Review: Garnier Olia Ammonia Free Permanent Hair Color

Couple months back, I saw Garnier was releasing an ammonia free oil based hair dye called Garnier Olia  in a magazine and I knew I'd have to try it.  I have gray hair near my bangs, so I always have to dye my hair every couple of weeks.  I was too lazy to do it myself, so I used to get them done at a salon, then it got way too expensive.  So for the last couple of months, I have been only doing touch ups at home, but saw this opportunity to change my hair color and lighten it little bit from black to dark brown.

These were on sale at CVS for $8.99 (originally $10.49) and with coupons I only paid $5.  What can I say, I'm a savvy shopper. :) In order to do my full head, I typically need two boxes, but I opted for one, and thought maybe I'll just do a touch up.

 How it works: Unlike traditional haircolor, Oila uses an exclusive 60% oil blend, with natural flower oils, in the colorant. The unique oil-based formula maximizes the coloring process to achieve permanent color results. It propels colorants deep into hair, without ammonia, for pure, vivid, long-lasting color. Olia visibly improves and restores the look of hair, as oils help to reverse roughness and dullness for softer, shinier hair with bounce.
60% oil blend with natural flower oils
100% gray coverage
No ammonia 

What comes in the box:  Unusually big color mixer, developer, colorant, conditioner, and pair of gloves.

Instructions:

When I began to mix the developer and colorant, I noticed that it was a little difficult to know if you have squeezed everything out from the developer (which felt like any hair gel/cream dispenser), because you can't see inside.  I spent good 2-3 minutes to ensure I squeezed everything out, but more product kept coming out when I tried to stop.  And the colorant comes in a aluminum tube.  So if you start squeezing from the bottom near the mouth of the tube, you are a bit skrewed, because the aluminum tube are hard to unflatten.  So that was quite a task.  I love the humongous mixer.  The gloves were not flimsy, but felt a little tight even for my regular asian hands.  LOL

Biggest seller for me was the scent.  Due to lack of strong chemicals like ammonia, or maybe because it's 60% oil, it didn't have a strong chemical scent that attacks your nose and forces you to open all windows in your home in the middle of winter.  I think I wouldn't die of strong scent even if I closed my bathroom door.  It actually smelled pleasant and flowery.  I loved it.

Now all it had to do was pass the test and cover my grays.  I picked up color dark brown, 4.0 (versus 1.0 which is black).  I typically would have gotten 2.0 (natural black) but wanted to see if dark brown would cover my grays and I wanted to lighten my hair a little bit.

While dying my hair, I dropped the bottle couple of times.  While the roundness is cute, when your hands have the slippery solution on it, and my regular sized asian hands had a hard time grasping the big round bottle with precision. The solution wasn't too liquidy or too thick.  It squeezed out like mayonnaise. :)  I concentrated on my roots and grays, and surprisingly, I had enough to cover my entire head/hair (you have to remember I have a lot of hair and it hits my waistline).  If I were to do my  entire head next time, I'd probably pick up two boxes.  I noticed that the solution on your hair start to turn a little dry and start to feel like dry oil.  I'm guessing this is normal.  But my long hair felt so stiff and stick straight.

After 20 minutes, I was instructed to massage my scalp without water with gloves on, and rinse until it runs clear.  When it hit water, it reminded me of my Shu Uemura or Shiseido Face Cleansing Oil.  The solution turned milky white and it rinsed off quite easily.  After the rinse, my hair still felt dry, so I slathered on tons of the conditioner it came with.  Left it on for good 5 minutes while I finished showering, and my hair felt normal again.  And my hair smelled gooood.

I'm happy to report that it covered my gray hair and lightened my black hair a bit.
Before and After Pictures.  (Yes, my gray hair is really bad, I got it from my Papa)

 

My Thoughts:  The results of this hair dye is fantastic.  Garnier Olia, I likey you.  After I blow dried my hair, my hair felt softer and that dry feeling went away.  My grays were covered, my bathroom didn't stink of nasty chemical odor.  Definitely a lot of Pros with this product, and definitely outweighs the Cons.

Pros:
1. Ammonia free- less harmful for your hair
2. Smells nice and flowery
3. Covers grays
4. Colors well
5. Comes with nicely conformed gloves

Cons:
1. Bottle is too big to hold (I'm being really picky here I know)
2. Tubes were not easy to squeeze out the products to mix
3. Makes your hair feel like you put on dry oil (during application)

Obviously, I'm really trying hard to list the cons here (can you tell?).  But overall, I'm happy with Garnier Olia and I highly recommend it if you are a hair dyer like me.  Finally a less harmful way to dye your hair without spending tons at the salon.  I'm definitely going to use this product to continue doing root touch ups at home.

Miloberry approved!

First Look: Flower Costmetics by Drew Barrymore

If you haven't heard or seen Drew Barrymore promoting Flower Cosmetics, I'm here to tell you that Drew Barrymore is the face and owner of her own cosmetics brand, Flower.  I saw the collection, and I was so blown away by the beautiful colors.  Flower philosophy is to keep the cost of the products down by not paying for advertising.  They also use same ingredients used in luxury makeup and some products are made of real flower.  Also they are produced in the good 'ol USA and never tested on animals.  Also this brand is sold exclusively at Walmart and Walmart.com.  I think the official launch date was January 31st, but I've seen other bloggers seeing items at their local stores (limited items) and I ordered mine through Walmart.com.  All the items were priced starting at $6.98 and doesn't go above $13.98. Apparently a lot of the items are sold out already! Goodness!  I'm so excited for this brand and Drew Barrymore! (Loooooove her!)

So here are few items I was able to get.  This is just a first impression and quick swatches.

I ordered the Flower Color Play Creme Eyeshadows, Win Some, Rouge Some, Creme Blush, Kiss Stick, High-Shine Lip Color.  The Color Play Cream Eyeshadows packaging look very similar to L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows, but they are a bit different.

 Swatches of the Flower Color Play Creme Eyeshadows. They come in a glass jar with white top.
From left to right:
Lilac You a Lot (irridescent purple), Midnight Garden (black, grayish with sparkle), Awesome Blossom (slightly metallic chocolate), Mum's the Word (rusty pink).  As you can tell they are quite pigmented, minus Lilac You a Lot.  Also the consistency of the shadows are very light and airy, so I'd say it feels like a cross between creme and mousse.  It's not like the Maybelline Color Tattoos. 

 Walmart packed my package in the most horrible way possible and these got tossed around like popcorn in a humongous bag, so it's quite messy, but this is what it looks like when you open them.  This is in color Awesome Blossom.

This is the Win Some/Rouge Some Creme Blush in Peach Blossom.  This one isn't that creamy, but I'd say a cross between cream and powder.  It definitely finishes powdery and that's their claim.  It's a very pretty peach, perfect for spring.

And last but not least, the Kiss Stick, High Shine Lip Color in Sweet Peony.  I read in an interview that Drew Barrymore said this is one of her faves, so I had to have it!  It's a peachy creamy lipstick with slight pink sheen to it.  Really pretty.  it's a bit light even for my skin, but I can make it work for the spring. lol

Swatches of the lipstick in sweet peony on the left and the blush in peach blossom on the right.  Doesn't it scream SPRING IS HERE?

So that's my first impression of the Flower Cosmetics by Drew Barrymore.  I'm going to have to try them out to do a review. 

Review: Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids Lipstick Hot Plum

I've been turning my head to all the new collection the drugstore brands have been releasing this year!  Maybelline just released a new line in the Color Sensational line- Vivids in 10 new colors.  This Vivids line have brighter, vivid pigments, yet same creamier feel from nourishing honey nectar.

Vivids line comes with a bright red cap, but same shape as the other Color Sensational lines (some come in silver, deeper red caps, etc...)

COLOR
I chose Hot Plum (#900) which looks to be a plum color in the tube, almost fuscia, however when put it on it looks almost hot pink.  (I don't know why but it keeps reminding me of MAC Candy Yum Yum, perhaps the shiny version)

This is a swatch with indoor light

Swatch with flash

As you can tell it definitely is a vivid color and has slight sheen to it and dimension.  Depending on which angle you look at it, it looks different.  This is a very fun color.  When you are feeling down, or just want a fun look, this color will definitely do it for you.

FORMULA
It glides on smooth as any other Color Sensational Lipsticks.  It is nice and moisturizing with the honey nectar formula.  This Vivids line definitely is vivid and very pigmented.  And Hot Plum is definitely opaque.

LASTING POWER
I didn't expect this color to last very long, because Maybelline doesn't promise long wearing.  But surprisingly this lasts all day.  I do apply mid-day for moisture and extra shine. And this does transfer, however it doesn't smudge all over my face throughout the day which is always a plus when wearing a bright bold color such as this.  I'm all about maintenance-free lipsticks.  Also I was able to apply precisely just straight off the lipstick, and didn't need lipliners or lip brush.  While this lipstick doesn't totally dry out my lips, it does get drier, if you don't reapply.  I'd definitely recommend reapplying throughout the day or apply lipgloss.

Overall, I'm impressed with the Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids in Hot Plum.  It definitely did not disappoint.  I will definitely be picking up more of these.  And I'm like totally obsessed with this color!  Also it doesn't hurt to get compliments and be noticed. :)

If you haven't seen my matching nail color (Rimmel 60 Second) with this lips, check it out on my facebook.  I don't know how it happened, but it was a perfect match with my nails. :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

CC Cream: The next BB Cream? Olay CC Cream Review

Everyone knows BB Cream was such a big phenomenon in Korea and other parts of Asia and has now made it's way to the US and now everyone and their mamas are making one (I don't think any of the non-Korean BB creams are what they claim to be, IMHO).  Pretty much all the makeup brands, even drugstores brands have one of their own (Smashbox, Bobbi Brown, Maybelline, Garnier, Revlon, etc...).

So what is next? CC Cream?  CC stands for Color Control, or Color Correct.  Honestly, I haven't heard a peep from the motherland (Korea) about CC Cream, but I have been seeing a slight buzz about the "NEXT BEST THING AFTER BB CREAM" is CC Cream in the magazines and the web.  I think the Westerners got pissed off about not creating BB Cream first... so now they are trying to beat anyone else to it! haha

I heard Oil of Olay had released their CC Cream, Total Effects 7 in 1 Tone Correcting Moisturizer with SPF 15 in three different shades and also Olay CC Cream- Total Effects Daily Moisturizer + Touch of Foundation.

 Picture from PG Estore

I found them at CVS for about $22.00 which isn't cheap.  But this was the CC Cream in the US, so I got it while CVS was giving back $10 for spending $30 on P&G Products, and I had loads of coupons. :)  Since I have been trying this out, thought I do a quick review for you guys.

Oil of Olay's Description:

This CC Cream provides instant coverage plus correction to fight 7 signs of aging, including uneven tone, age spots and dull skin.

• This all-in-one triple stream formula combines a daily anti-aging moisturizer, SPF 15 sunscreen and sheer tint for younger-looking skin.
• Instant skin perfecting coverage + correction to fight 7 signs of aging + UV protection
• Total Effects fights 7 signs of aging: Fine lines and wrinkles: Reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Uneven Tone: Balances and helps even out tone. Age Spots: Reduces appearance of age spots. Gentle Exfoliation: Improves surface cell turnover. Dryness: Provides nourishing moisturization. Moisture Barrier: Strengthens skin s natural defense against moisture loss. Luminosity: Recaptures youthful luminosity

*FYI- Some of the older bottles don't have the "CC" on it, but it's still the same product.

 

Here's a little squeezed on my hand

And working onto my hand

And after

MY THOUGHTS:

The consistency of this product was very liquidy even though it dispenses as a cream.  I guess it's because this product has skincare gel formula mixed in with the slight color cream.  Right off the bat I was able to tell this was going to be a sheer coverage and it was.  But I still thought let's not underestimate this "NEW CC Cream".  But as you can tell in the picture above, it has NO COVERAGE.  I have come to a conclusion that perhaps, this particular CC Cream was not meant to be heavy coverage like the BB Cream.  Which could be why Olay created the version with foundation added in.

This may help you in slightly masking the redness, but that is about it.  After using this for over a week, I have concluded that this is a skincare product, not cosmetic.  Unlike the BB Cream, which kind of is both.  Also, Olay's CC Cream was meant to be color correcting with length of time.  So you are not going to notice any difference instantly.  They claim, "instant skin perfecting coverage", but I did not notice any "perfecting" in my skin whatsoever.

I have debated whether to return this back to CVS, but I have noticed that it works well under my foundation, keeping my skin hydrated, and it does have added skincare benefits, so I decided to keep it and use it as a primer.

I have heard TheRaeviewer mention that she got her hands on Chanel CC Cream from Asia, and from the looks of it Chanel's version has much better coverage.

I cannot tell if CC Cream is going to be the next "BB Cream". Because I only have one brand to base this off of.  And I get the feeling each brand is going to do their own thing and call it a CC Cream.  But based off of Olay's version, I'm going to have to say no.  If I see a difference on my skin in the next couple of months, I will do an updated review, but I like my instant skin fixes that BB Cream can provide, and this Olay's CC Cream is not going to cut it.

I wouldn't recommend Olay's CC Cream, especially if you are looking for coverage. I wouldn't bother.  This was a total miss for me.

Review & Swatches : YSL Vernis À Lèvres Glossy Stain

I know I have mentioned YSL Glossy Stain several times but I just never got around to writing a full review.  So finally, here it is!  I'm at home bedridden with a really bad cold.  So since I can lie in bed with my laptop, I thought I work on this long overdue post. :)

From the first time I heard of these to the first time I purchased my first YSL Glossy Stain, there was a long gap, cuz I just didn't think $32 was worth it for a lip product. But boyyyyyy was I wrong!!!

If you have not heard of the YSL Glossy Stain, this is the info from YSL.

WHAT IT IS: A revolutionary new lip product that combines the texture and shine of a gloss with the long wear of a stain.

WHAT IT DOES:
Coat your lips with this lip color that offers a lightweight texture, which immediately melts onto lips. Glossy Stain delivers intense glossy color for an extremely long-lasting shine.

What it is formulated WITHOUT:
- Parabens
- Sulfates
- Phthalates

What else you need to know:
The applicator's unique slanted tip and short soft bristles allow for flawless application with perfect precision.

MY THOUGHTS:
I'm still kicking myself in the butt about why I took so long to get my first glossy stain.  It really is a revolutionary lip product.  It is nothing like I have used before.  Although now that these have been out for awhile, there a lot of dupes or alikes, like the L'Oreal Caresse Shine Stain (Aqua Lacquer) and other lip stains.  However, I still don't think anything is better than the YSL Glossy Stain.
1. The richness of the colors are just lovely.
2. The color and the shine lasts all day.
3. It hydrating on your lips.
4. Did I mention it lasts all day? LOL
5. Not much of it transfers

It feels very wet and it smells like wine or a bit like grape juice.  I like to apply two layers of this.  The first layer, I like to apply a little bit and rub it and let the stain settle.  Then I'll apply a thick coat to really get the color and shine.  Ohhhhhh and it is just so beautiful.  And because of it's almost like jelly like texture, when you eat, the color doesn't come off.  Multiple times while wearing the red Glossy Stain (#9 Rouge Laque), people have asked the same question.  "How is your lip color not coming off after you've eaten?"  I didn't know other people noticed something like that, but even they were amazed.  Honestly, I can wear this through coffee, lunch, and afternoon and make it to dinner without re-applying and the color and shine will still remain.

I will mention that depending on the color you may choose (the darker colors especially), the color can get darker as it stains.  This is the only downside....  I'd recommend trying out the colors first and wait at least 10 minutes before determining the actual colors.  I have returned 2 of my glossy stains because the colors changed on me after I have applied.  For example, I bought #10, Rouge Philtre which was supposed to be true red color.  After 10 minutes I have noticed that the lines on my lips had turned darker and darker.  Then it turned into a really dark almost vampy red.  Which I did not like.  You can see the picture below.  Top is right after application and the bottom is about 10 minutes later.  You can see the change in color.  This is in comparison to #9, Rouge Laque which does not change color.

I now proudly own 4 Glossy Stains. #29, Rouge Forreau (one of the newest colors released recently).  This is the only color that is more "natural looking".  The other three I own are quite bold.  Honestly I think Glossy Stains are the best for dark, colorful shades since dark colors are hard to manage, but due to the staying power, YSL glossy stains are god send.
Because this color isn't as bold, it's also not as shiny.

With flash (please excuse the black dot smack middle of my lips) This is after I ate, and I obviously left something behind. >.<

#26, Poupre Preview.  This is a slightly purplish pink.  This one turns darker in time to a purplish wine color.  This is my second favorite color!
Without flash

With flash

#12, Coril Fauve.  This is coral, reddish color.  It's not an opaque color.  It's very sheer but shiny.  This one does settle into your lips, but not really visible to the naked eye.  This is a very zoomed picture.  I promise you.

Without flash

With flash

#9, Rouge Laque.  This is an opaque slightly coral red.  This is my favorite! When you want to wear red, this is so easy to wear, very flattering to different skin tones, and maintenance free.  And just beautiful.  I wear this one a lot.  If you saw my new year's eve picture on facebook, this is what I was wearing. :)

Without flash

With flash

I think I have all the colors I want from YSL.  I'm happy with the 4 colors I have.  But if they come out with more I'd definitely keep my eye out for them.  And I'd definitely repurchase these.  These Glossy Stains have made me have faith in colorful lip colors that I used to dread, because they are so hard to manage.  Glossy Stain is definitely a game changer! I love Glossy Stain!!!

I also did a post of the L'Oreal Colour Caresse Aqua Lip Lacquer aka Wet Stains aka Shine Stains back in Christmas. I'm not quite sure of the official name yet. :)  I'll do a full review on that and do a comparison of both of these products.  

Hope everyone is having a wonderful 2013!