Beauty...Natural Hair...Vibes

Category: Reviews (page 21 of 25)

The Makeup Show Review!!

What an event!!!

But before I get to that, let me talk about the event held Saturday night by Erin a.k.a Scandalous Beauty.  This was a meet and greet at the Taj II lounge in Chelsea.  A very relaxed, chill event where I got to meet some people that I have been watching on YouTube since I discovered it, including Erin from Scandalous Beauty, Cindy aka DRBrooklyn730, Aina from Lacquerholic and Ivette from Girl Can Paint.   Also met some fashion and music bloggers, photographers from all across the East Coast and it was great interacting with such a diverse crowd.  This was just a preview of things to come!!

I was not 100% sure of what to expect of The Makeup Show, so I bought a ticket for only one of the two days.  Note to self: Make sure yuh buy ah ticket for de two days nex’ year.  It’s absolutely worth it!!!!!!!!

This is an event held yearly in NYC by the Powder Group and Michael DeVellis.  There are other shows hosted in other cities like Miami, L.A. and Chicago.  Check the Powder Group’s website for details.

The NYC version is the biggest trade event for makeup artists, makeup brands, bloggers and enthusiasts.  I got there at about 9:20 am and there was already a line outside the Metropolitan Pavilion!!! Once inside, I literally was blown away!  Many of the top makeup brands had booths: M.A.C. Pro, Make Up For Ever, Inglot, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, Eve Pearl,  Smashbox Pro.  There were some lesser known brands like Yaby and Youngblood.  Airbrush company Temptu Pro, well known professional lines Mehron and Graftobian, Crown Brushes and Nigel’s Beauty Emporium also made appearances.

This was an amazing experience!!!!  So many people, all different styles of makeup, body painting.  I was in awe!! I was able to learn a lot of little tricks and tips.  I was able to see how other famous makeup artistes worked and watched them create, in my opinion, gorgeous results that seem so effortless.  I hope that one day, I could attain that level of skill!!!  I walked around in circles just looking at all that makeup and products.  MUFE had a perpetual line for their cashiers, like 30 people deep! All day long….

People were for sure buying these…..

The new MUFE Aqua Creams! They're waterproof!

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Review time!!! Lancome's Hypnose Drama!!!

Lancome Hypnose Drama

I have been coveting this mascara for months now!  I had to try out Givenchy’s Phenom’Eyes first, which is amazing, and is often compared to the new Hypnose Drama.  I purchased it at Sephora.

So, what’s my opinion…..

I love this mascara!! It baaad!!!!!!   They once again have made a gem.  I got super volumunious, fringey lashes.  Like wearing thick, fanned-out false lashes!!! Love!  It definitely brought the drama.

The Technology

This mascara features an S-shaped brushed dipped in a complex containing saturated waxes and rich, intense, deep black pigments.  It also contains Pro-Vitamin B5, which helps condition the lashes.  So the formula is designed to coat each lash to instantly thicken them.

The S-shaped brush

The brush is the main feature of this product.  This is where you get your mega volume.  To maximize its full benefit, Lancome advises that you first use the mascara with curved, U-shaped part of the brush facing down.  This allows you to brush the lashes following the natural curve of the eyelid and eyelashes.  It deposits the pigments and gives volume that you can build on.  Then flip the brush over so that the U-shaped part curves up.  This is what fans out the lashes, and separates giving you full flirty lashes!!!! 🙂

Bare Lashes!

With a couple of coats!

It’s not super lengthening, but I think with the volume and the fanned out effect it creates, you won’t miss it at all!!!!  It clumps after about 3 coats but by then, your lashes look pretty dramatic.  I did not have any problems with flaking or smudging.  It lasts all day and comes off with eye makeup remover.

This is a must try and this will be in heavy rotation….along with my Givenchy and Lash Stiletto.

Coincidently, I compared this product to the newer Maybelline Lash Stiletto Voluminous.

Lash Stiletto Voluptuous vs. Hypnose Drama

They both have similar S-shaped brushes and both promise volume, but I felt that the L.S. Voluminous fell short.  The results that it produced were no different to the original Lash Stiletto (which is supposed to provide length).  Did not give me the volume that I expected.  I was disappointed especially since I love my original L.S.!

The one thing that may bother some people is that you have to take your time with this mascara, no applying it running out the door, no applying it stuck in traffic.  Your lashes will love your for it!!!!

Lancome Hypnose Drama, side view

Overall Rating: A!

This is available from Lancome and Sephora.

Laters!!!

FTC Disclosure:  All products mentioned were purchased by me, Noire Tropical Beauty.  For more information on my disclosure policy, please check out my disclosure page.

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The Evolution of Smooth: A lip balm review

Hey guys!

So I am always on the lookout for lip balms. This is a must have for me, whether in cold New York or sweltering Trinidad, I must have lip balm readily available!  Flaky lips are not an option, especially when wearing lipstick.  Recently, I have been partial to natural balms without mineral oil, paraffins or petrolatum.  Enter the EOS lip balm….

EOS lip balm

I have heard about the EOS lip balms for a while now, particularly because they come in a very cool, conversation-starting package.  I must say that I was absolutely drawn to this!!!! An ergonomic balm? Of course!!!!

Ingredients

As you can see, EOS contains a few ingredients, some organic, all from natural origin.  It features some of my favourites, coconut oil and shea butter.  So I know that I am guaranteed a certain amount of wholesome goodness and smoothness! 🙂

The outer packaging is made from hard plastic with a brushed finish.  An almost perfect sphere with a flattened portion near the middle to help open and close the screw-top (which is great!!! It’s not going to accidentally open…).

See the flattened part of sphere on upper part of pic!

The balm is hemispherical in shape and large enough to cover both lips at once.  It’s really smooth and provides a lot of moisture but it’s not greasy.  I also love the scent, fruity but not overpowering. Once used, its shape becomes a little flattened.  I use this at night just after I exfoliate my lips with some brown sugar and when I wake up in the morning, my lips still have balm and they are still soft!!!!  This would work well under lipstick or lip gloss.

So this gets 2 thumbs up from me!!!!! Definitely worth a try!   I bought mine at Duane Reade in NYC in the honeysuckle honeydew flavour and I know it’s available on Amazon.com (for my Trinis!).  It also comes in Summer Fruit and Sweet Mint flavours.

Overall NTB rating: A!

For more info, check out the EOS website.

Laters!

FTC Disclosure:  This product was bought by Noire Tropical Beauty.  For more information on my disclosure policy, check out my Disclosure page.

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Get bright for spring and summer: OPI Hong Kong Collection review

OPI Hong Kong Collection, image courtesy of OPI

So OPI brings out a bumper collection of 12 shades for Spring/Summer.  Inspired by the cosmopolitian city of Hong Kong, they give us a lot of bold, bright cremes and sparkly, blinged-out shimmers.

I really liked this collection, there is a colour for everyone, cool toned, warmed toned and neutrals.

I only got two of the colours, so far, from Transdesign.com.  I could have definately gone for a lot more.  But….baby steps!! And transdesign had a great turnaround and great prices!! Note to my Trinis:  Transdesign ships internationally, so check out their low prices!

Jade is the New Black, OPI

Jade is the New Black is the colour of the summer.  Everyone has been talking about this one (as a matter fact, OPI has done a good job in hyping their recent collections).  This colour is a continuation of last year’s hot green colour, but instead of the minty, pastely greens, this one is a bold, deep but bright, leafy green.  I love green and this one definately does not disappoint.  I think its more wearable than its paler cousins and would look good on all types of skin colours.  In my opinion, this one is more sophisticated, would look great as a pop of colour with summer whites and beiges.

Hot & Spicy, OPI

The other colour is Hot & Spicy.  This is a beautiful pedicure colour!  Coral-orange creme, midtone colour.  Like a cantaloupe.  Very fresh, very beachy!!! This would look amazing with a tan, bronzey or dark skin.  Another hit for OPI.  This is photographing more orange than it really is.  It’s definitely a dark cantaloupe colour.

I think I’ll next get Bling Dynasty, Meet Me On the Star Ferry and maybe Dim Sum Plum.

Check out this collection at OPI.  Temptalia has some great swatches!

What are you going to get????

FTC Disclosure:  These products were purchased by Noire Tropical Beauty.  For more information, see my disclosure page.

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Do you want to ease into summer? Pret a Papier is here to help!

M.A.C. continues to roll out collection after collection and Pret a Papier is one of its latest ones.

It’s actually a fairly subtle collection – nothing bright, bold nor too sparkly.  This would be a collection for people who are afraid of a lot of colour.  It’s mostly neutrals with small elements of summer i.e. peaches and corals. This would also work well for those with fair to tan skin tones.

One item that people might love is the nail lacquer in Originality. This is a bright bronze colour with shimmer and flakies.  Flakies????? Yeah, flakies are becoming more and more popular in polishes.  They look like flakes, not glitter,but irregular flakes that are suspended in the polish and often they are opalescent or prism-like in the way they look.  Very cool!  They just add another dimension to the polish.  This has a foil-like finish as opposed to a glittery one.

This one did not speak to me.  It’s a nice collection – but it’s just that, nice……

I love bolder, brighter, more vibesy colours.  So great…..this allows me to save for the upcoming summer stuff. :-)!

Here are a few swatches……….

Pret-a-Papier: 1) Chromographic Pencil in NC15/NW20; 2) Chromographic Pencil in NW25/NC30; 3) Impeccable Brow Pencil in Taupe; 4) Impeccable Brow Pencil in Dirty Blonde; 5) Paintpot in Crepe Coral; 6) Pret-a-Papier Lipglass; 7) Kraft lipstick; 8) Made to Order lipstick

Originality nail lacquer

Laters!

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