Makeup
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- Points: 3050
- Reviews: 56
Here are all my reviews:
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When multi-blade razors came out, I thought it was just a big marketing ploy to sell more expensive razors. I received a Gillette Venus Embrace Razor to test out and wasn’t expecting much. Boy I wish I hadn’t been wasting the last 5 years of my life on twin blade razors! This razor gave me the best shave I’ve ever had. Especially on my underarms - I didn’t have to go over the same spot as mancy times - meaning less irritation. I think I also got a much closer shave than before, since my regrowth came a lot slower than usual. This razor has five blades surrounded by a moisturizing “ribbon†making the head really wide. I thought this would make shaving curved areas (underarms, around knees, etc) hard, but it followed curves really well.  I had read that the multi-blade razors use thinner blades to help fit more into a smaller space and give a closer shave, but that they got duller sooner. I’ve been using the same razor for three weeks now and it hasn’t gotten dull yet. That’s good since these blades are more expensive to replace than my trusty old Bic Daisy. True, I haven’t been shaving a ton, since it’s winter, but I think this razor will still last a while when summer rolls around and my legs make their bare debut.
May 6, 2013
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I first used this foundation after applying moisturizer and used the sponge tip to blend the makeup into my skin. You sqeeze out a small amount from a hole in the center of the sponge and apply. I found this method applied a much thicker coat than I liked. The formula dries to a powdery finish pretty quickly, so it was hard to spread it around quickly enough before it dried - even when I did small sections of my face at a time. Now I forgo the applicator and squeeze a pea-sized amount onto my fingers and blend on - sometimes I even mix it with some moisturizer to help thin out the formula a little and make it easier to spread. I like how this make-up wears. It definitely helps with preventing late-day shine. My only complaint is that, while it doesn’t make my skin dry, it itself seems to dry out during the day and settles a little. I have to remember to do a quick finger blend about 2:00 to smooth it back out. It’s certainly not my dream make-up, but for now it is pretty darn good.
May 2, 2013
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This primer comes in a tiny pump bottle and is very shimmery. The effect applied to my face was an all over glow that caught the light. The formula is light, but a bit on the greasy side. It seemed to sit on my skin, rather than absorb. It still worked well with my mineral powder foundation, but did leave a bit of greasiness on my foundation brush. The look was very natural glow under my makeup - like I'd just worked out or *ahem* a romp in the hay. My makeup did last longer in the day and didn't settle into lines like it usually does.
May 9, 2011
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The Microweb Fiber Texturizer is a lightweight texturizer. The formula is runnier than your typical paste-y texturizer and smells like candy. You pump a little from the squat bottle and rub it between your hands before combing them through your hair. The hold is pretty light, so you wouldn’t want to use it for styles that need to stick up, but it makes for great separation. Great for curls, but for straight hair too – it gives you a bit of an undone look. I would recommend starting with a small pump, because a full pump dispensed more product than I needed for my shoulder length hair. Also, apply from mid-shaft to the ends and avoid the hair around your face, lest you want your hair to look greasy. Since this texturizer is so light, you can restyle your hair with it in pretty easily. I brushed my hair to get some wind tangles out and then ran my fingers through it to get the piece-y look back.
November 5, 2009
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The Whipped Cream Styler is a conditioning mousse with a light hold. It comes in your typical mousse bottle, but with a twist – the nozzle is shaped like a whipped cream nozzle and the product looks like delicious whipped cream when you squirt it out. Seriously, it took a lot of will power not to taste it. It smells amazing! Like vanilla cream! Yum! It worked into my hair easily as a foam leave-in conditioner and helped hold my style. The only problem I had was that I usually apply mousse at my roots for a bit of lift, but since this is also a conditioner, it left my roots a bit oily looking. It’s really meant to help condition, define and hold curls and waves (not add volume to your roots) and it did a good job helping bring out the wave in my hair.
November 5, 2009
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The Breakthrough Performance Lipstick SPF 15 in Nude Scene is a fabulous neutral shade that comes in a sleek, gunmetal tube. The creamy formula smells like vanilla cookies and has a very subtle shimmer. The formula slides on smoothly and gives great coverage without feeling heavy. It feels super moisturizing and looked freshly applied for hours. It did come off pretty easily on my coffee cup, but being a neutral, it wasn't very noticeable. Plus I then got to pull out my sleek tube and reapply another lovely scented coat. The neutral color has two great bonuses: 1. You can apply it without a mirror and not worry about getting it perfect and 2. It enhances the tan look of the bronzer and helps balance the dark eyelashes I applied with the Special Effects Defining & Lengthening Mascara with Conditioning Primer
October 15, 2009
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Only a few short weeks ago, I reviewed Givenchy's Phenomen'Eyes Mascara, the sold-out popular lash darkener with a funky applicator. This fan favorite is designer priced, putting it out of range of many pocketbooks. L'Oreal has seized the opportunity to offer a mass market friendly version with their Telescopic Explosion Mascara. I got a press sample to try out since it isn't available in stores yet (although it appears to be available in the UK). When you see it come out Stateside in November - grab it! This stuff is awesome! I wasn't totally bowled over with Givenchy's mascara. Once I got a handle on how to use the round spiky applicator, the results looked great. But otherwise it just seemed like any other mascara out there. You'd think the L'Oreal version would be pretty much the same, but it has some major differences. Unlike Givenchy's short, stiff wand, L'Oreal's is long and flexible. The applicator isn't nearly as pointy and I think the combo makes the application much easier and a little less scary. Hold the wand vertically and push the wand up through your lashes root to tip. You can also hold it like a regular mascara wand, but vertically helps you get those tricky inner and outer corner lashes. My lashes come out looking well coated, nicely separated (avoid a sweeping side-to-side application motion unless you want clumps) and looking long. It doesn't volumize very well, but getting the inner and outer corners coated helps my lashes look fuller for sure. The formula is made with paraffin, jojoba oil, palm oil and Pro-Vitamin B5 which all definitely make for softer lashes than Givenchy's formula. I also thought it washed off more easily and cleanly, which is great since I hate using makeup remover and try to avoid it whenever possible (and am maybe a tad lazy). Whereas Givenchy offers some funky colors like blue and khaki, L'Oreal will only be offering Black and Blackest Black. As a fair toned person, I often go for brown, navy or soft black to avoid looking like a goth teenager, but the regular black looked nice and not at all harsh on me.
September 17, 2009
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The toughest part about drugstore foundation it deciding if the color in the bottle will match your skin tone. L'Oreal provides one of those clear cards with the shades printed on them, so you can it up to your skin and see what will match. These are handy and often suggest a color that is different than I expected. The problem still remains that I waivered between 2 shades that both seemed close. I went for the lighter of the too, thinking it might look a little better and knowing that I would soon be loosing some of my summer color. The foundation is very running and applies a bit sheer. It did a good job of evening out my skin tone, but didn't cover zit or darker red spots. The foundation has a sheen to it (L'Oreal calls it micro-fine optical pearls) that I think is meant to help hide imperfections and impart a dewy look. I thought it made my already oily skin look even shinier. The formula is non-comedigenic, non-acnegenic and oil-free - all must for my skin type. While I didn't feel like the makeup clogged my pores or made me break out, it did make me feel like my skin was super greasy. Maybe it was the moisturizing ingredients, but it wasn't working for me. The color did end up being a tad too light and I had to use some bronzer to compensate for it. Since the formula wasn't working for my skin, I decided not to go buy the next shade up. I know others have had good luck with this foundation, but at $11 it's one of the pricier drugstore foundations. If you are able to find a sample to try first, I would recommend it.
September 5, 2009
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Eye cream is something you must, must, must have in your beauty arsenal. Keeping the delicate skin around your eyes looking good will help keep you looking young for years. They come in lots of shapes and sizes and formulas, but mostly they come in small containers with big price tags. I've had the pleasure of testing lots of different formulas and can tell you honestly, I'm not sure the pricier ones are any better than the drugstore varieties. Sure there are things you may or may not like about certain formulas, like greasiness or a strong scent, but can you really tell if they are working or not? It's one of those things where you aren't going to see instant results. The best I can do is look for ingredients that dermatologists know are effective. So in the spirit of not spending an arm and a leg, I checked out L'Oreal Revitalift Deep-Set Wrinkle Repair. This nifty little product is a double ended wand to provide you with a separate day and night cream. Although you don't really need a separate cream for day and night, it can be nice. The AM side has SPF 15 - a great day time addition, but not really necessary at night. The PM formula contains caffeine, which is great for reducing puffiness, but I would think it'd make more sense to use during the day time. Maybe it de-puffs you overnight? It also has richer moisturizers, like shea butter - something that might be too heavy for day time use. Both creams contain retinol - one of those proven wrinkle fighting ingredients I mentioned before. The AM tube has a strange, slightly hooked, applicator. I'm not sure if this is meant to be used to apply the product directly to your under eye. I felt it was a bit to stiff to use, so I applied it with my fingers. The PM tube has a long point, so definitely squirt onto your fingers to apply. Both formulas absorbed well. The AM formula didn't mess with my eye makeup at all. They are both a light weight white lotion. My biggest gripe is that the tubes are a little stiff, making it difficult to dispense the right amount of product. I usually get more than I need. But at only $20, you aren't wasting a lot
August 6, 2009
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I think the claims on mascaras are the most outrageous claims in the beauty industry. L'Oreal Extra Volume Collagen Mascara is no exception. "12x More Impact Instantly" screams the packaging. What is that supposed to mean anyways? They aren't actually claiming 12x more volume (although the french translation underneath it does). The silly thing is that this is actually a very nice mascara, but the extreme packaging makes me think of annoying car commercials on the radio. I also have no idea what collagen has to do with eyelashes... The mascara itself is a nice, easy to apply formula. It has an extra large brush with lots of bristles that do a good job of separating the lashes and coating them evenly. I don't think my lashes looked any more voluminous than usual, but they did look nice and feathery - no clumping. The formula left my lashes flexible and didn't flake or smear during the day. I was able to wash it off cleanly with just my facewash, making it very convenient to use overall.
August 6, 2009
