Loose Powders -Chanel - Poudre Universal Libre
rocketqueen 2/8/2013 1:13:00 AM
I can't believe how great this is. I've tried so many loose powders out there (Becca, T. LeClerc, MUFE, MAC, Dior, Fyrinnae, Everyday Minerals, BE Mineral Veil, silica and/or rice powders, etc.) and while they are all good, Chanel is the best. Gorgeous silky finish, matte but not lustre-free. The packaging is absolutely huge so it's good value for your money. Never looks chalky and gives the smoothest finish ever. Great with makeup or just on its own, and photographs very well. I never thought that a powder could do this much difference to be honest. I can actually use a little less foundation than usually and top off with this for the smooth finish. Definite HG! I'm an NC15 and I use the Peche Clair 25 (should have gotten the Clair but was sent this by mistake), and it works fine since it's so translucent.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Skincare - Face -MAC - Fix+
rocketqueen 1/27/2013 6:28:00 AM
Hydrating (not to make it last longer, despite the name) spray that adds glow to the makeup. Great to avoid the over-powdered look. This spray leaves an amazingly natural result if I have put on too much powder and/or foundation. It's also great to moisten a damp sponge with and stipple over makeup for a natural just-like-skin result. Unfortunately, this makes my skin break out. I've tried it so many times hoping it wasn't this one, but it can be traced back to applying Fix+ every single time. Another downside is the impractical pump - I wish it would dispense the product in a finer mist. Sometimes big drops can spray out which, if they dry in on top of the foundation, are visible. All in all a good product, but since it makes me break out badly one lippie off for that, and one lippie off for packaging issues. I do recommend trying it out despite this, especially if you want to add a little glow to the skin.
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Brows -Make Up For Ever - Aqua brow
rocketqueen 1/25/2013 2:16:00 AM
Why didn't I hear of this before? It's genius! Aqua Brow is a small tube that contains a waterproof gel formula. It's lightweight but has quite a lot of pigment to it, doesn't feel watery. I've previously used: • Eyeshadow (MAC Concrete or BB Espresso, wet and/or dry with an angled 208 or 266 brush - can look a little too obvious at times since I don't have much brows to begin with). Doesn't last well throughout the day. • Fluidline gel liner with the MAC angled 266 brush: doesn't stay on during the day. • Brow pencil (MAC Spiked/Stud): looks too "clumpy" on my skin and too harsh even if I blend it. Doesn't last. • All the former ones combined in different ways. What I was looking for was something that stays on the skin during the day and doesn't disappear or form small 'clumps' on the skin. This is it! It does take a while to get used to when applying it, but it's definitely worth it. I use it with a small angled synthetic brush (I've found that the natural hair ones aren't that great in terms of evening out the product) and use short strokes with very little product. Don't use too much, a little goes such a long way. I dispense a little of the product and work it into the brush (just on the nozzle) before applying. The play time isn't very long so try to work fast. When it dries, it dries! In my experience, it's not great for layering as it can clump a little. And yes, it stays on even though drizzle or a long day at work! I use the #40 which is a ashy dark blackened brown - no red in it. (Hooray!) I have black/brown hair and fair skin (NC15), and this is a perfect match.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -OPI - Otherwise Engaged
rocketqueen 1/21/2013 11:07:00 AM
Such a pretty neutral! On my NC15 skin it looks slightly lighter, very fresh and good for all year round. I love to wear this when I'm tired of wearing colors and need an alternative. Soft cool-toned transparent pink (almost iridescent). I use two layers, but it looks good with one too - good formula and non-streaky. Would be a perfect 'classic' bridal shade too!
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Mascara -MISSHA - Mascara Base
rocketqueen 1/21/2013 11:04:00 AM
Best lash primer out there! This is a white mascara base with fibers, you can build it a lot and it gives both volume and length. I've tried a lot of this type but this is the best, and the price tag is more than fair. Don't let it dry; put the mascara on directly after, otherwise the mascara application might be hard. Highly recommended!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -MAC - Cremesheen Creme Cup
rocketqueen 1/11/2013 6:31:00 AM
Such a cute lipstick! The hue is a soft, wearable pink with lots of moisture and no shimmer as far as I can tell. I use it paired with a smokey eye or for just adding on to a neutral makeup. Goes with anything really. I love it on anyone up to NC35-ish, darker than that it goes on a little too light for my taste. I usually combine Creme Cup with Dervish lip liner and the Prep + Prime Lip. Cremesheen is a moisturizing formula but it also means that it won't stay on as good as your matte ones - I do everything I can with liner and primer to minimize having to touch up. I think this color would be great if you love Bombshell, Shy Girl, Angel, Lovelorn or the like.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Quimica Alemana nail hardener
rocketqueen 8/9/2012 4:01:00 AM
Got really worried after having this on for 10 minutes! It felt like my fingers had gotten squeezed in a door, throbbing with pain. I thought I had gone crazy but then I read the reviews here and realized I'm not the only one who felt it. Quite strong stuff! And if you look at the ingredients, it's not the healthiest product out there. I can't give it more than one star since not only can I not use the product, it hurts. I had it on for one hour but the pain never subsided.
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Lip Gloss -BeneFit Cosmetics - PocketPal
rocketqueen 5/19/2011 3:07:00 PM
Crushed bugs is fine for me, I don't like bugs much anyway. Apart from the fantastic deep red color they can provide, that is! This is a beautiful scarlet red lipstain that looks good on lips but wears off a little too easy for my to give it a higher grade. It doesn't strike me as a wow product in any way; I barely reach for it but usually use my MAC stain (from the Ungaro collection) instead. It does give a nice color but it is very average. Won't repurchase, I'm sure I'll can find another nice product with this lovely "Carmine" friend of mine.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -MAC - Viva Glam Gaga
rocketqueen 1/30/2010 3:09:00 PM
The Viva Glam Gaga lipstick launches in March 2010 (will be a year on the counters) and the whole proceeds of $14 goes to the MAC AIDS Fund. Gaga is a beautiful light cool pink shade with a glossy finish. Like Pink Nouveau and Saint Germain had a cute baby; a very transparent, soft and wearable one. The Lustre formula is very soft on lips; I always think of it more as a lip conditioner as it is so comfortable to wear. I like to pair this one up with the VIVA GLAM VI SE lipglass, they're definitely in the same color family and quite similar. For a cool effect I also like to wear Magenta as a base (the closer the lip line, the more saturated hue) and Gaga on top. I also like how the signatures of Gaga and Cyndi are printed on the red part of the packaging!
19 out of 21 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -MAC - Violetta Amplified (Pro)
rocketqueen 11/24/2009 4:34:00 AM
This is a wow lipstick and one of my all time favourites. Violetta is an Amplified formula and therefore has good color pay-off with slight shine and a creamy texture. I love how it has tiny pearlized particles that makes the color non-flat and really wearable. If you want Violetta more true to the color, use MAC Lip Erase (pro product) underneath. Personally, I love to use it just like it is. Beautiful paired with Morange lipstick on lower lip and Violetta on upper lip, or with Magenta lip pencil (obviously). I love it with Amourous Dazzleglass on top, or with something more toned-down like Pinkcarat lustreglass. Despite the "unusual" shade, Violetta is surprisingly easy to pull off. Try it, you won't be disappointed if you like bolder lips - or mixed with a little bit of lip conditioner to take a more discreet walk on the wild side. I love you Violetta!!!
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -MAC - Select SPF 15 Foundation
rocketqueen 11/16/2009 5:45:00 AM
I think this one is great for an everyday makeup. Don't expect too much coverage (like Studio Sculpt or Studio Fix Fluid) but more of a slight even-out effect. The formula is water-based which makes it really easy to apply - I use the 188 duo fibre brush for this as I think it's easier than the 190 brush (which can get a little streaky if you don't work fast with it). Select doesn't feel oily at all and the finish is natural on the matte side (no shimmer or glow). I like it for my dry skin but have to remember to exfoliate properly, otherwise it will accentuate my dry flakes (which foundation doesn't, though...). I set it with the Prep + Prime finishing powder which works great. Finding a shade is no problem - they are very natural and not too yellow or pink (like Studio Fix Fluid tend to be). I use NC15 which is a perfect match. As for the dispensing issue, you can buy a foundation pump at MAC for £2, which makes it a lot easier to handle the product. Don't buy a new pump when you buy the same foundation again, just move it over... The pump also has a travel protection so don't throw that one out!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -MAC - Hello Kitty Fashion Mews
rocketqueen 6/8/2009 4:12:00 PM
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I love love LOVE this lipstick! I'm NC15 with dark hair and this looks so good and unique on me. Fashion Mews is a very creamy Glaze lipstick with a light lavender pink tone. Might look light on some people but I love that. I apply it with an small angled eyeshadow brush to line the lips as I don't have any lip liner to go with it; this way you can get a sharp edge with using just the lipstick. This really is one of a kind!
With Like Venus dazzleglass on top:
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Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Florascent - Aqua Composita Pipapo
rocketqueen 3/20/2009 4:03:00 AM
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Holding a Florascent perfume in my hand fills me with a feeling of luxury. The clean design makes me adore the bottle (as I am somewhat tired of the bombastic perfume bottle designs from the "Macy perfumes") and knowing that this perfume is organically produced also adds that extra luxuous touch. (That it's priced at $99 probably also contributes to the luxury feeling, if I am to be perfectly honest to myself.)
Pipapo is an incredibly special scent. The composition is like nothing else I've previously tried! The description is quite ordinary though, listen to this:
"Feminine, extravagant, and very enticing. The prelude is a fanciful bouquet of Bulgarian roses and soft jasmine. A bewitching heart note of finest tuberose. Warming notes of sandalwood blend in a stylish base of vetyver, tonka bean, and vanilla. Touch of galbanum."
Ouch. Sounds like it could have been Escada's latest creation and we all know how Escada interprets "sensual flowers", right? ;) What makes Pipapo so special is that it smells so true. So faithful to nature. I grew up on the countryside and there nature is a part of everyday life. The person who has spent their whole life in the city doesn't know what it smells like on a early summer's morning when the morning dew still rests on the rose petals and the dawning sun begins to shine on the still fresh-smelling field of green cloves. The person who has never been intoxicated by the ponderous scent of honeysuckle on a hot summer's night and never rubbed fresh-picked blackcurrant leaves between her hands can never really understand just how big the leap is from a bottled scent and the genuine thing. If you never have felt flower scents in its true nature than it's easy to believe that honeysuckle is what you get when sniffing the latest perfume edition from Paris Hilton, but the difference is so vast that a vocabulary is not enough to mediate the feeling. It has to be experienced by yourself.
Throwing a quickly extracted mimosa and a poor jasmine together before giving them a chance to greet each other, before giving them a chance to be friends prior to meeting in chemistry, is a perfume-making way which I find to be a gentle insult to all the beautiful flowers in the world. These components are forced together in a mass-manufactured prison bottle without ever figuring each other out, for their qualities have not been refined to go along together. When you spray the perfume it feels as if the components have broken each other down while they were in there, they don't fit together and seems to struggle in completely different directions instead of swirling together in a blend. The harmony of the perfume is vanished. This is how I feel about the "ordinary" perfumes you can find at Macy's, they miss so much and the notes are a complete parody of how the things you can find in Nature smells like. This is not how I feel about Pipapo.
Pipapo greets me with a full-bodied but soft power and a very true-to-nature composition. A red rose meets me, not a young and fresh one but more of a deep lady which has an ever so slight touch of purpur red peony. Sandalwood also comes in strongly, a sandalwood which has just started to burn in the edges making a smoke signal slowly rise. The tonka bean is there, relatively dry and reminds me of vanilla mixed with cloves. I really adore that spicy touch! Spicy, but in an austere way; lying there in wait but without subduing the rose and the tuberose. Oh yes, the tuberose springs out after the opening; a delightful fullness which is creamy but not very sweet.
Flowers in the wild have a certain depth and a certain intensity and Pipapo really has captured that same aura. The perfumers have not removed that sharp essence of true flowers but has brought all nuances into the bottle. Complex. Wonderful!
Overall, Pipapo is a truly delightful and beautiful scent which is a true mark of respect to the world of perfumes. I love the feeling it evokes in me when I wear it!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Loose Powders -MAC - Iridescent Powder - Silver Dusk
rocketqueen 3/19/2009 3:36:00 AM
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This loose highlighting powder is one of my absolute MAC favorites! This shimmery powder has an amazing sparkle and it gives such a beautiful glow to the skin. It's also incredibly pigmented, so you really don't need much to get an effect. I can't imagine ever using up this powder no matter how much I adore shimmer...
How to use Silver Dusk:
* As an eyeshadow
* On cheek bones and on cupid's bow to give some glow
* Mix in a super small amount in your foundation or face cream to provide some lustre
* Mix it with your body lotion
Yum, shimmer! Glitter and sparkle! Rocketqueen lurves!
6 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Scrubs -Unlisted Brand - Stem Organics - Smooth Skin Exfoliant
rocketqueen 2/9/2009 2:15:00 PM
The Smooth Skin Exfoliant uses bamboo grains to peel, in a base of jojoba and aloe. You just massage it on moisted skin, as usual. I'm usually sceptical towards mechanical peelings since the grains are so harsh, solely irritating my sensitive skin. It was therefore a pleasant surprise to find that the peeling grains in the Stem Organics version is so super fine! I mean it, really microscopic! This is what I imagine a microdermabrasion feels like, and you don't need much massaging before the skin feels all smooth. For those of you who don't want to try acid peelings, try this one instead! The skin becomes clearer, more lustrous and clogged pores is avoided (which is good for me as I use such amounts of makeup...). I've never before tried a peeling with grains this small, and I love it! And then we have 78% organic ingredients, yay! To make this even better, the peeling is very economical; a little goes such a long way so be sure not to pump out a handfull! One or two pumps from my small bottle is perfect. Fullsize is 125 ml, my small one is 15 ml and it still has loads left. Rocketqueen recommends the Smooth Skin Exfoliant from Stem Organics! 125 ml is $39 at stemorganics.com, the small 15 ml one is $14. Ingredients: Organic Aloe Extract, Bamboo Extract, Vegetable Glycerin, Vegetable Emulsifying Wax, Glyceryl Monostearate, Coco Glucoside (vegetable), Organic Jojoba Oil, Guar Gum, Tasmanian Kelp Extract, Kakadu Plum Extract, Organic Prunica Granatum (Pomegranate), D-alpha Tocopherol (Vit E), Willowbark Extract, Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate (amino acid based preservative), Organic Sweet Orange Essential Oil, Tangerine Essential Oil, Organic Geranium Essential Oil, Limonene (occuring in essential oils), Bottle Brush Bush Essence, Organic Lemon Essential Oil, Citric Acid.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No