Divine Night Mineralize Skinfinish

To be honest, I wasn't too impressed by the Christmas range that MAC was releasing for the 2013 year. I thought maybe an eyeliner, a lipstick or two would be all that I would get from the entire line (not even the bags or kits really screamed out to me), but as I went into David Jones the other day before work, I swatched the gaudy-looking Mineralize Skin Finishes from the Divine Night range, and ooh. My interest was captured again. 

I actually wanted the shade Perfectly Poised, which gave this nice gold sheen with a pink reflect, super pretty shade. But unfortunately, David Jones had sold out of that one, so I went across the road to Myers... Where they also happened to be sold out, and where the lady then started to try push all these other products on me. To which, I decided that Scene to Be Seen was actually quite nice too... And they had sold out of that at Myers as well! Why did she up that particularly product to me when it was also out of stock? And then she started to push other products on me too, that weren't even remotely related. I tailed it out of there saying I had to head to work, and thanked her for her help (why did I thank her). Anyway, I actually went back to David Jones to see if they had Scene to Be Seen in stock, and they did and they were lovely, and this is why I constantly choose to go to David Jones over Myers. But either way, I was able to grab Scene to Be Seen (and later noticed that Perfectly Poised is in stock online, so might pick that up later too... It was just so pretty!), which is described as a mauve with a pink sheen/brick rose with gold reflects.

left to right, without flash: inner part, outer part, mixed, blended

With Flash

I would describe this as quite the plum-toned Mineralize Skin Finish, but a mauvey-pink is quite accurate. I love the result that you get from blending this out on the skin, the pink and gold shimmers look absolutely wonderful, especially on my medium toned skin; and, I assume, as my skin will tan a bit more with the warming weather, this can give that ethereal look. This can be built up to be used as a blush too, but that will take about four layers or so, as this blends like a dream on the skin. I think one of the nifty things about this Christmas range of Mineralize Skin Finishes is that there are essentially three options of shades: the inner part, the outer shell, and mixing it together.

I've never owned a MSF before, and I can really see the appeal of them now. They're so smooth and finely milled, it really adds a nice touch to the skin at the end. This shade is probably best that it came about in the holiday season, I don't see much opportunity to wear this (although I probably will, screw "appropriate" makeup), it will really look nice to give that sun-kissed glow, so that's a nice addition to a summer tan or that "festive cheer" you get from a little bit of bubbly.

Veluxe Pearlfusion in Greenluxe

I never used to be such a fan of eyeshadow palettes. I preferred my individuals, but as I'm starting to accumulate more and more makeup, why not save a bit of space and purchase a palette? I was so keen to get my hands on the Veluxe Pearlfusion Palettes by MAC, they looked just so goshdarn pretty and different to all the other shadows I've ever owned. I mean, I've never really been too big a fan of shimmery eyeshadows, but something about these palette screamed special to me. So much so, that I ended up purchasing the smokeluxe palette while waiting for my mother to return with my first requested greenluxe. And boy was I right to wait for greenluxe; it is quite possibly the prettiest palette ever.

Firstly, I love the packaging, of course. It's the usual MAC palette packaging with the clear front and the magnetic closure; but I really like how the colours are separated into shimmer strips (akin to that of Bobbi Brown) yet are separated by a thin line of plastic. Some people have said that it's difficult for them to get their brush in, but so far I have had no problem, although I do use smaller brushes to accommodate my smaller sized eyes. I was so intrigued by the greenluxe palette, simply because of the nice cool tones and the slightest pink/green tint to it. Pretty much because I thought it contained cute and pretty colours, nevermind that it might not "suit" my skintone too much. I make it work.

All of these shades were a lot more shimmery than I was expecting, I mean, they're veluxe pearl, but at least two of these shades are definite glitters. The lightest shade looks pink with a silver shimmer that turns more silver on my eyes (removal of the pink). The second lightest shade appears to have a green tinge in the pan, but when swatched, it's basically a very pretty, very smooth multicoloured glitter; the photos don't really do it justice as it looks amazing in person. The middle shade is a satiny-taupe colour, good for an all over colour to bring a bit of life to the eyes (I'm also assuming that's what was in mind considering the size of this shade in comparison to the others). The next shade is the darkest in the palette, being a deep brown with gold/green glitter in it. It was a bit hard to swatch this one, and needed a bit more effect to get the colour payoff shown. The last shade is akin to that of club eyeshadow or blue brown pigment, where it is a brown base with a blue/green duochrome. Glad I had this palette which saves me from purchasing club. 

While it probably is that I won't get the most use ever out of this palette, it is quite a good one for the holidays coming up, what with all the shimmery shades; although, I could probably at least use one shade a day in any look to add a bit of pop to my eyes. It really is one of the prettiest palettes that I own, and definitely one of the most unique, so I'm quite glad that I was able to get my hands on it. 

Priceline 40% makeup haul

Well, well, well. It happened to be perfect timing that I was just in the mood for picking up some new eyeliners (god, I just HAD to watch Charlotte Tilbury's cateye video, didn't I?) and after swatching some high-end pencil liners that are said to be waterproof like Giorgio Armani Smooth Silk Eye Pencil and NARS, they fell flat. Well, they smudged all over, rather. I'm not a big fan of drugstore, but when my favoured Illamasqua Medium Pencils have been discontinued, I decided to get a selection of pencils for cheap, rather than shelling out for a high end one that doesn't seem to fit the bill.

Priceline happened to have a flash sale (yesterday and today only), where all makeup was 40% off. I might have heard good things about Rimmel Scandaleyes but that smudged like crazy (like, seriously crazy) on me too, so might as well go back to the tried and true: Revlon Colourstay range. Admittedly, I haven't tried anything from them, but after all the talk of that range being holy grail for some, no hurt trying, right? I also thought back to how that liquid liner I had by Bourjois just seemed to last and last on me, even more than my other favoured liners by K-Palette and BYS. Considering how pleased I've been with the other products I've tried by them, why not? And let's throw in a mascara by them too for good measure. And, hey, 40%, might see what else catches my eye, like the raved-about Maybelline Age Rewind Concealer and that cream eyeshadow brush I've been wanting by Model's Prefer that never seems to be in stock when I want it. 

left to right, before: colourstay, clubbing eyeliner, kohl and contour, sourcil precision

smudgey smudgey

My main criteria for pencil eyeliners is smudgeproof (and hopefully waterproof alongside), basically it just needs to stay put and for a long while too. So the Revlon Colourstay Eyeliner seemed pretty promising and the Bourjois Clubbing Waterproof Eyeliner joined in. Bourjois also offered a 16 hour pencil, their Kohl and Contour pencil, which seemed quite dry in-store (which I quite like because it could mean a longer lasting time). My eyebrows have been out of whack, and I liked the texture of the Sourcil Precision so I felt this would be alright to try out too. I was a lot more surprised and impressed by the Colourstay, they didn't have a tester in-store, so I only got to try this when at home. It almost instantly "stains" the skin, so that's promising. The Bourjois are better than other eyeliners I've tried, but we'll see how smudgey it gets on the eyes.The eyebrow pencil is quite a bit darker on the face than the swatch, but a light hand and a lot of brushing through helps; I'm still getting used to it either way.

I've only had one Bourjois mascara in the past, and not only was it quite impressive on my less-than-impressive eyelashes, but it was waterproof and smudgeproof too (I don't think that was part of it's claim though, so an even bigger bonus). There were so many mascaras on offer, it was hard to pick one. I was considering the "fan" one, all of them offered volume, one even rotated! But, it was getting closer to the time to head to work, so Clubbing mascara it is, I liked the liner, and it's what made me consider to look at Bourjois, so might as well get the matching mascara. I used it this morning and it's quite volumnising, but not too lengthening. I love the goopiness of the mascaras I've tried by them either way. 

The Maybelline Age Rewind Eraser: Dark Circles is said to be an amazing, natural-finish yet a good coverage concealer for under eyes. I got this in the shade medium and tried it out this morning, and so far, it's okay. Pretty okay. Definitely pretty good for a drugstore (to be that person), but my other concealers that are highend like MAC and YSL just seem to work better on my skin. I do like the sponge tip, but it still might be a bit harsh for the thin skin around the eyes.

There's a couple good brushes that Model's Prefer offers, they're quite good priced too, and I think fare a lot better than the other brushes that are available. This cream eye shadow brush is a fairly dense brush, slightly domed on top, but flat as well. Just a little better than your regular eyeshadow brush, but the size is really fantastic, especially for smaller eyes like mine. 

Not too bad a haul, at all, right? Of course, after getting home from work and reviewing my purchases, you can't help but always want more. A shame that my boyfriend feels uncomfortable buying me makeup, but Christmas beauty kits are slowly becoming available, so there's hope!

Em Cosmetics Beach Life Palette: Cabana Party

And so it comes down to the last (well, rather, first) quadrant of the Em Cosmetics Beach Life Palette which features a selection of pinks and browns. It doesn't really scream out Cabana Party" to me, but I didn't really know what to expect considering the previous quadrants, with a giant bag of hit and mix.

I swear, I should not have expected much from the highlight shade. Seriously, if 2/3 of the previous highlight shades were terrible, you would assume based on probability that it would be just as terrible. And yeah, it was. The next two pink shades proved quite pigmented and mostly smooth too, the deeper pink shade a bit more chalky. Then the next neutral matte wasn't too great, but I'm thinking that Em Cosmetics just does not fare well for mattes. The only thing that's been decent is the satins, but you can't just make a look out of satins, right? The grey matte shade was pretty bad too, but the brown was a bit better, although not quite so matte so my theory holds true. 

The lipglosses/lipsticks in this quadrant were quite a bit of a nicer surprise, they were pigmented and smooth, although they still had that sticky feel to it. The darker pink shade leaves a deep pink stain onto your lips which I find to be quite attractive, perhaps looks better than the "stained glass" look of the lipstick itself.

The blush is quite nice as well, it doesn't have any glitters or is overly shimmery, maybe just a slight satin finish, but it is mostly matte. It's quite the pigmented blush too, but seems to pretty much blend out. So that's not really the best type of blush, but it's pretty enough... Still probably not the right shade for my skintone - just a slight bit too deep I think.

Without Flash

With Flash

Applying the eyeshadows on the eyes were pretty much the same pigment, I would recommend using a natural fiber brush rather than a synthetic brush just so you can get more punch out of the shadow. I quite liked the formation of shadow in the Cabana Party look, possibly one of my favourite looks given out of the Life Palette. Though I will say I don't really know when that light shimmery mauve toned pink shade would be used (maybe on the lower lash line for a pop of colour?). 

The blush applied as I thought it would, overly pigmented but still blended away so I don't know what to think of this blush besides... Cheap.

The lipgloss was pretty okay, but, again, I prefer the stain over the actual product itself.

Before

After

This is pretty much the epitome of the palette, where the shades are half there, the other are a surprising shade and the blushes could go either way. The lipglosses however are different in this quadrant, in that they are quite pigmented, but I think you could tell from looking at them in the pan. They still maintain the same stickiness of the other glosses and don't have much of a longevity. The combinations of the colours in this quadrant was quite nice however, the pinks look fantastic on the eyes and go well with the deep browns. The lipsticks and blushes leave something to be desired in terms of the overall style. But this quadrant really is a summation of what you would expect roughly of the palette. 

Em Cosmetics Beach Life Palette: Summer Getaway Look

The second last quadrant to be reviewed of the Em Cosmetics Beach Life Palette is filled with promising neutral bronze-y shades, as one would expect from something called a Beach palette.The previous two quadrants reviewed (Sunshine Lover and Poolside) had a mixture of hit and miss shadows, with Poolside being more successful in quality. Unfortunately, the quadrant today performed very poorly.

I swear this picture looked better on my camera

My god. This look like some nice neutral-ish  shades that can even be built up to make a party look, right? Righhht? Yeah. I was heavily disappointed when I started swatching these eyeshadows. Almost all have close to no pay-off and don't feel smooth at all. The peachy golden shade was a nice surprise, just in terms of the colour, I was expecting a duller colour looking at the product in the pan, but it turns more golden and satin-y when swatched. The medium bronzey brown shade (middle left) was probably the smoothest shadow, but the pay-off was the same disappointment.

The lipglosses (lipstick?) were super sticky, the same as the others. And they are quite shimmery, but the colours themselves are pretty nice. Once the majority of the product has faded or wore off (which is actually quite quickly), there are traces of gold sparkle left which gives the lips a nice sheen. 

The blush could possibly be the redeeming point of this palette. This is really smooth, nicely pigmented and has a nice sheen to it that adds a glow to your face. I think this is my favourite blush so far out of the entire palette (I mean, there are only four, though, but still). It's a peachy shade, but not too much glitter or sparkle, perhaps you could call it very smooth, even shimmer? I'm not even usually a fan of peachy blushes, but this looks nice and quite subtle in a good way on the cheeks.

Without Flash

With Flash

I wasn't expecting much from this palette quadrant when applying, based on the swatches, but, as usual, they did perform better on actual application. The shadows are just a slightly more pigmented version than the swatches, but most of them are pretty much accurate in their relation to each other (if that makes sense, the more pigmented swatches are more pigmented on the eyes than the less). The satin peach shade was used as a base and that's pretty much the best shadow that applied on the eyes. The rest were pretty much less average to average. And, in previous, while the colours matched well in the given look, the gold colour just didn't seem to fit to me as an inner corner highlight. Blending a bit on the browbone was pretty okay, but it just seemed a bit of a stretch.

The lipglosses were sticky on the lips as I expected and lasted not long at all, maybe about half an hour to an hour? Just a clear gloss with a bit of shine is all it is really.

The blush was fantastic as I was expecting, and it does apply quite sheer on the cheeks. But you can build it up and it doesn't look patchy, though it gives a nice slight sheen on the cheeks. It goes quite well with my NC30 skintone; I don't really see this shade working too well on lighter skintones, although it could perhaps work as a highlighter for deeper skintones. It's not too shimmery too which I like about it.

Before

After

I stand by comments earlier in this post: this quadrant is the most disappointing in this palette. The quality is just not there, the pay-off is very lacking and the shadows are hard as anything. The lipglosses are sticky and the longevity is pitiful. Again, the only redeeming factor could perhaps be the blush. It's smooth, with a nice finish and a gorgeous colour for medium skintones. I can slowly see what I would actually be using and what will take more work, so the travel palette would work out nicely to choose out the pans that will actually be worth it.

The underrated Chanel blushes

My, my, you say you're a blush fanatic? Well, sorry (I'm not sorry), you don't know blushes until you've tried Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blushes. As much as I love cheek products, there's not much hype over the ones by Chanel, but mostly what I've heard is that they're quite underrated; most people preferring to pick up the (slightly) less expensive NARS or Tarte. But I've owned both NARS and Tarte blushes, and while I do quite enjoy Tarte with a light hand, I've never quite been able to pull off any of my NARS blushes properly. In fact, dare I might say that I find them to be overrated. Either way, a few weeks ago, feeling in need of a pick-me-up, I thought I would listen to that ebbing of try out the Chanel blushes, you'll be pleasantly surprised, and off I went to Myer to pick up two from the Chanel counter, a pretty pink shade in Rose Initiale (72) and a more everyday, nude shade in Espiegle (65). 

rose initiale

espiegle

Rose Initiale (72)

A lovely slightly blue-tone pink, I can see this shade working on a number of skintones. On the cheeks, it's a lot more subtle than it looks in the pan, but these blushes are easily buildable or you can have a gentle flush. It's the type of shade that looks like you're actually blushing, rather than having, well, blush on your face. I'm not the type to wear this pink blush everyday, but the season is right for it, so I've been a bit more rosy than usual. I haven't tried the included brush, instead prefering to use a soft stippling brush to apply it; these blushes do kick up a bit of dust, so a firmer brush would be a bit harsh. Oh, and it smells like roses! I wasn't expecting that, but it's not too overpowering, only when you actually go in for a little sniff of the product.

Espiegle (65)

This blush I've been wearing a lot more often, as it is quite the nude/neutral everyday shade. It looks a bit frosty, a light orange-y shade, but don't let that alarm you. When applied, it adds a nice touch of subtle colour to your face, with a gentle, overall glow. No frosty, orange cheeks in sight. You would think that this blush would be harder to pull off than the Rose Initiale, but I absolutely love it, and it looks wonderful on my slowly tanning skin (approximately an NC30). This is a really good shade for Summer coming up (well, considering the weather, it might as well already be), perhaps I might use it more as an illuminator when my skin deepens further. This blush also smells like roses, but, and this may just be me, maybe not quite as strong as Rose Initiale. 

left to right, without flash: rose initiale heavy swatch, rose initiale blended, espiegle heavy swatch, espiegle blended

With Flash

Sunlight

God, don't those colours look so pretty? I know arm swatches can prove quite different on the face, but these are so easy to apply and blend out, there's no way that you can look clownish with these. I think my favourite thing about Chanel blushes is that, somehow, they just have a very flattering way of making your skin glow. As the weather is warming up, I'm finding that I'm starting to get a bit more shiny, not oily, but a little more than I would like, yet these blushes look wonderful with a slight dewy finish. From what I've heard, there are two formulations of this blush (one in the circle pan like I've got, and a square pan in Europe, though correct me if I'm wrong), with one being softer and the other, obviously harder. I'm not entirely sure which one I got, but these are smooth and lovely, they may kick up a bit of dust, but not too much, either way, they apply beautifully.

I can see myself getting good use out of these blushes, considering the use I'm getting out of them currently. They are just so easy to apply, and, oh, do they add that nice healthy glow to your face. I'm slowly delving into Chanel products, but I have not been disappointed so far, truly what a luxury brand should be, I think. 

I purchased these Chanel Joues Contraste powder blushes from Myer for AU$71 each. 

The Lush Life

Now it's quite well known that I am a fan of MAC lipsticks considering my ever-growing collection. It's strange that I've never really looked into the Mineralize Rich Lipsticks, possibly due to the range of colours? But I asked my mum to pick me up one from the states, landing on Lush Life for my dip into the Mineralize Rich Lipsticks. 

The shape of the tube flares out at the base and the top too, it has a metallic closing rather than a click like the regular lipsticks. You also get 4.04g in comparison to the 3g of the regular. The bullet itself is also differently shaped, it's not quite so rounded at the tip and a bit more angular; I personally prefer the regular shape because I've gotten so used to it and I think the shape helps application but the new one is a bit tricky. The scent is the same usual vanilla scent.

left to right, without flash: heavy swatch, blended swatch

With Flash

I'm not sure whether this was limited to the one Mineralize lipstick I got, but dang, dare I say that this is the perfect formula? It's so creamy, but doesn't bleed, it's super pigmented but not too heavy or sticky either, and it's definitely not drying. Just perfect. The shade I got, Lush Life, is an amazing cool toned plummy-red colour, which would be good for the Christmas season. It gives a bit of a stain on the lips too, but I'm guessing it has something to do with how deep this shade is, rather than a characteristic of the Mineralize Rich lipsticks, but I haven't tried any of shades from this range. The only complaint I have is the shape of the bullet, but if you're careful, then it shouldn't be too hard to apply cleanly, a lipbrush would definitely help. 

I think this lipstick formulation could be holy grail for me. So perfect, pigmented, creamy and light on the lips. The bullet could be better formed, I mean, even the packaging itself could probably be better, considering the odd shape (it doesn't quite fit in my lipstick holder either). But it is quite worth the price, considering the amount of product you get as well as the quality. 

This product can be purchased from the MAC Australia website for AU$46, and in the US for US$22.