Tuesday, June 14, 2011

NYX Palettes Giveaway Winners.

Sorry I didn't announce the winners earlier! I just wasn't feeling too good *sigh*. Now for what you are waiting for *drum roll*....

The winner for Giveaway #1, NYX Lipgloss Palette goes to...
number 13...
spider girl.

The winner for Giveaway #2, NYX Eyeshadow Palettes goes to...
number 43...
donna <3 baby.

Congratulations spider girl and donna <3 baby!!! :) 

You have 48 hours to contact me with your name and home address. E-mail me at aly_4realz (at) hotmail (dot) com. If you don't contact me within 48 hours, I will draw new winners.

If you didn't win, don't worry I will have more giveaways in the future. I'm actually looking for something for my next giveaway. ;)

Disclaimer: The products mentioned in this post are bought with my own money except for the lipgloss palette. I got that in a swag bag at an event. I am not affiliated with any company nor getting paid to advertise any products. This post is written with my honest opinion.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Vivite Exfoliating Facial Cleanser

Don't forget to enter my giveaway. It ends this coming Sunday, June 12th, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time.


I won a giveaway several months ago from SkinCareRx. You definitely should check out their website. They always have a monthly giveaway. I believe they have one Just for Dad for this coming Father's Day. The sweepstakes ends June 13th at midnight. The winner will receive $250 gift certificate to their partner site Apothica. It'll make a great gift for your father! :)
I won Vivite cleanser and serum. They were kind enough to add DuWop blush. I will review the serum and blush in a future post. For now I will only review the exfoliating cleanser.

Where can you purchase this: Viviteskincare.com, SkinCareRx. com and Apothica.com
Price: $38.60 for 6.76 fl oz.

Made in USA

Description on the back: Cleanses and smooths to refine skin gently and effectively. The dual action of manual and chemical exfoliation thoroughly dissolves skin cell build-up. Rich, creamy lather without a soap base.
Ingredients:
My thoughts: I really didn't have an initial reaction to this product since I have never heard of this brand. The only thing that intrigued me is a product triggered for aging skin. It's also good for acne-prone skin, but I do not have to worry about that. ;) I do have to worry about aging skin since I have dry skin and it's showing signs of age. :(

When I first received this, I wanted to use it on daily basis since it's a cleanser. I read the direction on the box and realized it's not a good idea. :X It says to use it 2-3 times a week and it makes sense after I read the direction. Yes, I am slow in that way. :P It's not a good idea to exfoliate your face on daily basis. It will be harsh and can damage your skin. It's best to exfoliate 2-3 times a week to remove build-up of dead skin. To be honest, I wasn't too sure how exfoliating the product would be. I was thinking something really mild. For that reason, I thought of this product more a cleanser than an exfoliator. I am so wrong on that! :P
It doesn't look like an exfoliator but more a creamy cleanser. Even in person too. :P You only need that amount on damp skin. It's so creamy that it it spreads really well onto the skin. It has tiny particles that doesn't feel harsh. It actually feels very relaxing or at least, I feel that way. After you use this, your skin feels so soft and you can tell it got rid of the dead skin. It feels like a baby's skin. I also noticed it doesn't dry out your skin and doesn't feel tight like some exfoliators.

Pros:
* It's in a tube; easy to squeeze out.
* Target to aging and acne-prone skin type.
* Creamy texture.
* Small granules.
* Cleans and exfoliates well.
* Not rough on the skin.
* Skin feels smooth.
* Doesn't dry out the skin.

Cons:
* Not a well known brand; hard to buy at stores.

Would I repurchase: Yes.
Rating:  4.5/5 Tobey's Paws


I review Personal Microderm and thought I would share their YouTube video. It's pretty entertaining! :)


Disclaimer: The products mentioned in this post I won in a giveaway. I am not affiliated with any company nor getting paid to advertise any products. This post is written with my honest opinion.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Avon ANEW Rejuvenate Cleanser and CCO Haul

Don't forget to enter my giveaway. It ends this coming Sunday, June 12, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time.


Avon had a giveaway several months ago and I entered. I forgot all about it until I received a package at home.
It came with the whole set of ANEW Rejuvenate cleanser, day cream, night cream, and eye moisturizer. I ended up giving two of them away, day cream and eye moisturizer, to a friend because it had avobenzone and oxybenzone as one of the active ingredients. I'm allergic to those chemicals. I kept the cleanser and night cream. I will review the cleanser this time around.
Product Review: ANEW Rejuvenate Revitalizing 2-in-1 Gel Cleanser

Where can you purchase this: Avon representative or online at avon.com
Price: $12 for 4.2 fl. oz.

Made in USA

Description on the website: Deep cleanses and tones. Visibly reduces signs of aging. Innovative 2-in-1 gel formula deep-cleans and tones, as it rejuvenates fatigued-looking skin. Formulated with a fusion of pioneering technologies -- Exfo-Smoothing Complex, MiniExtraction Technology and RevitaFresh Technology -- inspired by a professional anti-aging facial. Instantly, leaves skin looking and feeling clean, toned, and refreshed. With continued use, improves skin texture and makes pores look tighter. Visibly reduces lines and other signs of aging to reveal fresh, younger-looking skin. Oil-free. Dermatologist-tested. Allergy-tested.
Ingredients:
My thoughts: Usually I'm really excited to try products, but I wasn't this time around. The reason behind it is because my experiences with Avon. I haven't had bad experiences, but I haven't had blown out spectacular experience. I just think Avon is average. When they had this giveaway, I just thought it wouldn't hurt to enter and try. Who knows this might blow me away! ;)

When I read the description on the back, it said "massage over skin until beads dissolve." How exciting, it has beads! Yes, I'm that simple of a person who gets excited about littlest things. :P The first time I used it there were no beads. The second time I got two beads... wheee~ Third time one beads. You can see the trend I hope. There aren't that many beads. The most I got were two unless you squeeze out a lot of cleanser hoping for the beads. :P
Here's a picture of the amount I would use to cleanse my face. I hope you can see the one, blue bead. It's on the bottom right. No matter how much I play with the bead/s, it doesn't dissolve. It's solid as a rock for me unless I'm doing something wrong. :/ Other than that, the only thing I give credit is the color. It's blue!!! :)

Enough about the bead and now about the product, I'm not too keen on this. I tried this for a week and my skin dried out. I thought it dried out because of the different skincare products I was using. For that reason, I stopped using this for couple of weeks and then went back. It dried my skin again. My skin felt so tight and dehydrated after using this. I would apply night cream afterwards and it still made my skin feel tight. I gave up and realized it's not for dry skin people. I think it might be good for oily skin people. :)

I don't know if it does what it claims, reduces signs of aging, since I wasn't able to use it long enough. It might actually who knows. It's just not for me. ;)

Pros:
* 2-in-1 product; cleans and tones.
* Comes with blue beads.
* For oily skin people.

Cons:
* There aren't much beads. You will get one or two each use if lucky.
* Blue beads does not dissolve.
* Strong scent I cannot distinguish. It kind of smells flowery.
* Definitely not for dry skin people.
* Dried my skin.
* Felt tight.


Would I repurchase: No!
Rating:  1/5 Tobey's Paws


On Memorial Day, I visited a CCO and hauled some stuff. :) Here's what I got...
I got Bobbi Brown eyeshadow, MAC eyeshadow, and lipgloss.

I'll first talk about MAC.
I got CremeSheen Glass in On The Scene. This is my third CremeSheen and for some reason, I love this formula. They're not glittery, metallic, and so on. It's just a simple one color gloss. :) The first CremeSheen I got is Petite Indulgence. It's a lovely, hot pink color. The second CremeSheen is Melt In Your Mouth. It's a lighter coral pink color. Now I have a peachy colored one. :)
Here's a swatch of On The Scene. Such a gorgeous peachy color lipgloss. :)
Here's how the lipgloss looks on me. I think it'll look great alone and on top of a nice lipstick.
The second thing I got is MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow in Illusionary Burning Ambition. When I first saw this at the MAC store, I wanted it. I just couldn't afford it at the time. It's great that I was able to see at the CCO. It was meant to be mine! :)
I could hear a lot of people say it's typical Aly color. Yes, I know. :P That's why I love it and know it'll get good use. ;)

The last thing I'm going to mention is my very first Bobbi Brown eyeshadow. I'm so excited!
I got Sparkle Eye Shadow in #18 Black Velvet.
It's a black base with purple sparkles. I'm not a purple eyeshadow lover but I thought this was gorgeous. I just hope I can rock it! :)

Disclaimer: The products mentioned in this post are bought with my own money except for the Avon. I won that from a giveaway. I am not affiliated with any company nor getting paid to advertise any products. This post is written with my honest opinion.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

May Favorite and CVS Clearance Sale Haul

Don't forget to enter my giveaway. It ends on June 12, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time.


Unfortunately for the month of May, I didn't finish any products. At least I have my favorites. :)

May Favorites Products
Avon Anew Rejuvenate Revitalizing Night Cream: I received this from Avon giveaway they had several months ago. I ended up only keeping two out of the four products. The other two had chemicals I'm allergic to, therefore, I gave them away. Even though I'm not too keen on the smell of the product of the night cream, I actually love it. It's very moisturizing and silky smooth on the skin. My skin looks better after I apply it and feels very moist in the morning. I will thoroughly review later in a post.

Vivite Exfoliating Facial Cleanser: I also won this in a giveaway. I love two in one products that actually work. It's recommended to use two times a week which makes sense. It's not a good idea to exfoliate your skin everyday. You can definitely feel the granules as you exfoliate your skin. At the same time, it's not harsh on the skin. It also saves time and water since you only need to use this to cleanse your face and exfoliate at the same time! I will thoroughly review this product too. ;)

Essie Nail Polish in Coat Azure: I love Essie nail polishes other than OPI. I think they're the best nail polishes that aren't drugstores. I'm also a big fan of blue nail polishes since I'm a freak of nature when it comes to blue. I have a lot of blue items. :X You will see the blue swatch towards the end of this post.

Maybelline EyeStudio in #200 Alluring Almond: I'm a big fan of the Maybelline EyeStudio palettes. This is my fifth one I think. :X I have Green With Envy, Give Me GoldTaupe Temptress, and Legendary Lilac. The only bad thing I noticed is most of the palettes I tend to pick one or two colors and only use those. Then again most palettes are like that for me. :X If you're not into shiny eyeshadows, then this isn't for you. I'm into shiny eyeshadows and think this is a great neutral palette. I will post a look with this palette in a future post.

Maybelline ColorSensational Lipstick in #840 Coral Lustre: Oh mi gosh this lipstick color is gorgeous! I cannot pull of coral/orange lipstick, but this one looks good on me or at least I think so. I think the quality of this lipstick is similar to the other ColorSensational Lipsticks but a little bit creamier. I definitely recommend this color. I will post a review on this lipstick in a future post.


The past couple of weeks I bought couple of stuff from the CVS clearance sale. Unfortunately, the CVS by my house didn't label the Essie nail polishes. I had to scan them to see if they were on sale and yup, they were. I bought two Essie nail polishes.
This is in Sand Tropez. It's such a gorgeous beige color.
This is in Coat Azure. It's such a gorgeous blue color. It has to be my favorite purchase. :)

I also bought Revlon Colorstay Mineral Finishing Powder. I definitely don't need this product, but I couldn't refuge with 75% off and $2 off coupon. :X Amazing what sales can make you buy!
This is in #010 Brighten. I heard it's a great highlighter color.

Disclaimer: The products mentioned in this post are bought with my own money except for Avon (won) and Vivite (won). I am not affiliated with any company nor getting paid to advertise any products. This post is written with my honest opinion.
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