Eye Shadow -Urban Decay - Smog
lil_kismet 4/13/2013 5:15:00 PM
I am nearly finished with the Smog shadow in my Naked palette and recently purchased a full size one. I absolutely love this shadow, it is my everyday go-to. The texture is buttery soft and blends and adheres to my eyelids like a dream. It's highly pigmented, a little bit goes a very long way. It's a perfect shimmery bronzey brown lid colour -- not too warm and not too cool and would probably work wonderfully for most skintones. Staying power is excellent with a primer underneath (I get all-day wear with NARS Pro-Prime). I like to wear Smog on the outer half of the lid with Sin blended onto the inner half. Then I'll take a dark brown eyeshadow like MAC Mystery (any neutral matte dark brown will do) and blend it into the outer corners and lightly into the outer third of the crease. Then I'll lightly dust Naked right above the the crease as a transition colour to help blend out the harshness of the dark brown. Then MAC Blanc Type blended onto the browbone to highlight, blended downwards so that it fades nicely into the Naked. Then I'll apply black liner (I usually use UD's Perversion or MUFE's 0L) and smoke it out using Mystery. Then I'll apply a brown liner to the bottom lashline and set/smoke it out with Buck. I like to pair this eye look with a little bit of neutral pink blush and a low maintenance pinky-nude gloss. This has been my everyday go-to look for over a year now. It makes for a great evening look too! I suppose this review should be listed under the Naked Palette, but I think Smog is the star shadow in the palette -- the others mentioned (Sin, Naked, Buck) can easily be duped. But it's not always easy to find that perfect bronzey shade that isn't too warm or too cool for your complexion!
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Toners -MAC - Mineralize Charged Water Skin Hydrating Mist
lil_kismet 12/28/2012 4:42:00 PM
The Charged Water Skin Hydrating Mist has replaced my bottle of Fix+ which I now neglect. This beats it straight out of the water, I just repurchased this for the 3rd time, I love it that much! My main use for this is sheering out my foundation. I'll spritz my brush with it before dipping into my foundation, and I am left with a flawless, non-cakey finish. I love the refreshing scent to it and it leaves my skin feeling so refreshed and hydrated. I like it way more than Fix+ because I find Fix+ can leave a sticky feel to your skin and can leave your skin looking and feeling oily after a couple of hours (especially in the hot summer months). The Charged Water mist wears much more comfortably on the skin. I never apply foundation without this liquid gem.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Tarte - Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Exposed Tarte Blush
lil_kismet 7/1/2012 7:52:00 PM
Ever since I picked this baby up, I haven't been able to put it down! It's trumped all my other blushes lately just because it's so easy to wear and matches wonderfully with just about any makeup look I do! It's very pigmented, imparts a perfect natural flush on my cheeks, and is the most long lasting blush I own (lasting power is even better than any of my NARS blushes). Also the colour stays true all day -- while a lot of blushes tend to oxidize and turn a bit ruddy looking on me (this happens sometimes with my MAC blushes). I absolutely love this blush and look forward to trying out more colours in this blush range.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Foundations -Make Up For Ever - HD High Definition Foundation
lil_kismet 3/10/2012 3:08:00 AM
I am a huge fan of this foundation! I am on my 2nd bottle of this. I wear shade 118 and it is a great match for me. It makes my complexion look flawless yet somehow still natural. Although I normally like to sheer it out by spritzing my brush with MAC Mineralized Charged Water, tap the brush into the foundation, and then stipple all over, it is excellet for medium-full coverage when I need it. I often skip concealer because this foundation gives me all the coverage I need. Lasting power is great with a primer underneath and I usually only need to blot once throughout the day, sometimes not at all. Love it!.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Kiehls - Ultra Facial Moisturizer
lil_kismet 1/22/2012 3:38:00 PM
I have been using this stuff for the past 4 months and I LOVE it.This is my absolute HG moisturizer for fall and winter -- ever since I started using this, I can honestly say that I haven't had a single dry patch all fall/winter long, which is AMAZING. It moisturizes wonderfully and feels so nourishing when applied. The one downfall is that it does take a fair bit of time to fully absorb, but has never made my skin break out. It leaves my complexion baby soft, smooth, supple, and super healthy looking. My skin has honestly never felt better despite the cold/dry weather. It sits beautifully under foundation as well. While it is on the expensive side, a little bit of product goes a very long way, so a bottle of this will last me a long time. To boot, it's totally eliminated a need for a separate night cream. I can't rave enough about it!
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Concealers -Eve Pearl - Salmon Concealer
lil_kismet 12/5/2011 12:21:00 AM
Best undereye concealer I've ever come across! I've used this on a few makeup gigs and it works beautifully at cancelling out dark undereye circles. I love how creamy and blendable it is and the coverage is nothing short of amazing. Staying power is great when set with a powder (a very light dusting of BeneFit Powderflage or MUFE HD powder work great) and I love how it doesn't give you that cakey look like so many other concealers. A definite repurchase for myself and my kit.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Makeup Brushes -Sigma - Makeup Professional Brushes Face and Eyes Kit
lil_kismet 12/4/2011 11:51:00 PM
Don't get me wrong, in general, for the price these brushes are good value. I've had both the professional and premium kits for some time now (purchased them when each set was first released) and reach for them regularly -- majority of them function very well and apply makeup very nicely. I do have one major gripe about them though -- the quality control and workmanship of the brushes is inconsistent, even with proper care of my brushes. To date about 5 of them have fallen apart because the ferrules came loose. Also, on some of them I've had to trim some hairs that were too long. I have many MAC brushes that I purchased years before Sigma brushes were even launched and have never encountered such issues with any of them. While I can't say they are as good as or in the same calibre as MAC and other high end brushes, they do perform very well and are a great way to expand your brush collection at a fraction of the cost compared to buying high end brushes individually -- just be aware that the workmanship on some (not all) of them may be shoddy.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -Ben Nye - Contour No 1
lil_kismet 11/4/2011 2:18:00 PM
Not only is this the best contour powder out there, but it's also the BEST value! Previously, I was using bronzer to double up as a contour powder, but found most of them to be too red/orange toned and/or shimmery. I then came across this Ben Nye one and have been using it on myself regularly in the past couple of years. I love how natural it looks. I have also added one of these babies to my kit and have used it on a few bridal gigs, tried it on pale-medium skintones, and it works flawlessly! It's super pigmented, so you don't need much product at all per use -- will definitely last a long time even with regular use. I will never look elsewhere because this contour powder is perfection.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Lancome - Genifique
lil_kismet 11/2/2011 1:43:00 AM
I purchased this based on all the rave reviews I've read and seen on YouTube about this product but my skin did not react well to Genifique at all. The first time I used it, I noticed a slight burning sensation and some redness atop my cheeks but thought burning sensation and redness would pass after a few uses. After using it for just over a week, to my dismay, the problem has only worsened and my cheeks have now broken out in red little bumps. They aren't painful or anything, but my cheeks have always had a smooth texture and fairly even tone until now. It definitely looks like an allergic reaction I'm having. On top of this, the dispensing mechanism is the sh!ts! Droppers from the pharmacy that cost me 75 cents work better than this. Needless to say, I am sorely disappointed, as I made the mistake of purchasing the large size bottle for $140CAD! Don't make the same mistake I did -- TRY BEFORE YOU BUY rather than jumping the gun and listening to the hype.
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Highlighters -Make Up For Ever - Uplight Face Luminizer Gel
lil_kismet 11/2/2011 1:04:00 AM
I have these in 11 & 12 and they are absolutely LOVELY highlighters! They do an amazing job at adding a subtle runway modelesque GLOW (not shimmer) to your face and a little goes a long way -- even half a pump is too much! While I do like BeneFit's High Beam a lot, I find it a bit starkly light for my light-medium skintone, and doesn't blend in as smoothly, so I need to be careful with it. With Make Up For Ever's, they blend in like a dream and are mistake-proof. While these are really pricey, I find myself reaching for them ALL the time so I absolutely would repurchase.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Versace - BRIGHT CRYSTAL
lil_kismet 11/2/2011 12:41:00 AM
I absolutely love this fragrance! It is a light, sweet, very feminine and sophistocated, fresh scent and I ALWAYS receive compliments when I wear this. A great scent for the workplace and transitions quite nicely for an evening fragrance as well. While I do wish the lasting power was better (the scent does fade as the day wears on, but never completely -- I can still smell it faintly on me by the end of the day), I will continue to repurchase because I just adore it that much.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -NARS - Deep Throat
lil_kismet 9/24/2011 3:48:00 PM
Deep Throat is a lovely mesh of pink and peach with subtle shimmer. The shimmers are fine and leaves a slight glow to my cheeks. It is a super pretty blush! I do feel I need to layer this on a bit on my light-medium skintone in order to really get it to show, but I think those with fairer skintones will not have this issue. Regardless, it still has me smitten :)
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Loose Powders -Make Up For Ever - HD High Definition Loose Powder
lil_kismet 9/24/2011 3:26:00 PM
I like this powder a lot. It mattifies without the cakey finish, it doesn't sink into fine lines or pores, and keeps your makeup looking fresh for the majority of the day. It's extremely finely milled and a little goes a long way -- this travel size jar has lasted me over a year and counting and I've only used up half the product! I've never had issues with it giving me a white-cast effect, but I suppose it might if you over apply. Great product overall, and I most likely will repurchase.
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Treatments (Eye) -Kiehls - Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado
lil_kismet 8/2/2011 2:10:00 AM
This is a wonderful product! It does an amazing job at moisturizing and nourishing the delicate skin around the eye and I absolutely love that it does not migrate/seep into my eyes. I was expecting it to have a super greasy feel due to the avocado content and thick consistency, but it's not greasy at all and absorbs into my skin very nicely. I don't have any prominent fine lines or wrinkles, so can't comment on those aspects. But I do love this a lot! It leaves my skin soft, nourished, bright and supple. My only complaint is that it does not offer any sun protection.
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Skincare - Face -MAC - Fix+
lil_kismet 6/20/2011 2:05:00 AM
I'm nearing the end of my 2nd bottle of this, and I will definitely be repurchasing. I love the scent (ESPECIALLY the fix+ Rose -- SO SADDENED that it's LE!) and it does a wonderful job of adding some moisture back to your skin after foundation/powdering, and blends whatever makeup you wear into your skin so flawlessly with a light dewy glow. After I finish applying my makeup, I'll mist a stippling brush (such as MAC's 187 or 188) with Fix+ and very gently stipple all over -- I would recommend this method over spraying it onto your face directly, especially if you have oily skin. I also like to use Fix+ for sheering out foundation, and it serves well as a mixing medium for pigments as well! I need to stress though that it does NOT extend the wear of makeup for normal-oily skintypes, so it's necessary to use a primer and/or a finishing spray like Skindinavia if your skin is at all oily.
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