Pro:Voke Touch Of Silver on Natural Hair - Part 2

I've been using the violet toning treatment for about 3 weeks now and, unfortunately, without much result. I don't actually know what I was hoping it would do - probably neutralise brassy tones, but of course, it's not a 'blondening' shampoo so I was a little delusional. 

My conclusion is that it doesn't really work on natural dark-ish blonde hair if you want it to go lighter and for it to bring out your natural highlights (if you have any). I will probably have people saying "that's not its purpose anyway!" which is fair enough, but it was worth a shot.

I did ntice after some washes that my blonde wasn't as golden - it turned a... greyer colour, a more dirty blonde, which I was really against. However, seeing as the change was completely insignificant, I didn't really mind. 

All in all, this is probably formulated to work on coloured hair more than anything, molecules binding to receptors etc... so I wouldn't recommend it on natural hair, unless its grey.

I guess you can see the grey-ish tones on the left. Even though I said 7 washes, it's probably more than that. I felt my hair did lose some shine. 

All in all, though the product wasn't exactly a waste of money at £2.03, it really didn't do much for my natural hair, so save yourself the trouble. 

 Hope this helps those wondering about natural hair!

:)

x 

FOTD - Liner Heavy + MaxFactor lipstick review

Following my cut-crease yesterday, I tried to go for a little more minimalistic look - the bold eyeliner and 'bare' lids. Also tried a new MaxFactor lipstick which I am in love with.

 My camera died so I had to use my phone, which turned out better than I expected. 

I used a dark blue sparkly shadow for the eyeliner. I don't use line sealers, just water and a paintbrush (an actual paintbrush, yes). Works like a charm.

Face:

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer

MAC Studio Sculpt SPF 35 concealer in NW15

Lancome Teint Idole 24H foundation in 010

ELF Mineral foundation in Fair

Bourjois Healthy Balance Unifying Powder in #51Vanille

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer

ELF HD powder

Eyes:    

ELF Mineral Eyelid Primer in Sheer

Dior Travel Studio shadow (a completely matte skin colour shadow)

Dior Travel Studio shadow (shimmery white)

Front Cover shadow in Black Spark (liner)

MaxFactor 2000 Calorie mascara

Revlon Grow Luscious Waterproof mascara

Lips: 

MaxFactor Colour Elixir Lipstick in 825 Pink Brandy (♥)

I really like this lipstick, which surprised me. I bought a Maybelline one some weeks ago, it was like any other I owned so I wasn't very happy. This one is a very pleasant surprise. The colour is absolutely gorgeous - I was looking for an orangey-pink colour (coral-ish) for aaages but never found anything with the right hue or formula, until this. For £7.99, which is a usual colour for a lipstick in a drugstore, you get a gorgeous tube. It looks uber classy - golden with the MaxFacotr logo etched on it. I am really happy with the packaging compared to others I know (Bourjois - eww). 

The formula is very creamy and lasts a long time, and doesn't transfer too much. The colour is absolutely gorgeous. 

Definitely recommend!  

 

 :)

x

FOTD - Cut Crease

Cut creases are not something that works too well on me - I have hooded eyes and small lids. This means that the light part of the cut-crease is not rounded but more an oval shape which looks a little unsightly from some angles. Nonetheless, this didn't stop me. I decided to go for a neutral-ish look: 

Face:

Lancome Teint Idole 24H foundation in 010

MAC Studio Sculpt SPF 35 concealer in NW15

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer in 1 Fair

ELF Eyebrow Kit in Ash

L'Oreal True Match Powder in D1/W1 Golden Ivory

Too Faced Chocolate Soleil bronezer 

PARISAX Beauty Blush 

ELF HD powder

Eyes:

ELF Mineral Eyelid Primer 

NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk

Front Cover Eyeshadow in Moondust

Front Cover Pigment dust in Cloud Dancer

PARISAX Beauty shadows (dark browns)

Revlon Grow Luscious Waterproof mascara 

Lips:

Bourjois Sweet Kiss lipsticks in Rose Cachemire + Rose Paré

I kind of overdid my face this time, it was quite cakey in natural light, but I couldn't do much about it! 

:) 

x 

ALERT! Fake Benefit products on EBAY

You might say "What did you expect from ebay?" but I fell into the trap that many others fell into.

I purchased a Benefit They're Real Mascara from a certain seller whom I won't mention, who claimed on the product name that it was "100% Genuine Benefit". Because I had a successful purchase just a day before on ebay (a No 7 mascara) I thought - might as well go for it. 

The package arrived in a grey plastic bag - when I opened it I found that the box package is 

a) flattened

b) dirty and looks used around the sides.

The second I saw the tube itself I knew something was wrong. The problem is that I've never really looked at the real mascara packaging in the authentic form, but quite a bit of experience with luxury makeup has led me to be on high alert immediately. 

The cap of the tube was bent! In the picture above you can see it leaning to the right - it's even more pronounced in person. The whole tube also felt really light and cheap. I couldn't say anything about the writing but you can just tell. 

Next, I decided to open the evil thing, and thing's didn't look any better...

Anyone who has seen the real benefit mascara, be it online or in store would immediately know that this is definitely NOT the right brush. The brush advertised has much longer bristles as well as a small "ball" of bristles on the tip. This brush is... well, just look at it. I didn't put that anywhere near my eye - the formula was runny and looked like molten play-doh.

The brush was also bent, and extremely flimsy - bending it would actually probably cause detachment from the wand.

I immediately put the wand back in the tube, and requested a refund on ebay. Because I was so annoyed by this, my request wasn't one of the most polite ones, but I felt very much tricked: especially by the "100% genuine" title. The price I paid was £7.99 instead of £18.50, which actually isn't that cheap - I requested to have my money back and brought it to the attention of the seller that the product was a fake. I sent the product back, having had to pay for the postage myself, and waited for about 5 days when I started getting a little agitated. I contacted the seller again and received my refund, after leaving negative feedback on the product. I requested a refund on the 3rd of September and got my money back on the 11th.  

I hope this warns some people not to make the same mistake because not all sellers are going to refund you, especially if you don't check out their returns policy beforehand or if you're a first time buyer. I was disappointed also because I wanted to try this mascara out but oh well - at least I didn't waste more money on a mascara! 

Please be aware of fake items on ebay, in fact, avoid them. If you are looking for a bargain, the chance of you finding an authentic product on ebay is very small. Apart form that, I love that website 

:) 

x 

SJP 'Lovely' Perfume ♥

There is only one way to describe this scent with a word; that word would indeed be Lovely.

I have been lusting after this perfume for god-knows-how-long. It was always a little too pricey for me, so I just sprayed it on a tester and went home to sniff if for a day or two. However, yesterday I went to Debenhams (in which, all fingers crossed, I will be working soon) and browsed the perfume section absent-mindlessly with a friend. I was just telling her about this particular perfume because I couldn't find it - how it is one of the best fragrances that I have ever smelt and even more surprising that it came from a celebrity (I have quite a stigma against perfumes released by celebrities to get even more money, ergh).

Then suddenly, I spot this little darling in the reduced section - I kind of expected a 25% reduction, something not very impressive... it was 50% off from £25 to £12.50 for 30ml. In about 30 seconds I was at the check out till and in 45, with the purchase in my bag. 

 I am not going to describe the scent - I always find it odd how people are like "Oh my gosh, it totally smells like PEONIES with some WOODEN UNDERTONES and a HINT OF ROSE WATER" and I'm like "What does that even smell like". 

But in short, it's a very girly smell, it's fresh but certainly smells perfume-y and I wouldn't say it smells like flowers.... (it would be awkward if it's supposed to). I really am not a fragance expert, but I highly suggest you check it out for yourself, because it's incredible.

Pro:Voke Touch Of Silver on Natural Hair - Part 1

I've been looking around blogs and such and a few girls who have bleached their hair swear by the Touch Of Silver range - a series of violet-pigmented products that are used to banish brassiness from bleached hair to keep it cool-toned, ashy and light. I had a hard time finding any reviews of girls who have used it on natural hair as a means of giving it cool tones.
However, at the price that I got it at (£2.03 on Amazon) I thought I might as well try it out - no loss here.
I ordered the Twice a week Brightening Shampoo which is usually the more intensive treatment compared to shampoos and conditioners. The product says on it that it is specifically formulated for Grey, White or Platinum Blonde hair. I'm a warm-toned blonde (which I am thankful for - I would hate to be a mousy blonde) so I didn't really have high expectations for this product, though some hope remained.

  The bottle is sturdy and professional looking. The instructions state that you can't use this every day and should use their shampoo from the range. The shampoo itself is very purple indeed:

 It smells nice, and leaves the hair feeling pretty soft. You're supposed to leave it on for 5 minutes, but I forget how long I left it on for. It doesn't stain your hands or the shower, so that's a bonus.

Results-wise... well it's a little awkward. As you can see in the picture below, my hair went from a lighter shade to a more golden shade (no I didn't swap the pictures). I have a feeling this may be a camera trick, because it had gotten darker after I came out the shower. "In real life" I don't really see much difference at all - I DO have natural very blonde streaks and they don't look that much lighter.

oops - it seems the result it opposite...

I am hoping that with continued treatment it should work - I didn't see too many reviews which stated that it worked from the first wash, so I remain optimistic. I will update on my second and third washes.
Perhaps it doesn't really work on natural hair - chemistry wise, it could react with the deposits in the dye which are different compounds to the natural ones that cause brassiness. Most people would probably not even call my hair brassy, but, I want some blondeness in it!

:)
x