Coastal Scents: Camouflage Concealer Palette

http://www.coastalscents.com/

I've been trying to build my kit (and believe it or not... part of my super mac haul does go into my kit) but have been having trouble finding foundation/concealer palettes as they are super expensive or just plain hard to find (I wanted the bobbi brown one, but i've never seen it in Canada)... and buying foundations/concealers individually just isn't ideal, especially if i have to travel with it in my traincase... so i was ecstatic when coastal scents introduced a concealer palette (that aren't tiny either) for only 16.95!

I haven't tried it on myself yet -- i just opened up the package, but i made some swatches and the consistency is very creamy and seems to dry to a nice matte/opaque finish.... needs to be set with powder for sure tho, as when i lightly run my finger across the swatches, the colour transfers easily (but feels powdery soft).... can't wait to use this palette!

Colour Ready Collection

So I wasn't excited about this collection at all... there are no new colours and it's main focus is on the prep+prime products (which I've never used -- except for lips and lashes)... but then I read Temptalia's sneak peak review on the line filler and transparent powder... and it piqued my interest... THEN i got a chance to actually try the transparent powder as well as the skin refined zone treatment myself (which temptalia didn't get to try) and i LOVE LOVE LOVE it (review coming up)... what to do?? Since i already have 2 of the 3 P+P products.. i only need to pick up the line filler... but these items are supposedly limited edition... so should I grab back-ups? oh the dilemma! lol Why must MAC make their skincare products LE? it's really difficult for those who have found their "perfect" routine with new products to only have to find a new one, because their beloved products are discontinued...

Do any of you plan to pick up anything from this launch?

Update (April 1) -- All the new Prep + Prime products are permanent.

MAC haul: Lips

• Flashmode Lustreglass
• Love Nectar Lustreglass
• Fully Charged Pro-longwear in Lustre
• Custom Rose/Pink Virtue Pro-longwear in Lustre
• Unchanging Pro-longwear original
• Pompsity (Frost)
• Strange Hybrid (Frost)
• Port Red (Frost)
• So Scarlet (Amplified Cream)
• Fleshpot (Satin)
• Gentle Simmer Slimshine
• Cult of Cherry Lipglass

MAC Haul: Eyes

• Lucky Jade Shadestick


• Taupographic Shadestick
  
• Sea Me Shadestick


• Grape Pigment


• Steel Blue Pigment


• Mauvement Pigment


• Kitchsmas Pigment


• Rushmetal Pigment


• Lovely Lily Pigment


• Jewelmarine Glitter


• Cool Heat eyeshadow


• Signed, Sealed Matte(2) Pro-pan eyeshadow


• Lashes in #39


• Painterly Paintpot


• Classic Eyes Holiday Palette


• Estee Lauder Sample Palette

MAC Haul: Face

• Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder (yet to be released from the Colour Ready Collection April 2)
• Matte Creme
• Select cover-up colour corrector pink
• Select cover-up NC20
• Studio Touch-up Stick NC30
• Light Flush MSF
• So Ceylon MSF
• Glissade MSF
• Alpha Girl Beauty Powder
• Golden Bronzing Powder
• Ladyblush blushcreme
• Emote blush (matte)

Mac Haul: Skincare, Brushes and Misc.

Can't get enough of taking pics! lol... plus it's my way of avoiding putting everything away, because I honestly have no idea where to put it all.. I have no room left!~ Looks like it's time to do a little spring cleaning and update my swap list!

Here we go:

Tommy set and sample Sean Jean After-shave Balm (for the bf)

• Small Jacquard bag
• Medium Jacquard bag
• Square powder puff
• Latex make-up wedges
• 180
• 183
• 205
• 209
  

• Charge Water Renewal Defence
• Charge Water Youth Aura
• Prep + Prime Skine Refined Zone Treatment
• Oil Control Lotion
• Lightful Essence Serum
• Fix+ Rose
• Travel sized Fix+
• Estee Lauder Cyber White masque
• Studio Moisture Cream
• Travel sized cleanse off oil

Yet to be released:
fix+ Rose (A Rose Romance collection April 23)
Prep+Prime Refined Zone Treatment (Colour Ready Collection April 2)

Day 2 of sale: Teaser

I went to the sale on the second day -- didn't do as much damage as I only went to see what i missed the first day, as well as go for the $5 charity package... it was a disappointment... here's a quick preview of day 2:

MAC Warehouse haul: Teaser

So I went to the MAC warehouse sale today and did some serious damage.... here's a preview:

Review: Sugarsweet Nail Lacquers

General Review:
I didn't take pictures of my nails with the polishes on... i forgot... i was lazy... the swatches are all over the internet anyway... plus i have fairly ugly nails...
on to the review...
the colours are very pretty... however, the applications is soooooooooooo streaky... omg.. it takes 3 coats for either one to get the opaque colour that matches the bottle.. with base and top coats, that's a total of FIVE coats!! ridiculous... the thicker the nail polish, the more prone to chipping.. so i was not pleased with that... i just applied Peppermint Patti... yeah it looks different than "For Audrey" in the bottle... but when on the nails.. the difference is barely noticeable... oh well...
I can't exactly tell you the wear time... i had seasonal peach on Sunday and took it off this evening.. so lasted 3 days with minimal chipping.. but since i had 5 coats on, i found that the polish was cracking down the middle.. something i've never experienced with nail polishes before.. so i thought that was strange (but then again.. i've also never used 5 coats/nail before)... ugh...
overall.. the colours are pretty... but not really worth the time of application....

Seasonal Peach -- Very pretty peach-pink colour with cream finish

Peppermint Patti -- mint green with cream finish

(2.5 out of 5)

Monthly Favourites: March

I wanted to do this for the month of February, but I have been reluctant because it seemed so similar to my "what do you use tag"...
It's difficult to determine favourites of the month for 2 reasons:
1. If I keep mentioning staples, then it's not exactly favourites of the MONTH, but... well.. a staple.. lol
2. If I mention newly acquired products, then it's more like a fad... a honeymoon phase with my new purchases...

So what criteria do I use to make a product the favourite of just one month? Should I divide this into sections? or just blab on? lol I'm making this more complicated than I have to, aren't I?

So lets make this section a trial... and do it for a couple months... then I'll decide whether I want to continue with this..

**Note: Some or a lot of the products mentioned are probably new -- but I never did a haul on it... my collective haul became so large, that I decided to just scrap it and not talk about it.. and just start doing my hauls as I make my purchases so that I don't fall behind anymore.. but in a nutshell my collective haul consisted mostly of MAC products which include permanent and Hello Kitty stuff =]

March Favourites:

Face:
MSF Natural in Medium Plus:
I bought this a few weeks ago and I LOVE it... I've used Bare Escentuals and Everyday Minerals to no prevail. What I really like about the MSF natural is its versatility.

• It's a powder/mineral foundation
• It's PRESSED, so no mess
• It also acts as a finishing powder

I've hit pan (only MAC product I ever hit pan on) of my select pressed powder... and thought about repurchasing... but I don't think I will, since this acts as foundation and as a set powder.
As a foundation, this offers sheer to medium coverage (which I love), depending on your application technique/brush you use... and it really does make my skin look flawless.
I rarely wear any make-up to school (because honestly, I'd rather sleep in)... if you were to see me... lol well you'd laugh cuz I look like a bum =P But with the MSF natural, I can quickly dust some on my face to look a little more polished, even if I don't put anything else on.

Hot Planet Mineralized Blush:
I already wrote a pretty thorough review about why I really love this blush in the previous post... but to quickly reiterate:

• Very pretty versatile and (in my opinion) universal shade
• Everyday shade
• Can be used day or night
• Pigmented
• Long lasting

Lips:
Boy Bait Cremesheen glass:
I really hate lipglasses (but that doesn't mean I dislike all of MACs other lip products)... I find them too sticky/tacky... Boy Bait is a great nude gloss that isn't sticky and has a creamy finish (no glitter or shimmer)... it's a great everyday shade on its own, or compliments other lip colours when layered on top of it such as Creme d'nude (makes the perfect nude lip look) or Lavendar Whip.

Lollipop Loving:
I have a VERY limited list of HG products... I don't really believe in making something HG without using it for a period of time first (especially when it comes to long term products like skincare or foundation). I'm also not much of a lipstick wearer (despite my rapidly growing collection)... but Lollipop Loving was love at first site -- HG! The colour itself, i find is quite unique... light pink-y with a golden-green sheen... and when I first read the colour description I thought "ew... weird... green????"... but I was intrigued and tried it on. It was perfect. Not too dramatic and just the right amount of colour to make this wearable daily -- when i tried it on, I had ZERO make-up on, and it instantly gave my face a "glow"... I had no idea a lip product can do that... it is just PERFECT. I got a back up =)

Eyes:
Girl Groove Glitter Liner:
This is from the Hello Kitty line... I have a lot of glitter liners - I don't use any of them... because I find them very... chunky? its literally glitter in clear liner liquid... so when applied, it is very sheer. But Girl Groove (and all the glitter liners in the HK collection) is very pigmented. The glitters are tiny and the colour payoff is just superb. I find myself grabbing for this and lightly swiping over my black liner to give my over all look a pop, when I go out at night. It's not too intense, but just enough to make my eyes "twinkle".

Fast Response Eye Cream:
I've been wanting this for a while... and Makeupbyrenren's review, just made me want it more... Paula Begouin doesn't approve of this product (and I for the most part respect her reviews and follow them)... but this is a wonder eye cream. Begouin doesn't like it because there is TOO much caffeine in it, potentially causing irritation. Caffeine depuffs and causes capillaries to constrict -- and that is exactly what it does for me. Not only does it depuff my undereyes, the silky silicone texture of the product preps your eyes well for concealer, so that it doesn't settle into the fine lines... I use this every morning.


Well I guess that's it for now. Please leave me feedback on whether you like this 'Monthly favourites' idea or not... what I should or should not review... and just what you guys want to see on this blog in general.. because i'm doing it for you guys... i don't need to write reviews for myself =P

Review: Grand Duos

So I've had my Grand Duos blushes for nearly two weeks now and feel that I can do a proper and more thorough review. The product in general is great because the colours are beautiful, unique and very vibrant and pigmented. My absolute favourite of the three that I own is definitely Hot Planet - it is still the one I reach for every single day... it's such a great and versatile colour.
Moon River... although beautiful to look at in the pan, is just too light for me... don't get me wrong, it's a great highlight colour, but I get the same results from my Blonde MSF from the BlondeBrunetteReadhead Collection...
Finally, Grand Duo... I don't think it's fair i give a review for this one... I have actually only used this once. Not because I don't like it, but because the colour is such a rich plum, it is more suited for night use, and since I haven't been going out -- I haven't had the opportunity to use it... but i absolutely LOVE LOVE the melange side of it.. it's just GORGEOUS!
The lasting power is great! I have my fair share of blushes... and I am so pleased that these ACTUALLY last all day... even longer than NARS! (I find that normal MAC blushes don't last so long, which is a bummer)...
I am missing 4 from the collection, and depending on my upcoming haul to the MAC sale this weekend, I'll decide if i'll complete the collection by picking up the rest =)

(4 out of 5)

Quick Review: Sugarsweet

Overall: The one thing I really wanted from this collection was the Perfect Topping MSF... it didn't look nearly as pretty in person than it does in the promo pictures... also when swatched, it looks exactly the same as the melange side of Moon River (Grand Duos) and Redhead MSF =(
My wishlist thus completely changed...
I ended up getting ALL the shadesticks (these are my first)... even though I originally limited myself to only 3 ... but hey, i figured since no more MSF... more shadesticks!
I also opted out of the triglosses... I wanted Consume Me... but it was the sheerest of them all... so other than it being a collectors item... there was really no point in getting it (plus the testers at the store were already ALL MIXED UP into one colour... ugh...
And finally... I didn't plan on getting any lipsticks from this collection... but oh boy, I'm SO glad i did!!! I have found my HG lipstick!! And that says a lot, because (even though i own a lot of lipsticks now)... i'm not really a lipstick wearer... YAY...
So... the verdict... I LOVE THIS COLLECTION!!!!

Stars n' Rockets: This is from the permenent collection and I actually picked this up last week... I have wanted this colour ever since ilurvemakeup won my contest last summer and got this as her prize... i wore it for the first time today... sooooooo pretty!!!!!!

Red Velvet: I didn't get this at first... I got the other 4 shadesticks... and didn't even contemplate this... then my MAC buddy I was with convinced me (which isn't hard to do lol) by layering Stars n' Rockets over it... soooooooooooo much prettieerrr!!!!!!!

Butternutty: This one is very similar to beige-ing

Penny: This was my ultimate first choice... i had to have it... i love coppers

Lemon Chiffon: This was described as a frosted "pewter"... I don't know about you... but pewter is supposed to be a greyish/chromish colour... this is a very frosty beige...

Cakeshop: I think MAC got their colour descriptions messed up... because this one is descriped as neutral beige... but it swatches as a greenish... almost PEWTER colour... THIS is what I thought Lemon Chiffon was suppose to be... lol

Seasonal Peach: I don't really wear nailpolish... at least I didn't use to because I bite my nails a lot... but I've gotten into it... Seasonal Peach caught my eye because it is such a pretty spring colour... then I was told that this was launched with the original cremesheen collection... which then I thought "oh yeah!! i wanted that!" woohoooooooo!

Peppermint Patti: I wasn't going to get this... because I really wanted to limit myself to only one nail polish.. AND in pictures, it looked way too similar to my "For Audrey" China Glaze... when when I saw it in person... it was just too pretty to pass up!

Lollipop Loving (Glaze): HG!!!!!!!!! LOOOVVVVEEEE!!!!!! OMFG... this is a beautiful colour that works sooooooooo well with my skintone!! This is what I wanted "O" to be!!!!! I LOVE IT SO MUCH THAT I GOT A BACK UP!!! AAAHHHHHHHHH

Saint Germain (Amplified): I honestly don't think this suits me.. but I got it because it was unique... reminded me of Barbie.. and I just didn't want to regret it later... plus I really like amplified creams =)

FOTD: Sugarsweet

FOTD

All MAC products unless otherwise specified:

Face:

QUO Perfect Primer
Studio Sculpt Foundation NC25/NC30

Studio Sculpt Concealer NC25

Select Sheer Pressed NC30

Hot Planet mineralized blush

Eyes:

Fast Response Eye Cream

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Butternutty shadestick

Stars n' Rockets

Parfait Amour

Deep Feeling

Fluidline in Blacktrack

Cover Girl Lash Blast

Lips:
Lip Conditioner

Lollipop Loving lipstick

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

I caved and bought this today... i de-bottled my UDPP into the lipgloss pens... but i find that it's actually drying up.. i contacted Enkore and asked him if the same had happend for him... and he said 'no'... so i have no idea what i've done wrong... i am so pissed about udpp (love the product HATE HATE HATE HATE the packaging)... i decided to try TFSI.... even though i've always been turned off by it whenever i test it on my hand in-store... it seems a lot more... liquidy in consistency.. whereas udpp is more of a paste...

I used it today... and to my surprise... when i squeezed the product out... the consistency is actually very similar to TFSI... that's a plus... and now... 5 hours later... still no creasing!! I'm excited... not only was i turned off by the mixed reviews of it (UDPP reviews were far more superior)... but i was also extremely turned off by the price... but now that UDPP's price jumped to $22 (from $18)... and TSFI is still $24... i figured it wouldn't hurt to try...

so far so good.. i'll see how it fairs on a long school day...

Sugersweet

Sugarsweet Collection Haul


Stars n' Rockets

Red Velvet

Butternutty

Cakeshop

Lemon Chiffon

Penny

Swatches

Lollipop Loving

Close-up Swatch

Covering a huge zit... lol

Saint Germain

Close-up Swatch

Looks nicer in person

Seasonal Peach

Peppermint Patti

Quick Review: Grand Duos

So I decided to do quick reviews on anything new that I buy (and is worthwhile to review)... these quick reviews will consist of my intial thoughts and basically the morphology of the products... then after a week or so (or after a sufficient amount of time that i've tried/used the products) I will do a more thorough review =)

Here we go:

Moon River (blue pink melange/pale yellow pink) -- Like everyone else, this was on the top of my list because it is the most unique one of the bunch. It really is beautiful. It's too light to be a proper blush tho, so it's really more of a highlighter.

Hot Planet (copper yellow melange/midtone plum) -- this was also at the top of my list... it's such a pretty plum colour (i've been using it every day since i got it -- one week) and the melange is a BEAUTIFUL bronzey coppery colour!

Grand Duo (copper pink melange/plum) -- i got this one on the same day, but several hours after the first two... basically it was an impulse buy... this was the ONLY one that i didn't care too much about initially... but for some reason... i bought o_o... as soon as i stepped out of the store i felt a wave of regret... but then when i got home i fell in love... it's a very deep plum colour.. something i don't have in my collectio.. and the melange side is my favourite of the three.

In general: Theses are my very first MAC mineralized blushes. I've always wanted to try the orignal, but never really got around to purchasing them (especially since they went permanent, i wasn't in any rush)... these are apparently a lot more pigmented and more buttery in texture... i can't compare.. but they are certainly SUPER pigmented and smooth =)
They are a little shimmery though, for those who are not too into that....

Grand Duos Collection

Grand Duos Collection

Grand Duo

Top: Melange
Bottom: Solid


Hot Planet

Top: Solid
Bottom: Melange

Moon River

Left: Solid
Right: Melange

Stressed

Sigh... i barely have enough time to update my blog let alone make videos... i'm considering retiring and scrapping my video making altogether... I don't like to do tutorials.. and all i really do now is just haul videos... and i hate feeling like i'm "showing off"... what to do....