Tag Archives | Swatches

MAC Peacocky Kissable Lipcolor Swatches + Info

Who said lipgloss was dead? MAC will be debuting 4 new collections over the next couple of weeks. One of which is Peacocky, jam packed with color.  This is what we like, yes?

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MAC + Nicki Minaj Pink Friday Lipstick: Info + Swatches

Nicki Minaj and MAC Cosmetics have teamed up to bring you a new satin lipstick, Pink Friday.  This is a limited edition lippie, available for the next four fridays only via maccosmetics.com. Minaj isn’t one of my favorite artists, but I love that she always has fun with her makeup!

Here’s a swatch of the lipstick on my arm in natural light.

Analysis: This a little too light for my liking. I don’t think it’s any different than any other bubble gum pink out there. If I did wear it, I would pair it with a darker gloss, like Funtabulous Dazzleglass. After I get through my current dark red lip phase, I’ll give this a whirl! I had a matte pink lipstick phase {pics here} a few years ago, when I found Gladiola lipstick. I really like that the lipstick is satin, so you can make it frosty or glossy.

Purchase Here: Pink 4 Friday

Price: $14.oo

A sample of this lipstick was provided for blog post consideration.

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MAC Venomous Villains Collection Swatches + Recommendations

The MAC Venomous Villains Collection actually took me by surprise.  I saw the preview images on Temptalia’s website and thought the collection was a great marketing effort.  Really, they used the Disney villains that we grew up terrified of.  The promo pictures arrived in my inbox, and I thought hmm, this isn’t all that bad. Then a box arrived at my door and after I started swatching, I became a believer. [No, not because MAC sent me product for possible review, but because I was able to swatch, feel and work with the product.]

Do You Really Need the Entire Collection?

No.

Everything isn’t stellar and doesn’t have the “Oh I have to have it” stamp. There’s a bunch of it that’s either average or pretty boring. There are a few items, 12 or so, that I really liked [pictured above]. You may have something similar and they might not be 100% original, but they really stood out to me. A large part of the collection is re-promoted.  I’d say half of it is safe, while half is vampy and outrageous. It definitely has an Autumn focus with the dark colors. The two pigments pictured [Brash & Bold and Push The Edge] are re-promotes, but they’re super pretty. The shadow above, De-Vil, is a pretty burnt copper. Really it’s nice, but it wasn’t really swatch worthy.

Here’s what you might like:

Swatches left to right: My Dark Magic (large crescent to the left, small to the right) and She Who Dares

Mineralize Eye Shadows always deserve extra attention.  The two for one wet and dry combo is always a winner. [The above swatches were done by adding a drop of water to the eyeshadow, than swatching it.  Using it dry will make it look a little less exciting.] Plus, don’t they just create the coolest color combos? You’ll also notice that I mentioned Carbon eyeshadow.  I feel like it’s a staple shadow, ultra dark, matte and crazy pigmented.

Swatches Left to Right: Innocence, Beware!, Heartless, Violetta, Dark Deed

Lipsticks: This go round, 4 of the 6 lipsticks were sexy to me. Violetta is my love [swatches + my love letter]. Innocence is a Creemsheen, but you’ll need to pair it with a warm liner and gloss. Dark Deed is a classic burgundy, try it with a purple or red gloss over it for added dimension.

Cooling Powder: When I read about the cooling powder, my initial thought was that it was repackaged from Prescriptives.  They made a cooling powder that my friend Owen sold me back in 2004.  It sets your makeup, diffuses blemishes and literally feels cool as it touches your face. I haven’t used it in years.

Swatches left to right: Revenge is Sweet, Wicked Ways, Hothouse

Product left to right: Wicked Ways, Hothouse, Revenge is Sweet

Lipglass: Very nice colors this go round.  I thought Revenge is Sweet would be more “full coverage”, but it’s a creamier gloss, perfect for wearing over lipsticks. The others are great alone or paired up with something else.

A Bite of Apple Blush: Finally. A matte deep coral with personality! Perfect on the most chocolatey complexions to the snow white complexions [Pun intended]. I tried to swatch it but it looked dumb.  On the cheek however, it’s perfection. The picture above does it no justice!

Overall, because the collection was so large, it ended up averaging out to being pretty good. Keep in mind, I didn’t even picture over 20 products. The collection debuts on the 30th, but typically winds up online a few days prior.

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Make Up For Ever Lipstick Relaunch: Amazing!

Make Up For Ever has reformulated their lipsticks.  I’m not going to lie. They are freakin’ amazing.  I have a strict lipstick rule.  There are very, very few sheer lipsticks that I like.  I’m all about color payoff.  These are FULL of color. I literally ran into Sephora the other day, and swatched as many colors as I could.  Sadly, I didn’t get to write down any of the names.

I modeled one of these lipsticks, number 48, in my latest Youtube video.  After the hour of shooting the video (and cutting out 50 minutes of info) and 2 hours of editing, the only thing that people really commented on was my lip color! Make Up For Ever Rouge Intense Lipsticks ($19) are available at Sephora and Make Up For Ever Boutiques!

Note: A few samples were sent to me by the PR company for consideration.  None of these (except for the shade in my video) was used in this post. This gave me the opportunity to touch, feel, and swatch the product.  This did not alter any of my decisions. For more information, please review my disclosure policy on the top left of the page.

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Deborah Lippmann Nail Polish Rocks!

Here’s a shot of my nails today.  I cannot express my infatuation with Deborah Lippmann glitter nail polishes!  Never in a million years did I see myself wearing glitter on my nails! They aren’t gritty and cheap looking like most other polishes.  I describe them as shards of chunky foil, engulfed in a cocoon of nail jelly. The color above is called Happy Birthday, which includes gold, red, blue, silver and green glitter.  I can’t even tell you how many compliments I’ve received.

You can wear them alone, but you’ll need to wear several coats. I actually prefer to use it over another shade of polish. I’m wearing a MAC nail polish, and I’ve misplaced it, so I can’t tell you the shade. I used two coats of Happy Birthday on top of my nails.

$18 for a bottle of nail polish is way outside of my new nail budget. In fact, I feel like anything over $10 is too much.  However, I will be purchasing every shade of the glitter polish that I don’t already own. This includes the All That Jazz polish set ($40). I also already have Bad Romance and Across the Universe and I wear them every other week. Ever since I got these, my nails haven’t been without them. They are the perfect finishing touch to a plain nail.  The non-glitter shades look chic and exclusive (they’re $16).  I haven’t tried them, but they don’t look like they’ll disappoint either! She’s got a whole page full of polishes that she’s created for top celebs including SJP and Eva Longoria.

Check out all of Deborah Lippmann’s polishes here!

Note: A few samples were sent to me by the PR company for consideration.  This gave me the opportunity to touch, feel, and swatch the product.  This did not alter any of my decisions. For more information, please review my disclosure policy on the top left of the page.

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The CVS/Pharmacy Semi-Annual Beauty Event

Funny, I thought drugstore beauty couldn’t get any better with the weekly deals!

From now until September 5, take 25% off your beauty purchases on CVS.com. From September 6 to the 26, take 20% off on CVS.com! This includes Makeup, Skin and Body Care! Also, make sure you have a CVS Extra Care card!  When you use it over the following dates, here are the perks:

Month of September

  • Maybelline Lip and Eye – Spend $10 Get $3 Extra Care Bucks
  • Nivea and Eucerin – Spend $15 Get $5 Extra Care Bucks
  • Acne Free and Wrinkle Free – Spend $20 Get $10 Extra Care Bucks

Week of September 5th

  • Maybelline New York Full Makeup Line—Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off
  • Dove Bodywash, Skincare products, Haircare products and Deoderants—Spend $15, Get $5 ExtraBucks
  • CVS/pharmacy Face Care products—Buy 1, Get 1 50% off (excludes Acne products)

Week of September 12th

  • Revlon Full line of Products—Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off
  • Nivea Men’s Bodywash—Free after using ExtraBucks
  • L’Oreal Paris Skincare Products—Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off

My recommendations…

Wet N’ Wild Lipsticks. The new formula is official. Well, the one that I tried in my nude lip video was a tad bit dry, but packed with color. [swatches located here at Lipstick. Fashion. Mascara]

Another L’Oreal Lineur Intense. Meagan Shea sold me on this ultra black liquid liner.  It’s got a flimsy felt tip that annoys me, but the color is great and it lasts all day.  No more department store liquid liner for me.

Ardell Lashes. The sale will make them under $4.  They’re a fantastic brand, and who can have enough lashes? Might as well pick up some Duo glue, the same stuff they sell at MAC for $10.

Milani Crystal Lipgloss is probably the best gloss that I’ve ever used for under $5. The colors don’t look cheap and the color really stands out!

L’Oreal HIP Liquid Lipsticks and Eye Shadow Duos. Because they are just perfect.

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Beauty Crush: Azia of AziaJS

I’m going to be honest about this week’s beauty crush.  I adore her.  Azia and I have been makeup lovers who knew each other for years from message boards.  We officially met last year when I flew to Chicago for The Artist Summit.  Since then, we keep in touch on the regular.  The woman is amazing.  I truly love down to earth people, and she’s it! Plus peep this woman’s style and skill! It’s incredible!!! It’s in your best interest to read her blog and watch her videos too, she’s someone we can all learn from!
Name: Azia
Chicago, IL
MAC – NC45 / Revlon Colorstay – Toast / Revlon PhotoReady – Caramel / Stila Natural Finish Oil Free Makeup – F

1. What are some of your favorite makeup products? Nars Casino bronzer, Inglot pressed powder, MAC MSF Natural, Prestige Total Intensity Eyeliner, NYX lip liners, Red Cherry lashes, Stila eyeshadows.

2. How long have you been in love with makeup? I started wearing makeup when I was 20 years old.  It started with MAC Smolder and a nude lip. I wore that look for a few years and then I gradually started experimenting with color – first on the eye and now on the lip.

3. What products/brands are you dying to try? I really want to get my hands on some Illamasqua.  I saw it for the first time in person at Sephora when I was in New York for The Makeup Show. But, I was rushing and didn’t really get a change to swatch anything.  I also want to try some of the other products that Inglot offers.  I have a lipgloss and the pressed powder but I’d like to try the powder blush, highlighters, lipstick, etc.  Finally, I’d say the Sigma makeup brushes just so that I can evaluate the quality for myself.

4. What’s you everyday makeup look? Honestly, I don’t wear makeup everyday.  I used to but I decided to cut back for the sake of my skin.  I really want to get to the point where I don’t even need foundation.  If I decided to just put on mascara or lipgloss it snowballs and next thing I know I have a full face of makeup on.  So, usually I use EOS lip balm and Yes To Carrots C You In The Morning Day Cream and that’s it.  I don’t even fill in my brows anymore. O_O.  LOL

5. Who are your makeup role models? I have two ways of looking at that.  Makeup Artists & Makeup Muses.  Makeup Artists: Mario Dedivonavic, Kabuki, Jackie Gomez, Tia Dantzler, Billy B, Scott Barnes, Mylah Morales, Ashunta Sheriff.  Makeup Muses: Rihanna, Queen Latifah, Gabrilelle Union, Nia Long, Kim Kardashian, Sarah Harding, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Rowland.

6. Anything else? Share your beauty thoughts! Makeup is such a random and personal thing.  Everyone has their own relationship with it and reason for wearing or not wearing it.  I know that the way I view makeup has changed so much in the 10 or so years that I’ve been wearing it.  It’s grown from just something I dabbled in to something that I became obsessed with collecting to something that I’ve really found myself wanting to master the fundamentals.  I love it and it’s something I do for myself because I enjoy it.  :)

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