Monday, December 22, 2014

Review: MAC Retro Matte Relentlessly Red Lipstick!

Looking for a rich, vibrant and sassily bright lippie to rock everyone's socks off this Winter? Look no further, this flattering bright vintage shade is here. Your Grandmother would approve! I give you, MAC Cosmetic's Retro Matte Lipstick in Relentlessly Red!

This shade can be found on the MAC Cosmetics website and retails for $16.00. They have a total of 4 fabulous shades that are "Retro Matte" to choose from. (I'm eyeing Ruby Woo)



The color is a bit different in person than it was on my monitor. It's very close to a neon pink--it's that bright!On the website, it looks closer to a true red. Don't be fooled!!! If you are okay with bright pinks and oranges on your lips, you'll love this shade! However, if you want a more traditional matte red, you'd hardly reach for this one.



This shade is such a bright one, that it's almost black light reactive! It's a neon red that borders on "pink." This color is long lasting, matte and glides on evenly. The only downfall to this particular shade is that it's a very dry formula. If you have chapped lips, do NOT wear this! ANY flaw that's on your lips will be extremely noticeable. Since the formula is pretty dry, I apply a small amount of softlips, lip balm, chapstick before applying the lipstick. That way, it will glide on over my lip's sad little wrinkles and look/feel much better than if I applied it without.

On to the swatches!
And ignore the orange lip liner. I didn't really have anything that would go with this particular color.



Notice how it hangs on the chapped part of my lips. Not an awesome formula for those of us who have chaptastic lip flaps! Exfoliation is our friend...


The swatch on the left has been built up with a few swipes. The swatch on the right is just one swipe. The coverage can be built up for opacity, but the color remains the same.


The Bottom Line:
Would I repurchase this lipstick? Probably not. The formula is too drying, and if I didn't have super chapped lips all of the freaking time, I'd love it. However, since my lips are dumb and sad most of the time, I can see this color bringing out my flaws more often than not. I really do enjoy the color though, I just wish the formula wasn't dry as a desert.

Have you guys tried the retro Mattes? What is your opinion on the formula? What do you like or dislike about them?

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Indie Thursday! Armoaleigh's Lisette!




Everyone is going crazy for "Indie" cosmetics nowadays (I'm even working on my own indie line!) And I wanted to share a very beautiful pink sparkly shade with you guys. You can check out Aromaleigh's store here. This shade has been discontinued before I was able to review this shade, HOWEVER...there are shades very similar AND the quality of her products are AMAZING enough for me to review a discontinued product! (I do not normally do that because I feel that it's kinda crappy, but seriously the sparkle and shimmer in her products are simply stunning and there are similar shades to try out!)


The color is far more sparkly than the little sample bag leads on.


Here you can see some of the pretty sparkles and shimmers through the shadow.


Swatches Left to Right: Lsette on it's own, over black base, over NYX's White Eyeshadow base. I tried to get the light to catch the sheen of this shade. It looks best when used with a white base.


Out of focus for light-catching particle properties. There are TONS of light-catching particles. Seriously, this is shiny!



The color itself has an irredescent look. The color change goes from this pink to an almost purple shade. It's a medium pink with tiny metallic nude colored flecks as well as tiny blue-toned shimmer. This color has to be used with a base for maximum effect of course, however if you are new to bold colors and are looking for something soft and subtle yet out of your comfort zone, this would be a great time for you. The formula lasts very well with a primer of course (I use the Elf Essential Glitter Glue) and it lasts for around 8 hours.

Here are a few shades (Pictures have been taken from her web shop, and names of shades link to their according eyeshadow) that I think would be close enough in shade to love whole-heartedly:

Aspasia



Bellissima


Brainy Is The New Sexy



Have you tried her stuff? I've yet to actually purchase anything from her store--this sample was given to me by a friend to try out. I'm thinking about making a purchase soon! (It's so hard to just pick a few things, you know? I want to try ALL THE THINGS and I just cannot decide on things for a "blogger pack." Do you have any fave shadows from Aromaleigh? Any suggestions on ones I should try? If so I'd love to hear what you suggest!

And a quick update for my readers:

My Dad had an accident and is in the hospital right now. We were told that he's probably not going to make it, and if by some miracle he does, he's not going to be the same, nor be able to take care of himself. For those of you who knew what has been going on, I want to thank you so very much for your support during this time. I'm trying to keep my shit together, and it hasn't been easy. So thank you guys for the kind messages, the hugs and the shoulders that I've leaned/cried on these past few days. I want all of you, readers, friends and family to know that I appreciate all of you, and if you could send prayers/positive thoughts in our direction it would be lovely. Thank you for being amazeballs.


   Love,
        Nicole.

Monday, December 15, 2014

Review: Tarte 24-Hour Amazonian Clay Blush in Flush

I'm a super huge fan of the ALL of Tarte's blushes. I could rave all damn day about how great the pigmentation always is, how amazing the quality happens to be and how awesome the ingredients are, but that would take ALL DAY and you guys would call me a freak. Is it that good? Yep, it's THAT good. This 24-Hour Amazonian Clay Blush in Flush is perfect--it's a beautifully pigmented pink shade, it's matte, it stays on FOREVER, (Well, okay, maybe not forever, but I've NEVER had to touch up my cheeks when wearing this stuff) and it's like, my Holy Grail Blush. So let's get down to business!





The packaging is nice, thick and sturdy. There is a tiny hole in the back of these where you can use a pin to pop out the pans which makes depotting easy-peazy.



Can't you just hear angels singing!? Simply stunning!


Such a nice pink--this shade will compement EVERY skin tone and it's matte! Having a decent matte blush in one's collection is a MUST. Just look at that print! Quick--over there! Is that a monkey!? J/K, but in all seriousness, this is just as pretty in it's packaging as it is on one's face.


And the swatch. Nice medium pink, matte-y goodness.


This is with 2 quick sweeps. I applied this blush 8 hours ago--and it STILL looks as if I just applied it! I didn't do any touch ups at work. Obviously the color is buildable, and light as a feather. It doesn't feel like I'm wearing anything at all. Nice, light, quality ingredients--what more can a gal ask for? This blush gets an A+  from me. I will continue to add more colors to my collection! This blush runs for $26 at Sephora and TarteCosmetics.com

What's your fave Tarte blush?

Fave Winter Products Part 1: Sweet and Feminine and Light-Catching!





These products are perfect for the transition of Fall to Winter. Soft and Girly, a bit of Glitz and Glam to make any outfit shine this Holiday Season! So let's get into what they are:



Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette:



Why it Rocks:
This palette of amazingness brings such a nice innocent and youthful glow the skin. It's perfect for highlighting, sweeping all over the face, light contouring, and so much more. The light reflecting particles just illuminates one's skin perfectly! You can be confident that you are going to get a nice subtle glow every time you use it, and there's really no way to over-do it. The palette has a shade for everyone!

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Singles in Snatch and Midnight Cowboy:

(Right: Snatch. Left: Midnight Cowboy)



Why Snatch Rocks:
This color is the perfect flirty peach with gold glitter. It has a pearl-like shine that's light attracting and the gold glitter keeps this shade interesting. It's soft yet very pigmented and the glitter is sparse enough that you could wear this to an evening party, or even work without looking like a glitter-bomb went off in your face.


Why Midnight Cowboy Rocks:
This shade is a bit more pale in comparison to Snatch, and has silver glitter instead of gold. This is more of a nude peach that is universal enough to work with any skin tone and shade. If you have a deep shade of skin, apply this shade on the lid as well in the inner conrer of your eye to catch a bit of soft light. The glitter is sparse, so yet again, no need to feel like a glitter-bomb went off in your face. It's just that classy.


Sephora X Nail Polish in Ice Princess:
 Why Ice Princess Rocks:
The shade is flirty and fem, with a tiny gold shimmer mixed with a surprise of 2 different sized Rose Gold glitters. It catches light, and prevents ,your nails from being boring. It's soft color compliments any skin tone, and in my opinion would be the PERFECT main mani color for New Year's and Thanksgiving. It's soft, it sparkles, it's awesome.

What will you guys be wearing this Holiday Season?