Bits & Pieces: A Few Reviews

By Rebecca

Here are my thoughts on some products I’ve tried recently. Enjoy!

Courtesy of fresh.com

Fresh Sugar Rose Tinted Lip Treatment:   This is a really pretty product in a really pretty case; Pale pink metallic, sturdy, and expensive looking.  It contains a rose-tinted version of Fresh’s regular Lemon Sugar lip balm.  The lemon scent is soft, but I get a slight ‘furniture polish’ vibe from it.  It goes on a sheer rosy-pink color, not nearly as bright as it looks in the tube. The scent is softer on the lips than straight out of the tube, so I didn’t find it offensive.  It’s a good way to get a little tint in your lips and moisture at the same time, but at $22.50, I found the price steep for what is a fairly basic, albeit good, lip balm.  I get a very similar look from Nivea Cherry Kiss of Flavor, with no furniture polish scent, for much less money.   The Fresh lip balm also has a screw-on type cap, which I keep forgetting about, and the cap comes off in my purse.

Nars Tokaido Express Nail Polish:   I have always liked Nars polishes, and when I saw this color, it jumped into my shopping basket.  It is a beautiful blackened plum-purple with a subtle gold shimmer.  The shimmer is really very subtle, and when it’s on, it doesn’t look like it has shimmer until it catches the light.  It is so far probably my favorite polish of any of the fall polish collections that have come out.  I have had very good luck in the past with Nars polishes wearing well and not chipping easily, and this lasted an easy two weeks on my toenails.  Definitely something I will reach for into Spring.

Photo courtesy of Sephora

MAC Liquidlast Liner in Inkspill: I love this liner!  Inkspill is a black liquid eyeliner with a deep green shimmer.  On my eyes, you really don’t see the green; you just get the dark-on-dark shimmer as a subtle layering of color.  It is in a tube similar to the Lipglass tubes, only smaller, and with what is actually a really nice, fine applicator brush built into the cap.  The best thing is that this stuff DOES NOT COME OFF, even when you want it to.  It dries very quickly, so you really can’t make a mistake with it, but once it’s on, it’s on to stay.  I swatched several colors on my hand at the store, and when they were dry, I tried to remove them with a MAC Makeup Remover Wipe, and they didn’t budge, and the MAC had to give me an oil cleanser to remove it.  If you like liquid eyeliner, and you have trouble with it smudging, take a look at this stuff.

Frederic Fekkai Luscious Curls Cream: Summer is my curly hair season, as my naturally curly hair only truly curls with heat and humidity.  I picked up a sample tube of this at Sephora in mid-August, and for the couple of times I tried it, I really liked it.  It is very moisturizing and feels a little heavy, so I had to be careful not to apply too much to my fine (but thick) hair.  After applying it I let my hair dry naturally, then fluffed my curls with my fingers.  I got some really good curl definition, and it lasted all day.  The next day I misted my hair with water, and the curls bounced back nicely.   As the weather is changing here, my curly hair season is almost over, but in the spring this will be one of my first purchases for warm weather.

Johnson’s Body Care 24 Hour Moisturizing Body Wash:   My skin is now drier than it used to be, thanks to the 5 months of Accutane I completed earlier this year.  I also can’t stand how body lotion feels on my skin, so I’m always looking for ways to add moisture to my skin without greasing myself up.  This body wash, and really the entire line, totally fits the bill.  It is a soft lotion formula, with nice but not copious amounts of lather, and definitely left my skin clean and soft feeling.  Sometimes with super-moisturizing body washes I feel like an oil slick has been left on my skin, but not so with the Johnsons.  The moisturizing agents sank right in, and didn’t leave a filmy feeling.  The scent, to be honest, is rather… medicinal.  They do not scent anything, but it also doesn’t appear they use any masking agents, so you kind of get the natural scent of the ingredients.  I am not sensitive to scents, so it didn’t bother me, but don’t expect flowers or fruit here.  The quality of the product is worth me coming back, and at around $7.00 for a large 20oz bottle, I can use this all winter without breaking the bank.

Have you tried any of these products? What are your thoughts?