Wednesday 21 August 2013

Lioele Dollish Veil Vita BB Vs. Lioele Beyond the Solution BB








I recieved these samples of Lioele BB creams probably over a year ago when I ordered a Lioele Powder Pact and for whatever reason have never used them, so recently I've had an interest in investing in one so decided testing them out first would be the best way.
I used one sample of the Beyond the Solution BB before, but over a year ago and all I can remember is that it was higher coverage than I expected and there was a lot more product in the sample than I expected.
Some people like comparing two face products by putting one on one half of the face and the other on the other half, but I decided as I only have samples which I don't want to waste I'd just do them on seperate days.
Everything I'm writing is in "real time" of when it happens, I figured this would be the best way of me portraying my first impressions rather than from memory, which is why it will all be written in present tense.


I have a lot of spots and red areas at the moment, so I'm looking for something with decent coverage which won't irritate my skin or slide off. I have oily/combination skin so applied a small amount of moisturiser to my cheeks which get dry.
Dollish Viel Vita BB Cream


 The sample was probably enough for 2 applications.
The cream comes out white, but if you look VERY closely you can see tiny dots of pigment which I guess are activated when you rub the cream in. After looking on the website I discovered they actually have a purple based BB and a green based BB, purple for yellow tones, green for red tones; from what I can tell I think I had the green based BB. I used my fingers for application and I liked the consistency, it wasn't too thick nor too thin and it blended in well.

The cream appears to me like a medium coverage with a demi matte finish. You can still see your skin underneath, and obviously without using concealer things like my spots come through slightly.

Due to having lots of product left I decided to try and see what would happen if I tried to build it up so I did this over my undereyes, chin and my nose. Overall I didn't see much difference in adding more but I think if you wanted a higher coverage you could just add concealer to any problem areas.

The cream felt slightly sticky to the touch as it was setting but one it was set it felt fairly soft.

Deciding to stay with the brand, I used my Lioele Be My Skin Powder Pact in #21 Blooming Ivory with my Real Techniques Blush brush (which I like to use as an all over powder brush) to set the BB cream as my oily skin is guaranteed to remove any liquid product pretty quickly without it. This left the skin with a demi matte/matte finish.


When I had finished with the rest of my make-up, which I decided to do lightly, I was pleased with how my skin looked as it was evened out.

Make-up Applied:
Barry M Lash modelling mascara after curling with Revlon lash curler
Barry M black khol eye pencil to water line
Laura Geller Balance n Bronze as a countour applied with ELF Studio stipple brush
Maybelline Chic Naturals Designer Chocolates - Liner colour applied to eyebrows using the angled end of the H&M Selected smokey eye brush
Maybelline Baby Lips in Cherry me

4 hours later



So over the first half an hour to an hour wearing this BB cream I felt pretty aware that I had stuff on my face. I don't know if this is because I'm not used to having a product this high a coverage on my face but the feeling went once I got used to it.

In real life my face is now a more demi matte - dewy finish and I do feel like I could use an oil blotting paper (which I definitely would if I wasn't doing this first impressions). On camera I am a tad more shiny, but again something I think a blotting paper would fix. 

There's a very slight gathering on the product in the lines under my eyes and there was also some weird gathering lines on the right side of my nose which my camera couldn't really pick up; I don't know if these were caused by me itching my nose or what but I rubbed them in and they went. From far away you can't see any gathering and it looks fine.

I still feel like the coverage is there, my skin is still even and my contour has pretty much stayed with maybe a tiny bit of fading.


4 hours later, 8 hours total


Due to lack of sunlight the "no flash" picture is still using artificial lighting.
By 8 hours I felt I had a dewy finish on my skin, but I wasn't horribly shiny nor was it anything a shine sheet couldn't fix. The coverage evening out my skin was mostly there, although some redness came through around my nose and on my cheeks near my nose.


I decided to take off half my make-up with a simple make-up wipe on half my face to really see how much coverage the BB cream still had, and I'm pretty pleased with how much it has. My skin was still an even colour in contrast to my make-upless half.



Beyond the Solution BB Cream

Beyond the Solution feels less thick than Dollish BB, but still not too runny and easy to blend. The picture above is the amount I used for my entire face.


(Apologies for my wet hair)
I think BTS BB has a good coverage, about medium/high, and nice and even. It feels smooth as you blend it into the skin, which I did with my fingers and has a demi matte finish. It feels sticky to the touch, stickier than the Dollish BB and has some shine with a flash on the camera.
I also found it gathered in the lines under my eyes immediately, but it doesn't cling to any dry patches.


Even with powder on top (the same Lioele powder used as before), it still feels sticky and slightly uncomfortable on the skin, again, more so than with Dollish BB. The shine is almost gone with flash with powder on the top; it still feels demi matte but a bit more matte then before powder.


I used exactly the same make-up as I did with Dollish BB and overall I like the coverage and how it looks, but it still feels a bit sticky and a bit uncomfortable.

4 hours later


The sticky feeling lasted at least an hour and a half and currently if I touch my face with my hand it still doesn't feel fully set and I would like to use a blotting wipe BUT I do like how the BB cream looks. I don't think there's much difference in how it's worn over the past 4 hours in pictures, although I am a bit more shiny with flash, and my contour doesn't seem to have faded in real life at all. There is a bit of gathering of the product in the lines under my eyes and on the sides of my nose though. Overall I think it's holding up well so far.

4 hours later, 8 hours total


So after the 8 hours I still felt like most of the product stayed in place, but I noticed some redness showing around my nose. I also saw some gathering of the BB cream on my forehead, around my nostrils and in the lines under my eyes. By 8 hours the BB cream was more dewy/oily.
I think if I had used blotting papers during the day it would've been less oily meaning the product wouldn't have broken down so much and gathered in certain places, but on it's own it's not brilliant for my oily skin.


You can see some coverage and evenness is still there where the BB cream is in comparison to my half of the face with no make-up which I can appreciate.


Overall I think both the BB creams are good, but dependent on your skin and your needs would decide which you invest in. I think I prefer the Dollish Veil Vita BB cream, but I would probably be happy with either and I'm pretty used to having to pay attention to what my foundation/BB cream/tinted moisturiser is doing due to my oily/combo skin.
I think it's unfortunate but uncommon that BB creams only come in lighter shades, even on the Western market. 
I think I'll try out some different foundations first before deciding to invest in either of these products though.

Clara xx



Sunday 11 August 2013

Uniwigs wig review

I was sent the Keeley 18 Inch Straight Indian Remy Hair wig to review from uniwigs.com



For a more detailed review, please watch the video above, but here is a summary:

Good:
  • Comes with a wig cap
  • Comes with a wig stand
  • Comes with a wig brush
  • Comes in a hair net
  • Thick, healthy and smooth hair
  • They ask for a size so it fits comfortably
  • No shedding
  • Has a few long layers to make it more natural
  • Uniwigs team communicates quickly


Bad:
  • Has odd "baby hairs" at the front which are rough and sit weirdly
  • The lace netting at the front looks odd
  • No "fake scalp" on the top of the head

Sunday 9 June 2013

Strawberry curlers first impressions & review ♡ SEARCH FOR HEATLESS CURLS




I've been interested in heated curlers for a while, but I have a pretty big thing against using heat on my hair so one night while searching I found a brand called sleep-in rollers. They cost about £25 for 20 curlers which look around an inch and a half each. 
Being a cheap skate I obviously started a search for a cheaper alternative, plus the sleep-in rollers look quite large which unless your hair is down to your bum isn't gonna do much except make a kink.

I managed to find this person's review and decided I'd give them a go myself
I decided to get 24 of them from this ebay seller for £3.36 - they're sold in loads of places online but this is probably the cheapest you can get them (and they're exactly the same everywhere)
They took around 2 weeks to arrive but I'd rather wait a bit longer than pay triple the price!

They smell a bit plasticy when you take them out the packet so I recommend taking them out as soon as you get them and maybe waiting about a week if you're concerned about it making your hair smelly (especially as your hair is porous, although I haven't noticed any smell in my hair from the packet I opened just before putting them in)

They come with cutely translated instructions that aren't entirely clear but easy enough to follow!


The outside folds (try and) help your hair stay in place



My hair when I started was about 50% dry and my hair is naturally quite straight

When I'd put them all in I used a total of 11 (I'm still glad I have 24 because I'll definitely lose some)
I didn't go straight to bed when I had them in so some of them slipped down/nearly fell out; I'd recommend doing it right before you're about to go into bed to help them stay in place better.

These things are so nice and soft they weren't a problem to lay on at all
5 curlers fell out in my sleep, which still left a curl but you'll see in these picture's the curls are a lot looser than the ones which stayed.
As I thought, I was left with fairly tight curls which I wasn't too bothered about because you can loosen them up yourself and they'll do so naturally throughout the day.



To loosen up the curls I ran my fingers through them and pulled them apart gently. DO NOT BRUSH YOUR HAIR, I did it on one half and... just... frizz... I managed to save it by twirling about inch sized chunks of hair and applying pantene pro v split end serum to the ends (I don't know why it helped, it just did). This also helped with the kind of matted frizzy look/feel my ends had (I know, gross, but I kind of expected it)

Also as expected, the top of my hair had basically no volume so I added a bit of dry shampoo and tied bits from the front of my hair into a mini ponytail which I tucked into itself.


I think if your hair is much longer than mine you won't get away with these, they fell out of mine enough and the only curl I get is on the ends. I think the ideal length of hair for these would be just above the boob, but of course if you're curious you might as well give them a go for £1.68 for 12!

Overall I like the effect they've given my hair and I'm gonna carry on experimenting with these to figure out if there's a way of perfecting the curls. I think with any type of curl that isn't using a curling iron they'll end up a bit uneven and not perfect looking, but for a day-to-day not too much effort and 0 heat way of curling hair, this is a pretty safe bet!


Saturday 8 June 2013

Twisty buns for curly hair ♡ SEARCH FOR HEATLESS CURLS

So while I was waiting for my strawberry curlers (review coming soon) to arrive, I was being impatient and decided I wanted to try and figure out if I could curl my hair without heat. I think I'm gonna start a series of posts called "search for heatless curls" as I hate using heat on my hair but I love how my hair looks curly.

 I've previously done pin-curls, but being lazy as I am I decided I'd give it a go with two buns rather than lots of little swirls.
The only things I used were bobby pins
I know everyone knows what bobby pins are, but I've included a picture to let you know that these ones suck and you should not get them

This is my hair naturally and already dry

I did two spiral buns on the side of my head (I only got a good picture of one). I just twirled my hair around until it naturally started to form a bun then used bobby pins to put it in place. I purposely twirled my hair away from my face rather than towards. 
I then used a spray bottle with water in to dampen the hair; I think if I do it again I would do it on already damp hair

I think I slept on these and it wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but not awful either.


When I took them out I was left with a very relaxed, messy and uneven curl: 

One side had a kink from the bun


It was a bit mental at the back


To disguse the kinks and wildness I put on a headband (from H&M) which worked nicely



As much as I liked how it looked, I unfortunately forgot to put hairspray on so the curls fell within a day. As I said before, if I were to do it again I would do it on damp hair; I think it would help the curls work better.

Overall I think these are a decent, cheap and non-damaging way to get curls. I've only experimented with this once but I think if I practiced I could get the curls a bit neater - but like any wet to dry hairstyle you never really know until the end. 

Thursday 23 May 2013

Tangle Attack Hairbrush - Tangle Teezer Dupe?

So the original Tangle Teezer retails for about £10 which frankly for me is a ridiculously amount for a hair brush. I have however been really interested in it for about a year now since my friend online recommended it and says how she loves it. I've also seen youtubers loving Tangle Teezer style brushes, saying they'd found random dupes on the internet.

Finally someone about a week ago was talking about how they keep their hair in good condition, one of their points being how they have invested in a good hair brush. I'd never thought of this concept before, but it makes sense so I figured I'd give it a go. They didn't actually mention what type of brush they use but I decided that this was the point I wanted to actually search for some sort of Tangle Teezeresk brush, coming across various different things, but this one catching my eye the most:
I got this from ebay seller shop4allsorts for £3.99, who sold all the colours (purple, pink and black) at the same price, whereas the others I had seen sold purple and pink for more then the black (and I wanted purple but refused to pay more haha). It actually says they choose the colour at random but I messaged the seller asking to have a purple if possible which they said was fine.

The outside packaging is, in my opinion, a bit much for such a small product; however I do like knowing no one's had their grubby fingers all in my hair brush. I've touched the Tangle Teezer in store as they have a little hole where you can touch it, and I THINK (don't quote me on this) these bristles may be a tiny TINY bit stiffer than the Tangle Teezer.

It comes with a case you can keep it in, which I believe only the flower pot (£10.99) and compact (12.25) Tangle Teezer offer. Although when I first saw this lid/case thing I thought it was a bit pointless, now I think about it it's quite handy for things like travelling; the bristles won't get squished and if something spills in my bag it won't go all in the bristles. Unlike the Tangle Teezers compact, the lid fully covers the bristles.
The case/lid thing also includes a tiny mirror... which is, nice I guess?



The shape is actually something I really like, I've never owned a hairbrush without a handle however the curvature of this product fits really nicely into the hand.


The bristles alternate between long and short, they also give a kind of massaging effect when it's on your head which I really like. It gets my hair smooth and knot-free really quickly and without pain; it also doesn't leave my hair static which is a big plus.



Overall I really like it and it feels pretty sturdy so hopefully it won't break any time soon.

(My camera has shown the purple colour as more of an indigo, the bottom picture probably represents the colour best but I recommend looking at the professional pictures online for a better colour reference.)


Sunday 19 May 2013

Get Ready With Me ♡ Casual Day




Skin Routine:
Witch oil control foaming face wash
Dove deeply nourishing body wash
Aloe ever-shield deodorant stick
Garnier roll-on eyes
M&S suncream
Aloe moisturising lotion


Make-Up:
Avon calming effects foundation in Ivory
Blistex daily lip conditioner
Lioele skin fix powder pact in 21 (Oil control type) 
ELF Studio powder brush
Too faced shadow insurance
Cover girl eye enhancers quad in Country Woods
Sigma E55 brush
MUA Undressed Palette - Colours 01, 03, 05 (Urban Decay Naked Palette dupes of virgin, naked and buck)
Sigma E70 brush
Helen E pencil in Gold
Revlon Eyelash curler
Barry M lash modelling mascara
Revlon just bitten kissable balm stain in Cherish
Avon lipstick in Baby Lips

Hair:
Batiste dry shampoo in Paisley
Pantene split end serum 
Headband from H&M

Clothes:
Lace top from H&M
White speckled cardigan from H&M 
Trousers from a market in France
Converse shoes
Moon necklace from Ebay

Saturday 11 May 2013

16 Spring/Summer Non-Lipstick Lip Colours




Revlon Lip Butter in Creme Brulee

Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait 
Revlon Lip Butter in Gumdrop
Revlon Lip Butter in Sugar Plum
L'Oreal Rouge Caresse in Fashionista Pink
L'Oreal Rouge Caresse in Nude Ingenue
L'Oreal Rouge Caresse in Dating Coral
Revlon Kissable Balm Stain in Honey
Revlon Kissable Balm Stain in Cherish
Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer in Celestial

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer in Galaxy

Collection Cream Puff Lip Cream in Cotton Candy
Because of the nature of lip stains, it's difficult to take pictures of a lot of them at once because the last one influences the one afterwards, they can also appear very different on different people depending on their original lip colour

17 Berry Crush Lip Stain in Blushin (possibly)

17 Berry Crush Lip Stain in Sleepover (possibly)
Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain in Honey

Max Factor Lipfinity Lip Stain in 03 (Which I now think is 06)

Swatches, left to right: 17 Berry Crush Lip Stain in Sleepover, 17 Berry Crush Lip Stain in Blushin, Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain in Honey, Max Factor Lipfinity Lip Stain in 03 (I think now 06)