BB Cream -L'Oreal - Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream
trickmaus 9/24/2012 7:20:00 PM
The name "BB", in this case, refers to "beauty beads"...grainy little pigmented beads which, when you rub the cream into your skin, are supposed to adjust to your colouring...very different than the traditional BB cream (Blemish Balm). This cream is extremely grainy feeling when you rub it into your skin...it feels like you're exfoliating your face with a scrub. At first, it seemed to blur away some of the redness and scars on my face (not hiding them completely, but making them not as noticeable), and I actually thought I liked this product. It wasn't until I happened to look in the mirror about half an hour after applying it that I realized that it had changed. It oxidized to the extreme, making me look like I had Oompa Loompa makeup on. From what I've read, I'm not the only one to have this problem. The only real positive I can give this product is that it never broke me out or caused a rosacea flare. Unless you dig the bad self-tan look, do not buy this.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Weleda - Skin Food
trickmaus 6/5/2012 12:11:00 AM
This was a strange product for me. For some reason, it didn't seem to really moisturize at all (on my body or my face, it just didn't seem to penetrate). When I used it on my face, it caused some redness (I have pretty finicky rosacea), but no p&p's or pain. The scent is REALLY strong - it reminds me of spiced oranges, and I personally find it pleasant, but some might not. It's also very thick and heavy, so you have to really work to put it on, which I didn't really enjoy.
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Foundations -Dermablend - Cover Creme (new formula)
trickmaus 6/1/2012 1:42:00 AM
I was one of the lucky ones who managed to find a good match as far as colour with this product (Chroma 0), and I was drawn in by reviews I found on youtube. I have plenty of things to cover (redness, p&p's and broken capillaries from my rosacea as well as REALLY dark circles), and I am continuously disappointed by foundations, so seeing these miraculous looking tutorials, I was hopeful. Honestly, when people say this product has a learning curve, they MEAN it. I have been using it for an entire month and I still can't get it to look right. I have tried mimicking videos on youtube with this stuff, I have tried primers, different powders, sponges, fingers, brushes, EVERYTHING, and this just will not look good for me. I blend for a ridiculously long time, and it refuses to blend into my skin (even though it's a very close pigment to my natural skin colour), it just sits on top, looking uneven. After setting it with powder, it still manages to fade within about 4-5 hours. Blargh.
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Moisturizers -First Aid Beauty - Ultra Repair Cream
trickmaus 6/1/2012 1:32:00 AM
I so desperately wanted to love this stuff. Another rosacean recommended it to me, saying all sorts of wonderful things about it making their face look brand new. It is an incredibly dense, yet light feeling creme, you only need a tiny bit (penny size or less) to cover your entire face. The thickness makes it feel rather lush, and when you rub it into your skin it just melts right in. In that way, this is really lovely. However. The eucalyptus in this makes it absolutely unusable on my face. It pissed my rosacea right off, the second I put it on my cheeks they started to burn, and later break out in papules and pustules. I'm so incredibly disappointed...if I didn't have rosacea, this would be a perfect product. As it is, I'll be using the rest as a really, really nice hand cream. :(
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -Clinique - Redness Solutions Makeup SPF 15 with Probiotic Technology
trickmaus 5/27/2012 9:57:00 PM
I honestly feel like the name of this product is ironic...it is without a doubt the worst foundation I have ever put on my face. I'm a PPP rosacean who is prone to papules and pustules as well as general "rosiness" and a few broken capillaries. My skin is pretty sensitive to most things, but looking at the ingredients it didn't sound like there was anything particularly irritating, so I gave it a try. The first and most notable problem with this makeup is, as other reviewers have said, it doesn't really come in proper pale colours. Most rosaceans are pale, so I'm really not sure why they didn't come up with some paler shades as this product is marketed towards us. I bought the most pale shade they offered, and as soon as I put it on my skin my face looked ORANGE. What's more, it was noticeable even to my boyfriend, who is in general a bit clueless about these things. I found the coverage of the foundation to be moderate, certainly better than the foundation I was using prior, so I decided to try to keep wearing this for a little while (with some non irritating powder on top to try to lighten it a bit), buuuut...after two days of wearing this, my skin rebelled. I broke out in an awful way, P&P's ALL over my face with my skin glowing an angry red colour, and what's more, I could FEEL the burn. It was seriously one of the worst flares I've ever had. I stopped using it immediately, but the flare lasted for a while after this. I haven't ever had this bad of a reaction, even from cheapo drugstore foundations. Blech.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lips -Burt's Bees - Rose Tinted Lip Balm
trickmaus 12/10/2011 6:38:00 PM
I kept hearing amazing things about this, so I was really excited to try it. I ended up paying over 8 dollars for what I thought would be a chubby little lip balm - it ended up being the size of my regular chapstick. I tried applying it, and looked in the mirror - nothing. I couldn't tell any difference between my natural lip pigment, and where I had applied this. On top of this, it wasn't moisturizing at all. Like many Burt's Bees products, for me, the best part of this was the scent.
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Treatments -Burt's Bees - Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream
trickmaus 12/10/2011 6:33:00 PM
The smell of this product is, strangely, my favourite part of the product. It smells absolutely delicious, just like lemon curd. It feels a little bit grainy, and it takes a while to sink in. Honestly, I can't tell too much of a difference using this product, it doesn't seem to have much of an effect. I'm still using it only because I hate throwing things away, and the smell is so yummy.
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Liquid -Paula's Choice - Best Face Forward Foundation SPF 25
trickmaus 9/18/2011 3:59:00 PM
Well...to be honest, I'm a little mixed about this product. I've been searching for a good foundation for a long time, in my case it's especially hard because I have rosacea (so the wrong product will greatly irritate my skin), I'm extraordinarily pale (more pale than my ginger boyfriend), and have acne scars from my high school years. That's a lot of problems for one foundation to handle. The pros for this foundation: It has never once irritated my rosacea (a blessing, and the reason I've used it more than once), the colours, though not numerous, blend well with varying skin tones. It definitely blends into the skin well, it has never been spotty for me. The cons: EXTREMELY light coverage. I've used tinted moisturizers that had more coverage than this. If you only need light coverage to even out your skin, this could definitely work for you. But if you have pimples or scars, this just won't work.
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Treatments (Eye) -Kiehls - Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado
trickmaus 8/15/2011 12:30:00 AM
It's surprising to me how people are saying this eye cream stung...I'm usually the one with uber sensitive skin, and this didn't bother me a bit! As I'm still young, I can't really make any comments about wrinkles or anything with this product. The issue I have with my eyes is dark circles. Really, really dark circles. Unfortunately, they're genetic, so I have little hope that any sort of topical product would help them. And in this case, I was right - this cream did NOTHING for my circles. However, looking past that (as it's not the reason I bought this), this cream is nicely hydrating for the under eye area, did not sting a bit, applied easily and smoothly, and absorbed quickly. As long as you give it a minute to sink in before applying makeup, it works nicely under concealer, no greasiness or smudging. It's no miracle product, but it works nicely enough for now. I will continue to buy it until I find that magical product that fixes my genetics :P
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Lips -Vincent Longo - Cheek & Lip Stain
trickmaus 8/8/2011 12:57:00 AM
I bought this in Cupid's Breath about 2 years ago, after reading reviews on here. I'm the kind of person who likes to put it on and forget about it...low maintenance is really key for me, makeup-wise. So after hearing about lip stains, I knew I had to find one for me. The first thing I noticed about this product is the smell...it's a delicious vanilla, out of the tube. The doe foot applicator is really nice as well, though I had to learn how to apply the stain properly with it (wiping off the excess on the rim of the container, just like with mascara). I didn't use it much at first because my first couple attempts to use it were awful - but that was due to my not knowing how to properly put it on. Once I figured out what worked for me, application wise, I started wearing this stuff every other day. Cupid's breath, on me (a light-warm spring) is the perfect "me but better" shade - a light reddish peach which pretty much lights up my face. I primarily use it as a lip stain, but have used it for my cheeks too - as long as you start rubbing it in quickly after placing it, and don't lift your fingers of until you're done, it won't be blotchy. It lasts for about 3-4 hours, as others have said, then it fades gradually all over (so there's none of that patchy grossness stains can sometimes leave behind!). I reapply it about 1-2 times a day, depending. This is on the lips, though, it lasts much longer as a cheek stain. This is definitely my favourite lip stain I've found thus far, and it's lasting me quite a while, so it's actually quite cost effective. Even after I run out, I'll probably stick with this brand until they discontinue it.
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Mascara -Clinique - Lash Building Primer
trickmaus 8/8/2011 12:38:00 AM
This is the first lash primer that I've ever used, so it's hard to rate it against others. I have always had problems with my mascara running, even when not being very active. My eyes are really watery, I guess, so even smudge proof mascara smudged on me. This primer, so far, is the only primer that has kept my mascara on my freakin' eyelashes - it's a miracle for me! even after working out, my mascara is still in place. AND this product also made me look like I actually have eyelashes (mine are short, straight blonde ones...yay me). I love this product. My only concern is that sometimes when I use it, my eyes get really irritated. But if I'm very careful in my application, it's all good.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Avalon Organics Botanicals - Vitamin C Vitality Facial Serum
trickmaus 8/8/2011 12:33:00 AM
I wanted to love this. After seeing the amazing reviews, promises of acne scars fading and skin brightening, I had hope. But my skin had other plans. It should be noted that I do have rosacea, making my skin more sensitive than the average joe. I tried applying this in the morning and at night at first, to see how my skin reacted. After two days, I had a major breakout. All whiteheads. How odd, I thought to myself, and kept going. After two days of this, however, I got tired of being covered in bumps, and switched to only at night. The amount of pimples lightened up...a bit. But they were still appearing. I talked myself into the idea that maybe my skin is just detoxing, getting rid of all the bad gunk in my pores. That's probably what's keeping me using it. That, plus I still hold out hope of getting rid of my scars. This stuff gives me a few pimples, but is not really hurting my skin (as far as I can see), so I'm going to continue using it until I finish the bottle, to see if I get results - and will update this review accordingly. EDIT: This stuff was just horrible. My skin NEVER adjusted to it, and it started to make my face actually burn. Awful, awful stuff.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Liners -Rimmel - 1000 kisses stay on lip liner in Tiramisu
trickmaus 8/8/2011 12:15:00 AM
I bought this lip liner to wear by itself - I don't like to have to think about my makeup if I want to drink something or kiss my boyfriend. It broke a bit when I first applied it, until I learned to apply it softly. It lasted alright...but I didn't really want to leave it on too long. For some reason, what others described as a caramel peach looked like a cold beige colour on my lips - deeply unflattering. The product itself is fine (good for the money), but it just doesn't really work on my spring colouring. Disappointing, but I'll probably try a different colour in the same line :)
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Mascara -Bobbi Brown - No Smudge Mascara
trickmaus 6/22/2011 3:45:00 AM
I must be one of the very few people that this mascara didn't work perfectly on. I have a real problem with raccoon eyes - no matter what I try, I get them. This mascara seemed to last a little longer than any of the other ones I've tried, but still ended up smudging (even without me putting any on my lower lashes). Beyond smudge, it was nothing spectacular. My lashes didn't really want to stay curled when I used this, and it didn't really plump them at all. If it hadn't smudged on me, I would've been totally alright with that. Too bad.
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Shampoo -Carol's Daughter - Rosemary Mint Shampoo with Sea Moss
trickmaus 6/22/2011 3:38:00 AM
I randomly decided on this (along with the conditioner) as a sample with my sephora order, and it sat in my bathroom drawer for a month before I finally tested it out on a whim. OH MY GOD. It's the most amazing shampoo (and conditioner) that I've ever used! NOTHING has ever made my hair feel this amazing. My hair is usually a little greasy, so I often have to wash it every day or else it looks gross...but after I used this shampoo, I went days without having to wash it. My hair continued to be ridiculously soft, shiny and bouncy - more than it ever is even the day of a wash with my previous shampoo. The only downside of it is the price - but fortunately, since I can go for longer between washes when using it, it should (hopefully) last me a while. EDIT: After using the shampoo a bit more, I knocked off a star. Firstly, the packaging is really annoying...the bottles are really small, and the plastic is really thick - so you don't get very much product at all. Secondly, after using it about once a week or so, my hair started getting used to it and greasing up more, making washing it more often necessary. Third, the customer service (I ordered directly from the site) was not very good - I ordered it a month before I had to move, thinking it would have enough time to get there. A few days before I leave the state, it's still not there and I have received no confirmation of shipment, so, thinking they had not sent it yet, I email them informing them of my situation and asking politely if there is any way I can cancel the order, since it hadn't been shipped. They told me there was nothing they could do. The shampoo and conditioner arrived two days later, so they had shipped them about a week before - but I was not made aware of this until the same day, I get a confirmation email about the shipment. Customer service did not inform me that the package had been shipped, despite me asking if they had, they simply brushed me off. Finally, the cost that I paid to get these tiny bottles was ridiculously high. The shampoo IS a good product, don't doubt it, but be prepared to spend a lot of money on it. As for me, I'll be looking for something less pricey.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No