bella cupcake's summer look challenge

quick posting before i head to the gym

challenge details here at Bella Cupcake's blog!

i originally thought of doing a gold and green-teal look, but decided to go with gold, pink, and brown instead.


the concept:

[Face]

Tinted moisturizer or foundation (optional) - Buff'd foundation in Wool
Concealer - Everyday Minerals concealer in Multitasking and Sunlight to conceal redness and dark circles somewhat.
Powder to set - Silk Naturals Perfecting powder

Glowy blush - Laneige Snow Radiant Blusher in 02 Pink Prism on cheeks.
Highlight - Used a light dusting of the Laneige to highlight nose and chin and forehead where appropriate. This step can be replaced with bronzer if a tanned look is desired.

[Eyes]

Base - Urban Decay Primer Potion
Light beige-y shade to highlight - ELF Pink Ice eyeshadow
Pale gold eyeshadow on inner corner of eye - Annabelle Gleam eyeshadow
Darker gold eyeshadow after pale gold, half way across the eyelid.- 'from a Maybelline quad
Intense pink eyeshadow - MAC Passionate eyeshadow on outer corner and above the gold colours so that it shows even when my eyes eyes open.
Frosty light pink eyeshadow on top of intense pink - Laneige Snow Radiant Blusher - I used this only because I wanted a glowy look on the eyes but MAC Passionate is a matte colour.
Brown eyeshadow to darken outer corners - MAC Brun eyeshadow

Dark brown pencil liner to tightline - Kate Square Cut liner
Bronze-gold colour to line above dark brown pencil, and on lower lashline - MAC Indianwood Paint pot

Lash primer (optional) - Clinique Lash Primer
Mascara - Lancome Definicils mascara

[Lips]

Lipbalm - Nivea Labello
Mute natural lipcolour if a lighter lip colour is desired - MAC Lip Erase in Dim
Peachy-nude lipstick and gloss - Coffret D'or Combient Rouge in 06 Peach Blossom


i know it seems like a lot of stuff...it doesn't have to be. I just like using several tones because I think it makes the look more multi-dimensional...


the result:






i need more sleep :(














now for some quality time with the elliptical...

a brief note

I have to sleep soon but just to warn people that I added a music player to the sidebar...under 'my current favourites' section. So don't be too startled by the music - I know I quite often am whenever I come across these players unexpectedly.

In fact my bf's computer was not loading the player on my blog even though it would do it for other blogs...but thanks to Nic Nic I realised it was the computer messing with my blog and not Blogger themselves :) Thank you so much!

And thank you to all of you that left me the sweet comments from my previous post! I actually haven't been wearing blue very often, I only started trying blue out because of Rolos from ABB. I'm definitely going to try wearing blue more often though in light of the favourable response? :P :)

And I apologize I haven't been able to update since so far - things have been getting extremely busy at work and also on weekends :S I hope to be online more often next month!

blue lagoon

Quick FOTD using Shiseido hydro-powder in Languid Lagoon as a base...

I find this colour too bright to be used on its own, but its alright once paired with a darker colour to contour, such as MAC's Bell Bottom Blue pigment.

[Face]

• Buff'd foundation in Sand
• Silk Naturals perfecting powder
• some highlighting + Everyday Minerals Sunlight concealer to tone down dark circles (didn't really work imo)
• The She Space Passion Dance blush
• MAC Emote blush to contour

[Eyes]

• Urban Decay Primer Potion
• Shiseido Hydro-powder in Languid Lagoon all over mobile lid lightly
• RMK Shiny Mix Dots eyeshadow in Silver Pale Green on inner 1/2 of lid
• MAC Bell Bottom Blue pigment on outer 1/2 of lid
• a touch of MAC Naval Blue pigment to darken outer V
• MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack to line top lid
• Andrea Modlash #53's (these gave me so much grief that day! :S took 20 mins....)
• [Edit: neglected to mention I used Wet n Wild Acapulco Glow bronzer to highlight.]

[Lips]

• MAC Lip Erase in Dim
• MAC Mattene lipstick in Flattering

Btw, The She Space's blushes are quite pigmented as well! Not quite as good as EM's but better than Silk Naturals' anyways.

Laneige Radiant Snow Blusher

This review was requested by Her.Peachieness I think :)

I first read about this product on Musings of a Muse. Its a baked powder/blush from Laneige, a Korean brand. I was interested in them because she said they are quite similar to MAC Mineralize Skinfinishes. Finally got them last month when I was compiling an order from Facial Shop.

The exterior is a fairly unusual holographic design on the top, while the sides are a sturdy clear plastic with the product sticker at the bottom.




The whole case feels somewhat nice and heavy in your hand, compared with MAC MSFs which are a bit lighter. This is probably because it includes a mirror inside which is really practical!

The shade I got is the 002 Pink Prism. The other colours, 001 and 003 were lighter and seemd more like highlighters which is why I picked 002. I have way too many highlighters already that I hardly use.

Pink Prism consists of pink, darker pink, white, and gold swirls:

If you want to look at the other colours in the collection, there are some great closeups of the blushes by Makeupalley's Fleckenschnitte.

Included in the box is also a mini insert with some product information and application tips:

When I first swatched the blush and wore it out, I was struck by how pretty it was, but also by how similar it was to my MAC Light Flush MSF -.- Don't get me wrong, Pink Prism is a gorgeous colour, but I wish it was more different because I don't really want two of the same thing.

So I ended up taking pics of the two side by side to also show you how gorgeous but similar they can be.

Not so similar at first glance - the marbling is quite different. Light Flush is more pink-copper swirls and looks like it would be warmer in colour.

But when swatched, even under different lightings, they look very similar on my skin:

(don't mind the red spot...that was just my skin not the blush :P)

If you compare side by side in real life, you'll see that Pink Prism has a bit more sparkle in it, while Light Flush is just very fine shimmer. But the difference is very slight if worn on the face.

So my conclusion is that the Laneige Radiant Snow blushers are a great dupe for MSFs, especially if you like the idea of getting a mirror with it. The shimmer is subtle, and doesn't have the chunky glitter problem that plagued MAC's Flashtronic MSFs and Fafi Iridescent powders. Definitely a great buy in my opinion, if I didn't already have the MAC one. So just make sure you don't have a colour that is already similar, and you won't be disappointed.

Where to buy? I got mine off Facial Shop for $31.99, and if you buy 3 items you'll get a 5% discount. But definitely shop around, there may be other cheaper places.

Oh and if you want to shop online for Asian brands the Muse did a post not too long ago on shopping for Japanese cosmetics. So far I've only ordered from Adam Beauty and Facial Shop. I haven't tried JPmon yet, I've been too lazy to make it through the tutorial lol :P

Update and Everyday Minerals order

Its going to be a busy week for me both at work and in my spare time so I might not be posting very often. However I'm still working on those reviews I promised for the Lip Erase, Laneige blush etc... I have the pictures, just need to edit them and write what I think.

Anyway I was taking a little break and surfing some blogs...somehow I ended up on Sephora.com and noticed the new range of makeup from Kat Von D. Now I've never watched an episode of Miami Ink, nor do I have a tattoo or want one but somehow these really appeal to me. The packaging with the silver roses on black just looks so nice haha. I'm such a sucker for nice packaging...

I like these in particular:







The dark purple in the palette looks like a purple I'd love :) I hope the shadows are pigmented though.



I haven't seen these in the Sephoras in Canada, but I'm definitely going to check them out when I go to the US next month! Speaking of which I can't wait for my trip :P I gotta stop spending money and save for that trip...yet I still made another order from Everyday Minerals just now. I've been stalking their specials page for the past week waiting for a good discount to pop up, and finally they put up something today. Its a 10% discount, and if you spend over $18 you get a free full sized eyeshadow in Bubble Tea (a turquoisy-shade). If you spend over $34 you get another eyeshadow (don't remember what colour), but I wasn't interested in it so I didn't bother.

Here's what I ordered:




They have a new website in the works too, and the beta version looks quite promising. The product colours for one look soooo much more accurate than their current website. If there was one thing EM needed to fix, its the so-called "colour guides" on their website....they were never close to what the product really looked like. Good thing they're finally fixing it.


***

Question from Anonymous on my last post - sorry for the delayed response!:

hi there. i was wondering, when you say light winged butter, is that winged butter mixed with light olive? or do some people refer to winged butter as light winged butter? thank you =)

I'm referring to "winged butter" actually, sorry for the confusion :) I say "light winged butter" because that was the initial name for that shade on EM's website, but late last year they did some rearranging of their colour groups and changed the name to just "winged butter".

MAC randomness

If you keep up with Specktra Beauty Blog and Temptalia.com, I'm sure you know about the latest news on upcoming MAC collections :)

Anyway I just had to say, I can't wait for the mineralized collections Sonic Chic and Electroflash!

I mean look at all these mineralized blushes...I feel like I would love to get all of them if I had the money to spare :P



And from Electroflash, I really want the green, blue, purple, and silver mineralized eyeshadows even though I've never been interested in the ones previously released. But the colours on these promo pics just look so good...

Its like after seeing all these, I'm not excited anymore about the next MAC collection Cool Heat, or anything else. The mineralized stuff just looks more worth my money! Which is sorta a bummer because I just found out I'm gonna be going to NY the weekend when Cool Heat is released, but now I won't be buying much from it anyway...

Well more money for other things...like that new purse/wallet I've been meaning to get :)

Oh btw, what do you guys think of those half natural/half shimmer MSFs that are coming out? I'll be passing on it because I don't need a face powder, and I already have a champagny highlighter (my WnW Acapulco Glow). But I also wonder wouldn't the shimmer portion get all over the matte powder portion when you swipe a brush over it? Even if you do it carefully with that brush in the collection, its gonna be hard...the shimmer goes everywhere already whenever I swipe my MSFs.

***

I got a question from Diana:

Hey so I noticed you're into MAC and that in your EM haul that you ordered Light Olive.This is the colour I feel matches me the best, so I was just curious as to what you thought the equivalent would be at MAC in the Studio Fix Powder and the Mineralized Skinfinish Natural, because I have no clue! :P

I don't actually own any MAC foundations, but I've tried samples of them and have been matched to NC 25 in foundation, and NC 20 in concealer. Not sure about the MSF Naturals though. And btw note that Light Olive matches my skin shade but because the skin on my neck is really yellow, and I wanna match my face with my neck, I prefer EM's Light Winged Butter.

Hope that kinda helped :)

Updates + Natural FOTD

I know, I haven't been very good at keeping up with some requests/comments, sorry about that ! :S I'm going to try and get more of them done.

First, some updates to some products I recently reviewed:

- Coastal Scents Duo Fibre brush

Some of you recommended I try it with liquid foundation. Unfortunately it failed to work for me with liquid foundation either. Part of it wasn't its fault, its just that my skin was dry at that time and would not let the foundation spread evenly. However, I found the brush to be useless to distribute the foundation. The bristles made the foundation streaky, and the bristles were shedding (which didn't happen with mineral makeup). I guess the brush hairs shed more easily because I had to use a heavier buffing action for the liquid compared with powder foundation. Still, picking off the hairs is annoying as hell. I guess I won't be using this brush except in an emergency, and only for powder products. Maybe I'll use it as a body brush to highlight collarbones etc?

- Kiss Me Heroine liner

I still like this a lot, but I've noticed the black colour isn't quite as black as MAC's Blacktrack. Somehow it seems less potent, so I have to go over the same area a few times if I want the line to be really black.

- Coffret d'or 3D Lightning Eyes

Jie-jie asked if there was fallout with this product on one of my earlier posts. I find there is some of fallout, especially if you are using a regular eyeshadow brush. However if I stick to the sponge applicator the fallout is reduced, probably because I can apply the product with a 'patting' motion instead of sweeping it across. So basically, yes it does have a bit of fallout, but much less fallout than the Lunasol Sheer Contrast palette and the T'estimo ones. Hope that helps! :)

- MAC Lip Erase

I haven't done a review of this one yet, but to answer a question I received earlier (sorry I can't remember who it was), it does work similarly to MAC Satin lipsticks like Myth. There are some differences, but if Myth already works for you then you can skip this. But I like the texture of Lip Erase more. Will do a review of this soon :)

***

Buff'd foundation review: (Emilee requested a review of this foundation a few posts back)

Coverage:

Buff'd foundation provides heavier coverage than the other brands I've tried, which are Everyday Minerals Intensive and Silk Naturals. Coverage is even better when paired with Everyday Minerals concealers (another combo recommended by Christiana). All 3 shades I ordered work on me, but I think the closest match for me is Sand, a pale shade with heavier yellow undertones.

The finish is quite matte which I like. However I find a finishing powder is definitely necessary as the foundation will get a bit oily after a few hours without powder to set. I used my sample of Silk Naturals Perfecting powder, and after a few hours it does get more dewy but not oily at all. Note that I have dry to combination skin, so am not sure how this will look on oilier skin types.

I do like how this doesn't oxidize / change colour on you. I used to find that Silk Naturals would oxidize on me and get darker after a few hours, but not with Buff'd.

The coverage of the foundation is quite good when wet. However I still have to test that part out more, as the one time I tried spraying some toner over the foundation, I sprayed too much moisture and it made me look super dewy haha. I'm not sure if it was the toner (because the toner was the hydrating type with aloe in it) or just too much moisture, so I have to try that again with less moisture, and maybe just a water spray.

Other general observations:

I noticed the foundation is less free-flowing than other foundations I've tried. It almost lumps up into tiny balls when I am swirling the brush in it. As a result I do have to be a bit more patient to apply it.

Also it was harder to pick up the powder with my duo fibre brushes. My Sephora brush didn't like it at all, it just refused to pick up enough of the powder lol. Fortunately my MAC 187SE was more cooperative. Not sure why...but I think its related to the more clumpy nature of it. So I've been using the MAC 187 SE for Buff'd and using my Sephora brush to apply my finishing powder.

Ordering/shipping information:

You can order samples off the website at $1.50 per sample. All samples have free shipping. It might seem daunting to choose a colour, but the descriptions on the website are quite accurate. Also you can always email them and ask for some recommendations :)

I was a bit put off by the general shipping costs on the website because it said something like $10 for shipping within Canada, but Christiana alerted me to the fact that they have refill kits, which come with free shipping (under the Kits section). Sweet! :)


FOTD with Buff'd and Lancome SOS Pink lipstick:

Buff'd foundation in Sand
Silk Naturals perfecting powder

Everyday Minerals B&B blush
MAC Emote blush to contour

MAC Lip Erase
Lancome 302 SOS Pink lipstick




Minimal eye makeup: Kate Square Cut liner in Natural Brown, Maybelline Cool liner in Chill the Champagne, Blinc Kiss Me mascara







Note that SOS Pink looks a brighter pink in real life...

Tagged: My Beauty Secrets...?

I was tagged by thechas for this one :)

Hmm these aren't really secrets at all....as most of these products that I use are due to the influence of Asian Beauty Blog or fellow bloggers.

Foundation:

Currently Buff'd foundation in Sand is my favourite, I just started using it last weekend and it has the best coverage of all the mineral foundations I've tried. My skin doesn't seem to like liquid foundation... :S

Mascara:

Blinc Kiss Me mascara is my fave as it doesn't smudge, but comes off easily when I want it to. It doesn't volumize much but I'm okay with that. I can always use falsies otherwise...

Blush:

Everyday Minerals matte blushes! nothing comes close to their pigmentation. I find their shimmery blushes can be a bit overkill though, for shimmer I prefer MAC MSFs :)
In particular:

Matte: Everyday Minerals Apple blush
With shimmer: MAC Light Flush MSF

Eyeshadow:

Cream eyeshadows - definitely Shiseido Hydro Powder shadows :)

Powder eyeshadows - MAC shadows and pigments
Palettes - Majolica Majorca GR741 palette, Coffret D'or 3D palette in blue

Day cream: Lancome Aqua Fusion SPF 15

Lipstick: Lavshuca lipstick in PK-1, MAC 3N lipstick, Lancome 302 SOS Pink.

Beauty Product Brand: MAC, Dior, Shiseido, Kanebo's sub-brands (Coffret d'or, Lavshuca etc), Everyday Minerals

Essential Beauty Product:
Skincare - Face cream with SPF
Makeup: Used to be mascara, but now I find foundation more crucial because my skintone looks uneven and also makes me look tired :(

Favourite Beauty Product: MAC Global Glow MSF, because I can use it as eyeshadow and blush for a convenient low maintenance look.

Perfume: Masaki Matsushima Cherry perfume!

Nails: The cheap 100 yen polishes are still my faves out of what I own :P I like sheer pink-peach colours in general. But I don't get to wear nail polish anymore though, just on my toes :(

Feet: Nothing - i neglect them so much! when they get really dry i'll exfoliate the heels. in summer i'll do a french pedicure look if i have the time.

Hands: Bliss Naked Body Butter

Three products to bring on a deserted island: Face cream with SPF, facial wash, soap lol

Woman I Adore for Her Beauty: Natalie Portman

Woman With the Best Sense of Style: hard to pick because I have many favourites but no single one stands out over the others as being "the best".

My Ultimate Dream (but I do not believe in selling my soul to the devil for it): Living the expatriate life in Japan or France with my bf in a spacious house, and earning lots of money to put towards our hobbies and retirement :P

How Do I Define Womanhood: Hard to define in words, but with questions like this I think of Keira Knightley in Pirates of the Carribean 3 lol. I guess to put it in words, to be strong and command respect of both men and women.

My Favorite Fashion Publication: None in particular...I just browse whatever looks good at the magazine aisles.

Part III

To continue with the haulage....on Saturday I decided to go to Bloor-Yorkville area downtown since I wanted to check out the mens section at Holt Renfrew to look for a gift for the bf. Also I wanted to check out the Guerlain boutique, and the Lancome counter at The Bay which has a GWP until May 11th.

Holt Renfew was quite disappointing. They had their whole underground level and part of the ground floor for guys stuff, but there wasn't much variety there. I couldn't find anything in Harry Rosen, or any other stores either. I had an idea of what things I could get him, but the styles were either unsuitable or the colours didn't suit his taste :P Finally, I found something he might like at the last store I went into, but I'm still quite undecided about it. Mostly because I know once he sees it he'll say I shouldn't spend so much money...

But I did of course find some things for myself :P






My favourite item out of this whole week's haulage is the Masaki Matsushima Cherry Eau de Parfum:





I don't even know how to describe it, but its very pleasant, and falls into the fruity-floral range which is my usual taste. I don't like oriental type musky or vanilla-ish scents...I find I get tired of those after awhile, but not with the fruity/floral ones.

Notes: (from Sephora.com)

Cherry, Blackcurrant, Bilberry, Watermelon, Lotus Flower, Cherry Blossom, Sweet Pea, Raspberry, Crystal Musk, Blackberry.


At The Bay department store, I also ended up getting two pink lipsticks because of the GWP at Lancome.

302 SOS Pink (the lighter one) which has a cream finish
318 Rock Icon Fuschia (the same one as Nicnic :), has a reflects finish









Anyway I don't know what was it about Saturday, but the SA's I encountered were either nice...or well, strange. Case 1: I was walking through the Bay past the Shiseido counter and the SA grabs me and starts raving about how gorgeous my lashes are. She kept saying they looked so natural, which is really nice of her and all, and I was feeling kinda flattered. Then out of the blue she said "oh you're so young but you have lines already, not good!" and proceeds to push some serums and creams on me :S How sweet of her to say that to a potential customer...:/

Case 2: Guerlain SA - I usually try to think the best of strangers, since I don't know them, but that woman seriously had a poker stuck up her you-know-where. Honestly! She kept talking down to me, but in an underhanded way of course. And she implied I had heavy makeup on, just because I had fake lashes on. The same fake lashes that the Shiseido SA said looked "very natural".

Plus she just wouldn't let me peruse at my own leisure. I went in there because I wanted to check out the Guerlain loose kohls. I was testing the colours on my hand to see which ones were nice, but she'd keep hovering, even though I said I wanted to look around a bit first while deciding on a colour. In the end she annoyed me so much I just said "I'll come back later" and left.

Btw I'm sure my lashes were at least decent, because my bf loved them, which I did not expect at all :) He likes natural looks and the Japanese way of wearing makeup, so he doesn't like too much eyeshadow on me that much even though I love eyeshadow lol. He's not a fan of red lipstick either.

I have noticed a pattern with SAs though. I find the ones working at stores/counters downtown Toronto tend to be more snooty, while the areas updown are a lot nicer and more down to earth. Also I find Sephora's SAs nicer than other brands/stores :P In fact my favourite Sephora is the one on Bloor. That location, even though it is downtown is an exception to the pattern. The ones uptown are nice too, but I don't like going to my closest store as much because there is an SA there with an attitude I can't stand.

the next of many

My Buff'd samples that came last Thursday:




I got 3 samples, Wool, Sand, and Antique, two of which Jennifer @ Buff'd recommended. She also included two free eyeshadow samples, Butter and Chestnut:




These are swatched dry. I did have to use a couple of swipes to get that intensity in the picture, but the pigmentation is still good. I like Butter more as I can see myself using it. Chestnut is a bit too warm of a brown but thats just my preference.

As for the foundation, I got to try two of the colours over the weekend, Wool and Sand. Both looked almost the same, but I liked the one with yellow undertones more (can't remember atm which is which).

So far, I really love Buff'd foundation :) The coverage is very good, better than Everyday Minerals and Silk Naturals. It has a relatively natural matte finish as well. I think this would be great for normal to oilier skins. I have drier skin, so I noticed I had to take precautions not to apply too much. So far I've just been using my MAC 187SE to apply this, as I'm afraid it'll look too cakey if I use a flat top brush which normally picks up more product.

I didn't have to use a separate concealer with this either (I could, if I wanted my skin to look extremely perfect, but this already covers quite a bit).

Going to test the 3rd shade this coming weekend. I'm worried that the heavier coverage might break me out though, so I'm definitely keeping an eye on that the next few times I wear it. I hope not, because so far this foundation has been awesome the 2 times I used it :) And before I forget, I gotta say thanks to Christiana because I think it was from one of her older posts that I heard her say Buff'd has better coverage :)

***

Also, my Facial Shop order that I ordered the previous weekend arrived the same day. Shipping was quite fast since I ordered Saturday night and received the items Thursday, all the way from HK too.




Btw the Dior palette I wanted was out of stock, which is great because I didn't spend as much then :P So I ended up with the Shiseido Hydro-powders in Bare Pink and Glistening Sand, as well as Laneige Radiant Snow Blusher in 002.





Nicnic asked me about Facial Shop's shipping. I found the shipping quite fast, and customer service is good although she takes about 1-2 days to reply to questions. Like Adam Beauty, Facial Shop also ships through registered mail. But unfortunately packing of their products is quite similar to Adam Beauty as well - where the products are wrapped in bubble wrap and put in a paper envelope. I haven't had problems with either company so far (touch wood), but I guess this is something to keep in mind. Her prices do already include the shipping cost, so maybe she might agree to use better packaging for an extra fee?

Pic of the envelope used (plus my small Sephora purchase from Saturday and MAC haul that I posted about yesterday.)

the first of many

I went on a major spree this weekend :D but now i have buyers remorse lol...thank goodness for the return policies here in North America...

I also got my samples from Buff'd Cosmetics and Facial Shop, which I will be posting later.

For now here's the stuff I hauled Friday after work: (Note to self: it is a BAD idea to go shopping after work btw...)


1. From Shoppers Drug Mart:

Ralph Lauren Romance Eau de Toilette 40 mL
Burberry Brit Eau de Parfum 40 mL
Maybelline Superstay lipcolour in Peach
Samples of L'oreal Skingenesis lotion, Elizabeth Arden perfume




I got the perfumes because they were over 50% off :) The original prices were close to $50 CDN, and they were discounted to $20 each last week!

But I have a feeling I'll be returning the Burberry Brit and Maybelline...because I spent way too much money on Sat, and these are the two I can give up.


2. From MAC

I headed to the MAC counter after that to check out Naughty Nauticals. Before, I kept on thinking that I was going to only get Bell Bottom Blue pigment, and perhaps Submarine. But this was my purchase in the end...

Bell Bottom Blue pigment
Lovely Lily pigment
Illegal Cargo eyeshadow
Submarine eyeshadow
sample of Mutiny pigment
and Melrose Mood from Heatherette




Closer look at the Naughty Nauticals stuff:




About the pigments I got:

Prior to NN's launch, many people were saying Bell Bottom Blue looks similar to Naval Blue (PRO) in the promotional pictures. I don't think so at all. Bell Bottom Blue is a lighter richer blue with silver sparkles in it. Naval Blue is a more blackened dark blue, and is different enough that I still want a full size jar of it :)



I only got a sample of Mutiny even though the colour looked so pretty, because it seems so unpigmented. When I swatch it the colour hardly shows up on me (see picture above). The SA said I could foil it, but knowing me I wouldn't ever do it. I like pigments because they are pigmented even when dry. If I wanted a colour that I had to foil, I would rather save money and buy a mineral eyeshadow instead!

The other pigment I bought, Lovely Lily is really pretty - its like a warm lilac. I forgot to swatch it but can if requested :)


About the eyeshadows I got:

With Illegal Cargo eyeshadow - honestly I was in love at the counter...but I had a nagging feeling the colour was familar. But still I got it anyway because I was feeling impulsive. It only struck me when I got home that one of my LORAC palettes contain a very similar colour.

Comparison of Illegal Cargo with LORAC Dreamy eyeshadow:






As for Submarine, I knew everyone was saying it looks like Freshwater, so I did the comparison at the counter. I found that Submarine was a bluer blue, while Freshwater was lighter and a tad more aqua-ish. (Check out this comparison of the two done by the Muse!). To me they shared some similarities, but I preferred the colour of Submarine so I decided to get it.

However when I got home I also realised that the NYX Aquamarine trio has a dark blue shade very similar to Submarine. In fact the NYX colour is more similar to it than Freshwater ever was.






The NYX colour is a tad less blue than Submarine, but is closer to it than Freshwater was. The colours are too similar for me to justify keeping Submarine, so back to the store it goes.


So, in the end I'll be returning Illegal Cargo, Submarine, and Melrose Mood (I tried it on and the result was horrible!). At least I still stuck to my original plan of getting only two items from the NN collection after all, haha.