Makeup Geek MUG Eyeshadows in Poison Ivy and Envy - Review and Swatches

Yes, I am at it again with the Makeup Geek (MUG) eyeshadows. I have to get through all of the ones I have as I have promised you guys a best and worst list before the end of the month. I better get cracking!

For those of you who read my last post, you will know that I have been less then thrilled with the MUG green eyeshadows. Well I have good news. These two - Poison Ivy and Envy redeemed the MUG greens. At long last. These two are gorgeous. Poison Ivy is like golden moss green. This is the perfect colour to blend out Envy. I didn't think I would like it, but I do. I don't have anything like it in my stash. Please see the swathes below. Poison Ivy is on the left and Envy is on the right. Both are extremely well pigmented and my swatches do not do them justice as the flash was used here.

Envy is the perfect dark, midnight green. It looks magical. Both colours are very creamy and are easy to work with. They blend well and you need very little on your brush. These are not at all chalky like some of the MUG eyeshadows are. As you can see, I bought Poison Ivy in the compact because they had ran out of them in the regular refill pan. They are $5.99 each (just the pan, not the compact). Both of these are solid colours. Poison Ivy is supposed to be a near dupe for MAC's Sumptuous Olive. I don't have that MAC eyeshadow so I am afraid that I can't comment on the validity of that. In the swatches below I have Envy on the left and Poison Ivy on the right to give you a better idea of the pigmentation.

 

 

Packaging: 9/10 (compact looks a bit cheap but the pan refill is 10/10 of course)   

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

Makeup Geek MUG Eyeshadows in Cosmopolitan and Sea Mist - Review and Swatches

Okay, before you ask, no, I did not wear these two colours together in a look. I had just worked with both separately over the weekend and was able to get an opinion together so I could do a review! I have a bunch of Makeup Geek eyeshadows still kicking around which I have not tried. What is a matter with me? I have gotten through most of them though and I swear that my list of the best Makeup Geek (MUG) eyeshadows (and maybe a worst list) is coming before the end of this month if it kills me!

So on to the matter at hand. On the left we have Cosmopolitan which is supposedly a dupe for MAC's Expensive Pink. I don't own Expensive Pink and never had so I am afraid I don't have a baseline to compare Cosmopolitan too. It's a rose gold colour which is all of the rage right now. I really like this eyeshadow and I have to say this is one of the best MUG eyeshadows. It will be on my best of MUG list. It's smooth, silky, blends well, looks great on and I have a feeling would look good on just about anyone regardless of their skin tone or colouring. I wore it with brown gel liner and it was "hot" I tell you. I bought this in the compact because they were sold out of the pan at the time. Also my big Z palette is nearly full so this was a good option. I can't think of one con or negative thing about this colour, it is really nice.

In the swatch above I have Cosmopolitan on the left and Sea Mist on the right. Cosmopolitan looks less orange on and definitely rose gold so the swatch does not do it justice on my camera.

So Sea Mist....where to start. Sea Mist is supposed to be a dupe for MAC's Aquadisiac. I don't agree on both the colour factor and the quality/texture factor. I love the name of the eyeshadow, Sea Mist, and in the pan it looks pretty. In reality, it's a bit blah and it's chalky. It blended reasonably but I found that the colour seemed to go on thicker in some spots and thinner in others. There were some minor fallout issues. I had to really get in there and blend. I think this colour may be best suited as a lower lash line colour when you have neutral makeup on to give a little "pop" of colour.

I have to say that of all of the colour ranges that MUG has put out, I really am not liking the greens and blues. I find they are chalky, aren't the easiest to work with and the colours are a bit bizzare and unflattering. If you are into wild looking makeup, you might like some of them, but to me, they are just out there. Many of the greens are warm greens and they make me look ill. Maybe it's my colouring, I am sure they look good on other people. They look awesome on the MUG website. I regret that I bought so many greens and blues. I do have another 3 green/blue eyeshadows of MUG's to try still so hopefully at least one or two of them will redeem my faith in MUG's greens and blues.

Packaging: 9/10 (compact looks a bit cheap but the pan refill is 10/10 of course)   

Pigmentation: 10/10 Cosmopolitan  6/10 Sea Mist
Easy to Work With: 10/10 Cosmopolitan  6/10 Sea Mist
Longevity: 9/10 Cosmopolitan  7.5/10 Sea Mist
Colour Stays True: 9/10 for both colours
Texture: 10/10 Cosmopolitan  5/10 Sea Mist
Price: 10/10
Ingredients: 9/10
Travel Worthy: 10/10
Attractiveness of Product: 10/10 Cosmopolitan  5/10 Sea Mist
Would I buy this again? Yes to Cosmopolitan and No to Sea Mist
Overall Rating: 10/10 Cosmopolitan  6/10 Sea Mist

Estee Lauder DayWear Advanced Multi-Protection Creme SPF 15 - Review

I must have at least half a dozen large samples of this moisturizer kicking around. I used it briefly a few years ago and thought that it was decent stuff. Now, I love my Dr. Hauschka Rose Day Cream, but it doesn't have SPF in it, which is actually fine with me. I don't think people should be wearing SPF moisturizers 24/7. I recently discovered that I was accidentally wearing an SPF moisturizer to bed...but that is another story which I will share with all of you at a later date.

Anyway, I was out in the sun a bit this summer and I decided I should probably be wearing a moisturizer with SPF in it during the daytime. Normally, I am not much of a sun worshipper so it's not a big deal for me to have SPF everything kicking around. I was going to run out and buy myself some SPF moisturizer when I remembered that I had a huge stash of Estee Lauder DayWear. So I saved myself some coin and cracked open a bottle of this stuff. I have to say that it is very good. It smells a bit of cucumbers and it's a light green colour so if you hate cucumbers, you may not love this.

I am actually not crazy about the smell of cucumbers, but this smell doesn't bug me. It's light and fresh and once it absorbs into your skin, you can't even smell it anymore. I find that the "green" colour helps to camouflage the red blotches on my face and the "green" just blends in with your skin. I also find that this cream really helps to keep my foundation in place and lasting all day long even when I skip the foundation primer. The jars I have are for Normal/Combination skin. You can also get one for Dry skin. The product is moisturizing, perhaps not the greatest in the world, but it does a decent job. My skin feels very soft when I use this. All around it's really good and I will definitely keep some around for when I do hit the sun. I have even used it on days when I didn't hit the sun much. Estee Lauder, you have pleased me once again.

A 1.7 oz. jar is $48.00 U.S. so basically it's likely around $55 Canadian. My samples are 0.5 oz. and up so thank you Estee Lauder, I won't need to shell out for more anytime soon. A little of this goes a long way. This is an award winning cream.

Packaging: 8/10 (glass would give this a 10/10)  

Texture: 9/10

Price: 8/10

Ingredients: 7.5/10

Travel Worthy: 10/10

Moisturizing: 8/10

Look of Skin: 10/10

Would I buy this again? Yes

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

Friday Fun - My Michael Kors Purse

Happy Friday and Happy Long Weekend! I thought I would do something  a little bit different today. This is my Michael Kors purse or handbag if you prefer. I got this last year in September at the Michael Kors Outlet store in Orlando when I went away for a cruise. It was a steal! I paid 30% of the sticker price. I guess it was considered end of season at the time, but I just kept it to use this past summer.

Those of you who read my previous blog post on my Coach purse will know that I am very hard on my purses and with a regular purse, I am very lucky if they last 6-10 months. As soon as I started buying Coach purses, that all changed. My first Coach purse lasted 3 1/2 years and I am retiring it now. It's a bit worn but it's still in one piece. I was concerned when I bought this Michael Kors purse that it wouldn't last anytime at all, but it is working out beautifully.

I have been using this purse non-stop for the last 4-5 months and it shows no sign of wear and tear. This is a quality made purse. I am impressed. The only thing I don't like about it is that it doesn't have a zipper close at the opening. However, it has a very sturdy rope drawstring handle which has a magnet to close the opening. It works well and so far nothing has fallen out. It's quite tight at the opening when it shut. Also the purse is so big that all of your stuff is so far down in the purse that it would be quite tricky for someone to pull something out without you noticing.

It also has a handy secret zipper on the side of the purse which opens to a long and decently deep pocket. I think this would be excellent for hiding a small wallet or valuables in especially when travelling. When worn on the right shoulder (the only way I can wear a purse comfortably), the zipper is on the part which is tucked under the front side of your underarm so you can keep a good eye on it. That is assuming that anyone even guesses that the compartment exists. I have spread open the zipper area so you can see it above. It's fairly hidden though normally.

In addition, this purse has an inside zipper compartment and 4 inner pockets for your cell phone, transit pass etc. Whatever floats your boat. They are super handy. The inside of this purse is mammoth. It's got room for a huge wallet, tons of makeup (hee hee), an umbrella, your lunch, a file folder, a notebook, a mid-sized dog and two cats. I am not kidding. Minus the cats and dog, I have easily fit all of the other items that I just mentioned into this purse at one time and still have tons of room to spare.

I have gotten so many compliments on this purse this summer. Strangers have stopped me and told me that they loved it and asked me which store I bought it in. I think I will be putting this purse away in another month or two and saving it again for next summer. I have a new Coach purse itching to be used....

Haul Time! Big MAC Haul!

I actually have done two MAC hauls in the past three weeks so I thought I would combine them and show you what I got! The first haul was innocent enough. I had some rewards points at the Bay so I got a sweet gift card with my points which practically paid for most of my first haul. In that haul I purchased the Brush Cleanser (I go through this stuff like water) and two eye shadows - Texture and Swiss Chocolate. You can't buy the pro palette refills at The Bay so I had to get the pots I am afraid. Free is free though and hey there's always Back to MAC.

While I was getting those three goodies, the MAC Artist talked me into going to one of their launches for the Indulge Collection. In exchange for spending a certain sum, they would do my makeup for me and show me their new products. I have never done that before so I thought "what the hell" and signed up. Needless to say I ended up spending more than the qualifying amount needed! This is not hard to do at a MAC counter!

 

I already had my eye on a couple of things so I figured that if I didn't like their new collection that I had lots of things in mind that I could buy. I ended up picking up the newish Pro Longwear Concealer in NC30, the MAC Eye Kohl in Smolder, the Lightful Marine Bright Formula Moisture Crème and two of the Indulge Collection eye shadows in Divine Decadence and Sex & The Oyster.

From right to left we have Sex & The Oyster, Divine Decadence, Texture and Swiss Chocolate. There are better shots below. I promise to swatch these for you soon when I get to a review.

The MAC Artist that did my makeup showed me some good products that I was not aware of (how unusual) and she showed me a new look and some techniques so it was worth my while to go. However, the overall look she gave me didn't thrill me and I immediately thought when I looked in the mirror that I could do a better job myself at home. Is that terrible to say? When I got home, my husband gave me a strange look and said and I quote "you never do your makeup that way" and basically inferred that I do a better job. He hated the bronzer she used on me. Tee hee. I have zero professional makeup artist training by the way. I don't claim to be a guru but I usually know what I can get away with on my face and what is not so good. 

I did like the look of two eye shadows that she used on me shown above - Sex & The Oyster and Divine Decadence which are limited edition from the Indulge Collection. So I picked those up. I was not crazy about the foundation she used on me which did not have enough coverage for my taste and she watered it down big time with moisturizer so not much product went on. It was the new Matchmaster SPF 15 foundation. Since I seriously need help covering up my under eye circles, and since I had heard fabulous things about the new Pro Longwear Concealer, I picked that up. It's in glass too! Way to go MAC!

As I suspected, she suggested I go darker than my usual NC20/NC25 in order to cover up my under eye area, hence me getting the NC30. So we will see how that works out for me. I will keep you posted.

Here is Texture and Swiss Chocolate above. Anyway, she used the Lightful Marine Bright Formula on me to prep my skin and it felt amazing on. The MAC Artist raved about it and says she buys it basically by the bucket. Her skin did look good. This particular product cost me a small fortune so hopefully it lives up to my expectations! Finally, I am sick and tired about people gushing over Smolder eye kohl!!! So I had to buy it. Review coming soon. That's it, hope you liked my haul and that you are all keeping well!

Avon Supershock Cream (Gel?) Eye Liner in Velvet Plum - Review and Swatch

I'll be honest with you guys, I am not the biggest fan of Avon makeup. I have bought a few things here and there over the years and for me, most products are a bust. Some do work well though, but those are rare gems. I also don't like the ingredients that Avon uses in a lot of their products in general. Sometimes, you get what you pay for, literally.

I hadn't bought anything from Avon for a couple of years and then the other day Emily from Beauty Broadcast was raving over this limited edition cream (or is it a gel?) eye liner that Avon had out. A girl at my office sells Avon so I thought what the hell and ordered it. It only cost me $4.99. The liner is in a glass jar so kudos to you Avon for doing that! Where appropriate, I like my makeup in glass, not plastic, thank you.....

So here is the colour in Velvet Plum. Very nice colour if I do say so myself. I am still steamed that I never secured Clinique's limited edition Violet Luxe Brush-On Cream Liner. That stuff was no doubt the bomb! I was hoping that this colour would be a close match, but we will never know.  The formula of this Avon eye liner is kind of dry. That was the first thing I noticed. It is also not overly pigmented and is a bit thin for my taste. Since I am used to working with MAC or Clinique cream or gel liners, this stuff really pales in comparison. Even my Physician's Formula cream liners are far superior to this Avon one.

Once you do get a decent amount on your eye (you'll need some patience) the colour looks good (a bit dry though) and it is fairly long lasting. It lasted throughout my entire day. Let's it face, $4.99 is a bargain and if you need this colour you can't really go too wrong. My only words of caution are not to expect this to be high end quality cream liner. Since this is not a colour that I would wear everyday, I am not too fussed about the quality. There are parabens in here too so just an FYI. I believe this cream/gel liner also comes in black and maybe one other colour. Maybe the black is better, but I don't know my friends!

 

 

 

Packaging: 10/10

Pigmentation: 5/10
Easy to Work With: 5/10
Longevity: 7.5/10
Colour Stays True: 8/10
Texture: 3/10
Price: 10/10
Ingredients: 5/10 (there are parabens in it which I am not happy about) 
Travel Worthy: 8/10 (you have to also cart a brush with you)
Attractiveness of Product: 7/10
Would I buy this again? Nah
Overall Rating: 6.5/10



MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light Medium - Review

Hello! Today I am going to review a product that  I have had for over 2 years. I will be honest with all of you, I didn't like this product at first. I thought it was a colossal waste of money. Online beauty bloggers rave about this stuff and I just didn't get it. It's $35 Canadian and it's a powder...a MAC powder. Not a Chanel or Hourglass powder, but a MAC powder. I thought $35 was highway robbery.

Of course I am talking about the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural as many of you have likely guessed from the title of this blog. I have the shade Light Medium which is perfect for me and guess what??? This colour is discontinued! Figures. From what I understand online, the new Light Plus is a similar replacement.

Maybe I misunderstood this product when it first came out. In my mind, this was like a baked, compact version of a Bare Minerals foundation a la MAC style. I swirled this stuff on my face and thought to myself, "Wow, that did nothing". I used it as a powder over foundation and noticed that if you use too much it can look cakey and if you use too little it looks like any old powder that you slapped on at first glance. To add to this, the clear plastic lid insert kept popping out. It drove me mad! I chucked this product aside.

Fast forward to a few months ago. I fished this out and dusted it off as I was sick of my loose powders making a mess and I remembered I had this tucked away and it was the right colour. In my mind I thought that I would use this up and make it one of my Back to MAC returns so I could get me some new eye shadow. I started using this as a very light dusting over my foundation just to kind of set the foundation and control some of the shine. I noticed shortly that this product was controlling quite a bit of shine and one application was lasting throughout a good part of the day. I also started noticing that my skin looked better with it on than without it on top of foundation. My foundation was working better. My skin had a slight glow which I find is only noticeable after you have had it on for a little while. I even took the time to pop the plastic lid back into place once again.

It appears the key is to use a very light hand and to put it over foundation (good foundation I might add). I don't find that this product looks good over some of the older MAC foundations as it can get quite cakey together. Looks great over Estee Lauder Double Wear though! Then I decided to try this product on my bare face again with some cover-up applied over my blemishes first. This stuff looked good! Unless you have beautiful skin (which I don't) this will not look good unless you conceal your problem areas with a liquid or cream cover-up first. Get rid of those powder cover-ups my friends (they look bad in my opinion). If you do use a proper concealer first on targeted areas, then this will look decent on the rest of your skin. It blends in well too I find with other brand concealers.

I use a Real Techniques brush when I apply this by the way. I use the Multi Task Brush. When I discovered that the colour that I am using was discontinued, I noticed that a lot of online beauty bloggers are also using a real techniques brush to apply this product. Humph. How funny is that? Great minds think alike. I do think that what brush you use will also make a huge difference with this product. When I started using this product, I used another brush and it wasn't working so great.

I've been long winded about a powder! Sheesh. I guess what I am really trying to say is to give this a chance. I didn't like it at all at first but it grew on me. You just have to know how to use this and find how it works for you. When you do, you may find it is a bit of a gem! Also, there is a lot of product in one of these compacts (10g or 0.35 oz.). You don't need a lot and mine has been lasting forever. As you can see from the picture above, I have lots left. I have no doubt that it will be a long time before this becomes a Back to MAC. Maybe I will get my $35 worth after all!

Packaging: 7/10  (MAC I love your packaging but this faulty lid can be the pits!)

Pigmentation: 7.5/10 (blends in well, matches my skin but doesn't lay down mad pigment) 

Easy to Work With: 7/10 (assuming you know what you are doing)

Longevity: 8/10

Texture: 7.5/10 (could feel better on the skin, be more silky)   

Price: 5/10 (you do get a ton of product/value for your money but it's still steep for a talc powder)

Ingredients: 7.5/10

Travel Worthy: 7/10  (that damn lid may cause a catastrophe but otherwise great on the go)

Attractiveness of Product: 9/10 (once you get the hang of it)

Would I buy this again? Likely

Overall Rating: 7.5/10