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!