Mascara -Ecco Bella - FlowerColor Natural Mascara
saintsvalentine 8/3/2010 10:34:00 AM
I bought this mascara in both brown and black, and both colors are really nice. This is my favorite mascara by a long shot. It not only lengthens and separates lashes, but I do get very good volume as well. It's nice and glossy, with minimal to zero clumping and flaking. It looks natural and soft, but can be built up to be more dramatic. Love the packaging. My search for the perfect mascara is over. I love this mascara.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Hair Color -Clairol - Nice n' Easy -new formula
saintsvalentine 7/28/2010 4:54:00 PM
My hair had faded to a light golden brown with coppery/orange tones that I just hated. I used this in light ash brown and left it on for 15 mintues. The color result was a dark chocolatey brown and it is indeed multi-tonal and looks very natural. I am very pleased. Usually when I try to acheive a dark natural or chocolate brown it either goes too dark to point where it looks black or looks too drab and flat, like you used shoe polish to dye your hair. This looks shiny, multi tonal, natural, and not too dark at all. My hair also doesn't feel any worse than before I colored it. It still feels silky and healthy, which surprises me because this hair color smells really, really bad. I will definitely use this again simply because the color looks so natural, and I'll keep using the ash tone to minimize orangey tones. I wouldn't leave it on more than 15 mintues though. I can imagine it would go really dark if you did. I wish I had tried this color a long time ago. A+
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Crème -Chantecaille - Future Skin
saintsvalentine 7/17/2010 9:50:00 PM
This is the best foundation I've ever used but I still use studio fix over it. It is best for very dry skins, in my opinion. I have tried using my favorite mattifying lush moisturizer with this (minimal oil content) but it always looks luminous, which is nice, but I feel like it makes my skin look oily. So I blot over it with studio fix powder. I guess I wish this foundation had a more normal or matte appearance. I have dark undereye circles, redness, and acne scars, so I like to use makeup that can soften your imperfections and create a nicer skintone/more even, less blotchy, and so on. I can use this alone, and my skin looks better than ever, but very luminous! Why I like this makeup: 1. Matches my skin tone. I have hard to match pale neutral skin tone. Other colors are too yellow, too pink, or too dark. I got this in Alabaster and it's matches perfectly. Online it looks like Alabaster would be a fair pink shade, but it's actually a pale neutral (neither too yellow nor too pink). 2. I'm glad this is oil-free, though it feels like it does have oils in it; it's very emollient. I actually apply a single layer all over, then dab more foundation over the areas I would normally use concealer, even under my eyes. Once it dries, it stays put pretty well in some areas, other areas need touching up. 3. This makeup costs a lot, but you get a lot in a full-sized jar. I imagine a pot could last you a really, really long time. I only use on sections of my face: forehead, around nose, cheeks, chin, and only use small dabs of it, then apply more as needed. Amazingly, this provides sheer to full coverage. I like using my fingers to apply rather than a brush. CONS: this may cause serious breakouts if it isn't washed off throughly before bedtime. I've had some minor bumps and blemishes since using this, hopefully it won't get worse or it's something else causing breakouts.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Deodorants -Dove - Clinical Protection
saintsvalentine 7/17/2010 9:16:00 PM
I just got Dove CP in the wild rose scent. This is my new favorite deodorant. It's better than anything I've ever used for protection against odor, and it smells really nice in my opinion. My favorite deodorant would be Tom's of Maine Lavender but it really doesn't prevent odors very well. Now I don't know what do with the extra tubes of the old dove deo I have. This is way better than the origional dove deodorants. I also like that it goes on silky smooth, like a lotion, instead of being like a thick, chalky paste.
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Moisturizers -LUSH - Skin Nanny
saintsvalentine 6/29/2010 11:24:00 AM
I bought this to use as a night cream and used to use vanishing cream during the day. Now I use this during the day and vanishing cream at night.. It smells wonderfully floral and feels a bit like vaseline. During the day, I apply it sparingly and massage it in really well. Then I let it absorb for about 10 minutes or so. My foundation and concealor go on great over this. It's the best primer i've ever used. It doesn't feel heavy or greasy at all. If you don't overdo it and let it sink in a while, your skin will feel soft and supple, not greasy (unless maybe you have very oily skin to begin with). I have combination skin. Oily forehead, dry around nose, sometimes drier in other parts/flaky due to use of proactive. I've also tried Gorgeous, but the only thing I liked about it was the smell. This has not caused me to break out. I also use this over my regular eye cream, and it moisturizes better than anything else I've ever tried. I do use concealer, a light foundation , and then a light dusting of studio fix powder. I order this from the UK, where it's drastically cheaper. Best moisturizer/spf/primer I've ever used. I have really seen a difference in the overall tone and texture of my skin, and my eye area looks better as well. Many people say this is only for people with very dry skin, but I disagree. Perhaps if you don't wear makeup or powder this could feel a bit oily on already oily skin. Great product, great company, great ingredients!
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Tinted Moisturizer -LUSH - Colour Supplement
saintsvalentine 6/25/2010 9:04:00 PM
Light yellow is an excellent color match for nc15 skin tones, but this always pills or balls up on my skin after I apply it over my moisturizer. No other makeup I own does this, so I'm not sure what the problem is.
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Shampoo -Wen by Chaz Dean - Cleansing Conditioners - All
saintsvalentine 6/14/2010 11:04:00 AM
I have tried the lavender, fig, and tea tree. My hair is very damaged from hair color, and it is very thick. Prior to using this I always used Redkin So Soft shampoo and conditioner, which were okay. I've been using wen for about 3 months now. My hair has felt heavy and damaged, but I figured it was because I had not had a haircut in a while. I got my hair cut, had it shampooed and blown dry. My hair felt really great. The next time I used wen, my hair went back to feeling dry, damaged, and heavy. The hairdresser didn't do anything special to my hair, nothing I don't already do. I use a ion round brush and a ion hair dryer. I really think it's the wen that makes my hair feel so dull and dry instead of soft and silky. The hairdresser recommended I use tea tree and lavender shampoo (moisturizing with benefits to the scalp) with a joico conditioner. these are the products she used on me and my hair felt amazing. I used up the wen, but I will not repurchase.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Laura Mercier - Wild Bouquet
saintsvalentine 6/10/2010 8:07:00 PM
I normally use an old color by Lancome called "cedar rose." The color of this blush is similiar, but even nicer. It's a brownish-rose that is pretty light. The powder itself is easier to apply - it's softer and adheres to brush with just one or two dabs, and blends easily. I feel it's more natural looking than any other blush I've tried. I have pale caucasion skin with warm, golden undertones. Very happy with the color and quality of this blush. It's expensive for the amount you get, imo, but I like the small compact. It's the perfect "blushing" shade for those who feel that a normal pink shade might not look right with their skin tone. (pink looks clownish on me because I am so pale. the brownish rose looks a lot more subtle - like a natural glow).
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Hair Color -Clairol - Nice 'n Easy Perfect 10 
saintsvalentine 5/18/2010 9:25:00 PM
I really like this haircolor so far. I'm a little worried about fading though, since a lot of reviews state that this color fades very quickly. I used light golden brown over blonde hair. I left it in for about 12 minutes, and the color took very well. It came out a medium reddish-brown, not a golden brown for me. There were places where my hair was very dry and damaged (the ends), and the color didn't take as much, so I dyed it again with the same color a few days later and left it on for 15 minutes. It went a little darker, but still looks natural and shiny. I used to use Preference in various golden shades, but got tired of the color always going way too dark (almost black), then taking about 2-3 weeks to fade to a more acceptable color.The formula doesn't smell very strongly and doesn't burn my scalp the way preference always did. I also really like the consistency of the formula. It's like a thin shampoo, but lathers and blends very easily and doesn't drip. Easier to blend than preference -- it's more like excellence cream. Depending on how my hair looks in a couple of weeks, I would use this again. UPDATE: I decided I didn't like how red this came out after all. It's very very red, not at all like the color on the box. This color may as well have been called "brownish-red."
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Moisturizers -LUSH - Gorgeous
saintsvalentine 4/2/2010 1:01:00 PM
Smells gorgeous, but didn't do anything special for my skin. I like skin nanny and vanishing cream the best of all lush moisturizers.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Skincare - Face -Pro Activ - 3-Step System
saintsvalentine 11/30/2009 8:36:00 PM
I used these products in college about ten years ago and I believe they worked well for me. I eventually stopped using the system because my skin was clear and probably because the system is expensive. For the past 2 years my skin has been breaking out like crazy. Lots and lots of breakouts all the time. I started taking Doxycycline, had my copper iud removed,(got even worse after i took ortho tri cyclen). It got a little better in time, but I still break out more often than I'd like. I did try proactive again about a year ago, but didn't like it. It made my skin very dry and flaky. Eventually, I realized that I wasn't using a good moisturizer. I tried this system again using Lush's vanishing cream as a moisturizer with this. It's been a little less than a week, but no signs of dry skin. No tightness or redness or flaking. My acne has improved overall with the exception of one very stubborn spot I don't ever use the spot treatment, I hate it. I took a lippie off for tendency to dry skin and for the horrible generic packaging. I'm tempted to remove another lippie because it is expensive, but if it continues to help me, I guess it's worth it. I'm satisfied with the overall condition of my skin since using this. It seems smoother, softer, and the acne is healing much, much faster. UPDATE: still using the system. works great. i would highly recommend this system with a GOOD moisturizer, not the crap they sell. well, i don't know, maybe the tea tree one is good. I'm partial to LUSH. I also use their Gorgeous moisturizer, and i love it as much as vanishing cream. A really good moisturizer makes a WORLD of difference if you have problem skin.
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Skincare - Face -Clinique - 3 Step System
saintsvalentine 10/5/2009 11:19:00 AM
I had been using the OCM to clean my face. I use a mixture of olive and castor oil. My skin was clear until I started using coconut oil to moisturize. I started getting some minor spots here and there, so I thought I would try the clinique system just to see if it worked. I got the mild liquid cleanser, the mild clarifying lotion, and the DDML. Normally my skin is mostly oily with dry spots here and there, but my main skin concern is acne. I used these products, and nothing else, for two days. On the morning of the third day, I had 5 new pimples around my mouth, 2 on my cheeks, and three on my forehead! And it got worse from there. My skin hurt and the pimples were very inflamed. I stopped using the clinique products and went back to using only olive and castor oil. The next day my skin looked better. the inflamation went down and the pimples that seemed to be very angry the day before appeared to be healing up. I know people say when you start something new there may be an initial breakout, but this was really horrible, and in my experience, initial breakouts should not be this bad. for me, if I try something that proves to work well in the long run, it usually doesn't cause a horrible outbreak. Maybe just a few small spots here and there that quickly come and go. not like, severe acne that takes weeks to heal up or never heals at all while you continue whatever it is that you are using. I will not try these products again. Maybe it was just one ingredient in one product, but who knows? not for me.
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Concealers -Lancome - Maquicomplet (Complete Coverage Concealer)
saintsvalentine 9/20/2009 11:14:00 AM
I like this concealer better than Double Wear concealer or any bobbi brown concealer. What I love about it is the color. I have it in the lightest shade, and it's a perfect neutral. DW and bobbi brown's are too pink. This is neither too pink or too yellow. I also find it concealers better than either of those. With DW, surprisingly, I found I have to layer it on a lot. I don't have to do that with this. Just a dab or two is enough. Normally I don't use anything by Lancome, but this product is very good.
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Pressed Powders -Cover FX - Cover FX - Matte FX
saintsvalentine 9/18/2009 2:12:00 PM
I wear this over the Coverfx cream foundation. I like it because I have never been able to find a powder that didn't look too pink or too dark against my pale skin. This one, in Light, is the perfect pale neutral shade. Not too pink or yellow or dark. Before I found this I was using a transparent (white) loose powder by cinema secrets, but I wanted a compact powder. Provides no coverage, but I just wanted this to set my foundation. Overall, I like the color, but I don't like how difficult it is to sweep the powder onto the brush. I feel like with some powders you barely have to touch the brush onto the powder to pick it up, but with this I have to work to get any powder onto the brush. I tried using my finger, and barely any powder went onto my finger. It's like it's too dense in the compact or something. Or like it got wet and dried and now you can't pick up any powder (that didn't happen though). I tried using different brushes, all with the same results. Very little powder will pick up. Too much work! Will return and keep searching for a good compact powder.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Scrubs -LUSH - Ocean Salt
saintsvalentine 8/24/2009 8:24:00 PM
So far I absolutely love this scrub. I've had bad results with every scrub I've ever tried, including st ives, one by avalon organics, kiss my face, and some others i'm sure. But so far this one really does seem to be helping my acne. It's fun to use as well. The sea salt sits on top of the blue cream, and it's very pretty. It is pretty abrasive; my skin actually stings a bit when I use this. The smell is pleasant, and overall it's a pleasurable experience. Some of the chunks of salt are big, but you can easily crush them between your fingers as you're using it. I use this after removing makeup with ultrabland. It's a scrub, but my skin is ultra soft after use. I use this twice a day. I definitely enjoy using it and my skin has responded well. Feels amazing after use: extremely soft and smooth. A small pot of this will last a long time, you don't need much. Very glad I decided to try this. UPDATE: my skin has been breaking out a lot more since using this, and i've grown tired of using salt on my face. seems wrong somehow. oh well.
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