Eye Shadow -MAC - Bamboo
meghab 2/7/2013 12:40:00 PM
I went into Mac looking to create a soft yet sculpted eye look - essentially to look like a naked eye but better. I love neutrals on my eyes because I have blue eyes and especially for my work that is a little on the conservative side. Talking to one of the girls, we discussed my options, and we decided to lean toward the warmer tones with a hint a peach. We easily came up with a neutral all overall shade that was my skintone but just a touch creamier. The girl at Mac suggested soft brown for my crease, which was really pretty, but with just soft brown on an almost naked lid, the colour was a little too orange for my extremely fair skin. We then cam up with bamboo, and I have to say I'm absolutely in love with it! Bamboo is the perfect peachy beige colour that is great to softly contour my crease for a barely there eye look, works great as a base shadow, and for blending. It's got enough pigmentation to have impact, but blendable enough to create a subtle look. Bamboo is definitely going to become part of my permanent collection. Bamboo seems to be a bit of an unsung hero in the realm of Mac eye shadows; however, for those of you with extremely fair skin, it's a great option for a warm eye without running too orange or red. I use the word peachy beige to describe the colour because it's just a little softer than your typical brown shadow, but don't get me wrong it still has impact. My current "naked eye but better" is made up of - Mac paint pot in painterly as primer (soft ochre runs warmer, but I currently prefer the slightly more neutral tones of painterly. I'm likely to change my mind next time though) - Mac Orb all over the lid from lashline to brow (creates perfect base) - Mac Bamboo run softly through the crease and blended down into outer third of the lid - Mac Fluidline in Dipdown extremely close to the lashline with a micro wing effect - Mac Sketch softly smudged over liner for days that I want some extra oomph
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -L'Oreal - Lineur Intense
meghab 1/31/2013 12:39:00 PM
I was previously using Tarte's Amazonian Clay eyeliner (the one in the pot and comes with a brush), but I had let it dry it out by accident so it was starting to flake. I decided that I wanted to go back to liquid (as the Tarte product is really more of a cross between a gel and a cream) and that I wanted something a little cheaper. Since I had seen so many people rave about the Lineur Intense in Carbon Black, I thought that it would be any easy choice, especially as it was much more reasonable at about $10 CAD. I purchased the one with the brush because I usually prefer using a brush over a felt tip. Unfortunately, the brush is a little too flexible for my taste so you definitely have to be careful in applying. Otherwise, application was fairly easy. I really liked the colour payoff - really intense dark line. I love black eyeliner because I find that with light eyes (blue) all I really need for a daily look is a light peachy beige eyeshadow and some liner to really make my eyes stand out. Definitely, made my eyes pop in one simple step. Here is where the review takes a turn for the worse. I have two major complaints about this product: 1) it takes forever to dry and 2) flakes extremely quickly. When I apply my liquid liner, I usually do factor in some time for it to dry, but even after applying powder, blush, and finishing my brows (approximately 2 minutes when I am extremely slow - speed is the name of the game at 6:30) the liner still wasn't dry. This creates a definite problem when you want to quickly curl lashes and apply mascara. Second issue is the flaking. Despite wearing primer, this product just came off. It wasn't even at the end of the day - more like at least a couple of hours in. I couldn't give an exact time of wear as I don't look in a mirror all day long. I decided to try wearing a black pencil liner underneath to help hold the colour, but this didn't work either. The pencil filled in the gaps, but due to the extremely intesne colour of the liquid liner, it still looked patchy. Overall nice effect, but just impractical for me as it didn't satisfy my main criteria for products - long lasting, no flakes, quick dry time, and ease of application. Sorry, L'Oreal. You make nice products, but I have to disagree with everyone who loves this liner. I'm going to have to try again with something different.
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Sunscreen -Clinique - City Block Sheer Oil-Free Daily Face Protector Broad Spectrum 25 SPF
meghab 2/7/2012 12:17:00 AM
I love, love, love this sunscreen! Good level of SPF, tint to counteract the white tinge sunscreen can give you, and minimizes excess oil - great all around daily protector! Some people use this as a moisturizer on its own, but I need something extra so I pair it with Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel. Gives me an ideal level of moisture and a great base for makeup. I have both sensitive skin and have a tendency to break out. This sunscreen doesn't irritate my sensitive skin and doesn't cause me to break out so I would never give it up! Convenient sized tube for at home and travel, and I would have to say that it's not a horrible price - pretty average for what is currently available. However, I would say that you get your money's worth.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Clinique - Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel
meghab 2/7/2012 12:07:00 AM
Now I wouldn't say that the dramatically different moisturizing gel is the best moisturizer, but I do keep going back to it for my daytime moisturizer so there must be something special about it. Balancing the sensitivity of my skin with its tendency to break out has never been an easy task, but this moisturizer is both oil free and fragrance free! It keeps my skin moist without making me look oily, exacerbating any current irritation or breakouts, or creating new pimples. I admit it's not the most moisturizing for dry patches, but it is designed for oilier skin types. The only drawback is that I prefer this product for daytime wear (I like to wear something richer at night), but it doesn't have any sunscreen. To fix that I pair the moisturizing gel with Clinique's City Block Sheer SPF 25. I find the combo gives me just the right amount of moisture, gives a great base for applying makeup, and ensures no excess oiliness throughout the day.
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Treatments (Eye) -Lancome - Génifique Eye
meghab 2/2/2012 9:10:00 PM
I absolutely 100% hate this product! It's horrible. All I wanted was to get an eye cream that provide some basic hydration with maybe some anti-aging benefits and diminish dark circles. All I got was a very painful, very red, very dry, and very disgusting rash around my eyes. I only used the product once and sparingly!!!!! I'm so upset that after a week the rash still has not completely gone away. I have extremely sensitive skin, and anyone else who is also extremely sensitive should stay away. Usually I check the ingredients on each product I put on my face because of my tendency to react to most products, but I got the cream in a free gift from Lancome. The sample didn't give ingredients (or at least not any I saw), and I just thought, "what the heck? I love Lancome cosmetics so they must make somewhat decent facial products." Big mistake on my part. After I reacted to the product, I looked it up on beautypedia.com, to see how they rated it, and I found out it contains alcohol and fragrance!! Two ingredients I would never put on my face let alone the more delicate eye area. Clearly, I'm biased as I reacted to the eye cream; however, I really haven't heard anything really positive about it. I wouldn't waste my money on this at all! I still like Lancome cosmetics, but I would definitely second guess buying anything from their skincare line.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No