MAC Archies girls haul, swatches, photos and FOTD

 Hello all, I could not resist this collection because I was pretty well obsessed with Archie comics when I was a kid. Part of me thought maybe I should pass since I'm a grown up now but then I saw the color story and everything that is in Betty's collection just called my name.

So here we go, $240 CAD later...

 

 I got flatter me pearl matte, veronica's blush pearlmatte, cream soda blush, lord it up pearlglide eyeliner, summer sweetheart lipglass, betty bright lipstick and caramel sundae eyeshadow quad.

This is mainly just a photo swatch post, but I am going to be doing a comparison post soon.
I know there are many swatches floating around out there already, but in case you want to see how they look on super pale skin NC10/NC15 then this is for you. My camera likes to pick up odd cool/warm tones so they are not the most accurate of swatches but I tried to capture how the products look on me.

Betty bright lipstick:

 

Swatches betty bright lipstick (top) and  summer sweetheart lipglass (bottom) :

 

 wearing Betty Bright lipstick :

Wearing summer sweetheart lipglass:

 

 lord it up pearlglide swatch :

Caramel sundae quad swatches :

 Veronicas blush pearlmatte swatch  (this one is not nearly matte!) :

 Flatter me pearlmatte swatch :

cream soda blush swatch  (this was sooo pigmented I was shocked!) :

  

 My 'Betty' FOTD (breakdown below) :

Eyes:
- MAC bare study paint pot
-caramel sundae quad

- lord it up pearlglide

- prestige my biggest lashes mascara
- MAC brow pencil lingering
- MAC prep & prime highlighter radiant rose

Face:
- Revlon Colorstay foundation normal/dry 110 ivory

- MAC careblend powder light  

Cheeks :

- Cream soda blush (on apples)

- flatter me pearlmatte (lightly over top cream soda blush)

 Lips: 

- summer sweetheart lipglass

What did you think of the Archie's girls collection? Did you want/get anything from it?

My summer beauty favorites!

 I thought I'd do a little post on all my favorite makeup I've been using this summer. All products in this post I use daily or at least once per week. I'll list everything and why I'm loving it :

 Left to right:

• NARS larger than life lipgloss in Tiber ~ perfect nude color, awesome formula not too sticky and actually moisturizing!
• MAC prep + prime BB beauty balm spf 35PA+++ ~ Amazing product! I am using the Asian version currently, it's almost the same as the U.S. just has different sunscreen actives. I was using products with SPF 15 but realized I need more SPF than that (my skin was getting irritated by the sun). So this beauty balm (not to be confused with BB cream!) is sheer and non greasy, providing a perfect base for makeup with SPF 35. On good skin days I use it by itself, just evens everything out and gives a slight glow.
• Biotherm multi-proctection SPF 30 eye contour cream ~ Awesome eye cream with SPF. It's fast absorbing and moisturizing, perfect under makeup.
• Burberry Brit EDP ~ I got this by accident, and I'm glad I did because I love it! I picked this up in a sleep deprived haze - thought it was Burberry the Beat (which I also adore!) and once I tried it I thought I may as well keep it. It's grown on me.. it smells warm, clean, sweet and summery. 
• Cover Girl lash blast mascara waterproof ~ I only use this when I need to since it's hard to remove, but it stays all day and is truly water resistant!
• Cover Girl liquiline blast brown blaze ~ The most perfect brown liner I've ever used! I'm not exaggerating. The color is gorgeous and doesn't have shimmer so it's great for the waterline. I like this for the summer because it isn't harsh like black can be.
• MAC penultimate eyeliner rapid black ~ I've been searching for a liner like this forever. I can actually make a tiny, small line with this! I love using it on the top lash line to add just a little bit of fullness to my lashes without having to make a thick line.

 

• Wet n Wild vanity palette  ~ Love this! I like to use the matte colors for a subtle look somedays, and for a more smoky eye I put the shimmery brown over MAC constructivist paint pot and it looks amazing... try it!
• MAC MSF semi precious crystal pink ~ I'm really sad this is limited edition because it's the perfect summer blush and highlighter in one. I use this a lot, the middle gives a light bronze/pink blush and the outside gives a shimmery beige highlight. It's perfect.
• MAC constructivist paint pot ~ Gorgeous deep brown with reddish undertones. I use this one a lot too. I like to layer shimmery taupes and browns over it for a smoky eye.
• Maybelline 24 hr eye tattoo in bad to the bronze ~ Another amazing color. It's the one thing I must say you need for summer. Some days when I want a minimal look thats fast and easy I just use this all over the lid with some mascara and I'm good to go. It's the perfect champagne taupe color, not too dark or too light. The best thing is that it stays all day and doesn't crease or travel.
• MAC lipstick blankety ~ This has become my favorite lipstick ever. It goes with everything, It also makes lips look plump.
• Urban Decay naked palette ~ (Forgot to take a pic!) This is my go-to palette most days. I love it.

One of my favorite summer polishes is Illamasqua Milf. I love it! Sorry for the blurry pic, was holding my baby and trying to aim the camera with the same arm.

 

Here is my summer FOTD, very basic and neutral. I'm spending a lot of time outside so I look really tan..wow.
My FOTD:
face:
- MAC prep + prime beauty balm
- Revlon Colorstay in buff (a whole shade darker than the usual ivory! )
- MAC MSF crystal pink
eyes:
- Urban Decay naked palette: naked (lid), buck (crease & lower lash line), sin (blended above crease), virgin (to highlight).
- Armani eyes to kill mascara (review coming soon!)
- Annabelle brow pencil taupe
lips:
NARS larger than life l/g Tiber

Well I hope you are all having a great summer. My family and I are enjoying it, looking forward to holidays in a few weeks as well.
Let me know what your favorite summer beauty products are! Especailly any skin care and foundations, always up for trying new things :)

Comparison: Urban Decay 24/7 liner vs. Styli-Style line & seal liner

(Above) Right: Styli-Style carbon black Left: Urban Decay zero

For the past 3 or so years I have been using Urban Decay's 24/7 eyeliner in zero. I have always been on the look out for something cheaper because it seems I go through zero really fast, so it can get a little pricey.

I recently bought a Styli-Style line & seal eyeliner in Carbon Black, and decided to compare it to Urban Decay's zero.
I first tried Styli-Style line & seal eyeliner years ago and I adored it. It stays on all day and wears well on the waterline.
I had a hard time finding Styli-Style for a while, which is why I got hooked on Urban Decay's 24/7 liners.
I have noticed Styli-Style cosmetics are only sold at Pharma Plus/Rexall stores now (in Canada), in case you are wondering where I got it.

Price comparison:

Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner $22 CAD

Styli-Style line & seal eyeliner $9.99 CAD

Styli-Style is less than half the price of Urban Decay eyeliner! Much more affordable.

Right: Styli-Style carbon black Left: Urban Decay zero

Size:

Both eyeliners come with the same amount of product, 0.04 oz


The test:

I swatched both liners heavily on the back of my hand, then let them dry completely. Then I put them to the test!

Left: Styli-Style Right: UD

You can see both liners are well pigmented, and the depth of black is really similar.

Left: Styli-Style Right: UD

After 8 hours:

I exposed both sides to soap, water and towel drying as I washed my hands about 10 times within the time period. You can see, Styli-Style held up really well! UD, not so much.. I was sort of surprised!

Left: Styli-Style Right: UD

After 12 hours:

Both colors were pretty well gone by this time, and that is mainly because I was really scrubbing at them to get them off. You can see on the left, Styli-Style eyeliner residue is more prominent.

The final test:

I wore both eyeliners to work on different eyes. Styli-Style on the left, and UD on the right.
This photo was taken about 10 hours after I applied my makeup, right after work.
I found that both wore really well. The Urban Decay liner moved and smudged more than the Styli-Style did. I was impressed, the Styli-Style is the ultimate winner!!!
I would absolutely recommend it over Urban Decay.

Stila Kajal eyeliner in onyx review

I thought I'd do a little review on Stila kajal, after trying it I was a bit stumped. I loved it and I hated it!

Why I loved it: This eyeliner is one of the blackest tarriest onyx pitch-blacks I've ever come across. The other being Hashmi kajal. It's extremely deep and rich in pigment.

Swatch of Stila onyx kajal:

Wearing onyx on my waterline:

It's so rich and densely black!

Here is a comparison of Stila onyx kajal and Urban Decay zero 24/7 liner, which I usually wear:

Sorry the photo is somewhat blurry, but you can really see a difference IRL. It makes zero look so dull and grey!

Why I hate it: The texture of the kajal is so soft, it literally melts when I try to use it. I don't keep it near heat or anything, it's just soft as clay and it melts when it comes into contact with my body heat.
This is usually a good thing for lining the waterline, but this is just too soft.
It smears and smudges and gets all over the place. It ends up on my fingers, clothes and random other places after I use it.
It melts from my waterline down under my eyes within a few hours.
It is a total and utter MESS to clean up, and try to remove. It's so 'smeary' that it sticks to everything. Even after doing my usual makeup remover techniques and then further - using a q-tip to completely remove it from my waterline - it manages to stick to my upper and lower eyelids until I wipe it off with baby oil. It's just a pain!

I found it a bit wasteful because every single time I use it I have to sharpen it because it melts so much.

I don't know if all Stila Kajals are like this, or if I'm just warm so I melt it a lot - but this is just a waste of money to me. I love the rich pigment but it's not worth the fuss, and I just hate when my eyeliner smears on me, especially at work.
I'd rather have something that stays put and has rich pigment. This eyeliner is just not worth the price.

Repurchase? No, I'm going to stick with Urban Decay 24/7 liners!

Price: $24 CAD / $18 USD

Rating: 2.5/5

Estee Lauder double wear gel eyeliner stay bronze photos and swatches

Estee Lauder recently released some new double wear stay-in place gel eyeliners. Stay bronze caught my eye because it's a very red toned 'bronze' and somewhat unique. This color is limited edition.

For $23 CAD you get a pot of liner and a tiny brush to apply it with. I think it's totally worth the price because once this liner sets it does not budge at all until you take it off.

One thing about this color that is interesting is that it looks completely matte, but once applied you can see extremely tiny gold micro shimmer all through it. I love it. It's very hard to capture the shimmer in pictures, but you can see it IRL.

swatches of stay bronze:

My EOTD wearing stay bronze with some neutral colored Kat Von D eyeshadow:

I actually used the little brush it came with and it worked nicely. For a thinner line you would need to use something like the MAC 209. This gel eyeliner is excellent, I think I'm going to pick up the black one next when I have the chance.

Do you like any Estee Lauder double wear products? I really love the cream eyeshadows!

Lancome rose ballerine natural origin eyeliner photos, swatches and EOTD

Lancome came out with two new LE CRAYON KHÔL pencils for the Ultra Lavande collection spring 2011. The two colors are Ultra lavande which is a bright mid toned lavender and pink ballerine which is a light whitish baby pink.

I picked up pink ballerine because it was pretty, and I haven't seen an eyeliner this color before.
I planned to use it to brighten up my lower waterline, as I find using a stark white pencil looks horrible on me.These two new khol pencils are 'Formulated with 94% natural-origin materials'. Sounds good to me! I found that the texture was very smooth and the color was very pigmented.

Swatch:

This pencil brightens up my eyes wonderfully! I was really impressed, it stayed for most of the day on my waterline.

Before (nothing on my waterline):

With rose ballerine on my waterline:

It adds the perfect amount of color to take away any redness and make my eyes look more awake and vibrant. It didn't burn or irritate at all.
I'm sure there are many uses for this pencil as well, but it works perfectly as an eye brightener.
I definitely think that these pencils are overpriced at $24.50, but they are of excellent quality. I also think that using more 'natural' ingredients near my eyes is a good thing.

What did you think of Lancome's Ultra Lavande collection? Did you get anything?

MAC fluidline vs. Maybelline eyestudio gel liner

I did a review earlier for Maybelline's eyestudio liner here, challenging whether or not it stays on for the claimed 24 hours.
While not a bad liner, I wondered how it would stand up to the cult favorite MAC fluidline in blacktrack. The results are pretty interesting.

On the left: Maybelline eyestudio gel liner blackest black, on the right: MAC fluidline blacktrack

The packaging is very similar. Both liners come with 3g of product in a glass container.

price comparison:

Maybelline $9.99 CAD

MAC $18.00 CAD

So you pay almost twice as much for MAC, for the same amount of product. MAC fluidline does not come with a brush. Maybelline includes a free brush.

texture comparison:

Believe it or not both liners have a very similar smooth easy to work with texture. I found both easy to apply and they dried in about the same amount of time.

On the left: Maybelline eyestudio gel liner blackest black, on the right: MAC fluidline blacktrack

I applied both eyeliners in a thick layer to put them to the test.

Color comparison:

Get this, Maybelline blackest black is a richer, deeper black than MAC blacktrack!

Both liners 2 hours after applying:

After 2 hours Maybelline started to smudge, smearing even below the MAC swatch. MAC didn't move at all.

After 5 hours and a shower test:

I put both liners through a hot shower test to see which one would stand up to heat and water best. They both faded but MAC stayed on significantly better.

After 24 hours:

24 hours later both liners were faded, but wore away equally. Maybelline wore away evenly, MAC started to look patchy.

Comparison of wear:

Both liners are similar in formula. They are long wearing and have great pigment. Maybelline smudged and smeared after a few hours. MAC didn't budge as far as smuding, but it did fade considerably when exposed to water and heat.
Neither of these liners stay on my waterline, (kohl stays put better) but they both work equally well for lining the upper lash line.

Overall:

For the blackest color Maybelline is by far the best choice. It looks great and stays on well, but it might smudge if you have oily eyelids. A primer under it would probobly keep it wearing well all day.
MAC stays true all day without any smearing even without an eyeshadow base. It's the best choice for someone with oily eyelids that wants their makeup to stay put until they take it off at night.

Which one is better? Both are pretty good, but I'd have to say I personally like Maybelline better. I like the blacker pigment, and when I use it over an eyeshadow base I don't have much smearing at all. It's also easily available and a nice price.

What's your favorite gel eyeliner?

Urban Decay Stash 24/7 liner and Clinique Egyptian creamshaper comparison

I adore my Clinique creamshaper for eyes in Egyptian, it's such a great color to use when I am sick of plain black. It's a very dark blackened green with golden shimmers.
When I first got my Urban Decay 24/7 Stash eyeliner I had a feeling it wasn't an overly unique color in my stash. It's a deep olive green with golden glitter.
Since I recently realized that they are quite similar, I thought I'd swatch them.

Here are comparison pictures:

Left: UD stash Right: Clinique Egyptian

Left: UD stash Right: Clinique Egyptian

Left: UD stash Right: Clinique Egyptian

It does seem that Egyptian is slightly more blackened green than Stash. It also seems that Stash has more noticeable golden glitter.

When I look at them both in direct light they look identical. I can't tell them apart. I also did a shower test to see which one would stay on better. They both stayed on well until I completely scrubbed them off. They are equally great liners.
Clinique creamshapers cost $17, while Urban Decay costs $19.

Although they are dupes and I use both, I think I prefer my Egyptian creamshaper.
When I apply it I only have to go over twice to get a very intense line, but with Stash I end up using more since it's a lot softer and doesn't go on a deep enough color or create a sharp line.
I own 4 or 5 different creamshapers and I really love them. They go on really smooth and intense, and they last a long time.