Fragrances -Jimmy Choo - Flash
mooshrimp 5/7/2013 11:54:00 AM
The smell of this perfume is so bad I nearly threw up. I got a sample of it and after spraying it had to take a shower before I was sick. I bought a magazine that had a sample of this in it and I had to tear it out before I could keep reading. Awful awful awful. I normally love sweet perfumes and get along well with them. Most of my perfumes are fruit and sweet florals, lots of Escada in there. This was just, ugh. No.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Liners -Chanel - Le Crayon Levres in 31 Tulip
mooshrimp 5/5/2013 6:31:00 PM
Love love love this. It is a nearly perfect match for my lip color and creates such a beautiful look either alone or as a base. It is long wearing and a lovely color. I adore that there is a lip brush on the other end and use it all the time. The pencil is really long and you get a ton of product.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -E.L.F. - Essential jumbo lip gloss stick
mooshrimp 5/5/2013 6:29:00 PM
When ELF started coming out with the big crayon products I bought them in most colors. Unfortunately the shadow sticks are a total fail, but I love love love these gloss sticks! They are creamy and lightly pigmented and remind me in texture and payoff of the Revlon lip butters. Except for $1. And in a super fun twist up crayon! I have them in: Sangria starters, which is a beautiful dark mauvey raspberry color that is great day or night, great color payoff. Tiki torches, which is a gorgeous gold sparkle orange color. It's a dead on dupe for Clinique's Ambrosia. Summer nights, which a sparkley your lips but better color. More sheer than the rest, but good for low key days. In the nude, which is a very pigmented true nude. I LOVE this shade. It is the most pigmented of the bunch, but still sheer. So you can layer it until it's exactly the color you want/need for your skintone. No glitter. Pink Umbrellas, a perfect spring pink without the glitter found in many of the rest. And Movie Star, which is kind of the color you hope you'd get after eating a bunch of cherries. A beautiful sheer wash of cool toned red. These are really fun and cheap. Highly recommend trying them on your next ELF order.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Lancome - Color Focus in Click
mooshrimp 5/5/2013 6:20:00 PM
I love to pair this eyeshadow with golds and peaches, with the peach or gold on the lid and this color on the crease and below my rim with a pencil brush. It is a gorgeous dark plum/brown but behaves like a neutral. I adore it. It's a nice texture, though it could be a bit more pigmented. It is more of a pearl finish than a shimmer, which is nice. It really brings out the golds and greens in my eyes and just plays nice with them. It is a very unique color and I don't have anything similar in my collection.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Makeup Brushes -Urban Decay - Good Karma Optical Blurring Brush
mooshrimp 5/4/2013 5:31:00 PM
I have an HG way to apply face products, my beauty blender (3 of them in fact). It is flawless, easy and yet, I just prefer using a brush. I don't know why, it just makes me happier to use a brush than a sponge. I was contemplating the Real Techniques expert face brush, but when I saw how pretty this silver one was, I bought it immediately. The handle is very heavy/sturdy and feels really solid. It looks just lovely. It's so shiny! It's metal! Yay! Appearance-wise I am thrilled. The first time I tried this brush, I was thoroughly underwhelmed. In fact I almost returned it. I used it with Lancome Renergie foundation and it was streaky, uneven and just plain terrible looking. I couldn't buff anything in, it all looked bad. On top of which, it made anything I applied underneath ball up even when it's never done that before. I was really upset. I tried it with every foundation I owned and none "buffed" in nicely. So I went back to the Beauty Blender, which while it provides a lovely finish isn't as fun to use. This morning I had an idea. I stippled the foundation in with the brush instead of buffing. PERFECTION! It created the same beautiful airbrushed look I can get with my sponge, but it's a brush so it's better. :) It's really quick to use this way and works with all the foundations I've tried with it, ranging from tinted moisturizers, to BB creams, to moisturizing foundations, to silicone based ones (like the Naked the brush is made for). I am so happy with this! I have a stippling brush and this is way better at stippling foundation than that is.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -La Roche Posay - Rosaliac
mooshrimp 5/3/2013 10:35:00 AM
I bought this based on reviews from other sites and was disheartened to see a VERY low score on here. But I wanted to give it a shot before tossing such an expensive product. It comes in a small pump container with a nice looking frosted plastic cap. The pump is really nice and allows a lot of control over the amount of product dispensed. The product has a faint smell that isn't terribly pleasant, but it's faint and I can't smell it after applying. It is green tinted, but not terribly so. It won't give you hulk face even if you overapply it. When I first put it on I thought for sure this was going to be terrible. It kind of stung/burned right when I put it on and I kind of went "oh %^&*" expecting several days of puffy red face. However, the discomfort only lasted a second. Imagine my surprise when the redness in my face subsided considerably after a few hours! I had been using Skinceuticals redness neutralizer and it was good, not great. But coupled with this, it's fantastic! My skin is much less red and blotchy. I'm really happy with this! It's somewhat moisturizing but on my dry skin I need something else on top. Not a problem though.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Misc Beauty Tools -Unlisted Brand - Creaclip
mooshrimp 4/26/2013 2:06:00 PM
I had always asked for the exact same thing every time I went in for a haircut. Long textured layers. I have 3a curls and no one ever seemed to get the cut quite right. I was tired of always getting the same cut and never having it done right and wasting so much money on it! I saw this on Youtube and it looked so easy. I thought it was probably too good to be true, but plunked down my $30 and it came in the mail 3 days later. I got a pair of Sally Hansen hair scissors for less than $10 and they work great. There are two clips in the set, a white curved on and a blue short straight one. The straight one is best for bangs and face layers, while the white one is the "star of the show." This could not be easier to use on yourself. To prep, you should straighten your hair and dry it. Tools, a brush and scissors (and a broom, can't forget to clean up!). To make a straight cut, it should be in a smiley face/U orientation, while to cut layers you should have it as a frowny face. The first time I did this in the layered way, I tried cutting off several inches and the layers were too extreme and the layers around my face were too short. So what I like to do to have more control is to grab the sections around my face and clip them off to the side, then cut a small amount in the frowny/layered way. THEN to cut off the extra length, I leave my face sections off to the side, re-clip my hair in the smiley orientation, and cut off the extra length. Then I go in with the blue clip and cut the layers around my face separately. It may take a bit of trial and error. It sounds complicated, but in reality it couldn't be easier. The whole process takes me about 3 minutes. I can't recommend this product enough. I HATE going to the hairdresser, and now I don't have to.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
BB Cream -Unlisted Brand - Holika Holika - Petit BB Cream - Moisture SPF30
mooshrimp 4/26/2013 1:05:00 PM
DAAAAAAAMN this is good bb cream. I am swearing because why the heck did I waste all that money on foundation and primer for all these years??? I am genuinely very displeased at my previous purchases because they are such a waste compared to this. I have very dry skin with some fine lines on my forehead and large pores around my nose. I am NC15 but am really a true neutral (no colors make me look sick or weird). Color match is the best color match I've ever gotten in a makeup. It's perfect, completely dead on. It's also the only good match for my pale skin that warms my skin up without making me look like my liver is failing. The finish is flawless, like second skin. Even where I put on too much, it still looked natural. You'd really have to be staring with a magnifying glass to tell I had on makeup. This brings me to another point, you do not need to use much of this! WAY less than I had thought I needed. Don't treat it like foundation and you will get a better finish. Less is more for sure. This bb cream has spectacular coverage. It's up there with my Mac Fix + powder in terms of coverage. It's amazing. I barely had to use concealer. Did not make lines worse. I wanted to give this a shot without primer first, to see how it performed. I found that this didn't make my lines look worse (which foundations all do without primer). However, it did settle a bit into pores. With primer it makes my lines look more invisible than without makeup and doesn't settle into pores. Moisturizing power is great. It gives a gorgeous dewy finish and erases flakes rather than highlighting them. Lasting power seems OK, I have dry skin so nothing really wears off on me. It has that feeling to it like it would not last well. I set it with powder and it was fine on me. If you have oilier skin, I imagine this wouldn't last long and I'd try the tea tree or essential instead. Fragrance IS quite strong. It smells really nice, kind of floral. I have very sensitive skin and the fragrance didn't irritate me at all. No redness and no breakouts. Cannot rave about this enough. Where have you been all my life when I wasted so much money on other foundations? :(
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Retacnyl Tretinoin Cream 0.025%
mooshrimp 4/25/2013 11:59:00 AM
I randomly had an incredibly severe breakout. Not sure what caused it, no new products, my face just went nuts. I've never suffered from acne before, but suddenly had cystic acne everywhere. It was painful and I was embarrassed to go out without tons of makeup on. I got a tube of the tretinoin cream to try to clear it up and from the day I started using it onwards, no more zits. My partner suffers from severe scarring acne and he uses the same cream in the same concentration and it has completely eliminated the problem. It hasn't helped the pitted scars much on him, but has made any red scars completely invisible. I noticed that my skin where I was applying the cream was much nicer than the rest of my face. The pores were smaller, the fine lines were getting less visible, and the oil production was more balanced. I expanded the area I was applying it to anywhere with large pores or lines, skipping dry areas and areas without those issues. It's only 2 weeks in but I think this is the best thing I've done for my skin in a long time. My pores are nearly invisible, which gives my skin an incredible looking texture and glow. The small fine lines are gone on my forehead and around my mouth. And of course, NO zits whatsoever. I apply this by washing with my clarisonic and moisturizing well, then waiting about an hour and applying this immediately before going to bed. I have a little mirror and the tube on my bedside table and just put it on while I'm reading or watching Hulu. I am diligent about my SPF, which I think also helps. My day cream has SPF, my primer has SPF, my foundation has SPF, my powder has SPF, and in addition to it I put on an SPF 50 before applying makeup. This stuff is great! I highly recommend trying it.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Organic Root Stimulator Hair Mayonnaise
mooshrimp 4/22/2013 8:21:00 AM
I made a stupid decision to go from dark brown to dark blonde. My hair felt like straw, plus the color made me even ruddier looking so I needed to dye it again. It looked like what I really needed was a protein treatment so I bought this along with some dark semi-permanent dye. I chopped off the ends, put on the mayo, left it in for 20 minutes, then without washing it out applied the dye. Then I rinsed, shampooed, and deep conditioned. The result? Glossy thick hair that barely feels damaged anymore. AND the color took evenly to my whole head, rather than dying the damaged parts differently. Brilliant! My hair stopped feeling like straw (brittle, lacking in shine, frizzy) and started looking like actual hair again. Ah-mazing. This is my first protein treatment product, but I am sure it won't be my last. It's also a great price and it smells nice. A+
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Powder -Physicians Formula - Healthy Wear SPF 50 Powder Foundation
mooshrimp 4/7/2013 4:38:00 PM
I've become really "sun phobic" lately and anything I can get SPF in, I do. I accidentally bought this in translucent medium even though I'm an NC15. It made me look muddy and dirty and I was really disappointed. However, I then decided to put on my very pale foundation and apply this ALL OVER the top and it was the most realistic "tan" I've done yet. Not a hint of orange or red or shimmer, I just look tan. Beautiful. It's become an indispensable part of my foundation routine and it doesn't cake or settle into lines. I apply it like a pressed powder (roll with a velour puff, then dust off excess) rather than buffing it like a foundation.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Powder -MAC - Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation
mooshrimp 4/6/2013 5:18:00 PM
I wanted full coverage foundation I could keep in my purse and apply on the go to my extremely ruddy areas. They are so red that they are constantly very warm and eat my foundation, no matter what primer, foundation, or setting spray I use. I figured this had to be so popular for a reason and picked it up in my shade, NC15. Turns out, my favorite way to use this is to apply it wet as my base layer. First I apply my regular silicone based primer. I mist my Urban Decay Optical Blurring Brush with plain water, swirl it in the powder, then brush it on like I would a liquid foundation. The result is absolutely flawless skin. NOTHING else gives me the same effect, and I do mean nothing. I have no pores, I have no wrinkles, I look like I simply won the genetic lottery and have perfect smooth radiant skin. It is BEAUTIFUL. I haven't found a con yet. I'm sure next week I will be like "how could I ever use MAC Fix Plus? This other thing is sooo much better" but for now this is my HG base layer. My boyfriend even agrees my skin looks spectacular with this on. As a touch up in my purse it's excellent as well. I use a retractable kabuki and buff it as needed, then take a tiny mister of rosewater and glycerin and mist over it. The result is great! Redness is gone. I have been using it for about 2 weeks now and haven't had any breakouts or irritation. I haven't slept in it and don't plan to.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Makeup Brushes -Unlisted Brand - Mint brushes by Eman #32
mooshrimp 4/3/2013 10:56:00 AM
I have always used a brush in this shape to do my eyeliner, it's by far the easiest way to get really precise lines and a beautiful taper at the end of a cat eye. My old brush was made of sable hairs (it is surprisingly hard to find brushes this shape) and after several washes had lost it's precise edge. I love Eman's youtube videos so I decided to support her business and give this brush a try. I also gave the contour brush a try. I am REALLY impressed with the quality and usefulness of both brushes. The "32" brush is perfect in basically every way. It performs flawlessly and gives the most precise cream and gel liner application I've encountered. I am considering buying a backup just in case something happened to it! Cream eyeliner brushes require much more frequent washing than other brushes so they don't get gunky and so far this has held up beautifully, snapping back to it's shape each time. The contour brush is amazing as well. It is very, very soft. I think the feel of whatever synthetic fiber she uses may be my favorite I've used yet. The shape of this brush is just perfect. It enables me to precisely contour my cheekbones and then blend out the line. I love it. I highly recommend you try brush 32 and any of the other brushes.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -E.L.F. - All Over Color Stick in Pink Lemonade
mooshrimp 3/31/2013 2:47:00 PM
I actually really like this product. I don't think I've ever used it when I first apply my makeup in the morning, but I ALWAYS have it in my purse for a midday touchup. Is it the most pigmented? No. Is it the best? No. Is it cheap, portable, and blendable? Yes! I love to swipe this and spotlight on my cheeks and blend them in with my fingers for a little flush while I'm out. Best way to stop looking tired and bored. It's really nice and tiny so it takes up almost no room. I naturally have extremely red cheeks and look much more sickly than most people when I don't have a flush so I'm never without a stick blush in my makeup bag.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -E.L.F. - Jumbo Eyeshadow Stick
mooshrimp 1/4/2013 10:50:00 PM
I really, REALLY wanted to like these. I was so excited for them and ordered three colors, the pewter one, the navy one, and the purple one. I put on a primer, then put on the pewter, and misted it with glycerin. The pencils were incredibly smooth and the color was stunning. I was thrilled with how it came out, the perfect smoky eye. I went out for about 2 hours and came home and my lids looked completely bare. You could not even tell I had once had on eyeshadow, until I blinked and there was a horrible dark pewter line in my crease. ALL of it had slid off. These pencils were great in theory and had a great texture as well as great colors, but fell way short on lasting power. If they can't even make it through two hours of movie watching then there's really no point to them. I don't have greasy lids at all either.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No