Mini MAC Haul: More A Fantasy of Flowers: Dreaming Dahlia Lippie & A Basic Essential

In confirming that my brian is indeed getting older, the following post was started pre exam season, that is, way back in March and sadly I thought I had posted it when I evidently did NOT. I figured I might as well complete the post and so the following is  what you should have seen way back then. OOPS!

"Exam season is fast approaching and I have been ridiculously swamped with work these past few weeks so please accept my apology for the shortage of new posts in the past few weeks. I did manage to sneak in a small 2-bit MAC haul this past weekend (gone are the days of my large hauls apparently) and got the following items:

•  MAC Dreaming Dhalia Lipstick and
•  MAC Brush Cleanser

I went to MAC with the intention of leaving with only the MAC Brush Cleanser.  Of course, being a lipstick junkie, I had to stay true to my nature and just HAD to purchase a lippie. Dreaming Dahlia from the MAC A Fantasy of Flowers collection was a lipstick that spoke to me when I had first seen it. It somehow become stuck in my mind and in the end I broke down and ended up buying it."


CONTINUATION of post:

Whilst I normally dislike Lustre finishes, I felt that DD was a great everyday-brighten you face type of colour with one swipe and which could be built up to go from sheer to almost full coverage to provide more of an 'oomph'. 

MAC describes this lipstick as a 'sheer red coral'  but it pulls almost a pinky orange shade on me. That might just be the worst colour description ever but it really looks beautiful! Since i've gotten it, it has become one of my go to lip colours!

I feel like this lipstick has a lot of shimmer as well which gives it a luminous shine. The lipstick itself applies evenly and smoothly and does not feel gritty at all. Overall, this lipstick really is a winner!

MAC Dreaming Dahlia on my nc 42/43 complexion! Swatches in different lighting with the final picture taken using flash!

I know this post is super late but hopefully it helps one of you guys out there with a decision with regards to this lipstick. Btw, the brush cleanser is gonna get its own post soon! xx

I'm BACK!

Hey Guys! hope some of you are still here! I had a senile moment and thought that I had posted a 'leave of absence' post where I explained my upcoming exams and the need to go into total hibernation mode. Unfortunately it didn't infact post..I do apologise for that! buuuuuuuuuuuut

My exams are finally over and i'm ready to re-enter the world guys! Over the past few months I've bought the following products:

Collective Haul!

• MAC Brush Cleanser (not pictured oops!)
• MAC Proenza Schouler Collection- Ocean City Blush, Sunset Beach Blush,Mangrove Lipstick
• MAC Alluring Aquatic Collection- Seduced at Sea EDBlush, Goddess of the Sea Lipstick
• MAC Dreaming Dahlia Lipstick 
• MAC Studio Fix Fluid
• MAC Studio Careblend Powder 
• MAC Studio Finish Concealer
• SACHA Matte Me Berry Lipstick

Now I'll review these products over time after i've tested them etc but for now i'll just provide pics and swatches in quick posts! Off to do that now but just wanted to quickly do an 'i'm back post'! I hope some of you readers are still out there xx

Mini Haul: L.A. Girl Pro Conceal and NYX Conceal

Hey guys! I'm sorry i've been so MIA but school is really really killer right now! I'm just here to do a quick post about a Wonderful World mini-haul. These are actually my first makeup purchases since my MAC Fantasy of Flowers mini-haul back in January. 

Everything seems to be mini these days as i'm trying not to let my love of makeup get the better of me this year. 

Anyway here it goes:

That's my haul...remember I did say it was a mini-haul..mini as in minuscule! 

I was killing some time browsing around Wonderful World with no intentions of purchasing anything at all when I remembered that I had seen a local MAC makeup artist post a few weeks ago that they had restocked the 'L.A. Girl Pro-Conceal High Definition Concealer'. I searched and searched and simply wasn't finding any so I thought I was too late and it was again sold out. 

It was during my search that I stumbled upon the 'NYX Full Coverage Concealer' in the traditional corrector shades at $40.00 each. I grabbed the Orange shade to try as i've been eyeing the MAC Colour Corrector in orange for the longest while. It's recommended that an orange corrector can be used, for lack of a better term, to CORRECT those greyish areas that women of colour seem to get when they use concealer or foundation over discolourations. Traditionally for me these areas include the muzzle area (around the mouth) and under my eyes. 

After wandering the store with only tthat in my basket I proceeded to check out the jewellery. The LA Girl Concealer just would not leave my mind though and I again went over to peruse the LA Girl display. it was then that I found the concealers tucked into the display close to the ground. You really had to look to the back to see them as the ones to the front had been sold. Unfortunately the shade range was really limited and the deeper colours were obviously sold out.

Each concealer was $15 so I decided to pick up two. I left the shades that were clearly too light for me such as Nude and chose two in the shades 'Medium Bisque' and 'Warm Sand'

Medium Bisque to the top and warm sand to the bottom!

I honestly would never have given these concealers a second glance before I stumbled upon some glowing reviews on the internet late last year. Ever since then i've been interested in trying them out and I finally had my chance today.

The concealer comes in a tube packaging with a squeeze top head with a brush attached. It's not bad packaging per say but I do find that the brush head tends to be wasteful in that you don't have control over just how much comes out. Additionally, I find that this sort of brush tends to be unsanitary but that's just me.

 Below i've included the swatch of the concealer in Medium Bisque.

Medium Bisque: Top photos without flash, bottom with!

Whilst blended out the colour seems decent, this shade has too much of a pink undertone so that it's not the best for my NC42 complexion.

Below are the swatches of Warm Sand which again has too much of a pink undertone to work for me.

Warm Sand, top no flash, bottom with flash!

So far i've run water over the concealer, washed with soap and rubbed vigorously in order to test them. Once they set they stay put and i've found that they stand up to liquid soap pretty well. They definitely seem worth the price so hopefully i'll be able to find my shade soon.

Up next is the NYX Concealer in the shade orange. This shade is generally considered a corrector shade as I mentioned before.

I hate that it's in a jar but when I remembered that I have my handy new spatula which I can use to remove some product and then wipe clean all was well again.

A little bit of this product goes a long way and its definitely an orange colour when applied.

No flash and flash from left to right!

I'll have to do a detailed review of how this works later but so far the staying power is pretty good.

I've also included some snaps of my mixing palette and spatula which I got off Amazon at a really good price. They both feel hefty, and the quality exceeds my expectations. They both came in a pouch which has a separation for the palette and the dual ended spatula. This is a purchase i'd recommend to anyone. I'll include the link soon. 

I hope you guys enjoyed this post! Take care!

MAC Phlox Garden & Sassy Moss Fluidlines!

So today my little black box finally arrived! For those of you who may not know, MAC ships orders in black boxes so when you see your box you know exactly who it's from. As you may recall in my MAC A Fantasy of Flowers post , I purchased both the limited edition fluidlines, Phlox Garden and Sassy Moss!

Before I review i've added a fun pictorial of the unboxing!

My Black Box is here!

On Opening!

Removed the first layer of black tissue!

Lifted off the second layer to reveal both fludlines!

I'll share my first thoughts and opinions on them below.

 MAC PHLOX GARDEN FLUIDLINE

I've been lusting after this fluidline from the moment  I first saw pictures of it late last year. The fluidline is a purple fuschia colour with an almost plum undertone. It's definitely unique compared to anything in my collection. It has a matte finish and it goes on smoothly and opaquely.

MAC SASSY MOSS FLUIDLINE

Sassy Moss is a beautiful bright green almost teal looking colour with a shimmery finish. Despite this it goes on really well though not as smoothly as Phlox Garden! I can't believe I almost skipped this colour because I may actually love this one even more than Phlox Garden.

Pic with flash!

It's been about 6 hours since i've swatched these and they are holding up pretty well. I've washed my hand at least three times and they've only just faded slightly. The wear time seems to be pretty good. If you love your fluidlines then you'll def love these as well! I won't hesitate to recommend these to anyone!

Leave me any of your thoughts and comments below! xx

MAC A Fantasy of Flowers (Spring 2014 Collection)

Since late last year there were pictures of a beautiful pink/purple fluidline floating around called Phlox Garden which I knew HAD HAD HAD to be mine.

I really love MAC's fluidlines and for whatever reason every time a limited edition colour comes out I feel the serious need to purchase it. However, this year I'm trying to be smarter about my makeup purchases so I was able to skip some that came out with the Magnetic Nude collection.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand!

A Fantasy of Flowers

MAC Promo Image

MAC Promo Image

This collection is currently available online at MAC. It went up on Wednesday night and I was able to place my order of the two fluidlines which I will review for you as soon as they are shipped to me. This collection is scheduled to be released in MAC stores in the US on February 6th 2014 but although the International release date is carded for March 2014 i'm not sure if or when we'll be getting this here in Trinidad. 

This collection has a garden/floral theme appropriate for those of you in the US with a spring season. Here in Trinidad we don't have four seasons so I maintain that we can wear the colours we wish to whenever we want. 

The colours are all limited edition and many reviews and swatches can be found online. I encourage you to google the products and check out the reviews so you can familiarise yourself with the collection to be able to snag what you want when the collection is released locally or online at MAC and retailers such as Nordstrom.

This is MAC's big Spring collection and most of the products are limited edition as is usually the case.

Lipstick ($16US as of February 1st when MAC does their first annual price release)

All shades are the in the Lustre finish. From left:

• Fleur d’Coral (pale creamy peach)

• Naked Bud (neutral nude)

• Dreaming Dahlia (sheer red coral)

• Rose Lily (sheer pastel pink)

• Snapdragon (midtone blue-based pink)

• Heavenly Hybrid (midtone berry)

Cremesheen Glass ($21 with price change)

From left:

• Nectarsweet (soft pink peach)

• Flare of Fantasy (midtone pinky beige)

• Pagoda (frosted cool pink; repromo)

• Playful Petal (magenta)

• Star Quality (bright orange-coral; repromo)

• Galaxy Rose (midtone violety pink)

Mineralize Eyeshadow ($22)

These shadows were actually released in Asia only back in 2013 and are as follows from left:

• In the Meadow (shimmering white, pale yellow, dirty olive green, yellowed mint)

• Pink Sensibilities (pinky brown, icy blue-based pink, chocolate brown, yellow-based pink)

• Golden Hours (golden brown, pale yellow gold, copper bronze, soft golden peach)

• Great Beyond (deep blue-violet, icy white lilac, dirty plum, soft mauve)

Mineralize Skinfinish ($31) 

From left:

• Perfect Topping (pearly pale pink) (repromote although review suggest that they aren't the same as original releases)

• Stereo Rose (coppery bronze)(reprobate where again there seems to be changes from original release)

Mineralize Blush ($27) 

From left:

• Azalea in the Afternoon (medium cool pink) 

• Petal Power (coral pink with gold shimmer)

Pigment ($22)

 From left:

• Lily White (buttery yellow with shimmer)

• Chartreuse Bouquet (acid green with shimmer)

• Pink Pearl (lavender-pink with shimmer; permanent)

• Violet (purple; permanent)

Fluidline ($17)  LOVE LOVE LOVE

From left:

• Phlox Garden (shimmery violet) 
• Sassy Moss (shimmery bright green)

Nail Lacquer ($16)

From left:

• Girl Trouble (glittery pink) (permanent)

• Pep Pep Pep (pale peachy nude) (repromote)

• Saint Germain (light cool pink) (permanent)

• Soiree (sparkly bronze gold (repromote)

Other

From left:

• Haute & Naughty Lash Mascara ($22)

• 286 Duo Fibre Tapered Blending Brush ($33)

• 159 Duo Fibre Blush Brush ($36)

• 187 Duo Fibre Face Brush ($43)

Let me know what you guys got or are interested in! I'll be sure to update once I find out the release info for Trinidad!

Nailpolish Quickie: Orly Coachella Dweller

As any beauty obsessed person knows, the obsessions extends to all things  beauty related! My nail polish collection is rather large so I thought i'd share some colours with you. Maybe everytime I do a colour change i'll pop on here and do a mini review with some pics. What do you guys think of that idea?

Orly Coachella Dweller

I picked this up last year at Wonderful World for $43 TT. It's not from the permanent Orly range but was in fact from the Orly Spring 2013 Freedom Collection. Of course in Trinidad we rarely get products simultaneously with their US release dates so I picked this up around September or so. I was having a pastel phase or moment and so the pale pastel green creme polish was right up my alley. The shade is pastel green yet it's still a bit bright, maybe muted green might be a better description...ughh I suck at colour descriptions. Additionally the name "Coachella Dweller" only added to my attraction to this polish because I love the boho-hippie vibes associated with the well known Coachella Music Festival.

The colour applies relatively well for a creme shade. Two coats of this polish will give you just about the right coverage. The colour is not too thick so that it becomes goopy when trying to apply a second coat which is always a plus. However you do have to apply carefully to ensure that there is no streaking. IMO the brush head needed to be wider for a posh of this formula.  I'd give it a 3.8/5 for application.

The colour is pretty long lasting as well although nailpolish tends to chip very easily on me so I may not be the best person to judge the longevity of a nailpolish.

2 Coats! No top coat added!

Still gotta clean my edges!

Picture taken with flash!

Lipstick Storage Woes

Hey guys, just wanted to do a quick post so here it comes:

My first love is lipstick and so of course i've accumulated lots of them. About 2 years ago when I had now started getting into lipstick I stumbled across these great acrylic 12 lipstick storage containers. When I say stumble I mean I popped into a small boutique in a Mall in Port of Spain and saw them at the great cost of $60 TT (or $40, I really can't remember). I bought one and the following day I returned and bought the other.

From that day onward i've always wished that they had more because I quickly outgrew the storage capacity. I had managed to convince myself that I would find a store selling these storage containers  at such great prices and there was in fact a point where nobody was selling them at all. I would usually browse online for similar products but I always felt that they were way too expensive compared to the steal of a deal I got that day.

Let's fast forward to the present day where I finally took the plunge and had my mom order me a 24 lipstick holder storage container off Amazon as one of my birthday presents. At $8.99 US I thought that it would have been a great deal. Of course though Customs totally screwed me over and I found myself paying $85 TT in shipping and customs duties when I shipped it via my Skybox.

The biggest kicker of all was that this product was extremely disappointing. Below I'll review the both products mentions.

Acrylic 12 Lipstick Holder

What I loved most about this product was the fact that it was a dedicated lipstick holder. It didn't have any of the larger spaces for other products and so when in use it gave my lipstick storage a very sleek look. The quality is amazing with the acrylic being thick and clean cut with stylish edges. I really really love this product and I remain on the lookout for a few more.

Empty!

Filled with lipsticks!

Close up- hopefully you can see the edges and thickness of the material!

Acrylic 24 Lipstick Holder 

This product actually ended up costing $135 TT which was waaaay more than I had intended to spend. What's even worse is the fact that it isn't even worth the money. It's smaller than anticipated and arrived in a cheap thin white cardboard box. The product itself is cut cleanly but with no sort of design. It looks so basic and CHEAP! Plain talk bad manners! Additionally, the actual slots for lipsticks can only hold my MAC lipsticks and are actually smaller than the slots in the holder discussed above. I feel like i've been ripped off. The only slight saving grace of this product is the fact that it takes up less space and so it may be more efficient in that regard. Of course these are just my opinions and I may have had higher expectations based on the holders I already owned.

What I saw on opening the box! :( 

Didn't seem to get any better!

Filled with lippies!

Below I've added a picture of the  two products side by side so that you can see for yourself!

You can see which one holds my heart!

Acrylic lipstick holders can be bought in Trinidad from Simple Spaces Ltd. which is an actual store located in St. James as well as from the online store Makeup Haven. The images provided by these sellers seem to be of a better quality and of course the prices are much better! It's been a lesson learnt in terms of hoping to find a product much cheaper on Amazon (although this is the first time that this has failed me). Hopefully you guys find this review helpful!

I've noticed a lot of you guys reading but not commenting. :( Feel free to leave your thoughts and let me know if you have seen the lipstick holders in other places in TT. Take care!

PS. When I speak about acrylic lipstick holders here I'm referring to the ones that provide spaces for lipstick only. There are a few other places that sell the acrylic cosmetic holders.