Dominican Blow out in London. Dominican hair republic salon review

Sorry i've been away. Moving plus stomach problems plus losing camera= madness.

So lets start this review off.  For the past couple of years the Dominican blow out and Dominican hair products have been popular on various internet channels. From websites to blogs to forums. The Dominican blow out has been praised by some and damned by others. Its either a affordable way to get straight hair or  damaging to hair and a  physically painful experience.
In the part of London i live in there is a huge Latin American contingent, however very few from the Spanish Caribbean, therefore you may find south American hairdressers but not specifically Dominican. 
However i spotted Dominican hair republic, and after researching  found out that its been open for over two years!
Now i had been scared off by reports from the US. That natural hair is frowned upon, you'll be pressurised to  a perm, they will hit you with a broom and tell you to exit their establishment if you dare to show up with natural Afro hair and so forth. ( I'm just kidding on the last one!)
But i was going to  take one for the team.

I went in a couple of days before and talked to the owner about getting a blow out. To be honest due to the language constraints i wasn't sure if we fully understood each other, but i think we both got the gist.

I went in on a Saturday and there was only one hairdresser( not the owner). The other 3 people were also Spanish speakers so there was a little awkwardness at the beginning as we were all 

But with the offering of a celebrity gossip magazine all Ice was broken! They were lovely, warm and very hospitable. Soon we were getting on fabulously.

So the actually salon is very clean and nicely decorated. It reminds me of a nice living room, very warm and welcoming and spacious. It was very light and airy as well.

I was offered a coffee and i got down to waiting. It took AGES! So if you are in a hurry, please do not expect to get down soon. There was only one hairdresser and she's thorough so go on a day where you don't have anything and go early. ( They open 10:am). I'm used to waiting in hairdressers so I'm just warning you. ( its a black thing)

The clientele and their hair was diverse. Naturally straight/wavy, relaxed, me a natural and a  greedy weave*.  There were Spanish and non Spanish speakers and all ethnicities so don't fell no way about going there whoever you are and whatever your hair type.

So anyway. I got a wash, deep condition, roller-set, blown out and flat iron. The roller-set itself gets your ends straight so if i had a looser hair type or a relaxer , a light blow out is all you need after that.

I totally forgot to see what products she was using. But they smelt nice. 

 I have natural Afro type 4 hair and the hairdresser was gentle, i had no pain and the heat was not too hot at all. I was expecting hot hot heat, the type known only in the underworld. But it was nothing! No burnt ears, no burnt neck, the dryer wasn't that hot either. It was kinda a let down lol.

Now i know what your here for. The pictures *insert glorai swanson in sunset boulevard photo*

My hair is quite thin and flyaway, that's just genetics mayne, and I'm mad I'm STILL shoulder length like really? My hair grows sooo slowly its ridiculous. Anyway its weird having straight hair but its fuzzified now and i like wearing it up and experimenting with hairstyles.  Its been good actually. I feel like such a bad natural. All for only £20. ( at time of going to print)

So in conclusion

Pros
Gentle handling
Welcoming and polite
Thorough and precise and great hairdresser
Can deal with ALL hair types
Affordable
Cons
Wait time
Language barrier- I used my tiny Spanish knowledge 


Will I go back again. YES. Do i highly recommend them. YES

Their website, including address and contact info
http://www.dominicanhr.com/aboutus.html

*Greedy weave- a weave excessively long and thick. Hence the name greedy. "You're already getting a weave girl, don't be greedy."

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