Beauty Product Reviews | Page 2

Chunky glitter everywhere

God I wanted to love this. I wanted so, so, so badly to love this. I still want to love this. The fragrance Soleil Blanc knocked me off my feet the moment I smelled it earlier this year. I got a couple of samples from my local department store that are keeping me at bay for how, but eventually I'll have to buy the 100ml of the EDP. When I saw this product I thought it would be the perfect layer underneath the EDP and I was so excited about some shimmer. But as hard as I tried to love this, the glitter chunks just annoy the heck out of me. They are HUGE. Just cheap glitter everywhere. I am so mad. Why couldn't this product be classier, softer, just slightly more elegant? The cheap chunky glitter does not match the elegance of the fragrance. So, so, so bummed. Also not crazy about the other ingredients in the oil. I'm returning.

Didn't work for me

I have pale skin and was very surprised to find that I could not get this product to work for me, even using stiffer or denser brushes. The crosshatch pattern disappeared on the product and it was looking more and more used, so something must have been getting onto the brush. But on my skin: no visible effect. The darker shade was definitely more visible but too dark to use as a highlighter, too light to use as a bronzer, and as an illuminator...?. My skincare regimen is intense and highest priority, so my skin is pretty glowy from my skin care alone, I guess it could be that I just don't need an illuminating product? Regardless it upset me every time I used it that I could not see the lighter shade, and I don't need added frustration in my life! I love Tom Ford, and could not bring myself to give this product one star... so 2 stars just for being Tom Ford.

The best eyeshadow primer

I've been using TF eye primer duo for about two years. It's the best formula I've tried. Cream eyeshadows tend to disappear on my lids or settle into creases unless I prime first. The cream portion of this duo works alone under cream eyeshadow and the eyeshadow won't budge all day long and into night. It's amazing. For powders I apply a light coat of the cream portion first, then I dab the powder on top. Powder shadows blend beautifully on top and they don't budge all day, up to 18 hours on me. A makeup artist once applied too much eyeshadow and used the powder of this duo to smooth it out. I also apply the powder part to sheer out an already blended eye, like a setting powder for the eyelid. One pot has lasted me for two years and using it daily there is still plenty left. It has not dried out on me at all, and still works perfectly. I do make sure to close it tightly after each use. Love.

Natural sun-kissed glow for pale skin

For reference my skin is N20 in Mac face&body, 3 Fair in Charlotte Tilbury, Alabaster in Tom Ford traceless foundation, 013 in Koh Gen Do. So I'm quite pale, but not the palest of the pale, I have pink undertones, and is dry. I use SPF 50 physical sunscreens religiously, every day, rain/snow/shine, inside/outside no matter what. For bronzer I usually use Charlotte Tilbury's fimstar bronze&glow, which I love, but I wanted to try something else for fun. At first I tried TF ultimate bronzer in Terra but that did not show up at all on my skin, so I returned it (so thankful for Beautylish's return policy!). Out of the tube, this gel-like bronzer looks extremely dark brown, and I thought it was going to be an instant fail. I was late for work, and feeling devil-may-care, so I slathered on a very thin layer over my sunscreen and before foundation, then applied the rest of my make up. By the end of the day I did not look orange, thankfully, but I also could not see a difference, and neither could my co-workers. So the next day I was bolder and I applied more liberally. This time I could see the effect immediately: I looked like I had been out in the sun all day and gotten a little tan through my sunscreen. It was perfect. I applied my regular foundation over it (I use light-medium coverage foundation), it blended beautifully, and I saw the bronzer though my foundation. I figured I would feel gross and cakey by the end of the day because I was wearing more makeup. But throughout my busy, harried, 13-hour day, my skin could breathe, my make-up stayed put, and I got compliment after compliment on my skin. At the end of one day after double-cleansing my makeup off, I thought I noticed that my skin stained. The next morning my skin was its usual base color, but I called Beautylish just to confirm that this is not a self-tanner. It's not - it's makeup that washes off. I am now using this liberally and every day, and I absolutely love it. I use it under full makeup and I do not break out or feel gross and overdone. It works well under each of my foundations. My skin is clear and happy at the end of the day. It gives me a beautiful bronzed tone that fits in at work and on a summer night out. I love this stuff. Tom Ford wins again!

My favorite cream shadows

I wear platinum, opale, and burnished copper on a regular basis. Also regularly wear naked bronze and young Adonis. I love burnished copper and naked bronze layered together - gorgeous for hazel or brown eyes! I own several other high-end brands of cream shadows and Tom Ford's are head and shoulders above the others in terms of color pay-off, texture, longevity, and amount of product for price. A little goes a long way with these, especially the darker shades. I find they last longer without eyeshadow primer, and also do not settle into creases. I work 12 hours a day running sweatily around a hospital, and when I get home my shadow is just where I put it that morning. Bought a backup of opale already. Tom Ford just seems to be an all-around makeup genius.

So beautiful

Wore this to work at the hospital - it wasn't too glittery at all. Used TF primer underneath and Opale shade near brows and in eye corners. Didn't budge and my eyes looked bright through a 12-hour crazy day. I'm a sucker for taupe shades (LOVE Charlotte Tillbury's Marie Antoinette, the lower left shade in TF Nude Dip, TF Platinum cream) and this is a subtle gorgeous light taupe for summer. Love love love.

1 Fair is too dark :-(

I love the quality of this pressed powder. It's so fine, it doesn't cake, and it sets any brand foundation beautifully. It also doesn't worsen my already dry skin, or set into wrinkles. I love it! So why the two stars? My one huge issue with it is that the lightest shade is too dark. I am a religious sunscreen user all year round, I wear wide-brim hats and sun-protective clothes...i learned the hard way that I burn in 2 minutes in the sun, and there's no fade to tan! Oh well. Charlotte Tilbury is THE master at making sure we fair-skinned, reddish-haired people are covered with the right tones. So why make such a dark pressed powder? Very sadly, I'm returning 1 Fair, and hoping Ms Tilbury comes out with a no-color Flawless Finish powder.

Not for dry skin

This was sold out everywhere I looked, and I waited months to get to try it. After using tinted powders to set my makeup, I was getting frustrated that the tints were changing the color of my foundation. I have pale skin and after using a tinted setting powder my makeup ended up two shades darker ... you know how it goes. I was thrilled when the RCMA powder was finally back in stock, and I grabbed the duo pack so I would never have to wait again. Unfortunately this powder is not for dry skin girls and boys. If you have ANY dry skin, this will show every patch. If you have slightly aging skin, this will show every fine line. I tried and tried for months to make this work: used less and less of it until I was barely using any at all; used only in areas that did not have dry skin, but then it dried my skin out even in those areas. I found myself using so little that it wasn't worth using any more. :-((( Sadly, I am returning this. But happily I found another product at Beautylish that I absolutely love that is wonderful for dry aging skin with fine lines (IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores HD micro powder). Pros of RCMA powder: It truly is colorless; whatever color your foundation is, that's the face you'll end up with; a tiny bit goes a long way so one small bottle will last a lifetime. Cons: NOT for dry skin, not for aging skin; not for skin with fine lines.

Class of its own

I was using baby shampoo to wash my Chikohodo and Wayne Goss brushes, but each time I cleaned my brushes, it took a really long time to get all the foundation out. Also, I was concerned that baby shampoo might not be the best for my gorgeous brushes. I trust Beautylish's impeccable taste in products, so I was glad to see a product line dedicated to giving my brushes a conditioning clean. I wasn't sure how to use it when it arrived - for some reason I thought it would be a cream, not a solid texture - so I called Beautylish and the wonderful customer service patiently explained how to use it. I've now used this product at least 3 times to clean all my brushes. It works SO MUCH BETTER than baby shampoo! Firstly, it cleans my Chikuhodo GSN series foundation brush like a charm: 2-3 swirls in the soap to create some lather, rustle around in my palm, and watch the foundation melt away. I repeat that 2-3 times (3rd time is unnecessary but I love doing it), and I've got a beautifully clean and conditioned brush. I set my brush into a Brush Guard (sold on Beautylish), hang to dry in my Benjabelle (also sold on Beautylish), and my gorgeous brushes that I've spent an arm and leg on are clean, conditioned, and happy. When the brushes are dry, I swear they're softer than when I first bought them. I didn't think that was possible, but it is. The brush shampoo scents are extremely subtle - honestly I don't smell anything unless I bury my nose in my brush (which I admit to doing when I first tried the product). I love this so much I just bought the Grapefruit.

Cool grey-toned neutrals

I was really excited to try this as I'm obsessed with neutral palettes. I have fair skin (N2 in MAC face and body, 3 Fair in Charlotte Tilbury LW and MF, 4.5 in Armani Luminous Silk) with cool pink undertones. For some reason it's really hard for me to find a neutral palette that looks neutral. Most neutral palettes look grey on me. So it was with ViseArt Cashmere. I tried on all 6 shades (not all at once!) and they all looked like varying shades of grey on my lids. :-(

The texture is pretty powdery. There's not a huge amount of fall-out, but I was surprised with the amount I had to clean up. Not a huge amount, but I've been spoiled by Tom Ford shadow palettes, which are like butter, and are my absolute HG fave. Charlotte Tilbury's palettes come in second. I also found the ViseArt more difficult to blend over eyeshadow primer (Urban Decay) than my other shadows, and I have the best brushes (WG, Chikuhodo).

I was hoping to love this, but sadly I'm sending it back. :-(