Monday, 17 May 2010 | Author: Catherine Horgan | 
Welcome to the April reviews from the msf team of testers. What a stellar month in fashion, beauty and skin care! The format has changed slightly for easier viewing. Enjoy!
SAMPAR: Velvet Cleansing Milk
This is simply a fabulous gentle facial cleanser. With mint leaf extract, rosewater and lime blossom water, your skin gets clean while feeling invigorated, soft and fresh! It's lightweight and does not strip your skin ... leaves the moisture in!
Huge Lips Skinny Hips: Lip gloss in Red Sole
Love the name, the phenomenal color and the sheen. Fabulous lip gloss! Now, does it give me skinny hips? You'll have to find out in this video. You'll definitely make a statement with this little number in your cosmetics bag. What a magnificent red gloss that is light in weight and texture. Tastes great, too!
Kooba: Vertical Zip Leather Tote in Cream
My love of the season, an ivory or cream bag. When I saw this handbag, I knew I must have it. The shape, the function, the color ... all calling my name. It goes with everything, it has more room than I need and it can shape shift! You can unzip or zip up the sides or front/back for more or less room. Fabulous! I wish it were a bit easier to reach into to find things, though. That's really the only downfall, which from a safety standpoint, isn't really a downfall.
Votre Vu: Luxe Lips and Hands Duo, Trouble Spot Treatment
The lip balm is moisturizing, containing coconut oil, shea butter and beeswax. The hand crème absorbs well into skin — not greasy at all! This duo is very convenient. I leave it in the car and use it all the time. I love it! The Trouble Spot Treatment is a great drying lotion that really does its job overnight. It brings down inflammation and redness, leaving you with a minimized blemish the next day. It contains salicylic acid (to help normalize the production of sebum) and Camphor (to help purify and disinfect the skin). A true life saver!
Ormonde Jayne: Tiare fragrance
A welcome addition to your fragrance collection, Ormonde Jayne specializes in exceptional scents that transcend season. Tiare, one of the newest fragrances to add to their collection, is the perfect blend of feminine + sexy with top notes of mandarin, orange flower and sicilian lime; heart notes of tiare, freesia, water lilies, jasmine, orris and ylang; and base notes of cedar, vetiver, sandalwood, patchouli, moss and musk. Mmmmmm, delicious!
John Master Organics: Lavender, Rose, Geranium & Ylang Ylang soap, Orange & Ginseng Exfoliating Body Bar
All I can say is, dee-lish! The lavender soap contains organic glycerin to leave your skin soft and luminous. The organic olive and cupuacu seed butter holds the moisture in. The orange soap also contains a high glycerin content, and is infused with essential oil of orange. It smells incredible, lathers really well and is refreshing and rejuvenating.
Beauty For Real: See the Light! Illuminating Lip Gloss in D Light
Seriously fun. Seriously efficient. No more scrummaging around in your purse looking for your compact mirror and then making you way under a street lamp. This lip gloss provides you both a light and a mirror! Bonus, the color is fantastic!
Hanes: Smooth Illusions Waist Smoother in Nude
Hooray for Hanes! I was incredibly surprised by the comfort and effectiveness of this shaper. No rolling band whatsoever! I was able to wear these under a dress all day without giving away my secret. Bonus, I could eat in the shaper and not feel constricted.
Monroe: Margaux Boar Bristle brush, Teasing U brush
The Margaux brush is made with 100% natural bristles with a nylon quill. The boar bristles distribute oils throughout your hair and stimulate the scalp. This is a wonderful brush ... I would compare it to the Mason Pearson brush, but I actually like this one better (and it's $100 less)!! The Teasing U brush is perfect for teasing or backcombing. It has a wooded handle with 3 levels of 100% boar bristle. Makes creating that updo a cinch!
Mirabella: Skin Tint Cream-to-Powder
It’s the best of both worlds, using mineral-based formula for a medium coverage (read: no heaviness). The packaging is a very nice silver compact and includes a mirror inside. Simply use your fingers or a sponge to blend it into your skin. It glides on leaving an airy medium coverage that lasts through the day, yet leaves a translucent and silky finish. Talc free, paraben free, lead free and FD&C/D&C dye free makes this cream-to-powder a hit!
Rimmel: Colour Rush Eye Shadow quad palette in Smokey Noir
Say YES to smokey eyes with this simple gradual-to-dark gray shimmer shadow. I used the first two shades in a silver and very light silver for the lid, then used the darker for the crease. It also includes a very dark charcoal color that is perfect for highlighting. While it goes on easily, I found that more was better and while it did not crease, it did lighten as the evening went on.
SAMPAR: Velvet Cleansing MilkThis is simply a fabulous gentle facial cleanser. With mint leaf extract, rosewater and lime blossom water, your skin gets clean while feeling invigorated, soft and fresh! It's lightweight and does not strip your skin ... leaves the moisture in!
Huge Lips Skinny Hips: Lip gloss in Red SoleLove the name, the phenomenal color and the sheen. Fabulous lip gloss! Now, does it give me skinny hips? You'll have to find out in this video. You'll definitely make a statement with this little number in your cosmetics bag. What a magnificent red gloss that is light in weight and texture. Tastes great, too!
Kooba: Vertical Zip Leather Tote in CreamMy love of the season, an ivory or cream bag. When I saw this handbag, I knew I must have it. The shape, the function, the color ... all calling my name. It goes with everything, it has more room than I need and it can shape shift! You can unzip or zip up the sides or front/back for more or less room. Fabulous! I wish it were a bit easier to reach into to find things, though. That's really the only downfall, which from a safety standpoint, isn't really a downfall.
Votre Vu: Luxe Lips and Hands Duo, Trouble Spot TreatmentThe lip balm is moisturizing, containing coconut oil, shea butter and beeswax. The hand crème absorbs well into skin — not greasy at all! This duo is very convenient. I leave it in the car and use it all the time. I love it! The Trouble Spot Treatment is a great drying lotion that really does its job overnight. It brings down inflammation and redness, leaving you with a minimized blemish the next day. It contains salicylic acid (to help normalize the production of sebum) and Camphor (to help purify and disinfect the skin). A true life saver!
Ormonde Jayne: Tiare fragrance A welcome addition to your fragrance collection, Ormonde Jayne specializes in exceptional scents that transcend season. Tiare, one of the newest fragrances to add to their collection, is the perfect blend of feminine + sexy with top notes of mandarin, orange flower and sicilian lime; heart notes of tiare, freesia, water lilies, jasmine, orris and ylang; and base notes of cedar, vetiver, sandalwood, patchouli, moss and musk. Mmmmmm, delicious!
John Master Organics: Lavender, Rose, Geranium & Ylang Ylang soap, Orange & Ginseng Exfoliating Body Bar All I can say is, dee-lish! The lavender soap contains organic glycerin to leave your skin soft and luminous. The organic olive and cupuacu seed butter holds the moisture in. The orange soap also contains a high glycerin content, and is infused with essential oil of orange. It smells incredible, lathers really well and is refreshing and rejuvenating.
Beauty For Real: See the Light! Illuminating Lip Gloss in D LightSeriously fun. Seriously efficient. No more scrummaging around in your purse looking for your compact mirror and then making you way under a street lamp. This lip gloss provides you both a light and a mirror! Bonus, the color is fantastic!
Hanes: Smooth Illusions Waist Smoother in NudeHooray for Hanes! I was incredibly surprised by the comfort and effectiveness of this shaper. No rolling band whatsoever! I was able to wear these under a dress all day without giving away my secret. Bonus, I could eat in the shaper and not feel constricted.
Monroe: Margaux Boar Bristle brush, Teasing U brushThe Margaux brush is made with 100% natural bristles with a nylon quill. The boar bristles distribute oils throughout your hair and stimulate the scalp. This is a wonderful brush ... I would compare it to the Mason Pearson brush, but I actually like this one better (and it's $100 less)!! The Teasing U brush is perfect for teasing or backcombing. It has a wooded handle with 3 levels of 100% boar bristle. Makes creating that updo a cinch!
Mirabella: Skin Tint Cream-to-Powder It’s the best of both worlds, using mineral-based formula for a medium coverage (read: no heaviness). The packaging is a very nice silver compact and includes a mirror inside. Simply use your fingers or a sponge to blend it into your skin. It glides on leaving an airy medium coverage that lasts through the day, yet leaves a translucent and silky finish. Talc free, paraben free, lead free and FD&C/D&C dye free makes this cream-to-powder a hit!
Rimmel: Colour Rush Eye Shadow quad palette in Smokey Noir Say YES to smokey eyes with this simple gradual-to-dark gray shimmer shadow. I used the first two shades in a silver and very light silver for the lid, then used the darker for the crease. It also includes a very dark charcoal color that is perfect for highlighting. While it goes on easily, I found that more was better and while it did not crease, it did lighten as the evening went on.
Neocutis: Bio•Serum Intensive Spot Treatment
This falls under the category of skin care I’m skeptical of at first but quickly realize works incredibly well, with concentrated PSP® and pro-collagen Amino Acids in a small, portable applicator pen the size of a lipgloss. It’s quick and easy to use and didn’t bother my very sensitive skin. And I got results quickly. It’s almost like using Photoshop and air brushing out your crow’s feet. Those Swiss know their stuff! If you can’t afford or don’t believe in surgery, this is going to be your next best bet. However, this uses “cultured human fibroblasts,” so if you’re opposed to ingredients from a “cell bank” created from “a single biopsy of fetal skin,” you may want to pass.
The team of testers were not paid to review these products. However, most of the products listed above were supplied as samples for review purposes.
