wonderwhatif
Member Since: January 26, 2015Reviews
Maybelline New York Dream Urban Cover Foundation
I just wasn’t super impressed with the Urban Cover foundation. As someone with shockingly pale skin, I was excited for a foundation with high SPF, but it didn’t work well for me. I have an ongoing problem where foundation doesn’t seem to sit... +
I just wasn’t super impressed with the Urban Cover foundation. As someone with shockingly pale skin, I was excited for a foundation with high SPF, but it didn’t work well for me. I have an ongoing problem where foundation doesn’t seem to sit well on my skin, but this was far worse than others I have tried. Though the texture was quite runny (as others have said, like a BB cream) it felt cakey and heavy on my face. This is part of the reason I’m not a massive fan of full coverage foundations.
On a similar point, though, this barely covered any flaws and felt like a medium coverage foundation, or lighter. It clung to my flaws and made them show up worse. Within an hour, the makeup was melting off of my face. I have combination skin (with an oily nose) so perhaps this would work better for those with dry skin.
I will praise it for having no noticeable terrible smell (a lot of foundations do) and not smelling of sunscreen. In terms of the colour, I will say that I was impressed at how pale the foundation was. Usually they are not pale enough for me, however, it is too yellow tinged. I feel like almost nothing is designed for those of us with cool undertones and so many of the products I use are yellow-tinged, so I was disappointed that this was too. I’d say cool-tones should try the ‘porcelain’ rather than ‘fair porcelain’ which I was sent.
The colour is also darker looking in person than online here. You can see a more accurate colour in my pictures here, where I choose to do a wild makeup for fun!
Overall, I liked that they offered a paler option, but hated how it felt, didn’t feel it did a good job and it also melted off my face very quickly.
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Hair Food Coconut & Chai Spice Sulfate Free Shampoo
Note: I used this with the matching conditioner. I’m actually surprised at how much I loved this shampoo! Coconut isn’t usually my favourite scent, but I have to say that this barely smells like Coconut. So if you love Coconut and are looking... +
Note: I used this with the matching conditioner.
I’m actually surprised at how much I loved this shampoo! Coconut isn’t usually my favourite scent, but I have to say that this barely smells like Coconut. So if you love Coconut and are looking for a super Coconutty shampoo, sadly this doesn’t deliver on that. I do love the smell though. It has a sweet, generic smell that isn’t too strong and smells good to me.
After using this a couple of times, my hair has responded brilliantly to it. It’s super soft, smooth and less frizzy, without being limp or lifeless. Generally speaking, it leaves my hair soft and manageable, without losing my natural curls.
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Giantsville Jumbo Wooden Blocks Floor Game
This game is actually super fun, for adults and kids alike. One of my biggest concerns, with indoor play was the falling blocks. Being made of (admittedly light) wood, I was worried they would hit someone or something when they fall. Well, it’s... +
This game is actually super fun, for adults and kids alike. One of my biggest concerns, with indoor play was the falling blocks. Being made of (admittedly light) wood, I was worried they would hit someone or something when they fall. Well, it’s true that they do make a really loud bang and you’ll want to make sure they can’t hit any important stuff, like your TV, but the blocks don’t really hurt much if they hit you. Still, it’s a bit nerve-wracking, so I prefer outdoor play for that reason.
These blocks are great quality, made of pine with that pleasant pine smell. They come with a storage bag, a reusable score sheet and marker with an eraser. One really cool feature is that the blocks have numbers on them, which match up to custom rules that you can write on the sheet. To avoid ‘cheating’ I recommend fully building the tower and then writing the rules, it’ll be a surprise to everyone.
The custom rules gives the game a lot of pizzaz and means it has a lot of different uses. For example, for young kids, you can have the rules be things like ‘Do a dance.’ or ‘hug your friend’. So they draw the number, they do the action. You can have more game based rules like ‘take a second turn’ or ‘draw a block while touching your nose with the other hand’. It even allows for a more adult version of the game. Draw this block, take a shot! It’s a pretty genius addition.
One thing that can be confusing is it seems like you’re a block short when it’s fully built. That’s actually because the lowest tier of the tower is intended to have a gap in the middle. In other words, the bottom tier only has the two outside blocks and lacks the centre. Building it like this, you’ll have the right amount.
Overall, this is a really fun ‘large’ sized, off-brand version of the popular wooden block building game (Jenga). The blocks are great quality and the custom rules bring a whole new set of fun to the proceedings, highly recommend for parties of all ages!
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COVERGIRL Easy Breezy Micro-Fine Fill + Define Eyebrow Pencil
I recently tried a different eyebrow pencil from the Covergirl brand and was not impressed, so I was wary of this one. I’m thrilled to say, though, that this is a great eyebrow pencil. It actually reminds me of a very expensive brand’s eyebrow... +
I recently tried a different eyebrow pencil from the Covergirl brand and was not impressed, so I was wary of this one. I’m thrilled to say, though, that this is a great eyebrow pencil. It actually reminds me of a very expensive brand’s eyebrow pencil I tried recently. The downside of not being a traditional style pencil, is that you can’t just sharpen it up. Once you’ve used what’s there, that’s it.
However, this goes on smoothly like a dream. The line is quite fine (as it gets more blunt, it gets a little thicker) and it blends really easy. The pencil includes a spoolie so you can brush it out for a more subtle look. Since I have mixed blonde/brunette eyebrows, this soft brown seemed to be the right choice for me, although I have thicker brows and feel they look overdone easily, so I don't tend to do a heavy pencilling.
A must-have for those with sparse brows! It’s on-par with the high-end, raved about product I tried, at a much lower cost.
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COVERGIRL Exhibitionist Mascara Primer
It was ok. There was a notable difference between wearing this, versus wearing mascara alone, but not a huge one. However, it’s important to note that I already have thick, long eyelashes so it’s possible the difference could be more extreme on... +
It was ok. There was a notable difference between wearing this, versus wearing mascara alone, but not a huge one. However, it’s important to note that I already have thick, long eyelashes so it’s possible the difference could be more extreme on someone with smaller, thinner eyelashes.
The reality is, I preferred the Covergirl Lash Blast Amplify Primer to this and felt it worked better, overall, with my lash type.
One thing that really turned me away from this primer is I found the formula to be soooo thick. It almost looked dried out in the bottle, due to the thick, gloopy consistency. As a result I found it harder to ‘cover up’ the primer with mascara and less comfortable to wear. It also had an unpleasant smell, though nowhere near as strong as the Lash Blast Amplify (it’s biggest flaw is a strong, bad smell).
Overall, it made a difference, but I didn’t like the texture of it and found the difference wasn’t extreme enough for me.
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Glitter Girls Dolls by Battat - Fifer
Fifer, despite a name I find silly, is my favourite of the Battat ‘Glitter Girls’. I’m judging based solely on fashion here and I absolutely love her outfit. Not only do you get more pieces than with the other girls (Jacket, tank top, skirt... +
Fifer, despite a name I find silly, is my favourite of the Battat ‘Glitter Girls’. I’m judging based solely on fashion here and I absolutely love her outfit. Not only do you get more pieces than with the other girls (Jacket, tank top, skirt, leggings and shoes, as opposed to dress, leggings and shoes), in my opinion, her cat-themed style is far superior.
Like the other Glitter girls, she’s a traditional style doll that prioritises fun and friendship over vanity, fashion and a nipped waist. I prefer this vastly to the overly made-up young girl dolls that tend to be popular. She has a natural body that won’t leave girls feeling bad about theirs and a sense of style they can emulate without making you want to cover them up. Yet she still has a sense of style and cuteness, brilliant.
These Battat dolls are wonderful quality. All the clothes are thick and well-stitched and look like the kind of clothes girls these days wear! They are age appropriate, but still lovely. As with the other dolls, I will complain about how the clothes come ‘tied’ together and the bow tied to her head. If you want to undress her and change the outfit, you must carefully snip those threads while trying not to get the hair or clothes...a bit troublesome. She also comes with her hair tied up in elastics, which I feel snags the hair a lot and leaves it messier.
She has a harder plastic body and softer silicone style arms that are bendable, so she can be posed into many different activities. Despite a few minor quibbles, I cannot say enough good things about these dolls. They have great clothes, great looks and are definitely well-loved in our household. I love that Fifer has hazel eyes (as opposed to stereotypical blue eyes blonde hair) and would recommend this for a gift to any young girl or boy.
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Homein Window Film Decorative Glass Films
I’m really impressed with this. It feels nice and thick, line Vinyl and because it’s not sticky, I find it a lot easier to apply without bubbles. Before I continue with what I like about it, one small complaint. The instructions are inside the... +
I’m really impressed with this. It feels nice and thick, line Vinyl and because it’s not sticky, I find it a lot easier to apply without bubbles. Before I continue with what I like about it, one small complaint. The instructions are inside the box. So to read them you need to destroy the box (carefully along the marked line) as a result, I ended up applying it without the instructions (dumb, I know) and didn’t use soapy water like recommended.
Despite this, it still applied perfectly, but might start to come up later I guess, it’s been a week and it’s doing fine. One strip of this was enough to cover 75% of my door window and I had to line up another at the side. Even after covering the whole window, I still had enough left to do maybe another small window.
I really like the pattern. It’s not totally private, people will be able to tell you are on the other side, but it’s extremely frosted, to the degree they can’t make out any details at all. I have a patterned glass window and sadly this covered the ‘flower’ pattern, but the pattern on this is so pretty I didn’t really mind. It looks great, from both the inside and outside of my windows.
I plan to use the leftovers with my Cricut cutter to make snowflakes for on the window at christmas, so even if you have a little left, you can make use of it.
Overall, it was easy to apply, sticks well and looks great. I couldn’t ask any more of it!
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BIORE Blue Agave + Baking Soda Makeup Wipes
These are actually good make-up removing wipes. So why have I given them a low rating? Simply because I wouldn’t buy them and this review is my opinion. I’ve you’ve been following my reviews for a while, you might be able to predict what I’m... +
These are actually good make-up removing wipes. So why have I given them a low rating? Simply because I wouldn’t buy them and this review is my opinion. I’ve you’ve been following my reviews for a while, you might be able to predict what I’m going to say.
They are not resealable with anything other than a sticker. If you buy makeup wipes regularly, you know what happens. I’ve used around 6 of these wipes so far and the sticker already is peeling up. I have to leave the wipes upside down and even that won’t prevent them from drying out before the pack is done. Don’t you get sick of that? I do, so that’s why I decided not to buy anymore wipes that have the sticker style closure.
The fact that the wipes retail for $10, but couldn’t have a snap style closure of some kind, is pretty insane.
It’s a shame, because they are actually very good makeup wipes. Probably the thickest and biggest I’ve used lately. They wipe off makeup almost effortlessly thanks to the textured dots on the wipes. They will start to irritate skin quickly, but because they are so good at removing makeup on first wipe, they do the job long before it becomes an issue.
The scent is not overwhelming and I didn’t mind it. But due to the packaging, I have to rate these low as I wouldn’t buy them and it’s a massive pet-hate of mine. I don’t want to pay for wipes that dry out before I finish using them. If they fix the packaging in the future, I would buy these again. Otherwise, it’s a no from me.
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Glitter Girls Dolls by Battat - Sarinia
Sarinia is my least favourite doll of the Battat ‘Glitter Girls’, but that’s very much due to my personal taste. The only reason is, I don’t like her outfit or hair as much as the other girls. However, her face is lovely. I love that she has... +
Sarinia is my least favourite doll of the Battat ‘Glitter Girls’, but that’s very much due to my personal taste. The only reason is, I don’t like her outfit or hair as much as the other girls. However, her face is lovely. I love that she has slightly darker skin and lovely brown eyes.
She’s amazing quality like the rest of the Glitter Girls. I’m a big fan of this doll collection because I feel like it’s more of a traditional style doll (no tiny waists or exaggerated features), but they still have modern clothes. The outfits feel like something modern young girls actually wear! The clothes are also great quality, thick fabrics and well-made.
Though I don’t love her outfit style, I do love Sarinia’s glitter boots. They are super fun, but do tend to leave glitter everywhere (true to the name). They have a split up the back to make them easy to remove and put back on.
My only complaints are the same minor complaints as for the other girls. I don’t like that the hair comes with elastics in it (it seems they all are supposed to have loose hair, but come tied up to keep them neater), and find it can damage the hair. I also dislike that the hairclip and clothes are attached to the doll with threads. In this particular case I had an awful time trying to cut the thread attaching the bow without accidentally getting the hair. They like to change the clothes, so I don’t like that it’s an extra step which can sometimes be very difficult to get rid of without cutting the clothes or hair of the doll.
Like the other Glitter Girls, she has a harder body, with softer, silicone, bendable arms and legs which allow her to pose a lot. She’s very sweet and the quality on these dolls is brilliant, I’d definitely buy in the future!
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Glitter Girls Dolls by Battat - Bluebell
I really love this style of doll. I don’t like the more modern style of doll which focuses more on fashion for much older girls, heavily made up faces and generally stuff I ideally don’t want to influence younger girls. This doll, on the other... +
I really love this style of doll. I don’t like the more modern style of doll which focuses more on fashion for much older girls, heavily made up faces and generally stuff I ideally don’t want to influence younger girls. This doll, on the other hand, is dressed age appropriately and actually quite sweet, with natural faces and bodies. It’s definitely the style of doll I would choose for my kids and relatives.
The clothes are easy to remove and change and while the dolls are poseable, it’s not mentioned but they aren’t the rock hard plastic with joints that most dolls are. They are actually a soft plastic with some kind of bendable wire inside to allow you to bend the joints. This means they are much softer to cuddle, but it also means the joints don’t look as realistic. If you bend them at the right angle, the dolls can stand up and they are very poseable, they can sit a lot more naturally than most ball-jointed dolls.
There were two minor things I didn’t like. Firstly, Bluebell came with elastics in her hair, in loose bunches. I only realised just now her hair is supposed to be out (I actually gave her higher bunches in her hair). Maybe they did this to keep the hair neat, but I dislike that they used actual elastics which snag the hair badly and tangle it. I’d switch to using a soft string to hold the hair together. That being said, the hair is much nicer than most fancy branded dolls (like barbie) which I frequently see which chopped up hair that’s a disaster. Bluebell’s hair, by comparison, is all even and styled well.
If you want to remove the bow from her hair or take off her clothes, you will have to snip some small threads. So make sure to carefully do this for your child, with a small pair of scissors, being careful not to cut the hair or clothes.
Secondly, while I love glitter and the name Glitter Girls, the glitter does get everywhere. I really worry about glitter getting in their eyes and causing problems, as I doubt this is fine, makeup level glitter. So if that’s a concern for you, it’s probably best to go for a glitter-free line.
Overall, I loved the styling of the doll and her clothes and felt the quality was very good. Other than a few minor complaints, I can fully recommend her!
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