Makeup
- oceanbubbles » See my profile
- Points: 25200
- Reviews: 112
Here are all my reviews:
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I haven't really tried many NYX products, but I've heard some really great things about the brand. So the first time I saw a NYX display, I picked up two of their Slim Eye Pencils in a shimmery, forest green; a glittery sky blue; and a glittery silver (yes, I know, I sound crazy, but jewel tones and pastels actually look great with my deep brown, wide eyes). First off, let me state that the price is amazing! I got three of these for a good deal (buy two get one free), but even at a normal price, these pencils are only $3.50 to $4.00 a piece. Also, there is a huge selection of colors! Since it's so affordable, I was really tempted to buy more. But a product isn't worth a cent if it doesn't perform well, so onto the review! The pencil will stay sharp a long time and is packaged really nicely (elegant black with white lettering, and the color of the pencil can be seen at the bottom, making this easy to grab in a cluttered makeup drawer). It glided on smoothly onto both my lower and upper eyelids and waterlines, and the pigmentation was excellent. For the most part, the color was true to the color shown on the packaging. (Just a note that the silver is actually a lot lighter than it looks on the pencil and the packaging, so I really had to layer the pencil on to get the desired color. Just a note, not really a big deal.) The lasting power of this liner was impressive when I used it without a primer on my lower lid, but on my upper lid, it would crease or disappear without primer (in maybe about four hours). I used a good primer with it, and that extended the wear to maybe about ten hours or so. Overall, I liked these pencils! I will be buying them again, not only because I am tempted by all of the pretty colors, but because of the affordability, wear (with primer, of course), ease of application, and formula.
December 28, 2013
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I gotta hand it to Maybelline for their vast collection of shades, which makes it easy to find a concealer suited to your skin tone, but the coverage is only average. Even after a couple layers, blemishes and dark circles just look a tad covered. However, the formula is light and airy (like nothing's there).
December 28, 2013
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My cheeks were looking more and more like apples (and not in the cute way) after being through the dry, hot and cold winter weather, so I picked this up at the drugstore to cover them up before a holiday party. I agree with a lot of the reviews, especially the ones that like the look it makes, but dislike the smell. The smell is really quite odd, a little like sickly florals and chemicals, but luckily it goes away after a while (I stopped noticing after about five to fifteen minutes, and no one else noticed). Besides the smell, I really like the look I got from this foundation. It was a bit hard to dispense just the right amount, because when I pushed the dispenser, a lot of product rushed out, but eventually I figured out how much to push depending on how much I wanted to use, so not a whole big deal there. When the foundation comes it, it really is like mousse, but after a while, it looks just like any liquid foundation after the bubbles settle. For this foundation, I first used a medium-sized flat synthetic foundation brush from MAC to smooth it over my face, then I used my fingers to blend the lines for a more natural, dewy look. The foundation was lightweight, had a slight shimmer (but barely noticeable), and stayed on for about ten eight hours, even after rubbing my face. Pretty good, in my opinion. It felt a little greasy/oily after a while, but my face is already oily to begin with. Overall, I like this foundation because of the look, price, and wide color range (there seemed to be a gazillion shades!), but it takes time and patience to get just right, smells a little funny, and some may not like the packaging that can get a little difficult to control. I would buy this in the future, but I think I'd try something else first. (This is definitely not a good first-timer foundation!)
December 28, 2013
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I am a hand cream addict. There, I said it. I use hand cream every single day, and I own so many tubes and have tried so many hand creams that I could probably start a university course on hand cream with an accompanying museum. While I have a lot of hand creams, I can be very picky, and this is one of the better ones. The only thing that I don't like about it is the greasiness, which is why it's eight stars instead of ten. However, the greasiness from the thickness would make Aveda's Hand Relief a great overnight treatment, especially in the dry winter months. The ingredients in this hand cream are great. There are humectants, which a good for moisture, vitamin A and E antioxidants, plant extracts, and fruit extracts. These ingredients will not only make a difference, it's better than hand creams that are loaded with synthetic chemicals. (The impressive quality of the ingredient list also justifies the slightly pricey tag on this hand cream.) Also, Aveda's Hand Relief has a great scent that will appeal to both men and women. It's Aveda's signature "botanical" scent, only a little fruitier. It's clean, fresh, fruity, and sophisticated (bonus!). The scent isn't so strong that it will compete with perfume or make others gag. Overall, I would definitely buy this again. Not only are the ingredients good, the scent is great. This made my dry hands feel so good and the moisture lasts.
December 27, 2013
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My skin goes crazy in the winter with the dry air, so on a particularly chapped night, I used this before going to bed, and I woke up with really soft, plump lips with no chapping, cracking, or discomfort. Vaseline really outdid themselves with this. The packaging looks just like a regular tub of Vaseline, but in a very miniature form, which is so cute! While this is cute, I personally don't like having to use my fingers with lip products, so for me that was a star off. However, that's just my personal preference. The cocoa scent of this stuff is so. Good. It smells like chocolate and sweet sugar cookies that are fresh out of the oven, which is great for winter. I can't say that it tastes like what it smells like, though. The formula itself is really simple and effective. The cocoa butter and the petroleum jelly make my lips really soft and I don't have to keep reapplying every couple of hours. Overall, this is a pretty good product. For about $3, this works better than Chapstick. I do say that I wouldn't wear this in the daytime because it's really, really thick, but it'd be a great overnight solution.
December 25, 2013
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This lotion is amazing and wildly popular. And for good reasons. Besides the adorable packaging (which BBW redesigned to be even more beautiful), the scent is absolutely amazing. It's a floral scent, but without being overly sweet and the floral is also very fresh and clean. The scent is very energizing, happiness-inducing, girly yet sophisticated, and is great all-year round. The smell of this lotion is just fantastic (but it's really hard for me to describe). On me, the scent lasts about three to six hours. The lotion itself is quite moisturizing on my arms and legs, but it won't quite do the trick on especially dry areas like feet or elbows, which is why I gave it nine stars instead of ten. For the price, which was about $12, I think Country Chic lotion by BBW is a good buy because not only is the packaging cute and sturdy, the lotion smells like heaven and has nice moisture. Some people might find that paying $12 for 8 ounces to be pricey, but BBW almost always has promotions, and coupons are really easy to find. Overall, I would definitely buy this again.
December 24, 2013
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I got this Enchanted Orchid body lotion on BBW's website (because it's discontinued), and just got around to trying it now, and my initial impression was: extremely impressed. The cute, pretty bottle dispensed just the perfect amount, and it almost instantly suck into my skin for a silky, non-greasy feel. Of course, like most BBW scents, Enchanted Orchid smelled amazing, like an exotic, lush, flowery getaway with the sun shining down on a bed of orchids, and a musky breeze wafting around. The price for the 8-ounce bottle was relatively cheap, too, since I only buy BBW products when they are doing the "Buy 3, Get 3 Free" promotion, both online and in-store. So technically, this bottle would normally be around $12, but I got it for around $6. While my initial reaction to this lotion was absolute delight, it got really annoying after a while. While the lotion felt really nice at first, the moisture didn't last long, maybe about an hour. The scent, however, stuck around for way longer. Maybe too long. It's been nearly 20 hours, and I can still smell it on myself. The scent was very nice and intoxicating at first, but now it's just any other old lady floral that's cloying. Overall, while the first few moments of this lotion are amazing, it gets old, annoying, and dry after a while. I don't think I'd be buying this again after finding some way to use up the bottle without knocking myself out with the floral scent.
December 24, 2013
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For a stage production, I knew I was going to get some sort of breakout/allergic reaction from the heavy, greasy, used-by-others makeup, but what choice did I really have? But after using the makeup, I didn't think my skin would react THAT badly. I woke up the next morning with a swollen eye; red, bumpy, burning skin all over my cheeks and forehead; and really unpleasant dryness with my lips. The first day, I was absolutely miserable. I was wearing my hair to cover half my face, it was that embarrassing. The second day was better, but that's when my face started peeling like crazy. It was like snowfall from my face. I tried basically every moisturizer in my arsenal, but nothing kept the flaking down. I finally found my jar of Aquaphor in the back of the cabinet and I used it after some gentle exfoliation. I had used Aquaphor before thinking it wasn't anything particularly special, and I thought it would clog my pores like Vaseline (which it didn't), but I had high hopes now. Well, I woke up the next morning and all the flaking was gone, the redness was gone, my skin was the smoothest its ever been, and the stinging was gone. It was astonishing. Aquaphor will definitely be a staple in my beauty routine (especially in the winter) now. I remember buying my 3 and a half ounce jar for about $8-$9, and that 3 and a half ounces will last forever. The ingredients in Aquaphor and simple (I actually know what they are, haha), so I feel safer putting it on my skin. The formula is a little thick and feels initially greasy (obviously), but it gives a nice radiant glow, lasts long, moisturizes like no one's business, and it really does work like it claims. It promotes healing so well, and the moisture is truly unbelievable. It's also extremely comfortable, I barely noticed it was there unless I touched my face. After this experience, I think everyone should have a jar of Aquaphor at home!
December 7, 2013
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I got a free pack of this from one of my friends who is (extremely) beauty-savvy, and I must say it is one of the better makeup remover wipes I've tried. First off, the scent is SO heavenly. It's floral, elegant, and light. It's a really refreshing way to start my day or a relaxing way to get my makeup off. These wipes don't leave my dry skin parched like other wipes, they are very gentle and seem to put a bit of moisture back into my skin, and they don't hurt from irritation. The material is very soft. I also feel good about having less chemicals and more natural ingredients on my face. However, just because these Burt's Bees wipes are soft and gentle doesn't make them ineffective. I managed to get a full face of heavy, greasy stage makeup off with one wipe in about four minutes. Also, the price is really reasonable with the full sized packages (not so much with the small ones, little overpriced). I would definitely get these again.
December 6, 2013
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I honestly have skin that will go through anything without breaking out and I don't have any allergies, but this is the one thing that will cause it to go berserk. Thank goodness I didn't spend money on this. I got it in the mail as a free sample. As with all other Simple products, this was white and unscented, packaged in the familiar green and white, plain packaging. When I first squeezed this out of the bottle and smoothed in on my face, I was in love. It was lightweight, but it made my face feel so replenished and velvety soft. So I went to bed thinking that I had found my new "it" moisturizer. But when I woke up, I had tiny, bumpy, uneven, and rather painful small bumps all over my face where I had applied the moisturizer the night before. Not. Cool. I have not broken out in about six months, but this finally caused one of the worst breakouts I've had in a long time. Besides the fact that this moisturizer made me break out, the ingredients don't list anything particularly impressive that could seem to deliver on Simple's claims. Overall, this made my insensitive, highly tolerant skin break out like never before, and it doesn't seem to have any particularly unique or effective ingredients. Don't waste money, time, or hopes on this product. I usually like (don't love, but like) Simple's products, but this one is awful.
November 27, 2013
