I don't think any makeup collection is complete without a liquid liner. Whether its black (my personal favourite) or coloured you can't go wrong. While there are two styles of applicators and not all liquid liners are created equal. That being said...
I have to say that my favourite liquid liner is Urban Decay 24/7 waterproof liquid liner. I love the brush applicator ( I find felt tip applicators do have a great sturdiness to them so you don't have to worry about overly uneven application, but they lack the finesse that you need to really wing out your liner), there is a reasonably wide range of colours although I wish there were more, and the formula is fantastic. When a product makes claims like 24/7 I admit that I am somewhat sceptical of those claims, but these eyeliners, last, and last and last, unless your really putting in some effort to take this eyeliner off then it does not come off till your ready to remove it.
Left to Right: Perversion (Black), Retrograde (Purple), Radium (Cobalt Blue), Siren (Teal Blue),
El Dorado (Gold), Woodstock (Pink), Bobbi Dazzle (Silver White).
AND SWATCHES!!!!
And don't forget to have fun with your liquid liner.
So sometimes we all want a little more fullness in our lashes, for some people its every once in a while, and for others a little more often. I personally don't wear false lashes very often, as I don't generally love the way they feel on my eyes, but I do often enjoy the way that they frame the shape of the eye. I do have to admit though more often than not I buy false lashes and then let them sit in the box. That being said i do have a few favorite pairs that I'm not sure I could live without.
Anyway you look at false lashes, whether you go with big lashes or demi's I do firmly believe that one should have at least one pair of false lashes in their makeuo kit, you never know when your going to need them and there are tons of both expensive (if you wish to go that way) and inexpensive (false lashes can be found at most drugstores and I have even seen them a few times at some of the dollarstore chains) to try.
I know I promised it so long ago, but I've finally managed to get the First Part of Makeup of the Ancient World up. You can check it out here:
And don't forget to tune in on Saturday for my new segment: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly were I go over the things in the week that I found great, not so great and down right terrible. Also don't forget to check in next week for the next installment of Makeup of the Ancient World: Greece.
When Choosing blushes even I have a hard time trying to make decisions, do you choose a creme or a powder, a bright or a muted shade, should you choose a red, a coral or a pink? It is so easy to be overwhelmed by the number of choices out there, from drugstore to high end it doesn't matter.
As far as I'm concerned, the last two questions are personal, if you like abright blush buy a bright one, if you like reds, buy red blushes, what ever makes you happy, makes me happy.
However, the question still stands, creme or powder blush?
Well creme blushes are a really nice choice they are highly pigmented, are easily sheered out, and they don't require a brush and over all have a decent selection of colours. That being said they are not always easy to find. most brands have perfected their powder blushes, but they either have not thought to create a creme blush or they have not perfected theirs yet.
On the other hand powder blushes run rampant on the market, every brand has at least one formula, if not more. Powder blushes have a wide range of shades, and are often one of the most pigmented products most brands have. They can be sheered out with a little work, and are generally an awsome blush choice. On the other hand if your travelling or you don't have a ton of time you do need a blush brush to apply.
So which is better? Well, I like both cremes and powders, but the only way to really know which you should buy is to get one of each and see which you like better.
Also check oout what else I have to say about Blush:
If you are a big M.A.C. fan or if you just occasionally like picking up some of their collections, you have probably heard by no that there is a new collection out. The Tropical Taboo Collection is supposed to be a seductive, and exotic inspired collection, with warm shimmering tones and bright exciting colours. This is a fully thought out collection with a variety of products from Skinfinishes to baked eyeshadows and lip liners to Lipglasses, there is something for everyone.
M.A.C. really put a lot of thought into how they were going to put this collection together, and into the actual formula's and finishes of the products to give that warm exotic glow. Here I'm just giving my first impressions on the products as I have only just gotten them today, as a warning I did not get the complete collection as some of it was already sold out and some of it I just didn't think was worth trying.
Skinfinishes:
For this particular collection five skin finishes were released. Not like regular matte Skinfinish, the kind I think most people are familiar with, these all had a pearl or shimmery finish and ranged from highlights through more blush like colours to a deep bronze. I only bought one of these as I was a little unsure of the others.
Soft and Gentle- A warm honey colour with a pearl finish,this would make a great highlighter, or if you have paler skin, it would also make an amazing gold toned "bronzer". My local stores were both sold out already.
Adored- A soft Peachy with a pearl finish this makes the most amazing highlighter, and the added bonus of no blush required. This was the Skinfinish I picked up.
Lust- Soft, light, cranberry with a shimmery finish is the only way I can possible describe this particular Skinfinish, this is defiantly more of a blush shade.
Rio- A bronze and pastel pink swirled together makes the most incredible pop pink, gorgeous light and rosy just enough shimmer to give a glow.
Gold Deposit- Shimmery gold bronze, great for an all over glow, but be cautious over application and you will start to look shiny.
Blushes:
There were three blushes released in this collection, varying in tones from dark to light a baked product these can be applied wet or dry.
Sweet Samba- Fuchsia and Bronze give a rich deep colour, defiantly more on the fuchsia side than the bronze.
Simmer- More of a plum fuchsia as opposed to the Sweet Samba, with a peach shade instead of a bronze giving this a softer sweeter shade. This was already sold out so I was unable to purchase it.
Exotic Ember- Not M.A.C.'s best thought when coming up with a baked blush, this is a dark bronze, and orange blush, just so we are clear not apricot, not coral.... ORANGE, it really did not surprise me to see that this one was not sold out. (And no I did not buy this one.)
Baked Eyeshadows:
Six Shimmering eyeshadows came with this collection, wearable wet or dry M.A.C. Really used their smarts here, by taking colours that truth be told they had in their pigments collection and making some great colour choices for this collection.
Tropica- A bright swirl of turquoisy teal, and a bright purple give leads to a very interesting colour, I didn't notice a major difference aside from texture when swatching these wet and dry the colour was no more pronounced but it was smoother.
Time to Tango- Lavender cobalt swirled with gold eyeshadow sounds good right? Unfortunately The gold in this baked eyeshadow, has chunky, flaky glitter in it, so there is massive fallout when applied dry. Applying it wet does solve the glitter issue as it goes on smoother, but not any more pigmented.
Cha-Cha-Cha- Do not be fooled this is not a lime green shadow and a dark green shadow swirled together. It is actually a lime green and a glittery blue gunmetal. This shade is awesome, dry it would work great as a general dark shadow, wet however and the colour really pops.
Caribbean- A pastel pink, with a copper glitter shadow, very light when applied dry, but has a great depth when applied wet, defiantly leans more towards the copper side, although surprisingly the glitter in this shadow is not flaky like the Time to Tango.
Dare to Bare- I was very underwhelmed by this shadow, a soft lavender with a gold flecked cream colour should have been good, but the colour payoff on this shadow was lacklustre at best, I decided to leave this one at the store
Bossa Blue- Love the name of this shadow, unfortunately the mix of royal blue and brown did not work, I've seen blue browns done very well so many times, however the way this was done, just left sort of a dirty bluish brown when I swatched it. I could not bare to buy this one.
Kohl Power Eye Pencil:
Technically only one of the two eye pencils that were featured in this collection was a limited edition, however that being said I think so far that both pencils are quite exceptional.
Feline- Strong, smooth, rich,deep dark, black. I have zero complaints about this eyeliner, and am glad that it is not a limited edition, I firmly believe that I will be repurchasing this one at some point in the future.
Orpheus- A dark brown liner with black undertones and a copper gold shimmer, same formula as Feline, however not the most exciting of eyeliners.
Zoom Lash:
The only mascara in the collection, it is scented with the same sort of perfume as the Lancome Hypnose Star mascara which is a major put off, traditional bristle brush, however, the mascara formula is very liquidy.
Lip Pencils:
Four Lip Pencils were released to correspond with four out of five of the lipsticks and Lipglasses that were release along side. A smooth creamy formula similar to the Eye Pencils. I purchased all of the lip pencils.
Have to Have It- Brown pink nude colour
Hip 'n' Happy- Light pastel pink
Heroine- Electric Plum slight blue tone
Ablaze- Vibrant fire coral
Mineralize Rich Lipstick:
One of these things is not like the other ones. There are five lipsticks, one more than there are lip pencils and lipglasses. M.A.C.`s lipsticks are intensely rich, they can be applied both sheer and concentrated, the formula is not overly dry, nor is it greasy like some lipsticks. I admit that i had to have all of the lipsticks
Luxe Nature- Flesh toned nude, very much an abstract colour for this collection considering all the other more vibrant colours.
Glamour Era- A brown pink nude, great for everyday wear.
Divine Choice- A Brigitte Bardot pink, sort of a cross between a Barbie pink and a pastel pink.
Midnight Mambo- Electric plum with a blue undertone, apply once for sheer colour, apply twice for more saturation.
Lady at Play- Divine cerise fire coral, major red and orange undertones in this vibrant lipstick.
Cremesheen Lipglass:
There are corresponding Lipglasses to all of the lipsticks except for Luxe Nature, I really do like M.A.C.`s Lipglass formula I like how pigmented they are, and how smooth the formula is.
Calypso Beat- Brown tone nude. I was not able to purchase this one, as I have about a billion other nude lip glosses.
Japanese Spring- A blue toned mauve, surprisingly not as pigmented as other lipglasses, rather disappointed at that.
Narcissus- Vibrant purple, more blue and less red tone than Midnight Mambo.
Fever Isle- Concentrated Cerise, far more red and less orange in this lip glass than in Lady at Play, but still just as bright and play full.
You can also check out a video review here:
I hope that you've gotten a feel for this collection, and please do tell me your opinoins on the collection if you decide to pick any of it up.
