Friday, April 8, 2011

MAC Pale Lip Erase Review, Photos and Swatches!

MAC Pale Lip Erase

MAC Lip Erase is a flesh-toned balm that visually neutralizes and erases natural colour from the lip. Shine- and texture-free. Available in a choice of two shades for use on light to medium skin tones.

MAC Lip Erase is available in two (2) shades: Pale (for lighter skin tones) and Dim (for medium skintones).

What is the purpose of this product? Like mentioned, this product is meant to cancel out the natural hue of your lips. Why? Well, if you have little to no color in your lips, you may not find this product at all necessary. But, if you have rosy, pigmented lips, you may find this product helpful. Your natural lip color has a big impact of how certain lipsticks and lipglosses will look on you. It's only usually when lip colors are very opaque, that your natural lip color may not have an affect on how the color will look. On the other hand, with sheer lip colors, your natural lip color has a very big impact on how the lip color will look.


MAC Pale Lip Erase swatched on my hand


Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Hard Candy Glamoflauge Concealer Review!

hard candy glamoflauge concealer
Hard Candy Glamoflauge Concealer in Medium

I discovered this concealer at Wal-mart not too long ago when I was browsing the newest products by Hard Candy. When I spotted Glamoflauge, it automatically rang a bell as a product I've heard of before (unless I was thinking of Benefit Powderflage.. haha). So I quickly went on my phone and checked the reviews on Makeupalley. The reviews looked very promising. I fumbled through the rack to find my shade, only to find one left in the shade medium, which happened to be an opened box covered with concealer fingerprints. YUCK! Despite the dirty box from whomever swatched it, I decided to purchase it.

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION: A heavy duty, highly pigmented, multi-use concealer that delivers ultimate coverage. The formula blends seamlessly into skin with plenty of play time creating a flawless and natural look perfect for any occasion. You can hide everything from dark circles and blemishes to tattoos!


It's quite unfortunate that this concealer only comes in three (3) shades, which is probably the only non positive thing I can say about this concealer. There is light, medium and tan. I chose medium, which happens to be a medium beige with yellow/olive undertones. In fact, the olive undertone is quite strong and can appear green on certain skintones. I have used it on myself as well as my best friend. She is middle eastern, with light/medium olive skin and it matched her perfectly, and she would be able to wear it alone. I on the other hand, would not be able to wear this alone, as the green looks more obvious on my skintone.

As for the product itself, I can honestly say it's the best FULL coverage (drugstore) concealer I have tried. It covers any blemishes, scars on my face with no effort and covers my under eye darkness completely. The consistency is a creamy liquid that isn't too dry and isn't too liquidy. It's thicker than MAC Select Cover Up & somewhat comparable to Mary Kaye or MUFE Full Coverage Concealer. Because the coverage is quite heavy, I would recommend moisturizing your under eyes well prior to applying this concealer so it won't accentuate your dryness & look very thick. Some of you may find this concealer too heavy for your needs, and some of you may find it perfect for your needs. If you find it too heavy for your under eyes, like I mentioned, it's excellent at covering blemishes. It's said to cover tattoos, and I wouldn't at all doubt it. I applied a little dab over one of my brown birthmarks, and it covered it completely.


The small pencil concealer is a cute little extra. It may not offer as much coverage as the liquid concealer, but it's useful for defining the eyebrows or lips. 

Overall, I really like this concealer and will continue using it for blemishes and under eyes. Again, my only complaint is the color selection and the undertone of the shade medium. I have to make sure to adequately apply my foundation over the concealer to cover up the green cast it gives me. Or, mix it with another concealer of mine. Other than that, I love it. I'll most likely be picking this up in the shade light as well.

Hard Candy products can be found at your local Wal-mart!

MAC Melba Blush Review!

mac melba blush

MAC Melba Blush

MAC Melba Blush is described as a soft, coral peach with a matte finish. If you've tried traditional peach blushes (such as MAC Peaches, Illamasqua Lover, Nars Gina, etc) and found them to be too vibrant/orange, you might enjoy Melba, as although there is a slight orange tone, there is a good balance of red tones in the peach, so it doesn't lean as orange. It's more of a rosy-peach.

I purchased this blush after countless recommendations as this being a great blush for my medium skin tone. I agree, it's a really great peach blush for anyone, but I've noticed that those with light-medium to medium coloring (MAC NC25 to NC40) seem to really enjoy Melba as an every-day shade.

It's very pigmented, so it's easy to go overboard. Applying Melba with a duo-fiber brush, such as the MAC #187 yields a light application. It looks best when built with very sheer layers.

mac melba blush review


*Will be updated later with swatches.. check back soon!

Such a simple shade, yet I can understand why it's so popular. It's just a great brainless shade that doesn't require much thought for it to work. 

If you're a peach blush fiend and don't own Melba yet, make sure to swatch it the next time you swing by your local MAC counter. :)

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

NOTD: Orly Mirror Mirror + Grey Nail Polish Comparisons!

Two (2) Coats of Orly Mirror Mirror, One (1) Coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat

Orly Mirror Mirror is one of my favorite nail polishes. Grey may not be everyone's choice of color to wear on their nails, but considering 75% of my wardrobe is gray, it suits me quite well. Even though it may seem like a winter shade, I remember wearing it all through this past summer. Mirror Mirror is a creme formula grey polish with a pale blue undertone. On the nails, it looks like a true to life grey, and then in certain lighting it looks like a neutral, pale blue. 

The formula of Mirror Mirror is pretty nice. It's a little thick, but it dries fairly quick and it is extremely opaque. Two coats is more than enough. 

Here's a comparison to other grey nail polishes I own..
From Left to Right: Orly Mirror Mirror, Essie Chinchilly, Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro Steel Grey, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Grey Area, Love & Beauty Gray, Moodies Persian Blue & Sinful Colors Blah-Blah.

Orly Mirror Mirror - Pale grey with a pale blue undertone
Essie Chinchilly - Pale grey with a slight purple undertone
Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro Steel Grey - Pale grey with a purple/mauve undertone
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Grey Area - Deep, blackend grey with a deep blue/navy undertone
Love & Beauty Gray - Deep toned gunmetal grey with a golden green pearl
Moodies Persian Blue - Mid toned grey with a blue/green undertone
Sinful Colors Blah-Blah - Pale grey with a slight purple undertone (very similar to Essie Chinchilly)

What is your favorite grey polish?