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Category: Reviews (page 2 of 25)

An innovative liquid lipstick is here – NARS Powermatte Lip Pigment review

I can’t tell you the last time I wore lip gloss. It has been easily years. I just love the density and the pigmentation of a lipstick especially. One the most popular lip products in the beauty world for about a good 3-4 years are liquid lipsticks. These lip products start off as liquids and they dry down, usually to a matte texture and finish. More recently, some companies have added reflects, pearl and glitter which gives an interesting dimension to a sometimes flat finish. The biggest complaint about liquid lipsticks are that they are too drying. The lips don’t have pores so that there are no oils that naturally lubricate them therefore they are more susceptible to dryness. That dryness can lead to cracking of the lip and lip product, discomfort and ‘pooling’ of the product around corners or crevices of lips. Another complaint that I have is that many liquid lipsticks don’t have even pigmentation – they apply patchy. So when NARS debuted their new liquid lipstick, the NARS Powermatte Lip Pigments, you know I had to try. I bought one of the colours that I have and the other one – the cute mini – was a 100 point perk from Sephora!

Here’s my video. See how they look on my dark skin. If you want to see a more detailed review with pictures, just keep scrolling.

NARS Powermatte Lip Pigment Review – Video

NARS Powermatte Lip Pigment Review – Product Description

The NARS Powematte Lip Pigment is described as being infused with liquefied pigments with infinite matte colour. It promises to be a full-coverage, smudge-resistant, flexible, lightweight product that is applied with a custom doe foot applicator. This product is very thin – very close to the viscosity/feel of water. It is so thin that you have to be careful when opening the product as it can very easily splash on you. There is no other product like this that I have found on the market. It is juuuuust different enough and it stands out. It comes in 18 shades with a mix of neutrals, berries and reds. I have the shades Rock With You and Starwoman. Rock With You is a deep mulberry – a rich purple/plum. Starwoman is a bright blue-red shade. There is a very faint scent to the product.

Starwoman

Rock With You

A product for kinky hair: Mielle Organics Pomegranate & Honey Review

February 21, 2018 / Noire Tropical Beauty / 2 Comments

Mielle Organics has been on my long list of brands that I needed to try but I never got around to it. When I heard that they were coming out with the Mielle Organics Pomegranate & Honey collection that was specially made for people with kinky hair, or who need intense hydration, I was sold! I went to my local Sally’s Beauty to take a look. By the way, this particular collection is exclusive to Sally’s and also the Mielle Organics website.

Mielle Organics has been around since 2014 and it was founded by a woman of colour who was looking for products for her natural hair with quality, wholesome ingredients. There are other lines from this brand that are great for curly hair, but this was specifically made for folks like me! I picked up two products – the Leave-In Conditioner and the Twisting Souffle. Both products conditions, hydrates and seals the hair. As far as I can tell, all the ingredients are naturally based, and most of them are organic. There are no parabens, sulphates, paraffins, mineral oil, artificial colours, DEA and it is not tested on animals.

Mielle Organics – Pomegranate & Honey Review: Some of the Science

Pomegranate is a well-known ingredient that is used in many beauty products for its anti-aging/antioxidant properties as it is a natural source of Vitamin C. The oil also contains punicic acid which helps strengthen hair follicles and encourages healthy hair growth and aids in detangling. Honey is a humectant, which means it draws water into itself and helps maintain moisture levels in hair. It is also anti-bacterial and encourages healthy follicles and hair growth.

Mielle Organics – Pomegranate & Honey Review: The Video

Before I continue, if you just want to see what I thought about this line, check out my video! Otherwise keep scrollin 🙂

How I gently take the day off: The Heimish All Clean Balm review

January 19, 2018 / Noire Tropical Beauty / 0 Comments

First skincare post of the year. I am starting off with a bang this year. Skincare continues to be a vital part of my self-care routine. Of course prepping the skin to receive all the wonderful ingredients and nutrients and removing the grime, pollution and makeup of the day is very important. I am slowly discovering Korean beauty brands as that is an entire, exciting, expansive world. One of the first K Beauty products that I have tried is a product that came highly recommended by the YouTuber Gothamista (you should check her out) and it was one of her favourite products under $20. It is the Heimish All Clean Balm. Heimish is a relatively new company known for its simplicity and the All Clean Balm is one of their most popular. It is meant to be the first part of the ‘double-cleanse’ method. I bought this product from an American based website that sells Korean brands, called OhLolly.

If you prefer just to see the video, check it out below….

If not, keep scrolling 🙂

Heimish All Clean Balm Review: Video

Heimish All Clean Balm: General Description

This is described as a natural, hypoallergenic balm that is paraben-free, free of added fragrance or colorants. This is a white balm-to-oil product that contains butters and oils such as Shea Butter and Coconut extract that quickly melts to an oil on contact with the warmth of the skin. It also contains a bunch of botanicals including jasmine, iris, rose, freesia and lavender extracts that soothe and nourish the skin. The formula consists of natural ingredients but I cannot confirm that it is 100% natural. There are a few of the ingredients that may not be naturally derived, but it is a generally a good formula and definitely mostly vegetable-based. There are also a couple of citrus extracts that may cause some irritation for people who have sensitivities to that. There is a very subtle, fresh scent that does not linger and is not offensive. When water is applied to the balm, it emulsies (i.e. a mixture of two liquids that don’t dissolve into each other) and has a milky appearance and texture. The idea of the balm is that it converts to an oil so that it can be spread on the skin easily and it can dissolve the tough to remove products off the skin, like sunscreen, longwear/waterproof makeup and excess sebum. It also will not irritate the skin.

Is the Fenty Beauty foundation a game changer for people of color?

October 13, 2017 / Noire Tropical Beauty / 2 Comments

The brand that shook up the beauty world! Fenty Beauty By Rihanna. I have been in the beauty game for a long time. I have been obsessed with beauty products for an even longer time. There were times that I spent all day online refreshing the comments on my favourite makeup forums waiting for the latest leaked news on upcoming collections. I don’t think I remember this much hype and this much excitement and this much anticipation for the release of a new beauty line or product. But Rihanna’s new entry into the beauty game garnered just that. Particularly amongst women of colour. Once the promo images started coming in and word came out that the initial launch will include 40 shades of Fenty Beauty foundation, myself and pretty much every medium to dark skin women of colour started saving our pennies. People with noticeable amounts of melanin still continue to struggle to find a sufficient variety of options when it comes to foundations. And I have heard all the excuses, none of them acceptable.

This a long post, and I have a lot to say. If you want to skip to different sections, use the links below:

Background information on Fenty Beauty, click here
Tips on buying the Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation, click here
Fenty Beauty Foundation – Video – click here
Fenty Beauty Review – click here

Fenty Beauty launched on September 9th in the US and 17 other countries. It is available online and in some stores. There was a massive launch party at the Sephora Times Square in New York at midnight and the Bajan Princess was there! Based on the Instagram live feeds, it was pure bacchanal and chaos! I went to the Sephora a little later in the morning (about 8 am) after the initial crowds died down. Anyone that was in the store was at the Fenty Beauty display. The entire collection is gorgeous and well done. I’m just going to let you know right now that this hype is real. This is a legitimately good quality line. I was so excited and I was excited looking at other dark skin women being excited about makeup.

This is a permanent, complexion collection with the focus being on the skin and enhancing the colour and the glow. It was more recently announced that there will be a limited edition colour release for the holidays – eye shadow palette, lip glosses etc. But the core collection is going to be around.

Top: 490, Middle: 480, Bottom: 470

I picked up two samples of the Fenty Beauty By Rihanna Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation in shades #470 and 480. The darkest shade is #490. There are a lot of options for medium to deep dark skintones. The South Sudanese/Australian model Duckie is one of the faces of the brand. And the more interesting thing about the shade selection is the inclusion of the subtlities in undertones. Warm, cool, neutral, less red, more blue, less yellow, more green. This makes FB one of the more unique compared to other brands that offer that wide of a range.

Is the L’Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise mascara a good dupe for Too Faced?

September 20, 2017 / Noire Tropical Beauty / 0 Comments

Mascara. One beauty product that I cannot live without. Just giving my lashes some definition is all I want on some days. I have been wearing one of L’Oreal’s newest mascara offerings, the L’Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara. This is part of the Voluminous line, which is a favourite of many, so I had high expectations for this one. In general, I really like the L’Oreal mascaras, I think they make some of the best at the drugstore/inexpensive level.

The obvious comparison being made is with the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara. The packaging and the brush are very similar! Not sure if this was intentional by L’Oreal but…. here we are. So is this a drugstore dupe? Can it stand up to its more expensive doppleganger? Lehwe go!

L’Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara Review – Video

Here’s my video review and demo. Take a look and subscribe to my channel so that you don’t miss out! If you prefer to read…keep scrolling.

L’Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara Review – Description

This comes in a number of shades and in both washable and waterproof versions. This review will focus on the washable version in the shade ‘Blackest Black’. According to L’Oreal Paris, this mascara promises “voluptuous volume, intense length, full fringe lashes and feathery softness”. Also it touts its no flaking, no smudging, no clumping properties. It contains your typical ingredients that are found in mascaras, but it is not natural/organic or anything like that. The formula is very rich and creamy, has a ‘heft’ to it and the I like the pigmentation. It’s is quite black but not the blackest formula that I have ever used. But it is black and does not have a grey tone to it.