Eye Shadow -MAC - Crest the Wave
Violet912 8/22/2009 2:53:00 PM
I went to the Mac counter to buy Haunting and was very disappointed with the color payoff, even over Painterly. I bought Crest the Wave instead. Crest the Wave is a true light yellow. It is similar to Creme de Miel, but without the golden tone to it. I'd agree with the "lemon yellow" the previous reviewer called it. It's noticeably lighter than Chrome Yellow, and noticeably darker than Dazzlelight. It's a very clean, frosty yellow. A good yellow is hard to find! This is limited edition and I suggest you buy it while you can!
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -MAC - Style Snob [DISCONTINUED]
Violet912 8/21/2009 6:58:00 PM
I bought this because of all the hype, especially when the word "taupey" was used repeatedly. In my opinion, Style Snob is not taupey at all. It is a washed out sort of copper. It is shimmery and it reminds me of that Black Hills Gold jewelry where they have the "rose gold" - that's exactly what Style Snob looks like to me. I think Style Snob would be a good pink for those with warm skintones who have trouble wearing pink. I wore this with Smoke and Diamonds in the crease and Vanilla as a highlight. It is definitely a complex, interesting color but I have difficulty wearing it - I'm NW15 with black hair. It works if I balance everything out just right, but I like to wear bright colors and everything has to be pretty soft in order to make this color work on me. I will definitely keep this one just because I have absolutely nothing else like it. It is absolutely a unique shade - I'll give it that! It's just not the "pink-taupe" I was looking for and I personally wouldn't purchase this again.
7 out of 13 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -MAC - Digit Eyeshadow
Violet912 8/20/2009 7:21:00 PM
This is the lavender color that I have needed! Urban Decay's Asphyxia has been my go-to light purple. Asphyxia has a gorgeous, very noticeable blue duotone that makes it fun to wear. But I didn't have a soft, understated lavender to blend with soft pinks and grays because Asphyxia doesn't play nicely with soft colors. I held off on Digit for a long time out of concern it would be too light and would look like an off-white with a lavender tint. It is not. It is a simple lavender shade with a nice, even texture. It wears beautifully over Painterly. It is the opposite of Asphyxia and I definitely need both!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -MAC - Cockney - Euristocrats
Violet912 8/20/2009 7:16:00 PM
Cockney, I love you! I originally never intended to buy Cockney at all. Mac promoted this as a yellow-red and I favor blue-reds. After reading reviews calling this a blue-red, I thought that maybe Mac got it wrong and - unable to decide between London Life and Milan Mode - decided to do something completely different and take a risk with Cockney. In my opinion, Cockney is a true red. I'm NW15 and I think it's very flattering. It gives the effect of wearing a really good shimmery red lip gloss. I absolutely hate lip gloss, so being able to get that effect with a lipstick made this a uniquely great product for me! I am glad to hear that Euristocrats is permanent at least in Europe. I will definitely be repurchasing after I finish this one!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -NARS - Cairo
Violet912 8/2/2009 9:53:00 PM
I rated this a 4 and not a 5 because $22 is the most I have ever paid for an eyeshadow - I really hesitated here. I am very happy with the shade - taupes are the only browns that really work on me (I'm NW15 - warm browns pull orange) and I didn't have enough neutrals in my collection. And, surprisingly, I didn't have a medium-taupe and was looking for just the right one. In the Sephora store, Cairo looked more neutral-sandy brown than sandy-taupe, but when I got it home I was pleased to find that sandy-taupe it was! I hesitated between Cairo and Ashes to Ashes.... Ashes to Ashes looks so pretty in the pan and Cairo looks so boring, but I always shop this way and so I've got other shadows similar to AtA, but Cairo was surprisingly unique. It's definitely the shade I've been looking for, and I don't regret purchasing - I would repurchase unless Mac or Urban Decay would dupe this. I could see this potentially not showing up on medium skintones.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Smoke & Diamonds [DISCONTINUED]
Violet912 7/31/2009 10:00:00 PM
As all those before me have said - I initally looked at this because of the hype. But, this shadow really is a perfect addition to my collection! Taupey browns are great for me because warm browns turn orange on me and I usually gravitate toward blues and greens, so I've been a bit lacking with the neutral shades. The most similar shade I have to Smoke & Diamonds is Urban Decay's Stray Dog (which I am told is similar to Mac's Satin Taupe). Stray Dog is slighly lighter and much browner, however. I would describe Stray Dog as a "cool brown that's slightly purple/grayish" and Smoke & Diamonds as a "dirty gray with a hint of taupe." The Starflash shadows have the most wonderful, soft texture. This shadow would be worth it for the texture alone.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -MAC - Fashion - Starflash
Violet912 7/31/2009 9:54:00 PM
As the previous reviewer states, Mac calls this a "gray-green" and it looks like that on the website, but it's not. I'd describe it as a dirty light blue in that it does have a greenish gold cast. I don't think I'd quite say that it has "gold pearl," but it does have gold microglitter. It is noticeably sparkly, but there aren't any huge glitter chunks. I almost didn't buy this because I was told it looked a lot like Silverthorn - which I love, but which I already have. I bought it anyway and brought it home and stuck one finger in Fashion and one in Silverthorn. They looked nearly identical. I almost returned Fashion. ALMOST. I covered the back of my hand with Painterly and swatched again... viola! Silverthorn looked like a medium shimmery gray with a blue tint, but Fashion was clearly a light blue with a golden shimmer. I swatched all of my light blues together, and I'd say that Fashion is midway between Silverthorn and the gray-blue shade in Nars' South Pacific in terms of blue-grayness, plus it has the green tint and the gold shimmer. Pros: Incredibly lovely starflash texture. Very complex, interesting shade of light blue. (I like blue eyeshadow a lot. It's a "problem".) Uniquely beautiful - over Painterly, at least. This would be wearable by people who usually can't wear blue eyeshadow. Sparkly, without glitter chunks. Cons: Although pretty, not really a "must have" shade. If you don't wear an eyeshadow base, this is not really any different from Silverthorn. Some people may not like the sparkles. Overall: Buy this if you don't have a light blue eyeshadow that you love, or if you just love blue eyeshadows and want something different. If you've got a couple but don't wear them, you could easily pass on this.
8 out of 10 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Powder -Cover Girl - CoverGirl Ultimate Finish Cream to Powder Makeup
Violet912 7/6/2009 9:35:00 PM
I used to absolutely love cream to powder foundations for the ease of use. I still would, except my skin has become too dry and they just don't work for me. Pros: Good color match for my fair skin Can put this on super fast Cons: Looks really powdery and streaky on me This would have been a great product for me when I was in high school and I had oily skin and was short on time. Maybe it will still work for people in that sort of situation? Otherwise, I don't think the finish will work for most people.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Créme de Miel
Violet912 7/5/2009 4:30:00 PM
The MAC site describes this as a yellow-gold and this seems to be a pretty good description. I'm always looking for unique yellows, and this was a must-have color for me. However, the "gold" color isn't a metallic sort of feature, so much as a golden tone to it... this seems to have a peach cast to it. It's something between the softest possible shade of gold and the least ostentatious shade of yellow. I can't think of yellow eyeshadow ever being more "wearable." With Creme de Miel and Chrome Yellow in my stash, I can work a whole range of yellow-based looks. It's a veluxe pearl and the texture is just lovely. I am very pleased with this one!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -MAC - Lustre in Syrup
Violet912 7/5/2009 2:52:00 PM
This was the seventeenth MAC lipstick to join my collection and unbelievably, it was my first lustre (unless you count Blast O'Blue - I don't). Being unfamiliar with the lustre finish, I moronically expected this to apply like an amplified creme, satin, or matte. When it didn't, a lightswitch went on in my head... "Oh, obviously, I bought a lustre." This lipstick wears like Craving applied very lightly. I love color and I think Craving is a much better lipstick overall, however Syrup is Craving's more compliant cousin. Those who find Craving a little too loud or unwearable will love Syrup. I will still wear Syrup on occasion as a subtle MLBB shade, but for color, I'm using Craving instead.
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Blush -MAC - Sheertone Shimmer Blush in Plum Foolery
Violet912 7/4/2009 7:04:00 PM
I bought this on a whim at the Mac counter because it reminded me of NARS' Sin. I think it looks similar, but is not as highly pigmented as NARS shades are. It's a beautiful shade, and it's less expensive than NARS' Sin ($18 vs $25). Once I exhaust this, however, I think I will purchase Sin instead. Even though it is more expensive, I don't think I'd need to use as much product with Sin.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Humid (Frost)
Violet912 7/4/2009 7:02:00 PM
I initially held off buying this because I was told it was a dupe of Urban Decay's Mildew. In my opinion, Humid is nicer, at least for my cool coloring. Mildew is more of a metallic olive green shimmer, and Humid is more of a forest green frost. They are similar, but not dupes.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Bisque
Violet912 6/28/2009 4:11:00 PM
I didn't like this for the same reasons that others did like it -- too close to my skintone (fair with pink tones). I'm fine with "natural" eyeshadow some days, but I don't want to match my skin exactly. There's nothing wrong with the actual product - the color is nice and even and the texture is perfectly nice and smooth - but the shade is just not quite what I wanted.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -MAC - Sushi Flower eyeshadow
Violet912 6/28/2009 3:40:00 PM
I really am so glad I finally bought this! At some point I got it into my head that this eyeshadow would be too warm for me and thought I could never wear it. I really needed a bright, vivid pink and decided to go for it. I'm glad I did! Sushi flower is not subtle, but it is really great for playing with pink. It's like a hot pink, but I think "bright pink" is a better description, since it's really not a neon shade. This is a satin finish and between Sushi Flower and Coquette, I am really falling for the satin finish in MAC shadows... they're not sparkly, but they have a nice sheen to them that the mattes don't. I like satins more than the veluxe pearls... they're so versatile.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Tilt
Violet912 6/28/2009 3:30:00 PM
I can't believe it took me so long to buy Tilt! I love blue eyeshadow and I have many. I thought Tilt would be just a typical medium blue, no different from the others, and I was mistaken. Tilt looks like the lovechild of Clinique's Blue Lagoon and Urban Decay's Asphyxia. It's a medium blue with a violet duochromey shimmer. Tilt is the sister of UD Shattered, which is a similar blue with green reflects. It is a really unique color - a definite must have for blue eyeshadow collectors. It's a frost finish. Tilt is just the perfect name for this color - it looks different if you tilt it.
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