Eye Shadow -MAC - Tempting (LUSTRE)
sweetness10 4/9/2012 2:31:00 AM
This REALLY makes my blue eyes pop - my eyes look absolutely electric when I use this eyeshadow! In my opinion, if you have blue eyes you'll really love what this does for them! It's a medium (leaning more towards light than dark) bronze-leaning-towards-taupe color with subtle gold shimmer. It looks gorgeous and the shimmer isn't overpowering or over-the-top at all, it's quite subtle. I've never had any problem with fallout and it applies like velvet the way I use it. I usually cover my entire eyelid from lashes up to the brow with a light eyeshadow and then I put this (and any other eyeshadows I'm using) on top of the lighter shade. That way I find this applies perfectly and blends easily. I like to use this on my lids so that it's close to my eyes to really accentuate my eye color but it can also be used really effectively in the crease or just on it's own so it's extremely versatile. It really suits my skintone too (NC20). It's an exceptional neutral that goes with every other color I've put with it. I wouldn't want to be without this eyeshadow now that I've discovered it - it's an HG for me.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -MAC - Trimming Talk
sweetness10 3/10/2012 11:38:00 PM
This is the perfect hot pink lipstick I've been looking for! It's a blue-based hot pink and the color stays true. This feels amazing on my lips. They look and feel super-moisturised and silky smooth. I have quite big lips that easily dry out with a lot of lipsticks but NEVER with this one! The color lasts really well too. After a cup of coffee there will be a little bit of a lip print on the mug but my lipstick will still be intact. Even though this is a "frost", I love it (I usually dislike frost lipsticks). My skintone is NC20 and this is incredibly flattering for my skintone.
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Liquid -Clinique - Even Better Makeup SPF 15
sweetness10 2/28/2012 11:38:00 PM
I LOVE this foundation. I have pigmentation (melasma) on my forehead so I LOVE that this product contains ingredients to actually help fade the pigmentation as well as being a great foundation to help conceal it. It's a wonderful 3 in 1 product (foundation, pigmentation treatment and it contains sun protection). I'm always a fan of multi-tasking products. My skintone is NC20 so I have neutral undertones (not cool or warm). and I have the problem that a lot of foundations are too pink for me, but this foundation comes in a HUGE range of shades and different undertones and shade number 03 "Ivory" is great for me. It gives a nice medium coverage and makes my skin look healthy and slightly dewy (but not shiny, which sometimes happens to me with other foundations as the day progresses). I like having good coverage because of my pigmentation but I HATE looking like I'm wearing a mask of foundation and this foundation still lets my skin show through so it's not at all mask-like (unless, of course, you apply a lot). A little goes a long way and the way I apply it is with my fingertips and then I pat over my skin with my fingertips which ensures that it's blended perfectly (that's how I always apply liquid foundation anyway). Prior to discovering this, I always used Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation in 2N2 "Fresco" and while I loved the coverage it didn't make my skin look as healthy and flawless as this - it was more matte than this one. It's my new favorite foundation.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -MAC - Lustering
sweetness10 2/23/2012 2:40:00 AM
I just bought this and OMG I've finally found my HG subtle pink lipstick! It was absolutely MADE for my NC20 skintone! It's an incredibly flattering, subtle sheer lipstick that makes me look youthful and fresh. It's hard to describe the color, I guess I'd describe it as a watermelon pink but it's not at all overpowering. It's a real my-lips-but-infinitely-better shade. It makes my lips look and feel incredibly smooth, well-moisturised and luscious! Some pale pinks make me look washed-out and my pet-hate is too-pale pink lipstick but this makes me look healthy and I'm sure it even makes me look like my skin is glowing. I'm in love!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Unlisted Brand - Civant Skin Care Meladerm
sweetness10 2/1/2012 12:32:00 AM
In my quest to lighten my hyper-pigmentation (melasma) that developed during pregnancy I did so much "research", I checked out the internet, read reviews and recommendations, etc. and thought this sounded great. Well, unfortunately, it did absolutely nothing at all. I followed all the directions religiously and finished two bottles of the stuff and there wasn't even the slightest difference to any of my pigmentation. I'm so disappointed. On the plus side, it comes in a pump bottle to prevent contamination of the product. It's a light lotion (don't expect it to moisturise because it doesn't do that). You need to use it morning and night and must use sunscreen (it goes without saying that using sunscreen is a MUST anyway to prevent pigmentation). You have to wait a decent amount of time after using this cream before applying anything else, such as sunscreen or makeup. This didn't irritate my skin at all and all the ingredients are known ingredients to help with pigmentation it's just that unfortunately for me it was an expensive failure. I also have to mention that I ordered it from the website (the only place it's available) and it was shipped to me in New Zealand very fast so I was very impressed with the speed that my order was processed.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -OPI - DS Extravagance
sweetness10 1/12/2012 10:51:00 PM
This is amazing! It's a beautiful cross between purple/berry/maroon with lots of matching holographic fine shimmer particles in it. The shimmer isn't at all bumpy on the nails like glitter, the polish is really smooth. It applied like a dream with amazing coverage and was the ideal consistency. I'm sure I could've got away with only one coat but I applied 2 coats and that really accentuated the 3D effect of the shimmer. The holographic shimmer really shows up in sunlight, not so much indoors. The is a grown-up shimmer/glittery polish that looks expensive and extravagant, hence the name. I think sometimes glittery polishes can also look a bit trashy but not this one. I LOVE it!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -OPI - I Eat Mainely Lobster
sweetness10 1/12/2012 10:21:00 PM
I've been looking for the perfect medium shade of coral for MONTHS and this is it! It's not too pink and not too orange, just the ideal balance between the two! I didn't think it was the shade I'd been dreaming of when I saw it in the bottle, but then I used it and was surprised to discover that it was! I don't think the photo above captures it accurately - it's very hard to get it accurate in photos and the color in the bottle isn't an accurate indication of what it looks like either. I'd say that on the nails it's 1-2 shades darker than it appears in the bottle. In the bottle it also looks pinker and more sparkly. In sunlight it has a very subtle shimmer to it if you look closely, which is gorgeous and makes it appear shinier. The shimmer isn't noticeable indoors. This is a cross between a creme and a jelly/sorbet polish. I found it needed 3 coats. I used 2 coats originally and with the first coat I loved the consistency, but after doing the 2nd coat and using Seche Vite top coat I decided it looked slightly streaky so applied another coat of my base coat (CND Sticky) then I applied another coat of polish and that was obviously a secret recipe for longevity because I didn't get a single chip for more than 8 days (I'm hard on my nails and they hardly ever last more than 3 days without chipping)!!! I'll be buying a back-up bottle of this because I can predict I'll be loving it for a long time! The only reason I took a lippy off is because of the streakiness, otherwise, it would definitely have 5 from me.
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Polishes -Orly - Space Cadet
sweetness10 1/7/2012 8:24:00 PM
This is almost impossible to describe accurately but it is a stunning multi-dimensional metal color. It's holographic and made up of masses of super-fine metal glitter particles so it feels pretty smooth on the nail (not bumpy like glitter polishes but not completely smooth like creme colors for instance). It's well named because it appears very sci-fi. Looking at it, I mostly see a well blended combination of these metallic colors (listed in order from most obvious to most subtle colors): burgundy, purple, pink, bronze, green, yellow, etc. While this is a spectacular color and it has the wonderful rubber easy-grip lid and great shaped brush that Orly do so well it isn't very easy to get the right application. The base of this shade is an extremely sheer grey/charcoal and without 3 coats the sheer charcoal looks very streaky, especially near the nail tips. It made my nails look like they had tip wear even though they didn't. I'd recommend putting a layer of black or grey creme nail polish underneath this to try and overcome the streakiness of the sheer grey. Because of the coverage issue I won't be buying this again but the color IS amazing, unique, exciting and edgy so I'll finish the bottle.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -China Glaze - For Audrey
sweetness10 12/16/2011 9:47:00 PM
This color is AMAZING! It's a beautiful Tiffany Box turquoise shade and an absolute favorite of mine! Another nail polish that's similar to this but more on the blue side of "Tiffany Box" is Orly's "Frisky"."For Audrey" is more on the green side, if that makes any sense. I can't decide which of the two I like more. This nail polish is a spectacular light-medium creme shade. The brush and application were great and it was opaque with 2 coats. I think it's a MUST HAVE.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Orly - Frisky
sweetness10 12/16/2011 9:37:00 PM
This color is AMAZING! It's a perfect Tiffany Box turquoise! It's like China Glaze's "For Audrey" (a color I adore) but this shade a bit more on the blue side, whereas "For Audrey" leans more towards green. I can't decide which of the two I prefer - I love them both. This gorgeous nail polish is a spectacular medium creme limited edition color from the "Happy Go Lucky" collection and this color is one of my favorites at the moment. The application wasn't as good as the other polish I have from this collection but it ended up looking fine. It was slightly on the thick side and it streaked on the first coat which I wasn't impressed with but then as it dried it self-levelled! After the second coat I though I had huge brush marks on my nails but again, as it dried it self-levelled and looked great! It has the wonderful Orly rubber lid that makes the brush super-easy to grip and the brush is the perfect size to achieve neat, accurate application in 3 strokes per nail. This color is cheerful and fun! I'm going to buy more so that I have a supply when they stop making it. I think it's a MUST HAVE.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Essie - Steel-ing the Scene
sweetness10 12/10/2011 1:58:00 AM
I was looking for a nail polish that would make my fingernails look like they were coated in chrome and I think this did a pretty good job of it! It's a nice metallic chrome color with enough warmth in it to be flattering to my skin-tone. It really does look like liquid metal. The brush was great - I sometimes find Essie brushes to be a little narrow but this one wasn't and it was easy to apply the nail polish accurately. The consistency was great too - I sometimes find Essie nail polishes to be a bit watery but this one wasn't. When I first applied it the brush left brushstrokes in the polish but self-levelled quite well. I definitely needed 2 coats. Because this is a metallic it does accentuate any ridges, etc on the nails. I got a few small air bubbles on a couple of nails and my manicure lasted 3 days before I got 2 chips on 2 different nails, but I'm quite rough on my nails so that's pretty standard for me. The photo I'm adding here shows my nails 3 days after I did my manicure (using CND Sticky Base Coat and Seche Vite top coat). I won't buy it again though because it shows up the ridges, etc on my nails and caused air bubbles but I don't regret buying the bottle I have.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Orly - Fancy Fuchsia
sweetness10 12/6/2011 6:09:00 PM
WOW! This nail polish will get you noticed! This is the perfect shade of neon pink. It could be described as "Barbie Pink". It's VERY flattering to my skintone (NC20) and makes my hands look tanned. I love the Orly bottle with it's rubber lid to make it easy to grip and the brush is the perfect size to make application accurate and easy. The brush isn't too thin as I often find Essie brushes to be and it's not too wide as I occasionally think OPI brushes can be. I actually think it's a very fun, summer color and it looks amazing with black shatter over it. The first coat was good but there were a couple of streaky areas so I definitely needed 2 coats. It's incredibly hard to photograph this shade accurately. The photo I've added above was the closest I could get to an accurate depiction (I did my manicure in a hurry and didn't neaten it up before taking the photo so it's a bit messy, sorry). Think highlighter pink and that's what this is.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -OPI - Do You Lilac It?
sweetness10 12/3/2011 12:38:00 AM
I really like this color. It's an opaque creme nail polish and is nice and glossy. It's a light lilac/lavender shade that has enough brightness to prevent my nails or skin looking "dead" or "grey" as can sometimes happen with light lilac/lavender nail colors. I was surprised that when I applied this it was streaky (I don't usually have that problem with OPI nail polishes) and the second coat was slightly streaky too, so I had to add a third coat to get a good opaque finish. Even though I really like the color, when I've finished this bottle I won't repurchase it because it doesn't jump out at me as an absolute favorite. UPDATE: This has really grown on me and it's one of my faves at the moment so I would buy it again.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Polishes -Orly - Frolic
sweetness10 11/29/2011 3:20:00 AM
OMG! This is AMAZING! This gorgeous nail polish is a spectacular medium purple creme limited edition color from the "Happy Go Lucky" collection and I'm predicting this will be one of my obsessions over Summer (I live in New Zealand so it IS that time of year right now). The application was superb - I've NEVER tried a nail polish with application as amazing as this. One coat and I had perfect, full coverage! I used two coats only out of habit and because I can't believe it's OK to only use one coat of nail polish but really, I didn't need to do that. The rubber lid made it super-easy to grip and the brush was the perfect size to achieve neat, accurate application easily in 3 strokes per nail. This purple is so cheerful and so much fun - it's perfect! I'm going to buy more so that I have a supply when they stop making it. The photo above was taken in sunlight (with CND Sticky Base Coat and Seche Vite top coat). It leans slightly neon and it makes my skin look tanned (my skintone is NC20).
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Nails -Seche Vite - Seche Restore
sweetness10 11/28/2011 9:38:00 PM
This is brilliant stuff and I wouldn't be without it! As well as bringing Seche Vite top coat back to life this also restores any other thickened nail polish! Basically this contains the ingredients to replace what has evaporated from the thickened top coat/nail polish over time with exposure to air. Because you're replacing lost ingredients you end up with more top coat/polish in the previously-thickened bottle so I think it's great value for money. Usually it only takes a couple of drops of this stuff. I recently came across a bottle of Chanel Rouge Noir that is REALLY old (I bought it when the movie Pulp Fiction came out and I saw it on Uma Thurman's nails and that was in 1994!) and decided to give this a go as an experiment and after 2 full droppers of this stuff it's completely renewed! What I don't like about it is that it contains Toluene (but I realise that it needs that to restore the Seche Vite) and I don't like that the bottle and dropper are separate (but I realise it helps prevent evaporation). I keep mine in the refrigerator and I find it lasts longer. As with Seche Vite top coat the lid needs to be kept tightly closed to prevent evaporation and the less time it's open and exposed to the air the longer it lasts.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No