Back to basic: contouring

Today I continue with bronzer theme and would like to write about the contouring. As I mentioned last Monday, not every bronzer is suitable for the contouring. It should have cool undertone to fake natural shadow that is created when the light hits your face and it should be matt as well.

Contouring of face parts is very individual, depends on each person as we all have different face features. Also everybody would like to enhance or maybe hide something else.

Classic contouring:

• creates more prominent cheek bones (apply bronzer under the cheek bones, from place where the ear begins towards mouth, you can find that place under the cheek bones by making a fish face),
• creates thinner face (apply bronzer on temples, around hair line),
• changes partially nose shape (if it’s too wide or misshaped like mine L),
• hides partially double chin (by applying bronzer under the chin),
• fakes for example cleavage, bigger décoté (at least I don’t need that J).

(left) blush-bronzer NYX in Taupe, (right) highlighter The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer

Besides bronzer you can use highlighter which creates better contrast between darker and lighter parts of your face: what is lighter stands out, comes forward and what is darker recedes. Highlighters come usually in powder format, but creams and liquids are used as well. It can be few shades lighter than your foundation, it can or cannot have glitter, shimmer, it all depends on personal preference what you are going to use. Highlighters without shimmer/glitter appear more natural and girls who are not used to wearing lot of makeup usually prefer those (in this case try a regular powder that is few shades lighter than your powder, or product/eyeshadow with light pearl colour).

(from left to right) Hourglass Ambient Lighting powder in Diffused light, The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer, MAC Mineralize Skin Finish powder in Soft and Gentle

Swatches (from left to right) MAC Mineralize Skin Finish powder in Soft and Gentle, The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer, Hourglass Ambient Lighting powder in Diffused light  

In this video the makeup artist, Wayne Goss (gossmakeupartist on YouTube), used bronzer and highlighter as well. Contouring is a bit extreme but at least you can see really well the difference in shades. He used cream products and blended it all with foundation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow1rdFOlxnk&feature=relmfu

Here the contouring is less extreme; the makeup artist, Lisa Eldridge (Lisa Eldridge on YouTube), used powder bronzer, cream and powder highlighter:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8g3orq4M7U&feature=plcp

As bronzer for contouring I recommend:

• Nars Laguna bronzer (in Sephora) 
• NYX blush in colour Taupe (in Germany in Douglas perfumery, or for ex. at cherryculture.com)
• Sleek Face contour kit (it has bronzer and highlighter, in UK in Superdrug, or at sleekmakeup.com) 
• Solait Maxi bronzer (in UK in Superdrug) 
• ELF contouring blush & bronzing powder (it comes both in powder and cream format, few different colours, at elf-kozmetika.eu/sk in Slovakia, at eyeslipsface.be in Belgium) 

Highlighters I recommend: 

• ELF blush in colour Gotta glow 
• The Balm Mary Lou manizer (in Belgium in some DI drugstores, try to see in your drugstores) 
• MAC Mineralize skin finish in colour Soft and Gentle (in MAC stores) 
• Physicians formula Powder palette Mineral glow Pearls in colour Translucent Pearl (in some drugstores in USA, or at www.iherb.com, code IPO591 for a discount from your first purchase, you’ll get your code for your friends as well) 
• Hourglass Ambient Lighting powder vo farbe Diffused light (in USA, in Sephora)

How to find your fashion style

I have to confess I’m not extremely interested in fashion; I’m mainly makeup and cosmetics fanatic. However I cannot walk around all dolled up and wear just gym pants! Especially, since I work in an international environment and some decent look is required.

Some years ago I read about a good trick in some magazine on how to help yourself to sort out what clothes and styles you like and to shop accordingly. Basically, you create your own “fashion book” where you keep pictures from magazines and internet websites/blogs. Then, when you go shopping just look at the pictures and put a shopping list together. I use it not only for this but also when I get bored of outfits I’ve been wearing for some time already. I always come up with new outfits which is definitely good for my wallet. I started my fashion book in July 2010 and since then I collected 270 pages.

I usually get the urge to go shopping mid-season like now (January sales are longtime gone and July sales far to see…) and by finding new outfit inspirations I can actually restrain myself. This time I found 55 outfits I could create just by mixing different clothes I already have! No shopping here for sure! But of course when creating these new outfits I also created a shopping list (57 items) which I will keep till July sales:).

Here are the websites I cruise from time to time and print pictures for my fashion book:

http://www.collegefashion.net/
http://www.dulcecandy.com/
http://www.pennypincherfashion.com/ (recent discovery of mine, very much obsessed)
http://www.elle.com/fashion/street-chic/
http://www.peoplestylewatch.com/people/stylewatch/
http://www.whowhatwear.com/

If you have your favorite fashion blogs I should take a look at, please let me know!

Back to basic: Bronzer

It looks like the candy shop in my bronzer drawer: everything is brown, something with glitter, something like caramel, dark or milk chocolate…every time I open it, I crave something sweetJ. If my boyfriend looked in this drawer (fortunately he didn’t so far), he would shake his head in disbelief why I need so many “brown powders”! But the answer is simple; every bronzer has its own use. I admit, if I weren’t a makeup addict I would need just two: for bronzing and for contouring. What is the difference?

Bronzer for bronzing/tanning purposes: depending on your skin shade, it should have, of course, different shade but always with warm undertone. In case of fair skin, if you want to fake tan really well, use little bit of pink blush as fair skin tends to have somewhat pink undertone, not only brown one when it suntans. Depends on your personal preference, you can use matt bronzer or one with light shimmer. I use both, shimmery one in summer as it looks good with tan and matt one in winter when I stay paler. If you have problems choosing right shade, here is a small trick: try regular powder that is 2-3 shades darker than your skin (the same goes for cream bronzers replaced by foundations).

Application: stick to the places where the sun naturally hits your face and tan it. That means on the cheeks, on the nose, on the forehead, on the chin, or even under the eyebrow. Apply bronzer towards your neck and cleavage to avoid difference between face and body.

In this video, Samantha Chapman (one of the Pixiwoo sisters on YouTube) fakes even the freckles!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk9KWFdykEU

Beside powder bronzers you can also buy cream or gel bronzers, they look more natural than powder ones. Unfortunately, there are not sold that much in drugstores.

Bronzer Essence Sun club blondes with warm undertone

NYX Blush in Taupe with cool undertone

Bronzer for contouring purposes: imagine how the natural light and shade hit your face and thanks to your bones and muscles structure create lighter/darker parts. For instance, when the shade is created under your cheek bones, your face looks slimmer. Some people get it by nature (I so envy them) some have to fake it…with bronzer. Now you say “I already have a bronzer for bronzing my face and that is enough”. Well, that is not really enough if you want to fake it well. Natural shade has cool, almost grey, undertone and that is why we should use bronzer with cool undertone not the regular bronzing one with warm undertone. It should also be matt as it is more natural.

I will talk about contouring in detail in next back to basic post.

For bronzing your face, I recommend:

• Essence Sun club blondes (powder, in DM drugstores, in Belgium in Kruidvat)
• Bourjois bronzing primer and Bourjois BB bronzing cream (cream and liquid bronzer, in DM drugstore, in Belgium in DI drugstore) 
• NYX Matte bronzer (powder, in Germany in Douglas perfumery or for ex. cherryculture.com) 
• Soleil tan de Chanel (cream, in perfumeries where they sell Chanel)

PHYTO GLOSS Colour enhancing express treatment (Soin express raviveur de couleur)

Since I’ve changed my hair colour from blond to brown I discovered that, to keep brown hair looking good, it takes as much time as when you are blond. I’ve noticed that once the colour starts to fade, quite quickly, my grey hair also appears more visible. So with this new hair trauma I decided to look for something mild I could use between two colorations to cover this hair situation. Being blond for 15 years gives hair lot of damage already so I didn’t want to colour it too often. As I was walking around cosmetic shelves in pharmacy I came across PHYTO GLOSS Colour enhancing express treatment. I was instantly interested and although it wasn’t cheap (19 € for 145 ml) I decided to give it a try.

What it promises: revives brown to dark brown hair colour, adds light and intensive chocolate shade. It nourishes hair as it contains Brazilian Pernambuco wood, mango and cacao butter. It doesn’t include ammoniac or other colouring ingredients. It says it lasts 4-5 washes and that the whole bottle lasts for 10 applications.

Application: I followed instructions on the bottle: use gloves, spread 4-6 pumps on washed hair (after shampooing) and leave for 5 minutes and rinse thoroughly. It says, you should first do an allergy test on small spot on your hand before using it on scalp.
It was little bit awkward to wash the hair and then put the gloves on and spread the product. Next time, I would wash my hair standing outside of the bath and then use the PHYTO GLOSS, and then take a shower and rinse it. One application was more than 4-6 pumps for me, so I would not say that one bottle last 10 applications, if your hair is at least mid-long like mine. I think it would last me about 5 applications.

PHYTO GLOSS Colour enhancing express treatment (Soin express raviveur de couleur)

Scent and colour: it has beautiful chocolate smell and colour, love it!

Texture: it has thick cream texture, something like John Frieda shampoos.

Hair colour after 1 application and its longevity: the colour turned nice warm chocolate dark brown. It wasn’t patchy, looked quite natural. It lasted really 4-5 washes which is great for me since I wash my hair only twice a week. With that in mind the bottle could last me about 10-15 weeks if I used it all the time. If you colour your hair every month and you use the product to postpone colouration by 2 weeks you would have to buy this product only every 5-7 month and reduce the colouration by 4 per year. Economically, if you buy colour for 10€ it is the same value in total with or without this product, the only difference (and important one) is that you damage your hair less when using PHYTO GLOSS as partial replacement of the colouration.

My final verdict: now the last question remains, did it colour my grey hair? Unfortunately it didn’t. This is the only complain I have and also the reason why I won’t purchase it again. I bought it mainly to hide my grey hair; the colour enhancing was only the second reason. Also I’ve changed my hair to cool dark brown therefore I cannot use PHYTO GLOSS anymore as it gives you very warm brown colour. Apart from this I liked the product and I will give it to my friend who has chocolate brown hair and no greys (lucky her).

Back to basic: face primer

Face primer is not a must for girls with normal, even skin and for those who wear makeup for less than 5 hours. For the rest of us, some kind of primer is quite needed.

There are several types of primers focusing on different skin problems:

• Mattifying primer that serves as the wall between sebum (skin’s natural oil) and foundation. It prevents skin from looking shiny and therefore suitable for oily skin.
• Primer covering uneven texture, for those who have acne scars, large pores or other skin texture issues. Most of these primers use as main ingredient Dimethicone to fill out the uneven spots in the skin.
• Primer increasing makeup longevity.
• Illuminating primer that helps to make dull, dry skin appear healthier, it gives skin more or less dewy finish (depends on amount of primer and how you apply). 
• Primer combatting redness. It tends to have greenish undertone and should be applied only on specific area where the redness appears.

Lot of primers combine some of the qualities mentioned above, e.g. mattifying primer may have Dimethicone as one of the main ingredients so it not only mattifies but also evens out skin texture as well.

Application

Before applying any makeup, you should prepare your skin well. Peeling and moisturizing is a good start. Let the moisturizer soak for some minutes (I let it work in for 10 minutes before starting with makeup application) and then apply face primer (or go straight to the foundation if you don’t need primer). After primer application you should also allow some time to let it set before going to the next step. If you apply primer having Dimethicone you should only gently blend foundation over it since it tends to move, especially if you don’t let it sit on the skin for a while.

I have mostly dry skin, so most of the year I use illuminating primers. If my foundation is medium or full coverage I mix the primer with foundation otherwise it would not be visible due to higher foundation coverage. If you have sheer or low coverage foundation you can just put it under the foundation and it’s enough to show. Illuminating primer can also serve as highlighter on specific parts of face if you don’t intend to use powder one.
I also use primer to increase longevity of my foundation since most of the foundations suitable for dry skin are not long-lasting at all.
As we get to the warmer part of the year I will also grab mattifying primer for my T-zone which serves also to hide my large pores around the nose. This primer is also nice for photography purposes.

(from left to right) Benefit Highbeam, Yves Rocher Perfect base, Elisabeth Arden Let there be a light, Benefit Porefessional, Clinique Pore refine solution

Primers I recommend:

• To mattify and even out skin texture: Benefit Porefessional (at Sephora, at Inno in Belgium), Clinique Pore Refining solution (at Sephora, at Inno, in Slovakia in perfumeries), L’Oreal Studio Secrets face primer, Catrice Prime and Fine, Rimmel London Stay Matt primer.
• To illuminate your skin: Benefit Highbeam (at Sephora, at Inno), NARS Illuminator (at Sephora), Elisabeth Arden Let there be a light (at eu.strawberrynet.com, amazon.com), L’Oreal Magique Lumi.
• To increase makeup longevity: Yves Rocher Perfect primer (so far the best primer for makeup longevity issues I’ve ever tried).

L’Oreal self-tanners: Sublime bronze and NutriBronze

Today I decided to write few reviews on self-tanners, starting with L’Oreal ones. Hope it helps if you wanted to buy some of them.

L’Oreal Sublime bronze lait autobronzant (lotion) 

Smell: it has typical self-tanner smell that lasts for a while.

Application: easy to apply as it is a lotion and not very sticky. The self-tanner doesn’t have any colour indicator which is a disadvantage especially for self-tanning beginners. It says on the bottle that it is suitable also for the face but I haven’t had the courage to do so due to the lack of colour indicator and colour itself as well.
Colour: the tan has orange undertone, but if you don’t put more than 2 applications the orange undertone is bearable and it looks quite ok. It tanned my skin up approximately by 4 shades. After 3rd application colour turned very orange and it looked unnatural so I wouldn’t suggest going beyond 2nd applications.
Longevity and fading: it lasts about 3 days which is kind of the standard for drugstore self-tanners. It fades nicely, not patchy. One bottle (150 ml) lasted me about 3 weeks.

L’Oreal Sublime bronze golden mousse

Smell: just like other Sublime Bronze it has typical self-tanner smell that hangs on for a while.
Application: the mousse texture makes it easy to apply, just as easy as the lotion; the self-tanner has the colour indicator which is excellent for beginners and even I, not a beginner, like to see where I put it.
Colour: after 2 applications very nice tan, with natural brownish undertone, my skin was about 3 shades darker.
Longevity and fading: this is where it disappointed me. The colour and application was very nice, but it faded so patchy that I would start to scrub it at first sight of “maps” on my body. Also, after trying for few weeks the cap on bottle broke and it started leaking all over the place so I had to stop using it.

(from left to right) L'Oreal Sublime Bronze (mousse), NutriBronze, Sublime Bronze (lotion)

L’Oreal NutriBronze lait hydratant (lotion)

Smell: it has typical self-tanner smell that hangs on for a while.
Application: it is a lotion so easy to apply. However the skin becomes very sticky so it is not very comfortable 10-15 minutes after the application.
Colour: after 3 applications there was almost no colour. On the bottle there is a small scale what colour your skin should turn when you use it 3 days in a row but I haven’t noticed almost any colour. My natural skin colour is very light (in MAC I’m NW15-NW20) so I expected to see some colour after 3 applications.
Longevity and fading: since there was almost no colour after 3 applications I stopped using it (I wouldn’t use it even as a lotion since it smells like self-tanner and the skin gets sticky) so I cannot report on its longevity and fading.

Final verdict: if I had to choose from these 3 L’Oreal self-tanners I would go for Sublime Bronze lotion as it was quite ok (it would be great if the colour hadn’t orange undertone). Other 2 self-tanners turned to be actually awful (for different reasons).

What self-tanner are you using? 

Skin cleansing

We all know how important it is to remove makeup and cleanse skin. But to find good cleansing gel and makeup remover can be a problem. Makeup remover either doesn’t remove makeup well and we rub and rub the eye with cotton pad or it is so aggressive that it stings like crazy and goes straight in the trash. To find good cleansing gel is not easy either, especially for girls with dry skin (lot of gels create a feeling of tearing skin apart).

Good cleansing gel/makeup remover should be:

• gentle (if it's extremely drying, it creates skin irritation, redness, dry patchy spots),
• effective (if it doesn't clean well enough, make up that stays on skin clog the pores, inflames skin, and leads to for ex. acne),
• without strong perfume and peeling (it can harm upper skin layer),
• suitable to your skin type and skin conditions (dry skin can afford more emollient cleansers than oily skin).

Traditional eye makeup removing (cotton pad, makeup remover and rubbing your eyes) is not the gentlest way to get rid of makeup. By rubbing the eyes, the cotton pad creates little cracks in the eyelid skin which leads to loss of elasticity and to hooded eye (of course it is not the only factor influencing skin elasticity, to name few – excessive sun exposure, aging and others). The solution in this case would be a makeup remover in form of gel or oil which “slides” on the skin instead of rubbing it.

Moisture boost one step face cleanser (left), Bioderma solution micellaire (right)

I use Moisture Boost One Step Face cleanser by Paula’s choice (473 ml for 28,50 €).  It is not the cheapest makeup remover but it lasts 6 months. It removes everything very well, I use it on the eyes and face, and it doesn’t dry my skin. It replaces classic trio eye makeup remover-cotton pads-cleansing gel so it is quicker and maybe even less expensive than classic trio at the end. If you think it is too expensive try to search on www.beautypedia.com where Paula Begoun and her team review different cosmetic products, you will certainly find something cheaper than this one. I use Moisture Boost cleanser only in shower as I hate when water runs all over my hands and neck. If it happens that I don’t take shower in the evening I remove makeup with Bioderm -Solution micellaire (500 ml for 19€, it lasts 3 months). It is gentle, the texture is like water and it removes makeup quite well although I’m not sure if it would remove waterproof mascara.

Beside above mentioned cleansers/makeup removers, I also recommend:

• Sephora cleansing oil 
• MAC cleansing oil 
• Virgin coconut oil 
• Mary Kay Timewise cleanser
• Paula's Choice Moisture boost one step face cleanser

How do you clean your skin, girls? What do you use?

Back to basic: Eyeshadow primer

If you have oily eyelids, you probably already know this product. I think it is an absolute must as it avoids the lines of mixed eyeshadows in the crease at the end of the day. Since I discovered it I haven't put any eyeshadow on without applying it first.

 

Eyeshadow primer serves primarily to prevent eyeshadows from creasing but it has other important functions as well:

 

•  it helps your eyeshadows to last longer (my eye look lasted untouched through my kickboxing class!),
• it prevents low quality eyeshadow from flaking, falling all over the under eye area (which happens even if you tap off excess eyeshadow, if you don’t put the primer),
•  it makes a colour more vibrant (in most cases a poor pigmented eyeshadow can look at least average),
• it helps to hold cream eyeshadows better especially if they are not marketed as long-lasting.

 

They come in different packaging and shades: pots, squeeze tubes, crayons, tubes with doe-foot applicator…The difference is just a matter of personal preference although I think the squeeze tube is the best option from the hygienic point of view.

 

What concerns the colour, some primers come transparent and they don't show on eye at all, other have skin-like colour. Some brands sell also primers with different colours and these come usually in form of crayons or paint pots and serve also as cream eyeshadows. I prefer skin-like colour primers since they not only prep my eyelid for the eyeshadow but they also create bare canvas erasing discoloration and few visible capillaries.

 

  

(from left to right) KIKO Eye Base primer, Too Faced Shadow insurance (deluxe sample), MAC paint pot

 

 

Price tag depends on what you can afford, some cheap eyeshadow primers are as good as expensive ones. Depends on the size and packaging one tube of primer can last you up to 1 year.

 

Here is my choice, with the drugstore price: 

•  Kiko base primer (Italian brand, www.kikocosmetics.eu, skin-like colour)  
• Elf eyeshadow primer (site www.eyeslipsface.com, drugstores in US or www.eyeslipsface.be in Belgium, www.elf-kozmetika.eu/sk in Slovakia)  
• Hema eyeshadow primer (only available in Hema store in Belgium)  
• NYX eyeshadow primer (www.nyxcosmetics.com, cherryculture.com, drugstores in US, cosmetic stores in Germany)

Here is my higher-end choice:  

• Urban Decay eyeshadow primer potion (few colours, at Sephora)  
•  MAC paint pot (skin-like colours: Soft Ochre or Painterly, but another 23 colours available)  
• Too faced shadow insurance (few colours, at Sephora)

Face self-tanning towelettes: GARNIER AMBRE SOLAIRE vs. VICHY CAPITAL SOLEIL

I've been trying lot of self-tanners past 18 months and I will try to review them all before the summer comes so that you have some information before buying them. Self-tanning is healthier than sun bathing and since I'm very pale I rely quite often on self-tanners. I was very curious about these self-tanning towelettes, as the price was quite affordable.

Price: Both were around 1,50 € per package (1 towelette). You can buy Garnier in any drugstore, Vichy in pharmacies.

Smell:
GR: it has very typical self-tanner smell that lingers for a long time, so if you are not used to the self-tanners or you hate that smell; it may not be a pleasant experience for you.
V: it doesn't have a self-tanner smell at all, rather very light floral scent that is not very noticeable and goes away after short time.

Colour:
GR: the undertone of tan colour is orange so it doesn't look very natural, especially if you put too much product. You have to be very careful otherwise it will look very orangey and definitely not sexy.
V: tan undertone is little bit yellowish but my skin’s undertone is neutral with hint of yellow so it looks very natural on me.

GARNIER AMBRE SOLAIRE natural bronzeur lingette autobronzante visage (left), VICHY CAPPITAL SOLAIRE auto bronzant lingette hydratante visage

Application: first of all, prepare the skin by using peeling to allow even application and to extend tan longevity. Once applied, moisturize your face well and do not use peelings, acids or other products that peel upper skin layer unless you want to get rid of the tan. You have to pay attention to how you apply the products in both cases. Avoid eyes area, start at the outer part of the face, and then lightly wipe it around the centre, very lightly on the nose. Wash your hands thoroughly after the application.

GR: with light application it can darken your face by 2 shades, with heavy hands even by 4 shades. One towelette had enough of product to use not only on the face but also on the hands. It turned out to be very patchy though not like on my faceL.

V: after light application the face colour can change by 1 shade, after heavy application only by 2 shades. If the difference between your face and body is much darker than 2 shades, this product won't be enough to even the skin colour. There is enough of product only for application so the towelette is not as wet as the GR one (but they both have 5,6 ml according to the packaging). I find it rather advantageous since it reduces the chance for faulty application. My skin felt hydrated just like the statement on package says.

Longevity and fading:
GR: tan lasted only 2-3 days. It wasn't fading in patches, which is good news.
V: tan lasted 3-4 days. It was fading nicely just like GR.

Final verdict: since the price of both products is similar, I would go for Vichy. Tan looked nice and natural on me, it applied easily, lasted longer than after GR towelette. On the other hand, since it still lasted only few days, so I would need to buy about 7 towelettes per month which adds up to 10,50€. I'm not sure if I'm willing to spend that money every month but for the special occasion I would definitely buy it.

John Frieda Sheer Blonde – Go Blonder Lightening spray vs. Balea Professional – More Blond Spray

I’ve tried these products some time ago but I still wanted to write about them since the concept is really interesting. Price of “original” John Frieda spray was 5,95 € for 100 ml while the DM store own brand Balea spray 2,95 € for 150 ml. I bought them in Germany, so the price and availability may vary by country in which you live.

Application:  spray hair you’d like to highlight. Then use the heating tool to activate the liquid (e.g.  hair dryer, curling iron or flat iron).

Scent: the smell of both of them is not very nice but it doesn’t bother me to the point that I wouldn’t use them. Balea spray’s perfume reminds me of nuts but if you keep it for long time the smell will turn into Peroxide smell that is so typical for hospitals.

Texture: both products are liquids but if you shake John Frieda spray you’ll get some kind of foam or “denser” liquid than Balea spray has which I feel like you don’t need to use as much as in case of Balea to get the same effect.

John Frieda Sheer Blonde – Go Blonder Lightening spray (left), Balea Professional – More Blond Spray (right)

Hair color after 2-3 applications: if you expect to get very light cool color after using these products you’d be disappointed. They change the color of your hair but it is a warm medium blond (if your natural color is brown) and for this reason they are not suitable for all blonds. I personally tend to have cool tone color in my hair and the products didn’t work for me. When I was trying them I ended up having 3 colors in my hair: my cool tone brown on my roots, warm medium blond for 2 cm and then rest of the hair light cool tone color. Not the best view, this rainbowL.

So, unless you desire warm medium to light blond these products won’t work for you. It’s a pity because the idea is great and it works for some people, unfortunately not for me. Also, I can imagine that if you have brown hair and you’d like to have some warm blond highlights that could be a cheap option (let me know if you try it and if it looks good).

Ingredients: both products have the active ingredient Hydrogen Peroxide, apart from that they have another 5 ingredients in common. Here is the list of ingredients, common ones in bold:

JOHN FRIEDA: WATER, HYDROGEN PEROXIDE, POLYSORBATE 20, DISODIUM PHOSPHATE, PHOSPHORIC ACID, VP/VA COPOLYMER, FRAGRANCE, POLYQUATERNIUM-47, POLYQUATERNIUM-55, PROPYLENE GLYCOL, EXT. VIOLET 2, VITIS VINIFERA, (GRAPE) JUICE EXTRACT, ALCOHOL, CHAMOMILLA RECUTITA (MATRICARIA), FLOWER EXTRACT, CITRUS MEDICA LIMONUM (LEMON) PEEL EXTRACT, GLYCERIN, HELIANTHUS ANNUUS (SUNFLOWER) SEED EXTRACT, VITIS VINIFERA (GRAPE) SEED EXTRACT TOCOPHEROL, PEG-40 HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL

BALEA: WATER, HYDROGEN PEROXIDE, PANTHENOL, CETRIMONIUM CHLORIDE, PHYTANTRIOL, VP/VA COPOLYMER, COCOGLUCOSIDE, PARFUM, CHAMOMILLA RECUTITA FLOWER EXTRACT, GLYCERIN, CITRUS LIMON PEEL EXTRACT, SALICYLIC ACID, LAURTRIMONIUM CHLORIDE, DISODIUM EDTA, LIMONENE, ALPHA-ISOMETHYL IONONE

My final verdict: If I wanted warm medium blond the products would be great to cover up the roots between hairdresser visits. If I had to pick one of them I would go for Balea as it gives the same effect for less money.