Maybelline Colour Whispers

I've never really been a fan of Maybelline products, they've just never really worked for me. Every foundation I've had from them, be it liquid, powder or mousse, just didn't seem to sit right on my skin. Their blushes felt quite pitiful and good god, their lipsticks were unearthly frosty on me. But I was in the city and had time to kill, so of course, into my local priceline I go.  Maybelline released a new line of lipsticks called colour whispers, and due to my previous experience with somehow chalky lipsticks by them, I was a tad bit apprehensive. Though, I had heard not quite hype, but a number of good things and pleasant experiences regarding these lipsticks, so what they hey, I swatched a couple in store and fell in love.

Left to right: petal rebel, who wore it red-er, la la lilac

Petal Rebel (60)

The first one that caught my eye and the first one that I swatched. Originally, I only grabbed this one, but after applying it on my lips on the train (don't judge me here, the train was near empty) I thought this line of lipstick would be a desirable addition to my collection and headed back after I finished to gather a few more. Pink rebel is an almost pastel, blue-toned pink. Maybe what you could call a baby pink but not quite as light. This one will make you look very youthful and really brighten up your face without being too overwhelming.

Who Wore it Red-er (45)

Can't go pass a wearable red lipstick and this is exactly that. It's leaning a tad bit towards the rosey side of red rather than orange red, so looks very sweet like you've been eating berries. I would have preferred if this was a tad sheerer, but really then, I would have just gone for a tinted lip balm.

La la lilac (90)

And this shade is the one that stayed in my mind that I had to go back for and get. I don't know what it is about purple, lavender and lilac lipsticks that intrigue me so, to be honest, they sometimes look a bit out of place on my very yellow-toned skin, but there's something so attractive about them. This one is just as wearable as Petal Rebel, leaning almost to the pastel side but not quite. The stain that the lipstick leaves, however, some might find a bit odd. But applied in it's fullest opacity, you can look damn stylish.

Left to right, without flash: petal rebel, who wore it red-er, la la lilac

Same, but with flash

These finishes are very reminiscent of the lip butters by Revlon. The slightest bit sheer, but very smooth and easy to wear. I guess Maybelline might make it back into a brand I would like to venture, but I'll have my guard up. These lipsticks, however, are very worth the "risk", and while the lasting power isn't super great (maybe an hour or two before it gets that dry feeling of a lip balm wearing off) it does leave a lovely stain on your lips, even for the lighter colours like Pink Rebel. I will say, though, that I am not a fan of the packaging. The cellophane like colour-coordinated cases appear to me as a bit tacky, but I do love the tubing itself.

Overall, I was quite pleasantly surprised with these lovely lipsticks. They're just so easy and wearable, perfect for everyday and to get a bit of colour in a bare face.

Skincare baby haul

I just couldn't help myself. I went to pick up my contact lenses today and thought, while I'm here, might as well pop into Priceline to pick up a dye set to refresh my hair. Turns out, I was a day too early for my hair dye (20% is starting tomorrow for Solfine), but I was just in luck to browse the 40% all skincare and my eyes zoned in on a few products.

The first thing I came across was the ever-popular nanoblur by Indeed Laboratories. I have not really looked into this much, but the claim is that it's so amazing, one is sold every nine seconds in the UK. Which, fair deuce, if something gets enough hype, yeah, it's going to sell. So I thought I would give in and give it a go. I may be young, but I love smooth skin and would do an immense amount to achieve it. In the same section, I was considering the eye cream by the same company, but decided I needed to finish my current one (okay, two) first. So my eyes trailed over to hydraluron. I can't quite remember whether it was a video or a blog, but I remember someone saying that they applied this under their makeup and it worked wonderfully as a moisturizing primer. Due to it being winter, I'm getting a bit of case of the dehydrated oilies on my T-zone, so I'm hoping that this product will give it a bit of pep. And finally, as I was wondering around the aisles, wondering what else I could possibly add that I also didn't need, I saw a single shelf of La Roche-Posay products. I've heard this brand mentioned a number of times, but again, have not really looked into their products; I didn't even know that I could purchase them from Priceline. So I picked up the one that I've heard of most about: Effaclar Duo. I thought that this was a product pretty much just to help sensitive skin, which intrigued me, but as I read the packaging of the product, I had to have it, considering "corrective and unclogging anti-imperfection care" and all. 

So far, my first impression of La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo is that it smells... herbally. I have not tested this on my face as of yet, but the product is an almost-clear gel that feels very smooth when blended into your skin (at least on my hand). I've got high hopes for this product, corrective, anti-clogging AND anti-imperfection? This baby better live up to its hype. Especially considering on the back, this product is for "skin with severe imperfections". Tear. 

Okay, biggest claim out there, "look up to 10 years younger in 40 seconds" given by nanoblur by Indeed Laboratories. With that, you would assume there are some silicones in there, and, I checked, yes, there are. So who knows whether this is just superficial and won't do a whole lot in the long run. But if that's the case, it would probably at least smooth out your face a bit, maybe acting as a primer...

...Which is why I purchased hydraluron, also by Indeed Laboratories. This one is a "moisture booster with the purest hyaluronic acid" which basically translates to increasing the hydration in your skin as hyaluronic acid can hols up to 1000 times its weight in water. It seems a bit of a pain to have to do a couple layers of moisturizer in the morning, though I love the finish it usually gives me; hopefully this product will knock out a couple steps and keep my face fresh all day long. We'll see.

But for the time-being, I thought I would include a little demo of using nanoblur. I just had to test it out as soon as I got home. A little tip that I learned from a Benefit sales assistant, was when trying some product that is to smooth out your skin, apply it on the (wrinkly) skin between your thumb and forefinger. Most people are unlikely to have wrinkle around their wrist or the top of their hand, which is where swatches are generally done, so this is an effective way of actually testing out the smoothing claims of the product.
 

Before. No Product.

Little dab of nanoblur

Blended in. After.

Soooo, I am quite pleased with this texture. So smooth, so easy to absorb, and just based on the hand test, it seems to work pretty okay as you can see in the pictures. The name is very telling, it quite looks like it blurred the lines and wrinkles. Can't wait to test this out on my face, just curious as to whether this will have a long-term effect.

And that's my little skincare haul for the day! I should probably stop spending. Coming up soon. 

Tantalizing glow

I absolutely love bronzer. It might actually surprise some people that know me that I am actually a lot paler than what I appear to be; I just happen to wear bronzer everyday. I have quite sallow skin in my opinion, and I always need a tinted moisturizer or a bronzing product in order to perk my face up and maybe not look so ghostly. Despite already owning a number of beloved bronzers, I decided I that the Lorac TANtalizer® Baked Bronzer would be a wise addition, which I attained with purchasing the Lorac TANtalizer® To Glow Go Collection.

 

In the kit, the baked bronzer is about half the full size at 0.35oz, but still a nice hefty amount. Absolutely beautiful marbling of gold shimmer, bronze (of course) and thin veins of rich brown, this applies on the face quite sheer for my NC25-30 skin. It adds just the right amount of bronze and shimmer to make your face glow. I like to apply this high up on the sides of my face, just under where I place my blush, but not quite in the contour zone, and perhaps the greatest thing about this bronzer is that you can wear this bronzer alone.

Left to right, without flash: heavily swatched, single swatch

Same, but with flash

In the swatches, it looks quite pigmented, but I feel that this could work for quite a few different skintones, even those that are exceptionally light. I usually apply this with a very fluffy blush brush rather than a big bronzer brush so I can put more of the colour concentrated on my cheeks and then spread out the left over product on my forehead and rest of my face to give a nice overall glow. This bronzer comes in a number of sizes, the full size is 0.624oz, the "medium" size from the set is 0.35oz and Lorac even offers a mini size at 0.06oz, so depending on your preferences of bronzer use you can choose the size to suit. I think this bronzer is a definite addition to those that not only like bronzer, but those that feel they want a bit of colour in their face as well as a healthy glow. It's a very wearable and easy bronzer and definitely one of my favourites. 

MAC lipstick collection

My MAC lipstick collection is slowly, but steadily ever-growing and perhaps I now have just enough to make a blog post about it. I remember getting super excited/nervous when I approached the MAC counter in Myers, ready to purchase my first MAC lipstick, all I knew was the general shade of lipstick I wanted and the finish. But ever since then, I've been enamoured with MAC lipsticks (and MAC in general, I've never once had a bad experience), usually asking my dad to pick up a product or two for me while he's over in the States. I think acquiring your first MAC lipstick is kind of a moment in anyone that's interested in beauty's life and it's just so wonderful all the options that MAC offers, not only with the colour selection, but also the finish and just generally good quality.

Arranged by finish: matte, satin, amplified creme, lustre

left to right: ruby woo, russian red, cherish, brave, cyber, cosmo, morange, plumful

First four

Left to right: ruby woo, russian red, cherish, brave

Last four

Left to right: cyber, cosmo, morange, plumful

Ruby Woo (Matte : "Vivid brightly coral red")

I got this shade as a gift from my sister-in-law when she went to Malaysia last year. This one has a very strawberry feel to it and it looks wonderful on my NC25-30 skin. Super pigmented, though it a matte finish, so it can be a bit drying, but it lasts quite a long time, (might even stain some lips) and really pops. I reckon this is a very good winter shade.

Russian Red (Matte : "Intense bluish-red")

One of the first lipsticks I asked my dad to get me from the MAC counter in the US. I could not decide whether I wanted Ruby Woo (which, as mentioned above, I received it later on anyway, thanks, Ash!) or whether I would play it slightly safer with this one. Who knows why I thought this one was safer, but I loved (and still do love) this gorgeous red shade. This one looks brilliant with a coat of orange gloss on top, more cherry coloured than strawberry. 

Cherish (Satin : "Soft muted peachy-beige")

Ah, this is the very first MAC lipstick I ever attained. I really just went up to the counter and looked around at the lipsticks for a bit before a lovely sales assistant offered me a hand. I just told her I was looking for a neutral lipstick in a satin finish, and she immediately picked out two. The first one she tried on (I didn't grab the name of it) was a tad bit light, but she then tried out Cherish and I was in love. It was just what I was looking for. It's a satin finish so not quite as drying as the matte-finish lipsticks, but you'll still have to keep your lips damn moisturized before applying this one. Still one of my favourite lipsticks to wear, it bears the slightest pink/mauve tone to it. The sales assistant also applied this with an orange toned lipliner underneath to give it a more coral feel and that worked wonders too. 

Brave (Satin : "A muted pink-beige with a very subtle white pearl overtone")

I think this may very be my favourite lipstick. Well, at least for the time being (perhaps will make an appearance in my July favourites). I like wearing this lipstick for a nice, polished, everyday look. I don't know why, but this lipstick feels less drying than Cherish despite them having the same finish? I don't know, maybe I just like to apply this one a bit more often. This is a very neutral lipstick with a nice subtle pink (the "white pearl overtone" brightening it up a bit too), I'm considering purchasing a similar shade to Brave but in a lustre finish. 

Cyber (Satin : "Intense blackish-purple")

Now this one was a very coveted purchase. I dearly wanted a black lipstick, well, just cause. I was curious. But I thought black might be a tad too harsh especially with my slight tan. So I opted for the next darkest shade that MAC could offer me, and boy. Does this ever look clean. Because it is such a dark lipstick, it's better to apply this with a brush to get a super clean line and probably not for daytime wear, at least not to work. I also like to apply this after I put on a clear gloss to give my lips a bit of pout, darkness and dimension. 

Cosmo (Amplified Creme : "Pink Coco")

This is probably now my least worn MAC lipstick. There's something that just doesn't jive with my skin tone, maybe a bit too pink, maybe a bit too brown. It's pretty much the description of a "pink coco". I will say that I do love this finish though, super pigmented and moisturizing at the same time, my lips don't crack and you don't have to reapply this sucker a lot at all. 

Morange (Amplified Creme : "Loudmouth orange")

I, too, was caught up in the obsession with orange lips and desired this shade so badly. I couldn't wait when my daddy got back from the States so I could test this mother out. Unfortunately, with my pigmented lips, it turned a bit red on me, so it made an orange-red, rather than a true orange that I was hoping for. Still, this lipstick is an eyecatcher and great to wear out especially for weekends and at parties. 

Plumful (Lustre : "Blossoming rose-plum")

I think that lustres may be my favourite finish ever, even though I only have one! I couldn't resist jumping on the bandwagon and grabbing this shade after seeing this Essie Button video, she even says that everyone else was enticed by it and had to go out and buy it (glad I'm not the only one). I don't even know how to describe this lipstick. MAC has it pretty down with "blossoming rose-plum", but there is something special about this lipstick, and what with being a lustre finish, like Essie said, it's very easy to wear. Am so going to have a further look into lustre finishes. 

Left to right, no flash: ruby woo, russian red, cherish, brave, cyber, cosmo, morange, plumful

Same, but with flash

Left to right, with flash: ruby woo, russian red, cherish, brave

Left to right, with flash: cyber, cosmo, morange, plumful

Almost, but not quite filled up my lipstick organizer (by Model's Prefer), it won't be long until it is, though - I've already got in mind a number of lustre-finishes and amplified cremes. Might even branch out into glazes if a certain shade peaks my interest. Overall, MAC is a good step into easing your way into the higher-end cosmetics. Great quality, not too expensive and a very expansive range, any level of those interested in beauty can delve into MAC cosmetics. 

*Descriptions of lip colour taken from MAC website*