Review: MAC Cosmetics x Isabel & Ruben Toledo Lipsticks

The MAC x Toledo collection hits MAC Cosmetics stores in the USA tomorrow. Is it worth camping out before the malls even open to get your hands on these limited edition items? I’ve got the answer + pictures, swatches, and more pictures!

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MAC Toleda ‘Oxblood’ with ‘Chestnut’ Lip Liner

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MAC Toledo ‘Victoriana’

I got a little carried away with the MAC x Toledo collection! As in – I stayed up all night waiting for the release on MAC’s website!

But in the end, that worked to my advantage, because the ‘Oxblood’ lipstick sold out in less than 20 MINUTES! I mean this has got to be one of the fastest selling items in a while. Three days later, Nordstrom and Macy’s quickly sold out upon release and now all that is left are the store displays that go up tomorrow.

Is this collection worth penciling in a visit to your local MAC location tomorrow morning? If you are a lipstick or makeup collector, YES! The product packaging by itself is drool worthy. Each lipstick was double packaged with an inner and outer sleeve to protect the bullet. Both sleeves were covered in designs on the inside and outside of the packaging making this the ultimate collector’s item. The only other products I ordered were the three blushes and those each came in their own customized boxes, but those beauties will get their own review later!

Back to the lipsticks – if you are a fan of ‘Oxblood’, you should definitely go get it tomorrow! I have heard that MAC’s ‘Kinda Sexy’ lipstick is a close dupe, but not perfect. This is a great peachy nude that flatters a variety of skintones. After tomorrow, it might be a bit harder to get that perfect match! The other colors are still available on the company’s website, as well as Nordstom and Macy’s online (as of 2/4/15) so if you are interested in any of the other colors, you might be able to hold of … but not for long as these are still limited edition!

I have to say that ‘Oxblood’ was not my favorite of the lipsticks I purchased from this collection. I don’t have many red lipsticks so I decided to go all out and purchase the four red-ish lippies debuting with this collection. ‘Barbecue’ has a distinct orange tone that can be played up red with the right liner. ‘Tenor Voice’ has enough of a blue undertone to make your teeth appear whiter. ‘Victoriana’ is a beautiful pink-red tone. ‘Opera’ is a deep red perfect for Valentine’s Day. ‘Sin’ is the only shade that is permanent (in regular packaging) from this collection and is a deep, deep red that has some berry hues shine through on my skin tone. I absolutely love them all, but I have to say ‘Victoriana’ stole my heart from the moment I swatched it! It wasn’t too bright on me (as some true reds often are) and the pink undertone really popped on my lips. Definitely grab this one online before it sells out!

I wish MAC has millions of these lipsticks so we could have backups on backups and we would never run out! But alas, we might fight alongside everyone else for a piece of their genius!

Good luck to everyone tackling the counter tomorrow. May the (Toledo) force be with you!

First Impression: Milani Cosmetics Original Color Statement Lipsticks and New Moisture Matte Lipsticks

Drugstore beauty brand Milani Cosmetics has kicked off 2015 with a bang! It seems like the company has overhauled their entire line. From the Color Statement nail laquer to the Fierce Foil eyeliner, the rose powder blushes to the Bella Eyes eyeshadow – everything is redone! And their new matte lipsticks – not to be outdone by the other releases – has a wow factor like none other.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Milani added a few matte colors to their Color Statement Lipstick line. The original colors released a few years ago include lustre, satin, and amplified finishes, but no matte lippies. Last week, Milani was offering 30% off anything on their website so I decided to try a few of the matte colors and a few of the original colors. I received my order in about three business days (with the free shipping option) and got busy creating some lip swatches. My lips are now super raw, but it’s all in the name of beauty so they will survive to swatch again!

From the matte collection, I purchased: Matte Passion, Matte Naked, and Matte Orchid. From the original colors, I purchased: Double Espresso, Black Cherry, Sangria, Dulce Caramello, Plumrose, and Fruit Punch. Each of these colors offers the wearer a unique color in a product comparable to those released by some of the higher end beauty brands. The matte colors were non-drying on the lips, unlike some other matte lipsticks and the original color range offers a very hydrating mix of pigmentation and hydration. The original colors feature a strong scent comparable to a watermelon flavored Jolly Rancher. Not quite the scent of a real watermelon, but still delicious! The matte collection doesn’t have any scent that I could pick up. So if you don’t want to have your nose assaulted by a strong watermelon flavor, stay away from the original colors!

I would definitely recommend these lipsticks to anyone! From the high-end beauty junkie to the teenager just starting out in the beauty aisle. They are easy to apply, very wearable, and offer some of the most gorgeous colors found in the drugstore. The matte shades are not completely matte on the lips and will wear off as you go about your day. You will also probably need to wear a liner with these as they do feather out once applied. But you can’t beat them for the price! These retail for $5.99 in drugstores nationwide (Walgreens, Duane Reade, CVS, etc.) or on the Milani Cosmetics website where you can get free shipping with any order over $25. Bummed that you missed the 30% off sale online?  Walgreens is offering these (and some other Milani products) Buy One, Get One 50% off right now!

Review: Anastasia Beverly Hill Liquid Lipstick ‘Spicy’ 

After I tried ABH ‘Heathers’ Liquid Lipstick, I must admit, my expectations were REALLY high for ‘Spicy’. Did it deliver? Read on to find out!

Anastasia Beverly Hills (ABH) started this year off the same exact way they ended 2014. Blogger eyeshadow palette game strong. Individual pan eyeshadow game stronger. Brow game strongest.

Then, in early 2015, they upped their liquid lipstick game, big time. Since liquid lipsticks are now the hottest beauty item to hit stores since contouring products, ABH took their time creating their own formula for their release of the new product. All 20 shades are absolutely beautiful, but I only picked up two to test out before I bought anymore. I reviewed the color ‘Heathers’ here.

I’m going to be very upfront about my opinion of this shade. I did not like it.

It seemed like a COMPLETELY different formula from ‘Heathers’ and that really threw me off the first time I applied it. Instead of applying a clean strip of color across my lips, the applicator painted ‘Spicy’ on sporadically. The color did not cling to my lips and was moved around too easily with a stroke of the applicator wand. Even after two layers, there still seemed to be patchy spots of color all over my bottom lip. Only after I applied a third layer (after the second layer completely dried, about two minutes), did the color really begin to cover my natural lips color.

Overall, I think I put on around four layers to get the coverage I needed. This formula was not at all like ‘Heathers’, where the color glided onto  my lips free of patches and only required one stroke to cover most of my lip. I’m not sure how two lipsticks in the same product line could be more different! If only all the colors in the line covered like ‘Heathers’! Alas, the color is really pretty, but I would never wear it out alone. It seems to be too bright for my taste. However, I could see this working in combination with a good brown liner (like MAC Chestnut) to tone it down a bit.

For kicks and giggles, I topped ABH ‘Spicy’ with the LA Girl Glazed Lip Paint in ‘Hot Mess’ for a glossier look. The LA Girl gloss is very pigmented and can be worn alone, but also works well adding a nice shine to matte lip colors. This look would be totally fun for summer if you are brave enough to wear it!

First Impression: L’Oreal Color Riche Collection Exclusive ‘Frieda’ & ‘Liya’

L’oreal Paris released a new new shade range inspired by some of today’s top faces. Along with Julianne Moore, Doutzen Kroes, Jennifer Lopez, & Eva Longoria, Freida Pinto and Liya Kebede have inspired nude lipsticks perfect for darker skin tones.

These lipsticks have been out for nearly a year, but has not been ANYWHERE near my house! I’ve been actively looking for any of the shades from this collection for about 3 months now and had almost given up hope, when I finally spotted them. The entire collection was in a tiny corner display at my local Ulta. Now I know these have not always been there, because I looked high a low for them right before Christmas! I am so glad these were restocked and I had the opportunity to see/test them in person!

I was drawn to this collection because of the range of celebrity faces brought in to help with this collection. I have been a fan of Freida Pinto since Slumdog Millionaire and model Liya Kebede is just drop dead gorgeous so this purchase was kind of a no-brainer. These two shades in particular are suited for darker skin tones, however, they are completely wearable for most complexions.

Each of the nudes in this collection is meant to offer the wearer a “my lip, but better” type of feeling upon application.The description from the L’oreal Paris website for these products reads:

“Each shade in this carefully curated collection has its own gorgeous color variation to flatter every skin tone and add beautiful dimension to the lips. Find your perfect nude!”

I found that both of these colors applied sheer and were slightly buildable with a few more swipes. Based off some of the promo images, I assumed these would be a bit more pigmented, but I wasn’t thrown off by this too much.

Both colors were beautiful, but I found that I prefered Liya’s nude for my skintone. Freida’s nude was more cool tone and in my initial lip swatch (without liner, primer, etc.) made me look washed out. When choosing a nude, you don’t want anything that is going to make you look like you just walked out of the morgue! But with the right liner, I think I could make this work. I’m certainly not afraid to try! 

Get The Look: Fun, Smokey Blue Eyes! + First Ever Video Step-By-Step

So this was super fun! Cool blue tones replace my usual warm summer looks. Step out of my comfort zone with me!

I learned a lot from the purple smokey eye I did earlier. I didn’t really like how it turned out so I went all out on this look! This smokey look ended up more grunge, probably because of all the cool tones and I totally went with it in my pictures. No fluffy curls this time! I totally embraced my messy bun. The cool tones on the eyes means I didn’t add too much color anywhere else on the face. For a full step-by-step, I filmed a Get Ready With Me video for you to see! Please give me your feedback on the video! I wanted to add some more fun into the mix of the written blog. Thanks in advance =)


Products used in this look:

On the brows – Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow & Brow Wiz in ‘Dark Brown’, Benefit Gimme Brow ‘Brunette’

On the eyes – NYX HD Eyeshadow Base, MAC Prep and Prime Eye Base ‘Medium Deep’, Maybelline Great Lash, NYC Liquid Liner, Dollar False lashes

Eyeshadow – Morphe Brushes 35N Palette, Raving Beauty Cosmetics ‘Voyage’, Milani Cosmetics ‘Bella Navy’

On the face – ELF Mineral Face Primer, Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation, NYX HD Studio Concealer, Ben Nye Mojave Luxury Powder, Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick, City Color Intense Blush Quad

On the lips – Lime Crime Salem Velvetine

First Impression: ColourPop Cosmetics Haul feat. Shaaanxo Limted Edition Collection

I’ve been hearing some amazing things about ColourPop in the past year! They have teamed up with some pretty big names in the beauty blogging world to bring us some quality eyeshadows and lipsticks at very affordable prices. ColourPop’s newest collaboration with New Zealand YouTube sensation, Shaaanxo, is bound to be one of their best yet!

I am a massive fan of Shaaanxo’s YouTube channel! I love her filming style and her fearless sense of color! She goes for the bright and bold and everytime I watch her I think, “Wow, that’s so pretty. Let me try!” And then I try and I look like a clown =) Bur that will never stop me from being a devoted fan!

The minute I saw the eyeshadow collection announcement on Instagram, I knew I was going to be purchasing this kit. I have never purchased anything form ColourPop despite having filmed my online shopping cart to the brim with all my wish list items. I cleared those items out to make room for Shannon’s goodies!

The colors and the shadows were absolutely beautiful! The four in this set were more flattering to my skin that the three I bought separately. I was especially hesitant about the hunter green shade, ‘Rebel’, but it swatched beautifully on my wrist. Also, the shimmery dark brown shade, ‘Deluxe’, was my favorite shade out of all seven of the shades I opened up today. It was extremely pigmented even after I blended it out on my wrist and, again, it just complemented my skin tone perfectly!

In addition to the Shaaanxo x ColourPop Collection, I purchased three new eyesahdows from ColourPop’s new matte eyeshadow line. I prefer matte shadows and have been curious about how these perform since this is the company’s first foray into the world of mattes. This is my first impression of the product as I have not yet used dem on mah face! I hope to play with them a little more and I will definitely get a look up soon, promise!

The pigmentation of these eyesahdows was out of this world. I mean all of the colors were great, but I was especially pleased with some of the lighter shades. Generally, the lighter the color, the less likely it is to show up on my skin tone. However, I found that ‘Cop A Feel’ was really the most pigmented of the three matte shadows I purchased. You can see how it pops in the wrist swatch below. Even though the pigmentation of ‘Cop A Feel’ was great, it came across ashy on my skin tone. But I’m not giving up hope quite yet! I still have to test it out on my eyes and then I will give the final verdict.

I really hope to get a new look up using these new products this week. I am anxious to see how they perform on my oily eyelids! Have you ever bought anything from ColourPop Cosmetics before? Let me know your thoughts about ColourPop below in the comments!

Get The Look: Dramatic, Purple Smokey Eyes

I have really been loving my Morphe Brushes 35N palette lately so it was just a matter of time before I started using all the gorgeous purples scattered throughout! I used a very neutral, matte taupe all over the eye to help all my shadows blend better. Then, I added some of the deepest purple color in the palette on the inner and outer corners. Once that was blended out, I used the color ‘Garnet’ from the Lorac Pro Palette in the center of the lid. I applied this with my finger and just patted it down into the taupe-y color that was already underneath. Lastly, I used a deeper brown color to blend out the crease and transition area so the purple wasn’t so harsh.

Under the eye, I used that same deep purple all over the last line. With a detailing brush, I picked up some more of that ‘Garnet’ on the inner half of the lower lash line. To finish that area off, I used the color ‘Gold’, also from the Lorac Pro Palette, in the inner corner.

I was just “meh’ about the outcome of this look. I definitely think there are some things I could have done better and I am glad I finished it because I learned a lot for next time! Practice makes perfect (eventually, LOL)!

Review: Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick ‘Heathers’ 

I can already say that this ‘Heathers’ liquid lipstick formula is the best that I have tried thus far. My current liquid lipstick inventory includes Dose of Colors, NYX, and Lime Crime, but as soon as I put on ‘Heathers’, I knew this was the best. Whatever is in that tube is sent from the lipstick gods to be bestowed among the common people! I am really excited to purchase more in the next few weeks. The company has already hinted that additional colors will be released in the coming months so we will have that to look forward to as well. ** Note: Heathers made my teeth look really white in person and on my iPhone 5 camera! However, when I took pictures with my Canon Point-and-Shoot (with a flash), my teeth looked more yellow. My teeth are naturally more white than yellow. Pics below!
Pros:

  • Applicator has a fine tip that widens out making for easy application around the edges of your lips if you don’t want to use an extra brush to line your lips.
  • Doesn’t tug at your lips upon application.
  • Doesn’t dry immediately giving you time to distribute the product across your lips.
  • Doesn’t streak across your lips upon application.
  • Very opaque.

Cons:

  • Doesn’t pass the kiss test. This product will transfer off your lips upon contact!
  • Doesn’t last as long as other liquid lipsticks in this category. (ex. Dose of Colors, Lime Crime)
  • Comes across as more of a cream than a liquid. (this doesn’t really bother me that much)
  • Takes longer to dry on your lips because it is a cream not a fast-drying liquid.

Comparison with Lime Crime Velvetine Colors: Left to right: LC Wicked, ABH Heathers, LC Salem

Get The Look:  Glowing Cheeks, Lots of Lip Gloss, and Golden Goddess Eyes

Last week I was blessed to be able to take a cruise with my mom! We visited the blue waters of Belize and the sunny skies of Mexico. After being in the sun for seven days, I am having withdrawal being back home in this 40 degree weather and I really just want to run back to the ship LOL! There was a bit of sun out today and I happened to have on a shirt I bought in Cozumel, so I thought I would put on a face to match my mood!

The one things I really miss was the glow I had in the sun! I just wanted to get that back so I used a ton of highlight on my cheeks. I used a few different colors layered so it would look more natural and dewy instead of “BAMM in your FACE”! Over my primed face, I used my Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation, which is matte. I used it because I needed full coverage and I don’t have a dewy foundation that matches me.On top of that, I brightened up my face with Revlon Liquid Bronzer on the high points of my face blended into the foundation with a stippling brush. I then concealed my under-eye area with some CoverGirl Queen liquid/creamy concealer. It gives me less coverage than my go-to NYX HD Concealer, but it isn’t as brightening and obvious on the face and that’s exactly what I was going for.

After powdering my under-eye with my Rimmel Stay Matte Powder, I packed on the highlight and blush! For blush, I used the BH Cosmetics Blush & Highlight Duo in ‘Tulip’. I used both colors and then, with a stippling brush again, laid down the lightest color from the Stila Creamy Convertible Duo in ‘Marigold’ to finish out the highlight.

Eyes are Raving Beauty Cosmetics and Morphe Brushes 35N Palette. Contour is CoverGirl Queen Cream Foundation in ‘True Ebony’. Lips are MAC ‘Chestnut’ liner with NARS ‘Dolce Vita’ gloss on top. Brows are Anatasia Beverly Hills BrowWiz & DipBrow in ‘Dark Brown’ (Always & forever!) and Benefit Tinted Brow Gel in ‘Brunette’. Mascara is Maybelline Great Lash and Too Faced Size Queen. No false lashes!

Get The Look: Bold Eyes, Lips, and Brows! feat. Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick ‘Heathers’ and Melt Cosmetics ‘Dark Matter’ Eyeshadow Stack

I know the makeup standard is to only emphasize one or two areas when you apply makeup. Either select eyes and brows and complement with a neutral lip or bold brows and lips and then a neutral eye. Well I threw those rules to the wind today!

I have recently become obsessed with makeup artist Patrick Starr. I’ve been a YouTube subscriber of his channel for about six months, but in the last three or four weeks I have been binge watching his videos. He always refers to himself as “plus size” and therefore adjusts his makeup routine to fit his size. Because of his size and the size of his wigs/turbans, he can pull off a lot of makeup.

Well, I am plus sized as well, so I decided to try the bold everything look as well! Luckily I didn’t turn out looking like a clown! Thank you so much Patrick Starr for inspiring me to create this look with bold brows, dark lips, and smokey eyes.

BRAND NEW Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipcolor in ‘Heathers’ on my lips. You can read my full review of this product here.

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You can’t always take a serious selfie!

I wanted to take another crack at my new Melt Cosmetics eyeshadow stack in ‘Dark Matter’ so I used the color ‘Unseen’ all over the lid, in the transition, and even up a little past the crease. This color blends in with my skin tone so I thought it would create a nice canvas and cancel out any darkness. As an actual transition color, I used a smokey purple from the Morphe Brushes 35N Eyeshadow Palette. This all-matte palette has become a lifesaver for me because there are so many essentials colors included. I continued to blend this purple in the transition area and into the crease. In the crease, I blended two additional shadows from the same Morphe palette. Both were cool browns that added a little bit of depth as I began to smoke out the outer corner of the crease. Then, on the outer corner of the eyelid, I used ‘Enigma’ from ‘Dark Matter’ to add a bit more color. On the bottom lash line, I blended out a black Buxom liner pencil with a little bit of the color ‘Dark Matter’ from Melt near the outer corner. As I came towards the inner corner, I used ‘Enigma’ again. Lastly, I added a bit of shimmer (‘Bella Gold’ eyeshadow by Milani Cosmetics) in the inner corner to contrast with the all-matte look.
Brows: Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz ‘Dark Brown’, DipBrow in ‘Dark Brown’
Foundation: Estee Lauder Double Wear 6W1 Sandalwood
Lashes: Stardell SF 600
Mascara: Great Lash Maybelline
 Under Eye Concealer: NYX Cosmetics HD Concealer #7 Face Highlight: MAC MSF ‘Gold Deposit’
Contour: Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick #10
Bronzer: Black Radiance Mineral Blush ‘Toasted Almond’
Blush: MAC ‘Hot Nights’