Posts Tagged Peach
Everything is Just Peachy: An Update and a Pretty Powder from MAC
Posted by Latoya in Highlighters, MAC, Make-up on April 7, 2013
So, remember this post? Yea, you know – the mega-sad one. Well, just so you know: ever since writing that post and opening up about my current situation, things have much improved! We all have heard that talking about things always makes you feel better, but we don’t always put it into practice. Let this be a lessons learned for everyone (including myself): IT REALLY DOES MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER. I think why it helps is that you feel like you’re sort of being pro-active, and doing something for good yourself, even if you’re not actually putting a solution into action. Once I did that, it was easier to start doing other constructive things to get back to my usual perky self. I started doing kick-ass yoga (aka ashtanga yoga) to compliment my half-marathon training, and I feel stronger and more fit than ever. I had my friends over for dinner and brunch this past month, and felt a little less disconnected that before. And this past week, I made a connection with another gal who needs a place to stay, and soon I might just have a roommate, which would help my financial situation immensely. Things are most certainly looking up, and I just wanted to give you a little update and also to thank each and every one of you who were so fantastically supportive after I wrote that post – you gave me such comfort and the courage to then open up to my friends and family, and since have felt infinitely better. So THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for being the wonderful people you are and for being so kind and caring. Though I haven’t met most of you in person I feel very fortunate to call many of you friends 
Particularly amazing friend-cheer from the wonderful Sarah of Beauty and the Baked Goods…aside from the very fact that she SENT me a care package, the sweet hat card and note plus hilarious envelope quips made me laugh out loud. BEST. THERAPY. EVER.
Now, let me share some other goodness with you! MAC has put out a collection this year (one of the million) called Year of the Snake, which contains a handful of repromoted shades with snazzy box packaging and beautiful snake-like embossing on the actual product, and only available for purchase online. The moment I saw the peachy-golden fantabulousness of the Beauty Powder in Shell Pearl (which I hear has been repromoted up the wazoo….how did I miss it before?) on Circuits of Fever, I was 100% madly, desperately in love. I went to buy it on the site, only to find that it had been sold out, to my utter disappointment. Denise assured me that often things will come back in stock after a time, and to keep checking back every few days. So, like a makeup obsessed crazy person, I checked the site constantly for a week, each time crossing my fingers and toes that it had come available again. No such luck.
Of COURSE, as things go, after a few weeks of giving up online shopping for Lent, I happened to be casually browsing the site and came across the powder, which was IN STOCK. Let this be an indication of how much I wanted to own this powder, that I broke my Lent promise (which I have NEVER done) and snapped up the powder in seconds flat. My love was that serious.
And do I feel guilty? HECK NO. This is why:
It’s sooo pretty you guys!! I have purchased a few items over the past year with pretty designs and such, but this one really gets me goin’. It’s just SEXY. Love, love, love it.
I find the color to lean slightly pink and reads more coral than peach, but who are we kidding – coral is the SHIT! No complaints here. The golden shimmers throughout are really beautiful, and NOT an overspray.
As you can see from the swatches (first diffused, then layered), when worn it’s more of a golden highlight versus getting any serious pinky/peachy/coral hue showing. Fair skins could probably wear this as a subtle blush though I think, as it does give even my darker skin the barest hint of color.
Comparing this to the other highlighters I showed you earlier this week, I would say that this does sparkle a bit in the sunlight, but it’s subtle and manageable in my opinion. There is something about this powder I just ADORE. I find it reminds me of a warmer version of Chanel’s Poudre Signee – it really illuminates my face in a beautiful way while remaining somewhat elusive. I can see why MAC has released and re-released this powder several times over – it’s just so gorgeous! To look at as well as to use. I even prefer this design over the Chanel (sacrilege, I know).
Currently this powder is sold out on the US site but in-stock on the Canadian one (lucky us!). I don’t know how long the collection will be available, but I would suggest if you’re interested in this powder to get it sooner rather than later – I know they’ll likely release it again (and again) in the future, but this design is not to be missed. I even plan on keeping the box it came in too, that is BY FAR the best packaging I’ve seen to date.
Oh yea, FYI – the Beauty Powder retails for $29CAD.
Have you come across any beauty products that have rocked your world lately?
Illamasqua Lip Twin Sets Make for No-Brainer Pairings!
Posted by Latoya in Holiday 2012, Illamasqua, Lips, Make-up on December 10, 2012
Throughout my entire New Zealand trip*, I never purchased one cosmetic save for a mascara in the airport en route, so it was a nice end to my self-imposed purgatory to arrive home to three different holiday sets to play with. I was most excited to play with one of Illamasqua’s holiday Lip Twin Sets ($41CAD), which provide you with a matching gloss and lipstick to wear separately or together depending on your look that day. The set I received contained Obey, a pale peachy pink matte lipstick (reg. $29CAD), and Plentiful, a bright peachy pink gloss (reg. $27CAD).
*note: I’m fairly certain I’ve mentioned New Zealand in every single post since I got back – forgive me, I’m just hanging on to those memories for dear life!
The two shades are very close, albeit Obey is lighter, and compliment each other exceptionally.
On a pale complexion, or perhaps someone lighter with less pigmented lips, these shades would be quite pretty. They veer into nude territory without being dead-looking, and the effect would be very flattering. However, because the two lip products are so pigment-rich, the paleness of the colors in their opaqueness do not work well on me.
If blended out as I’ve done here, Plentiful is a nice peachy shade that makes me think of spring. With the makeup I have on in the photo, it actually works well as a more nude-natural lip. The gloss is fairly thick however, and must be applied carefully to avoid it looking milky and obvious (at least on me).
Obey, on the other hand, washes me out completely. If I had a smokey eye here, it *might* work ok, but I would have to sheer it out to be comfortable with the shade. As well, due to the somewhat chalky nature of the color, you MUST have your lips in perfect condition – otherwise flakes and other issues are entirely apparent. I had exfoliated and hydrated my lips for a good hour before trying this again, with the same patchy results. Again, I think if your lips are less pigmented than mine (and you hair a more fair complexion), you could wear this shade well. I don’t think it’s a total no-go, just a complete NO-NO for me.
On top of the general shade issues of Obey, I discovered that the Illamasqua lipsticks contain lanolin, another no-no for me. The gloss also contains linalool and limonene, two potentially irritating ingredients I try to avoid, and both the lipstick and gloss contain fragrance. Neither appear to contain parabens, however. Here is the ingredient lists for both products:
Overall, I love the idea of the twin sets and I think Plentiful would be a gorgeous shade on the right person. I withhold making a full judgement on Obey until I see it on someone with the ‘right’ skin/lip tone, but have my reservations. Even the lip swatches on the Illamasqua site don’t make it look all that appealing. However, if you’re interested in the twin sets, there is another available on the website with the shades Sangers and Succubus, a rich blood red duo (and much more up my alley!).
What do you think of the lip twin sets? Would you wear a matching gloss on top of your lipstick? What lip shades do NOT work on you and why?
Products were sent by PR company/brand for my unbiased consideration.
Something to Amuse You While I’m Gone: My Blush Collection (Part I!)
Posted by Latoya in Benefit, Blush, Chanel, Illamasqua, MAC, Make Up For Ever, Make-up, My Collections, NARS, theBalm on April 9, 2012
Since it’s a well-known fact that blush addiction is 1) contagious, and 2) that it spreads quickly, I thought I’d leave you with a little *something* while I’m away this week – my gift to you 
It’s truly scary how quickly one can go from owning a handful of blush to moving into double-digits in an alarmingly quick fashion. At the beginning of the year, I think I had 8 (plus a handful of highlighters and bronzers, so around 14 total), and in three short months I have pretty much doubled that number – yikes!! I was so easy to judge when it was someone else, but I see how quickly things can go downhill. It’s a fun ride slippery slope, but gosh are there ever some beautiful shades out there! It’s so easy to fall prey to their powers.
The first installment in what will be a week-long series, are my pink and peach/coral shades. It blows me away how some of these looks so similar in the pan, yet look nothing alike when swatched/worn. I played around with the groupings a bit, but am fairly satisfied in how I divided them in the end. Let’s begin with the pink blushes:
Clockwise from top left: Benefit Bella Bamba, Chanel Blush de Horizon, MAC Madly Magenta, theBalm Down Boy
MAC’s Madly Magenta, a matte cream, is really too violet for this grouping, but it’s the only one of it’s kind in my stash, so it’s joining the team. I bought it well over a year ago, but the other three were bought or acquired over the past four months. Benefit Bella Bamba is a shimmering ‘watermelon pink’; Chanel’s Blush de Horizon is a shimmering cool-ish pink, and theBalm’s Down Boy is a matte baby pink.
All swatches taken with flash. Left to right: Benefit Bella Bamba, Chanel Blush de Horizon, theBalm Down Boy, MAC Madly Magenta
Over the past few months, I’m coming to realize that what looks like one thing in the pan might be something else entirely when worn. I thought for sure that Down Boy would look chalky on me, but it doesn’t at all – it’s just a lovely subtle pink flush. I was surprized and slightly disappointed to see how close Bella Bamba and Blush de Horizon was, though Bella Bamba does have more pink pigmentation. I’m still working on MAC’s Madly Magenta…maybe when I’m more tanned I’ll figure it out.
Next up, we have my peach/coral shades – my favorite color of blush. I find myself always looking at these when I’m shopping, but so far I’ve been able to stop myself from buying more, until I can confidently say it’s a color I do not own.
From top left: NARS Torrid, Illamasqua Tweak, theBalm Hot Mama, Make Up For Ever #12 First Kiss
I know that Illamaqua’s Tweak (described as a deep hot pink) looks far too pinky to be here, but it’s too warm to be included with the ‘pinks’ group, and again it was one of a kind, so here it is. It actually wasn’t so far off from NARS Torrid, a ‘warm coral’ with shimmer, so it seemed to fit. MUFE’s First Kiss HD Blush is a bright apricot (which is the only recent *purchase* out of this group), and theBalm’s Hot Mama is a pinky-peach with shimmer.
All swatches taken with flash. From left to right: theBalm Hot Mama, MUFE #12 First Kiss, NARS Torrid, Illamasqua Tweak
It still blows me away every time how light Hot Mama is, when it looks so similar in the pan to Torrid. Also, comparing Torrid in the pan to Benefit’s Bella Bamba, they look so close, and yet Torrid swatched/worn is SO much deeper than it looks – it’s shocking. I was also surprized at how much more orange-leaning MUFE’s #12 First Kiss looks when compared to other shades – when I bought it I thought I might have repeated something else in my stash. I’m please to know that I didn’t 
As a bonus shot, here’s what Illamasqua Tweak looks like when worn (on me):
Sunlight
Artificial light
In these shots, it looks like it should be with the pink family, doesn’t it?
So, there you have it – Part I of my ever-expanding blush collection! I hope you enjoyed it – stay tuned tomorrow for Part II!!
Do you own any of these shades? Were any swatches surprizing to you too? What is your favorite blush shade?
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