Makeup
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- Points: 149575
- Reviews: 566
Here are all my reviews:
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You already know how important it is to use some kind of thermal protection when working with heat on your hair. Although this mousse works with heat to greatly volumize your hair, it's not going to provide adequate thermal protection--so make sure to supplement it with a thermal protecting product after you apply this mousse and before you blow dry. Also, make sure your hair is completely dry before using hot tools because you don't want to seer and fry your hair! Enough said, this does what it claims and gives you remarkable volume as opposed to blow drying your hair upside down without using anything. This made my hair feel soft too! I have very thick and coarse hair which makes it prone to frizz, but this gives me some kind of smoothing and minimizes my frizz. The thing I didn't like was that this mousse is a little on the thicker side, not nearly as light and fluffy as other mousse brands I'm used to. So I do have to spray a bit more onto my hand to work into my longer hair which means I'll be finished with the can sooner than the mousse I typically use. Also, since it was thicker, I noticed that it made my fringe a little limp sooner than normally--so it felt weighed down like it had too much hair product. So do be careful to concentrate this more on other parts of your hair rather than any fringe or bangs. Even though the price is nice, as I said earlier, the can is likely to run out faster as opposed to paying a little more for something that's going to last a bit longer--so keep in mind so see if you really are making a good investment.
February 27, 2012
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I work my behind off trying to develop a skin care routine that will improve my sensitive skin and make it flawless. No matter what I try, I always develop some kind of problem, like acne, hyperpigmentation, uneven texture, oil slicks, dry flakiness, etc. I wish I was one of those people who do literally nothing but moisturize, yet still have perfect skin. Acne is probably my biggest concern because it often leads to hyperpigmentation, so I have to work another month to fade those dark spots. I get hormonal acne on my chin like nobody's business, so I've tried almost everything to make that go away as fast as possible. I tried this because I became curious after talking with some people about it. Wash your face, pat it dry, slather on an opaque layer of this stuff, wait for ten minutes, rinse off. Those instructions are simple enough. What I LOVED about this is that it does what it claims; it dries an acne and purges pores. Upon washing this stuff off my face, I noticed several white head roots purged to the surface of my blemishes so that they could be expelled easier. The next day I noticed a significant reduction with my acne, so I am pleased that a product actually does what it claims--it doesn't make any incredible claims. The thing that I didn't like about was that when it dried at the end of its ten minute duration, the dried mask would flake off. Even if you moved your face, dried powder would fall from your face onto your body. This is quite a thick mask too that's a bit of work to spread on your face. The bottle is quite small and you use quite a bit so it's not exactly the most cost effective. This mask is a step up from Queen Helene's Mint Julep mask, so if you're desperate for faster clearing time and willing to pay the price, then I would try the Murad mask. If you can wait a little longer, the Queen Helene mask will dry acne and purge pores as well, but you aren't left with the mess like Murad. I got a deluxe sample of this mask so I can get away with a few uses so I'm going to try this mask every few days during a breakout to see if I feel convinced enough to pay for the full-sized bottle.
February 27, 2012
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Normally I'm not the biggest fan of Tarte. Although I do love the 12-hour Amazonian Clay Blushes, nearly all the other products are misses for me. I do admire what Tarte tries to accomplish by creating a vegan, animal-friendly, and natural line of cosmetics--they just don't work for me. I tried on a little bit of "Tipsy"--if you notice that these glosses are named after their blushes in the corresponding colors. I'm on the hunt for a pretty coral gloss or lipstick that works for my heavily pigmented lips. I was disappointed with the color. Although people with less-pigmented lips will have better color payoff with this, I just didn't like that the coral literally disappeared on my lips. Most glosses with pigment will still show up on my lips. Tipsy is supposed to be a bright coral and it basically looks like a super sheer soft pink on my lips; so I do with that the color payoff was a little better. This gloss does feel a little heavier as well, but it smoothes over lines on your lips. However, it does not feel sticky which is good (why pay lots of money for a sticky gloss anymore??). It has a bit of a candy cane scent to it which personally I'm not a huge fan of, but it disappears after a few minutes. Also, there's a slight cooling tingle to this. NOT as extreme as the Buxom Big and Healthy lip glosses, but much more subtle. This does have decent staying power. I put this on and I talked constantly for an hour and that's when it wore off. So if you can talk and lick your lips a lot like I do and your gloss stays on during that time, I'd say it has decent staying power. This also ditches the traditional dipping stick that most glosses have. There is a built in brush that you push the button on the other end to push up the product. Although the packaging is cute with it's flowers, it's actually quite the big and bulky lip gloss that isn't going to fit into pockets or small purses very well. There are definitely a few things that I would change about this gloss, but it's not bad considering of my past history of disappointment with Tarte.
February 25, 2012
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This is definitely one of the most fun mascaras out there! It has a retractable brush that you can control its effect. In most stores, the tester likely has its silver tip broken off, but if you get it, it's fun to twist the top! If you want thicker, more voluminous lashes, then expand the brush. If you want longer, more defined lashes, then contract the bush to make it smaller. This is literally two mascara wands in one. Buxom has some of the best mascara formulas, in my opinion; even if you pump the wand in and out continuously, the formula won't dry out nearly as fast as most mascaras. Also, you can assure that the formula is going to be jet black, and STAY get black. In addition, this formula isn't going to flake or smudge off, so that's a treat for people with more sensitive eyes; especially since Buxom is owned by Bare Escentuals, it's not going to have a lot of ingredients that can irritate your eyes. You can use both effects of the wand on top of each other, or alone. It's also buildable volume if you want to amp up the volume. I really like to wiggle my brush at the root of my lashes, and then twist the brush and that realllly helps to stretch out those lashes. I do like that this has a lot of long bristles because that really helps stretch out the lashes when you contract the brush. However, the only unfortunate thing about the brush is that there aren't as many bristles as the original Buxom mascaras. If you go to Sephora, buy the Lash Hurrah duo if you can, because not only does that come with a full size original Buxom mascara and a mini Amplified Mascara, but it's also cheaper than buying either of the mascaras individually! So ask around in order to get the most bang for your buck!
February 25, 2012
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There's just something about ulta products that are either a hit or miss. Even though they supposedly reformulated their cosmetics, I've seen very little improvement. This lipstick doesn't glide over chapped lips like some of the more pigmented luxury brands--this lipstick tends to emphasize chapped lips. And this lipstick is not very well-pigmented. I tried on several colors and you could barely see them on my lips. If you are looking for more of a sheer look, then I will suggest this product to you, but if you are looking for a super rich color then I would try something. Heavy pigmentation is so important to me because I do have a lot of deep pigments in my lips so I need a highly pigmented lip color to cover that. Even if I cover my lips with foundation or a lip primer, the color is still too ridiculously sheer for my liking. One thing that I do like is that it doesn't feel sticky on my lips, and it also feels lightweight. However, I feel that I could find a better quality lip stick in a cheaper drugstore brand than with this. Keep in mind, don't buy drugstore products at ulta unless you're desperate and/or do not have access to other stores because they really mark up the prices for drug store brands.
February 24, 2012
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I'm not usually a fan of ulta cosmetics--there's just something about them that don't sit too well on my face. I purchased shade number 12 which is a darker fuchsia color. These lip glosses do a have a lot more color than most glosses, but are still somewhat sheer. When I applied it on my lips, I was disappointed with how sticky it was at first...but then I became surprised that the sticky feeling went away completely. Another thing I like about this gloss is that it's a little bit thicker--thinner glosses seem to run off my lips easier (because I don't have the time to apply a lip liner all over my lips or put on a lip primer--it's swipe and go with me). Also, the color is buildable. The first layer is going to be quite light and sheer, but wait a few minutes and apply another layer and you'll get a fuller color. However, I was kind of disappointed that the color wasn't completely opaque. Naturally I don't expect opaque color with a gloss, but that's what attracted me to get this gloss anyways. It's not a horrible gloss, I've definitely tried better, but this is higher on my list and is a keeper. This is definitely one of those colored glosses that you can layer on top of lipsticks of similar colors, or you can layer it on top of a different color lipstick to create a funky new color. I do like how this looks on my lips, it makes my lips look smooth without settling into lines.
February 24, 2012
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I recently bought a trial kit that came with one of the mini color sticks and a bottle of the luminizer. I'm not typically a huge fan for cream stick blushes, but I like that this is very pigmented with a gentle stroke. I highly suggest putting a dot on each cheek and then using a firm contouring brush to stroke and even it out to where you want color. The color does last throughout the day and because this has argan oil in it, it feel very hydrating on my cheeks, especially because I have eczema and rosacea. The stick that I own has as little bit of shimmer, but it's mostly more of a dewy finish. I like the way it looks, but not necessarily how it feels. It kind of feels a bit greasy to the touch when I place my fingers over where I blended the color. A little translucent powder solves that feeling, but it diminishes a bit of the dewy finish. One of these sticks is going to last a long time, but I think they're perfect for taking one with you when you travel or if you don't have a lot of time to get ready in the morning. They're also great for touching up throughout the day. Another plus about this is that it hasn't caused me to break out, but then again, luckily nothing from Josie Maran has given me any problems. A beautiful tip is to put a stroke over your eyelids for a pretty flush. This also has a slight argan oil scent to it as well, but I find it very pleasant.
February 24, 2012
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I have been looking for a great sand-colored cream highlighter for some time, but I didn't want to pay a lot of money for one. I bought a kit at Sephora that came with a bottle and a cheek tint stick and I fell in love with it. I'm already a HUGE fan of the argan oil--it's something I always include in my nightly skin care routine. This is a gorgeous luminizer that doesn't appear too sparkly, which is a huge plus. Also, you can either mix this in with your foundation for a hydrating and dewy finish. The biggest problem I have with this is the pump releasing too much product even when you try to pump it gently. Therefore, you end up wasting a lot of product unless you open the cap and stick it back inside. This looks gorgeous on medium skin or olive skin and you get a LOT for a decent price.
February 24, 2012
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I bought this even though I wasn't too perfectly sure about having it, despite seeing good reviews on the Sephora site (I was at one of the stores). My skin is on the drier side so I cannot use this by itself because it doesn't hydrate my eye area as well. Therefore, I use this on top of another eye cream. The reason I was unsure was because having this product seemed a bit redundant in terms of my eye care. However, the more I use it, the more it starts to grow on me. For one, it doesn't sting my eyes if I get any in it, which is a HUGE plus because anytime I put anything with spf on my face that gets into my eyes accidentally, are going to sting really badly. This is a "mineral" based cream, even though I'm not sure what that means. This has SPF 30 in it, which is as low as I will go for sun protection because I live in Arizona where the sun is merciless. So spf 30 is a great thing, especially since often times our eyes are neglected any time we put on sun protection. This is a "wrinkle control" which means it isn't going to do anything about wrinkles you have NOW, but rather it's just going to help prevent the further development of wrinkles DUE TO SUN PROTECTION, which is basically what sunscreen does in the first place. I was quite surprised to see that it's a fairly large tube for something you only need a little dab daily, therefore this tube is going to last at least a year. The biggest winner for me is that there is something in this that brightens the eye area, because I've been noticing that it has become MUCH easier to cover my super dark circles with concealer. Normally in the past I would have to cake on layers and it still didn't cover much, but now only one layer covers them perfectly. Therefore I'll keep this around because it brightens dark circles, doesn't sting, has high protection, quite a large tube for an eye cream, and it blends in quite easily.
February 24, 2012
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I get hormonal breakouts every month all around my chin and they are such a pain in my end. I take care of my skin very well with good skin products and good behavioral methods. I tried a sample of this and noticed that the next day that my acne was significantly reduced from deeper-rooted acne to small surface white heads. With continued use over the next few nights, I noticed a significant reduction in time it takes for my acne to clear up. This has Salicylic acid (Beta Hydroxy Acid) which clears the pores of debris that usually leads to acne in the first place. Then this has 10% glycolic acid which is VERY potent. Glycolic Acid is an alpha hydroxy acid which means you MUST wear some kind of spf in the day!!! You must!! This will make your skin very sensitive and irritated if you expose your skin to sun without an spf. Glycolic acid is a chemical exfoliant which eats away the dead skin on the surface, which REALLY helps reduce hyperpgimentation after your zit is gone. For some people this can be VERY drying, so make sure to supplement it with a good moisturizer. I prefer to use this at night because I think it's too strong to use more than once a day, and that way I can use a thicker night cream to keep it from drying my skin. Although quite potent, it does work well!
February 22, 2012
