Astraea
Member Since: February 10, 2010Reviews
Garnier Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel-Cream (Normal to Combination)
This is one of my favourite daytime moisturizers. I adore the subtle scent of this product, and I love how it is non-greasy and moisturizing at the same time, as I am not very fond of oily, greasy products. It gives your skin a nice, dewy look, and... +
This is one of my favourite daytime moisturizers. I adore the subtle scent of this product, and I love how it is non-greasy and moisturizing at the same time, as I am not very fond of oily, greasy products. It gives your skin a nice, dewy look, and it also works well under makeup. It's priced very reasonably (I can often find this for $10 or under, especially with sales), and a little bit goes a long way. An added bonus: the cooling sensation of this gel moisturizer wakes me up when I use it in the morning. There's really nothing to dislike about this product! -
Burt's Bees Sensitive Facial Cleanser
This Burt's Bees Natural Skin Solutions for Sensitive Skin Cleanser is a great complement to moisturizer in the same line. It is fragrance free and removes oil from my face quite effectively without drying out my skin. It comes in a nice... +
This Burt's Bees Natural Skin Solutions for Sensitive Skin Cleanser is a great complement to moisturizer in the same line. It is fragrance free and removes oil from my face quite effectively without drying out my skin. It comes in a nice, large tube which is easy to use.
Only gripe with this cleanser is that it's quite pricey, and I have found other similar cleansers which work just as well for half the price.
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Burt's Bees Natural Skin Solutions for Sensitive Skin Solutions Moisturizer
My skin tends to turn red and itchy with a lot of skincare products, even ones branded as 'sensitive' and 'hypoallergenic'. However, I have no such issues with Burt's Bees Natural Skin Solution for Sensitive Skin Moisturizer... +
My skin tends to turn red and itchy with a lot of skincare products, even ones branded as 'sensitive' and 'hypoallergenic'. However, I have no such issues with Burt's Bees Natural Skin Solution for Sensitive Skin Moisturizer. It’s everything Burt’s Bees advertised it to be: fragrance free, gentle to sensitive and moisturizing. It’s gotten rid of the flaky dry skin on my cheeks and doesn’t cause my skin to turn red. Nothing is better than a product that just works.
There are two things which may turn off buyers: the packaging and the price. In regards to packaging, the pump jar for the moisturizer is a great idea at first glance, but it dispenses too much product with each pump. As Burt’s Bees products tend to run on the expensive end for drugstore brands, I’d rather only use what I really need instead of needlessly wasting the products. Still, I will probably shell out for another jar of this moisturizer after I run out, because it works so well.
Good work, Burt's Bees- you’ve definitely developed a natural, working skin solution for sensitive skin.
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L'Oreal Professionnel Intense Repair Masque
Like the shampoo in the L’Oréal Professionnel Intense Repair line, the masque had a great scent. The masque was easy to apply and made my hair nice and silky, even when used with other shampoos. So long, frizzy hair! The price is on the high... +
Like the shampoo in the L’Oréal Professionnel Intense Repair line, the masque had a great scent. The masque was easy to apply and made my hair nice and silky, even when used with other shampoos. So long, frizzy hair!
The price is on the high end, but the masque’s results are worth a bit of splurging as a jar seems to last for quite awhile.
My only real gripe with the masque is the container it came in; I would prefer having it in a bottle like the shampoo, or even with a pump. It’s a bit clumsy to unscrew jars in the shower and there is always the chance of contamination when you dip wet fingers into the jar after washing hair. Otherwise, I would definitely recommend this product.
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L'Oreal Professionnel Intense Repair Shampoo
First off, I adored the smell of this shampoo. It lathered up well, and made my (usually frizzy) hair look great the day after I washed it. The second day however, my hair looked and felt way too oily and greasy. During the review period, I’ve... +
First off, I adored the smell of this shampoo. It lathered up well, and made my (usually frizzy) hair look great the day after I washed it. The second day however, my hair looked and felt way too oily and greasy. During the review period, I’ve tried using this shampoo with the recommended masque and alone without any conditioner. I had the oily issue only when I used this shampoo, so I am quite positive that the shampoo is the culprit. It’s a shame that my less expensive shampoos perform better than this one, because I really wanted to like it.
Long story short: great shampoo if you’re intending to wash your hair daily, especially with frizzy hair. Not really worth the price considering that there are other shampoos out there which perform better at a lower cost.
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Fujifilm Instax Mini 50S instant camera
After Polaroid discontinued their line of instant cameras, FujiFilm stepped up to fill the void with their Instax Cameras. The Mini 50s is the latest product in their series of Mini Instax cameras, which also include the 7s and 25. All 3 cameras... +
After Polaroid discontinued their line of instant cameras, FujiFilm stepped up to fill the void with their Instax Cameras. The Mini 50s is the latest product in their series of Mini Instax cameras, which also include the 7s and 25. All 3 cameras use the Instax Mini film, which are the size of a credit card and can also be found in different designs if you buy film online. (If you like bigger pictures. check out the Instax 210!)
The 50s is a nifty little gadget. I particularly love its black glossy colour (which makes it look more grown up than the 7s), as well as its small size and how it fits in my hand. The camera comes with a wrist strap, a close-up lens, and 2 CR batteries, which is basically everything you'd need to start using the camera besides the film.
What I really like about this camera is that it is easy to use. All you need to do is unwrap the film pack, fit it into the camera, and turn it on. The shutter button is at the front of the camera, which I found odd at first, but I quickly got used to it after taking a few pictures. Some other fun functions included in this camera is the ability to lighten and darken your photos, landscape/portrait mode, as well as printing out your shots twice (to share with friends). The pictures can take a few minutes to develop, but that’s half the fun of taking instant pictures :)
The only drawback from this camera is that the film itself can get pricey, as a pack of 20 shots retails for about $20. You definitely want to think about the shots you want to take before pressing down on the shutter! Still, I think the fun of taking instant pictures is worth it- you sure won’t have this much fun taking pictures with a digital camera!
Note: I was lucky to be one of the winners from ChickAdvisor's Instax Mini 50s Contest, so I got to try this camera out for free. Much thanks to FujiFilm and ChickAdvisor for this contest, and for the lovely packaging of the camera!
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Aveeno Fresh Essentials Anti-Fatigue Eye Roller
Aveeno's Fresh Essentials Anti-Fatigue Eye Roller delivers on its name. It is a simple to use eye roller: just shake, take off the cap, and roll under your eye. Over the past two weeks I have used this eye roller, there was definitely an... +
Aveeno's Fresh Essentials Anti-Fatigue Eye Roller delivers on its name. It is a simple to use eye roller: just shake, take off the cap, and roll under your eye. Over the past two weeks I have used this eye roller, there was definitely an improvement to the puffiness under my eyes. Its effect on the dark circles under my eyes is less noticeable, but there was also a slight improvement there as well. If nothing else, the cooling sensation from the roller ball and its scent (which is not bad at all) definitely wake me up every time I apply it.
The downside of this product is its price. For what it does, I don’t think that it should cost so much. I like this eye roller enough that I would probably go out and purchase a second one after this one runs out, but only if it ever goes on sale.
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Fruits & Passion Apple Illusion Pomme
I saw this at Fruits and Passions once, and fell in love with the sweet apple blossom scent at once. It's a unique scent that's not too overbearing, so it's great for everyday use. There are a number of other products available in this... +
I saw this at Fruits and Passions once, and fell in love with the sweet apple blossom scent at once. It's a unique scent that's not too overbearing, so it's great for everyday use. There are a number of other products available in this scent, including lotions and soaps. -
Blistex Lip Infusion Cherry Splash Lip Balm
The effects of this lip balm are great- it glides right on, it feels good on chapped lips, and it really does work well. I'm not a big fan of the cherry taste though, as it reminds me of medicine. I use this solely for the results that it... +
The effects of this lip balm are great- it glides right on, it feels good on chapped lips, and it really does work well. I'm not a big fan of the cherry taste though, as it reminds me of medicine. I use this solely for the results that it produces, and only when I really need it. I'd recommend this only if you like/don't mind the cherry flavour, otherwise, I would go look for similar products with different flavours. -
South St. Burger Co.
Owned by the same people behind New York Fries, I definitely had high expectations for South St. Co Burgers. Starting with the food: there isn't a huge selection of food at this restaurant- they have normal burgers, small burgers, veggie... +
Owned by the same people behind New York Fries, I definitely had high expectations for South St. Co Burgers. Starting with the food: there isn't a huge selection of food at this restaurant- they have normal burgers, small burgers, veggie burgers and chicken burgers. All combos are made a la carte- instead of having set combo prices, you choose a burger, a side (poutine/fries/salad/onion rings), and a drink (pop/milkshakes), and they take off $1 from the total cost of all three. On my trip there, I decided to order a combo of a small burger, a small poutine, and an iced tea. That combo alone cost me about $10, which is much higher than combo prices of similar fast food restaurants. The price is semi-justifiable by the fact that their burgers are much thicker, and that their fries are NYF fries, which (in my opinion) are much better than those of other fast food joints.
The fun part with this restaurant are the toppings and sauces they have for their burgers. From spicy ketchup to mango chutney, the combination are endless. All of these toppings are free with your burger, except for cheese or bacon- those are both a $1 extra.
The gripe I have about South St. Co Burgers is their service. South St. Co operates much like an assembly line, where they have a few cashiers taking orders, and then a bunch of people putting the orders together. The cashiers were very quick in taking orders, but the employees in charge of assembling the meals were very, very slow. The problem was that they had 4-5 employees standing around the assembly table, but there was only room for 2 of them to work, so the others just stood around doing nothing. It took me almost 20 minutes to get my food, which isn't exactly 'fast' food to me. They also got quite a few orders wrong, including mine, so it took extra time for them to fix these mistakes. Mostly the mistake was of putting the wrong sauces on the burger (miscommunication between the employee and the customer?), so lots of buns were thrown out in the process- also not good.
Would I go to South St. Co Burgers again? Possibly. The food, no doubt, is very good. However, the prices are a bit steep and the service isn't too great either. Unfortunately, food alone can't justify the extra cost. If customer service would improve, I wouldn't mind paying a little extra and visiting once in awhile. Otherwise, I'd recommend them to just stick with making NYF fries and to forget about burgers.
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