Cleansers -Jurlique - Replenishing Foaming Cleanser
nelson 4/8/2013 3:59:00 AM
One of the best cleansers out there and i have tried sooo many! Foams up enough to wash away daily grime and makeup includiing mascara (without stinging my eyes) while leaving my skin soft and glowy. My only gripe is that being jurlique it is expensive so if i find myself alternating between this and kiehl's ultra facial cleanser which is my other fave, if you love kiehl's ultra this is like a more luxurious, rosier smelling version of it!
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Cleansers -Shiseido - Benefiance Creamy Cleansing Foam
nelson 4/8/2013 3:35:00 AM
I'm sorry to have to write a negative review for this as i really wanted to like it but i can honestly say i have nothing good to say about it. I find it really strips my skin of moisture without removing eye makeup and stings my eyes. There are so many new formulas of foaming cleansers out there that do a fantastic job of removing makeup while leaving your skin soft that i think this formula has been left to dust, Kiehl's ultra facial cleanser and Jurlique replenishing foaming cleanser are my current faves, i should have just stuck with these two but it was on special so i thought i'd give it a try. For the record i use mary kay washable waterproof mascara, most other cleansers wash it away easily, it comes off in little flakes, this makes the mascara smear and stick under my eyes as if i was washing my face with ordinary bath soap, it's truly awful!
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Lip Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Lansinoh Lanolin
nelson 12/2/2012 7:09:00 AM
Some advice for those actually using this product as a nipple ointment, i would recommend this over the increasingly popular lucas's paw paw ointment as a midwife advised me that the fermented paw paw can contain microbes and other things which under normal usage is totally fine but when b/feeding it may make your nipples more prone to infection. This is really important if you've suffered from the horryfying pain of sore cracked nipples (like i have) or mastitis (god forbid i won't suffer this!), and whether the advice is true or not i thnk, why take chances? (i can use Lucas's for my lips!) I find lansinoh very soothing and it lasts on the nipple very well, protecting the very tender skin when you first start breastfeeding and even now when they have 'toughened up' somewhat it reduces the sharp stabby pains after feeding (know what i'm talking about ladies?!) In my opinion it is indespensible, and if your not b/feeding why not grab a tube as a gift for an impending mother, it will be one of the most useful gifts they'll recieve, especially if your like me and just thinking about surviving labour and kind of forgetting that at end of it you will have one very hungry baby that wants just wants to be fed 24/7!
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Sunscreen -Eucerin - Daily Protection Moisturizing Face Lotion - Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Sunscreen - 4.0 FL. OZ. 118mL
nelson 4/13/2012 1:26:00 AM
Brilliant, brilliant product. Hands down this is the best facial sunscreen and moisturiser i have used. After running through a huge variety of sunscreens from expensive to cheap, i have finally found one that is perfect, and as luck would have it, it's one of the cheapest! Over the last year or so i have tried Clinique advanced protection face cream spf 30 (slight grainy feel, not moisturising, highlights flakies), an Anthelios face and body milk spf 50 (too harsh, made my face peel slightly), various chemist brands with spf that was too low, Jurlique spf 30 (way too expensive for long term use), i finally turned to MUA In desperation and bought a bottle of this on so many good recommendations. Nice thin, smooth application which moisturises my normal/ slightly dry skin perfectly and provides an excellent makeup base. Spf 30, awesome! Why companies still make sunscreens lower than 30 is beyond me! Skin cancer is real and can be deadly, i had a cancer removed from my back last year from damage incurred when i was a child, i haven't been in the sun without sunscreen for 15 plus years! And if you're not concerned about cancer, at least know that by putting a generous layer of sunscreen on every day you are doing the best possible thing to prevent lines and wrinkles later on, all thos anti-aging creams are worthless if you're not wearing a high spf. Save your fancy Aesop and Dr. Hauschka products for night time and grab yourself a bottle of this to use during the day, you can thank me later!
7 out of 8 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Weleda - Calendula Face Cream
nelson 2/18/2011 7:15:00 PM
I bought this to use as a face cream after running out of the Weleda Almond moisture cream (which i also loved), but quite frankly the tubes of most Weleda moisturisers are TINY and i really appreciated the fact that this comes in a 50ml tube, not 30ml. I find it excellent as a facial moisturiser but be aware that it has a bit of lanolin in it which is a godsend for my sometimes dry, sometimes oily 31 yr old skin, it gives it a beautiful glow and feels very hydrating however if you have oily skin or prone to a lot of acne i could see that this ingredient may break you out. Overall i am generally in love with every Weleda product i've tried thus far, your skin will really appreciate that they have no horrible fake chemicals in it, just proper moisturising ingredients. Hint: if you're in Australia Weleda is expensive so my advice is to buy a few items at a time on e-bay, all the sellers are very trustworthy, it'll save you plenty of dough!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Skincare - Body -Thursday Plantation - Tea Tree Oil
nelson 1/27/2011 8:08:00 PM
As far as i'm concerned this is the original and the best pimple treatment around. TP TTO is the brand found in every pharmacy and supermarket in Australia, it is 100% pure and always fresh and potent, the dark glass jar is also a bonus. I use it straight from the bottle and rub into a pimple with a clean finger and while it doesn't make the pimple disappear it stops them getting worse. I alternate between this and Mario Badescu's buffering lotion and while neither products are perfect, everyone needs an acne treatment every now and then and i think TTO is the best for 'normal' acne and the buffering lotion the best for deeper cystic pimples. Also if your skin is just feeling a bit dirty and you feel like a breakout is on it's way i like to mix a few drops of this in with my moisturiser and the anti-bacterial properties work wonders. You certainly don't need to bother with The Body Shop TTO moisturiser which as far as i can ascertain is just water, TTO and thickening agents. A bottle of this is dirt cheap and can be used any way you like, chuck out your clearasil and use this instead, you won't regret it!
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Polishes -OPI - Big Apple Red
nelson 1/25/2011 1:41:00 AM
This is the first OPI nail polish that has made me understand what all the fuss is about. I was turned off OPI when i bought the shade Matched Luggage and it turned into a gluggy, horrible mess in the bottle and on my nails. Swearing i would never use OPI again i threw in the towel after reading the reviews on here and bought this shade and i'm so glad i did! I was after a retro bright cherry red that applied well and this is exactly what it is. I've never had a polish that looks so good after one coat, infact when i put the second coat on it barely even changed the colour as the pigment is so intense, one coat would be fine in a rush. My only complaint is that i find the brush a tad to big for my liking, i actually prefer a smaller brush, especially for my tiny little piggy toenails that are really hard to get to with a bigger brush but i guess that's my problem huh!?
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Essie - Body Language
nelson 1/16/2011 4:15:00 AM
Beware girls with pale skin wearing this shade, i just can't do this one! I think it would look fantastic on medium skinned toned girls and darker, but on me it blends in too much with my hand colour and the grey tone just makes me look pasty. Even a shade lighter or darker would probably work well, it's a bummer though coz i love this shade!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Chanel - 487 Rouge Fatal
nelson 12/15/2010 5:37:00 AM
Oh my this polish is gorgeous! I have gone through many brands of nail polish and generally found brands like OPI and Essie hit and miss in terms of quality and/or color payoff so i thought i'd finally bite the bullet and buy Chanel. So far it has lived up to my rather high expectations due to it's expense. The colour is a rich, vampy burgundy red that i think is a nice compromise between the cherry reds that are very 'now' and the blacks that have become a modern classic. If you can't decide on what look you want to go for, wear Rouge Fatal and you can't go wrong! Application was easy, the brush was small and easy to control, the polish very highly pigmented, with a steady hand and a bit of patience you could easily get away with one coat, two coats brings out the deeper burgundy tones. I will update this review after a week or so to let you know of it's staying power, if it lasts for more than a couple of days with my rough treatment i will be even more in love! Update: i'm using this with a layer of Sally Hansen Age Correct base and topcoat (which i think has been discontinued). I have never used a base or topcoat before as i thought they were a waste of time but they really do seem to work. I get a good three days out of this polish before it starts chipping, however i have NEVER had a polish that lasts more than a couple of days on me anyway, perhaps i have an oily nail bed or somethingh? Regardless, for me nail polish is usually something i wear as an accessory for a big day/night out and never expect them to last so i would still buy this again if i ran out.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lotions/ Creams -The Body Shop - Body Butter - Grapeseed
nelson 11/24/2010 7:02:00 AM
I don't know how long it's been since i first saw body butters arrive at The Body Shop but i finally picked up a cheapie on e-bay as i think it's been discontinued and i can't believe it took me this long to purchase one! Looking at the ingredients list it is promising from the start, the first ingredient after water is cocoa butter. I often think of The Body Shop as the kind of company that trades on the idea of being very natural but just adds a token amount of natural ingredients to the list, but this product does seem to include an impressive amount of cocoa butter. The moisturising properties are fantastic, i put some on in the morning and my skin loved it, it was really soft, moisturised and glowy all day, it's much better than Palmer's which is really the only other body moisturiser i've liked, this is far superior! In terms of the grapeseed scent, etc i can't compare it to other BS B Butters but the smell is light and ok, if you don't love the scent i don't think it matters because it disappears pretty quickly. At the end of the day i'm in it for the moisture anyway and for this it is awesome!
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Fragrances -Chanel - Cristalle
nelson 9/26/2010 10:18:00 PM
I could barely forgive Turin and Sanchez's 2 star review of what in my humble opinion is a another great Chanel fragrance (Allure) but i must say they redeemed themselves considerably when reviewing Cristalle and could even laugh at Tania Sanchez's idea that Cristalle can't quite shake it's "narrow-eyed bitchy effect". There is definitely some truth in this but as someone who was too shy and worried about offending a waiter when i found a live grub in my spinach involtini (true story) i honestly think i could do with a fragrance that gives me a bitchy-eyed effect every now and then! Anyway the positives of this fragrance are numerous, if the light, fresh citrusy opening notes don't suck you in, the gorgeous mimosa, chypre drydown will surely keep you coming back for more. I once had a bottle of Carthusia's Mediterraneo which smelt almost exactly like this at the start but once the lemony goodness vanished there was nothing left and was a massive disappointment, Cristalle on the other hand is a fine example of what a light as air, complex fragrance can do with citrus, it smells like a real fragrance, not like you've just doused yourself in a bucket of Amalfi lemons. If you really want to have a bit of Chanel in your fragrance collection and find number 5 to much of an aldehydic powerhouse, Coco too old school, Chance et al to ubiquitous i recommend you have a serious look at Cristalle, it's wonderful, if not a bit pricey, sigh........
24 out of 26 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lotions/ Creams -Kiehls - Kiehl's 'Gardenia' Hand & Body Lotion (Limited Edition)
nelson 8/13/2010 6:58:00 AM
Buy this because you love the fragrance as the lotion itself is nothing special, it's ok for summer it's not quite moisturising enough for dry winter skin. Not too greasy for the hands. All up very nice just nothing special for the price, good ol' Palmers cocoa butter body moisturiser does a better job.
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Bath Treatments -Clarins - Bain aux Plantes Relax (Relax Bath)
nelson 7/23/2010 4:03:00 AM
You'll probably gasp at the price but the formula is so concentrated that you only use a tiny amount to lather up, i got some bottles cheaply off e-bay and one 100ml bottle has already has lasted for ages! I am using this in winter and strangely for a gel that foams so much it isn't drying at all, infact it has stopped my dry itchy legs dead in their tracks! The smell is strong and invigorating, i use this in the morning and it wakes me up, if i had a bath i would love to soak in it at the end of the day and indulge in its "relaxing" effects but alas my home is bath free, boo hoo! Just a warning though, once you get used to the fragrance just about every other shower gel you use will smell cheap and nasty and fake compared to this so beware! Another quality Clarins product, so far i've been really impressed with everything i've tried made by these guys.
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Toners -Unlisted Brand - Rosewater
nelson 7/4/2010 6:07:00 AM
I can't believe it's taken me so long to write a review for this product when it's one of only a handful of beauty products i cannot live without! What i love about it most is that i can transform a creamy moisturiser into a lotion if my skin is feeling like it can't handle a lot of moisturiser (after all the only difference between a cream and a lotion is it's amount of H20!) If my skin is very oily i'll just spray this on my face after washing it and skip the moisturiser, the rosewater stops my skin from going crepey overnight and stops a breakout. I started using this after splashing out and buying a very expensive bottle of Jurlique rosewater ten plus years ago which was more than $30 Australian for a smallish bottle, well hold on to your pennies ladies and gents, seriously don't bother! I buy mine from a Middle Eastern grocer down the road for about Aus $3.99 (and triple the size) and decantered it into a spray bottle and it is exactly the same thing! You can probably buy it at other supermarkets too. Awesomeness in a bottle, and how good does it smell! Oh and i should mention as it is intended for food have you tried sprinkling some over baklava or making a rosewater syrup for vanilla bavarois? It's totally delicious and your friends will think you're very fancy indeed, ok i'm digressing now, ha ha!
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Ren - Vita-Mineral Radiant Day Cream
nelson 7/4/2010 5:24:00 AM
I love this moisturiser, i find it absorbs easily, has a nice natural rose fragrance and moisturisers my normal skin (sometimes prone to dryness or oiliness depending on the weather) perfectly. Unlike some reviewers I have never experienced a greasy effect when wearing this, however i only use it at night as i would never use a moisturiser during the day without a high spf, this has none. The times i have applied it before going out when the sun's gone down it actually makes my face look just normal and healthy. It is also fine to use under the eyes. If my face is feeling a little bit oily and this cream feels a bit too rich i spray my face with rosewater first then just apply a pea sized amount and it's much lighter. I'm not sure about how natural this product is but all Ren products state that they are free of petrochemicals, sulfates, parabens, synthetic fragrance and colours, TEA, DEA, glycols, silicons, etc. I absolutely can't stand high-tech, synthetic products, particularly ones available at supermarkets as they make me break out, whereas this feels very "fresh" on your skin and moisturises all night without feeling silicon-ey and fake. Plus after having to wear 30+ sunscreen and makeup all day i really need to give my skin a break, the last thing i want to do is load it up with chemicals again overnight! I feel my skin has changed for the better now i've swapped other moisturisers for this, far less break-outs and dry patches through winter. One downer is that it is expensive so if this is a big problem i suggest getting a sample first. If i can find a cheaper alternative as good as this i'll swap in an instant (actually come to think of it i really like Jurlique too which is also expensive, damn!)
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