Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Parfums 06130 Lys
kmennie 4/26/2013 6:07:00 PM
Surprised by the bad reviews -- I think it's lovely. You would have to really, really like water lilies, I suppose? At any rate, a pretty but not unsophisticated scent; "watery." I also find it very versatile -- if I had to peg it down I would say summer daytime, but it works for evening and all seasons.
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Moisturizers -Clean & Clear - Finishes Pore Perfecting Moisturizer SPF 15 [DISCONTINUED]
kmennie 4/3/2012 8:30:00 AM
Absolute "holy grail." This is the only SPF cream I have ever WANTED to have on my skin, which is relentlessly greasy at the times of year when one really wants SPF on. Amazingly, it actually delivers as promises, and 'mattifies' -- and sinks right into the skin. The effect lasts and lasts, but you don't feel a thing on your face. If this came in a miniature glass jar for $60 I would grumble and moan about the price, but keep purchasing. I have never found anything else that works so well, despite years of hunting. Rather unhappily this has recently been discontinued. If you liked this, please contact the company (easy to do via their Facebook pages) and plead for its return. Clearly this was a very good line -- I have also tried and liked the "Finishes" pump-bottle cleanser -- that was not on the market for long enough to find its niche. :(
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Treatments -L'Oreal - Skin Genesis Pore minimizing Skin Re-Smoother
kmennie 9/10/2011 5:58:00 PM
Overwhelmingly perfumed -- slight greasy feel -- didn't do ANYTHING to reduce appearance of pores -- caused breakouts -- lousy packaging, impractical and deceptive. (Seconding the recommendation to break the top off; quite a bit of what little product you get will be wasted otherwise.) This didn't even work for me as a primer; it certainly didn't do anything useful to my skin. Not particularly sure how I got to the end of the bottle. The smell is really...I would not buy another L'Oreal skin product again based on the scent alone. Very disappointed with all aspects of this.
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Lip Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Lucas' Papaw Ointment
kmennie 5/25/2011 9:01:00 AM
Pleased. Mail-ordered this to Canada while mail-ordering some other Aussie whatnot off epharmacy.com.au, and it has worked its way into indispensability. Apply at night = area is still moist in the morning, without exceptional greasiness. So for that alone, great for parched winter lips and skin. Also very soothing. The smell -- which is not too overpowering -- is, to me, pleasant. Smell and texture are both, I found, much much nicer than Arden 8 Hr, which is in comparison much more greasy and much more prone to disappearing instead of leaving things soft and moist.
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Powder -Korres - Mineral Powder Foundation
kmennie 4/25/2011 10:18:00 AM
Have long loathed mineral foundation but am a great Korres lover, and what with Korres' reliable wonderfulness and the positive reviews I decided to try this. Yes! Love it. It is easy to apply -- oddly it doesn't look so hot immediately; it seems to need a few minutes to settle in, so to speak. And then it disappears; it evens out my skin wonderfully, but it's not at all apparent that there's any make-up on me. Cons: an additional product is needed for oil control, concealer still req'd for difficult spots, not a fan of the sponge being next to the product in the container. But that's it; zero other complaints. I was dubious about the limited shade selection but the lightest was just right (I am usually the second-lightest in most foundation ranges...); perhaps I lucked out? But it blends so well and is somehow adept at both covering and being sheer (it is indeed very "buildable," too) so I suspect it works for more of a range than most foundations. I can't feel this on, and the application is really unfussy, a great boon. A few swipes with a brush for a basic layer, a bit of work with the sponge if there's a blotch or spot, done. And it stays put all day. Price seems reasonable given how little is needed; this is a definite repurchase, and close to a 'HG.'
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Toners -Garnier - Synergie Pure Pore Purifying Astringent
kmennie 4/25/2011 9:49:00 AM
Surprised at negative reviews -- I found this MUCH milder than other alcohol-based astringents. It was just what I was looking for, viz: a strong astringent to mop up serious humidity-induced grease, without any burn or irritation. I am in my thirties, often 'sensitive,' often still oily; hard to find stuff that works for fussy and greasy skin, and this is a definite repurchase. No magical long-term effects and it hasn't actually diminished acne/blackhead issues, so not a full five marks here, but it does the basic job nicely and at a good price. I think oilier sorts won't be disappointed. It is much, much less harsh than the 'Sea Breeze,' '10-0-6,' super-drying alcohol-based toners of the past.
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Mascara -Smashbox - Lash DNA
kmennie 4/25/2011 9:42:00 AM
The first thing I thought when I opened this was 'Brush suitable for ruminants' and I was unable to get that thought out of my head for the short while I had this before tossing it. The brush is ENORMOUS, and does nothing of benefit for its stupid size. If you were trying to pretty up a cow it would probably be just right, but. Really not worth messing with this...mess. The mascara itself was pretty gloppy. Fail. First time I've been disappointed by Smashbox.
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Lipstick -Stila - Lip Rouge- Smooch
kmennie 1/27/2011 5:33:00 PM
Startled to find the awful reviews! On me this is a pretty and vibrant berry shade, gorgeous with a swipe of rich lip balm on top. It can be a little "flat" without something layered over it; a mid-lip dot of a lighter and slightly sparkly or glossy shade is a nice addition. It lasts nicely. I feared feathering, but that hasn't been a big problem. The vast majority of lipstick makes my lips peel horribly and I am usually forced to stick to sheer lip products, but I can tolerate this just fine. Docked stars here for unreliability -- hard to get a constant and even line out of the pen -- and lousy packaging; I got one with a cap that doesn't stay on. edited to dock a point: in no time at all this ended up with huge application problems; application was either nothing or big glops of colour. A very short shelf life!
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Shampoo -Nexxus - Therappe Shampoo
kmennie 1/17/2011 11:04:00 PM
Very much with the "it's the holy grail of this kind of shampoo" reviewers; I love this over-consonanted product. As stated: cleans without drying, a rarity in moisturising shampoos. I have fine hair, dry ends with a scalp that leans towards greasy. Little works well. But this is great -- lathers up beautifully, rinses clean, leaves it all feeling clean but not dried out. Easy to skip conditioner. It was, for me, way more volumising than shampoos marketed as ditto -- which are too often just plain drying. I still throw other shampoos in the mix, but this is a must-have. Fingers crossed that my local Costco stocks this again -- pricy in a drugstore but a great price there, and the pump dispenses a perfect amount in one go.
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Lip Gloss -Stila - Lip glaze
kmennie 1/17/2011 10:00:00 PM
Didn't love the packaging, didn't have as many problems as some reviewers. A couple of clicks, swipe, okay result. Not great, but passable. Terrible formulation -- this is kiddie make-up. Stila, I am sorry -- I have been a fan since 1997, love your shadow, but this? Yuk. Sticky and sugary-smelling and what colour was there settled into creases pretty fast. No staying power in exchange for all the sticky. Fussy application for a gloss, thanks to the stickiness. Product quantities in the set I bought were tiny, too; even if there'd been good gloss in there it wouldn't have been a "$120 Value." Two or three colours were cute, and the rest seemed to be begging for a swipe of eye liner used as lip liner, huge hoop earrings, and a pair of tight white jeans. A bit dated.
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Mascara -Maybelline - Volum' Express The Falsies
kmennie 1/17/2011 9:49:00 PM
"Spidery" was the word that kept coming to mind with this stuff. Thick, clump-prone, not impressed with the brush. I felt rather 1970s -- big thick unseparated lashes. Could not reach lashes at corners with brush provided. Overall impression: cheap, in many ways. This was thrown out after a week or two. The tube I bought had some manufacturing defects -- several bristles on the brush were twice as long as the rest of them, and there was a poor join on the wand and it looked like it was about to split into two pieces. Great. Perhaps I can e-mail them a picture and ask for a replacement? Maybelline.ca --> no "Contact us" on-line! In 2010! Commented on their Facebook page. Maybelline response: nothing. This was my first Maybelline purchase since early adolescence, and also my last. Yuk.
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Moisturizers -Korres - Wild Rose 24-Hour Cream
kmennie 1/17/2011 4:40:00 PM
Bought this after leaving Sephora with a slew of samples while looking for something for greasy skin with a bit of SPF. Tried a B. Kamins, awful. Tried a Dermalogica, meh. Tried a variety of Clinique, meh to okay to bad. This was the clear stand-out -- it goes on beautifully and does not, unlike just about everything else I tried, leave me greasy. Perfect. Lovely smell and texture. I am using a powder make-up instead of foundation at the moment and this is a great base. Nice jar, would've preferred a pump. Unlike some other reviewers I like the low SPF. 6 was high, once...
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Cleansers -Boots - Botanics Skin Brightening Cleanser
kmennie 1/17/2011 2:44:00 PM
Love it. Found it on sale -- used it for a week -- rushed back to the store for two more bottles. I have greasy skin and thought this was going to be a disaster, but it left me glowing. No break-outs. Two pumps massaged on in the bath = perfect cleanse. I am not a big believer in package claims and buy whatever smells nice and more or less works, so I was really pleasantly surprised to find myself actually "brightened." One does feel the AHA tingling. I got better results with this than I have with much more concentrated products (where I suppose I might've overdone it, AHA-wise). Not sure I'll like it so much in the summer, but it's perfect for winter. A+ for value.
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Moisturizers -B. Kamins - Matte Moisturizer
kmennie 9/11/2010 5:06:00 PM
Wow. Yes, a let-down, as per all previous reviews. If I was still in my oily teens or twenties I would've tossed this. With mid-thirties greasy skin this is just passable. It is not usable as any sort of make-up base, and it certainly does not 'mattify.' The price and product claims turn this from mere 'so-so sunscreen' into 'ridiculous disappointment.' It reminded me of Coppertone's oil-free SPF 30. I wasn't at all let down by the Coppertone, which was cheap and did not make any claims about being matte. It was too greasy to be useful for anything but high-test SPF to sit out in my yard with, but worked just fine for that. For the $$ and claims of the Kamins I was expecting some mattifying and a nice feel. No luck. On the plus side: barely any scent.
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