Maybelline ColorSensational The Buffs: Maple Kiss (925)

Swatches & Review

Maple Kiss is one of the ten shades from Maybelline's new ColorSensational The Buffs collection. Maple Kiss is supposed to be one of the lighter shades, but it has more color than the usual "nude" lipstick, which makes it very wearable to many skintones.

From the tube, the lipstick looks like it has a shimmer in it. The color from the tube really makes me think of maple syrup!

When swatched on my lips, it looks kind of like a copper shade, which I actually like. The shimmer does not show up once applied either.

Like the last shade I reviewed, Maple Kiss applied evenly & smooth. The formula of this was not very slippery, so I did not see any unevenness on my lips. Since the finish of these are kind of glossy, this does transfer, but it does last a while on the lips. Like all of the Maybelline ColorSensational lipsticks, this has a sweet honey scent to it, but the scent fades quickly after applying. I would not really call this a "nude", but it definitely is a lip color that is easy to wear.

What do you think about Maple Kiss? Which color from the three that I have reviewed do you prefer?

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Maybelline ColorSensational The Buffs: Touchable Taupe (940)

Swatches & Review

The other day, I reviewed Untainted Spice from Maybelline's ColorSensational The Buffs collection and today, I have Touchable Taupe for you! Touchable Taupe is one of the lightest shades from the four that I purchased, but there are definitely ones lighter from the display that I did not purchase.

Like the name, this applied like a taupe, but not one that is too light for me. It ended up being a nude that I can wear that is not too light or too dark for me.

Touchable Taupe applied very creamy & evenly. I did not see my natural lip color with two swipes and that's pretty good since nudes sometimes end up applying unevenly, which normally does not look too natural for me. Before trying it, I was kind of worried that Touchable Taupe might be a bit light for me, but it turned out to me my favorite so far, and it might be one of the favorite nudes that I own. Like all of the Maybelline ColorSensational lipsticks, this has a sweet honey scent to it, but the scent fades quickly after applying. I felt like this was moisturizing, but after about three hours, it started fading, but I'm not surprised since it was so creamy and it is a nude, so you would need to re-apply it after eating or drinking. I would actually buy a back-up of this because I feel like this would be a nice everyday color for me and it is not often that I am able to find a nude that works for me.

What do you think about Touchable Taupe? Have you seen the shades offered in The Buffs collection? What color do you think will suit you best?

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Maybelline ColorSensational The Buffs: Untainted Spice (950)

Swatches & Review

Hi Everyone! It's been a while, but I just submitted my last final for the Fall semester so I will be back blogging during my break & I definitely have a lot to catch up on! Anyway, one of the newest lip collections out are the new Maybelline ColorSensational The Buff's lipsticks. These lipsticks are supposed to be part of the new lipstick collection for 2014 and it contains 10 brand-new, neutral/nude shades.

The Buffs lipstick line is packaged with a soft looking beige cap. I actually really like this tube compared to the orange from the Vivids because it is very soft-looking and just nice.. to me at least!

Untainted Spice looks kind of like a pink-ish medium brown. (It should a bit browner, but it showed up like this in most of the pictures. It looks like this when it is under a light indoors, but a bit browner when outdoors)

All of the pictures were taken outdoor except the lower right picture, which was taken indoor.

When I am outdoors, you can see that the lipstick is like a pink-brown, but once I am indoors, it looks darker and just a medium-brown. Untainted Spice is creamy with no shimmer, so it was not drying for the first three hours. It applied evenly and it was pretty pigmented. Because it is creamy, is does transfer, but it did not feather or bleed within the time that I tried it. It is a bit on the darker side so if your skin-tone is fair or light, this may actually look very dark on you instead of a "neutral". The scent of these are like the usual Maybelline ColorSensational Lipstick scent, which is a bit sweet.

Overall, I like how there is a wide range of neutral shades so that many people would be able to find one that will work for them instead of washing them out. Like all other Maybelline lipsticks, I wish there was a safety seal on them because it has nothing, so people can easily just open these and test them without buying them, which makes it frustrating for those who do want to buy them.

I purchased mine at Rite Aid, and they retail for $9.49 at Rite Aid locations near me. The prices may vary depending on location, where it may be cheaper at Target & Walmart, but around the same price I paid for at CVS & Walgreens.

What do you think about Untainted Spice? Have you seen colors from The Buffs collection that you are interested in?

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Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick: Manic

Swatches & Review

Manic is one of the shades that were released with twenty-one other colors from Urban Decay's new Revolution lipsticks. After trying them, I just had to buy some & I ended up with a total of eight! Manic is the second color I tried from the ones I have purchased after Jilted(link), which I have reviewed.

The Urban Decay Revolution lipsticks are packaged in a slim gunmetal packaging, however, it attracts fingerprints.

Manic is described as a soft wine. There is a bit of shimmer when you look at it from the tube.

Applied, it looks like a pink-ish plummy wine on me. The shimmer is not noticeable after applying it, but there is a slight sheen to it when outdoors. This is like a not so very neutral, neutral to me & seems like it would be nice for everyday wear. As for the creamy, badass luxury, this did not disappoint! Manic was very creamy so it applied smoothly and gave full coverage. I did not notice any bleeding/feathering with Manic without any lip liners. It lasted about four hours for me with minimal eating and drinking & it was not too drying either. The only downside is that they are a bit pricey because the size of these are a bit less than an average lipstick at 0.09 oz per lipstick & they retail for $22.

Have you tried any shades from Urban Decay's new line of lipsticks? Which shades do you prefer?

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Wet n Wild Beauty Army: Enlisting for Beauty Palette

Swatches & Review

Wet n Wild's newest release is their Fall Beauty Army collection. The collection consists of four packs of their Coloricon Eyeshadow Trios along with their Mega Protein Mascara. Although there were four different palettes to purchase, I only purchased the trio with all brown eyeshadows called Enlisting for Beauty.

The trios are in the same format as the ones from the permanent line with the browbone color on top, crease in the middle, and eyelid on the bottom.

All of the eyeshadows have been swatched on top of Too Faced's Shadow Insurance
Browbone: Matte creamy light brown. This was kind of chalky, but the pigmentation is build-able.
Crease: Dark brown with subtle shimmer. The shimmer is not too noticeable so the crease color looks kind of matte. This was smooth and very pigmented. Because it is smooth, there is slight fall out with this.
Eyelid: Shimmery taupe. This was also smooth and pigmented, but with a bit of fall out.

After trying their Pop Art Craze trios, I was kind of underwhelmed because I felt that the shades from the Pop Art Craze collection were not as good as how they are normally, but after trying this, I am definitely loving Wet n Wild again. The eyeshadows in these were a lot better than the ones I have tried from Pop Art Craze because they are not sheer and super chalky. This palette is a good palette for everyday use because the colors go together very nicely. Although the browbone shade is kind of chalky, it is still better than others that I have tried from them before.

I purchased this at K-mart for $2.99 & I hear NouveauCheap is going to put up a sightings map for these so keep a lookout on her blog!

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Giveaway: NYX Bohemian Chic Palette

Giveaway!

Hi everyone! This morning, I logged onto my blog right before class started & I saw that I have reached 300 followers! I was super excited because I have also been planning a giveaway for it for a while now.

NYX's Bohemian Chic Palette is an all-matte eyeshadow palette & it is neutral with a few blue shades in the pullout drawer along with two matte blushes.




Please enter using Rafflecopter. The two mandatory things to do is to follow my blog via GFC and to leave a comment on what your favorite eyeshadow finish for the spring/summer season is. There are also optional entries, such as letting the word out about the giveaway, as well as following me on Instagram, and facebook. I will be checking on whether or not you have did the things that you have submitted, or your entry will be deleted.

This giveaway will end on April 5th 2013 at Midnight PST and I will announce the winner on the blog after the giveaway has ended, so remember to check back! This giveaway is open to US residents only 18 & above.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclaimer: This giveaway is not sponsored by NYX. I have purchased the item(s) in this blog post with my own money. This is for a new NYX Bohemian Chic Palette, meaning it has never been used. However, I have opened it before purchasing it to make sure the eyeshadows were not broken.

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theBalm: Meet Matt(e) Nude Palette

Swatches & Review

When theBalm announced that they were coming out with another Meet Matt(e) palette, I was excited especially since it was going to be a all "nude" palette. theBalm is one of my favorite brands of cosmetic products because they have the cutest packaging/names & very nice blushes/eyeshadows. When Hautelook hosted theBalm event on February 1st, it had their newest Meet Matt(e) Nude palette so I had to buy it!

Like all theBalm products, it is packaged with cardboard packaging.

I was super excited when the package finally came, but to my surprise (again), the palette had fingerprints on it!

In this palette, it seems that three of the eyeshadows were tampered with. When I ordered from theBalm's event the first time on Thanksgiving, one of my palettes came just like that too. Honestly, I do not know if it is because theBalm is sending out "defective" palettes, or if someone at Hautelook is going through the palettes before sending it out. When I order any items, I expect it to be brand-new & that I do not have to sanitize it before using. I have ordered multiple times from Hautelook from various cosmetic events and only theBalm products have been having this problem. I contacted Hautelook and they refunded me for the product & they said they will look into it considering it has happened before as well.

Anyway.. swatches!

First row:
Matt Johnson: Matte grey. Pigmented and smooth.
Matt Garcia: Matte red-brown. Smooth, but it applied sheer. Pigmentation is build-able.
Matt Malloy: Matte white. Chalky & applied sheer. Pigmentation is build-able.

Second row:
Matt Rosen: Matte medium brown. Smooth and pigmented.
Matt Wood: Matte dark brown. This was the smoothest and the most pigmented one in the whole palette.
Matt Singh: Matte beige. This was smooth, but it took a bit to show up because the first few layers blended into my skin.

Third row:
Matt Abdul: Matte taupe. This was chalky & stiff. It was not very pigmented, but it is build-able.
Matt Lombardi: Matte pale yellow. This was stiff & did not apply well with a brush. The pigmentation of this was okay, but it was pretty sheer.
Matt Hung: Matte light plum. This was smooth & pigmented.

All of these were swatched on Too Faced's Shadow Insurance. From this palette, I liked Matt Rosen, Wood, Singh & Hung the best. Matt Lombardi looks like it could be a good color, but it was a bit hard to get the color out of the pan for me.

Although some of the colors from this palette is chalky, it is build-able. Most of the eyeshadows were very smooth to the touch. This is definitely a good option for an all-matte palette considering the price (which is 50% off at Hautelook whenever theBalm has an event), BUT I am definitely having a problem with getting my theBalm products from Hautelook since it comes looking like it has been tampered with, which is not okay at all. I like that Hautelook has refunded me for this, but this should not happen to anyone. This happened to be twice & I know of a few people who have also experienced this from theBalm's event.

Anyway, what do you think of this palette? Have you had problems with your theBalm products whenever you order online directly from them, or from Hautelook?

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Stila: In The Know

Swatches & Review

A few weeks ago, my boyfriend gave me Stila's In The Know palette as a gift. Since I have been using matte eyeshadows a lot lately, this was perfect since this palette has all matte finish shades.

This is packaged in cardboard with a magnetic closure.

There is a quote on the top of the mirror. I find it true, haha!

There is 10 eyeshadows in the palettes & they are all matte!

The top row has more lighter shades:
Air: Matte cream
Wind: Matte beige (This looks kind of similar to Air on me)
Desert: Peachy matte
Clay: Matte light-brown
Earth: Matte chocolate brown

The bottom row has darker colors & it complements the top row nicely:
Driftwood: Matte dark brown
Fire: Matte red-orange
Rain: Matte taupe
Smoke: Matte light grey
Ebony: Matte black

Out of all ten shades, I found that nine of the shades were very smooth and pigmented. The only one I had problems with was Ebony, which is the matte black. It was kind of rough and did not apply smoothly like the other ones did. The standout shade for me is definitely Fire. Fire is a gorgeous red-orange shade and it really stands out from all the other colors in the palette, which is more on the neutral side. Compared to Urban Decay's NAKED Basics, I feel like the top row of In The Know is similar (minus the last color). Stila's In The Know was released before the Naked Basics, so if you have this already, you probably don't need the Naked Basics.

This is the first time for me to try Stila eyeshadows and I really like these. They are smooth and pigmented. Some had a bit of fall-out, but it was not much. I like how it is all matte, which is what a lot of people are also interested in. This retails for $39 and is sold at Sephora (In-store & Online) & Ulta.

What do you think about Stila products? Which is your favorite?

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Urban Decay: Theodora Palette

Swatches & Review

The two newest palettes released from Urban Decay is based on the new upcoming movie, Oz the Great and Powerful. The two palettes are Theodora and Glinda. Out of the two palettes, I only purchased one since I see myself using the colors in Theodora more.

The two palettes are in Urban Decay's Build Your Own palettes, but for the movie, they have limited edition designs on them.

Each palette consists of 6 full-sized Urban Decay eyeshadows, four of them being single shadows and two being duo-shadows & a travel-sized eyeliner. A lip color is also included in the box, but there is not a slot for it in the palette itself.

The first row consists of three single shades:
Broken: Frosty soft pale beige. The color payoff of this was good. It applied smooth & pigmented.
Beware: Matte medium brown. Swatched, the brown looks very soft. It applied smooth & pigmented.
Bewitch: Slightly frosted dark brown. It applied smooth & pigmented.

The second row consists of one single shade & two duo-shades:
West: Metallic burgundy brown. This looks kind of similar to Bewitch, but this is definitely more red then Bewitch is. It applied smooth & pigmented.
Spell: This eyeshadow has the duo-shades exclusive to the Oz palettes. Half of it is a metallic yellow gold & the other half is like a blackened brown. Both of them have glitter in it and the glitter has slight fall-out. I found these shades to be a bit on the rough side and did not apply as smoothly as the other eyeshadows.
Jealous: This is also a duo-shade, both being green. Half is a pastel green & the other half is a darker green. Both of these have a frosty finish & they applied smoothly.

Overall, I really like how pigmented most of these eyeshadows are (which is all except Spell). The duo-eyeshadows are a good concept because instead of getting 6 shades in a 6-pan build your own palette, you are getting 8 shades! The Theodora palette is more on the neutral side, while the Glinda palette is more on the pastel/light shades side. I still really wish Urban Decay came out with more fun shades since they have been coming out with a lot of neutral shades lately, but the pigmentation on these were fantastic! The design on the palette is nice, but the palette itself is kind of flimsy. It is a bit hard to close the palette because the holes do not align straight with the closure buttons (I don't know what they're called) on the top of the palette, so when closed, it looks kind of crooked. The value on this is amazing! Each eyeshadow itself retails for $18, the palette itself is $18 and the lip pencil is $19, so six full-sized eyeshadows, a travel-sized pencil & a lip pencil for $49 is not bad at all.

You can buy this from Urbandecay.com, Sephora (in-store & online), Ulta (in-store & online), & select Macy's (in-store).

What do you think about these palettes? Do you think you are going to buy these limited edition palettes? Are you Theodora, or are you Glinda? (or maybe both!)

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theBalm Nude'tude Palette

Swatches & Review

When theBalm released their Nude'tude palette last year, I have been wanting to get it, but I never did because I wanted to use up some of my items first. When theBalm was on Hautelook on Thanksgiving, I caved and my boyfriend bought it for me(after the many times it has been on Hautelook).

The Nude'tude palette comes in two designs, Naughty or Nice. They both have the same colors in them. The palette I chose was Naughty because I love how they used the eyeshadows to cover the women's "nude" parts.

Sassy: Frosty white. Chalky, but buildable.
Snobby: Frosty yellow-gold, applied sheer and was powdery.

Stubborn: Frosty light-peach very soft and pigmented.
Stand-offish: Frosty metallic champagne-bronze, very soft and pigmented.

Selfish: Frosty taupe, very soft and pigmented.
Sultry: Matte medium-brown, very soft and pigmented.

Sophisticated: Shimmery dark brown, very soft and pigmented.
Seductive: Shimmery-pearly golden-bronze.

Sexy: Matte maroon/burgundy. Not as soft as the others, kind of dry.
Silly: Sparkly/glittery red-brown. Had fall out & applied sheerly.

Serious: Matte black. Was kind of dry like Sexy, and applied patchy.
Sleek: Matte dark brown. Soft and pigmented.

This palette has frosty shades, matte, shimmery, and one glittery.
A majority of the colors were very very soft and because it was so soft, there were a bit of fallout, but tapping the brush on your forearm before apply would definitely help with the fallout. I found that swatching from my finger and a sponge-tip applicator did not work too well with these because they apply sheer with those, but they definitely apply better with a brush. I found that the darker shades were drier so the first swipe of those applied sheerer than the rest, but after a few swipes, the colors are intense and left stains on my arm (Sexy, Silly, Serious & Sleek). Overall, this palette is a nice neutral palette. You don't really need it if you already have Urban Decay's NAKED and/or NAKED2, but if you love neutrals, this would be a good addition!

What do you think about the Nude'tude palette? Do you like the design? What is your favorite theBalm item?

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Neutral Blushes

Comparisons & Swatches

Throughout the year, I have purchased many blushes. After getting Tarte's Exposed, I looked at my blush collection and noticed that I have two other "neutral" blushes, so I decided to compare them to see the difference. The blushes that I will be comparing is Tarte's Exposed, Sleek's Suede, and MAC Cosmetics Darkly My Dear.

Exposed, Suede, Darkly My Dear

From the swatches, you can tell that they would all make nice everyday neutral blushes, but they are definitely not the same.

Tarte's Exposed is a pink-nude
Sleek's Suede is a peach-nude
MAC Cosmetics Darkly My Dear is a plum-nude.

They all have a matte finish, and are very pigmented. I think my favorite from the comparisons is Darkly My Dear, but it was a Limited Edition blush that came out two Holiday seasons ago for the Venomous Villains collection. The other two, Tarte Exposed and Sleek Suede are in their permanent line with Tarte retailing for $25 and Sleek retailing for $5.99.

Now, being the blush hoarder that I am, I'm interested in trying NARS Douceur, which is also a neutral blush that is described as a soft pink-brown.

What do you think of these blushes? Are there any other neutral blushes that you would recommend me?

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Lorac Sweet Luxuries Palette

Swatches & Review

Lorac's Sweet Luxuries palette was part of Ulta's Black Friday promotion. Although it was listed on the AD as a "2-day" sale, it was also a doorbuster, which totally contradicts each other. I waited outside Ulta for about an hour and purchased this and Tarte's Balanced and Beautiful set. I do not think they should have listed Lorac as a 2-day sale since the store only had 10 in stock. I wanted Urban Decay's $9 deal with the All-Nighter and Primer, but the store did not even have it in stock, which was upsetting since I called in on Wednesday and they told me they had everything in stock. Anyway, the Sweet Luxuries palette has five neutral eyeshadows. Three of them has a matte finish and two has a metallic finish.

Each of these eyeshadow are 0.05oz, which is a full-sized Urban Decay eyeshadow.

These eyeshadows do not have names on them so I will go from left to right.
1) Matte Beige: this was chalky and required a few swipes to show up on my skin. It is very sheer so you should pat this on.
2) Metallic Light Bronze: This was pigmented and soft. Has a bit of fallout.
3) Matte Light Brown w/ Shimmer: This was softer and a bit more pigmented than the Matte Beige, but was still a bit chalky and it has fall out. It has a bit of shimmer in it, but is is not noticeable once swatched.
4) Metallic Bronze: This is warmer than the Light Bronze, and is pigmented like the Light Bronze.
5) Matte Dark Brown: This, like the other two matte shades are a bit chalky and has fallout, but it is the most pigmented matte shade of the other two.
All of these were swatched over Lorac's Behind the Scenes Primer

This is a nice small little palette to carry around, which is convenient, but if you have a bunch of neutrals, this probably is not a "must-have." I purchased this on impulse since I was second in line and there was only 10 and the person in front of me grabbed about 3. For the price of $12, this is not a bad palette. I wish the mattes were a bit more pigmented, but they are build-able in color, but overall, it was good for the price. I like how none of these are glittery because I do not like glittery shades. Now, I have even more neutrals in my collection since I just ordered the Nude'Tude and I have both of Urban Decay's NAKED palettes.

What do you think about neutrals? Do you have a lot of them? Did you get anything from Ulta for Black Friday? :)

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