Top/Base Coats -Nailtek - Foundation II - Ridge-filling
prudence_m 8/9/2006 2:17:00 AM
Since being recommended this product by a manicurist whilst overseas I have made some discoveries. 1. For years the thin, crappy nails I put up with could have been fixed. 2. The fact that a manicure will only last 5 minutes on me is NOT due to the quality of the polish, but the quality of the base. 3. These are the best nail products EVER! 4. Nail Tek is difficult to find in Australia. Anyone else had any luck? Nothing, NOTHING will grip your polish to your nail like this. As the previous reviewer has stated, it dries completely matte, almost a little furry. You may find that your first coat of colour is also a little mattified when it dries, but this disappears with a second coat of colour. I have tried everything out there and nothing is even close to the staying power of this baby. My home manicures would last a day at most before the polish would lift from the top of the nail. Sometimes I could peel off the whole 4 layers of polish (base, 2 colour and top coats) intact, in one nail-shaped piece! Now my manicure lasts 4-5 days before a re-do and for me this feels like forever. If you had normal nails I reckon it would last weeks. It's not the cheapest product around but then, I would have paid much, much more for a result like this. I don't know about its ridge filling qualities because I don't really have ridged nails, but if you have problems with polish staying on, this is for you. The idea that it conditions and strengthens as it wears is a bonus. I have a million nail colours I purchased in the quest for one that doesn't flake off. Now none of them do!
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Crème -Laura Mercier - Silk Creme Foundation
prudence_m 5/22/2006 1:04:00 AM
I LOVE what this foundation does to the area around my eyes. I don't have any serious lines in this area YET, but I have those little fine ones that foundation and concealer love to sit in. This formula doesn't seem to want to go there. I also have a little pigmentation high on my cheeks. This foundation covers well and seems true to its claim, there is a definite luminosity to it! I feel like I just look fresher. I apply it with my fingers (they recommend a sponge but I think with all foundations a better finish is achieved with a bit of finger warmth) but it's true as others have said, you don't need much! I also love that this is in a tube, my previous favourite foundation (Prescriptives Flawless Skin) is in a clunky, heavy bottle, crappy for travel and just downright awkward to get the right amount out. Both of these foundations are the best I've found in terms of quality and texture and the way they feel on the skin. LM's just has that extra something. I would love it if she made it in all the colours that Prescriptives foundations come in, because in summer when I get a tan, none of the colours look like they'll suit!
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Loose Powders -Lancome - Colour ID Loose Powder Brush
prudence_m 1/3/2006 7:48:00 PM
All the great things everyone has said here don't come close to how wonderful this is. This is EASILY the most useful innovation in cosmetic packaging in the last 5 years. I am normally a pressed powder girl simply for the sake of convenience and whilst I have had brief flirtations with other brands, I have always returned to Lancome's range, as they're simply the finest, silkiest, most invisible powders money can buy. I would have willingly used their loose powders based on the quality of their pressed ones alone but to be blunt, I could never be arsed with the whole rigmarole of the separate brush and pot carry on. Now I can have the flawlessness of pressed powder without having to lug around an entire makeup bag AND it's even easier and quicker to use than pressed!!! And the finish? Goodbye shine, goodbye pores, hello soft, even, luminous glow. You can even put it on without a mirror with confidence because the colour is always perfect and it will NEVER cake, settle or make you look like Barbara Cartland, no matter how much you put on. I loved it so much I bought my mum one for Christmas and now she's hooked too. This is BEYOND HG. Go straight to your nearest Lancome counter and beg like a dog for this. Now.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lips -Unlisted Brand - Skin Doctors Perfect Pout
prudence_m 5/12/2004 3:26:00 AM
This product not only does not do anything like it promises (in fact absolutely nothing at all but cause a stinging, burning sensation), it charges you heaps for the pleasure! I was furious after purchase and wrote an email to the manufacturers (who were very hard to track down) and unsurprisingly received no response. The BIGGEST case of blatent false advertising I've ever seen, and I work in the ad industry! I don't know what product the other reviewers who reported success here were using, but it sure wasn't this one!!!! Products that don't do what they promise...GRRRRR!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Bronzers -Giorgio Armani - Sheer Bronzer #1
prudence_m 5/10/2004 1:55:00 AM
I used to wear NARS Laguna until I accidently dropped the compact and the product shattered everywhere (annoyingly the mirror stayed intact! grrrrrrr too much talc??). I read the reviews here and decided to take this little beauty for a test-drive. It passed with flying colours! Most bronzers seem to go orangey on me as the day wears on (and as the bronzer wears off!). I can honestly say this is the best cosmetic I've ever bought! Makes you look healthy and glowing in just a few sweeps. My skin looks sheeny and gorgeous, with no obvious producty look or cheap-looking sparkles. Gave my blue eyes extra oompf too, without the use of any other cosmetics (could this be a new way to save?)! I loved it so much I bought some pressed powder and creme blush too, and they are just as heavenly. You can't go wrong! At AUD $78 it wasn't exactly cheap, but I've paid a lot more for products that didn't deliver what this can! I think I'm in love, and his name is Giorigio Armani x
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No