Misc Beauty Tools -beautyblender - the sponge
tangerinna 5/12/2011 6:04:00 AM
I'm quite torn on this product. First and foremost, my foundation is absolutely flawless with practically no effort when I use this product. I've so far used it with MUFE HD, YSL Perfect Touch and Laura Mercier (wet/dry) Powder Foundation. With all 3, absolutely perfect looking face. The downside, I wind up using 2x the product that I normally do if I use my fingers (MUFE), brush (YSL) or a puff (LM). Now for the pointy part of the egg.... Concealer!!!!!!! ahhhhhh. I have a love / hate relationship with this necessary monster. My normal concealer (MUFE) has it's little plastic applicator which I'm used to, but when I need more coverage, I go for my Benefit Erase Paste which is anything but user friendly!!! With this concealer I always look, now matter how I apply it (warmed and thinned, fingers or brush), 10 years older by lunchtime. I gave it a go with the pointy end of the egg and OH MY!!!! Perfection! Honestly, I would give this product 6 lippies if I could if all that mattered was the end result of my foundation and concealer, but the amount of product wasted would bring my rating to a 3 (at most). I've gone with a 4 although I would buy it again. I definitely don't plan on using this every day, but for when I need to look extra perfect (photos, special evening), I will be using this!
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Liquid -Make Up For Ever - Mat Velvet PLUS Matifying Foundation
tangerinna 4/19/2011 3:06:00 AM
This is a very good, long wearing, medium to full coverage foundation that lasts me all day, controls oil and looks beautiful on. Personally, I don't like such heavy coverage for day time wear but for evenings (especially when there is drinking and dancing (and sweating) to be had!) and the last thing I want to worry about is touch ups, this is perfect. This is a fuller coverage than HD, so much so that I don't even need concealer (and I have pretty dark shadows under my eyes and in the corners by my nose). It sets beautifully with HD powder or is actually fine alone without being set. This hid my pore issues very well and didn't accentuate any fine lines while controling oil. Like I said above, for me it's too much for daytime but for evenings out it's great!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Foundations -Yves Saint Laurent - Perfect Touch Radiant Brush Foundation
tangerinna 4/19/2011 2:56:00 AM
For me, this is the perfect summertime foundation. The coverage is incredibly sheer and lightweight (will not cover pimples or discoloration) but Oh My!!! It instantly transforms my 35 year old skin with pore issues and the very slight beginnings of fine lines under my eyes in to a glowing, radiant, fresh faced girl. It's amazing how a foundation so sheer and light can instantly transform my skin. It feels like nothing on my skin and has the usual watermelon fragrance, which is a bit stronger than other YSL foundations... but it does go away after a minute or so. The brush I can definitely live without and you can get rid of it with a little brute force, but that isn't enough to keep me from this second skin. Will definitely be buying again. Oh and it kept my oil at bay all day, even while BBQing in the direct sun all afternoon. NC30 = color #6 NC35 = color #8 NC37 = color #9
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -Guerlain - Parure Extreme 
tangerinna 4/19/2011 2:48:00 AM
If you want a medium coverage foundation that will last all day, control oil and make your pores seem like canyons while not forgetting to accentuate every fine line you have (and some you didn't even know you had to start with), then this foundation is for you! I was really excited to try this as the girl in Sephora was RAVING about it (she was also 22 and didn't have a trace of fine lines and had the pores of a 8 year old). She gave me a very generous sample, enough for at least a week, if not more. I wore this for 3 consecutive days and each day was worse than the previous. 6:30 a.m. Upon first application, it was beautiful! Covered perfectly! I didn't even need to use a concealer under my eyes. I was glowing and radiant! 8:00 a.m. Arrived at work, OMG!!! I had all these crepey lines under my eyes (and no i didn't use too much at all! I was expecting to put concealer over it so I went very lightly). 10:00 a.m. Foundation had pooled in my laugh lines, and in the crease around my nostrils. Smudged it away and all was ok. 6:00 p.m. Got home from work. Foundation still going strong (coverage, color), but I looked 10 years older than I did in the morning. Tried it again the following 2 days, with / without a primer... different moisturizer after my shower... not a whole lot of difference unfortunately. End result. Not impressed. Will not purchase. Honestly, I still have at least 4-5 more applications in the sample and it's going in the trash. A definite shame as I love Guerlain products for the most part.
4 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -Yves Saint Laurent - TEINT RESIST Long Wear Transfer Resistant Foundation 
tangerinna 4/19/2011 2:37:00 AM
I am *really* disappointed in this product, especially from the good reviews I'm reading here. Pros: Medium coverage Hides pores decently Lasts all day (more than 16 hours!) Scent is ok (watermelon), much less than other YSL foundations and it wears off in less than a minute. Doesn't make my eyes tear up (my eyes are sensitive to fragrance). Cons: Not very buildable Fine lines will be more apparrant after a few hours. Oil will start to come through 1/2 way through the day. Color *WILL* transfer to clothes The price doesn't bother me but there are much better foundations out there!!! Reference, I used #9, I'm NC35/37 with a tan
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Powder -Laura Mercier - Foundation Powder
tangerinna 4/16/2011 7:19:00 AM
*Summertime HG * I adore this for many reasons: 1. It provides anywhere from light to full coverage depending on how you apply it. 2. It doesn't cake up and I can even brush some over concealer under my eyes and it looks good all day (I'm 35! ladies around my age know what I'm talking about here). 3. My skin looks absolutely perfect all day long (I put on my makeup at 6:30 a.m. and I only need a little touch up around my nose around 4:30 p.m.). 4. Doesn't dry me out and I don't get oily (both are problems for me in summer, thanks combination skin!). 5. Doesnt feel heavy like Studio Fix does in summer, no matter how much I use. 6. Lasts FOREVER! I really don't get how some people reviewing this say it only lasts a few weeks or a few months, maybe they are using a trowel to apply? I use mine every day from April through October and in 1 1/2 seasons (of 7 months each), I'm just about ready for a new one, that's 10 months!!! Color-wise... I use this when I have summer color and my MAC color in summer is NC35 (but in mid summer that's a little too light) and in this I use #6 and it's perfect for my tanned warm yellow/olive skin. More brownish than NC35, but same depth of color.
8 out of 8 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Cargo - Lash Activator
tangerinna 1/28/2011 11:27:00 AM
I got this 75% off at Sephora so I figured I'd try it out. Honestly, this reminds me of a thicker version of Maybelline Great Lash. Yes, it's very black (pro!), but it makes all of my lashes stick together and takes quite a while to dry. It does come out ok and if I put another mascara on top, my lashes look absolutely fantastic!!! But why go through all that bother when there are other mascaras out there that do all that in one tube, without all the extra work? I'd rather have one mascara make my lashes look great in one go, then have to use this, let it dry, come it through to un-stick my lashes, apply something else..... plus, it's a bit heavy so it does weigh lashes down. oh well. I definitely won't be repurchasing, but for 75% off I can make use of it once in a while.
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Fragrance -Lolita Lempicka - Au Masculin
tangerinna 1/25/2011 7:56:00 AM
My husband is on his third large bottle of this and I'll be the first at Sephora when he starts to run low. This is simply a gorgeous, manly, licorice-y, scent that makes me swoon. The dry down isn't too sweet or sharp and lasts and lasts. It's definitely unique enought that my girlfriends ask what is it that he wears so they can buy for their husbands and boyfriends. Have repurchased and plan to again!!!
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Self Tanners -Jergens - Natural Glow
tangerinna 1/22/2011 7:43:00 AM
This has got to be one of the worst products I've ever tried because of people 'raving' about it. I truly don't get it. The commercial says that a subtle glow will emerge after 4-5 days. Well let me tell you, after one application (and I'm not a moron, I can apply this stuff according to directions and of course I exfoliate before), within hours I had big bright orange splotchy things on my legs (I'm olive with yellow undertones). My legs had no tan to start with. I looked like I had some odd disease. I also used some on my arms and chest which already had nice brownish color.... they turned out brownish-orange. Ugggg! Don't waste your money on this garbage unless you want to look like a fake tanning reject. Oh.. and it leaves you sticky and stains towels too, blech. MUCH better products out there!!!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -DuWop - Lip Venom
tangerinna 1/22/2011 7:41:00 AM
I can't believe all the positive reviews on this product. I'm giving this 1 lippie simply because it does absolutely nothing aside from just being a clear gloss. My lips tingled for a whopping 15 seconds and I had absolutely no visible change in color, size or fullness of my lips. I may as well just buy a $0.99 clear gloss for that. There are much better (and better priced) lip-plumping products out there ::cough:: Too Faced's Lip Injection!!! ::cough::. This one was useless and overpriced, unfortunately.
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Lip Gloss -DuWop - Venom Flash in Gold
tangerinna 1/22/2011 7:40:00 AM
I can't believe all the positive reviews on this product. I'm giving this 1 lippie simply because it does absolutely nothing aside from just being a clear gloss. My lips tingled for a whopping 15 seconds and I had absolutely no visible change in color, size or fullness of my lips. I may as well just buy a $0.99 clear gloss for that. There are much better (and better priced) lip-plumping products out there ::cough:: Too Faced's Lip Injection!!! ::cough::. This one was useless and overpriced, unfortunately.
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Lip Treatments -Too Faced - Lip Injection
tangerinna 1/22/2011 7:38:00 AM
I've been using this on and off for over 5 years now and my opinion is the same, Great stuff! Let me start by saying that I don't have sensitive skin and my lips are average sized and nicely pigmented to begin with. When I use this, my lips tingle very much like my mouth does when chewing hot cinnamon gum. It doesn't burn or sting me, just tingles. After a minute or two my lips are definitely fuller and their color deepens to a darker rose color than usual. I have no complaints about this product except that I wish the effect lasted longer. I'm not one to constantly re-apply makeup all day, but I haven't heard of anything aside from actual injections (eek!) that last the whole day and night. I have, and will purchase again. Definitely not recommended for people with even the slightest case of sensitive skin, or who can't tolerate hot cinnamon or pepper.
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Eye Makeup Remover -Biotherm - Biocils Eye Makeup Remover Gel
tangerinna 1/22/2011 7:36:00 AM
I've been wanting to try this for a while now since I'm a big Biotherm skin care fan for quite a few years. I received a 1oz GWP of this and I'm pretty disappointed. It's a gel formula that like most others, needs to be put on a cotton pad and swiped across the eye area. It took a few passes to wipe my mascara (Biotherm, haha.. non-waterproof) off of my lashes, but it still left a bit here and there. It also didn't do much in the way of removing my eyeliner (also not waterproof). As others have said in their reviews, it's a nice gel that feels 'cool' on the skin, but that's about all. My eye makeup wasn't taken all the way off and it left my entire eye area feeling dry and tight (very odd for Biotherm!). The only plus that I can think of is that it didn't leave a greasy residue, and there was no heavy fragrance like a lot of removers have. I will not purchase and can not recommend.
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Mascara -Stila - Lash Visor (New- Fall 2004)
tangerinna 1/22/2011 7:34:00 AM
I've been using this since 2004 or 2005 and I can't believe how much I love this mascara! I've been a Dior Maximeyes fan for a long time and thought I'd never find anything comparable. Well, I did. not only is this mascara better than Maximeyes, it's less then 1/2 the price! For regular every day all I need is to curl my lashes and apply one coat. (I use 2 coats for a more dramatic evening look.) That's it. My lashes come out long, separated, defined and they stay curled all day and night until I remove my makeup. This has never flaked, smudged or given me spider lashes. I seriously can not say enough good things about this product. The one and only drawback is that it's not the easiest to remove. A good makeup remover is needed for this. ETA: Sephora Waterproof EyeMakeup Remover (not the FACE brand, but Sephora Collection) takes this off with ease!!!!!!!! (and it's cheap!)
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Mascara -Stila - Major Lash Mascara
tangerinna 1/22/2011 7:33:00 AM
This is a good, basic, every-day kind of mascara. It's not dramatic in the slightest, but the price is right ($9.50), it doesn't smudge or flake and it holds a curl pretty well considering it's a non-waterproof mascara. I consider this a step above drugstore, but not quite up to playing with the big gals in the Department Store. For a truly amazing Stila mascara, that also has an attractive price, try Major Lash's big sister Lash Visor!
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