giveaway reminder & happy holidays!

I want to wish everyone a lovely holiday, and a safe and happy new year!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway here , ends January 1st 2012!

I'm taking a small break but I'm going to be back blogging very soon :)

Have an awesome new year everyone!

MAC Pro longwear lipcreme in till tommorow photos & swatches

Here is one of my go-to daily lipsticks, MAC till tomorrow lipcreme. I wear this quite often, hence the dirty looking tube - it's just from my foundation getting on it.

Till tomorrow is described as 'greyed mauvy brown'. I agree that it does look like that in the tube and when first applied but; it oxidizes into a more rosy pink toned color after a while.
I'm not sure if it's just this color, or maybe I got a bad one? Has anyone else noticed their pro longwear lipcreme change colors after wearing for a half hour or so?

Swatch of till tomorrow:

I like the pro longwear formula, but I can tell you right now that it does not last anywhere near 12 hours as claimed! I've tried wearing it with different liners, primers you name it and still, the longest it lasts on me is 3 hours.

On the plus side, it has a lovely vanilla scent like most MAC lip products and doesn't dry out my lips at all. The texture of lipcremes is somewhere between a lustre and a satin finish.

Wearing till tommorow:

All swatches and pics were taken right after applying. When I have more time I will take more pics to show the color change after a half an hour or so.

I'm not sure if I want to try any more of these lipsticks. I really wish it lasted longer and didn't change color on me.
I would love to hear your thoughts on these, anyone else have the same problem?

NARS blush in lovejoy photos and swatches

I do love grabbing a new NARS blush every once and a while. I chose to get lovejoy the other day after swatching a bunch of colors at sephora. I wanted something that would give me a bit of glow, and it looked like it would work.

It's a very pigmented berry bronze with golden shimmer. I found I had to be super careful applying because it is very easy to over-do.

Swatch of lovejoy:

in different light to show shimmer:

I found that once applied to my cheeks the shimmer didn't stand out very much. On me, lovejoy turned very red and sunburned looking.

Wearing lovejoy : (please excuse this blurry photo, was taken after a very long day)

It made me look very flushed. I felt like I was suffering from a bad case of rosacea :(
The red undertone made my complexion look overly pink and I really did not like that effect.
Sadly lovejoy is not a winner for me. This would work much better on warm toned or olive skin, ranging from light to dark in color.

What is your favorite NARS blush? I was looking at douceur but I'm on the fence about it.

Maybelline color tattoo 24hr cream gel eyeshadow photos, swatches and rave!

I have a new love, and it's these new maybelline cream shadows!

If you like MAC paint pots, these are very similar, and they are less than half the price of MAC.

The color selection is great, there are many shades to choose from. I do wish there was a light neutral beige. All the colors are quite pigmented and bold.

First up is 'tough as taupe'. This one is creamy and very pigmented. It's a medium taupe color with a grey purple cast. There is no shimmer in it, the finish is nice and satin like.

tough as taupe swatch:

Here is a look I did using tough as taupe as a base color:

Next is 'bold gold'. It's a medium burnished gold with bright gold small-particle glitter. This one isn't as pigmented as the taupe, but it can be layered to achieve the color you see in the pot.

Swatch of bold gold:

And another look I did using bold gold as a base color:

These cream shadows really impressed me. The pigmentation is just as good as MAC paint pots or Estee Lauder double wear cream shadows.
The wear time is excellent as well, they stay on for 10 hours or so without fading or creasing on me. Some might find they last longer, or those with oily lids maybe less.
I forgot to mention that these also work really well as a gel liner. I used MAC 209 lining brush and applied the taupe color to my upper and lower lash lines and it lasted all day long.

My overall verdict is that these are amazing, and I want just about every color.

It's about time a decent cream shadow is available at the drug store!

Bobbi Brown no smudge mascara review

Every now and then I try a Bobbi Brown product. I'm usually impressed, the quality is always pretty good.
One thing that irks me is that Sephora doesn't ship BB products to Canada. It's 'restricted'. If anyone knows why I'd really love to know!

Anyways, no smudge mascara - is it really 'no smudge'? Let's see...

Like most BB products the packaging is plain, I don't mind since I like black.

The mascara brush is composed of soft bristles that really grab onto your lashes. I love it, it's not too big or too small, just right.

no smudge wand:

The formula has a sort of gel texture, it's thin and spreads on easily.
It adds a lot of length and holds up a curl very nicely, I'm quite happy with that!
In fact, if I build it up enough I sort of get this false eyelash look. It's pretty amazing.
Unfortunately, if I do put on a lot of layers it tends to flake off within a few hours.
With 2 coats it's fine and doesn't flake smudge or smear at all, lasting all day long.

2 coats no smudge mascara:

So, I have to say that I really do like this mascara. It's unique in the way that it makes your lashes look dense and almost fake. It's excellent for every day wear since it doesn't move.
I like to really cake on the mascara sometimes depending on the look I'm going for and this one just doesn't do well with more than 2 coats, so that is one little drawback.
I also find it to be a bit pricey, but overall if money isn't a concern I say try it!

repurchase? probably

rating: 4/5

price: $24 USD

MAC surf baby blushette in bound for love, photos and swatches

I have something special to show you, something that was only released in a very limited quantity!
MAC blushettes were part of the surf baby collection released back in May 2011. I believe these were only available in certain countries.

I found this baby at Winners (Canadian TJ MAXX) over the past weekend.
I tried to search for some info on them, and found nothing. In fact, a very popular beauty blogger even commented that 'Blushettes never went into production'.

Well, I'm here to show you that they did go into production, because I have swatches and photos of it :)

Blushettes are packaged in little twist up tubes, with the same striped floral design that is all over the other surf baby products.
Bound for love is a lovely light cool pink shade, with subtle pearl iridescence. It looks so dewy and glowy on, I can't get enough of it.
The other color released is 'Barbara Ann' and it is a bright coral orange. I didn't get that one because it didn't look like it would suit me.

Swatches of Bound for love:

This goes on very sheer. I used about 3 swipes in these swatches. The light reflecting particles make such a nice finish on the skin.

Wearing bound for love on my cheeks:

This little blush is my new best friend. It adds a subtle wash of color and a little bit of glow.
I don't usually go for cream blush, but I think I might try more from now on.
The lasting power is pretty good, for me it stays on all day.

Has anyone else seen these before?
Any recommendations for more cream blush for me to try out?

Sleek oh so special palette photos and EOTD's

If you ever have the chance, I'd say grab this palette!
It is versatile, and very unique. It has a range of mattes and shimmers that would look great on any skin tone or eye color. The colors are both warm and cool, and the quality is super.

I have 4 Sleek palettes now and I reach for this one the most. It's just fun to play with too.

Here are my EOTD's to show you the different sorts of looks you can create with this:

Smoky neutral matte eye:

Shimmering golden smoky eye:

I always feel confident wearing the colors in this palette.
This is one of those products I can see myself completely using up and repurchasing again and again.

You can expect more posts about sleek products soon! I have a bunch of blush swatches and more eyeshadow palettes to share.

On a side note, I just realized the Sleek website ships to the US and Canada! Excellent :)

Have you tried any sleek products? Did you like them?

NOTD: playing with flakies and duo chrome polishes

I did this NOTD a while ago, and it is one of my favorites ever.
I was bored, and I decided to try layering a few different polishes, to achieve a really cool finish.
I used a duo chrome base, added flakies and then added a sheer multi chrome glitter on top.

Here is what I used:

- 2 coats Rimmel night before (deep violet blue with slight gold/pink duo chrome)
- 1 coat Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure (rainbow flakies)
- 1 coat Nicole OPI count on me (iridescent pink/gold/blue/purple multi chrome)

The result:

check out the gold/green flakies in this light:

The Nicole polish brought out the red and blue flakes in Hidden Treasure:

This combo was awesome to look at. I had it on for at least a week.
I got lots of compliments too.

I plan to play around more with layering polishes, especially flakies. They take on a whole new look when you put a sheer polish over them.

What do you think? Any ideas for layering?

Revlon colorburst lip butter in Gumdrop photos & swatches

Ok I lied, this new Revlon lip butter is my latest drugstore purchase.
The cute colors and packaging had me in one glance. I could not resist.

Gumdrop is a light lilac color, there are many different color choices in these - nudes, browns pinks and reds.
Gumdrop looks almost identical to Revlon super lustrous lipgloss in lilac pastelle which was limited edition.
The color is so pretty, I love it. It goes on sheer but you can layer it on for more color saturation. There aren't any large shimmer particles in it, but after it's worn off there are tiny sparkles left on my lips. So, it does have very subtle shimmer.

swatch of gumdrop:

wearing gumdrop:

What I like about it:

- The cute color (obviously!)
- Affordable ($8 CAD)
- Packaging is nice
- Somewhat moisturizing

What I don't like about it:

- No detectable fragrance or flavor. with names like 'creme brulee' and 'strawberry shortcake' I was hoping for yummy scents. Disappointment there :/
Fragrance is listed in the ingredients, but near the end so there is only a tiny bit. I do get a faint whiff of vanilla when I first apply.
- Not long lasting at all (1 hour max)
- After it wears off my lips start to feel dryer than they were before

Overall these are cute and cheap lip glosses. If you have ever used L'oreal color juice sticks, these lip butters have an identical texture. Like a tinted gloss and balm in one.
I don't think I'll buy any more but I really love the color of gumdrop so I'll keep using it :)

Hard Candy smooth talker fox in a box blush photos and swatches

My latest drug store purchase was this little box of blush by hard candy. I hate cardboard packaging but the colors just called to me so I got it anyways.

I have had my eye on Benefit's sugarbomb blush for a while, and smooth talker has very similar colors to it. From swatching them both I don't think they are dupes at all though. Sugarbomb seems much more pigmented, and shimmery.

The packaging is nothing special, just basic cardboard blah. But like all hard candy packaging there are cute designs plastered on it.

The colors are very muted and natural looking. There is a light peach, light lavender, light pink and light rose. They aren't pigmented at all.


swatches of each color layered 3 times:

all 4 colors mixed:

The end result is a very light neutral pink/beige. It barely shows up on my skin. I really have to layer it. The finish is slightly shimmery, but only up close.

Wearing smooth talker mixed together:

It just gives a little color to my cheeks. Hardly noticeable unless I really pile it on. Even then it hardly looks like I'm wearing anything.
I think I need to save my money and get Benefit's sugar bomb!

If you like very natural looking blush, this might suit you. But only pale skin because it won't show up on any darker tones.
I'm not impressed with this fox in a box blush. The other blushes they make are much much nicer and more pigmented. I really like honeymoon, it's a really pretty.