Recent Swap Haul: MAC Petticoat, Light Flush, Smooth Harmony and more!

I recently got my hands on some things I've really been wanting! I love swapping - It's awesome getting things you want and will most likely use, for the items in your makeup stash that you didn't like, or didn't work out for you. I wish I had more things to swap!

Anyways, onto the stuff I got..

MAC Petticoat & Light Flush Mineralize Skinfinishes (click the pic for full view)

MAC Petticoat Mineralize Skinfinish is described as a pale rose with gold and amber veining (Frost). It also has raspberry veining, so when the colors are swirled together, a light, warm, frosty pink-raspberry is created.

MAC Light Flush Mineralize Skinfinish is a light, warm pink with golden shimmer. It's similar to Petticoat, but a bit lighter, and warmer. It's a very pretty subtle pink highlight.

They both remind me a bit of MAC Pink Bronze pigment. I sometimes take a tiny bit of pink bronze pigment and dust it over my bronzer for a pinky orange glow, and it really looks just like that. It has the same exact color pearl. (Comparisons below)

MAC Coygirl Powder Blush

MAC Coygirl Blush is a cool, powder pink-mauve with a hint of purple.

Ever since I saw a girl on makeupalley do a FOTD with this blush, I had to have it! So far, I've only worn it once, but I really like it. I think its a color that's really flattering on light, cool skin tones. I think it's a difficult shade to wear on tan skin tones because of the cool undertone. I found that this blush looks extremely similar to MAC Dame Blush. I could barely tell the difference between the two except if you look up close at Dame, it has the tiniest bit of shimmery sheen to it. I actually grabbed Dame the other day and threw it in my purse on accident instead of Coygirl. I find that Coygirl is more pigmented. Dame is a bit easier to wear on warm skin.

MAC Smooth Harmony Beauty Powder 

This is a back up. I really like this beauty powder. I use it as a bronzer or a contour. The consistency is very soft, like a powder compact, not like a bronzer. It is a matte bronze. It looks just like the color of terracotta clay. That's the way it will look on your face as well. It's definitely not a golden brown. Its more of a coppery orangey bronze. It really suits my tan skin tone and gives me such a pretty color. I like to buff this into my cheeks with my ELF Studio Powder or blush brush after I applied my foundation. I love it especially with my MUFE HD Foundation.

MAC Creme de Violet & Crystal Eyeshadows

MAC Crystal Eyeshadow is a pale violet and silver duo-chrome with a pearl finish.

MAC Creme De Violet is described as a pink-violet with gold pearl (frost).

I haven't used creme de violet yet, but I've been using crystal almost every day since I received it. It looks so pretty paired with deep purple eye shadow, which I've been wearing a lot of lately! I think I'm alright on purple eye shadows now.. lol I've accumulated a million.

Physician's Formula Shimmer Strip Light Bronzer in Vegas Strip

This is a pretty drugstore bronzer that you can use as a bronzer, highlight and even eye shadow. It costs around $11-$13 depending on where you go. It's very shimmery/frosty. I thought the yellowish color at the top may be a dupe for my MAC New Vegas msf.. I have yet to try this out. I'll keep you posted!

and, the swatch of the top color on my thumb.. haha 

I also received a few other things.. such as samples.. I got a MAC Shygirl Lipstick back up as well as a NYX Circe Lipstick back up..

I'm still waiting on some more items. I'll be posting those soon. :)

MAC Style Black Mineralize Eyeshadows!

I really didn't want to do a post on the upcoming MAC Style Black collection, which has early released at a lot of locations already.. but it suppose to actually release this coming Thursday. I just thought I had to share these swatches I came across (if you haven't already come across them) Gah!! I want all of them. I don't know which one to get. Probably the purple one. :) I always find MAC collections to be overrated and I try not go get excited and buy everything.. it's all such an impulse. I don't like buying limited edition things.. when I run out of product, I want to go back to the store and repurchase it. I know I won't be buying any lipsticks or glosses. As much as I like the black lip look, I personally, would never be able to wear it unless it was Halloween. And for one day, I can use a black eye liner pencil and some clear lip gloss. :D

and foiled with MAC Fix+..

ALL IMAGES WERE TAKEN FROM HTTP://TOOMUCHBLUSH.BLOGSPOT.COM

MAC High Tea Lipstick Review!

MAC High Tea Lipstick

I went to my local MAC counter last night to redeem my Back 2 MAC Lipstick, and ending up getting High Tea. At the counter it seemed to look really similar to MAC Freckletone (one of my favorites), so I thought it'd be worth a try.

MAC High Tea Lipstick is a beige-pink with pearl (lustre). 

High Tea is really sheer, so depending on your natural lip color, this shade will vary from person to person. It adds a sheer wash of pearly pink-beige to the lips and lots of shine. Since I have natural rosy lips, I like toning them down with a tiny bit of concealer before applying this lipstick. 

MAC High Tea on my lips 

I love the Lustre formulation because it feels extremely creamy and moisturizing on the lips.

Although it's a pretty lipstick, it's a little sheer for my liking. I'm unsure as of right now If I'd repurchase.

Do you have High Tea? How do you like it?

Revlon Nude Attitude + Swatch Comparisons!

At CVS Pharmacy, Revlon is buy one get one free! So I finally decided to buy the matte lipstick in Nude Attitude. I've been wanting to buy this for quite some time. Matte lipsticks typically don't flatter me.. they have a tendency to make me look washed out or make my lips look gray. Surprisingly, this lipstick doesn't do that for me. Its a very pigmented, matte nude beige/peach with slight pink sheen (that's not really noticeable.. but you can see it by looking closely).

Lighting: Sunlight, no flash.

Here's a swatch comparison. This is with several nude MAC lipsticks.. and then my NYX nude lipsticks. Sorry, my swatches aren't that great.

Lighting: Outdoors (In the sunlight), no flash.

Lighting: Indoors, no flash.

Here it is compared to a few of my NYX lipsticks..

Swap Haul! MAC Soft & Gentle, Nars Super Orgasm and More!

Here are some goodies I received this week in swaps on Makeupalley and Specktra!

I got Super Orgasm! The girl I did the swap with was such a sweetheart!! This shade has been one on my wish list for quite some time.. I lovee it! It looks just like the regular Orgasm blush.. except it seems to be that its a little more intense and has chunky gold glitter in it. Does anyone own this blush? What are your thoughts?? I'm so happy I got my hands on some NARS blushes.. (this one and "angelika") I want so many other shades! :) 

I also received a pretty O.P.I Nail Polish.. perfect for pink french tips or a nude nail. It is called "Pink-ing of you"

I got the MAC Soft & Gentle MSF.. and was SO sad when it came crushed!!! :(!!!!! They sent it to me in a document mailer. What a disappointment! I really like the girl who I did this swap with though.. so I didn't make a big deal about it. It's okay. It's a pretty shade.. it doesn't give much color.. its better for a shimmery highlight.

(Swatch courtesy of Whit)

This is another product I couldn't wait to get my hands on. Urban Decay's Deluxe Eye Shadow in "Freakshow". It is such a pretty deep purple. After I saw Whitz post on this color (click here to see it) I HAD to have it. I'm SO happy I was able to swap something I don't use for this!

And more Urban Decay! Midnight Cowboy Rides Again & Sin.

I accidentally dug my nail into "Sin" when I was taking a picture :( These are two lovely every day shades. I like Sin for a highlight. One of my favs is Midnight Cowboy, so I was excited for Midnight Cowboy rides Again.

I was curious about B*tch Slap Cosmetics.. I really am not fond of the name.. I don't have that type of "out there" personality. I got the "Spite" Paint Wheel. It's pretty pigmented.. I'm not so fond of the texture though. It seems really cheap to me. Its very sparkly, very chalky/gritty.. not very soft.. I also didn't realize that MANY brands have the exact same wheels.. they just have different names. So its not technically exclusively sold by B*tch Slap.. you can get it from various places.. probably at a cheaper cost too. One thing that was weird to me was, after I did the swathes, my fingertips were stained yellow.

And I got lots of MAC pigment samples! I LOVE GRAPE pigment! It is everything I'm hoping MUFE #92 is. And, Cornflower is absolutely gorgeous.. I want the full jar!

That's all for now! <3

Drugstore MAC Sculpt & Shape dupe!

While I was shopping at Target the other day I came across the clearance rack and saw this little bronzing duo by L'Oreal. It is called the Glam Bronze Bronzing Duo. The regular price for this was I believe $9.99 and it was marked down to $6.98. I really don't take lots of chances with drugstore makeup.. but really caught my attention was that it looks EXACTLY like the MAC Shape & Sculpt Duo in Lightsweep. It was actually, the only shade of the shape & sculpt collection that I never got a chance to purchase. I was a little skeptical, but when I popped open the compact, I could see that the powder is very finely milled and is silky to the touch. I went ahead and purchased it in "Matte Bronze". There was only two sitting on the rack.. so I don't know what the other shades look like.






and it comes with a mirror and brush! I would prefer to use my angled blush brush or my ELF blush brush to contour and highlight. This brush would be useful if you'd like to mix the colors and apply it as a bronzer.


I love the texture of this. And it's pretty pigmented. I'm impressed. And WHOOPS! I accidentally labeled this picture "maybelline" but its L'Oreal. I'll fix it tomorrow..

Here is a picture of MAC Shape & Sculpt in the shade "Lightsweep" courtesy of user "thejuicy" on MUA.


Here's a swatch off of Temptalia.

I think they look EXACTLY the same. Except that MAC's highlight has the tiniest bit of shimmer.

If this has been something you've always wanted to try, definately check out this dupe! :)

also,
ULTA has buy 1, get 1 for 50% off on several brands. And if you've got a $3.50 off coupon from the flier, thats a pretty sweet deal.

I got a couple NYX things. This ended up being like $8?

NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Smokey Look
NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Perfect
NYX Lip Liner Pencil in Natural
NYX Eye Brow Pencil in Dark Brown

So far, I really like everything. I never tried their Mega glosses before, and I had no idea they have the scent of cherry cough syrup.. yuck. But it's not a big deal. I wore Smokey look today and it really brightened my face and gave me some color. It's like a pretty nude pink coral. Natural really reminds me of one of my MAC lip pencils.. I can't put my foot on it.. maybe Hover or Subculture?

I also received all of my swap items I've been waiting on. I'll have pictures to come!

Make Up Forever HD Foundation Review, Photos and Swatches!

Make Up Forever HD Foundation

Make Up For Ever HD Foundation ($42) is an oil-free liquid foundation with medium-buildable coverage and a flawless finish. Designed specifically for making the skin look perfectly natural in video, photographs and in person. It's also said to remain flawless even under bright lights (harsh studio lighting).

Let me start out by saying that this is the most difficult foundation I've ever tried in terms of finding a color match. Right now I'm a MAC NC40 or medium with yellow undertones. The first time I went to Sephora to get color matched, I had my eyes on #140 (for medium skin with dark yellow undertones), but the associate talked me into trying #150 (for medium skin with dark beige undertones) because she thought the beige complimented me better. After using 150 for a few days.. I liked it a lot.. but then realized in certain lights I looked pink. So, after doing some heavy duty researching and heavy duty swatching at Sephora.. I decided to go with #128. I do find 128 to be a good color match for NC40, but 128 is definitely less yellow than NC40. #128 is said to be for medium skin with beige undertones. So, if you are in the NC37-42 range and you prefer foundations not to have strong yellow tones.. it should be a good match for you. I didn't realize when I purchased it that it has a beige undertone. When I swatched #127, it looked more pink than #128.. which is strange because 127 is for medium skin with yellow undertones. It must of been the lighting in the store or something.. because I would of definitely chose #127. Nevertheless, 128 works perfectly fine.

So let me do the breakdown of shades you can use if you are in the NC30-NC40 range.

123 - For light skin with olive undertones. Suitable for NC30-NC35 range if you have light/med skin and olive skin. (many Mediteranean ethnicites.. yellow undertones that almost appear slightly green)
125 - For light skin with beige or neutral undertones. A perfect NC30 color match.. but can probably work for NC35.
127 - For medium skin with yellow undertones. Suitable for NC35-NC40.
128 - For medium skin with beige or neutral undertones. Suitable for NC37-NC42. One shade darker than 125.
140 - For medium skin with dark yellow undertones. (almost olive) Suitable for NC35-NC37.
153 - For medium skin with olive undertones. Suitable for NC40-42. (I think moreso 42, because it was a little dark for me)
155 - For medium skin with dark beige undertones. Less Pink than #150, which is also for med skin with dark beige undertones. Suitable for NC40-NC42. (Again, this was too dark for me and I think it's moreso NC42)

I love swapping! (small haul)

So, the past couple of weeks I cannot stop refreshing the Sale & Swap board on Specktra for new sales. I've bought some things and swapped some. I love swapping.. I think it was a genius idea. lol There's so much stuff I don't use but I don't want to let a lot of things go. I guess I'm a makeup pack rat. lol

So far, here is what I purchased & received:

Benefit High Beam - I love this highlighter. I tried it with my MUDE HD on the bridge of my nose, forehead and apples of my cheeks and it looked so pretty :)

Clinique Pore Minimizer - This stuff really works good. It's like a gel liquid that mattifies once you apply it to your face and your pores are virtually invisible. This will be my back up.

MAC Select Cover up in NW25 - It was my shade, so I had to buy it for the price! This is a pretty good concealer. I always end up repurchasing it sooner or later.

NARS Angelika Blush - This is soo gorgeous. Its a bright pink with lots of shimmer.

MAC Light over Dark Mineralize Blush - I was unsure about this, but got it anyway. I LOVE IT. It compliments my skintone so well. Its a gorgeous deep copper color once applied to my cheeks. And, its not overly shimmery at all.

So far I'm very pleased with my purchases.

Here are the items I purchased/swapped for & waiting to receive:

Urban Decay Deluxe Eye Shadow in Freakshow (I cant wait for this!!)
Urban Decay Eye Shadow in Sin
Urban Decay Eye Shadow in Midnight Cowboy Rides Again
MAC Soft & Gentle MSF
MAC Eye shadow in Crystal
MAC Sample jars of Grape and Cornflower pigments
Elizabeth Arden Nail Polish (A bright pink shade)
Bitch Slap Cosmetics Eyeshadow Paint Wheel (Greens)

I'm hoping to purchase a lot more. I'm mainly steaking out the boards looking for MAC msf's and eyeshadows. Every time I wanted to purchase a msf, an offer was already pending :(

Here are pictures of the blushes!

I'll post pictures as I receive them!

Review: Lancome Effacernes Waterproof Concealer!

Lancome Effacernes Concealer

I've been looking for a good, heavy-duty liquid concealer that will provide as much coverage as my cream concealers for quite some time.

The current concealers I use are MAC Studio Finish Concealer, MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer and Ben Nye Concealers. All three concealers are cream based in pot form. I always opt for these types of concealers because they tend to provide the fullest coverage. The only problem I have with these types of concealers is, they sometimes tend to cake.

After looking up reviews on makeupalley.com for a liquid concealer, I stumbled across Lancome Effacernes. It is one of the highest rated concealers with a rating of 4.1/5 based on over 300 reviews, with a repurchase rate of 76%. The rating is about the same for the much higher end Cle de Peau Concealer, which has a 4.2 rating with a 76% repurchase rate.

Lancome Effacernes Concealer is promised to provide a complete, natural-looking coverage, even out the skin tone, covers dark circles and minimize fine lines around the eyes. The result is a soft, matte finish that is long-wearing and waterproof.

There are 12 shades in total: Ivoire, Porcelaine I, Light Buff, Light Bisque, Clair II, Camee, Medium Buff, Beige (Neutral) III, Medium Bisque, Dore, Bronze IV and Suede.

I originally tested out the shade Beige III Neutral, but it gave my under-eyes a gray cast. So I ended up going with Light Bisque.

 Lancome Effacernes Concealer in Light Bisque swatched on my hand.

You can see that it almost fully covered the freckle on my hand, which is visible in the first swatch photo.

The consistency is light and creamy - somewhat similar to MAC Select Cover-up. I like applying it with my ring finger in light, patting motions. I sometimes use a concealer brush, but I actually prefer using my fingers with this particular concealer. I feel that with my finger, I can build the most coverage. 

The coverage is very good. It provides a medium, buildable to an almost full coverage without looking heavy or cakey. Even though I don't have a problem with fine lines, sometimes heavier concealers can accentuate fine lines that barely even exist, and this one doesn't at all for me.

Also, I found that the claims for this concealer to be long-wearing very true. I don't notice any fading or creasing by the end of the day.

I definitely recommend picking up a sample next time you're near a Lancome counter!

NOTD: Purple Tips with Rimmel 60 Seconds "Night Before" Nail Polish!

As my readers may have noticed, I have an obsession with purple. I think this obsession started a year ago when I purchased a couple dress tops from H&M that were purple and it complimented me really well.. and ever since then, I really liked purple clothing. As for purple eyeshadow/makeup.. that obsession started in the past 6 months maybe.. and in the past couple of months I've been on a hunt for every pretty purple eye shadow ever made. Purple is actually a color that is extremely popular right now for the fall. There will be lots of purples. I never cared for purple nail polish. Or really any dark colors. Black was the trend for nails, but I never purchased a bottle of black nail polish because I knew already It wouldn't look good on me. I love the look of midnight blues, but it just reminded me of my childhood when I would paint my nails blue and purple and funky colors. (I'm totally rambling on right now) I don't know why, it just looks so tacky on me. When I was at Target the other day and saw this purple polish by Rimmel called "Night Before" it instantly caught my eye. It is such a gorgeous deep shimmery plum. I wanted to get it, but I figured it would be a waste of money and I wouldn't use it. But, I decided to give it a try.. it was only $3 anyway.

I ended up doing purple tips :) I did it on my fingernails and toes. I love the way it turned out!

Here's everything I used:1) Sally Hansen Salon Nail Lacquer in "Its a Sheer Thing"
2) Orly White Tip Guides (I bought at Sally's. I never use these, but I wanted it to come out perfectly.. I'm a little shaky with my left hand)
3) Rimmel 60 Seconds Nail Polish in "Night Before"
4) So Easy Stripe Rite Purple Glitter
5) So Easy Stripe Rite Silver Glitter

That's all for tonight.. good night everyone!! 

And btw, 300+ followers!??? YAYY!!! Awesome! Thank you everyone for reading!