All posts tagged: cosmetics

Beauty 911: Cracked Powder

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Has this ever happened to you? My sister was toting her shu uemura powder compact, despite its brokenness and inconvenience, because she didn’t want to spring for a new one. These things are a bit on the expensive side, and as you can see from the photo, there’s still a substantial amount left in there for her to use. The compact first cracked when a stranger caught her bag and caused it to slide off the back of her chair. Since then, it’s been on its way to a place beyond repair. I volunteered to try and fix it because it was getting way too messy in her makeup bag. First, you want to grind the pieces into an actual loose powder instead of just the chunks. I poured the contents in a Ziploc bag and ground the pieces into fine powder. The Ziploc bag is a good idea to keep everything neat and also so that you can clean the compact first. If you apply foundation with a brush, you can actually just pour …

Drugstore Finds: Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Coral Crush*

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I got this tube of Maybelline ColorSensational Lipstick from the October box that the folks at BDJ were kind enough to send me. 🙂 It’s in Coral Crush, which if you have been following my blog for a while, isn’t a shade I would normally pick out for myself. Mostly because it is quite warm and orange-y. That color just doesn’t work for me. As far as drugstore lipsticks go, though, these ones by Maybelline are part of the “great quality” bunch. In this swatch, marvel at how opaque the coverage is with just two swipes! Coral Crush is a coral that leans warmer and orange-y, which is not something that is flattering on myself. I think it accentuates the yellow tones in my skin: Because of the slip of these lipsticks, they may go on a little patchily, especially if you have dry flakes. I am not a fan of the scent either. In general, though, if you are looking for a top-notch lipstick at a drugstore price, these might be for you. I …

Quickie: MAC Fix+

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Marketed as a finishing spray, the MAC Fix+ was actually on my radar for another reason entirely. I knew you could use eyeshadows wet to get more intensity from them, but I also knew that water would destroy most eyeshadows. And then, I found out that a solution like MAC Fix+ was a work around, so after much dilly-dallying, I went and got myself a bottle. Thankfully, it works as an Eyeshadow Intensifier fairly well: Just spritz the brush, or onto a dish, and use the damp (not wet!) brush to apply the eyeshadow onto your eye. So easy, it kind of hurts. Also, please observe how intense that eyeshadow became. It is applied without a primer underneath, on both sides. As a setting spray, it works like a charm, too. The mist is pretty fine, which is not what you would expect when you see its nozzle. My makeup stay put throughout the day—I can’t really say anything else about that. One other cool thing about this is that the nozzle locks in place, …

bareMinerals Prime Time Primer Shadow in Bronzed Twig

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Okay, so I’ve had this for a while. It’s basically a colored eye primer from bareMinerals called Prime Time Primer Shadow. I have it in Bronzed Twig. I can’t really explain why I never bothered to use this because as you will see in a bit, it is pretty gorgeous. Check out this swatch in the mean time: It reminds me of the Buxom Stay-There Eyeshadow, because this has quite a bit of sparkle and shine. This one’s a bit more pigmented and opaque, however. Bronzed Twig is a pretty warm, bronze-y midtone brown. It works well as a primer and it adds a lovely dimension and complexity to the eyeshadows you layer on top of it. The applicator and packaging are the almost deal-breakers, I think. It is hygienic, sure, but it is so hard to squeeze the primer out this little hole: Here is Bronzed Twig on my eyes: It’s a pretty easy look. I just applied Bronzed Twig over the mobile eyelid. (I warmed up the product first.) Then, I added a …

Drugstore Finds: Maybelline Master Liner & Baby Lips ♥ Color*

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Two quick reviews on two items I received in my October BDJ Box*. I don’t really have much to say about either of them, so I thought I’d lump them together in one post. 🙂 First up, I have the Maybelline Master Liner in BK-1. It’s a standard, retractable black eyeliner that promises to be smudgeproof and creamy. I would actually argue with that assessment, because it was not creamy at all. It’s kind of hard to apply a hard pencil on delicate parts of your eye that are so close to the opening and the eyeball itself. I don’t want to have to apply too much pressure to achieve maximum pigmentation. Unfortunately, I found that to be the case here. In these swatches, the upper, darker one was achieved by a lot of pressure—too much pressure for upper/lower lid application. The lower swatch is indicative of the amount of pay-off I got when I applied the amount of pressure I would if I were to line my upper lashline. It’s not entirely bad—as you …

BECCA Eye Tint in Baroque

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Ever since trying out the BECCA Beach Tint and liking it, I’ve wanted to try out their eye counterpart—the eye tint. I haven’t gotten my hands on any of them, until now. The BECCA Eye Tint “offers adjustable levels of sheer to high pigment color when applied with a brush or finger.” Basically, it’s just a “semi-sheer créme that tints lids with a soft wash of colour.” Judging from my skin tone, I probably should have known that Baroque would be too light for me. Here’s a fairly heavy swatch that I tried really hard to make opaque. I barely blended it out, but I think you can see the color? It’s a cool-toned greige, in my eyes. Look at how much it doesn’t show up, though. I feel like I’m those evil people who sold the emperor his new clothes. Seriously, this is the pigmentation after many layers of Baroque (Baroque? More like b-roke! Boo, I’m not funny.). Barely any color. I guess a great eye product for a “no makeup makeup look,” but …