Friday, August 31, 2012

MAC Hot Gossip Lipstick Review, Photos and Swatches!

MAC Hot Gossip Lipstick

MAC Hot Gossip Lipstick ($15) is described as a mid-tone pinky plum. It's a shade I would have never picked up a couple of years ago, and a shade I've overlooked ever time I'm shopping at the MAC counter. I'd like to call it a grown-up pink - your progression from baby pinks and nudes. It looks quite boring in the tube when you look at it in indoor lighting, but in the sunlight, you really get to see how complex and pretty this pink is. It kind of reminds me of a more pigmented, brighter and pinker Rimmel Airy Fairy.

Hot Gossip brings color to my face without being too bright, and makes my lips look a bit more noticeable and full. I think it's a shade that will work on many skintones from warm to cool, light and dark.

It's a cremesheen formula, so it applies smooth and is opaque with a few swipes of the tube.


mac hot gossip
MAC Hot Gossip Lipstick on my lips

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

L'Oreal True Match Lumi Foundation Review!

loreal true match lumi foundation

L'Oreal True Match Lumi Foundation

L'Oreal True Match Lumi Foundation ($12.95) is a lightweight, buildable foundation that provides a luminous, glowing finish to the skin. It's actually said to improve the clarity and skin tone with continued use.

L'Oreal True Match Lumi Foundation is available in 15 shades: Porcelain/Light Ivory, Nude Beige, Natural Beige, Sand Beige, Sun Beige, Soft Ivory/Classic Ivory, Natural Buff, Buff Beige, True Beige, Classic Tan, Creamy Natural, Shell Beige, Classic Beige, Soft Sable and Nut Brown/Cocoa.

To find your match a bit easier, the shades are broken up into three categories: Warm, Neutral and Cool. If you know your undertone, you can go straight to the appropriate category and figure out your exact shade. Sound familiar? Yep. L'Oreal True Match Foundation has the same coloring system. I picked W3 Nude Beige (I'm typically a W4 in L'Oreal True Match, but unfortunately my store was sold out of W4, and I was feeling impatient.. must.. have.. now!) W3 is a pretty good match for the MAC NC30 coloring. It's a bit peach - it could use more yellow/golden tones. For reference, it's less yellow than many of the other warm shades in the range.

The consistency is very lightweight; runny, but also very creamy. If I had to compare the consistency to another drugstore foundation, I'd probably say it's the most similar to Neutrogena Healthy Skin, but slightly creamier. Because of the thin texture, it's very easy to blend and doesn't cake or dry on the skin before you're finished blending the whole face.

The coverage is light, buildable to light-medium with an additional layer. I'd prefer if it had a touch more coverage, but it has nice coverage for my "better" skin days. When I want additional coverage, I usually add a touch of Revlon Colorstay Whipped to any areas that need it, and my face looks flawless.

Monday, August 27, 2012

MAC Saint Germain Lipstick Review, Photos and Swatches!

mac saint germain lipstick review

MAC Saint Germain Lipstick

MAC Saint Germain Lipstick ($15) is described on the MAC website as a clean, pastel pink. It's a very blue-based (cool toned) pink, so it can appear a bit lilac-purple. It's a very "barbie" pink, that can be difficult to pull off, and most times is a hit or miss on most skin tones. I think it's absolutely beautiful on light skin tones (see Katy Perry below) and I actually didn't discover my love for blue-pink lipsticks until I tried one minus my faux tan (around the MAC NC15 coloring).

Because it's very light (pastel), and it's a very opaque formula of lipstick, it can look a bit harsh as it can completely block out the color of your lips (much like any pastel - such as MAC Fleshpot or Myth), but when applied sheer, and combined with a pink lip gloss on top, it's so much more wearable.

amber rose lea michele katy perry kim kardashian cool pink lipstick

MAC Saint Germain Lipstick

MAC Saint Germain Swatch
MAC Saint Germain on my lips.

MAC Saint Germain Swatch
NYX Sand Pink Lip Liner, MAC Saint Germain Lipstick and MAC Like Venus Dazzleglass.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Shabby Apple Giveaway Winner Announced!

Shabby Apple $50 Gift Card Giveaway

I'd like to thank all of those who participated in my recent Shabby Apple $50 Gift Card Giveaway, and of course, I'd like to give a special thanks to Shabby Apple for hosting this giveaway exclusively for the readers of Miss Natty's Beauty Diary!

As always, the winner was chosen randomly using random.org. And without further ado, the winner is... Rebecca Kazimir! Congrats!


Shabby Apple was also kind enough to provide my readers with a coupon code that can be used on everything on the Shabby Apple website.

For 10% off your order, use code: missnattysbeautydiary10off.

Dresses from Shabby Apple

Thank you all again, and have a wonderful day!

MAC Radiant Rose Prep + Prime Highlighter Review, Photos and Swatches!

mac prep and prime highlighter review

MAC Radiant Rose Prep + Prime Highlighter 

MAC Prep + Primer Highlighter  ($24) is a pen-style creamy highlighter that brings a sheer wash of color to the skin wherever it is applied. It can be used under makeup to prime and brighten, or on top of makeup to highlight.

MAC Prep + Prime Highlighter is available in (3) shades: Light Boost (soft yellow cream), Radiant Rose (light shell pink) and Bright Forecast (mid tone peachy coral). (You can find swatches of all three shades on Temptalia)

I purchased Radiant Rose, as pink toned highlighters seem to do the best job brightening on my particular skin tone.

Several brand make these pen style highlighters, and I find that most of the time they are pretty expensive for the amount of product you receive. YSL Touche Eclat for instance costs $40 for a 0.10 oz tube. Bobbi Brown Tinted Eye Brightener costs $38 for 0.05 oz and Dior Skinflash Radiance Booster Pen costs $37 for 0.05 oz. They might all be mildly effective, but I personally think they are very expensive for how long they last with daily use.

I was thrilled when MAC came out with a highlighter pen, as MAC tends to be a bit lower priced than most high-end cosmetics. At $24 for 0.12 oz, it's very easily the best value overall, therefore I'm the most willing to purchase from MAC.

mac radiant rose highlighter

mac prep + prime highlighter swatches
MAC Prep & Prime Radiant Rose Highlighter (left) and YSL Touche Eclat #1 Radiant Touch (right). Both are swatched on warm, medium skin (MAC NC30).

Friday, August 17, 2012

OPI Jade is the New Black.


I don't know about all of you, but I'm tired of Summer and can't wait for Fall to start! Fall is my favorite time of the year, and I'm crazy about Fall fashion and the dark, warm colors it has to offer. 

One of my favorite Fall nail colors is dark green, and I always turn to my trusty bottle of OPI Jade is the New Black. It's a really basic medium-toned cool-toned green creme polish, and the formula is an absolute pleasure to work with. It's the perfect consistency, applies without streaks and is completely opaque with two coats. 

On my ring finger, I was playing around with a white nail art polish and created some geometric designs to mimic tribal print. I'm a huge fan of tribal print nails, and hopefully soon when I have more time on my hands, I'll attempt to do tribal print on all of my nails with different colors. But for now, I can deal with one nail. haha!

I'm loving this tribal print manicure - 

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

MAC Supreme Style Sheen Supreme Lipstick Review!

mac supreme style sheen supreme lipstick

MAC Supreme Style Sheen Supreme Lipstick

MAC Supreme Style Sheen Supreme Lipstick ($16) is described as a light coral with pink and a frost finish. The coverage is semi-opaque, which is almost hard to distinguish because the base color is so similar to my actual lip color. At a glance, it looks sheer, but it's actually quite pigmented. It reminds me a bit of a pinker version of MAC High Tea. It's a great natural shade to pair with dramatic eyes.

This shade plays off the natural shade of the lips a bit, so if your lips are redder, the color may appear more rosy. I like applying a tiny bit of MAC Lip Erase on my lips to tone down the color for a perfect, glossy nude.

If you aren't familiar with MAC Sheen Supremes, they are an ultra-creamy, moisturizing formula with a shiny finish. In some ways, they kind of remind me of the texture of Revlon Lip Butters (but creamier) — they feel like a soft, creamy lip balm, yet the coverage is opaque. I absolutely love them, and if you are particular to softer, glossy formulas of lipstick, you will love them too.

mac supreme style

mac supreme style swatch
MAC Supreme Style on my lips.

Make Up For Ever #5 Nip Slip HD Blush Review, Photos and Swatches!

make up for ever hd blush #5 nip slip

Make Up For Ever #5 Nip Slip HD Blush

Make Up For Ever #5 Nip Slip HD Blush ($26) is a matte, neutral mid-tone pink. Because it has a good balance of cool and warm tones, #5 is a flattering pink on most skin tones. It has a little bit of vibrancy to the color, but it's also not too "barbie doll". It warms up quite nicely on my warm, medium skin tone.

If you aren't familiar with Make Up For Ever HD Blushes; they are a lightweight, yet dense cream that is dispensed in a pump tube. The formula is intensely pigmented, and a little goes a long way.

My favorite application method is using a duo-fiber stippling brush. I usually pump a small amount of product on a clean surface (I sometimes use the lid of one of my freshly sanitized mirrored compacts) and dip the brush in the product with light tapping motions to evenly coat the ends of the bristles. Then, stipple it on my cheeks, and blend upward until blended. You kind of have to work with it quickly, as it does dry pretty fast.

The formula might take a little getting use to at first, but after using it a few times, it should be a breeze.

mufe hd blush 5

mufe hd blush swatch #5 Nip Slip
#5 Nip Slip

Monday, August 13, 2012

Nars Lokoum Cream Blush Review, Photos and Swatches!

nars lokoum cream blush

Nars Lokoum Cream Blush

Nars Lokoum Cream Blush ($28) is described as a warm, rose coral with shimmer. Depending on your skintone, it may show up differently    on my skin, the color shows up as a warm, copper-coral. Somewhat similar to MAC Gingerly or Coppertone. Although it looks raspberry toned in the pan, it doesn't read the same on my cheeks, which could be due to the warm yellow tones in my skin.

Nars Cream blush has a soft, velvety texture and blends to a powdery finish. I'm happy to finally say that I own a cream blush from Nars, considering I've loved their powder blushes for a long time and own several shades. For those who find cream blush intimidating, Nars is a nice place to start as the formula isn't thick, sticky/tacky, or greasy. It's very easy to work with and the color can be built up easily. The fingers can be used, but with a shade as pigmented as Lokoum, I find that a stippling brush works best. MAC #131 brush is my favorite brush for most cream blushes, but it's sadly only a limited edition brush. Any duo-fiber brush should work just as well.

Considering this shade in particular contains shimmer, I was hoping for it to make my cheeks somewhat dewy/glowy (like Becca Frangipani Cream Blush    my fav!) but I didn't really get enough of the glow I wanted. This may not bother many, as most of us try to avoid anything remotely shimmery.

nars lokoum cream blush

nars lokoum

MAC Moth Brown Eyeshadow Review, Photos, Swatches!

mac moth brown eyeshadow

MAC Moth Brown Eyeshadow

MAC Moth Brown Eyeshdow ($15) is a beautiful metallic charcoal-taupe with a tinge of purple. Moth Brown was re-released in the MAC By Request Collection as it was a highly popular choice among voters. If you were hoping for a brown, you might be disappointed because Moth Brown most definitely isn't brown. From the looks of it, it looks similar to the ever-popular MAC Satin Taupe, but when swatched, Satin Taupe is much warmer and has more brown tones, whereas MAC Moth Brown is cool toned with more gray tones.

It's a really pretty shade and shines differently in all angles. It's a shade that will work well with all eye colors and skin tones and is subtle enough to be worn all over the lid for daily wear or amped up for a night time smokey eye.

The consistency is very smooth like a typical MAC Frost finish eyeshadow, easy to blend and has opaque pigmentation.

A must-have? It's definitely nice to have especially if you gravitate towards taupe shades, but don't kick yourself if you missed out on it.

mac moth brown eyeshadow

mac moth brown eyeshadow

mac moth brown eyeshadow

mac moth brown eyeshadow

mac moth brown eyeshadow

Do you own Moth Brown? Do you think it lives up to the hype? 

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Shabby Apple $50 Gift Card Giveaway!

Shabby Apple $50 Gift Card Giveaway!

It's that time again, beauties! Shabby Apple is sponsoring another giveaway on my blog. If you've been a reader of mine for a while, you may of remembered a couple Shabby Apple giveaways in the past.

Shabby Apple is a website catered to providing feminine, flirty and sophisticated styles of clothing, appropriate for the office, special occasions, holidays and nights out! When I think of Shabby Apple, I automatically think of their beautiful dresses - what I personally like about the dresses is that each of the styles are very tasteful and daytime appropriate, which can actually sometimes be difficult to find in trendy stores geared at my age range (lots of clubbing attire). Although they probably have the biggest selection of dresses, they also stock shirts, skirts, swimwear (I love their bathing suits), shoes accessories and more!

The winner of this giveaway will receive a $50 gift card that can be used on anything on the Shabby Apple website.

Rules to Enter:

  • "Like" Shabby Apple's Facebook Page. (click here to be re-directed)
  • Leave a comment on my blog, stating which dress or item on the Shabby Apple website is your favorite! It's as simple as that.

Terms & Conditions: 

  • This giveaway will run for one week, and he deadline to enter will be on Sunday, August 19, 2012 at 11:59 PM (CST). The winner will be chosen at random using random.org. 
  • You must complete both forms of entry (like on facebook and comment here) to qualify.
  • Open to residents of the US only. 
  • You must permission from a parent or guardian to enter if you are under the age of 18 in most states (with the exception of Alabama and Nebraska, 19; Mississippi, 21).

Shabby Apple will also be providing my readers with a discount code that can be used on anything on the Shabby Apple website. Pleased stay tuned for the code!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Friday, August 10, 2012

Milani Brow Tint Pen Review, Photos and Swatches!

milani brow tint pen review

Milani Brow Tint Pen

Milani Brow Tint Pen ($5.99) is a quick-drying and long-wearing felt-tip eyebrow pen that is used for filling and shaping the brows. It has a fairly fine point for precise application.

The Milani Brow Tint Pen is available in (2) shades: Natural Taupe and Dark Brown.

Natural Taupe is a light brown that will work well for most light hair colors, while Dark Brown is about one shade deeper of a brown, with an ash-brown/moss green undertone (no red tones at all). Natural Taupe has a warm undertone, without looking too brassy.

The pigmentation is very sheer. The color is buildable to a light-medium, but the color will never reach opaque pigmentation. Because of the sheer color, it's excellent for darkening/adding color to sparse and fine brows.

I like applying Natural Taupe through my brows to deepen them, and go back with Dark Brown to areas that need a little more definition. The result is very natural, clean brows.

milani brow tint pens

milani brow tint pen before after

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

MAC Costa Chic Lipstick Review, Photos and Swatches!

mac costa chic lipstick

MAC Costa Chic Lipstick Review

MAC Costa Chic Lipstick Review ($15) is described as a frosty, light coral. On the lips, it's very bright — borderline neon. I''m never really a fan of frost; especially in lipsticks, somehow I always feel like an overload of frost cheapens the product. I know many of us cringe at the thought of looking like we're rocking a trend from the past decade, but Costa Chic is an exception. It's one of the few frost finishes that I will wear — it looks fab when topped with a sheer pink lipgloss, and if you aren't feeling very daring, you can wear a similar coral (maybe MAC Everhip) and rub a little bit of Costa Chic on the middle of your bottom lip for some highlight and dimension.

I love mixing my bright corals with a pale shade such as MAC Myth Lipstick; it creates a bright, creamy, light watermelon pink. Love! You can really use any other shade, light pinks work well with it too!

mac costa chic lipstick

MAC Costa Chic on my lips.

Back from Vacation.

Hey Everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! You may have noticed the lack of updates this past week because I was out of town from Friday thru Monday. George's family jam packed our weekend with activities and sight-seeing in Atlantic City, New Jersey and New York. The weekend flew by, but we all had a great time. It's always feels so good to be back home!


I'm so backed up in product reviews, so expect to see lots of new posts very soon.

For any requests, please e-mail me!

Thursday, August 2, 2012

L'Oreal Magic Lumi Highlighter Review, Photos and Swatches!

L'Oreal Magic Lumi Highlighter

L'Oreal Magic Lumi Concealer/Corrector ($12.95) is a liquid concealer/highlighter in a clickable pen - similar to to the concept of the YSL Touche Eclat. This pen is meant to highlight/brighten areas of the face more than it is to conceal blemishes, so if you're looking for a heavy duty cover-up, this won't be the correct product for you.

The L'Oreal Magic Lumi Highlighter is available in (4) shades: Fair, Light and Medium and Deep.

*You may notice that the packaging of my tube reads "concealer/corrector", so I phoned L'Oreal to double check if the concealer and highlighter are the same product. It is indeed the same exact product, but they have changed the name to "highlighter" rather "concealer". I'm guessing they didn't want it to sound misleading as a concealer, being it doesn't cover much.

I like applying the highlighter to the inner corners of my eyes and along the bridge of my nose. It can also be used on the cheekbones, brow bone and cupids-bow. What's really great about this highlighter, is that it's not shimmery and stark against the skin. It's sheer and subtle, and will do it's job of bringing light to the areas of where it's applied.



Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Sleek Milkshake and Minx Pout Paint Review, Swatches and Comparison to OCC Lip Tars!

sleek pout paints review

Sleek Milkshake & Minx Pout Paint

Sleek Pout Paint ($6.49) is an intense lip pigment, with the consistency of a lipgloss, and the pigmentation and finish of a lipstick.

Sleek Pout Paints are available in (11) shades: Minx, Cloud 9, Mauve Over, Lava, Peachy Keen, Rosette, Port, Pinkini, Milkshake, Peek-a-Bloo and Pin up.

I got my hands on two of the shades; Milkshake and Minx. Milkshake is a vibrant coral-pink and Minx is a neutral beige-pink.

Sleek Pout Paints launched at around this time last year, and I remember when everyone was talking about them and comparing them to the very similar OCC Lip Tars. I love my OCC Lip Tars, but admittedly, I reach for my traditional lipsticks before my lip tars because they are more convenient to use.

Sleek Pout Paints and OCC Lip Tars alike need to be applied with a lip brush because the color is so opaque, you only need a small drop to coat your lips. If you don't own a lip brush, you can use any small brush (concealer brush, etc) or the wand of one of your lipglosses.

sleek milkshake minx pout paint