It apparently comes in a couple of shades but I couldn’t tell which one my samples were so I’ll just give my general review >_<
Each sample has enough for 2-3 applications, not having the whole bottle I couldn’t give you an idea of value for money but going by the numbers it seems about average for what we pay in Aus.
The coverage was medium, nothing wow but still good enough to replace a tinted moisturiser.
I had a really hard time being excited about this one and that probably had to do with the smell, it is very strongly scented 🙁 It’s one of those smells that you either love or hate and it smacks you in the face pretty hard so this cream is something you should really test out in store before buying!
Bare Skin:
With cream:
It didn’t pick up very well in the photos but this shade (whatever it was) was really orangeish on me. After I put it on I felt like the victim of a bad fake tan >_< Definitely for those with yellow undertones rather than pink.
VERDICT: Not for me. At all. May be good for those who have yellow tones and don’t mind the strong scent. Definitely one to try in store or get samples of before you buy ^_^ TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT.
Following on from the previous hair tutorial requests, I was asked to do a more formal updo that was still nice and Summery ^_^
This style doesn’t look good on me personally because of the gradient in my hair but it looks awesome in dark hair because it’s textured enough to show up without looking over the top.
What you need:
Brush
Hair spray
Hair ties
Hair spray or frizz serum
Firstly section your hair in two like this and tie the bottom one into a high pony tail:
Put the top section to the side and clip it for later. Now divide the ponytail into 3 sections as if you were going to plait it. Put two of the sections to the side and then divide the remaining one in half. This style is created by repeatedly tying those two pieces into loose knots then pinning. It gives much more rounded interesting sections than normal plaiting would so it can be good for a change.
The knots you should be using are pretty much square knots or the kind you would use to tie your shoe, an example can be seen here: http://www.folsoms.net/knots/
Start with one like this:
If you do it evenly it should form a pretty pattern. Depending if you want the look to be messy and casual or sleek and complicated you might want to use frizz reduction serum or something similar before you start knotting. Don’t worry about not being able to get them undone later because the pieces of hair you’re using to tie them are so large they should just spring back apart like a plait.
Then keep tying the pieces over and over until you get something like this:
Now pull the section upwards and curve it toward the base of the ponytail. Pin it in place.
Repeat this process with the next section of hair but curve it a bit towards the right of the ponytail when you pin it:
The third section should be curved downwards and pinned at the bottom of the ponytail. After pinning all 3 parts you shouldn’t be able to see the hair tie in the ponytail anymore, it should just look like a big loopy bun:
Finally it’s time to do the top section. This is really what determines the final look so here are two options!
Brushing it to the side tie it in a loose knot about half way down:
Continue knotting from that point.
You have something like this:
Pull it backwards and pin into the main bun:
Add a little flower and you’re done ^_^
You can see how it looks a bit like a big swirl from the back:
Other side:
Front:
Top:
Another option for the top which makes it look a little more prom-ish is to tease/backcomb it a bit, pin it in place then knot the rest and add it into the main bun:
So yes while it doesn’t suit my hair very well it’s a decent style for those with medium length darker hair and can be dressed up or down accordingly ^_^
Next on the list of BB Cream review pile is Pure Blossom Shimmering from The Face Shop.
Before I get into the review, a lot of people asked what BB Cream actually was last time. Well basically it’s cream that has been very popular in Asian countries for a while now which is generally worn underneath (or instead of) foundation. It’s supposed to be miracle cream because it evens out skin tone like a foundation but also usually has ingredients that are supposed to make your skin better and actually improve over time. This is of course debatable and results differ for everyone. The other difference to foundation (again this is debatable) is that it’s not sold in shades, the ingredients *aparently* change colour to suit your skin colour creating flawlessness no matter what tone you are.
I find that last bit to be a stretch, and while a lot of the BB Creams that suit me also suit much darker tones on my friends it’s certainly not fool proof or magic, lots of them are still too dark or too grey for me so I always suggest sampling before you buy. Personally after a year of using various creams I haven’t seen any change in my skin tone of texture but some girls swear by it. I like to use it by itself on days that I want something light and casual or under foundation as a way to keep moisturised and create absolutely flawless skin and protect from the sun (most of them have SPF ratings).
So on to the review!
Pure Blossom Shimmering
Available from: The Face Shop (I couldn’t find it on the website though, I bought mine around 8 months ago)
Price: AU$25-ish from what I remember
Supposed Benefits:
Shimmery effect
SPF 15
When I bought this is was the cheapest of the ones offered at The Face Shop and the only one light enough for me, I think they rotate their ranges quite often though and stock depends on the shop. I bought it out at Eastlands and haven’t seen it in the city store.
The texture is very light, wet and creamy. It takes a little while to dry and is fine to be applied with fingers or sponges (for better coverage). I found it was a bit wet to apply with a brush but that was just personal preference. It feels more like moisturiser than foundation on.
Plain skin:
As you can see from the photo below it only offers light coverage, not enough to get rid of freckles but enough to make a difference. The slight shimmer gives a really dewy effect rather than just being shiny which I love! Until very recently when I started testing others I’ve been wearing this cream almost every day since I got it and the tube is still about half full, to me that’s pretty good value.
The packaging is ok, better than a bottle because you can be precise about how much to get out but I still prefer pumps. Pretty none the less ^_^
With a layer of the cream applied very hastily with fingers (sponge looks nicer with better coverage):
VERDICT: Decent price, good if you’re looking for light coverage. Shimmer doesn’t look over the top even in the sun. Takes a while to dry which can be annoying but other than that pretty good. Suits light skin tones. DO WANT.
This is another one of those tutorials that’s been a long time coming. I’m doing my best to get through all the requests now that I have inspiration again XD
So a lot of people asked how to I did this style for the Nuffnang Christmas party…
Well there is a trick… it’s done with 2 types of hair extension ^_^ One of these plain track ones:
And one of these ones which are supposed to go over a pony tail on big clippies:
I bought my extensions from Bodyline and they were very cheap but decent quality. For the two of them I think I paid about $18. By using extensions you can do this style with pretty much any length hair at all ^_^
Also obviously these extensions don’t match my hair colour since I dyed my hair again but hopefully that will make it easier for you to see what is my hair and what is extensions!
What you need:
1 set of hair extensions on clip in tracks (curled)
1 matching clip in ponytail (curled)
Bobby pins
Brush
Hair Spray
Ok starting with clean brushed hair, grab the track extension and fold up the track like this:
Holding it in one hand, use your other hand to grab half of the tips, scrunch it up…
Plonk it on the top of your head like this…
You should have a couple of long curls hanging down the side like this and the rest piled on top in random curls. Pin it in place ^_^
Divide your natural hair in 3 sections, one on each side and one at the back. On the side that has the hanging bit, pull the section of natural hair backwards.
Scrunch it up in your hand loosely and pin it at the back of your head where the top of the extensions meet your scalp…
Pinned it looks all scrunchy like this:
Repeat on the other side…
Pin it down!
Ok time for the clippy part!
On the side that had the hanging curls, hold them up and out of the way for a second. Clip the hair piece right above your ear and into your natural hair…
Let go of the curls so they fall over the top and you end up with something like this…
Now that is much too unbalanced on the side for my tastes and it looks terrible at the back so lets finish up! You should still have a piece hanging down the back of your natural hair. Pull that up…
Scrunch it up…
Pin it in place ^_^
Now let’s cover the back up so it blends in more ^_^ Grab a handfull of the side ponytail her from the top:
Pull it around the back and pin in place over the top of your natural hair. You can chose to leave a couple of strands hanging down or you could pin them up to your head.
Hair spray the hell out of it ^_^
If you need to, fix up the curls with your fingers so they are perfect.
There you have it! You can add some bows or flowers or clippies or something else to decorate it!
From the side…
And the other side!
So there you go! If you practice you can have it all up and finished in about 15 minutes 😀 Hope you enjoyed the tutorial ^_^
Pin curls are one of the easiest most fuss free ways to get curls and they are a personal favorite of mine.
They take very little time to put in and can be styled in many different ways. There have already been a whole lot of tutorials on the subject, Super Kawaii Mama did a great pin curl video here: http://www.superkawaiimama.com.au/hair-parlour/perfect-pin-curls/but after a lot of requests I thought it was about time I did one too ^_^ *edit* I have added a video which includes me taking them out at the bottom too.
What you will need for this particular pin curls tutorial:
Pins
Curl spray or hair spray
Scarf (optional)
Hair ties (optional)
Brush
So start with clean hair and make sure that there are no knots or tangles. Give it a general spray with the curl enhancer, I’m using a Tresemme one which works really well in my hair.
Section your hair in half so it’s easier to work with. I tie the other side off into a pig tail ^_^
Start from the top and grab a small section of hair. The size of the section you take will effect the side of the curl you end up with eg. little section = small corkscrew curls while big section = waves. Keep in mind that it’s better to over curl than do all this work and end up with straight hair! XD If the curls are too tight in the end you can always brush them out looser but re-curling is a pain in the butt!
Spray your section with the curl enhancer:
Starting a little way from the end, twist the hair back on itself to form a loop:
Again the bigger the loops the bigger the curls. You should have this:
Get the end which is sticking out and curve it around the inside of the loop so it stays there.
Start rolling the whole thing up to your scalp…
This is where you want to be in the end:
Take the loop and flattern it on your head. Whether you go towards the front or back will determine whether the curls end up going towards your face or away from it. I chose backwards:
Have a whole lot of pins ready ^_^
Now slide a pin in to the curl attaching it to the hair near the scalp. You might need to use 2 pins if you have a lot of hair.
Repeat this all over your head! Leave no space behind ^_^ You’ll end up with something like this:
The gradient in my hair makes it really easy to see the curls ^_^ This is what it looks like from the side…
Spray the hell out of the whole thing with either more curl enhancer or hair spray… I use both XD
Now you need to decide how long you want to keep them in. My hair doesn’t like holding a curl so I find the easiest way to do it is to sleep with them in. It was odd the first time I did it but now I don’t even notice anymore. I’ve also found that having a hot steamy shower with them in (but not getting them actually wet) before bed helps too. Other girls I know will just leave them in for a few hours during the day if they’re going out at night so it all depends on your hair.
Like most people, the way I keep them all in at night is to use a big scarf ^_^ This is a technique that’s been around for ages and I certainly didn’t come up with it! Again if you want a video version you should check out Super Kawaii Mama’s because it’s very informative.
I fold the scarf into a triangle and place it over my head like this:
Pull the two side corners up and the ones on your forehead down like this:
Tie the side ones in a knot together. Pull the forehead one back towards your hair and tie the side ones in another knot over it.
You get this ^_^ It’s like sleeping on a big cushy pillow!
In the morning when you take it all it will look something like this:
Unless you were going for ringlets it’s probably not looking exactly how you want, so all you need to do is brush it out and add more hair spray and you get this:
Hopefully that helped answer all of the questions I’ve gotten about this, let me know if you have any more! ^_^
*edit* I know a lot of people were wondering how much I brush them out etc so here’s a video that includes what I do the morning after wearing them. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Thanks so much for reading, I hope it was easy enough to follow and good luck with your own pin curls! Let me know how it goes!
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This is the foundation I was telling you all about last week ^_^ After trying it out at the Illamasqua counter launch I went back later in the week to call in an early Christmas present and pick it up XD
Brand: Illamasqua
Price: AU$55
Shade: RF115
Type: Rich Liquid
This foundation really impressed me, not only because it matches my skin like a treat but it also lasts really well through the day. I can put this on in the morning and come home with flawless skin so plus one for that! ^_^ It actually reminded me a lot of a slightly toned down version of the make up we used to use when I worked in theatre years ago.
Price-wise this is on the expensive side of things but if you have hard to match skin like me you would probably buy it anyway XDI had to shake it quite hard to mix it up when I first got it as it had separated slightly. You only need the tiniest bit to cover your whole face so I would estimate using it every day the bottle would probably last me about 6 months. It did take a little practice to get a completely smooth even finish but I think that was more to do with me learning/improving my technique when applying with a brush more than it being difficult to work with. Fingers or sponges don’t work so well but brush application is brilliant. I would definitely suggest applying a good moisturiser underneath as I found it a little drying without but other than that I had no problems at all. After applying it dries very smooth and with a sort of light almost powdery finish. It didn’t feel like I was wearing anything other than moisturiser.The coverage is very good, it covered my freckles with very little effort and I imagine if you wanted something with super coverage you could build on it a little more to achieve this.
Naked skin:
With nothing other than the foundation:
James’ camera actually had trouble focusing on my skin because it was so smooth XD That’s probably the best recommendation I can give hahaha!
VERDICT: Price is what you would expect from a department store brand, takes a little skill to use but the results are most definitely worth the effort. Really good range of colours especially for those of us who are quite pale. I will be repurchasing when mine finally runs out. DO WANT.
Illustrator. Strong tea, knitting, watercolours, and making a video game called Moonlight in Garland. Living with her adorable husband Jimmy, fluffy puppy Miss Lottie and Bergamot Bunny in Melbourne, Australia.
