Eye Shadow -Meow Cosmetics - Eyeshadow
maggiemari 4/23/2012 7:52:00 PM
I just tried out a few Meow shadow samples in a look today that I've had sitting in my "to try" pile for a while. I adore Meow's foundation (my absolute HG!), so I was looking forward to trying these, but I found them extremely disappointing. The shades I tried were Abra Cat-Abra, Malibu Kitty, and Neurotic. I used them with Nars Smudge-Proof and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy, a combination which usually makes any loose shadows wear like iron. Not so with these! First of all, these blended very poorly - if I attempted to blend them at all, they basically just disappeared. Application was uneven, they faded incredibly fast (I do my eyes before my foundation, etc. and by the time I'd finished the rest of my face they were already noticeably faded!), and disappeared completely if I so much as touched my lid (I lightly touched my eye to fix an eyeliner goof and had to re-do that entire spot on my lid). Their samples are also pretty overpriced for such a teensy amount, especially given that they come in a baggie rather than a jar. For twice as much you can get samples 5x larger in a jar from Fyrinnae - and their shadows are much better!
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Top/Base Coats -Seche Vite - Dry Fast Top Coat
maggiemari 2/20/2012 10:32:00 PM
Honestly, I just don't think Seche is worth the trouble. Yes, if you use it juuuuust right it gives a nice finish and has decent wear time. However, if you don't, you get major polish shrinkage, often resulting in polish peeling off your nails within a couple days. Plus, it contains tuolene, and it thickens up ridiculously over time. There are so many fairly budget-friendly, user-friendly, tuolene-free top coats out there that there's just no reason to deal with the hassle of using Seche Vite.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Urban Decay - Lip Love Honey Infused Lip Therapy- Lolita
maggiemari 2/15/2012 10:45:00 PM
I love this stuff just for how moisturizing it is. I'm a complete lip balm fiend because my lips are always chapped as hell no matter what I do. I have probably 15 lip balms in my desk drawer alone. This stuff feels so nice on my lips, and leaves them much softer than usual, especially if I apply it right after using a lip scrub. I have it in Drizzle, since it's practically clear and my lips are pigmented enough that the very slight pink tint doesn't really show up. The other colors are sheer but do give a nice tint and glossiness to your lips. I have no idea what people are talking about when they say you don't get a lot of product for the price... ?! To break it down for you: the Honey Lip Therapy is $12 for .34oz. UD Pocket Rockets are $19 for .27oz. UD Lip Junkies are $19 for .34oz (same amount at the Honey Lip Therapy, $7 more). Buxom lipgloss is $18 for .15oz. MAC Lipglass is $14.50 for .17oz. These have twice as much product as a MAC lipglass for $2.50 less - I don't hear anybody bitching about MAC giving too little product for the price! Do the math, everyone.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Bath Treatments -LUSH - Ro's Argan Body Conditioner
maggiemari 2/15/2012 9:45:00 PM
Ohmygod the scent. It is so, so, so amazing. I literally stand around in my bathroom holding the container and just huffing this stuff. SO GOOD. I just ordered the Rose Jam perfume from the LUSH website in hopes of smelling like this all the time. In addition to the spectacular scent (which lingers on skin for a little while), the product itself is wonderful. After I shave my legs, I spread this over my whole body (I use about a quarter-sized amount per leg, another two quarters for my whole upper body, and one quarter for both arms), leave it on for a couple of minutes standing away from the water, and then rinse and pat dry. My skin feels insanely soft afterwards and it helps a lot with post-shaving irritation. I also often mix a teeny bit of it in with my conditioner and it seems to make my hair happy, too. Love this stuff. This and Sympathy for the Skin are the only things I've ever found that really make a difference for my super-dry legs and arms.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -LUSH - Fresh Farmacy
maggiemari 2/15/2012 9:33:00 PM
Switching to Fresh Farmacy as my sole cleanser was the best thing I've ever done for my skin. Ever. This stuff is a freaking miracle. Even in just a couple weeks, my skin tone was more even than it had been in years, my chronically dull skin looked radiant, and I hardly have any kind of breakouts (the one time I broke out is when I started using this once a day and another cleanser the rest of the time - as soon asI switched back to just FF my face went back to being happy). I like the smell, very light and soothing. If my skin is in any way irritated, from the sun or whatever, I massage this into my face for about 60 seconds or so, and I can literally feel it soothing my skin. As long as this stuff exists I will never use another cleanser. The only downside of it is that is will dissolve if it stays wet. I keep it in a little tin next to my sink for non-shower cleansing, and after I wash my face I just leave the tin open until it's mostly dry, then close it to keep it dry. In the shower, I've found the best way to store it is in an empty small-sized LUSH black pot. It seems to stay dry better than in a tin. Anyway, if you have it in some kind of container and allow it to dry out if it seems to be getting too soggy, you shouldn't have any issues with it dissolving.
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Toners -LUSH - Breath of Fresh Air
maggiemari 2/15/2012 9:26:00 PM
A few years ago my formerly resilient skin decided to become insanely sensitive. It also decided that now that I was (at the time) 24, it was time for me to get breakouts! Yay! Everything you put on your face will give you cystic pimples! Fun fun! No. Over the last few years I have tried many combinations of skin care products. I have found a good collection of things that didn't break me out, but I hadn't found anything that actually made my skin better. So, finally I decided to switch to almost all LUSH skin care since I'd had pretty good experiences with it, and to cut down on the number of products I was using. No serums or other fancy things. Cleanser, toner, moisturizer (or sunscreen). I love this toner. I use Fresh Farmacy cleanser, this toner, and Cosmetic Lad moisturizer, and my skin looks better than it has in years. I spray about 4-6 sprays onto a cotton round and wipe my face thoroughly twice a day right after cleansing. It's done an amazing job of balancing my combo-oily skin, and this in combination with the other products has left my skin softer, less breakout-prone, and more even in tone than it has been in ages. Oh Breath of Fresh Air, I'll never leave you!
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Lotions/ Creams -LUSH - Sympathy for the Skin
maggiemari 2/15/2012 9:17:00 PM
I love, love, LOVE this stuff. For a very long time I have suffered from insane post-shaving itchy legs. My legs would itch for days after shaving, to the point where I was considering giving up and become a gorilla (my skin hates depilatory creams, so those aren't an option). At the recommendation of one of my beloved LUSH SAs I tried this stuff, and it is amazing. It does an amazing job moisturizing my legs (and the rest of me), and helps with the itchiness more than any other product I've tried. And I LOVE the smell. It's delicious. It smells just like banana cream pudding. If you don't like the smell of banana cream pudding, you will hate this stuff. A little of this stuff goes a long way, and my skin feels so soft and happy after I use it. Will definitely repurchase again and again and again.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Misc Beauty Tools -Tweezerman - Metal Eye Lash Comb
maggiemari 8/15/2011 10:44:00 PM
Wow, 4.8? How the heck did this thing get this rating? Sure, it does a great job of separating your eyelashes, as long as you don't mind running the risk of blinding yourself every time you use it. I was just inspired to write this review after a few times using this lash comb, because a few minutes ago I wasn't paying attention while folding it closed and my finger was in the way. It actually gave me a deep, profusely bleeding puncture wound on the top of my middle finger. And you're supposed to put this thing near your eye? I don't want to pur it near any part of me!! I love Tweezerman, but this lash comb is seriously on my list of worst beauty tool ideas EVER. The price and packaging quality were fine, but I'm rating them 1 because this lash comb should NOT have anything pushing its rating up.
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Lip Gloss -NYX - NYX 111 Lollipop
maggiemari 7/8/2010 6:28:00 PM
This gloss is quite a nice shade. It doesn't have tremendous staying power, but for the price it's not too shabby. However, NYX Mega Shine glosses have one giant downside: they smell and taste absolutely revolting. They have a horrendous synthetic cherry flavor/scent that's almost exactly like Robitussin cough syrup. And even worse - the taste and smell stick around for quite a while after application. I'm not usually too sensitive to tastes in my lip products, but this one is so overpoweringly awful that I barely ever wear it. If you're not sensitive to awful synthetic flavors, NYX glosses should be fine, but be warned!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No