MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Cream #13

I have a couple of Make Up For Ever products that I received as 500 point perks from Sephora (Smoky Lash mascara, HD powder, Lab Shine lip gloss), but the Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in number 13 is the first MUFE product I've purchased outright.

MUFE describes number 13 as "warm beige" - Sephora describes it as "warm beige - champaigne shimmer" which is probably more apt.  This particular color is formulated for eyes and cheeks (as opposed to lips and cheeks).

As you can see from the swatch on my skintone this shade is mostly shimmer/highlight.  The formula is very long wearing and is waterproof - and even an oil based makeup remover took some doing to completely get rid of it.

The effect is similar to the Urban Decay 24/7 shadow pencil in Sin or the Milani ShadowEyez pencil in Champagne Toast though both of those colors are decidedly pink where this is solidly beige.

I really adore products like this.  They are easy to apply and have great wear times.  The colors are subtle, but the sheen really gives it a dramatic pop.  I wore this all day with no creasing and minimal fading.

MUFE Aqua Creams contain 6 grams of product and retail for $23.

Overall:  10/10

Laura Mercier Signature Colour Essentials

When Nordstrom was having their anniversary sale earlier this summer, I picked up the Laura Mercier Signature Colour Essentials for Face, Eyes and Lips collection.  As of the writing of this post, the set is still available at Nordstrom.

The collection includes:

• Foundation Primer
• Eye and Cheek palette that includes:
• Second Skin  Cheek Colour in Vintage Pink
• Eyeshadow duo in Morning Dew and Primrose
• Eyeshadow duo in Topaz and Kir Royal
• Travel size All Over Eye Colour brush
• Caviar Eye Stick Colour in Twilight
• Full Blown Volume Lash Building Mascara in Black
• Lip Glace in Sweetheart

And as a gift with purchase when I bought this, I also got a Laura Mercier gift bag:

The gift bag included:

• Travel size fan brush
• Invisible Loose Setting Powder
• Flawless Skin Tone Perfecting Eye Gel Creme

And now on to the close ups and swatches

L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Bronzed Taupe

I love the L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadows so I was excited to pick up a new one in the shade Bronzed Taupe.  They are fantastic quality at a drugstore price point.  I have a variety of different colors with different finishes.  The Infallible shadows come in matte, sparkle and metallic finishes.  The metallic finishes are by far my favorite.  Just look at that swatch, isn't it beautiful!

The pigmentation of the Infallible shadows is fantastic. The wear time is fantastic on my lids with or without a primer I easily get 9 hours, but have worn them up to 12 hours with no noticeable creasing.  I will admit I haven't worn them for 24 hours (ewww), but I wouldn't wear any shadow for 24 hours.

I love the consistency of these shadows.  They are a pressed pigment and are looser than a solid pan of eyeshadow.  There is definitely some kind of liquid component and they apply so easily and smoothly.

The L'Oreal Infallible shadows contain 3.5 grams of product and retail for $7 - 12 depending on where you pick them up.  

Overall: 10/10

MAC Ruffian Red Lipstick

MAC's Ruffian Red lipstick came out with the June 2012 MAC Ruffian collection.  The collection was online only and on the small side (and random as well, press on nails?!?).  The collection is a collaboration from MAC and the New York design house, Ruffian.

MAC describes Ruffian Red as "Class rich blue red".  I personally don't think this red reads blue at all.  I think it's very primary red with a tad bit of orange, sort of a tomato red.  It has a matte finish but I found it was pretty creamy and applied very evenly and opaquely.  

Again, being a matte I expected it to be incredibly dry, but it wasn't too bad.  Also because it's a matte it had phenomenal staying power and did stain my lips.

MAC Ruffian Red is still available online for $15.

Overall:  8/10

NYX Round Lipstick in Eros

This lipstick is one that I picked up in Portland a few weeks ago (the other being NYX Matte Lipstick in Shocking Pink).  At the time I had been fixated on MAC's Ruffian Red and at first glance I thought this color looked similar (after swatching, I was right).

NYX doesn't provide official color descriptions (as far as I can tell), but to me this looks like a bright tomato red.  It's mostly neutral, but it may lean a bit orange.  The finish is slightly sheer.  It's very moisturizing and it applies smoothly.  

The formula wore for about 3 hours on me before I needed to reapply.  It did settle into liplines after a while, so regular reapplication is necessary to keep it looking great.

I like the packaging on the NYX round lipsticks, they feel substantial (especially at this price point).  NYX Round lipsticks contain .14oz of product and retail for $4.

Overall: 9/10

Review: Pink lipsticks - yellow based

So lately I've been obsessed with yellow-based pink lipsticks.  They're not exactly earth shattering.  You can find them from a lot of different companies at a lot of different price points, but I thought I would share some of my favorites.

These shades sometimes get categorized as coral, but they're definitely not.  They are pink, but a warm yellow pink, not quite peach and definitely not orange.  I'm amused by how much the official descriptions of the colors vary, but they all look very similar.

MAC Chatterbox is described as a "bright red-pink".  It has an amplified finish so it feels really good on the lips.  It doesn't wear quite as well as a drier formula, but I usually get 2 - 3 hours out of an application.  All MAC lipsticks contain .10 oz of product and retail for $15.00.

Makeup Geek lipstick in Adorable has a Satin/Gloss finish and definitely has the most slip of the three lipsticks.  It is described by Makeup Geek as a dupe for MAC Chatterbox, but I think it's closer to Fanfare.  It is a beautiful color, very creamy texture that doesn't dry my lips.  The packaging contains 4 grams of product and retails for $7.99 on the Makeup Geek site.  

MAC Fanfare has a Cremesheen finish.  It is described by MAC as a "mid-tone yellow pink".  Cremesheens aren't my favorite finish, but I do love this color, so I put up with it.  I don't find it too drying and it does wear really well.  All MAC lipsticks contain .10 oz of product and retail for $15.00.

Sephora Rouge Cream in #14 Seduce is described as a warm beige pink.  This is my first Sephora lipstick and I am impressed with the product if not the packaging.  The bullet is annoyingly large.  I have no idea how much product it contains as neither the packaging, nor the Sephora site say, but I doubt it contains more product than the Makeup Geek lipsticks and yet the bullet is markedly bigger.  It retails for $12.  The formula is super creamy and very opaque.

So what do you think of yellow based pink lipsticks?  Do you love them as much as I love them or are they a pass for you?

MAC Chatterbox Lipstick

I am in love with yellow-based pink lipsticks and I keep buying them.  (The first step is admitting you have a problem.)

I already had MAC Fanfare which I absolutely adore and wear every other day, but I picked up Makeup Geek's Adorable, which I thought was a dupe for Fanfare (don't ask why I'm buying a dupe for something I already have).  However, the Makeup Geek store says Adorable is a dupe for Chatterbox.  So, of course, I had to pick up Chatterbox and see ...

Looking at swatches, I still think that Adorable is much closer to Fanfare, but I do love Chatterbox.  It's described by MAC as "bright red-pink".  I think it's mostly a neutral pink that leans slightly yellow, but it is definitely redder than Fanfare.  Chatterbox has an Amplified finish so it's very creamy and doesn't dry out my lips at all.

I love this color.  It is an intense pink without being too bright - it's very wearable.  And it doesn't lean particularly cool or warm, so it's flattering on a range of skintones.

MAC lipsticks contain .10 oz of product and retail for $15.

Overall: 9/10

MAC Lipstick in Fanfare

MAC Cremesheen lipstick in Fanfare has made it onto several of my favorites list, but I just realized I hadn't actually done a post on it.  So without further ado, MAC Fanfare.

MAC describes fanfare as a "yellow based pink" which is apt.  Fanfare is definitely more pink than peach with a good deal of pigmentation.  It is a cremesheen finish which I know some people find drying on the lips.  I don't have a problem with it and I find that it does wear well.  I get a solid 4 - 5 hours of wear out of an application.

MAC Fanfare is definitely one of my favorite lipsticks.  I am in love with yellow based pinks in general, but particularly with this lipstick.  

Overall: 10/10

Makeup Geek Lipstick in Adorable

I originally posted about the Makeup Geek lipstick in Adorable when I posted my original Makeup Geek haul.  I have two tubes of this lipstick because the first one arrived damaged and Makeup Geek immediately shipped me out a replacement.  I ended up depotting the original and I still use it.

Makeup Geek describes Adorable as a "soft creamy pink".  It's a very yellow based pink.  On the official release page for the Makeup Geek lipstick range, they list Adorable as a dupe for MAC Chatterbox.  As you can see from the swatches below, Adorable is closer to being a dupe for MAC Fanfare than it is for MAC Chatterbox.

Adorable has a satin finish and feels incredibly moisturizing on the lips.  I get a good 3 - 4 hours from the formula and it is not drying at all.

Makeup Geek lipsticks contain 1.8 grams of product  and retail for $7.99.  Makeup Geek lipsticks are currently available in 16 shades with a variety of finishes.

Overall:  10/10

E.L.F. Neutral Eyeshadow Compact

So I used to have the Urban Decay Naked palette (the original) and it just sat around gathering dust.  I didn't use it.  I'm not sure exactly what the problem was, but I finally decided that someone else could put it to better use and I traded it on MakeUp Alley for MAC Matchmaster Foundation (probably my most successful MUA swap to date).

Anyway, the other day I saw two different blog posts on various blogs that I read about how the E.L.F. Neutral eyeshadow compact is a dupe for some of the UD Naked palette shades.  So I decided to plunk down the whopping $3 for it and check it out.  My reasoning was that the E.L.F. palette is all neutrals and omits dupes for the Urban Decay shades I either already own (hello, smog, why do I have three of you?) or never used anyway.

And now on to the swatches and comparisons:

• Glittery White - This shade isn't similar to something in the Naked palette.  It's a white shade with a lot of silver glitter.  The texture was very creamy and the color payoff is good.
• Not!Sidecar - this shade was awful.  It had tons of glitter and seemed to be more glitter than shadow.  it was chunky and uneven and awful.  Urban Decay's Midnight Cowboy is sort of the standard for horrid glitter, but this shade could certainly give Midnight Cowboy a run for its money.  And really, I don't remember Sidecar being that glittery.
• Matte Dark Brown - Excellent color payoff, creamy texture.  For me, this was the best shade in the palette.  I think this is probably darker than any of the matte brown shades in the UD Naked palette.

• Not!Virgin - Shimmery light pink with satin finish with shimmer, but not glitter.  Very creamy.  If memory serves, this is really close to UD's Virgin.
• Rosy Brown - satin finish with shimmer, but not glitter. very creamy.
• Dark gray brown - matte finish.  Not as creamy as the other matte, but very workable and again, darker than anything in the UD palette (I know Dark Horse looks dark in the pan, but on the skin it's really not).

So obviously, I no longer have the Naked palette to be able to do side by side comparisons but my overall impression is ... it's an E.L.F. palette.  Some of the shades are okay (the matte brown in the upper right hand corner is probably my favorite of the palette but at this point I probably have a dozen great matte brown shadows so this doesn't exactly justify purchasing the whole compact for one shade).

Overall, most of the shades are forgettable or really similar to something else I already have.  If you don't already have any affordable neutral palettes, it might be worth picking up.  I really don't think that if you have your heart set on the Urban Decay Naked palette that this is going to satisfy you, but at $3 vs. $50, you might be willing to live with it.

What do you guys think?  Anything that stands out enough to be worth picking up?

Overall: 5/10

Lorac Unziped Eyeshadow Palette

The Lorac Unzipped palette contains 10 neutral shades in matte, shimmer and metallic finishes.  The palette contains 11.2 grams of product and retails for $40.  The palette also included a deluxe sample size Lorac Behind the Scenes eyeshadow primer.

Top Row:

Undercover, Unbelievable, Unattainable, Unconditional, Unbridled

• Undercover - this was a really difficult shade to swatch since it is basically my skintone.  The finish is matte and it is a very creamy and pigmented.
• Unbelievable - This is a beautiful coppery orange shadow with a metallic finish.  It is incredibly pigmented and applied like a dream.
• Unattainable - Another metallic finish. This one is a coppery brown.  Intense pigmentation and applied so smoothly.
• Unconditional - light brown matte shadow.  The payoff wasn't great and the shadow seemed very dry.
• Unbridled - plummy brown matte shadow.  Very creamy.  Good payoff.

Bottom Row:

Undiscovered, Unreal, Uncensored, Unspoken, Untamed

• Undiscovered - Buttery gold metallic shadow.  Excellent payoff, creamy application.
• Unreal - Champaigne pink metallic shadow.  Excellent payoff, creamy application.
• Uncensored - Metallic brown.  Great payoff.
• Unspoken - Matte medium brown.  Creamy texture.  reat payoff.
• Untamed - dark brown, slightly purple with shimmer.  not metallic, but satin.  Great color payoff.

The metallic shadows are definitely the winners in this palette.  They are beautiful shadows with fantastic application.  The mattes are hit or miss.  Some of them are fantastic, others not so much.

Overall, I think this is a fantastic collection of shadows.  They are neutral without being boring and the overall quality is really impressive.  The palette itself is just cardboard with no closure, so I'm not sure how great it would be to travel with.  I suspect you could depot these shadows fairly easily and throw them in a zPalette if you felt so inclined.

I haven't tried out the primer yet, but I will.  There will be a separate review on it.

Overall:  9/10

Keep reading for more pics.

MAC Candy Yum-Yum Lipstick

MAC's Candy Yum-Yum is definitely one of those cult favorite lipsticks, so much so that it was one of the three shades brought back (for a limited time, of course) in MAC By Request in August 2012.  

Candy Yum-Yum is a matte finish but it applies very smoothly and opaquely.  It is described by MAC as a "neon pink" which is pretty spot on.  It leans blue, but not terribly so.

MAC recently had their price hike, so lipsticks are now $15 each and it's up to the consumer to decide if it's worth it.  This shade doesn't strike me as particularly original and I think you can find a number of dupes in a much more affordable range.  The finish, however, is not as common in drug store ranges.  It's a matte finish so the wear time is really good (I got around 6 hours out of it).  It can be a little drying, but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as I was expecting.

In my experience, quite a few drug store formulas can match the shade, but finding one that will match the shade and the finish is much more rare, however there is one.  NYX's Matte Lipstick in Shocking Pink is a really close dupe for both color (it's slightly more blue, but only slightly) and finish (they're both matte).  

If you're just looking for a color match, NYX's black label Hot Pink (Phyrra did an excellent post on Candy Yum-Yum vs. NYX's Hot Pink) and Wet n Wild's Nouveau Pink #511B are both fairly close color matches.

What do you think?  Will you be picking this up while it's available?  Will you go for a more affordable dupe?  Is this color one you will pass on?

Given that the NYX Shocking Pink is such a good dupe, I don't think I would necessarily pick this one up again (even if it was available).

Overall: 7/10