Eye Shadow -Urban Decay - Twice Baked
AriSatomi 11/22/2011 10:48:00 PM
This is a great warm deep brown leaning toward neutral, with a few gold glitters here and there. Lasting power, whether with or without primer is very good, as long as you don't rub your eyes. It pairs easily with every color I shoot at it and blends easily into them as well. It's very easy to use and the pigmentation is great, as per UD's standard. I will definitely repurchase, and I think that it is a great staple to have. However, I find that L'oreal's infallible loose shadow in Endless chocolate is similar to this shade from UD, without the random glitters. The L'oreal would be better for someone looking for a shadow that won't leave pieces of glitter on your cheeks at the end of the day, or inside your eyes if you have watery, sensitive eyes. I recommend both of these products highly.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -L'Oreal - Couleur Infallible - All Night Blue
AriSatomi 11/21/2011 9:26:00 PM
I've been somewhat disappointed by this specific shade of Infallible shadow. It's a very beautiful navy in the pot, with cobalt shimmer shot through, however on the lid it seems to lose a bit of its complexity. Normally I can wear this as a dry shadow liner, but the pigmentation of this shadow isn't strong enough to be worn that way. I have the same problem for another color in this range called Eternal Black, however this one doesn't have nearly as much fallout as the other one does. I now layer this on top of my navy gel liner from Maybelline (which smudges, on it's own or set with shadow, whithout primer) and the color shows up much better. Using the eyeliner mixing medium gel from MAC also solves the problem, but the line still creases at my inner corners a few hours after. I will not repurchase this specific shade but I think the Endless Chocolate one could be a long term staple for someone looking for a dark warm shimmery brown. The navy shade in Sleek's Storm palette is very worth checking out, as well as Dior's navy shade (mine came in a travel Cannage Collection palette from Heathrow, but they only make one navy). In fact, there is a lot of the same shades in the L'oréal Infallible collection that are in the Storm palette: the beige, pink, navy, brown, burgundy are all very similar. I will probably try a few other shades in this range because they do last a long time on my lids without primer.
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Lip Gloss -Bourjois - Effet 3D Max Lipgloss 64 Framboise ardent
AriSatomi 11/19/2011 5:57:00 PM
The pigmentation of this gloss is very strong, making it rather difficult to wear during daytime, as I like a natural neutral look for everyday. The smell of it doesn't bother me and it is a sweet fruity floral that goes away after a while. The lasting power is average, leaning onto 3-4 hours which is good enough for me. It feels creamy and moisturizing, worn over a light layer of balm, as I do with all lip products. However, I will not repuchase this gloss for the following reasons: 1) packaging and 2) the extreme amount of glitter. The packaging leaks and after I've had mine for a while, it starts to look disgusting around the mouth of the tube as it leaks out. I have to clean it periodically and I'm afraid of tossing it into my purse. The gorgeous glitter in this gloss looks nice on the packaging and under artificial light, but it is OTT under sunlight and looks really tacky. They are very chunky glitters and it is uncomfortable to talk wearing this gloss. When the gloss wears off, the glitter layer remains, which is really unattractive because the gloss dries my lips out and the glitters bring out the fine lines on my dry lips. Do note that I wear a balm underneath the gloss. Overall I am unimpressed by Bourjois, as with all of their products. I will consider repurchasing in another color that is less glittery or that is of a cream finish.
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Eyeliner -Make Up For Ever - aqua cream #20
AriSatomi 11/19/2011 5:22:00 PM
I've been looking for a good cream liner other than MAC/BB lately that wouldn't smudge and disappear at the end of the day. I love MAC PP in Constructivist, but I love navy and forest green liners and since the ones I have smudge under my eyes (Maybelline gel liner that comes with that awesome little brush), I wanted to try the aqua creams. This is the only blue in the whole collection, which deceives me a lot, since they do have 22 colors but a single blue. The pigmentation of this aqua cream, when I use it as a liner, is completely lacking. In the package, it looks like a gorgeous shimmery cobalt blue, but on my lids, it lets the color of my skin peeks through and looks like a cheap kiddie eye pencil. Seeing the price of this thing, I expected way more. Now, I can wait for the first layer to dry and put on another layer, but that is time consuming and absolutely ridiculous since the aqua creams are supposedly super pigmented. Not only that, if you layer it too much, when the cream dries, it flakes off. I'm a contact lenses wearer and I cannot tolerate any flaking into my eyes because it just means that I'll be constantly in pain. Overall, I am deceived by this specific aqua cream, but I am willing to try out the other ones.
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Eyes -MAC - Eyeliner Mixing Medium
AriSatomi 11/17/2011 9:15:00 PM
I wanted to get a mixing medium purely because I wanted to line my eyes with my pressed and loose shadows. When I use water or eye drops, they tend to fade. When I went to the MAC pro store, the SA told me that only the eyeliner one would work for me. He said that it isn't waterproof but the shadow won't flake into my eyes once the liner is dry. I tried it on in the store side by side with the water based one and smudged the lines after they dried. The water based one didnt's stand a chance, so I brought this home thinking that if it does fade I can always return it. I don't think I will return it. A tiny drop, smaller than normal waterdrops, is all I need to do both of my eyes. I find that if I mixed all the product into my shadow before lining, it dries out before I can finish one eye. So now, I squeeze out a small drop directly onto my shadow and mix as I go. I find that at the end of the day, it fades at the inner corners on my eyes. I also experienced flaking when my eyes get dry and I need to blinc a lot, so it might be a dealbreaker for someone with constantly watery eyes. I have sensitive eyes and when I scrubbed my eyes a bit with a cotton bud to remove excess and to reapply, I felt a bit of burning. The product is easily splashed off with water at the end of the day, so I definitely do not reccomend this for the beach/pool/rainy day. Overall it is a useful product and I will repurchase, if I don't find anything else better after I finish the tube I have now.
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Highlighters -MAC - Creme Brillance (Clear Gloss)
AriSatomi 11/12/2011 6:41:00 PM
This product isn't getting nearly enough love at all from MUA. It is a creamy gloss that can be used absolutely everwhere, scent-less and it comes in a larger quantity than the normal clear lipglass from MAC. I love the creamy consistency because I can't stand the stickiness of normal MAC lipglasses. This is similar to the Pro Gloss that MAC used to sell back around 2006, and if you want a shade similar to one of those discontinued glosses, you can easily mix pigments or lipsticks with this gloss on your own! I love this gloss and will definitely repurchase!
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Lip Gloss -MAC - lipgelee in gilded kiss
AriSatomi 11/12/2011 6:35:00 PM
This is a metallic brown shade with subtle silver sparkles shot through it. I find it hard to wear since I have light skin, but with a cool toned lipstick underneath, paired with a rosey blusher, it looks nice with a neutral eye look. I'm glad I had the chance to try this, but I will not repurchase.
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Lip Gloss -MAC - Plushglass in Big Kiss
AriSatomi 11/6/2011 7:21:00 PM
I used to love MAC's lipglasses and even collect them. This was my first plushglass from them, but also my last. I chose this color because it is versatile and it plays up nicely my grey eyes. I often pair it with a pinky peach blush like Orgasm or Milani's Luminous, with neutral, warm or cool eyes. The reason why I won't buy it again is because of the following: no matter what I do, it always makes my hair sticks onto my lips more than any lip product I've used; the stinging is really strong and it hurt my lips the first time I put it on (on bare lips), so I've learnt to put on balm first whenever I use this particular gloss; now the biggest offender: the glitter/shimmer that is left on my lips after the gloss wears off. Since the gloss is sticky, the shimmer sticks onto my lips like there's no tomorrow and fills into the lines on my lips, making them look old and dried out. I just wish this was less shimmery. Also, the quantity MAC gives you is outrageous when compared to other HE brands. Overall, this was a good gloss but I won't go out of my way to buy another one, and it is far from being my HG.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Treatments -Badger - Lavender and Orange Lip Balm
AriSatomi 11/5/2011 3:09:00 PM
This balm is another addition to the ever growning Badger collection I have. I'm under a lot of stress lately so I chose the lavender one to calm me down and help me concentrate. I wondered what lavender mixed with orange would smell like, but when I opened the packaging, I smelled nothing but lavender. It is mild and soothing, so I don't mind. The formula is similar to all the other balms from them and I find them to be all very good, so no complaints here. The packaging is as adorable as ever, however when I opened the lid for the first time, the plastic part of the container seemed a bit melted badly, but I don't mind since it doesn't destroy the balm or anything. I will repurchase this balm, as well as the other scents and the cocoa butter collection, Badger's balms are my HG balms!! :) I'm glad I saw them on MUA or else I'd never try them, but I've been hooked on them for half a year now! :)
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Misc Beauty Tools -Unlisted Brand - Starbucks - Napkins
AriSatomi 11/3/2011 4:18:00 PM
Add me to the raving bandwagon of napkins!! I used different types of blotting sheets before, but none of them could satisfy my need. At some point, I started trying out new powders and foundations that can keep me matte and just forgot about blotting papers. However, since I've found my HG foundation (Vichy Dermablend fluid), I've been looking for an easier way to keep myself decent looking, without having to always bringing a compact and brush with me. One day, when I was blowing my nose at school with the cafeteria's napkins, I found my skin's oiliness was gone. That's when I started using these as blotting sheets. There's nothing cheaper than free, and you can find them anywhere! I don't go to starbucks because I never liked their drinks, but my local cafés also have them, so I "stock up" whenever I go. I love these for wiping off makeup from your brushes and fingers in the morning too!! :)
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Brows -Unlisted Brand - castor oil
AriSatomi 10/31/2011 1:13:00 PM
Update: I stopped using it since a few months, but my eyelashes stayed the same as they were as when I was using the oil! However, I was so tired of going to bed with oil on my eyes and waking up with a weird film on them. I've been looking for a good lash-growth aid for a while and when I saw the glorious reviews of castor oil as a lash treatment, I also jumped on the bandwagon. I went looking in health food stores and sure enough, I was able to buy a 100mL bottle of organic cold-pressed castor oil for aproximately 10$ US. That'll probably last me for two years! :) I've been using this for more than a month and I can definitely see a difference! Clearly, it won't be as dramatic as Lumigan's drug, but it also is conditionning to my eye area, as well as being 100% natural. I have gray eyes and I will not risk darkening my eye color just for temporarily longer lashes. I have tiny tiny lashes that are straight and if I don't curl them, I easily look tired. Since using castor oil, I find my lashes to be stronger, to hold their curl better (WP mascara helps a lot), as well as being longer and fuller. I always had tiny invisible lower lashes but now they are actually visible without mascara on them! I wear contact lenses daily and before, when I put in my lenses, my lashes never touch the lenses. However when I tried to put in lenses lately, I absolutely had to curl my lashes first if I don't want my lashes to touch the lenses! I know that it doesn't sound like a lot but it truely makes a difference for me. The packaging of the oil was a bit messy, it's just like the Desert Essence Jojoba oil. However castor oil is much thicker than jojoba, so it it a breeze for me to transfer the oil into a smaller bottle for everyday use. I keep the big bottle in the fridge. The reason why I didn't give this a 5, is 1) because of its odor, which isn't the most palatable. I wish it was unscented but it only bothers me when I put the bottle under my nose or when I use the oil at night. the 2nd reason is because I haven't used it long enough (3 months for my lashes to completely regenerate) to see the results. I will update when the time comes. (It's even written on my iPhone's calender! lol) I love this oil and even if it is messy, I know it works so I will keep on using it. I've stopped searching for a lash treatment. I've given little bottles of this to my mother and friend and told them to use the oil on their lashes too. Overall I totally recommend this!
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Blush -MAC - Just A Pinch Gel Blush
AriSatomi 10/12/2011 8:33:00 PM
This is the easiest blusher I've come across! I usually love creme blushers since they give you an ethereal glow and looks more youthful than powder blushers. However, their lasting power has always left to be desired on my combination, sensitive and acne prone skin. Some of them are too greasy so they fade easily, some of them aren't greasy enough so that when I apply with my fingers, I almost have to smudge my foundation beneath. This blusher is a great alternative to those creme ones! It imparts a natural glowy finish, blends in easily and the color looks very natural. I find that if applied with a light hand and using light layers, it doesn't smudge my foundation/concealer and it brightens my complexion just enough. The container is a bit wonky, as are all MAC PPs and Tendertones, but it does contain a big amount of product so it makes up for it. I find that a little of this gel goes a very long way for me so I won't have to buy it again. I recommand this to absolutely everyone!
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Paint Pot in Coral Crepe
AriSatomi 10/11/2011 10:07:00 PM
UPDATE 13october2011: I found that if I layer this under a gray toned shadow--which brings out my undereye shadows on its own--it cancels out the excessive gray tint and makes it more wearable for me. I can see this becoming a great everyday staple now! Original review: I received this as a gift two months after it came out. I loved everything coral back then, and knowing this was an LE item, I didn't want to use it up and put it away. But that wasn't the only reason. When I first tried it on, I felt it looked too red. I went to the store and the MA told me to use Mulch with it, which didn't make any sense to me since they are both warm shades and it would just make me look tired. I still bought Mulch--which is still sitting in my MAC stash quietly in a corner--but it still turned out too warm, as I expected. I just completely forgot about them. However, I recently purged a lot of my makeup products and this came up. I was afraid that it'd dry up so I took it this morning for a swing. I put this under a cool toned pink from WnW's Sweet as Candy trio and also used it lightly as a blusher. I have to say, I like it better as a blusher! The lasting power on my cheeks is comparable to my liquid blushers, which is truly saying something, because only liquids last on me. The problem I have with this is the packaging since you do get a lot for the price but it's easily dried out if you aren't super careful with it. Overall this is a great warm toned blusher that would look great on warmer skintones--which I have.
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Eye Shadow -Rimmel - Glam'Eyes Mono Eyeshadow in Spicy Bronze
AriSatomi 10/9/2011 9:38:00 AM
I also bought this on speciale after seeing Lisa Eldridge using this in one of her everyday makeup looks. It's a warm bronzey brown that is perfect for warmer days with a touch of smudged liner. The lasting power is great with my mac PP under it and the warm undertone brings out my eyes by contrasting with their cool tone. The packaging is much more sturdy than what Rimmel used to produce and it contains a big amount of shadow, so it'll last me a long time. Overall this is a great staple for me (I'd bring only this with me on a trip with a brown liner and a black mascara for an easy everyday look) and I will definitely repurchase.
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Mascara -Cover Girl - Professional Waterproof Mascara
AriSatomi 10/6/2011 5:45:00 AM
Just like a lot of reviewers here, I have sensitive eyes and straight, hard to curl lashes. I bought this after I tried LB WP and I found that they have an extremely similar ingredient list! Where I live they both sell for around .75$/mL so that gives you an idea. The LB contains a whopping 13.5mL whereas this one contains 9mL, which is very reasonable because I think no one can actually finish a tube of LB in three months and at the end, all the rest of the product is just wasted. I love the smaller, conventional dense brush as it is easier for me to use it on my corner lashes and lower lashes. The rubber brush on LB is great when your mascara is two weeks old and it has dried a little, but when it's brand new, it clumps easily. But the professional doesn't do that for me and I'm happy to find this little gem. I always remove my CG wp mascaras with a mixture of olive oil, castor oil, cocoa butter and vaseline, and this one comes off very well with a little massaging. I will definitely repurchase.
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