Saturday, July 9, 2011

Bumble and Bumble Texture Does What It Says

A stylist at the salon I go to was sweet enough to give me a sample of Bumble and Bumble's latest product, called Texture hair (un)dressing creme, which is meant to give hair "that elusive, undone yet done quality, with a hint of grit, hold and a tousled, shine-free finish". I had been hearing about its release for a couple weeks, and the stylists were saying Texture was "going to be like Dirt by Jonathan, only better." (Also on the horizon is a new shampoo and conditioner called "Shine", which will be lightweight glossing formulas. Bumble's current Bb.Shine spray will no longer be an aerosol, and will be returning to a pump bottle as part of the new "Shine" lineup).


Since I have an almost shoulder-length bob with choppy layers, I thought this would be the great product to enhance them with. Texture has a fresh/ clean scent, a light gel-cream consistency (this is not a heavy product) and it must be used on damp hair. The directions say to use a small amount and build. Let sit a minute, then loosen and ruffle, freehand. Apply at roots for extra lift. Use a diffuser for more volume all over. Anyone can use it, no matter your hair length, thickness or texture.

Texture has been used on me twice- once on my own, and once by my stylist. One of the main ingredients is a super hold polymer that the girls in the salon almost warned me about: "it can get...REALLY tacky in your hair if you use too much". My stylist applied it on my damp hair and scrunched it in, and then scrunched some more. She worked it in for about five minutes total. "The key to this product is really working it in...and when you've worked it in, work it in a little more", she said. She blow-dried my thick, straight hair using only her hands and a diffuser, scrunching and finger-combing until it was dry, bringing out waves I never knew I had. Texture made my hair HUGE (as it did with two other thick-haired stylists who tried it), and I don't mean that in a bad way. This product can literally add a ton of volume to hair, which I really didn't need in the first place.

Later on that day I ran my fingers through my hair, and I could feel the super-hold polymer. Maybe my stylist used a bit much, but a tacky feeling (it felt a bit like if you've ever used too much hairspray) is not something I like in my hair. And because of Texture's shine-free finish, my hair had a bit of a rough look to it. I'm constantly looking for products that smooth my hair, and add shine and softness (since it's quite thick and I color and highlight constantly), so Texture really isn't a godsend for me. I did, however, love the lift it gave my roots (which can get a little flat) and the separation it gave my layers. I gave the rest of my sample to a fine-haired friend who fell in love with the volume, lift, and texture it gave her.

This would be a dream product for anyone who loves undone, beachy hair but doesn't like the dryness caused by using salt sprays. Texture is available for $26 in a large tube and $12 for a mini at Bumble salons and Bumbleandbumble.com, where they have an excellent video about how to use this.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Review: Chanel Pearl Drop Nail Colour Spring 2011

Pearl Drop, a white with intense gold pearl flash, is one of three nail polishes Chanel has released for Spring 2011. The other two are Pêche Nacrée, a soft iridescent peach-pink, (which I also purchased) and Black Pearl, a shimmery greyish black green (this was sold out at my counter, but I did see it in the tester - as well as on all the SA's hands). Of all three, Pearl Drop was my favorite. I freely admit to being a white nail polish whore- I want them all! I have dozens of different colors in my stash, but no other color looks as clean or pops as much against my skin as white. I own just about every white polish out there, give or take a few. My only gripes with white polishes is when they have too much of a silvery look, which ends up giving it a greyish look on my skintone, or when they are too sheer. Not the case with Pearl Drop (this is 2 coats + topcoat):


It can look a bit whiter at other angles:


The best part about Pearl Drop that it's the rare, quite opaque white- I only had to wear two coats to get good coverage (most of the time, I do three). I started to wonder if I had any dupes for this. Zoya Gaia instantly came to mind, but it's much sheerer. The gold pearl is much finer in Pearl Drop, while Gaia has more of a sparkle. But if you're not feeling nitpicky, or you don't feel like splurging $23 on a nail polish (Zoyas are only $7 a pop), you could lay down a coat of any white cream (like Essie Marshmallow) and do two coats of Gaia over it for a super close color. Bottle comparison:



The only other white-with-gold shades I can think of are OPI At First Sight (which was wayyy too sheer. I hated it) and Rescue Beauty Lounge Moxie (which I believe is discontinued. And also way too sheer), which has too much of a dull greenish hue to it (L- Moxie, R- Pearl Drop):



Moxie has the flash, but it just doesn't have the clean, snowflake white base that Gaia and Pearl Drop have. As best shown here:


SO. Is Pearl Drop worth it? If you really love white polishes and collect as many as you can, or you just really love Chanel, then yes. If not, stick with Zoya's Gaia- because it's close enough.