Blush -MAC - Mineralize Blush - Happy Together
makeupbymilly 8/3/2010 1:16:00 AM
i picked this up the other day randomly when i was checking out the dare to wear collection. it was an impulse buy and it turned out that i bought the last one at my mac store. on the way home i was already feeling guilty, in reality it looked like nothing remarkable at all and it was fairly expensive for the price. however when i got it home and played around with it a little, i was super glad i bought it. i realised it was a three in one product - contour, highlight and blush all in one. the "contour" shade may be a little muddy for lighter skin tones, its ok on my nc25-30 skin tone, however by the winter i know this will look muddy when i go down to nc15-20. the highlight is a pretty pinky shimmery nude colour. the reason i bought it was because it looked similar to the MSF "by candlelight" - something i was reluctant to purchase because of the size of the product - id never need that much highlighter! the highlight shade of happy together is very similar to by candlelight; maybe a touch lighter and less pink toned. as a blush, this product comes off a shimmery, glowy nude on my skintone. i like this for everyday, and sometimes use it as a cheek base color over the top of a cream pink blush or benetint on the apples. this is shimmery, but no chunky glitter here whatsoever, and gives a lovely glow to the skin, which i love because my skin is dry. overall, this is pricey, but i think its worth is because it is so many products in one. it could even be used as eyeshadow. for this reason its GREAT for travel. i wont be purchasing a backup, because its unlikely i will ever use this entire product up, but i definitely recommend anyone to check out their mac store or counter to see if its still available before the in the groove collection becomes unavailable.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Beautiful Iris (Veluxe Pearl)
makeupbymilly 8/3/2010 12:49:00 AM
i ordered this online and really expected to love it...but in all honesty, the pan is still in its packaging tucked away in a drawer, unused. the reason being...i cant get any pigmentation from it. the texture, despite being a veluxe pearl, is difficult to work with in my opinion. the only form of effect i get from this shadow is a slight duochrome sheen, with barely any purple color payoff. im not sure whether my shadow was a one off, and formulated wrong, i may have a look at the sample next time i go to mac. either way, i wouldnt risk repurchasing this.
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Bronzers -NARS - Laguna
makeupbymilly 8/3/2010 12:44:00 AM
this is my holy grail bronzer. i will never buy another bronzer than this for as long as i live!!! (or until its discontinued...) the shade is perfect for me. i have light-medium, golden toned skin, and the shade of this bronzer is a yellow toned brown. it is definitely not orange based like so many other bronzers available. i believe this would be the perfect bronzer for anyone nc30 and under, with golden undertones to their skin. i tried this on my mom, who is an nw25, and it didnt look as good on her. i think pink toned skins suit more orangey peachy shades better, so if you are an NW, or in other words have pink undertones to your skin, i would advise you to try this on before purchasing, because of the hefty price tag. this is WELL worth the price. i would repurchase this ten times over. looooove it!!!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Masks -LUSH - Mask of Magnaminty
makeupbymilly 5/4/2010 6:18:00 PM
I bought this a few days ago and tried it for the first time tonight. Five minutes after washing it off, the results are ok. The reason I purchased this product as a mask was because it has a longer expiry date than the fresh face masks. I cant really afford to be spending £6 every two weeks and only using up half the product before having to throw it away because it has expired. When I first opened the pot, I was hit with a strong menthol/minty smell. I personally love minty smells so for me that was a plus. The texture of this mask is sort of lumpy and gritty, and the colour a greyish green. After removing my makeup with a face wipe, i applied this to my entire face. As soon as I started to apply the product, I could feel it tingling and the mask gives a very cooling sensation. I liked it...but I was also a bit panicked because my skin can be a little sensitive. I waited around ten minutes, for the mask to dry on my skin. I then removed it with my hands in circular motions with water. It's a bit of a pain to get off to be honest, and makes a mess. But this is actually an ok exfoliant, as the mask has a gritty texture. It reminded me a bit of St. Ives apricot scrub. Following the mask, I used some Breath of Fresh Air toner, and a light moisturiser which is always part of my nightly routine. (actually, i use Clinique's clarifying toner as my nightly toner but that can sometimes be a little harsh... i didnt want to use that, have some redness and confuse that with the effects of the mask). I see lots of people commenting that the mask dried their skin out, and i can see why, its very purifying. However, I felt it necessary to judge the condition of my skin after the mask with moisturiser, because I ALWAYS apply a moisturiser after cleansing. While there is not a huge amount of difference in my skin post-mask - I still have some blackheads and visible pores on my nose, my skin feels generally refreshed and cleaner. I bought the smaller jar, which I am glad about because I hardly used any product for one application, and so if i had of got the larger one i probably wont use it up. For the price, this is an averagely good mask , and is preferable for those on a budget to the fresh face masks because of the longer expiration period.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -NARS - Deep Throat
makeupbymilly 5/1/2010 3:07:00 PM
This is BEAUTIFUL! My HG blush for sure. The colour is a peachy-pink with very subtle gold shimmer/sheen. I wear this blush every single day, it creates a perfect, subtle flush on my NC20 skintone. I love how it leaves a sheen on my cheek, and while I detest glittery products, (where you can see the chunks of glitter), this is appropriately shimmery and is subtle enough for school or office wear. (nowhere near as shimmery as orgasm) I think this would suit most skin tones, however while the shade is very pigmented, the colour itself is fairly light so darker skintones may have difficulty in getting this blush to show up. This is VERY pricey, I nearly died paying £20 for a blush. But I really think this will last me for ages. Like, years! I only need one gentle swipe for each cheek. So I think Nars blushes are an investment...you could buy one £5 blush from the drugstore but it will probably only last a quarter of the time as this blush will, so it would work out even really. Take the plunge and buy a Nars blush...I guarantee you wont regret it!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Treatments -LUSH - Mint Julips Lip Scrub
makeupbymilly 5/1/2010 2:58:00 PM
When I saw these on the website, the first thing I thought was gimick! I had no intentions of purchasing any of the lip scrubs, as I usually just scrub my lips with St. Ives apricot scrub at the same time when I exfoliate my face. I was in lush yesterday and kinda got persuaded to purchase this...It was £4.50 which I think is pretty expensive for what you get. However the results of this product are great. As I am just recovering from the flu, my lips are super chapped. This got all of the dead skin off my lips leaving them soft and supple. This tastes great, just like after eight mint chocolates. You can lick the product off your lips once you are done scrubbing which is fun! I found the product to be a little dry, however. The sugar was a little loose, it seemed like it needed a bit more oil in it. The one I tried in the store wasnt like that though so i think i might have got a bad batch. I finish this off with a bit of lip service lip balm and my lips are suuuuper soft afterward. This product really passed the test when my boyfriend even noticed my soft lips after using this!
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Gels/Soaps -LUSH - Rock Star
makeupbymilly 5/1/2010 2:50:00 PM
The smell of this soap is AMAZING. Being a fan of Lush's 'candy' scents, such as Snow Fairy and Creamy Candy Bubble Bar, I cant help but love the smell of this. I cant even describe the scent...it's like sweeties, marshmellow, candyfloss, fruity...i also get a hint of banana too which i personally love (i dont think it has any banana in it..the scent just smells banana-ish!) I like how the soaps aren't packaged..good for the environment. I also love how all of Lush products are natural and dont irritate skin. I'm knocking one lippy off because (like most of the lush soaps) it doesnt lather up too well. It also isn't as moisturising as I'd like it to be. All in all I would buy this again even if it were to just scent my room! its yummy =)
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Liquid -Revlon - PhotoReady Makeup
makeupbymilly 4/9/2010 8:20:00 AM
I got this foundation yesterday, and my first impression of the foundation range was that the colour selection is pretty disappointing. I am an NC20 right now, and the best match for me was 003 in Shell. However, while the depth of the foundation was spot on, the undertone was not. I require a yellow based foundation to match my yellow/golden undertoned skin. This foundation in Shell is neutral/pink based, so it makes me look a little off. I did notice when I was looking at the shades in the store, that the paler shades are more pink based, whereas the darker more yellow based. While this is a drugstore foundation and you cannot expect as good a colour selection as MAC, it irritated me that the shades were so limited. In the summer I go up to about an NC30, so maybe I will find a better suited shade for the summertime. One thing that I think is important to address is the shimmer/glitter in this foundation. When I applied it to my hand in the store, it looked matte, so I thought people were insane claiming it to have 'glitter'. However, when I went out in the sun, I noticed a very slight shimmer within the foundation. Personally, I quite like this feature, as I love looking glowy; a look that is easily achieved with this foundation due to the 'shimmer'. However, for anybody with oily skin who is paranoid of shine, this foundation probably isn't for them. While the foundation claims to achieve a flawless and full coverage, I would disagree. In comparison with the Colorstay, this foundation achieves a MUCH lighter coverage. Again, this is something I dont mind because Colorstay is far too heavy for me, particularly on a day to day basis and the summertime. I would say the Photoready foundation is a medium coverage, similar to that of Chanel's Vitalumiere (although the foundation formulation is NOT similar). I love the fact that the Photoready, unlike Colorstay, has a pump to dispense the product. I require one pump's worth of foundation for my entire face, and as a result of this pump you waste less product. The texture of the foundation is a lot thinner than Colorstay, which makes it a lot easier to blend and apply. No ferocious buffing required for this one! For a drugstore foundation, this is pretty expensive...I payed £9.99 for it in Boots as part of an offer, but its RRP is about £14.00. However, I will repurchase because I think it is worth the extra few pounds! I would have given this foundation 5/5, but I'm knocking off one lippy for the disappointing shade selection.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -NYX - #626 - Vitamin
makeupbymilly 12/1/2009 2:42:00 PM
a pretty peachy pink colour with a very obvious gold shimmer. high pigmentation. good for quickly perking up a summer makeup look, and compliments my NC15 skin in the winter, and my NC30 skin in the summer. However, the formula is a little TOO creamy and silky. i feel like the product does not adhere to my lips very well, it moves about on my lips. its not sticky enough, and thus does not have great staying power. i need to blot and reapply a couple of times to get the desired this lipstick is extremely shimmery, which is the main reason i wouldnt buy this product again.
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Makeup Brushes -E.L.F. - Total Face Brush
makeupbymilly 10/9/2009 8:29:00 AM
I HATE this brush. It is so scratchy it literally stings my face, and like other people have mentioned, I think its even too scratchy to use as a body brush. When I washed it, a lot of red dye came out of the bristles which immediately put me off. The bristles are very sparse and therfore doesn't pick up much product, then when you sweep the brush onto your skin the product disappears into the air as apposed to staying on your skin. The handle is terrible quality , and after I washed it a second time with lukewarm water and baby shampoo, the handle came off. I have nothing good to say about this. Even though I wasn't expecting a great brush for the price, I was so shocked at the quality of this brush. I would definitely advise getting the complexion brush from their studio line instead for another $3, that is much better.
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Moisturizers -The Body Shop - Aloe Vera Moisturizing Day Cream
makeupbymilly 10/4/2009 1:44:00 PM
I bought this moisturizer online, and the first time I used it I noticed it had a very off putting smell. Concerned, I went along to my local Body Shop to see whether my cream from the website was a one off. However, all of the creams on display smelled bad like mine. It smells kind of off, sort of like gone off milk. not very nice to put on your face In terms of performance, the cream is okay, nice and light and doesnt irritate my skin at all. However it does not contain an SPF which is a let down. For the price, I may have bought this cream again but I cant stand the smell. I'm surprised at how little people have commented on the smell of this cream. I wont be buying this again, although I might try a different Body Shop moisturiser from a different line because their prices are (generally) affordable and worth it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No