Beauty Products Reviews: June 2013

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

L’Oreal Mint Ice Colour Riche Le Gloss

L’Oreal Mint Ice Colour Riche Le Gloss ($7.95 for 0.40 fl. oz.) is a subtly gold-shimmered mint green. I couldn’t think of any dupes from products I’ve reviewed, and the only sheer, green-tinged gloss that came to mind was MAC’s Spring Bean, which I believe is a little yellower (I haven’t had it in sometime, but I do remember it looking kind of yellow-y applied, plus shimmery). When I saw this at Walgreens, I had to pick it up; green gloss? C’mon, so fun! Alone, it’s a sheer dusting of gold and green micro-shimmer that give lips a glossy shine, but there’s no real green coloring of the lips.

Though the Colour Riche Le Gloss formula tends to be more pigmented than it is sheer, Mint Ice is incredibly sheer, so there’s no need to fear the color in the tube if it was worrisome. Of course, if you wanted a real pop of green you’re going to have to look elsewhere. My guess is L’Oreal made this deliberately sheer, though it’s still very, very sheer–it really doesn’t even change my natural lip color at all, just adds shimmer and shine–and given the permanent’s range opacity, it should be more pigmented.

The texture is slightly thick, kind of like jelly, non-sticky, and this shade lasts an hour and a half, tops, on me, which was disappointing. It feels nice on, but it just doesn’t last (good thing there’s a lot of it in the tube). It had a sweet vanilla-like scent but no discernible taste. I wore it a few times back-to-back to get a better feel of how well it hydrated, and it was nicely moisturizing overall.

The Glossover

	Mint Ice
	It doesn't feel like a C- gloss on the lips, but it's very, very sheer and wears away quickly. If you like the idea of seeing a green gloss in your stash, but are just in the market for a shimmery, mostly clear gloss--and don't mind frequent application--it's still a nice formula in terms of how it feels on the lips.
	Product 8.5/10 Pigmentation 5/10 Texture 9/10 Longevity 4/10 Application 5/5

See more photos & swatches!

L’Oreal Mint Ice Colour Riche Le Gloss

Beauty Products Reviews

Thursday, June 27, 2013

MAC Tropical Taboo Mineralize Skinfinishes Review, Photos, Swatches

MAC Tropical Taboo Mineralize Skinfinishes Review, Photos, Swatches

The Glossover

Adored

Product

Pigmentation

Texture

Longevity

Application

Gold Deposit

Product

Pigmentation

Texture

Longevity

Application

Lust

Product

Pigmentation

Texture

Longevity

Application

See more photos & swatches!

L’Oreal Mint Ice Colour Riche Le Gloss Review, Photos, Swatches

L’Oreal Mint Ice Colour Riche Le Gloss Review, Photos, Swatches

The Glossover

Mint Ice

Product

Pigmentation

Texture

Longevity

Application

See more photos & swatches!

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