Blush -Make Up For Ever - HD Blush #6
almond_leaves 2/7/2013 2:10:00 AM
This is my second MUFE HD Blush. Got it in #08 as well. #06 is a coral/peach shade. Excellent pigmentation like no other and you really need the tiniest amount ever. Blending is very easy, I use my fingers to do that. You can also layer the color and intensify it as needed. Lasting power is magnificent. A sanitary pump bottle package makes this blush all the more great! The texture of this was a lot softer and creamier than my first 08 one, not sure why but I was glad this was the case. I think the first I bought was already dried out. This will last you a long time and is so worth the price. I sometimes use this alone right on top of moisturizer and it gives me a beautiful flush that requires zero touch ups. On weddings and nights out I would apply it and top it off with powder peach blush...touch ups? What touch ups? ;) A gem!
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Lip Gloss -The Body Shop - Love Gloss
almond_leaves 2/7/2013 1:58:00 AM
Got this in #04, a warm soft brown. The color is very natural and beautiful, will accentuate yellow teeth a bit. Name and packaging are super cute ;) I actually like the applicator, one side gets the lower lip well, while the other gets the upper. This is slightly sticky, but much less sticky compared to Essence Stay With Me gloss. Left untouched, the lasting power is about a couple hours more or less. I have extremely dry lips and this neither moisturize it at all nor dry them out further. It is sweet tasting and has a mango scent, so if sweet scents give you a headache you may need to stay away from this. Color does not bleed on me even without liner, a plus.
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Eye Shadow -Bourjois - Intense Extrait 08
almond_leaves 2/7/2013 1:45:00 AM
Finally Bourjois comes up with highly pigmented eyeshadows. The range isn't huge but the selection of colors is beautiful. Shade 08 is a shimmery warm bronze of medium darkness. Superb color payoff in a shade that will bring out blue eyes well. The texture is very buttery and goes so smoothly on. Tap off the excess and no fall out will be experienced. Lasting power is great, easy to blend and does not crease. As with all Bourjois packaging, the color outside reflects what's inside. Comes with a mirror which comes in handy for touch ups of lipstick. It is also more compact than the regular round pots of Bourjois. I'll be buying more shades of this. Hats off to Bourjois!
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Eye Shadow -Max Factor - Colour Perfection Eyeshadow 425 Dawning Gold
almond_leaves 2/7/2013 1:30:00 AM
Two shades in there, a highlight and a crease color. The highlight shade is a golden ivory. Excellent color payoff and impressive lasting power. No creasing, no fading. I mainly use this for the inner corner of my eyes and it really brightens up the entire look. I sometimes use it on the brow bone as well and it works great there, too. The other is a coppery shade. Color payoff is a tiny bit less then the highlight shade, which is still good for the purpose as it can create a lovely transition in the crease. Very autumny :) Can't really imagine this working as a lid color since I think it'd turn out a bit pale. I'll update you if I try it. This is a little gem and I love it. The packaging is very travel friendly, always a plus! I truly respect companies that make their products compact, saves on everything really.
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Makeup Brushes -Essence - Smokey Eyes Brush
almond_leaves 2/7/2013 1:05:00 AM
Exzellent brush. This is soft small dome brush, not scratchy at all but with enough stamina to accomplish several tasks. Perfect for my small eyes. Does plenty of tasks for me: Applies my outer corner e/s, blends stubborn e/s really well making the gradient flawless, and smokes out e/s on the lash line which my MAC Pencil Brush failed miserably at. I only washed it a couple times, so far zero shedding. Love it.
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Makeup Brushes -Essence - Gel Eyeliner Brush
almond_leaves 2/7/2013 12:56:00 AM
This is an excellent brush. I love the purple it comes in, purple is my fav color :) The bristles are stiff enough but not scratchy at all. Price is ridiculously cheap. Comes in a nice transparent pouch. This wasn't stiff enough for my eyebrows, so I use my MAC 208 for that, which I adore. Here's what I use this for: to wing out my eyeliner. It creates the most thin precise line ever and creates a sharp elegant winged out liner. For the rest of the lash line I use a drugstore angled brush that is shorter, thicker and less wide than Essence's brush. I use this with my MAC Chromaline, the Essence gel eyeliner is too soft am not sure if it would be very easy to use such a thin brush with it.
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Eye Shadow -Essence - Quattro Eyeshadow Chic-ify
almond_leaves 2/7/2013 12:43:00 AM
I actually bought this solely based on how fun the product looked :D I just had to have it :) Those aren't your pro colors or anywhere near that. However, they aren't completely bad. Four shades are in there: A light peach, which hardly shows up on my skin. A shimmery black, this one has the highest color payoff of them all, but plenty of fall out. I would use this on top of a higher quality black e/s like MAC Carbon or Typographic to give it a shimmery finish. A taupe shade, very natural and pretty, probably my fav of them all. Medium pigmentation and a unique shade. A pure silver shade, very vibrant and true (does not run blue or green), again I'd layer this on top of another higher quality e/s to add shimmer to it. All in all, it's a bit above average kind of palette, but nothing that'll work for an important event or something.. Cheers ;)
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Lip Gloss -Essence - Stay With Me 
almond_leaves 2/7/2013 12:30:00 AM
Got this in 02 My Favorite Milkshake, a laque like soft warm pink. I see no shimmers at all in this. I like the pigmentation and shade. The applicator is genius! Lasting power is good for what you're paying but one thing kills it for me - the stickiness. I've read other reviews here saying it isn't sticky, I don't know if maybe I got a bad one but I really don't think so. The Dior Creme de Gloss set a whole new level for what should be called non-sticky. And this one is ridiculously sticky. It's not a bad product, it's pretty good for what you pay so it's perfect if you're on a budget. Not kiss friendly though :)
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Eye Shadow -Artdeco - Glam Stars Eyelights #08
almond_leaves 2/6/2013 5:51:00 PM
I was looking for a palette with purple shades and having tried Artdeco's e/s and how awesome they are, I thought I won't regret getting this one. The packaging is so beautiful, definitely a keeper, comes with a mirror. Inside are three shades: A light shimmery pink white shade, a medium cool toned shimmery purple and a third deeper purple also cool toned and also shimmery. The shimmers are just all over the place and they always manage to get into my eyes and underneath my contact lenses *ouchhh*. So they aren't contacts friendly at all. Add to this the fact that the pigmentation is quite poor with lotsssssssss of fall out. This one was a bummer. Won't be repurchasing for sure :( Why you make me tho thad Artdeco :'(
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Eye Shadow -MAC - All eyeshadows
almond_leaves 2/6/2013 5:44:00 PM
I think MAC eyeshadows are hit or miss, but the hit ones are really worth it! I have a lot of eyeshadows that swatch more heavily than MAC in real life, but for some reason don't show up at all in photos! I used to look at all the MU gurus online and think "Their e/s is really visible and vibrant. The colors are rich. How come mine aren't like that?" Until I tried MAC, took a bunch of photos and immediately saw the difference. Their "hit" eyeshadows are pigmented, can be blended with minimal effort and last a long time. They have a huge selection of shades you can surely find the one for you among their collection. I honestly dislike the packaging, I find it bulky. So far I got 16 MAC e/s: Carbon, Blanc Type, Texture, Sable, Twinks, Brun, Brown Script, Quarry, Blackberry, Fig 1, Nocturnelle, Sushi Flower, Print, Typographic, Knight Divine and Deep Truth. And my top shades are Blanc Type, Brun and Brown Script. I do think, however, that I'll be trying out other brands...with UD, NYX and MUG on top of my list ;)
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Carbon
almond_leaves 2/6/2013 5:39:00 PM
Carbon isn't the blackest black out there. It's a soft black matte shade. Pigmentation is good and it really stays put. However, it's difficult to apply on your lids since the texture is a bit dry and it will tug on the skin and leave you with a patchy result. No fall out with this one. I mainly use this to set my pencil eyeliner. Full stop. That's pretty much it. It does a great job at that, but that's quite a limited use. So I'll be using my matte Florelle Noir e/s instead, which is waaaaaaaay deeper than Carbon.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Black Black chromaline
almond_leaves 2/6/2013 5:23:00 PM
Chromaline comes in a pot the size of a paint pot. This shade is a deep black, but not the blackest possible I believe. It's creamy and goes on smoothly without tugging, stays put on the lash line but fades a bit if you apply it on your waterline. I find I have to apply two layers to get to the desired intensity. I can't compare it to Blacktrack since the Blacktrack I had was dried out right from the start and very soon I couldn't even get it onto my brush, and honestly I don't recall how dark was it. I apply this on the lash line with some unknown brand angled brush that is slightly thick, then wing it out using Essence's gel liner brush. Btw, I find the Essence black gel liner to be blacker than this, it's just too soft in the pot and did go bad a few months after opening, I could tell from the smell. But the performance was great. All in all, this is a good heavy duty product that only lacked the desired depth I was looking for. It is still a product that I use on a daily basis. I'll just try out other gel liners out there before returning to this when I run out.
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Highlighters -MAC - Cream Color Base in Pearl
almond_leaves 2/6/2013 5:15:00 PM
Pearl is a cream golden shimmery shade. I use this mainly as a brow bone and cheekbone highlight as well as down the center of my nose. Didn't really like it on my cupid's bow or at the center of my lips. You do need to apply this in thin layers and using a patting motion AND set it with a similar shimmery product like Vanilla pigment. I tried this on top of Artdeco's e/s base and Painterly, and topped it with Knight Divine, but I found that it makes my eyeshadow crease. Not a bad product, but I don't think I'll repurchase this again. It mainly does a difference in photos if you're looking for that sheen. However, I'm more into highlighting with matte shades rather than shimmery ones as it gives more dimension and looks great in photos. This one will last me a long time though.
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Makeup Brushes -MAC - #168 Large Angled Contour Brush
almond_leaves 2/6/2013 5:06:00 PM
I was looking forward to get this brush and was so excited about it. Very disappointing. It didn't shed or anything, it is super soft. It just always grabs way too much color and I always end up with blotchy blush or bronzer. I really wanted to love this, it just doesn't work for me. Miss streaky is what I call it :D
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Makeup Brushes -MAC - #219 Pencil Brush
almond_leaves 2/6/2013 3:54:00 PM
I bought this for the sole purpose of blending colors on my LLL precisely. Unfortunately it doesn't do that. For some reason it automatically drags itself further down my lash line no matter how hard I try to keep it AT the lash line it just goes down like it has a mind of its own. However, because I have small eyes this works really well creating outer V's. Very precises and grabs color real well. One lippie off for the scratchy bristles.
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