Makeup Brushes -Stila - #20 Eye Enhancer Brush
Katya94 4/3/2005 2:59:00 PM
Oh, Stila, how you've stolen my heart. How have you done it? But no, seriously, this is a great brush. The small end is great for lining, and the larger end is fantastic for applying eyeshadow and blending. A bit on the pricey side (can't remember exactly how much it was at Holt Renfrew, but it was somewhere around C$50), but yes, I am foolish enough to pay for it. Perhaps not great value, but really a great brush.
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Lip Gloss -Stila - Lip glaze
Katya94 1/27/2005 8:02:00 AM
I've become a Stila devotee over the past few months, and a new lip glaze devotee, thanks to the lower price and twice the product! I love them...but I'm not sure why I do. We all know the packaging is terrible (when I got my Pussycat Dolls Amaretto lip glaze I thought it was broken, it took a lot of cicking to get the product going), I don't particularly like any of the scents (plastic fantastic), they're sticky, they don't last very long... but still I love them. Love the colours and the sheer, glossy finish. Oh well, I'll just chalk this up to insanity.
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Makeup Brushes -Bobbi Brown - Ultra Fine Eye liner brush
Katya94 7/29/2004 8:37:00 PM
I bought this brush because the Stila counter at Nordstrom’s in Minneapolis was out of the #4 brush. I was assured that the BB Fine Point brush was “pretty much the same”, but I don’t think so! Chalk this up to yet another BB product I don’t like--haven’t found one I’ve really liked yet. But really, I guess there’s nothing really wrong with this brush, but I bought it for the gel eyeliner (specifically, Stila Smudge Pots, not BB gel eyeliner, but close enough) and I didn’t find it worked very well. The line is very imprecise and thick and not very smudgy, and I found the bristles too firm and scratchy. Off to eBay this one goes…
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Lipstick -MAC - Pro Longwear Lipcolour in Passion Preserved
Katya94 7/29/2004 8:35:00 PM
Nice colour, a matte plum-pink (that obviously becomes glossy when you put the gloss topcoat on), and can be light or dark depending how thick you layer it on. However, it’s not an ideal product for me (see my review under MAC Longwear).
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Lipstick -MAC - Pro Longwear Lipcolour
Katya94 7/29/2004 8:33:00 PM
I don’t know why I bought this. I despise longwearing lip product because they're not as easy to use as they seem and they feel like nail polish on your lips. But I must have had a brain aneurysm because I bought one (Passion Preserved), for CAD$24, hoping that it would be better than your average drugstore (Cover Girl, Max Factor, Revlon, etc.) longwearing lip colour. The MAC version is quite similar to the drugstore brands and is packaged like the Revlon one, with the colour at one end (wand tip) and the clear liquidy gloss (brush tip) on the other. To use, paint lips with a thin layer of the colour, wait two minutes to dry (don’t press lips together), then put gloss on top, and reapply the gloss at regular intervals throughout the day. Problem is it looks pretty stupid if you don’t paint it really really perfectly (like nail polish) , and like I have time for that in the morning. The colour does last, but the few times I’ve worn this I’ve noticed a tendency for the colour to wear away on the inside of the lips, leaving you with a rather unsightly dark ring around the outside. Ew. It’s not uncomfortable to wear, and the clear liquid gloss is not sticky, but it’s just kinda…gross. I’d rather wear regular lipstick/gloss and reapply frequently than wear this crap. Hopefully this was my one and only brain aneurysm for the year… The good thing about this is that the gloss end of the double wand comes off and can be replaced with a new one. Since you’d probably use the gloss up before the colour, MAC sells the gloss separately for CAD$16.50 (!!!), in clear, iridescent (a shimmery opaque that changes the lip colour slightly), and glitter.
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Polishes -MAC - Molten Brown
Katya94 5/9/2004 4:49:00 PM
Love this colour. It was part of the Taste Tease collection, which was mostly brown-based. Molten Brown is an opaque, shimmery bronze-brown. Looks great on toes when wearing red sandals! Great formulation too, wears well, no chipping.
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Polishes -MAC - Nail Lacquer (NEW formula)
Katya94 5/9/2004 4:41:00 PM
Really like the new nail lacquers from MAC. Comes in a bottle similar to OPI's, but apparently without formaldehyde in the formula, unlike OPI. Applies easily and smoothly, dries quickly, and stays put! Hardly any chipping, and I'm not gentle with my nails at all. I have three colours, Fluid (same as the old formula), Molten Brown, and a burgundy from the Taste Tease collection whose name escapes me at the moment.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Shadestick
Katya94 5/9/2004 4:06:00 PM
Hmmm...I'm not enamoured with this product, but neither am I totally disgusted with it. ;) As other reviewers have said, application is not that easy. The shadow is a bit "stiff", as another reviewer mentioned, so it doesn't glide on as smoothly as you might like from a cream shadow, and it doesn't blend well either. Nor is the product very sheer. However, this does work for makeup in a hurry, as I can just lightly swipe it on all over the lid, add liner, and go. And I believe the lack of creaminess/blendability means that it stays put all day. Pair it with a Stila Smudge Pot and you've got an eye look that's definitely not going anywhere! I got Taupographic, a shimmery pinky-brown, kinda what I wanted Naked Lunch (which ended up being a frosty white) to be. I don't know if I would try more of these, but I'm satisfied.
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Lip Gloss -MAC - Lustreglass in Decorative
Katya94 5/9/2004 3:59:00 PM
Really like this colour. In the tube, it's a darkish plum with shimmer, but it goes on a gorgeous sheer rosey plum. Finally a plum lip colour that doesn't go fuchsia on me! Also really nice over a nude pink liner like Chanel Nude. And I do really like the formula of the new Lustreglass, much lighter and less thick and sticky than regular lipglass.
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Lip Gloss -MAC - Lustreglass
Katya94 5/9/2004 3:53:00 PM
I like these. I was one who was never a big fan of regular lipglass because of how thick and sticky it is, so this lighter formula is much more appealing to me. But I wouldn't say that it's not sticky...I just put mine on (Decorative), and it's still tacky so that it stays on, but not as thick and drying as regular lipglass. I like how these are shimmery without the big chunky glitter, and the staying power is okay, about the same as regular lipglass. I do like the brush applicator--shorter and easier to handle than the Lip Lacquer brush, and easier to spread the gloss out than the lipglass wand applicator. I bought one, and I think I'll go back and try a few more.
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Lip Gloss -MAC - Viva Glam V Lipglass
Katya94 5/9/2004 12:13:00 PM
Doing my part for charity and I get a great pink lipgloss to boot! I like the Viva Glam V lipglass much better than the lipstick, which I find quite pale and drying. The lipglass is a gorgeous, slightly plummy pink with gold shimmer, but not as much shimmer as Nymphette. Same colour as the Viva Glam V lipstick, but with more pigment and glossiness. I'm not wild about the stickiness of MAC lipglass, but I think this one is worth it.
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Eyeliner -Stila - Smudge Pot in Plum
Katya94 5/9/2004 12:06:00 PM
Love this liner. Plum is a very deep purple shade, not a black-purple, but the effect is very subtle, not wow-I'm-wearing-purple-eyeliner. Smooth, creamy, and easy to blend for a smokey, smudgey look, but stays put once it sets. I would definitely buy this one again, if I ever ran out (not likely!).
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Eyeliner -Stila - Smudge Pot in Brown
Katya94 5/9/2004 11:52:00 AM
Really like the product. Smooth, creamy, very blendable, and smudge-proof when it sets! Good for a defined line or a smudgy, smoky line. Brown is a dark, medium brown that gives a dark smokey eye that's not quite as harsh as black, but it's not a very interesting colour...I would have preferred a more bronzy brown, personally. But overall I'm happy with this.
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Eyeliner -Stila - Smudge Pots gel eye-liner
Katya94 5/9/2004 11:40:00 AM
Really like these. Cheaper than Bobbi Brown (at least in the U.S., where I bought mine--stupid Canadian Stila prices), better packaging than Bobbi Brown, and just all around better than Bobbi Brown (me = not a fan of BB). I got Brown and Plum, and both are fantastic, soft and creamy, easy to blend, and once they set they stay put. The application is a bit more time-consuming than a pencil though, so that is a consideration. Huge amount of product, which is very nice.
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Lipstick -LORAC - Ashley Lipstick
Katya94 4/25/2004 9:05:00 PM
Wanted to like this, but I really didn't. I found it too expensive, and the scent (kind of perfumy) really put me off. As for the colour, it's a pinky-plummy brown. Nothing too special.
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