Makeup
- DanielleTherese » See my profile
- Points: 9655
- Reviews: 46
Here are all my reviews:
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I bought this by accident. And "by accident" I mean because it was on a crazy awesome sale and I have a problem with shopping for things I don't need. Anyway, since I 'accidentally' bought it, I figured I needed to actually use it. At first, I wasn't super impressed, because it soaks in pretty quickly, which usually means it won't be nearly strong enough for me mega dry legs. I put it on before bed and woke up the next morning and was astounded!! Usually, I wake up with skin so dry its itchy. That's just the joys of being me. However, when I woke up the first morning after trying this, I wasn't itchy at all. In fact, my skin still felt pretty good! I have been using it regularly ever since. I put it on before bed and after my morning shower and there is a noticeable difference in my skin. I won't claim that it lasts 24 hours, or that it will heal your skin. If I forget to put it on, I am reminded when my legs start to itch like crazy. But, if you apply it regularly it will pretty much last you all day. The texture is definitely more cream than lotion, if you put some on your finger and hold it upside down, it won't drip. However, it soaks in fast and doesn't leave any residue. It has basically no scent beyond a subtle 'lotion' smell. Lots of heavy duty moisturizing lotions (even unscented) I have to wash my hands after applying to my legs because I can't stand the smell, but this one I don't even notice. I will warn you, you will use that pot of cream up way faster than you think!! Its only been a week or so and I'm buying more. This time I opted for the family size bottle with the pump. Luckily Avon stuff seems to go on great sales constantly, so I just stock up whenever my items are on sale. Even not on sale, the price is comparable to what you'd pay for a drugstore brand. Bottom Line: I think its spectacular, even for super dry skin. Its not thick or greasy, so people with minimally dry skin will enjoy it too. Buy in bulk, you'll need it!
August 16, 2013
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There's been a lot of buzz lately about sulfate-free shampoo. Always one to try new stuff, I was like "Cool! Let's do it!" So, I went out and got a bottle of Loreal's EverPure shampoo, and the matching conditioner. I got the volume formula because ever since gradschool my hair does this cute thing where it falls out when I'm stressed. Which is apparently often. Fun! At first, I loved it! I'm not super attached to my lather so I didn't miss it much, and its not a huge difference, really. I started using it around October, and I loved it so much, I bought more when I ran out. That winter, I had horrible problems with static! So bad that I was carrying around fabric softener sheets in my purse. (They work great, and your hair smells good!) Now, this may be setting off alarm bells for you, but I'd been using the shampoo and conditioner for so long at this point that I didn't make the connection. Until... I went to shop at Bath and Body Works, and I was buying like every product they have in their Shea Cashmere line and the sales lady asked me if I'd tried the shampoo. I was like ehh.. "I don't like to buy things without sampling them first." To my surprise, she says "no problem!" and proceeds to pour samples of the shampoo and conditioner into little plastic take out containers. And she did not skimp! It was enough to use for more than a week. And I loved it, it smells great! I'll be buying it when I use up my EverPure. Anyway, the whole time I'm using it, my hair isn't staticy. I must be slow, cause still I didn't think much of it. Until I run out of my samples. The next day, my hair is immediately feeling really dry, and its soooo staticy. And FINALLY it hit me: this shampoo is drying my hair!! So the next day I used my fiance's manshampoo and no static. Confirmed. EverPure dries my hair out like whoa. I'm too cheap to just toss it, so I bought a really great leave-in conditioner. (I realize now it would have been cheaper to just toss the EverPure but I hate to waste it! No, thats a lie, I'm lying because I want to justify my bad decision.) Long Story Short: Test before buying and you won't even up carrying fabric softener sheets in your purse. Although you may want to anyway, because they will make your purse smell great!
August 6, 2013
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I expect a lot from my nail polish. I expect it to come in the newest colors, go on easily, and last until I get sick of it! Essie does all of this. I always end up buying Essie because I'm in the nail polish aisle, innocently looking at what new colors they might have, when BAM! Essie assaults me with their cute new displays. I am powerless to resist. They always have a color I am dying to have. Essie is the most watery of my nail polishes. It goes on well and doesn't streak, but you'll need more coats for full coverage. The brushes are medium sized, and round. I generally prefer larger, flat brushes for better coverage, but because Essie is so watery, it doesn't usually streak on me. My favorite thing about Essie is that the color will last. It won't chip. (As long as you apply properly, letting each thin coat dry fully in between.) Essie will last me two weeks if I want it to. I usually get sick of a color and change it way before then, but it would last, if I wanted it to! Now Essie is not as expensive as salon brands, but its definitely more than you'd usually spend at the drug store. You'll probably pay around $8. Bottom Line: Essie is salon quality, without the salon price. But you will pay more than a drug store brand, so unless you really need the higher quality, stick to cheaper brands. If you, however, are like me and need nail polish that will stay, Essie is a great option!
August 6, 2013
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Let me preface this by saying I get crazy dry skin. So dry it flakes and itches. Sometimes it gets so bad it wakes me in the middle of the night. It's also really sensitive, so being too dry can make be break out in rashes. And just to make things more fun, I'm also allergic to things like dust, and sweat. Not the kind of allergic that makes you stop breathing, the kind that gives you rashes. So because of my allergies I have to wash my hands a lot. And because I wash my hands a lot I get really dry skin. And because my skin is sensitive I can't use a lot of lotions. So basically this is the reason I'm on a mission to find the holy grail of lotions. Here's the story of how I found my new secret weapon! I am a great nanny. One of the reasons I'm great is that I can take care of multiple young children, and clean house, at the same time. Knowing what you know about my lovely skin, you can imagine that cleaning requires lots of hand washing. Last year, a woman I nannied for had this old Avon lotion next to the sink, so I started putting it on after I'd wash my hands. It was AMAZING! It stayed on through multiple hand washes. Which is crazy! So I went out and tracked down an Avon lady and bought some and started using it. And hated it. What?! Yeah, it sucks. The problem was, it works great when I'm washing my hands a lot and need something protective and long lasting. But it never really soaks in to moisturize, it sits on the surface protecting. So when I'm not washing my hands constantly, it's like having no lotion on. One day my feet were being particularly horrible, and I was putting every lotion I own on them, with no improvement. I finally resorted to putting on my Avon hand lotion and discovered something wonderful. I hated the Avon lotion because it doesn't soak in, it sits on the surface. But if I put it on over another lotion, it works like a protective seal to keep the moisture in. Cue choir of angels. This is the greatest thing ever. I recommend everyone with dry skin run out and get you some Avon hand lotion. Did I mention its cheap?? Normally it's $5 but every different season they do sales where they will have the travel sizes for like 75 cents! Since you only use a teeny tiny minuscule amount, even a travel will last you a loooong time. And it extends the life of your other lotions, because you don't need to reapply as often.
August 5, 2013
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Review Time! Nailtiques Nail Protein Formula 2 Nailtiques offers five different formulas of Nail Protein. I chose Formula 2. DESCRIPTION FROM WEBSITE: Nailtiques Nail Protein Formula 2 - Treatment for Soft, Peeling, Bitten, Weak or Thin Nails Nailtiques Nail Protein formulas were created to treat different nail conditions. The salon-tested formulations offer special combinations of ingredients, including hydrolyzed keratin and protein in combination with gelatin and calcium to build a healthy nail foundation. The protein formulas bond the nail layers together building a strong nail foundation resistant to peeling, chipping and splitting. Benefits: Nails that are soft, peeling, split or just will not grow will see marked improvement when treated with Formula 2. This formula consists of a unique blend of protein and conditioners. The protein immediately acts to help bond nails that are splitting or peeling. Formula 2 also helps to strengthen the nail resulting in long, strong and healthy nails. Sounds just like my nails! I redo my nailpolish way too often (overexposure to polish remover!), I pick at my nails and generally just abuse them. I used OPI's Nail Envy for years with marginal results, but was looking for something to allow me to grow my nails out more even when working. (I'm a nanny, not a job that's easy on the nails) So, I went out and bought myself some. COST: In case you can't tell, its a small bottle. And its fairly expensive, the 1/2 oz. bottle sells for $17.50. I would say its not worth buying unless you really have a need. APPLICATION: Simple, you just apply daily. It dries very quickly and can be worn under nail polish. Easy. Usage Tip: My nail tips were really terrible so I applied to the underside also. THE VERDICT: Amazing! I noticed a difference after two applications. Yeah, TWO! My nails were harder and appeared to be peeling less. After a week, its like I have new nails. They don't peel anymore and I can open a pop tab, which would have definitely torn my nail right off before. After a couple weeks I started applying it less often. I did a test and went without the nail protein for a couple days to see if the effects last. They do! At this point, I feel like my nails are basically healed, but I'm going to keep applying it a few days a week because I'm still abusing my nails. (Hey, I'm just being honest!)
August 5, 2013
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The website reads: Our original rose-tinted stain is kiss-proof, see-through color for lips & cheeks that lasts for hours. Naturally sheer & sexy on all complexions... it’s innocent yet provocative. Originally created for an exotic dancer in the 1970s, benetint has soared to cult fave status. It's loved by celebs, makeup artists and gals around the world. It's the sexiest flush you can get from a bottle! Cost: $30 A bit steep for my taste, but I'll splurge on it if its AMAZING. Why I wanted to try it: I'm really pale, and blush is important for me because I look like I'm at Death's door without it. But, I prefer minimal makeup when at work because I'm running around and sweating and all kinds of unattractive stuff. So I figured cheek stain would be perfect! For my lips, lipstick is NOT an option. I have a lip gloss addiction and must reapply every few minutes, which smears any lipstick. So, stain should be perfect, right? Awesome! My expectations: I pretty much figured I would put this stuff on and think it was amazing, but way too dark for me, like other stains have been. I usually wear very light corals or pinks, (because I'm like porcelain) and I've stuck to powder blushes because I need the blendability. First impressions: When I first saw the color, I was like "HA HA HA. No." Its a pretty straight up red. It smells like roses, not like fake rose smell, it smells like real roses. I sat for a whole minute huffing it, yum! I tried a little bit on my hand first. Its watery, and it doesn't immediately soak in. I initially put a whole drop on my hand and tried to rub it into a small circle, but it wouldn't all rub in! I ended up extending my circle across half my hand. Interesting. I experimented and figured out that using more just meant I had to spread it more, it didn't create a darker color. If I wanted a darker color, I had to let it dry and apply more layers. Good to know. After playing on my hand for a while, I was confident enough to try it on my cheeks. Application: The website reads: Brush three strokes on the apples of your cheeks & blend quickly with fingertip. Apply on lips & blend. For a deeper "pop" of color, repeat. Since I'd experimented with it on my hand enough, I wasn't too scared about the "quickly" part. I knew I had sufficient time to blend. I'll be honest, I don't follow directions well, so I didn't do three strokes, I just did a nice line across my cheek. I kinda rubbed it across my cheekbone, and in circles to blend. To be completely honest, its an absolutely PERFECT color. It doesn't look like you have blush on, it looks more like you are blushing. Its basically the same color as the blood that would rush to your face if you were blushing. I stood in the mirror after doing one cheek, and tried to figure out if you could tell I had anything on. It pretty much just looked like half my face was sick, and the other had a healthy flush. I think one swipe would probably be enough if I was normal, but I wanted to SEE it, so I applied a little circle of it on the apples of my cheeks and darkened the color there. At one point, I had a mini heart attack cause I thought I'd applied way too much, but it really blended in and you couldn't tell I had anything on still. I played that game where you apply too much to one side, so you try to add just a little on the other side and end up adding too much, so you try to add a little on the other side, and its a vicious cycle. Pretty much no matter how much I added, it never looked like makeup. In the end I kinda looked like I'd gotten a very slight sunburn more than anything. When I applied it to my lips, I just put a stripe down each lip and rubbed it in. Even I couldn't mess that up. One layer was a good color for my lips, but I think two was too dark. Warning: You'll end up with stained fingers and it doesn't wash off. It smells great so I didn't really mind. I just kept smelling my fingers, so I probably looked really creepy. My sister suggested I use a cotton ball to apply it instead, but I was like "that would waste product!!" The all day test: I put Benetint on my cheeks and lips in the morning, and did not reapply all day. It did fade over time, especially on my lips (probably from constant lipgloss applications over it) but I still had some color at the end of the day. I think it would have truly lasted all day with one re-application around lunch. Which is pretty darn impressive! The swimming test: I wanted to really put this stuff through its paces. So, I decided to see if it would last through a day of swimming. *evil laugh* I'll be honest, I was a little disappointed when it really did last through the swimming. I was all prepared to have finally found its weakness! Unfortunately, it appears to have no weakness. Man! Now I'm going to have to go spend $30 on this stuff! Bottom line: Benetint is as advertised. I expect it to be a perfect color for anyone, because it doesn't put color over your skin as much as it adds a flushed look to your own skin tone. It lasts significantly better than a powder or cream does. Its expensive, so you have to decide if its worth the investment for you. For me, blush I can wear everyday at work is totally worth it!
August 5, 2013
