Treatments -The Body Shop - tea tree oil
mimepanda 4/20/2013 11:55:00 AM
I've been using tea tree oil for my acne for a few years now and my results have been somewhat inconsistent. I use it at night as a spot treatment, after cleansing and moisturizing. On some types of acne it seems to work really well and I wake up in the morning with noticeably less inflamed spots. With continued use these spots dry up within a few days and don't leave as much of a dark spot afterwards. However I did not find it to be effective for whiteheads or cystic acne. The smell of the oil is somewhat medicinal but not overwhelming, I can feel a slight cooling sensation when I apply it but other than that there is no burning or discomfort. Lately it seems to have lost its effectiveness so I have turned to my prescription Clindoxyl cream again for my acne, but I would recommend those with light, uncomplicated acne to give this a try. I paid $12 for this and although the bottles are small, one bottle lasts several months.
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Moisturizers -Garnier - Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel-Cream
mimepanda 4/20/2013 11:53:00 AM
This product goes on really nicely, cools the skin and leaves it feeling fresh and hydrated. However, I did notice that the effect does not last for very long. After a few minutes, my face would feel even tighter than before I applied it. As a result I would use a large amount every day and ended up going through a bottle in just over 2 weeks. Unfortunately it dried out my skin a lot during this time and seemed to break me out more. As the other reviewers have mentioned this product contains alcohol which may contribute to the cooling sensation but also probably contributes to the dryness. Overall would not recommend as it feels nice but dries out the skin a lot in the long run. Might work better if you have oily skin and just want something really light for the summer though.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Desert Essence - Jojoba Oil - 100% pure
mimepanda 8/29/2012 5:17:00 PM
I starte using jojoba oil as a part of a mixture alongside grapeseed and castor oils for an oil cleansing mixture. When the castor oil gave me the most horrific break out my face had ever seen, I gave up on that and threw the bottle away. However I did keep the jojoba oil to use as a moisturizer. I find the oil is a bit too light to be used alone as when I put it on at night I wake up in the morning with tight, dry skin. However if I mix a few drops into whatever moisturizer I am using for the night, I wake up with plump, dewy skin. It doesn't seem to have helped my acne a lot, but it didn't break me out either. I really like this when mixed with other moisturizers but would only use it at night as it leaves my face oily for a while if I use it in the morning. Packaging is the weak point here as it's nearly impossible to travel with the bottle once it's been opened (I rely on a lot of Saran wrap and plastic baggies), it is hard to dole out an exact amount of oil without spilling some and the plastic bottle falls over quite easily. However I paid only $9 for a bottle and it lasted me over a year so the price is quite acceptable. Overall, would recommend especially to those who have dry or sensitive skin. It didn't work miracles on my acne but didn't exacerbate it, and I do feel it helps a lot with giving me glowing, moisturized skin.
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Skincare - Face -Clinique - Acne Solutions Line (all products)
mimepanda 8/29/2012 4:14:00 PM
Clinique's slogan for this line was "Kill them with kindness" so I expected that my sensitive dry combination skin would react pretty well to this. I started out using all 3 steps twice a day, but had to taper down to using the moisturizer only at night and the toner once every 2 or 3 days because I just found it to be way too drying. The first week when I used this continuously my face was so tight that I had a hard time raising my eyebrows! Granted it was also winter so that probably didn't help. On the bright side, this helped to clear up some of the whiteheads and smaller pimples but didn't do anything for my cystic acne. It did seem to even my skin tone out a bit though. I eventually gave up on it just because cystic acne was my major concern and I was tired of having such tight, dried-out skin all the time. This may be better suited to those with oily, less sensitive skin. Packaging was neat and clean looking, I liked the hygienic squeeze bottle for the moisturizer, pricy compared to drugstore brands but about the same price as other products from the same brand.
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Moisturizers -Neutrogena - Combination Skin Moisture Oil Free
mimepanda 6/21/2012 12:44:00 PM
I have a lot of dry patches on my jaw and along my cheek bones combined with acne on my T zone. This moisturizer didn't seem to do much for the dry patches but did a fairly good job of keeping my acne-prone areas smooth and oil-free. My face still feels a bit tight after using this and it stings a little when layered over my benzoyl peroxide treatment. My skin is pretty sensitive however and I didn't seem to have any bad reactions to this. Overall pretty good for acne prone areas but I will look for a more moisturizing cream for the dry areas of my face. The moisturizer was not too pricy (about $10 or so), the twist and lock pump is great for traveling and very good at dispensing the proper amount. The moisturizer spreads easily but can take a while to sink in. It doesn't have much of a smell to me and kept me shine-free for most of the day. A good basic moisturizer.
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Cleansers -Unlisted Brand - Oil Cleansing Method OCM
mimepanda 6/21/2012 10:47:00 AM
I've been experimenting with OCM on and off for a few years now. The first time I tried it was when I was dealing with a lot of cystic acne as a teenager, and although the method didn't irritate my skin or dry it out, it didn't seem to improve the cysts much so I gave up within a week or so. This time, I was experiencing a small breakout about 5 months after finishing a regiment of antibiotics which had cleared up my entire face, cysts and all. I figured that since my skin was doing ok maybe OCM could help to dry out the few pimples that had cropped up. I used a mixture of 50:50 jojoba oil and grapeseed oil with a few drops of castor oil (since my skin is quite dry I didn't want to use too much castor oil). I didn't steam my face every time I used it (only used it once a day at night) but I didn't notice a huge difference when I did steam. For the first few days it was a miracle! My skin felt plump and moisturized, my blackheads decreased and the acne was going away almost immediately. I happily continued for two weeks, then woke up one morning with a forehead full of whiteheads, clogged pores, painful red bumps and two huge cysts. The transition happened so quickly. I literally had glowing, acne-free skin going to bed and woke up with a very angry, red face. I've switched to a different oil cleanser with an emulsifier and gone back for some more antibiotics and my skin is finally calming down again. Very disappointed with how this turned out, however I do agree with the other reviewers that castor oil is the likely culprit. I've moisturized my face with jojoba oil a lot and have never had a bad reaction or a breakout, so when I am done with my new oil cleanser I may try this again with just jojoba oil. Will update if anything changes.
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Tinted Moisturizer -Tarte - Amazonian Clay BB Tinted Mosturizer (Smooth Operator)
mimepanda 3/4/2012 1:19:00 PM
Ever since having to deal with acne in the last few years my skin has been a weird mix of extremely oily in some patches and red, dry and sensitive in other places. There's also a lot of acne scars and hyperpigmentation spots. This tinted moisturizer is very sheer so I have to apply a few layers to get the coverage I need, and even then I have to cover up some of the darker spots with other concealer. However, I really like the finish and how it evens out my skin tone. In the winter the moisturizer is not really strong enough and I find my skin to be really dry at the end of the day, so I usually layer some other moisturizer underneath. Also apparently the Canadian version of this doesn't offer sun protection so I try to choose a moisturizer with SPF to use underneath it.
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Blush -NARS - Orgasm Blush
mimepanda 3/4/2012 1:13:00 PM
I really like this colour, but the sparkles in it are sometimes a bit too much. Overall kind of overrated. Very expensive and although it goes on well and looks pretty good at first, sometimes it leaves sparkles on my face after the blush has faded a bit and then looks kind of weird.
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Cleansers -Shiseido - The Skincare Extra Gentle Cleansing Foam
mimepanda 3/4/2012 1:06:00 PM
This has been my go-to cleanser for several years now. It's not the cheapest so I tend to switch back between this one, the Vichy acne cleanser and and Estee Lauder one. This cleanser foams up really well so you only need a little bit at a time and one tube lasts a long time. It cleans quite thoroughly and I always feel as if I could slough off a layer of dead skin every time I use this. However in the winter this can be a little drying and my face feels a bit tight afterwards. In the summer though this is absolutely perfect. It's gentle and doesn't irritate my sensitive skin, helped to balance everything out while trying to handle my acne last year. Overall an excellent cleanser.
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Treatments (Eye) -Avene - Eluage Eye Contour
mimepanda 3/4/2012 1:00:00 PM
This product did not seem to moisturize my eyes as much as I had hoped for. I have very faint lines in the under eye area and at the corners of my eyes and haven't noticed any differences. However the worst part is that I feel the retinaldehyde may be a bit too strong for me. The product irritated the whole eye area and I have been using it only every other day to avoid hurting my eyes too much. The packaging of this product is quite good though, the pump works really well to get out exactly the amount of product needed.
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Mascara -L'Oreal - Double Extend Beauty Tubes
mimepanda 12/3/2011 10:44:00 AM
I have short, stick-straight (they point directly downward too darn it) eye lashes that are sparse and not very noticeable. On top of that my eyes are hooded and lids tend to be oily. This is the absolute best mascara I've found. With this mascara my eyelashes are not only visible, they're visibly long and curled! It has never smudged on my upper or lower eye area and is so easy to remove. Sometimes I forget to take it off (just wet a piece of paper towel and press lashes in between for about 30 seconds and gently wipe off) and it just comes off in the shower. It very rarely clumps however it also builds virtually no volume, but I think you can probably layer this with another mascara? Haven't tried because I am just so happy that I finally have long long lashes! Will keep buying for sure.
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Mascara -Maybelline - Volum' Express The Falsies
mimepanda 12/3/2011 10:36:00 AM
A fairly decent mascara. It did give pretty good volume and length, but as I have pretty oily lids it smudged a bit, but I find that with most mascaras so not a big deal. Not too much clumping and I liked the brush. Overall this is probably my second most purchased/used mascara.
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Mascara -Maybelline - Great Lash Mascara
mimepanda 12/3/2011 10:23:00 AM
Great Lash mascara is always on those list of "beauty must-haves!" or "best mascaras" lists so I decided to try it out. Overall I was underwhelmed. It's not a terrible mascara, but it is very basic. It lengthens a bit and seems to make my lashes a bit more obvious. That said I have short, stubbornly straight eyelashes and I could barely see a difference after applying this mascara. It clumped a little but at least didn't smudge too much, it's also not too expensive, but I have found much better mascaras.
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Cleansers -Biore - Warming Anti-Blackhead Cream Cleanser
mimepanda 12/3/2011 10:16:00 AM
Got this on sale when I first started having some bad breakouts. Wasn't hoping that it would help with acne, but maybe clear up some blackheads I had on my nose and forehead. This did absolutely nothing. The warming felt more like a gimmick than a legitimate useful effect, the cleanser felt like it couldn't be washed off cleanly or easily so I always felt that there was a film left on my skin after washing. Overall it didn't really do anything for my skin.
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Treatments -Biore - Pore Cleansing Strips - Nose
mimepanda 12/3/2011 1:11:00 AM
I don't have a huge problem with blackheads or whiteheads on my nose, especially since I started using my Olay brush, but I've always had some pretty big black heads on the sides of my nose. The first two or three times I tried these pore strips, I could see the gunk being pulled out of my pores and it really did seem to diminish my blackheads a bit. However, after the initial success their effect seems to have dwindled. I've tried steaming my face to open up my pores before using these, and it doesn't seem to help much. Previously extracted blackheads return and I seem to have a hard time pulling them out with the strip. The strips are also not very cheap, but I've bought them on sale as much as 50% off, which made the price more reasonable. I do return to the strips once every few months (and will probably keep buying them since it can't hurt to try) and hope that they do something. Occasionally I get lucky and it pulls out something big, but for the most part, it doesn't seem to do much for getting rid of blackheads and minimizing pores.
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