Loose Powders -E.L.F. - Studio High Definition Powder
timothybcat 5/22/2013 2:24:00 AM
This quality of this powder is stellar! I hate to use powders because I can't stand the look of the super-matte skin, especially as I'm fair-skinned and think it just makes me look artificial in a weird porcelain-doll way. I have combo skin with an oily t-zone, and sweat like crazy at the slightest hint of humidity, so I absolutely have to set my foundation when it starts to get warm outside. I've been compromising by only powdering my t-zone, but most powders are still too heavy. Be careful when you open the product for the first time. I took the advice of the previous reviewers, and instead of completely peeling off the clear sticker that covers the holes in the sifter, left it intact and used a pin to poke holes little by little until it dispensed the amount I was happy with into the lid. I'd say I only use about half the holes. Any more and it would probably make a mess and waste a lot of product. The jar itself is a little clunky but you do get a lot of product. I've had mine for about a year and don't even know if I've used half. Every "translucent" powder I had ever tried before looked flesh-toned in the pan/jar, but chalky on the skin. This is the opposite. It appears white, but goes on with no color at all. You never see "powder," and it doesn't make my skin appear flat and lifeless like most powders. I've used several different brushes: EcoTools Blush brush, ELF Powder Brush, one or two different Sigma brushes and the result is always consistent. I do wish the light mattifying effect lasted a bit longer (about an hour in humidity) but that applies to any powder. I'm taking off a star for that and half a star for the chunky, awkward jar. But the powder inside is a rock star.
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Lip Treatments -eos - Lip Balm Sphere - Strawberry Sorbet
timothybcat 5/17/2013 2:44:00 PM
I've wanted one of the eos lip balms for sooo long because they are just so darned cute! I finally just had to get one. The scent is a very non-realistic strawberry, but not in a bad way. It's not a very potent, so it probably won't affect you unless you are very sensitive to fragrance of any kind. If your lips aren't really really dry, and you don't care about sunscreen, then I see no problem with this balm at all. I just wouldn't make this my number one (or even my number four) lip balm, and I find myself reaching for it more for the gorgeous packaging and color than anything else. I reach for my Blistex Deep Renewal to do the heavy lifting. I will say this: It's got a nice consistency that glides on in a thin layer and therefore makes a GREAT lip primer. A couple of my MAC Satins and Mattes tend to skip because they are so full of pigment, so this allows this to go on smooth and stay put because it's not too heavy. I might buy one of these again for that reason, but I wouldn't get this scent again.
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Eyes -Cover Girl - Eye Enhancers Trio-Golden Sunset
timothybcat 5/3/2013 3:00:00 AM
Why do I have all these delicious products just waiting to be discovered in my own stash? Guess I have too much makeup. Just rediscovered this out again today. I have no idea when I bought it, how long I've had it, why I never wore it, especially as it's AWESOME. It was about the easiest, quickest eyeshadow look I've ever done, as all three colors coordinate and blend so easily. The all over lid color is a golden bronze; the crease color is a warm medium brown that seems to have just a hint of mauve; the highlight color is a pale pearl. None of them sound very special but the quality is outstanding. All 3 colors were true to pan and coordinated just right. It took me about 60 seconds to do the whole thing. I'm especially impressed with the highlight color as it wasn't too shimmery and actually very pigmented for such a pale color. The shadows didn't crease or fade and this was WITHOUT a primer. It's hard to find even an expensive trio where all the shades hit it out of the park. This one was four bucks. Go figure.
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Lip Treatments -Blistex - Deep Renewal
timothybcat 4/29/2013 12:33:00 AM
This stuff is GREAT. You don't see many drug store lip balms with ingredients like CoQ10 and SPF 15, especially at this price. It's smooth and non-greasy. It's sweet but to me the taste is really just like plain white sugar: very neutral and unobtrusive. The product is off white but goes on clear. I believe Blistex claims that this will make your lips bigger. And for me it has. However, let me explain: my lips have just been dry dry dry from wearing nothing but lipstick all winter and they were just constantly shriveled from being dehydrated. I think using Deep Renewal several times throughout the day has held the moisture in my lips, and maybe benefitted them to some degree with the CoQ10. I don't for a second believe that it actually enlarged my lips. More like it just made them healthy, smooth and plump again. (Or at least as plump as my lips are ever gonna get :- {} ) It's just the most effective balm I've used to date, and that's partly because it's just feels so good. I hate when you feel like you just have tons of glop on your lips and have to be careful you don't touch your lips and get your hair in it. It doesn't call attention to itself and goes great under other products. When a product works great, but I just hate the way it feels, it ultimately doesn't matter how much good it does for me; I'll just stop using it sooner or later. But when something is a pleasure to use it just makes it that much better. Thank you, Blistex!
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Lipstick -Maybelline - Color Whisper in Pin Up Peach
timothybcat 4/29/2013 12:19:00 AM
This is my 3rd Color Whisper because these are just so amazingly comfortable. I like that they feel creamy but not heavy. I find that while they feel nice and soothing while you're wearing them, they don't alleviate any dryness on my lips. If you generally get chapped lips, you'll still be needing a balm under this. Pin Up Peach is a sheer lipstick in a straightforward but gorgeous shade of peach. Sometimes peach lipsticks can be too chalky, too orange, whatever. This is so ridiculously flattering, it's just got to be one of the most universally flattering lip colors I've ever seen. Just a bit about the packaging: while all the Color Whispers have different colored caps, the outside is absolutely no indicator of the color of the product itself. For example, the cap on Pin Up Peach is a transparent watermelon pink. Don't worry, it's warmer than that color. And these don't come sealed! So while you're able to actually check the color in the tube before you buy, I find that is so unsanitary. I know it's drug store makeup, but why on earth would Maybelline completely mislead people with the color of the cap, and then to not seal the product!? Bad, Maybelline! Bad!
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Primer/ Corrector -Yves Saint Laurent - Touche Eclat (Radiant Touch)
timothybcat 4/18/2013 2:29:00 AM
I drank the Touche �clat Kool-Aid, ladies. This is a product that was on my makeup bucket list, and on a visit to Vegas I promised myself I'd splurge on an item from that list. Well, Guerlain Meteorites didn't make the cut (too sparkly!), but Touche �clat did. (For reference, my undereyes are normal skin type, with a few very fine lines that this doesn't emphasize.) Being fair (NW15-20) and having dark purple eye circles, I bought shade 01 Luminous Radiance, which is a pale salmon color. I use it strictly to lighten along the inner corners of my undereyes and along the nose just by the eye area; then also at the outer corners to camouflage the shadows there. The pale pink color is like an eraser to all those bluish or shadowy areas. I was also shocked by how long it lasted. I don't exactly consider this a concealer, per se. I also don't use it as a highlighter. It's more of a specialty item, an undereye brightener/corrector. I don't think I would use it for anything else, as it has a very thin consistency, and the color really wouldn't work. I wouldn't use it to hide pimples or redness or brown spots. Heck, I don't know if I'd even use it to hide brown circles. I can only speak for shade 01 and my specific problems and skin tone. There are 11 other colors to choose from at Sephora, so maybe those might work better as light concealers. The packaging, while pretty, is also not my favorite. There's no way I'll be able to tell when it's running out, as it's a solid gold pen. I do like the idea of a pen, and the applicator brush so you can control where it goes, but I still had to use my fingers to blend. You only get 0.1 oz for $40.00, which is crazy. I'll see how long it takes to use it up before I decide to buy another, so I can really consider what I'm getting for my money. I'd definitely buy it again (and have one for my purse as well) if cost wasn't a concern. It really is an amazing product for specific problems. UPDATE 5/17/2013: I'm bumping this up from four to five stars because the more I use it, the more I love it. The clincher? I work in retail, and walk and sweat and lift and bend all day and this stuff is there HOURS later. I look in the mirror later in the day/evening and I can't tell you how SHOCKED how good I look because my worst feature (dark blue undereyes) is still concealed. I have the type of skin where almost nothing lasts more than a few hours. This is an absolute workhorse. HG!!!
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Blush -Sleek - Blush by 3 Sugar
timothybcat 4/12/2013 12:49:00 AM
I can't believe no one's reviewed this product before! I can't believe I'VE never reviewed this before. Peeps, this is one of the most amazing products I have in my makeup arsenal. (Which is considerable, believe you me.) All 3 shades are extremely pigmented. If you're light-to-medium be careful when you're using your brush. The exception is Turbinado, which is less pigmented than the other two, but that comes down to the fact that it's simply a much lighter color. Compared to similar blush colors, it's still got great pigmentation. None of the shades got messy or powdery in the pan. Staying power is average. You get 20 grams (!) of product for $12.49. Crazy. All 3 of the shades are gorgeous and rather dark on my pasty white face, which has pink undertones. I don't normally wear any colors even close to these in depth, but I had to have them when I saw a swatch of Muscovado (more on that later). I don't care. I'm a grown woman and if I want to wear blush that's too dark I will, damnit. I will say this in my defense because my face is so red, when I use orange-y tones, it counters that pinkness. If I'm careful and blend well, these still work. Okay, so I knowingly overapply Muscovado, but that's because I love it more than my dignity. But being a grownup means you can vote, drink, leave the refrigerator door open and wear too much blush. You're welcome, MUA. First is Demerara, which is a dark rose color. If you look closely there's microshimmer, but this doesn't show up when applied or swatched. What I get is a nice Satin finish. It's pigmented and true to pan in color. Stunning. The middle shade, Muscovado, is my favorite. I love it so much I just can't even tell you. It's got a color base similar to Demerara but the finish is completely different. Muscovado is shimmery enough to be almost a straight-up metallic bronze with a rose undertone. Again, when I apply it the glitter (which can look scary in the pan if you're at all glitter-averse, you poor thing) doesn't show at all. This is probably the most unique blush shade I've ever seen. It's probably my fave blush of all time, even though it's definitely not an everyday blush for me. I get jealous thinking how this would look on olive to ebony skin tones. Seriously. I hate just thinking about it I'm so jealous. The last color is the most tame everyday color, a straight up peach. The finish is almost matte but there is still some satiny texture, which I like better than true mattes. So, just overall a truly stellar product. This is a must-have if you're dark-skinned. And if you're fair-skinned like me, get it anyway. Just do it. I promise we won't judge.
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Makeup Brushes -Sigma - F80 Flat Top Synthetic Kabuki (was SS197)
timothybcat 3/21/2013 11:19:00 PM
I'm surprised to discover that Sigma recommends this brush for cream and liquid products, and the F82 for minerals products; for me, I'd make the opposite recommendation. The F82 feels just slightly denser, which means it applies powders more heavily and therefore makes mineral makeup (which can look cakey anyway) look cakey. So I use the F82 for my liquid foundations, and the F80 flat-top kabuki for my Pur Minerals compact foundation. It picks up just the right amount of product so I get a flawless application without having to either A: buff and buff because I applied too much and it looks cakey, or B: go back and forth to the compact 20 times to get my entire face done. These brushes are so incredibly soft and the individual fibers feel very silky. If you have dry patches the buffing brushes might not be for you because the can cause microexfoliation and make dry skin look more flaky. I bought the F80 in the 4-piece Kabuki Kit, which is $62.00, or $13.00 per brush. Not a bad deal for the quality of the brushes. I'm happy to agree with the hype around these brushes!
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Makeup Brushes -Sigma - F82 Round Top Synthetic Kabuki
timothybcat 3/21/2013 11:08:00 PM
Perfect foundation brush! I purchased Sigma's Sythetic Kabuki Kit (the 4-piece) and I've used this brush the most. My primary foundation right now is Revlon Colorstay Whipped. I use this to dip in the jar, scrape the excess off the side, and buff the foundation into my skin. It gives such a perfect finish. I was afraid that using a foundation brush would cause me to use up more product but the opposite is true. The brush does a much better job than my fingers or a sponge at distributing the smallest bit of foundation evenly. I've also used this with liquid foundations (Rimmel Lasting Finish, ELF Studio HD) and it's done a stellar job. Highly, HIGHLY recommend this brush!
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Fragrances -Givenchy - Ange ou Demon Le Secret
timothybcat 3/21/2013 2:32:00 AM
I was looking for a light jasmine fragrance for summer, and this won the contest. I didn't want anything too heavily floral or old-fashioned. Jasmine is usually equated with big white florals like Fracas, which is not my thing. Ange ou Demon Le Secret is lightly floral in a relatable, modern, very commercial sense. The primary note is jasmine, but it's well-balanced with the other slight floral notes. The next note is I get is green tea. In fact, it reminds me very much of the aroma of good-quality loose jasmine tea. I get the sweet undercurrent but there's no a specific fruit that stands out, even though it's said to contain cranberry. I was surprised to find out that it contained blonde woods, but then I noticed that I do randomly get a whiff of that from time to time after the drydown. I don't get the musk at all. The reason I can't give this a 5 is because it has NO staying power--not even on clothes or hair. I've had it for about a week and I'm down about 3/4" on the bottle already. At this rate, it'll be gone in about another month. That's ridiculous for this price, especially as it's supposedly and Eau de Parfum. I'm going to exchange it for Ange ou Demon Le Secret Elixir, which is stronger with much better staying power; and yet, my guy friends still liked it and described it as "light".
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Mascara -Pop Beauty - Smokey Lash Kapow!!!
timothybcat 3/19/2013 6:43:00 PM
Bad mascara. Bad, bad, bad. I've never had a problem with mascara smudging this terribly. I'm very good about not touching my eyes when I'm wearing mascara, so I was surprised to see smudges above my crease where my lashes touch my brow bone the first couple of times I wore this. I thought it was from me rubbing my eyes, or because I'd had a long day at work, but no. I wore it today and all I've done is make a short trip to grocery store and taken the dog out. The air is cold and dry. And THIS time it smudged UNDER my eyes. I repeat, I have never had a mascara smudging problem. And it doesn't even do much! It's the crappiest little old-fashioned spoolie-type brush and barely lengthens. Volumization? Forget about it. The worst mascara I've ever tried.
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Lipstick -Maybelline - Color Whisper-Rose of Attraction
timothybcat 3/12/2013 11:49:00 PM
Rose of Attraction is a coral-y rose pink that is sheer enough to adapt itself to any lip color. My lip color is fading, and this just makes it the slightly more intense color I had when I was a little girl. It's cute and very natural. I don't really look like I'm wearing anything, but that's not such a bad thing when the look is so flattering. You can take the "Whisper" part of the product name and apply it literally here, especially with this color. This is not a complaint, because it's obviously meant to be a very sheer color. But if you have very pigmented lips, you probably won't see this color at all. I'm very fair with pale pink lips, so on me it shows. I have to say that it's insanely comfortable. It hardly feels like you're wearing anything but it keeps my lips ridiculously soft. It's one of those lipstick formulas you looove wearing because they feel so darned good. The feel is very similar to Too Faced La Cremes, but the Color Whispers are sheerer. It has average wear for such a sheer, emollient product, about 1-2 hours. One more thing: the packaging is really pretty, with each slim plastic tube having a different clear color. The color on the outside is absolutely NO indication of what's inside the tube. The outside of Rose of Attraction is clear plum, not at all the peachy pink of the actual product. Another downside of this is that you can't really see the lipstick color through the plastic at all. Oh well. The good news is that the colors are so sheer it's not likely you'll get stuck with a color you absolutely hate.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Too Faced - Honey bear
timothybcat 3/10/2013 12:14:00 AM
This is my second La Creme lipstick from Too Faced and the formula is fantastic. I'd describe it as silky rather than creamy, as it's not heavy or too emollient, although I do find it to be moisturizing. I hate when you have a beautiful lippie that you never want to wear because it's so uncomfortable. La Cremes just feel sooo nice. Honey Bear is a rosy pink-brown with a bit of shimmer. The shimmer is not made up of obvious pieces of glitter, and there's no gritty feel. It's gives the rose color a bit of a warm sheen that's perfectly office-appropriate, but I think it's a sexy color. It's not like conventionally sexy colors like red, which can sometimes be a bit too severe or difficult to wear. It just makes your lips look soft and full and kissable. I want a million colors of La Cremes!
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Blush -MAC - Unconventional
timothybcat 3/4/2013 7:36:00 PM
I have been searching and searching for a very cool-toned blush for the longest time. I have a lot of redness in my skin, and need colors that counterbalance that-either warm peaches, or very pale colors. The color I'm looking for has to be almost pale enough to be a highlighter. I really thought MAC Well-Dressed would be the perfect blush for me, but unfortunately it's still a bit too pink. I don't have a problem with it being the wrong color, as that's a preference, not a product flaw, but it's also incredibly unpigmented, and the texture is very obvious and powdery when built up on the skin. (Also tried NARS Gaiety, also not pale enough.) Unconventional is a true pale lilac, and perfectly diffuses the any redness on my cheeks that might show through my foundation. The problem again here is the lack of pigmentation and chalkiness when the color is built up. It's also in MAC's Frost formula, but isn't reflective enough to work as a highlighter in my opinion. For those reasons, I had to knock off the two points. Too bad, because the color is PERFECT, and the staying power is excellent. On to Illamasqua Katie, methinks.
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Moisturizers -Paula's Choice - RESIST Barrier Repair Moisturizer
timothybcat 2/26/2013 10:24:00 PM
I've been using Paula's products for about 8 or 9 months and my skin is looking great overall: more even skin tone, smaller pores, plumper. But I accept that the benefits of good skin care show themselves over time, and there aren't miracles. I've never had a wrinkle or dark circles just disappear and stay away forever. I just don't think it's a fair or realistic to expect a product (not that brands don't set you up to expect miracles, but that's a whole other story) to wipe away years of sun exposure, smoking, poking, prodding, and other stupid things I've done to my skin in my 37 years. I always review skin care with that thought in mind. For about 6 months I've been using PC's Skin Balancing Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum with Retinol at night with success and no irritation. Winter hit, the air got dry, and my formerly oily skin needed something slightly more emollient for nighttime. This worked great for providing more hydration with other great ingredients, and some nights I still used it with the serum, but not often as I was afraid of irritation. This moisturizer is very creamy in texture so I thought it was going to be greasy and just sit there with an oily film on my skin, but I just could not believe how it absorbed completely as soon as I applied it, and yet it still made my skin softer and more hydrated. I could not be happier. Another reviewer mentioned that retinol is the 13th ingredient in this product. I moseyed over to the PC website just to double check and realized that he or she is 100% right. That's a very valid point and I'm grateful that the other reviewer pointed that out. Now I know why Paula's info packet suggests using a serum WITH this. I would now say that this is a fabulous moisturizer that happens to have excellent ingredients such as retinol, peptides, etc. But like me, you may still choose another product to act as your primary retinol product. Now I'm no so worried about using both products simultaneously. That's why we're responsible for reading ingredient lists, even if they are PC products! Much thanks to the other reviewer!
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No