Polishes -Zoya - Shimmer
zebraxing 1/11/2010 11:06:00 PM
Micro glitter is right. This is a shimmer unlike any other. Adds amazing dimension over inky blacks and blues and shines like a flash of silvery moon. LOVE.
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Lip Gloss -Aquolina - Chocolovers Rossetto Cremoso Creamy Lip Colour
zebraxing 1/11/2010 9:12:00 PM
Smells great, but tastes like hand lotion. If it didn't have such a great texture, I would have tossed it. It feel like the gloss adheres to my lips and seals itself on - I can't lick it off and it doesn't seem to transfer onto tea cups or my children. After the sheer chocolately colour has worn/absorbed in, my lips feel plush and hydrated. This formula is much less slippery than my Dolci Bacci, lasts much longer and looks less casual. Minus one lippie for floral flavour and one more for cheap, low-cocoa content colouring. Ingredients: Polybutene, Trimethylopropane Triiostearate, Isocetyl Stearate, Diisostearyl Malate, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Ricinus Communis (Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil), Mangifera Indica (Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter), Corylus Avellana (Carylus Avellana (Hazel) Seed Oil), Theobroma Cacao (Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter), Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Mica, Hydroxystearic Acid, Propylparaben, BHT, Parfum (Fragrance).
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Eye Shadow -Stila - Daffodil
zebraxing 1/11/2010 1:31:00 AM
This colour showed up well for me, though I always used it with a base of some kind (UDPP Sin, NYX Milk, MAC Soft Ochre). I would describe the colour as a cooling grey-green pearl. As pretty as it is in the pan, I think I must have skin that's too pink or yellow (?) for it, though the problem might be the exact brown of my eyes. Greens that do work on my MAC NC30 / NARS Budapest / BE Medium Beige skin tone tend to have a gold or silvery cast (UD Acid Rain, MAC Greensmoke, MAC Chartreuse) so I wonder if it's just the matte finish of Daffodil that's not working for me. For reference, I can rock any neutral or purple or red. Greens and blues are tricky, and I suppose this one will have to go on my swap list.
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Fragrances -Comptoir Sud Pacifique - Vanille Amande
zebraxing 1/11/2010 1:04:00 AM
I received a sample of Vanille Amande in a swap and finally spritzed myself today and now I smell just like sugar almonds! This is neither good nor bad, but curious. I find this novelty in about every CSP fragrance, although that this one dies down to a lasting candy sweetness, is good. It's been about 12 hours and I still smell like a bag of smooth, pink, candy-coated almonds.
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Polishes -Zoya - Nail Lacquer in Uli
zebraxing 1/11/2010 12:54:00 AM
Uli is a 70's era nude, a la Barbie's legs. My nails look like they're wearing sparkly nude pantyhose! I gave it to my mum, not because it looks any better on her, but because her and "Apricot with a Subtle Gold Shimmer" go way back.
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Fragrances -Comptoir Sud Pacifique - Vanille Banane
zebraxing 12/20/2009 3:31:00 AM
This is my C A N D Y fix. As a banana-hater, loving this fragrance confirms that it is actually about vanilla. Admittedly, the creamy custard opening may have a single banana slice on top, but there is absolutely none of that Friday's-half-eaten-banana-found-Monday stench I loathe. One lippie off for floating away fom me so quickly, and another for not having adjusted the price accordingly.
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Lipstick -MAC - Dark Side
zebraxing 12/12/2009 7:54:00 PM
This colour has been very well described by the previous reviewers. I have yellow undertones and this is a winning red for me. As much as I would like to do the true reds, I lack the conviction and turn again and again to these burgundy and berry rouges. This one is the perfect combination - not too brown, not too purple, not to bright, not too dark. The Amplified Cream formula appears to be waxy when applied with a lip brush (I just can`t load enough onto the brush), but seems to melt into my lips when applied directly. This makes application a challenge, but it is so worth it. I don't have any matching liners - they're all too brown or purple and I dare not make this unique colour any less perfect than it already is. If MAC makes a perfect match I would recommend picking it up since a lip brush won`t work well enough for definition. To prevent bleeding, I have been using my $1.99 NYC lip primer and it seems to do the trick.
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Moisturizers -Unlisted Brand - Linacare Transforming Face Cream
zebraxing 12/12/2009 7:34:00 PM
I wish I could give this even more than five, because I believe that this moisturizer is curing my acne. I have oily combination skin and hormonal breakouts around the chin and jaw line - red, inflamed and painful. I started using this moisturizer in the light formula about 2 months ago. I use a small spatula to remove a tiny amount from the jar and apply very sparingly, dotting it onto my skin and then smoothing it in with my fingers. This formula absorbs, replenishes, takes away the after-cleansing tightness and smooths my skin's surface roughness. It does NOT clog my pores, aggravate my inflamations, create an oil slick, contain irritating ingredients. I switched to this product and an SLS-free cleanser, continued with a micro-exfoliant once a week, ditched my SA and other acne treatments, and in two months I have skin so supple and lovely that I almost don't notice the acne scars that had accumulated before I found this moisturizer. I'm not exactly sure how or why my acne has decrased, but I suspect that this product is helping to balance my skin and prevent an over production of pore clogging oil. The problem of finding the perfect moisturizer to do this has been solved!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Zoya - Casey
zebraxing 11/7/2009 6:08:00 AM
This colour is very flattering on me (Warm/Neutral, Nars Budapest, NC30). I wore two coats and ended with a luscious, glassy black, tinged with blackberry. On smoothed nails, with Armour and Anchor, this polish lasted longer than I expected. I had chipped tips after the third day, which is pretty good since I use my hands and nails as tools and can't be bothered with gloves. I touched up the tips with OPI Lincoln Park After Dark and found it a near match, although with something lacking. Casey is where it's at for me, dupes aside.
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Polishes -OPI - You Don't Know Jacques! SUEDE
zebraxing 10/26/2009 2:40:00 AM
I can't believe OPI charges full price for a product that chips upon contact with any available surface! I will not be buying the suede formula again, even though I'm giving dear Jacques one lippie for ambiguous colour and still one more for high tech fascination. For reference, this colour - fine silver sparkle under a gold-tarnished-mauve overlay - looks fabulous against my neutral/warm, NC30, NARS Budapest skin. If only it was worth the time it took to paint it on.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Senna - Lip Lacquer in Zephyr
zebraxing 10/23/2009 10:31:00 AM
Zephyr is a mauvy neutral on my mauvey lips. This gloss has great textural feel and conditioning jojoba-y shine. The doe-foot applicator seems a bit sparse, but minimal application is easy and there is no gloppy overspill. Strangely, Senna didn't mark these tubes with colour name or number. Overall, this is an absolutely beautiful, everyday colour that really complements the natural mave in my lips. Will surely need more of this one.
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Cleansers -Vichy - Purete Thermale Cleansing Micellar Lotion for face and eyes
zebraxing 8/9/2009 3:03:00 AM
I use this on my eyes to remove everything: UDPP, Fluidline, Offset. It feels just like water yet glides over my skin without pulling or tugging. Amazingly, it doesn't leave that makeup remover creeping grease slick that used to congest the skin over my zygomatic arches. I only wish it didn't cost so much or deplete so quickly. Bonus: As a final cleansing step, the magical ingredients in this solution seem to be benefitting my getting-on-the-old-side-of-young eye creases.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -NARS - promiscuous
zebraxing 7/18/2009
I agree with the previous reviewer: Promiscuous is a lot like Apres Sol but definitely less "yellow" and more "nude". Apres Sol is decidedly gold on me (a summer lipstick!) and it appears to seperate upon close inspection, into chunks of flashing shimmery glitter. Promiscuous appears more uniform and is the perfect highlight for my pigmented lips. I particularly like it with Nars Sin or Oasis blush - this combo makes me feel most sophisticated. Even though the formula is a bit dry, I find that it still doesn't last all that long. It seems to work well with (flashier), or without (subtler), gloss. For reference, I used to wear NC30 but found a better match with Nars Budapest, and have highly pigmented, purple toned lips.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Rimmel - Vinyl Lip - Snog
zebraxing 7/6/2009 11:57:00 AM
Sometimes I feel like a "slick" formula like this, the type that reapplies smoothly and stays feeling plush, instead of pasty and more "clingly" feeling gloss. The Vinyl Lip scent is cheap and icky, it's tue, but it dissipates very quickly and leaves no flavour. I am impressed with this bargain product, as it leaves my lips feeling comfortably moisturized. Though the pigment seems to fade as it wears, this isn't a disappointment since Snog is such a natural look on me. Snog is a mauvy MLBB shade that is about the same as my natural lip colour except perhaps a bit creamier and brighter. I managed to match it thanks to the advice of the SA, who suggested that I apply the tester on the tip on my finger. When I did this, I saw immediately that the colour matched my pinkish undertones perfectly. For reference, I'm NC30 in MAC and my lips are about the colour of MAC Whirl lipliner. I will definitely be buying this product again.
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Makeup Brushes -MAC - #242 Shader Brush
zebraxing 7/6/2009 11:37:00 AM
This brush is dense, stiff and prickly. I could never figure out what to use it for, since I prefer my equally dense but softer 239 for packing on shadow and pigments. I have tried it for applying primer and paints, but the bristles feel uncomfortably rough when pulled across my eyelid. As a concealer brush, I find that it picks up too much product and won't blend as well as a smoother bristled, more flexible brush. If I didn't receive this brush as part of a set, I don't think I would have purchased it.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No