MAC Ruby Woo Dupe (on Dark Skin)

MAC's Ruby Woo is the standard bearer for red lipstick among many women. Its blue undertones enable it to suit women with the deepest black afro to those with the blondest strands. 

When I first started getting into makeup I tried and tried to like MAC's Ruby Woo, seeing it on women whom I would stop to compliment (I am that chick- if I like what you're wearing I will stop you and let you know #playitforward), but in store I would struggle to purchase it as it was well, dry. Dry as hell. I really hated the way the dryness highlighted very line / wrinkle and it settled on my lips. I searched online for dupes of the colour in an attempt to circumvent the dry texture but ended up purchasing it early in the summer 2017. My online search was frustrated in the the fact that dupes were shown on skin shades that were very dissimilar to that of my own. The shades came out different on me and so I thought it was important to post the lipsticks that I considered to be the closest to MAC's Ruby Woo. 

The closest dupe in terms of both colour and finish is hands down L'Oreal's Blake's Pure red. I discovered this by accident whilst getting ready. I had been rushing to get ready and Ruby Woo was tugging at my lips, frustrated I threw the bullet down and searched for another red I thought would be impact on my all back outfit - had it of been the height of summer I would have rocked MAC's Lady Danger.  I had searched for Blake's Red after seeing it on a post by Erica from the Glamorous Gleam (check her out, I love her),  eventually purchasing it from eBay as it is no longer in Superdrug. I placed the colour on top and it was a perfect match down to the finish. In my opinion the Pure red is better as it is less drying that Ruby Woo, as you can see from the above swatch, it doesn't settle into lines as readily as  Ruby Woo which is why it appears slightly glossier. However, they are a perfect match. 

The other lipsticks are close matches, although their moisturising formulas make them appear glossy in the picture. Wet n Wild's Spotlight Red and E.L.F's Ruby Red have excellent pigmentation, with E.L.F's Rich Red settling down to a nice stain on my lips after a few hours of wear.    

I make sure I exfoliate my lips before wearing Ruby Woo. With these reds I need to ensure that I line my lips and apply with a lip brush - blotting in-between to build up the colour and intensity. I also make sure to moisturise my lips with carmex / blistex first, blotting off any excess. This helps to keep some of the dryness at bay for a few hours. 

What are your favourite reds? 

Alternative to Oilatum Face Repair - Eucerin AtoControl Face Care Cream

Eucerin AtoControl Face Care Cream is my new BAE!

I thought it best to post the alternative I have found for Oilatum Face Repair, Eucerin AtoControl Face Care Cream. 

I tried so many creams and they didn't cut the mustard. Face Repair sunk into my skin and didn't fade away during the day. Eucerin AtoControl Face Care Cream was the only cream I could still feel after a long day in these city streets. The cream wasn’t thick so it didn’t interfere with my make up or have an annoyingly tacky texture. The smell was non-existent so not offensive. I have made repeated repurchases despite the fact that one tube will last me for at least two months.  

It is pretty costly so I try and purchase when Boots has them on offer. 

Company's claims: 
Using the ingredients from botanical origin, the formula with a combination of highly concentrated Omega fatty acids (Evening Primrose Oil and Grape Seed Oil) and soothing Licorice Extract replenishes the skin, helping to restore its natural barrier, making it more resilient. With the regular use the skin condition is noticeably improved.Results:The easily absorbed oil-in-water cream hydrates, soothes and reduces roughness. Itch and tightness are relieved. The skin feels soft and is noticeably smoothed.Clinical and dermatological studies confirm: Very good efficacy and skin compatibility proven to be suitable for even atopic skin. Appropriate for use for babies and children even with dry atopic skin.The complete range of cleansing and care products is free from parabens, fragrance and colourants.

Ingredients: Aqua, Glycerin, Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil, Oenothera Biennis Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cyclomethicone, Dimethicone, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Triisostearin, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-40 Stearate, Glycyrrhiza Inflata Root Extract, Ceramide 3, Tocopherol, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, BHT, 1,2-Hexanediol, Phenoxyethanol, Piroctone Olamine. 

What is your favourite face cream? 

Oilatum Face Repair - discontinued

I'm absolutely gutted.

My long-loved Oilatum Face Repair Cream has been discontinued *cries*.

For as long as I could remember I have suffered with eczema, going through a period in secondary school where I had over 80% of my body, including my face, covered with lesions. Friends and family know that I have strange habits when it comes to my skin. My skin can be really inflamed, dry and irritated quite quickly. When I stay in hotels I bring my own pillowcases!

If I like something I stick with it.

I don't like change when it comes to skin care.

Last year I heard rumours and saw the signs.......Boots were no longer stocking the cream so I started hording stocks from online pharmacies in a bit to starve off the inevitable. I gradually gave up and emailed global giants, GSK (manufacturers of the product)for the details.

The response I received was:

"Thank you for your email regarding Oilatum.

 

Regarding your enquiry about the availability of Oilatum Natural Repair Face Cream, we can confirm that it has been discontinued and is no longer available. I am sorry that I am unable to bring you more positive news."

Naturally I was gutted as I loved the fact that the cream allowed my skin to feel moisturised throughout the day, not becoming inflamed or tight. It was really hard to find something that would do all three: moisturise, reduce inflammation and last throughout the day.

This conformation stressed me out as I was panicking over what other cream could be suitable. I struggled at first but it wasn't all doom and gloom - I'll post my replacement for this cream soon!

e.l.f Studio Matte Lip Colour: Praline, Rich Red and Wine

Eyes Lip Face (e.l.f) launched recently in Superdrug last year and I picked up three Studio lip Matte Lip Colours in Praline, Rich Red and Wine. A fan of E.L.F, I'd heard good things about them so I wanted to pick them up.




The colours 

Praline - medium pink brown - had been touted as a nice nude for black women but it barely made an stain on my lips. :(

Rich Red - A bright cool red-  in particular had been compared with NAR;s Dragon Girl / MAC's Ruby Woo as it's a beautiful blue tone red. Popped wonderfully against my skin.

Wine - deep berry- was a safe bet, pretty and sweet on.

Overall I enjoyed Rich Red and Wine. The colour pay off was excellent  and the pencil format allowed for easy application. The price point at £4.50 was pretty decent too (although I noticed that the price is now £1.80 on ELF's site ).

MAC Lip Pencils Redd, Cherry, Brick & Beet swatches on Dark Skin

Disappointingly I have had a fruitless search this weekend when seeking lipstick swatches on someone of my skin tone (or even just non white). This really hit home for me, WOC need to continue posting swatches and providing reviews where possible on the internet so that we can be represented. 

I recalled that I hadn't posted these shades of my MAC Lip Pencils. I am now including swatches of MAC Lip Pencils Redd, Cherry, Brick & Beet to add to my previous post. 

I have written the descriptions MAC uses below and I have suggested complimentary lipsticks in brackets: 

Redd      Clearly red                    (Russian Red)
Brick       Intense golden red       (Diva)
Cherry    Vivid bright bluish-red   (Ruby Woo) 
Beet        Vivid reddish pink         (Rebel)

MAC Lip Pencils - Swatched on Dark Skin: Chestnut, Magenta, Nightmoth and Ruby Woo

This is a continuation of my posts on lip pencils / liners that I love. There was no way that MAC couldn't get a mention.  However, whilst getting the photos together for this series I started to change my mind and want to include other pencils swatches, not necessarily my favorite but shades I struggled to find swatches on the internet on dark brown women.  Confession time - I quickly became lazy and so swatched the reds below quickly. 

Chestnut is a must for every dark black woman as it is an excellent shade of brown, pigmented to the gods and blends in perfectly with any lipstick or gloss. 

Magenta I like to wear alone as I adore the blue purple shade. 

Nightmoth - she is my b***h right here! I love the vampy, deep purple shade and her ability to  switch up my pinks, reds and purple lipsticks alike. 

Ruby Woo is a hard one as I hate the dryness of the lipstick and so refused to purchase it (I go through phases where I go in store to purchase it but leave with something else).  I bought this shade to try and circumvent the lipstick and am disappointed as it is not as pigmented as I expected and find that it drags when applying it. Nice blue- red tone but I will not be repurchasing.

The price point for the lip pencils is an issue, specifically as there are comparable (credible) dupes by other brands (NYX), however the pigmentation on some of the shades such as Chestnut have me running back for a repurchase.


What are your favourite MAC lip pencils? Let me know as I need to expand my collection.  

Makeup Revolution Highlighter & Bronzer: Rock On World, Golden Lights & Rose Gold Lights

Makeup Revolution Highlighters and Bronzers are a great low cost option, with exceptional colour pay-off. I picked mine during one of Superdrug's 3 for 2 events, £4 each.

Rock on World
I was instantly drawn to Rock on World as it was a hyped dupe for MAC's MSF Gold Deposit. The shade did'n't disappoint at all.

Golden Lights
Golden Lights was a interesting highlighter as it looks scary white (I swatched it heavily)  but pretty on - light hand is required.

Rose Gold Lights 
I adore this rosy tone highlighter. Again a light hand is required as the shades are all pigmented.

Have you tried Makeup Revolution's Highlighter / Bronzers? What are your thoughts 

NYX lip Pencils: Swatched on dark skin

NYX produce some of my favourite lip pencils hands down! 

The colour range is excellent and overall, the pigmentation is on point for this black woman.  I have a mixture of the long, slim and auto lip pencils.

When I was making my decision online of the shades I wanted to try I found it depressing that I couldn't really find the shades on someone with my skin tone and so thought it useful to swatch them in this post. Hopefully helping someone else #playitforward, 

I originally ordered the pencils from an American seller on eBay a few years ago when there wasn't a NYX presence in the UK. I fell in love with Current, Bloom, Dark Brown and Deep Purple.  I found myself re ordering my favourites and adding to the collection each time. 

Of course the main reasons for the popularity of these pencils are the fact that they are relatively cheep, accessible and credible dupes to MAC's lip liners. Unfortunately I have picked up a few duds: Pumpkin, Tangerine, Brown Cafe and Dolly Pink - all too light / patchy for my lips. That said I have  used the nib out of the overs, using them to alter lipstick shades that were slightly off (especially the purples / browns).  Expresso, Dark Brown and Cocca are my ride or die among the browns. I thought swatching MAC's Chestnut would be a useful point of reference for any dark skinned woman who, like me, love the bones of this shade (although not the price!). 

Nutmeg is also useful when used with peachy shades that are too light for me and I want to alter it so that I can wear the lipstick. 

Make Up Academy (MUA) Lip Liners

This is the second in my mini series on lip liners I am currently loving at the moment. I recently told you about the hyper pigmentation on my lips  resulting in my need for a good lip liner to support my love of lipstick. I could have jumped strait to my MAC collection but thought it best to go from the the cheapest to expensive. 

MUA has been doing good things for make up lovers in the UK. I love how they always seem to come out with new products to keep up with the Jones, sometimes surpassing them. Their lip primer is the business, eyebrow pencils darn good and their palettes are often good dupes for the current palette being hyped in the blogsphere.

These lip liners are pigmented, long-lasting and a steal at £1 each! I pick mine up at Superdrug.

I'm a firm fan of MUA. 

Amazon (Random) Lip Liners - Surprisingly quite good

I'm always on the look out for lip liners that perform on my lips as I have dark pigmentation around the outside and a lighter shade in the middle. I can find that I have two different shades appearing on my lips as a result. With the colour variation on my lips I really need my lip liners to be pigmented. I often use the lip liner as a base for the lipstick, colouring in my whole lip and then applying lipstick, this has two benefits.....to keep the colour on for longer and to act as an almost colour primer for my lips, allowing the lipstick colour to appear as uniformed as possible. This post marks the first ina series for lip liners I am currently loving at the moment.

There had been a lot of chatter about a set of lip liners from Amazon that were both affordable and pigmented for a ridiculously cheap price.

Initially sceptical, I decided to try them as they were under £2 for a pack of 12. I was not expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised. I know that there has been some people complaining that they has received a poor colour mix in their order but I felt my order had a decent variation.

I received 12 lip liners in total, one black eyeliner and 11 were pigmented  lip liners. The funky lilac colour (no 4 along from the left) was the only drawback.

They lasted whilst I was eating or drinking; when I went to sharpen them they didn't flake or create a mess.

For the colour pigmentation, price and availability via Amazon I have to give these liners two thumbs up. 

  

L'Oreal ELVIVE EXTRAORDINARY CLAY PRE-SHAMPOO MASQUE - Natural Hair Friendly!

L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Clay Pre- Shampoo Masque

The benefits of using clays such as Bentonite / Rhassoul / Kaolin to cleanse natural hair has been around of a while. Sadly I have not been able to locate any as I refused to pay a lot for something I was not sure how my hair (or eczema prone skin) would react, so sat on my fence until I happened upon L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Clay range at Superdrug. To be fair, L'Oreal and their advertising team had been promoting this new range for a hot minute and I had given it the side eye as I was not sure how it would cope with my hair type. However, seeing the special offer in-store convinced me that if it was a bust then I wouldn't be too out of pocket. 

How I used it

I duly used it at my next wash day (three days after) as my hair had been limp, flaking and funky, crying out for some TLC.I try to pre-poo my hair at each wash and so treated the Pre- Shampoo Masque in the same manner, making sure to fully coat my hair from root to tip. 

The texture wasn't as scary as I thought - it didn't start crumbling all over the place - but went on like a thick conditioner. I took care to make sure that anything that I didn't want damaged was moved, removing all towels etc from the area but this proved to be unnecessary as it didn't stain anything as it was removed from my hair and bath with a healthy amount of H2O and gentle elbow grease. 

I left it on my hair for around six minutes, washing it out with warm water. I was pleased to see that my curls were popping at the back after use but my front section was slow on the uptake. Undeterred, I shampooed, clarified with ACV and went on to deep condition. I typically multi-task when deep conditioning,  washing out hair brushes or cleaning the house and this wash day was not exception. 

After 15 minutes I took of my shower cap (had to cut back on my carrier bags as the plastic tax was messing with my wash day experience) was left amazed at the curl action my hair was displaying. Each  strand was popping! My hair was super soft and felt clean. I had to do a L'Oreal flick in my mirror - 'cause the results were worth it (pun intended). My hair has remained baby soft, free of it's flaky phase and I have noticed that I am not having to use so much product in my hair after wash day. I feel that I had some serious build up that not even my African Black Soap could reach so this clay masque has been a welcome addition to my regime already.

eBay Makeup Brush Dupes

You’ve been in the shop, fell in love with the new makeup brush your favourite Makeup brand has just launched but quickly fall into a post-shop funk when you realise the price of your new heart’s desire. A quick search on ebay will soon have your heart return to a normal rhythm.

NARS Yachiyo Kabuki Brush was like a work of art when I first touched it. I loved the texture of the handle and the softness of the brush. In store £43, ebay £1.58.

bareMinerals Perfecting Face Brush impressed me with its innovative design, the well to deposit liquid foundation just made sense to me. In store £24 /£1.38.

MACs 163 Flat Contour Brush seemed like an excellent way to speed up my contour application and keep it sharp when required. In store £28 / £2.55.

These brushes have been around for a while and there are tons of reviews online to help you learn more. I would recommend that you try ebay, taking the normal necessary precautions, first. The unfortunate situation is many of the sellers are based in China and so you will have to wait at last three weeks for postage.  Spending an average of £1.84 on a brush I wasn’t overly concerned if it arrived and was a dud, however it has been my experience that these brushes have surpassed my expectations, standing up in application and cleaning – result.

Have you purchased any makeup brushes online, what has been your experience?

MAC Pure Orange Studio Finish Skin Corrector - a beauty must have

MAC Pure Orange Studio Finish Corrector is one of those holy grail products for Black Women that encapsulates why I blog -sharing great products, particularly relevant to women who are of a similar shade to me.

Initially colour correction passed me by as I saw women of a lighter hue using greens, purples etc, prompting me to dismiss it. I grew frustrated a I saw peach correctors being touted as being applicable for black/ tan skin. When I went to swatch these peach correctors I noticed that they didn't do anything for my hyperpigmentation.

MAC's Pure Orange Studio Finish Corrector is a game changer.  It  may seem a little bit scary upon first glance, but to all my Black Women NW45 and above with hyperpigmentation, we need this in our makeup arsenal. The little pot packs a punch as a gentle swatch provides enough to cover even the deepest hyperpigmentation. I use it to cover around my mouth and eye area where I have panda eyes. I love how it starts off as a scary red / orange then it settles down to looking, normal. I find that this helps me use less foundation and concealer. Creasing has not been an issue around my eyes and I am able to use eyeshadow without the orange colour interfering in other shades. 

MAC describe it as:

A specially tinted, full coverage and long-wearing water-resistant corrector.

...full coverage and long-wearing water-resistant corrector. Goes on smooth and dries to a natural finish. This emollient-rich formula is unique in that it's highly pigmented and only requires a dab to correct discolouration and conceal tattoos, dark circles and blemishes.  

Colour Correction: A quick, brief background

Image borrowed from Google

Colour correction essentially is used to correct or 'neaurailse' problematic areas on the face.

Black Women, especially those of us who are rich / deep in tone, tend to suffer with (blue) hyper-pigmentation  around our eyes and mouth. In this era of Kim K we would use a concealer to brighten / highlight under our eyes but, by applying a bit of basic colour theory, we can seek to overcome these issues in a sympathetic and, in my opinion, natural way than a simple use of a concealer. Often the hyper-pigmentation is blue in colour in Black Women  and as a primary colour, its opposite (complimentary) on the colour wheel is orange. Therefore if we need to neutralise blue, we need an orange to do so.


I definitely recommend Destiny Godley  youtube videos on colour correction  for anyone still confused. 

Have you become a fan of colour correction?

Wilko's Premium Make Up Brushes - great buy

Wilkos Premium make up brushes have become a firm favourite of mine since last year. A surprise find on the high street due to the truly affordable price point (avg £4) and reasonable availability, I am surprised that more fuss has been made of these 100% synthetic brushes. 

Wilko Premium Powder Brush

I was initially drawn in by the powder brush on their display whilst in store; it called out to be to be touched it was soooo dense. I kid you not I was stood there for a good while stroking the brush to see if any of the bristles came off in my hand, I couldn’t believe how soft and thick it was. I quickly came back to repurchase as many as I could find once I got home and tried out the powder brush , using it to apply my bronzer. Gorgeous. The dense bristles distributed the bronzer almost better than if the sun had kissed my applied foundation itself!  I found the only draw back was the stippling brush which was a bit confusing as it was both too soft and scratchy when applying makeup. Undeterred, I have found a use for it – to apply my elf HD blushers which are very pigmented and need to be distributed quickly and evenly on my face. 

I deliberately wanted to wait to see if these brushes would deteriorate after use, but after a year of use I haven't seen so much as a single bristle escape. 

 

Top to bottom: Powder, Stippler, Blusher, Smokey Eye Duo

Have you come accross any surpise beauty finds that arent't being hyped?

Afro Hair & Beauty Live May 25th 2015

 

Afro Hair & Beauty Live took place on the last Bank Holiday in May and I was fortunate to be gifted tickets to attend this years offering.  I was interested to see how the event had changed since my last visit many moons ago where, despite having permed hair at the time, the focus on weave and extensions put me off.  I was interested in learning about my hair, caring for it and having the chance to interact with creators of products. Fortunately this year ticked all of my requirements and more. 

Quick tube sefie

Based in Islington’s Design Centre, I began my journey on the tube and was positively bouncing in my seat as we got closer to Angel and more people en route boarded. There was definitely a buzz in the air and I quickly made my way to the venue where I was pleased to see that much thought had been given to the layout and a balance had been struck in securing both large and small vendors.  

 

Of the smaller vendors I was impressed by FroSister (haircare) and EbonyPink (makeup) who were holding their own amongst the larger companies. 

Pleased to see smaller vendors were in attendence

Some of the big brands showing

I really appreciated being able to speak to the brands representatives and learn more about their products.  The standout speaker had to be Felicia Leatherwood / Beautiful Textures  who shut it down in her corner!  Her passion for her craft and the products definitely resonated with the attendees who asked a mixture of questions regarding permed / natural / weaves / baby / child haircare. Her engaging live demonstrations, plucking members of the audience to demonstrate on their own hair textures, coupled with tips on how to manage the varying issues many raised in the audience meant that there was a scramble for space to listen. My friends and I spent nearly two hours straight just listening, absorbing, and asking questions – all of us leaving impressed.  

Felicia Leatherwood / Beautiful Textures

Overall I was impressed by the amount of sheer information on offer, mixture of brands and the chance to engage with others interested in Afro Hair & Beauty. The pace was correct and in keeping with the relaxed, professional vibe of the day. 

Good job Afro hair & Beauty 2015!

My thanks to Avlon for gifting me with complementary tickets to the event