the Xmas set cave: Addiction Tokyo Jazz

Geehh, I've been missing this blog. It gotten almost as far that I wanted order things for the mere purpose to review it over here. Ok, eventually I ordered from narcisistic cravings but I was tempted on altruistic spending for review's sake only...

This year I'm slightly more about palettes than last year. I've already caved on Laura Mercier, a brand I seldom use...And I just couldn't resist Addiction Tokyo Jazz: Purple??? Mustard??? and my first powdery highlighter from them??? Yes, bring it on!

leather-look clutch: Addiction;  catmask: my own from Venice ❥❥

I would love to show you some swatches today, but somehow they went a bit weird on my arm. My
 instinct was like...darn, crappy quality. However, they seem to blend better on my eyelids. Though it's not as finely milled as Addiction's usual quality.

I don't want to draw any conclusions yet as I swatched the palette directly from the icy cold box it came from. The colours do look like a funky mix. 

The highlighter:

I'm not that keen on the highlighter blush: it swatches irregularly and it's quite sparkly: I'll compare it with my superbly textured Surrat highlighter soon.

And not on the pictures is their Eyeliner Pencil in Blackjack. This one knows how to draw an inky-black line: and that for a pencil:

First impression:  

I'm not too exhilarated about this set.  I'm normally quite a fan of Addiction (see earlier reviews) and I like their single eyeshadows for the combination of a buttery texture with a fun/original dimension of colours. Tokyo Jazz palette: The sparkly whitish eyeshadow is purely gritty, the mustard is as sheer as you can find and the purple is not a beautifully multi-dimensional one. Neither is the Eggplant/grey colour.

The only thing I'm really liking right now is the Eyeliner pencil in Blackjack. 

I hope my luck will get better with swatching the colours later...

Mythically Smooth with A Beautiful Life Unicorn Mane serum

I had this moment I was almost organic on haircare: think shampoo, conditioner and a good dose of beautiful Yarok mousse that blows it's chemical sisters out of the water. 

My last step: serum.

 I had the gorgeously fraganced Balmain (just finished) & used the Kerastase Cristallize serum frequently while having extensions. But still, there had to be a good [semi]-organic one out there.

I found A Beautiful Life Unicorn's Mane on ASOS [here]. The rare reviews I found were positive about it, and how to resist a bit of Uni-corny mythology: or "Unicorns don't have Bad hairdays". I could not disagree but I'd be glad to check one up close:

 

 Unicorn's Mane is not certified organic. It's ingredient list also reveils it has cyclometicone & dimethicone in it:

I went to Cosne to check on these two. Both Dimethicone & Cyclomethicone are harmless and non-irritating. 

Does it life up to it's promises?

♥ Fights Frizz

♥ Adds Shine

♥ Nourishes

♥ Protects

Anti-Frizz: My post-wash hair had to get used to central heating again and that was paired with a bit of frizz down the ends. Ok, and blame under-conditioning too. A drop of Unicorn made warmed between hands is perfect to tame the wild unicorn-ness of it.

Shine: yes, it's not too amped up faux gloss but the right amount of healthy.

Nourishes: I have only used it short term but I already liked the effect on my ends. And look at the ingredient list -> argan oil, Indian gooseberry and some other potent nourisher.

Protects: I think it does a fair job protecting hair before heat styling.

Hence,  all four get a big YES.

I really like the serum but I'm not that fond about the fragance. It reminds me of a certain cough-syrup I once had. Perhaps the unicorns made it when younger (???). But it disappears within minutes so I'm not too bothered.

Conclusion: Who needs Unicorns when you can have healthy, glossy hairserum like this one.