My 1st MAC purchase (what?!) - Huggable Lipcolor in Commotion and Mineralize Skinfinish in Other Earthly

That's right, I've never bought any MAC products up until now... crazy right? I mostly buy makeup from Sephora and department stores, and never ventured into MAC stores. Since The Bay now carries MAC, and recently had some items on 30% off, I thought this was a good time to check things out!

Had to go for a lipstick right :)  The Huggable Lipcolors had mixed reviews when I looked up other blogs, so I went with a raspberry-plum shade that I know likely will work on me. It's called "Commotion".

The texture is really interesting. If I try to swipe it on my lips like any other lipstick, the bullet is "sticky" and tugs on my lips quite uncomfortably. So I found the best way to apply this is by dabbing rather than swiping. The result is a sheer glossy (for a lipstick) finish that fills in lines and makes my lips look plump and healthy. It lasts until I eat but leaves a light stain. 

I swatched it amongst some of my other raspberry-plums. Temptalia calls this shade "highly dupable", which is true, however the finish is unique!

Left to right: Burberry Kisses Bright Plum (slightly more pigmented and creamy with less sheen)

MAC Huggable Commotion (the glossiest and most tacky in feel)

Marc Jacobs Boy Gorgeous (the most pigmented and matte of these)

Tom Ford Violet Fatale (the most comfortable and lightweight of all these)

Next I chose one of the Mineralize Skinfinish which I also hear a lot about. 

I was very disappointed by the shipping, as it had unfortunately been knocked around and there was chunky glitter everywhere (had even escaped to the box). I was concerned this was going to end up a chunky glittery-highlighter, and I was partially right. 

Presentation is gorgeous, and the sections are large enough I can use the shades separately, however I discovered that is not the best way to use this...

When swatched, I was not impressed...the silver and gold-bronze were super glittery and chunky, and the middle rosy shade was chalky. When I put them on my cheek separately, the 2 glittery ones looked terrible, they were hard to blend out and stuck as chunky glitter on my face. The middle shade just didn`t show on my cheeks. I was about to sigh and give up until I read from others that they like this best blended altogether. So I took a dense synthetic brush and swirled it all around. The result was...well... kind of out of this world! It`s hard to describe, altogether it looks like a rosy highlighter that is sparkly rather than glittery (sparkly in a nice way!). It isn`t subtle, but also doesn`t scream glitter like when the shades go on individually. I love it! 

Overall, this has been a good first foray into MAC and I`ll definitely be picking up some more from the 30% off sale!

Share with me your favorite products from MAC!

Shu Uemura KYE Collectioon: Brow Palette in Cappuccino/Dark Rose

This the last of my KYE haul, and unfortunately is the biggest disappointment for me. I was so excited about this product, and felt like it would be a slightly-edgy-but-not-so-out-there thing to do to have dark rosy brows. The packaging is still cute, and feels nice and hefty in my hands, but that's about as far as it goes.

It contains Cappuccino, a light grey-mauve tone, and Dark Rose, which looks so beautiful in the pan. 

 

The instructions here to use Cappuccino to draw and Dark Rose to blend, makes no sense to me. As it turns out, Cappuccino is so lacking in pigmentation that I could not get it to show up on my brows at all.  Even on my arm, it look a lot of layers to even show any kind of shadow! 

Dark Rose is more pigmented, so it make more sense to actually use that to "draw" my brows and then go over it with Cappuccino to blend. I really was so excited and wanting to love this, but once I finished my look, I realized the shade is exactly like those eyebrow tattoos the Asian aunties used to have, that same reddish-brown..ugh! (Sorry you might have to be Asian to understand what I'm referring to). It just made me feel old, not cool at all.

This likely will work for you if you have reddish-brown hair though!

I'm ending on a down note I guess, but by far the best of the KYE collection so far for me was the cushion blush, second is the tinted lip balm. I'm only glad I got this brow palette on sale and didn't pay the full $55 CDN for it, eeks. The KYE collection does have a indigo-blue shade in the brow sword, which I might try (no "auntie" look there) but not sure if I will end up going for it as it may be a waste of money on something I may not end up using a lot of... we will see =P

What has been your most recent product disappointment?

Shu Uemura KYE Collection: Sheer Color Balm - melt in orange

If I for some out-of-this-world reason, I would have to only live with one single type of makeup item, I would choose tinted lip balms. They're easy to use to brighten my lips and complexion, moisturizing, and require no effort to blend. So of course I had to pick up one of the tinted lip balms from the Shu x KYE collection!

 

Normally I choose "safe" colors like peach and pink, this time I thought I'd brand out a bit and try the orange. It does look shockingly orange in the tube, however I was a bit disappointed it just turned into regular peach-pink on me (both on my skin and on my lips).

Despite my disappointment in this not being a very "out there" shade, I'm happy with the formula. It's thin and moisturizing, and on the glossier side. The formula reminds me most of the YSL Candy balms, which continue to be my favorite tinted lip balm line.

Also, how cute is the packaging?! Not "fancy" like YSL, but makes my eyes happy when I pull it out to use :) The cap is also fairly tight so I'm not concerned about it coming off in my purse.

Overall, this is a solid buy in the luxury tinted balms world, for $36 CDN. If you love tinted balms like I do, this is a great add to your collection! If tinted balms aren't your thing, skip this :)

Tom Ford Oud Wood Shower Gel Review

I've gone crazy and purchased the most expensive shower gel ever... Actually, my reasoning was that I hear a lot of raving about Tom Ford's Oud Wood scent, and since spending $300 on a bottle of perfume seemed ridiculous, I thought I'd try out the scent on the shower gel! I've been using this for a couple of months now.

As it promised, it certainly makes a nice lather and rinses cleanly, no residue-feeling. It also doesn't make me overly dry. The scent though, which is why I wanted to try this in the first place, I'm really not sure about. Scents are so personal, but this scent on some days make me go "bleh", and other days it's very pleasant, and I can't figure out why. I'm not huge on perfume so forgive me for not describing the scent very well. 

 

The bottle/packaging feels nice and hefty, but unfortunately is annoying in that it's just a plain twist off cap, making it that way too much product comes out each time if I"m not careful (this thing lathers very well, so only a small amount is needed). 

Overall, this is indeed a very nice shower gel, but at $77 currently on Sephora?! Needless to say I won't be repurchasing...

Have you bought any very expensive products you regret?

Tom Ford Moisturecore Lip Color - Otranto - review + swatch

I'm beyond excited that Sephora is now carrying Tom Ford! Only the summer collection mind you, but I detested that Holt Renfrew was the only place that carried his line before (now Saks 5th Avenue in Toronto has it as well). Nothing particular against Holt Renfrew, but it's 50/50 whether I will get good service or snooty service. So when the recent 15% off sale came, of course I had to pick up something! I don't need any more sheer lippies or tinted lip balms, so this was just a fun splurge.

I've been leaning towards a lot of berry/wine/purple shades recently, so the only shade I really gravitated towards was Otranto. The outer layer is a soft plummy/berry shade with very fine shimmer, with a centre gelly pink core. 

Good sized amount of product, not really ever enough to justify the >$60 regular price tag on this, but that's not why we buy Tom Ford is it...

Here it is in comparison to a regular sized Tom Ford lippie.

Here's a one-swipe swatch, as you can see, quite sheer. It can be built up but I don't like to put on more than one swipe. I love the sheer barely there look for summer.

 It goes on smooth and buttery, but doesn't slip and slide around like some other buttery formulas out there. The shimmer is only noticeable close up, and I certainly can't feel it on my lips which is a plus. The smell is very subtle and not offensive.

The flash really washes the shade out but it shows up like a plum in some lighting, and leans more pinky-purple in other lighting. The centre core gives a very subtle highlight and makes my lips look more full right in the middle.

Have you tried this new line from Tom Ford? What do you think of his lippies generally? Worth the price? This is only my second, I really want more but the price does hold me back...

Bite Beauty Creme Lipstick - Opal

Quick review today...one of the coolest lippies I've tried yet! Bite has this shade "Opal" in both lipstick and lip gloss form, meant to use as a topper for other shades. It looks white in the tube, but if you look closer it oddly looks transluscent blue-ish purple, it's hard to describe, you just have to see it in person!

 

Natural Lips

With one swipe of Opal

Firstly, this is a great formula. I know Bite recently reformulated their lipsticks in a new line which everyone is raving about, but I like this old formula. It's tacky in a good way, doesn't really budge or slip, but also not drying. I just like wearing it on it's own for a cool frosted look. Not very appropriate for the office but for fun days it gives a very cool ethereal kind of look. I'm going to be trying some different lippie combos and if I come up with anything cool will post!

Have you tried Opal? The lip gloss is high reviewed as well, perhaps I will try that one day.

Ciate Lashlights - aka Colored Mascara that ACTUALLY shows up on Asian lashes!!

I love colored mascara, but they have always disappointed me because my lashes are black, and the color never shows up. Beautiful in the tube, and nothing special on my lashes. There once was a Elizabeth Arden blue mascara that showed up in the sun, that was special...until now!

Ciate is a nailpolish brand, not sure why they made mascara, but I'm sure glad they did! 

The applicator is a comb, rather than a brush. You comb this through your lashes AFTER putting your regular black mascara on (maybe this was what I was supposed to do with all those other colored mascaras that didn't work? Ah but they never instructed me to do that...)

I don't need to say anymore...this photo somehow looks photoshopped to me, like I drew green lines on my lashes. Except I don't know how to use photoshop so this mascara is just plain awesome...

Oh, and it doesn't smudge, and removes well with the bi-phasic stuff. 

 Do you have a favorite colored mascara that actually shows up on dark lashes? If you didn't before you do now :)

Burberry Kisses: Sepia No. 85 - swatch and review

Wow I've been terrible with blogging recently...I'm not tired or bored of the blog, nor do I have writer's block, but have just been really busy with keeping up with family and work. I had also been on a "beauty no-buy" period for a few months that has now been broken thanks to Sephora's annual 20% off sale (I can't resist a sale...). Before any haul posts that start up, I really want to first share this lovely lippie I've been using day-to-day. 

It's my first Burberry Kisses (or any Burberry lippie)! It's actually a mini size as well, that I was given by the salesguy at Nordstrom in Ottawa. I was there with a friend and helped her pick out a gift for her aunt, and then he gave BOTH of us one of these mini lippies and a deluxe size Fresh Glow (Sephora should learn something from them...this is how you treat customers! Not with #epicfails...and yet I still got sucked in by the sale, sigh me...).

There's really no other way to describe it than the perfect my-lips-but-better shade.

Here it is on the left swatched next to MJ's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, something which I think many of you are familiar with.

Bare lips with lip balm

It's super close to the natural shade of my lips as you can see, but adds just enough hint of color and because the pigmentation is moderate, it evens out my lips nicely. 

I don't really look like I have lipstick on (unless you come close, because there is of course some lipstick texture as expected of a non-sheer lippie), but I find it helps pull my look together, whether it's just a day I've only used some concealer, or I got a heavier eye thing going on. 

The texture is super smooth, and dries down semi-matte. It sets so nicely it doesn't actually "feel" like I have something on my lips. It's of course not moisturizing like my favorite tinted lip balms, but it's not drying either and it doesn't make my lips peel, so yay!

I'm starting to really love this brand (and looking forward to Nordstrom opening up in Toronto soon and giving The Bay/Sephora/Holts some serious competition in the beauty department!)

Have you tried Burberry Kisses line of lipsticks? What's your favorite shade?

Hello Chanel...: Les Beiges Hydrating Lip Balm + Long-lasting Eyeliner 916 Perle de Lune swatches and review

I finally cracked... all the reading of bloggers that love Chanel have led me to make a couple of purchases as my first foray into this line. I tried not to expect too much, but I did, and I was thoroughly impressed with one, and half let down by the other. 

The first purchase was a tinted lip balm. Of course I started with that, it's my favorite type of lippie! First all, the packaging did not disappoint...it looks like it'd feel like the cheap black plastic that some other high-end lippies come in, but nope, it's not. It's hefty and weighty and feels luxurious to hold. The design is also simple and elegant. I love it!

Unfortunately it went downhill from here...

with direct flash - Chanel lip balm on the left, next to YSL candy balm in Tangerine on the right

Let's talk about the formula first. The formula really wasn't bad. It's not one of those heavy sticky/thick balms, it's rather light and weightless. It does moisturize my lips, however not greatly so. 

bounced flash

Ok onto where I became disappointed...the shade...on my arm it actually doesn't show up much at all, so I thought, well worst come to worst it's like a non-tinted lip balm...I wish that were actually the case, as actually this shade does layer up on my lips, and layers up to a very sickly shade on me. I feel like this shade will suit middle-aged pale caucasian ladies perhaps, but not me...It's so disturbing I didn't want to take a lip swatch photo. I am actually really sad about this, as the packaging I adore, the formula is definitely good enough, but oh why couldn't they come out with a more red/berry shade :( 

Alright, now onto happier things. The Perle de Lune waterproof stylo... I have been wearing this non-stop and it is such a cool and interesting shade! It also smudges only minimally on my lower lid by the end of night, which happens with the best of my eyeliners so I'm fine with that. It's a soft formula that doesn't tug on my lids and sets fairly quickly.

It's a twist up style and comes with a sharpener too, though I've not had to use it as I find it wears down fine enough, as with this shade I don't feel the need to draw a super thin line. 

I guess I would describe this shade as a pearly warm taupey-silver, with complex shimmer. It's super brightening and natural at the same time when used alone. You can also use this above your black eyeliner to amp up the look and add some some extra oomph to your liner. 

This has been my go-to eye look recently. It defines my eyes, yet doesn't scream "hello I'm wearing eyeliner!" Love love love it!

 

Overall, I'm impressed by Chanel. I've never seen an eyeliner quite like this, and am so glad to have this in my collection. As for the lip balm, I'm impressed by the packaging, enough that I will go seek out another lippie, probably in the actual lipstick line so I can get a shade that suits me.  

Chanel fans, please let me know your recommendations for lippie shades or what other Chanel product I should try out next? Thanks in advance!