Beginning Therapie: Roques O'Neil Discovery Set

Travel & discovery sets always have an alluring appeal on me. Perhaps in the name 'travel' or 'discovery', or perhaps the smaller sized products can be used in conjunction with each other.  Even if the discoveries and travels will be something in the far future, you can have that experience of travel in your bathroom with your dinky, little travel sizes.

The Roques O'Neil Therapie Discovery set is based on the wholistic effects of aromatherapy. Actually, aromatherapy isn't the 'socks-in-sandals', floaty, hippy treatment anymore: stores use fragance in order to let people browse longer and buy more products; scented candles are a modern (luxury) staple and who hasn't feel slightly uplifted eating or sniffing something with peppermint in it?

Michelle Roques O'Neil uses aromatherapy for treating all kinds of problems. She has been voted as one of the top 10 aromatherapists in the UK. She herself takes it a step further to call herself an Alchemist: something that creates an image of Harry Potter-esque wizard steaming up concoctions over a large steaming pot.

Her discovery set contains 5 products and are displayed in a beautiful and sturdy black box, embedded with orange sheets. It has something Buddhistic seeing this shade of orange. (this shade differs from the colour of the Dutch Soccer teams, which, has nothing holistic and buddhistic about it)

The inside of the box contains a description & ingredients of everything inside:

These are:

• Himalayan Detox Salts
• Restore Aura Spray
• Equilibrium Bath & Shower Essence
• Boost Hair & Body Wash
• Cherish Skin Repair Serum (actually an oil)

I've started my therapy with the Himalayan Detox Salts:

Besides of the main ingredient, the salt, it has a refreshing but calming blend of the aromatherapeutic essences of Rosewood, Patchouli, Lavender, Juniperberry, Lemongrass, Grapefruit:

I really liked this bath and felt relaxed afterwards. I first thought it caused my body to sweat at night, but the second time I used it I had no sweating.

I already bought a jar of Himalayan salt based on the wonderful effect but not from this brand. The ones I bought are cheaper but not blended with the aromatic essences that makes the experience & after-effect so blissful. I am considering going for a large size of the Roques O'Neil for the occasional treatment.

I bought my discovery set at Cultbeauty over here.

Percy & Reed Discovery Collection: the Marvellous Moisture version

Today I'm going to do a mini-review on the Percy & Reed 6 Piece Discovery set in the Moisture version I got myself before Christmas:

Talking about hair-products isn't my favourite part of beautyblogging. My hair is kind of simple because it is really long and doesn't require 'wild' experimentations with volume or curls.

I often skip straightening or curling devices for the sheer reason the texture of my hair is too stubborn to hold anything for more than 1 hour. If I do experiment with curling tongs: I usually go all Cinderella and dissapear within an hour. ...Seriously, because they hair will become more of a pumpkin pie.

Haha, not very handy for my social life, though. But I admire the bobbed and layered, and curled and short-haired ladies a lot. Nevertheless, knowing I tried most of those too, and still had ridiculously stubborn hair and the same Cinderella-complex decided me to go for the easiest option to be simple and long. (Even when I had a hairdresser's friend & short hair the hair was still a nuisance and the friend just had to come with me clubbing for maintainance only, kidding, I enjoyed the company too)

A mini-review, but still one of 6 products so this will be a longer post.

I got interested in trying Percy & Reed after the glorious review of worshipofblues. QVCuk.com had this set listed but it was out of stock for a while. When it got there again, I was fast enough to purchase it.

The attraction of these products are aesthetic as well. I love the retro design and simple colour scheme, the front, and most of all the long-haired, carefree ladies on the packaging. It kind of makes me believe these hairdressers are not about making all women have a dramatic haircut...And the girl on the Finishing Polish is sporting a cute bob, so it's not about the long-haired ladies alone either...

Right, you see 5 products of the 6 products set. So here is no 6 and I'm starting with that one:

Percy & Reed Bodyfing Cream

1.Percy & Reed Bodifying Cream

Superstar and Supersized, and the girl on the packaging declares "let's create a bit of a do".
Volumizing products can be somewhat problematic: they might create volume but sometimes you have to give up on the shine (mattifying powders such as Schwarzkop Osis or some dodgy mousses) or they create more birdnest volume than Jerry Hall volume or Rosie Huntington-Withely volume:

Jerry Hall in the 70s with glam 70s hair

Modern Bombshell Rosie Huntington-Whitheley with some serious volume

Results: Some volume, but not as dramatic as with Kerastase Volumactiv Mousse. It works well in conjuction with other volumisers and the thin-hair serum. It also is rather smoothing so it can keep the hair both smooth and a bit thicker.

 2. The Finishing Polish (Quite Franky Flawless)

The Alexa Chung bob-lookalike declares "Caution, may turn heads".

Overall, quite some promises to declare that it will simply make your hair flawless. More expectations are raised at the description on the back of the tube:

Result:
Somewhat similar as the Bodifying potion, only without bodifying...;P. Seriously, it makes the hair a bit smoother but isn't a miracle saver for dryer ends, although it does smooth them a little.



3. Session Hold hairspray (reassuringly firm)

Before my opinion, check out the videos the duo of this haircare range have made themselves of this product (here)

Description:

Result:
I kind of like hairsprays that give a softer result. You know the kind of hairsprays that are excellent in giving helmet-hair dos or the ones that are perfect for teased hair, this ain't that kind. It's a softer hairspray that looks invisible (only shiny) in the hair. And this travel-sized can with that cute outfit girl is so cute it will become one of the things I will put in my bag more often.

4/5. Splendidly Silky Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioners

The shampoo/conditioning twins, and they also look like twins when I put them next to each other:

Percy & Reed Moisturizing Shampoo & Conditioner

More promises and a detailed description of the ingredients:

Results:
For a product that aims to target more moisture, I wasn't really impressed. It isn't drying or such, but I believe similar priced ranges such as L'oreal Expert are much better in delivering moisture and keeping the hair soft. The conditioner, especially, is really thin and not really moisturizing on the dryer parts. This would be better for normal to oily hair, in my opinion.

6. The No Oil Oil (Smoothed, Sealed & Sensational) for thick hair

The product that got me in (thanks worshipofblues) in the first place. And a lovely oxymoron, the no oil oil. Indeed, it is simply a silicony serum and not an oil at all (thinking of oils such as Kerastase Elixir Ultime, Morrocan Oil, Shu Uemura Essence Absolue)

Result:
A lovely serum, but I actually prefer the one they have for thin hair (I have that one as well). Perhaps that has to do with my hair being not so thick anymore.

Sheet and description/ingredients of all the products in the set (click for larger view)

Overal conclusion:

I enjoyed using the set for discovery, duh, that is what it is called and what it is for. My favourites are the Hairspray and the Serum for thinner hair. Those could be repurchases.
The Bodyfying Cream is lovely too, but I want to try some more concoctions with other hairproducts to see how that works out, volumewise.
I will probably use up the Finishing Polish too.
As far for the shampoo/conditioner? Less impressed than the other products


Moreover, I want to say the products are strongly fraganced in a sort of cheaper version of Balenciaga Paris perfume. I really like that product so that is no gripe to me when I combine it with that perfume. It lingers quite long too, I even smelled in on my third day (yes people, dry shampoo and an unsocial weekend).
So, eventually the stronger perfume is a bit of a gripe to me. It isn't so obvious in some of the products, such as the serum and the hairspray, but the bodifying cream/finishing polish are really strong scented.
I enjoyed using the set for discovery, duh, that is what it is called and what it is for. My favourites are the hairspray and the serum for thinner hair.

I bought them on QVCUK.com for £20.28 and they ship to Europe for a reasonable fee. I picked the moisture set, but they have a volume set as well (that is the one with the thinner hair serum).

Burberry Beauty in Holland: Late to the Party

Friday I was in for a major surprise when I went into the Douglas as I saw a stand with Burberry Beauty.

I had to rub my eyes twice to see I wasn't dreaming: I wasn't.

Anyway, I seem to be late at the party because Burberry Beauty has been over here for about 2 months.

How come I didn't know?

Ok, I read lots and lots of beautyblogs (see blogroll) but I do not go too much on Dutch beautyblogs because I often find them a bit too positive about everything. I mean, are they sponsored or such?

Anyway, here is an article in Dutch so if you're interested you can google-translate it and see a funny translation, hopefully the words are translated in a better writing style than the Dutch words...

So I had a modest haul, already stocked with British versions of Burberry Beauty (the foundation, lipstick, powder) and went for a blush in a shader-like colour and the highly raved eyeshadow in Midnight Brown:

my first Dutch & modest Burberry haul

The salesgirl didn't want me to make pictures of the Burberry stand: I asked politely and she said there were some policies about that...ok, fair enough. But sorry for you guys (perhaps I will make a sneaky pictures soon, ssssstttt)


So, if you are in Holland (or live here) you can find Burberry fairly easy in Douglas Laren, Douglas Den Haag (the Hague) or Douglas Arnhem.

Fluttering Fairies...eh...Fluttering Lashes with Fairy Drops Base Treatment Mascara

A couple of weeks ago I spotted a fairly new base mascara on Adambeauty. I was browsing their mascara section and noticed that Fairy Drops had a whole new range of mascara's.

Well, I was somewhat familiar with the fact that Fairy Drops had launched a couple of new mascaras lately, because I came across some of the reviews in the beauty blog-o-sphere.

With the exeption of one: the Fairy Drops Treatment Base Mascara in shinny Gray.

Yeh, so that was the particular one that I was curious about.

Which is not my only reason. I have a HG base mascara product for a couple of years now. The Kanebo Kate one. I absolutely love this for keeping the curl and thickening/lenghtening the lashes. But you know, I want to know if there are other options, because the Kate one can get quite hard and, let's say...a bit crispy on my lashes.


I have been familiar with Fairy Drops mascara, I believe one of their first versions, and was not too enthousiastic about it. Still, who know this one might work:

So you noticed I bought this one and it came in that cute packaging Fairy Drops is notoriously known for.

I noticed online that the tube is so gorgeously decorated. I love that about Fairy Drops. But I believe the contrast between the white and the perky pink is too adorable! It makes me happy every time I use it!

Typical for Fairy Drops, and part of why they became so big and widely know afteral, is their brush. That is not why I show you the brush beneath, but I would like to show you the colour of the base product.

Indeed, a dark grey instead of the more typical white colour that is often a part of a base product.

For people not familiar with base mascaras: they are not mascaras as the typical ones that give your lashes colour, volume, length etc, but they function as a underlayer for your real mascara.

However, users of base mascaras (such as I am) often find the white colour beneath a bit iffy, because you really have to look carefully to cover all of the white with your real, black mascara. If you don't, you get uneven lashes and perhaps even the remark "oh, do you have white mascara on? how unique?"

The dark grey substance is so much better! If you forget some parts because you are in a hurry, it does not matter so much, because the colour is already close to the other dark colour you will be using for mascara (either black, blue, purple, etc).

Close up of the substance:

This is quite a close up! You can also see some sparkles in the substance. Also, it contains fibers. I prefer fibers in my mascara for that extra bit of length.

Do I like it:

• I actually do! It differs from the Kanebo Kate as my lashes seem to stay soft and bendeable, thus more natural. However, I do not loose my curl I so carefully applied to my lashes! This mascara does not feel so 'present' on my lashes because it is not so stiff. And that is something I like.

• It gives the extra volume, just like it promises. I should compare this one with Kate, that is one eye with Fairy Drops and one eye with Kate Base to see if one lenghtens/thickens a bit more than the other.

• I already mentioned the fact I prefer a darker grey base over the white one

• I cannot say too much about the long term effect on the lashes. It claims to treat them as well with some essence. I can feel it being soft on my lashes, but if it actually improves or nourishes my lashes, I have to see that with long-term useage.

For the people curious about the ingredients, I have them here in English:

Overal, I ventured on something new and found quite an interesting new base mascara in my book.

I purchased it over here on my regular online hangout spot Adambeauty...

The stamp, the letter, the gift

About 2 weeks ago I had a little, cute discovery of an online place where I could sample some Asian cosmetics.

I thought that most sample stores were not able to send out internationally, or just mailed out their products in some part of Asia. But hurray, thesamplestore.sg mails out to Europe, and is pretty quick with it as well.

I just love the stamps decorated on the envelope!

The letter contained a couple of masks that I was curious about. The name often draws me in (hehe, remember BeautyDIY, Beautyfriends, etc), so a mask named Love More had a great appeal to me. Who does not want to be love/and be loved, a little bit more?

A gift? Mmm, not really. I still had to pay 10.04 singaporean dollars (approximately 5 euros), however, what a wonderful way to try out something new.