Revlon nearly naked foundation review and comparison

Revlon has closely copied Urban Decay's naked foundation! You can check out my review for Urban Decay's version here.

Unfortunately, nearly naked does not come with a foundation pump. Why Revlon why? And, this Canadian version does not come with SPF 20 like the US version. WTH!? That makes me mad.

 I got the lightest shade, 110 ivory. I thought it would be too pink but it actually works well on my skin (NC10). It blends in nicely, and the finish is very skin-like

Nearly naked 110 ivory swatch on hand:

blended:

And here are the before and after pics on my face. Yeah I know I labeled it 'almost naked' lol. oops.

As you can see it is medium coverage, and easily covers redness and scars. I love the finish of this. It blends so beautifully.

So, here is the break down on how Revlon compares to Urban Decay's formula:

Price:
Revlon nearly naked $10.97 CAD for 1oz / UD naked skin $45 CAD for 1 oz
Revlon is $34 cheaper!

packaging:
Here is where UD excels! UD comes in a nice pump bottle, while Revlon is housed in a glass bottle with a twist off cap.

formula:
I don't have exact ingredients to compare but both include antioxidants to help skin. They also both contain a lot of silicones, but I did notice Revlon's version uses less than UD.

Coverage:
Both have similar coverage power, ranging from light to medium.

application:
I felt that Revlon was easier to blend than UD. UD went on a bit patchy, and you're supposed to use an expensive brush with it that is just a waste of money in my opinion, although others say it's amazing. Revlon was a dream to put on and it layered well.

finish:
Revlon actually feels light on, while UD felt heavy. They both have a nice skin-like finish. I found UD to badly sink into pores/lines after an hour or so, Revlon barely did that, and when it did, it was hardly noticeable.

wear time:
UD wore well for about 6 hours. Revlon wore for about 8 before starting to fade.

Overall, I wasn't impressed with UD naked skin, but I really liked Revlon nearly naked. It looked more natural and felt a lot lighter than UD. It covered nicely and it blended easily. It didn't settle into pores the way UD did.
The color match was good for both brands, and they have a wide selection for most skin tones. I would recommend Revlon nearly naked to everyone!

I personally like Revlon colorstay foundation better than nearly naked for it's lasting power. I will probably stick with that but nearly naked was a nice surprise for a cheap price!

Repurchase? No (I like colorstay better)

Price: $10.97 CAD

Rating: 4.5/5

Some slytherin green EOTD looks using Kat Von D gypsy palette

I have some pics to share from before my camera croaked, in salutation to Harry Potter I present my slytherin green eyeshadow looks.
These were all done with Kat Von D's amazing gypsy palette. Sadly this is one of the only palettes that is really hard to find now because it was limited edition.

I hope to inspire those that own the gypsy palette to play with the different colors and try new looks.
If you don't have the gypsy palette well I assure you there are dupes of these colors out there.

To dupe the colors in gypsy try MAC carbon, club, trax and bitter eyeshadows as well as true chartreuse pigment. Also try NARS night porter eyeshadow and The body shop 08 emerald eye shimmer shadow to create the same effects seen below.
Sorry I don't have a dupe for the cream eyeshadow, as it was pretty dried up when I got this palette :/

true love palette gypsy:

Here is my most recent dark smokey green EOTD that I wore to see harry potter and the deathly hollows part 2:

Full slytherin face:

Another lighter green EOTD:

And here I used all the colors on the right side of the gypsy palette. I adored this look.

Thank you for looking! And to my fellow Harry Potter fans, what did you think of the movie?

Max Factor false lash effect mascara review

Any mascara with the words 'false lashes' instantly grabs my attention. I'm obsessed with thick, long full eyelashes, but I don't like using actual falsies. Any mascara that claims to have the same effect as falsies is an instant buy.
I should mention that this mascara was sent to me from a friend in the UK for me to try, she knows how obsessed I am with mascara haha.

False lash effect comes in a huge black tube, shaped rather familiarly...
I've seen this somewhere before...

False lash effect brush:

Can anyone guess what other mascara this resembles? One that comes in an orange tube maybe..?
How odd that this looks just like cover girl lash blast only painted black!
More on that later, let's see if false lash effect really makes lashes look fake.

Well, no it doesn't give me fake looking lashes. I have yet to find a mascara that actually makes lashes look fake, but the closest would be diorshow blackout.
What false lash effect did do was give length, separation and held onto curl nicely.

wearing Max factor false lash effect:

I really like this mascara because it gives your lashes that fuller look by separating the lashes. I also loved the length it added.
What I didn't love was that after a few hours I would get little black specks flaking off onto my face. No smudging, just some slight flaking. The funny thing is that Cover girl lash blast did the exact same thing on me. I can't help but wonder if these mascaras are identical. I haven't used lash blast in a long time but from what I remember it performed exactly the same as this!
Overall this mascara is pretty nice, but do beware that it might flake a bit. The waterproof version could be a better option for longer wear.

Anyone wanting to try out false lash effect but can't get Max factor, don't worry just go pick up cover girl lash blast.

repurchase? possibly in waterproof version, or might just go for waterproof lash blast!

rating: 4/5

price: £10.99

MAC Ever hip lipstick swatches and some comparisons

I don't know about you but I'm into coral pink colors lately. I think coral suits all skin tones and brightens up the face nicely.
Ever Hip lipstick first came out with MAC's Liberty of London collection, and was recently re-released in the fashion flower collection for spring 2011.
I grabbed it right away when I saw it at the counter, I knew I'd love it.

MAC ever hip swatch:

It's a cremesheen finish, which means it isn't drying (yay) but doesn't last more than an hour or two on the lips.

wearing ever hip:

I adore this color because it looks really flattering against pale skin. It brightens up my face and adds a touch of color. I really think that everyone should own a color something like this, it's nude but a little brighter and fun for summer.

I've taken the chance to compare ever hip with some other similar colors all found at the drugstore. I know not everyone uses MAC or can find sold out colors, so here are some other options that are more easily found.

Left to right:

Mac Ever hip, Maybelline pink please, Wet n Wild 903C just peachy, Revlon coral reef gloss

Swatches:

Mac Ever hip, Maybelline pink please, Wet n Wild 903C just peachy, Revlon coral reef gloss

- Maybelline pink please is definitely more pink than coral. There is just the tiniest hint of peachy coral in it for those that only want a tiny pop of color. see more swatches of this here.

- Wet n wild mega matte 903C just peachy is more peach than coral, but it's definitely got a warm orange tone to it. It looks really bright on my lips for some reason and I don't wear it very often. It could be the matte-ness of the color that makes it seem brighter when applied.

- Revlon super lustorous lipgloss in coral reef is very similar to MAC ever hip. It is almost the exact same color. I think it is just a touch brighter. I'd recommend this if you are looking for a true coral color. The great thing about it is that you can sheer it out or layer it on heavily depending on how much coral you like.

here is a swatch of Revlon coral reef on the lips:

Another lipstick by Revlon that is similar to ever hip is called pink in the afternoon. I don't own it but I do believe that the color would be almost identical as it is also a nude toned coral pink.

What kinds of colors are you liking lately now that the summer is approaching?

Wet n Wild Greed ColorIcon Palette photos, swatches and EOTD

Please excuse the lack of posts lately, life is just crazy right now! It's great though because I've recently been able to grab a few new things to review in the future. I can't say what, it's a secret!

I am not really a big fan of Wet n wild palettes myself, but I couldn't resist the colors in this one. Especially the shimmery golden peach/pink color, it's really beautiful!


I found the pigmentation of these shadows pretty good. Compared to the silent treatment trio I had tried before I liked this way better!

The matte colors are really nice and creamy, very blendable and dense pigment. The shimmery ones are ok, not as pigmented as I had hoped. I found them to be a little chalky, but they did blend well.

Swatches of greed, shimmer colors (top) and matte colors (bottom) :

My EOTD using all three of the shimmer colors:

I used my favorite color (the pink gold) all over the lid. I should add that to really make them pop I applied the matte flesh toned color all over my eyes before applying the shimmery colors.


please excuse the brows as I was trying to grow them out when these pics were taken!

I don't reach for this palette very much because I am mostly wearing neutrals and bronzey colors these days, but I think I will play around with it some more and see what I come up with.

I really don't think you can go wrong with this for $6... even if it is just for one of the colors!

I should also mention that the purple color with gold sparkle is a dead on dupe for NARS stada! I hated strada because it didn't show up on me nearly as nicely as it looked in the pan. This wet n wild color however, (I think the single color is called 'kitten') is far more smooth than NARS and actually looks great over a primer.

I love finding cheap dupes that are even better than the more expensive brand ;) have you found any great dupes lately?

MAC gentle mineralize blush photos, swatches and FOTD

Gentle is another supremely pigmented mineralize blush from MAC. The color is a deep raspberry, a mix of pink and red with golden shimmer. Although it seems cool from the photos, I find the color leans warm.

Swatches:

The golden pearl is more of a sheen, and the particles are so small they blend nicely into the skin.

Wearing gentle:

I also wanted to mention that gentle is almost identical to NARS outlaw blush (see that one here), which is now discontinued. If you missed out on outlaw, don't worry because gentle is a permanent color. The only difference is that gentle has a little bit more of a golden sheen to it, which I think is prettier!

Swatch comparison:

I don't particularly like this (or outlaw) on my skin because the warmth seems to bring out any redness in my face. I definately prefer cooler colors like NARS sin.

What is your favorite blush of all time? I need suggestions because I want to try something new.

Neutral smokey eyes using ELF neutral beauty book with photos & swatches

With all the overwhelming hype of the Urban Decay naked palette flowing from every beauty blog page there is out there, it's a little hard for me to accept the fact that I will never get it.
Sadly, I live an hour's drive away from Sephora, and I didn't get the chance to grab one up.
Of course it's completely sold out online and I refuse to purchase it on Ebay for ridiculously inflated prices. *end sob story*
So - I decided to try something a little bit different for a 'naked' look.
I recently stumbled across E.L.F.'s neutral beauty book and immediately thought the colors looked really nice and wearable. I often find most palettes with 'neutrals' tend to be on the warm side, mainly bronze and copper colors which I don't like much.

Front cover:

It includes 12 shades of really neutral colors, ranging from shimmer to matte and warm to cool tones.
It turns out that a lot of these colors are really similar to some MAC eyeshadow colors! A few a dupes and some of are just really close.
The best part is this only set me back $7 CAD. You can get it online on the E.L.F. site for $5 US.
What a steal!

Inside you will find:

On the left page there is a step by step tutorial on how to create a basic look using the palette.
Included is a double ended sponge tip applicator, and a mini brightening eyeliner.

Mini liner:

Swatched:

It's actually a nice mid tone brown color. Great to use as a base for the smoky neutral eye look. I wouldn't expect any real staying power on the waterline since it is a kohl type pencil and smudges easily.

The eyeshadows:

I will admit that these eyeshadows are not the nicest texture. Some go on better than the others, but they are all very loosely pressed and tend to fall out when you are applying. The palette can get messy.
They will work best over a good eyeshadow base, I tried them over NYX jumbo pencil in strawberry milk and the colors 'stuck' well and looked vibrant.

Here are swatches and descriptions; No base was used for the swatches, but I did heavily layer the colors so they would show up well.

Row 1 Left to Right:

- shimmery light ivory with gold undertone
- shimmery golden tan -> similar to MAC woodwinked
- shimmery medium golden brown -> MAC mulch dupe
- shimmery deep brown with a plum undertone -> Similar to MAC smut


Row 2 Left to Right:

- frosty whitish gold -> MAC nylon dupe
- frosty light pink -> Similar to MAC pink freeze
- mid-tone pink beige with slight shimmer -> MAC banshee dupe
- Deep blackened navy matte -> Similar to MAC Nehru

Row 3 Left to Right:

- flesh toned beige shimmer (looks the same shade as my skin!)
- copper shimmer -> MAC amber lights dupe
- reddened purple with slight shimmer -> somewhere between MAC cranberry and sketch
- Dark neutral brown matte -> MAC brun dupe

EOTD # 1 smokey neutral for daytime :

For this look I used these colors from the palette:

EOTD #2 smokey neutral look for night:

Not sure why I look like an oompaloompa here...bad lighting :/

For this one I used these colors from the palette:

Overall, I think this palette is worth it just because it's easy to use; and so so easy on the wallet! The shadows coordinate well with each other and you can create a wide variety of looks using them.
It's great to have in your kit for those days you want to do something simple and pretty.
Just be sure to use a good base or you will be disappointed.
In no way is this comparable to MAC quality, but the colors I mentioned in the descriptions are very close.

What do you think about ELF products? yay or nay?