by VioletLeBeaux | Dec 3, 2011 | Beauty, Review
Estée Lauder Liquid Liner Silver Zinc
Price: $42
Obtained: Gift Bag
Thoughts:
When I found this in my gift bag I thought “Meh another weird goldish colours I’ll probably never use”. It sat in my make up drawer for a couple of months before I did a look which had enough green in it to make me want to try this out. I regret waiting that long because now I see it’s a really versatile colour.
It’s a dark gold with slight green tones and dries in a metallic finish. The best part is the felt tip applicator, it makes drawing really complicated designs or multiple flicks really easy and reminds me of the art end mini Copic markers. It lasts all day and it comes off with make up remover in little pieces like eraser shavings rather than smudging.
For a colour that looks quite odd in the bottle it looks surprisingly natural on. I think this could look great for a little sparkle in neutral look as well as being a nice offset for green shadow or eyes. The quality is beaututiful and what I would expect from Estée Lauder.
Would I buy Estée Lauder Liquid Liner Silver Zinc again: Yes if I had the money.
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.
by VioletLeBeaux | Dec 2, 2011 | Beauty, Review
Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair
Price: $150
Obtained: Gift Bag
Thoughts:
I was really excited to try this out because everything I’ve read about it has been so hyped up. I received two bottles in various gift bags so I had a nice supply of it to do a long term test.
I used it for around 3 months before I started testing other things and while every night my skin felt really nice I didn’t notice any long term difference in the textre. That could be because I’m 24 and aging isn’t a huge problem for me or it could be that it just doesn’t go well with my skin, I really don’t know either way.
It smells kind of like a lot of those natural moisturizers which while not being my favorite smell it is quite refreshing when you put it on. I only needed a couple of drops for my whole face so while it’s definitely in the luxury price range you can be pretty frugal with it. In the end I gave the rest to my Mother because I felt bad wasting such an expensive product when I wasn’t seeing results because I was out of the target market for it. She really liked it so I think it’s probably best for those with aging concerns, in a couple of years I’ll be back trying it again hahaha!
Would I buy Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair again: Not now but I might buy it as a gift and I will try it again in a few years when I’m more concerned about aging.
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.
by VioletLeBeaux | Dec 1, 2011 | Beauty, Review
kkcenterhk Palette and Lady Gaga Wig
Price: Lady Gaga Wig– $35 and 48 Color Eye Shadow + 3 Powder foundation + 5 Blusher Palette= $13.54
Obtained: PR Sent
Thoughts:
The PR rep from kkcenterhk contacted me to review these. First the palette, the colours are quite pigmented and about the same quality as the Coastal Scents one I have. The blushes are waaay too pigmented for my tastes and even with a little tiny bit I found myself looking like a kid who had gotten into their mother’s make up 😉 There were two powders and one cream on the bottom layer which were again ok but not great quality, the kind of thing you would expect from a discount brand. For $13.54 I can’t really complain at all because the eyeshadows are great so totally worth it. Most of the shadows are in pastel shades and have a little bit of glitter or shimmer mixed through. When they’re on you can’t really see the glitter so I think this would be good for those who want a little sparkle but not a huge amount.
The wig is interesting, it’s decent quality with minimum shine and there is colour variation which looks quite natural. There is a decent scalp at the top in the part too so I think with styling it could look good on. That said out of the package it looked pretty terribly styled, definitely not as curly as the photo on the site. It’s more of a general wave with a curl at the bottom and the whole underneath layer is teased to give it much more volume. I am planning to heat seal the curls again to restyle it and possibly cut it into a better shape but as is I didn’t think it looked good on me or very much like the photos. I think that speaks of buying wigs online in general though, unless you’re happy to do some styling yourself or you’re saving a lot of money then best to buy somewhere you can actually try it on first.
Would I buy kkcenterhk Palette or the Lady Gaga Wig again: Yes to the palette, no to the wig.
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.
by VioletLeBeaux | Nov 30, 2011 | Beauty, Review
Pantene Aqua Light Shampoo and Conditioner
Price: $7.95 each
Obtained: PR sent
Thoughts:
I used Pantene shampoo and conditioner until I moved out of home and could only afford the even budget stuff. Since then I’ve tried out several different options from high end to extreme low end so when the PR offered so send this I was interested to see what had changed since I last used it years ago. I hear a lot of talk about how Pantene is bad for hair because some of the chemicals it contains weighs does the hair and damages hair, I haven’t experienced that particularly with Pantene but I did notice when I switched from regular shampoo/conditioner to using baking soda I did notice how much lighter and healthier my hair felt.
So going back to this the first change I noticed was that the shampoo was like a clear jelly. It lathered very easily and my hair did feel clean afterward. It washed out a lot more easily than I remember older Pantene doing. The conditioner seemed very similar to the older ones I’d used though it did have a more jelly-ish consistency. I found this too washed out very easily. My hair felt light and silky after using.
This is primarily aimed at women with thin hair, I don’t have thin hair I have thick frizzy hair so I think that’s where my main problems came from. I found that when using this my post-wash hair felt frizzier and less sleek. I also found I needed to wash more often than previously to maintain the clean feeling I like. I hate having dirty feeling hair but I also hate having wet hair so having to do it more often made me a bit sad XD
So overall opinions, I think would definitely suggest this as an alternative to the old Pantene especially for women with thinner hair because it did give me extra volume. I personally wouldn’t buy it again because I prefer waiting longer between washes but as my problems were due to my hair type rather than the product I would recommend it to others who fit the product better.
Would I buy Pantene Aqua Light Shampoo and Conditioner again: Not for me but maybe for someone else with the type of hair it’s aimed at.
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.
by VioletLeBeaux | Nov 29, 2011 | Beauty, Review
Jurlique: Rose Body Care Lotion, Lavender Hydrating Mist, Jasmine Shower Gel, Soothing Cleansing Lotion and Rose Finishing Powder
Price: $24-44
Obtained: PR Sent
Thoughts:
After hearing I hadn’t ever tried the Jurlique range before their lovely PR sent me some of her favorites from the range to give a try out.
Rose Finishing Powder:
I love me a good finishing powder and this isn’t an exception. It smells heavenly but I am also a big fan of rose scents so if that’s not your thing then definitely try in store before you commit. I noticed that my make up lasted well when I used this and it also *felt* finished. Like the addition of the powder actually made the make up feel like it was sealed in. I liked the size and the container it came in but I didn’t like the little powder puff inside. I found it didn’t apply evenly with that so I used a brush and it was perfect. Overall loved it.
Lavender Hydrating Mist:
I find hydrating mists an interesting concept, in summer they are fantastic but I think it’s definitely something which is a luxury rather than a necessity. I mean if I was really hot in summer I could just flick water on myself and give a spritz of perfume after 😉 I like the bottle it comes in, it’s glass which keeps the liquid inside extra cool. It also looks really stylish on my dressing table so plus one for being pretty. The smell is quite interesting, it’s not straight lavender, it’s got some herbs (and apparently marshmallow) in there too which I found nice because lavender isn’t my favorite scent. Mixed in with the herbs a really liked it though and found that because the smell didn’t hang around too long it was nice during the day. It’s something I would keep in my handbag to freshen up during the day.
Soothing Cleansing Lotion:
Again this smelled quite herbal and I think it would be something you would either love or hate so give it a test in store first. It feels like a slippery moisturiser and made my skin feel very moisturised after using. The smell was too much for me though so even though I adored the feeling I don’t think this is something that I would buy again. It comes in quite a large bottle so I think it’s quite good value because you only need a very small amount to do your entire face and neck.
Jasmine Shower Gel:
This also came in a very reasonably sized bottle for a high end brand and the design of the bottle was quite pretty. The smell was quite interesting because while it’s a fairly strong jasmine, the honey and marshmallow give it quite a sweet finish. Again this one wasn’t a smell that I particularly liked but James enjoyed it so I think it’s just about personal taste!
Rose Body Care Lotion:
Again I love rose and this smelled exactly like the finishing powder so I was happy with that. The lotion is quite a watery finish so I only needed a very small amount to go a long way. The bottle is the same size as the lotion and again quite a strong scent so try in store first if that’s something you’re sensitive to. I really liked this one because my skin felt lovely and smooth afterwards. While the smell did hang around for quite a while I didn’t notice it unless I had my skin right up near my face.
Overall:
I thought this was a good introduction to the brand and while not everything was to my personal tastes I could definitely see myself buying some of the items again. I will definitely look into more from Jurlique now that I know about the brand too and I would be really interested to try some of the whitening range so I’m going to check it out in store.
Would I buy Jurlique again: Yes to the Hydrating Mist and the Rose Powder, maybe to the rest and I definitely want to try the brightening range too.
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.
by VioletLeBeaux | Nov 28, 2011 | Beauty, Review
Laura Mercier Fondation Primer
Price: $65
Obtained: Gift Bag
Thoughts:
I didn’t use primer for a very long time then I started to use a Face of Australia one and haven’t stopped since. I got this tester size in the ABBW gift bag. It is a fairly thin cream similar to most of the others sold in Australia I’ve tried so far though this one is much more of watery consistency. While it did it’s job as a primer well, I didn’t find any noticeable difference between this at a luxury price point or the budget options I’ve tried. So yes it worked and if you are looking for something in a higher price range then I would definitely suggest trying it out as it worked well for me.
Would I buy Laura Mercier Fondation Primer again: Yes if I had the money.
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.
