Beauty Products Reviews: face

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Thursday, June 27, 2013

MAC Tropical Taboo Mineralize Skinfinishes Review, Photos, Swatches

MAC Tropical Taboo Mineralize Skinfinishes

MAC Tropical Taboo Collection’s Mineralize Skinfinishes ($30.00 for 0.24 oz.) come in five shades: Adored, Gold Deposit (permanent), Lust, Rio, and Soft & Gentle (permanent). Except for Gold Deposit, the Mineralize Skinfinishes are on the lighter end of the spectrum, so for the majority of complexions, they’ll work more as highlighters than blushers or bronzers. The textures of all five were less powdery than the blushes from this collection. Gold Deposit was the only one that had a slightly sparkly/less smooth texture. In my experience, MAC’s Mineralize cheek products don’t last as long as their regular powder blushes do. I’ve only tested one of the five, and I’m in the process of testing Lust and Rio at this very moment and will update accordingly. I expect to test the remaining two (which are permanent) tomorrow. Overall, I think if you normally love and use Mineralize Skinfinishes as highlighters, one of the new shades is worth checking out, but the reality is they’re very similar to each other – each one slightly darker from Adored to Lust to Rio (Rio being the “darkest”).

Adored is described as a “coral with light beige pearl.” It’s a soft, pink-peach with a frosted, champagne shimmer-sheen. This shade is going to work best as a subtle blusher and highlighter on fair skin and then as a subtle highlighter on medium and darker complexions. It is true-to-pan in color, but the texture is soft and finely-milled to the point where it does tend to sheer out as it is applied, rather than build-up. This shade lasted for six hours, and it was noticeably faded after seven hours. On my normal-to-dry skin, it slightly emphasized pores but not too noticeably. MAC Lust is more shimmered and darker. NARS Sex Appeal is matte. MAC Stay By Me is more matte. MAC Light Year is darker, warmer. MAC Keep It Loose is darker. MAC Shell Pearl is slightly pinker, darker.

Gold Deposit is described as a “soft reflective golden bronze.” It’s a warm, orange-copper with a golden-copper sparkle and shimmer. The finish on this shade is more metallic, and the texture is a little sparkly, so it’s not as smooth as it could be. It was very pigmented. I will be testing this shade for wear tomorrow. Physicians Formula Light Bronzer is more orange. Urban Decay Baked is slightly less orange, browner. MAC Center of the Universe is similar. MAC Glorify is browner, darker, as is Estee Lauder Topaz Chameleon. . This shade is part of the permanent range.

Lust is described as a “pale pink with cranberry pearl.” It’s a dirty, warm-toned pink with a frosted, slightly metallic, sheen. The color payoff was good, with the color getting to the same color as seen in the pan, and as a result, it is on the lighter side so medium and deeper complexions may find this acts more as a highlighter than much of a blusher. Because it does have a higher sheen in its finish, it did somewhat emphasize pores and skin texture. I will be testing this one today. MAC Rio is pinker, less beige/brown. Tom Ford Frantic Pink is pinker. Milani Dolce Pink is slightly pinker. MAC Legendary is less shimmery. MAC Born to Love is similar, slightly darker. MAC Definitely Defined is more beige. Bobbi Brown Peony is a touch pinker. .

Rio is described as a “bronze with bright pink pearl.” It’s a medium pink with a soft, frosted finish and warm undertones. It had good color payoff with true-to-pan color that was soft, finely-milled, and blendable. On my medium complexion, it added subtle pink color and sheen, so for fairer complexions I could see it working as a highlighter and blush more so than on deeper complexions. I will be testing this shade for wear today. Tom Ford Frantic Pink is less shimmery, darker. Milani Dolce Pink is warmer. MAC Stunner is slightly pinker. MAC Easy Manner is less shimmery. See comparison swatches.

Soft & Gentle is described as a “gilded peach bronze.” It’s a warm-toned, champagne beige with a frosted sheen. It had true-to-pan in color, though it is a lighter shade, so on all but very fair skin tones, it act primarily as a highlighter. It only emphasized my pores/natural skin texture very slightly. bareMinerals The Love Affair is more beige. MAC How Beautiful is darker, browner. MAC Whisper of Gilt is more golden/yellow. NARS Nico is less shimmery, more beige, lighter. .

The Glossover

	Adored
	This shade is going to work best as a subtle blusher and highlighter on fair skin and then as a subtle highlighter on medium and darker complexions.
	Product 8.5/10 Pigmentation 9.5/10 Texture 8.5/10 Longevity 6.5/10 Application 4.5/5

	Gold Deposit
	The finish on this shade is more metallic, and the texture is a little sparkly, so it's not as smooth as it could be. It was very pigmented.
	Product 8.5/10 Pigmentation 10/10 Texture 8/10 Longevity 7/10 Application 4.5/5

	Lust
	The color payoff was good, with the color getting to the same color as seen in the pan, and as a result, it is on the lighter side so medium and deeper complexions may find this acts more as a highlighter than much of a blusher.
	Product 8.5/10 Pigmentation 9.5/10 Texture 8/10 Longevity 7/10 Application 4.5/5

See more photos & swatches!

MAC Adored Mineralize Skinfinish

MAC Gold Deposit Mineralize Skinfinish

MAC Lust Mineralize Skinfinish

MAC Rio Mineralize Skinfinish

MAC Soft & Gentle Mineralize Skinfinish

Friday, April 5, 2013

NARS Taj Mahal Blush Review, Photos, Swatches

NARS Taj Mahal Blush

NARS Taj Mahal Blush ($29.00 for 0.16 oz.) is described as a “blazing burnt orange with golden shimmer.” It’s a bold, vibrant orange with a hint of red and a golden shimmer-sheen.Wet ‘n’ Wild Golden Goddess is more subdued, browner. MAC Center of the Universe is also more muted and browner. MAC My Paradise is more coral/red. Jasmine Rajah (which is an eyeshadow) is very similar but has a subtler golden sheen.

Oh, this is a bold, vibrant shade of blush. There’s no shying away from that! It’s undeniably warm-toned and just brings forth every image of summer. With a very, very light hand, it works as a golden orange gleam, and the more color you use, the deeper and more reddened the color gets. The pigmentation is insane; incredibly rich that deeper complexions will not need to build up the color to see it show up on their skin tones, while fairer complexions will have to use feathery touches and, perhaps, a stippling brush, to yield softer color. Taj Mahal had a soft, finely-milled texture that applied smoothly and blended out easily. This blush wore for nine hours without fading–which makes it one of the best NARS’ blushes I’ve tried.

THE GLOSSOVER

It's one of the best-performing blushes by NARS. Taj Mahal has intense color payoff, long-wear, and a beautiful texture.

See more photos & swatches!

NARS Taj Mahal Blush

MAC Lightscapade Mineralize Skinfinish Review, Photos, Swatches

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MAC Lightscapade Mineralize Skinfinish

MAC Lightscapade Mineralize Skinfinish ($29.00 for 0.35 oz.) is described as a “soft candlelight beige with multi-dimensional shimmer.” It’s a pale, neutral-to-warm-toned white with a frosted, shimmering finish. Chanel Poudre Signee de Chanel is more golden but similar. Too Faced Spun Sugar is cooler-toned. Giorgio Armani Moonlight Beige is lighter. theBalm Promiscuous Pearl is more beige. MAC Snowglobe is more frosted. Chanel Beiges Ombres Tissees is more beige and frosted.

Now, last I remember, Lightscapade was supposed to join the permanent range, and it is still available at retailers like Nordstrom but doesn’t exist on MAC’s website when I searched just now. It is set to launch with the MAC x Hayley Williams collaboration on April 9th (but hardcore fans may want to start stalking a little earlier).

What I like about Lightscapade is that it highlights and adds glow wherever you put it, and it doesn’t emphasize the skin’s natural texture or pores. My continuing issue with Lightscapade(and MAC’s Mineralize Skinfinishes in general) is that they don’t wear well or long at all–by eight hours, it’s nearly invisible, and there’s noticeable fading after four to five hours. The texture is soft, finely-milled, but there is a smidgen of powderiness so it doesn’t have fantastic color payoff (it takes some building to get an even layer of color). This year’s Lightscapade is very similar to the one I had in 2012, but it has a lot less veining (more beige/white) than the one I have from 2011.

THE GLOSSOVER

It's really the lack of wear time that makes this product such a disappointment! If only it lasted longer on!

See more photos & swatches!

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MAC Lightscapade Mineralize Skinfinish

Sneak Peek: MAC Baking Beauties Collection – Photos + Swatches

MAC In for a Treat Pearlmatte Face Powder

I do not have the full collection at this time–this is all that I received–but I will make sure to purchase missing items when they’re available for sale. These are sneak peek swatches to hold you over while I test the products and write-up reviews! Please hold all questions until I’ve had a chance to write the full review

Thank you!