Treatments -Estee Lauder - Advanced Night Repair (Serum) 
lilmangogirl 10/9/2012 5:06:00 PM
Okay, I still feel like these "essences" and "serums" are a bit of a gimmick, but I have to admit, the saleslady at duty-free totally got me when she demonstrated the following trick: Apply serum onto the back of one hand, let it sink in, then apply moisturiser. Apply just moisturiser on your other hand. After a minute, touch both hands - and you'll find that the hand with the serum base is much more dry, and less oily/residue-y from the moisturiser! So with that little trick, I bought my first bottle of the Advanced Night Repair. I don't think it has shown a huge difference in skin appearance for me, but it has helped calm my dry and sometimes flaky skin. I can count on the Advanced Night Repair to keep my skin hydrated after traveling, or just when the weather gets really dry or really cold. Since I only use three drops at a time, the 100mL duty-free edition has lasted me a long time. It is a much better deal to buy the 100mL duty-free bottle, by the way, so if you can, try to get this from duty-free shops! I've been told that you can use this during the day, too, and I've done it occasionally when my skin is really dry, or when I know I need my makeup to stay in place without flaking during the day. Overall, I like this, but I'm still a little skeptical because it is extremely pricey and hasn't actually improved the look of my skin, which is what it claims to do. However, until I find something better to keep my dry skin happy, I will be repurchasing.
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Moisturizers -Bobbi Brown - Vitamin Enriched Face Base
lilmangogirl 10/9/2012 5:00:00 PM
Finally, I have found a good daytime moisturiser! After Kiehl's discontinued their Lycopene face cream, I was devastated. Enter a few years of fumbling around trying different products, and this one landed in my lap. I think I have thing for lycopene products - they just work so well on me, because this Face Base has lycopene too! It is quite thick in texture, but spreads out easily once you put it on your face - oh, and it smells absolutely divine! It's like vitamin-y candy fruity goodness on my face, every morning. With toner underneath, and sometimes an "essence" of sorts, this really keeps my skin very well hydrated, and FLAKE FREE! I used to have to worry about flaky skin after applying foundation sometimes, but this is no longer the case! I use this in the winter AND the summer, too - it's so good at balancing between hydration vs. grease/oil that I don't find this too heavy in the summer, yet it still holds up against the harsh winters. FYI I used this in the summer in Asia where it was humid and hot, in London where it never got warmer than 30 degrees, and it was fine in both places! Love this - I'm on my second jar, and will be stocking up on my third the next time I swing through an airport duty-free. It is a bit pricey, but totally worth it if you have dry, prone-to-flaky skin like me!
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Cleansers -Shu Uemura - Cleansing Beauty Oil Premium A/O
lilmangogirl 10/9/2012 4:55:00 PM
This has been my HG for over seven years, and I absolutely swear by it. Please don't be put off by the word "oil" - it leaves my skin feeling anything but oily! I use only one pump at a time, and I only use it at night, which makes the bottle go a long way for me. It spreads easily on my face, feels lovely and smooth as I work it in, and takes away makeup as well as whatever else that happens to collect on my face after a long day. I have never been able to get it to "foam up" with water, but with some splashes, some more massaging, and a face cloth, my face feels squeaky clean! Although it starts out as an oil, once water is added, it's just like any other cleanser - easy to wash away without residue. I love how clean it makes my face feel, without drying out my skin or leaving it feeling greasy. I'd describe my face afterwards as velvety smooth and clean. The best part? I don't even need to invest in an extra make-up remover product because it pretty much does the job!
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Moisturizers -Kiehls - Lycopene facial moisturizing cream
lilmangogirl 10/10/2007 9:02:00 AM
My HG face cream for the winter!! I was given a sample of this cream at Kiehl's last winter when I was shopping around for a good face cream, and I was instantly hooked. I was using the L'Occitane Ultra Moisturising Shea Butter line previously, but I had to switch because it wasn't doing it for me anymore (I was getting flaky skin throughout the day again). I couldn't bite the bullet and buy it though - it is $90 in Canada! Luckily I was on my way to NYC for Christmas, so I bought it at Kiehl's in New York. All Canadians out there, I highly recommend going to the US to buy it - it is only $60 in the US. This cream needs to be worked into my skin a bit - I can't just smush it on. It has to be dabbed and rubbed in circles into my skin, but that's not to say it isn't absorbent. I just find it works better that way. Some people have commented on a slight odour that it carries, but I don't mind it at all. It's just like vegetables (think V8 or something). After I use it, my skin feels soft, supple, and does not flake throughout the day. I get really dry flaky cheeks and forehead during the winter, to a point where I can't really touch my face during the day. However, with this, I see a vast improvement. I will definitely be repurchasing this winter! A jar lasts about 6 months for me.
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Moisturizers -Kiehls - Ultra Facial Moisturizer with SPF 15
lilmangogirl 10/10/2007 8:50:00 AM
For some reason, this didn't work on me either. Like another reviewer mentioned, my skin is typically quite dry, but this ended up being greasy on me. I don't think it is easy for my skin to absorb, and right after I apply it, I look like somebody has dumped oil all over my face. It takes a while for my skin to drink it in, and I do feel that on some days, my skin just refuses to do so completely and I end up feeling gross all day at work! I would've loved to have this work on me, as I like the SPF function in it. However, I'm back on the market searching for a lighter face cream for summer time! Also, this iis reasonably priced, but watch out when you travel! Make sure you snap the lid closed all the way (it is deceiving sometimes) as it is the most likely (out of everything else in my toiletry bag) to explode in your luggage if you don't close it tightly.
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Toners -Kiehls - Calendula Toner
lilmangogirl 10/10/2007 8:42:00 AM
This toner didn't do much for me. I bought it because a friend swears by it, and I thought I'd give it a try over the summer as my skin tends to lean towards a combo/oily type in the summer. I guess my skin didn't turn out to be that much oilier, and although my skin is sensitive, I don't think it's sensitive enough for this toner to do wonders for. I liked the feel of it, and definitely it did mattify my skin a bit when I applied it, but overall, I don't think it was the right toner for my type of skin, so I didn't see fantastic results. It is also quite pricey and I wasn't too sure about the petals inside the bottle as they tended to break and come out with the toner sometimes.
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Treatments -Kiehls - Leave-in Conditioner [DISCONTINUED]
lilmangogirl 10/10/2007 8:24:00 AM
I don't think this is the *best* leave-in conditioner there could be, but it is my first choice because it meets my needs for now. My hair was suffering from a lot of split ends because it was really long, and I used the leave-in conditioner primarily to smooth out the fried ends. However, this is not a miracle conditioner, so it didn't really help. It did make my hair feel a little smoother in the ends, that's about it. I have since then cut my hair short, and now I use the leave-in conditioner twice a week because I have started using a ceramic flat iron on it quite a bit. I find that this helps smooth out my hair and make it feel less dry, so I will continue using it. It is pretty pricey for a small bottle, and worst of all, the packaging makes it hard to get the product out after you're about halfway done. I think there will be lots left in the bottle that I can't scrape out easily, so that's a bit of a headache and I knocked off a lippie for that as well.
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Lotions/ Creams -Kiehls - Creme de Corps
lilmangogirl 10/10/2007 8:15:00 AM
This is my HG body lotion, especially for the winter! My favourite thing about this is the texture of the creme. I hate lotions that feel slightly sticky and don't absorb right away after you apply it (i.e. drugstore brands, multiple body butters out there...) but this is the completely different! It is silky smooth, doesn't feel sticky to your hands, and absorbs quickly that you won't feel like you need to roll up your pants for 20 minutes while your skin drinks it in. It also absorbs quick enough that you can use the rest on your hands as a hand creme and not even have to wash your hands or feel like you can't pick up anything because you'll get everything all oily. I love it! I would say this is a bit pricey though. I just got the 16oz. with the pump (highly recommend the pump as it is the easiest to dispense the creme), and it was much more than what you would pay for a lot of your other options out there...but well worth the price, IMHO. For reference, I have really dry skin during the winter, and combined with the weather we have in Toronto, I have even developed a small patch of eczema (which had never happened before I moved here).
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Toners -Kiehls - Cucumber Herbal Toner
lilmangogirl 10/10/2007 8:03:00 AM
I am notorious for not being able to finish any bottles of makeup or skincare products...but I used up all of my Kiehl's Cucumber Herbal Toner last winter and just repurchased the 16oz. bottle recently! It is super-gentle and you can't really feel like it's working actively to do good things for your face. However, I have super-flake-prone skin during the winter, and I find that it calms down my face significantly and I don't get flaky just for touching or rubbing my face during the day. It feels refreshing and light, and like one reviewer said, it does feel like giving yourself a mini-spa-facial. It is really reasonably priced, and I am very satisfied with the results. The price I paid for this 16oz. bottle is what I would've spent on a smaller bottle of Tonique Confort by Lancome, and I have to say, I like the light and smooth feeling from this toner much more!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No