Beauty Product Reviews | Page 3

Great lip stain...

First red lipstick (color doesn't suit me). But I've found that this makes a LOVELY lip stain/base. So just leave it on your lips for like 2-3 hours before you go and wipe it off (it doesn't sting like some lip stains by Korean brands). I like to put Revlon Lip Butter's Peach Parfait (which is too pale on its own) over the stain. Anytime I have a lip color that's too pale on its own, I'll use this as a stain-base.

EDIT: Forgot to mention how lovely this smells! It's like lemons/limes and a berry.

staple for my "Le No Makeup Look"! ~

if i could only have one product in the whole wide for the rest of my life, this would be it. i think this is what beauty junkies would describe as a "Holy Grail". just the science of it it so intriguing, and it smells WONDERFULLLL! it is one of the best-scented products i've ever owned. it smells like combination of a mild rosy scent and mint (maybe a little rose-tea, but the mint makes it smell so LOVELY). the packaging is a beautiful color as well. :3

it's not sticky, very smooth, doesn't dry out my lips or make them bleed (and i have very sensitive lips), it feels like it's more water-based than oil-based. and the finish is perfect. on me, it's a fleshy dark pink, that's really natural.

what's best about this product is the positive message it delivers to women of color. i love that this product reacts to the chemicals on each individual's lips and adjust to the person's skin tone. it's something everyone can use, and it gives everyone a custom-color that perfect for their skin. it's not about women following the fashion/beauty-industry's standards, it's a product that adjusts to everyone uniquely. for someone who's constantly force-fed whitening lotion ads (i live in Southeast Asia) and have been very self-conscious/given a hard time for not looking a certain way, this product just warms my heart. i'll also purchase Dior's Healthy Glow blush for the same reason! because it makes me feel so good that nothing's wrong with who i am. i do believe that many companies are sort of, uhm, "racist" (i know that's a strong word, but i believe it's true). :|

...but this product is actually ANTI-racism! :D

of course i'll get the blush when i can afford it, and i'm not going to give this product less points for its price tag. it's Dior. *shrugs* it's the type of thing you buy yourself as a birthday treat (which is what i did). plus, the R&D put into it must have been quite the investment. i also disagree with people who say this is the same thing as those drugstore tween products. actually, it's not. when i was about 15, i purchased one of those Mentholatum products and it DOESN'T adjust to your skin tone. it just turns a darker magenta (which i think is just for fun because it's kind of fun to watch as it gradually gets darker), but it's the same magenta shade for everyone, not a special custom color like Dior's lip balm.

not a miracle worker, but i like it anyway...

i've been using this since 2006-2007 when a classmate of mine told me how it got rid of all her acne, and i've been repurchasing it since. i think it's good for spot treatment and it's nice to have something made of tea tree oil since i use Clinique (chemicals) for the rest of my acne treatment. not a miracle worker, but effective enough, and i think it's pretty mild/gentle.

i would have given this a full four stars, but i HATE the packaging. it's been the same since 2006-ish and i'm pretty sure i'm not the only one who has issues with the packaging. it's so hard to get product out of the bottle (i'm not talking about the child-lock, i know how to open a child-lock). that thingamajig on the bottle. what on EARTH is that? you can't even tell where the product leaks out from the bottle. i normally stick a q-tip on the opening and let it soak in the product (if nothing comes out of it, i shake it a bit). even worst, some days, nothing will come out of the designated hole where the product's supposed to come out from, and yet, it leaks from another source. i'd be sticking the q-tip on the opening, and then a significant amount of the oil will just start leaking (not in drips, LEAKS) out of nowhere. then i tilt the bottle again and nothing comes out. i'm really confused! the bottle is so random. grrrrh! :<

then again, the entire tea tree oil range has weird packaging. i also have issues with the facial wash's bottle cap (broke on the second day i used it). i guess it's a good product: i see people rave about it online all the time, my friends swear by it, and Oriflame made a dupe of it (but then again Oriflame is always duping other products, everything from Biotherm Aquasource to TBS Nutragenics to YSL Touche Éclat to Guerlain Météorites to Maybelline Fruity Jelly). but seriously: the packaging is a nightmare.

there are some nights when i'm too tired to do anything but brush my teeth and wash my face before bed. and the packaging makes me want to skip the spot treatment and just go straight to bed. then the next day, i'll have a pimple. i hate how the packaging makes me NOT want to even have to deal with using it.

i admit i tried this after everyone raved about it... oh, the hype!

in my neck of the woods, this shade is marketed as "Peach Parfait". it is my first nude color ever. i normally find any nude/frost look to be awfully trashy, but this is peachy/pink enough that it doesn't look trashy at all. it's not too pale. when i go to places (like bad neighborhoods) where i'm prone to being harassed on the streets, i wear this shade and people leave me alone! this is because pinky-ish lips on fair skin are considered attractive in Southeast Asia; and when i wear this, it makes me look like i have a slight tan without the pinkish look i get from lip products i normally use (OMG! a warm-tone that works for meeee! i'm so thrilled! *squee!* :D). basically, this gives me a polished look (more so compared to a clear lip balm), but also prevents me from getting the wrong kind of attention when i'm in the wrong part of town. it's surprisingly okay for a day-time look (considering when i accidentally swipe it off on my hands, it rubs off chunks of gold glitter on my hands). :|

everyone online keeps saying it's hydrating/moisturizing, but i find that it dries the lower-sides of my lips slightly (11/14/2012 EDIT: i discovered on 11/11/2012 that the dryness was caused by another brand of lip balm that i am apparently allergic to, Revlon Lip Butter does NOT dry the side of my lips), although not so dry it peels off or anything (but that's just me and my lips are picky that way). not bad at all, and it DOES stay moist for all day although the staying power is so-so. i think a comparable product would be YSL Volupte Sheer Candy. except Revlon's Lip Butter doesn't leave a tint/stain on your lips (less pigment and staying power) the way YSL Sheer Candy does. probably slightly more moisturizing than YSL, although i do prefer a lip color that stains and stays stained enough and put clear gloss/balm over it when it dries out.

did not expect to like it as much as i do!

another color i got from the Muppettes mini nail lacquers set. it looks really ugly in the bottle (muted, muddy, warm-toned brown). i never thought i'd like it. wore them on my toes, and they are SO BEAUTIFUL! i can't decide whether it's really a glitter top coat or a polish in itself, but it's a mix of a light copper, champagne, pink, and lime green fine glitters. it is uh-mahzing! even my mother says it's gorgeous. i wore a topcoat and it's been on my pretty little toes from October 16 (it is now October 22) and no chipping whatsoever. which is a miracle because it's on my toes, and i'm always barefoot!

anyway, i wore two layers. one layer gives me nothing. i tried to take a good photo, but nothing i did with my cameras did the color any justice. and to be fair, none of the swatches available online do the color any justice! bloggers are putting way too many layers to make their nails look the way it does in the bottle. it's so much prettier with only two layers. i recommend swatching at the store (it's just not a photogenic/camera-friendly color and even the better nail polish bloggers aren't taking accurate pictures). i can't stop staring at it, it looks so pretty!

all grown-up!

this is a shade i got from the Muppettes mini nail lacquers set. i'm not sure how a color named after Fozzie Bear could be so mature-looking and dignified (but also blood-red and very appropriate for Halloween). LOL. no offense, Fozzie! i love this color (it's not a wine color like OPI's official promotional photos seem to suggest, and also not as bright as some blogger's pictures portray it to be, it's a very rich maroon). i only needed one layer to get it to work and look pretty. my mother thinks it looks ultra-vampy and keeps telling me to wipe it off, but i personally think it's VERY classy! it reminds me of Essie's Midnight Cami (both are a dark color with lighter, very fine glitter of a lighter shade). very beautiful under sunlight. lasted 5-6 days without chipping without a top coat (Second Presidential Debate on October 16, and started chipping on October 22, so really not bad). i file my nails in a squoval shape and it looks very, very grown-up!

playing mind games...

love. i read somewhere that if you have oily skin your should always keep hydrated (which is kind of hard when you have super-fast metabolism) because if you don't and you leave your skin dry, it'll think that it needs hydration and start producing even more oil. i sometimes sleep with this when i sleep with the air conditioner on. or when i use a combination of skin-drying acne products (like Clinique Acne Solutions and Neutrogena SkinClearing Mineral Powder for oil-control). sometimes the "oil-control" part goes a little overboard and my skin freaks out. so i spray this on to play mind games with my skin to trick it into believing that it doesn't need to produce any more oil. :3

i wish it had a nicer/finer spray, though. because it sprays too much water and you end up with a face that looks like a window on a rainy day (not cool when you're not at home). i'd like finer drops on my face. but i read on someone's Skindinavia review, you can spray facial sprays upward toward the ceiling and let it rain on your face.

nice to know it's TSA-approved (i haven't tried taking it to a US airport), but it's 50ml so it should be allowed in your zip-lock in Europe. :)

minty and hydrating...

these are so awesome! i got single-use samples of these lip-glosses when i purchased the UD Primer Potion. they came in little bubble wrap things that you could pop and each bubble would last you 1-2 uses. i got Crush and Midnight Cowboy. they're both really minty and get you in the mood for kissing. :3

and it smells insane like CANDY CANES! :D

the Midnight Cowboy one has a load of holographic glittery and looks pretty icky under daylight or when my lips were pale, but it looked fabulous in the evening. it's almost colorless. just glitter.

i really like Crush. it has no glitter which makes it great. kind of like of Clinique Long Last Glosswear's #14 (Cabana Crush) without the glitter or a more pigmented version #11 (Clearly Pink). maybe i'll buy this in full size. maybe, since i like the tube packaging better than having to use an applicator.

it survived a bowl of soup (and heavy-duty munching). i'd give it a 4.5 because of the minty scent/taste, but Clinique Long Last Glosswear has SPF 15 and this doesn't (but it's not as thick/dense and i don't know whether that's a good/bad thing) and Urban Decay's color range for this product are just a bad fit for my personality. plus, the minty feel/taste only lasts for a little while, so maybe 4 will do...

PS: pic i wanted to include but wouldn't upload: <a href='http://www.beautylish.com/f/axaiqp' rel='nofollow' target='_blank'>http://www.beautylish.com/f/axaiqp</a>

it smells wonderful, leaves my skin feeling squeaky without drying it, didn't help too much with my acne...

i got this in a an anti-acne kit (this: <a href='http://www.beautylish.com/f/axaisx' rel='nofollow' target='_blank'>http://www.beautylish.com/f/axaisx</a>) which consisted of the Biotherm Biopur Pore Reducer Cleansing Gel, Biotherm Biopur SOS Normalising Exfoliating Lotion, and the Biotherm Biopur SOS Normaliser Moisturiser.

it smells lovely, it left my skin feeling squeaky clean without overdrying it, it did make my face less oily, but i'm not sure if it shrunk my pores like it claims it does.

i can't say i hate it, but i'm also not its biggest fan. the entire Biopur set used together did clear up my skin. i LOOOOOOVE the way my skin looked (i think it was a bit brighter and it constantly has that look you have after you've exfoliated with Cure Natural Gel). but i feel like this facial gel did not play a key/major role in it.

i ran out of the toner first, and right after, my blemishes came back! i continued using the gel and moisturizer and not much happened. when i was out of this gel, i replaced this gel with The Body Shop's tea tree facial wash and i think it did a better job (although i like Biotherm's smell better and my skin feels cleaner after). so i feel like i can survive without it. the 20ml i got lasted me exactly 20 days.

i'm not sure if i want to use this facial wash, the only thing i can be totally sure about is the exfoliator (which worked like a charm judging by the way my cotton pads looked after swiping my face with it). i'll try Clinique Acne Solutions and Shiseido Pureness before deciding whether to settle with the Biopur line. i'm actually in love enough with it to give this a 4.5 but i'm giving it a 4 instead because The Body Shop's gel is a better value and this gel wasn't THE product in the starter kit that cleared my skin (i think the key was the lotion).

perfect for your KNVB/Koninginnedag manicure!

i personally wouldn't normally wear this color because it's not my style, except for special events (like FIFA World Cup or Koninginnedag). in fact, i purchased this for UEFA Euro 2012. i kind of wish it was bit lighter (more like Essie Braziliant) and more like KNVB oranje. because sometimes under certain lights, it does come off as sort of red-ish. sometimes neon (to the extent that it reminds me of traffic cones). :|

this is my first full-sized OPI polish (i mostly own OPI Minis). the full-sized bottle's brush is amazing. but it does require some getting used to, the first time i picked up too much product and ended up with an unneccesary blob on the corner of my thumb nail. the second time i literally dropped some on my palm. but it is a quality polish, has great consistency, and it lasts forever. ;)

PS: i wasn't able to upload a photo to this review, but if you want a swatch, alstublieft: <a href='http://www.beautylish.com/f/acrzsx' rel='nofollow' target='_blank'>http://www.beautylish.com/f/acrzsx</a>