Eye Makeup Remover -Shiseido - The Skincare Instant Eye and Lip Makeup Remover
riverwalk888 5/30/2010 1:31:00 AM
This is the first eye makeup remover I ever used that didn't burn my eyes out. In fact, my eyes had been burning for the last 24 hours. I applied a drop or two with the Shiseido cotton pad (see my review) and the burning stopped immediately and never came back. I did not have mascara on, so I will add more later when I give it a full trial. I am really relieved to have found this and can't believe it didn't hurt or leave that burning oil on me. Wow.
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Skincare - Face -Shiseido - Facial Cotton
riverwalk888 5/30/2010 1:28:00 AM
I will never use anything else again, this stuff is divine. Like the reviewers already said, it's not really so expensive when you find out how far it goes and how much product it spares. I got tired of the drug store cotton pads disintegrating in use. These pads make me feel like a star. I hardly had to use any product and they can be cut smaller or flipped around to use more areas. They are luxury. I don't think they will end up being more expensive in the long run. I just returned some cheap ones to Walgreens because they literally disintegrated in my hand before I even got to my face with it with lotion on it. (Some organic brand). I tried Kroger brand squares yesterday, cheaper than ever. These S. squares are a luxury I will make sure I never have to do without. I love them. I hardly used a drop or two of liquid on them instead of a capful. Fantastic. They are bigger rectangles than you get at the drug store, too. They almost feel like felt and are as thick, and so very soft, soft and thick and larger. Divine.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -Shiseido - Pureness Foaming Cleansing Fluid
riverwalk888 5/30/2010 1:21:00 AM
I am not in the target audience for this product. I am 54 with rosacea and menopausal skin that has caused me enormous problems in finding a cleanser & moisturizer that doesn't burn me and make me look like a flaming match red-faced person. I have been trying very hard to find something that can work besides Purpose face wash. I was interested in this product because I learned that w/ rosacea one should buy things that say directly "Ph balanced," and this does. Also, I watched and read around Shiseido's website and was impressed with their science and research. Finally, I remembered that when I was younger I had such oily skin that I only used products like this. Ok one more thing, the rosacea docs I read online said don't use anything for anti-aging and such. I had been trying all these moisturizing products and anti-aging things. Well, I am in heaven. I got samples at Sephora. I bought the gentle Shiseido cleansing brush, so gentle it's softer than fingers for washing. I can't use the Clarisonic any more even on delicate brush. Oh it was nice, I foamed up the cleanser with the brush in my hand first then applied it. It was instant relief! I did not get any redness and my face got soo clean. It took off all the makeup and when I set the sample jar down on the written-on sample bag, it even took off the ink. LOL! Now, I always liked that clean feeling from having such oily skin most of my life and it feels great. But I did not get any redness or burning! I have a great sense of relief and lack of pain and burning that I am excited. I love it. I followed it with the balancing softener in Pureness then the moisturizer, and I am in heaven. My face had been burning for the last 24 hours straight and it stopped immediately! Also, before washing, I used the Shiseido eye and lip makeup remover on my eyelids and the constant horrid burning I had for the last 24 hours stopped immediately and has not come back! Wow. Holy cow. What I know is that when I used these oily skin products most of my life, the average person hated them. So when you see people say this stuff is not good, it's probably because they aren't in the type of skin for it. I love that there are no fumes burning my eyes right now. Yes it feels somewhat tight, but I love that feeling. I have a glow on my face that is really nice. I feel like a monkey is off my back. I will be posting follow ups since this was my first try at it. Let's see how it goes. I thought I had to use something for dry skin. This product was formulated without a lot of additives for people who are younger with acne and loss of moisture, even though their skin may be oily. Perfect for me at 54 with rosacea and intolerant skin. If you are like me and had oily skin once upon a time but now are dry from menopause and/or rosacea, worth a try. If you are young and always oily, you may like this. Or, if you can't tolerate all the newer engineered skincare products but want something that doesn't lay on your skin and burn, this could be for you. Tomorrow I am trying the samples of the Shiseido "The Skincare" line, this was Purity. I think the eye makeup remover was from The Skincare line though. Great stuff so far.
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Mascara -Giorgio Armani - Eyes to Kill 
riverwalk888 5/13/2010 2:14:00 AM
I tried this to compare to Chanel Inimitable and various Lancome mascaras. It looks just like the Chanel (great) with the added benefit that it did not burn my eyes at all. For me, the Chanel and Lancome burn my eyes. It was a bit clumpy at first, as are the others to me, and there was a minor flaking at first, not much, and not again. My eyes did not burn in the 4 hours I wore it. I think it's a keeper. My eye that had the Chanel on it 4 hours ago is still burning even though I took it off 3 1/2 hours ago, by the way. I have had eye surgery (cataracts, lens replacement, lasik) so I don't like burning. I am pretty happy about this mascara and it looks good too, long & rich.
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Liquid -Giorgio Armani - Luminous Silk Foundation
riverwalk888 5/13/2010 2:07:00 AM
I became infatuated with this product from all the awards and reviews, but do not have a store in my state that sells it. I had a terrible time finding the right shade until I found a great lady Kariann at a store in Charlotte (I think I am Not to Mention store) who graciously sent me little samples. I am shade 5.0. In all the reading I did I discovered that the .5 shades have extra orange in them, so the numerical progression is confusing if you are selecting on a gradient scale. 4.5 was too orange, 4 was a bit orange, and 5 was just right. I compared the samples and turns out the color samples on the giorgioarmanibeauty-usa site were pretty accurate when I used Firefox, but not so much on Safari. (Mac) None of the store samples online were as useful on my Mac. I was about a NC20 and about a Rose Ivory in LM, but it was becoming too orange for me. LM Rose Ivory is closer to the 4.5 or 4 in GA. Anyway, I have 55 y/o skin and the makeup did seem to give me some hatchmarks around the lips even with the light primer, but less with a moisturizer or the LM secret finish on those spots after applying the foundation. I really like it though. I am not sure how great it can look because I just started playing with it. I think the GA foundations are overall more orange-y because they are geared for Italian skin as I was told by their customer service person. I didn't find a lot of people too knowledgeable in calling various stores except for the lady in Charlotte, she knew a lot. Since I have no store nearby I will be purchasing from the most educated and nice SA, so in a way, it's better. I had it on for about 6 hours now and it has NOT bothered my rosacea, so that's amazing in itself! Most things go kaput on my face pretty quickly and I get red rashes right away. I will review more on the wearability as I try it out longer. I was so impressed by how it took to my skin with their blender brush, just amazing how it blended effortlessly. It looks great and feels not-there after a bit of time, not long. I left it on all night and didn't know it was there. *************Well, I retract this review because after wearing this foundation it just all ended up settling in my fine lines even with extra moisturizer and primer. I no longer recommend it based on my own experience unless you have no fine lines or dry spots, that's just my own experience. I even tried both of the Armani primers and neither was good enough to prevent the dessert look around my mouth, smile, and generally all over. I also ended up with makeup dots in every pore. Not too good. I have been cleansing and exfoliating, so it's not that. I just don't find it good enough to suit my needs.
5 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Crème -Laura Mercier - Silk Creme Foundation
riverwalk888 5/1/2010 7:35:00 AM
This is the first foundation I tried in 30 years of wearing makeup that does not flare up my rosacea or cause breakouts/bumps/redness and still covers perfectly. Attention to other posters, you have to apply this with their sponge, not with a brush or fingers or regular sponge. That is how you get the good blending and it says how to do it on their website. Anyway, I tried every major dept store brand and even the mineral powder lines, and this product is the best for me. I am white, pale skinned with Rosacea, 54 with drying situation from age/hormones. This makeup lasts on my face all day long. I use all Laura Mercier now except moisturizer (don't need any with this creamy foundation), primer (don't use any and LM primer made me breakout), LM Eyeshadows are great, and her brushes, I have almost every one of them. I don't care for the lipsticks (rub off fast). I love the brighteners, eye products, etc. Mostly I love this foundation.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Primer/ Corrector -Laura Mercier - Foundation Primer Oil -Free
riverwalk888 5/1/2010 7:26:00 AM
I love Laura Mercier silky foundation and all the other products except for this one. I have Rosacea and have excellent results with all the other LM products, but this primer made me red, break out, and makeup came off sooner than without it. Other than that, the Laura Mercier silky foundation was a godsend for me. It covers the redness and doesn't irritate my skin, so now the Rosacea is almost gone, between using that and some metro gel and Purpose cleansing lotion for washing, best combo I ever found.
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