Polishes -Essie - Mademoiselle
nixsticks 6/17/2012 3:47:00 PM
I just started painting my nails after a several-year hiatus -- I'm usually much too lazy, but I need to stop some bad habits and having pretty nails is a deterrent. So keep in mind that I'm not particularly skilled at applying nail polish.
I tried two other Essie pinks, True Love and BBF (technically a "mauve" but still quite pink). Then I tried Mademoiselle, but was skeptical due to all the hype.
I love it. It's totally worth the hype. Well, not if you want opaque color... it took four (very thin) coats for me to get a semi-opaque color, which to me means opaque except for VNL. But I've found it almost impossible to find a pale pink that doesn't make my warm tan skin look dirty; most of them are cool/blue-toned. Mademoiselle is so clean and pretty. It does apply streaky if you don't do it right, but I've found that to be true of all nail polish. I'm not very good at it, and I have perfect, even nails right now.
Also, weirdly enough, I remember trying OPI Bubble Bath a long time ago and thinking the color didn't live up to the adorable name. This one does!
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Styling Products -Bumble & Bumble - Texture
nixsticks 6/14/2012 7:16:00 PM
I bought the small sample size, but will definitely repurchase when I run out--and this is rare for me. I almost never use anything in my hair, which, until recently, was down to my lower back. I'm incredibly lazy with it and don't do much more than blowdrying it upside down if my hair is wet before I go outside.
I felt like I needed to leave a review because NOTHING ever works for my hair. On various whims, I've tried thickening spray (B&B's left me underwhelmed), thickening creme, curl definer, blah, blah. All of them either didn't do anything or left my hair looking disgustingly greasy. I have extremely fine, long, Asian hair (type 1a) that is so smooth and slippery I can't do a French braid unless my hair is wet. It escapes from buns. When I put it in rollers, it slides out. This gives it a lot more grip.
Anyway, I was very skeptical at first, but put a nickel-sized dollop in my palm, then rubbed it through my hair. It makes my hair HUGE. So much volume! That never happens. It also lasts all day, which, again, NEVER happens. I actually have to use way more than a nickel, maybe more like a quarter size, for a more noticeable effect, but it gives so much volume and separation it's ridiculous. I don't know if I'd dare to use it without blowdrying and a lot of brushing, though, because otherwise it seems to be so sticky.
Bottom line: I use it to get lots of volume and texture in my hair. Instead of being flat and super shiny it looks like the layered cuts in hair ads... of course, some people spend a lot of money on stuff to make their hair flat and super shiny. We all want what we can't have.
Caveats:
- It doesn't make curls last for me, but nothing ever does.
- If you don't brush it while it's drying, your hair will be crispy/sticky, if it's anything like mine.
- It actually makes my hair matte/almost rough-textured, and like I said my hair is very shiny. If you don't like that look you might want to add a shine spray. This is good if you have oily hair, though.
- The twist cap that doesn't come off is annoying and gets messy but I suppose it's good not to have to fumble with a cap and leave the thing open.
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Lipstick -Trish McEvoy - Sheer Lipstick
nixsticks 1/30/2010 6:38:00 PM
I got the sheer lip color in Baby Pink. I really like it, even the waxy smell--it reminds me of my mom's old lipsticks that I used to play with when I was little. :) It's really good if you prefer a sheer hint of color rather than a cakey pink, which is what I've experienced in the past buying straight pink lipstick from Maybelline and Revlon. I'm Asian with darkish lips, but layering this actually makes my lips look really pink and natural.
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Lip Treatments -Victoria's Secret - Victorias Secret Very Voluptuous Lip Plumper
nixsticks 1/29/2010 11:15:00 AM
I bought this on a whim during a Christmas sale (it was going for $8). I'm not sure I would have picked it up at its normal price. But now that I've used it, I really love it--it has a nice smell and a lovely texture. It's very glossy and makes my lips look fuller. I'm not exactly used to lip plumpers, nor do I feel that I need them, so I'm not sure if this is particularly good as far as lip plumpers go, but it does create the optical illusion that your lips are fuller, and has a beautiful gloss and shine. I have it in Hot Pink. Definitely my favorite lipgloss.
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Styling Products -Bumble & Bumble - Thickening Spray
nixsticks 1/29/2010 11:09:00 AM
I bought a sample size of this because I have very fine, limp, long (almost waist length) hair that needs more volume. I sprayed a liberal amount of this into my hair before blow-drying after a shower to try it out. It works pretty well initially--my hair actually looked noticeably bigger and had a lot more volume. However, the effect didn't last very long, and my hair was back to normal in a couple of hours. I would recommend this if you have shorter hair, perhaps, but I wouldn't buy it again.
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Masks -Origins - Drink Up
nixsticks 1/28/2010 8:46:00 PM
I got a free mini-facial at Origins and the technician used this on me. It was horrible. I have very clear dry skin, never break out. This gave me a lot of whiteheads/a breakout of KP, which I never get except a tiny bit on the jawline, ALL OVER my cheeks, and my skin was very unhappy. Definitely never using this again, and so glad I didn't purchase it, because it's not worth the price.
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