All posts filed under: Reviews

Quickie: Sonia Kashuk Eye Palette in Precious Gems

Published by

Sonia Kashuk was one of the drugstore brands I was most looking forward to trying when I went to the States. Unfortunately, none of the items I wanted to try out—except for the cream bronzer, which I decided I didn’t need more of—were in stock at the places I went to… so I picked this palette up instead, thinking it was a good move to stray away from my usual neutrals. Unfortunately (again), the Sonia Kashuk Precious Gems Eye Palette is not the best representation of the brand. The six-pan palette features jewel tones, of which the green was best performing, imparting color without much effort. I can’t say the same for the others. For the swatches below, I kind of mangled the palette and applied them on my arm really heavily. My palette now resembles an ice cube tray of colorful molten lava. Swatched, L-R: Green, Blue, Red, Gold, Purple, Brown — these aren’t the color names, FYI.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette

Published by

After hastily swatching the palette—running on a 5-minute before meeting back up with everyone deadline!—I went directly to the counter, patiently waiting to pay for this beauty. The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette features 3 Ambient Lighting Blushes, one of which is limited edition and only available in this palette. I have big love for the Ambient Lighting range by Hourglass, so picking this up was kind of a no-brainer. I resisted getting any of the blushes when they first came out, stubbornly insisting that they were nothing special and I could live without them. And then I caved and my best friend had to be my mule. I picked Diffused Heat and was blown away because it was just so stunning. The Ambient Lighting Blushes have pigment marbled into the famed Ambient Lighting Powders, aimed to create a “seamless, soft-focus, and multidimensional color.”

My Picks from BITE Beauty

Published by

BITE was always one of the brands that I had been itching to try out since finding out about them. What sets them apart from all the other lipsticks out there is that they use food-grade ingredients, which means that, technically, these lip products are safe for you to actually ingest. Their tagline is “Lip color that’s good enough to eat.” Sometimes, a range or a brand can be a tad bit overwhelming that you don’t really know where to start, so you don’t even begin the exploration. Luckily, my trip happened, although I am also a little disappointed that I didn’t get to decide on everything I wanted and ended up getting just three things. What I really, really wanted to try was the BITE Agave Lip Mask, which is a lip treatment that is supposedly a godsend. I mentioned it in an earlier haul as well as a favorites post, and truthfully, this stuff is amazing. I’m not a fan of the scent, but that’s not a deal-breaker, as I just need for …

Cle de Peau Beauté Eye Color Quad in 307 Stellar Gaze

Published by

As far as high-end, truly luxury makeup goes, Cle de Peau has always been off the table for me. I don’t think I can live with myself if I spent $60 on a single sheer lipstick. As it happened… I was at Barneys one day and made heart eyes at the new eye color quad display for Fall 2014. And then, I blacked out and ended up with one of the quads. Or, I guess I should say, one of the refills. Like I said, CdP is very much “up there” when it comes to pricing. After I came to terms with spending $50 (plus tax!!!) on an eyeshadow quad, the lady asked me if I was interested in the $25 case. Ex-squeeze me?? I don’t think so, pushy SA who shall remain nameless. The mechanism of the refill is a “pop in” instead of magnetism. Which means that these aren’t going to stick to your Z-palettes by themselves. So, I’ve been keeping the quad in its plastic shell and box… like someone who has …

Quickie: NARS Audacious Lipstick

Published by

Another Wes Week interlude: a quick look at the NARS Audacious Lipstick, of which I got two shades. (The other one pictured here, Janet, is my sister’s!) The ones I got, Dominique and Julie are Barneys exclusives (dunno what that means, as the shades are described as permanent in the range). Janet, Julie, Dominique These new lipsticks are slightly more expensive than the regular NARS lipsticks ($32 compared to $26) but they also have a bit more product (0.14 oz. compared to 0.12 oz.), but I don’t think a lot of us actually compute when we buy makeup… Hehe. When I extended the bullet all the way, I was surprised to see how small the bullet was, so I’m a bit pleased to learn that it actually contains more than the standard NARS lipstick.

Rounding Things Out: MAKE Colour New Medieval Palette

Published by

Just an interlude from the Wes posts (I’ll just be posting two more): an actual review! You know when you’re “not collecting” things, but you have one or two things missing from your “non-collection” and it just seems wrong not to get the last one? Well… That’s what happened here. MAKE Colour, a New York based brand that I am pretty much in love with, currently has four palettes, three of which I already had… which left the New Medieval Palette. This was what I originally wanted when I discovered MAKE (though this was the only one they had out at the time, if I remember correctly), so I kind of had my heart set on it already anyway. Sidenote Check out my other reviews for the Aether Palette*, Post-Impressionism Palette, Celeste e Verde Palette*. True to the direction of their other collections, this MAKE palette, created by Faye Toogood in collaboration with Ayami Nishimura, draws inspiration from specific sources, in this case the “Romantic landscapes” of J.M.W. Turner and John Constable. This is probably …

MAKE Colour Soft Focus Foundation: An Impulse Buy that Worked Out for the Best

Published by

Yeah, yeah, another base product… I really didn’t mean to buy, but ended up trying and liking the MAKE Colour Soft Focus Foundation (I was matched to Cool #4) and impulsively buying it BUT! It turned out to be for the best and I shall tell you why. In an attempt to be supah efficient at makeup-packing, I ended up panicking and overstuffing my makeup bag with makeup. All of which I’ve used and loved having around, mind you, but still—unnecessary. I brought a mineral powder foundation, underestimating just how DRY THE AIR IS IN THE EAST COAST. Man alive, I had so much trouble with my skin for about two weeks… I ended up slathering my face with several moisturizers and oils, and towards the end of the second week of skin hell, I wore this foundation and found that it super suited my situation.