Makeup Brushes -MAC - # 239 Eye Shader Brush
Tygerlilee84 11/19/2011 2:15:00 AM
I love MAC brushes. I think they are wonderfully solid and great shapes. I really think it's worth it to invest in some good brushes, and I know this is a cult favorite. And this is a nice brush, but I got to say, not my favorite one. I always find myself reaching for my Sonia Kashuk white handled small flat eyeshadow brushes or my Lowell Cornell brush (which I can't find anymore of!! Sad....). While a lot of MAC brushes are worth it, this is not one of them. Save your money and get a Sonia Kashuk. I just find the shape of the 239 isn't right for my eye. The bristles are too short and the brush head is kind of thin. The width is good. It just gets neglected. One reason I choose MAC is because they have superior shapes, but I think this one needs to be tweaked (and the 227-another one that makes me sad! Almost perfect, but I like my POSH fluffy eyeshadow brush so much better!). MAC brushes that ARE worth it, 217 and 219 and 109 for sure. Probably 211 and 129. Those are all amazing. Save for those by skipping this one.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -MAC - Star Violet (Veluxe pearl)
Tygerlilee84 9/7/2011 2:04:00 AM
I have been on the search for the perfect purple eyeshadow for a long time. This isn't it, just so you know. For me, the perfect purple eyeshadow is a reddish purple (not pink/fuschia) and for some reason eyeshadows always turn either very cool purple or very fuschia (not flattering on me at all) or very sheer. So, I finally had to acknowledge that I will have to create my own perfect purple. I discovered that if I layer this over nocturnelle THEN I have the perfect purple. So if anyone layers these two and knows of a single color that looks like that matte or shimmer LET ME KNOW!! Anway, LOVE LOVE LOVE that eyeshadow combination and am extremely happy with it. It's harder to do in the crease, but on the lid it's a great, work appropriate purple look. I just use a skin colored shadow to soften the top edge. On it's own, I really dislike this eyeshadow. In swatches it's looks fabulous but on me, no matter what primer I use and how much I layer it, it still looks sheer red/brown. It gives me a red eye look, extremely unflattering. I web chatted with a MAC MA about it and she said she just uses it over bare canvas or rubanesque and puts it on the lid. I'd already tried those combinations and it didn't help. So the only way I wear this is with nocturnelle, and that's the only reason I haven't swapped it away.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -MAC - Nocturnelle Eyeshadow
Tygerlilee84 9/7/2011 1:58:00 AM
I have been on the search for the perfect purple eyeshadow for a long time. This isn't it, just so you know. For me, the perfect purple eyeshadow is a reddish purple (not pink/fuschia) and for some reason eyeshadows always turn either very cool purple or very fuschia (not flattering on me at all) or very sheer. So, I finally had to acknowledge that I will have to create my own perfect purple. I discovered that if I use this first on the lid and layer Star Violet (which is very sheer on me-I hate it on it's own even though it looks so gorgeous in a swatch) THEN I have the perfect purple. So if anyone layers these two and knows of a single color that looks like that matte or shimmer LET ME KNOW!! Anway, LOVE LOVE LOVE that eyeshadow combination and am extremely happy with it. It's harder to do in the crease, but on the lid it's a great, work appropriate purple look. I just use a skin colored shadow to soften the top edge. As for using this shadow on it's own, on me it's a cool, but not blue, shimmery purple. I do enjoy this shadow when I'm looking for that shade of purple. It's not very dark at all. I had Fig1 which can almost look black at times and online these two look like a matte and shimmery version of the same shade, but they're not. Nocturnelle is cooler and lighter/mid toned and a little shimmery, Fig 1 is neutral and darker and totally matte. I do see what some people say about Nocturnelle being sheer-it does take a bit of layering and blending to get it just right but I didn't find it too difficult to get right. It's not quite as dark as I like for a crease color. It's definitely more of a lid color for me. Anyway, if you're looking for a fairly versitle midtoned purple and don't mind a little shimmer, it's a good one to have.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -Clinique - Superbalanced Foundation
Tygerlilee84 9/3/2011 6:59:00 PM
This is the only clinque foundation I've purchased an entire bottle of, but I've had samples of their acne solutions and redness solutions. I've had the same problem with all three-it makes my face itch!! I need to find and ingredient list of them all so I can figure out what it is that makes me itch. Specifically with the superbalanced, I found that it melted off my face fairly quickly and became quite shiny. I'm sticking with my revlon colorstay and neutrogena healthy skin...
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Makeup Brushes -Unlisted Brand - Makeupgeek-Soft Dome Brush
Tygerlilee84 8/25/2011 8:43:00 PM
I got this brush hoping it would be a nice, larger fluffy brush as it has been advertized as a dupe for the MAC 224 in a couple makeupgeek videos. I have to say that I was quite disappointed. This brush is really small/thin with a weirdly large/thick handle. I've never seen a brush metal section (ferrel-is that what it's called?) like this one-look at the pictures closely and you can see what I mean. This brush is smaller than the old Sonia Kashuk blending brush which is much smaller than the MAC 224. Anyway, I find my self continuing to use my old Sonia kashuk brushes instead. As for judging the brush without comparing it to others, the bristles are quite thin and long. For a blending brush I like it a bit fuller, or if it's going to be thin the bristles should be shorter. Anyway, don't waste your money on this brush unless you are looking for a very small blending brush. For a larger fluffy blending brush, I'd say get the black handled Sonia Kashuk blending brush.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -NYX - Round Lipgloss Real Nude
Tygerlilee84 8/25/2011 7:45:00 PM
I have just found my HG lipgloss. I never thought I'd find it, and I REALLY never expected it to be so cheap!! This is the perfect neutral pink lip for me. It's not to light and not too dark and has a bit of neutral to cool pink. I LOVE it!! It feels smooth and not sticky at all. It doesn't last a terribly long time on my lips, but I don't expect that out of a gloss. Next time I order from cherry culture I'm getting 5 of these!
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Makeup Brushes -Unlisted Brand - Makeupgeek-Stiff Dome Brush
Tygerlilee84 8/23/2011 5:42:00 AM
I wasn't sure if I should review this brush as a Makeupgeek brush or a crown brush because they buy and label crown brushes. Anyway, this brush is advertized as a dupe for the MAC 217. I agree that superficially it looks like the 217, but it's much flatter so it's really hard to blend in circles. As a dupe, I completely disagree simply because of that. It's also much less dense. As a brush in and of itself, it's okay. It's not scratchy but not super soft either. The handle is nice and solid and is hasn't shed for me yet. It's a little hard to work with because it's a flatter brush, but I think I can learn to use it and it will work ok. But it does have a bit of a learning curve. Personally I feel that if you want a cheap blending brush, go with the white handled sonia kashuk brush. And I still love my MAC 217 most.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Makeup Brushes -MAC - 109 Small Contour Brush
Tygerlilee84 8/23/2011 5:31:00 AM
I'm never using any other brush for blush again!! I have a serious problem with getting blush in the right spot (if I don't, I look like a chipmunk) and it looking blotchy/poorly blended or muddy. This brush fixes both issues for me. I know that you are supposed to use a fluffy brush and apply blush sheerly, but I don't like how blush looks on me when applied like that unless it's REALLY pigmented. With this brush, I can put it exactly where I want it and it blends the color out beautifully so I don't have stripes down my cheeks. Several blushes which I was going to give up on because they looked so blotchy on me, I wear all the time now! And I wonder how the blushes I swapped would have looked if I'd used the blush. If you have a rounder face like I do and suck at blending, I highly highly recommend this blush.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -NARS - Amour
Tygerlilee84 8/17/2011 1:48:00 PM
I love this blush. It's probably HG for me. Let me just preface this by saying that my other HG blush at this point is MAC Well Dressed so I don't go for bright blushes. This one looks really bright which is why I avoided it. The only other NARS blush I've owned is Torrid which looked perfect in the store but when I got it home was red. It was also so pigmented that I couldn't get a small enough on my brush to apply evenly. It was just too much work, didn't look all that great, and in the end I returned it. Back to Amour, this blush had none of the issues Torrid had. I tap my brush2-3x to get the right amount of pigment and it gives me a perfect natural bright pink flush. Oddly enough, it is the same shade (not intensity) I turn when I sunburn (my chest was burned and I put this on my face). I noticed a lot of fair girls are having trouble with this blush being to potent. I'm pretty darn pale (Clinique and Estee Lauder don't make a foundation light enough to match me) and using a MAC 129 to apply, I have no trouble at all. And I did struggle with Torrid. I do have to say, I did not own the MAC 129 when I had Torrid. I think I used a MAC 168 or equivalent with Torrid, so maybe it's the brush you use. In Sephora when they tried Amour on me, they used a small dome brush, like the MAC 109. I haven't tried applying with a 109 yet. I'll update when I do.
6 out of 8 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Milani - Baked Blush - Berry Amore 03
Tygerlilee84 8/17/2011 1:21:00 PM
I got this and Luminoso based purely on swatches and seeing how it looked in the pan in the store. I was hoping this would be a cool, clean, natural pink. The color payoff is nice, and it's pretty sheer but the color on me was a cool orange (if that makes sense). When I put this and Luminoso on each cheek and built up the color they looked the same!! Sheerly applied they looked slightly different. For me this blush was just "blah". The quality of the bush is good for a drugstore but I like L'Oreal True Match more. If you don't have any other blushes I think this could be a good one to start with, but for someone who already owns 10+ blushes, skip it. I guarantee you already have a color similar to this and better quality. This got returned.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -MAC - Parisian skies
Tygerlilee84 8/5/2011 3:55:00 AM
I have a list in my head of eyeshadow colors that MAC does not have in their permanent line that I consider to be staples. This color is one of them and I found it kind of funny that a blogger came up with it...maybe they need to do this more often. If only someone had come up with the other color I really wish they had.... Anyway, this eyeshadow is the blue I've been looking for. It's a smokey blue that has sheen in the pan so I bet if I put it over a dark base it will look more shimmery (I need to try it out), however, over MAC paints or TFSI it is a smokey blue. It's a great everyday blue. I've tried it with copperplate and swiss chocolate in the crease and it looks great with both. Swiss chocolate almost turns it purple where the colors blend which is interesting. I just can't get over how I've been lamenting that they don't have this color-the blues are either really shimmer and bright or pale or super dark crease colors. This is a perfect mid tone for a lid color wearable for day. I wear it to work! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Haux Eye Shadow
Tygerlilee84 7/25/2011 3:01:00 AM
This was one of my first two MAC eyeshadows ever, and I returned it. Then I bought it again later. It's one of those colors that seems like nothing special and very dupeable (which is why I returned it, why spend that much on just a brown eyeshadow?), but it's actually not. I have found that whenever I am wearing a lid color and want a crease color but don't know what to use, if I use Haux it's perfect. My favorites are Haux in the crease with either Sumptuous Olive or All that Glitters on the lid. It's really very versitle and brings out the green in my eyes (my eyes are brown and olive green). It's a great basic that you don't even know you need.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -MAC - All That Glitters
Tygerlilee84 7/25/2011 2:52:00 AM
This is an eyeshadow that is all about what you pair it with. On it's own or with the wrong crease shade, it's very unimpressive. By itself, it doesn't show up all that great. It's kind of a peachy shimmer, kind of washed out. However, I LOVE this color with Haux. I don't know what it is about putting it with Haux but it brings out the peachiness. Oddly enough, in general I'm not all that impressed with Haux either, but I keep both these shadows just for this combination. It's one of my favorite combos. Every time I think of swapping it out, I put it on with Haux and change my mind.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -MAC - Satin Taupe
Tygerlilee84 7/25/2011 2:49:00 AM
I've had this eyeshadow twice. All the swatches look goreous online. I swapped for it, and it was "blah" on me. Nothing interesting at all. I swapped it out. Then I decided I wanted to try it again, seduced once again by all the pretty swatches online. I swapped for it AGAIN, this time I used a grey base under it, NYX Jumbo pencil in Slate, and it creates a goreous smokey eye. I love it with slate underneath. So, in the end I recommend this shadow but I would expirement with it because it may not work straight out. I don't like it all that much using a fluffy brush-it looses all the pretty purply sheen and is just a dirty grey. Packing it on helps, the grey base makes all the difference.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -Tarte - EmphasEYES Aqua-Gel Eyeliner
Tygerlilee84 7/23/2011 5:42:00 AM
I want to give this a 5 just for the color. This is my perfect brown eyeliner. Most brown eyeliners are actually "brown black" which turn basically black on me. This one is a more golden brown which looks brown on me. I looooooove this color. However, the liner itself is a little dry and breaks very easily. It tugs on the skin and breaks. If you apply it juuuust right, it doesn't tug too much and the color is just so gorgeous. Anyway, in the end, I'm giving it a 3 for the functionality. It's just too expensive it loose half of it because of breaking. Now to find a dupe of the color....
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