Toners -Boots - Face rosewater toner
kooksfan 7/17/2011 1:56:00 PM
This smells soooo nice. I love it. So much so that I spend a good amount of time just sniffing it in the morning after cleansing my face. Uh.., on with the review. o_O To be honest, I bought this not because i'm a fan of toners but because I wanted to have a complete set of products. Is that weird? I ran out of all of my face cleansing products recently (DDF glycolic cleanser and glycolic toner and Ambi SPF 15 moisturizer) and decided to try the Boots line of skincare since the reviews on the Target site were so positive. I also wanted to make my regimen simpler and more organic (read, not so damn expensive). I bought this toner along with the Boots foaming cleanser (the one in the tube not the one that comes in a pump), daily moisturizer, and the Alba Botanica sea enzyme scrub at my local Target. So far, I really like it. I don't think the toner does much, but I don't mind since it's the second to last step in my cleansing routine. By the time I tone, my face is pretty clean already. If you're looking for a toner that removes makeup or does anything more than refresh your face, this isn't it. It's a simple, delicious smelling, no frills toner. I've yet to use it as a spray, but that sounds like a great idea. I plan on buying three more of these before I move to college this summer, that's how much I love this product. Again, it doesn't really do much but that's why I love it. It only contains 4 ingredients, one of them being water. While cute, the packaging isn't very practical (screw top lid). It's not a big deal, though. I also like how the bottle is clear. Oh, and did I mention how heavenly this smells? ;) Hope this helps.
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Treatments -The Body Shop - tea tree oil
kooksfan 7/17/2011 12:05:00 PM
This is 15% tea tree oil and 75% alcohol. Unless you're a fan of extremely dry skin, do yourself a favor and buy the 100% tea tree oil at your local health food store. I was interested in trying the entire Body Shop tea tree line since reading about the benefits of tea tree oil on acne prone skin. When I went to The Body Shop to check it out, the sales people were incredibly pushy and overbearing. One sales person tried three different body scrubs on my hand after telling her I was interested in purchasing only the skin care line. I read the ingredients on a couple of the products from the tea tree line and they read like your typical drugstore product ingredient list. I was hoping that the line would be more natural and simple but that wasn't case. The prices are really reasonable, though. You can buy the tea tree skincare kit at Sephora for $29 and I didn't see any products over $15. I didn't have a good experience with The Body Shop tea tree oil. It dried my skin out (tea tree oil can dry your skin out but I think it was due to the alcohol content), and didn't do much in terms of making my pimples smaller. I plan on returning it. It was only $9 but since I have no use for it, why not return it. Since purchasing this product, i've visited my local natural food store and bought 100% tea tree oil for $8.00 +tax. I apply it at night with a cotton ball after using my toner. The smell is very strong and isn't too pleasant but it does a great job of reducing the size of my pimples, redness, and I think it's helped make my skin more even. Hope this helps.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -Bobbi Brown - Natural Finish- Long Lasting Foundation SPF 15 [DISCONTINUED]
kooksfan 6/12/2010 9:22:00 PM
I am so happy with this foundation it's ridiculous. I went to the Bobbi Brown counter and asked about their new foundation. The SA was really nice and decided to, in addition to finding my match, add bronzer, blush, shadow, and gloss. She also used the products from the skincare line to remove my makeup and prep my skin. I realize that this is a marketing and sales ploy but it worked, I felt like a valued customer. Before I decided to make my purchase, she gave me a booklet on the BB Spring collection. This all took about 15 minutes. Packaging. I'm not a stickler for packaging but it's really nice to buy a product that is well-presented. It comes in a rectangular black box, sort of looks like a perfume box. 'Bobbi Brown' is the text on the front and product detail is on the back. This foundation is housed in a SUPER cute, rectangular, frosted glass bottle. It looks really nice on my dresser. You get 1 fluid ounce of product for $45+ tax. I told the makeup-artist that I had read that this fdt. runs a little light and let her know that i ws worried that my usual color, 6.5 warm almond, might be too light. Turns out, it's pretty spot on. I was color matched earlier this year (feb.?) to 6.5 when I bought my first BB fdt., Skin Fdt., and I think it was just a hair too dark. 6.5 in this formula matches me perfectly. performance: This truly is long wearing. I put it on this morning (7 am), took a 4 hr. exam, took a nap, woke up at 5 a.m and it still looks nice.Coverage is light to medium but buildable. I hate to layer it not only because i try to avoid the dreaded, heavy look, but because i feel like i'm wasting it. at $48 and change, I don't think this is irrational of me. I'm sure that it's buildable though. I apply this with the MAC 130 brush, btw. If I want a 'dewy' look a stipple instead of buff. This DOES control oiliness. I love when a product does what it says it will! This is really what sets this fdt. apart from let's say, Make Up Forever Face and Body fdt. Coverage is buildable and my skin looks moisturized and not oily (I wouldn't say matte, though). I am really, really impressed by this fdt. This foundation does contain SPF 15 which worries me bc fdts. that have SPF often create a grey-ish cast on my face. This one does not. SPF 15 won't really do much for me in terms of sun protection, though. I prep my skin with Josie Maran Argan Moisturizer with SPF 40 before applying this. I would reccomend this fdt. to others, especially to men and women of color because finding a formula with the right pigmentation is a difficult and frustruating task for us. BB does a great job with colors, I believe this comes in 20 shades, most of them being yellow-based. If i break out, (i doubt i will because the Skin Foundation didn't break me out) I will update this.
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Cleansers -Neutrogena - Oil-Free Acne Wash redness soothing cream cleanser
kooksfan 10/3/2009 10:33:00 PM
This has salicylic acid in it (2%) but i don't think it's doing anything to help my breakouts. The texture is too creamy. I end up using more than necessary b/c of this. This SUCKS as a cleanser. It doesn't take off any fdt. and doesn't do a good job taking off grime. I've tried washing my fdt. brush w/ this cleanser and it was a MAJOR fail. The water was light brown and when i used another cleasner the water coming fom my brush was soooper dark brown. This does a good job taking away redness, though. The fragrance is too strong and i don't like the methol-effect. The packaging is cute, the product does 1/3 of what it claims to do, and it's not cheap ($8-$9). This was a dissapointment b/c i hate wasing my $ and time on mediocre/poor quality skin care products. This was a huge miss.
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Cleansers -Olay - Gentle Foaming Face Wash w/ Aloe (Sensitive-Skin)
kooksfan 6/20/2009 10:12:00 AM
This cleanser goes for $3.47 at Target. 3.47!!! Color me impressed. There's two versions of this and they cost the same. One comes with a pump and the other in a basic tube. I chose this one b/c there was almost an ounce of more product for the same price. I bought this because i realized OCM was too time consuming and neutrogena's orange cleanser is a major PITA. Also, using scrubs that claim to cleanse and exfoliate does NOT mean cleansers are a thing of the past. I forgot how great and necessary cleansers were for a couple months because of my love for Biore's face scrub. This claims to foam..and it DOES, If you don't use too much. I was left w/ an icky film on my cheeks and forehead after my 1st use. I used a dime-sized blob and that was way too much. It didn't foam because of this. I only needed a tiny blob to get it to foam, cover my whole face, and remove 75% of wet n wild cream eyeliner which was impossible to take off before. Eye makeup required 1.5 olive oil soaked cotton ball before but this did a deecent job at taking off most of my L'oreal Voluminous mascara. I was very impressed by this because i honestly wasn't expecting it to take off my makeup. I just wanted a cheap, no frills cleanser. This was not drying for my oily/dry, acne prone combination skin. My face was left feeling soft and completey stripped of fdt., grime, excess sebum, and looked amazingly uniform/even and naked. OFF TOPIC: I love this look but i have some acne scars that i want to conceal. I have yet to find a good spot concealer that isn't drying ,so for the moment, i'll continue to cover my gorgeous skin with mediocre MAC and MUFE fdt. Overall, this cleanser really surprised me. I love it when i leave Target's 'beauty' aisles with some amazing and cheap products. i'vev used this 3x so far and i'm very satisfied and impressed. I'd def. reccomend this and after only 3 days, consider it a 'staple' in my face and neck regimen.
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Mascara -L'Oreal - Voluminous mascara
kooksfan 5/17/2009 6:33:00 PM
I'm wearing this today and my lashes are very noticable and fluffy and dark. I've discovered that i get the best results when i apply only one coat and do the zig-zag motion. This still is a PITA to remove but i've stopped using my trusty LashBlast. This is an AMAZING buy at $5.99
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Victoria's Secret - Very Sexy Lip Gloss in Make Out
kooksfan 5/17/2009 6:24:00 PM
i have a sample size. it's lasted me about a year so far. the words 'very sexy' (rolls eyes) are written around the black cap, bottle is rectangular, and you can see the color through it. The bristles are crap and shed a TON. When you apply w/ the brush it's unveven and very annoying so i just dab and apply with my finger. this color is a blue-based hot pink. Very summer-y. It looks best when i'm tan and when i'm not wearing a lot of eyeliner. I apply my Softlips lip balm in Vanilla before applying this to counteract the stickyness. this works most of the time . this gloss is very pigmented and shows up on my lips. If i want a lighter color, i add a dab of fdt and VOILA... new gloss! I love playing around with this. It's really thick, though but moisturing. very prettty. i would def. buy this again.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Loose Powders -MAC - Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder
kooksfan 5/10/2009 10:11:00 PM
my face is itchy (mostly the mouth area) but gorgeous. it's doesn't make me ashy. My skin has to get used to it, though.
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Mascara -L'Oreal - Voluminous in Carbon Black
kooksfan 5/9/2009 1:18:00 PM
oh L'Oreal Voluminous. I have heard a lot of hype about you and this made me incredible skeptical. I was wrong. Incredibly wrong. PRICE AND PIGMENTATION I bought this at CVS a couple weeks ago during a "Spring Makeup Sale" or some such. I walked in and 70% of the makeup aisle was covered in pink sale tags. I WAS IN HEAVEN. I wanted to try a new mascara so i chose the l'oreal section. Upon closer inspection, i noticed that the pink tag that read in big font "ANY L'OREAL MASCARA $4.99" also read in teeny font "L'oreal Voluminous, Lash Out, and Telescopic". Ok. No problem. I wanted to try the L'oreal Voluminous. I was a little overwhelmed with all the tags and it seemed at the time like there were 6 diff. versions of this mystical L'oreal Voluminous. I chose the Carbon Black w/ the pink on the cardboard and the naturale Voluminous w/ the yellow carboard. Cashier lady says, "this one issn't on sale" (yellow naturale) and i didn't really mind 'cause i had two tubes of Lash Blast (CoverGirl) at home. Ok. I buy only the Carbon Black and open it promply when i get home. It is very, VERY, VERY black. Deep, coal- like black. Blacker than Lash Blast in blackest black. woooaahhhhhhhhhhh. I was very impressed. APPLICATION The 1st application was strange. I think it was manuvering a reg. brush after using Lash Blast exclusively for the better part of a year that made it so strange. The regular, soft christmas-tree brush had become foreign to me. It takes very little work to apply lash blast b/c the bristles of the brush are so rigid and close together. I had to do the wiggle-wiggle trick w/ the brush to get any of the Voluminous mascara to get on my lash. This leads to mascara on my lids. Combine that with the texture of the formula (liquid-y) and the smudging after 2+ hours and i was no longer impressed. This mascara performs best after a couple of weeks(most other mascaras too). After 2 weeks or so, the formula is a little thicker and more goof-proof. I got used to applying with a tradtional brush and the results are thicker lashes that are more uniform. Your can get a fan-like effect if you are verrrry careful w/ application. I've found that if you apply more that 1 and a half coats of this, you'll end up with annoying clumps at the tip of your lashes. PACKAGING I thought the packaging was just ok at first but it has grown on me. The dark grey tube, gold lettering, bold font, and gold cap are very recognizable and 'classic'. The tube is tall and a little wider than your average mascara. This may be one reason why i feel like i'll never run out of this. My lashes are indeed 'voluminous' after using this and they are very noticable. I'd say this gives more volume than lash blast. Overall i've found this mascara to one of the best, if not the best that i've used.. I use Lash Blast less often now. <---- it takes a lot to admit this =D The only thing i hated about this mascara was removing it. GRRRRR. It is such a PAIN to remove. Racoon eyes are inevitable if you fall asleep w/ this on, btw. (This is not true for Lash Blast). I use pretoleum jelly on a Q-tip followed with a swipe of witch hazel on "beauty round" to get this completely off. I haven't exprerienced any fall out or weakening of lashes since i've been using this. The crunch-factor is the same as lash blast and neutrogena healthy volume. This is a great mascara overall and i would definitley buy it a second time. Good job, L'oreal.
9 out of 9 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -MAC - Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation
kooksfan 4/24/2009 7:42:00 PM
This is VERY hard to work with if you use it as is. these are 4 different ways that i've tried wearing this. Studio Sculpt (NW43) alone thick, THICK, THICK! soo..viscous. I wouldn't describe is it as gel, but more of a paste. i warm it up on the back of my hand and stipple it on with a fdt. brush. This gives a soft-focus finish and looks super smooth and perfect--- 3 HOURS after applicaton!!! >.< this is what annoys be the most about using this fdnt. like this,. It Takes FOREVER to set. When i bought this (late feb?), they only had the NWs and i was set on gettig an NC shade bc i have yellow undertones. OK. So no NC shades. The MA applied NW45,and i was NOT impressed. It was red-ish and sticky and just didn't live up the the hype. I wore it and was conten for about 2 weekst even though it seemed to be too light (i know, i know), BUT it looked PERFECT in photos so i continued to wear it. Studio Sculpt NW43 with strobe liquid hmm...same as before but know my face looked grey bronzed and sickly. gross. Studio Sculpt NW43 with water HA! This was my 1st attempt to make it thinner. It was whiter and took a heck of a long time to get the water and fdt. to blend nicely. Too much work and weird and inconsistent results. Studio Sculpt NW43 and Maybelline Dream Matte Liquid (dark 2) hmm...i got the maybelline from my sister and was verry impressed. Caramel is a shade too light. Dark 2 is wayy too dark. Dark 2 and studio sculpt looks amazing. Until i look at my face in the sun and realized how CAKED and dark my face looked. not good. Studio Sculpt NW43 and Maybellie Pure fdnt. in dark 2 (caramel) this looks ok. The soft-focus illusion is gone and coverage is a leeetle too heavy for my liking, but it didn't look horrible. still not the right shade. By this point, I was *this* close to returning this expensive tube of face paint but i like the coverage and finish just not the amount of work it takes and the shade. Studio Sculpt NW43 and Studio Fix Fluid NC50 JACKPOT! This is the best result i've gotten with fndt. EVER. the finish can be dewy, satin-y, or soft-focus depending on the ratio of studio fix and studio sculpt and whether or not i add strobe liquid. (i reccomend getting a sample of this. It's not amazing but it can be used as highlighter or added into your fdnt. to give you a glow-y bronzed appearance depending on how much you mix in.) I can blend the perfect shade and have the benefits of sculpt and color of studio fix w/o buying Make Up Forever fdnt.!! finally! this will probably break me out b/c both are pretty heavy duty fdnt. Controlling how much of each I put in is hard b/c i'm so determined to get the right color that i end up with wayyy more than studio fix than is necessary. This makes it look cakey and emphasizes pores. Booo. It's a learned habit, but now i ALWAYS start with a teeny amount of each and add more when it's necessary. So far, i'm in love. I'll update if this breaks me out or if i end up hating it for the summer. This is entirely too long a review but this fdn.t is a PITA to work with and calls for thousands and thousands of words. Hope this has hepled someone =D EDIT: no. just NO. it's too much work, limited colors, finish is too 'soft plastic' and SUCH a PITA to blend and work with. I'll keep my NW43 for the dead of winter when i'm a couple shades more pale and will stick with simple maybelline 'pure' fdt. from now on. I think i'm done w/ MAC fdt. and MUFE fdt. so much hype, breathless reviews, costly product, and a HUGE letdown when you finally realized that it's a mediocre product that you could have bought a drugstore. done with 'high-end' fdts., now on to 'high-end' concealers =D UPDATE: I ended up returning this. It was way too hard to work with and gave me a grey-ish ghostly cast. Packaging is great, though.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -MAC - Mineralize Satinfinish SPF 15 Foundation [DISCONTINUED]
kooksfan 2/15/2009 9:40:00 PM
It takes a lot to make this fdt. 'work' but the end result is really nice. NC50 is my PERFECT shade. It's so amazing to see, after 2.5 yrs.of wearing fdt., a foundation that blends right in with my skin color because my choices aren't just 'medium', 'deep dark', and 'caramel' i'm in awe of any makeup co. that carries a shade that matches me to a T. anyway, when i apply this weird goo w/ my ecotools fdnt. brush it my face ends up looking VERY peculiar. The foundation sits atop my skin and higlights any teeny pimple, scar, or lines on my face. BBUT, when i use my fingers or better yet the 187, it looks so RIGHT. i would say the finish is 'dewy' but not so dewy to the point where i look like a frying pan half an hour later. It gives my face a subtle glow when applied with the right tools under the right conditions. I need to have at least a nickel size amount of moisturizer on in order for this to blend right. If i apply too much on ny face will look very glittery and shimmery in pics or in sunlight. I've been using a sample of this since December. It is now February and i still have over half the jar left. it takes half a pea size to cover my entire face. Seriously. MAC has the weirdest foundations. Studio Fix is sticky and tacky. Select is chalky and ver liquidy. The mineralize skinfish has a thick/ weird consistency and smells like oatmeal. What gives, MAC? =D I want to test out the studio sculpt and see how weird that one is and if it doesn't live up to the hype, i'll buy a bottle of this magic goo.
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Cleansers -Neutrogena - Pure Glow Daily Cleansing Cushions Combination [DISCONTINUED]
kooksfan 11/26/2008 7:03:00 PM
these pads exfoliate like nothing else and i would buy 10 packages of these if i could. i bought these about a year ago at TJMaxx for $4.00 (!!) I bought the older kind that comes in the clear flip-top container with the yellow and white label. It felt like i wasting these after a while b/c they're pretty big so i eventually cut them in half. They're also great for exfoliation lips and elbows and any dry spots you have that needs some exfoliation. These makes my skin ssssSUPER SMOOTH and gets rid of the annoying white heads on my nose. No other product can do that, btw expect for the biore strips and those HURT. (they're also expensive for the # of strips you get) If i could only have three cosmetic/ beauty related products for the rest of my life it would be these, lip balm, and moisturizer. These are THE most amazing and effective exfoliating padsON THE PLANET and no one can covince me otherwise =D. They really do make my skin glow. I use these sparingly b/c the regular price ($9.00 with tax), is pretty expensive to use 3x a week. I'm going to buy some refills tomorrow and cannot wait. They're now under the name 'Neutrogena Illuminating Microderm Cleansing Pads' instead of the 'pure glow' name and hopefully the name's the only thing that changed. Neutrogena really hit it out of the park with these and i Love them for it =]
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Neutrogena - MoistureShine Lipgloss in First Blush [DISCONTINUED]
kooksfan 10/13/2008 2:24:00 PM
i bought one of these in 'flirt' in may of 2008 and just bought 'first blush' last week. 'first blush' is definitely my favorite. I can wear it alone and it looks like my lips but nude-y pink and moisturized. These glosses smell like Popsicle sticks but i can live with that. they taste like nothing. The packaging is sleek, minimal, and not tacky looking. that's another plus/ what compelled me to buy this was the reviews on here. I didn't really fully believe the hype but i bought it anyways. A gloss that is nude yet soft pink that will show up on my pigmented lips and is SUBTLE but not transparent??! ptfff. when pigs fly. But i enjoyed comming on here every week to see the new rants and raves. i waited awhile before i got 'first blush' because i was looking at the revlon natural blah blah lipglosses. I shouldn't have waited so long!! this color is AMAZING. Put a dot of mineral power blush in true peach on top of it and it is downright UNBELIEVABLE. yesterday i added a bit of H.I.P jelly balm (in delectable) over it and it was too pink for my liking but coming up with different combinations is so much fun. i have yet to try it with any of my mother's lipsticks yet but i'm looking forward to it. this color is very versatile and can be worn in many different combinations but i still lurrrve it by itself. this gloss is sticky but not mac lipglass tacky. It does get stuck in my hair but doesn't FEEL sticky when i rub my lips together. feels like...i don't know. moisture goodness =D t hese do moisturize my lips (not as much as jelly balms) but sadly unlike 'flirt', this one doesn't leave a stain =[ i wear it when i feel like my eyeliner is heavy or if i want to look 'natural' (which is nearly everyday) i still have over 70% of my 'flirt' gloss left. i'm guesstimating b/c i can't see through the tube. if it weren't for the slight subtle shine, you couldn't even tell i'm wearing lipgloss. I've been searching for a lipgloss or balm that will do this for over a year now and i've finally found it. best $6.64 i've ever spent. really good job neutrogena. Now add a peachy orange shade and i'll give you my first born/
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Lip Gloss -L'Oreal - HIP Jelly Balm [DISCONTINUED]
kooksfan 8/25/2008 11:20:00 AM
i bought this in 'delectable'. the original price is $8 (which is way too expensive for a lip balm) but my total came up to 7.49 with my CVS card. the color is more apple red than cherry red. i was hoping it would be cherry red. I use a lip brush to apply this most of the time. the pigmentation is decent. i was hoping it would be more because it's part of the high intensity PIGMENT line but oh well. it does last about 4 hours (!!) and my lips are tinted red after the shine is gone. I just wish the color were stronger, it does smells like caramel which i like. I'm VERY happy that it doesn't taste like anything. the jar is just a smidgen bigger than the cream liner jar. i would not buy this again ( cos i could get the same result with red liner and vaseline) IF it were not so CONDITIONING! it makes my lips so SMOOTH and soft. I can't stop touching my lips after i apply this =D i don't think any of the other colors besides 'ripe' would show up on my lips. I would buy this again if i found it at Big Lots or BOGO.
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Loose Powders -Maybelline - Mineral Power Finishing Veil Translucent Loose Powder
kooksfan 8/23/2008 10:14:00 PM
i think i'm going to return this. it makes me look grey and ashen and chalky and not 'luminous' at all. no matter how much i put on, the result is always the same. yea. i'm definetly gonna return this as soon as i can =-[ it was $10 i got it BOGO along with the blush but still..$10!
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