L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in 755 Gilded Envy

The L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in 755 Gilded Envy is a new shade that launched with the L'Oreal Butterfly collection.  I believe it's permanent.  I've seen it pretty much everywhere that L'Oreal Infallible shadows are carried.

L'Oreal doesn't offer a specific description as far as I can tell.  It's a very golden green.  In the pan, it looks much more green than it shows up on the skin.  On the skin, it's definitely a tarnished gold color.

Personally, I find the Infallible shadows to vary a lot in texture from silky smooth to a chunky nightmare to apply.  Gilded envy is on the chunkier side to me, but it does apply well (unlike my much loved Amber Rush - beautiful color, total pain to apply).  It has good pigmentation, but sometimes it takes a bit of work to make sure you have uniform color coverage.

As with all of the L'Oreal Infallible shadows I've tried, it wore really well.  I don't know that I buy the 24 hour claim, but it definitely holds up for the work day.  

L'Oreal Infallible eye shadow in 755 Gilded Envy contains 3.5 grams of product and retails for $5 - 10 depending on where you're purchasing.  I picked mine up at CVS on a BOGO1/2 off.

Overall:  7/10

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencils in Naked and Wicked

I am emphatically not a lip liner person.  I own four of them.  When the re-formulated Urban Decay 24/7 lip liners launched, I was curious, but I could not justify the $20 cost, especially for something I wouldn't use often.

However ... the other day I stopped by Nordstrom Rack and they had several colors of the lip liner for $7.  So, I picked up Wicked and Naked.  I believe that these two are from before the line was re-formulated, but if anyone knows more, please let me know.  My Naked definitely doesn't seem to line up to swatches of the current release of Naked and Wicked doesn't seem to be a current color.

I like that you can tell from the packaging if it is a matte or sparkly finish.  You can see above that Wicked's packaging has sparkles and Naked's packaging does not.

Both lip liners are very pigmented and apply well, especially for lip liners.  I don't know that I'd call them creamy, but they definitely don't have the colored pencil texture of some lip liners where you feel like you're going to damage yourself trying to apply them.  

Wicked is a medium berry pink with sparkles.  

Naked is a nude-y brown that leans orange.  It has a matte finish. 

I noticed a bit of staining from both colors, but nothing crazy and if you have more pigmented lips, it's likely you wouldn't notice anything at all.  I tend to wear them under glosses (NYX butter glosses specifically) and they're comfortable with decent 4-5 hour wear time, which is very good for anything under a gloss in my experience.

Both colors applied evenly and wore very well.  I didn't notice a particularly gritty finish from Wicked, but I'm also not terribly sensitive to texture in lipsticks, so your mileage may vary considerably.  

The Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencils contain .04 oz of product and retail for $20, unless you find them at Nordstrom Rack, where you can get them for $7.  I don't know how or why Nordstrom Rack has them, considering Nordstrom doesn't carry the line, but it's a great deal, so if you're interested, check them out.  I really don't see myself ever paying full retail for these, but on clearance, I feel like they're a good buy.

Overall:  8/10

Tom Ford Eye Color Quad in Silvered Topaz

So, yes, for the record, I know that I already did a review of this palette.  But, as with my previous reviews of Golden Mink, the review for the Tom Ford Silvered Topaz quad also suffered from some fairly dismal product and swatch pictures.

The problem with getting good quality pictures in terms of color accuracy is that the pictures really need to be taken outside, on a sunny day, around mid-day.  And at this time of year, days like that are incredibly limited.  I have such a backlog of products I need to photograph and swatch.  I apologize for the delay and a huge thank you to anybody who is still bothering to check in.

The Tom Ford Quad in Silvered Topaz contains glitter, satin and matte shades.  Starting in the upper left hand corner and moving clockwise, the shades are:

• Light peachy glitter shade.  Mostly, it's a lot of sparkle, but it does retain enough color that you can tell it's peachy.  This shade is ideal for adding very precise sparkle or for layering on top of other shades in the quad.

• Warm silver satin.  Like all of the satin finish Tom Ford shades I've tried, the color payoff is phenomenal.  The shade is buttery soft and intensely pigmented.  I love this shade because warm silvers (and pewters) are fairly hard to find, at least for me.  I feel like this shade is one of the most unique across the Tom Ford line and it definitely makes this palette worth picking up for me.
• Light brown satin.  This shade verges very close to taupe territory for me. (Which is a good thing!)  While I do think 'light brown' is the best description for the shade, I also think it sells it short.  This is a complex shade that I find incredibly wearable.

• Matte cool dark brown.  This is similar to the dark matte brown from the Cocoa Mirage quad, but they are different.  The shade from Cocoa Mirage is definitely warmer.  Also, I do not detect any glitter in this matte shade, unlike the shade from Cocoa Mirage.  As with the other Tom Ford matte shades I've tried, the texture on this shadow is incredibly soft and very pigmented.

Silvered Topaz is part of the permanent Tom Ford line.  Like the other Tom Ford quads, it contains a generous 10 grams of product and retails for $78 wherever Tom Ford Beauty is sold.

Overall:  10/10

MAC satin finish lipstick in Brave

For quite a while now, I've had the MAC lipstick, Brave on my makeup wishlist.  The other day, I traded in some Back To MAC empties and I finally picked it up.  There's nothing new or sparkly about this lipstick.  It's been part of MAC's permanent collection for a long time.

MAC describes the color as 'pink-beige with white pearl'.  Eh, I can sort of see that but mostly, this reads as a muted pinky peach color to me.  And I don't really detect much of a pearl at all.

(daybulb)

(indirect natural light)

For me, this is a very work appropriate, everyday sort of shade.  It's just sort of a mindless option.  It applies easily, wears easily and has good staying power.  It doesn't require a lot of upkeep, it isn't uncomfortable to wear. It's definitely not a nude on me, but it's a very natural color.

The MAC lipstick in Brave has a satin finish and contains 3 grams of product.  It retails for $15, or if you have 6 MAC empties, you can trade them in for a full size lipstick.  For more information on which MAC products qualify, see the Back to MAC page at the MAC site.

Overall:  10/10

LE Maybelline Color Tattoo Mattes

I had been on the hunt for the limited edition Maybelline Color Tattoo mattes that launched with the Fall 2013 Gilded in Gold collection for, literally, months.  Of course, none of the stores near me ever received them (as far as I can tell), however, I was able to swap for three of them on MakeUp Alley.

This color tattoo collection, more than others, seems to be a pretty straightforward attempt to dupe some very popular MAC Paint Pots.  The three colors in the Maybelline collection are Matte Brown (often called a dupe for Groundwork, but in my opinion, it's darker than Groundwork), Just Beige (dupe for Soft Ochre, but again, seems to be significantly darker) and Nude Pink (dupe for Painterly, I will actually do a post comparing these two).

(L-R Just Beige, Nude Pink, Matte Brown)

Maybelline isn't kidding about these formulas being matte.  It may just be a quality control issue with the limited edition shades, but I have the permanent color tattoo matte in Tough as Taupe and it isn't anywhere near as dry as these shades.

The formula is incredibly stiff and despite their great pigmentation, they tended to look a little patchy, probably because the formula is so stiff.  I found the shades difficult to blend out and they did not sheer out particularly evenly.  

Once they set, they looked dry on my lids.  They didn't crease, but worn alone, they definitely don't do anything to improve the look of my lids.  They work well as bases as long as I apply shadows on top of them before they completely set.  These set quickly, so there isn't much wiggle room in my experience.

If you're looking for long wear, these are the shadows for you.  These things lasted a solid fourteen hours without budging an inch (I don't have oily eyelids, but they are hooded, so they can be tough on shadows).  I generally use an oil cleanser to remove my makeup, but even with an oil cleanser, it look a bit of work to completely remove these shadows.

Just Beige

Nude Pink

Matte Brown

As far as these being dupes for MAC paint pots, in my experience, they aren't.  The paint pots have so much more slip to them and they sheer out and cling to powder shadows so much better.  I have a MAC paintpot in Painterly that I've had for at least two years and it's still creamy (though it looks a little sketchy in the pot).  I haven't had these shadows long enough to know for sure, but my suspicion is that they will dry up and crack within the year.

The price point on the Maybelline Color Tattoos is, without a doubt, way more compelling than the MAC Paint Pots ($6 range, vs $20).

I know that Maybelline launched another Color Tattoo collection  - Dare to Go Nude - that contains a bunch of nude shades, though I don't think any of them are matte, so maybe they're re-formulating their mattes.

All in all, these shadows just aren't what I want them to be, especially considering how good most of the Color Tattoo range is, and considering how difficult it was for me to find them.

The LE Maybelline Color Tattoo mattes contain 4 grams of product and retail anywhere from $4.50 to $7 each depending on where (IF) you can find them.

Have any of you tried the LE Color Tattoo mattes?  If so, what did you think?

Overall:  5/10  

Tom Ford Eye Quad in Cocoa Mirage

The next up in the Tom Ford overview is the Eye Color Quad in Cocoa Mirage.  This palette is part of the permanent line and is the only one of the Tom Ford palettes I own that doesn't contain any of the shimmer (glitter) shades.  This quad has two complete matte shades, one mostly-matte shade and one satin finish.

The top two shades are completely matte.  My experience with the Tom Ford mattes so far has been phenomenal.  The mattes are buttery soft with fantastic pigmentation (though I understand that in some of his other palettes, that isn't the case). 

Cocoa Mirage is fairly neutral in my opinion.  It leans ever so slightly warm, but I don't feel like it's so warm that someone cool toned couldn't wear it.

 As you can see from the swatches, the lightest shade is a very close match to my natural skintone.  The second matte shade is a mid tone slightly warm brown.  The third shade is a warm medium-dark brown and the only satin finish in the palette.  It has lovely pigmentation and texture.  The last shade is a dark brown that leans warm.  It is mostly matte, but there is the tiniest amount of gold glitter.

I swear I'm not a total Tom Ford fangirl.  There have been two palettes which I acquired (swapped for on MakeupAlley) and then promptly swapped away because I was not happy with them.  So when I say that Cocoa Mirage is a fantastic palette, I really mean it.

Overall:  10/10

Recent Korean Beauty Haul from RubyRubyShop

I just wanted to share a little Korean beauty haul that I did recently from the RubyRubyShop on ebay.

I picked up:

• SKINFOOD Avocado Rich Essence 1, $13.04
• TONYMOLY Hello Bunny Perfume Bar, #3 Dodo Rose, $9.44
• TONYMOLY Mini Berry Lip Balm SPF15 PA+ #01 Cherry, $8.39
• TONYMOLY Petite Bunny Gloss Bar, #3 Juicy Apple, #2 Juicy Grape, #7 Neon Orange $5.30 each
• THE FACE SHOP Lovely ME:EX Mini Pet Perfume Hand Cream in Baby Powder, $4.45
• It's SKIN Hyaluronic Acid Serum - 40ml, $16.19
• INNISFREE Green Tea Mineral Mist (Mist Spray) 120ml, $17.09
• TONYMOLY Clean Dew Apple Mint Cleansing Oil - 150ml, $12.59
• ETUDE HOUSE Ice Cream Nails, Blue Mint, Peach, Strawberry, $5.84 each

Most of the items were supposed to be stocking stuffers for my daughter, but unfortunately, they did not arrive in time.  I placed my order on Dec., 2013 and the items arrived on Jan. 3, 2014.  They arrived registered mail (my previous order didn't ship registered mail and arrived in 4 business days.)

If you want to see reviews on any of the items, let me know.  I absolutely love the Green Tea Mist and the Hyaluronic serum and have already ordered more.  And seriously, as for the non-skincare items, Korea has the cutest and most fun packaging you can find on this planet.  It's awesome.  Did you see the little ice cream cone nail polishes or the cherry lipbalm?

As far as my experience ordering from RubyRubyShop, it was good.  I did order at the height of the holiday rush so I really wasn't shocked that my item took a long time to arrive.  RubyRubyShop quotes 10 - 35 business days for shipping to the US.  I'm pretty sure they mean calendar days based on the shipping estimates I received.  

There is a consistent issue with the English not being particularly intelligible on the site.  Sometimes it's pure gibberish and at best it's awkward and ambiguous.  There is something on the site about standard shipping rates and how shipping cannot be discounted, even if you purchase multiple items.  I've ordered from them three times now and I have never paid any shipping on any of the items, even when the items shipped via registered mail.

All in all, I'm thrilled with RubyRubyShop.  It's extremely affordable (generally cheaper than SaSa).  Items arrived well packaged and they include some really nice extras.  The first time I ordered it arrived super quick, the second time it took a month, but it was in the middle of the holiday rush.  The only downside to the shop for me is that they don't currently carry Skin79 or My Beauty Diary (I still have to get those from SaSa.com).

Here is a copy of the current disclaimer on all of their products on ebay, though it is obviously subject to change.  It's pure fiction, but amusing.

Do you guys buy Korean beauty products?  If so, can you find them locally or do you have an etailer you like?  Let me know.

Thanks!

MAC Extra Dimension Blush in Autoerotique

I am a huge fan of the MAC Extra Dimension blush formula and when they debuted last Spring, I picked up all of them.  The Magnetic Nude collection that launched around the first of the year had two new blushes, Autoerotique and Pleasure Model.  I decided to pass on Pleasure Model, but I picked up Autoerotique.

Autoerotique is described by MAC as "dirty coral rose", which I guess works.  It's a medium warm pinky-tan that leans ever so slightly orange.  The blush has a satin finish and contains just a bit of shimmer by way of fine gold glitter.

The blush applies evenly and smoothly and sheers out easily.  I didn't think the glitter was particularly noticeable on the skin and I got great wear time out of it.  The formula on autoerotique is noticeably different from At Dusk.  I feel like At Dusk sort of melts into my skin and that isn't really what I get from Autoerotique.

Autoerotique contains 6.5 grams of product and is limited edition, but as of the writing of this review is still available from MAC and several other retailers who carry the line.  I purchased mine from Nordstrom for $25.

Overall:  8/10

Marc Jacobs Style Eye-Con No.7 Plush Shadow in 204 Starlet

I received a couple of Sephora gift cards over the holidays, so I decided to pick up one of the Marc Jacobs Style Eye-Con No.7 Plush Shadow palettes (OMG, that name *le sigh*).  Looking at the palettes in the store, the Lolita palette was definitely the most up my alley in terms of colors.  However, I've seen quite a few YouTube reviews of the Lolita palette and the reviews seemed really mixed.

After swatching the other palettes in the line, I decided to pick up the Starlet palette.  This palette is a bit outside my comfort zone, but the payoff of the shadows is absolutely phenomenal.  The three shadows on the left and then the far right shadow are definitely going to get a lot of love from me.  I can't say that the bright peach, or the straight up gold or silver shades are going to get much use, though I suppose only time will tell.

The far left purple-taupe shadow is actually what sold me on the palette.  It's just gorgeous.  I actually included swatches of it in my Rouge Bunny Rouge Delicate Hummingbird purple-taupe comparison swatches.

All of the shadows do have a metallic finish.  They are buttery soft with great color payoff.  They applied evenly and wore fantastically well, even on my hooded lids.

The Style Eye-Con No. 7 palettes contain 7 shades and 7 grams of product, so one gram of each product which is not a lot of product.  The wells are fairly small.  That may be a huge plus or a minus depending on what you're looking for.  On the whole, I tend to like quads with bigger wells and fewer colors.  But if you're looking out to try a lot of different colors, this is definitely a good bet.

The packaging isn't my favorite.  I feel like it's just an awkward shape.  It's a very slim, long plastic reflective packaging.  It feels fairly sturdy and snaps closed.  There is a spring in the mirror so that when you unsnap the palette, it does stay open.  Again, only time will tell, but I feel like this packaging could be a problem if either the snap closure or the spring break.  The palette also comes with a little canvas dustcover.

The Marc Jacobs Style Eye-Con No. 7 Plush Shadow palette in 204 Starlet is available exclusively at Sephora and retails for $59.

Overall:  8/10

Tom Ford Eye Color Quad 01 Golden Mink

Yes, so this is the third, count 'em, the third time I've reviewed this quad.  And not to beat a dead horse, but the review quality is steadily getting better.  I'm trying new lighting and I think these pictures come much closest I've managed to capturing how the product looks in real life.  Also, I've started posting YouTube videos again and this blog post was created to accompany the video.

The Tom Ford quad in Golden Mink contains 2 glitter shades and 2 satin shades.  

The two glitters are a pale non-metallic gold and a peach.  The glitters are more like a pressed pigment.  There is definitely some type of binding agent in the glitter that keeps it from ending up all over my face.  These are the most fantastic glitters I've ever seen.  They're beautiful and sparkly without being over the top.  You can see that they do have a good bit of color to them, they're not just shimmer.

The satin shades are incredibly pigmented and buttery soft.  They apply like a dream and are easy to blend.  I don't ever have any issue with them fading or with my hooded eyes "eating" the shadows.  They last a solid ten hours without problems.

 The first satin shade is a pretty neutral taupe with lots of dimension.  It is hands down one of my most loved eyeshadows and you can see the obvious dip in the picture below.  The second satin shade is a rich dark brown that complements the taupe shade perfectly.  

The quad is lovely, with high gloss brown and gold packaging.  It's sturdy and feels substantial.  The mirror is sizeable and the little sponge tip applicators are actually really useful in applying the glitter shades.  The compact has a magnetic closure that keeps it securely closed and it has a little pouch for storage.

The Tom Ford Eye Quads contain 10 grams of product and currently retail for $78 (though they were $75 when I picked mine up.)  Golden Mink is part of the permanent Tom Ford line and is available anywhere that carries the Tom Ford Cosmetics line.  I got mine at Neiman Marcus.

Overall:  10/10