Moisturizers -Vaseline - Petroleum Jelly
rocksmom 11/6/2012 6:45:00 PM
I was one of the few here who's skin reacted poorly to this. Can't say I'm surprised, but I am disappointed. After reading through many, many reviews I decided to take the leap and try it out as a nighttime moisturizer. I exfoliated and then with a still damp face I tried to spread a thin layer over my entire face as well as applying it to my eyelashes. Right there is where the red flag started waving for me. It was so sticky trying to apply it that I felt like I was rubbing my skin off with it. Might not have been as bad with a thicker layer, but I was afraid of using too much and getting it in my hair, on my pillow, etc. After applying I went to bed and started reading. My face started to feel warm like when you get too much sun, but I ignored it for a little bit because it did feel nice and moisturized. After about half an hour I couldn't take it any more. The warmth was becoming uncomfortable and my eyes were starting to burn. I went in the bathroom and found my skin to be all red and splotchy. It looked terrible. I had to wash twice with a cleanser containing sulfates to get it all off. My skin was a dried out, sore mess afterwards. I slathered on a ton of my usual lotion and went back to bed. It was back to normal in the morning, except being drier than normal. That may be from the cleanser though. I'm not saying that nobody should try this at least once, but it's probably a good idea to do a test patch before you go smearing it all over your face. I know I'll be steering clear of anything containing petrolatum in the future.
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Lotions/ Creams -Desert Essence - Pumpkin Hand Repair Cream
rocksmom 11/6/2012 6:32:00 PM
I was not a fan of this lotion. It was very thin, not all what I expect from something called a "hand repair cream." It's more of a light lotion. After using it my hands still looked and felt chapped. There was a slight comforting or smoothing sensation, sort of like that smooth feeling you get from a primer, but that's it. I also disliked the scent. There's no spice element to it at all, and hardly any pumpkin. Whatever the scent is I didn't like it. I ended up washing my hands to get rid of it. I only gave it a two instead of a one because it might not be a bad product, it's just marketed wrong. It should be sold as a lotion with a different name.
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Conditioner -LUSH - Jungle
rocksmom 10/27/2012 3:23:00 AM
This was absolutely awful on my hair. I tried using it initially in bar form, but the ends of my hair felt crunchy, like I hadn't used anything. After reading reviews on here I grated some and poured boiling water over it to make a cream. I only used as much as I needed to in cooperate it though my hair, but the results were terrible. I had wiry, coated doll hair and terrible canopy frizz. I think my hair just doesn't like butters or oils. I had to shampoo twice and use hot water to get my hair feeling like normal again. It seems like I like the idea of Lush more than I like any of their actual products.
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Cleansers -LUSH - Aqua Marina Cleansing Roll
rocksmom 10/27/2012 2:58:00 AM
In my experience, this stuff is pretty terrible. It sounded perfect for my sensitive skin, but unfortunately that was not the case. First, it's kind of a pain to mix up. I ended up with some really watery parts and some clay clumps. Maybe it's just my batch, I don't know. Other reviews say its easy, so maybe that is the case. It's a big pain to rinse off too. If you're not careful you get a ton of residue. Even with rinsing well, it still leaves a film behind. That might be okay if you have oily skin, but I would not recommend it for normal or dry skin. The weirdest part is that it made it nearly impossible to use moisturizer. That film it left on my face mixed with the moisturizer and made like a... paste sensation. It was really weird. I tried a couple times, extra rinsing, toner on cotton pads, etc. Just could not get it to work. One thing I didn't notice was any sort of fishy smell like people are complaining about. I just smelled the really strong scent of calamine lotion.
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Gels/Soaps -Bath and Body Works - Anit-Bacterial Moisturizing Hand Soap
rocksmom 11/4/2011 12:41:00 AM
I really need to start taking the old saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" to heart. I used this line of soap for a long time and then decided to try to cut some corners and this was one of them. I bought one of those giant refills of softsoap and started using it instead. Big mistake. Over a period of about two months my hands looked like they aged about twenty years. They were dried, cracked, and in terrible shape. I slathered on lotion and tried using a couple different bars and other liquid hand soaps (like Method), but my hands still looked and felt awful. I finally broke down and bought more of these on a 6 for $20 sale and after only a couple days the difference is very noticeable. There are plenty of ways to save a buck, and for me this one isn't worth it. The soap itself is nice and creamy and lathers well. The packaging is good, but not great. You do get some dripping if you're not careful when dispensing. The scent range is great (right now I'm loving the new Iced Gingerbread and Ribbon Candy). And to be honest the price isn't that bad if you get it on sale and maybe combine it with a coupon if you can find one. I just stocked up on a bunch and will buy more on Black Friday if there's a good deal.
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Cleansers -Unlisted Brand - Oil Cleansing Method OCM
rocksmom 10/20/2011 4:56:00 PM
I had the same problem with OCM that a lot of people seem to be having. Worked great at first and then all of a sudden clogged pores and acne like crazy. It's taken weeks to get my skin back to normal and with such a fair complexion you can still see the marks. Boo! I tried several different formulations and oils (including castor, olive, kukui, apricot, and jojoba) once I noticed the problems starting and it only gradually got worse. I finally had to give up on it. I'm glad it works for some people, and I can understand why they like it. My skin looked amazing for the first week or so. Really wish it would have kept working.
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Cleansers -Dove - Beauty Bar - Sensitive Skin
rocksmom 10/20/2011 4:47:00 PM
I'm cautiously optimistic about this. I started using it as a facewash after running out of other things to try. I was using nothing but honey and yogurt for awhile and while my skin looked nice, I was still getting some breakouts. I was going to go back to the one cleanser that worked for me (even though it stung my eyes like crazy) only to find out they reformulated it. I ended up getting a 2-pack of bars after reading the reviews on here, and so far, so good. I've only been using it for about a week, but no new acne in that time plus it removes my MMU and mascara in one step. My one complaint is that it leaves my face a tiny bit tight/dry feeling. Since I've yet to find a moisturizer I wasn't sure how to fix this. Today I tried just a couple spritzes of rosewater which I normally use for applying and setting my MMU and it seems to have taken away that tight feeling. The only other thing that has me concerned is exfoliation. I'm thinking I'll end up doing yogurt masks a couple times a week to take care of this, but I want to wait awhile longer before adding those. I'd like to get at least two straight weeks of nothing but the Dove. A few other things I really like: Doesn't sting my eyes even when removing eye makeup Controls oiliness without being overly drying Doesn't cause redness or irritation Right now I'm going to give this a 5 and update if anything changes.
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Mascara -Maybelline - Volum' Express One by One
rocksmom 10/14/2011 6:11:00 PM
I really hate this mascara. The enormous brush is a pain and all it does to my lashes is make them look really sparse. No volume, length, curl, anything. When I apply it to one eye and look in the mirror I can't see any positive difference, it just looks like I have fewer lashes! I usually use Nyx Doll Eye, but I ran out and missed cherryculture.com's 25% off sale so I figured I would try something from the store. Big mistake. I now have two of these because they were having a BOGO 50% off sale and mascara was all I needed. The unopened one will be going up for swap!
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Foundations -Cover Girl - Natureluxe Liquid Silk Foundation 
rocksmom 10/7/2011 5:50:00 PM
This foundation is very "meh" for me. I don't hate it like I have with some, but it's definitely not a keeper. It looks pretty good when it first goes on and I get some good coverage from it, but I found that on me it oxidizes really badly. I started looking very orange not long after application. Plus I do tend to get oily and this stuff just slid right off my skin. I got that gross, greasy look and lost a lot of the coverage I had after the initial application. I'll use up the tube I have since noone has my shade (alabaster) on their wishlist, but I won't buy it again. I should add that I'm used to wearing a powder foundation. I love Meow Cosmetics, but sometimes I just get sick of applying a powder foundation and try out a liquid. It's yet to work out. UPDATE: I've worn this foundation a few more times and have upgraded it from a 2 to a 3. I'm still not in love with it, but I've figured out how it works best for me. First I apply with a damp sponge (beauty blender) in a dabbing motion. Next I set it with more powder than I would ever normally use (Meow's Top Cat). Finally I spritz my face all over which takes away any powdery/cakey looking spots. This sets it pretty well, but I still have issues with oxidization and clinging. I will say I might repurchase this someday if the right deal comes along, but I'm not giving up my Meow any time soon.
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Hair -Sacha Cosmetics - Sally - Hair One Hair Cleanser and Conditioner
rocksmom 8/9/2011 2:46:00 AM
I really wanted to love this product but the results were pretty bad. I bought the jojoba variety for color treated hair and followed the directions exactly. Pros: -I liked the smell. A little minty, a little earthy. I much preferred it to all the fake fruity scents out there. -Pretty moisturizing. It helped calm my curly/wavy hair. Cons: -Price. I know this is way cheaper then Wen, but it's still just a conditioner. There are tons of others out there for less. -Left my roots looking dirty the same day I washed. Not terrible greasy, but not clean either. -Canopy frizz. Little hairs started poking up as the day went on. I'm guessing from all the glycerin. -Tons of shedding. This was the real deal breaker for me. I had every intention of using the entire bottle of this before making up my mind, but on only the second washing I was shedding way more than normal. I don't know if it's an ingredient or all the manipulation from the way you're supposed to use it or what. Since I'm already paranoid about my hairline being too thin I'm not about to take any chances. -Packaging. I hadn't planned on adding this, but I think it deserves mentioning. The bottle is opaque so you can't see how much you have left and the pump dispenses way too little product. Two or three big pumps would certainly be nicer than 10 tiny ones.
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Styling Products -Kinky Curly - Curling Custard
rocksmom 8/3/2011 2:10:00 PM
This stuff really smells good and I found it easy to distribute in wet hair. It also kept away frizz. My problem with it is it made my curls about the size of spaghetti and left my hair really crunchy. It looked like what I imagine a giant handful of that really cheap blue gel would do to it. The ingredients are great so I might try to use less in wetter hair, but right now I'm over the whole heavy, crunchy, curly hair thing with the summer heat. I'll have to pull this out again in the fall and update then if I have any success. Even if it does work I'm not sure I would repurchase with the hefty $18 price tag. My hair would have to look darn good.
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Conditioner -Giovanni - triple treat tea tree conditioner
rocksmom 8/3/2011 2:03:00 PM
I've seen a lot of people on the curly hair forums really like this as a co wash, so when I finally saw the big bottles of it at a TJMaxx I decided to buy two. Silly me. This stuff dried my hair out terribly. It also left some sort of film or something on it so that trying to use a heavier conditioner after it was pointless. I'm still giving it three lippies because the stuff smells amazing and my scalp loved it. I would definitely keep using it if I could. I gave it 3 lippies for price because I know most people buy it in the small bottles for ~$8. I was able to find the liter bottle $13 which is pretty cheap. The bottle is a lot nicer too since it's a pump instead of those funny rectangular ones. I would definitely recommend checking you local TJMaxx/Marshall's/Ross. It's hit and miss, but worth it for the price and bottle.
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Conditioner -Unlisted Brand - Generic Value Products-Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Special Conditioner
rocksmom 7/6/2011 4:10:00 AM
I've used the "real" Tea Tree Special line before and really liked it. I only quit because I wanted to stop using sulfates. I bought this today to try as a CO wash since you have to use a lot and the regular stuff is so expensive. It did not work out. My hair was a frizzy, flyaway mess. It wasn't moisturized at all either. I wouldn't say it felt like straw, but it definitely wasn't soft. The smell wasn't the same as the PM one either. This one has a very strong Tea Tree scent, while I only ever noticed mint with the PM. This was my first time buying a GVP products and since it was such a miss, I really doubt I'll risk trying any of their other products.
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Blush -Meow Cosmetics - Mineral Blush
rocksmom 4/5/2011 7:56:00 PM
I bought two full size blushes recently and LOVE them. They're both from the new Pink Inc. collection. The first is "Cadillac" which is my favorite blush I've ever tried. It's a bright neutral pink that, when applied lightly, give a very natural flush of color. I'd been looking for a color like this for awhile. I'd ordered several from EDM that looked bright pink on their website but would end up being very muted when they arrived. The other one I ordered is "Flamingo." The color is actually pretty similar to Cadillac but with a warm, peachy undertone. In the jar these look like they have quite a bit of shimmer, but once applied I don't find that to be the case at all. They're not completely matte, but certainly not glittery by any stretch of the imagination. I'm not sure if these are LE or not, but if I find out they are I'm going to buy another full size jar of Cadillac. While I always liked the idea of blush I never actually wore it on a regular basis until I got this one, and now I don't want to be without it!
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Cleansers -Jason Natural Cosmetics - jason super-c cleanser with Ester-c Perfect Solutions
rocksmom 3/26/2011 3:31:00 AM
I don't think this is a terrible cleanser, but it didn't work for me. I'd read the great reviews on here and had good luck with another Jason product (which I'd probably still be using if it didn't burn my eyes like crazy) so I was excited to try this one out. I even got a foaming dispenser to put it in because I'd read about it being very thin in consistency. It actually felt nice on my face. It was smooth and silky feeling and the smell was okay. Straight out of the bottle it reminds me of those cheap vitamin c drops, but after awhile the scent mellows out and it's more a basic orange. It didn't seem to dry my skin out either. Unfortunately it did leave it all red and splotchy. It didn't burn or itch like I've experienced with other products, but it looked absolutely terrible. A quick yogurt mask was able to take away most of the redness. I won't be using the cleanser again.
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