Archive for the ‘Beauty Reviews’ Category:
I never thought I’d try an all natural – and I do mean all natural- shampoo that I’d actually like, which gave me better results than any other expensive salon shampoo, including those brands that advertise as being natural. The shampoo that I’ve been using is by Pure Life Soap Company, a smaller operation that makes great all natural, organically grown self care and beauty products like body lotions, soap of course, and shampoos and conditioners. The only product I’ve tried so far of theirs is this Wild Indigo shampoo for all hair types, and I LOVE it.
I tried it out somewhat skeptically, because my sister bought it for me as part of my birthday gift. I thought for sure it would be disastrous when I squeezed it out and it was so thick I could barely get it out of the bottle, and it looked like a very thick clear jelly with a lot of stuff suspended in it. It’s hard too, because it doesn’t really lather up, but you have to believe me, this stuff gets your hair clean, and very clean, because then your conditioner soaks into your hair even better.
I couldn’t have been more wrong about this product. I have problems with dandruff, and wild indigo is supposed to be good for that, and I did notice less itchiness and dryness almost after the first wash with this shampoo. It has a wonderful light, natural fragrance with no chemical or artificial fragrances added, so this shampoo would be ideal to those that are allergic to a lot of different scents. Wild indigo has great antiseptic properties, which is probably why it helps keep your scalp healthy, but this shampoo also is a great, gentle cleanser that leaves your hair soft and silky instead of dried out.
It contains zero parabens, sulfates, petroleum, and artificial dyes and fragrances, so it should be totally hypoallergenic, and of course it’s vegan and also cruelty free. Oh, the bottle is also recyclable, and the product itself is biodegradable. I don’t think you can get any better than that! It leaves my hair feeling totally clean, and my scalp feeling very nourished and clean. I love reading the ingredients because it’s the most natural label I’ve ever seen, I can actually identify the ingredients on it. This is definitely the best all natural shampoo I’ve ever tried, and it totally fits into my new desire to go totally natural for a lot of my personal care products.
I’m going to be ordering more shortly (you can order their product on Amazon, which I’m ecstatic about since my sister bought this in a store in Humboldt county CA, and I live in Ohio), and I’m also going to try out their soaps and their body lotions as well.
Ok, so I think I’m slowly becoming somewhat of a believer in a very cost efficient product that is helping my eyelashes and eyebrows grow a bit thicker and more healthy called Ardell eyelash and eyebrow growth accelerator gel. I bought it for something like $4 a tube on Amazon, and thought I’d give it a shot, although truthfully I thought I had a shot in the dark of the stuff actually working for such a reasonable price. I really wouldn’t have been that disappointed spending that little money on something if it didn’t really work all that well, but it makes it all that much more exciting when something cheap really does seem to help.
That being said, I purchased this brow and lash growth accelerator gel because mostly I was concerned that a lot of the eyebrows that I had over tweezed in my zealous younger days when pencil thin brows were in, were beginning to thin even more and just stop growing back. This often happens when you over tweeze your eyebrows, especially after a certain age when your hair tends to not grow back as easily or regenerate as quickly.
So basically I had a few minor “bald spots” in my eyebrow arch that needed to be manually filled in with an eyebrow liner. Not a huge deal since I do have a brow liner that happens to match my real eyebrow color pretty well and it’s fairly undetectable, unless my skin is really pale, then it does show up a bit more. I’ve always had somewhat full eyelashes, especially after applying my mascara, so I figured I’d also use it on my lashes. After all, your eyelashes can never be too full or long, right? I figured anything that happened to my lashes would just be an added bonus as long as it helped along my faltering brow growth.
I really do think that eyebrows are important in your appearance. They can perfectly frame your face, and add that complementary symmetry that everyone is going for, so it’s important to me that I’m able to shape my brows, they’ve always been an important part of my routine. So, I’ve been using the stuff every night, and sometimes if I remember, I’ll also apply it in the morning and let it dry before I apply my mascara to my lashes, for about one month now.
I have noticed that my brows have started to fill in where they were once sparse, and I’ve definitely noticed that my eyelashes have grown in fuller and thicker, and they also seem to look a lot darker, without mascara. All this in one month, and I haven’t even gone through a fourth of the first tube I bought yet, so I thought I should share that with my readers if you’re in the market for an eyebrow and eyelash growth accelerator!
Well, I finally broke down and went out and bought a new (two) bottles of liquid eyeliner, after sucking the one I had for about two years dry finally. I want to start using liquid liner a few days a week, the brown color I bought during the day for more emphasis on my eyes and something a little different from my ho hum brown eyeshadow and brown stick liner, and the black for a more dramatic, bold look in the evening or for special events. I settled on the L’Oreal brand of liquid liner because I really love the way it glides on.
I’ve previously used the L’Oreal liquid liner before, but this is in a new bottle and packaging and the brush is slight shorter. It’s a felt brush, which sounds like it could be awkward to, but in fact the felt brush is ultra easy to use and virtually idiot proof to get a flawless, straight line on your upper lid every time. I bought the dark black color of the Lineur Intense as well as a dark brown color.
I love both of them. They are in tiny bottles, so I don’t know how long they’ll last, but at seven bucks each, it’s not a bad deal in the first place. Plus, liquid liner shouldn’t be kept forever anyways – it loses it’s liquidiness (I should know, I kept mine for two years and then wondered why it didn’t go on as easy).
It will clump up and dry out easily, so it’s better that it comes in a small bottle. If you want that more dramatic cat eye look, or just want more definition to your eye or a different look for a little while, try these L’Oreal liquid liners, they’re inexpensive and they really go on great. They also wear well, but they’re not waterproof, so you can’t be going to any water parks or get caught in a downpour in these products.
I think L’Oreal, for being a drugstore brand of cosmetics, is a great product line and they offer some truly high quality and effective and boldly colored cosmetics for the price minded woman of today, and I’ll always be a loyal user of some of their eye products.
I don’t know, call me crazy, but whenever I see the word “permanent” associated with any type of plastic surgery self improvement, I am filled with a sense of trepidation. When I think of permanent, I think “not easily reversed” or “possibly disastrous”. I can’t help it, I’ve seen too many of those bad face lifts, nose jobs, lip plumping injections with permanent fillers, cheek implants, and tummy tucks (ala Tara Reid’s botched belly job), that end up looking ten times worst than the person pre-surgery that I treat anything that is permanent with severe caution and would research it thoroughly if I were to even ever think about it.
Hence my skepticism on permanent injectable wrinkle fillers, like the newer Artefill wrinkle filler that’s been approved by the FDA. Even many plastic surgeons and dermatologists won’t use permanent fillers because of their higher likelihood of being botched, migrating to other areas and creating a deformed look that requires surgeries to fix them and also serious pshychological issues in those that a botched job afflicts. You may have seen some bad jobs on celebrities, whose lips suddenly look inflated and uneven, or maybe they have facial features that don’t look quite symmetrical, perhaps because of a migration of the inejctable filler, a lot of these may be due to permanent fillers since they are more difficult to reverse.
Artefill is one that is injected into wrinkles and other areas like the lips that fills them out and rounds out wrinkles. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of temporary fillers like Juvederm and Restylane, but it’s because those are harmlessly absorbed into the skin, and they are actual collagen derivatives, so they actually may also improve skin over time. Fillers that are permanent are made to stick around for good, which means higher risk for them moving around to where they are not supposed to be. Read our Revitol reviews for more information on an excellent at home wrinkle treatment regimen that works wonders.
However, Artefill, which was recently approved in 2007 (yes, that’s not that long ago in my book), uses an interesting technology whereby particles of a certain filler chemical are suspended in bovine (cow derived) collagen and then injected into the body, but not enough to actually intantly fill out the area. Instead, what happens is that gradually over time, new collagen is produced by your body, encapsulating what is leftover of the formula, so you are essentially filling in the rest of the wrinkle with your own collagen.
Very cool! However, I couldn’t find much about the safety and the effectiveness of this product, so I would do some prudent research of your own on this aspect – try RealSelf.com for personal sories and experiences with this filler, it does sound like it may have a risk of migration that causes problems. I have to say, it is a very novel concept though, and if it could be perfected, it could be the beginning of a new wave in permanent fillers, but I’d wait for a better alternative to come along, which there inevitably will be.
My boyfriend got me a few of the Harajuku Lovers line of perfumes, which is a catchy, sort of trendy perfume line that is the brainchild of Gwen Stefani, who seems to have turned herself into somewhat of a brand over the last few years. She’s a musician, markets lots of beauty products, and even has her own clothing line. And she’s married to the super hot Gavin Rossdale and has two cute kids with him. How much better does life get?
Anyways, the Harajuku line of perfumes is somewhat geared toward younger girls, but I have to admit, there are two scents that I absolutely love. They are different from most other perfumes I’ve smelled to be honest, and I’m very picky about what perfumes I will wear. I don’t like anything that’s overbearing or too flowery, and none of these really fit that bill.
The perfumes come with their different “Harajuku” girls on the top, which was a trend Gwen started when she had Asian Harajuku girls (Harajuku is a style that is worn by girls in the Tokyo area, it’s a sassy, trendy young look) in her videos just a few short years ago.
The two that I really like are lighter scents that are very crisp and last forever. When I go into work at 7 in the morning, and leave at 5:45, I can still smell them on my clothes and on my pulse points where I applied them at night, so their lasting factor is excellent. The two scents I like are Harajuku Lovers “Music” which shows a girl with short hair and a yellow headband, and the other one is and called “Lil Angel” with a girl in blue.
My favorite of the two is “Lil Angel”. I don’t even know how to describe the scents other than the fact that their may be some lotus flower in them, but there is absolutely nothing flowery about them, they are just a light, sweet, yet sexy scent. Best of all, there are five to try – “G”, “Baby”, “Love”, “Music” and “Lil Angel”. I don’t care if they’re targeted toward a younger market, I’ll be wearing these for a while! The line is available at Nordstrom, and I also think I saw them at Macy’s.
Ugh, I really must say that I love MAC cosmetics. Ever since a good friend of mine got me hooked on certain products, like their Lip Plush and Lip Glass lipgloss, which I swear is the longest lasting lip gloss I’ve ever worn, I feel like I’ve been converted. The only product I’m holding out on trying of theirs is the mascara since I still like my drugstore brand L’Oreal Lash Out, and feel that it does the best job on lengthening, darkening and enlarging my eyelashes, and I’ve tried a lot of other expensieve brands too.
My friend, the same one who started my MAC eye opening, got me a limited edition eyeshadow duo that consists of a light off white color ( a yellowish tan) and a deeper brown. Since I’m a brunette with a fair but not necessarily red complexion, browns are one my favorite colors for my eyes.
The eyeshadows also have a tad bit of sparkle to them, making them a bit more festive and reflective when you put them on. The only thing with sparkly eyeshadows that are powder is that you have to be careful to wipe underneath your eyes after application since the sparkles inevitably fall underneath the hollows of your eyes, but that’s minimal with the MAC ones since they don’t go crazy on the sparkle.
The eyeshadow, as with all their other products, goes on smoothly and effortlessly, and it’s deeply pigmented so you don’t find that you’re swiping over and over to get the desired depth to your color, which can be a pain with other eyeshadows that are chinsy on the pigmentation. MAC colors always seem to be a much richer tone as well, and more universally flattering, because I swear I could put this exact same color on made by someone else and it would not look as rich and flattering.
OK, so this isn’t actually me that this review is from, but from my boyfriend, who just bought the new Vaseline for Men. It’s a lotion that is supposedly formulated more tailored for men’s skin and the unique problems and characteristics that man’s skin has. For example, did you know that men naturally have tougher, thicker skin than women do? It’s true! That doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll age a whole lot better in the face than women, but sometimes it does explain the number of men who outnumber the women who look much younger than their age.
My boyfriend is almost thirty years old, and doesn’t realy have a wrinkle to count on his young face yet, but he does get dry and irritated a lot, especially where his goatee is. He is prone to getting splotches of red around that area, and his skin gets abnormally dry in the winter months when humidity is hard to come by unless you take a steam shower.
Vaseline for Men is in a large dispenser, sort of like a woman’s body cream would be. This just goes to show that men don’t need all the fancy, smaller packing for something to work. It’s also very reasonable, considering this product will probably last him two years if he continues to only use it on his face. It only costs around six dollars.
He says that he likes it, it’s definitely doing the job it needs to and is keeping the red spotchies away while soothing his skin after he shaves without irritation bumps, so it was a good buy.
Let me begin this review of Lash Blast by Cover Girl, a new mascara that they have apparently spent loads of money on advertising with Drew Barrymore as their spokesperson, that I am still and will always be a die hard user of L’Oreal’s Lash Out mascara. That said, I wanted to buy this mascara and try it out because I have to admit I was intrigued by the commercials and thought that maybe it might finally bump me onto something new as far as mascara was concerned at least.
Now, the first thing I noticed about Lash Blast was that it is in a ridiculously large tube. That I do not like, because the wand part that you hold with your hand is so big that I find it difficult to work with. Then again, to be fair, I’ve used Lash Out for so long that I’m used to it’s slender, ribbed wand and find that to be easier to use. Some people may find the larger wand grasp fine, and even prefer it though. The packaging for Lash Blast is also pretty flashy and I have to hand it to them for marketing here, it does get your attention when you’re browsing down the makeup aisle!
Now, onto the review of how this mascara actually works. Lash Blast has a large lash wand too, the part with the brush is much thicker in diameter than most mascaras, and I think that’s part of the design to get more plumping power, so I recognize the effort. It also does have several small bristles which helps lend to the thickening, lengthening and separating aspect of mascara application that makes it look good and makes you lashes really stand out. Another good point for this mascara!
Althought the brush design may be good, I felt like I had to apply this many times over each time I used it (I used it about five times so far, accounting for the fact that mascara usually requires some loosening up when you first buy it, just like Lash Out does too, you have to give it time to build up on your brush in other words).
I didn’t like the fact that the formula didn’t seem to want to adhere to my lashes very well and that I had to keep wiggling it up the base of my lashes several times to even get any kind of definition. Therein lies the problem with Lash Blast – I think it’s the actual formula that is sort of weak on this product, not the package design or brush. All in all, you can get defined lashes by using it, it’s just time consuming if you’re impatient. I still am a staunch follower of L’Oreal!
I had purchased a 60% acid peel a few weeks ago, by Skin Laboratories, who seems to be the biggest offering agent of at home, clinical strength acid peels for the face and decolletage area (if indicated). I chose to purchase the one that blends both glycolic acid and lactic acid because I wanted some of the strength of the glycolic, but not all of it, and I wanted the lactic acid because it is good for people who have had acne for their scars, and it is a bit more gentle than the glycolic, although some think not as effective overall because it does not slough as much skin off.
The formula I bought is 25% glycolic and 35% lactic acid. It is a small bottle, about 1 fluid ounce of product, but a little bit goes a long way and I expect to get at least 10 to fifteen peels out of this small bottle since only a thin layer is needed to do the job. The indications in the directions are to put the product on, using a brush or perhaps some other instrument like a cotton ball. I chose to use a makeup brush that I never used because it allowed me to more precisely target where it needed to go.
You are only supposed to leave these peels on for about 3 minutes and possibly less if you have particularly sensitive skin. Believe me, even three minutes can be a bit challenging at first because after you apply the peel , it does begin to burn a bit, and it even tingles and starts to itch a bit after it’s been on there for a minute. The first time I had trouble leaving it on, but was determined to get the most out of it, although this was directly in conflict with the directions since you are supposed to rinse it off if you feel a lot of discomfort. I don’t recommend what I did, but I was fine.
Before applying the peel, they also instruct you to first wash your face and also use a toner, I’m assuming to remove all surface gunk, oil and debris so the peel has maximum effect. I did this and allowed my face to completely dry before brushing on the peel. I am now on my third week of applying the glycolic and lactic acid peel, and I think it is lightening my age spots and scars slightly although I think it will take quite a few more to make a big difference.
I did happen to break out with two huge zits on my nose, and I think this was because my pores were clearing out from the lactic acid. I’ve noticed that my nose blackheads have diminished greatly, as in I can’t really see them any more. I will continue to use this for the amount of time indicated, which is 5 weeks on and one week off, and let you know about the results a little later. So far, so good, and it’s only about $20 for the bottle, which is nothing compared to what an in office peel will cost you.
We recently went on a trip to an all day amusement park affair, and I forgot my self tanner, which I really needed because I would be wearing shorts or cut off pants (capris), and my legs were as white as a ghost. So, we stopped at the local store and I ended up picking out a gradual self tanner after much debate, since they didn’t really have many full-on self tanners there, so I really had to choose from one of the ones that are displayed year-round since we are coming up on fall here in Ohio, which narrowed it down to the slew of gradual self tanners that have come out from the makers of moisturizers.
I ended up deciding on a Nivea product, because I do like the Nivea line of moisturizers, and thought that since I know they have a high quality moisturizing line and even some decent cellulite treatment products, how could I really go wrong with their gradual self tanner? So I settled on one called Sun-Kissed Firming Moisturizer, which is both a firming agent as well as a touch of self tanner in it, for a gradually worked on glow. I bought the self tanner that was made for those with “medium to dark skin”, although I am fair skinned, since I wanted quicker, darker results that would be overnight almost or maybe two nights since I didn’t have much time for my self tan to develop.
The Nivea tanner comes in an 8.4 oz container, and runs about six bucks which isn’t half bad at all cost wise. The consistency of the product is very watery in my opinion, so if you try it, you’re gonna want to make sure you don’t squeeze too hard or too much product will come out and you’ll have to distribute it over more surface area than you thought to get it to sink in without wasting it.
There is a faint smell of DHA to it (the chemical that causes the darkening of the skin in self tanners), but nothing too offensive. It rubs in right away, so you have to be careful not to over do it in some areas since it absorbs very quickly. I found that I over did it on my feet, which I had already applied moisturizer to as a prevention measure against it getting too dark down there sincce the drier areas do tend to darken more easily, but I still got a darkening there that didn’t quite look right.
As far as the smell when you are wearing it, it’s not too bad once the DHA activates, although you can smell a faint smell again when it activates. The Ginkgo extract is a nice touch for a shimmery and firming quality added to the cream, and you won’t find me complaining about any product that adds firmness while also creating a nice self tan.
The color was to be expected, pretty much the same as any self tanner, only much lighter since the DHA concentration wasn’t too heavy. Overall, this isn’t a bad choice for a gradual self tanner, just don’t expect a huge change in color – it does still take time, even if you buy a shade darker than your natural skin tone, which is what I did.
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