Beauty Product Reviews | Page 10

A little dissapointed- caused, instead of healed, breakouts!

I got this to nip a little chest/bacne in the bud. I think my birth control and my lazy bum self not changing into PJ's/bumming around in dirty clothes created the problem in the first place. I started using this with a body brush which felt great because I could reach my lower back and the combo of the body wash and brush felt great when scrubbing myself clean. But the brush/cleanser combo was too abrasive on my skin, thus causing way more breakouts than I started with! And of course I didn't realize this for a little while as I tried to scrub away all the NEW breakouts that just kept coming! Once I realized the problem I stopped using the brush/cleanser and my acne cleared up. I also wasn't sure if my moisturizer and body wash was to blame, so I cut that out for a little bit, but I still have a hunch the cleanser was to blame. I only made a small dent in it, but I might just use it now as a foot/ankle exfoliator. It might be fine to just use the scrub without the brush, but I don't want to chance it. (My chest is clearing up but my back is still breaking out, so I might change my mind and use the scrub). I just think after stripping my skin from all oil, drying it out and irritating it with the brush, my body just retaliated by making more oil and causing breakouts. I'm sure this is similar to to the face scrub in this line, so I might make use of it in that way, as the pink grapefruit scrub didn't make me break out. All in all a little dissapointed, but since I've stopped using it, my chest acne in particular is way better than when I started using it! A pro would be the cute bottle, and how much you get for the price-not bad!

Mostly Pro, maybe a Con or two

I've recently gotten more brow conscious over the past couple of months and grabbed a bunch of clear brow gels at one point, in a frenzy (even though they're all the same stuff, diff. brands). I was really digging this at first but have come to a few realizations:

Pros- Doesn't make my brows crusty and has nice hold- especially if you're going for that editorial, wild brow look. Although gross, having the gel get tinted with brow product lets me know that I've used it enough/somewhat. I think it almost has a bit of a pleasant scent as well. The packaging is cute and I like the brush, plus I got it hoping I'd like it because I trust Ardell lashes. If you overdraw/color in your brows, this will help tone it down. This also looks nice with bare brows.

Cons- It picks up my brow product resulting in making my filled in brows look a little patchy and taking away the intensity I just put in. I once had to go back and redraw what the gel took out- which kinda defeats the purpose as a brow gel is supposedly meant to lock in the color, not alter it. Lately I've been using theBalm's Nude Tude and the Lorac Pro for brow shades and decided to not use this gel for I feared it would alter the nice look I created with the shadows. I use it now from time to time, more on my bare brows, as opposed to how I used it a lot when I first got it, but I plan on tinkering with it until I get the right outcome I want. Maybe it will not take off the shadows like it took off my brow pencil.

All in all a good buy, despite the drawbacks.

Good felt tip liner but not my thing, at least not yet.

My friend suggested this to me when I asked her what she used to do her awesome winged liner, about a year ago. She told me she got it from Walgreens, she loved it and swore by it, and told me I had to have it! When I got it I was under the impression the brand was called InColor and it was not until sort of recently I discovered it was Jordana brand- a brand I've been wanting to try out for awhile now- go figure, it was right under my nose all along. When I used it I didn't really like the marker feeling to it and much preferred my UD liquid liner that has a brush. My wings were wiggly wobbly so maybe I subconsciously wrote the liner off from there. I got the brown shade and while super pigmented and dark, I wish it looked more noticeably brown. Someday I might be more into pen liners and I might go back to these because they are GREAT if you're into pen liners. I had hung onto this for more than a year and swatched it from time to time to see when the ink ran out- and while it has a little now, it stayed wet for what seems like eons! If you keep it upside down you'll insure the liquid stays in the tip. Plus it was super pigmented, the cap shut tight, and it was cute looking.

So, I'm more of a brush liquid liner type, but I would definitely recommend, like my friend did, this liner to anyone that specifically prefers the pen-type of liquid liner, or noobies who are just starting to play with making wings. The price is right too! Just because I don't use it doesn't mean its a crappy product- its quite the opposite in fact!

Pretty good- More of a TM, great as a primer

I had started to wean myself from my TM/BB cream binges when this sucker came out. It was a little expensive with not a lot of product (although it's still going strong) but had to have it. Of course I know this is just your average drugstore TM in disguise and nothing like its Asian/American counterparts but I still felt drawn to the cute package. I wasn't expecting a ton of coverage, and made sure to not get my hopes up, but was pleasantly surprised. It does make me think of the CG Smoothers TM- which I feel they have repackaged into the Covergirl BB, and I've long since ditched the Smoothers searching for higher coverage items. So, in theory, I was really trying out a product I already had, BUT it didn't deter me, what with the intense hype it was getting.

Coverage-wise a few coats using your hands is OK, but I got better coverage using my elf powder brush, or SK blusher brush. Either way this was sheer- so my red patches and blemishes showed through. With some concealer, my fave wet/dry powder foundation and MSF it makes for a light, simple makeup look- but it will not make my skin look "flawless". That being said you could use this as a nice primer if you want more coverage, as most TMs/BBs make great primers. It is creamy, and shiny with the spf, also quite wet- let it dry down first before adjusting anything. For tweens and young things I think this would be a great way to edge into foundation (I edged into foundation semi recently this way, with TMs/BBs) because its sheer, has SPF and is very natural looking and would enhance blemish-free skin. But again, its not a full coverage foundation and shouldn't be seen that way. My skin is crumbier now than it was when I initially got it so I have to tinker around with this for it to suit my needs. It is refreshing but I might be sensitive to it too, so that's a minor con. But even for something I already own- with different names/brands, I still reach for this most often.

The L'oreal Studio Secrets Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream makes my skin sorta orange, and its hard to avoid foundation face lines on the jaw- plus the coverage is not great, so I use it as a primer for the Garnier BB cream. The texture is more silicone silky to wet and creamy, and I prefer the latter. I much prefer the Maybelline "bb" to the L'oreal one, although I've always wanted to try the L'oreal Youth Code, but I suspect its similar to the Garnier one which I still like, but not as much.

Meh

I know there is such a hype for these puppies, and there are a myriad of different ways to benefit from this product, but I'm impatient. I feel like this is only just petroleum jelly (not particularly hating), that is tinted and scented.. I'm not the biggest fan of rose scents and this one is a little cloying- it reminds me of Rimmel London's Stay Glossy lipglosses, and some of their lipsticks, that have a rose scent. However those are less rosey. I should have taken the "rosebud" in rosebud salve a little more seriously, so shame on me. When I would wear this I noticed it would wear off so quickly and with it, the pink tint and glossiness. I didn't want to reapply it a ton because of the smell/taste and I got it a tube, so it was little messy, although not as messy as the tins. This was also not super cheap at Sephora, I felt a little cheated. I could see myself using this for particular looks, but not for everyday, and not to repurchase. I know this is probably a wonder product but I don't mind passing it up for bigger and better things!

Great, Dense, Flat Top Kabuki Style brush

I got this brush to use as a back-up for my elf studio line powder brush, and it was recommended to me through the talk section here. Which was smart seeing as how my powder brush fell off the handle and ferrule, but that's besides the point. I've been meaning to use this with a creme blush I have, and I know its sort of designed to be a "blusher" brush, but I find it works great for liquid foundation in a snap. It is soo dense and the bundle is sort of small in circumference so it does take a little more time and patience to buff it all over the face- but the effect once finished is great. I will say since the bundle is so dense I've had trouble deep cleaning it with hand soap and Dr. Bronners. I just used some Baby Shampoo today, and that seems to have done the trick- fingers crossed. All in all I can't wait to play with it more, because as shown below it has MANY different uses. Just another one of SK's awesome brushes!

First lash curler and I love it!

I can't really figure out why I've been so afraid of lash curlers over the years. They seemed so dangerous and professional looking- only the "big" girls could handle something that sophisticated, without optically wounding themselves! Well, I decided to play around with a curler I got from Sally's ages ago when I was stocking my MUA kit. I haven't been working on anyone else and my medium sized top lashes weren't really performing well after a few hours, even with great mascara. I took a breath- and sort of fell into it- no pinching, pulling, or lash loss for me! As Simera H. mentioned, this fits a small eye shape, and maybe that's why I found my first curler to be easier to work with, as I have smaller eyes. If I ever need to replace this, I'd probably repurchase!

On the fence

I'd say this is a pretty good scrub but Mary Anne M. has described this pretty well. I've come to mistrust cheaper scrubs because I feel like it just scrapes away breakouts yet also pushes crap back into your skin, compounding over my comodones and doing nothing for the subsequent dark spots. I think the beads in this are a little more abrasive than my go to and guilty pleasure- Clean and Clear Morning Burst Skin Brightening Facial Scrub with lemon, papaya and caffeine. I didn't really dig mentholated face products before but they've since grown on me with this cleanser. It has a semi masculine/androgynous scent which makes it a crowd pleaser with my bf. I prefer the Morning Burst to this, but this is nice to change it up, although I'm growing ever wary of drugstore exfoliants for many reasons. But of course I'm a sucker for the packaging, perfume and cool blue dyes within the scrub!

Definitely would consider getting full size

I got shade 2.0 and shade 3.5 as samples with the purchase of their now discontinued Skull Shadow Box. Shade 2.0 was a pretty good match. It felt totally light weight, and it dried down pretty quickly. I liked how easily I could buff it in with my elf powder brush. I'd say the coverage is pretty good- medium, not necessarily full, but buildable. I'm not sure what to do with shade 3.5, but I might mix it into another foundation for a more tanned look, or pale it out with some moisturizer to make a TM, because its a little too dark on its own. When I'm sick of playing around with drugstore foundations I could see myself selecting UD Naked Skin in full size- it feels like your skin is nearly bare and the coverage is pretty good. However- my skin is a lot more blemish prone than it was when I wore this, and I actually prefer a thicker, creamier foundation with more coverage. I'm glad Urban gave me a sample though- its definitely a foundation I might get in the future.

Great perfume- but not for me

I got this with my holiday 2011 Estee Lauder limited edition gift set. I loved the makeup, but never played with the perfume. I smelled it recently and its not for me. Way too strong, too floral, and very "old lady" smelling. I love old ladies, so no hating! But I can't see myself wearing this, just smelling it is trying enough. I love the bottle, it really is beautiful. But I'm not big on floral perfumes, especially frumpy ones.