Fragrances -Yves Rocher - Neroli
zhoo 4/27/2013 12:12:00 AM
OMG I love this and I never loved anything from YR. It's a little sharp in the beginning, almost medicinal but dries down to an absolutely beautiful finish soft of orange blossoms, musk, and something else warm I can't quite decipher. Very different from the typical sweet fruity scents we seem to have everywhere nowadays. Nothing generic here, nothing bold either but that's the way I like it. Lasts on me all day. Already bought a full size bottle and a lotion.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Tinted Moisturizer -Laura Mercier - Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 - Illuminating
zhoo 4/26/2013 11:54:00 PM
Holy moly sparkles! I was expecting something 'wet looking', like a high end version of Etude's Pure Nymph Aura but this is just plain shiny and oily, suffocating my already oily skin. Returned it promptly. Not for me.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Becca - Beach Tint in Fig 
zhoo 4/26/2013 11:45:00 PM
I like this...but not too much. I'm generally afraid of putting strong colours on my face because I'm not gifted at determining what looks good and what does not. With Fig, I'm safe. Almost to the point of what's the point because it shows up as such a gentle, nearly non-existent brown plummy wash (NC25). The container is convenient, albeit tiny, making this a pricey little piece of common sense lapse. It's too light for my lips, so I only use it on the cheeks. One downside is that it'll get sticky if you try to layer and will likely feel gross in the summer heat, especially if you have an oily face like me. Overall, an ok safe all-in-one cream tint better suited for the very pale and not excessively oily who want a monochromic wash of flattering colour. Being an oily slick, I'd prefer a watery type tint.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
BB Cream -Unlisted Brand - Holika Holika - Face to Change Liquid Roller BB Cream
zhoo 4/26/2013 11:30:00 PM
I own an embarrassing pile of BB creams. Holika's roller is rather good, I must say. It has a unique application roller, somewhat similar to Loreal's True match cream roller. Well, the roller itself is just a piece of foam but the application becomes an unusual 'paint the fence' experience. You push the button on the BB tube, a blob of cream gets dispensed on to the roller, and off you go painting your fen...your face. The roller is removable and washable; a replacement roller is also included. The BB comes in two shades, a lighter light and a darker light. I'm an NC25-ish and I find that the darker shade is a better match, so def not a product for darker skinned ladies. Coverage is medium, good adhesion and staying power, some oil control. I'd say this is more suited for normal-oily skin as it isn't very moisturizing. Finish is matte. One big downside or me is how perfumed the product is. It's a non-offensive, cosmetic smell, but is pretty strong and seems to linger. So overall, a good BB cream for normal-oily skin with decent coverage and staying powder for the fair-skinned who don't mind re-using the dirty roller or don't mind going through the hassle of washing it every day.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Yves Rocher - VANILLE NOIRE
zhoo 10/17/2012 9:31:00 PM
Wearable but meh. A slightly more grown up version of BBW Warm Vanilla Sugar. I have a sample bottle, will not repurchase. Staying power is ok...it's just too uninteresting. I remember bashing Lush Vanillary but come to think of it, it's much better although it does turn into sour pee scent on me at times.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lotions/ Creams -Bath and Body Works - Love Love Love Body Lotion 
zhoo 10/17/2012 9:01:00 PM
I like the plummy notes in this. Haven't noticed the medicinal smell - probably because the lasting power is poor. It dries down to a generic BBW kind of smell. Not horrible, the plum is actually nice for a change. I have a small bottle of this and will not repurchase.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Skincare - Body -Bath and Body Works - Warm vanilla sugar (whole line)
zhoo 10/17/2012 8:54:00 PM
Oh wow this stuff is bad...I tried it in both the lotion and splash form. The splash smells very cheap...Sweet, cloying, plain, and strong. The lotion is even worse - all the above said attributes plus a hint of burned plastic. No, I can't...
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Hair Color -Garnier - Herbashine-Temporary Color
zhoo 4/21/2012 2:47:00 PM
This is a review for shade 200 "brownish black". Starting point - dark brown, straight hair. Virgin, healthy, medium-thick. I thought I'd give myself a color boost - age and sun made my natural red highlights more prominent which I didn't like. Finish - jet black hair. Flat, jet black hair. After crying myself to sleep with Allan Poe's verses going through my head, I decided to suck it up and diligently washed and waited. After about 10 washes it was still jet black with no dimension to it whatsoever. After co-workers lovingly commented on how I look like a cute Wii character, a realization struck. Something had to be done. This weekend, I have come up with a concoction of dishwashing liquid, baking soda and 10% volume hydrogen peroxide (about 2 tbsp each for my hair is short), stirred all of the ingredients together to form a liquidy gunky paste. Then I've added some shampoo to that in order to ease the application, rubbed the paste into my dry hair adding a little bit of water as I went along for better spreadability. Then I let everything air dry. Then I washed it off followed by the usual shampoo+conditioner combo. The water ran grey so I knew the dye was lifting. It did work. The hair is now is a nice very deep brown with some of my natural color showing which makes it look more natural. Should you decide to try this, I have to warn you that after the paste was washed off the hair became very matted and dry. I have 'untouched' hair with low porosity so it bounced right back to being full of life with a little bit of conditioning. For the adventurous folk with processed/damaged hair this dryness can be quite an obstacle. Overall, the dye did what is meant to do. But I can't give it a high rating because it's not true to color and the color is very flat-looking. I will not repurchase unless Garnier reformulates. I'll also be more careful picking demi-permanent haircolor next time and stick with a shade that's a bit lighter than the one I want - just in case.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -Annabelle - Smoothliners
zhoo 4/15/2012 9:49:00 PM
Pretty, pretty, pretty...pretty good! I agree with the good reviews - a cheap, creamy, gel-pencil morph with a decent staying power. What more? I think color selection can be expanded - not that we need 30 shades of brown (really, MAC?) but oh, alright. It's fun. Also, I find it hard to sharpen on a warm day. Pop it in the freezer for a few mins prior, otherwise it'll melt and smudge all over your tools and your fingers and other nearby surfaces.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -Unlisted Brand - Kokuryudo - Hipitch Cleansing Oil
zhoo 4/15/2012 9:31:00 PM
I have nothing to compare this to as this is the only oil I've used. I bought it at a local Asian mall for an insane amount of money - yes, curiosity is my vice. I would have paid less online. Curse you, Asian mall and your touristy prices! Anyway, it's basically olive oil with an emulsifier and some nifty add-ons, such as eucaliptus. I can't read the ingredient list, it's in...Japanese? The olive is drawn on the bottle, the eucaliptus I can smell, and the emulsifier well, it's there because the oil turns milky and rinses off on contact with water. It cleanses well and smells good. Doesn't take off mascara, not even the regular kind, as the picture on the bottle suggests. And the price is ridiculous. Once I'm out, I'll buy a bag of polysorbate off lotioncrafter and make my own. How hard can it be? I make my own mojitos, that's way more advanced.. Ahh...summer is coming...
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Masks -Unlisted Brand - Tony Moly Tomatox Brightening Mask
zhoo 4/15/2012 9:02:00 PM
Pure genius of an idea. It's marketed as a 'magic whitener' and contains zinc and aluminum. So it basically forms a whitish film on your face, akin to the baby bum zinc ointment. The trick is to massage it in and then gently rinse off and pat (not rub) your face dry. I find it non-irritating and fun but also rather unnecessary unless I want to look like a china doll. I'm already colorless as far as face is concerned.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
BB Cream -Skinfood - Mushroom Multi Care BB Cream SPF 20 PA+
zhoo 4/15/2012 8:22:00 PM
I adore the smell. I wore it for just that reason alone regardless of the color mismatch.. I was a fine BB cream and it served me well while I owned it. Can't comment on the long-term effects as I gave it away due to it being a tad too pink. SPF could be higher as well. Overall - good but I've known better. Would not repurchase even if the color was spot on.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -NARS - Orgasm Blush
zhoo 4/15/2012 8:14:00 PM
I owned it for a day. WTF, glitter? It gets stuck in my pores. I see how I could pull off wearing it in a dark place where everyone is either too drunk or otherwise intoxicated to notice. Me, I stupidly wore this to work - the casual 9-5 kind. Glamour fail :-( What's up with the name, by the way? Let's come up with a guys product called 'Erection'. Or a unisex one called, I dunno, 'My leg is twitching'. Hmph.
24 out of 29 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Bath and Body Works - Paris Amour
zhoo 4/15/2012 8:01:00 PM
If you are a connoisseur, keep walking. Nothing to see here. It smells like your typical girls-night-out strawberry zinfandel, the kind I can drink bottles of on a warm summer night. All by myself.
8 out of 9 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Mizon - Snail cream
zhoo 4/15/2012 5:38:00 PM
No Mizon reviews on here? Ladies, you have to try their stuff! It's fairly cheap and it's good. It's a Korean skin care brand available on ebay and Gmarket. Mizon offers different lines of skin care as well as some make-up items. But back to the point. Their snail slime cream has got to be the best cream I ever tried. I'm not sure what's in it aside from the snail boogers or whether I'm using it right...I put it on it before bed, after a moisturizing serum. It claims to do all these wonderful things - honestly, the ad was too long to read - I'm not sure if it does what it claims. But I know for me it does two things: 1. Fades acne overnight. You know how you pop a zit and go to bed just to find the sucker all angry and irritated in the morning? With this cream, I wake up to a much calmer-looking breakout. My skin seems to heal and regenerate faster with it. 2. I wake up with tight, supple skin. You know the tightness you get from using AHA/BHA? Feels almost like a very very slight sunburn, in a good way? I get the same feel from glycolic acid in Neostrata and in AHA Derm by La Roche Posay if applied overnigh. The tight, smooth, exfoliated face. The snail does the same. Only it's cheaper and way more exotic! Another good thing about it is that it's not fragranced and it absorbs quickly and completely. It isn't exactly moisturizing, so if you have dry skin, you'd need to add moisture somehow. The bottom line is...I love it. It's very rare that I repurchase makeup or skincare items but this one is a keeper. I hope Mizon never discontinues it.
8 out of 8 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No