Fragrances -LUSH - Karma Dusting Powder
ImCastingMagicMissiles 3/11/2009 6:11:00 AM
I originally tried this powder as an antipersperant alternative, but now also use it all over as a light scent in addition to the rest of the Karma line. I like that it keeps me dry and fresh without the painful swollen glands I was getting, which my doctor told me was from the strong ingrediants in the things I had been using. He suggested corn starch or baby powder, but I much prefer to smell of Karma. This does smell a bit different than their other Karma products, somewhere between what you would expect a dusting powder to smell like and what the Karma scent smells like, with a little extra dash of marigolds. It still retains it's great unisex quality, and SO and I both have lots of uses for the stuff. In shoes, as carpet powder, on feet to prevent blisters... it goes fast. I just wish they would improve the texture. The grainy bits brush off the skin easily, but they're annoying enough.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Scrubs -LUSH - Buffy the Backside Slayer
ImCastingMagicMissiles 12/21/2008 3:20:00 PM
Greasy? Hmm.. I wish I had such luck. I need to use a second moisturizer to fully hydrate my skin, though I usually feel comfortable enough to skip the second step. This is a very strong and very hydrating exfoliatior--Buffy is NOT for sensitive or oily types, no matter how the SAs push it. For those of us who need it, this bar works wonders on rough, dry skin, especially helping those of us with KP. The scent is mildly nutty but doesn't linger. I wish the particles were a bit more smooth, but looking at my nice smooth arms and feet, I can't complain. If your tub is made greasy by this, running the hot water should take care of the oils.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -MAC - Mattene in Kirsch (Cult of Cherry)
ImCastingMagicMissiles 9/9/2008 4:12:00 AM
My coloring: Very pale yellow-olive skin, blackened cranberry hair.
The minute I tried Kirsch on in the store, SO insisted I own it. Kirsch is a gorgeous chocolatly cranberry shade, the same color as my hair currently. I love how this collection really favors warmer skintones and is also great for darker and paler skintones; often times deeper shades go on too cool or too ashy. Kirsch is rich and saturated and is a perfect mate to Vino lip liner. Try topping it with Cult of Cherry lipglass for a rich dessert wine shade, or a sheer black gloss for full-on vamp lips. As a side note, I have to say... the incredible shades and formulas of this collection has really restored my faith in MAC.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -MAC - Talent Pool - Starflash Collection
ImCastingMagicMissiles 9/9/2008 3:56:00 AM
Talent Pool is one of MAC's new Starflash finish eyeshadows. The formula of these reminds me of the Veluxe Pearls, only with the flash and buildable coverage of the Pigments. While the formula is great, Talent Pool is a bit of a disappointment. When I swatched it next to Steamy, there was no difference, and I ended up choosing a propan of Steamy over Talent Pool. If you don't already have Steamy, though, this is a nice shade to own, and the Starflash formula wears very well on oily lids, but not enough to justify paying full price for something you can get cheaper in the permanant line.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Idol Eyes
ImCastingMagicMissiles 9/5/2008 12:34:00 AM
My coloring: very pale olive-yellow skin, eyes that change green-blue-grey-teal
I've debated buying this shade for years now and finally caved. I don't see the "silver" many reviews are mentioned. On me and swatched, Idol Eyes is a muted, greyed lavender shot through with pale gold shimmer. It works well on both cool and warm-toned skin from what I've seen, and I prefer to play up the white gold shimmer by using MAC's Solar White (Cool Heat collection) as my highlight shade, and a rick black liner. Even my SO noticed and compliment my "blue" eye shadow. I took off one point for the texture... it's a great color and wears very well, it's it's a bit chunky and mildy irritating to work with. I think the Lustre shadows apply best with a finger or sponge-applicator.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -MAC - Mattene in Bing
ImCastingMagicMissiles 8/23/2008 12:45:00 PM
My coloring: Very pale with yellow-Olive tones. Pics coming soon.
The SAs at my MAC store know me all too well. For ages, I've debated over buying Cyber. While it's a beautiful, perfectly gothy shade, Cyber is a greasy mess on me. If only MAC would make a similar color in a better formula... maybe something semi-matte and moisturrizing... something like... a Mattene...
Bing is Cyber revisted and reinvented. As soon as they mentioned the shades were similar, I knew I had to have it. Instead of the mess Cyber is, Bing is rich and smooth, deep and pigmented. You can apply it full force, or dab it down to a berry-bitten stain. I really love the Mattene formula, I find that it hydrates my lips well and has a more comfortable texture than a traditional matte. Like Cyber, Bing is a blackened eggplant shade that really compliments warm skintones, despite being a slightly cool color.
Nightmoth lip liner (or even a black eyeliner) will keep the edges nice; I feel like a silent-film vamp with clean edges on deep lip shades. Both Blooming and Plum du Bois blushes compliment Bing, I think Nars Sin would work as well. Bronzer for contouring and a spice and gold-toned eye look will really compliment and offset this bold shade.
This may sound snotty, but I had to edit in: Yes, this is a dark shade, but I don't understand those here and on other sites calling it "too dark" and "gothy". Not everyone has light skin, and the cosmetics industry tends to neglect those with beautiful deeper skintones. Bing and the other CoC vamps look just gorgeous on NC35 and darker skintones, as the colors are very saturated and won't go ashy/hot pink.
9 out of 11 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -MAC - Cult of Cherry
ImCastingMagicMissiles 8/23/2008 12:27:00 PM
My coloring: Very pale with yellow-olive undertones.
Most of the time, those of us with warmer tones dread reds with very pink/fuchsia untertones, as they end up looking too cool and too pink against warmer skin. However, the Cult of Cherry collection seems geared towards those of us with warmer, autumnal coloring, and the lipglass that bears its namesake is no exception. On me it's the color of cherry pie filling, laced with vibrant red shimmer. If you sheer it out you can see the pink tones, but Cult of Cherry is highly pigmented and seems to work well with warm-toned skin. It's a "warm cool" color, I'd say. With my pale yellow skin, Cult of Cherry looks right at home--like the cherry filling peaking through a latice pie crust.
I think a clear lipliner would look best with this; defined edges might be too over the top for this fun color. This pairs especially well with Blooming blush, Orpheous eye liner, and the Spiced Chocolate quad (or comparable shades).
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -MAC - Blooming [DISCONTINUED]
ImCastingMagicMissiles 8/23/2008 3:39:00 AM
My coloring: Very pale yellow-olive skin. Pics coming soon.
I should preface this review with the fact that I am not a blush person. I don't really care for the blush look; I'd rather not look constantly flushed. I usually stick to bronzer for contouring and a highighter. When I do wear blush, it's a neutral contour shade.
I should also preface this wth the fact that, until now, I have never liked MAC blush.
Cult of Cherry is one of the best MAC collections I've seen in years. The colors and formulas are interesting, unique, and all work together beautifully. The vampy and warm colors are balanced out by the soft, glowy blushes. Blooming doesn't look like a strong highlight or a stark contour shade, instead it lies somewhere in the middle, somehow both shaping my face and illuminating it. This is exactly what I want in a blush, something to fake perfect skin and bone structure. On my skin it's a muted very light golden tan with a peachy-pink understone. The frost formula gives it a slightly satiny finish--for some reason, I'd expected high shimmer, and was happy to find that I was wrong.
Blooming pairs equally well with deep, vampy looks and lighter, autumn-colored looks. Those with cool or beige skin might be able to pull it off, but I really think this collection favors those with warmer tones, pale through dark.
7 out of 8 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Maybelline - Moisture Extreme in Bitten Plum
ImCastingMagicMissiles 7/25/2008 1:36:00 PM
I completely agree with the bruise comment by the reviewer below but, oddly, that's what really draws me in with this shade. The formula is as moisturizing as a good lip balm and applies with a great lightweight, creamy texture. My skin is very fair, no, paperwhite, with yellow-olive undertones, and my lips are very pigmented. On my lips, it's the same shade as a love-bite: medium plum with a very slight grey/black cast. This might sound horrible to some, but I love the mysterious and sexy vampire-like allure it gives. I like to pair this with shimmery black liner, such as Fyrinnae Dazzling Darkness, and a sheer, glowy green e/s, such as Shiseido Hydropowder in Clover Dew.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Fyrinnae - Okapi
ImCastingMagicMissiles 6/7/2008 6:39:00 PM
Okapi is part of Fyrinnae's June '08 endangered animals collection, which benefits the World Wildlife Fund, hence the shadows' names. It's described on the site as "Rich mahogany burgundy with accents of gold." The product picture on the site makes it look dark, though really it's closer to the lighter shade shown in their swatch picture. I find Okapi to be identical in texture to Sake & Sashimi, a somewhat sheer gleaming base with a small amount of gold sparkle. I took off a point for the sparkle; in shades with lower amounts of sparkles like this, they can look more chunky/piecey than sparkley/glittery. The overall effect, however, is a lovely neutral with a bit of a golden kick, and works very well as both a liner and lid shade, wet and dry. I've paired Okapi with MAC Teddy eyeliner and Fyrinnae City Glams in Lights of Moscow, with Taurus to highlight, a combo that ups the sparkle factor and really brings out the green-blue in my eyes. I would recommend this to people who like shades such as Sake & Sashimi and MAC Trax.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Primer/ Corrector -Fyrinnae - Rice Powder Primer for Dry Skin
ImCastingMagicMissiles 6/7/2008 1:38:00 PM
I've been using Fyrinnae's original Rice Powder Primer since it first came out and really love it, but was still intrigued by a note on the site saying a dry skin formula was in development. I have combination skin, so while my t-zone can usually use some oil control, I don't need or really want it for the rest of my face and around my eyes. The original formula doesn't dry my skin out at all, but I have found myself mixing it with jojoba on drier skin days.
When I first tested out my sample, I was surprised by the texture. As much as I love the original RPP, I've often wished it was a bit smoother in texture. This is silky and slippy, much finer than the normal RPP. It seems to sink into my skin a bit better too, though it needs a little extra buffing to sheer out to clear. This doesn't make me oily at all, possibly because it's not absorbing oil, also but isn't adding oil. I have very sensitive skin and have not experienced any irritation from this new formula. I've decided I'll switch to this formula as my main primer when my regular RPP jar juns out, maybe keeping a small size of the regular RPP on hand for extra oily days.
Ingredients are: Rice Powder, Magnesium Stearate, Sericite, Magnesium Myristate, Silica.
(Please refer to my review of the original for general tips and tricks for using the RPP, I think they apply for both equally.)
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Fyrinnae - Boytoy
ImCastingMagicMissiles 6/3/2008 12:09:00 AM
**Click "Continued" to see pictures in this review**
Boytoy is described on Fyrinnae's website as "Our most sparkly green! Varying hues of vibrant green on black make this a stunning shade." They aren't kidding about the sparkle and stun factor: in the jar, Boytoy could easily be mistaken for a City Glam. Out of the whole May '08 collection, this and Hypercool impressed me the most. It's unlike many of my other greens... not olive, not bluish, not gold-green, not sage... it's like rich grass and ivy green shimmer with a deep charcoal base. Imagine combining Dorothy's pumps with a lush, wet garden. I still don't quite know what to pair it with, so I just use Shinkirou to highlight and black liner. Boytoy is gorgeous all on it's own anyway. I love how opaquely it applies. You get a solid line of vibrant dazzle rather than a sheer wash of sparkle. I haven't had any problems with fallout and apply it dry like any other shadow.
My camera is terrible at caturing sparkle, so these pictures give you a great idea of just how much sparkle is in Boytoy compared to other shades.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Fyrinnae - Loose Eye Shadow in Tempting Hansel
ImCastingMagicMissiles 6/2/2008 11:49:00 PM
(From the site) "I've heard he and his sister like gingerbread and cookies, but that Hansel is especially fond of gummy bears..."
**Click "Continued to see pics in this review**
If you don't get the reference, you're missing out ^^.
I think this just may be my favorite purple eye shadow. It's not too neon, not too dull or smokey, very vibrant, unique, smooth in texture, and stays on all day and night. On the site, Tempting Hansel is described as "Shimmering cool lilac with a dash of light green sparkle." This is one of those "cool" shades that looks great on warm skin, I find that it really brings out my golden tones and looks juicy, not bruisey. It looks great with Flamboyant Forest or Make Up Sex Ink e/l, or UD Lust e/l (as seen in the pics below) and I really like the effect I get when I pat extra green sparkle (City Glams: Lights of Auckland) over top. Like most Fyrinnae e/s, I prefer to pat it on dry. Recently I've paired it with shades such as Party Crasher, Equality, and Android Angel.
Please excuse the trail colored contacts I had on in this picture. Tempting Hansel is all around the eye, with UD Lust on the waterline, and Moon Child on the browbone.
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Fyrinnae - Electro-Koi
ImCastingMagicMissiles 6/2/2008 11:31:00 PM
**Click "Continued" to see the pictures in this review**
Electro-Koi is from Fyrinnae's May 2008 collection. It's described on the website as "Vibrant orange that's loaded with coordinating sparkle". When I apply it, it looks, well, like koi scales: brilliant orange that gleams warm gold. The texture seems to be a hybrid of their "gleaming" shades (Rapunzel Had Exensions, for example) and their sparkle shades (Kimchi), resulting in a finish that applies ultra-smoothy and really catches the light, but also sparkles and glitters. It's more golden and darker than Chlorophill, and lighter, brighter, and less pink-toned than Third Wish. Electro-Koi is great paired with Avian Shapeshifter, Taurus, and UD Lucky e/l.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Fyrinnae - Nijiiro
ImCastingMagicMissiles 5/11/2008 5:50:00 PM
**Click "Continued" to see the pictures in theis review**
On Fyrinnae's website, Nijiiro is described as "Ivory with rainbow sparkles. The pale version of Fyre & Ice, but with more colors. Photos do not show the different shades very well." It *is* difficult to capture the sparkles on film, but I'm compare them more to City Glams in Lights of Tokyo than Fyre & Ice; Nijiiro is filled with bright, prismatic sparkles whereas F&I had an abundance of hot pink sparkles. The actual shadow is smooth, soft, creamy, and pigmented without a hint of chalkiness. I like using this over a white cream shadow (to make it really pop), such as Ben Nye's cream makeup, and paired with a dark liner, such as Dazzling Darkness or Violet Vendetta. To amp up the sparkles, I layer Lights of Tokyo overtop and blend up as a highlight. Nijiiro can be a bit harsh when applies wet, even on someone as pale as I am, so I prefer using it dry.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No