Mascara -L'Oreal - Double-Extend Beauty Tubes in Blackest Black
yimz 7/22/2011 8:02:00 PM
This product was okay, it is lot better than some but worse than others. I think it reflects its price range, which is medium. Doesn't do anything particularly dramatic to my eyes, doesn't curl or lengthen much even with the primer. Yet it doesn't clump either. Since it doesn't do much I decided to not use it anymore since I don't want to carry it around. I was disappointed since I'm a fan of L'oreal products for their price range, so I figured this would be just as good. Having used the L'oreal Telescopic mascara I much prefer that one.
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Mascara -Bourjois - Yes to Volume No to Clumps
yimz 7/22/2011 7:55:00 PM
Ahh I loved this product when I bought it! I wish I could go back and buy it again as they stopped selling it a couple of years go. I went back between this and another Bourjois at the time and this was much better for what I wanted. I would recommend this mascara for anyone who wanted to have their lashes appear naturally long and defined. It's comb allows it to sift through lashes individually, for a quite sculpted affect. I particularly liked this because I'm chinese with short eyelashes and some mascaras just tend to clump them altogether, they didn't wilt at the end of the day either. The comb is great for lengthening, you could probably do a lot of strokes without clumping as it gets rid of excess gloop well. For a low-mid end brand it's quite worth it and I would buy again for a day time mascara.
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Lipstick -Clinique - Chubby Stick (all shades)
yimz 7/22/2011 7:46:00 PM
I was excited to buy this after seeing lots of good reviews for it online and its product description. I'm quite a lip tint/balm junkie and had been torn between buying this or the Bobbi Brown Lip Crayon ( the inefficiency of having to constantly sharp the BB put me off). I tried their variety of shades at the Clinique counter and liked the chubby tip because it applies all over the lips but at a liner angle as opposed to normal lip balms which are flat and just go all over the mouth. The colour choices are okay but limited, either too pink, too red, too brown so I opted for the Melon and it looked nice in the mirror. After a weeks worth of wearing it I realised nothing happened at all... it made the area around my lips look a bit 'tingled' which I didn't like. It was just barely any difference than going nude, slightly more glittery rather than illuminating, shiny in an oily way. Don't try applying to your finger then your lips and blending as I tried this at the counter and ended up breaking off the tip on one of the testers...whoops If this was £3 I would maybe buy it again, but for £14-16 it is just cheaper to go natural.
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Lips -Max Factor - Lipfinity Lip Tint
yimz 7/22/2011 7:37:00 PM
Like the comment below, I loved the appearance after the initial application but it has a lot of problems. Pros: Each shade is lovely, can apply straight to the lip as opposed to some gloopy pot lip tints which get messy and unhygenic. Cons: Terrible fibre tip - dries up at an instance, you have to constantly shake the pen just to get anything out! If you wear any lipstick of lip balm underneath the waxy coating will transfer onto the nib and just dry it out for future uses, after a couple of hours the consistency of the tint starts to break and you get lots of little pigment parts along your lips which is unattractive and you'll have to rub it off. It does this mostly when it's applied to naked lips. While I love the Berry Burst colour I bought it in, it's just not long lasting or performing enough.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Bourjois - Volume Glamour Mascara
yimz 7/22/2011 7:32:00 PM
This was one of my first mascara's when I was younger, and it will only ever be that. While it does it's job it's just not a mascara that you will make your permanent considering all the other options there are whether its mid or high end brands. It's great for a non fussy semi-full effect if you're on a budge. The brush is medium-large but even after a few applications it's not as full on as some Diorshow and other Bourjois mascaras (e.g. their Clubbing one). Yet not as natural and fine as L'oreal's telescopic - so somewhere inbetween the two. Pros: It applies swiftly, doesn't clog as long as you just do a couple of strokes. Cons: It dries out faster than other mascaras, could be slimmer in packaging design. While it's an okay mascara it's just not that memorable to buy again.
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Foundations -Maybelline - Dream Matte Mousse
yimz 7/22/2011 7:22:00 PM
This is such a terrible foundation, I'm not sure whether I can really call it a foundation or mousse, no wait it's more like a pot of gunk? The texture isn't really a dream, it's thick and stodgy, it doesn't blend on the skin which you can tell because when you whip it out of the pot it sort of just crumbles between the fingers. The texture settles on wrinkles and highlights prominent dry areas. Maybelline's range of shades is also limited, the tones give a synthetic and fake tanned appearance which will be obvious if not blended in proper along the jaw line. I would avoid using it under the eye, it will smudge around and make lines appear. Packaging isn't great, the pot is too deep your finger awkwardly picks up the foundation and it's tough to get out of your nails - not very hygenic. Other options such as Max Factor's Miracle Touch is a lot better, more realistic shades, it's more light and creamy for just a few pound's more.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Mascara -Clinique - High Impact Mascara
yimz 7/22/2011 7:00:00 PM
I got a sample size of this mascara with a Clinique pack and it is absolutely the WORST mascara I ever used including the really cheap ones! I was shocked, I've never used Clinique mascara's before and for what the title was boasting I definately didn't see it in the performance. It's tip is too large, it clumps everywhere you have to really scrape off excess mascara to get a fine application to seperate lashes. Not suitable for daytime unless you use just two very minimal strokes and even that doesn't looking like you're wearing any, but it doesn't have the drama of a night time mascara you might get from Diorshow or Lancome ranges either. Due to its stodginess it can be brittle and so sometimes little speckles fall onto my cheeks and it gets in my eyes. Price is not worth its performance, packaging is plain and obvious - nothing to like or dislike. There are L'oreal and Bourjois mascara's that do a much better job at half the price.
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Foundations -Max Factor - Miracle Touch Liquid Illusion Foundation
yimz 7/22/2011 6:51:00 PM
The first time I used this product I didn't feel any wow factor, just something I expect from a high street brand. I rebought it again after lots of failed missions for a good foundation, and coming back with different ways of applying it I discovered it's quite effective. I love the texture, it's very handy to use - when I was young I didn't have the time to use liquid, but hated the matte/hard look of a powder alone). I use creamy ivory 40, which blends in my eye area and cheeks perfectly both through texture and tone (in fact I use this in those areas and then blend with Armani's Lasting Silk in 4, this is my favourite combo!). Depending on skin type you could probably get away with just dabbing it in certain areas if you want to balance out but not have full coverage. It's very light. Would suit daytime wear and appropriate for fuss free users who just want something quick. Pros: texture and consistency, time efficiency Cons: I hate the flat sponge it comes with - terribles (no wonder it comes with it), I use a dampened round one, the packaging in general - would be better if clicked open and you didnt have to unscrew into 2 seperate pieces, if you're using this foundation alone and all over the face regularly it doesn't last too long, my Armani lasts longer and that's a liquid. This is one of those foundations that don't do much but because it's good at making you look natural (as long as you've got a good moisturised base) customers might feel it doesn't do enough for them.
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Liquid -Giorgio Armani - Lasting Silk UV Foundation SPF20
yimz 7/22/2011 6:31:00 PM
I was originally a bit jumpy with this product, when the sales assistant first applied it to my skin I was amazed at how it looked in the mirror, like I had been airbrushed! When I tried it at home I felt like I hated it, that it might dry me (I was ready to ditch it). But i'm glad I didn't because I realised I was wearing the wrong moisturiser underneath and wasn't getting used to the product (I think product's effectiveness often depend on the way you utilise it rather than just being lazy and hoping it will do wonders alone). I like to wear this is with an spf 50 sunscreen that's medium oily and then going over with a brush. Which creates a dewy/natural effect (I wouldn't recommend using a powder if your skin is normal/dry/very dry). I think this is one of the only foundations which can truly use 'silk' in it's title, the way it glides on and the after effect is delicate and great at balancing out your skin tone. I'm impressed with their light shades because whenever I've tried them from other brands (Chanel, Laura Mercier) they often make me look washed out, and a ghost in pictures. In winter I use a richer moisturiser, in summer it looks great over sunscreen. I use shade 4, and think it suits 'english rose' or fair milky asian (im chinese) complexions. Pros: long lasting (i've used this constantly over 8 months, and still have over half the bottle left!), natural shades, sturdy and classic packaging, works nicely if you want to re-pat along the cheekbones/temples and highlight brows (wont be stodgy like a concealer!), long lasting I can wear from 8am-10pm and theres hardly a difference. Cons: I guess price is one but considering it lasts long (I use two large pumps per application) it's levels out, the pump isn't great to control esp. if you want to do small squirts at a time. This is my favourite foundation so far, but will be trying the Luminous Silk one in the future! (I've taken a lipstick off because it might not suit very dry/dry skin tones without the right primer/base)
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