First Look| MAC Rebel and Diva DUPES

The Internet beauty world is a vicious cycle of researching, eye raping swatches, reading reviews, and stalking other beauty blogs until I give up and just run to my nearest department store to spend boatloads of money. However, since I am on a tight budget, I decided to find dupes for MAC's Rebel and Diva at the drugstore. According to MakeupbyCheryl, Wet n Wild had great dupes for the shades, but they were sold out. After spending a good amount of time perusing the aisles and trying to recollect from my memory which brand has the best formulation, I settled upon Maybelline's lipsticks.

 

420 Deepest Cherry and 410 Blissful Berry

So, as you can see, they belong to the general realm of berries and dark plums. However, these drugstore dupes were $7.99 (Buy one get one half off!) at Rite Aid rather than MAC's 15 a pop lipsticks. As I have no method of transportation at the method besides my weary feet, I didn't want to harass the husband into taking me to the mall to buy something as trivial as makeup (sarcasm).

As you can see from this hideous picture, the colors are rather comparable. Not exact, but comparable. Blissful Berry took a few (okay, four) swipes to show up opaque and Deepest Cherry took two. However, they stain even when wiped off, especially the berry shade. I can see both being dabbed onto the lips to create a Korean ombre milky lip. You can also layer it on for a playful twist on the vampy trend this fall.

Excuse my lined and chapped lips. This is Blissful Berry, the dupe of MAC Rebel. This picture is showing it pretty true to shade, maybe a hair lighter. It's very wearable for my NC40 coloring at the time. I won't show you how Deepest Cherry looks, since it looks absolutely dreadful if you don't prep your lips before wear. While I doubt these dupes are on par with MAC's formulations, they are still half the price of the real thing and very soft, long lasting, and not drying. They smell like crayola, but that's still better than L'oreal's sexy grandma play-doh smell. I did look through L'oreal's collections of lipstick but quickly shied away from the smell. BLEGH!

That's all for today, I'm taking pictures of my swap haul for you guys and will post it soon!

Be

Review| NARS Radiant Creamy Compact Foundation in Stromboli

My lemming has been fed, nothing to see here people. Just another wonderful product that deserves all of the surrounding hype: the NARS Radiant Creamy Compact Foundation ($38 retail for the powder and puff, $10 for the compact itself).

Francois you so fancy but can't afford to give us the compact for free? The baby cream foundation case snaps its tiny little body into a momma case which includes a big mirror and perforated (aerated?) side for the puff to breathe. The outer shell is made of the same rubberized material as all other NARS compacts. Because cream foundations are more sensitive to air, the cream pan has a lid within itself. Pan-ception.

The little amount of product for the price is sort of a boon, but if you are like me and never go through foundations quick enough, you may find that it's the perfect size for a month or two's worth of use. By that time you will have gone up a shade lighter and ready to repurchase a baby pan.

The foundation claims to be very lightweight on the skin but provide excellent (read: medium to full coverage) depending on method of application. The sponge gives very thick coverage, but an application with fingers is the best way to apply this cream. Not very sanitary, but it does help melt the cream into your skin better than any synthetic brush. I found the coverage to be true to its claims all the while feeling as light as a powder foundation. Amazing! No cake batter to lick from the spoon here.

You don't get very much product in the pan, but there is a huge selection of colors (22!) to choose from that is very similar to the coloring system of their Sheer Glow line. I am also a perfect match in Stromboli for this foundation. It is the most olive toned medium shade out of Punjab, Santa Fe, and other medium tones that have too much orange or neutral undertone. I also picked up Ceylan (around a MAC NC25 equivalent) for the upcoming fall and winter season. I think that even very light or very dark skinned girls will have no problem finding a close or exact match. The cream formulation gives my skin a satin finish with subtle luminosity. In fact, it looks very healthy and skin-like. I set with a powder on my T-zone and it lasts throughout the day.

I would have to say that its portability, ultra lightweight texture, performance par liquid foundation, and easy pairing with moisturizer or sunscreen makes this a new found favorite of mine. I love how I can easily touch up through out the day on trouble spots if needed.  It is easy to pick a level of coverage with this product, and I think dry to normal skinned gals will greatly appreciate this foundation.

Below are some photos and a swatch of my shade Stromboli (Medium 3):

The shades all look very deceptively dark in the pan but translate to much lighter once on the finger, so make sure you take your time to look at swatches online or in stores. Also, see how disgusting the sponge quickly gets if you use it? I would opt for your own BeautyBlender or tossing the sponge completely before you grow the next batch of biochemical weaponry.

Anyway, I hope you will give this expensive little sucker a try, it really is a game changer for foundation.

Be

How To | Bronze and Glow

I think there's a cult out there that has successfully convinced many that using bronzer with glitter is on the same level as consorting with the devil.
Seriously.

Here's the thing, a contouring shade should NEVER have glitter, no matter how finely milled or microscopic. Contouring is the same as creating an illusion of deeper set shadows on the face, and shadows never sparkle. On the other hand, a bronzer with glitter does its job beautifully. Have you ever noticed how Victoria's Secret Angels all look like they practically live on a co-op lesbian yacht in the South of France? They always have an angelic glow/tan that is healthy rather than fake bake, and their skin is always on point even before Photoshop. (Btw, bless Photoshop for their wonky crease-less knees and elbow joints, too.) For the most part, this is due to the witchcraft of bronzers with a hint of shimmer. When shopping for a bronzer, I usually gravitate to VS sales to stock up for the year. Their bronzers are always surprisingly top notch since makeup is not their specialty.

My go-to bronzer at the moment is Victoria's Secret's GLOW Pressed Mineral Bronzing Powder, available in 3 shades and retails for 16 dollars. My shade is Riviera, which accompanies light-medium to medium skin tones very well. They all have a yellow undertone and some warmth, rather than straying to an ash or cool tone. The quad has four shades that can be used separately (as highlighter) or together for an awesome glow (hur hur, hence the name.) The best part is, this product is so subtle that it's hard to over-do and can be built up. There is also another bronzer line that VS does, but it contains too much shimmer for my taste and would best be used as a straight highlighter, similar to MAC's Soft and Gentle.

 

 

You can see that the colors lean a little cool-toned or warm under direct sunlight. You also can't see the shimmers unless you look very, very closely.

My husband noticed that my skin looked "radiant." Little did he know...

Before bronzer, I always like to have the rest of my face, eye, and lip makeup on first. This way, it's easier to gauge how much product is needed. I often pair a bronzed face with minimal or neutral eye makeup and a soft nudey pink lip so that my complexion takes the spotlight.

When applying a powder bronzer, I use a denser but fluffy face brush, like Sigma's F40 or powder brush and swirl in into the product. I then focus the product on the highest point of my cheeks, across the bridge of my nose, and straight onto my forehead. I also apply any left over product onto my chin and down the sides of my vocal cords (LOL, this sounds awful but it does slenderize your neck.) The effect you're going for is how your face would look on a print ad of glamorous women on boats. Please note that this procedure is completely different for applying contouring products. You could possibly take it on the edges of your hairline or under your cheekbones, but I'm not a fan of the look. Sparkling hairlines are so not vogue.

After the initial application, I like to take a clean face brush and blend/buff everything out so that there are no noticeable lines or demarcations. That's it!

I love using bronzers to warm up a foundation shade that's a tad too light, or just to warm up my complexion in the wintertime. While I adore a porcelain skin look in the winter, the dry air often sucks up the hydration on my skin and makes it look dull and flat. Bronzer often takes this away, and if done right, shouldn't be obvious in the least bit.

For a matte bronzer that also works as a natural contour, I recommend Urban Decay's Naked Flushed palette. Another great bronzer is any from the Physician's Formula line. For a high end pick, I would go with NARS Laguna. The most important part isn't the price point, but how finely milled their shimmer particles are. We don't want obvious chunks of glitter now do we?

That's all for today. I hope you guys found it helpful!

Be

First Look | MAC MUFE NARS

Summer is here! I do have a few items from a recent haul to show you, and since these are mostly new to me, I'd like to also give you my first impressions of the products.



This is my small after-vacation haul. I planned to pick up a few thicker opaque concealers for dark spots, as I don't have dark circles unless I have been up for 2 days straight. Even then, I am fortunate enough to not deal with severe raccoon eyes. I do have Maybelline's Age Rewind concealer in Medium, but I suspect it is for undereyes as the formulation is not as creamy and stay put as I like for acne scars and blemishes. I also picked up Makeup Forever's Aqua Rouge out of curiosity and their iconic HD Foundation in my summer shade. Lastly, thanks to recs from essiebutton, I decided to give MAC'S Crosswires a chance.





This is MAC's Studio Finish concealer in NC30. I like that it's in a pot, but this could get unhygienic very quickly. The color match is spot on, the formulation is thicker than cake batter, and it seems to cover everything with ease. This retails for 18 dollars.





Next is NARS's Radiant Creamy Concealer in Ginger. The lighter choice seems like a perfect match for NC25, but I already have a concealer for the winter. This color is also a great match for NC30-NC35, and I believe it can be used as both an undereye or blemish concealer. The formulation is a creamy liquid that is not too thick and spreads easily on the face. The doe foot applicator is precise, and the packaging is very purse friendly. This retails for 28 dollars. Yikes!





This is Crosswires from MAC. Yowza, it's a bright watermelon pink! I expected much less pigmentation from a Cremesheen formula, but it's a pleasant surprise. This color fares better alone on the face, being much more pigmented and brighter than I thought. It retails for 15 dollars.





This needs no further introduction; it is Makeup Forever's HD Foundation in N123. I am usually N120 in the wintertime (for NC20 to NC25) but I needed a much darker shade for my new tan. 123 actually looks much darker and more golden than 127 while they are the same shade. I would say this fits an NC30 to NC35. I have had a great experience with this foundation especially for photography. It is a thin formula with medium coverage and long lasting capabilies. Sadly, it retails for 42 dollars.







Lastly, this is MUFE's Aqua Rouge in 18. I would say that this is the high end equivalent of the drugstore color/gloss duo pens. However, the gloss is very hydrating and essentially seals in the color for hours. My one gripe is that the product smells like artificial lychee glue. Nasty. On the positive side, 18 is a wonderful coral-orange that is lovely for summer. This sucker lasted through a meal at a burger joint. And if you know me, I don't eat my burgers like a lady. If you want long lasting shine and color that won't dry out your lips, this is absolutely wonderful if you can stand the smell. This retails for 24 dollars.

That is it for my first look post, I hope you found it helpful. If you would like an in depth review on any of the products above, please leave a comment and let me know!
I also have made a recent, mind BLASTING discovery and would love to share that with you if you're interested. It involves a very inexpensive brush...

Anyway, have a nice days guys! I'm back to packing my things for a move to LA and donating old clothes/shoes to Goodwill. I'm not sure if anyone wants to take my makeup, but I could have a blog sale if that's a way to get rid of the clutter.

Bye!

Review: Revlon Colorstay

Is the Revlon Colorstay foundation a hidden holy grail, lying underneath piles of rubble?

If you know anyone in the beauty blogging world, either on blogs or Youtube, you have probably heard of the drugstore Magna Carta known as Revlon Colorstay. When I first tried it out, I was NOT impressed. Why? It's thick. The color match was horrendous. Every shade suited for NC25 was too pink toned or seemed ashy on my skin, making it look like a horrible and flat mask. 

I picked up the shade Golden Beige in an earlier haul as a last attempt of saving humanity's faith in drugstore foundation, and it seemed to fail me yet again. I had thought this shade would be a great match for my summer tan (around an NC35 to NC40). Wrong!It was much too light. This is when I should've realized that it would be a perfect match to NC30. I didn't. Instead, I shoved it into my "excommunicated and ugly foundation pile", never to be seen again.

Now in the summer heat, my skin is a definite poster child of combination oily. My T-zone, and especially my nose, isn't responding well to liquid foundations that have a satin or dewy finish. Two hours after makeup application, I look like I've been snorkeling in a sea of grease. Gross. Meanwhile, my matte finish powders are too dark. Therein I thought to myself, I should invest in Makeup Forever's Mat Velvet and solve this awful problem!

Then my wallet cried, and I said, "Let me look instead to my pile of cast-off foundations to find something that controls oil."

Oh yeah, I have Revlon Colorstay. Isn't it touted as the HG affordable solution for oily skinned girls?

I gave it a try again, and it matches PERFECTLY with my NC30 skin. As the name suggests, its yellow tone matches to my face and neck with no issues.

Yes, it's thick. I use a very watery Beauty Blender and a very sparing amount of product, taking care not to spill the entire bottle out with each application. The finish in the first hour is definitely flat and doesn't pass for natural at all. By the second hour, however, my natural oil has seeped through enough to make it a beautiful natural finish with zero shine or slick. Wow! I'm guessing this is the goal of any other oil controlling foundation that is on the higher end, but since I am on a budget, this foundation is turning out to be a surprising (or not surprising) favorite of mine at the moment. I'm sure that when my tan comes through again, however, I will have to buy the next color up and risk hating this foundation again.

Verdict?

Pros:
- Oil control is magical. Blows my Studio Fix Fluid AND Powder out of the water. The only place that "glows" on my face right now is where I place my highlighter, not on my forehead or the creases of my nose.
- Cheap. And for the price, I think it probably does the same job as a higher-end product like MUFE Mat Velvet or NARS Sheer Matte.
- Needs very little product for full coverage. Goodbye, obvious zits and concealer!
- Water resistant, may I say waterproof. This baby doesn't budge with sweat and only comes off with some elbow grease and some oil based makeup remover.
- Natural finish with some aid from skin highlighters and natural oil.

Cons:
- Thick. I think it is very easy to go overboard and risk cardboard skin.
- Good God, why can't you include a simple pump? I feel like it's a life or death situation every time I pour some product on the back of my hand.
- Horrible, horrible, horrible color match for light-medium skintones with yellow undertones. I'm talkin' NC23-NC27. I've tried Sand Beige based on online recs and the color was still way too pink and ashy. As for NC30, Golden Beige is deceptively dark in the bottle, and you can't try it on in stores before purchasing. I'm not even sure what the color match for NC35 is, or if it even exists.
- Will this clog my pores? My skin is very resistant to allergic reactions from products, but I can't see this as healthy for every day use. It takes a lot of work to remove this foundation, and I wouldn't recommend to people who even occasionally sleep in makeup after a long night out.

Overall, I'm glad I saved 40 bucks from not buying a new foundation that controls oil. I wouldn't say that this foundation is amazing, but it is very excellent for the price point. My skin wouldn't like it in the winter, but for the humid summers, it stays on very well. This is a good option for those who are active, live in hot climates, and need full coverage (or are just plain lazy like me and hate multiple steps when applying skin correcting goop).

What's your take on drugstore foundation? Do you have a DS foundation that can beat out a high end one? Let me know!

Haul: Drugstore Lipsticks and Eyeliner

Hi guys,

Went over to Walmart today to pick up some toothpaste and 3 in 1 for the husband. Apparently, men can't take the extra time to wash their body and hair separately, much less condition it. Good thing the entire bottle (about the size of my forearm) was only 3 bucks. Maybe it's more cost efficient to shower like a man...

They were having a rollback on Rimmel lipsticks, and I was in need of a good drugstore red lippie. I picked up the very YT popular Rimmel Kate #1.

It seems to be a very vibrant red that isn't too light or vampy. I'm not sure if I can wear it in the summer however as i prefer my orange-toned reds for the heat.

The one above is from the same line, but number 6. I really dig watermelon pinks at the moment and since these Rimmel lipsticks were only 3.97 each, I had to get two. I did have to dig through a few to find one that was untouched, as these are sold without a seal. Really? You trust people enough to not open and swatch in store?

Revlon's "Love that Pink"

Rimmel's Moisture Delight in Violet Pop

I also picked up the two above to add to my pink/purple collection. Love that Pink seems very similar to Kate's #6, but just a tad darker. Violet Pop is a little grandma chic, but I think can be pulled off by ladies with darker skin.

Above is a swatch of all four, in natural daylight. (From L to R: #1, #6, Love that Pink, Violet Pop.)

I also picked up two liquid liners, one with a brush application by Rimmel and a felt tip by Maybelline, both in black. With the summer heat, eyeliner is all the eye makeup I want to wear!

I reserve brush tip liners for days where I have the patience of a saint, but the master precise looks very promising. The biggest thing I look for in a liquid liner is zero transfer onto the lids and thus, lasting quality. No liner looks good flaking off the lids!So, that's all for today. I will be back to do reviews for each brand's product later! Happy Hump Day!
-Be

FOTD: Milky Pink Lips

Happy Friday!

Today I am doing a FOTD that will incorporate my two new lip products that I recently hauled.

The first, shown on the left, is part of MAC's summer line, "Temperature Rising" complete with sulking model and glistening abs as part of their advertising strategy. I was shown a sneak peek at the counter, but only found their Lipglass "Liquid Passion" interesting.

You see, I HATE lip gloss. I don't like its stickiness, the shininess, the gloop that gathers around the mouth of the container, and most of all the hair to mouth attraction that gives me a long mustache. The list goes on. However, I've heard good things about MACs lipglasses and have always wanted a milky nude gloss to accompany my lipsticks.

The color payoff of this gloss is amazing! I didn't know it was possible for a lip gloss to be that pigmented and sheer out my lip color with such ease. Liquid Passion seems like a beige/milk gloss that makes my lips look pouty and full without venturing on fourth grade glitter gloss territory.

Liquid Passion is Limited Edition and is a tad more expensive than their normal lipglass pricing. I will do a more in depth review later.

The second color I picked up is a drugstore lipstick: Milani lipstick #14 in Rose Hip. This color is bright but not too bright and best of all, smells like Jolly Ranchers! It's very moisturizing on the lips. I would describe it as a bright pink that's very creamy in texture.

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When layered together, these two create a lovely pouty pink look that reminds me of candy or juice. I've created a FOTD look with the layered lip products and a very strong brow. The final look tutorial will be on YouTube within the week.

Products on the mug:Face: Studio Fix in C5 (Finally, I am tanner!)
Milani Blush in Luminoso
E.L.F. Makeup Setting Spray

Eyes: Aqua brow in 25
Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze
Maybelline Mascara The Rocket
Revlon Colorstay eyeliner in black and brown

Lips: Aquaphor
Milani Lipstick in Rose Hip
MAC lipglass in Liquid Passion

Trust me, this look takes less than 5 minutes to go and you look fresh and awakened from your vampire slumber enough to venture out into the summer sun.

What's your fav drugstore lipstick brand?

-Be

Haul: MUFE lipsticks!

Hello again!

Today was a really nice Sunday and after a raging party at Sun God, I decided to take a stroll around the mall....and took a straight path to Sephora.

You see, I've been researching and online swatch-obsessing over Makeup Forever's lipsticks for a while now and heard loads of great things about their pigmentation and moisturizing properties. I'm a huge fan of MAC lipsticks since they are just oh so collectable, but these MUFE Rouge Artiste Intense lipsticks come in 50 shades and three finishes! Since most of them are Satin, I knew I had to pick a few up just in time for summer. I managed to haul three shades that I know will be absolutely vibrant on my tanned skin. (Anyone remember that limited edition tanned Hawaiian Hello Kitty?)

The following lipsticks can be found at Sephora for 20 dollars a tube. Not bad for how highly reviewed it is online and how much you get in the bullet. It definitely isn't as cheap as a MAC lipstick, but they seem very collectible and according to urban legend, has even converted some faithful MAC lovers! I'm not a fan of the numbering system...it makes researching very hard to do!

The first color I picked up is MUFE #44, a deep red that looks a little Brad Pitt vampire lips in the tube but translates to a warm and slightly deeper berry red.

Out of the four red shades available in stores this shade was the best one for my tone and hair color. There are many more shades available online, but I couldn't find them all at the Sephora. I'm sure this one will do great on a night out and won't be too dark for the summer. This may be similar to my NARS Shanghai Express. (PS: great red for golden undertones....a little politically incorrect, but I'll take two.)

This one is MUFE #38. I may have a similar MAC lipstick, but this one is just too beautiful to pass up. Don't believe me? Google swatches of this color...especially all colors within the 32-39 range and your materialistic inner devil will urge you to go buy buy buy! I think this pink is appropriately nude enough without washing my tone out.

This last one is #39, one frequently reviewed online. A lot of online swatches shows it as this very intense orangey-coral color, but I assure you that swatched on the hand it is rather lovely and demure. I will see how it turns out on my lips.

I have MAC Ravishing, but as a Cremesheen formula I find that the color payoff is not as opaque as I want it to be. Also, Ravishing tends to point out every attractive lip flakes I have, thus making my lips a true to life rendition of red snappers at the fish market. I'm hoping this one will be moisturizing and more intense.

For more true to color swatches, check out KarlaSugar or JoeySpace. Bring napkins and be prepared to drool.

That's all for today, I'll be back later within the month to give you a review of each shade, its color payoff, moisturizing or drying tendencies, and wear time!

-Be

PS: Someone help me. I have an addiction and it's not as cheap as cocaine.