Holiday look: Gold & berry

For most of this year I've been wearing mostly neutrals, so for Christmas I decided to do something different for a change. I was wearing red glitter tights, and a green wool skirt so it seemed like a good idea to match it with berry lips and gold eyes:





Closeup:






Products used:

Cream bases
Shiseido Hydro-Powder in Glistening Sand on inner corner of eye
MAC Brassy Fluidline on rest of eye

Eyeshadow
MAC Gold Mode pigment on inner corner of eye
MAC Cosmic eyeshadow on middle of eye
Annabelle 101 eyeshadow on outer corner of eye
Lunasol Geminate Liner EX02
Blinc Kiss Me mascara

Lips
Lancome berry coloured lipstick from a GWP a while back

Face
Lunasol Water Cream Foundation
Cle de Peau concealer
MAC Emote blush to contour

Festive gold and green look

Here's a festive look I wore a few days ago, a subtle gold and green look with colored liners. Perfect for a day of Christmas shopping to get you in the mood :)









What I used:

MAC Fluidline in Brassy on upper lashline
Gosh Velvet Touch pencil liner in Green Grass on outer lower lashline
Urban Decay 24/7 pencil liner in Yeyo on inner 1/2 of lower lashline
Blinc Kiss Me mascara on lashes

Korres Mango Lipstick in 14 Pink

MAC MSF in Stereo Rose
MAC Emote to contour
Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer in Porcelain
Cle de Peau concealer stick
Eve Pearl Salmon concealer

MAC Warehouse Sale - Sept 2010

The Estee Lauder warehouse sale, as most people in Toronto know, is an invite only event held 4 times a year (March, June, Sept, Dec). Thanks to Babybubblz I was able to attend the Sunday sale with her 2 weeks ago - thanks again girl!

I won't go into details unless requested but do visit Babybubblz's post on the event if you want more logistical information.

Here's what I got!




Eyeshadow palettes



Notoriety, Photorealism, Tone Grey (2009)



Christmas palettes: Mystic Cool Eyes (2009), Devoted Poppy (2008)






Eyeshadows



Humid, Bough Grey, Femme-fi, Tissueweight




Cheek products

By Candlelight




Lip products

Cremesheen lipsticks in Crosswires, Lickable, Speak Louder
Intimidate Slimshine
Roman Holiday Dazzleglass
Do It Up Dazzleglass Creme




Miscellaneous

MAC 134 - duo fiber fan brush



Lashes (can't remember the numbers)



Bobbi Brown and Origins Cleansing Oils




Looks like I'm wayyy overstocked with makeup for a good while. Now that I've been to the warehouse sale, I still can't imagine going to these events more than once a year. Its so hard on my wallet! You get a lot of bang for your buck, but it creates a temptation to go crazy and get more because of the deals. It was a great de-stressing retail therapy session though! :D

Summer nail colours

Sorry I haven't been posting much lately. I've been busy with some changes in my life, namely quitting my job so I can do graduate school. I also haven't really felt like buying any makeup lately, just mostly clothing, probably because I feel that my wardrobe is sorely lacking in some aspects for the program I'm in :P

Anyway, before summer is over I thought I'd share swatches of 2 very summer-appropriate nail polishes:

MAC Seasonal Peach





This was 4 freaking coats! I wouldn't recommend this polish at all, the colour is quite sheer and streaky. I'm sure I've seen dupes of this colour from China Glaze or Essie.

American Apparel Butter



2 coats only! Love how pigmented this polish is. I don't think I've seen a similar colour from other brands but this polish priced well enough (US$7.50) you don't really need to find a dupe.

So what have you been wearing on your nails lately?

Peachy

This was my lipstick haul from a month ago when Rexall Pharmaplus (a Canadian drugstore) held a 50% off event with their lipsticks and glosses.



-Vasanti lipstick in Aruba & tinted lipbalm in Cancun
-Maybelline Superstay Lipcolor (can't remember the shade)
-Revlon Colourburst in Peach & Blush.


Today I'm featuring a closeup look at the Revlon Colorburst in Peach:


Lip swatch:


On me, Peach warms up my natural lipcolour a bit so it comes out as a warmer pink with faint peach tones. However if you have less pigmented lips than I do (probably 70% of you!) it would appear more peach and much less pink.


Compared it with other peach lipsticks in my collection that seemed similar:


L-R: Joe Fresh Coral, MAC Ever Hip, Revlon Colorburst Peach.





In terms of texture, all 3 lipsticks glided on though Revlon and MAC were the smoothest. Pigmentation wise, the Joe Fresh lipstick was the best, while Revlon and MAC were sheerer, requiring a few swipes to get the same pigmentation as the Joe Fresh.



Colour wise, the Revlon Peach was closer to Joe Fresh Coral, slightly pinker but not as pink as MAC Ever Hip. In fact, Revlon Peach could be the child of MAC Ever Hip + Joe Fresh coral :)

On The Scene

I did a In the Groove look last weekend, using MAC's On The Scene facechart as inspiration but using Stereo Rose instead of Petticoat MSF.



My take:






Eyes:






Lips with Jazzed lipstick: Note that my natural lip colour does make it look pinker than it is




I used:




Stereo Rose leaves a gorgeous glow, as long as you apply sparingly with a duo fibre brush.





I can see why it may be a bit orange on some but I think it is still wearable if you apply just a touch of it. I just used my MAC 131 flat duo fibre brush to swipe the MSF surface lightly and tapped it on my cheekbones. After that you can blend it out further with a clean brush if you find it too strong for your liking.

Getting In the Groove...

It was a long, hot, and busy day at work where nothing seemed to go right...Fortunately, I had MAC's In the Groove collection to look forward to at the end of the day! :D

I picked up the lipstick in Jazzed, and Stereo Rose MSF (Long story, but I was very lucky to get this!)




Closeup of Jazzed lipstick. It reminds me of Shy Girl but more pigmented and slightly more coral. Its not as pink as Ever Hip though.




And Stereo Rose MSF! Unfortunately I was given one without much of the veining pattern, so it looks a tad plain in my opinion. But at least that means less glitter and more colour!




Swatches of the two products: Jazzed lipstick, Stereo Rose MSF, Stereo Rose (blended out a little):



Jazzed basically looks like a lipstick version of Stereo Rose. I've noticed a lot of people asking Temptalia what the hype is about with Stereo Rose. Well for me, it is the fact that it is the only coralish MSF. No other MSF comes close to this coral colour, while MAC has already done to death the bronze and pink shades numerous times. Also, because it was released in 2005, there were very few new Stereo Rose MSFs available, and it looks like this super limited release hasn't changed anything! I do see quite a few auctions popping up on eBay now which makes me a little sad that some beauty junkies are going to be denied it because of sellers making some $$.

I think that the hype spiked even more due to the limited quantities that MAC made of this, compared with the other colours in the collection. If many beauty addicts are complaining about being unable to get their hands on it then interest in the product rises, increasing the demand further...ok now I sound like an economist, sorry! :P


Anyway, I have Petticoat as well already from Sheer Minerals in 2008, so here they are side by side:






Sorry I completely forgot to do swatches of Petticoat, but here is an old one I did, its not that great though :/



Isn't Petticoat so pretty though? I love how the dome is not just pink and berry shimmer, but has a metallic glint in some parts of the pattern. I picked this MSF specifically because of the veining (they are all unique, so I try to ask to choose from a few before purchasing). I couldn't do it with Stereo Rose though, since there were so few! Otherwise I would have picked one with more bronze veining.

So are you planning to get anything from this collection? If so tell me which products!

MAC Cleanse Off Oil / Tranquil

This is an Asia exclusive product. It was available in the US last fall through the MAC Upstarts collection as a sample, but I don't see it on the MAC site so it probably isn't there anymore.



As you can see, the Cleanse Off Oil / Tranquil is packaged in a clear green bottle, different from the normal Cleanse Off Oil which comes in a clear bottle.

How to use

If you already know how to use cleansing oils these are no different. Basically, the cleansing oil is meant to be massaged onto your face dry, to dissolve your makeup. After that you should dampen your hands with water and massage your face again - the water and oil will emulsify and turn cloudy, while removing makeup at the same time. Finally rinse off with lukewarm water.

Thoughts on the performance

I can't seem to find the Tranquil oil on the MAC website, even the Asian sites, so I am not 100% sure if it is targeted at different skintypes than the regular oil.

In terms of makeup removal, the Tranquil is similar to the regular oil in that it removes most face makeup easily and quickly. It gets a bit hard to remove eyeliner that is closer to the lashline, since I don't like getting oil in my eyes but that is the same as all cleansing oils I've used.

After cleansing, both feel quite clean without any annoying residue on the face. However, I feel that the Tranquil version may be slightly gentler on my skin. I love both versions, but find the Tranquil feels like it leaves a bit more moisture in my skin compared with the regular oil.

They are both fairly odorless, but the Tranquil version has a slightly different smell - it seems to have a more bitter citrus smell than the regular oil. This is probably due to the slightly different essential oils in each product.

Tranquil Oil info & ingredients



The main oil components of the Tranquil oil appears to be sunflower and olive oil, while the regular oil is mainly olive and jojoba oil.

The regular Cleanse Off Oil ingredients list

Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, PEG-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate, Squalane, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Oil, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Germ Oil, Tocopherol, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Oil, Citrus Aurantium Amara (Bitter Orange) Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil, Water / Aqua / Eau, Rosa Canina (Rose) Fruit Oil, Limonene.

Price

Both the regular Cleanse Off oil and Tranquil retail for approximately CA $30 per 150 mL, taking into account currency conversions.

Overall

Both oils are quite effective at makeup removal, and are priced in line with, or slightly cheaper than other popular cleansing oils such as DHC and Fancl. The Tranquil version is slightly harder to get, but may be worth a try if you find the regular Cleanse Off Oil to be a little drying.

Almost natural...but better

Thanks to a tweet from Fei, I found out about a technique that Queenie (Beauty QQ) was using to apply falsies - underneath her natural lashes instead of over:

Youtube video of her explaining it in Cantonese
Youtube video tutorial applying the lashes - skip to 3:40

These are the fake lashes I used - Andrea #53's. I used a pair that I had already worn a few times, so they look a bit scraggly and more natural rather than being completely uniform.



I followed Beauty QQ's instructions and cut them into 4 pieces. Applied them with tweezers, very carefully underneath my natural lashes. Trust me, this is not a time for your annoying sibling/significant other to goof around and run into your elbow...



Don't these look pretty natural? Even from the side view you can't see any tell tale misalignment of the fake lash with natural lash, or heavy eyeliner to cover fake lash spine.



I love how you can barely see the spine of the lashes, even from underneath. As Fei said they look almost like lash extensions.




Anyway, here is the rest of the look!








What I used:



Face
Lunasol Water Cream Foundation
Eve Pearl Salmon undereye concealer treatment
Maybelline Dream Matte powder

Cheek & Lip
Annabelle Zebra Bronzer in Haute Gold
MAC Emote blush
MAC Brave New Bronze Lipstick
Balmshell's Weekend in the Hamptons gloss

Eyes
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Lavshuca Eye Color Select PK-1
Marcelle Minerals eyeshadow in Playa
Kate Frame Impact eyeliner
Andrea Modlash #53s



I still can't get over how natural the fake lashes look compared with applying them on top...will have to do this more often! I think this technique works best with natural hair lashes though, since the spines are thinner and lashes more flexible than plastic Asian lashes, and thus more comfortable.

Have you tried this technique before? What do you think?