Fragrances -Stella McCartney - Stella- Eau de Parfum
leo11m 5/30/2008 9:25:00 PM
Wow...I went into Ulta today and sprayed this perfume, expecting to hate it because I haven't been into florals very much since high school. This smells heavenly. It is a very pretty, romantic fragrance. This one's a keeper.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Child Perfume - Child
leo11m 5/30/2008 9:22:00 PM
I was raised in Hawaii, and this smells like pure pikake to me. Growing up, we had pikake in our yard, and it smelled good, but I was expecting more than just pikake with this perfume, There is not a whole lot of dimension here. This perfume is both strong and kind of boring. I will not repurchase. It's just not outstanding enough for the price.
4 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Marc Jacobs - Eau De Parfum
leo11m 5/19/2008 9:24:00 PM
Normally, I cannot stand floral perfumes (I like mostly woody orientals, and gourmands). I have always had a soft spot for gardenias however, being that I grew up in Hawaii and we had a huge gardenia bush in the front yard. When they were in bloom, I loved smelling the scent of pure gardenia, and until now, I have never smelled anything that resembles a natural, pure gardenia blossom. I have tried Kai and others which I have found to be overpoweringly green, so much that the artificial greeness overcomes the gardenia and you can barely smell the blossom. This is not the case with Marc Jacobs, and I am surprised at myself for waiting this long to try Marc Jacobs version. This is a true gardenia scent that brings back a lot of pleasant childhood memories for me. It is a simple, pure, watery, natural-smelling gardenia. What I love about it is that I can smell the natural spiciness of the flower, which is hard to detect in other, more complex gardenia fragrances. This is a wonderful scent for Summer and warm weather areas. After using up a sample, I purchased the large bottle. I know I will be using this all Summer as the rest of my fragrance wardrobe tends to be on the heavier side. This is a light, refreshing floral, and I will surely repurchase. This is the gardenia scent I have been looking for for a long time.
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Jo Malone - Dark Amber & Ginger Lily Cologne
leo11m 5/7/2008 7:07:00 PM
I just received a card from Saks with a one-use sample in the mail today and I immediately went out and bought a bottle. It smells that good. I am a sucker for amber scents, and various oriental fragrances. I am not a floral perfume person. With the combination of ginger lily however, this fragrance is outstanding. After reading that this scent is a limited edition, I did splurge on the large bottle today as I tend to use up perfume rather quickly. I tend to use perfume before work in the AM and after an evening shower as well. My husband just came home from work and said I smelled really good too...this is a definate keeper and I hope they make it a regular part of their line. The only gripe I have is that the fragrance is sold unboxed. I had to carefully select my bottle because one or two had a scuffed cap or a scuffed front Maybe I am just being too picky, but for $95 for a large bottle, this needs to be boxed and sealed. Since it is a new product, Saks had these on a special display table. People might just come through the store and spray the good bottles as opposed to the sampler though. I think I will write to the company and suggest boxing. The candles come in boxes, so why not this too?
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Gels/Soaps -Alba Botanica - Very Emollient Bath and Shower Gel-Honey Mango
leo11m 3/30/2008 8:58:00 PM
I love this product. I bought the huge 32 oz bottle for only $9.99 at Whole Foods. It cleans gently without stripping, yet doesn't leave a yucky film on my skin and I love the smell...a little bit of coconut mixed in with honey and mango. After getting hooked on Rescue Beauty Lounge's Citrus Vert body wash, and feeling guilty for spending over $60, I found this and I love it just as much. I will surely purchase again.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Conditioner -Ted Gibson - Daily Nourish
leo11m 3/29/2008 3:41:00 PM
After using this a little over a month along with Daily Cleanse, I have to say that this is an exceptional conditioner. It feels lightweight when I apply it, so initially, I did not expect much in the way of results. I was very wrong, this conditioer hydrated, smoothed and made my naturally long, curly hair shiny with just air drying the first time tried it. Being that I generally blow dry and then flat iron daily, my hair tends to get frizzy and dry at the ends. I have not had a pleasant experience with naturally air drying my hair in a long time - especially without slathering in some type of product to combat dryness and frizz. In spite of the ridiculous price tag, I will be forced to repurchase because I love the results.
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Shampoo -Ted Gibson - Daily Cleanse
leo11m 3/29/2008 3:35:00 PM
I've used this product for a little over a month, and in spite of the hefty price tag, I like it a lot and I think it is worth the cost. I have long, thick, curly hair that is color-treated and tends to get frizzy. I blow dry and flat iron daily, so my hair does tend to get dry at the ends. I have tried just about every salon shampoo for dry, frizzy hair out there and nothing has ever really hydrated and smoothed my hair like this product. This shampoo, used in conjuction with Daily Nourish leaves my hair smooth, hydrated and shiny down to the ends. I noticed this when I air dry without putting in product. It has been a long time that I have noticed such results in air drying without using at least a leave-in conditioner. Also, this shampoo does not strip out my color or irritae my sensitive scalp. With these great results, this is a definate repurchase.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Conditioner -Terax - Crema
leo11m 3/13/2008 10:53:00 PM
The worst conditioner I have ever used. I have long, wavy, color treated hair that I flat iron daily and I have always had horrid results with crema. This is the third time I have tried it in the past 10 years (due to all the rave reviews, I thought there was something wrong with me for having poor results) and the results are always the same - it takes me from healthy hair to dried out, flyaway hair. Recently, I used crema for two months straight, with daily washings and use of crema because I have always washed my hair daily due to slightly oily scalp. Well, crema took me from healthy hair to dried out, damaged flyaway hair in one month. I did nothing different in my hair regimen besides use crema! And...I stupidly used it for another month because I read all the reviews that said consistent use is the key. Maybe if you have naturally straight, super healthy hair, you can tolerate the abuse of this conditioner. I finally took off a whole two inches during a trim because my ends got so dry and flyaway. I have never had such terrible results from a conditioner, especially when I started off with healthy hair. There is truly too much hype surrounding this product. I will never, ever purchase again. Not worth the extra trips to the stylist to correct the dried out ends and damage.
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Styling Products -Ojon - Tunu Hair Tamer
leo11m 3/13/2008 10:43:00 PM
I have long wavy hair that I flat iron daily, and I find this to be an okay product. While it does straighten, it does not make my hair soft & silky straight like Kiehl's heat protective straightening cream. Wierdly, I like the fragrance, and I also like the consistency of the product (gel-like that becomes foam and spreads pretty easily in the hair). I would not repurchase, however because I did not find this product to really smooth down my hair. Even after blow drying straight and flat ironing, in rainy weather, I developed some frizzies, and this was while using in conjuction with Ted Gibson daily shampoo and conditioner as well as his Tame it Shine Lotion and Ojon shine spray. Also, this did not seem to make my ends as smooth and silky as other products I have tried such as Kiehls. With Kiehl's. all I need is the one straightening product, but with Ojon Hair Tamer, I need three and the results are still mediocre. Not worth the $$ if you have challeging hair.
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Candles -A Zaftig Woman - Soy Tart in Orange Cupcake.
leo11m 2/17/2008 3:31:00 PM
My favorite scent from this line. Smells like creamsicle mixed in with vanilla cupcake. It is long lasting and even my husband, who usually doesn't care one way or another about candle scents, perked up and commented that this one smelled really good. When I ran out of my initial order of 8 Orange Cupcake tarts (plus a bunch of others that I sampled), I reordered twenty more tarts in this scent alone. This is definately a keeper.
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Lotions/ Creams -Crabtree & Evelyn - India Hicks Island Living Spider Lily Body Cream
leo11m 1/31/2008 12:33:00 AM
I like it. Although I generally do not care for body creams, I find that I like this one. At first, it feels a little greasy, but it absorbs very well (probably due to the high quality ingredients) and leaves the skin nice and soft. The only downside is that my husband does not care for the fragrance. He does not like floraly scents, so it is nothing against this line in particular. I personally think the fragrance is pretty though, and I would probably repurchase. I also have the eau de toilette and I like that as well.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lotions/ Creams -Graftobian - Citrus Vert Body Lotion
leo11m 1/19/2008 8:37:00 PM
Another winner in my book from Rescue Beauty Lounge. I prefer a lotion over a body cream on most days, but the majority of the lotions I have used did not provide enough moisture, while the body creams were way too thick and icky. I live in the pacific NW, and we have somewhat cold winters, but the moisture stays in the air because winter is our rainy season. In this type of temperate climate, a body cream is overkill and having been a dedicated Bath and Bodyworks user, I would use about 1/4 a tube of body cream in one application because the product does not absorb well. I gave up on the BBW lotions because they seemed to offer my skin no moisturizing benefits whatsoever. Rescue Beauty Lounge Lotion is another story. I thought the product looked somewhat watered down when I first pumped it out, so I did not have high expectations, but boy was I wrong. This lotion spreads so easily over the skin and you don't need very much to distribute over the whole body. It absorbs very well, and leaves the skin feeling like silk. I apply this lotion after an evening workout shower and I wake up with baby soft skin. This really is good stuff and although it may seem expensive, you don't need a whole lot for a single application. Because of this, I would expect the large bottle to last a long time. I have the body wash and hand cream as well. Wonderful product that my husband also enjoys due to the unisex fragrance. After using Rescue Beauty Lounge for a few weeks, I have put my BBW lotions and creams in the charity donation bag. If you live in a dry winter climate, this might be too light for you, but they also have the body cream which is also made of excellent ingredients.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Gels/Soaps -Graftobian - Citrus Vert Body Wash
leo11m 1/19/2008 8:19:00 PM
I have been using gel body washes forever because I hate creamy body washes, and I have to admit that until I tried Rescue Beauty Lounge's body wash on a whim, I had gotten used to feeling as though my skin was slightly stripped of its natural moisture. I would just put on body lotion and try to forget about it. This body wash offers the best of everything for people who like the clean feeling of a gel. It leaves you fresh and clean, yet does not strip at all. Rather, it leaves my skin feeling soft and silky after I dry off - even more so than some creamy body washes I have tried. I have sensitive skin and most greasy, creamy washes make me itch like crazy. Rescue Beauty lounge body products are well tolerated by my skin, however. While the price tag for the 690 ml bottle may seem high, this is a concentrated product, and you only need less than 1/2 a pump for a very sudsy showering experience. I expect that the large bottle will last a good amount of time. The unisex Citrus Vert fragrance is light and fresh and my husband enjoys using it too. I cannot recommend this product enough for those who like a shower gel, but like me, find most shower gels too drying. This product offers the benefits of a moisturizing wash without the disgusting greasy feel.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lotions/ Creams -Graftobian - hand cream-Citrus Vert
leo11m 1/14/2008 9:43:00 PM
I bought this as well as a couple of other items from the Citrus Vert line, because I had read rave reviews about them in a magazine. All I can say is that the reviews were right on. This is truly the best hand cream I have tried. I cannot stand greasy, sticky creams, and this one absorbed very easily and left a lovely, very light citrusy, mildly floral scent on my hands. I am very pleased, and in spite of the spendy price, would be more than willing to purchase again.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Candles -Laura Mercier - Almond Coconut Milk
leo11m 1/11/2008 9:41:00 PM
I love the Laura Mercier creme brulee line, so being the candle freak that I am, I purchased this candle off ebay w/o smelling it first. This is a very mildly-fragranced candle, and you can definately smell more almond than coconut. I love almond, so I do like it, but I just wish there was a bit more coconut fragrance to it. With so much almond, it is also somewhat one-dimensional, and in spite of it being one of the cheapest ($42) high-end candles around, I don't think I'll repurchase. I will stick to the more strongly-scented creme brulee line.
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