Skincare - Body -Burt's Bees - Burt's Bees Hand Salve
luineumaiel 4/29/2013 4:35:00 AM
I have a confession to make about this product - I use it exclusively on my face and neck. And you know what? It works miracles. I have scars leftover from my acne ridden teenage years and scabs from picking at blemishes and the occasional pimple. After cleansing, I massage this into my face and go to bed. It leaves my skin soft, supple and moisturised in the morning and I just have to splash some cold water, and my skin is ready to apply make up. I think girls with sensitive, problem skin could give this a go on their face too. WARNING: This product does smell like someone shoved an exotic rainforest up your nostril, not for the fainthearted when it comes to strong scents.
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Lotions/ Creams -Unlisted Brand - EXTRA VIRGIN Coconut Oil (All brands)
luineumaiel 3/26/2013 6:11:00 AM
Coconut oil is something south-asian women have been using for decades to combat the frizziness that characterises our hair because of genetics and climate. That said, your hair can be oily, dry, dandruffy, rough, smooth, black, blonde, coloured, greying, curly, wavy...you hair can be ANYTHING and it really wouldn't matter because raw, unrefined, extra virgin coconut oil is going to bring out the BEST of your natural hair. I have coarse, sparse and wavy, black south-asian hair. Where I live, it's at least 80% humid all round the year, so dandruff becomes a problem between washes. Every alternate day, I take a small amount of coconut oil in a small, reusable glass bowl/bottle, place it in a hot water bath. Allow it to be as hot as you can possible tolerate, pour it onto your scalp and treat yourself to a hot coconut oil massage. (add a drop or two of rosemary/peppermint oil at this stage to the oil). After 5 to 10 minutes, use a brush with a rounded tip and brush from root to tip of your hair - this allows all the loose hair to fall out and pulls all the dirt/dust stuck on your hair strands/roots to get dislodged, while spreading the oil evenly through your hair from root to tip. I usually like to sleep right after that (how could you not want to! hot oil + massage + right after work) and wash it off in the morning when I shower, but you could also wash it off immediately. Wash it off with a gentle, SLS and silicone-free shampoo. If you do it right, you'll notice you don't need a leave-in conditioner or hair styling product of any sort, and your hair will still look pulled together. Forget your leave-in conditioners, anti-dandruff shampoos and just try this once! It's cost-efficient and effective!
10 out of 10 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Powder -Korres - Multivitamin Compact Powder
luineumaiel 3/7/2013 12:46:00 AM
It's an underrated powder foundation. If you have relatively problem free skin and need powder just to mattify your face and even out skin tone, this is a great pick. Its: - inexpensive compared to bigger brands - very finely milled: works with both a sponge (heavier coverage) and a mineral powder brush (lighter coverage) - very good quality sponge comes with the product You might want to ask for a sample to take home because it does appear to be more suitable for those with pinkish or neutral undertones. Girls of South Asian descent could try this, but only if you're okay with super light coverage. A great buy for me, satisfactorily hit the pan with this before I went in for another product. I'm taking a lippie off packaging because its really bulky for my make-up bag or even handbag to carry around. Not buying it again because it isn't a satisfactory enough colour match for my skin with golden undertones.
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Skincare - Face -Unlisted Brand - Tamanu Oil
luineumaiel 1/16/2013 9:16:00 AM
I've been religiously using this every night before I sleep, all over my face, for 5 weeks. It's quite the miracle worker for someone like me, who's been suffering from acne and post-acne scars for the past 8 years. In just these 5 weeks of nightly use, it has considerably lightened the acne scars on my face. My face actually GLOWS in pictures, I'm not even kidding about that. Must be all the massaging I do to really work this product into my face before I sleep. If you're suffering from acne, get a bottle of this, and work it into your face daily for 1 to 2 months before you start seeing distinct results. EDIT: This oil also has astringent properties which is probably why it works great on oily, acne-prone skin. In the past year, my skin has been slowly changing from oily to dry, and now it's properly dry. I notice that my skin is rather flaky after having massaged Tamanu Oil on my face and having let it sit overnight. So dry-skinned folks, you might only want to use this as a spot treatment.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Unlisted Brand - Skin & Bones - Moisturizer
luineumaiel 12/4/2012 11:11:00 PM
It's basically certified organic jojoba oil blended with 9 pure essential oils of Myrrh, Frankincense, Ylang Ylang, Grapefruit, Jasmine, Lemon, Rosewood, Sandalwood and Cedarwood. If you're a fan of rubbing pure Jojoba oil on your skin, then you would absolutely love this product. It smells woody, doubles up as a daily scent, and keeps everything from your face, hands, feet and hair moisturised all round the clock. AND the amazing essential oils in this product have been slowly, but steadily healing my acne ridden skin. It's an absolute treat for your skin and your senses :)
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Conditioner -Ouidad - Curl Quencher Conditioner
luineumaiel 12/4/2012 11:01:00 PM
Like all Ouidad products, this one does what it says - it conditions pretty well. Works best when used with the Ouidad shampoo. But for my dry hair, I find coconut oil does a muchhh better job than any conditioner out there, so I won't be buying this again.
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Shampoo -Ouidad - Clear and Gentle Shampoo
luineumaiel 12/4/2012 10:59:00 PM
Again, like all Ouidad products, it does what it claims, nothing more, nothing less. It is a very good clarifying shampoo if you've got a lot of product build-up. I have sensitive scalp, and I've noticed it doesn't leave it itchy like other dirty dozen loaded products. It also smells pretty fresh. Overall, a great travel product if you're going away for a few days or attending a wedding and expect to have a lot of product buildup in your hair. I would certainly recommend you get the travel sized pack with the conditioner, botanical boost and climate control gel just to try all four products out at once.
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Conditioner -Ouidad - Botanical Boost
luineumaiel 12/4/2012 10:57:00 PM
I got this, a shampoo, a conditioner, a climate control gel as a travel sized pack. This product is good in that it at least does what it claims - it detangles well. The packaging is fantastic and the spray atomiser disperses the product really well onto your hair, coating a large surface area at one time. It temporarily gives your hair the slip it needs while you detangle it right after a shower. Since most of it is water, it dries off eventually. The residue left behind (if at all) is hardly noticeable, and you can style as usual. It's an effective but expensive detangler. But I think aloe vera juice would do the same job just as well, at a much lower cost. So, not buying it again.
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Styling Products -John Masters - Shine On
luineumaiel 12/4/2012 10:51:00 PM
I absolutely love this product. I have very dark, dry and frizzy south asian hair. I applied this to partly wet hair right after a shower, blow dried it and it left an extremely natural shine on my hair AND kept it soft, smooth and tangle-free for the rest of the day. The packaging works for me because if it came in some squeeze tube version, you wouldn't be able to get a lot of the product out because of it's thick, gel-like consistency. This way, you can scoop every last bit out of the tub, AND reuse the tub for any homemade face masks/scrubs. It's expensive, but if you'll use it occasionally only, it's a great buy!
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Gels/Soaps -Dr. Bronner's - Peppermint Castille Soap
luineumaiel 12/4/2012 10:47:00 PM
It's perfect for really hot and humid climates that make you feel warm and get you sweating the minute you step out of the shower. Peppermint is a natural refrigerant, so it keeps the body really cool. Lathers nicely, cleans very well and smells super fresh. Plus it's fairly traded and all natural without the dirty dozen ingredients!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Treatments -Smith's Rosebud Salve - Smith's Rosebud Salve
luineumaiel 12/4/2012 6:22:00 AM
I'm a real sucker for vintage packaging and read much about it so I bought it. But strictly looking at the product and it's effectiveness, It's just as good as Vaseline. It's basically just Vaseline with some colour and a strong (but pleasant) scent. So, not really worth it for the price. You'll be paying more for the packaging than the product.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Bronzers -E.L.F. - Studio Golden Bronzer
luineumaiel 12/4/2012 6:18:00 AM
Looks like a highlighter more than a brozer if you're NC35 and above. I use it as a highlighter actually, it does a great job! Not too much shimmer/shine, just enough to give your face a natural glow. The staying power isn't that great though.
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Bronzers -BeneFit Cosmetics - HOOLA
luineumaiel 12/4/2012 6:16:00 AM
Such a fantastic bronzer! Looks really good on asian and south-asian skin. My only problem is the brush that comes with this bronzer. For more precise contouring, that brush really doesn't work for me. Benefit, if you're reading this, just change the brush (or drop the brush altogether AND the price of the product) and your Hoola will be selling like hotcakes the next minute!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Makeup Brushes -Sephora - Professional Mineral Powder Brush #45
luineumaiel 12/4/2012 6:14:00 AM
Do yourself a favour, buy this brush. It is an excellent brush. It works well to buff in my mineral powder, compact powder and foundation stick even. Super soft bristles. A little expensive, but it'll be the only face brush you'll ever need.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -MAC - Coppertone
luineumaiel 12/4/2012 6:11:00 AM
Wonderful shade for a blush! I think this looks great on south-asian skin. Long lasting and staying power if you wear some moisturiser or primer underneath. If you're looking for a brown-shade blush, this is it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No