A few weeks ago I purchased the Conair More Big Curls roller set and I received three free samples from Ulta with that purchase. The first sample I'm going to be posting my thoughts about is Urban Decay's Sellout Lipstick.
Urban Decay lipsticks retail at $22 and can be purchased online at www.urbandecay.com or at Sephora or Ulta (among other places).
The claim:
Leaving no shade unturned, our huge assortment of colors and textures tempt you to stray from an otherwise predictable palette. The luxuriously creamy formula nourishes and protects lips with Vitamins A, C, and E. Hyaluronic Spheres (found naturally in the body) are added to stimulate cellular function, prevent dehydration, and fill-in lines and wrinkles- now, how many Lipsticks can do that?! The teardrop-shape bullet (etched with an Urban Decay logo) is infused with a decadent creme caramel scent and flavor. Yum.
The truth:
Urban Decay's Sellout Lipstick was extremely moisturizing and very comfortable on the lips.I would say this lipstick is very comparable in finish to a MAC Glaze lipstick. It almost felt more like a creamy balm then a lipstick. The lipstick wasn't heavy on my lips, but I almost prefer a little more weight so I don't constantly wonder if it's faded off already. One thing I don't like is that because of it's light creamy formulation it comes off easily with drinks or food. I would say the absolute maximum wear of this lipstick is three hours.
The color description says it is a warm neutral/full coverage cream. That does nothing to describe the color. The color is a warm brick reddish brown, and as it fades it looks more and more like a neutral color.
I would not say the coverage was full, I would say it was medium buildable and semi-sheer.
This is Sellout next to my other red lipstick, Kat Von D's Hellbent, described as a pure blood red. That lipstick is completely opaque. It is also matte, and more of a true blue-based red. Sellout is on the right, Hellbent is on the left.
Here are the two lipsticks after two hours.
Obviously Hellbent is a lot longer-wearing. Sellout is practically gone, so no, the lipstick is not long-wearing as the website claims.
This is Sellout:
without flash
with flash
Apologies for the single strand of hair across my mouth in one of the above pictures haha! As I said before, the lipstick faded pretty quickly. Within two hours, this was the color:
Disappointing. I never really expect lipsticks to last though, they seem to have a shelf life of two to three hours on me. So that wasn't too big a deal, although the longer the wear the better the grade in my book.
Final Verdict: I really liked the sample I received. The color of Sellout was very flattering for my skintone and it was a comfortable wear. I like Urban Decay lipsticks, but I wish they were a little heavier and deeper in color. I would purchase this, and plan on doing so in the future.
A couple weeks ago I purchased Conair's More Big Curls Volume Hot Rollers set from www.ulta.com after watching Sccastaneda's YouTube video.
I really liked the way her hair turned out in the video, and I've been wanting to try hot rollers. I looked up the rollers and it turned out they were on sale for only $19.99 (which should have tipped me off). I was thrilled, and used the little bit of spending money I had on the side to purchase these rollers. All week I couldn't wait to get my rollers. When I finally got them I was so excited I used them immediately.
Everything looked great. The box was super professional and it contained all these details about the rollers inside.
I also got three free samples from Ulta, samples which will be featured in upcoming posts when I give my opinion on them.
After I unpacked the box I took out the rollers. They come, 12 of them, in a plastic case with a glass lid and 12 prong pins are included in the case. There are slots on the inside of the case to hold the pins, which I thought was very helpful of them to include. Also included are six jumbo clips and a water reservoir to fill with water and place in the roller case to help the rollers heat up with steam. Pretty interesting innovation, no?
There are posts on which each hot roller sits. This is what heats the roller.
However, the actual results that followed after using the hot rollers were less then thrilling. Before I go on I should say that there are different ways to use hot rollers. The setting (placement) of the rollers can alter the type of curl you get, as well as the length of time you put them in for and heat them up for, and how you roll your hair. The first time I used these I was obviously less experienced as I had never used hot rollers before, so I wasn't as confident when using them, which could be a factor in my results.
When I tried the More Big Curls hot rollers for the first time, I heated them until the dot on the ready roller turned a transparent white color (the cue that the rollers are ready to be used and are hot enough). I also didn't use the water reservoir my first go around.
From plugging in electricity to the time the dot turned white was about 10 minutes. Then I rolled my hair up and kept the rollers in for 15 minutes. My hair had been straightened the previous day, so these rollers went on day-old, somewhat straight hair.
First try:
Results:
These are the results. Didn't see much of a change, but there is a slight wave and some volume.
I might have been okay with this result if the wave didn't drop so quickly and so much. I don't think the original result looked bad but within 15 minutes it became this (note the hilariously sad facial expression):
Yeah. Not so hot.
I really wanted to return the rollers but as I said in my earlier post, Ulta is HORRIBLE and has a HORRIBLE return policy so I couldn't unless I wanted to fork over 20 dollars, which was the price of the rollers. Thus I was forced to keep experimenting with them in an attempt to make them work.
Second try:
I put the water reservoir all the way on the left as you can see. I think this is why only one side of the entire case steamed up, which was a bummer. The horrible thing about the reservoir is that you have to take one of the rollers out to fit the reservoir in the case. Then when you start using the rollers you stick the one roller back in the case in an attempt to heat it, and use that one last. It sucks because you can't heat all the rollers at the same time, and you can't get any curl in your hair without using the water reservoir so... you're pretty much screwed.
On that particular day I heated the rollers up for 20 minutes and used the water reservoir. You fill up the water reservoir with water and it steams up the inside of the roller case, adding heat and longer lasting curls. I kept the rollers in for 25 minutes and hairsprayed a good deal.
Result:
Somewhat nice curl
Weird deformed non-curl
Better then the last try, some curl and wave but still not much
Better parted on the side
Looked good for the first few minutes but deflated throughout the day
Third try:
I put the water reservoir in the middle this time, which helped the case steam up way better, although it still seemed to be predominantly the left side
Note the steam
Results:
Huge curls! These are so much more defined then in the last few pictures because I used the rollers on my freshly washed naturally wavy, unstyled hair.
I was so excited when my hair came out like this. Unfortunately it dropped way down even just a few minutes later :(
After changing into my outfit for the day, curls seem to have dropped a little
An hour later, curls dropped a lot :( Even with tons of hairspray
Fourth try:
I heated the rollers up for 25 minutes and kept them in for 25 minutes, in addition to hair spraying the crap out of them and blow drying my whole head for 3 minutes in an attempt to set the curl.
Results:
The blow dryer really helped give the curls a gorgeous effect. Unfortunately my hair once again did not last more then 2 hours.
My hair, three hours later. FAIL. And this picture is a fail too, I look crazy.
I have extensively tested out these rollers, and I rate them a 2 out of 4 stars. The Conair More Big Curls roller set is nothing but a big tease. With a lot of time and hairspray I got pretty nice results, but none that lasted. It took way too long for the rollers to heat up, and when they did they were at best lukewarm. The upside to that is that you can never damage your hair with these. When I put the rollers in for just 10 minutes the result was so pathetic I didn't even include the picture. I do like the rollers for their simplicity and ease of use, and I think the thought behind it was good but the rollers just don't give me lasting volume or curl, and they take up way too much time.
It takes me ten minutes to curl my hair in the morning and produce a great result that lasts all day and night. With these rollers, I had to spend 25 minutes heating them up, and at least 20 minutes with them in. The advantage of hot rollers is that you get a softer, voluminous curl with a blow-out type effect. However, these hot rollers did not produce a lasting effect and left my hair ultimately, flat.
Would I repurchase? No. I would save my money to buy a set of hot rollers that were well-reviewed and well-priced. These were on sale 10 dollars off their original price, with three stars as the average rating for it. I should have known better.
Thank you for coming along with me on my hot roller hair journey! Stay tuned for more posts.
