curlysue10
Member Since: November 5, 2008Reviews
L'Oreal Paris Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara
This is a really great lenghtening mascara. As with any mascara, it is difficult to guage just how much it “extends” your lashes. I would hesitate to say they were doublly as long as usual, but they were certainly noticably longer. Lets put it... +
This is a really great lenghtening mascara. As with any mascara, it is difficult to guage just how much it “extends” your lashes. I would hesitate to say they were doublly as long as usual, but they were certainly noticably longer. Lets put it this way, I wear glasses and my lashes don’t usually touch them, but with this mascara the tips definitely brush up against the lenses. I, like others have mentioned, was hesitant to try a primer mascara duo thinking that it would be too fiddly and time consuming, however it is no more time consuming than putting on two coats of mascara.
Like others have mentioned washing it off is amazingly easy – you simply wet your lashes and smooth them off. Misschickie is right, it looks as though your lashes are coming off, but that is simply the tubes slipping off your lashes. No raccoon eyes or mascara residue after you cleanse!
I tend to shy away from lengthening mascaras because I prefer the drama that volumizing formulas add, but this mascara did not disappoint me in the drama department. On its own it is beautiful and in fact, when coupled with a coat of my go-to Cover Girl Last Blast or Maybelline Colossal over top, it looked a lot like falsies. My lashes were ridiculously long, very black and nice and plump, just like I like them. And since I had the tubes on as a base, washing it all off was a snap.
I did not experience any of the clumping that some others complained of, however my one warning would be to not skip the mascara. It is temping to use the primer as a base to your regular mascara but this simply does not work as well, trust me. If you want to apply another (perhaps thickening) mascara on top as I did, use the Beauty Tubes primer, then a quick sweep of their mascara (to cover all the white) and then use your regular mascara – it is definitely worth it!
Overall, a big thumbs up!
-
Threadless
I am a big fan of this website. The concept is great: regular people submit designs (and get paid for them if they’re chosen) and regular people can buy them. Each design has a certain amount that are printed (like an artists print) which makes... +
I am a big fan of this website. The concept is great: regular people submit designs (and get paid for them if they’re chosen) and regular people can buy them. Each design has a certain amount that are printed (like an artists print) which makes them relatively unique. If a design you like is out of stock you can vote to have it reprinted. You can also vote for designs that you would like to see be made into shirts. This makes Threadless a really great little artists community and a haven for graphic tee enthusiasts who are sick of having the same t-shirts that everyone else has.
I ordered a few tees from them for myself as well as my sister. I should warn you that their sizing is a little strange. Obviously finding a perfect fit is challenging when you’re buying online but they try and simplify it by having sizing charts that ask you to measure one of your best fitting tees and match it to their sizes. The only problem with this is that I suspect their sizes are standard American and Canadian sizing may be a little different (read: smaller). Even their extra small is too big in some cases which disappoints me, and in other cases the smallest size offered is a small.
It took a while to receive my order regular mail (which is to be expected) about 3 weeks. However I had to exchange one of my shirts due to sizing issues and they returned the new one within two weeks and without any hassle which I was very impressed with. They are located in Chicago and you can actually go and shop in their warehouse if you live near there or are in the area.
Other than the sizing issue I think this is a great website – it’s a really fun idea and allows consumers a break from the same old offered in many stores. It is a tad pricy (tees are generally 15-25 dollars, USD) but they do have amazing sales (they recently had all tees on sale for 9 bucks in honour of September 9th, 2009) and I think its worth it considering you’re essentially buying an original piece of art.
-
Blurb Make Your Own Book
This website is amazing! I recently went on the trip of a lifetime (to Egypt!) and was struggling with how best to display my pictures. To be quite honest I fancy myself a scrapbooker but in realty am far too lazy (and too much of a procrastinator)... +
This website is amazing! I recently went on the trip of a lifetime (to Egypt!) and was struggling with how best to display my pictures. To be quite honest I fancy myself a scrapbooker but in realty am far too lazy (and too much of a procrastinator) for that. A friend of mine recommended I try Blurb and I am SO glad I did.
The website is essentially a godsend for those who like me are just not prepared to do the whole cut-paste and glitter glue thing, but who want a beautiful high quality way to display their photographs. The whole process could not be easier – you sign up to the website, download their FREE software and get to work!
The software is super easy to use: you simply upload your pictures into the program, and they set out page layouts for you to choose from. They have everything from collages pages to text pages, pages with single pictures, multiple pictures with text boxes and everything in between. You select a page layout and click and drag your pictures – it’s really that easy! The program saves your work as you go along so there is no worry that you will lose everything and the website even offers ideas and online tutorials to get you started and help you through the process.
Once you organize everything and are happy with your book you upload it to the website and order. They print it out and send it right to your door. You can use it (like I did) for vacation pictures, friendship scrapbooks, wedding albums and even portfolios. The website is even a cute little community where you can make your books public and people can buy them!
I ordered a 7 inch by 7 inch hardcover book which has 68 pages containing 298 pictures (the website displays these stats when you order) and it cost be 29.95 plus shipping!! Incredible value if you ask me (imagine how much it would cost just to print 298 pictures, never mind putting organizing them into a high quality book!) You also have a variety of options such a hardcover or paper back, and high quality paper.
I have shown my book to everyone I know and no one can believe it. It literally looks like the kind of coffee table book you can buy at any bookstore. They even have great customer service – my friends book came with a couple of the pages out of the binding (a rare defect in their printing) so she simply took a picture of the damage, sent it to Blurb and they reprinted and resent a new copy free of charge.
I highly highly recommend checking this website out. I plan on using it for all my scrapbooking needs from now on because it could not be more worth it. Also don’t forget to google “Blurb coupon codes” before checking out – I did and I found one for 10 dollars off shipping. I was able to upgrade my shipping service for the price of getting it sent regular mail!
-
Dove Deep Moisture Body Wash
I enjoy this body wash but am not blown away by it. The texture is that of a lotion which lathers, and it does lather enough for my taste (sometimes when body washes are extremely moisturizing I find that they do not lather enough but that is not... +
I enjoy this body wash but am not blown away by it. The texture is that of a lotion which lathers, and it does lather enough for my taste (sometimes when body washes are extremely moisturizing I find that they do not lather enough but that is not the case for this product). It certainly does make your skin super soft and smooth with continued use, even to the point of not needing that post shower lotion.
My only minor complain is the scent – is smells slightly odd. It is not a bad smell by any stretch of the imagination; it’s just a little funny and not entirely enjoyable. This is not much of a problem though because the scent does not stick around for long, nor is it terribly strong.
Overall I think this is a good product but don’t think I would necessarily purchase it again. It is a good product for those who – like me – are obsessed with moisturizing products however when purchasing my next bottle of body wash I will probably opt instead for my favourites, Nivea Happy Time or Cashmere moments or even one of the body washes from the Dove Go Fresh line.
-
Benefit Cosmetics Lip Plump
Lip Plump has a slightly misleading name. It is not meant to plump your lips like many lip plumping glosses are designed to do (the kind that tingle and sting). Instead it fills in the lines on your lips and acts as a primer for lip colour. I must... +
Lip Plump has a slightly misleading name. It is not meant to plump your lips like many lip plumping glosses are designed to do (the kind that tingle and sting). Instead it fills in the lines on your lips and acts as a primer for lip colour. I must say it did a fantastic job as a primer and my lips did look full and healthy. I think it made my lip colour slide slightly and would have preferred it to bind to the colour a little bit better, but it did do what it promised. -
Benefit Cosmetics Lemon Aid Color Correcting Eyelid Primer
Lemon-aide is amazing! Its one of those products that you didn’t even realize you needed until you used it and now you can’t help but wonder how you ever lived without it! You apply it to your eyelids and under your eyes to neutralize the... +
Lemon-aide is amazing! Its one of those products that you didn’t even realize you needed until you used it and now you can’t help but wonder how you ever lived without it! You apply it to your eyelids and under your eyes to neutralize the darkness and provide brightness. It works like a charm! I have used it in several different ways. On some days that I only felt like applying a little concealer and blush in the morning I put lemon-aide all over my eye area and it gave it a really bright and healthy glow. I have also used it under eyeshadow as a kind of primer and it also worked wonders for that. When this little one runs out I think I am going to be purchasing the full sized version. -
Benefit Cosmetics High Beam Liquid Face Highlighter
High Beam is easily my favourite product in the Realness of Concealness kit. I am constantly on the lookout for products that will give you that indescribable glow that celebrities always seem to possess (all airbrushing aside!) and I think I have... +
High Beam is easily my favourite product in the Realness of Concealness kit. I am constantly on the lookout for products that will give you that indescribable glow that celebrities always seem to possess (all airbrushing aside!) and I think I have finally found it. High beam is a pearly pink coloured luminous cream that blends easily into your skin. I apply it to my check bones which gives my skin that “je ne sais quoi” that I have been craving. You can also use it around the eyes – in the corner of your eye as well as on your brow bone – as a highlighter but I find that it looks a little obvious there and prefer to use it on my checks. The mini version in the Realness of Concealness palette comes in a little tube with a wand applicator (like a lip gloss) but the full sized version comes in a bottle with an applicator similar to a nail polish brush. I will most certainly be purchasing this product in the full size when my mini version runs out.
-
Benefit Cosmetics Boi-ing Concealer
Bo-oing is incredible! I tried it once in Sephora and was impressed at how seamlessly it covered a particularly nasty blemish. It completely covered the redness and did not crease or move afterwards. I believe it comes in three tones – light... +
Bo-oing is incredible! I tried it once in Sephora and was impressed at how seamlessly it covered a particularly nasty blemish. It completely covered the redness and did not crease or move afterwards. I believe it comes in three tones – light, medium and dark. The medium tone comes in the Realness of Concealness kit. There is nothing bad I can say about this concealer – it really works like magic. It does the job and stays put. The name industrial is very well suited to this product. -
Benefit Cosmetics Ooh La Lift Eye Cream
Ohh La Lift is the only product that I was disappointed with in the Realness of Concealness kit. It is supposed to provide an “instant eye lift” but I felt that it just settled into the bags under my eyes and didn’t really disguise anything... +
Ohh La Lift is the only product that I was disappointed with in the Realness of Concealness kit. It is supposed to provide an “instant eye lift” but I felt that it just settled into the bags under my eyes and didn’t really disguise anything. It is supposed to be used in conjunction with the concealer, but I was just not happy with the way it looked. Out of all of the products in the kit, this is the only one that I would not repurchase. -
Benefit Cosmetics Realness of Concealness
I really like this palette. I have wanted to try Benefit products for a while now but haven’t been able to decide which ones were best for me. They offer such a wide range of seemingly magical products that I simply couldn’t decide. I settled on... +
I really like this palette. I have wanted to try Benefit products for a while now but haven’t been able to decide which ones were best for me. They offer such a wide range of seemingly magical products that I simply couldn’t decide. I settled on this palette because you get to try 5 of their most popular (and might I add effective) products all in one. The palette offers products to conceal imperfections and enhance natural beauty and glow; it includes: High Beam, Lip Plump, Oh-la-la Lift, Lemon-aide and Boi-ing Industrial Concealer. I will review each product individually as well as here as a kit.
High Beam is easily my favourite. I am constantly on the lookout for products that will give you that indescribable glow that celebrities always seem to possess (all airbrushing aside!) and I think I have finally found it. High beam is a pearly pink coloured luminous cream that blends easily into your skin. I apply it to my check bones which gives my skin that “je ne sais quoi” that I have been craving. You can also use it around the eyes – in the corner of your eye as well as on your brow bone – as a highlighter but I find that it looks a little obvious there and prefer to use it on my checks. The mini version in the Realness of Concealness palette comes in a little tube with a wand applicator (like a lip gloss) but the full sized version comes in a bottle with an applicator similar to a nail polish brush. I will most certainly be purchasing this product in the full size when my mini version runs out.
Lip Plump has a slightly misleading name. It is not meant to plump your lips like many lip plumping glosses are designed to do (the kind that tingle and sting). Instead it fills in the lines on your lips and acts as a primer for lip colour. I must say it did a fantastic job as a primer and my lips did look full and healthy. I think it made my lip colour slide slightly and would have preferred it to bind to the colour a little bit better, but it did do what it promised.
Oh-la-la Lift is the only product that I was disappointed with in the kit. It is supposed to provide an “instant eye lift” but I felt that it just settled into the bags under my eyes and didn’t really disguise anything. It is supposed to be used in conjunction with the concealer, but I was just not happy with the way it looked. Out of all of the products in the kit, this is the only one that I would not repurchase.
Lemon-aide is amazing! Its one of those products that you didn’t even realize you needed until you used it and now you can’t help but wonder how you ever lived without it! You apply it to your eyelids and under your eyes to neutralize the darkness and provide brightness. It works like a charm! I have used it in several different ways. On some days that I only felt like applying a little concealer and blush in the morning I put lemon-aide all over my eye area and it gave it a really bright and healthy glow. I have also used it under eyeshadow as a kind of primer and it also worked wonders for that. When this little one runs out I think I am going to be purchasing the full sized version.
Bo-oing is incredible! I tried it once in Sephora and was impressed at how seamlessly it covered a particularly nasty blemish. It completely covered the redness and did not crease or move afterwards. I believe it comes in three tones – light, medium and dark. The medium tone comes in the Realness of Concealness kit. There is nothing bad I can say about this concealer – it really works like magic. It does the job and stays put. The name industrial is very well suited to this product.
My only minor complaint about the kit as a whole is that the little compact box that holds the products in broke – the glue came apart. However I will not hold this against it because it is a cute little compact that comes with a mirror and there is always the chance that I got a defective one.
All in all this is a phenomenal product and a great introduction to Benefit cosmetics. I will most certainly be repurchasing a number of these items in the future and will be trying others as well. It is a little more expensive than your average drug store brand but it is well worth it.
-
Looking for more?
Check out our other review websites:
