Introducing, my trash can reviews!

Recently I was thinking I need to review more products, and I just have no idea where to start. Well, I thought it would be neat, that every time I completely finish a beauty product I will do a review on it.
That way you can have confidence that I have personally used the item up, and see first hand an honest review of it.
Products reviewed will range from hair care, body care, skin care and of course, most importantly - makeup!
So look forward to seeing a lot more reviews, coming soon!

MAC darkly my dear blush photos and swatches

I think that the Cruella deville line in MAC's venomous villains collection was the least popular. I wasn't really drawn to it much, but darkly my dear caught my eye from the start.
I swatched it a few times, figuring it's way too dark for my NC10 skin. Well, at MAC the other day I got my friend who works there to try it on me. I loved it!
It's not like any other blush I own. It's really a unique color. Deep yet not too dark. Brown but not warm, not really cool either. Neutral deep nude. There is a slight reddish plum undertone to it that I really like.

Of course, this blush is best to contour with. I don't think it's really meant to be put onto the apples of the cheek. It looks great right under the cheekbone.

I layered it very heavily in these photos, but IRL I use it very sparingly to avoid an 'overdone' look.

I'm loving this for fall!

Hashmi Kajal, photos, swatches and review

Hashmi kajal's are imported from Pakistan and are most readily available from local Indian grocery stores. There are also Hashmi surma and surmi powders, even felt tip pens and cake liners are available. They are very inexpensive, I bought mine for $3 CAD.
In all respects, this is a go to product of many beauty junkies all over the world.

The popularity of the kajal today stems from the highly pigmented blackness of it. It is smoldering lava black, and it makes for a gorgeous intense eye.

It is also very easy to use. Just untwist, and rub it gently over your waterline. It lasts through the day, with minimal smudging.

So intensely black! There are few liners on the marker that can achieve this effect.

There is a lot of controversy about the potential for these kinds of kajals and kohls being toxic.
Whether or not this is true remains inconclusive, even doing research myself I was skeptical of all the claims.
Traditionally, many of the blackest kohls were made from galena which is actually lead sulfide. As you may know, lead is very toxic. Most kajals would have trace amounts of lead, not pure lead. Still, something you might want to think twice about before putting in your eyes.

This particular Hashmi kajal is supposedly 'lead free'. This would mean that the amorphous black is made with other materials than galena such as amorphous carbon or organic charcoal.
There are quite a few articles available on the Hashmi Surma website, including toxicity reports and claims that it is 100% safe to use.
Hashmi Kajal stick Ingredients:
zinc oxide, herbs, waxes, amorphous black, butter oil, cinamomum, & camphora

I have never had any adverse effects from this product, and it doesn't irritate my eyes at all.

When using imported kohls and kajals always look at the ingredients list. find out what they are. Many countries don't have rules and regulations about potentially hazardous cosmetic ingredients. Use with discretion.
Unless you are a scientist, with a lab, it is impossible to know the truth.

source

MAC sinister lipstick photos and swatches

Sinister is limited edition shade from the venomous villians collection. It is part of the evil queen line, and it has a picture of her holding the box that she plots for Snow White's heart to be captured in. MAC describes sinister as 'Soft brown plum' which I think, is fairly accurate. It is a lustre finish, and it is very sheer. There are some sparkles in it, but they aren't overly noticeable.




This barely showed up on me! The pictures you see are very heavily layered both the swatches and on my lips. I really didn't like this one, I was hoping for more of a deep brown color but it just failed. It only added a tiny bit of color like a sheer lip gloss no matter how much I put on.
The packaging is so cool I love it, but that's it.
The only way you'll get any color from this is if you have no pigment in your lips. Otherwise, skip it!

NOTD MAC Bad Fairy nail polish swatches

Above:Furthest away from light it looks purple toned ruby

Bad fairy is a really neat duo chrome nail polish. It changes color depending on the amount of light that hits it. This is from MAC Venomous Villains collection and it sold out super fast. This particular color is hard to find a dupe of. I am pretty sure there is one similar by OPI, but I can't think of the name - sorry!

Closer to the light the gold tones show:

Starts turning reddish copper:

turns a light red:

In direct light, it looks almost gold:

MAC mineralize eye shadow duo play on plums swatches and EOTD

This duo is richly pigmented and isn't over the top shimmery. The plum is especially nice, and smooth in texture. The color pay off is great so I don't even need to use them wet.
The plum color is very similar to MAC Heritage rouge pigment, which I adore. I'd say Heritage rouge is just a tad more red toned.

heritage rouge (left) plum side of play on plums MES (right)

heritage rouge (left) plum side of play on plums MES (right)

For this EOTD I used play on plums duo and blended/highlighted using NARS all about eve duo.