All posts filed under: Counter Swatch

Lipstick Menu: April 2015

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Sometimes I feel like my compulsion to shop is just that: a compulsion. I don’t need any other makeup thing, to tell you the truth. After I’ve filled my virtual cart with the things I think I need, I click out of the window and look through my stuff. I have a six-slot lipstick holder on my desk and I’ve taken to switching out lipsticks from my considerably bigger case in my big drawer to these slots so I can concentrate on my chosen ones. For April, these are the lipsticks that I’ve chosen.

Swatchfest and First Impressions: Oslo Cosmetics

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No joke. Every time I see a new purchase I receive in the mail, The National plays in my head: “Oh you’ve done it again, Virginia…” Except my name is Carina but I think I get the point. Anyway. This is a second order I placed for Oslo Cosmetics mid-December. It got shipped out on the 31st and I only got it today. Welcome to International Shipping! This time, my order is much smaller. I got 5 eyeshadows, a lip slick, an eye primer thing, and a blush sampler. I got a sample of a blush for free. Here us everything, swatched, but of course, I’ll talk a bit about each thing I bought. As you can see, I am the world champion at sucking at swatches. Swatched, L-R: Voltanis, Winter is Coming, Lux, Andromeda, Asterism eyeshadows, Hibiscus Lip Slick, Sextens, Equillus, Caille, Indi, Gemini, and Pictor blushes. Voltanis is a kind of a patina’d gold that’s pretty frosty as a finish. It’s described as a “Smoldering, metallic, deep primal gold.” It’s quite pretty and …

Swatchfest: bareMinerals Degress of Dazzling

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Hey everyone! Here’s a quick swatch post for one of the few holiday items I ended up buying this year (I’ve been good, I swear!). I’ve gone crazy overboard last year, so I am taking my makeup purchases very seriously this year. This wasn’t supposed to be a purchase, since I am trying to cut down on eyeshadows and a 20-pc. set is not a step in the right direction, but I asked Sarie to look out for it for me in CA, since the set was on sale from $79 to $49 online and in actual bareMinerals stores (not counters). Luckily, she was able to find a set on one of her last few days out there. Similar to last year’s set, A Vision in Velvet (review), this set contains 20 eyecolors, but Degrees of Dazzling is such a way better deal, in my opinion, since the 20 colors come in 4 different finishes, whereas last year’s colors were divided into just two: mattes (or velvets) and satins. The swatches will be divided according …

Out now: Le Métier de Beauté’s Galore Palette

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I’ve been noticing a trend going on with Le Métier de Beauté Palettes. I think Galore is the third or fourth 8-pan blush/eyeshadow palette they’ve released lately. I received an email from Nyidera Edwards, an LMdB makeup artist at the Saks Fifth Avenue counter in Bala Cynwyd Pennsylvania, with some swatches. Designed by Mikey Castillo, the Director of Makeup at Le Métier de Beauté, Galore has 4 blush shades: Dusk (a classic pinky-peach), The Factory (a bright pink), Coral Reef (a golden shimmered warm coral), and Punta Cana (a satin blonde bronze). It also has 4 eyeshadow shades: Topaz (warm shimmering copper), Quartz (soft lavender), Tanzanite (deep indigo with flecks of gold), and Diamond Noir (glinting onyx). The palette is priced at $125 and is only available at Saks Fifth Avenue. You lucky ducks in the US can place an order by calling Nyidera at 610-667-1550 ext. 169. If you decide to check it out, let Nyidera know that I sent you! 🙂 This post is not sponsored. Le Métier de Beauté is cruelty-free.

Counter Swatch: NARS x Andy Warhol

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I dropped by the NARS counter yesterday and took a few quick swatches of their holiday collection, which is a collaboration with Andy Warhol. Sarie asked Robbie, the SA, to hold an Edie Set for me, but I wanted to look at some of the other products, too. The sets are rather pretty. The two collections that are not exclusive to Sephora seem to be available here, except for the polishes. TV Party, an orange shade, is the only individual polish that seems to be available in Manila. The Larger Than Life Lipglosses (Php 1450) are the first ones I swatched. In order, from the top: Viva, Penny Arcade, International Velvet, Candy Says, and Holly Woodlawn. The formulation is rather nice, though sticky. I was turned off by gloss a few years ago, and this is the first one I’ve tried—and liked—since “going off” of glosses. The Soft Touch Shadow Pencils are a tricky subject, something I’m willing to try, but perhaps not right now. Top to bottom, Calabria (not part of this collection, but …

Counter Swatch: Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain

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These babies caught my eye while I was browsing Watsons with my mom last Sunday. Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains are like little chubby crayons, much different from their previous lip stain line, which were more like felt-tip markers. I swatched all the available shades there, but didn’t bother to look at the names, but I am quite certain these are the names, L-R by row: (1) Rendezvous, Smitten, (2) Darling, Sweetheart, (3) Charm, Precious, (4) Cherish, Lovesick. I’ll check again, though. These are heavyweight stains. After swatching, I went around stores looking at clothes (of course, careful not to stain them), and they didn’t budge. The gloss wore away pretty quickly, but the colors stayed put. I had to wipe these off to swatch some Shu Uemura items, and there were a few leftover stains, particularly from the two bottom shades. The product’s name—Kissable—has just been brought to light. One thing I like about these are that they are retractable—no sharpening and (in theory) no wasted product! The formulation is oddly creamy for …