Monday, October 10, 2011

The Lipstick Compendium: MAC 'Fresh Amour' Mattene Lipstick

MAC Mattene Lipsticks are a range of lipsticks that are designed to have a matte finish. They are packaged in a sleek, black tube.

Price and Availability
$14.50 per tube, and are available at MAC online or any store with MAC counters. This is a limited edition item as part of the Posh Paradise collection.

Fresh Amour is a light pinky- lavender shade. On my lips, it has slight grey undertones. The "matte" aspect of this lipsticks can be a little deceiving. This is matte, but it is super creamy. The formulation reminds me more of MAC Amplified Creams, rather that a Matte. But I actually really love Amplified Creams, so I love the finish of this lipstick.
This color will look better on lighter skin tones, but darker skin tones can definitely pull this color off. I personally have to blot the color slightly, just so it doesn't make me look deathly pale.








Verdict
I love that this Mattene isn't too matte, and it is actually very creamy and smooth. Is does not accentuate dry lips, and it didn't dry my lips either. I love the color, although I can see it would be hard to wear for many people because it is a paler purple. This is my first MAC Mattene, and I am pretty impressed! I'd like to hear other people's experiences with Mattenes :)

Rating: 9/10 (-.5 color wearbability, -.5 for limited availability)
Recommend? I would recommend this if you are a purple lippie junky like me :D
Repurchase? No, it is limited edition after all. There are many other purple lippies out there to try as well!

I am thinking of doing a Purple Lipstick Collection post, since I ♥ my purple lippies! What do you gals think?

Introduction To The Legend of Zelda Series


The Legend of Zelda is one of my favorite game series of all time. I grew up playing the games, and I have so many great memories of it. This month I am going to be 20 years old, and my obsession with the Zelda series continues full force. November 20th is the official release day of The Legend of Zelda: Skywards Sword. I have already pre-ordered the Collector's Edition because I am totally crazy and obsessed.

Many of the hardcore, long time fans did not like the look of Skywards Sword. I agree that it is very different to the previous games, but that does not stop me from being fascinated by the creativity put into the makings of this Zelda game. I have NEVER been disappointed by a Zelda game, so why should this time be any different?

In preparation for the release of the game, I want to start a makeup series dedicated to The Legend of Zelda! I am so excited to this, and I can't believe I didn't do it before. But I hope you will all enjoy the looks! These next 2 pictures are my current inspiration ;)
Princess Zelda

Phantom Ganon

*I will still continue my Sanrio Series, but that will go at a slower pace.

Estee Lauder 'Metallic Sage' Nail Lacquer

A while back, I had my first experience using an Estee Lauder nail polish, and I had absolutely loved it! When I saw a the new collection for Estee Lauder and saw the polish Metallic Sage, I instantly fell in love with it and knew I had to have it. You will see why I am becoming increasingly impressed with the EL nail lacquers!

Metallic Sage ($19.00, Limited Edition) is a dirty gray-toned olive green with loads of gold shimmer. The color is hard to describe, but it is a darker sage green and under some lighting, it is more of a khaki green. This is very expensive, but I LOVE this color sooo much. It went opaque in one coat, and it looks simply amazing. If you are interested, you can check it out at Nordstrom and if you don not like  it, you can always return it :)

You can checkout Vampy Varnish's review, which I totally agree with. And you check out Scrangie's review (although I do not agree with her opinion on the formula).

*I am wearing a base coat and 1 coat of Metallic Sage. No topcoat! Insane, right?


 *This polish was sooo difficult to photograph! The green looks a little more saturated in the photos. In real life, it is a dustier and more of a sage green. But,the gold shimmer is extremely accurate in the photos. The gold shimmer is very heavy and not subtle at all.

Verdict
I love the formula, color, shimmer, and packaging! Price? Not so much. This is definitely not something everyone will want to buy. But, as I am an over obsessive makeup and nail polish junkie, I had to have it.But other than the price, it is absolutely perfect!

Rating: 9.5/10 (-.5 for high price!)
Recommend? I would recommend it to people who love to "invest" in high quality nail polishes,and also to other over obsessive junkies ^_^
Repurchase? Hm...thats a tough one.I am going to say no. But I will say that if Estee Lauder releases any other colors similar to this, I will be all over them!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Weekly Recap 10/3-10/09

Hellooo!~
I am sure you guys have seen weekly recaps before (perhaps?). I have seen couple other bloggers do this, and I think it is a great idea! This way, I can compile in one post all the posts that were posted that week, as well as posts from other bloggers that I particularly loved reading. I can also add some Youtube videos that I liked :)

butter London No More Waity, Katie
Swatch and review of this very popular butter London nail varnish.
Illamasqua Theatre of the Nameless 
Swatch, review, and looks using some of the products from this collection.
September Favorites
My monthly favorite for makeup, music, and more.
MAC Asian Flower Sheen Supreme Lipstick
MAC Korean Candy Sheen Supreme Lipstick
Swatch and review of the new sheen supreme lipstick by MAC.
Love Alpha Frozen Jelly Eye Colors
Review and EOTDs of 3 products from KKCenterhk.
Sultry Snow White Look
FOTD of this smokey look inspired by sexy Snow White lips.
Little Black Dress with an Asian Flower Look
FOTD using Stila and MAC products.



I don't have many links to other blogs and videos because I wasn't prepared to do this post, but I will take notes for next week. I will leave you with my favorite Youtube Guru though ;)
 I love Michele! She is such an honest, genuine youtuber. I adore the products she shows, and I overall just enjoy watching every second of her videos. In the 2.5 years I have watched Youtube beauty videos, she is still my favorite youtuber. I highly recommend you check her out!



Saturday, October 8, 2011

Review: Love Alpha Frozen Jelly Eye Colors

Hii Lovely Reader!

If you have been following my blog for a while, you might remember a post I did about the Love Alpha Copper Frozen Jelly Eye Color (Ooh what a long name!). If you haven't go check it out  for more information on the packaging of these eye colors :)
KKCenterhk has kindly provided me three more of these "frozen jellies" to review.

#05 Light Blue ($3.48) is a sheer minty, icy blue with LOADS of blue, purple, and pink shimmer. I love the color because it looks like it could really be frozen and cold! It is a very unique color and I have really enjoyed it. Also, this one had the best formula and consistency. It was the easiest to use out of all three.
#07 Orange ($3.48) is a sheered, bright orange with tons of gold and yellow-orange shimmers. I like this one, but I don't see myself using it very often.
#09 Purple ($3.48) is pink toned purple with pink, blue, and purple shimmers. This was shockingly my least favorite. I love purple, but the consistency of this one was the hardest to work with.

Product Review
In general, these jellies are very fun to use. The consistency is a little like hair gel, but it is not sticky at all. They go on sheer for the part, so they perform better over powder eyeshadows. The bad thing about these though is that they can crease if you don't apply them correctly. What I do is to pat them gently in with my finger, and let it dry before I move my lid. If you crease your lid before it dries, the the jelly will also crease. So just make sure you give it a minute or so to dry. Other than that, I have no problems with these. The purple one was the thinnest in formula, so it was harder to apply, but that might just be that I got a bad batch.
Light Blue, Purple, and Orange Frozen Jellies. You can see the size of the jar is decent.
Light Blue~ So petty!
Swatches of Light Blue, Purple, and Orange. I personally love Light Blue the best!

Light Blue ~ (I will be doing a separate post on this look because I liked it a lot :D)

Before applying it:
After applying it:
I only applied it on the center of my lid
Orange~
Before applying it:
After applying it:

Purple~
Before:
 After:



Verdict:
I really love Light Blue! It is a gorgeous color with just amazing shimmer. Orange it also pretty, but I don't think I will use it often. Purple also looks really gorgeous, but it is a slight pain to use so I will use it when I know I have time to actually apply it. These are very affordable, at only $3.48 per jar! These are very interesting to work with as well, since they have such a unique jelly-like texture (which is not sticky).

I am not going to rate these because they all performed a little differently, but I recommend these to people who love to work with unusual products and who love shimmer!Check them out on KKCenterhk~

ALSO, If you want a separate post on any of the other two looks, please leave a comment below :)
Thank you for reading.

*These products were sent for consideration and review purposes. I was not paid to review them. All opinions stated are my own.

The Lipstick Compendium: MAC 'Korean Candy' Sheen Supreme Lipstick


MAC Sheen Supreme lipsticks are a range of lipsticks that are supposed to be both moisturizing but also very pigmented. The recent Seasonally Supreme Collection included several new shades of the Sheen Supreme, including Korean Candy.

Korean Candy ($14.50, permanent) is a creamy, and moisturizing red-toned orange. It is in fact very bright and pigmented, while still retaining a nice glossy sheen. I personally think that this color will look better on people with a warmer undertones. I have a rather neutral undertone, so I can get away with wearing this shade but I have to be careful of what I am eyeshadows I pair it with, and also be careful of what clothes I wear it with. You will see in the full face picture at the end that the orange clashed with my clothes.
The closest dupes I have are Revlon's Super Lustrous Lipstick in Siren (#667) and Revlon Color Burst Lipstick in Coral (#080). All three colors are orange with red tones that have a glossy finish. But, Korean Candy is brighter, more pigmented, and more moisturizing that the Revlon ones. But, Revlon is a great alternative dupe.


 Siren                             /                            Korean Candy            /                              Coral


PROS:
-Sleek packaging
-Extremely pigmented, but still moisturizing
-Lasts about 3-5 hours on my lips
-Leaves a nice reddish stain on my lips once it fades
-I don't have to wear a lip liner or gloss with this

CONS:
-The tube is a little difficult to open. I feel that I really need to tug at the cap in order to remove the cap
-It can settle into lip lines
-It sometimes clings to dry spots
-Because it is bright and very creamy, it can also be a little high maintenance



I didn't like how this color looked with what I was wearing, but I wanted to show you how it looked in a full face shot. And my hair is all weird too...
Just F.Y.I, it looks a touch redder in the photos than it does in real life. It is actually slightly more orange.
Don't I look super evil in the picture below? It creeped me out...
Anywho...I hope his helps those if you who were thinking of purchasing this shade :)

FOTD: Little Black Dress with an Asian Flower

Yup, my tittle is *so* original...hur hur hur.

A couple of you guys wanted to see a FOTD using both Stila's 'Little Black Dress' smudge pot and MAC 'Asian Flower' Sheen Supreme lipstick. Little did you know that you already saw it! I had a picture in the Asian Flower review and I was wearing both Asian Flower and Little Black Dress. But let's recap it, and I will show you more photos :D Don't mind my cam whoring xD

Products Used
Kat Von D Tattoo Concealer
MAC Powder Blush in Coygirl
Estee Lauder Illuminating Powder Gelee 


Stila Little Black Dress Smudge Pot

MAC Asian Flower Sheen Supreme
Hope you enjoy :D