Lipstick -Bare Escentuals - Berry Cordial
ozlema 6/15/2010 8:42:00 AM
It took me a while to purchase this online because there were no proper reviews or swatches online, but when I finally did I was pleasantly surprised. This is a perfect berry color not too dark or goth looking on my highly pigmented lips, what I wish NAES Viridiana was. It has a nice golden sheen to it, not frosty at all but with a subtle glow. Plus natural ingredients, great staying power and a wonderful non-sticky feel on the lips and you've got the perfect lipstick. I like it so much that I keep finding excuses to put this on and am now trying to decide what other BE color to buy.
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Polishes -Unlisted Brand - Ciate - Paint Pots
ozlema 5/18/2010 9:02:00 AM
everyone has their benchmark for 'good nail polish'. Mine has become Ciate. This English brand, sold from 7.5 to 9 Pounds is what 'like butter' means to me. The bottle design is lovely. The brush is perfect in size and shape. The polish glides on like butter. Dries quickly. I don't wear polishes for more than 3 days but all the Ciate cremes I've used so far have been fine up to that. The color selection is mostly cremes (with sweet names) that have almost no exact dupes. The formula is Formaldehyde and Toluene free (the bottle I checked did not have DBP in the ingredient list, but don't know about that). Some might find the consistency a bit on the thick side but with the coverage and pigmentation I get, I have no complaints.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Orly - Nail Polish
ozlema 5/2/2010 7:37:00 AM
I discovered it quite late in my polish fanaticism journey which started and continues totally depending on the internet. After I must have owned like 15 OPIs and 10 China Glazes. And after 2 years (and more than a 100 polishes) into this journey, it's my favorite brand of polish and in my opinion, quite an underrated brand. - It comes up with great themes (Once Upon a Time, Bloom, Sweet...) and unique colors. I have not seen a single polish like the lovely Pixie Dust, and Cashmere Cardigan, Bon Bon and Enchanted Forest are among my favorite polishes. - I am a creme polish-lover. I favor Orly over China Glaze because they are more into cremes and glass flecked polishes (rather than frosty or glitter finishes) that I prefer. - The price is very reasonable at e-tailers. - Has these sweet little gifts in harmony with it's collections (my little daughter adored the little charms given with the Once Upon a Tİme Polishes and the mini glosses of the Sweet Collection) - I love the non-slip handle. - I am fine with the consistency of all the polishes I own (somewhat on the thin side). They last long and are quite chip-free too. - It has a bigger bottle than its competitors for a comparable price. After OPI's snobbery and oppression of etailers selling OPI at a lower price and making widely available to us international customers, Orly is definitely the bright star of mid-range polishes for me.
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Treatments (Eye) -Ren - Lipovector Peptide Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream
ozlema 3/3/2010 3:59:00 AM
Ren is one of the brands (like Dr. Hauschka) that I 'want' to like, because of its greatly designed packaging and natural ingredients. However, this eye cream did nothing for me. One pump is enough for both eyes and its quite light in texture, but I've noticed no substantial moisturizing effect let alone anti-aging and the worst is that it stings my eyes.
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Eye Shadow -Stila - All Over Shimmer Eyes 7
ozlema 3/3/2010 3:07:00 AM
Beautiful not over-the-top glimmer nice, neutral shade, moderate stay but the thing is since the online shop didn't have the true gold shade, I bought this color based on the reviews here for my lemming of a gold shimmer and it is more beige than gold both in the pot and on my eyelids. So if you are looking for a natural beige shimmer with golden hues, this will work for you. Also the pot is tiny.
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Nails -Unlisted Brand - Konad
ozlema 2/28/2010 10:19:00 AM
I received my first Konad order a few weeks a go and wanted to share the outcomes of my experience: - Do NOT get the silver and gold Konad special polishes, they are to sheer i.e. useless. I would definitely get the white and black only and use China Glaze Khromes instead of konad silver/golds. Sasse has a very helpful guide on polishes that work well with Konad that can be found at the link in a few reviews down. - Although I had checked out various videos in advance, in my first few tries the pattern did not show up on the stamper. (Quite frustrating when you think of all the clean up one must do after each unsuccessful attempt) You have to be very quick in painting the pattern, scraping and getting it on the stamper. I learned to swipe the polish on the pattern really quickly and scrape just once and the patterns come out perfectly. You don't need to rush that much afterwards, you have a little time to make sure you are holding the stamp correctly and roll it carefully on your nail. - You don't need to cover the whole design with polish. Put polish on 1/3 of the design and swipe. This both makes the procedure less messy and saves polish. - Make sure you have all your materials ready in order, beforehand. - ocnailart.com is great for picking up your favorite designs without having to buy kits, and great customer service too. They offer free international shipping on orders of 40 USD and 30% discount with blogger codes.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -NARS - Viridiana
ozlema 1/8/2010 4:44:00 AM
I was looking for a sexy but not too flashy berry lipstick and based on the reviews and my previous experience with NARS lipstick, very hopeful for Viridiana. However on my highly pigmented lips it came out much darker than the tube, very sour cherry, like nineties goth. Also, it makes my lips very dry and flaky and what could be less desirable than dark cherry flaky lips? UPDATE: Not willing to give up with a Nars lipstick I found a way to make this look more natural looking. I just dab the lipstick a few times on my lips with no pressure at all then with the help of a little gloss let it set (it is way too dry) and voila, wonderful berry looking lips. The staying power is magnificent as with all Nars lipsticks.
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Polishes -OPI - You Don't Know Jacques! SUEDE
ozlema 1/7/2010 4:18:00 PM
Peculiarly, as with Essie Matte About You, the suede formula works wonderfully with my nails. Dries in an instant and no chipping whatsoever. I don't know if that's because of my nails being too dry but this lasts more than the creme version (which has no similarity in color) As for color, a dark, muted, sophisticated beige with matte microglitter. So unique.
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Shampoo -Terax - Miele Shampoo
ozlema 12/7/2009 4:51:00 AM
Previously I had tried Collagen Shampoo by Terax very unhappily because it made my full, wavy hair sticky and limp. So I wasn't too eager on this one either. But after the first shampoo, vavooom! my hair felt light, bouncy, clean, hydrated. and smelling wonderful I now have been using this for more than a month with great satisfaction. I will definitely continue using this for my long, dehydrated hair although I do wish that it was cheaper.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Scrubs -Fresh - Sugar Face Polish with Strawberries
ozlema 11/29/2009 11:33:00 AM
Everyone raves about this scrub and it is luxurious both in terms of the experience and the price. Yet, it didn't meet my expectations and I wouldn't buy it again for the mere fact that it's description is misleading: this is not a scrub! The sugar particles in the nice smelling brown paste dissolve the moment I rub it in. My skin feels somehow soft and hydrated afterwards (with a sticky feeling and no lasting effect though) but no exfoliation whatsoever. I don't think the short term softness and hydration justifies the steep price either. UPDATE: Thanks to MUAer phiner79's advice I've changed the way I apply the mask and vavoom: I put the scrub on barely wet skin after washing massage gently wait for 5 minutes and then put a little water on my face with my hands and massage again (the mask becomes a paste now) wait another 5 minutes and rinse. Using it on my wet face in the bathtub was apparently dissolving all the particles and nowthat I use it on almost dry skin my skin is wonderfully polished.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Styling Products -Bumble & Bumble - Curl Conscious Calming Creme
ozlema 10/31/2009 6:36:00 AM
I switched to this because I couldn't bear the smell of Aveda Be Curly cream and was on the look out for a good curl definer. I have 2b long hair with loose curls and this did nothing for them. I guess since I am not used to using products with silicones it felt weird, somewhat sticky on my hair. The smell is great but everything about this product feels artifical including the fragrance.
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Toners -Dermalogica - Multi-active Toner
ozlema 10/31/2009 4:44:00 AM
After using it for a month, the hype about this toner is a wonder to me. The spray is very targeted so I have to spritz at least 6-7 times to cover my face without using a cotton ball. The toner has a white color, and sits on top of my skin. I find it unpleasant to use without any benefits to justify its price.
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Toners -DDF - Aloe Toning Complex
ozlema 10/31/2009 4:36:00 AM
This has been the best toner I've used so far. Especially compared to the Dermalogica's muched hyped about Multi Active Toner, I can now see this is a winner. Pleasant to use spray bottle, refreshing, lightly moisturizing feel, good ingredients, doesn't sit on top of skin.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments (Eye) -Dr. Hauschka - Eye Contour Day Cream
ozlema 10/31/2009 4:30:00 AM
I sadly admit that although I keep buying Dr. Hauschka products because of their natural ingredients, so far all have been disappointments. My major problem with the Eye Contour Balm is the mere fact that it is a balm. No matter how little I take on my finger and rub it before putting it under my eye, I get a thick paste impossible to use without rubbing and tugging the delicate eye area. The balm stays like a paste an forget about using eye make up for an hour afterwards. Also for this reason the jar lasts less than half the amount of time compared to other eye creams of same size. I haven't observed any better results than other eye creams either. On to the next...
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Toners -Unlisted Brand - Hydrogen Peroxide
ozlema 10/29/2009 6:33:00 AM
After reading all the good reviews here I wanted to add some facts about the use of hydrogen peroxide. It is apparently very useful as a whitening moutwash or paste mixed with baking soda, as a bleach, disinfectant for hard surfaces as a soak diluted with water to kill the bacteria on vegetables. But it is NOT recommended to use on wounds anymore because it also damages healthy cells that are needed for the wounds to heal and hinders them from getting to the area where the healing needs to take place. National Safety Council says that 'It adversely affects capillary blood flow and wound healing."
14 out of 14 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No