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Member Since: May 6, 2011Reviews
Pantene Pro-V Aqua Light Conditioning Shake
I got this product free from the ChickAdvisor Product Review Club, but this product confuses me. I have healthy hair that's pretty low maintenance and easily manageable (no split ends, frizz, etc), and I almost always sleep with wet hair (haven't... +
I got this product free from the ChickAdvisor Product Review Club, but this product confuses me. I have healthy hair that's pretty low maintenance and easily manageable (no split ends, frizz, etc), and I almost always sleep with wet hair (haven't blow dried my hair for almost a year). I also do not own (or use) curling or straightening irons.
To give this product a somewhat fair trial, I sprayed this product on my damp hair about a dozen times (after using the Aqua Light Shampoo and Conditioner) and attempted to blow dry my shoulder-length hair. The product has a really weird scent combination -- very chemical-y and yet also very fruity. I'm not sure what the product is supposed to do -- or even how it works on a chemical level -- but I didn't notice any difference when blow drying my hair. Maybe it's supposed to work much better for people with color-treated or damaged hair, but for me, nothing. (That's why this product confuses me.) Plus, how are we supposed to make sure the product is distributed evenly through out our hair if it's a spray? I suppose lotions may be too thick and noticeable, but I'm seriously quesitoning the effectiveness of this product. Buy this product at your own peril, and try not to expect too much from it.
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Pantene Pro-V Aqua Light Shampoo
I received this free from ChickAdvisor, and I was pretty excited to see if it would really make my hair feel "weightless".Since I tried this with the accompanying Conditioner, I'm not sure which result should be attributed to which product, but I'll... +
I received this free from ChickAdvisor, and I was pretty excited to see if it would really make my hair feel "weightless".Since I tried this with the accompanying Conditioner, I'm not sure which result should be attributed to which product, but I'll try my best.
First, I love the scent of this product. Some cheaper shampoos seem to have too much fragrance, while others don't really have a fruity or "fun" scent. To me, this shampoo has achieved the perfect balance between "shampoo clean" and "fruity and fun" (both scents which I love, but in moderation only).
This product is easy to lather (don't use too much!) and rinses quite well. It also didn't leave my hair feeling super-dry in between rinsing off the shampoo and putting on the conditioner.
I've tried this product twice now, and I'm glad I did, as it helps paint a clearer picture of what its results. The first time I used this shampoo and the conditioner, I noticed flakes at the roots of my hair, especially at the hairline. This has happened to me before, and it might have been slight dandruff and water droplets. (I've been using a 3-in-1 anti-dandruff shampoo/conditioner/treatment for years now, though I'm not sure that I need the "anti-dandruff" part of it...) Anyways, I freaked out and tried using water to get it out. By the second day, the dandruff/water had disappeared. The second time around, I made sure shampoo well my hairline area, and above all, rinsed everything well. There were no little white flakes this time.
Also, I'm not sure if it's due to my mind or not, but the day after using the shampoo and conditioner for the first time, my hair did feel very light and bouncy. My hair was also less "poufy" then usual the day after I washed it and slept with wet hair (like I always do). I wash my hair every 3 days (it might seem disgusting, but it works for me) and usually, after I wash it and sleep with my hair wet, my hair isn't very manageable the next day. After using the shampoo and conditioner a second time around, I'm not sure exactly how "weightless" my hair is due to these two products. I just cut off my long hair a few weeks ago, but I do remember that if I took the time to blowdry my hair right after washing it, my hair would feel as silky and weightless as it feels after using this Pantene combo.
So bottom line: yes, this product does meet its claims, but not in a "OMG, something THAT amazing exists?" kind of way. With close comparison, I did notice my hair being slightly more silky, smooth, manageable, and weightless with this product, but it's not that big of a difference. Plus, I'm a lazy gal, and if possible, I'd prefer to use a 2-in-1 product instead (though since my usual brand of 3-in-1 shampoo/conditioner/treatment is being discontinued, I might be on the hunt for a replacement soon). I'd recommend this to a friend, but I'd only come back and buy this after trying out all the new brands out there (like Head & Shoulders).
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Revlon Spotlight Eyelash Curler
I was so excited when I received the email that I would be able to try this product out for free (thank you ChickAdvisor!), but it turned out to be a disappointment. I have fairly long lashes (that are also quite thick), but they seem to point... +
I was so excited when I received the email that I would be able to try this product out for free (thank you ChickAdvisor!), but it turned out to be a disappointment. I have fairly long lashes (that are also quite thick), but they seem to point straight ahead, and since I wear glasses, I never really bothered with eyelash curlers (I bought a cheap one once, but was too scared that I was going to poke my eye out to actually use it). I thought that the LED light was quite ingenious, and I guess that it was quite helpful. But after following the directions, my lashes barely curled. Maybe I should have put it closer to my eye (eeks!) -- though I did try this a few times -- but the part that seem to have been affected by this curler had the ugly 90 degree shape. Though I'm inexperienced with eyelash curlers, I'm pretty sure that having this right-angle shape to your lashes is undesirable. (I also tried the curler with a piece of tissue paper, and after progressively pressing harder and harder on the lever, the only result produced by the curler was the 90 degree shape. Not good.) The overall design and idea is nice, but it fails to deliver. Thank goodness that I didn't actually go out and purchase this item, and I definitely wouldn't be recommending this product to any of my friends. -
Curél Daily Moisture Fragrance-Free Original Lotion
This is the only product that I've given full stars to date, and one of the very few products whose results met or exceeded my expectations. But I seriously love this product, and if I could only use one cosmetic product, it'd be this lotion. My... +
This is the only product that I've given full stars to date, and one of the very few products whose results met or exceeded my expectations. But I seriously love this product, and if I could only use one cosmetic product, it'd be this lotion.
My skin is really low maintenance, and I've been using the cheapest Vaseline on my face for years (my mom never bothers with makeup, except for lipstick) without problems. But then a few months ago, my face acted up -- probably due to a combination of stress, chocolate, and not enough water -- and I had some bumps (occasionally red) on my forehead. I panicked and immediately searched up tons and tons of articles, and then went out to buy a cleanser and anti-blemish treatments. (I know, this may seem as a shock to many people.) I was also wondering if my forehead (the break out was only limited to my forehead area, above my eyeline) was acting up since Vaseline contained pore-clogging ingredients.
So I did more research on facial moisturizers, and since I wasn't willing to shell out $50 for a tiny jar of special facial cream from a high end brand, I searched for basic body lotions that were hypoallergenic, fragrance free, won't clog pores, and cheap (I could compromise on all of these requirements except the last one). Luckily, Curel fulfilled all of these requirements and in its FAQs, it said that it would be OK to also use it as a facial moisturizer. Yay! I went out and bought it (it was on sale at Save On for $4.99 and it contained a bonus 25% product, so I was lucky) -- though the outside packaging is different from the image posted here, which can also be found on Curel's website.
I started using this product, and gradually, the vast majority of bumps disappeared. I'm sure it wasn't all due to this lotion, as I gave up chocolate (and decided to forgo the cleanser and anti-blemish treatment as they were too troublesome), but its claims give me some peace of mind, particularly since I'm constantly uber-stressed.
Sorry for giving you my life story, but I'll get down to what you really care about now. The cream is not very heavy, and spreads easily. I really like the fragrance free part, but like all "fragrance free" products, it has a slight scent, though it's easily ignored. This product is labelled for dry skin, but I have normal skin, and I'm not sure if it will moisturize dry skin enough. For me, the claims of "non-greasy" and "absorbs quickly" hold true, and I'm totally happy with putting on this moisturizer in the morning and heading out (I don't wear makeup at all). There's nothing I can think of that will make this a better product.
And case you didn't catch it up there, this is my favorite product -- I'll definitely recommend it to anyone with normal and low maintenance skin!
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L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream
I hate to be a party pooper, but it seems that many products (including this one) don't seem to work as well for me as they seem to do for others. I have normal skin with the occasional dry patches, but since my skin is fairly low maintenance, I... +
I hate to be a party pooper, but it seems that many products (including this one) don't seem to work as well for me as they seem to do for others.
I have normal skin with the occasional dry patches, but since my skin is fairly low maintenance, I just put any kind of lotion on it and within a few days, the dry skin disappears.
I got the mini size free as part of their promotion a few months ago, and as it was still winter, I was excited to try this product on some dry patches on my hands (e.g. on the tips of my thumbs). The cream is really thick (it holds its shape really well coming out of the tube), and has a very strong scent (probably due to its 20% shea butter content). The scent takes some getting used to. Anyways, after putting it on the dry patches of skin, I didn't notice a difference -- in fact, I think any commonplace moisturizer, e.g. Vaseline, works as well as, if not better (i.e. faster) than this product. For me, it takes almost 2cm (lengthwise) of this product to cover both hands, and I don't feel as though my hands are more moisturized than normal.
Verdict: for people with normal skin, don't bother buying this product. With 1/3 of money needed to buy a mini size of this hand cream, you could go out and buy a whole tub of Vaseline, and it'll work just as well (or better). Or, just wait out the dry patches of skin on your hands.
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Degree® Women MotionSense Fresh Energy Antiperspirant Stick
I've been trying to a find a deodorant and/or antiperspirant that's invisible, lasts, has a nice scent, and works. After trying this one... I'll still be continuing on with my quest. This product has a nice scent (fresh energy smells quite nice... +
I've been trying to a find a deodorant and/or antiperspirant that's invisible, lasts, has a nice scent, and works. After trying this one... I'll still be continuing on with my quest.
This product has a nice scent (fresh energy smells quite nice, and I'm not sick of the smell yet), is fairly invisible, and seems to last. But on the product, it's marketed as an antiperspirant and then a deodorant, which should mean that it blocks pores so that there's no sweat or wetness, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Maybe that means that I need clinical strength deodorant/antiperspirant (though I don't think that I sweat a lot), but something about this product still left me feeling a bit "meh". Oh well, I picked this up for just over a dollar when it was on sale (at Shoppers) with a coupon, so it's no big loss.
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Dove White Beauty Bar
I got this free from ChickAdvisor and surprisingly, this is one of the few products that stand up to its claims (I'm a gal who takes words and claims at their surface meaning, so I never got how products could make you "glow", for example). I've... +
I got this free from ChickAdvisor and surprisingly, this is one of the few products that stand up to its claims (I'm a gal who takes words and claims at their surface meaning, so I never got how products could make you "glow", for example).
I've seen Dove's Beauty Bars commercials about not leaving a soap residue behind, and when compared to other soap brands that I've used, the difference between Dove and other brands is very noticeable. After rinsing, other soap brands made my hands feel sticky -- not sure exactly how to describe it, but I'd need to use conditioner to somehow get rid of the stickiness -- whereas Dove had none of that residue and stickiness. I was very impressed.
My skin is normal, so I can't speak about its moisture claims.
One thing that bugs me about this product is its smell. I hate scented things, so I think I'll buy the unfragranced version next time. But other than its scent, I'd totally recommend this product!
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Vaseline Intensive Rescue Clinical Therapy Body Lotion
I use this product daily after showering on my legs, and maybe since I have normal skin, I don't think that it's any different or better than the regular Vaseline. It absorbs really well, and it's creamy but light, though maybe it's a bit thicker... +
I use this product daily after showering on my legs, and maybe since I have normal skin, I don't think that it's any different or better than the regular Vaseline. It absorbs really well, and it's creamy but light, though maybe it's a bit thicker than the regular Vaseline, but that's to be expected.
One thing that I really don't like about this product is its smell. It says it's "unfragranced", but there's a distinct smell that... doesn't smell too good. I don't know how to describe it, but it just smells bad to me. I have an aversion to almost all scented things (they give me headaches and sometimes feels like it's hard to take a deep breath), so thankfully this scent mostly dissipates after a while (though if I put my nose close to the skin, even after a few hours, I'm still able to detect the smell).
I actually bought this product by accident (was planning on buying the original Vaseline body lotion, but grabbed this instead), and after I finish using up this bottle, I'm going to return to the original Vaseline.
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Aveeno Essential Moisture Lip Conditioner with SPF 15
I got this as a bonus from another product (and thank God for that, 'cause I would have never purchased this by itself, mostly due to its price, and as you'll see below, it's ineffectiveness). I've been using Chapstick as lip balm since... a long... +
I got this as a bonus from another product (and thank God for that, 'cause I would have never purchased this by itself, mostly due to its price, and as you'll see below, it's ineffectiveness).
I've been using Chapstick as lip balm since... a long time ago, though I tried Nivea a few years ago (it was really bad in comparison to Chapstick), and Lysol (it was ok, though I dropped it on the ground after one use, so can't say much about it). Anyways, this does not work as well as Chapstick for me. The taste is pretty awesome, but besides that, it doesn't really seem to absorb well. After a while, my lips just feel dry again (this is during daytime). Chapstick doesn't make my lips feel dry right after applying, but that might be due to the fact that it remains stickier for long. I haven't tried this for night-use (Chapstick is AWESOME to use at night), but based on its day-results, I don't have high expectations for it.
PROS:
Smells/tastes nice
Has SPF
CONS:
Doesn't seem to really moisturize my lips (leaves my lips dry) -- Basically doesn't serve its purpose at all, except for the really short short-term (aka a few minutes)
After I finish using it, I won't be buying it again. (Back to Chapstick I go!)
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Aveeno Fresh Essentials Anti-Fatigue Eye Roller
I got this product from ChickAdvisor's New Product Club Offer and have been using it for twice a day (usually) for a week. It's easy to apply (a few shakes, then uncap it and apply once under each eye) and has a strong, though pleasant... +
I got this product from ChickAdvisor's New Product Club Offer and have been using it for twice a day (usually) for a week. It's easy to apply (a few shakes, then uncap it and apply once under each eye) and has a strong, though pleasant smell.
I haven't noticed any major changes or improvements, but unless I'm under a really awkward lighting, there aren't noticeable bags under my eyes. I THINK there might have been a slight improvement to the "puffiness" (if you look really closely) under my eyes, but maybe that's just all in my mind.
Considering the price is around $20 retail, I don't think that I would recommend this to a friend. Unless you get a very small amount of sleep for a few days straight, in which case I think that this product would probably help a lot, I don't see the worth in purchasing this product when all you really need to do is get a good night's sleep. Actually, if you can't even spare a few more hours to get a full 8 hours and would rather use this to cover it up, I'd say watch out, 'cause you're probably going to get sick really, really soon. Anyways, I don't use make-up, so I don't get the appeal of using products such as this, but of course you can try it out if you don't trust this review (among many others on the Internet).
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