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Sunday 23 November 2014

black|Up Paris Cosmetics

Black|Up Paris is fast becoming one of my favourite brands, it was founded in 1999 by an African makeup artist, and was the first upscale beauty brand to cater especially to black and mixed beauties. It pairs professional quality products with ease of use, it promises to provide a non-ashy finish and includes makeup, skincare and fragrance. I had heard about this brand for a while, but only dabbled in it recently when I tried and loved the CC cream, reviewed here.


I’ll start with the contouring sticks, this is a dual ended stick, think 2 stick foundations merged. One end for highlighting and the other for contouring and comes in 5 shades. I received shades 3 and 4. The contouring shades are identical and I can use these interchangeably, they are also quite warm toned and not as cool toned as a contour colour should be, but I feel on darker skin we can get away with this. The highlighting shades are very different, for this I need shade 3, these blend like butter, I love these. They cost £29 each, and if you know what shade you are in the CC cream, this is the shade you’ll be in these. 
 
 
Next is the Radiance Sublime Powder, I thought this would be extremely shimmery on the skin, but it’s quite subtle and adds a nice warm glow. It's developed with a new extra fine texture that blends easily, combining pigment and shimmer, it’s oil free, fragrance free and paraben free. The 5 shades are designed to match different undertones, I have shade no4 and it cost £26.

The 5 Colour Eyeshadow Palette is £32, each palette is designed to work in harmony, and structured around 3 looks a nude look using the matte shades, a day time look using the colour trio that can then be turned into a smokey night time look using the darkest matte shade. The palettes consists of 4 different textures, this one consists of 1 metallic shade, 1 satin shade, 2 matte shades and 1 glitter shade. I love this palette, it’s compact and great for travel, even though it’s structured around 3 looks, a multitude of looks can actually be created, I have palette no4 out of 5.

Finally are the mono eyeshadows, which have been developed in a new formula, and come in either a matte or metallic finish. Shade 02 is a light, bright orange shade, which is pigmented and blends beautifully. I’ve used this both on the eyes and cheeks, and it’s absolutely gorgeous, definitely a shade a brownbeauty should have in her stash. Then shade 12, which is a vibrant, light turquoise blue, not an everyday shade, but great for when you want a pop of colour. Again pigmented and blends beautifully, especially for a matte shade.  There are 15 shades in total, they don’t have names just numbers, and cost £15.50 each.

black|Up Paris is available on their website or Debenhams.com.
Thank you for visiting the blog today.
Alex

Sunday 2 November 2014

Sensationnel UK Bare and Natural Brazilian Lace Wig

So I attended my first Keziah Connections event in July that teamed up with Fashion Fair and Sensationnel UK. I happened to win one of the prize draws, which was for a Sensationnel UK Bare and Natural Brazilian Virgin Remi Lace Wig in the natural wavy style and a 1B colour. I love the box packaging, but it doesn't say what length the hair is or how many bundles it's made up of, guessing I'd say 18-20inches. It doesn't have a lace closure as you're suppose to cut it and leave a bit of your own hair out.
Sensationnel UK Bare and Natural Brazilian Lace Wig
I had this wig sitting gathering dust for a while, as it didn't quite meet my requirements, since I won it I had no say it what it looked liked. Firstly the bare and natural range is for those who want a very natural looking finish, also as my hair is natural I didn't want to constantly have to apply heat to blend my leave out with the wig. Also I currently had a wig I wore daily that met my requirements, but I was in the market for a shorter, ombre coloured style. 
Sensationnel UK Wig Transformation Before and After

Eventually I got the idea to adapt the wig to my specifications, rather than buy a new one and leave this one gathering dust. First thing I did was add some extra tracks to give the wig more volume, using some braziliain hair I had around the house from previous weaves. Then I cut it to shoulder length, dyed it to a blonde ombre and tweezed the parting a little so I didn't have to cut it and leave any hair out.

I absoultey love this as it now gives me variation and I'm slowly building up my wig collection to offer me a nice variety. Sensationnel UK don't sell the wigs online, but you can go on the website to find your nearest stockist, and obviously buy a wig more suited to your requirements, so no adaptations needed. I would definately look at purchasing a Sensationnel UK wig, I've got my eye on the Empress Lace wig collection, as some of them can be worn in a ponytail or an updo. There are no prices on the website, but at the event we were told these wigs are very affordable, they also sell bundles of hair if you prefer a weave.

Check out the website sensationnel.com, check out my instagram (Aallexxy) for pictures of me rocking this unit.

Thank you for visiting the blog today

Alex