The Face Shop BK902 Nail Polish Swatch

by VioletLeBeaux | Mar 7, 2012 | Beauty, Review

The Face Shop BK902 Nail Polish

Brand: The Face Shop

Colour Name: BK 902

Bought From: The Face Shop

Price: Around $4, can’t completely remember

Description: Sheer silvery grey polish with silver glitter.

Volume: 11ml

Ingredients: Ethyl Acetate, Butyl Acetate, Tosylamide/Formaldehyde Resin, Camphor, Dipropylene Glycol Dibensoate, Nitrocellulose, Citric Acid, Tocopheryl Acetate, Keratin, Titanium Dioxide (Cl-7791), Mylar.

Bottle: Not a great design. With the bulk of the polish at the bottom as soon as you use up the first amount it becomes very difficult to get anything out.

Brush: Quite thin straight rounded brush.

Thoughts: This is a very sheer polish, even with 3-4 coats you won’t get it very opaque. It is a very interesting colour though and surprisingly versatile. Because it has a silver tint through it you can top coat any colour polish to get a pastel effect.

Good for:

-Making snow flakes in nail art

-Top coating bright colours for pastel effects

-Christmas and winter nail art designs

Bad for:

-Being left plain on nails because it’s so sheer, you can see everything underneath.

-Konad designs

Disclaimer: All reviews are my honest opinions whether product was provided for review or bought. I am not an expert, just a girl who likes beauty products. Click here to read about my personal preferences or for more information on “Currently Using” mini review posts. Click here for my Editorial and Ethics Policy.

Sally Hansen Platinum Nail Polish Swatches

by VioletLeBeaux | Mar 6, 2012 | Beauty, Review

Swatched on a black nail:

Sally Hansen Platinum Nail Polish

Brand: Sally Hansen

Colour Name: 17 Platinum

Bought From: Gift

Price: Not sure

Description: Very sheer pearlescent polish.

Volume: 13.3ml

Ingredients: Ethyl Acetate, Butyl Acetate, Nitrocellulose, Propyl Acetate, Tosylamide/Formaldehyde Resin, Isopropyl Alcohol, Trimethypentony Diisobutytate, Triphenyl Posphate, Ethyl Trosytamide, Stesralkonium Bentanite, Camphor, Diacetone Alcohol, Stearalkinium Hectorite, Benzohenone- 1, Citric Acid, Dimenthicone, Diamond Powder, Alumina, Hydolyzed Rhodophycea Extract. May Also Contain:Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Silica, Polyethelene, Ter(unreadable)thglate, May Contain: Guanine, Mica, Bismuth Oxychloride, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Ferric Perrocyanide, Yellos 5 lake, Red 6 Lake, Red 7 Lake, Red 34 Lake, Aluminum Powder, Yellow 1, Violet 2

Bottle: Nice long high bottle, don’t like the shiny silver top as it looks a bit cheap. Do really like the diamante stuck in the front of the bottle, that’s great!

Brush: Very nice thin flexible bristles. Long stem so it reaches that last little bit of polish in the bottle too!

Drying Time: First coat dries very fast, send coat takes quite a while longer and remains tacky for quite a while

Thoughts: Very versatile and useful polish, sheer enough to be layered over other polishes and leaves a very nice pearly finish. I’ve also used it as a finish when making my own flat back pearls ^_^ The formula is very thin and doesn’t streak easily.

Good for:

-Changing the colour of other polishes.

-Making very pearly traditional french tips.

-Making flat back pearls and other nail art bits and pieces.

Bad for:

-Plain polished nails, very sheer.

-If you’re in a hurry as drying time for 2+ coats takes a while.

Disclaimer: All reviews are my honest opinions whether product was provided for review or bought. I am not an expert, just a girl who likes beauty products. Click here to read about my personal preferences or for more information on “Currently Using” mini review posts. Click here for my Editorial and Ethics Policy.

Hello Kitty Priceline Make Up Collection Review

by VioletLeBeaux | Mar 5, 2012 | Beauty, Review

A while ago the PR department fro the new Hello Kity line of make up contacted me to see if I wanted to try out some samples from the new collection… umm YES! So let’s go through these one by one!

Pretty Mascara- Magnetic Look in Dark Black- $14.95

The packaging is very pretty thought it didn’t take long for some of the pink to scratch off from being in my bag. The brush is average sized and flexible. The formula doesn’t clumpy and the brush separates lashes very easily. It lengthens but doesn’t really thicken much so it’s good for natural looks. I really like this mascara actually, the only thing that could make it better for me would be if it came in a better or smaller bottle as it doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the collection.

Pretty Eyeliner Matte Black- $11.95

I love the mini bottle that this comes it, it’s perfect handbag size. The applicator is a felt tip in a medium size and it makes doing flicks quite easy. The finish is very matte which was interesting. I liked how quickly it dried but my main complaint was that once dry it felt kind of chalky and rubbed off on my fingers easily. It’s not a bad eyeliner and it’s definitely something I would keep in my collection because of the interesting finish it gives.

Nail Polish in Golden Girl $9.95

Very cute polish, it’s a gold base with a silver shimmer so the finish is very interesting. I think this would look amazing used in a Konad stamp or something similar because it would provide a lot of shine. The formula is good, it dries fast and I like the design of the bottle.

Compact in Pashmina Ambre- $14.95

This compact is one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. It’s perfect for my handbag: slim, cute and with a mirror that seems to magically keep itself clean. Unfortunately the powder is the darkest shade available so it’s only use to me is as a bronzer with isn’t really my thing. I did test it out and the smooth formula almost convinced me to give bronzers another chance… almost. It is very smooth, sheer and has a slight light catching shimmer to it. I think I would definitely give the lighter pink shades a try as blush or possibly for contouring but this one is much too dark for my skin. That said I can’t fault the formula and would recommend it for others especially with the cute compact.

Semi Matte Lipstick in Bollywood- $12.95

Love how small the tubes of these are, the amount of lipstick seems the same as other full size ones I own but the tiny containers make them very handbag friendly which I love. So big tick on the package for both of these lipsticks. This is a very bold shade, I love that even as bright as it is it’s still a really wearable colour. It doesn’t really stain either so it’s quite forgiving to mistakes made while applying. While on the lips it feels very moisturising but that moisture also makes it a little hard to keep on so I found myself reapplying fairly often.

Shine and Kiss Lipstick in Violetta- $12.95

Basically my thoughts on this are the same as the first one. I did’t think the colour would be wearable at first because it’s so dark but it’s much more sheer so it gives quite a nice plum finish. It reminds me a lot of the 90’s which is a good thing!

Shadow Duet in La Dame Au Camelia- $11.95

I really liked these colours, the purple has a lovely shimmer to it and compliments the pink really well. The light pink is more pigmented than the purple but they blend really well together and form a nice look. They last quite well through the day and I really like the container, it’s just begging to be deco’d 😀

Hello Kitty Priceline Make Up Collection Review

Obtained: PR provided.

Thoughts:

Overall I liked the collection, the prices are a bit hit and miss for the quality but I would definitely look at purchasing more of the collection. I have bought another lipstick and lipgloss and I think all of the lip products are the best performers overall from the collection. Definitely worth a look at the other eyeshadows and compacts as well!

Would I buy Hello Kitty Make Up again: Yes, I have and I probably will look for the new collections in future.

Disclaimer: All reviews are my honest opinions whether product was provided for review or bought. I am not an expert, just a girl who likes beauty products. Click here to read about my personal preferences or for more information on “Currently Using” mini review posts. Click here for my Editorial and Ethics Policy.

Olay Sensitive Foaming Face Wash Review

by VioletLeBeaux | Mar 4, 2012 | Beauty, Review

Olay Sensitive Foaming Face Wash

Price: $10.99

Obtained: PR provided.

Thoughts:

This is a nice oil and fragrance free face wash. It looks kind of like hand soap but I found the pump bottle to be very convenient. It lathered fairly easily and felt silky on. I found it to easily remove dirt and grime but it did leave my skin feeling a tiny bit dry after. If I applied my moisturiser straight after using the face wash, I didn’t notice the dryness though.

Value-wise I think this is on par for the brand and the bottle looks like it would last quite a while.

Would I buy Olay Sensitive Foaming Face Wash again: Yes probably, it left my skin feeling smooth and clean and I didn’t notice any adverse effects on my sensitive skin.

Disclaimer: All reviews are my honest opinions whether product was provided for review or bought. I am not an expert, just a girl who likes beauty products. Click here to read about my personal preferences or for more information on “Currently Using” mini review posts. Click here for my Editorial and Ethics Policy.

Bioderma Crealine H2O Solution Review

by VioletLeBeaux | Mar 3, 2012 | Beauty, Review

Bioderma Crealine H2O Solution

Obtained: PR provided.

Thoughts:

I’ve held off on this review for a while because I wanted to make sure I was really thorough in my testing because the concept of the product is one that suits me so well. Basically it’s a make up remover/cleanser which is formulated by dermatologists to be completely suitable for sensitive skin. As someone who has very sensitive skin and quite bad allergies this is the kind of product that I dream about, but having been burnt before I didn’t want to get my hopes up too much before I’d had time to really get to know the Crealine well.

So the short version of this story is that it exceeded all of my expectations by a long shot. I have used it solidly for around 3 months now and have not had any adverse reactions at all. The best part is that it still does it’s job. Sometimes I find that products made for sensitive skin are less potent than their regular counter parts, for example some makeup removers are gentler in formula but don’t break down make up as much as a regular one so you end up having to rub harder and cause more damage. This Crealine isn’t like that at all, it removes makes up simply and easily leaving nothing left behind.

It’s marketed as being an H2O Solution and I think that’s really the best way to describe it’s consistency: it’s like bottled water. After use it doesn’t leave a film or residue it’s really just like washing your face with water but water that actually breaks down and removes make up. I don’t have the knowledge to talk intelligently about the science behind the idea but obviously there is more information on their website about that side of it.

The packaging is plain which I like and the easy to remove lid makes is perfect for being able to transfer into travel containers. I like the pink lid too as it fits in well with my bathroom. It’s not fancy but it does the job which is kind of refreshing!

All in all, I didn’t really find any negatives about this product at all which is very rare for me. I’ll be continuing to use it now and definitely looking to try some of the other products in the Bioderma range as it seems to suit my skin type nicely!

Bioderma is a new brand here in Aus so it can be a little tricky to hunt out stockists, here’s a handy list from their PR department in case you were curious.

You can currently buy it at these places or by contacting directly through their Facebook page:

In Sydney

–          Avalon Beach Pharmacy, 40 Avalon Parade, Avalon, NSW 2107
–          Drummoyne medical Centre Pharmacy, 1/159-167 Victoria Road, Drummoyne, NSW 2047
–          Forestway Pharmacy, Shop 24, Forestway Shopping Centre, Frenchs’Forest, NSW 2086
–          Inform Pharmacy North Sydney, 68 Walker Street, North Sydney, NSW 2060
–          Inform Pharmacy Neutral Bay, The Grove Arcade, Shop 1, 166 Military Road, Neutral Bay, NSW 2089
–          Greenwood Plaza Pharmacy, Shop M15-M17 36 Blue Street, North Sydney, NSW 2060
–          Prohealth Pharmacy, 2/2 Booralie Road, Terrey Hills, NSW 2084
–          Wade’s Chemist, 152 Burns Bay Road, Lane Cove, NSW 2066
–          Manly Vale Pharmacy, 339 Condamine Street, Manly Vale, NSW 2093

In Melbourne

–          Amcal Wattle Park Pharmacy, 1123 Riversdale Road, Surrey Hills, VIC 3127
–          Healthsmart Pharmacy, App. 23009B, Shop 5, RMH, Grattan St., Parkville, VIC 3052
–          Newton & Leung Pharmacy, 272 Smith Street, Collingwood, VIC 3066

Would I buy Bioderma Crealine H2O Solution again: Yes, absolutely and without hesitation.

Disclaimer: All reviews are my honest opinions whether product was provided for review or bought. I am not an expert, just a girl who likes beauty products. Click here to read about my personal preferences or for more information on “Currently Using” mini review posts. Click here for my Editorial and Ethics Policy.