Kristina H.'s (heartstrung) Beauty Product Reviews | Page 2
Awesome Product for Not So Awesome Hair!
I get compliments on how healthy my hair looks and most recently how great it smells. Well, this is my secret. It is definitely a pricier option than the other products available but it does work extremely well. I noticed it doesn't do a whole lot with de-tangling my hair after I get out of the shower (I have fine hair but lots of it), it works about the same as a normal conditioner in that respect. I does, however, give me results! I have less split ends, my hair actually feels great! Lots of movement and after bleaching part of it out, the hair doesn't feel as damaged as it normally does when I have done it before. Since I am poor right now I can't buy another tub just yet but this product is definitely worth saving for.
A beautiful flush of color
Against my wallet's will, I purchased the new blush from Benefit. At $28.00 it is a bit steep considering there are so many great blushes these days that can be found at the local drugstore. The beautiful swirls of color were hypnotizing and for me, there was no looking back after placing it in my hand. It had to be mine.
I took it home and opened it up. It was beautiful. Tones of berry, peach, dusty pink and a highlighting dust! My first application to my face was not as pigmented as I had hoped for. I thought it might be a dud (a stunningly beautiful dud). I played around with it a bit more and I found that this is a blush you can really customize to your makeup look. You can swipe it diagonally one way to get a lighter shimmer, you can sweep it diagonal the opposite for a deeper shade or you can swirl it all together and get a beautiful flush of color. It starts off as a soft hue on your cheeks and you can build it up to really make it pop!
I have been using this quite a bit because it seems to fit all my needs for the different looks I am going for. I think that this is better for light to medium-light skin tones but if you have darker skin it would give you a beautiful (and not overly frosty) shimmer to your cheeks without an obnoxious amount of glitter. The shimmer seems to be very finely milled so it is very wearable for daytime as well as "night out on the town" looks.
OH HAI, where have you been all my winters?!
Ok, lately I have been on a rampage of changing my foundation. Trying to find the best for my skin in the winter. I normally have super oily skin but lately in my mid twenties I find myself having dry skin in the winter. This means my matte foundations are a no go this holiday season! This is a super creamy formula and goes on effortlessly. I can't believe I have never tried this before. I am in love with how it makes my skin look. Not matte, not overly dewy... just healthy and radiant. Pricey... but worth every penny.
I hate waterproof mascaras
I seriously hate waterproof mascaras. They are usually drying and flaky and I just cannot stand them. They are never black enough and the formulas as lack luster.
This is not like any of those mascaras. This is a wet formula that evenly coats my lashes. It is blacker than most of my ultra black mascaras which is phenomenal! It lengthens my lashes like WHOAI heard great things about the original formula and this was recommended to me by a Sephora employee and I should really go back and thank her for this great suggestion!
Oh and by the way.. I wore this to my friend's wedding and it is definitely waterproof!
it REALLY curls!
Every try "curling" mascara and you put it on your lashes and sit there and wait for something to happen? Yeah... me too.
This one curls my lashes! It is a miracle in a bottle. It also lengthens and separates. Fabulous! I am all for anything that saves me a step. I love my shu umera curler more than what would be considered appropriate... but I don't even use it when I use this mascara. It works THAT well on my lashes. I got the sample size in my Urban Decay Book of Shadows kit and I am buying the full size for SURE this is an awesome mascara for my otherwise "stick straight" lashes!
Awesome liquid liner!
I got home and opened up my Book of Shadows IV and saw it came with some extras, one was this little gem! I am not much of a liquid liner type of girl (and quite honestly I was slightly disappointed) but I can get such thin lines with this brush it is fantastic! It is pitch black and the wear on it is AMAZING! Doesn't smudge or budge. It almost makes me want to convert to solely a liquid liner type of girl. Oh, Urban Decay, you savvy innovators... you did it again!
I have been using this almost every day. You just can't beat the precision with the brush. It is truly fantastic. I am excited to try the other colors and see what looks I can come up with.
How is this better than waterproof?
This is just a fat miss. A below average brush with a super dry formula. I bought this for 20 USD so I wanted desperately to like this. I tried it for 2 weeks and I just can't wrap my head around why it has this name... it isn't better than waterproof and quite frankly it isn't better than any mascara I own. I would say if you want a flaky cheap formulated mascara then save your twenty bucks and shop drugstore! Disappointing! :(
Fabulous Colors
I am conflicted with the nail polish line. Some of these colors are serious love. Unfortunately they do not last long on the nail on their own. I got so used to nail polish with hardeners and one step polishes. These (on me) chip too easily. They do dry quite fast and the color Stormy is probably one of my new favorite colors ever! I would say if you are going to invest in these, buy a good base and a good top (which defeats the purpose of fast drying). The good thing is that Revlon is often on sale so the polishes are not too expensive.. and again, they have a great variety of colors.
Not too shabby for daily wear!
I don't feel bad using this stuff because it is so inexpensive (I work with dogs so I really am not trying to impress anyone ANYWAY). I enjoy that it has the one side of mattes and the other side has shimmer and satin finishes. I really do love the purple color with the gold reflex, it is almost like a toned down (grayish) version of Strada by Nars. It is easy wear shadows. I also bought Vanity which is the cult favorite.. but I like Greed better because of the lavenderish and peachy colors it offers. It isn't the BEST shadows, they do feel a bit chalky sometimes but the color pay off is fabulous! It lasts about as long as other drugstore eyeshadows and that is usually just long enough to get me through the day. No complaints with such affordable makeup!
Super Sexy Gloss
I don't know if it is just this shade... or if all Nars glosses give you that Sexy "pout" look... but this is sexy! Haha! I love how smooth it is and it has a creamy translucent effect.
It makes me feel fancy wearing this gloss. I am definitely going to purchase more lip glosses from Nars... you know.. when I have the money! That is the only downfall for me with these glosses... the price! I sort of understand the price, this is not ordinary gloss, The formula does feel quite different from most glosses that I have used. It is smooth and creamy, non sticky and feels light at the same time! This gloss doesn't have any sort of scent (which I appreciate every now and then). It looks great on bare lips or over stains or lipsticks.
As always I love it over Benefit's Posie Tint, but I find that wearing it alone on bare lips gives me a sweet doll-like pink color.