MAC Fashion Sets: Razzledazzler Lipstick Review, Swatches, and Photos.

May 9

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***I have not been posting because I have used up all of my room for uploading files. I am still trying to switch to WordPress.org and will update this with photos as soon as I am able to***

MAC Razzledazzler Lipstick

  • Razzledazzler is described as a light cream peach. You can find this exclusively online for $14.50 for .1 ounces of product.
MAC recently launched what they called ‘Fashion Sets’, or sets of best selling colors of matching lipsticks, lipglasses, and nail polishes. Most were inspired by best selling lipsticks while a few were inspired by lip pencils. This collection is separated into 4 sections: North America, Asia Pacific, Europe & Africa, and Latin American & Middle East. Some colors overlap, and the colors included in your region will be the only ones available in store, while all are available online. Razzledazzler is limited edition in every sense to those in North America as it isn’t sold here, yet is a permanent item in Asia and is part of the Asia Pacific section of this collection. 
Razzledazzler is a very natural light coral color, and because of how light this color is it appears more peachy. This color runs somewhere in between semi-sheer and semi-opaque, and since it is a lustre finish that is something expected with that formulation. Razzledazzler applies evenly to the lips without any tugging, wearing for about 3 hours before I need to reapply. I don’t feel like this color dries out my lips either, which is especially nice considering I am extremely prone to developing chapped lips.  Like all MAC lipsticks, this too has the vanilla scent that is light and lasts less than a minute before it vanishes.

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SpaRitual Shower the People Top Coat Review, Swatches, and Photos.

May 2

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SpaRitual Shower the People Nail Polish

  • Shower the People is a glittery purple, fuchsia, and indigo top coat suspended in a clear base. You can find this at salons for $10.
When I initially bought Shower the People, I was expecting the glitter to be much more pronounced as I expected it to be an actual nail color. However, I was wrong! You’ll see down below the many pictures I have taken trying to capture its beauty as it hits the light, and really the pictures don’t do it any justice and it doesn’t even begin to pick up all of the colors and dimension included in the little glass bottle. I just wish that same effect translated to the nail. After four coats I gave up on trying to make the shimmer more noticeable, and the only time you could really see it is when it was in direct sunlight, that’s why the physical swatches barely turned out (although I tried my hardest!) It’s so sheer, it most likely will forever be used as decoration on my shelf from now on instead of using it as a top coat unless I feel especially patient that day. I would probably have to double up on the amount of layers I initially applied for this to be seen by others, and as a top coat it just isn’t phenomenal at all. It tends to scuff easily, takes forever to dry, doesn’t do anything to increase the wear time of the actual nail polish, and dries with more of a natural than a shiny finish that most prefer. The polish itself is a little thicker than most top coats but does spread evenly across the nail without any issues of pooling.
The packaging of this bottle is also something I really enjoy and something I consider worthy of touching on. The bottle itself is very pretty to look at, the ridged top is something not commonly seen, and is easy to identify among a horde of other polishes. The top has an awesome grip  rubber-y material that actually really does help with opening the nail polish and holding onto it while applying the color. The brush size is just a little larger than that of brands like China Glaze, and it does a decent job for what it is designed to do, although I do still prefer the larger and wider brushes, however, this brush is still well constructed and of quality.

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Deborah Lippmann On The Beach Nail Polish Review, Swatches, and Photos.

Apr 29

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Deborah Lippmann On The Beach Nail Polish

  • On The Beach is described as a rich riviera blue with a creme finish. This retails for $16.

On The Beach is a gorgeous color that is limited edition from Deborah Lippmann’s spring/summer line. This color is so incredibly perfect for summertime, and a breath of fresh air in comparison to the many teals we have been seeing hitting the market – this medium sky blue color is really gorgeous. In fact, the entire Lippmann spring/summer collection is something to take note of with its beauty, showcasing colors that you would like to see around this time of the year but they have a bit of oomph I have yet to see from other brands. I really enjoy the chic, cube look of Deborah Lippmann’s polishes, however that isn’t their selling point to me. What I love most is the formula — On The Beach was opaque in 2 coats and wore for about a week and a half before I saw any minor chipping. The color is of an average thickness, taking about average time to dry down as well. It applies rather evenly without any pooling with its wider brush, similar to the size of OPI and is of excellent quality. OPI’s Fly from the Nicki Minaj collection is a bit greener and more teal in comparison. I didn’t have any issue with On The Beach staining my skin upon removing it, like I did with Fly.

*Side note* Please keep in mind that I will only be posting 5 times a week until I can get some things figured out and a new job. I’ll let you know as soon as I can start posting daily and will do that as soon as possible. For now, expect posts Sunday-Thursday! Sorry for the inconvenience, I will be back full time as quickly as I can, I promise!

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MAC 231 Small Shader Brush Review and Photos.

Apr 29

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MAC 231 Small Shader Brush

  • 231 is a small, slightly rounded and flattened paddle-shaped brush intended for use on the eyes. You can find this anywhere MAC is sold for $18.

I am SO excited to be back and posting regularly once again! I am very sad about my leave of absence because of some serious health issues and my computer deciding to delete every single file on it due to a virus just topped all of my stressors off. However, I’m back and I won’t be leaving you again! I might have to only post 5 days a week as I have had to quit my job for a month to get everything in order for graduation and won’t be able to get as many products to review as usual, but I will try my best as always.

Now, on to the review :)

I bought this brush solely for application of glitter, although it does a fantastic job at applying powder shadows, too. This brush is ideal for glitters because it is small and dense, making it easy for me to dip it into my favorite glitter adhesive and it picks up the best amount of glitter, applying it evenly. Because of the densely packed bristles it really aids in color payoff, helping it to be as pigmented as the shadow allows. This brush is extremely versatile as you can also use it with cream products, and it does a fantastic job at blending shadows and smoking out eyeliner. This brush is of high quality and has soft hairs that don’t exhibit any bleeding of dye, splaying, or shedding during use or after washing it just like many other MAC brushes. This brush has synthetic fibers.

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I Know I’ve Been M.I.A. As of Late…

Apr 22

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And I truly apologize for it. I don’t want to go on a long rant about all of the things that have been happening in my life, but I’m trying to get everything sorted out. Hopefully, all will be calm by this week and I will be able to continue on with daily posting. With personal and financial issues, I haven’t been able to be as consistent as usual or as I would like to be. This is not the end of the blog and is only temporary — trust me, it is not an excuse for me to be lazy! On top of all of this, my computer just crashed wiping out every single file including all photos and swatches and I’m really devastated. So while I take an inventory on what I need to photograph again, please be patient with me! I am committed to bringing you the best of the best, and my absence has not lived up to that promise.While I work on fixing everything, I will be doing regular posts within a few days again, trying to get over the fact of how many files (sadly, including many finals for school) I have lost. 

Thank you for your understanding,

Sam

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MAC 212 Flat Definer Brush Review and Photos.

Apr 15

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MAC 212 Flat Definer Brush

  • 212 is a small, flat brush intended for use on the eyes. This is sold at all MAC locations for $22.50.
I wanted the 212 mainly for use in creating more defined and precise cut crease eye looks. Some use it as an eyeliner brush, but I prefer it to be used in different ways. The bristles of the brush a densely packed to give concentrated color payoff. This brush is also very nice to be used to blend out eyeliner to give it more of a smoldering look. The brush itself is very well made, as MAC brushes usually are, and the hairs are extremely soft. I didn’t notice any of the dye in my sink after washing it initially and I haven’t had the brush shed yet. The brush has synthetic hairs and can be used in liquid, powder, or cream products. 

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SpaRitual Solaris Nail Polish Review, Swatches, and Photos.

Apr 14

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SpaRitual Solaris Nail Polish

  • Solaris is a neon orange nail polish. You can find this at salons for $10.

With Pantone announcing that Tangerine Tango would be the color of 2012, I was saddened. Orange is simply not my color, it looks all sorts of wrong on me. I figured I could pull this color into my everyday dress by using it as sparingly as possible, so I picked up Solaris thinking it would be the perfect orange that would catch people’s eye. This neon is extremely bright (yes, it does glow under black light!) but it is also extremely sheer. Neon polishes are usually sheer, so I wasn’t incredibly surprised, but it was kind of a let down. I used 4 coats and my nail line was still very visible, but in order to cut down the number of coats and increase the opacity of this polish, try using a white base underneath like OPI’s Alpine Snow. However, Solaris is nothing in comparison to Thunder Road. The polish chipped about 12 hours after application, and started cracking about 2 days after.On the up side, drying time was about average. 

The packaging of this bottle is also something I really enjoy and something I consider worthy of touching on. The bottle itself is very pretty to look at, the ridged top is something not commonly seen, and is easy to identify among a horde of other polishes. The top has an awesome grip  rubber-y material that actually really does help with opening the nail polish and holding onto it while applying the color. The brush size is just a little larger than that of brands like China Glaze, and it does a decent job for what it is designed to do, although I do still prefer the larger and wider brushes, however, this brush is still well constructed and of quality.

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Chanel Perfection Lumiere Liquid Foundation Review, Swatches, and Photos.

Apr 12

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Chanel Perfection Lumiere Liquid Foundation

Chanel could easily be considered the epitome of luxury, and the price of this foundation ($55 for 1 ounce of product) easily reflects that. After having some really bad luck with Matte Lumiere also from Chanel, I was extremely hesitant to try out Perfection, but after hearing reviews of how it was long wearing and had a more matte finish than Matte Lumiere, oddly, I decided to take the plunge. I do like it, probably more than I have liked any of the foundations I have tried in the past year (even LM’s Silk Creme). However, I still can’t say that it is a foundation I am in love with, sadly. I would love to find ‘the one’ as far as it goes with foundation, but good things come to those who wait…

This foundation is medium coverage, but can easily be sheered up or the coverage can easily build – it’s very versatile in that way. The texture is soft and silky and it applies like a dream with a sponge, brush, or your trusty fingers, too. Perfection Lumiere is great for everyday wear as it is packed with SPF, however I wouldn’t recommend it for events when you will be photographed heavily as you may look a few shades lighter than you actually are while wearing this. This dries down to a matte finish, and a has a light floral scent when you first apply, however I feel as though it fades away rather quickly and I no longer notice it after a few minutes, although my nose isn’t particularly sensitive to cosmetic fragrance. Chanel says this is long wearing, and while it does stick around on my oil slick of a face much longer than Matte Lumiere, I still wouldn’t say it stays for 12 hours on those with oily skin. On days when I’m extra oily, even after taking all the extra steps in the morning to combat the issue (milk of magnesia in a thin layer on the face, De-Slick Gel, oil control lotions…) It still starts to fall apart a bit after 6 hours of wear. I don’t mind touching it up, but once again, a foundation falls to oily skin. I would really love to see more medium-full coverage foundations targeted to oily skin that ACTUALLY put up a fight. You know, oily skinned people need foundation too :(

The packaging is traditional of Chanel’s liquid foundation, coming in a pump that dispenses a decent amount of product. I haven’t had any issues of the nozzle getting clogged, which is great! I need about 2 pumps to fully cover my skin. I am MAC NC30, and I wear 30 Beige. I feel it looks perfect on my skin, not too yellow, but mostly neutral.

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MAC Reel Sexy: Watch Me Simmer Lipstick Review, Swatches, and Photos.

Apr 10

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MAC Watch Me Simmer Lipstick

  • Watch Me Simmer is described as a bright pink-orange. You can find this at all MAC locations and stores for $14.50 for .1 ounces of product.

When Watch Me Simmer initially came out, I figured I would pick up other items in the Shop MAC, Cook MAC collection and that it wasn’t a hue I absolutely needed. Of course I realized that this wasn’t true too late, as it was sold out as soon as I knew I needed to add this color to my stash. For once in my life luck was on my side, and just a few weeks later, which is almost unheard of from MAC, Watch Me Simmer was released again in the Reel Sexy collection – yay!

This amplified lipstick is opaque and applies evenly in one swipe, leaving a creamy finish with a nice amount of shine. Watch Me Simmer is a real coral – many times you see the color leaning more pink or orange, but I feel that this is right in the middle, the perfect blend of bright pink and orange to satisfy your need to have one of summer’s hottest colors displayed on your lips. For those who can’t pull off full-blown orange (like myself) coral is a nice alternative while still staying trendy. I get about 3 hours of wear from Watch Me Simmer, and while wearing it throughout the day I don’t experience any drying tendencies from the lipstick, either. Like all MAC lipsticks, this too has the vanilla scent that is light and lasts less than a minute before it vanishes.

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MAC Cockney Lipstick Review, Swatches, and Photos.

Apr 9

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MAC Cockney Lipstick

  • Cockney is described as a sheer yellow-red with multi-dimensional pearl. You can find this at MAC for $14.50 for .1 ounces of product.

Usually I’m not the biggest fan of warmer reds, mainly because it tends to accentuate some of the stubborn stains on my teeth. However, i have always heard about the wonders of Cockney, so I decided to give the lipstick a try — as someone who has been blessed with quite a neutral skin tone, why limit myself to cool or warm colors when I can have the best of both worlds?!

Upon removing Cockney from its packaging I realized just how pretty this lipstick really is. The plain black tube may look like nothing special, but I promise this color is eye catching. This warm deep orange-y red applies with semi-opaque color with really beautiful gold shimmer that is subtle, yet manages to sparkle really nicely in the light. The color itself is vampy yet fun, something that could easily be worn year-round despite many feeling that reds belong to the holiday season. Since Cockney has a Lustre finish, the color not only has the sheerness behind it but also a great deal of shine, and it doesn’t dry out my lips at all. I get a solid 3.5 hours of wear, and it does stain my lips a little so it isn’t as high maintenance as other more vivid colors. Like all of MAC lipsticks, Cockney has the traditional vanilla scent that only seems to linger for a few minutes before it has faded completely.

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