Beauty Products Reviews: January 2013

Thursday, January 31, 2013

MAC Shell Pearl Beauty Powder

MAC Shell Pearl Beauty Powder Review, Photos, Swatches

MAC Shell Pearl Beauty Powder

MAC Shell Pearl Beauty Powder is described as a “pale peach with gold pearl.” It’s a soft pink-tinged peach with a golden shimmer-sheen. MAC Legendary is darker, pinker. MAC Born to Love is quite a bit darker, less peach. Guerlain Peach Boy is a touch darker and more shimmery. Benefit Sugarbomb is pinker, but I would say this is the closest when applied.

The first time I remember seeing it was with Liberty of London. MAC describes this Beauty Powder “as a highlight, soft blush, or overall finish.” It also has a snake skin pattern embossed across the top. Some of it should remain intact after a few uses, but within a dozen or so uses, I think the majority will be softened or flattened, but there’s no overlay masking the real color of the product. The cardboard box also has the collection’s promotional design printed on a cardboard sleeve, but the compact itself is standard MAC packaging.

Shell Pearl has true-to-pan color payoff, which is, overall, on the lighter side, and it has a pale base, so I expect it will be most appropriate for light to light-medium complexions, with it possibly turning ashy on some darker skin tones. I’m around NC25/NC30, and it worked as a subtle blusher and highlighter. The texture was soft, finely-milled, and applied smoothly–but there was some excess powder that kicked up when I was applying it (I used MAC’s 116 brush). It wore well for seven hours, and after eight full hours, there was noticeable fading.

THE GLOSSOVER

I would recommend this for lighter skin tones, as it may turn ashy on deeper skin tones. There is some powderiness in the texture, and I think this contributed to the slight fading I encountered after eight hours.

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MAC Shell Pearl Beauty Powder

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Urban Decay Sidecar Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Sidecar Eyeshadow Review, Photos, Swatches

Urban Decay Sidecar Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Sidecar Eyeshadow is described as a “beige sparkle.” It’s a medium caramel brown with warm undertones and a champagne-bronze sheen. Milani Caramel Brown is darker, more bronze. MAC Love Connection is also browner. Too Faced Cinnamon Sugar is lighter, less caramel. Urban Decay Blaze is less brown, slightly more orange.

You can find Sidecar in the original Naked Palette. Though it has a sparkle finish, it doesn’t seem to have micro-gltiter, and the sparkle is fine and sparse–I didn’t have problems with it in the Naked Palette, and I didn’t have problems when I tried this shade (which is in the newer formulation). I didn’t see fall out during application or later on during wear. The color itself is fully pigmented, and it applies evenly and smoothly. It has a dense, buttery texture that is soft and easily blended on the skin. I wore it and had it last for full eight hours without fading or creasing, and there was some very light fading along the outer edge after nine hours.

THE GLOSSOVER

Sidecar is a very wearable, warm-toned brown that's not too dark, not too light. I didn't have any problems with fall out, even though it has a sparklier finish.

Urban Decay Omen Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Omen Eyeshadow Review, Photos, Swatches

Urban Decay Omen Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Omen Eyeshadow is described as a “metallic bright purple with blue shift.” It’s a cool-toned, blue-based violet purple with hints of fuchsia in its base. The finish has a high frost content and comes off a bit metallic. Tarte Touchdown in Londontown is a darker purple. MAC Stars ‘n Rockets is much more fuchsia. Inglot #441 is darker, purpler. It’s not similar to either Urban Decay Ecstasy(cooler-toned, no pink) or Fishnet (very fuchsia/pink, like MAC Stars ‘n Rockets).

Like Deep End, Omen was released in the 15th Anniversary Palette. When I first posted about the shades Urban Decay was adding to their permanent range, readers really seemed quite happy about Omen coming back, so I was eager to play around with it again. I’m happy to report that it has a soft, buttery texture that applies smoothly and evenly. The color payoff is good, and the pink base comes out more as you swatch and blend it out. When I tested this on the lid, it wore well for eight hours without fading or creasing, and after nine hours there was a hint of fading along the outer edge.

Since a lot of you have been wearing Omen a lot, what are some of your favorite looks using it?

THE GLOSSOVER

Solid color payoff, an interesting fuchsia base, and a smooth, even application make Omen a nice purple to work with.

Urban Decay Moonflower Eyeshadow and BYOP

Urban Decay Moonflower Eyeshadow and BYOP Review, Photos, Swatches

Urban Decay Moonflower BYOP

Urban Decay Moonflower BYOP is a new design of Urban Decay’s Build Your Own Palette concept, and this version includes one eyeshadow already–Moonflower–which is described as a “light copper/peach shimmer.” It’s a softened, orange-copper with a golden peach shimmer-sheen finish. Cinderella All Aglowis browner. Guerlain Les Fauves #4 is darker. bareMinerals Nirvana is lighter. Urban Decay Penny Lane is lighter and more golden. theBalm Mischievous Marissa is similar.

I like the 4-pan BYOPs more than the 6-pan ones, because they’re more compact and travel-friendly, but I still find the BYOP concept to be overly bulky. I’d also much rather purchase pans of eyeshadow rather than a pot that I can pop out the first layer out of (because you could always do that, you just didn’t have a palette that fit them). I would have loved to see Urban Decay make them magnetic with a pin-sized hole on the bottom, so you could push the pan out if you wanted. I still believe that one of the appeals of having freestyle palette systems is to save on space, save on money, and be able to travel with them more readily. If you drop one of the BYOPs, it does have more security from breaking, because it is more insulated. I do, personally, like the design they chose for the actual palette; very dark, mysterious, and pretty (to me).

Moonflower (the eyeshadow) has good color payoff, a soft, smooth texture that’s dense and goes on evenly. There were a few flecks of sparkle that I saw fall out during application, and after I cleaned up, I saw a couple stray sparkles after wearing it for eight hours. I had some very light fading after wearing it (without primer) for eight hours but no creasing.

Please note: the rating for this product is purely based on the performance and quality of the eyeshadow, not the palette.

THE GLOSSOVER

There is a little sparkle that does result in minor fall out, but it's certainly not the full rain of fall out that I get from micro-glitter shades from Urban Decay. The color isn't too orange but not brown; not quite peach either.

Lynnderella Gingerbread Hearts Nail

Lynnderella Gingerbread Hearts Nail Lacquer Review, Photos, Swatches

Lynnderella Gingerbread Hearts Nail Lacquer

A Slice of Gingerbread for Your Nails

Lynnderella Gingerbread Hearts Nail Lacquer is described as containing “metallic gingerbread coloured glitter decorated with flat colour red, white, blue, pink and green glitter in a clear base.” It has small, medium, and large square gold glitters, plus large diamond-shaped white glitter, along with multi-sized orange and green hexagons. All of the glitters are suspended in a clear base.

Two coats of this alone yielded some coverage but still a lot of base nail came through, so it’s best as a layering shade (I used it over Chanel Emprise), as I can’t see opaque results forthcoming even after three coats. The concept was cute, but I wasn’t able to get all of the glitter sizes and shapes to come out. After doing three layering coats (one coat over a base color) and then two coats on two other nails (pinky and thumb) of this alone, I couldn’t manage to get a single heart-shaped glitter to come out. I also wasn’t seeing a lot of pink or blue pieces coming out–I was getting primarily the gold particles. This polish did require some dabbing, pushing, and pulling to maneuver the glitter into place so it didn’t all get bunched up in one place. The consistency of the clear polish itself was thin, which made it easy to apply, and it is definitely easier to get away with multiple coats with the thinner formula. I typically get a week of wear out of Lynnderella’s formula with no peeling or chipping, just minor tip wear.

THE GLOSSOVER

The concept was cute, but I wasn't able to get a lot of the glitter sizes and shapes to come out, so it was something that looked more interesting and more gingerbread-like in the bottle than applied.

Estee Lauder Insatiable Nail Lacquer

Estee Lauder Insatiable Nail Lacquer Review, Photos, Swatches

Estee Lauder Insatiable Nail Lacquer

An Insatiable Purple for Spring

Estee Lauder Insatiable Nail Lacquer is a muted, gray-purple with a cream finish. Zoya Lotus is warmer, pinker, and has shimmer. Cult Nails My Kind of Cool Aid is much, much lighter and has sparkle. Rescue Beauty Lounge Insouciant is lighter, less gray. None of these, however, were close enough to be considered dupes–I just wanted to walk you through the potentials I considered but nothing came close. (I heartily invite you to chime in if you know of a dupe!)

I always love it when I come across a shade that I don’t quite have (and that’s not to say there aren’t dupes in existence, merely that I don’t know of any and hopefully, that means it is at the very least not easily duped!). It’s a very stormy, cool-toned, rainy-day kind of purple, which is why it’s a bit different from other shades. It doesn’t have strong pink or red in its base, and when it comes to muted purples, the ones I’ve swatched have had more obvious pink/red underpinnings. Insatiable was opaque in two coats, and the consistency wasn’t too thick or too thin. It applied evenly, fluidly, and didn’t bubble, streak, or pool along the edges. I typically get a full week out of Estee Lauder’s lacquer formula and only have very minor tip wear. I only wish the bottle contained more product–it seems large but the container itself is deceptively small.

THE GLOSSOVER

It's a very stormy, cool-toned, rainy-day kind of purple, which is why it's a bit different from other shades.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Urban Decay Ocho Loco 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil Set Review, Photos, Swatches

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Urban Decay Ocho Loco 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil Set

One Sweet Deal for Your Eyes

Urban Decay Ocho Loco 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil Set includes eight shades: Hustle (medium brown metallic), Junkie (teal with bright gold shimmer), LSD (navy with bright turquoise shimmer), Mushroom (taupe-pewter metallic), Perversion (blackest-black matte), Psychedelic Sister (bright purple shimmer), Rockstar (darkest eggplant), and Stash (dark green/gold). It also includes Grindhouse, which is a sharpener.

Hustle is a medium-dark brown with subtly warm undertones and bronze sparkle and sheen. It has good pigmentation in a single pass. Chanel Brun-Cuivre is just a touch darker with a red undertone. Urban Decay Bourbon has less sparkle and a stronger red undertone. MAC Lord It Up is darker.
Junkie is a blue-based teal with gold and teal sparkle. It has decent color payoff in a single pass but needs to be layered to pop. Tarina Tarantino Spark of Envy is greener and has no sparkle. MAC Undercurrent is exactly the same.
LSD is a blackened navy blue with lighter blue sparkle. The color payoff was rather disappointing, and you definitely need to go back and forth to get decent opacity. MAC Petrol Blue is much, much richer and bluer. MAC Industrial is a bit lighter.
Mushroom is a gray-brown taupe with a shimmer-sheen. The pigmentation in a single go is decent. Urban Decay Underground was the only possible dupe I could think of, but it is much browner.
Perversion is a rich, deep black with a matte finish. It has good color payoff in a single pass. MAC Black Black, MAC Feline, Giorgio Armani #1 are all very similar.
Psychedelic Sister is a medium violet purple with subtle pink-red undertones and a soft sheen. The color payoff was good, and for a purple, noteworthy. MAC Designer Purple is a smidgen darker and has sparkle. MAC Rich Purple is darker, less pink.
Rockstar is a dark eggplant purple with burgundy shimmer. It has good pigmentation in one pass. Chanel Cassis is matte. Urban Decay Crash is very comparable.
Stash is an olive-green with antique gold shimmer. The color payoff is really good in a single go. MAC Buried Treasure is slightly darker. Stila Moray is a bit greener.

If you’ve ever wanted to try Urban Decay’s eyeliners or you enjoy them and want more of them, grabbing this set is a brilliant way to go, because you’re getting $162 worth of product for $59. Grindhouse is the only sharpener I actually use; it’s a dual-sharpener so you can sharpen both regular eyeliners as well as the jumbo-sized pencils. I use it for Urban Decay’s eyeliners as well as any other eyeliner or jumbo-sized pencil I need sharpened. Each eyeliner is full-sized, and normally, full-sized eyeliners retail for $19. Not all of these shades are available individually, so if you want shades like Hustle, LSD,Mushroom, Psychedelic Sister, or Junkie, you’re going to have to pick this up.

The formula is good overall, though pigmentation tends to be mostly opaque, some shades do fall short. All shades in this set are buildable, so you can get opaque color if desired, just not necessarily in one pass. The least pigmented shades from this set were Junkie and LSD. The most pigmented shades were Perversion, Rockstar, and Stash. I usually get around eight hours with no fading or smudging with Urban Decay’s eyeliner formula, and I’ve been wearing them for years. All eight shades felt creamy and glided across the skin easily without skipping.

THE GLOSSOVER

Of all the holiday items from Urban Decay that they've announced so far, this is the best value, and the one kit I'd recommend putting on your holiday wish list.

See more photos & swatches!

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Urban Decay Ocho Loco 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil Set

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Urban Decay Grindhouse Eyeliner Sharpener

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Urban Decay Hustle 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil Set

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Urban Decay Junkie 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil Set

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Urban Decay LSD 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil Set

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Urban Decay Mushroom 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil Set

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Urban Decay Perversion 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil Set

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Urban Decay Psychedelic Sister 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil Set

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Urban Decay Rockstar 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil Set

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Urban Decay Stash 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil Set

Urban Decay Stash 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil Set