Mac Temperature Rising Collection

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Mac can be equal parts good, bad and frustrating.  Their summer collections are typically good, at least the last few have been.  Mac knows their summer collections are popular, so you’d think they would be prepared and offer a sufficient amount of products.  That’s logical, right?  Not in Mac’s world it isn’t.

I admittedly had been stalking Mac’s website waiting for this release.  The day this limited edition collection was released online, at 9:30am CST, the lipsticks were sold out.  Sold out!  Seriously!!  By the afternoon, the eye shadow quad featured in this post was sold out.  The blushes were gone the first day as well.  The glosses were sold out the next day.  Clearly, Mac was not prepared.  The collection is released in stores May 23, so there is still a chance to try out this collection.

Mac’s Temperature Rising collection is fairly large.  It offers lipsticks, glosses, eye shadows, bronzers (powder, liquid and oil), blush and nail polish.  I only picked up an eye shadow quad and a gloss.  The packaging isn’t the typical black plastic.  It has a soft, satin finish in a dark bronze tone.

Mac Bare My Soul quad Mac Bare My Soul swatch

Bare My Soul ($44) quad is perfect for the warm tone beauties.  The texture was soft with good color payoff for each shade.   From top left to bottom right:

1. Romantico (veluxe pearl) is a brown taupe.  It is in the infamous Mac Satin Taupe family, but this shade is warmer and Satin Taupe is more purple.

2. Bare My Soul (lustre) is a somewhat soft yellow gold.  It looks more vibrant in the pan.  Mac’s Goldmine is more yellow and intense.

3. Friendly (veluxe pearl) is a chocolate-brown.  Mac’s Make Your Mark is similar.

4. When In Rio (frost) is a deep green with a brown duochrome.  Mac’s Club is a more intense duochrome and the brown is more apparent.  The green shines through more for this eye shadow.  I find this shade easier to use than Club, which can be tricky.

Mac Underdressed gloss Mac Underdressed gloss swatch

Underdressed ($16.50) lip gloss is extremely sparkly and pretty.  It is a medium-light brown base shade with lots of pink and gold sparkle.  It is very pretty on its own or layered.

theBalm Instain Blush

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I’ve been a fan of theBalm eye shadows for a long while.  They also make good blushes that are quite popular, though I’ve never tried them…until now.  theBalm recently released a new line of long-wearing (supposedly staining) blushes.  These interested me because they are matte and the shades will work for deeper skin tones.  There are six shades in total, ranging from light pink to a deep plum.

1. Toile – Strawberry

theBalm Toile cover theBalm Toile blush

2. Swiss Dot – Dark orange peach

theBalm Swiss Dot cover theBalm Swiss Dot blush

3. Lace – Bright warm pink

theBalm Lace cover theBalm Lace blush

theBalm Instain blush swatch

The packaging is the typical slim, cardboard that the brand is known for.  There is a magnetic closure with a mirror inside.  The product isn’t as fine milled as I would like it to be, but you will definitely not struggle to get enough color.  I didn’t have any issues with staying power, but I wear a powder foundation and don’t experience fading problems with blush.  The “staining” claim is a stretch.

I liked that theBalm’s packing for this product acknowledges beauty lovers come in different colors.  What I don’t like is that the brand offers blush at a lower price point with more product, though they are not long-wearing.  Instain Blush retails for $22 for 5.5g.  They can be found at Sephora and theBalm’s website.  This is actually the first time I’ve purchased theBalm at their asking price.  I’ve purchased my other products at a deep discount on Hautelook.  So, stalk Hautelook’s website.

Spring Lipsticks

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I’ve been patiently waiting on spring to arrive…real spring.  Not the “78 degrees on Monday and 45 degrees by Friday” fake spring my town has been getting.  In the past few weeks, we’ve had flurries, cold and flood inducing rain, sprinkled with warm days.  Even though it’s been quite chilly, I’ve been faking spring by wearing lighter lip colors versus the deep berries, reds and plums that I gravitate to in colder weather.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Spring lipstick

Pinky-reds are great at any time, especially if you’re not the biggest fan of deep, rich reds.  I especially like pinky-reds during warmer months as the opaque reds in my collection seem too heavy for the season.

1. Mac – Fire Sign (not pictured) has been my go to pinky red for a long while.  It’s a lustre finish, which means it’s more glossy than opaque.  I’m a fan of Mac lustre’s, but some find them drying.  It is a warm red that goes nicely with my skin tone.

2. Clairins Rouge Eclat – Passion Red has a satin finish and is fairly opaque.  I don’t wear it full-on; I tend to use it more as a stain.  What may turn some off is the strong, fruity scent and lightly sweetened taste.  Thankfully, the scent and taste fades.

Clairins Passion Red

Purple, especially fuchsia-laced purples, are great statement shades.  You can put on a nice purple lip color with practically nothing else and look fabulous.

3. Stila – Gemma is a bright fuchsia purple with pink flecks.  The creamy formula makes Stila one of the most nourishing lipsticks I’ve tried.  Stila lipsticks have a sweet, creamy mint scent.  It reminds me of the Junior Mint chocolate candy.  The mint makes my lips tingle a bit, in a good way.  The bullet is very over-sized in my opinion.  Even on my full lips, I have to be careful during application.  Those with thinner lips will want to use a lip brush.  A very close dupe is Mac’s Violetta (a Mac Pro shade).  Violetta leans more purple where Gemma is pinker, but the difference is slight.

4. Clairins Rouge Eclat – True Aubergine looks brighter purple in the tube, but is more muted on my brown skin.  This shade is glossier than Passion Red.

Stila Gemma Clairins True Aubergine

Pink lips are classic shades for warmer months.  I like bright pinks, but I primarily own bright pink glosses that aren’t fully opaque.  For opaque lipsticks, I like darker or raspberry pinks. Continue reading →

Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo – Summer 2013

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Okay, I am really late with this review.  Bad blogger.  I debated whether to even do a post because these products were released a month ago and may be difficult to find.  I just happened upon them when I was in Walgreens the other day.  What made my eyes light up was that six of the eight limited edition shades are duochrome and I am a complete sucker for anything duochromed.

Maybelline Summer swatch

1.  Seashore Frosts (#40) is one of the two gems in this collection.  In the pot, it is a shimmery bronze on a gray-blue base with pink and green duochrome.  This shade is deceivingly beautiful.  From the pot, the shades looks like a confused blue eye shadow, but when swatched…oh my.  The pictures don’t do it justice.  On my skin, it comes across as a shimmery bronze with a blue duochrome with flashes of green and pink.  On pale skin, this would make a great dramatic eye.  On darker skin, this shade creates more of a neutral eye with a ton of flare.  Don’t pass this shade up!

M Tattoo Seashore Frosts back M Tattoo Seashore Frosts swatch

2.  Cool Rush (#35) is an icy, grayed purple with a light pink duochrome.  The duochrome isn’t as strong as Seashore Frosts.  This would make a nice wash of color for cooler, pale skin tones.  This shade would work well for the inner corner or inner third of the lid for darker skin tones.

M Tattoo Cool Rush back M Tattoo Cool Rush swatch

3.  Blue Paradise (#15) is a medium blue comes just short of teal with a purple duochrome and silver shimmer.  The duochrome quality is stronger than Cool Rush, but not as intense as Seashore Frosts.  Even without the duochrome, it is a pretty blue.  It is slightly darker than it appears in the swatch photo, but not nearly as deep as it appears in the pot as the silver shimmer shines through when applied to the skin.

M Tattoo Blue Paradise back M Tattoo Blue Paradise swatch

4.  Shady Shores (#25) is a darkened yellow with a strong green duochrome with flashes of pink.  The duochrome in this shade is very strong.  So if you’re truly wanting yellow, you’re going to be disappointed because you will get green.  A lot of green.  It’s an interesting shade, but I’m not sure if I like it yet.  The intense duochrome should be nice, but it looks like a science experiment on my skin.  This shade may be nice on more olive skin tones.

M Tattoo Shady Shores back M Tattoo Shady Shores swatch

5.  Precious Pearl (#10) is a cream base with pink duochrome.  The two shades are very light in color, which makes it come across as a basic pale pink when swatched.  It’s a nice shade for a wash of color, but the pink isn’t dark enough to make a great duochrome, but it lives up to its name.

M Tattoo Precious Pearl back M Tattoo Precious Pearl swatch

6.  Waves Of White (#20) is the second gem in this collection.  It looks like a nothing-special white in the pot, but when you swatch it…it lights up.  It is a very strong duochrome.  The white practically disappears and in its place you get a lovely green with flashes of blue and pink.  It is a beautiful shadow.  The look of this shade reminds me of a Mac Reflects glitter.

M Tattoo Waves of White back M Tattoo Waves of White swatch

7.  Icy Mint (#30) is a sea foam green.  This shade doesn’t have a duochrome and has very little shimmer.  It applied a bit patchy when swatched.  This would make a better base than a shade on its own.

M Tattoo Icy Mint back M Tattoo Icy Mint swatch

8.  Lavish Lavender (#45) is a medium-light purple with silver and blue sparkle.  This shade isn’t a duochrome, but it’s still pretty.  It’s a greet shade for paler, cool-toned beauties and those with darker skin tones.  Purple with silver sparkle has been done before, but it is nice to see at this price point.

M Tattoo Lavish Lavender back M Tattoo Lavish Lavender swatch

I hope you can still find these in your local Walgreens, CVS, Target or Walmart.  Ulta should have them as well.  The price will vary between $6-8 for 4g.

Nars Pierre Hardy, Blush

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Pierre Hardy is famous for his high-fashion shoes for men and women.  I had never heard of Pierre Hardy before, but I’m not one for spending what is equivalent to a car, rent or mortgage payment on one pair of shoes.  He has teamed up with Nars on a limited edition collection inspired by his 2013 shoe collection.  The collection is primarily nail polish duos in special packaging that mimics his shoe packaging.  The really great thing in this collection is the only makeup items, two blush colors.

Nars PH Box Nars PH pckg

Rotande

Rotande

Boys Don't Cry

Boys Don’t Cry

Nars PH comparison Nars PH swatch

  1. Rotande is described as tiger lily (a peachy-orange).
  2. Boys Don’t Cry is described as pink grapefruit (pinky red).

I am typically not impressed by limited edition collection pairings with other famous people.  Unfortunately, the products are usually crap.  Not Nars specifically, but other brands as well.  When I saw the promo pictures of the blush in this collection, I thought the colors looked promising, but…  Bloggers who get products for free said positive things about them (I’m not one of those bloggers), so I was intrigued.  I took a chance and bought it online and I must say these blushes are flipping amazing.

If you’re more a fan of matte blushes, like me, don’t be afraid of these.  The gold shimmer is an over-spray.  In fact, if you say “boo!” the gold sparkle will take off running.  I was able to remove the sparkle using a pencil brush.  The shades themselves are matte and fabulous.

The bad?  There isn’t any.

The inconvenient?  It’s pricey.  Nars permanent line blushes are $29 for 4.8g.  These are $41!

The good?  They are huge.  You get 13g of product, which is unheard of for blush.  The pigmentation and smoothness is of the charts.  You only need a small amount to get color, no matter how dark you skin is.  This blush will last forever.  (The size comparison picture is Nars Taos.)

I’m hoping Nars adds these colors into its permanent collection for its regular, not cheap, price.  You can buy these online now at Narscometics.com.  It will be in stores by early May.  You must check these out.