Eye Primer -NYX - Eyeshadow Base in Skin Tone
kristenck89 11/23/2009 7:18:00 PM
The only other eyeshadow base I've tried is (surprise, surprise) Urban Decay's Primer Potion, which is always so popular. As far as just plain quality of product goes, I'd have to say Primer Potion is better. It makes the colors pop more, it's almost totally crease proof (whereas this creases a little) and I've slept with eyeshadow on that hasn't come off when I've used Primer Potion. However, it's also (in my opinion) ridiculously expensive, considering it doesn't last very long and has irritating package design. This is so, so cheap, you get relatively a lot (probably about as much as in Primer Potion), and it does a good job at holding on to color and making it brighter. So, if I had all the money in the world, I would without a doubt buy Primer Potion over this. But I don't, and this is probably almost as good, so for now I'll be using this and probably will repurchase when I run out.
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -NYX - Antique
kristenck89 11/23/2009 7:11:00 PM
I love nyx's nail polishes and this is no exception. The pigmentation is fantastic, just one coat of this is enough to get good color. It goes on really smooth and dries relatively fast. The color is gorgeous. It's a bronze-gold color with a lot of metallic shimmer in it. It looks brown until it catches the light and then it shines beautifully gold. It feels very suitable for fall/winter to me.
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Mascara -NYX - NYX Doll Eye Mascara- Long Lash
kristenck89 11/23/2009 7:04:00 PM
I was so hoping that this would be my HG mascara, but I guess it's just not to be... This is a good mascara, but not fantastic. I have naturally very long eyelashes with a bit of curl, and I was originally going to get the volume formula, but changed my mind because several reviews said they preferred this to the volume one. But, on my lashes, it almost makes them look too long... It also doesn't quite give the separation I would like. It's still a good mascara and I'm a huge fan of Nyx, but if you don't already have short lashes, you probably don't need this...
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Lip Gloss -NYX - Mega Shine Lipgloss in #143 Plum
kristenck89 11/23/2009 7:01:00 PM
Darn those online swatches. The swatch on the NYX website for this color is accurate in pigment, but I didn't realize that it would be SO opaque. I was hoping for some sheerness. As berry tones are in this winter, I got this knowing that my pale, pale skin probably couldn't pull off a deep berry lipstick, but perhaps the sheerness of a gloss would be light enough to do the trick. Boy was I wrong. This is SO thick and pigmented and opaque, and really really dark. Usually the pigmentation would be a good quality but in my case, I just can't pull it off. If you're thinking about buying this color, just be warned. Unless you have dark skin, or are going for a vampy look, this is probably too dark and too opaque for you. I can see this color being really lovely on someone with dark skin, but as I suspect that I might be half-polar bear, this just is not the shade for me... EDIT: So, added two lippies because, honestly, this is a GORGEOUS color. At first I put it on really thick, but later I decided to revisit this color and, it's fantastic. It's easily spread more thinly to get a sheerer wash of plummy color, and it's SO pigmented it looks like a lipstick. I wore this on thanksgiving and I think it's lovely...
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Lipstick -NYX - Indian Pink
kristenck89 11/23/2009 6:55:00 PM
Wow, I'm surprised by some of these reviews saying how "orangey" this looked, and by the photos of this on people's lips. I guess it just goes to show how much makeup is a combination of the color in the tube as well as your own coloring. On me there is some orangeness but it isn't very pronounced. I'd say it's more like a medium-light pink that leans to the coral side of the spectrum. I have very cool, pink-toned skin from my Scandinavian heritage, and naturally quite pink lips as well. I imagine that somebody with warm toned or neutral skin would probably bring out the orange in this color much more. Personally, I'm a huge fan of coral tones and I think they flatter me. The one downside is that this is more frosty, glossy textured than I would have hoped. I assumed it would be matte from the swatch online, and even in the tube it looks pretty matte. Oh well, still a lovely color, in my opinion.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -NYX - Ceto
kristenck89 11/23/2009 6:49:00 PM
Well, as said by the previous reviewer, this doesn't look at all like the swatch on Nyx's website. I was hoping that this would be a sort of neutral light pink-nude. It's more like a light bronzy pink. That said, I quite like it anyway. It's neutral enough to be daytime wear, but it's so frosty/shimmery that it's still fun and playful. It seems to be a more glossy/light consistency than the other nyx round lipsticks I have (Eros and Chloe) but it's still just as pigmented. Cent for cent, I haven't found another lipstick that has such good overall quality for such a low price. I just wish there was a store around here that sold them, so I could SEE what the color was, instead of going off an inaccurate color swatch... Seems like every time I order Nyx from CherryCulture, the colors I get don't look like what I had in mind, but I like them anyway...
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Conditioner -L'Oreal - EverPure Moisture Conditioner
kristenck89 6/15/2009 12:15:00 AM
I think it's interesting how people either love or hate this product. Anyway... I don't really like this. It doesn't seem to moisturize at all. The smell makes me think of toilet bowl cleaner or something. Luckily, I managed to score a bottle of Bed Head Dumb Blonde reconstructor for $3 at Safeway on the discount counter (it was probably a return, but I'm okay with that) and I've been using that and It's great. I have been using this product, but only on inbetween days when I don't shampoo - It sort of seems to clean/refresh my hair. But it doesn't moisturize...
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Shampoo -Shi Kai - Color Reflect Shampoo Gold
kristenck89 6/11/2009 1:14:00 AM
This shampoo is great! I just dyed my hair (again) and this is just what I needed. To summarize what my hair has gone through, I bleached it in august, but decided to grow it out because I didn't want to maintain it & keep damaging my hair. I dyed it red in december but it faded back to blond, and plus the top 5 or so inches of my hair were my natural color. So just last week I dyed it back to around my natural hair color, except, while my hair was back to all one color, the color was really flat and had a gray tinge. So, I was specifically looking for a shampoo that would either deposit or bring out color, and protect my hair from fading, and when I found this, I was so pleased. My natural hair color is somewhere between very dark ashy blond/light brown, with natural gold flecks in it, since I was naturally blond as a child. This shampoo really brings out the gold, even after only a few days of using it. What I'm really surprised about is that it brings the gold out evenly all over - on the part of my hair that was bleached and the part that wasn't. Also, to respond to people who thought this was drying, I disagree. I didn't find it drying or irritating or anything. My hair is curly and naturally dry and sulfates are way too harsh on it. I found that this lathers really nicely, and leaves my hair feeling clean and soft. The one thing I didn't like is that it has a very, very mild odor to it, but it goes away when I wash it out. I definitely recommend this for anybody with gold tones - not just blondes; as the bottle says, it's just for gold tones. Super great find, and for a reasonable price, too.
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Shave Products -eos - Ultra Moisturizing Shave Cream in Vanilla Bliss
kristenck89 6/8/2009 5:02:00 PM
This stuff is quite nice, but I'm on the fence about it. It's quite expensive for what you get. It's about $1 more than the foamy style shave creams, but you get a lot more shaves out of one of those bottles than you get out of this. However, this shave cream has one big plus - you can shave totally dry, pretty much anywhere, anytime it's convenient for you. I shave in my bedroom on my computer chair while watching movies on my computer. You just rub this stuff in, and it really is SO moisturizing that you can shave dry. This stuff gunks up the razor something fierce, but I just fill the big measuring cup with hot water, and grab a rag and bring that to my bedroom, and every couple of strokes I swirl the razor off in the hot water to clean it, and dry it on the rag. It's so much nicer than trying to shave standing in the shower, or sitting on the bathroom counter with your leg in the sink, since there's no good place to shave here. As for in the shower though, I'm less convinced. Yes, it's moisturizing, and it does work while you're using water, but I feel like it's a waste. It also takes longer because it gunks the razor up so bad, and if I'm shaving in the shower, it's only because I'm pressed for time. However, another plus is that this is made from natural ingredients, and the bottle is recyclable. So... Like I said, on the fence. Costs a lot and gets used up quickly and not good for showering, but can be used anywhere anytime and is environmentally conscious. I might yet repurchase, might not. Oh, and one more plus is that it smells delicious, but so does every other shave cream.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Conditioner -L'Oreal - Vive Pro Color Vive Conditioning Spray
kristenck89 6/8/2009 4:48:00 PM
This is definitely a winner for me. I picked this up for $5 at Rite Aid, looking for something to throw in my beach bag that would condition/detangle my hair and protect it from the sun. But, it works so well that I actually keep it on my bathroom counter at home and use it every day. It smells fantastic, it detangles my curly hair, makes it incredibly soft, and it has UV filters. My hair has been through a lot. I bleached it in August, then decided that while the blonde was nice, I didn't want to maintain it and keep harming my hair so I've been growing it out. I dyed it red in December (well, it was supposed to be dyed brunette, but the fact that my stylist messed up is another story entirely - it turned out bright red) and since then, the bleached bits have slowly been fading to a strawberry blonde while the top 4 inches or so were my natural light brown, and then with a streak of sunny days we've been having, it turned pretty much blonde again. So, just a few days ago, I did an at-home dye and got it pretty close back to my natural color. I'm really hoping that this spray will keep my hair from fading so I don't have to keep re-dying it, though I know that bleached hair doesn't hold color well, so inevitably it will. It definitely seems to be making my hair soft and shiny.
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Mascara -Jane - MaxLash2 Waterproof Mascara
kristenck89 6/8/2009 4:39:00 PM
I got this at the drugstore for $4, on clearance. You can't beat that price. And I think it's only $6 normally. Anyway, I was look specifically for a waterproof mascara, since it's summertime and my friends and I have a habit of spontaneously deciding to go to the beach, and I hate jumping in and having my mascara run everywhere, it's such a mess. My eyelashes are pretty nice normally. Quite long and medium volume with a natural curl, so I don't usually need a fancy mascara usually. Separation is what I need the most, because if my lashes clump together, they look like spider legs. This actually does a decent job of separating them. It is a little bit clumpy and wet, but I think if I'd bothered to wipe the brush on a paper towel first it would've taken care of that. It just slightly gives me spidery lashes, but not terrible. I like the thin brush. It's really, really flimsy, but that also makes it easy to get into the corners of your eyes. Overall I would recommend this to somebody who needs a waterproof mascara that gives length and separation, but not to somebody who needs a mascara that gives volume, since this one doesn't at all. I'm not usually a fan of Jane but honestly, this is a winner for me, and the fact that it's dirt cheap is just a plus.
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Cleansers -Biore - PORE PERFECT Warming anti-blackhead cream cleanser
kristenck89 5/22/2009 2:43:00 AM
I'm surprised that this has such a low rating. I really like it. I think that maybe the people who gave this negative reviews have either sensitive skin, or didn't give this enough time. I've been using this straight for about a week and a half now, and can say that I've actually seen improvement in my blackheads. I've been using this mostly as an exfoliating product, in conjunction with my AcneFree (generic ProActiv) system. I never really had too much of a problem with blackheads, but the ones on my nose and a few on my cheeks always bugged me, and this has actually made them less noticeable. It's taken a while but I think with time this actually improves things a lot. And, I just love the warmth, it's like a little bit of spa treatment everyday in the shower :)
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Treatments -Sunsilk - Summer Spritz
kristenck89 5/20/2009 5:10:00 PM
Honestly, this was my go-to product last summer. This bottle was in my beach bag all summer long. To tell the truth, I'm not sure how much "sun protection" this has, but it's really more like a deliciously scented detangler/leave-in-conditioner. It makes my hair extremely soft and moisturized after swimming at the beach, and gives it some control so it doesn't dry like a crazy poofy curly mess. If they discontinue this, I will be extremely sad. So my recommendation is, if you're looking for some really hardcore, serious sun protection for your hair, this isn't it. But, if you want something cheap that will get the job done in the summer, this is great. Plus, as everyone else has stated, it smells so good it's practically perfume for your hair.
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Treatments -Joico - k-pak deep penetrating reconstructor
kristenck89 5/17/2009 3:48:00 AM
I've never been too impressed with this product. I mean, it's not terrible, but I just don't get the hype really. Last August, I bleached my hair. It took two sessions of at-home bleach, which gave me bright yellow hair with pink on the bottom (I previously had magenta dye from a year before) before I went to my stylist to fix the mess that my hair boredom had created. After bleaching it some more, cutting off the pink, and toning it, she recommended this product. It's really hard for me to say whether this does anything at all. First of all, I rarely use this. Perhaps if I used it more often, I would have better results. It's just that I never see or feel any difference in my hair after I use this. However, I might say that my hair is not nearly as much of a disaster as it should be after all it's been through, so maybe this did help more than I realize. Overall though, I don't recommend this product.
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Masks -Queen Helene - Mint Julep Masque
kristenck89 5/12/2009 1:55:00 AM
I love this mask. It's pretty cheap, and I love the minty-ness of it. I don't know that it actually helps with acne much, but I just love the way it seems to invigorate my skin, and relax it. I always use this when I need some relaxation time. Also, I try to exfoliate before I use this because I think it opens up the pores a bit better or something. One thing I should note though is that this is probably too harsh and drying to be used more than maybe twice a week. Anyway it's a good buy, in my opinion.
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