Dainty Doll
Dainty Doll is a small line of cosmetics developed by Nicola Roberts, better known as the really pale, ginger one from Girls Aloud. As part of a television series focusing on four of the five girls, Nicola challenged herself to create a cosmetic line for very fair-skinned women.
I was really excited when I saw the range. Nicola is ghostly, and during her segments of the program, talked about how hard it was to find a foundation that didn't leave her looking like an Oompa Loompa. I was trying to buy the stuff before Jelly Pong Pong (the company producing the line) even had it on the market. And then it sold out immediately. I got on the mailing list, so when it became available again, I bought some.
It took about 8 days from my order to get here from England, so I feel like that's a good shipment time. My foundation came in last night, and first I was very pleased by the packaging. I love good packaging, and the little foundation pot comes in an adorable box. I was surprised at how small the pot was, but then, you get less than an ounce of foundation, so I shouldn't have expected much.
Day One
The Good:
The color is amazing. I bought Ivory, the mid-range color, and it blends into my skin perfectly. I have not had such a good color match since I went to Prescriptives. I'm not sure I even had as good a match then.
The fragrance is light and not unpleasant. Even fragrance free makeups are going to have some odor to them. Fragrance free just means no perfumes added anyway. The foundation does have a very slight makeup-y smell, but it goes away quickly.
The foundation's wearing weight is wonderful! It feels like there is nothing on my face. Even the whipped mousse foundations usually have some weight to them, but this is surprisingly light.
The Questionable:
Dainty Doll's foundation comes in a blob that really resembles silly putty, and that was a little off-putting. It also has no applicator, so you're down to your fingers or, as I prefer, a foundation brush.
I was surprised at how creamy the foundation was, and decided to apply sparingly. I ended up going back over with a heavier application. While I like the creamy texture, it goes on a bit like theatrical makeup. That is, it seems to layer over skin rather than clinging to it. This means that it will wipe or smear easily before it has had a chance to dry (normally I would use more loose powder to set the foundation, but I wanted a truer test of the cosmetic itself.) It also means that other colors will cling to it.
That's actually a good thing. I ended up using half the eyeshadow and blush I normally do, because the colors really grabbed onto the foundation. I was a little irritated with the way my eyeliner went on.
I put the foundation on my eyelids before I knew how creamy it was. When I drew my eyeliner on over it, my eyeliner went on like a streak of tar. The good news was I could blend it out easily. The bad news was, it smeared like crazy, so I was a little raccoonish before I got out the q-tips and loose powder. I ended up using an eyeshadow brush to dust loose powder over the eyeliner before I even put on my eyeshadow.
The Bad:
I have been wearing the foundation for about 4 hours now. The lower half of my face (cheeks, chin, jawline) looks great and smooth. The foundation leaves your skin feeling very soft, by the way. My T-zone definitely needs freshening. The foundation is separating in the space between my eyebrows--my oiliest skin--and is a little flaky on my forehead, where my skin is driest. I would like to have a compact so that I could touch it up, but I would not like to pay for another jar of the stuff right now.
Day Two: After wearing the makeup for two days, I think it is nice. I'm not really a foundation person, so I won't be using it for daily wear, but will definitely use it for special events.
All in all, I like it. I haven't been itching. My skin, even though it goes on like theatrical makeup, can breathe and feels fresh. The color is so fantastic, I'm amazed. It is light and gives decent coverage. (Let's face it, with a shade that pale, you aren't going to get a lot of coverage unless you're willing to look like a harlequin.) It did not spackle my wrinkles, but it also did not sink down into my pores. The overall effect is very good, and I would suggest it to all my pale sisters.
