Treatments -Garnier - Sleek and Shine Moroccan Sleek Oil Treatment
shiningshdw 7/23/2012 1:37:00 AM
First of all, as is important with any review...this isn't going to work for everyone so I'm going to start by describing what kind of hair I have. I have thick hair Asian hair that is a little wavy. It gets very oily at the roots but the ends can get quite dry so the ends can get a little puffy (I usually say frizzy but I think...puffy is the best way to describe it. haha) So that's out of the way. I love my hair shiny and smooth. I usually use the Citre Shine serum, which I love. I had heard about the Moroccan Oil and argan oil hype but could never justify spending that much on hair products. I did some research and Moroccan Oil is not pure argan oil, it is argan oil WITH silicones in it. This product is the same. It may have a little less argan oil, I mean you get what you pay for, but it works well for me. My hair actually reacts quite well to silicones (I don't know why). But I use it when my hair is half dry and my hair is left soft and shiny. My only complaint is the packaging. Since it's so liquidy, I feel like I always pour out a little more than I need. I think a little pump would have been nice. Otherwise, great product.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Urban Decay - Naked 2 Palette
shiningshdw 7/23/2012 1:18:00 AM
Like a lot of other people, I lusted after a Naked palette for a long time. When it came time to pull the trigger, I had to decide whether to get the original or Naked2 palette. I chose the Naked2 because it has cooler shades and more taupe-y shades that I prefer to the warmer coppery shades that are in the original Naked palette. First of all, I definitely prefer the packaging of the Naked2. The metal case reminds me of a pencil case and is nice and sturdy. The eyeshadows themselves are absolutely glorious. They're so pigmented and creamy. The glittery colors do have some fallout but still pretty. I like that there's a matte back as well. This was really my first foray into non-drugstore eyeshadows and I can't go back. I still buy drugstore eyeshadows but they just don't compare. Nothing I've tried is as pigmented and creamy. The lipgloss that comes with the palette is nice. I'm not a huge fan of lipglosses in general so I could have done without it but I like the cool silicone-y tip. My least favorite thing about the palette is the brush. The blending side is too long and sparse to be of much use. The flat end is okay but not my favorite for putting on powder shadows. I think I would have much preferred an eyeliner and/or primer potion like with the original Naked palette. Overall, I think this is definitely worth the money. $50 for 12 shadows is about $4 a shadow. Single eyeshadows at the drugstore can easily cost the same amount and while you may get a little more product, it's rarely of as nice quality.
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Eye Shadow -Lancome - Colour Focus - Prop
shiningshdw 10/7/2011 12:16:00 AM
I got this eyeshadow as part of a quad that came in one of those gift with purchase sets a LONG time ago. It was kind of forgotten during college when I didn't have as much time to do my makeup. Now that I'm working and doing my makeup everyday, this eyeshadow is a so great. It's really the perfect neutral color. It makes you look put together but not too made up. I use any dark. It lasts all day, the pigmentation is great, and there's no fallout. Sadly, I don't think they make this color anymore. I'll definitely be looking for a dupe once my little bit of it runs out!
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Shampoo -Suave - Daily Clarifying Shampoo
shiningshdw 7/17/2011 8:11:00 PM
I always re-buy this. I'll go and try new shampoos once in awhile but then when I go back to the store and can't decide what to get, I get this. You can't beat it. It's so cheap! I can understand why some would find it drying. But my hair is a mix. It gets very oily and greasy really quickly but since I blow dry and use a flat iron regularly, my ends are dry. I don't use this on the ends of my hair. I actually don't shampoo the ends, just condition. But seriously, what is there to lose with this shampoo? It's cheap. It works. It doesn't smell too bad either.
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Shampoo -Garnier - Pure-Clean
shiningshdw 7/17/2011 8:07:00 PM
I have hair that gets oily extremely fast. It's greasy after sleeping on it, and if I'm studying hard and don't have time to wash my hair for more than a day, forget it, complete greaseball. Gross, I know. So in general, I only buy shampoos that are clear. But that being said, this shampoo is no good for clarifying. Using it after one of those really greasy/sweaty days, my hair smells clean but my scalp doesn't feel clean. It's itchy and still feels oily. BUT, this shampoo is fine if I use it on a regular basis. I LOVE the smell. I think it's because it reminds me of another shampoo, but I can't think of it...I'll continue to use the massive bottle I bought, as long as I don't miss a day of shampooing, but I won't be buying it again, since there are shampoos that work better. Honestly, for those with oily hair, the best thing I've tried (for the price) is Suave. No joke.
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Makeup Brushes -Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman - Brush Collection - Eyes Starter Set
shiningshdw 7/17/2011 7:57:00 PM
Great quality. They don't shed. I have to admit the white tips kind of bug me since they make your brush seem dirty really fast, which makes me wash my brushes more often. That's not necessarily a bad thing, I guess. But through all the washing, I've had no problems with shedding or anything. Super soft and easy to use. The eyeliner brush is a little thick, but still nice.
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Makeup Brushes -Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman - Brush Collection Core Collection
shiningshdw 7/17/2011 7:50:00 PM
Amazing. I think for those that follow Sam and Nic on youtube, it was a no-brainer to go and try these brushes. I bought them when they were buy one get one free at ULTA coupled with a coupon. So AMAZING deal. They'd be a good deal even without the sale. The foundation brush is a little small for applying foundation to the face but good for concealer in larger areas. The quality of the brushes is so good, especially for the price.
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Polishes -OPI - Funky Dunkey
shiningshdw 7/17/2011 7:42:00 PM
The first time I saw this color in the Shrek collection, I wanted it so badly but could not justify buying another expensive nail polish when I had so many polishes at home. That started my hunt for the perfect purple polish. I ended up getting 7 different purples. I love some of them but then I was at ulta with a coupon to use and saw this polish on sale! Meant to be, right? All that being said. This color may seem like "just purple" but it's really a very unique purple. Creamy, bright, grape-y purple. The formula with OPI's wider brush goes on like a dream. I love creamy colors but they're a problem if the formula is too transparent. That's not an issue with this polish. You could probably get away with one coat, two or three just ensures solid beautiful color. I also wear it with Sally Hansen Mega Shine top coat over it.
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Nails -Essie - Lapiz Of Luxury
shiningshdw 6/25/2011 1:02:00 AM
I LOVE this color so much. I kept seeing it in the store and finally caved and bought it. It was my first Essie nail polish and I honestly expected more. Maybe it's just me but it's so hard to get it even. The higher end nail polishes tend to be thinner formulas so it's not so much streaky as it is blotchy? It pools in some areas and some areas are left thin. I have only semi-successfully done a manicure with this polish. I've tried to do it again but it was so frustrating to use. I don't think I will be buying any more Essie polishes. I get much better results from my $2 Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Equate - Complete Beauty Lotion with SPF 15 - Sensitive Skin
shiningshdw 5/14/2011 1:54:00 AM
This product is a great everyday moisturizer. It moisturizes the right amount for my combination skin. The scent isn't strong. We all know that we need to put on sunblock everyday but who likes the feel of actual sunblock everyday? I put on some sunblock with higher SPF on especially sunny days. It's cheap, not irritating, and has sunblock. What more could you ask for?
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Cleansers -Equate - 3-1 Facial Cleansing Towelettes
shiningshdw 5/14/2011 1:47:00 AM
I saw that these wipes got good reviews on here so I bought them. It was $6 for a twin pack with 60 wipes each. Good deal? Seemed like it. But I was disappointed when I tried it. I have tried the Almay ones while staying over at a friend's house and they wiped my tinted moisturizer, eyeshadow, mascara, and everything else with little effort. And leave my skin feeling clean. These Equate wipes leave a strange residue on my skin, kind of oily. They also don't seem very efficient at removing makeup. I think it might be that the wipes are relatively dry. They're not wet enough to really remove everything. I feel like I have to really scrub and go over spots again and again to get everything off. Even then, when I use toner later on, I still get traces of makeup on the cotton ball. Eye makeup takes considerable effort to take off. And the last thing I want to do is to be rubbing at my eye area.
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Tinted Moisturizer -Neutrogena - Healthy Skin Enhancer SPF 20
shiningshdw 4/25/2011 10:58:00 PM
This isn't really based on very much long term use of the product but my general impressions, I guess. So I went to Sephora and tried the Sephora brand, Clinique, and Laura Mercier tinted moisturizers. Sephora one okay. Clinique one was good. Laura Mercier was just as good as people had raved about. But I really could not justify splashing out on any of them. So I decided to find a drugstore brand. Sadly, not very many brands actually make tinted moisturizers. I wanted fairly sheer coverage to cover up a bit of redness on my cheeks. That being said, this product is pretty good at doing what I want it to do. It's light and sheer, not heavy or cakey. It dries fairly matte which is good for oily skin, but it accentuates any dry spots on my combination skin so definitely moisturize before putting it on too. The color range is also fairly limited. I have medium Asian skin and am usually one of the middle shades in most color ranges (haven't been color matched at Mac, sorry), but I had to get the 2nd darkest color. *EDIT* I had to decrease my rating for the packaging. The product itself is still good. The packaging is just annoying. It's like others have said, the pump is annoying because it's inconsistent. One pump does not always give you the same amount of product. The cap also doesn't do much, so if you don't use it for more than a few days you get this little strip of drier product. Also, this product doesn't photograph very well, especially with flash. It's likely because of the sunscreen in it, but in normal outdoor lighting, it may look okay. But indoors, with a flash, it there's whitish cast.
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Polishes -Sephora - Sephora by OPI - Rumba Romance
shiningshdw 1/31/2011 6:28:00 PM
I bought this on sale for $5 a well. I LOVE it. I love this glitter formulation. I wish I bought the other glitter colors too! But it's actually a super fine glitter suspended in clear polish. The first coat is unimpressive, just some sparse glitter in clear polish. But put a 2nd or 3rd coat on and it's an amazing multi-dimensional metallic color. What's also wonderful about this polish is that it goes on beautifully. Since it's just pieces of glitter, there's none of the streaking that you have to worry about with a normal metallic polish. You get a perfect opaque, beautiful finish with no effort at all. The only con is that it's kind of a pain to take off.
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Mascara -Korres - Deep Colour Mascara - All
shiningshdw 1/31/2011 6:18:00 PM
I got this in a makeup set from Sephora, so it's a trial size but I love it. The fine brush allows you to build up the mascara without clumping. It also lengthens and volumizes very well, even with my short lashes. I'll definitely consider buying this again when I use up all my other mascaras. haha
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Mascara -Clinique - High Impact Mascara
shiningshdw 1/31/2011 6:14:00 PM
I've only ever gotten this as a sample, so I've never purchased the full size product. But while it has its flaws, it's my favorite mascara. It's liquid enough that it doesn't clump but it provides a good deal of volume and length for my short lashes. It does require a little fixing with a q-tip and a lash brush. Not my HG, but one of the best I've found.
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