Estee Lauder Pure Color 01 Vanilla Pods Eyeshadow Duo - Review and Swatches

I have wanted this eye shadow duo for a couple of years now. I saw it at the Estee Lauder/MAC sale back in the Fall so I snatched it up. I think I paid about $14 for it. It normally retails for $36 Canadian or $30 U.S.. The eye shadow on the left looks like a shimmery cream sand colour and on the right is a sparkly taupe pewter colour which has notes of silver, brown and purple in it. I wore the left side one day on its own with some black gel liner and it was a big bore. Looks matte and not a good matte! There was nothing interesting or unique about the colour. I thought the quality was so-so. It wasn't chalky but it also wasn't soft nor silky to the touch.

When I wore the two together, with some black gel liner, the result was much different. I sometimes find that some eye shadow duos, trios or palettes have colours that only work with the accompanying colour(s). On their own, they aren't always the cat's ass. That is certainly the case here. These two work perfectly together and are very complimentary of each other. This eye shadow duo would probably look good on almost anyone. It looks like expensive makeup when it is on. It is very classy and sophisticated looking.

While I think $36 is a lot for a duo, you get a lot of product in this palette. Both eye shadows are 0.12 oz. or 3.5g total. Both colours are very pigmented and a little of this product goes a long way. It will likely be an eternity before I hit pan on this one. These colours would also work with almost any outfit. The colours are super easy to apply and it's difficult to screw up a look with these two. If you had to travel for a couple of days, were pressed for time and didn't know what makeup to take, I would just pack this with some eyeliner and mascara for the eyes part of things. A total no brainer. My only complaints about this duo is the price and the fact that I think the sand colour on the left could have better texture. These are long wearing shadows though, creamy and are both well pigmented. Here are the swatches:

 

 

Packaging: 10/10  

Pigmentation: 10/10
Easy to Work With: 10/10
Longevity: 10/10
Colour Stays True: 10/10
Texture: 6/10
Price: 6/10
Ingredients: 7.5/10
Travel Worthy: 10/10
Attractiveness of Product: 10/10
Would I buy this again? Yes
Overall Rating: 8.5/10

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette - Review and Swatches

This blog post has been a long time in the making! I bought this palette back in October and I am only getting to the review now. Crazy! Hourglass came out with this palette in the Fall, just in time for the Christmas Season. I am sure it was sold out before Christmas. I snatched mine up while I could. This palette was $67.00 Canadian (ouch!) and $58 U.S. You get 3 of the famous Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders - Dim Light, Incandescent Light and Radiant Light. Incandescent Light was a limited edition shade, but the other two are permanent.

Each powder is 0.116 oz. or 3.3g. The full sized powders are $52 Canadian or $45 U.S. each and are 0.35 oz. each. I like the idea that I got to try out 3 powders without shelling out $156! I don't think I would have shelled that out. Maybe over time, but not at once! Okay, so where should we start? I liked 2 of the 3 powders very much - Incandescent Light and Radiant Light. Incandescent Light is basically a highlighter. It is gorgeous! You need very little to see an effect on your face. I think I am still applying too much. When light hits your face it's "wow". The amount I have in the palette will last me forever.....

From left to right we have Dim Light, Incandescent Light and Radiant Light. Radiant Light is also gorgeous and is the best of the three. You could wear it alone as a bronzer. It is shimmery so you wouldn't necessarily want it as a contour colour. You can seriously layer Radiant Light over any blush or the blush over Radiant Light if you prefer, and it's instant va-va-voom. Very St. Tropez. Look out J. Lo. A beautiful sun-kissed glow on your cheeks every time! While you shouldn't be heavy handed with Radiant Light, it is not a heavy colour or mega intense, so this is a great product for beginners who are getting used to bronzer if you can stomach the price tag. Even if you don't apply it 100% evenly, it still looks good.

This picture looks a bit creepy.....from left to right Radiant Light, Incandescent Light and Dim Light. Then below on my arm in a different order - Dim Light, Incandescent Light and Radiant Light. All three powders are finely milled and soft. I do understand the fuss over these puppies.

Dim Light. I have used this repeatedly and it just isn't for me. It's too dark to use as a face powder. Makes me look like George Hamilton. Some of my younger readers might not get the joke. Just google his name if you don't get it. Dim Light does seem to blur or mask skin imperfections, but it is just too peachy beige for me and makes my skin look thicker??? It's not a good look for me. It holds up all day by the way, they all do. Maybe I need to try Diffused Light or something. So I recommend two of three. I realize one is a limited edition colour - sorry! However, I believe Luminous Light, which is a permanent shade, is similar.

Since the palette is gone...if you want to try out one of these powders in the full sized format, I would say get Radiant Light. Second choice, get the Luminous Light. Maybe they will bring the palette back one day? I will likely buy a full sized other coloured powder at some point from the line, I am just not yet sure which one. Any suggestions?

Packaging: 10/10

Pigmentation: 10/10
Easy to Work With: 10/10 
Longevity: 10/10 
Texture: 10/10
Price: 6/10
Ingredients: 7/10
Travel Worthy: 10/10
Attractiveness of Product: 10/10
Would I buy this again? Yes
Overall Rating: 9/10

Tangle Teezer The Original - Review

I have something slightly different for all of you today. It's a hairbrush. Yes, these are exciting times my friends lol. I picked this up at Target on a trip to the States back in November. I have naturally curly, frizzy hair. Sometimes when I get out of the shower, I have a full on rat's nest on my hands. I also don't have a lot of time to fuss with my hair most mornings. I have been using a detangling comb from Sally Beauty for the past few years. It works decently, but I wanted something better.

I have seen a lot of knock-offs of this product lately in a rainbow of colours. It doesn't look like it would be rocket science to replicate, however, this hairbrush appears to have patents in full force. It says on the package that this brush has won The Queen's Awards for Enterprise: Innovation 2012. The brush was made in Great Britain if you hadn't already guessed. I think I paid about $10 U.S. for this brush.

The first few times I used this I thought "Meh, it's ok" but after 3 times or so I got the hang of it and I was able to comb out my freshly washed hair in record time - maybe under 2 minutes. It really works! My only beef with this product is the so called "ergonomically designed" for a "palm friendly, non-slip fit". What a lark! I have yet to use this brush and have it not at least once fly completely out of my hand and across the bathroom. Thank God I haven't broken any tiles or my mirror yet. In the interest of full disclosure, I have fairly large palms but short fingers. Does that sound hot or what? My point is that perhaps this brush was designed for people with longer or regular length fingers. I can barely wrap my hand around this thing! So maybe the problem is me.

Sorry about the stray hair or two. I did my best to clean it out before I took the picture. This brush works in both dry and wet hair. I recommend it, especially if you have nice, long piano playing fingers. I am not sure how to rate this so I will give it an overall rating of 9/10.

Josie Maran Argan Lip Treatment - Review

This is the cutest lip chap/balm/treatment jar ever.......I really wanted to love this and was hoping that it would be my holy grail of lip balms. It wasn't. I am sorry but it's awful. I expected much better than this from a Josie Maran product. A youtube guru that I follow said this stuff was the bomb and that she loved it. Since I have been having on and off lip issues for a while, I thought "what the heck, maybe I will love this". I didn't read the Sephora reviews before I bought it and I now kicking myself.

It appears that you either love this lip treatment or you hate it. I am in the latter category. It just doesn't appear to work for some people like me. As soon as I put it on, I feel it sliding off of my lips and going south to my chin. It will not stay on my lips no matter what. If I put it on and lay down it slides up, sideways, you name it. I have used a little at a time and I have used a lot at a time and it doesn't matter either way.

 

 

I like the smell though. Some people think it smells like melon, but it smells a bit like strawberries to me. I also find that sometimes my lips are in worse shape after I use it (within 20 minutes) than they were before I applied it. This product actually chaps my lips. I feel the skin hardening. I am really hoping that I will have a better experience with this once the summer comes. Maybe this doesn't work for me because I am in a cold climate???? But if it slides off, I can't imagine it would work better in a warm climate???? Sigh. Maybe it doesn't work for oily skin types? I don't know. If anyone has any insight into this product and the type of people it works for, please let me know. I am mystified.

 

This is $23 Canadian. Not cheap. It's $18 U.S. I should return it to Sephora, but I have really dug into it as I used it a lot in the hopes that I was losing my mind and it really worked. No cigar I am afraid my friends. It feels good as you are applying it but then the feeling is gone as soon as you remove your finger from your lips.

 

Packaging: 10/10 

Pigmentation: N/A 

How Does it Feel On: 1/10

Longevity: 0/10

Texture: 0/10 (It's like water when it's on, just slides off)

Price: 4/10

Ingredients: 10/10 

Travel Worthy: 4/10 (I just don't like to take things in my purse that I have to stick my finger in to apply)

Attractiveness of Product: 0/10 (disappears upon application) 

Smell and Taste: 8/10

Would I buy this again? NOT IF YOU PAID ME

Overall Rating: 2/10

 

**Product Update 10/23/2014 - this product ended up redeeming itself a little please see my updated blog post http://mymakeupissues.blogspot.ca/2014/10/two-products-that-i-have-changed-my.html 



Makeup Geek Eye Shadows in Duchess, Creme Brulee and Frappe - Review and Swatches

I recently purchased two new eye shadows from Makeup Geek. They are Crème Brulee and Frappe. Jaclyn Hill on YouTube was extolling the virtues of these two and of course they looked fabulous on her! You should check her out if you haven't already. Anyway, I figured I had a million eye shadows just like those two, but hey for $5.99 U.S., I thought "what the hell?". I really, really like them, but I will get to that in a sec.

I discovered a few weeks ago, much to my horror, that I had a Makeup Geek eye shadow still in the package in a box that I was throwing out! Ahhhhhh! How stupid of me. This is what happens when you own too much makeup my friends. The colour is Duchess which is a royal violet colour. I have to say that I think I like this purple the best of the Makeup Geek purples. The colour isn't chalky, is well pigmented and blends well. It's also the nicest purple they have colour-wise in my opinion.

Okay, back to the other two. Crème Brulee is the one on the top row next to Duchess above. Crème Brulee is described as a medium sand colour. I think it's more like a peach sand colour. Looks great in the crease or blended in with a darker crease colour like Frappe. Crème Brulee is a warm shade. It blends well, has decent pigment and is actually a bit different from other similar colours that I have in my collection. A pleasant surprise!

Here are the swatches (L to F - Duchess, Crème Brulee and Frappe):

On to Frappe. It's a medium maple brown matte. I love this colour! It is more cool toned, which is right up my alley. It reminds me a bit of MAC's Wedge, but Frappe is more of a Satin and is a bit warmer. Dare I say, it is more pigmented than MAC's Wedge.....may lightning strike me now.....I think I will be using Frappe in the crease for a classic look on a go forward basis and I will put Wedge on the back burner. Yes, I like it that much. I still love Wedge though, but Frappe is cheaper and a bit more bold yet still subtle, if that makes any sense.

If you don't have Frappe or Crème Brulee, you need them. It's that simple. These two would definitely be on my Top 10 Makeup Geek (MUG) eye shadow list if I were to do it again. Duchess is nice, but is not a must have.

Packaging: 10/10  

Pigmentation: 10/10
Easy to Work With: 10/10
Longevity: 10/10 Crème Brulee and Frappe   8.5/10 Duchess
Colour Stays True: 10/10
Texture: 8.5/10
Price: 10/10
Ingredients: 9/10
Travel Worthy: 10/10
Attractiveness of Product: 10/10
Would I buy this again? Yes to Frappe and Crème Brulee and a Solid Maybe for Duchess

Tarte LipSurgence Lip Creme in Admired - Review and Swatch

This colour is described by Tarte as a sheer merlot. I think it is more on the plum brown side than merlot per se. It doesn't appear to be available on Sephora.com but Tarte sells it on their website. I bought mine from Hautelook when they had a Tarte sale. I don't remember what I paid but I think it was less than $10. What a deal! This retails for $29 Canadian.

This lip tint is super moisturizing. I have a matte one that is crazy bright, but this Admired is a super subdued colour. Right up my alley. I like sheer deep colours if that makes sense. Nothing to heavy, but nothing nude. It's sheer and totally wearable. I used this a few times quickly a couple of months back and then I recently brought it out again. It's a very "winter" colour as far as I am concerned but you could wear it anytime. My lips are singing when I wear this. Super comfortable especially in this wretched polar vortex business that is still going on. I find the colour is quite long lasting. Even after you eat, there is still some on and the colour is still there, not an ugly stain like some lip stains or lipsticks. I wore this to work today and I think I only touched up twice and I had a 12 hour day from door to door. Most impressive. Totally recommend this. Here is the swatch:

 

 

Packaging: 8/10

Pigmentation: 10/10
Easy to Work With: 10/10
Longevity: 10/10
Texture: 10/10
Price: 7/10
Ingredients: 8/10
Travel Worthy: 10/10
Attractiveness of Product: 10/10
Would I buy this again? In a heartbeat
Overall Rating: 9/10



MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Stereo Rose - Review and Swatch

I missed picking up Stereo Rose the last time it was out a few years ago. I had been kicking myself ever since, but lo and behold it was repromoted recently in the MAC A Fantasy of Flowers collection. It is $35 Canadian and $30 U.S. I think that is pricey, but these Mineralize Skinfinish products last forever. You get 9g or 0.32 oz. of product.

This product has virtually no smell. I am really loving using it. It is described as a coral with golden/bronze shimmer. I think this might be better for me in the summer when I have a little tan, but heck it looks decent now too. I think a natural blonde or redhead could really rock this colour if they have a nice honey complexion.

The formula is really smooth and silky. Glides on easily. Blends easily. There is nothing bad I can say about it!

 

Here are the swatches. If you have been thinking of picking this up, run, do not walk to your nearest MAC counter before they are gone. I believe they are not yet sold out online which is great!

 

 

 

Packaging: 10/10

Pigmentation: 10/10
Easy to Work With: 10/10 
Longevity: 9/10 
Texture: 10/10
Price: 7/10
Ingredients: 8/10
Travel Worthy: 10/10
Attractiveness of Product: 10/10
Would I buy this again? Yes
Overall Rating: 9.5/10