Spence's Beauty – Page 15 – Beauty & Skincare

MAC Cosmetics

Review: MAC Wash and Dry Summer 2015 Limited Edition Collection

As you can probably tell by the picture below, I kind of went crazy buying all the things from the MAC Wash And Dry Summer 2015 Collection. The packaging is what got me – I won’t lie and say it was anything else. I’m a sucker for some bright, psychedelic colors! But once I opened up that packaging and got into the product, did I like it? Read on to find out!

MAC Cosmetics dropped their summer collection earlier this month and the packaging was stunning. Now that we have that fact out of the way, let’s talk more about the products inside. I purchased several items from the collection and decided to photograph the best and brightest!

My favorite lipstick from the collection was ‘Steam Heat’. It’s an orange based red that looks flattering against a variety of skintones. However, this Satin did apply thinner than other MAC lipsticks I own and wore more like an Amplified finish on me. While it was my favorite from this collection, I would not say it ranks on my list of top MAC lippies. It wasn’t a game changer by any means. Also, MAC has been releasing so many reds recently that my excitement for yet another red was pretty low. I’d say go ahead and grab this one if you skipped the other reds or if you want a good product in this packaging.

I knew from the start that none of the bronzing powders would show up on my skintone. But did that stop me from buying one? Absolutely not.

I kind of have a weakness for limited edition powder compacts so I grabbed one that I thought could be used as a nice everyday summer highlight. I chose ‘Refined Golden’ and I actually really like the way it looks on my cheeks! It shows up best in outdoor lighting and has a slight shimmer that catches beautifully in the sun. If you are fairer than me, then go ahead and grab this if you like shimmer in your bronzer.

On to one of the most unique pieces from the collection, the highlight powder in ‘Freshen Up’. The overspray for this powder really screams HEATWAVE! GET YOUR GLOW ON! I love it, but I’m sad that it’s only an overspray and doesn’t extend throughout the compact. I don’t want to rub it all off just for the sake of the review, but I did get a chance to swirl all three colors in the compact together and they make for a gorgeous apricot color. While the presentation of the product and the overspray are unique, I wouldn’t say that the color or forumla of the product are anything to get worked up over. The color and effect are not unique and can probably be duped fairly easily.

Lastly, I purchased the lipglass in ‘Domestic Diva’. This was the surprise favorite purchase from the collection for me! I don’t really like the lipglass forumla (I tolerate the VG Rihanna 2 and VG 1 lipglasses because the colors are fab), but I saw positive reviews on this item prior to release. I was very impressed the second I put this on! The main pain I find with the MAC lipglasses are that they are so thick that they seep into the fine lines around my mouth. I was happy to find that this was not the case with ‘Domestic Diva’. It clung to my lips like a champ and did not feel too heavy! This might get some heavy use this summer!

Did you guys happen to catch anything from this collection? If you live in a country where this has yet to be released, what’s on your list? I hope this helped give you guys insight on some of the products, let me know if you have any questions in the comments below!

Steam Heat

MAC Cosmetics

First Impression: MAC Huggable Lip Color ‘Dramatical’

For my first foray into MAC’s well loved ‘Huggable’ lip color formula, I picked up the orange-y red of the bunch, ‘Dramatical’. After the success of the first limited edition Huggable collection last year, MAC released this follow up collection in late April 2015 in the USA. Wondering why this formula makes MAC die-hards drool? Keep reading!

I don’t know what voodoo magic MAC is putting in this formula, but I literally feel NOTHING on my lips when this is on! It is the most lightweight lipstick I have purchased from MAC ever. But the crazy part is, the color is actually very opaque for the product to be so lightweight! The tip glided right over my fairly opaque lips and within 2-3 swipes, I had full coverage color and I was ready to go. The finish is closer to an ‘Amplified’ finish that MAC assigns to its traditional lipstick colors. Very glossy, yet still delivers lots of pigment.

This product truly ‘hugs’ your lips and this can be good or bad depending on the way you like your lipstick. Within two swipes, the color had already clung to my lips and was making its way into my lip lines. By the third swipe, it was all up in my lip lines! It did feather a bit around the edges of my lips with three coats, but I noticed that the feathering wasn’t excessive and was easily cleaned up with some concealer. This product will definitely accentuate the natural lines of your lips so if you aren’t too comfortable with the natural look, then you will want to be careful when applying around the corners of your mouth.

Regarding product packaging, the Huggable colors are packaged differently from regular MAC bullets. They come in sleek, glossy gunmetal packaging that looks similar to the design of the pro longwear lipsticks. The actual lipstick tip is completely circular and mimics the outer packaging. It is cut on an angle, but the blunt cut makes it harder (in my opinion) to apply the product directly to the lips. I found that trying to apply closer to the inner corners of my mouth, I had to issues accidentally getting some color outside the natural borders of lips. If you aren’t going for the over-lined look, this is problematic. Overall, I would say this wasn’t so much of an issue after I got used to applying to my lips directly with this style tube.

I would suggest going to the stores to test out the Huggable colors. There is just something about that will make you either love or hate them. Before you spend your good $20 online, make a quick stop to check out the formula. If you swatch in store, check out how easily it settles into the creases on the back of your hand. That will give you some idea of how it will perform on your lips. You can see how it settles into my hand with three swipes in the swatch below:

Review: Dupe? GiveMeGlow “Deja Vu” vs. Lime Crime “Cashmere”

With all the allegations against Lime Crime, a lot of people are boycotting the company and trying to find dupes of popular products elsewhere. But can some of Lime Crimes out-of-this-world colors actually be duped?

The answer to the question I posed above is “Ehhh … maybeeeee”. Lime Crime, for all their faults, really does have some unique colors. Now I won’t get into all the politics of the scandal here (you can do your own research online), I will say that I will not be recommending Lime Crime anymore on this blog. I’m not actively looking for dupes, but if I do run across any, I will share them with you all. That will be the only time you will see Lime Crime run across my blog anymore.

Back to the fun, happy things! I came across a company called Give Me Glow Cosmetics a few weeks ago which runs an Etsy store with custom lipstick colors. At the time, the owner had recently recreated a lipstick similar to the matte liquid lipstick shade ‘Cashmere’ by Lime Crime. She posted a picture of the dupe online and holy moly every beauty lover on Instagram was in awe of its beauty! Since then, she has recreated several more Lime Crime color dupes as well as dupes from Anastasia Beverly Hills and Kat Von D liquid lipsticks and offers the lip product in both a tube and a pot.

I’m reviewing LC’s Cashmere and GiveMeGlow’s Deja Vu because I actually have Cashmere. Some of her other products are dupes for items I don’t have and I didn’t think it would be fair to do a review for you all without the original product. However, if you guys want me to give my thoughts on another one of her items (purely off performance), I would happily oblige.

Here are my thoughts on Deja Vu’s performance against Cashmere:

darker, rosier
more difficult to apply from tub with lip brush
brush makes for a streaky application
less opaque
doesn’t dry matte, leaves a satin finish
not long wearing

Now it may seem like there are a lot of “not” and “doesn’t” in the list above, but it is all about preference. If you don’t like a suck-your-lips-to-death liquid lipstick, then you might want to try for a satin finish. Or if Cashmere is a bit too light for you, Deju Vu gives you the option to go darker. Got any more questions about the products? Let me know in the comments!

L-R: Deja Vu, Cashmere

Wet 'N Wild

Review: Wet ‘N Wild Fergie Centerstage Collection Shimmer Palettes

As we begin to transition into summer, I’m making it my personal mission to find the best highlighters to make me shine bright like a diamond! Well, not quite as bright as a diamond, I do have limits! =)

While I do have a bunch of highlighters in my collection, few are as beautiful and inexpensive as those from the Fergie x Wet ‘N Wild collection. These beauties can be found at drugstores across America and online so they are very accessible even if you don’t live near a Sephora, Ulta, or other beauty brick-and-mortar.

There are three colors currently on the market: Rose Champagne Glow (pearlescent light pink), Hollywood Boulevard (pure gold), Rose Golden Goddess (bronzed copper). These are baked powders and can be used wet (to intensify the finish) or dry (for a subtle glow). The product size is bigger than other highlighting powders coming in at 11.3g. MAC’s Mineralize Skinfinishes are 10g, Bobbi Brown’s Highlighting Powders and Becca’s Shimmer Skin Perfecter Pressed are both 8g.

I’d say the best feature about these products is the price. These will only run you $5.99 each! Let’s compare that to some of my other favorite highlighters: MAC Mineralize Skinfinish ‘Gold Deposit’ ($32), Becca Cosmetics Shimmering Skin Perfecter Pressed ‘Opal’ ($38), Bobbi Brown Highlight Powder ‘Bronze Glow’ ($45).

Basically the price difference speaks for itself!

It’s also been said that some of these colors are dupes for some prestige brand/limited edition products that you might not be able to get your hands on anymore. For example, ‘Hollywood Boulevard’ is similar to MAC’s Limited Edition Extra Dimension Skinfinish ‘Whisper of Gilt’ which is probably the most sought after highlighter on the face of the planet!

My suggestion? Run, not walk, RUN to you nearest drugstore and grab these before anyone else! Yes, be selfish about grabbing these! Don’t you want that golden goddess glow this summer? Well hit the road Jack! But if you still haven’t made up your mind, keep reading to check out my swatches!

Rose Golden Goddess, Hollywood Boulevard, Rose Champagne Glow
WITH FLASH

Rose Golden Goddess, Hollywood Boulevard, Rose Champagne Glow
WITHOUT FLASH
(Sorry for the blur, my camera did not know how to pick up the shimmery goodness!)

Glitter Elixirs Cosmetics

First Impression: Glitter Elixirs – The Steven Universe Collection + Other Goodies!

If you are a fan of cosmetic glitters and have not purchased from Glitter Elixirs, you are missing out BIG TIME! I recently received my order and I wanted to share some swatches with you guys of some of the newer colors from the Steven Universe inspired collection! Keep reading for more pictures and swatches!

If you are a return reader to my blog, you will know about my latest obsession: glitter! If you are new to my blog, you are more than welcome to join with me in my fascination! One of the main reasons I have been purchasing a boat load of glitter recently is due to my love for the company Glitter Elixirs. Glitter Elixirs is run by Kennedy L. and she is amazing! She is so sweet and truly cares about her customers. The company recently launch a collection based of the characters and themes of the animated series “Steven Universe”. Now I haven’t watched the show (even though I am a huge fan of animated shows), so I was a tad confused by the glitter names at first! But it’s down on my list of “Things to watch on a rainy day”. Check out a couple swatches of some new products below!

Kennedy also filled my order with a bunch of sample sized glitters (comes with every order) so I can be dripping in glitter from head to toe! If you guys are interested in checking out Glitter Elixirs, you can purchase their products from their Etsy shop. Now I’m not being compensated in any way by this company, I just truly love and use their products and will continue to do so as long as Kennedy continues to be the sweetest person on the planet! Check out more pictures of my haul below!

Uncategorized

GIVEAWAY! Win a $50 Sephora Gift Card!

With the Sephora Spring Sale winding down, your pockets are probably hurting after stocking up on your favorites! Let me help you replenish your beauty budget! I am holding a giveaway to celebrate reaching 750 followers on Instagram! Head on over to my Instagram page and check out the giveaway post to see the rules. Good luck!

Giveaway closes May 1, 2015 at 11:59 PM EST. Open to US followers only. No giveaway accounts!

Ultimo Cosmetics

Review: Ultimo Cosmetics Eye Shimmer Pigments

I’m always on the search for quality affordable pigments to add to my makeup collection! Pigments are so versatile and can be used for eye shadow, eye liner, blush, highlighter, mascara, even lipstick! So I really had nothing to lose when I ordered these Ultimo Cosmetics pigment samples for only $1. Want to know how they performed? Keep reading!

I was more than impressed when I unboxed these 13 pigments today! These are samples, only .2g of product, but the company packaged these beautifully! They come in small little twist-top containers with a clear bottom so you can see the colors if you store the containers upside down. They are also labeled on the bottom with the name of the shadow, the sample size, and the company brand.

I purchased these from the company’s eBay store and received my package four business days later. Shipping was a little steep for just one sample ($3 shipping for a $1 sample), but for every additional sample, 25 cents is tacked on to the shipping price. So I ended up with 13 samples and shipping was between $5-6 if I remember correctly. The company’s eBay store also sells full sizes of these sample products as well as foundation, concealer, blush, bronzing, and highlighting mineral pigments. Quite a selection for a smaller brand!

Moving on to the color selection! Two words: AWESOME SAUCE! Ultimo Cosmetics has Eye Shadow and Eye Shimmer pigments available with the shadow being a matte pigment and the shimmer being, well a shimmer! However, what is unique about the Ultimo Cosmetics shimmers is that these are shade shifting duochromes! These are the first affordable duochrome pigments I have encountered and I was pleasantly surprised. Colors like “Pay Dirt” and “Live Lobsters” change as the light shifts or you make even the slightest movement.

I only have one other duochrome shadow which is Kat Von D’s Shade Shifter Eyeshadow in “On The Road” and when comparing it to Ultimo Cosmetics’ “Pay Dirt” found that the KvD shadow was more pigmented with just a single swipe. But with just two or three swipes of “Pay Dirt”, I was able to build up the same coverage. The KvD shadow is also pressed so it is designed to be intensely pigmented with a small amount of product. The KvD shadow was also $16 which is quite a bit more than Ultimo Cosmetics prices.

Below you can find swatches of all the pigments I purchased from my first purchase! I may or may not have a second purchase already in the works =). If anyone wants to see swatches of my next purchase, let me know in the comments below!

NARS

Review: NARS Christopher Kane Limited Edition Collection 2015 – Single Eyeshadow “Outer Limits”

NARS and Christopher Kane definitely picked a color and formula for “Outer Limits” that are “kind of out of this world” for a solo shadow! But are fans of the brand ready for this futuristic shade? Read on for a sneak peek of the upcoming NARS x Christopher Kane collaboration!

Continuing on with my NARS x Christopher Kane collection review, here is the only single eyeshadow in the bunch “Outer Limits”! If you want to read my review of the two Illuminating Multiples in this collection, click here.

I’m going to be completely honest with you guys straight from the jump here: I was not impressed by this shadow! I swatched the shadow bare on my arm and over primer. When swatched bare, there wasn’t really any pigment to the shadow it was pure pink and gold shade-shifting glitter! It appeared patchy and really didn’t complement my skin tone in any way. This would be too light for me to wear as an all-over shadow, but it might be very illuminating for my inner corner. I was even thinking of the posibility of using this as a highlighter on my cheeks, but it is far too glittery for my taste. I like more of a subtle shimmer where you cannot identify each particle of glitter on the cheeks. I might try mixing it with a bit of foundation to see if diffuses the glitter explosion.

I also swatched it over a primer I have from Ultimo Cosmetics which did help with the pigmentation a little. I could see the pink shimmer pigment underneath all the glitter that made the color seem a bit more wearable for my skin tone. However, I still wouldn’t wear it as an all-over shadow, but I would be more inclined to use it as an inner corner highlight since the primer intensified that pink shade-shifting base color.

It was actually pretty hard to capture this color on camera, but I tried my best! You can see those swatches if you keep scrolling.

I guess those geniuses at NARS thought they would make a ultra bright shimmer/glitter hybrid color, but this “Outer Limits” shadow is a little too out there for my taste. If I am going to wear glitter, I wear glitter. If I am going to wear a shimmery shadow, I will wear a shimmery shadow. But “Outer Limits” is having an identity crisis and can’t figure out which one it is and I don’t blame it, because I don’t know which one it is either!

This eyeshadow, along with the rest of the NARS x Christopher Kane collaboration, will be available April 15th at narscosmetics.com and at NARS boutiques. It will be available at other retailers such as Sephora on May 1st. This single shadow will retail for $25. For a list and pictures of the rest of the items in this collection, check out my post here.

NARS

Review: NARS Christopher Kane Limited Edition Colelction 2015 Illuminating Multiples ‘Quantum’ & ‘Violet Atom”

Check out this sneak peek of the two Illuminating Multiples from the upcoming NARS Cosmetics x Christopher Kane collection!

** All the products reviewed from this collection were purchased by me with my own money.
I was not compensated in any way for these reviews.

I’m a huge NARS powder fan! Powder blush, powder highlight, powder eyeshadow … all that! But these are my first cream products from NARS and I must say I am very impressed. If you aren’t familiar with the Illuminating Multiple, they are huge cream sticks that can be used on your cheeks, lips, or eyes. The Illuminating Multiple comes in different highlight colors and delivers a sheer, shimmering finish on the skin. I would probably just use this around my face in places I would normally highlight. I probably would not use this on my lips or eyes because the color is so sheer it might make my dark eyelids look oily instead of shimmering. For someone with fairer skin, the color would skin through just enough for you to achieve that ‘no makeup, makeup’ look.

“Violet Atom” is a shimmering lilac shade that transforms color depending on the lighting. It looks less lavender on my skin than it does in the tube and it catches the light beautifully! This is the one you want to choose if you want that summer “shine-bright-like-a-diamond” glow! I tried to capture the color and shimmer as much as I could in the video and in pictures, but this is a product you really just need to see in person.

“Quantum” is hot pink in the tube, but sheers on the skin to give a nice ‘flushed cheek’ look! This one is not as shimmery and is pigmented enough for me to use as a blush if I wanted. This one doesn’t catch the light as much as “Violet Atom”, but it is still gorgeous! I would say this is probably more like the original The Multiple formula, less shimmery and more pigmented.

Both sticks were consistent formula-wise, however, I have no other Multiples so I can only compare them to each other. One swipe of each barely shows up on me. I needed at least two or three passes to build up the color enough for it to show up in the video. Even with the three swipes it didn’t feel heavy or greasy on my skin, but I was still more aware of this cream formula being on me than an ultra-light powder highlighter.

I don’t know if this was just because these were brand new, but on the first swatch swipe the product came off a little flaky on my skin leaving little crumbles of product on the back of my hand. I could easily just blend the crumbles in with my finger so it wasn’t a big deal. I also found after the second and third pass this didn’t happen, so maybe that was just a side effect of a brand new stick. If anyone else has experienced this with other Multiples, let me know in the comments!

These two Illuminating Multiples, along with the rest of the NARS x Christopher Kane collaboration, will be available April 15th at narscosmetics.com and at NARS boutiques. It will be available at other retailers such as Sephora on May 1st. Each Multiple will retail for $39. For a list and pictures of the rest of the items in this collection, check out my post here. To see my review of the Single Eyeshadow, “Outer Limits”, click here.

Keep scrolling for more pics and leave any comments or questions in the comments below!

ColourPop Cosmetics

Review: ColourPop Cosmetics Spring 2015 Collection ‘Pastel Punch’

Was ‘Pastel Punch’ a hit or miss? Read more below to find out my thoughts on ColourPop’s limited edition spring collection!

I couldn’t help it! I had to make a huge ColourPop order for Spring 2015! ColourPop recently released their spring collection, “Pastel Punch” with some beautiful pastel (duh!) eyeshadow and lipstick shades! Most of the lipsticks are of the pink and purple variety. However, the odd one out is “Tootsie” which is all-the-rage-greige and is supposedly a dupe for Lime Crime’s ‘Cashmere’ Velvetine. I’ve swatched the ‘Tootsie’ pencil next to ‘Cashmere’ below so you can see for yourself!

The pencils were definitely my favorite part of the haul. I haven’t met a ColourPop pencil that I haven’t liked! These are all very pigmented and can be worn alone on the lips or with a lipstick. I also purchased several pencils from the permanent range so I went ahead and swatched those too if anyone is interested. I’m telling you, me + ColourPop pencils = LOVE.

As far as blushes and eye shadows go, I picked up ‘Shop’, ‘Daddy’, ‘Snap Dragon’, and ‘Taco’ shadows and all three blushes: ‘More, Please’, ‘Olive’, and ‘Rain’. I also got several shadows from their permanent collection: ‘Sugar’ and ‘Ibiza’.

My least favorite from the shadows I purchased was ‘Shop’. It’s so dull against my skin tone! It is also matte which doesn’t help things at all! I was expecting more of a coral-shade, but this is much more “color-of-the -year” marsala. I much prefer the marsala & brick red colors in the 2015 Sephora + Pantone Universe Eyeshadow palette. Those are definitely more vibrant!

The standout eyeshadow for me was ‘Sugar’. This item is permanent and I really have no idea why I got it! It was next to ‘Ibiza’ on the website so I was just all “what the heck!? It’s only $5”. The pigmentation of ‘Sugar’ is unreal. It is a metallic shadow, but it still swatched smoothy and the shimmer was consistent throughout. From the limited edition shades, I really liked ‘Daddy’! The color is just beautiful and the consistency was super creamy even though it is a matte shade! I can’t see myself having any problems blending this out. Very pleased!

I love me some good ColourPop! But when they don’t hit the mark, they really don’t hit the mark. Which is so disappointing because I want to love everything that comes from their sunny California factory! But I can’t always become blinded by the great prices and the cute packaging.

These spring collection blushes are a hot mess! ‘Olive’ is way too patchy. For my heavy swatch, it took me 3-4 swipes from the pan to just get what you see above. It was chalky and heavy feeling, even on the blended swatch. I was expecting this color to be too light for me, but part of me was still hoping I would be able to work with it. Unfortunately, this one is pretty hopeless for my complexion. You can see how ashy it makes me look in the picture. Better luck next time …

‘Rain’ was also a miss for me, but not as much as ‘Olive’. I’m a little unsure about how one would wear a purple blush? It would make sense if maybe this was a warmer purple color, maybe a berry, but this is straight up cool lilac with some grey undertones. I’d be curious to see how this pairs with a cool contour on fairer skin. Will it look chic and fashion foward? Or too harsh for summer looks?

The only blush I liked was ‘More, Please’. I wouldn’t give it a 10/10, but maybe a solid 7. If ‘Rain’ is too far on the cool spectrum, ‘More, Please’ is on the opposite psychedelic, neon end. This blush is very pigmented and super creamy. You can see from my swatch, which is just one swipe from my finger, that this color is very bright. You are going to want to go light with the application and go heavy on the blending. One of the reasons I didn’t give this a higher score was because of the substantial amount of shimmer that is still visible even when blended out. Standing in the sun or taking pictures with flash photography, this shimmer is going to take its spot front and center all over you cheeks. I’m a fan of shimmer, but my cheeks are big and regardless of how much I tried to blend it out, this was just too shiny for me. If you are like me and think this is too bright for your taste, but you already purchased it, don’t fret! You can use this as an eyeshadow! Just put a dab on your lid and the shade becomes more wearable on a smaller canvas.

Overall, I’m still a ColourPop fan. However, this haul has grounded my previously undying love for ColourPop. The hype has now worn off for me and I am slowly starting to uncover flaws in their products and formulas that I previously overlooked. Since my ColourPop collection has grown significantly in the past month, I have begun to compare product quality and that contributed to the feelings shared in this review. I still love the price and the company policies, but I notice now that I have to think about product size and batch quality as well. Till next time folks!