one - it would be a waste of money for me. Thank goodness for sample sizes.
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Fragrances -Philosophy - Falling in Love
khourianya 3/8/2008 7:01:00 PM
I was standing in line at Sephora today and they had this in one of the little bins. I have really bad allergies to most scents, but for some reason I really wanted to smell this one...and am still surprised I ended up putting it in my basket and bringing it home :) The first impression I got of the scent was COTTON CANDY! But there was more to it. It must be the blackberry everyone here is talking about. It is pretty and feminine and very aptly named. I don't know if I can say I have fallen in love with it, but I definitely like it. Whether it replaces the Oscar de la renta I have worn for half my life is yet to be seen. For now, It gives me something new to try for a while and see where the journey takes me. I get married in 3 weeks and I can see myself wearing this on that day.
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Primer/ Corrector -Quo - Foundation Primer
khourianya 3/4/2008 9:34:00 AM
As my wedding gets nearer, I an trying to get all of the products I will need to make my face last that day. One of the things on my list was a primer. I was happy to discover that Quo makes one and decided to give it a go. It was on sale at SDM for only $16 so I figured if I don't like it, it'snot the end of the world. First impressions - I love how it makes my skin feel. I only need one pump of the stuff to cover my whole face and it instantly smoothed and softened everything. I felt like I had a canvas that was ready to create something special with. THAT is definitely a feeling I want to have on my wedding day when I do my makeup :) At first I didn't let it sink in enough before I went ahead with my concealer, so had to wash off one cheek and start over. Once I had given it enough time, though, I was impressed with how easy my concealer went on and adhered (I am recovering from a severe cystic breakout so need that concealer to do it's job on all the reddish purple marks). Once I had everything hidden, my foundation went on like a dream over top. Overall - I am really happy with how this stuff enhanced my makeup application. Such a simple step and I don't know why I went so many years without it. Update: I've been using this for over a week now..and loving it. I had a chance to compare it Smashbox and the SB primer just balled up so I am glad I didn't waste my money on it. I am not breaking out from the Quo and it makes my makeup look so much nicer. I think I have an HG here but time will tell. I don't usually like to say that until I have been through a couple of bottles.
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Lotions/ Creams -Herbacin - Glycerine Hand Cream
khourianya 1/22/2008 3:19:00 PM
Love love loooooove this cream. The last reviewer must have the exact same hands as me because she described the crepieness perfectly and how this stuff just turns that around and gives them this GLOW! I swear - it takes years off my hands in a single application! Soaks right in. Non-sticky. and the smell is pretty.
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Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Clindoxyl Gel
khourianya 1/22/2008 12:34:00 PM
I have had a terrible track record with cystic acne. 2 course of Accutane and, this close to hopefully starting a family, I am terrified to try a third course. When I talked to my doc last week she told me topicals have come a long way since I had my last course of accutane 9 years ago and she gave me a couple of samples of Clindoxyl gel. So – I have been using it for about 5 days now and I am very impressed so far. I have had the year from hell with my skin and have had many cysts pretty much consistently for a year. I am getting married in 2.5 months and while I have spent thousands in the last year to clear me up – I was desperate for something to actually WORK! Since using the clindoxyl, the cysts seem to be vanishing and the skin on my face (which was very rough and bumpy) is smoothing right out. Even the pores on my nose look better and feel smoother. I am seeing visible improvements everyday. I’ve been using a thin layer all over my face at bedtime and this seems to keep me from getting too dry so far. I will definitely be getting a prescription for this when I go back to the doctor in a week. I will update if anything changes. Update (jan 25/08) - I am still really impressed. I am at the one week point and my skin is really starting to get quite clear. It gets pretty itchy by the end of the day but when I go home, wash m y face and exfoliate all of the dry skin from that day, it is looking better and better. LOVE IT!
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Makeup Brushes -Everyday Minerals - New Flat Top Brush
khourianya 1/18/2008 2:14:00 PM
soooo soft. I have never felt a brush this soft - even retianed the softness post-washing. Previously had used BE brushes and EM flat top and kabuki make those brushes seem akin to sandpaper. I also love the coverage I get with the flat top. Seems to take less MMU to cover scars with this brush as opposed to a kabuki. I also love the little wooden handle. It is the absolute perfect length - fits nicely in the hand and makes it easy to control application.
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Cleansers -Origins - Clean Energy Cleansing Oil
khourianya 1/12/2008 12:17:00 PM
Update: I've been using this for about 2 months now and still totally love it! I recently bought Dr. Baumann's Skin Type Solution book and took the questionaire. Turns out I am DSNW. Anyway - I was a bit turned off when she wrote that I should be using oils or cold creams to clean my skin, but I did a ton of research on different oils and started using Jojoba as a moisturizer a week ago. After loving that and not breaking out from it...I decided to take the plunge to a cleansing oil. I decided to try Origins because their counter was easilly accessible from my work and the price point was the most appealing. For $23 and change, I got the cleanser and the pump (thanks to the reviews here, I was prepared :) ) Last night I pumped out about a teaspoon of the oil into my palm and massaged it into my skin and around my eyes. Looking in the mirror, I could almost SEE it dissolving my makeup. It was awesome. After about a minute of massaging, I wet my hands and massaged a bit more, watching the oil turn milky. I then removed it with a warm facecloth. Usually, my skin is crying for moisture as soon as I have rinsed off the cleanser. This time, it just felt soft. All of my makeup was completely gone and I felt clean and refreshed. I added my usual jojoba and then went to bed. This morning, when I got up, I looked in the mirror and low and behold, a couple of difficult pimples I'd had for a while had come to a head and could be easily extracted. That alone was like a miracle for me. So for as odd as Dr. Baumann's suggestion was, I am glad I gave a cleansing oil a try. Time will tell if it is my HG, but I think it has real possibility.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Gels/Soaps -Origins - GINGER BAR Savory Bath Soap
khourianya 1/11/2008 5:41:00 PM
Both my hunny and I love this soap...it is all we'll have in our shower anymore. A bar last forever and the scent is light and freah. Best of all, it doesn't aggravate my very sensitive skin. The bar is huge! We lovingly call it "the mango" when we get a new bar because it is about that size! Edited: I love this soap, but they repackaged it to be a MUCH smaller bar for the same price as the huge one used to be. As nice as this soap is - we no longer use it because the new size and quantity of the bar disappears too quickly to be of any value.
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Skincare - Face -Unlisted Brand - Jojoba Oil
khourianya 1/7/2008 9:38:00 AM
Ok - disclaimer - I have only been using this for about 5 days. I will definitely update if my impression changes. So far, I have been really, REALLY impressed with the changes I've been seeing in my skin. Throughout 2007, I had a really bad bout of cystic acne that I figure was brought on by the heavilly chlorinated water that is in the town we moved to early in the year. It was the most horrible thing ever - constant infections and NOTHING worked on it. As a result, I was left with some bad scarring and pigment marks (which I had never had before). Fast forward to 2008 - I decided that with my wedding coming in early April, I needed to do something and fast. I had mostly managed to get the cysts under control (with the help of a whole home water filtration system). The scars were really affecting me, as well as some risidual breakouts that I just couldn't seem to stop. Add to that the fact that my face is incredibly dry and acne prone and I was in quite a state. I read about Jojoba Oil on here, but was scared to even think about adding OIL onto my face. Finally, as a last resort, I picked up a bottle at a natural foods store here in town. That night I washed my face and then patted on the oil while my skin was still damp. It felt like a nice moisturizer and not oily at all. I then added on some vitamin E oil as well (which was really greasy feeling and didn't sink in at all) and went to bed. The next morning, I had the pleasant surprise of waking up so soft, moisturized skin. No big changes on the scars, but I didn't really expect miracles. Now, a few days later, I am seeing some improvement to the scars, though my skin is still really dry throughout the day.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Mario Badescu - Drying Cream
khourianya 1/2/2008 12:30:00 PM
I'd been wanting to try the Mario Badescu products for many years and only recently found out they will send you samples if you fill in their queastionaire online. One of the samples I recieved was the drying cream. I've been using it about a week and am really quite happy with the results on my horrible skin. First - overnight, it got rid of all of the little bumps under the skin that I have been struggling with. Secondly - I've had a couple of cysts and this stuff has certainly sped up the healing of those...to the point where I won't remember them as ugly, painfullness that lasted for weeks. It smells gawd-awful, but if you're like me, you're willing to put up with a horrible smelling cream as long as it works wonders...and this stuff does. The smell disipates soon after the cream is rubbed in. Warning - it does dry out the skin where it is applied, but if you spot treat and pat it on, it only dries out those spots. I have come to the realization that Salicylic acid and Benzoyl peroxide do not work at all for me so am happy to have found more sulphur based products to add to my acne combat arsenal. I can hardly wait to try the buffering lotion and will be placing a big order to MB today!
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