IMAN Cosmetics Lip Affair Lip Kit

Swatches & Review

For Fall, IMAN Cosmetics came out with a small lip palette to introduce new shades to their lipstick line coming in 2014. The IMAN Lip Affair Lip Kit is a fun little kit because it has bright, bold colors that will suit many skin-tones instead of a neutral, which is harder to use with different skin-tones.

The Lip Affair Kit is packaged in a small black plastic case. Inside of it, there are five lipstick shades. When I first saw this online, I immediately thought of Inglot's Colour Play lip pans, but these are a lot smaller. There is about 0.03 oz of product in each color. There is a lip brush included in this kit, but mine was very stiff and it smelled really bad so I did not use the lip brush provided.

Kinky Pink: Pink red. This was pretty sheer when I applied it with a lip brush.

Flirtatious: Light fuchsia pink. This was more pigmented when compared to Kinky Pink, but it took a few layers to get it like the shade in the pan.

Taboo: Purple. Although it looks like it has shimmer in the pan, the shimmer is not noticeable at all once it is on the lips. This was pigmented and creamy.

Scandalous: Red. This was one of the most pigmented shade in the palette.

Hot: Orange. This was also pigmented like Scandalous.

Pictures of four of the five shades on me. I tried these on when I did not have makeup on, so excuse the uneven skin-tone on my bare face. When I have foundation on, I am around NC 30 - 35 in MAC and 123 in MUFE if that helps!

Overall, I like that the lip colors in this palette has no scent or taste. I found that these shades apply a lot better when applied with your finger (and it stains your finger too), but I prefer using a lip brush. When using a lip brush, the color applies sheerer than when you would apply it with your fingers so it may require a bit more layers. These feel lightweight and comfortable on the lips. I did not see any feathering around the lips when tested without lip liner however, they do transfer easily since it is more of a glossy finish. Even though it requires more layers when used with a lip brush, this palette retails for $5, yes, FIVE DOLLARS, which is not bad at all if you want to try some bold shades to experiment with them, and there are five of them so you can see which shades you like the most when you are actually ready to buy a full tube of lipstick.

This is available now, but it is currently out of stock. However, it does pop in and out of stock on target.com once in a while, but drugstore.com has taken down its listing for it. From what I have heard, this palette should be released around November in stores such as Walgreens and Target locations who carry IMAN Cosmetics.

What do you think about this palette? Would you be picking it up for $5 if you are able to find it in your area?

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Lorac Downtown Drama Eyeshadow Palette

Swatches & Review

Lorac Cosmetics Downtown Drama is the second palette that is also exclusive to Nordstrom Rack locations. Unlike Uptown Allure, the shades in Downtown Drama are supposed to be cool, while Uptown Allure has warm eyeshadow shades.

Downtown Drama's palette is in a silver packaging.

There are five shades in this palette and each shade contains 0.06 oz of product.

The eyeshadows in this palette does not have names so I will go from left to right.
1) Frosty White: This was smooth, but it was powdery when being applied, so there is a bit of fallout with this.
2) Frosty Silver: This was smooth and pigmented.
3) Shimmery Cool Grey: This is a cool grey and was the most pigmented shade in the whole palette.
4) Lavender: This shade has a matte finish, but it was very dry and chalky, so it does not apply as vibrant as the shade in the pan.
5) Dark Grey: This also has a matte finish & was also dry. I feel like this applies kind of patchy, which is disappointing.

I purchased this palette mainly for the two matte shades because I do not have much of matte lavender shades, or grey so I was hoping that they would be better, but they were disappointing because they were the only shades that were dry and chalky. Although mattes are known to be dry and chalky, I have tried many matte shades that are smooth, such as the ones in their Pro Palette so these were definitely disappointing. I feel like the two best shades in this palette are numbers two and three because they are pigmented and easy to apply. Although this is priced at $12, I feel like if I were to choose between this and Uptown Allure, I would choose that because the quality for Downtown Drama is not really there like it was for Uptown Allure. Skip!

Have you seen the two Nordstrom Rack exclusive palettes from Lorac yet? Have you picked one up?

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Lorac Uptown Allure Eyeshadow Palette

Swatches & Review

Lorac Cosmetics Uptown Allure palette is exclusive to Nordstrom Rack. On the box, Lorac notes this as the warm eyeshadow palette because there are two palettes they had exclusive to Nordstrom Rack, which the other notes that it is the cool eyeshadow palette for cooler shades.

The palette is packaged in red all over, which is just like the Sweet Luxuries palette, but in a different color.

When you open the palette, there are five warm neutral shades. Four of the shades are shimmery, and one has a matte finish.

These eyeshadows do not have names on them so I will go from left to right.
1) Frosty Beige: This was very smooth and easy to apply, but it is very very shimmery.
2) Frosty Champagne: This was also very smooth, but it was very shimmery.
3) Warm Brown: This had a golden shimmer to it. When I looked at it in the pan, it looked a lot more shimmery, but after being swatched, the shimmer is not very overwhelming. It was very smooth and pigmented.
4) Purple/Mauve: In the pan, this looked more purple, but when swatched, it's a gorgeous mauve shade. It had a shimmery finish, but it was also not too overwhelming, I really liked this more than I thought I would.
5) Dark Brown: This had a matte finish. Even though it was matte, it was not chalky and applied easily.

From this palette, shades one and two look very similar, and although there are slight differences between them because one is more yellow and the second leans more pink, I would have liked to see another shade in the pan instead of two similar colors. Since used cosmetics cannot be returned to Nordstrom Rack, I was a bit on the fence about these because some shades from Sweet Luxuries (Ulta Black Friday exclusive) were chalky, but after swatching these, I fell in love with them! They were all very smooth and not very powdery either, which is definitely good. The shade I did not think I would like was the fourth shade because I am not too big on purple eyeshadows, but it ended up being my favorite because it was more of a purple-brown, which makes it very wearable. I did not like that packaging that much because it feels very cheap, but for the price, I guess I can't really complain too much about it. If you missed out on the Sweet Luxuries from Ulta, I recommend getting this because the colors are a bit similar, and it is definitely a good deal.

This palette retails for $12 and each eyeshadow is about 0.06 oz in size, which pretty much a full-sized Urban Decay eyeshadow. When I went to Nordstrom Rack, they had a shelf full of these on the display (a bit more than fifty) so if you are interested, definitely call your Nordstrom Rack and see if they have it in stock.

What do you think about Lorac eyeshadows? Have you tried Lorac Cosmetics? What is your favorite neutral eyeshadow palette?

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Milani Cosmetics Coming Up Roses Blush: Romantic Rose

Swatches & Review

Milani's Coming Up Roses Powder Blush in Romantic Rose is the last one that I have purchased from this collection because I did not buy Warm Petals. Like all the blushes in this collection, Romantic Rose is shaped like a rose.

I feel like when I place this blush with the other two (on my instagram), it looks like it is more mauve-y, but when it is on its own, it looks like a rose-y pink.

Like Flora Passion, I feel like this applied way better than Bella Rosa did. Romantic Rose is smooth & not dry, but I feel like when using a brush, it required a bit more layers than Flora Passion. On my swatch, I used two swipes with my finger and about four swipes with my blush brush. On my arms, it looks like a dusty rose pink with a matte finish.

From trying the three blushes, I think the only one I would recommend is Flora Passion (if you really want it for the packaging & want to use it once in a while). This is also nice because it will give a nice flush, but I do not like using too many layers of blush on my cheeks because my cheeks end up looking very dry. If you do not mind using more than two layers to build up the color, this would be nice as well, but I feel like this collection isn't something you would really need. I had high hopes for these blushes because I have had many positive experiences with Milani blushes (baked & their discontinued mineral powder blushes), which is mainly why I am disappointed, but if you are not comparing these to their other items, you might end up liking it just because everyone has different preferences.

These are sold out on Milani's website (which retailed for $7.99) & the price may vary depending on location and store. I purchased this for $6.99 at Walgreens, but I have seen others and an empty display at my local CVS selling these for $9.49.

Have you found these blushes in your area yet? Are you planning to buying some to try?

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Milani Cosmetics Coming Up Roses Blush: Flora Passion

Swatches & Review

A few days ago, I have reviewed another blush from the same limited edition collection from Milani Cosmetics called Bella Rosa (link). Today, I will be reviewing the second shade out of the three that I have purchased, which is Flora Passion.

All of the blushes in the Coming Up Roses Powder Blush collection are shaped like a rose, which is super pretty.

Flora Passion is a pinkish-coral shade.

On the right with the black borders, the blush was applied with a brush with two swipes. The left swatch is swatched with a finger with one swipe.

If you have read my review of Bella Rosa, I was super disappointed with that one because it was impossible for it to show up with using a brush and without having to scrap the item off the pan. Flora Passion definitely applied way better than Bella Rosa, but it still is not too pigmented. Flora Passion is a pink-coral with a matte finish. With a brush, the color of the blush shows very lightly, but it is build-able because the brush is able to actually pick up the product with this. I also noticed that it kicked up quite a bit of powder when using a brush, so it is better to tap the brush before applying it.

The color of Flora Passion is very pretty, and subtle enough for everyday wear. I like this better than Bella Rosa, but I wish this was still a bit pigmented. I am very happy that this was smoother than Bella Rosa, which was very dry. If you are looking for a subtle blush for everyday wear, this would be nice, but I prefer my blushes to be a bit more pigmented. I'm not super disappointed in this like the first one I have tried, but I'm still kind of disappointed since I had high hopes for these.

The price may vary depending on location and store. I purchased this for $6.99 at Walgreens, but I have seen others and an empty display at my local CVS selling these for $9.49.

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Milani Cosmetics Coming Up Roses Blush: Bella Rosa

Swatches & Review

Like all limited edition drugstore cosmetics, I always have a hell of a time finding them. I spent hours making calls to all the drugstores within 25 miles of me and they all said they did not have it, or was sold out. Although one of the stores told me they did not carry Milani, I went anyway to purchase another item & what do you know.. I found the new Milani Coming Up Roses Powder Blushes! Luckily, they had one of each left for the ones that I wanted, and three of Warm Petals, which is the only shade I did not get. The first shade I immediately tried after I got home was Bella Rosa.

The limited edition Coming Up Roses blushes are packaged in Milani's regular plastic packaging with some gold on it. These are shrink-wrapped on the side so you would definitely know if someone has previously opened it.

The blush itself is shaped like a rose, which is gorgeous! It definitely looked way too pretty to use, but what is the point of buying something without using it, right? haha.

Bella Rosa is a cool toned pink with a matte finish.

Okay, so lets start off by saying I absolutely hated the color payoff of these. In the borders on the swatch image, I applied the blush using four swipes & it pretty much did not show at all! In person, I was able to see a very very faint hint of pink, but it was basically nothing. For the hard swatch (which was done by finger), it took a while for my finger to get a bit of color onto it to be able to swatch it. I basically had to rub it down super hard and scrape it a bit to get any color off of it because the blush from the pan was so dry. It did not apply that nice because it was not pigmented, and powdery.

I also tried it on my cheeks, which took a lot of effort because no matter what brush I tried, the blush would barely get onto it. I ended up scraping some off the pan, swirling my brush over the powder and applied it. It actually did not come out too bad, but that effort to just get color to show up is definitely not good at all.

Overall, I am pretty disappointed with this blush. Although it looks super pretty in the pan, it is not worth the hassle to get the color to show. It was not pigmented at all, which is a shame because I love Milani's Baked Blushes and a lot of their other products that I have tried from them. I am definitely hoping the other two I purchased would be better than this.

The price may vary depending on location and store. I purchased this for $6.99 at Walgreens, but I have seen others and an empty display at my local CVS selling these for $9.49 (which is way overpriced).

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