Lip Treatments -Fresh - Sugar Rose Lip Treatment SPF 15
plumblush 1/21/2013 8:59:00 PM
I have a troubled relationship with my Sugar Rose Lip Treatment. There's so much to like about it, but it is an impractical product in most ways. Pros: * Moisturizes and softens like no other product (even my beloved Korres lip butters) * Smells Nice and Tastes Nice * Imparts a beautiful, rosy MLBB glow Cons: * Melts almost immediately if the temp rises above 60 degrees * Breaks almost immediately no matter how gently you apply it * Costs an arm and a leg This is just not a product I can carry around in my makeup bag. It turns to goo if I leave it in a warm car. God forbid I should want to walk around with it in my pocket--that melts it as well. So, I have made a peace accord with this product by leaving it on my vanity and putting it on first thing in the morning, and then last thing at night after my Lush lip scrub. I'll buy it again because it works so well. I just wish it were a bit more durable.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Stick -Bobbi Brown - Foundation Stick
plumblush 1/21/2013 8:53:00 PM
I like Bobbi Brown foundations and tinted moisturizers because they have such a great color match for my pale skin. Most foundations go a bit yellow on me. Honestly, I had my doubts about this foundation stick in the store. When I brought it home, I found it thick and difficult to deal with. So, back to the back of my makeup drawer it went. Then one day, I saw a makeup guru on Youtube use this foundation with a wet sponge. Eureka! You really can make this fairly sheer and buildable if you wet a makeup sponge and dab it lightly onto the stick and then onto your face. It looks great when worn that way! I still prefer my Bobbi Brown tined moisturizer for everyday wear. But, when I need a bit more coverage, I reach for this. I also use it straight from the tube as a concealer too. Just take a teeny brush and apply it to imperfections. I don't think I'll buy it again, but there's so much product in the tube, I can't imagine when I'll run out of it.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Highlighters -Urban Decay - Urbanglow Cream Highlight
plumblush 1/21/2013 8:47:00 PM
This product is one of those things that I look at and think, "Now why did I buy that?" Despite the fact that I am super duper pale, I purchased a bronzy brown color called Brown Sugar. But really, my gripe isn't with the color. That's my own fault. Rather, I find the formulation to be a majorly greasy. It's slippery to the point of feeling sort of gross. I have very dry skin, so I don't typically mind products that feel oily. But this one feels off even to me. I swatched it in the store on my hand, and the color really is beautiful--sheer and shimmery. But, it won't stay put because it's too dang slippery--even when I'm wearing setting spray. Maybe I'll figure out a better way to use this and edit this review. But for now, I wouldn't repurchase this. EDIT: Ok, I did figure out how to use this with the help of the youtube gurus. What I now do is use a blush brush to pick up the product and lay it down on my cheekbones and 1/2 onto the apples of my cheeks as I would a blush. Then, I take a fluffy powder brush and buff as though my life depends on it. (Seriously, it requires a lot of buffing.) I finish with a bit of shimmeryish powder so I don't mattify it entirely. Goal! It looks lovely after that--not too muddy or glittery.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -L'Oreal - Colour Riche Lipstick -- Volcanic
plumblush 1/21/2013 8:09:00 PM
Let me start by saying that I can't find much wrong with most of the lipsticks I have tried from the Colour Riche line. The colors are beautiful and complex, and best of all, they wear like much more expensive lipsticks. As another reviewer noted, they are soft enough to work with and not feel too dry, but they don't slip and slide around either. I can wear most of these without a balm, and that's saying a lot for me. Volcanic is a bright,reddish orange. It looks beautiful on my lips, and with a simple cat eye, appears like a very sophisticated color. I am surprised that it's a DS lipstick whenever I wear it. I would repurchase this.
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Mascara -Christian Dior - DiorShow Mascara Waterproof
plumblush 1/21/2013 8:05:00 PM
I was really disappointed in this mascara. Let me set the stage: I have short, pale lashes that won't hold a curl. To make matters worse, my eyes water all the time and I challenge any waterproof mascara. (Cute, I know.) After reading all the fantastic reviews of the DiorShow mascaras, I thought that this would be my HG mascara. And the results? Meh. It's only OK. It's neither the worst nor the best mascara I have ever used. For the price point, I feel like it should be a bit more towards the front of the pack. It is decently waterproof and very black. But, it's no better than the voluminous line by L'Oreal, and it's certainly not anywhere in the same stratosphere as my Maybelline Stiletto. I'll use up the tube; I don't hate it. But, I wouldn't repurchase it either.
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Blush -Chanel - Joues Contraste in Mocha
plumblush 1/19/2013 9:10:00 PM
Because my skin is rather florid already, I can have a difficult time finding blushes. Before a Chanel makeup artist informed me that I needed a brown-based blush, I was sorta lost. Enter JC in Mocha. This shade is a gorgeous, plummy brown with a slight shimmer. It is easy to put on without becoming too garish. As another reviewer noted, it melts right into the skin without a lot of effort. The only thing I don't like about it is that it can also melt off about halfway through the day. However, it's not too much trouble to top it up, and it's so beautiful that doing so is a pleasure. This blush has that faint, rosy scent that most Chanel products have. But, I think it's quite pleasant.
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Lipstick -MAC - Lustre - Red Full-Stop
plumblush 1/18/2013 5:13:00 PM
I have struggled to understand why they call this color "red" anything. It's actually a bright pinky coral. It's really, really bright. But, it's a beautiful lipstick if you're careful not to overdo when you apply it. I wear it with my Korres Pomegranate balm and just press it lightly on my lips. It's beautiful. I think it might have been discontinued. But I would buy it again if it hadn't been!
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Lipstick -MAC - Russian Red
plumblush 1/18/2013 5:10:00 PM
This was my favorite red for many years until discovering Gabrielle by Chanel. The thing is, that this lipstick is just the perfect color for nearly everyone I know. I am very cool-toned and it looks great on me. It also looks fab on my neutral-warm toned sister. The staying power is pretty good, particularly when paired with a balm and a gloss. The only major problem I have with this is that it dries my lips out really, really badly. I know that since it's a matte lipstick, some of that is to be expected. But, this is really uncomfortable. The price we pay for beauty I guess!
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Lipstick -Chanel - Rouge Coco in Gabrielle 19
plumblush 1/18/2013 5:07:00 PM
This is my HG red lipstick. In fact, I can't believe that I found a red lipstick that I don't want to cheat on with another brand. I love Russian Red by Mac, and I love all the Besame reds as well. But, this lipstick is something special. It has a soft, creamy...nearly balmy texture on the lips. I have worn it without a lip liner, but it is better with one since it likes to bleed a bit. The thing that sets this apart from my runner-up reds is the fact that it doesn't dry my lips out too much. Russian Red, despite it's beautiful color, makes me want to scrub my lips with a Brillo pad by the time I'm done with it!
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Lipstick -Chanel - Rouge Allure - Mythic 69
plumblush 1/18/2013 5:01:00 PM
Oh, Chanel...how could you do this to me? You make this gorgeous, perfect nude and then you rip it away from me! I am so sad that this color has been discontinued. When I am out of town (because I am sure that I have cleaned out all the counters in my town) I stop by Chanel counters in case they have a tube or two of this still hanging about somewhere. This is the perfect nude. It's got a grey cast to it, which make it sound kinda gross. But, on cool-toned girls it is perfect. It's quite sheer, so I have to nude out my lips with BB cream before I apply it. if I want to get a true color out of it. But even on its own, it has a beautiful blueish sheen that just makes it so special. If you can find it, get it!
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Eyeliner -MAC - Fluidline Eye-Liner Gel in Blacktrack
plumblush 1/18/2013 4:51:00 PM
This is my HG eye liner. It's the best. You do have to give it a moment to dry or it will transfer and smudge. The next closest liner in staying ability, my Maybelline gel liner, doesn't require that. But, once it's on, it stays better than anything else I have ever tried. I have very dry eyes that water, plus oily lids that make keeping any kind of eye makeup on a challenge. I will buy this over and over and over again!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -L'Oreal - Colour Riche in Fairest Nude
plumblush 1/18/2013 4:46:00 PM
I know this is supposed to be the best nude since sliced bread, but I don't like it very much. I love the Colour Riche line in general because most of them are creamy, decently pigmented, and don't tear up my lips. But, as other reviewers have noted, this particular shade chaps my lips like nobody's business. In addition, though it looks like a beautiful pinky/brown shade in the tube, it somehow translates to a chalky mess on my lips no matter how I prep them or what I top it with. I had forgotten how difficult this shade is to work with for me, and pulled it out to wear to work today. Yuck. I had to wipe it off again and try another shade when I got there. I don't doubt that it's working for someone since it gets such high marks. But with my fair, cool-toned skin it's just disappointing.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Bronzers -Tarte - Park Avenue Princess
plumblush 1/18/2013 4:38:00 PM
This a really, really beautiful bronzer on my pale, cool-toned skin. I have the fabled Laguna Bronzer from Nars. And don't get me wrong, that one is lovely too. But, I like this one just a teensy bit better. I think it's a bit more...sheer and brown-toned perhaps? It has a bit of sparkle in it, but not enough to do much more than give one some zip and depth. I think it might be the only product in my massive collection that I love enough to hit pan. When this runs out, I'll finish up my Laguna and then buy this one again.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Treatments -Korres - Lip Butter - Wild Rose
plumblush 1/14/2013 9:01:00 PM
As I have noted in other reviews, the Korres lip butters are my HG lip balms. I have very dry lips, so believe me--I am a connoisseur of lip balms. This one bumps up my natural lip shade just a bit and gives a lovely, bitten sort of color. The reason that I can't live without this is that it helps out just about every red lipstick I own. To wear my favorite red lipstick, Gabrielle by Chanel, I put a layer of this on, then a layer of Gabrielle, and then another layer of this. My lipstick stays put for hours and my lips feel quenched. This stuff is great!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Treatments -Korres - Lip Butter - Pomegranate
plumblush 1/14/2013 8:55:00 PM
This is my HG balm. I love everything about it--the color, the smell, the way it hydrates my poor, sad lips. I have one of these in each of my purses and another on my counter. I like it that much. I have rosy, pale skin with very pigmented lips. This wakes up my face and makes me look like I might have put in a little effort, even when I haven't. I am partial to coral lipsticks as well, and this serves as a lovely base for those lipsticks. I will buy this until they stop making it. (Heaven forbid!)
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No