Pressed Powders -MAC - Blot Powder
princessa00 8/15/2012 9:24:00 PM
I don't usually review overhyped products but I want to add my two cents here. Obviously this is the holy grail in oil control for many people, but as it turns out, blot powder just doesn't like me. Not only did it do nothing to control oil on my face, it gave me a crop of stubborn whiteheads around my chin area. Hopefully I still have the receipt lying somewhere around my car.
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Pressed Powders -Clinique - Stay-Matte Sheer Pressed Powder
princessa00 7/3/2012 2:19:00 AM
I've been using this consistently for about 2 years, not because of its performance but because I haven't really been up to experimenting with products with my skin going through a problematic phase. The coverage of this powder is sheer to medium, and I don't find that it gets cakey. When my skin is mostly clear, the powder imparts a really nice, even finish. The problem is this makes me so OILY.. and it's marketed as a mattifying powder! I don't have super oily skin, but this really just makes my skin an oil slick. I'm not sure if the formula has changed, but it wasn't always this way. I wouldn't say it isn't worth a try; it might just react differently with your skin or moisturizer. Buuuuut I can definitely say this will be my last compact.
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Concealers -Hourglass - Hidden Corrective Concealer
princessa00 5/5/2012 5:16:00 PM
Like a previous reviewer, I switched to this from Tarte's undereye concealer, which is super greasy. I've come to accept that there is no concealer that will give me a flawless, airbrushed-looking under-eye area..but this is definitely the best I've found so far. I dab it on in layers and pat it in with my finger and it doesn't crease up on me. It has a smooth application, not cakey at all. It has a magical brightening effect. Most concealers either color correct or brighten but this really does work overtime on my circles. By the end of a 9 hour day, it didn't turn any funky colors or crease up like crazy. I'll definitely be sticking to this for a while. Edit: It's August now, and I'm still loving this! It still works great for the under eye, but I've now taken to using it to shape my brows which is works AMAZINGLY for. I use it for both areas every day and its lasting FOREVER. This is officially a staple!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Kiehls - Ultra Facial Oil-Free Lotion
princessa00 1/31/2012 1:23:00 AM
This isn't bad in general, it's just bad for my skin. It moisturized well, following the BP treatment I use nightly; but after a few days I developed the type of deep cystic pimples I only get when my skin reacts horribly to something. Right away I realized I hadn't checked this moisturizers ingredients label for any cones, and when I did, I saw dimethicone. I still don't understand why cones are in so many products that target troubled skin, because there's a large population of us with skin highly sensitive to cones. Needless to say, this went right back to the store. I'm not mad at Kiehl's, but I'm glad this is out of my life.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Conditioner -Matrix - Biolage - Conditioning Balm
princessa00 1/28/2012 7:14:00 PM
I needed a conditioner that had no reconstructive components, so I picked this up hoping it would help me reverse a protein overload issue I was experiencing. Well, it didn't. It leaves my hair coated and the day after, my ends are fuzzy and gross again. Even now that my hair is in good shape again, this coats my hair and makes it frizzy and waxy. I honestly will probably end up using this as shaving cream.. pointless.
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Concealers -MAC - Studio Sculpt [DISCONTINUED]
princessa00 1/22/2012 4:27:00 AM
I get the feeling many of you may have seeked out this review specifically because it has a low rating. I assume many of you who did, did so to see if the reason I didn't like this product was because it broke me out. I'm guessing you're worried you might fall victim to MAC's infamous skin-hating face products. Well, the answer is yes, it broke me out. I actually only bought this to shape and highlight my brows. While it serves me well for this purpose, it also cultivates a crop of angry red whiteheads around my brows. No thanks. Even though I know I have acne-prone skin, I continuously make the mistake of caving in and buying popular products while telling myself maybe my skin won't react for once. But just as I've been wrong so many times before, I was wrong with this. Hold on to your receipt with this one.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -Maybelline - Fit Me Foundation
princessa00 1/7/2012 4:48:00 AM
I tried this out because of all the hype. I've been using it for about 5 months now, and feel that it really is pretty good for a drugstore foundation. It leaves a satin/dewy finish depending on your skin type; mine being combination erring on the oily side, I end up with a satin finish that gets oily in the t-zone throughout the day. The foundation really does leave a lovely, glowy, natural finish.. but it's not perfect. Blemishes and discoloration begin to peek through after a few hours, and it sort of oxidizes. That being said, I don't have perfect skin and I tend to have this problem even with my expensive foundations.. With a good concealer, this can work. Honestly, if you packaged it up and stamped a higher-end brands name on it, I would fall for it. This runs for less than what I spend on coffee in a day... you have nothing to lose by trying it out.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -NARS - Sheer Matte
princessa00 8/19/2011 6:38:00 PM
How do I explain this.. this foundation doesn't exactly have a "second skin" finish, but you can tell it's high end. You skin does look made up, but in the same way a celebrity's skin would look on the red carpet. It's a nice satin finish, without being a flat matte. There's a subtle glow in the right places. This doesn't stay matte all day on my combo skin, but it holds up better than my regular Tarte tinted moisturizer and I can handle blotting and powdering once or twice. This foundation CAN highlight some dry patches and peach fuzz, but I only notice this sometimes.. so it probably depends on the lighting. One thing to keep in mind is that Sheer Matte's shade selection is NOT parallel to Sheer Glow's. Be careful when choosing a color. It's hard to find a shade match for my complexion, a TOTALLY neutral light olive, but Punjab works fine enough in the summer. The fact that there is no match close enough to my coloring stops me from giving this a perfect rating, I'd love to incorporate it into my rotation of daily foundations but can't. :( Still, it's a product worth trying.
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Liquid -Lancome - Teint Idole Fresh Wear
princessa00 8/15/2011 4:29:00 AM
I have combo, acne-prone, ultra-sensitive skin. I bought this foundation because my skin gets SUPER oily in the summer (surprise) and my regular foundation made me look a mess. The best way to describe this would be a "second skin" foundation. I never got that whole concept until trying this foundation; you can't tell I'm wearing it. It provided medium coverage at most for me, I needed a concealer for some spots on my face, which I never do with my regular foundation. It photographs EXTREMELY well, let me tell you. It works wonders as far as keeping my oily skin in check. I still need to blot and powder, but only once or twice a day. As far as the 18 hour claim.. I just don't think ANYTHING exists out there that looks decent after 18 hours, at least not on my skin. Today I wore this longer than I ever have, 12 hours.. and at the end the foundation was pretty patchy all over my face. This was after an extremely hot day though. I wasn't expecting a miracle, and this outperforms any shine controlling, long wear foundation I've ever tried. If my skin woes sound familiar, I'd recommend this to you.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Urban Decay - 24/7 Glide-On Shadow Pencil
princessa00 8/10/2011 1:06:00 AM
Dang I hate that this didn't work out for me because the colors are so pretty. I got the pencil in "Lit", and my first impression upon application was that the product was extremely hard to blend out. (I can't believe people are calling this creamy! Maybe I should try leaving it in my car during the day hahaha) Pretty much impossible. I tried to apply it in the exact shape that I wanted so I wouldn't have to blend, but the tip kept breaking off, no matter how light of a hand I used. I got frustrated and gave up. I might give this another go after sharpening but I had higher expectations for this pencil.
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Concealers -Neutrogena - 3-in-1 Concealer for Eyes
princessa00 8/7/2011 12:57:00 AM
This product totally surprised me. I have dark circles that really bug me and make wearing dark eye makeup impossible, so I take the matter of concealer seriously. Although I was already using (and not completely loving) a high end concealer, I bought this on a whim and was blown away. I put this on with mac's 224, and it really brightens my under eye area. It does need to be set with powder though, or else the finish stays shiny. The creamy concealer I was using before always darkened and creased up under my eyes within hours, whereas this concealer is light in texture, but offers moderate coverage AND brightens which really makes a difference. Although it doesn't offer as much initial coverage as a creamy, heavier concealer.. the overall effect is more desirable, because my under eye area looks much better through out the day. I have also tried layering this over a light application of the creamy concealer, and it works great.This concealer has totally changed my attitude about my face makeup. I'm sure there are higher end liquid concealers out there with more pigmentation, but this is a real drugstore gem. Oh, and I wouldn't be put off by reviews who claim this made their circles worse. If they're that bad, no concealer alone will cover them, you NEED corrector first.
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Tools -Unlisted Brand - -Jilbere Porcelain Series Spring Curling Iron
princessa00 8/4/2011 5:14:00 PM
I got this from Sally's, being lured in by the ceramic aspect. I wasn't expecting a miracle, just a basic curler that would produce a decent curl that held up good enough. What I got was a nightmare. I've been curling my hair forever, I know how to hold these things, but there is NO way to manipulate this curler to avoid getting huge crimps and creases in the curls. There's something way wrong with the way this curler was devised, because it creates a really ugly curl. I gave it an extra lippy only because I can get an okay effect if I don't use the clip, but thats not the look I'm going for, I use a separate clipless curler for that. This thing is a piece of crap, in my opinion.
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Hair Styling Tools -Unlisted Brand - Hot Tools - Curling Iron Spring Grip
princessa00 7/10/2011 8:21:00 PM
I wanted to love this because of all the great reviews I've seen. I also see hairstylists using this often. But on my hair, which doesn't hold a curl, this does nothing. I feel like with curlers, it makes little difference if your hair holds curl well. Only us ladies with hard to curl hair need to do extensive research to find that hg curler. To this day, the ONLY curler that keeps my hair curly....such an amazing feeling :').. is the chi spring iron but i can't find it ANYWHERE larger than half an inch. So unfortunately, this wasn't the one.
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Treatments (Eye) -Promaxyl - Eyelash Renewal serum Rapidlash
princessa00 7/10/2011 8:05:00 PM
People shouldn't rule out a product based on an adverse reaction THEY had, I've used this for a year straight with no irritation, and I have VERY sensitive skin. If this stuff is supposed to be "used under the guidance of a medical professional", obviously it's STILL USABLE! I'm not swayed by some copied and pasted codes. As part of an online make up community, we're unique in that we do a lot of our own research, and teach ourselves to do things other girls wouldn't even dream of not going to a professional for. We learn which vitamins and supplements to take for our skin, hair, and nails.. these are things we arn't supposed to do without consulting a doctor but we do anyways! Why? Because we inform ourselves, and I'm glad we're trying to help each other out with presentations of findings and studies, but I'd suggest we take these reviews with a grain of salt. We are far from naive and well aware of the risks associated with the products we use.. please, look at the ingredients list on a majority of the products out there. Almost EVERYTHING is not meant to be in our bloodstreams. But I know this doesn't justify using unsafe products. The point is to make INFORMED decisions. And this product has not been deemed unsafe to use. Just my small rant! My eyelashes got very long and fanned out nicely using rapidlash, maybe the results were not as dramatic as they would have been had I gotten latisse, but I was getting tons of compliments. And 6 months after I stopped using this, my lashes are not quite down to the length they were before I began using it. I will continue to use this, thank you very much!
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Toners -LUSH - Tea Tree Water
princessa00 7/6/2011 4:47:00 AM
I don't like when reviewers leave one sentence reviews but in all honesty, this sums it up for me: THIS DIDN'T DO ANYTHING FOR ME. Pretty much like I've been spraying water on my face for 6 months...
5 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No