Marc Jacobs Beauty Le Marc Lip Creme Lipstick in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang 216 - Review and Swatch

I got this mini Marc Jacobs lipstick as either a free sample or with some rewards points. Damned if I remember. This mini is 0.003 oz. A full sized version is 0.12oz. and is $36 Canadian or $30 U.S.  The colour I have, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is described as baked rose. To me it's a muted pink red. This colour is very sophisticated and classy. What I like about it is that it allows you to wear a deeper coloured lipstick without the colour being in your face. Very work appropriate. I don't wear this lipstick enough and I quite like it. Please excuse the smudges on the tube below. I just saw them now.





When you put this lipstick on, it's very comfortable, moisturizing and nourishing. Your lips sigh as though they have just been given the ultimate pleasure and say thank you. It's such a strange sensation. You can't help but feel happy and not every lipstick can do that my friends. I would stress though that it would be a good idea to wear lip liner with this lipstick because I find it can fade on its own within 2-3 hours. The nice thing though is that the colour stays true, even when it fades. Marc Jacobs Beauty claims it will last up to 10 hours but I don't see how unless you don't eat or drink anything and stay perfectly still. That claim is a stretch at best. This is hands down in the Top 3 most comfortable lipsticks I have ever worn. Here is a swatch:

I would definitely repurchase and/or buy another shade. Despite it's habit of fading, when you wear this lipstick it just feels expensive and luxurious. It's vibrant but not shocking, the way a lipstick should be. This lipstick is definitely one of the best finds of the year for me.

By the way, isn't Kiss Kiss Bang Bang an entrée at the Cheesecake Factory? Or is that Bang Bang Chicken or something?

Packaging: 10/10 (cute tube)

Pigmentation: 8/10
Easy to Work With: 10/10
Longevity: 6/10
Texture: 10/10
Price: 8/10 (worth every penny though)
Ingredients: 7/10
Travel Worthy: 10/10
Attractiveness of Product: 10/10
Would I buy this again? YES, YES, YES!!!!!!!!!
Overall Rating: 9/10 

Makeup Geek MUG Eyeshadows in Baby Face and Motown - Review and Swatches

Baby Face and Motown are two of the newer eyeshadows that Makeup Geek has released in recent weeks. In the above picture we have Baby Face on the left and Motown on the right. Each Makeup Geek eyeshadow pan is $6.00 U.S. and you get 1.8g or 0.064 oz. of product.

Baby Face is described as very light brown with cool gray undertones and a matte finish. I don't see any brown here. To me it's a cream coloured eyeshadow with pink and grey undertones. It's Makeup Geek's Vanilla but less yellow, more bright and more cool toned. I find the quality of Baby Face to be better than Vanilla too - the consistency is creamier, softer and more pigmented. It really brightens up the lid. Baby Face applies easily, you don't need much, and has great longevity.

Here are the swatches! Baby Face is on the left and Motown is on the right. Baby Face is close to my skin tone as you can see. Damn, I need a tan.

I really love Motown, partially because I love purple eyeshadow. It's a nice rich, true dark purple. It is described by Makeup Geek as a deep eggplant purple with a matte finish. It does swatch a bit streaky as you can see. When blended out in the crease it does sheer out if you are not careful. I have heard that purple eyeshadows in general, regardless of the brand, have this issue due to the purple pigment. Nevertheless, Motown works great as an eyeliner, in the outer "v" or outer corner. I really like it. I wore it for 10 hours one day and it was still as vibrant as when I put it on. It applies easily and smoothly as a liner. It is a little dry to the touch but doesn't feel dry going on.

Packaging: 9/10   

Pigmentation: 10/10 Baby Face  7.5/10 Motown (sheers out in the crease)
Easy to Work With: 10/10 Baby Face  7.5/10 Motown (sheers out in the crease)
Longevity: 10/10
Colour Stays True: 10/10
Texture: 8/10 Baby Face  6/10 Motown (sheers out in the crease)
Price: 10/10 
Ingredients: 9/10
Travel Worthy: 10/10
Attractiveness of Product: 10/10
Would I buy this again? YES
Overall Rating:  8.5/10 Baby Face  7.5/10 Motown

Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion Sheer Hydration - Review

I have purchased a few Aveeno products over the years and generally I have liked them. I would buy them more often but most of them have a few not so great ingredients. Since I would be lathering a body cream or lotion all over my body, I am very cognisant of what I put on it. This particular Aveeno product, the Daily Moisturizing Lotion Sheer Hydration, has the best ingredients of all of their products in my estimation.

Unlike Aveeno's other body lotions and creams, this one is quite thin. Hence, sheer hydration. It is thinner than I was expecting. I don't find that it moisturizes as well as their other body products. It does an ok job on my body, but I really don't like to use it on my hands. I just find that my hands still feel dry shortly after use and kind of powdery and pasty at the same time. The product is fragrance free but I still smell a little something something. Nothing crazy though.

I plan on using up the entire bottle this winter, but I am not planning to repurchase. There are better products on the market for less money such as the Nivea Pure & Natural line.

Packaging: 8/10

Longevity: 6/10
Texture: 2/10 (feels weird)
Price: 7/10
Ingredients: 9/10
Moisturizing: 6/10
Travel Worthy: Not in this size
Would I buy this again? No
Overall Rating: 6.5/10

Bits and Bites

• I have some Makeup Geek eyeshadows up for review next
• Tons of eyeshadow palettes coming up! So many, so little time!

ColourPop Super Shock Shadow in I Heart This and Smash - Review and Swatches

With all of this talk about ColourPop the last several months, curiousity got the better of me and I put in an order a few weeks back. I bought 4 Super Shock Shadows and 3 Ultra Matte Lip products. Today, I am going to review 2 of the Super Shock Shadows that I bought. Each one is $5 U.S. and contains 2.1g or 0.07 oz. of product. I got a discount for being a first time customer so my whole order came in at $38 U.S. before shipping. For 7 makeup products, that is phenomenal! Shipping to Canada for this order was $12 U.S.

First of all, the products came in a very nice box with a handwritten note. Everything was extremely well packaged. Kudos to ColourPop for that. The eyeshadows come with screw top pots. They feel very sturdy and are not cheap at all. I will bet that the ColourPop stamp on top of them will chip off in no time. The ones on my lip products are already practically gone! I personally prefer a flip top lid or a magnetic one for my eyeshadows, but hey the screw top is more secure, especially when travelling.

On the left we have I Heart This. On the right is Smash.

I Heart This is a straight up glitter bomb. My swatches below do no justice whatsoever. I don't own any pigment or glitter that is as vibrant nor as crazy as this. I would recommend saving this for New Year's Eve, clubbing or Halloween. Where was this when I was clubbing??? Those days for me are long gone my friends. Anyway, I had the nerve to actually wear this to the supermarket and to the movies on two separate days. I have little shame, but few people would be willing to rock this in broad daylight. I paired it with a dark purple eyeshadow in the out corner and it looked good! I Heart This is described as a cool-toned silvery taupe with multi-coloured glitter. Very accurate description I would say. Considering it is a glitter eyeshadow, I was surprised that the product was so comfortable to wear. It didn't feel the way some glitter eyeshadows do, scratchy or sticky, on the lid.

All of the posts and vlog reviews that I have seen on these eyeshadows say the best thing to do is tap them or swipe them on your lids with your fingers. That sounded like finger painting to me. Not really my speed. I can vouch after testing these that using the finger method (that sounds rude doesn't it?) is really the best way to use them. Even when I use a synthetic brush, the payoff on my lids pales in comparison. It's really the finger or bust. Well, you know what I mean.

On the left is Smash and on the right is I Heart This.

I would say that I Heart This is a great product to use if you want to dress up any eye look and transform it into full on party mode. I wore this one day for 12 hours and the glitter did not budge, crease or fade in any way, shape or form. I did use an eyeshadow primer and a flesh coloured eyeshadow base under it. It was literally tap and go. These Super Shock Shadows would be great for travel, because you don't need to pack a brush. Personally, I am not crazy about finger tapping my eyeshadow on in general as there is only so much you can do with that - an all over wash of colour or as an accent on top of your lid colour. For these eyeshadows though, I can make an exception. I feel as I though I would need to be very careful with any further Super Shock Shadow purchases though because if I was going to use the colour as a say a crease colour, these likely wouldn't work well for me.

On to Smash. I have no idea why I bought this shade. Does that ever happen to you??? You plot out a purchase very carefully and then you totally forgot why you chose a certain colour. Smash is described as a neutral medium warm beige with a soft golden satin finish. I agree with that. This colour is straight up dupe for Maybelline's Eye Studio Colour Tattoo Bad to the Bronze 25. This colour too wore well for over 16 hours, stayed vibrant etc. None of these shadows blend well so you can't get too fancy with them and use other shadows easily.

The consistency of them is odd. They are slightly gel-like and compress really easily when you touch them. Don't expect the design on the product itself to last. They remind me of the Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blushes. Wow, what is with the Maybelline comparisons....interesting. The ingredients in ColourPop shadows are much better than Maybelline though!!!!

As I said, the swatches do not do these colours justice, especially I Heart This which is on the left.

Overall, I think you would be hard pressed to find another eyeshadow on the market this high quality for $5 U.S. Makeup Geek ones are just a hair more, and they blend. Just saying. There is something unique about these ColourPop numbers. I may buy more, but I will need to be choosy. I'll get back to you on that.

Packaging: 9/10   

Pigmentation: 10/10 (if you use your finger)
Easy to Work With: 10/10 (if you use your finger) 2/10 (if you use a brush)
Longevity: 10/10
Colour Stays True: 10/10
Texture: 10/10
Price: 10/10 
Ingredients: 9/10
Travel Worthy: 10/10
Attractiveness of Product: 10/10
Would I buy this again? I think so yes
Overall Rating:  8/10*

*I would have given a full 10/10 if they were blendable and if you could use a brush to apply them properly.

Givenchy Noir Couture Volume Mascara - Review

I got this mascara from Sephora as either a free promo or I used some rewards points. I don't remember. Nevertheless, it is a small travel sized mascara. I had never tried a Givenchy mascara before so I was looking forward to diving in and checking it out. A full sized tube is $37 Canadian (gasp!) or $33 U.S. for 0.28 oz. A mascara at this price point better wow me.

Okay, let's start with the good. I think the packaging is really nice - edgy. Props for that. The brush is kind of crazy, but it works. It's narrower at the top and fatter on the bottom. Picture is down below. I would say the brush works well and coats all of your lashes with little effort. The product is super thick and clumpy. I figured out how to roll with after a couple of tries. The colour is like black satin. In fact, the colour is called 1 Black Taffeta. I find this product to be very volumizing, which is it's claim to fame, but not much lengthening which is what I really want. I find my lashes feel soft and not crunchy all day after they dry which is nice. I haven't noticed any smudging or flaking with this product.

On to the not so good. This product dries super fast so it you aren't quick about it, you can kiss a second or third coat of mascara goodbye. It's super goopy as mentioned so you have to be careful and wipe the wand off every time you open it back into the tube. Because this isn't a lengthening mascara, that is the main reason I won't purchase one as it doesn't suit my needs. If you aren't fussed about length or price, this might be a good mascara to try.

Overall, I have to say that this mascara works a lot better than I anticipated it would. I don't have any plans to purchase one because it doesn't lengthen. Also, it costs $37 and that is a lot of dough for a product that only lasts three months and covers such a small part of your face.

Packaging: 9/10

Pigmentation: 8.5/10

Easy to Work With: 7.5/10

Longevity: 7/10

Texture: 10/10

Price: 5/10

Ingredients: 8/10   

Travel Worthy: 10/10

Smudge Proof: 9/10

Flake and Clump Proof: 5/10

Attractiveness of Product: 7/10

Would I buy this again? No, it's just not for me

Overall Rating: 7.5/10

Buxom Spolied Sexy, Jetsetter and Mink Magnet Eyeshadows - Review and Swatches

I am back at it today with more of the new Buxom eyeshadows - Spoiled Sexy, Jetsetter and Mink Magnet. I already mentioned this in my last Buxom eyeshadow post, but just to recap my thoughts on the packaging and the price:

All of the Buxom eyeshadows from this collection are well pigmented and are easy to use from what I have seen so far. The palette case that you buy for them is really sturdy and I would definitely consider travelling with one of these palettes. It is so easy to put the shadows into the palette and switch them out as often as you like. That is a big plus for me. I like options so a customizable palette is a big bonus for me. Perfect idea if you are travelling.

If you pick out six shades plus the palette, the set is $50 Canadian or $40 U.S. Each individual shade is $17 Canadian or $12 U.S. and if you buy the palette alone, it's $16 Canadian. To buy an individual shadow compact to hold 1 shadow is $2 Canadian. Obviously, it is a no brainer to buy the set of six plus the palette as buying 3 eyeshadows alone costs $51 Canadian.

Here is the link to my review on Champagne Buzz, Bold Bling, Star Treatment and Big Spender:
http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2015/10/buxom-champagne-buzz-bold-bling-star.html

Okay so here are the shades du jour. From left to right we have Spoiled Sexy, Jetsetter and Mink Magnet. Spoiled Sexy is described as a matte deep mauve. I would agree with that description. This shade is creamy, applies easily and is long lasting. I have no complaints. It's a solid colour.

Jetsetter is described as matte greige and that is fair. It's a very cool grey brown. I really like working with this colour. Close dupes would be MAC's Copperplate or MAC's limited shade in French Grey from donkey's years ago. I think Jetsetter is a touch more brown than say Copperplate. Ditto for this shade, it's creamy, smooth, blends well and is long lasting.

I got Mink Magnet as a small sample from Sephora. That or I used my rewards points. Can't recall now. It is super chunky and glittery. The texture leaves something to be desired. I had very little interest in this shade, but I decided to bust it out a couple of weeks ago. I was more than pleasantly surprised. Mink Magnet is described as metallic bronze. There is something milk chocolate and kind of pink purple champagne about it. I am normally not into this type of colour, but I can tell you it is gorgeous. It applies easily and the pigment is fantastic. I find it lightens up a bit on the eye and blends in a bit better after maybe 30-60 minutes on the eye, on its own. Scary. It lasts 16+ hours. This is one of those shades that works as an all over lid colour and it looks like you busted your chops doing your makeup that day when all you did was swipe the damn thing on! I would definitely pick this colour up in a full size.

Swatches! Left to right is Spoiled Sexy, Jetsetter and Mink Magnet.

I think these shadows are neat and the whole packaging/marketing thing is brilliant. The colours stay true and I would say they have good longevity. I have six more these Buxom eyeshadows to test and review. So stay tuned!

Packaging: 10/10   

Pigmentation: 10/10
Easy to Work With: 10/10
Longevity: 10/10
Colour Stays True: 10/10
Texture: 10/10
Price: 10/10 (if you buy the set of 6 incl. palette)
Ingredients: 10/10
Travel Worthy: 10/10
Attractiveness of Product: 10/10
Would I buy this again? YES!!!!!
Overall Rating:  10/10*

*I don't know if this is a 10/10 product as I don't feel that in love with them. Yet, I cannot find a damn thing wrong with any of these four shadows per se. They check all of the boxes.

It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Corrector in Light - Review and Swatch

I've had this product in my stash for a little while. I bought it at Ulta during one of my trips to States. It is $29 U.S. and the jar contains 5ml or 0.17 oz. worth of product. The jar itself looks like it holds a ridiculous amount of product, but when you hold it up to the light, you see it has a huge false bottom.

I bought the shade Light at the urging of one of Ulta's salespeople. She said Medium would be much too dark for me. I am one of those firm believers that simply lightening the undereye area with a product that it the same shade or lighter than your skin tone doesn't work. You need a peach based or darker shaded product. Especially, if they are deep blue black vortexes like mine. My opinion anyway.

While "Light" does match my skin colour, I find it looks ashen under my eye. I really wished that I would have opted for Medium. Here is the swatch with it swatched on the left and blended out on the right:

This product doesn't crease under the eye even after 18 hours of wear! So that's impressive. I can still see the product on at the end of the day, so it doesn't disappear on you. As I said, I just wish I had chosen the Medium shade. I wear this on days I am wearing my glasses to work and I am ok with the colour not being the best as you can't see it much, but this shade wouldn't work for me if I wasn't wearing my glasses.

The product feels a bit like a gel and it is very comfortable to apply. You don't need much application wise. A nice inner cap is in it to help keep it fresh. Please don't mind how dirty it looks. It's been well used.

The colour Light looks dark enough in the jar, but it applies much lighter on the skin as shown in my arm swatch above.

Would I buy this again? Yes, but in the Medium shade. Heck, maybe if I mixed the two shades, perfection might be born! This product gets full kudos for being long lasting, comfortable, natural looking (minus the shade oops on my part), and being crease-free. I also think it's good value for your money as you need so very little and I have barely put a dent in the jar after months of using it. 

Packaging: 8/10  (I like the colours but the letters are chipping off and there is a huge false bottom)

Pigmentation: 7/10 (swatches lighter than it looks)

Easy to Work With: 10/10 

Longevity: 9/10

Texture: 10/10

Price: 10/10 for what it is

Ingredients: 10/10

Travel Worthy: 6/10 (it is a bit bigger than it needs to be)  

Attractiveness of Product: I'll back to you when I buy the Medium shade

Would I buy this again? Yes

Overall Rating: 8/10 for Light (rating for Medium will be pending)

October 2015 Empties!

We have to talk. I have so many empties this month, I have to tell you about them asap so that I can recycle some of this stuff! Without further ado, let's get to it.

Nivea Pure & Natural Body Lotion Organic Argan Oil is good stuff. This may have been my third bottle. I already have a fourth bottle and I am looking to buy a fifth. It isn't the greatest cream in the world, but when I use something else, I miss it. Full review: http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2013/10/nivea-body-milk-pure-natural-review.html

Savon a L'Ancienne Extra Pur Marseille "Verveine" or Liquid Marseille Soap "Verbana". I love these hand soaps and Verbana is one of my favourite scents. I have bought a number scents over the years and this is simply my favourite hand soap. The scent I have right now is not so good but the quality of the product remains stellar. I seem to be only able to find this at Marshalls or Winners.

Wen Sweet Almond Mint Cleansing Conditioner. Another one bites the dust. I've mentioned before I have a cupboard full of this stuff as I am on Wen's mailing list. I really like this product but I get bored of it sometimes. Also, my ends really need more conditioning than this provides so I switch it up with other products as a result. Full review:  http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2012/11/wen-by-chaz-dean-sweet-almond-mint.html

Wen Sweet Almond Mint Anti-Frizz Styling Crème. This was my second to last tube. It works sometimes for those in between days (in between curly and straight) but overall it doesn't give me the hold and control I want and need. I got Wen to stop sending me this product months ago. Doesn't appear I have ever done a full review on this.

Clinique Makeup Brush Cleanser. I used to really like this product before I discovered the Beautyblender Blendercleanser Solid. Now I can't even look at an alcohol based liquid cleanser anymore! It did work decently though.
Full review:  http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2015/04/beautyblender-blendercleaser-solid.html

Clinique Smart Custom-Repair Serum. I really liked this salmon smelling serum. I find it did work well on my uneven skin tone. This was my second bottle. I would repurchase but I have gone back to my Origins Plantscription as I want to figure out which one I like better. Full review: http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2015/07/clinique-smart-custom-repair-serum.html

Bumble and Bumble South Surf Spray. I had a love/hate relationship with this product. I was so happy to finally finish it! I loved what it did, but it was so drying to my hair! I have high hopes that new Bumble and Bumble Surf Infusion will be the answer to my prayers. Wow! I just realized that I have never done a review on this product. I will try to do a smackdown blog post when I get the Surf Infusion.

Gehwol Med Salve for Cracked Skin. This stuff stunk like you wouldn't believe. Worked very well except for the greasiness and the stench. It smells like old lady ointment. This actually works better than my tried and true L'Occitane Dry Skin Foot Cream, but the Gehwol is just a pain in the ass to use. I may repurchase one day though because it works like nothing else.

Wen Sweet Almond Mint Re Moist Intensive Hair Treatment. You really need to use this product in conjunction with the Wen Cleansing Conditioner. I get so lazy though. It works, but not well enough that I would repurchase. It can weigh my hair down and still not be as conditioning as I would like. I say this and I still have a few of these in my cupboard. I did get Wen to stop sending them to me several months ago so I need to get rid of them. Holy cow, I have never done a proper review of this either it appears!

L'Occitane Dry Skin Foot Cream. Love it, already repurchased. Full review: http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2013/07/my-new-favourite-foot-cream-loccitane.html

YSL Yves Saint Laurent Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils. Total rubbish. Did nothing for my lashes. No where as good as the YSL Babydoll mascasra. I didn't like the ingredients either and it dried up fast. It has to go...in the trash. Full review: http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2015/10/ysl-yves-saint-laurent-mascara-volume.html

L'Occitane En Provence Shea Butter Ultra Moisturizing Lip Balm. It was ok, but no where near as good as Burt's Bees or the Bite Agave Lip Mask. I only had a travel size. Will not repurchase. Full review: http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2015/09/loccitane-en-provence-shea-butter-ultra.html

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner. I love this product. It may be my favourite liquid eye liner. I am having it duke it out with my Kat Von D Tattoo liner right now. This was a small travel size and it lasted me seriously for months! Didn't dry out fast like MAC's version. You've got to try this! Full review: http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2013/08/stila-stay-all-day-waterproof-liquid.html

Estee Lauder Double Wear Zero-Smudge Lengthening Mascara. I always go on and on about this product. Probably this was my 7th or 8th tube. Great for work, doesn't smudge. I only wish it gave more length and a little more volume. Still, very happy with it. Already repurchased. Full review: http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2013/02/estee-lauder-double-wear-zero-smudge.html 

Caviar Cream 10-in-1 Complete Correction. I wish this was more a serum or gel and not a lotion. I only use it on my ends occasionally as it's expensive and I don't find it does much in my hair that isn't my ends. Not sure if I would repurchase as I have found other things I like much more.  Full review: http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2014/09/alterna-caviar-cc-cream-10-in-1.html

Living Proof Perfect Hair Day. Love this....a holy grail. Going to repurchase as soon as I finish this post. It's everything. Full review: http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2015/04/living-proof-perfect-hair-day-5-in-1.html

November looks like it may be an empty heavy month too so stay tuned!