Eyeliner -Ulta - automatic eyeliner
mladkins 2/13/2013 4:54:00 PM
Ulta's automatic pencils are AMAZING!! I use both the eyeliners and lip liners. They perform as good if not better than HE liners on both my upper lashes and my waterline. I have several colors, a few favorites being black/brown for upper lashes and bronze (which really wears more like a subdued copper) on my lower waterline. A few times a year Ulta sells these for $1 and I stock up during these sales. Just picked some new colors up because the sale is going on now, hint hint... I'm not exaggerating when I say I reach for these babies more than my more expensive liner pencils!
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Blush -MAC - Mineralize Blush Duo - Earth to Earth (Grand Duos Coll.)
mladkins 2/2/2013 10:31:00 AM
I haphazardly swapped for this blush and am pleasantly surprised by how much I like it! I just swirl the sides together and blend on my cheeks, forehead, and down the bridge of my nose. It gives a subtle, effortless warmth to my face - exactly what a blush is supposed to do! It has the perfect amount of sheen too, I haven't noticed any glitter (p.s. I @$#%ing hate glitter!) I've reached for this almost every day since receiving it, I'm actually starting to feel a little bad about neglecting all my gorgeous Tarte blushes...
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Fragrances -Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - Bon Vivant
mladkins 1/5/2013 11:20:00 PM
One sniff and I knew I must own the full size NOW!!! One word - effervescent. The champagne and strawberries are in perfect bubbly balance with one another. It's sweet but not too sweet, and this is coming from a gal who does not go for sweet scents. It's girly, beautiful and fresh, I always feel so pretty when I wear it!
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Lip Gloss -E.L.F. - Essential Jumbo Lip Gloss Stick
mladkins 1/5/2013 11:03:00 PM
These sticks get a rave from me! Same concept as Tarte lipsurgence but at a $2 price tag. They twist up so no sharpening required, and have decent moisture and staying power. My absolute favorite is sangria starters, it's an amazing neutral shade that goes on even and effortlessly with no shimmer. I love it so much that I've bought a backup already! Second place goes to summer nights, a shimmery rose color. And third -coco loco, a warm nude. I also bought pink umbrellas but it was a little to Barbie pink for me so I gave it away to a friend. All in all I highly recommend these!!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Demeter - Fig leaf
mladkins 12/9/2012 2:33:00 PM
I purchased the big bottle from overstock for around $20 unsniffed and I like it very much! It has sweet juiciness from the fig of course, but there's something earthy and resinous in the background that keeps it balanced. The staying power is not the greatest but not the worst I've experienced either. I get 2 to 3 hours wear from it. Not as sharp and intrusive as the Marc Jacobs fig that I used to own, also lasts better. I will repurchase this fragrance if I ever use up my bottle!
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Lip Treatments -Burt's Bees - Tinted Lip Balm
mladkins 11/24/2012 8:17:00 AM
Right now they have gift packs containing two of these for $9.99. So of course I couldn't resist on my last trip to Target. I've been curious about these but my disappoint with the lip shimmers kept me from purchasing. These tinted balms are a much nicer product in my opinion! They feel lovely and smooth on the lips and I don't detect any dry feeling once they've worn off. My advice is to go for the darker colors, as they are very sheer. The set I got contained red dahlia and hibiscus, a reddish color and warm pink respectively. Again, they are very sheer! Don't expect a lot of pigment or you will be disappointed. But if you are like me and like a slight tint to enhance your lips without looking too made up I think you'll be pretty satisfied with these.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lotions/ Creams -Eucerin - Aquaphor Healing Ointment
mladkins 11/8/2012 5:31:00 PM
I too have seen the light! Just had an old tattoo touched up and a new one applied. My artist recommended aquaphor to use during the healing process. Wonderful stuff, both tats have healed up in only about a week's time. The ointment is nice and soothing on tender, abused, needle pricked skin. :) Since I bought the big tub I thought I'd put it to other uses. So I've tried it as an undereye balm and lip balm at night, hands and cuticles, and also on gross dry heels. It feels a little greasy at first but sinks in and leaves skin ultra moisturized. And I swear it leaves my lips feeling better than Jack Black or other balms I've tried! Just don't try to use it under makeup. One day I thought I'd try it under my eyes in place of my other creams, big mistake! My concealer was sliding around everywhere.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Treatments -Korres - Lip Butter
mladkins 10/27/2012 7:44:00 PM
I probably wouldn't have tried these if it weren't for the fact that I found a gift set at TJMaxx for a great price. I've tested them at Sephora before and thought they were really greasy feeling. Perhaps I had let my disgust with the Sephora testers overshadow the actual product itself...because these are fantastic!! I have perpetually dry lips and many lip products seem to exacerbate that. What amazes me about the lip butters is that they seem to immediately improve the condition of my lips! The only thing I don't like is the container, I hate sticking my finger in lip products for sanitary reasons. I have pomegranate (coral), quince (rose) and jasmine (pale pink). The colors are just right - pigmented enough to leave a tint but not too loud. So happy to have found these!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Bare Escentuals - Meteorite high shine
mladkins 10/11/2012 2:13:00 PM
I recently bought this and love it so much that I swapped for a backup!! I've been wearing it at least twice a week and I have HUNDREDS of shadows. It is one of the most unique colors I've ever seen - BE calls it "iced mocha" which does not accurately reflect it's beauty or uniqueness IMO. To me, it's a burgandy metallic with a gold almost duochrome effect. I prefer the packaging over traditional BE pots. It is a jar-type container with a wand that screws on. Tap the jar on your counter a few times so the product settles, swipe the wand one time over each primed eyelid, and then go back in with a brush to blend it up into the crease. I find this method to give me foolproof application with no fallout every time. The value is also very good! BE eyeshadow pots are 0.02oz whereas the high shine containers hold 0.05oz. All for $12!!
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Misc Beauty Tools -Unlisted Brand - TRIA Laser Hair Removal System
mladkins 9/17/2012 12:52:00 PM
Several years ago I had a series of 6 professional laser treatments to my bikini line and loved the results. It brought the end of razor bumps and unsightly ingrown hairs. I was so thrilled the first time I took a vacation that required a bathing suit but no shaving! I bought the Tria to use on my armpits and to maintain my bikini. The thing is, you have to be patient! The strength is nowhere near the salon lasers so it will take longer to see results. Oh and btw, the professional lasers HURT LIKE A MOTHER! My results: I've been using this off and on for a few years. My results could be better if I stuck with a schedule and didn't get lazy. I can go several days without shaving my armpits and even then there are not many hairs to shave away. Cost: The cost of my office laser treatments was $700 total. And that was for one area! The cost of the Tria has come down since it was first released and now runs $395. For that you can treat as many areas as you want in the privacy of your own home. I'm trying to talk my husband into letting me use it on the back of his neck because he hates shaving his hairline. Again please note - this is going to take commitment! You are not likely to see huge results before your warranty period is up. But if you're willing to sacrifice more immediate results you will be rewarded with more money in your wallet, less discomfort during your treatment and no limitations on how many areas you can treat.
7 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
BB Cream -Skin79 - Super+ BB Cream Pink Label
mladkins 9/15/2012 1:59:00 PM
I never thought I'd wear anything but powder on my face again, but this stuff is pure magic! I've used it for a week now to test it out. Thanks to age and BCP I'm not really acne prone (anymore) but my skin is super sensitive to changes in the regime and this manifests itself as gross little milia under my skin's surface. Thankfully I did not experience any dreaded reactions with the skin79 BB cream! As many others have mentioned it does have a grey cast, but it's quite the chameleon because it adjusts to a wide range of fair to medium skin tones. In my experience the coverage is light to medium, which is exactly what I want. I love that it contains SPF because I'm notoriously lazy about applying a separate sunscreen under my makeup. I can't really say that it controls oil, but it doesn't make me any oilier and that's a win for me! The skin whitening properties seem to be effective. After a week my skin tone seems to look better and more even when I take my makeup off. The first day I used it I was brewing a big hurtful pimple between my eyebrows from TOTM. By the end of the day after wearing this BB cream it was noticeably smaller and less red. To summarize, I'm amazed that this product lives up to it's claims and it is a definite repurchase!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Bobbi Brown - Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Sandy Gold
mladkins 9/12/2012 2:03:00 PM
This is my favorite of all the BB cream shadows!!! It is a subtle peachy/gold that brightens up the eye and covers discoloration. On the lid it reminds me of a satin finish, not metallic and not flat either. Not a "no makeup" look cuz what's the point of that?? Just a nice glow. It makes a great base with no primer required, and likewise it's beautiful on it's own with some nice smokey liner. I will definitely repurchase this one when I finally run out!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Palettes -Tarte - Call of the wild palette
mladkins 8/21/2012 12:50:00 PM
I bought this when it was first aired on QVC and now I see that it's available at other retailers. I love it!! I have returned other Tarte palettes, only because I found the shadows too similar to other Tarte palettes that I already own. I didn't have that complaint with this one! You get 6 full size (0.09 oz) eyeshadows as well as two slightly larger shadows (0.10 oz) that serve more as base colors. You get (left to right): a gold shimmer, brown shimmer, peach satin, cream shimmer, burgandy shimmer, a cement gray matte, deep green matte, and a navy matte. I was a little iffy since I usually can't wear colors like those on the right side of the palette, but these I can do. Perhaps it's because they are matte rather than screaming SILVER FROSTY EYESHADOW!! :) I was disappointed that this kit did not come with a double ended brush like Tarte's other palettes. I love their brushes! But the disappointment wasn't enough to deter me from purchasing. Favorite color? The burgandy shade - it is one of those luxurious brown/burgandies like Stila's Barefoot Contessa or MAC Twinks. Today I'm wearing it on the lid, with the gold blending out the crease and the peach satin on the browbone.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Palettes -BeneFit Cosmetics - Cabana Glama
mladkins 8/21/2012 7:50:00 AM
I swapped for this right before a vacation to Mexico because I figured it would be a good palette for traveling. Little did I know it would become a staple all summer long!! I've hit pan on the some kind of gorgeous, it feels very light on the skin with medium coverage, and a perfect match to my fair to medium skintone. The eyeshadows are soft, pearly, and straddle the line between neutral and warm. I had been wanting to try Hoola and it did not dissapoint, I alternate between it and my other faves by Tarte. The only thing I'm not comletely sold on is the Posie Tint. However, it's so tiny and the other products are so wonderful that I won't let that detract from my 5 star rating! On sale now at Sephora for $19 - STEAL!
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Lips -Revlon - Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain- Darling
mladkins 6/20/2012 2:54:00 PM
Ugh, I can't believe all the reviews about this color being subtle or light! On me this turned a rather embarassing shade of bright fuschia! Perhaps it's just me and my super-freaky-weird body chemistry. I looked like a little girl playing with makeup for the first time. :) I'm going to take it back and exchange it for a "safer" color. On the upside, the formula of these is quite nice. I also have Honey at the moment. They actually stain your lips for hours and aren't as drying to me as a lipstick or stain. I thought this color might be similar to my favorite Buxom in Dani. It is so not!!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No