Lipstick -Yves Saint Laurent - Rouge Volupte #2 Sensual Silk / Blond Sensuel
Adah 1/3/2010 3:07:00 PM
I don't undersand how this has a 95% rating. I admit: it's a pretty, unique color. Sort of a creamy greyed pink nude. And while I don't usually go for fancy packaging, this is truly luxurious and gorgeous. It applies creamy and rich. But...it fades nearly immediately. The glossy sheen goes away and the color wears off, even when I'm not drinking anything. It requires constant upkeep--reapplying every 30 to 45 minutes. And it clumps around the inside of my lips and gets chunky/gunky, which is disgusting and hideous. I will be returning this.
7 out of 9 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -MAC - Shadestick - Nurture
Adah 1/3/2010 3:03:00 PM
I have to agree with the previous poster. This swatched beautifully on my hand--a pale shimmery champagne-y pink. But on the lid, very tuggy and not much color pay off. Eye shadow fail.
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Lipstick -Illamasqua - Sonnet
Adah 12/20/2009 7:36:00 PM
Illamasqua keep luring me in with the promise of long wearing mattes in unique colors. I'm such a sucker. I already have 4 of these. Wanton, a mauvey pinik, and Fable, a bublegum pink, are dry but pretty. But Over, a orangey coral, and Obey, a corally nude, are so chalky and dry. And yet, I bought Sonnet. The color was too pretty swatched on my hand. So I get it home and am once again disappointed by Illamasqua. Sonnet is a peachy nude that streaks when applied and settles into liplines. It's not just that it's dry, it's that it won't apply evenly no matter how careful I am in application. I wore Sonnet today with MAC Creme de Nude, a similar shade but thinner formulation, over it. It's solved the streaky problem, but isn't worth buying to wear together unless you're a nude lipstick fanatic.
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Lipstick -Illamasqua - Obey
Adah 10/31/2009 5:13:00 PM
This is a really unique color. The swatches that I've seen online and on MUA look like a very pale pink, but on me this is much peachier--more like a light peach with a pink undertone. It somehow manages to give me a pale mod lip that is also bright and playful. Like most Illamasqua lipsticks, this is a very matte substantial lipstick. I hate sheer and glossy lipsticks because they look pretty when you first apply them but quickly wear off (YSL Pur Rouge, I'm looking at you). This tends to be dry, but also lasts forever--through drinks and meals--and wears off evenly. But on the downside, this lipstick is hard to wear in the same way MAC myth is hard to wear. It can be rather chalky; I have to run my finger over it to smooth it out. That said, it's still worth it because the color is really special and it wears long. I am very impressed by Illamasqua lipsticks. They're comparable to Nars semi-mattes. Here's hoping sephora gets some more colors soon. EDIT: lipstick fail. This is just way way too dry and chalky. Back to Sephora it goes. .
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -NARS - Sin
Adah 11/22/2008 2:43:00 PM
Another winner from NARS. When I first got this, it looked really muddy in the pan. And when I swatched it on my finger, it looked dark brown-purple. Just hideous. Yet somehow, on my face this becomes a soft plum. It's everything that I'd hoped MAC True Romantic would be--well pigmented, easy to blend, berry-ish color.
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Blush -MAC - Emanuel Ungaro Crushed Bougainvillea
Adah 10/18/2008 4:56:00 PM
This really is the item to get from Ungaro. I don't own many CCBs, just Hush, but after buying this, I think that I need more. Crushed Bougainvillea is a matte dark fuchsia, bordering on berry. Used as a blush, you only need to tap your finger on it once to do both cheeks--this stuff is seriously figmented, although easily sheered out. I'm very cool toned, and I apply with my fingers then buff a bit of MSFN in Light over it. This gives me that "I just came out of the cold", Snow White-esque cheeks, and looks surprisingly natural. On lips, I layer it over See Thru Color in Don't be Shy, for a very bright berry-pink lip. I also layer it under HIP jelly balm in succulant (a plummy pink) for a more sheer look. It's surprisingly versatile. And while it isn't eye safe, I think it would make a great base for MAC's Fuschia or Bright Fuschia pigments or Ben Nye's Azalea. Get this while it's available because it is super fab.
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Lipstick -Urban Decay - Lipstick
Adah 9/7/2008 8:47:00 PM
UD's new lipsticks bring so many adjectives to mind, such as disappointing, crappy, disgusting, and wasteful. I have Indecent, Sellout, and Gash. They taste like nailpolish remover, with a sickly sweet smell. Pigmentation sucks, and they wear off very quickly. A complete waste of money. I will never buy another.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Bronzers -Urban Decay - Gilded
Adah 8/22/2008 3:42:00 PM
Move over MAC MSFs, you have competition. This is a nice luminizer on my fair skin. The color is a pale warm--but not too warm--peach with gold shimmer. It's what I'd hoped to find in MAC Glissade, but didn't. I've very pale, usually lowest in any brand's foundation, and this brightens up my cheeks with natural looking peachy nude shimmer. The effect looks sun kissed, not like I've been sun burnt in a tanning booth. Subtle, but pigmented and buildable color. This is my first bronzer, and I really think "bronzer" is misleading, since this doesn't make me look bronze at all. It can sometimes look orange if I don't use a light hand. UD is really on to something with their baked bronzer. If only they'd branch out into other colors.
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Lipstick -Urban Decay - Gash lipstick
Adah 8/22/2008 3:37:00 PM
I never got to try the old UD lipsticks and I've been lusting after gash for years after seeing it in pictures, so I was ecstatic when I heard they were back. The new lipsticks are kind of weird though. First off, gash doesn't look like the bright metallic red I've seen in pictures. I was expecting retro 50s red. Instead, this gash is a dark berry red with low shimmer, very vampy, almost 1930s film star red. It reminds me of NARS Scarlet Empress, but about a shade lighter. Luckily, I've always wanted Scarlet Empress, but it was too dark for my fair skin, so gash being similar works well for me. In other words, not what I wanted, but pretty nonetheless. The texture isn't the best however. When I hear full cover I think of NARS semi-mattes, or MAC mattes or amplified creams. This is fairly sheer for something called "full coverage." I thought this would be a more substantial lipstick. It's buildable, but wears off pretty quickly down to sheer coverage. The taste is repulsive. It tastes like nail polish remover. The smell is sickly sweet. The packaging ridiculous--the little dagger is silly and makes them hard to stow. The case is cheap looking plastic. I wish UD would bring back its classy retro metal cases. I mean, at $22 a pop, you're not selling to teenagers anymore. This lipstick sucks. I put some on over lipliner and two hours later it was off, and I didn't eat or drink a single thing in that time. This is so not worth the money, MAC and NARS are both way better.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -MAC - Beauty Powder in Sweetness
Adah 5/25/2008 2:59:00 PM
I love this blush. It's very bright pink and brighter than NARS Desire, in my opinion. While it can be sheered out for a natural pink flush, I like to apply it strong when I'm dressing for a night out on the town. A bit of Sweetness, with a touch of Lightscapade buffed over it, so pretty.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -MAC - Bonus Beat Lipglass - Heatherette
Adah 5/25/2008 2:56:00 PM
At first, I was unimpressed by this gloss. When first applied, it's really uneven and goopy, and looks rather like shimmery concealer. But after a few minutes, it seems to melt into my lips and gives me a sheer, shimmery nude lip. I don't wear very many beiges, since I'm very cool toned I stick to pinks and reds. But this was a good one to branch out to nude gloss with, because it's perfectly neutral. My only reservation is that while it applies opaque, after it smooths out, it becomes rather sheer. Overall, a very pretty gloss.
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Blush -MAC - Beauty Powder in True Romantic
Adah 3/13/2008 8:03:00 PM
I have a hard time with blush. I started wearing it a few months ago and have found myself repeatedly frustrated. NARS and NYX cream shadows are too pigmented, I can't blend it out enough. NYX and Milani powders are a nice texture, but they fade after an hour or two. I've been looking for a blush that isn't too garish on my very pale skin, that blends out and looks natural, and that stays put. Finally found it. True Romantic is perfect. It blends like a dream, and actually stays without reapplication. The color is a medium pink with a mauvey undertone. The description says there's silver shimmer in it, but it's very subtle. Why are these LE? MAC finally gets something right and naturally makes it LE. Get it while you can.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -MAC - Paint Pot in Perky [DISCONTINUED]
Adah 2/29/2008 4:17:00 PM
What a disappointment. I own three other paint pots: cash flow, pharaoh, and otherworldly. They are creamy and can be sheered out, applied thickly for opaque color. They look fantastic alone, or can be wore as a base. In other words, they're very versatile. Perky isn't. The picture at the top of the page is very accurate. It's a muted peachy pink color with a bit of shimmer. Pretty in the pot. When applied, it's so sheer that you can't see it. With two layers, it's still sheer. I'm a PPP, paler than NC/NW15. If this paint pot doesn't show up on my pale ass, who does it show up on? I tried it as a blush, and that seemed to work ok. I have a hard time finding good blushes, because I'm so pale most look garish. This looks sheer and natural. But I didn't buy this to use as a blush. I was looking for a peachy pink cream shadow. No dice. Save your money, don't buy this.
5 out of 9 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -NYX - Natural
Adah 2/28/2008 8:33:00 PM
I love this blush. I'm really a blush dummy. I can wing liner, blend like a champ, but when it comes to blush, I always put on too much. Part of the problem is that I'm super pale. I have yet to find a foundation pale enough for me, that's how pale I am. And most blushes are just too dark for me. I had to learn the hard way that pale girls can wear bright eyeshadows and lipstick, but that the hot pink blush will make me look like a clown. Nars Desire, so pretty in the pan, makes me look like a streetwalker, even with a light hand. So imagine my surprise when this cheapie NYX blush rocked my socks off. It's a pretty peachy pink, but very pale. It's well pigmented, but light enough that's very hard to over do. It brightens my face, but doesn't scream "I'm wearing blush!" even as it makes a noticeable difference. It's become my everyday blush--and this when I didn't even wear blush six months ago. LOVE! ETA: This doesn't stay put on me. Love the color and texture, but I'm going going to reapply every two hours.
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Eye Shadow -Urban Decay - Foxy matte eyeshadow
Adah 2/22/2008 2:19:00 PM
When I first bought Foxy, I was disappointed. I wanted an off white, your-skin-but-better matte shadow to use as an all over wash and highlighters. Which is exactly what Foxy is. I don't know why I was disappointed, maybe it's because it's just not that sexy of a color because it really is nearly exactly the color of my skin (I'm MUFE Ivory or Porcelain. It's about a shade darker than my skin). But I find myself reaching for this all the time. When I use shimmery shadows and I don't want to overdo it, I use this to highlight. When I blend a dark shadow too far upward, I use this to tone it down. When my skin is looks icky from lack of sleep, I use this to look wide awake. I've even patted it under my eyes for set my concealer. It looks completely natural, no shimmer, no luminosity, just matte. For a girl with a drawer full of brights, this is a very versatile neutral shadow. I'll definitely purchase again.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No