III Sisters of nature/ 3 sisters of nature curly whip pudding

How much do i hate thee? Let me count the ways.

This product is horrible. Let me just get that straight out of the gate.  It is billed as "Frizz free, soft fluffy curls, defines curls, waves, twists for kinky styles" and that it "compares to Miss Jessie's curly pudding".  What did it deliver? Flakes upon flakes upon flakes upon flakes. It will cover, it will envelope your hair in flakes! You will look as if cornflakes were crushed in the heavens and sprinkled throughout your mane, that's what you get.

OK. Let me tell my story. I initially tried it on hair that had been washed maybe 3 days prior and only moisturised with rosewater glycerine. I thought maybe that's why the section of hair i used it upon was flake city, because it wasn't totally clean. Fair enough. So i used it a week later on clean hair(i use sulfate shampoo's and clean thoroughly) and while my hair was drying i saw the flakes. I had to blow-dry the flakes out of my hair. I used actually three of their products afterwards  and i was not impressed, but I'm going to use them separately again just to see if it was only the curly whip pudding that flakes.

It didn't really define my hair either. I would advise you to skip this altogether.

Directions: Apply curly whip to hair that has been shampooed and conditioned. Then part damp hair in large sections. Use fingers as comb when applying a generous amount of curly whip pudding to hair. Finally let hair airdry.

Ingredients: Deionized water (aqua), polyquaternium 10 PEG 14, Glycerol, DMDM Hydantoin, carbomer, PEG33 and PEG8 dimethicone, triethanolamine, sodium polyacrylate and ethylhexylsterate tridecety-6, fragrance (parfum), aloe extract(aloe barbadensis) soybean oil (glycine soja) babassu oil ( orbignya oleifera), honey, macadamia nut oil ( ternifolia), papaya extract( carica), avocado oil (persea gratissma), bay laurel extract (lauris nobilis), sweet almond extract (primus amygdalus), chamomile extract (anthemis nobilis)

It smells like bubblegum though and is purple. That's a plus eh? Am  i happy that i only  bought a sample size. In the words of M. Bison

sorry the pics look dirty, I've been carrying this pot in my bag for a week or two.

Retail price i saw £6.99. Sample size £1.99

Dabur Vatika Naturals, Olive Cactus, Hair fall control styling cream

Yes that is how long the name of the actual product is.
Big name, but tiny amount!
This is a hair cream from the popular Dabur range of haircare products from India.( although this product is manufactured in the United Arab Emirates) There a few hair creams  in the range ranging from lemon to henna and a night treatment amongst others, but for my hair this has been the best. Here are its claims


Olive- Gives complete nourishment
Cactus & Others- Strengthens hair & fights hair loss.

It says it can be used as a Pre- Shampoo treatment or as a hair cream. I use it as a hair cream.  It has only four ingredients: Extra Virgin Olive oil, Cactus extract, Panthenol and Perfume. So it is silicone free which is good for those who follow no silicone hair regimen's . Its thinner than a butter but thicker than a normal lotion texture, but its very light. It has a light pleasant fragrance and is great as a moisturiser. If you do wear your hair in wash and go styles be warned that this does not elongate nor define but is strictly a moisturiser. I wouldn't use it primarily for braid outs or twist outs either, without some other product layered on top. I really love it though, it leaves my hair soft, moisturised and easy to detangle. Its cheap- £1.99-£2.49, has few, yet good ingredients and for me is easily available. The only, only fault is its tiny!!! It is only 140ml! There is enough to do my hair maybe 2- 3 times. ( i am heavy handed) If your hair is over shoulder length or very thick it won't last long at all! That's my only gripe i wish it came in like a giant tub size. ( like their deep conditioner)  For my fine natural Afro, Type 4 hair i give this two thumbs up!! Try it.

P.S
I'm seeing some new tub sizes in the hair shop so maybe they are making it bigger? Who knows

Laval lipstick in Cerise review. Rihanna pink lipstick dupe

First dupe post?
Oh.
I wasn't looking for a dupe, i just wanted to find something new. I have branched out of nude coloured lipsticks for me and dipped my toes into red. Sometimes. But i have had a problem with pinks for a long while. Its hard for me  because although i do like the colour i don't want to run the risk of either having pepto bismal lips or just looking all out deranged.
So i spied this lipstick called cerise by Laval and thought, hey why don't i try it out? Its cheap and i can see what the colour looks like on me.

Laval lipstick Cerise. .Holla!

I love it! Its a deep dark hot pink and is actually kinda flattering. ( Urmm excuse where i went outside of my lip line on the left there, it was a slight cosmetics malfunction and won't happen again)

It also looks almost alike to Pop star Rihanna's lipstick circa flattering hairdo years

so if you have ever wanted this lip colour try Laval lipstick in Cerise.

Does it last i hear you say? Yes and maybe too well. Its a pain to get off. It stays on all night and even after a night of sleep. Yes i went to bed with my makeup on and yes i am well aware that i am now doomed to a face like a crater filled moon, a barren womb and no man of woman born shall marry me.

So anyway its long lasting, looks good on dark skin, does not dry out lips and is cheap as chips. ( less than £2. Whats not to love?

Available online and in a market stall near you.
Laval cosmetics  i salute you

Jourdan Dunn - Burberry Spring Summer 2012 Campaign. New shades for darker skintones

So this photo was recently tweeted by Burberry

for their Spring/ Summer 2012 Campaign.
I vaguely recollect Burberry having a makeup collection and certainly didn't know they did any darker shades.

Oh. According to BelleSugar, they didn't.

Designer Christopher Bailey is a man of his word. Back in 2010, we spoke to the Burberry creative director when Burberry Beauty first launched. At the time, the line had no foundations for women with dark skin tones, but Bailey promised that some were on the way. Now, the makeup line has delivered, with four new foundation and concealer shades for darker skin tones. Both the Luminous Fluid Foundation and Luminous Compact Foundations are now available in Trench No. 10, 11, 12 and 13 and the Sheer Concealer is now available in Amber No. 5, Hazelnut No. 6, Walnut No. 7 and Mahogany No. 8. The shades, part of The Natural Luminosity 2012 Collection, are available at David Jones Bondi Junction, Bourke Street Mall and Chadstone. Great news, no?

 http://www.bellasugar.com.au/Burberry-Beauty-Launches-New-Shades-Foundation-Dark-Skin-Tones-22390314

Will these be available in the UK?
Its funny now all these makeup ranges are just discovering black women exist in the UK.
I still lol at YSL's explanation that the reason touche eclat wasn't available in darker shades for over ten years is because they didn't have "the technology".

(Picture depicting YSL Beauty scientist: Roger, will my mind ever be able to reach the heights that will allow me to make a concealor for anyone darker than tan?)


Well i give them more points than Rimmel who have Solange as a spokesperson yet make no darker shades of foundation or concealor.

Solange wears foundation not from us. K thanx bye


What say you?
If anyone tries it come back and tell me how it goes.

revlon super lustrous lipstick blackberry 640

May this be, my perfect red?

Not this black berry.


This blackberry. Number 640.

A highly pigmented red based lipstick which looks fantastic on dark skin. Seriously if you are olive to dark brown this will most certainly suit you sir. You can wear it sheer or layer it. Its brown base means its very flattering and its like a dark brick red. I went to dinner and then out afterwards and only had to reapply once ( of course i used a lip pencil first). My sister says it reminds her of a constance carroll lip colour she rocked in the 90s and suffice to say i will be keeping this in my bag. Oh and here is my lovely assistant aka big sister wearing it with a brown liner,

and here's a swatch from my arm

It actually looks Darker on then in the photos. Weird. Anyway i picked mine up on a market stall ( Oh the shame!) so I'm not sure if its in stores or online, but a quick Google looks like its readily available on the net and quite cheap. So if you're going for a dark red try this.

Creme of nature Argan oil shampoo and intensive conditioning treatment

Before i delve into my review, just for anyone googling and wanting a quick skim, Yes to the shampoo, No to the conditioner. Lets move onto why. I actually bought the conditioner first, as i was looking for something new. More fool am I. I can't lie my first bad experience was all on me. The instructions SPECIFY that one must use heat when deep conditioner with this product, however i contrary to this used it, just with a plastic cap on my head. It made my hair feel terrible and waxy. ( I was away from my bonnet dryer attachment and just needed to wash my hair FAST) Because that first time was my fault, i decided to follow the instructions the second time round explicitly. This time round was a much better experience. I was under the dryer for fifteen minutes, my hair come out soft and elongated ( if you wear your hair in wash and go's and want more curl elongation this is a good deep conditioner to use before styling) yet it still felt a bit weird. I found it quite water, didn't help with detangling at all and smelt very perfume like. Not in a good way either. Like cheapo pound shop perfume. Nevertheless it did its job fairly well, but i would not be repurchasing. If you don't have access to a form of heat for deep conditioning don't bother.
It also contains Dimethicone.

Maybe it would work better on relaxed hair. I don't know

Lets move onto the shampoo. Now this was a much happier experience. I used it quite by accident as it wasn't purchased by myself and i really like it.  It is sulfate free and left my hair feeling soft and clean. It didn't dry it out at all. I give it 3.5/5


Both retail for just under £4.00




 Shampoo:
Ingredients: Aqua, Trideceth-7, Carboxylic Acid, Decyl Glucoside, Glycol Stearate, Polyquarternium-10, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Disodium EDTA, Quaternium-15, Perfum (Fragrance), Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, CI 14700(Red4), CI19140(Yellow 5).


Intensive Conditioning treatment
Ingredients:
Ingredients: Aqua (Water) (Eau), Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Dicetyldimonium Chloride , Polyquaternium-32, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Paraffinum Liquidum (Mineral Oil) (Huile Minerale), Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Honey (Mel) (Miel), Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Cocodimonium Hydroxypropyl Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Panthenol, PEG-12 Dimethicone, Lanolin Oil, Phenyl Trimethicone, PPG-1 Trideceth-6, Polyquaternium-10, Amodimethicone, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Hydrolyzed Wheat Starch , Isostearyl Ethylimidazolinium Ethosulfate, Parfum (Fragrance), Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Phenoxyethanol

What i'm using at the moment: dr darren mckeown's AHA Active Radiance Cleanser

This is just an introductory review of Dr Darren McKeown's AHA active radiance cleanser, since i have only been using it  for one week and  i want to be able to give an honest longterm ( 6 weeks minimum) review.
I walked into superdrug and was surprised to see a product containing AHA's in a high street store( i never see them) and to be honest i was eying it up for a good two weeks. It was bizarre though  that all the other products in the line were on offer but not this one. I decided to go online ta-da! and found a "better than half- price" offer online. Its not a cheap product- i think it retails for £12.99  and so i was over the moon.
I have developed acne recently (urgh) and have really tried many things to combat it. I'm not hoping for perfect skin, i just don't want to see a billion spots when i wake up in the morning. I had read about AHA's and acne for a while and in skincare in genral  and was willing to take the chance.

When it comes to any sort of skin regimen i proceed with caution. I have sensitive skin that has recently transformed from dry to oily( i have no idea  why either) blemish prone and being black much more susceptible to scarring. So if something is bad for my skin there is not that much help for it out there once damage has been done.
So here comes the nitty grityy.

I use it only at night, followed by a heavy moisturising cream( when i wake up i use water only- followed by sunscreen)With any AHA product USE SUNSCREEN.
and i follow directions EXPLICITLY- two to three pumps on face for 2-3 minutes. Oh how it stung! The first day it stung, ow! I was a bit frightened but i read that all AHA products do. After the third day my skin was fine and  i dropped down from 3 minutes to 2 just to be safe.

Whilst washing it my face felt so smooth. It was weird, like washing a freshly waxed floor or something! Very smooth i felt like a mannequin

 It felt squeaky clean but not like your face is stripped at all.


The claims of the product are
"AHAs are the secret ingredient to luminous skin. Clinically proven to promote cell turnover, they help restore a glowing, radiant complexion and softer skin. We have added active apple AHA - a complex of glycolic, malic and lactic acids - to natural cleansers and created this daily wash to sweep away dull, old skin cells, remove excess oil - even stubborn make-up – and reveal a glowing complexion. Shea butter and panthenol help lock in moisture and plump skin. Sulphate free, to reduce the chances of irritation "


I'm not using it for luminosity factor or smoothness but to see if it will help my skin, and to be honest i do feel like it has. I know its early early days, but i think my skin looks better (placebo effect?) i've only had a few new spots ( and its that time of the month tmi! when my skin goes haywire) and i do feel like my skin does look better and more radiant.

Anyway it is sulphate free and i will be back tomorrow with a full ingredient list ( left it somewhere) and check back in 6 weeks for a full report.

BYE