Lipstick -MAC - Dressmaker, Dressmaker
loudhearted 5/2/2010 3:32:00 PM
Took off one lippie for consistency issues; I found that it can apply unevenly if your lips aren't perfectly smooth or if you try to layer a lot, but it looks fine from far away. It's a lovely desaturated coral-peach that makes a great non-concealer nude for me (but it's probably not a nude for fairer skintones). I have very pigmented lips and while it doesn't totally negate the natural purple of my lips, it plays well with it and with my golden-olive skintone. Overall a great color, just wish it's consistency and texture were more like other MAC lustres. Edit: If you have both Dressmaker and Made to Order, they mix together very nicely!
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Blush -MAC - Instant Chic
loudhearted 4/25/2010 2:08:00 PM
What an obscenely gorgeous blush! I'm Asian ~NC30-35 with golden/olive undertones, and I didn't think this blush would work for me at all, especially cuz a lot of online swatches make IC look very powdery, ashy and pink. Not at all: Instant Chic gives me a very uniquely fresh, chic look that none of my other blushes can do. It's a bright, happy, spring-summery coral-pink on me that surprisingly looks very natural. It has about medium pigmentation for me but can be worked from very sheer to very bright on my skin (though like another reviewer said you'd have to use quite a bit to get to the level shown on the promo image), and is matte so it can be very work-safe and casual. I love it because it looks a bit like NARS Orgasm on me, except more buildable and with none of the frosty shimmer (I compared the two and Orgasm is more pink and IC more coral) I find unfortunately that this blush does fade quite a bit over the hours, but I can easily touch it up without problems. I heard that this blush is similar to NARS Gilda and MAC Melba (I don't have either), so check your stashes to avoid an possible dupe, but otherwise definitely check this blush out, especially if you're building your collection and would like to add a beautiful fresh coral blush to it.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -MAC - Viva Glam Gaga
loudhearted 3/25/2010 10:09:00 PM
I think whether or not you will like this lipstick is verrrry much dependent on what your style of makeup is, very conservative, very free and colorful or in-between. I'm an NC30ish, light-medium warm olive toned asian with very pigmented purply lips, and I knew VG Gaga was going to be outside my comfort zone, and it is. It is very buildable, and one sheer layer puts a very nice pink but very cool-toned tint to my lips, which is definitely not a shade I'm used to wearing. If it was a little more warm it'd be perfect. However I was determined to make it work, and I found that I could use it as a very nice "base" for my lip glosses (especially my pink ones), since Gaga worked to neutralize the natural purpleness of my lips and add a slight cool tone to it, which changed the way my glosses looked on me and especially pumped up my pink ones, meaning I get that much more mileage out of my existing gloss collection. I think it would work the same way with liners too. So if you were like me and you were torn between getting this lippie because you're a Gaga fan and it's just sooo pretty looking in the tube, and knowing it may not work for you because of the cool tone, I say try it (if you have the extra $$), because 100% goes to a great cause and it's flexible enough to make it work for anybody (but some will have to work a bit harder than others!) It's also nice just going a bit outside my comfort zone sometimes, it's the only way to find new looks!
12 out of 12 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -MAC - Viva Glam Cyndi [DISCONTINUED]
loudhearted 3/23/2010 8:22:00 PM
The range of coverage on this lipstick is absolutely amazing. It can go from very sheer, adding a beautiful just-bitten tint, to glamorously pigmented, especially if you conceal out your lips and add a layer of powder in between layers of lipstick. Despite my very pigmented purple/berry lips, it's an extremely natural looking coral-tinged red, especially against my Asian skin. I'd say if you were looking for a really outlandish, show-stopping red, this isn't really it, but it's so flexible and so very wearable even in day that you should get it anyway (and a good cause doesn't hurt!) I am definitely going to grab a backup before it goes off the shelves in 12 months. If you are looking for a lip gloss to go over it and pump up the color, try Fresh's Sugar Lip Gloss in Sugar Pin-Up; it's almost the same color cept little more orange and with gold shimmer.
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Mascara -Cover Girl - Lash Exact Waterproof
loudhearted 10/6/2009 5:02:00 PM
Pro: Goes on very smoothly Cons: Flakes almost immediately, smudges within half an hour, slightly irritates my eyes, does nothing but darken my lashes a little bit. Also has a chemical-y smell (didn't bother me though) I'm Asian with very heavily hooded eyes (my eyelashes tuck beneath my upper eyelid and when I close my eyes my lashes press flat against my bottom lid) so I am a special case, so take my review with a healthy dash of salt. I definitely didn't like this at all, the risk of raccoon eyes is just too high even for everyday wear. Luckily I got this on sale.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Fresh - Sugar Baby
loudhearted 6/23/2009 3:07:00 PM
This gloss caught my attention after they lowered the price from $25 to $18, and I LOVE it! Like everyone else says this gloss has the perfect texture for everyday wear, not sticky or goopy but creamy and light. I used to avoid wearing glosses because they always dried out my lips or left gross residue, but this one feels just like wearing a lip balm--moisturizing, light (for a lip gloss) and leaves my lips really soft after wearing off. Sugar Baby (shimmering nude peach) on my very purply-pink lips leaves a sheer warm beigey-peach color that brightens my entire face (even with no other makeup on). Definitely try out all the colors though, they're all very natural shades so some colors work for certain people and not others (I didn't like one of the more pink ones) I will definitely be going back to try out the more red tones though! For me the gloss lasted about 4-5 hours straight without eating or drinking, it does wear off after eating so you'd need to reapply. I find that just one coat will leave a gorgeous semi-gloss sheen of color, but it is very buildable. If you're looking for a high color or high impact gloss this may not be it, but this is my HG for everyday wear. And the lowered price point is perfect!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No