Makeup
- tallredamanda » See my profile
- Points: 98485
- Reviews: 434
Here are all my reviews:
-
I tend to get shiny during the day and Murad is a well-known brand so I had pretty high hopes for this product. Unfortunately, it let me down. It is a very thick product, which put me off right away, but then I remembered it's supposed to control oil AND it has SPF, so I accepted how thick and sticky it was. I was surprised to find it soaked into my skin nicely, in spite of the unpleasant texture. It seemed to work ok under my powder foundation, but I wasn't very far into the day before I noticed my face was shiny already. That would be "already" as in much earlier than with my usual primer or sometimes even when I skip primer. But the final nail in the coffin for this one was when I got home and took a closer look and discovered the product was making my skin break out. This doesn't happen super often to me anymore (thankfully). I would definitely not recommend this product to anyone with sensitive skin and I definitely will not be purchasing it for myself. There are better ways to control oil and protect my skin from the sun!
July 22, 2015
-
I am really not usually a face oil person. I have tried several of the fancy, popular versions available at Sephora (such as Tarte's Maracuja oil) and I have not been even a little bit impressed. There usually is not anything I strongly dislike about these oils, they simply do not seem to improve my skin in any way that would make them worth my time and money. Thank goodness for samples! So then I snagged a sample of this L'Oreal oil out of a magazine. I am always game to give a free magazine sample a try! This product is really, really great! I do not have that many noticeable signs of aging yet, but I like to take great care of my skin so it will hopefully stay that way. This oil is very lightweight. I liked how easily it absorbed into my skin. I did not super love the scent, which was strong enough that my husband noticed it, but it seemed to wear off pretty quickly, so I can forgive that. I did not think it was too greasy at all, just a nice light moisturizer. I used it at night before bed and it did not leave any greasy residue on my pillow or anything (always nice). The real treat was how my skin looked the next morning (especially after 2 or 3 days of use)! The package states "for dull, dry skin" and wow, yeah, it really is. After using this product, my skin was so much more radiant and healthy-looking! I love the non-greasy moisture and I have to say I did not realize that my skin was maybe a little bit dull until I used this and suddenly it was not dull at all anymore. After this sample I used a sample from a different brand (NUDE, available at Sephora) and while I would say I liked this second sample better (no strong scent, slightly better results), the L'Oreal product is less than half the cost. Less than half!! I am not a regular face oil user, but I might just be adding this one to my skincare routine because I really liked it.
July 15, 2015
-
I love this face cream. Wow. I've only had a couple samples of this that came with a Sephora order and I really only used it as an afterthought. I was low on my regular face cream and I needed something to throw on at night before bed, so I used this. It's incredible. The consistency is just like any other face cream and to me it is lightly scented similar to the Fresh Soy Face Wash (I don't have a strong sense of smell, though). Every morning that I had used this the night before, I woke up with the brightest, healthiest, most amazing looking skin! The problem, of course, is that it's $42 for just under 2 ounces (currently on Sephora) and my usual face cream is more like $30 for 6 ounces. I would usually take a star off for a high price, but with Fresh, and especially with this product, you're always getting your money's worth if you can afford to spend it.
July 1, 2015
-
I am absolutely smitten with this lipstick, I couldn't wait for Total Beauty to get it added to the site so I could write this review!! This lipstick goes on with something of a balm-like texture. It's very, very moisturizing, but also very, very pigmented. Much more pigmented than a tinted balm (which is why it is lipstick, not balm, obviously), but not nearly as intense of a color payoff as the original Urban Decay Revolution lipstick. I first bought this in F-Bomb which is a very, very wearable red. To be fair, I never tried the original Revolution F-Bomb shade, maybe that one is wearable, too. But I have fair skin and red hair so red lipsticks can be tricky for me, but this one is perfection! Then I scored a little set of samples from Sephora with four additional shades to try out. Anarchy, a bright pink that is so pigmented it stained my finger a little when I applied the sample (but also wearable--more so than the original Anarchy), Shame, which is a gorgeous sheer berry shade, Ladyflower which is a rose pink shade that I adore and will probably need to buy, and Walk of Shame which is described as "pale nude pink" but it just looked flesh toned to me and it looked AWFUL on me. This is a good, high quality lipstick with a pretty (and sturdy) tube and I definitely recommend. I love my original Revolution lipstick, but I might actually like the Sheer Revolution better because it is so moisturizing and feels so great on without sacrificing the longevity of the color. I highly recommend you try it out! But really, try the different shades in store to find one that works. Several shades work great on me, but a friend of mine has tried on several and can't find one that looks good.
June 30, 2015
-
I snagged a small sample of this out of a magazine (of all places), and honestly I really wanted to love it. The shade was "light/medium" which made me nervous because I have fair skin, but it definitely suited my skin tone perfectly. I don't know if it is one of those smart shade type products (I doubt it, or they'd be advertising that, right?) or if it's just better suited to the fair skin tones than the medium ones (so, medium skin folks beware--this might be too pale for you!). The product is relatively thick coming out of the sample package, which seems to be normal for a BB cream. I loved the amount of coverage it gave me, definitely a heavier coverage than I've seen from some other BB creams, but it didn't look bad or FEEL heavy, which was nice. I think this is supposed to be an anti-acne product. I got three or four uses out of my sample packet and I didn't notice any difference to that end. It seemed to have a light cucumber scent, which I didn't mind, but I do think that's an odd choice for a makeup product. Why does it need to be scented at all? My biggest complaint and the reason I will not be purchasing a full size bottle of this, besides the less than stellar reviews on here, is that even when I wore it under powder my face looked like a shiny, gross oil slick by mid-morning. I have oily skin, so I'm never too surprised when my face is shiny in the middle or end of the day, but with this product it was happening way too early for my liking and that's not a look I want to spend my money on! Thank goodness for that magazine sample because I was going to buy this one when my other BB cream ran out. I'll try something else instead, or buy more of what I've been using.
June 30, 2015
-
This lip gloss is very shiny and very minty. It's smooth and not sticky, but I do not think it is very moisturizing and it also doesn't last long. Definitely not bad if you don't mind reapplying! I don't love the applicator either and always end up putting it on with my finger. I like the cinnamon flavored gloss from this brand a lot better.
June 30, 2015
-
I have a full size bottle of this conditioner that I've used on and off for years (do they even still make this?). Mine is a lovely citrus scent, and honestly, that's the best quality the product has going for it. It's reasonably moisturizing, but not any better than most other average conditioners. The consistency seems to be thinner than most conditioners, actually, which I always found odd. Mostly I use my full size bottle to refill a much smaller bottle that I use occasionally for travel. The scent I have matches the scent I also own for the shampoo which is nice. But once I run out, even if they do still make it, I won't be replacing it. It just isn't impressive at all and there are better conditioners out there.
June 30, 2015
-
This certainly isn't a BAD shampoo by any means, but I also never thought it was anything special. The selection of fragrances was always nice (do they even still make this?) and I still have it in a lovely citrus scent. It claims to be a volumizing shampoo, but I never noticed any volumizing effects from using it. It does lather nicely and it doesn't take much product to make a nice later (this is of course somewhat dependent upon how much hair you have). It gets hair nice and clean without leaving it dry, which is always a plus. I have the full size bottle, but I pretty much only use it now for travel, so just two or three times a year, and I refill a smaller travel-size bottle. Even if they still make it, it's not a product I will buy again. I will replace it with some other brand that comes in a travel size.
June 30, 2015
-
This is a perfectly good, reliable shower gel/body wash. What is great about these is that they come in such a wide variety of scents, there is definitely something for everyone. That's not true, I suppose. If you prefer something unscented or lightly scented, this is NOT the product for you. I have never felt that the scent held onto my skin much, if at all, after a shower, but I have never minded that because I have rarely used the lotion and body spray that coordinate, so I would rather my shower gel scent not compete with whatever fragrance I decide to put on for the day. But the scents are definitely strong (but, in my opinion, pleasantly so) during use in the shower or bath. They lather up wonderfully, and even the colors and labels are pretty and cheerful on the shelf in the shower. I would say these are reasonably priced and they become even more affordable if you happen into the store during one of their sales or promotions. Sometimes I even like to buy several in various scents to swap in and out depending on the season (I have to admit this is an idea I stole from a friend). Aside from the wide variety of scents, there is not anything super special about this shower gel. It is not extra moisturizing (some skin types may even find it drying) and like I said, I don't think it leaves a super long-lasting scent on the skin (other people seem to disagree). A bottle does last a decent amount of time, and at the end of the day I simply find it fun to choose pretty scents to enjoy in the shower.
June 30, 2015
-
This is a wonderful exfoliator. I wanted to try it for months and months and for some reason kept putting it off. I finally saw a chance to get a sample size jar with an order from Sephora and I jumped all over it. This isn't an inexpensive product, but Fresh is a great brand and I think this is worth the cost. It doesn't take much to get the job done! It has the light, but delightful lemony scent that so many of the Fresh brand products have. (In other words, if you hate Fresh's signature lemony scent, you'll hate this one, too.) This is a very grainy, but moisturizing scrub. I tap just a little bit onto a finger and rub it onto my bottom lip, spreading the sugar around with my finger to get maximum exfoliation. Then it's easy enough to press my lips together to transfer some scrub to my top lip, and I massage it in there, too. I take my time (but not too long!) so the oils also have time to moisturize. The instructions say to wipe off, but I usually use it before I shower, so I just hop in and rinse it off before I start washing my hair, etc. After rinsing, my lips feel soft and completely moisturized. I only feel the need to use this (read: I only remember to use this) one or twice a week, but so far that really seems to be enough. You could certainly also only use it when you feel that your lips are especially dry. Personally, I like to spend the extra time on this kind of pampering on the weekend, which leaves me feeling refreshed and ready to take on another week (a bit dramatic for a lip scrub, I know, but there it is). I think my sample jar will last a long time, but when it eventually runs out, I will buy the full size of this product without any hesitation.
June 25, 2015
