Lips -Chanel - Rouge Allure Laque Santal 77
mariannaoust 2/13/2010 7:20:00 PM
You know I really hate to be the only one to poopoo on this, but I gotta be honest, I’m not that impressed. This is an ok product, but not really worth the 32 bucks for me. My main gripe is the texture, I don’t like this in between nonsense, I prefer either a creamy lipstick or a sticky gloss. This is kinda creamy, but then sort of thins out as it sets and end up settling into the lines of my lips which I personally don’t like. It also balls up in the inner corners of my mouth sometimes, and that really bugs me as well. Staying power is good, probably like 4 hours, but it doesn’t last through a meal. The color however is very nice, that is why I didn’t return or trash this product. It really is a lovely shade of peachy coral, that looks really nice and natural on my pigmented lips. It’s shimmery, but not too much so.
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Lipstick -Chanel - Rouge Allure in Incognito
mariannaoust 1/2/2010 11:12:00 PM
Well this is very nice, it's even worth the $30 to me. It's a perfect MLBB on my pigmented lips, and I've been looking for that a loooong time, thus the 5 lippies. This is from the Spring 2010 collection called Les Impressions de Chanel, it's one of 4 different lipsticks all in the Rouge Allure formula. They're all nude-y beigy, work apropriate colors, as are all the other products in this very beige oriented collection. I'd describe this as a midtone nude with strong pink/mauve tones to it. It's really flatering on me, and I'm about NW 25-30ish. It basically looks like a cream, but if you look really carefully you'll notice a subtle, hidden gold shimmer in it, that prevents it from going flat. It's not sheer at all, but not super opaque either, it's a nice amount of pigment. I really love the formula of Chanel lippies, they generally go on nicely and really last. I find that this one lasts about 4-6 hours. And it keeps a moist look to it, unlike some other long lasting lipsticks that just dry right out. I'm glad that I spent the $$$ on this, but that's a personal choice and a rare one for me.
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Top/Base Coats -Qtica - Extending Top Coat
mariannaoust 12/30/2009 2:29:00 AM
This is what I call a slow drying top coat, because it's not a fast dry like Seche or Poshe. Because of that I never use it as the top coat on a fresh manicure. I can't sit around for an hour waiting for it to dry. BUT, I love this as a refresher top coat. It's absolutely the best I've tried for that purpose. What I do is use Seche Vite on my mani and the next day I'll apply this to 'refresh' my manicure, and then I'll refresh every day or every other day after that. This really makes the mani last up to a week with very little wear and it keeps it very shiny. It's expensive, but still a great product, so I definitely recomend it, but as a refresher only.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Illamasqua - Boosh
mariannaoust 12/21/2009 3:28:00 AM
Yes this is *the* black polish, it's utter perfection. It's a true black, cream that looks like it's wet even after a day of wear. It goes on so perfectly opaque, you could get away with one coat. The formula overall is consistent with the other Illamasqua's I have, meaning it's awesome. It's not too thick and not runny, but just flows where you need it too. Dries well and wears nicely as well. Just go buy it, ok?
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -OPI - Here Today ... Aragon Tomorrow
mariannaoust 12/21/2009 3:22:00 AM
Yup, this is an almost black forest green shade. I understand why some are disapointed, but I'm not really bothered by really dark shades and you could tell from the bottle that it would be really dark.
The issue is the formula, unfortunately it is a bit runny, but its opaque in 3 coats, which I don't think is really that bad, since the standard is 2 coats. I think it's unreasonable to expect a polish to be perfect in 1, that's just mho.
Since this fall/winter was the season for dark greens I decided to do a comp of some of the ones I have, ROP
Index and Pinky - Zoya Envy
Middle - Sephora by OPI Dark Room
Ring - OPI Here Today Arragon Tomorrow
Envy and HTAT seem to be pretty close, DR has way more blue then the other 2.
6 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Rescue Beauty Lounge - Atame nail lacquer
mariannaoust 12/21/2009 3:13:00 AM
This quite the lovely shade of deep red. It's what I call a traditional vamp color ie the color of dried blood. I love these kinds of shades, I wear them all year round. I think it complements my skin nicely, and I'd imagine it would suit most people.
It's kind of a jelly finish (a cream that's somewhat transperant, but still opaque, with a shiny, jelly look).
I think it's mostly opaque in 2 coats, but I like to use 3 thin coats for good measure.
FYI this and Illamasqua Unnatural are very close dupes ROP for comp pics >>>>
Direct sunlight, 3 coats:
index/ring - Illamasqua Unnatural
middle/pinky - RBL Atame
both are 3 coats. no top coat.
They are super similar, Atame is a touch lighter and Unnatural is touch browner.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Nails -Orly - Smudge Fixer
mariannaoust 12/21/2009 2:58:00 AM
Ok I’m not reviewing this for it’s intended purpose, I’m reviewing this to be used like gradient fluid for creating an ombre effect with glitter.
So I picked this trick up on the NB from the member MissHavisham, but she doesn’t seem to review stuff, so I’ve decided to share it with ya’ll.
Basically what I do is:
- Do a full mani, top coat and everything, with your chosen base color. Let it dry completely. To be safe give it 20 if you’re using a fast dry t/c.
- Then at the base or tip of the nail, place a small blob of glitter, let it set for 15 seconds.
- Load the brush with a generous amount of smudge fixer and use it to drag the glitter to the center of the nail to create a gradient effect.
- Dip the smudge fixer brush in acetone between nails and wipe it on a tissue so you don't get a bunch of glitter in your sf.
- Apply another layer of top coat to keep it extra shiny :)
Read on for a pic of a final result >>>>
Here the base color is Illamasqua Boosh, then China Glaze Ruby Pumps, and Sinful Nail Junkie on top of that.
13 out of 14 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Powder -Illamasqua - Powder Foundation
mariannaoust 12/21/2009 1:49:00 AM
I got this in RF 215 and I’m about NW 25-30. This is a pretty nice for a powder foundation. It’s what I would call medium coverage with a matte finish. I hardly wear it on its own, I just use it throughout the day to touch up, because I like my touch up powder to still have some coverage to it. I generally don’t like skin/base products that have no or little coverage, so this is good, as a setting/touch up product for me. It’s not so heavy as to get cakey, but still has some cover to it. It’s also good for touch ups because it seems to blend pretty nicely over whatever make up I already had on (usually MUFE HD, Mat Velvet, or Revlon Colorstay). On the rare occasion I do wear this alone, or with a bit of concealer it works pretty well. It has nice staying power. And does not get trapped in pores, but actually does a good job of covering them up. The one thing that bugs me is the packaging, it is beautiful, but also really cumbersome. It’s hard to open without sticking your finger/nail in the little crack, and I always worry about breaking my nails as I yank it open! Which I don’t even have to tell you, is not a good thing! That's probably why I won't buy it again, I'm sure by the time I use it up I'll want to try something new.
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Polishes -Unlisted Brand - BB Couture Nail Polish For Men in Night Ops
mariannaoust 12/6/2009 1:55:00 AM
Wow I can't believe there are no reviews for BBCs here at all! For all they love we give them on the NB, I'm surpised we haven't reviewed them. OK on to this beauty ... This polish is a gorgeous dark, blackened blue jelly base with tiny, almost flakey glitter/shimmer. The glitter is a lighter teal blue and maybe even some silver, I'm not sure. It is just sooo beautiful, no description can really do it justice. Now it is dark, but it is visibly blue, not black, even in indoor light. I myself happen to like a lot of the almost black shades, but this one is not one of them. It's dark, but still blue. I think the shimmer/glitter also help keep it blue. The formula is nice. I don't have too many BBCs, but so far the few I've tried are generally pretty good. Eventhough, this one is a jelly, it still goes on nice, and is opaque in 2 coats. I'm wearing it right now, and I'm loving it :)
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Makeup Brushes -MAC - 109 Small Contour Brush
mariannaoust 12/5/2009 6:48:00 PM
Oh MAC 109 you really know how to work my sh!t! I love this brush sooo much that I have 2 – one to use with wet products and one with dry. I love it for my liquid foundation, it creates a great, smooth finish. Blends the product beautifully. I notice that it works best with medium to full coverage foundations that are liquid, not really creamy or solid, but runny liquid. It does shed some when you use it with liquid products, so it will lose the shape faster than if you used it with dry and it will be replaced. BUT anything that you use with wet products has to be replaced relatively faster than the tools you use for powder, I mean this brush costs like 35 or something, trust me I’ve spent more than that on makeup sponges in the last 2 years. So I don’t really feel like it’s loss if I have to replace this in 2-3 years, I think it ends up even anyway. Also the shedding is bothersome in the way that you may need to pick of stray hair off your face, I find it's best not to try to pick them off your face while your foundation has not set. It's easier for me to just sweep them away with my powder brush when I'm applying my powder. For dry products, I really like using this with matte bronzers/contours; it’s the perfect shape and size for contouring my cheekbones and adding some definition on my temples and under my jaw. Great brush, everyone needs at least one!!!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Zoya - Lulu
mariannaoust 10/30/2009 8:56:00 PM
OMG this is so freaking sheer! After 3 coats it's still basically clear. I needed 5 coats to get any actual color pay off, but you could still see my smile line. At 5 coats the shade is actually pretty, it's a pale peachy pink. Lovely, very feminine, but totally not worth to deal with. If you want a basically clear polish with a touch of peach to it, this is for you. But if you want some actual color payoff then skip this one.
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Polishes -Illamasqua - Rampage
mariannaoust 10/24/2009 7:09:00 PM
I can't believe that I'm the first one to review this! Ok this polish is hot and very trendy right now, thus constantly OOS at Sephora. It's a gorgeous deep forest green jelly. It's perfection in 2 coats. It's not a dupe for Zulu, but it's still pretty amazing. It is actually green and not black even in natural light. Illamasqua polishes are great overall, the formula is really nice and easy to work with. But they do contain formaldehyde resin and camphor according to the Sephora website, so that may have something to do with it. They wear well on me, but most things do with my HG b/c and t/c. If you get a chance to buy this, DO IT!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Sunscreen -Neutrogena - Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock SPF 100+ with Helioplex
mariannaoust 8/9/2009 2:47:00 AM
I’ve been using this as my daily face sunscreen for a couple of weeks. Overall I like it. It does not break me out nor does it sting, not even around the eyes. It’s not as dry touch as I’d like, meaning it’s still a little greasy, but not at all the oil slick that most sunscreens are when you use the recommended amount. Makeup wears ok over it, does not ball up, but you need to let it absorb for at least 10 minutes before applying. I find that liquid foundations wear better then the mineral ones.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Make Up For Ever - Super Lip Gloss
mariannaoust 7/26/2009 7:02:00 PM
This is my HG lip gloss! I love this stuff. My 3 main categories for gloss is that the color look good on me, that it have long lasting wear, and that it does not dry out my lips. And this gloss delivers in every way. The color selection is great, I'm sure everyone can find a shade for them. My personal fave is 14 - very nice natural pink. The wear of this gloss is amazing! It does last through drinking and eating, which I have never experienced before. Of course the lasting power comes from the fact that it's very sticky. If you don't like sticky gloss this is not the product for you, but I love them. Finally, this does not dry my lips at all, unlike all of the long wearing lipsticks which are very drying. Overall awesome lip gloss - thanks MUFE!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Gloss -Make Up For Ever - Super Lip Gloss Nr. 14
mariannaoust 7/26/2009 6:55:00 PM
I love this lipgloss! The color is a lovely pink, with no shimmer. It's not opaque or heavily pigmented, but it still shows up on my very pigmented lips. It gives me just the right amount of color for everyday. But the best part for me is this is very long wearing, it can wear up to 6 hours. Definitely survives my morning coffee and wears well into lunch. It is however very sticky, that's what makes it so long wearing. I personally prefer my gloss sticky so it doesn't bother me.
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