Nordstrom Rack Finds

Lorac, Smashbox & Urban Decay

The last few times I went to Nordstrom Rack, they had the same items as when I went at the end of January. Today, I decided to stop by to see if there is anything new & to my surprise, there was!



The items I saw at my local Nordstrom Rack were:
Smashbox Blush Rush Blush in Gingersnap & Bare: $12.97 (retail $24)
Smashbox Cover Shot Spring 2012 collection: $34.97 (retail $60)
Smashbox Studio Pop Eye Palette: $24.97 (retail $49)
Lorac Visual Effects Mascara: $9.97 (retail $20)
Urban Decay Stardust Eyeshadow: $8.97 (retail $20)
Lorac Couture Shine Lip Gloss: $13.97 (retail $28)
Lorac Eye Candy Eye Pencil set: $11.97 (retail $28)
Lorac Sweet Temptations Eyeshadow Collection: $17.97 (retail $36)
Lorac Eye Candy Full Face Collection: $27.97 (retail $59)

I thought the Lorac Sets are an amazing deal. They were recently on Hautelook as well (I'm not surprised it's at Nordstrom Rack since Hautelook is owned by Nordstrom), but I would much rather get it from Nordstrom Rack so I wouldn't have to pay shipping & use my Nordstrom card for it.

What do you think about these sets? :)

(this is the full post, the click more button still remains even when there is nothing else)

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Rimmel Kate Moss Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick: 109

Swatches & Review


During the month of March, all Rimmel lipsticks are 50% off at Walgreens, so since there was a sale, I purchased eight lipsticks in the beginning of the month. Most of the lipsticks I purchased were from their new Matte Finish line, which are the red tubes..

109 is described as a bright orange.


The lipstick has "Kate ♥" in black on the red tube.

For the first lip picture, I took it in direct sunlight. The other two were taken indoor, with the middle one being in front of the window.
Although the color of the lipstick is described as a bright orange, it shows more like a orange-coral on me.

This is the first lipstick that I have tried from all the others ones I have purchased. Before this, I only owned one Rimmel Lipstick in shade 04 (dark purple). 109 is a nice wearable orange coral, however, it applied very unevenly for me, so you are able to see some patches of my lips that are not covered from the lipstick. It has a sweet scent to it, which reminds me of Asian dried plums (I don't know if that is a good thing), but it fades away after a while. Although it claims to be a "matte finish", I feel like these have a bit of a shine to it. I love the color, but I am not a fan of the application since it applies very patchy. Another thing I wish these had were names because I feel like it is harder for me to remember numbers of lipsticks instead of names.

What do you think about Rimmel's lipsticks? Have you tried any before? Are there any shades that you like?

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MAC Fashion Sets 2013

Swatches

After seeing promo images for MAC Cosmetics 2013 Fashion Sets, I have debating on which lipstick colors to get since they are colors that I have been into lately. Normally, I swatch them a week before they come out because my local MAC Pro location has them out for display before the release date. I went by today since I was about a mile away & to my surprise, they just got these in for display yesterday! Since it was there, of course I had to swatch them all!


This collection consists of four colors. Each of the color has a matching lipstick, lipglass, lipliner, nail polish and eyeshadow. The location had all of the items except the eyeshadows.


I have taken pictures of these in different lighting. The top row is when I was inside the store, the middle row was when I was outside in direct sunlight, and the last one was when I was inside the car with direct sunlight.

Originally, I planned on buying all four, but after swatching it, I feel like the one I want the most is Heroine. All of the lipsticks have a matte finish. Ablaze is similar to Maybelline's Vibrant Mandarin, but they have different finishes. Embrace Me is similar to Daddy's Little Girl and Maybelline's Hot Plum, but with different finishes as well.


In person, Embrace Me looked very similar to Candy Yum Yum, but after swatching & comparing it, Candy Yum Yum is lighter and brighter than Embrace Me.


Since these colors were bright and very pigmented, they left a bit of a stain behind.


Out of all the shades, I tried on Embrace Me on my lips. I like it, but I definitely do not need it. My hair looks very brown here, but I think it's because the sun is directly shining on it! I would LOVE to dye my hair into a color similar to that, but I don't think I want to get rid of my virgin hair :P


What do you think about the lip colors in this collection? Is there any that you are thinking about picking up?

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China Glaze: When Stars Collide & Strap On Your Moonboots

Swatches & Review


Last week, I purchased seven of the twelve colors from China Glaze's Spring Hologlam collection. When I first heard about this collection, I was super excited because it was supposed to have a holographic finish & China Glaze had some of the best in the past (OMG collection & Kaleidoscope collection). The first two I tried are When Stars Collide and Strap On Your Moonboots, which were the two I wanted the most from the collection.

When Stars Collide: Deep purple. It leans kind of like a maroon shade, but I wouldn't call it maroon since it is not too much on the red-ish-purple side.
Strap On Your Moonboots: Dark denim blue.

These two pictures were of the nail polish taken indoors. For two of my fingers, I used Nfu-Oh's aqua base, and for my other two, I used no bases at all.
What I found with using the aqua base was that the nail polish applied unevenly and there was folding. When used without the base, it definitely shows the imperfection of the nails, but applying it without the base was definitely easier. However, when used with the aqua base, the color of Strap On Your Moonboots was a darker blue than applied without the base. All of these were applied with two coats. When indoor, the holographic finish is very subtle. It looks more like a metallic nail polish finish than holographic because they are very silver-y.

These were taken outdoor. The holographic effect is better outdoor than indoor.

These were taken outdoor with my smart phone, which is why my fingers look a bit more washed out than the one above. Like the other one, the holographic finish is better outside than inside.

When Stars Collide and Strap On Your Moonboots are the two that are supposed to have the best holographic finish. If this is really true, then this collection is definitely disappointing. The colors are there and have great potential to be very nice holographic finish nail polishes, but when this is compared to their older collections, Color Club's Halo Hues & Urban Outfitter's holographic nail polishes, these are underwhelming. The colors of these two are gorgeous and they applied easily without a base. Although it shows imperfection of the nails, I definitely would apply these without a base because the way these applied after the aqua base was completely dried was not nice. It looks more imperfect then my nail itself. If I were to choose Color Club's Halo Hues or this, I would definitely choose the Halo Hues. These retail for $14 each, but can be found on online e-tailers for cheaper, such as nailetc.com, 8ty8beauty.com, etc.. (I am not affiliated with these websites).

What do you think about the Hologlam collection from China Glaze? Love it? Hate it? Let me know! :)

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