Eye Shadow -Urban Decay - Naked 2 Palette
marynooreviewsonly 7/4/2012 10:24:00 PM
I love this palette. I was looking for a lot of bang for my eyeshadow buck and this really delivered. The brush isn't wonderful, but it works if I forget my usual e/s brush in my travel bag. The tin is a bit too long for my makeup bag, but that's not their problem, it's mine. The shadows are pretty much universally flattering on my skin. I've found the color payoff to be just fine if I use primer first. I don't wear most of them to work every day but they make it very easy to punch it up for a more intense evening look. I'm not sure I'll buy it again but I think it's going to last long enough that I won't have to worry about that.
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Polishes -Sally Hansen - Insta-Dri in Sonic Bloom
marynooreviewsonly 7/1/2012 4:24:00 PM
I think I got a different bottle from other reviewers. This isn't even nearly orange-red on me. For orange-red, I go for Revlon Red Bikini. Sonic Bloom is a great summery deep pink with a hint of red. It looks so pretty with a tan! I'm not really wild about the bottle or brush. The brush was a little wider than I expected, and because the polish dries SO quickly, it was hard to get the brush to put the polish where I wanted it to go. The neck of the bottle makes it hard to wipe off excess, which there is a lot of. I'm pretty good at painting my nails but I had a lot of product on my cuticles when I was done. Not a huge deal, or even a reason not to buy this again, just an observation. I love the color so much that I'll overlook what I don't like about it and will repurchase when I run out.
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Lip Liners -Boots - No7 Line and Define Lip Pencil - Fire
marynooreviewsonly 3/20/2012 11:04:00 AM
I have had a really hard time finding a drugstore red liner, period. The last one I bought turned really pinky and made the whole thing look magenta and that wasn't my desired look. This was recommended to me by a Boots rep inside a Target store. It helps my lipstick stay longer without drying it out like another long-wear pencil I tried. Overall, it's a totally satisfactory red pencil that helps my red lip look stay without changing the color.
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Treatments (Eye) -L'Oreal - Lash Boosting Serum
marynooreviewsonly 1/15/2012 1:22:00 AM
I got compliments on my eyelashes the other day. I was pretty shocked and decided this is one of those things I need to use all the time. It lives in my bathroom next to my dental floss and eye makeup remover and will continue to live there until I find something better. I apply it like eyeliner and also in the same manner you'd put on mascara to make sure everything is applied evenly and thoroughly. The only thing I don't like is that the bottle makes it impossible to get the last little bit out of the bottom. That's a little frustrating when it's $12+ a pop, but not enough to keep me from repurchasing.
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Moisturizers -Alpha Hydrox - Enhanced Lotion - 10% AHA
marynooreviewsonly 1/9/2012 10:48:00 PM
I didn't feel qualified to review this till I'd used it with any consistency. I've been using it twice daily for about 8 months now and I definitely notice a new glow that wasn't there before. There's still a little unevenness in skin texture, but the hyperpigmentation is going away and I'm noticing smaller pores and my skin is softer. Neoterics runs a sale on this stuff every now and then, so I got 4 bottles for $20 and am well stocked up till the next sale comes around. I still plan on doing a few peels but I am so happy with the way my skin looks! This is really nice stuff.
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Lipstick -MAC - Pro Longwear Lipcreme in Prolong
marynooreviewsonly 10/7/2011 1:11:00 PM
This is the red that changed my mind about red. Yes, it's a little dry and it does come off on what i'm eating/drinking, but the color stays on. It is really a perfect red to glam up whatever else I have on. My friends have been recommending (pushing, really) red lips for as long as I can remember, but I was shy. I'm not anymore! Yay red!
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Treatments -Aveda - Scalp Remedy
marynooreviewsonly 10/5/2011 11:41:00 PM
This isn't as expensive as Kerastase, which is why I give it a 4. I don't know what happened, but my scalp has become an itchy wreck, full of flakes and other weirdness. This seems to be the only thing that helps. I use the shampoo and conditioner, but since they rinse out of my hair, I can't say if they're the reason my hair is better. The brown bottle of damage remedy has helped wonders even in just a few weeks. The fact that I don't rinse it out makes me feel like it might be effective. I use it when my hair is towel dried, before any other products go on. I've noticed less itching, almost no flakes and no other bumps or scabs on my head. Yes, that's gross but that's the way it is, or, was. I'll try to update as I've been using it longer. If it keeps working this well, it's going to be a part of my hair routine for a long time coming.
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Shampoo -Aveda - Scalp Benefits shampoo
marynooreviewsonly 8/22/2011 2:00:00 PM
After years of denial, I have finally realized that I have some kind of scalp situation. It's probably something dandruff related. Most dandruff shampoos smell gross and left my hair feeling awfully dry and unmanageable. I'm giving the scalp benefits line a try before I go the RX route. I'll review more later when I have more time with the products.
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Styling Products -Aveda - Phomollient
marynooreviewsonly 8/22/2011 1:53:00 PM
I wasn't sure about mousse, as I'd been told for many years that my hair didn't need it. I went on a limb and tried it after my stylist recommended it. I like that it adds a teeny bit of volume to my medium, naturally curly, thick hair. It also helps keep it shiny and under control when I blowdry my hair straight, or just put it up in a bun, let it dry and wear it down later. I've definitely stopped thinking that mousse is something for only curly hair.
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Polishes -Sally Hansen - salon effects
marynooreviewsonly 7/27/2011 10:32:00 AM
I was intrigued by the cute houndstooth pattern that a friend of mine kept showing up with on her nails, but I didn't think it would work as well on me. I paint my nails at least once a week, so I'm no stranger to nail polish and how to make it look nice. I tried the champagne color called "raise a glass" and was disappointed in how it turned out. 90% of my dissatisfaction was not knowing how to place it correctly on the nail. I placed them overlapping the cuticle and used the sizes that were slightly too wide for the nail bed. Rookie mistakes. So I went back for the Laced Up pattern. It is so cute! I can't stop admiring how adorable my nails are. I feel brave enough to try some other patterns now. I haven't put a top coat on , so I don't know how long this will last (I'm a bit of a picker). The last ones, I picked mercilessly because I didn't like them, so now that I have a pattern I like, I plan on taking better care of it. Overall, I wish these were a bit cheaper, since you can only use them once, but I like the idea and the patterns.
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Treatments -Alpha Hydrox - Cuticle Cream
marynooreviewsonly 7/25/2011 6:32:00 PM
I keep one in my desk drawer at work and one next to where I watch TV at night. This stuff is excellent. I smooth some onto my cuticles when I'm not doing anything else. Absorbs quickly, makes cuticles smoother and less likely for me to be able to bite them. This product is a winner!
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Lip Gloss -Sugar Cosmetics - hooked on sugar lip gloss
marynooreviewsonly 6/9/2011 3:56:00 PM
This stuff has been discontinued, or at the very least, tough to find for a while now. I love it, though. It's my favorite my lips but better gloss. Not too sticky, with a wonderfully sweet smell, but not too vanilla-y or cloying. There's a teeny hint of shimmer but it's mostly just a nice, almost clear, almost pink shade that compliments whatever else I have on my face. I had to throw away my second to last tube (am now on my last and getting a little frantic about where to get more) because the top of the tube cracked. I squeezed it into a pot and have been brushing it out without a problem.
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Top/Base Coats -Poshe - Super-Fast Drying Top Coat
marynooreviewsonly 5/20/2011 10:57:00 PM
This won't replace SV in my life (I even have two bottles, one for my reds and one for my pales. Yeah, I'm very picky about that), but for every other daily touch up coats, it's not bad. I put it on just now and less than 90 seconds later, nicked a key on my laptop and YET - no mark! Color me impressed. It's not a strong enough product to be better than SV long-term, but I'm pretty happy with the bottle I have.
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Eye Primer -Too Faced - Shadow Insurance, Anti-Crease Eye Shadow Primer
marynooreviewsonly 3/2/2011 5:27:00 PM
I don't know how I've gotten near the age of 30 without trying a shadow primer on a regular basis, but here I am. After reading lots of hate on the UDPP, I thought I'd try Shadow Insurance instead, because of the squeeze tube. It was $18 at Ulta, which seemed steep till I got it home and used the recommended dot sized dose. A teeny dot is enough to make my shadow and gel liner last all day. I tried it with Stila Kitten yesterday, which is annoyingly crease-y and doesn't last even a few hours. I applied in the morning and it didn't come off till I got home late in the evening. I was really impressed! It goes on easily, without pulling on eyelid skin or creasing. Very smooth and easy to spread, it really does help the shadow show up more true to its color. I'm curious to see how long it lasts and if it ever dries up. If so, I'll be happy to mix with a little Visine. UPDATE - I've tried it with other shimmery and frosty shadows and it's made me fall back in love with them. I was a matte-only eyeshadow wearer until I found Shadow Insurance but I'm back to wearing more fun shades now. Hurray!
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Styling Products -TiGi - Bed Head After Party
marynooreviewsonly 3/2/2011 5:16:00 PM
Lately, my favorite feature of this product is the ability to soak up nasty cig smell. I sat on a patio last night, surrounded by smokers and got home to notice that my hair smelled gross. Rather than wash my naturally curly, dry, coarse, hair and re-dry, I took a pump of the product and smoothed it between my hands. Then I applied what was on one hand to the bottom of my hair, then the rest to the top layer of my hair. Then I brushed it through. Within a few minutes, my hair had almost no bar smell, and was much smoother and more manageable than before. The product's fragrance itself isn't my favorite, but that eventually fades and then my hair just smells fresher and more pleasant. It helped make my hair smoother and easier to keep under control, which is a bonus when it's humid and weird outside.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No