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Category Archives: Beauty Product Reviews
Glossybox November 2011
Hey, Dollfaces!
I’m currently laid up with a heavy cold, so I hope you’ll forgive a very lazy post, the purpose of which is simply to show you the contents of this month’s Glossybox, which was a very welcome surprise yesterday afternoon. I will try to string together a coherent thought (or as coherent a thought as I ever manage, anyway) tomorrow, but for now we have, from left to right…
Philip Kingsley Elasticiser
A super-moisturising shampoo for all hair types. My hair has been thoroughly abused with the heated rollers and curling tongs lately, so hopefully this will help whip it back into some kind of shape.
ETRO set of five fragrance vials
I would tell you what these smell like, but I can’t actually smell ANYTHING right now. Woe is me!
DEAD SEA SPA MAGIK bath salts
Exactly what it sounds like.
NAIL ROCK Designer Nail Wraps
I’ve wanted to try nail wraps for ages, so I’m really keen to test these out. Mine are in a black and white stripe pattern, which is a bit of a departure for me, as I usually stick to bright red or neutrals when it comes to nails, but it should be fun to try something different.
ARBONNE FC5 Ultra Hydrating Hand Creme
I’ve had this sitting on my desk since it arrived, so I can remember to use it at regular intervals. Before my sense of smell deserted me completely, I was really enjoying the smell of this – hoping it will bring some life back to my dry cuticles, too!
Now, back to the Lemsip!
(Disclosure: this was a PR sample.)
Dollface Reviews: Swarzkopf Got2b Powderful Volumizing Styling Powder
This month, my ongoing quest for Big Hair led to to purchase a tub of Swarzkopf Got2b Powderful Volumizing Styling Powder. Two things about this:
1. The fact that they used numbers as letters in the product name hurts my heart a little.
2. I do no use styling products on my hair. Ever. Well, I mean, I’ll occasionally give it a blast of hairspray if I’m wearing it up, but only very occasionally, because I hate that “crunchy” feel it creates, and I have a habit of using too much and ending up looking like I’m wearing a hair helmet.
The fact is, most styling products don’t seem to make a whit of difference to my hair, other than in a negative sense: I have very greasy roots, and almost everything I try seems only to make them even more greasy. So, to say I wasn’t expecting much from this would be an understatement. In fact, if I remember rightly, I think I actually purchased it on eBay, because I was too cheap to pay full price for something I was sure I’d use once, hate, and then put in a drawer, never to be seen again.
But I was wrong.
Got2b Powderful is, as I’m sure you’ve guessed from the name, a powder which you apply to the roots of the hair in order to create volume. I was suspicious of this because I tend to be clumsy, and I imagined myself spilling it all over a black dress or something, and then walking around like Casper the Friendly Ghost all day. Or ending up with grey roots, because, me being me, I would be sure to use too much.
I needn’t have worried, though. (Or not about the grey roots, at least: I probably still SHOULD worry about the spillages…) This, you see, is a very finely milled powder:
The instructions advise you to tip a small quantity of it onto the palm of your hand, and then gently rub your hands together. (You can also simply tip it onto the roots of your hair, if you’re feeling adventurous…) When you do, it becomes invisible, as if by magic, (Note: no actual magic is used in this product. It does become undetectable on your skin, though.) and you can then rub it onto your roots without fear of it turning them grey. I generally tip my head upside down to do this, and try to distribute it as evenly as possible. Then I tip my head back up the right way…
Aaaand, just like that, my transformation into a crazy lady with hair in her eyes is complete! Just like I always wanted!
OK, I jest: I had literally just tipped my head upside down to show you, because that’s how far I’m prepared to go in my bid to bring you the truth about beauty products. Ahem.
Here’s how it looks with my hair NOT in my face, but still uncombed:
(No, I have no idea what was on the ceiling.)
(I did comb it afterwards, I promise.)
Now, I realise this doesn’t look like much to you with your normal, non-limp hair. But it does make quite a difference to my fine, poker-straight stuff, and I’m happy to report that it does it without creating a sticky, greasy mess at the roots. Yes, you can tell that there’s some product there when you touch it, but you can’t tell by looking at it, and I like it enough to have made it a permanent addition to my morning hair routine.
This is priced from around £2.99 and you can click here to buy it from Amazon.
Colour Depositing Conditioner for Red Hair: Superdrug Colour Effects Conditioning Colour in Warm Copper Gold
As regular readers may recall, ever since John Freida’s ‘Radiant Red’ Color Glaze was discontinued (pah!), I’ve been on what feels like a never-ending hunt for a colour-depositing conditioner for redheads.
Now, these aren’t easy to find, even if you’re blonde or brunette (although if you are, you’ll have a very slightly easier time of it). The makers of hair products, however, as I’ve noted before, generally like to pretend redheads just don’t exist at all, so it’s been a fruitless search. I thought it was over when I discovered Wella Lifetex Color Reflex Mask last year, but then… it was discontinued, too.
(Aside: I’m really starting to think it must be me: as soon as I find a product I love, it’s almost instantly discontinued. Hmmmmm.)
The loss of both of these products was a huge blow to me, because, for those of us who want to enhance our colour without resorting to chemical dyes (or even henna, which can be time-consuming and unpredictable), these conditioners are perfect: you use them in the shower, they don’t add a huge amount of time to your daily routine, and while they won’t cover greys or radically change your colour, they will give it a vibrant, more intense shade: or so I found, anyway.
I’d more or less given-up on finding a replacement for these two products, though. Anything I DID find seemed to be expensive, and not available in the UK, so other than a cursory glance at the shelves any time I happened to be in Boots or Superdrug, hoping against hope that the John Freida Color Glaze would have magically re-appeared, I’d almost forgotten about it. Then, a couple of weekends ago, I was in Superdrug, and I came across their Colour Effects Conditioning Colour.
This, as you can see from the image, bills itself as a “wash-in, wash-out” conditioning colour. It comes in a small bottle, containing just enough for three applications, and is just 99p: score! It works in much the same was as the other products I’ve mentioned here: you apply it to wet hair, as you would any other conditioner, leave it to soak in for around five minutes, then rinse it out. The resulting colour effect isn’t permanent: it will last for around 2 -3 washes, but as the product is cheap, and can be used in the shower as part of your normal routine, it’s easy enough to keep it going by just using it every few days. It’s NOT a dye: it won’t cover greys and it won’t change your colour by more than a shade or so, but it will revitalise dull hair, deepen your existing colour, and generally leave your hair looking a little more vibrant.
Well, so far, so good. There were about three different colour options available in the store: a blonde, a black (I think: I’m working from memory here because the product isn’t available online) and this “Warm Copper Gold”, which was the one I chose, because it looked more or less the same as my natural colour.
It actually took me a couple of days to get round to trying this, because, to be completely honest, I didn’t have very high hopes of it, purely because the colour described itself as “copper” rather than “red”. When I did, however, I was instantly converted: and instantly terrified that Superdrug would surely discontinue it at any second. I used the conditioner in the shower, and the first surprise came with the consistency of it: while this looks and feels exactly like any other conditioner (albeit a coppery brown one), it lathers up like a shampoo, which I wasn’t expecting. This does make it easy to distribute it evenly throughout the hair, though, so I left it for the recommended five minutes then rinsed until the water ran clear and headed off to dry my hair.
As soon as I removed my towel turban, I could see a difference in the colour: my hair was much more vibrant, and looked much “redder” to me, although in a natural kind of way: it’s basically my natural colour, just a little deeper. (Although I can see a big difference, no one else noticed!) Because I hadn’t actually been expecting to see any kind of difference, and my colour tends to look different every time I photograph it anyway, I didn’t bother to take a “before” shot, but here’s what it looked like after one application:
(It’s not actually a different colour on the bottom, by the way, it’s just the way it came out in the photo!)
There’s only one downside to this that I’ve found: it’s not great as a conditioner. While the other colour-depositing conditioners I’ve tried have left my hair very soft and shiny as well as subtly changing the colour, after using this, I didn’t really feel like I’d conditioned my hair at all, and the second time I used it, I used some of my regular conditioner afterwards, just to stop my hair from tangling up horribly. So while I love the colour effect, it’s definitely not a replacement for a regular conditioner: or not for me, anyway.
I liked this so much - especially given the 99p price tag – that when I couldn’t find it online I because paranoid that it had ALREADY been discontinued, and had to contact Superdrug to double-check. Happily, they replied to tell me that they have no plans to discontinue it, and while it isn’t on the website at the moment, it should be available in store. Phew!
Dollface Reviews: HD Brows eye and brow palette
This HD Brows Eye and Brow Palette came as part of the Glossybox I was sent last month, and although it’s taken me a while to get round to reviewing it, I’ve used it every single day since it arrived, which I guess tells you everything you need to know about how much I like it!
The palette was created by the company behind the HD Brows brow-shaping salon treatment, which is getting a lot of press attention at the moment (and which I’m desperate to try!). It contains two shadows, and two brow powders:
You can see the shadows, in “nude” and “carbon” at the top of the palette, while the powders are “warm brown” and “ash brown”, at the bottom. I initially assumed the “warm brown” shade would be the best match for me, but it’s actually the “ash brown” I’ve been using – it’s a little more of a “taupe”, while the other shade is slightly redder.
Here are all of the shades swatched on my arm:
L-R: Ash Brown, Warm Brown, Nude, Carbon
Basically, this contains everything you’d need for a really quick, simple eye: the two powders fill in the brows (and, unusually for me, I’ve been using the brush that comes with the palette, rather than one of my own, because it’s the perfect shape to create a smooth, strong brow), the nude shadow for the lid and up to the brow bone, and a little dab of the darker shadow in the socket: simple, easy, but really effective.
This is £19.95 and you can click here to buy it.
Dollface Reviews: Babyliss Big Hair Rotating Styler
As the owner of fine, terminally limp hair, the quest for volume is a never-ending one, and when I heard various friends raving about the Babyliss Big Hair, I knew I would have to try one.
This is a rotating hair dryer basically: it has two heat settings and the revolving brush blows out air, allowing you to dry your hair and brush it out at the same time. The promised effect is more or less what you’d get from a professional blow-out at the salon: smooth, shiny hair, with added volume and bounce. Your stylist will generally achieve this effect by blow-drying the hair while using a large, rounded brush on it at the same time, but if you’ve ever tried to do this at home, you’ll know it can be a little tricky to manage brush and hairdryer together, especially on the back of the head. The Babyliss Big Hair, however, gives you both tools at once, allowing you to get that salon look at home: or so it claims, anyway!
I bought my styler at the start of the month, and, as described, it’s basically a large brush which just so happens to blow out hot air. There are two switches at the top of the handle which allow you to choose the direction the brush will rotate in: either towards your face for a smooth, turned-under look, or away from it, in a flicked-out style.
The first thing I realised when I started to use this is that it’s not exactly foolproof. In fact, the very first time I tentatively switched it on and applied the brush to my hair, it instantly tangled up so badly I was worried I was going to have to be cut out of it. Luckily for me, I managed to untangle myself pretty quickly, but there’s definitely a knack to using this, and took me a bit of practice to arrive at the perfect technique of holding the brush in place and then rolling it down the hair. I suspect some of my problems here may have been to do with the fact that I fail at life my hair is long, and therefore tangles around the barrel of the dryer more easily. If you have a shorter style, I’d imagine you’d find it much easier to use: if in doubt, though, I know there are quite a few tutorials on You Tube which may be worth a look!
Once I’d got my technique down, though, I was pretty impressed with the styler. It doesn’t exactly give me “Big Hair” – I’ve long since learned that absolutely NOTHING does that for me! – but it does create a great-looking blow-out, of the type I have never previously been able to achieve on my own. I find it particularly effective on my fringe, and the shorter strands of hair at the front of my head, which tend to stick out when I blow-dry normally, and it leaves all of my hair looking very smooth, with the ends turned under, which I like.
This is not quite a one-step tool for me, however, and I can’t use it to dry my hair from wet: or, at least, I could, but it would take forever. Instead, I have to either rough-dry most of my hair with my usual hairdryer, or leave it to air-dry for a while, before using the Big Hair to finish it off. Again, if you have shorter hair, I would imagine you’ll be able to use it right out of the shower: my hair is just too long for me to have the patience to dry all of it in sections every day, although for a special occasions it’s worth the time.
Overall, I’m happy I bought this, and have been using it most days. I still have the odd “tangling” incident, but nothing too bad, and because the barrel of the brush is large, if your hair does get caught up in it, at least it untangles easily!
This is £45.99 at Boots: click here if you want to try it for yourself!
Dollface Reviews: Lancome Genifique Soleil SPF 30
Just a very quick post today: I don’t have a huge amount to say about this product, but as sunscreen is such a big deal for me, especially at this time of year, I thought I’d just quickly show you what I’ve been wearing on my face all summer. (Or for the parts of it I’ve spent at home, anyway: I used a higher SPF when I went on vacation, as I got to experience actual sunshine then!)
This is Lancome’s Genifique Soleil: it’s a sunscreen designed for the face, and it comes in SPF 15 – 50. Mine was a PR sample, and, as you can see, I was sent the SPF 30 version: given the choice, I personally always go for the highest SPF available, as you just can’t be too careful, but SPF 30 is perfectly adequate for a Scottish summer, so this has become part of my morning beauty routine.
The reason I like this is simple: it feels more like a moisturiser than a sunscreen. My eternal complaint about sunscreen is that it tends to be thick, gloopy and hard to absorb, and that’s even more annoying on the face than is on the body, because it can be hard to apply makeup over some of particularly thick formulas.
There are no such issues with this, though: it’s lightweight, easily absorbed, and has only the faintest trace of that telltale “sunscreen” scent, so it’s really no different from applying a moisturiser. In fact, although you can obviously use moisturiser with it, I’ve dispensed with mine altogether for daytime, as this product keeps my skin soft, hydrated AND protected courtesy of the same Genifique formula you’ll find in the rest of the range.
This costs £22.98 per bottle, so it’s not cheap. It is, however, worth it, I think, and my bottle has lasted the full summer and is still going strong, so you will get your money’s worth. Click here to buy it at Boots.
Dollface Reviews: Dainty Doll liquid foundation in 02 – Light
This week, my continuing search for foundation for pake skin led me back to the Dainty Doll line, by Nicola Roberts, and specifically to the new liquid foundation, which is £22 at Harrods.
I was sent this as a review sample, and the colour I received was shade 02, “light”, which is the second palest in the line. Now, at first I was a little worried about this, because I haven’t worn the second palest shade in a foundation line in my life. In fact,while my search for pale foundation has been a long and hard one, it’s also been pretty straightfoward: for instance, I never have to spend ages standing around at a beauty counter, swatching lots of different shades of foundation. I only need to try one – the palest – and if it doesn’t work, then I simply move on.
I fully expected shade 02 to be too dark for me, then, but of course, I was forgetting that this is a range designed specifically for people with pale skin, and that means that the lightest option may not be the best. So I gave it a go, and, much to my surprise, it was perfect.
I found it really hard to photograph this properly, because, well, it’s pale. Here are a couple of swatches, though:
Not the greatest pictures in the world, obviously, but basically this is pale, with yellowish undertones, and it is definitely pale enough for my skin, which is the thing I was most interested in. (I’d be really interested to see the palest version as a comparison!)
I was also really pleased with the consistency of this, which is your basic, mid-to-heavy coverage liquid foundation. Some of you may remember that the very first version of Dainty Doll’s foundation was a thick, cakey consistency, which was an absolute pain to apply: so much so that I gave up completely. This is much better, and while it’s still not the most blendable foundation I’ve ever tried, it’s a huge improvement, and the coverage is pretty good, too, and builds up well.
The finish is fairly matte, which means that the shininess in this photo is all my own, unfortunately:
Overall, I would recommend this for anyone who sturuggles to find foundation pale enough for them: and if you’re paler than me, I’d love to hear what you think of the lighter shade!
I have some other Dainty Doll products to swatch for you soon, so keep an eye out for those, too!
Click here to buy this from Harrods.
Revisited: Eyelure Naturalities Evening Wear False Eyelashes
Oh, hi!
Is it creepy, having me staring at you like this? Do you feel like I’m looking RIGHT AT YOU, OMG? Sorry. I’m just trying to show you my false eyelashes, which are Eyelure’s Naturalities Range in ‘Evening Wear‘.
Now, I’m just going to admit it: I’m an idiot. I found a pack of these in my “to be reviewed” drawer, and had worn them all day, photographed them AND edited the images before I realised that I’ve actually reviewed these lashes before. D’oh. Last time, however, I only managed to get one photo, so rather than let them go to waste, I guess you can consider these photos as added extras. Here’s what the lashes look like on:
Here’s also what a really shiny t-zone looks like on. It’s mostly the effect of the flash, though: it’s not quite as shiny in real life, I promise!
So, as you can see, these are long, but not unweareably so, and they have a nice, fluttery effect, which I liked. I’m not sure I’d agree with the “ultra glam” assessment on the package: these are actually pretty tame compared to some of the lashes on the market, but pretty good for someone like me, who wants to add a bit of length and volume without it looking too OTT.
As far as wearing them goes, these were much the same as any other lashes: easy to apply, comfortable to wear, and the glue supplied with them held them in place all day, but came off fairly easy with the use of some eye-makeup remover when it was time to take them off.
These are £5.09 per set: click here to buy them from Superdrug.
Dollface Reviews: NARS Illuminator in Orgasm
NARS Illuminator is a product I’ve been wanting to try for a long time now, so I was really pleased to find one inside the Glossybox I was sent to try out a couple of months ago. I was sent the ‘Orgasm’ shade, which was just fine by me, because I already use NARS Orgasm blush, and swear by it, so this is the shade I’d have picked for myself. (It’s also available in Laguna, Copacabana, and Super Orgasm, which, on reflection, may actually be a better shade for me, as it has a bit of golden shimmer to it, and I’m partial to a bit of shimmer.)
I’m sure most of you are perfectly familiar with the concept of illuminators, but just in case you’re not, this can be used in a number of different ways: you can apply it as a highlighter, either on its own, or on top of foundation; you can apply it all over the face, for a healthy “glow”, or you can mix it in with your moisturiser or foundation for a more subtle look.
When I first received it, I assumed I’d probably use it on top of my foundation, to highlight the brow and cheekbones, in much the same way I use my beloved Benefit HighBeam. In practice, however, I found that this product didn’t really make much of a difference used like that: it pretty much melts into the skin, and isn’t particularly visible on my brow bone, which is why I haven’t included any photos of me actually wearing it: I did try, but you wouldn’t have been able to see it!
Instead, then, I’ve been mostly using it all over my face, on top of my foundation. Again, this isn’t something I could photograph very easily, because it’s not like you’d look at me and think, “Oh, yes, she’s wearing an illuminator!” but it does make a subtle difference, and as much as I hate the vagueness of the word, I think “glow” is really the only way to describe it. You don’t see shimmer, or glitter, or anything like that, and it’s certainly not greasy or shiny, but it does add a certain something to the skin, and it’s a certain something which I think is quite summery, and natural looking. It would probably also look good on its own, but I wouldn’t know, because I haven’t seen myself without foundation since I was 15.
Overall, would I buy it? Probably not, to be honest. It does make a difference, but it’s not such a huge one that I’d be willing to spend £21 on it, and I prefer the more obvious effect of Benefit Highbeam. As I said in my first paragraph, though, I would be interested in trying the Super Orgasm version, which sounds like it would have a little more shimmer to it, and possibly suit me better.
Want to try it for yourself? Click here to buy it direct from NARS.
Dollface Reviews: Soltan Invisible Dry-Touch Transparent Suncare Spray SPF 50
I’ve written here a few times now about my sun-screen buying woes, but, well, it looks like I’m going to do it again. Sorry.
Because my skin is so pale, I don’t go out without first of all slathering myself with a high SPF sunscreen. Now, this can be a bit of a pain, because here in the UK, most high factor sunscreens tend to be of the thick, white, gloopy variety: they take ages to rub in, they leave your skin looking shiny, greasy, and even whiter than it was to start with, the smell is strong enough to knock you out, and, just to top it all off, they almost always end up staining your clothes, and let me tell you, that stuff almost NEVER comes out. Oh, and you’ll generally pay something in the region of £15 per bottle for this.
For this reason, I normally buy my sunscreen in the U.S. This summer, for instance, I bought two cans of Walgreens’ own brand dry spray, for about $10. It was SPF70, and it was the kind of clear spray which dispenses as a “mist” and dries instantly: all you have to do is depress the pump, wave it over your body for a few seconds, and you’re done. I love it, and there are always lots of different brands that come in the same kind of format, for the same kind of price.
This stuff is almost impossible to find in the U.K. I’ve purchased various cans of sunscreen which looked and sounded like the stuff I buy abroad… but which actually contained a product which was white and runny, rather than clear and dry. And it’s always cost me around £15 per can, too. Most of the time I just try to stock up when I’m in the US, and bring enough home with me to last the rest of the year, but unfortunately my habit of maxing out my luggage allowance meant that this year I just didn’t have any space for sunscreen.
Enter Soltan Invisible Dry-Touch Transparent Suncare Spray.
Soltan, as you probably know, is Boots’ own brand sunscreen, and I’ve used it quite a bit over the years. A couple of weeks ago, however, I noticed Boots were selling the “Soltan Invisible” variation of it for just £5.99 per bottle, so I jumped at the chance to try it out.
First, the good stuff:
1. It’s clear.
2. It’s “dry touch”, which means minimal rubbing-in, and no greasy skin afterwards.
3. It doesn’t have an overpowering smell.
4. It goes up to SPF50, which is normally high enough for a UK summer.
5. It’s currently reduced to £5.99 per bottle.
As for the “bad stuff”, well, there’s only really one thing I don’t like about this, and that’s the pump action spray. There are actually a few different brands in the UK which sell similar clear-spray sunscreens, and I’ve found the same issue with all of them, which is that the pump dispenser is generally quite stiff, and impossible to use with one hand: I find I have to brace the bottom of the bottle against something in order to depress the pump and dispense the product, so, rather than spraying it directly onto the skin, I normally end up having to spray it into my hands and then rub it into the skin from there. The American brands I use, by contrast, come in a aerosol-style can, with a pump which can be depressed with one finger, allowing you to just “mist” it over your skin, with no rubbing-in required.
That said, however, this is definitely one of the better sunscreens I’ve found on this side of the Atlantic, and while there are other brands which offer clear-spray in the same kind of bottle, this is also by far the cheapest, at the current price of £5.99, which makes me tempted to stock up before it goes back to the usual price of £11.99.
One further word about this: it claims to be water-resistant, which is a claim I haven’t been able to put to the test, as the water in the UK is far too cold to make me ever want to swim out of doors! I have, however, used it on a couple of the hottest days we’ve had since I bought it, when I was out in the sun all day, and I didn’t get even the tiniest hint of sunburn, so it does seem to work well in that regard, although obviously, as it’s a clear spray, you will have to be a little more careful when you’re applying it to make sure you don’t miss a bit!
This is still reduced at Boots, and you can click here to buy it.
