MAC All That Glitters Eyeshadow | Not Glittery, Just Pretty

I don’t own a ton of MAC eyeshadows. I only had Brule and Club to my name and now this one which makes 3. I was in search of a wearable eyeshadow that could work the lid scene on its own and not darken the situation. Something you could apply evenly with a single ring finger for both lids…something like the ultimate workhorse champagne beige hue. Behold MAC All That Glitters eyeshadow which ironically isn’t all that glitters…

MAC All That Glitters isn’t at all nearly gold enough to be called rose gold. It’s a true rosy champagne beige with a satiny sheen. It’s kind of like MAC Cosmetics’ version of Stila’s Kitten eyeshadow which is pretty,too, but Stila’s Kitten is so soft and crumbly and with too much fallout for a rush job Vivianna of Vivianna Does Makeup raved about this eyeshadow as the sort that gets people commenting even though sometimes they can’t find the words to describe what’s on your lids. It’s also an obviously wearable bridal shade. I got mine for Php900 from the Rockwell MAC Cosmetics outlet.

My NARS “And God Created the Woman” Eye Kit | Nifty Neutrals in a Helpfully Small Size

Never have I come across a neutral makeup palette set so appropriately named and wonderfully petite.  There are two matte shades (one good for brows), two satin metallic shades (one to highlight), and 2 richly dark shimmer spiked shades.  The title basically also evokes “Naked” in 5 words.  It comes with one #3 soft blending brush and the cherry on top is the NARS Pro Prime Eyeshadow Base, a favorite among the world’s top makeup pros which Lisa Eldridge also likes using.  It could have also been called the Half-Naked palette, it has less fallout than Urban Decay’s Naked eyeshadow range and there are half the number of shades.  I think Eve would have approved.

Mom picked up this NARS palette for me via Duty Free shopping in Thailand, she converted the cost and said it amounted to about Php2400-2500.  I think what makes it worth the 2k mark is the brush and NARS Pro-prime Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base that comes with it.  So many people love this eyelid primer.  What also never fails to impress me about NARS stuff is they always include a good mirror, even for their single eyeshadows and blushes.  This palette is tiny, it’s about 2″ x 4.5″ inches in size, similar to the size of an iPhone 4s but slimmer and lighter.

The “And God Created the Woman Kit” has a very wearable selection of shades and I did my brows using the middle shade from the 2nd row (.  Read more to get the complete shade names and details about how I progressed to this evening look beginning with a daytime version using only 2 shades.

Make Up Store Makeup! – A Look with Lipstick & Cybershadow

This brand, Make Up Store, reminds me a lot of…INGLOT or even the in-house selection of Sephora for some reason and they’re now available here at the 2nd level of Podium mall in Ortigas.  It’s the whole shebang put together, pro quality products, minimalist packaging, great pigment and tons and tons of shades to choose from for a mid-range price.   The Make Up Store’s products aren’t cheap but they won’t break the bank either.  It’s a reliable brand to begin a pro kit with if you’re considering a makeup career or course but can’t afford having a buffet of MAC or Make Up For Ever products at your disposal.  I recall being in one of the Make Up Store’s huge boutiques in Singapore over a year and a half ago and I was overwhelmed.  I nearly walked out with a color corrector/concealer but I was saving my pocket money for something else in Duty Free that time.

MAKE UP STORE Cybershadow in “Golden” Php899.00 and sheer lipstick in “CRISP” for Php 1049.00, MAKE UP STORE PODIUM- (02) 654 5533

The textures and pigment of the products they sent me are good, the eyeshadow is a satin with a hint of a duochrome effect (a peachy coral with gold or a rose gold) the lipstick is a sheer but pigmented high shine finish which applies looking different from the lipstick bullet as you’ll see in awhile.

The packaging is lovely and feels sturdier than MAC cosmetic packaging.  You have the brand name embossed or pressed on both.  My only minor complaint is the eyeshadow has quite a bit of fallout pigment when you use a brush, but it performs similarly anyway to Urban Decay eyeshadow shades which also have quite a bit of fallout.  Read more to see me try these products on.

Beauty Spotting Jan 2013 | So new, so nice, can’t get them here, yet…

I like hearing about new items, even if I can’t get them.  There’s something pervasively thrilling about a beauty item that’s not quite within your reach.  You wonder how it might work, feel, or look on you and you start to imagine how you might come by it and there’s always a story to tell when you’re able to get something that’s not readily available.  Here are a few things I’ve spotted that are quite a delight to look upon and the idea of them is like honey to this bee.  Buzz.

ANASTASIA Bold and Beautiful Kit, for brows and eyes.

We begin with Anastasia’s quite necessary Bold and Beautiful Kit.  You have a Great Gatsby inspired box encasing 2 palette volumes.  One is for brows with 2 brow shades tweezers and a dual sized angled brush and spoolie.  The other palette is a quad of rich neutral colors for eyes also with a dual sided eyebrow brush.  This whole ensemble actually looks like something Urban Decay would do, but way classier.  You can also cheat looking like a bookworm with it.

Image from www.cybelesays.com

Bare Minerals READY Foundation SPF 20, hydrating pressed mineral foundation compact, comes in 20 shades to suit.

Now this new READY foundation product by Bare Minerals (it is about time they got pressed I believe), apart from its heavyweight price, could readily be (pun intended) an instant sellout amongst women 30 upwards in a humid country like ours.  I’m sure a lot of you have asked for Bare Minerals as “pasalubongs” before, like a couple of years back?  And probably still  have pots of the stuff sitting unfinished here and there.  Mineral makeup was a fun trend, but it was awfully messy wasn’t it?  Over here I’d confidently say more than half of the populace prefers to apply powder bases on to fight sweat and shine all day, all night.  They claim it isn’t drying even if it is a pressed mineral formula but what I’m wondering is why they pressed their eyeshadows before their foundation… anyway, I’m inclined to believe that their formula is a knockout considering the age of technology the world is now in.  These mineral compacts are already doing well, but they forgot to do one thing…they forgot to come here.

Now, after all that makeup talk we need something to take it off, oh, excuse me keep it on…or both?!  Shiseido brings to the world an innovative primer called the Fullmake Washable Base that works as a primer but emulsifies when it comes in full contact ONLY WITH WARM WATER.  It does the double purpose of helping your makeup stay well on but it also does the job of carrying your makeup off from beneath when you cleanse your face.  Its sudden emulsifying action reportedly won’t trigger with cold water, only with warm water, so no need to worry about sudden weather changes ruining your face.  Now the thing is…not everyone has heated sinks here, but will that stop me from wanting to try this?  Let me think…uhm, no, haha.  It’s currently pre-selling in Japan, British Beauty Blogger says, but I’m not sure if it’s also scheduled to arrive here in March when it launches globally.

Stila’s In the Know Palette – All The Neutral Mattes I Need

I was actually having a chat with myself when the holiday season came rolling in and concluded that I’m finally over eyeshadow palettes.  Nothing new popping up in new brand collections seemed interesting except for perhaps the “pocket-able” Urban Decay Naked Basics palette which I thought was genius save for one important fact, they didn’t throw in a matte taupe shade or shades you can alternate for brows (brow shades make any palette an instant win).  I was Christmas shopping the other day at Rustans Shangrila Mall with Mom and finally got a much needed alone moment without her (so I could shop for her, which I did) but you know being joyfully alone during the Christmas season in a Rustan’s beauty hall can ultimately lead you to some awesome  discoveries for yourself…like over at the Stila counter for example.

The Stila In The Know eyeshadow palette would make a pretty gift for a beauty enthusiast, a beauty blogger, or a makeup professional with a budding bridal makeup career which involves a nearly neverending use of neutral matte eyeshadows (which are also ideal for mature clients).  I personally think that Stila is the next best brand to Urban Decay you can actually get here locally that reflects the same sort of young urban “it” vibe and there’s something more silky and creamy about their award-winning powder  eyeshadow formulas.  Another in the series of palettes they began releasing, like the “NaturalEyes” palette I blogged about, the In the Know eyeshadow palette comes with 10 pigmented matte shades, 6 of which are nearly identical to the Urban Decay Basics offering which includes a matte black, Ebony.

ROW 1: Air / Wind / Desert / Clay / Earth | ROW 2: Driftwood / Fire / Rain / Smoke / Ebony

Oh, lest I forget (actually editing this in after having already published the post) the palette, just like the Naturaleyes one also comes with a Stila Smudgestick, a blendable waterproof automatic eyeliner in a lovely, rich deep grey shade called “halfmoon”.

The In the Know palette  has won me over because unlike the UD Basics set this set also has a rust shade called Fire, a grey called Smoke, a vanilla shade called Air, and *drumroll* a very wearable taupe called Rain.  The light and darker coffee-like browns included are also slightly more ashy than the ones in the UD Basics palette, thus making this work for brows as well.  At Rustans, the Stila In The Know palette costs Php1750…just so you know locally there isn’t too big of a price hike in comparison to the price on the Stila website where it costs about US$39 which is just under Php1650.  The great thing about this Stila palette is this one  unlike the “Naturaleyes” palette last year, this has got a mirror…and that proves I think that they revised packaging based on consumer feedback.