Too Faced La Creme Color Drenched Lip Creams in Juicy Melons REVIEW and swatches

I love pretty lip colors but a lot do not show up on my pigmented red lips. And if they do, chances are they are too stark white which leaves me looking like a clown or dry my lips out. Good thing I tried Too Faced La Creme color drenched lip creams at Sephora! They are so buttery and so pigmented. I chose the color Juicy Melons, which is a creamy bright coral color with a hint of pink. It really stood out on my lips. See below for swatches and review.

Too Faced La Creme in Juicy Melons, 0.11 oz, $21

A swatch of Juicy Melons

Chanel Fleur de Lotus Joues Contraste powder blush REVIEW and swatches

As usual, I caved to Chanel's Joues Contraste powder blushes. I told myself that I chose Rose Initiale a month ago and should just be content. However, I keep seeing reviews of it and I couldn't stop thinking about how pretty it looked! Then one morning, I saw an email from Chanel and saw that Fleur de Lotus JC blush was now available online! It was definitely meant to be. This was an Asian exclusive limited edition product from spring 2012 and Nordstroms had it available exclusively for their anniversary sale.  I am glad it is now finally available on chanel.com!

See below for review and swatches!

Chanel Joues Contraste Powder blush in Fleur de Lotus, 0.14 oz, $43

MAC styleseeker Supercontinental blush swatches and REVIEW

I don't think I have ever heard a sales associate be so adamant on a product before when I ask for her opinion. They always shy away and try to get your input on the item first then suggest accordingly. At my recent visit to a MAC counter in Macy's, I was deciding between MAC's StyleSeeker collection blushes in Hidden Treasure and Supercontinental. Hidden Treasure is a rich burnt red color and is very pigmented with a touch of shimmer. Supercontinental is a cute pink color with a sheen finish. Both are gorgeous in my book.

As I stood there swatching and contemplating, the SA came over to ask if I needed some help. I explained to her my indecisiveness on the two blushes. Right away she points to Supercontinental blush and says " That one." Her answer was as fast as reflex. I just started laughing and asked her why. That's when she brought my attention to the beautiful sheen and the unique shade of Supercontinental. Swatched lightly, it seems like a peachy sheen color. Slightly heavier and you can see the fun pink color pop out. I was amazed. Not only was it without shimmers or glitter, but this color can be built up and vary in color? It isn't just a lighter version of a color, but it is completely a different color. She also showed me that the Hidden Treasure shade would be too dark on my cheeks and would look like someone had punched me in the face. I was sold and here is my review and swatch of Supercontinental powder blush. Enjoy!

MAC Supercontinental powder blush, 6g/0.21 oz, $20

A close look at Supercontinental

Ebay 10 blush palette REVIEW and Swatches

A while back, I was browsing through Ebay and saw this super mega affordable blush palette! I was skeptical, but after a few more successful purchases on ebay, I decided to give this one a try. This palette consists of colors all across the board- ranging from pale peach to bright pink. It also ranges across finishes- from matte to sparkly. All 10 blushes for $6.99, taxes and shipping already included! What a steal! I figured I would give this a try, what do I have to lose? Intrigued? Keep reading to see the swatches and my opinion on this sleek blush palette.

None of the blushes had a name, so I gave it a numbering system. Click on photo above to see the system at a closer look. It starts at the top left corner and then moves down, then up again towards the right.

Blush #1: shimmering rose gold pink

Blush #2: matte stark pink

Blush #3: shimmering pale peach

Blush #4: sparkly coral

Blush #5: shimmering pink with white opaque base

Blush #6: matte muted pink

Blush #7: shimmering neon orange red

Blush #8: matte bright pink

Blush #9: sheer peachy coral

Blush #10: peach sheen

OPI Germany Collection 2012 My Very First Knockwurst and German-icure by OPI REVIEW and swatches

So I finally went to Ulta and picked up some of OPI Germany collection's nail polishes last week. I purchased two of the twelve shades and will be swatching and reviewing them below.

My Very First Knockwurst (left), German-icure by OPI (right)

OPI Germany collection, 0.5 fl oz/15mL, $8.50

My Very First Knockwurst is a light nude pink

German-icure by OPI is a deep red brown with gold shimmers

MAC Cremesheen + Pearl REVIEW and swatches of Imperial light, Peach blossom, Pure Zen, Coral Bliss, and Shanghai Spice

So I finally got my goodies from the MAC Cremesheen + Pearl collection. This collection has names that are very Asian-themed. I purchased 5 products to share with you. To see the full collection swatched, click here.

Left to right: Coral Bliss, Peach Blossom, Shanghai Spice, Pure Zen 

MAC Cremesheen Lipstick, 3g/0.1 oz, $15 

left to right:  Coral Bliss, Peach Blossom, Shanghai Spice, Pure Zen 

Buxom Big & Healthy Lip Cream in White Russian REVIEW and swatches

I have heard so much about this little Lip Cream from Buxom in White Russian. I love milky pink colors and it is hard for me to find one that looks that way on my lips without washing me out. My lips are very red pigmented so I need something opaque enough to show, but not so much so I look like a clown. I decided to give White Russian a try. See below for review and swatches :)

Buxom Big & Healthy Lip cream in White Russian

4.2ml/0.14 fl. oz, $18, sephora.com

Doe foot applicator, very soft and easy to apply. Carries enough product in one go.

A look at White Russian on my hand.
Artificial light on the left and natural light on the right.
You can see how it has a milky pink cream color! It has no shimmer or sheen, just cream :)

Essie Stylenomics Recessionista and Miss Fancy Pants REVIEW and Swatches and Comparisons

While at Ulta browsing at skincare and cosmetics, I came across Essie's Fall 2012 collection: Stylenomics. Stylenomics consists of 6 polishes and I am reviewing 2 of them below while comparing one of them to a Nails Inc. nail polish.

Essie Miss Fancy Pants (left) and Recessionista (right)

0.46 fl oz, $8

Recessionista: a deep plum red with a hint of violet

Miss Fancy Pants: a light dove gray

Other shades in the collection:

Stylenomics: a dark hunter/forest green

Skirting the Issue: deep violet

Don't Sweater it: deep taupe

Head Mistress: dark pink

MAC Cremesheen + Pearl Collection 2012 SWATCHES

UPDATE 8/9/12: see closer swatches and reviews for 5 products from this line here

My local MAC counter had the Cremesheen + Pearl collection out today and I swatched all of the colors I could get my hands on for you girls! It is available in US stores on August 9th 2012 and available internationally in September 2012. These are new, but permanent shades! This collection consists of Cremesheen glass and lipsticks and are relatively light/sheer in color.
You can pre-order yours today, but you won't be able to pick them up till next week in stores.

Cremesheen lipstick is $14.50 listed, but I was charged $15 at my local Macy's.

Cremesheen glass is $19.50
(I did not take a photo of the collection stand so I used one of MAC's ad photos)

Swatches!

I labeled the names of each shade in the picture, but they can be a bit hard to see. Click photo to enlarge.

Nars Foreplay cheek blush palette 2012 REVIEW and swatches

Nars comes out with a couple of limited edition palettes every year and I happened to skip last years because I bought a bunch of other blushes around the same time. I also didn't like the color combinations too much. This year, Nars came out with Foreplay Cheek Palette and I love the colors. I prefer more matte colors rather than the shimmery or sparkly ones that were in last year's Danmari palette. This year includes two matte blushes, one shimmery one (Orgasm), and a highlight color. The light shimmer in the Orgasm blush allows you to create different combinations with the other two matte blushes! See below for swatches and comparisons.

Nars Cheek Palette in Foreplay, 0.36 oz/10g, $49, sephora.com (exclusive)

As you can see, Nars Foreplay palette comes in their signature black case with a mirror.

Foreplay has four separated blushes/highlight, which makes it easy to keep the colors apart.

top left: peach matte blush

bottom left: bright pink matte blush

top right: gold shimmery highlight

bottom right: Orgasm blush (pinky peach shimmer)

Hand swatches

Sinful Colors line up July 2012 Swatches and REVIEW

Sinful Colors nail polishes are on sale this week at Walgreens for $0.99. They usually sell for $1.99 so if you have your eye on some shades, pick them up asap! There are a ton of "collections" that came out recently, though most of them were colors we have seen in previous collections. Study in Style came out recently- see my review on two of the polishes here.
I have decided to do a swatch of all the ones I currently love from Sinful Colors. Hope these will help you decide whether you want to go out and look for them. Some of these were limited edition, but I was still able to find them randomly in the stands.

 left to right: Bare (LE) and Be Happy, two coats each

Givenchy Noir Couture 4-in-1 Mascara REVIEW and swatches

I was very intrigued by the Givenchy Noir Couture Mascara when I first heard about it on Sephora. I really like the sleek packaging and the unique brush. I was even more interested in the 4-in-1 feature: volume, length, curl and care. So I purchased the Black Satin shade first chance I get from Sephora.

Givenchy Noir Couture, 8g/0.28oz, $32
in Black Satin.
Available at www.sephora.com late July and in Sephora stores in August.

A closer look at the brush. Triple Sphere Wand.

Similar to the "sphere" wand on Givenchy's Phenomen'Eyes Mascara, Noir Couture has three of these for faster application, but still giving the option of reaching the corners of your eyes.

Dior Le Vernis Incognito REVIEW, swatches, dupe

I can't believe I haven't discovered Dior's nail le vernis until now. I have heard so much about it, but I have always went for Chanel nail polishes if I ever felt the need to splurge on nail polishes. Today, I stumbled upon the Dior counter and instantly was drawn to the color Incognito (257). I am a sucker for very neutral and earth tone colors and this nude pink was right up my alley.

Dior Le Vernis in Incognito, 10ml/0.33 fl.oz., $23 

Dior Incognito released Spring 2012

Closer look at the brush. For those of you who have not seen closely or have not used Dior's nail polishes, they are very similar to the size of the new Wet n Wild nail polish brushes. It is wider than most drugstore nail polishes, but applies so quickly! 

Also note the shape of the top of the bottle. The edge of it slides downwards and makes removing excess polish from the brush so easy! It doesn't collect and become tacky on the edge of the lid :) 

 One coat of Dior Incognito

Comparison with Milani:

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB cream REVIEW and swatches

I have heard a lot about BB creams from USA cosmetic brands in the past few months and it has made me want to compare it to Asian BB creams. Though BB creams have been around a long time in the Asian markets, those aren't as easy to get a hold of. I decided to finally try some readily available BB creams in the States and landed on Maybelline's Dream Fresh 8-in-1 BB cream.

 Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream in Medium sheer tint, 30ml/1 fl. oz, $8.99

There were a few reasons why I decided to try Maybelline's versus L'oreal or Garnier or other brands.

1. They have sample testers at Walgreens and CVS for you to test your shade! 
2. The tube has a safety seal inside (see below) to prevent tampering with. I hate it when I feel like someone has tried the product!
3. SPF 30! L'oreal Youth code has spf 15, L'oreal nude magique has spf 12, and Garnier skin renew has spf 12. None of which feels enough to me.

Duality Nail Pak polish REVIEW and Swatches in Ellen

Hello, Everyone. I am pleased to show you my new nail polish kit. This kit is called Nail Pak and is from a company called Duality. Some of you might have seen this before on the TV show Shark Tank. Duality's Nail Pak is one of the company/ideas that was supported by big business people (aka shark). Anyway, on to the product :)

NailPak in Ellen, 0.8 fl.oz, $15

Ellen is a bright turquoise cream color. It is very appropriate for summer. I swatched it with a few of the popular turquoise nail polishes down below for reference.

 After you twist off the polish bottle, you see an emery board that has "duality" printed on it. You can file or smooth out your nails on this board. Pulling the black tab right above the file, you can see nail polish remover pads underneath. There are 20 of these so that should last you a while. These remover pads are soaked with non-acetone remover so they won't dry out your nail. Push the tab back on and twist on the nail polish and you are back to the original product.

This is a good way to carry everything you need to touch up nails on the go. However, I found myself not bringing this in my purse at all. I don't usually need to touch up nails, and if I ever do, I probably will wait till I get home. This is a good idea for travelers, but I don't think I will be purchasing other Nail Pak products because I find it as easy to bring a file, nail polish, and remover pads with me than bringing this. Since this is on the pricey side, I will stick with the traditional nail polishes unless they come out with a very unique color.

Dry time/Application: Overall dry time was fairly fast. It was similar to the dry time of Wet n Wild and Zoya nail polishes.