MAC Fall Colour 2011 Swatches and Review

Usually MAC releases collections online the Tuesday before an official in-store release (Thursdays).  I was shocked and pleased to see that MAC actually uploaded the Fall Colour collection early Monday!

The Fall Colour collection (formerly titled MAC for Cindy Sherman) consists of a wide range of neutrals, brights, and everything in between.  It's basically an opportunity for MAC to release a lot of products that are repromoted, new, or typical exclusively pro, and cash in on suckers like me.  The words "Limited Edition" are the bane of my existence.

On to the haul! 

I picked up:
- Lightscapade Mineralize Skinfinish (sold out online)
- Blue Storm pigment
- Fleshpot (Satin) Lipstick
- Show Orchid (Amplified) Lipstick

Lightscapade Mineralize Skinfinish:
- "Soft candlelit beige with multidimensional shimmer"
- $28

Review: This was one of those products where I was loving it, then not, loving it, then not.  I ultimately purchased it on a whim knowing that it would be mega popular and sell out really fast.  I was totally right!  I'm really glad I picked this up.  As far as Mineralize Skinfinishes go, this is relatively smooth (if you can call one that).  In general, mineral products are a little bit gritter/larger grained than other powdered products.  But the texture of this is rather nice.  As you can see, it does have a shimmer to it.  I do prefer this in highlights, yet those who don't shouldn't be too appalled by this products.  The shimmer is very very fine.  This is really pale and sheer though, so if you're looking for something with pigmentation/if you have darker skin, this probably isn't for you.  Be warned though, the veins of blue, pink, and orange are all different for each individual Skinfinish, so your product may ultimately look a little different than pictured above.  Pink Porcelain Mineralize Skinfinish was re-released in this collection, but is available for cheaper at a lot of CCOs.  I already own it and am not impressed enough with it to feel like it needs to be shared here.  Maybe I'll post a review of it separately later.  


Blue Storm Pigment:
- "Rich Metallic Blue"
- $20

 

Review:  This is actually my first ever MAC pigment!  I have to say, I am impressed with it's quality.  But seeing as I don't have any other MAC pigments to compare it to, I can't speak much with whether not it's a good buy.  For me, this kind of color is super appealing.  This was actually an impluse by.  I thought to myself "Hey Jessica, this would be a great opportunity to start your MAC pigment collection!" And it went straight into my cart.  As far the value goes, I put purchasing MAC pigments because, while they are fairly large, there are a lot of cheaper alternatives out there.  However, the LE word got to my head and there you go.  I now own this beautiful pigment.  As you can see from the swatches (left is dry, right is wet), it's a little bit more sparkly than strictly "metallic" as described.  Generally metallic things have a luster to them, not glitter.  But hey, I'm always down on glitter.  Plus, it's super finely milled which should get in the way of it's blendability or anything.  I'm anxiously awaiting a time when I can wear this baby out (seeing as it's probably not 9am class appropriate).  Holiday party anyone?

Fleshpot Satin Lipstick:

- "Pale muted pinky beige"
- $14.50

Review:  I included so many pictures (cause three is such an outlandish number) of lip swatches because this lipstick can be a bit of a chameleon.  As you can see in the middle swatch, the flash makes it look realllly pale and pinky.  But the beige comes out in the shadow and in certain lightings.  If I had my way, I would keep it the pale and pink color.  That is why I bought it! Trusty 'ole Temptalia had swatches posted and it definitely didn't look beige at all.  Maybe the fact that I'm two shades whiter than snow had to do with the increased beigey pigmentation. I don't know.  But I am slightly on the fence with this one.  When it looks beigey, it reminds me a lot of Viva Glam Gaga II.  Underneath the lipglass Curvaceous (from the recent MAC Me Over collection), this will look GORGEOUS.  I can see myself walking out with this and a smokey navy eye.  Which I know has been done before, but hey.  It's an oldy but a goody.  This is the first Satin lipsitck I've bought from MAC and I have to say I am quite partial to finish and texture.  I'm not a huge Matte fan (my lips are extraordinarily dry) but super sheer and glossy finishes like Lustres tend to piss me off (excuse my language).  Satins are perfect as far as sheen yet opacity.  Muah!! I'm going to definitely look into picking up more of these.  However, I feel like this lipstick will get very little love from me.  It has too much competition from the rest of my nude beigey lip collection.

Show Orchid Amplified Lipstick: 

- "Vivid hot pink" - well duhoy
- $14.50

 

Review: This is one of those cases where you really wish MAC would be a little bit more intuitive with their product descriptions.  Vivid hot pink, eh?  How bout even simpy "blue based vivid hot pink"...?  Oh well.  Again, at least there's Temptalia to help clear up any fuzziness before a product release.  I'd heard a lot about this lipstick before and how extraordinary this color was.  Although a little bright for everyday use, this is such a fantastic discovery.  It's such a fun color while being virtually complimentary to any skin tone.  Fantastic!  Amplifiedes are also fairly reliable.  There's no doubt you're gonna get that color in the bullet! The only thing is, with Amplified finishes you have to be really meticulous with application.  A brush is your best friend with a bright like this.  Especially because this sucka STAINS.  There's a downside to every great thing, right?  My lips were quite dark and pink after removal, but with a quick application and subsequent rub-off of some super-absorbent balm will help loosen up any stray pigment in a jiffy.  Also, lets get real.  Chances are this is a color you'll wear at night, and who cares if you go to bed with neon lips.  I recommend this lipstick to anyone.  Simply gorgeous.

Overall Review and Recommendations:

MAC Fall Colours was a toughy for me.  There were so many products I wanted so badly, but there are definite dupes to a lot of the shadows and fluidline/liners. "Done before" is a phrase that comes to mind with this collection.  None the less, if you haven't picked things up from MAC similar to these products before, go for it.  MAC's pretty trusty as far as quality goes and they're always really good with returns.  If you're a super hesitant/picky person when it comes to makeup, there's always the fact that you can go pick these up in person and swatch at a store.  I generally do shop MAC collections on their day of release in-stores but this semester my schedule was non-permitting.  For those of you though that have been fervent MAC users for a while and have experience with their pro products have probably rolled your eyes with this collection.  And that's ok.  MAC does release new collections every, what, week?? Lol.  

As far as recommendations go, I'm always hesitant to "recommend" a product.  A true recommendation comes from some form of knowledge about the person you're recommending things to.  But if I had to suggest a "must-have" it would be Show Orchid.  This is going to be a pretty universal, fun shade to have.  Also, if you're a MAC pigment fan, Blue Storm is a keeper.  It's also limited edition, which means you probably don't have something exactly like it already in your MAC collection.  Lightscapade I definitely do not recommend to everyone.  If you're Snow White you may find some utility in this product.  Otherwise you're gonna just look like you battled some fall out, and/or over-applied some setting powder to your lower eye area.  

And that is it for my haul and review of MAC Fall Colour. 

Until later,  

xoxojessiebear

p.s. Expect more MAC soon - I'm finally getting the chance to hit the CCO again tomorrow :D Apologies ahead of time, Mr. Wallet!

Loreal w/ Project Runway Colors Take Flight SWATCHES & REVIEW

As soon as I found out about this collection, I was out scouting for it.  As a HUGEEE fan of Project Runway and makeup in general, this collection must have been made specifically for me!  Overall, it's an extremely well-rounded collection.  I'm impressed with the range of colors and styles they put into this. There are four "looks" included in this collection, The Charming Cockatoo ("sophisticated and enchanting"), The Watchful Owl ("alluring and glam"), The Audacious Amazon ("bold and flirty") and The Sultry Raven ("smoky and dramatic") All the lip colors are on the slightly dark side for me, and I generally don't like drugstore polishes so I skipped both of those.

The photo below is an official photo of the collection...except the pictures are screwed up.  Instead of showing the 4 looks, it has 3 with one of them repeated at the top and bottom.  So keep in mind, the Watchful Owl look isn't pictured.  I've included a picture below of that look taken from Nouveau Cheap's post on this collection.  The first row is The Charming Cockatoo, the second row The Audacious Amazon, and the third The Sultry Raven (the fourth is Charming Cockatoo repeated).

They had the full display at my local Walgreens.  They generally get most LE collections first, at least around here.  I picked up The Charming Cockatoo's palette and blush and The Sultry Raven's palette.  I later went back and picked up The Sultry Raven's blush.

Left to Right: The Sultry Raven's Gaze, The Charming Cockatoo's Gaze and Blush (Sultry Raven's blush not pictured)

The Sultry Raven's Gaze:

I really love this palette.  The silver color is extremely creamy feeling. This is the highlight color.  The second color swatched is the crease color.  It's a nice taupe brown meant for a crease shade.  It's fairly pigmented but .  The third shade is warm black color for the outer corner of the eyes.  It was a bit hard to get a good swatch.  My first swipe was ashy and poorly pigmented.  The swatch above is after two swipes on my hand.   It had VERY few sparkles.  The three you see in the picture are all the came off from the pan.  The last shade is the lid color, a warm dusky purple.  This too wasn't that pigmented.  Overall I really like the color combination.  The sliver was extraordinary.  But the formulation could have definitely improved.

The Sultry Raven Blush

This blush is a tough one for me.  It's not like anything I own in terms of tone, as it's quite neutral.  I tend to prefer cool toned blushes.  But, because this is such a dusty neutral pink, it goes really well with the matching eye palette.  It gives the cheek color without overpowering the extremely smoky and dark eye look.  It felt weird when I swatched it.  I can't explain.  It was almost chalky, yet was smooth at the same time.  It's also extremely shimmery which I didn't notice from the pan.  I didn't pick this up on my first go to Walgreens because in the pan it looked a little like MAC's Dame, which I already own (and returned for Coygirl).  With the flash, it's clearly quite pink.  But without flash it's pretty tame looking.  It's a nice thing to have if you like smoky looks.  Also, I find that more neutral blushes are generally matte.  So having a neutral blush like this, which is obviously very shimmery, may be appealing to some.

The Charming Cockatoo's Gaze:

I love this palette!! I immediately ran into my room and used this on my eyes when I finished photographing the swatches.  The first color on the left is the highlight.  It's not the most pigmented shade but it is mostly a glitter shadow, so that's understandable.  It's a slightly cool nudeish pink.  The second is the crease color, a pinky orange.  This one felt very similar to the purple shade in The Sultry Raven - somewhat dry and patchy, but otherwise fairly decent.  The third is the lid shade.  It's a steely blue grey.  Very pigmented and smooth.  The last is a dark matte black...?  Looking at it, it's hard to tell if it's supposed to lean navy or not.  It's for the outer corner of the eye.  The colors in this palette go so well together.  I personally wouldn't have put them together and that's what so great about palettes like these.  They really expand the possibilities available to people who don't experiment with makeup all that much.

The Charmin Cockatoo's Blush

This blush is honestly quite standard.  If you have a pinky coral with sparkles (such as, say, NARS Orgasm) this blush isn't going to wow you.  However, for a drugstore blush, I have to say the texture is amazing.   It was sooo buttery and pigmented.  As you can see in the non-flash, heavier swatch, it almost reads a light reddish color if you don't blend it out.  For fairer skin, this may seem intimidating.  I used just the lightest wash and you could very much tell I had it on.  But it is really lovely, and a cheap option if you haven't cashed in on the NARS Orgasm trend yet.

Here's a look I did using The Charming Cockatoo's Gaze and Blush.  I followed the instructions that were attached to the display, applying each color as described above.  The pictures aren't of the greatest quality so the eyeshadow doesn't look like such a big deal, but I really love it.   It's really great for blue eyes, as the warmer pinks contrast the blue in the eyes, while the steely blue grey accents them.

 

Lumiere Cosmetics Review and Tutorial!!

Lumiere Skin and Beauty Bar was kind enough to send me some samples of their makeup to try!!

I received the packaged in the mail yesterday and wrapped inside were 7 little plastic pots of happiness!

The first little pot contained Light Neutral Cashmere, a neutral toned foundation powder.

The description on their website reads:

"Cashmere -
Skin type = all skin types
Coverage - buildable light to medium
Finish = mostly matte, has a soft silkiness
Ingredients = real silk powder, serecite (colorless mica), titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, boron nitride, iron oxides"


My first impression of the powder was that it did seem a little chalky and on the pale side.

Considering my skin is quite dry as it is, this matte powder really accentuated my dryness.  This got a C- from me.

The second foundation powder they sent me, the Light Golden Luminesse was more my style.

The website says:

"Luminesse -
Skin type = all skin types
Coverage - buildable light to medium
Finish = silky glow, not shimmery
Ingredients = premium grade serecite (colorless mica), boron nitride, zinc oxide, avena sativa, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, tocopherol (vitamin e)"

As you can see from the swatch below, this powder was also better suited to my skin tone.  Even though I wouldn't have labeled my skin "golden" before now, the tone definitely fits.  Can you even see it??? lol

I ended up wearing this foundation for close to 8 hours.  By the end, it pretty much all but faded away and did settle into my pores, but I was still fairly impressed.  I usually am not a fan of powder foundations.  This felt very good and airy on my skin while still giving me a decent amount of coverage.  It also didn't accentuate my dryness which is always a major plus.  I'd give this product a B-

Next I received two blushes.  The first blush, Wild Rose, is listed as a "subtle blend of burnished peach with a slight rose tone".

This color is absolutely beautiful!!  I also wore this for 8 hours, and it lasted quite well! There were still traces of it on my cheeks when I went to wash my face at night.  It also feels really great and blends out nicely.  There's a faint shimmer/glitter to it as well.  I included a swatch with and without flash to show the shimmer.

The second blush, Fresh Roses, is a "soft & silky sweet pink rose".  It's a nice neutral pink.

It also has a faint shimmer to it.  Similar to Wild Rose, this blush blended out nicely and lasted fairly well.  I'd give both an A.

The last three products I was sent were eye pigments.  I had asked specifically for Peacock, a "vibrant Blue with golden undertones".  I honestly didn't see much in the way of "golden undertones" but this is just such a nicely textured, bright teal, you can't help but love it! Definite A+.

 

(without flash, dry swatch on left, wet swatch on right)

(with flash, dry swatch on left, wet swatch on right)

The last two pigments were sent to me based on my love for cool toned shadows.  Pennsylvania Green is a "great grassy green, medium sheen that's slightly iridescent".  Light Blue Shimmer is described as "pale blue with lots of diamond sparkles".  

 (without flash, dry watch on left, wet on right)

 (with flash, dry on left, wet on right)

(without flash, dry on right, wet on left)

(with flash, dry on left, wet on right)

Pennsylvania Green is a great green to have in your collection.  It's neither too light nor two dark and has a golden reflect to it.  A+!  Light Blue Shimmer on the other hand, applies too sparse when dry, but almost too thick and pigmented when wet!! I have yet to encounter a pigment that does this.  Also, it doesn't show very blue.  I applied in on my inner eye and it was quite neutral in tone and color.  However, it is nice to apply dry over other pigments to add glitter.  This earns a C+ from me.

Now it's tutorial time!!

For this look I used these Luminese products:

Light Golden Luminesse Foundation

Wild Rose Blush

Peacock Pigment

Pennsylvania Green Pigment

Light Blue Shimmer Pigment

From other brands I used:

Milani Eye Tech Liquid Liner in Black

Sonia Kashuk Curl Up Lash Curler

Fairy Drops Scandal Queen Mascara

Maybelline Lash Discovery Mascara

Mac Hue Lipstick

Step 1:     Apply Pennsylvania Green (wet) over 2/3 of the eye starting from the inner corner (I apologize for the black liner already applied - it's from an earlier look lol)

Step 2:     Apply Peacock (wet) over the outer 1/3 of the eye, moving the color towards the middle of the eye, blending the two colors together.

Step 3:  Apply Light Blue Shimmer along the inner corner of the eye and underneath the bottom lash line. 

Step 4:     Apply black liquid liner on upped lash line, and mascara to the top and bottom lashes.

Tadaaa!!

Easy, right?

That's it for now!!! Bye!

xoxo,

Jessie