Posts Tagged comparison
Polish Comparison Swatches – The Best Kind of Post When You’re Sick
Posted by Latoya in American Apparel, butter London, Chanel, China Glaze, Comparisons, Coral, Deborah Lippmann, Nail Polish, Red on April 9, 2013
So yea. I sneezed funny on Sunday and then the next day I was sick with a cold. Has that ever happened to anyone else? I’m being dead serious – it’s like the sneeze dislodged the sickness or something. Ugh. Anyway, I was off work today and pretty much was a slug all day; even looking at the computer screen hurts my eyes. I am weird and don’t take medication when I’m sick (unless it’s that time of the month – then, JACK ME UP BABY) because I feel like it just masks the pain and makes me stay sick for longer. Or I’m a martyr. Either or. At least I know when I get pregnant one day I’ll be totally used to not being able to take meds (but I will not hesitate to get an epidural – eff that). So there’s that.
Anyway, I have photos of two polishes I had done comparison swatches for but never posted them, so here they are. First up is Chanel’s Orange Fizz (which I happen to be wearing this week, and seriously – I LOVE IT SO MUCH you guys should all buy a bottle, it’s good times) which I swatched against all my other orangey-coral polishes (spoiler – there are no dupes that I own, so you should just go buy a bottle of the real stuff):
Left to right: China Glaze Flirty Tankini, LA Colors Magnetic Force, Chanel Orange Fizz, China Glaze Surfin’ for Boys, Deborah Lippmann Daytripper
Thumb: China Glaze Flirty Tankini; Index: Chanel Orange Fizz; Middle: LA Colors Magnetic Force; Ring: China Glaze Surfin’ for Boys; Pinky: Deborah Lippmann Daytripper
You can see that aside from the LA Colors shade, the rest of the polishes are all in the same vein, but Flirty Tankini is less saturated and dries with a flat finish (though probably the closest match); Surfin’ for Boys is more pink and with a pearlesence about it; and Daytripper is more pink. What I love about Orange Fizz is that it’s super-shiny on it’s own, has a squishy quality to it, and is somehow both soft enough for spring but bright enough that it will be awesome in summer too 
The next polish I have to show you is one I recently picked up from American Apparel, called Downtown LA. I was in the store a couple weeks ago buying Neon Violet for a gal at work, since she loved it so much on me, and decided to take advantage of the buy 3 for $18 deal (I also picked up their matte top coat for fun). Downtown LA is a bold red that leans ever so slightly orange. It is exceptionally close to butter London’s Come to Bed Red, though bL’s version really is more of a true red without the orange lean. I can tell the difference between the two but if I didn’t tell you, I’m sure you wouldn’t guess:
butter London Come to Bed Red; American Apparel Downtown LA
Index & ring: butter London Come to Bed Red; middle & pinky: American Apparel Downtown LA
I have a hard time wearing red polish as I find on my skintone it looks a bit garish; however, I wore Downtown LA last week and actually liked it quite a bit. The warmer tone of the polish worked better on me than Come to Bed Red has in the past, and I made sure to cut my nails super-short which made the manicure less in-your-face. I won’t be stocking up on red polishes any time soon but it’s still nice to have a few great ones in your arsenal! I’ll likely pass along my butter London shade – I always hate to part with more high-end brands but I know I’ll never choose it over the AA color. I have to say, I really like AA polishes – they are almost one-coaters and apply so well!
So, I hope this keeps you entertained until I get better! I usually go into repair mode when I’m sick and rarely stay down for long, so I’ll be up and kickin’ by the weekend I’m sure 
What do you do with your nail polish dupes? Do you find red a difficult color to wear?
My First Chanel Quad: Les 4 Ombres in 08 Vanités
Many of the cosmetic purchases I’ve made lately have had one thing in mind: have I tried this before? As a person who likes change, I gravitate toward the unknown (for the most part). My aim with makeup lately is to try either a brand I’ve never used before, or check out a product within a brand that I’ve not yet investigated. My most recent purchase in this regard was Chanel’s Vanités quad, from the Sophisticated Eye collection (fall 2011).
It’s strange: while I don’t tend to wear a lot of color on my eyes (preferring to do so on my lips, or even cheeks!), I often choose eyeshadows that have more of a *pop.* When perusing the Chanel quads, the only one that really grabbed me was Vanités. Having recently read a glowing review on the quad, being in the market for a nice lilac shade, and feeling spend-y, I picked it up and immediately brought it home to try out.
My first thoughts were that the quad was lovely. Indeed, the violet tones are quite captivating – and check out that gorgeous gold-flecked mauve!!
However, once it came time to actually try the shadows, I was sorely let down. Keep in mind that I do not have any experience with Chanel quads (and in fact, was unable to try this in-store as there were no testers available), so I wasn’t prepared what to expect. After reading further reviews, Chanel quads it seems tend to be on the dry, stiff side, something to which I can agree with (and also – gritty-feeling) and that I would have likely avoided if I had known. Also of note is that the quads here in Canada are of the baked variety, while I hear in the States they are different. So, all points to keep in mind.
Here are the shadows when swatched:
Sunlight
Natural light
Artificial light
These swatches took many layers to achieve this much pigmentation, aside from the darkest shade, which was fairly pigmented in one swipe. I tried to take photos of me wearing this quad, but it almost looked like nothing was worn, and certainly not enough to show shade and depth.
I realize that Chanel’s makeup philosophy leans toward a soft look; also, the brand caters more to fairer skintones rather than my darker ones. So it is to say that though I was disappointed in this quad, I was not at all surprized. Additionally, oddly enough when I looked at the ingredients of the shadows, they contained lanolin – though in the American versions, they do not (alternately, Chanel’s blushes in the US contain lanolin, but in Canada they do not). So, combined with the disappointing pigmentation, gritty texture, and inclusion of an ingredient I am allergic to – I took the quad back.
For reference purposes, I did take a few comparison swatches against shades I already own:
Urban Decay’s Psychedelic Sister against the darkest shade of Chanel’s Vanités quad
Clockwise from top left: Hourglass Exhibition duo, the two middle shades of Chanel’s Vanités quad, NARS Habanera duo, MAC Shale, Le Metier de Beaute Corinthian
Left to right: Urban Decay Psychedelic Sister, Chanel Vanités (darkest shade), NARS Habanera, LMdB Corinthian, Chanel Vanités (mauve shade), MAC Shale, Chanel Vanités (lilac shade), Hourglass Exhibition
Left to right: Urban Decay Psychedelic Sister, Chanel Vanités (darkest shade), NARS Habanera, LMdB Corinthian, Chanel Vanités (mauve shade), MAC Shale, Chanel Vanités (lilac shade), Hourglass Exhibition
You can see that none are dupes, though the mauve shade and MAC Shale are similar, and the lilac shade and the lighter shade in the Hourglass Exhibition duo are close as well. I believe the nuances of these shades would be more pronounced with a better formula, and most definitely with a paler skintone. On me, sadly, they just fall flat.
Have you tried Vanités, or another Chanel quad? Have your experiences been positive or negative? Has anyone tried both the Canadian version and the US version and can comment on how they compare?
Quelling a Burning Desire with Deborah Lippmann’s Through the Fire
Posted by Latoya in Comparisons, Deborah Lippmann, Holiday, Holiday 2012, Nail Polish, Red on January 7, 2013
While I was away this fall, something terrible happened – I missed the Chanel fall collection entirely! Thankfully, there wasn’t too much I wanted to try, but I DID desperately want Malice, the gorgeous ruby-hued polish and the only one released with the seasonal launch. As it disappeared from shelves in a snap, I was left to scour the internet trying to find a dupe to the shade. What I came up with that was close (though by no means an exact match, or even that close, unfortunately), was Deborah Lippmann’s Through the Fire.
Through the Fire, a ‘radiant merlot hue’ was released as part of her 2012 Holiday collection (along with Cleopatra in New York). While it doesn’t have the slight berry tinge that Malice appears to have, it still has that inner glow that captivates the eye. Below, this is two coats with Poshe Fast Drying Top Coat.
Apparently, one of the true closer dupes to Malice is OPI’s Royal Rajah Ruby, which if you remember I was iffy about at first, but then found love using it as a pedi shade. Personally I think RRR is too brown-leaning, but it pleases me that I have one of the closest colors to Malice already in my stash.
As for TtF, I pulled RRR plus a couple other shades to see how they all compare – OPI’s Every Month is Oktoberfest, which has been noted by other bloggers as a potential Malice twin (it’s not), and Misa’s Red Pumps at the Nordstrom (which isn’t like Malice at all, nor TtF – but is red and also has that gorgeous radiance about it).
Left to right (artificial light): OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest, OPI Royal Rajah Ruby, Deborah Lippmann Through the Fire, Misa Ruby Pumps at the Nordstrom
Left to right (flash): OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest, OPI Royal Rajah Ruby, Deborah Lippmann Through the Fire, Misa Ruby Pumps at the Nordstrom
Top to Bottom (artificial light): Misa Red Pumps at the Nordstrom, Deborah Lippmann Through the Fire, OPI Royal Rajah Ruby, OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest
Left to right (flash): OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest, OPI Royal Rajah Ruby, Deborah Lippmann Through the Fire, Misa Ruby Pumps at the Nordstrom
Left to right (flash): Misa Red Pumps at the Nordstrom, Deborah Lippmann Through the Fire, OPI Royal Rajah Ruby, OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest
While RRR is in the same vein as TtF, it’s not a dupe and I like TtF much better on my fingernails, as its more feminine with it’s red tones. Though I tend to prefer cremes over other formulations of polish, I gotta say that these types of polishes with a less metallic shimmer and more of an inner fire, are totally up my alley. I could stare at them all day! All four of these polishes captivate my heart in one way or another, and while I don’t feel that my lemming for Malice is fully abated, I’m not totally broken-hearted over it
Did you pick up Malice, or did you miss it too? Are you a fan of shimmer polishes, or other types?
So Many Products, Not Enough Time…Interim Quickie Polish Post
Posted by Latoya in Aqua/Teal, Blue, China Glaze, Comparisons, Nail Polish, Orange, Summer 2012, Zoya on July 13, 2012
Hello everyone! I have an insane backlog of products I want to show you desperately, but have just NOT had the time to take photos of anything – such is the way Summer goes, I guess! We’ve been having just the most spectacular weather you could imagine which means I’m outside as much as possible, which is absolutely lovely Tomorrow I plan to get up and do a major photo and swatch session so hopefully in the coming days you’ll have a ton of eye candy to ogle In the meantime, I’m going to do a post a la Liz (aka Beauty Reductionista) to fill the void. Enjoy!
Zoya Arizona
It looks different in different light eh? I’d say the last photo is the most color-accurate. This is a sad polish. The formula was atrocious, gloppy and streaky (this is three coats) and while I liked the color, I didn’t love it so much that the crappy formula was worth dealing with. I wore two full mani’s with this, but I’m am DONE. Swap!
China Glaze For Audrey
Another slight color-shifter. It’s most like the second photo I would say. Since I broke the seal on aqua polishes with Zoya Wednesday (which was a counterpart AWESOME to Arizona’s TOTAL FAIL), I decided to go all in and pick up this cult shade to wade in the aqua pool a bit further. I like it! I don’t think aqua will ever be a ‘go to’ shade for me – I still this it looks much better on fairer skin – but it’s a fun shade to wear in Summer, and I’m glad I found a few to play nice with This was an easy-to-use formula, no issues. Here it is compared to Wednesday:
(No, I did not wear these as a mani/pedi combo LOL!) In the first photo, with flash, they look quite similar, but in the second you can see that Wednesday is dustier and more muted. I think I’d actually prefer the reverse to this – Wednesday on fingernails and For Audrey on toes. But they’re both pretty
China Glaze Ridin’ the Waves
I’ve already shown swatches of Ridin’ the Waves, but I wanted to show it again when I wore it as a full mani, with a coat of white polish underneath to make it really pop! Although I don’t like the sheerness of this polish – it tends to be a bit streaky, so even over white it was tricky (as you can see in the first & second photos) – I love the shade; it’s vibrant without being too in-your-face, and the jelly texture is a nice switch-up. It’s not quite as bright as shades like Nails Inc. Baker Street, but it comes close.
Speaking of nail polish, I would be remiss if I didn’t let you know about the contest going on at Nail Polish Canada – they’re giving away a lifetime supply (approx. 25 years worth) of CND Shellac to one winner! Though I know a few people were a bit offended by the somewhat poorly delivered joke about living too long to surpass the ‘lifetime’ claims, regardless, this is a pretty sweet giveaway for anyone who loves having their nails polished to perfection but doesn’t want to deal with the hassle of upkeep. “CND Shellac is a cross between nail polish and gel. Shellac is applied like regular nail polish and then cured using a UV lamp. Shellac lasts much longer than your regular manicure; up to 14 days without chipping or peeling. Dry time is instant, making the application process fast and ensuring your polish doesn’t smudge.” This would almost be a sort of hell for me because I love changing my nails so frequently, and so the fabulous technology would be completely lost on someone like myself, but I can think of a number of gals who would LOVE to win something like this and put it to very good use!
The winner will be selected August 7th, and contest is open to residents of Canada and the US (excluding Quebec), so boogie on over to NPC and check out the full details! Best of luck to all who enter!
I hope everyone has a lovely weekend full of tons of sunshine!! Get ready for a barrage of posts coming next week – it’s gonna get a little crazy
Thoughts? (about Arizona/For Audrey/Ridin’ the Waves/Nail Polish Canada joke/life in general)???
Review: Make Up For Ever Eye Prime Long Wear Eyelid Primer
Posted by Latoya in Make Up For Ever, Make-up, NARS, Primer, Sephora, Urban Decay on June 26, 2012
Hi-ho everyone!!! Tomorrow is the big day – we get our keys to the condo!! I have to admit that as easy as the whole process has been, it’s hard to fully focus on much else! All I want to do is move in and get settled and make the place look like home. On that note, this will be a relatively brief (which just means, less chatty!) post – a reprieve which I’m sure some of you will wholeheartedly appreciate 
I confess that I am by no means an eyelid primer connoisseur – most days I tend to skip it as I don’t really mind if my makeup has faded throughout the day (which actually sounds kinda weird…I don’t know what that’s all about). Actually, maybe I’m not that twisted – I think its more that most shadows/liners tend to adhere to my lids fairly well, and I only think about wearing primer either when I know I’m wearing a less-than-stellar product (wear-wise), or if I’m going to, shall we say, glisten more than usual (running on my lunch break, going dancing, wearing makeup on a particularly humid day). My past experiences have not taken me very far; I’ve tried Urban Decay’s Primer Potion ($24CAD for 0.37oz), which seemed to be the be-all-end-all since it was my first shot at lid primers, and then NARS’ Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base ($29CAD for 0.28oz), which is in my current rotation. After trying NARS, I realized I far preferred it to UD’s lid primer, which gave my lids a slight whitish cast (NARS’ blends to be translucent), was more difficult to blend (though by no means seriously problematic), and made my shadows much harder to blend. It did intensify my shadows more than NARS’; but this quality falls flat on me as I don’t quite appreciate that aspect.
Make Up For Ever, which by now seems to be synonymous with long-wear, waterproof makeup, has now come out with their very own eyelid primer, called Eye Prime ($25CAD for 0.18oz), which the brand states ‘reinforces eye shadow hold and intensifies its color.’ It’s enriched with waxes and mineral powders, and claims to have a ‘lightweight, non-drying texture’ that ‘blends seamlessly into the skin allowing a true-to-color eye shadow result that will not crease or fade.’ That sounds like it follows the pretty standard goal of all eyelid primers – so how did it pan out?
The delivery of Eye Prime is quite similar to NARS, with the same doe-foot applicator, though it’s a bit smaller which I find somewhat easier to use. The texture of the two are more alike than different, but NARS’ is more sheer and cream-like, while MUFE’s has more opacity and is somewhat drier. While Eye Prime does blend out to be almost undetectable on the eye, it still has some color, as it’s considered a ‘nude shade,’ while NARS’ truly blends out to completely invisible. I didn’t have any issues with the shade of Eye Prime showing up on my lids, but someone darker than I might be able to see it more. However, overall the color will suit the majority of skin tones.
Make Up For Ever Eye Prime
Make Up For Ever Eye Prime – blended
I tried Eye Prime with one of my notoriously smudgy liners, Black Violet by Laura Mercier – a creamy near-black pencil liner with a lovely violet tone, but that smears within hours every single time. I applied Eye Prime around my eye area before using Black Violet, and wore the two for approximately 12 hours with the color still going strong and only the very slightest dull shadow of a smudge under the corner of my left eye. I would say that while wearing this primer with any other typical eye product (that doesn’t have extreme smudging issues), one would get 12 hours of wear and potentially more without experiencing any problems whatsoever.
Top to bottom: NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base, Make Up For Ever Eye Prime
Overall, I’m quite pleased with Make Up For Ever’s foray into eyelid primers, and feel it’s a compliment to the line, and upholding their high standards in terms of long-wearing products. Though I must admit, from my experience, all of my MUFE products are designed to be long-wearing, and none of them have failed me in that regard, so the design of this product is sort of a moot point, no? At least, it’s really not required with any of the MUFE eye products I own, unless I felt I needed that extra insurance I guess. Nonetheless, for all my other, less tenacious eye makeup, this has been a great product to add to my slowly growing eyelid primer experience!
*Product provided by the brand/PR company for my unbiased consideration.
Tangerine Tango Nail Polish: Quickie Comparison Post
Posted by Latoya in Essie, Nail Polish, OPI, Orange on June 3, 2012
Good day to you all Residual birthday party-fun-time has left me with little time to dedicate to the blog (though, I have been taking photos galore, so I’m not at a loss for content!) – so please forgive me for being kind of a lamer lately! Today I have a quick comparison post of a few orange-red nail polishes I have that are quite similar; after Chanel’s Holiday came out, which I rebuffed because I felt I had shades that were very comparable, I started thinking about just how many polishes I had that ran along the same vein. Surprizingly, I have three – which makes me that much more thankful now that I saved the $27 on Holiday.
Essie Meet Me At Sunset, Essence Get the Fever, OPI A Roll in the Hague
The 3 shades in question are Essie’s Meet Me At Sunset, from last year’s Summer collection; OPI’s A Roll in the Hague from Spring’s Holland collection; and a random mini shade ($1.99 – you can’t beat that!) from Essence called Get the Fever, which I picked up last year when I decided I MUST HAVE an orange polish (at which point I found MMAS and was satiated).
Essie Meet Me At Sunset, Essence Get the Fever, OPI A Roll in the Hague
In some light, the three shades look very close in color – differences are minute and probably only noticeable if you’re aware they’re different. However, upon closer inspection, they are NOT dupes, each with their own distinguishing feature.
Essie Meet Me At Sunset, Essence Get the Fever, OPI A Roll in the Hague
Essie’s MMAS is clearly the most red-toned out of the 3, those this is more apparent in the bottle than on the nail. Get the Fever is more of a muted orange-red, versus the juicy vibrancy of A Roll in the Hague. It trumps ‘Fever’ as the more ~orange~ shade with it’s richly pigmented hue. ‘Hague’ is also insanely glossy, which also puts it above Essence’s shade – though if you missed ‘Hague,’ Get the Fever is still a great substitute.
Essie Meet Me At Sunset, Essence Get the Fever, OPI A Roll in the Hague
However, despite the closeness in shade between ‘Hague’ and ‘Fever’, I can also seem the resemblances between ‘Fever’ and MMAS – there’s a common red tone to these two that places Get the Fever squarely between MMAS and ‘Hague.’ For the cheapness in price, ‘Fever’ performs quite well and would be a great choice for anyone looking for an orange-red shade but hoping to save about $10 or so!
Since orange is in it’s glory right now, I hope showing these 3 shades helps you can an idea of what choices you have out there! It really can’t be beat for a Summer color – and these tones in particular work with both pre-tan and post-tan skin, so you can rock it pretty much any time!
What other orange polishes should I keep an eye out for (that have greater variances than the shades I’ve shown above)? Would you have bought Holiday, even if it had a close dupe in your stash?
Denying the Urge: My Foray into Frugality
Posted by Latoya in Chanel, Gold, Lips, Make-up, Nail Polish, Summer 2012 on May 10, 2012
This past month I have been bizarrely restrained in my beauty buying. I know I have things to save for, sure, but what the what!? That generally hasn’t stopped me too much before. But for whatever reason, I keep passing things up, and I’m genuinely uninterested when I see products I was swooning over mere moments before. Whatever this is, I love/hate it. I want to buy pretty things!! But I’m glad that I’m being careful with my money – as I mentioned yesterday, May is a month full of gift buying, so I need all the cash I can get!
Anyway, yesterday I got a call from my Chanel SA letting me know the Summer collection had finally arrived on counter. I hightailed it over there this morning to check out the wares. I though for SURE I was going to pick up Delight, the gorgeous pale bronze polish that was going to be my ‘glamorous in a bottle’ shade. However, I tried it and…it was totally not for me. It was too pale and too blah with my skintone, which is a problem I have with most metallics. *sad face*
Please excuse the chip – I initially took this photo just for myself as a reminder of why I didn’t buy – I had layered the swatch over my existing mani and then bumped it before it dried :S
After a quick consult previously with Eugenia/Ommorphia, she noted that both OPI’s A Roll in the Hague (a bold orange) and Essie’s Meet Me at Sunset (which had more red in it) were close in shade to Chanel’s Holiday – another polish shade in the Summer collection lineup. It’s not a dupe, but it’s close enough that for me I couldn’t justify buying it either. *pouty lip*
Next, my eyes found the two Soleil Tan de Chanel powders in Sable Beige and Sable Rose. I’d hoped Sable Rose would be dark enough for my skin to show up. It was – but it left such a subtle look that I was nonplussed. Sure, I could use it as more of a ‘glow-making’ product versus a blush or bronzer, but for the price ($60+), I want it to blow my socks off, not just be ‘pretty’. Still no dice… *eyes squeezing out a tear*
Of course, the Calypso Glossimer drew my eye next – how could it not!? The gorgeous orange-coral shade is stunning and is the perfect warm-weather color. However, I was reminded of a gloss I already have – MAC’s Dazzleglass Cremesheen gloss in Luscious Spark (from a 2009 collection), another deep orange shade which also has multicolored shimmer. I was smart and brought it with me – here are comparison swatches below:
Top to Bottom: MAC Luscious Spark, Chanel Calypso
As you can see, they’re not dupes either – Calypso has more of a coral leaning, while Luscious Spark is more orange, and a bit more sheer. But again, too close to own both, in my world. I’m a poor excuse for a beauty aficionado, I know! But when I buy, I want it to be good. PASS. *openly sobs*
Finally, wildly looking around for something, anything to buy since I felt like such a consumer FAILURE, I looked upon the Eyeshadow Duo in Sable-Émouvant, a lovely cream and rich espresso twosome which looked entirely wearable and perfect. But goodness…how utterly boring! If that was my one purchase from a Summer collection, let alone a Chanel collection (because guys – I haven’t picked up ANYTHING from any of the Summer collections. Oh wait, except for the Estee Lauder gelee, which I bought back in MARCH, which is NOT Summer or even close…btw), then it’s a sad day here at Beauty Obsessed. That does not sound like I am obsessed over much of anything, except maybe being practical. Which is more Eye Heart It‘s thing, and I’m not gonna step on any toes here 
Anyway, where was I? All this lame behavior has me befuddled. I walked out of Mills (ok, well, slunk out a side door in shame – I KID YOU NOT) with absolutely nothing. My brain cannot compute. I have been ogling this collection since the first day I heard of it, and if nothing else I was leaving with Delight, THE END. To leave empty-handed just seems crazy, non?? I don’t know what’s up. All I know is that when I do start shopping again, 1) It had better be some super-awesome shit, and 2) It better not make my bank account blow-up. Likely both will happen. It’s gonna be something else.
On the plus side, I just saved about $100+ today. I guess that’s pretty sweet!
Have you experienced any abnormal beauty behaviors lately? What products are calling to you from the Summer collections? (Maybe you can inspire a lemming – there may still be hope for me yet!)
Just a L’il Somethin’ I Picked Up for Vacation: Milani’s Liquif-EYE Metallic Eye Liner Pencil in Aqua
Posted by Latoya in Eye Liner, Make Up For Ever, Make-up, Milani on April 13, 2012
Though I’ve been on a bit of a shopping spree lately, surprizingly enough I spent next to nothing in preparation for Jamaica. I’ve got plenty of shorts, tank tops, Summer dresses, bikini’s, and sandals – and I’ve clearly got more than enough makeup. However, one thing I did set my sights on was a deep, shimmering teal eye liner. I had planned on picking up Too Faced Perfect Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner in Perfect Peacock, a pencil liner that goes on as smoothly as a liquid with great staying power. However, at the time I went to buy it, I was feeling a bit *pinched* shall we say for cash, and I thought I’d do the smart and thrifty thing by picking up the drugstore version, Milani’s Liquif-EYE Metallic Eye Liner Pencil in Aqua. It has a similar formulation, going on smoothly and easily with excellent wear time. 
The first thing I noticed about the Milani version, aside from the fabulous not-your-average-drugstore-product packaging, was that it was lighter than what I was looking for – it was more of an aqua as the name states, than a teal.
Without flash, artificial light
With flash
…In fact, it looked strikingly familiar; didn’t I already have a shade just like this? I went through my stash, and this is what I found:
Top to bottom: MUFE Aqua Liner #5, Milani Liquif-EYE Liner in Aqua
MUFE’s Aqua Liner #5 – a sparkling turquoise blue. While it has much more shimmer in it, is more blue, and the formulation (a liquid) is different of course, they certainly bear a resemblance. They also both have exceptional wear time – the Milani pencil wore throughout the day with only minimal fading, and the MUFE liner refuses to come off until you put in some good elbow grease to do so. While I’m not a fan of having repeats in my collection, I’m not terribly put out by this discovery, as the Milani linerwas only about $5, and it’ll be easier to use on my lower lash liner than the MUFE option would be. And the good news is that there’s still a vacancy in the ‘teal’ liner department in my stash, so that’ll need to be filled pronto
For a drugstore liner, Milani’s Liquif-EYE pencils are a stellar option at a great price. Unfortunately, it only comes in five shades: black, brown, aqua, gold, and silver – but if you’re in the market for any of these colors, I urge you to check these pencils out. The black shade is the next on my list – it creates a perfect, saturated line, without any tugging or worries about smudging throughout the day. For a mere $5, how can you go wrong?
What drugstore product goldmines have you found lately?
Review: Make Up For Ever HD Microfinish Blush in #12 First Kiss
Posted by Latoya in Blush, Make Up For Ever, Make-up, Sephora on February 10, 2012
I don’t know when it happened, or why (though I have my suspicions), but somehow over the past year I have become developed a serious passion for blush – probably one of the only makeup areas that used to leave me cold. Where eyeshadow used to be my ‘thing,’ blush has swiftly replaced it as the new ‘must buy’ purchase. I am trying to curb this impulse before it gets too crazy – I’ve seen how that turns out and it’s not a pretty sight (well…it IS technically…very pretty indeed…but you know what I mean!). I’m determined to make my most recent blush purchase, Make Up For Ever’s HD Microfinish Blush in #12 First Kiss, tide me over for a couple months anyway. My goal is to be able to keep my blush purchasing to one per every three months. Though, I made that decision last week, and then broke it in about three days, so you can see how well that worked out! I really want to try Buxom’s new True Hue blush, as well as one of the Tarte Amazonian Clay blushes, and I’m not sure I can hold out that long. We’ll see.
MUFE’s HD Microfinish blushes are designed with both mattifying and light-reflecting powders to create a soft focus effect while still creating a radiant look to the skin, and are supposed to be longwearing. First Kiss is labelled as a ‘bright apricot,’ and I think that’s pretty near the mark. Initially when I was swatching colors at Sephora, First Kiss scared the bejesus out of me – what came out seemed so bright and intense that I couldn’t imagine anyone wearing it! However, once I blended it in, it left the prettiest coral-orange glow behind, I had to have it.
Sunlight
Natural light
I thought perhaps it would be a bit tricky to apply, as it’s a creamy liquid formulation that comes out via a pump, but once I got the hang of using the pump and dispensing the right amount (you only need very little), everything else was a breeze. I put a small dot of product on the back of my hand, then dipped my MAC #130 brush into it and swirled it around my cheekbones to diffuse the color. It doesn’t take long to blend, and it doesn’t set too quickly so that you’re left with streaks. It’s really very, very easy to use! The wear on First Kiss throughout an entire work day was quite good, only the slightest fading. In the photos below, I’m wearing MUFE’s HD Foundation in #155 underneath First Kiss (all shots are in natural light).
Another one of my ‘beach’ faces
For fun, I thought I’d swatch First Kiss, NARS Torrid, and MAC Early Morning side by side to compare the shades. As I’ve noted before, these types of colors seem to look best on my skintone. I actually think that I prefer First Kiss and Early Morning over Torrid now – they just impart the perfect healthy glow on my skin, whereas I sometimes find Torrid a bit TOO much. It’s definitely better on me with a tan, that’s for sure. On the cheek, they’re all fairly similar, but in swatches you can see the differences quite clearly:
Sunlight (left to right: First Kiss, First Kiss blended, NARS Torrid, MAC Early Morning)
Natural light
I’m so pleased with MUFE’s HD Blush that I’ve been eyeing a few more shades I’d like to add to my collection. It’s ease of use and color selection and formula make it a total win in my books! It’s perfect for all seasons and all occasions.
Have you tried Make Up For Ever’s HD Blush? What blushes do you think I absolutely MUST try??
Couleur du Jour: Deep Teal Green Eye Shadow
Due to the fact that I’m limiting my purchasing power over the next year, one thing I’m becoming more and more aware of are repeat shades in my stash. If I can only buy so much a month, I want to make sure it’s something good, not something I already own in another interpretation. In going through all my eyeshadows recently, I realized I had several deep teal-greens – all acquired in the past year. Two are from a palette, and one from a shadow duo, so that’s a saving grace, but even so – how often do I even wear teal-green? And so, I thought I’d take a closer look at them to see just how similar they were.
First, we have one half of NARS Rajasthan, which was released with their Fall 2010 collection and an instant must-own (the other half, a shimmering golden shade, is to die – it complements the green half perfectly). This is a deep, dark blackened teal-green with some shimmer:
I find the formulation of this shade just a touch stiff; its a bit difficult to pick up on a shadow brush and requires a bit of extra effort to get the depth of pigmentation I’d like.
Next, I bought Urban Decay’s Book of Shadows III shortly after Rajasthan, in the Fall of 2010. In it contained the limited edition shade Loaded -a blackened, semi-metallic deep forest green, also with teal leaning (though less so), and with more depth than the shade above:
The pigmentation on this shade is lovely; rich and dense, and so ridiculously buttery to the touch. It still requires an extra stroke of a shadow brush to get full depth of color, but it’s hardly an effort.
Last, in the recently acquired theBalm’s Balmbini Palette: Babies of the Balm, the shade Jealous Jordana was included, which is a very dark forest green with teal microshimmer, very reminiscent of UD’s Loaded but slightly lighter: 
The density of pigment in this shadow was best overall – in one swipe, you get pure, saturated color – and it’s also got the most lovely soft, smooth texture (as most shades from theBalm have!).
Here are some comparison swatches (left to right – Jealous Jordana, Loaded, half Rajasthan duo):
You’ll notice that Loaded pulls slightly more green than Jealous Jordana, while the half of the Rajasthan duo looks charcoal by comparison. Also notice the density of the first two, as opposed to the NARS shadow, which I had to build up quite a bit just to get this much pigmentation. For all intents and purposes, theBalm and the Urban Decay versions are essentially the same in both pigmentation and color.
Overall, I think if I had purchased the Balmbini palette, I’d feel a little put out because of how similar Jealous Jordana is to Loaded, but not too much as there are so many other shades/products in the palettes that you’re still getting a good value. Since I DIDN’T pay for the palette, I feel even better As for the NARS duo, I feel that the teal-green shade is not even comparable to the others due to how muted it is, and it’s more smoky quality, which I still appreciate even though the density of the product is somewhat lacking. I’m also not too concerned about owning three similar shades, because I really love this kind of color and feel that it looks great on just about everyone! So they will all certainly get some use over the years.
Do you have any particularly repeated shades in your collection? Which shade do you find yourself buying over and over?
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