xoliana
Member Since: July 31, 2016Reviews
Schwarzkopf Professional OSiS+ Dust It Mattifying Powder
I started using this after my hair lost its volume and became very thin and flat. I don't like using a lot of product in my hair because at the end of the day, it just feels too heavy and damaging, so powders are my go-to. Though this is good for... +
I started using this after my hair lost its volume and became very thin and flat. I don't like using a lot of product in my hair because at the end of the day, it just feels too heavy and damaging, so powders are my go-to.
Though this is good for adding a bit of texture and hold, I don't find it works as well for my hair as the La Biosthetique powder, which is made specifically for fine hair. This has a stickier texture when applied, so I find it works better as an alternative to hair gel, which often doesn't agree with my hair.
I find that this powder has a tendency to come out too quickly, even when I'm tapping it very gently to get just a small amount out. I think it would be better with a smaller sifter at the top. Likewise, because too much tends to come out at once, it can make my roots look discoloured and sort of white.
Because it's more of a texturizing powder and not a volumizing one, I tend to use this more towards the ends of my hair and use the La Biosthetique to add volume at the roots. I can use the La Biosthetique on its own, but this one needs a bit of help.
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LANEIGE Water Sleeping Mask
I received a sample of this in a Sephora order. I did apply a layer of this to wear overnight, as directed. It felt like it sunk into my skin pretty well, but when I rolled over during the night, I could feel my cheek sticking to my pillowcase... +
I received a sample of this in a Sephora order.
I did apply a layer of this to wear overnight, as directed. It felt like it sunk into my skin pretty well, but when I rolled over during the night, I could feel my cheek sticking to my pillowcase, which was a bit awkward. This said it's supposed to have a soothing fragrance to help you sleep, but being that I'm very sensitive to fragrances, I just found that it kind of bugged me. It didn't make me sick, like some fragrances, but it does have a perfumey scent that got into my lungs and didn't sit well with me.
When I woke up in the morning, my face felt incredibly tight. I rinsed the remaining product off with water, as instructed, and waited for my skin to feel moisturized and baby soft. It just felt tight, like the mask had sucked all the life and moisture out of my skin. I don't consider myself to have very dry skin in the first place, and for this to be a moisture mask made for dry skin types, I was frankly a little bit horrified. If I did suffer from dry skin,I can only imagine how much worse my skin would have felt.
I threw out the rest of the sample without using it, and I will not be purchasing this. If you have dry skin -- and even if you don't -- I feel that you could do much better than this.
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Shu Uemura Tsuya Skin Youthful Bouncy-fine Cream
I received a sample of this with my most recent Sephora order. I didn't even dare put this on my face. As soon as I opened it up, it was a perfume explosion. I felt as though I had walked into the fragrance aisle at my local Sears or Hudson's... +
I received a sample of this with my most recent Sephora order.
I didn't even dare put this on my face. As soon as I opened it up, it was a perfume explosion. I felt as though I had walked into the fragrance aisle at my local Sears or Hudson's Bay. It is highly, highly, HIGHLY scented, and ghere was simply no way this stuff was going anywhere near my sensitive skin and sensitive nose. Usually I can try something out for at least a little while before judging, but I couldn't.
The back of the package was in Japanese. As such, I couldn't read the ingredients. I went online to search for an ingredients list, but I couldn't find one on either the Sephora website or the Shu Uemura website, which I found to be quite odd. If you have any known allergies/sensitivities, I'm not sure how you'd go about finding out if this is safe for you or not.
This ordinarily retails for $90 CAD for 1.6 oz, which is quite excessive. If you like really fragrant perfume and have zero sensitivities, you might like this, but otherwise it may behoove you to stay far away.
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Sephora Collection Nano Lip Liner
I bought this in the shade Pure Pinky. I've never really been one to use lip liner, but since I've really been into lipstick lately, I thought I'd buy one and try it out. This is the same size as the Sephora Collection Nano Eyeliner, and I find... +
I bought this in the shade Pure Pinky. I've never really been one to use lip liner, but since I've really been into lipstick lately, I thought I'd buy one and try it out.
This is the same size as the Sephora Collection Nano Eyeliner, and I find that the formula is quite similar. It has that same sort of hard texture to it, which means ultimately you'll be dragging the product across your skin a little bit harder. It's not an uncomfortable product to use, and the pigment is definitely there, but this is not a smooth, buttery pencil by any means.
I bought this shade because it was a pretty universal, pink-nude shade. I figured I could get away with using it under many different lip colours when I needed a bit of help staying inside the lines, or to try to help a lipstick last longer, without having to buy a ton of different colours to match. So far it's done it's job well, and works particularly nicely with the lipstick that I got with my Sephora Birthday Gift this year.
This doesn't come in as many shades as the Nano Eyeliner, but it comes in enough to cover your bases. At the price, you cant really go wrong.
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Sephora Collection Nano Eyeliner
This is a nice travel/purse size eyeliner which comes in a variety of colours. I bought this in the shade Azur Blue, which is a bright cobalt blue. I almost never work my way through an entire eyeliner, so the idea of a nano size was appealing to... +
This is a nice travel/purse size eyeliner which comes in a variety of colours. I bought this in the shade Azur Blue, which is a bright cobalt blue. I almost never work my way through an entire eyeliner, so the idea of a nano size was appealing to me.
This is a kohl eyeliner, and the formula on this is a little bit on the hard side. It does have really great pigmentation, but it doesn't glide on super smoothly, so I find that it takes a little bit of effort to make it work on my eyelids. It does drag a bit on the skin, but not uncomfortably so.
The colour lasts a long time throughout the day. I don't find that it's prone to smudging, probably because it's not a buttery formula. It stays put, and the colour is quite matte.
The small size makes it easy to experiment with different colours without committing to a full size, or spending lots of money. This is a good option if you don't use a lot of eyeliner, or if you want to try something different.
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Sephora Collection Colourful Mono Eyeshadow
I had a deluxe sample of Aspen Summit from a Sephora Birthday Gift some years back. It was a really frosty white shade that worked well as an accent on the lid, and it was really pretty, if maybe a bit chunky. I decided to buy a full size in the... +
I had a deluxe sample of Aspen Summit from a Sephora Birthday Gift some years back. It was a really frosty white shade that worked well as an accent on the lid, and it was really pretty, if maybe a bit chunky.
I decided to buy a full size in the shade Smell of Roses, after swatching it at Sephora and finding it to be quite beautiful. Urban Decay used to have an eyeshadow called Cherry, which they have since discontinued, and I thought that this would be a good replacement.
Sadly, when I brought the shade home and started playing with it, it was nowhere near as pigmented as it was inthe store. It not only looked completely different, but even the texture was off. It felt extremely stiff and gritty, and it was very hard to build up on my eyes. Granted, it's a very pale colour to begin with -- a ballerina pink wwith glitter, to be exact -- but it barely shows up, and the glitter has a tendency to go all over my face, even after setting down a primer. I've tried using it with a wet brush and it's not any better. I don't know how the colour could have looked and felt so different in the tester.
The only reason I would consider recommending their eyeshadows at all, or even consider buying another one myself, is because I hear they've reformulated and a lot of people are preferring the new formula. The mattes and satins, in particular, are supposed to be amazing.
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Voltaren Emulgel
This product has been recommended to me by several different people over the years, including medical professionals. Every time I've given it a try, it simply doesn't work. I have a history of chronic pain since the age of nine. I have Complex... +
This product has been recommended to me by several different people over the years, including medical professionals. Every time I've given it a try, it simply doesn't work.
I have a history of chronic pain since the age of nine. I have Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and Chronic Myofascial Pain Syndrome. My pain is body-wide with certain areas being worse than others. Maybe it's just that my pain is too intense for this type of thing to have any effect, but for all that it does, I may as well be putting on a moisturizing lotion. I've tried other creams for muscle pain and at least I felt them DO something, even if they didn't necessarily help. With this, I don't feel anything.
I passed it along to my parents to use. They both have arthritis in different areas, and neither of them found it helpful either. It's not worth the money.
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Drixoral Nasal Spray
I'm prone to getting a stuffy nose out of nowhere. Even though I'm on a prescription nasal spray, every once in awhile it fails me, and I'll be unable to breathe through my nose at night. This stuff has been a real life saver for me. Ever since I... +
I'm prone to getting a stuffy nose out of nowhere. Even though I'm on a prescription nasal spray, every once in awhile it fails me, and I'll be unable to breathe through my nose at night. This stuff has been a real life saver for me.
Ever since I was a kid, nasal sprays would hurt my nose. I'd get a cold and be unable to breathe, and I'd be scared to use a spray because it would hurt so much. None of the Drixoral sprays have ever irritated my nose inthe slightest. They're very comfortable to use, and incredibly effective. It often only takes one spray for me to get the relief I need, and within minutes, I'm starting to clear up.
Unlike many nasal sprays which tend to drip down your throat and leave an awful taste in your mouth, I find that the Drixoral sprays don't drip. They stay where they're supposed to -- in your nose! Even the ones that aren't specifically the "no drip" formulas ensure there's no dripping.
These are great sprays if you have a stuffy nose once in awhile. As long as you don't use them too frequently, they work really well and won't make things worse.
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Nature's Path Organic Crispy Rice Cereal
Unlike the Nature's Path Organic Rice Puffs, the company has verified that these are in fact gluten-free. The rice puffs are manufactured in a facility that contains wheat, but I have never had an issue. These are manufactured separately, and... +
Unlike the Nature's Path Organic Rice Puffs, the company has verified that these are in fact gluten-free. The rice puffs are manufactured in a facility that contains wheat, but I have never had an issue. These are manufactured separately, and likewise, I've never had a reaction, and I'm gluten intolerant with a fairly high level of sensitivity.
Crispy Rice is basically like Rice Crispies. Whereas the Rice Puffs are soft in texture, these are crunchy, just like you'd expect. Because they aren't sweetened, they're still a tad bland, but I prefer them to the Puffs and don't mind eating them in a bowl of cereal, along with some fruit. What I end up doing most often is mixing the two varieties to create a gluten-free Rice Crispy Square recipe, which is crunchy and delicious!
If you've been searching for a gluten-free variety of Rice Crispies, this is a great option. They're organic, and youcan buy them in their eco pack, which ddoesn't contain any cardboard.
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Nature's Path Organic Rice Puffs
I'm gluten intolerant and have a fairly high sensitivity to any form of gluten. Though these aren't labelled gluten-free due to being manufactured in a facility that processes wheat, I've never had any issues. The company must do a decent job of... +
I'm gluten intolerant and have a fairly high sensitivity to any form of gluten. Though these aren't labelled gluten-free due to being manufactured in a facility that processes wheat, I've never had any issues. The company must do a decent job of cleaning their equipment, otherwise I'm sure by now I would have experienced some form of reaction.
Unlike your traditional Rice Crispies style of cereal, which is crispy and crunchy, these puffs are very soft. They become even softer when doused in milk, so I find they're not the greatest as a traditional cereal, particularly because they're quite bland. However, I use them in different recipes -- including a gluten-free Rice Crispie Square recipe -- and they work just fine. I also like how the packaging is eco-friendly, sans cardboard.
If you don't mind the unsweetened flavour and the soft texture, you may enjoy these on their own, otherwise you may prefer to do what I do and mix them in with other ingredients.
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