Gosh velvet touch lipstick swatches nougat and cappuchino

Above: L Nougat and R Cappuchino

I got these lipsticks a while ago, they were limited edition for Spring 2011.
The quality of these mimics MAC's lustre formula, with an opaque slightly glossy finish.
I only wish that they stayed on longer, they need to be reapplied often.

Swatches: L to R nougat and cappuchino

Nougat is a very warm reddish brown. It would suit warmer complexions very nicely. It looks kind of 'off' on my pale face. It reminds me of Laura Mercier lipstick in discretion.

Cappucino is a light beige/greyed taupe that I absolutely adore! It looks very similar to MAC fresh brew. Sorry I don't have swatches of fresh brew but you can see that it also looks a bit like MAC to pamper lipstick (swatch here).

Cappuccino:

nougat:

I like these but I don't love them.

Lately I'm preferring long wearing lipsticks and liners to last through my shift at work. Any recommendations for lippies that stay on nicely are appreciated ;)

Missha M perfect cover BB cream review

Missha was the very first BB cream I ever tried. It is probably the most popular brand of BB creams in the beauty world.

BB or blemish balms are super popular all over Asia. They originated in Germany as a tinted healing cream for patients who underwent skin treatments and needed something to help protect, heal and soothe the skin. Japan picked up on theses ingredients and are now pumping out all different kinds of BB creams.


Here is Missha's description of the M perfect BB cream:

' The M Perfect Cover BB Cream gives an even and natural-looking coverage with the soothing, moisturising properties of a cream. It is suitable for all skin types including acne-prone skin, and can be used as a makeup base or foundation. '
source: http://www.misshaus.com

Ingredients list:
Water(Aqua), Cyclomethicone, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Zinc Oxide, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Mineral Oil, Phenyl Trimethicone, Talc, Arbutin, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Dimethicone, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Squalane, Adenosine, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Polyethylene, Beeswax(Cera Alba), Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Caviar Extract, Algae Extract, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Fagus Sylvatica Bud Extract, Ceramide 3, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Chloride, Fragrance(Parfum), Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Disodium EDTA, Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Benzyl Salicylate, Hydroxycitronellal, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool, Citronellol
MAY CONTAIN[+/-; Titanium Dioxide(CI 77891), Iron Oxides(CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499)]

This ingredients list tells me that there are some excellent antioxidant ingredients in the Missha BB cream.
It is very emmolient and moisturizing to the skin. It is comparable to a very creamy thick tinted moisturizer.

I used this product for 3 days straight and although I liked it I had to stop using it.
Upon first application, I realized that the color was two shades too dark for my pale skin. It also seemed slightly ashy toned.
I really liked the way it made my skin glow with moisture and radiance.
I tried applying it again, this time with a lighter powder over top and it helped to lighten the color a bit.
By the third day of using this my skin became slightly sensitized and I developed tiny red spots around my t zone (an indication of inflamed/irritated skin).
I believe that the algae extract is the culprit, because I seem to have a reaction to anything that has algae in it.

swatch of M perfect # 21 light beige:

Swatch on my arm - bottom half of the line is 21 blended, top is my natural skin. you can see the coverage is pretty good, my veins aren't as noticeable:

I would normally post pictures of how this looked on my face but I don't want to use it again due to my allergic reaction.
One other thing I noticed about this was that it seemed to make my skin darker. I mean after using it for 3 days it seemed like I had applied a self tanner. This effect lasted about 2 weeks. I didn't particularly like it.
I've read that this is because the pigments 'stain' the skin, but for something that is claimed to 'lighten' my skin it just doesn't seem right. It's a mystery to me.
I will tell you right now that this won't lighten your skin one bit!

Overall, I would recommend this to those with normal, dry or very dry skin who want light to moderate coverage and skin conditioning ingredients.
Since the finish is quite dewy and it does contain oil, this wouldn't be the best choice for oily skin types.
I would also be careful if you have sensitive skin because there are a few possible skin irritants in the ingredients list.

The great thing about Missha BB cream is that there are several color options, so that pale and deeper skin tones can wear it. Most BB's only come in one shade, usually quite pale or medium.
If you are curious about BB creams Missha has a good reputation, but there are many different brands available.

repurchase? No, I had an allergic reaction and found that it darkened my skin.

rating: 3/5

price: $20-$30 USD

Wet n Wild megalash clinical serum review

You might not know this, but I am obsessive about my eyelashes. I want the longest most beautiful lashes I can get, and I try many -I mean many- mascaras to achieve this effect.
Well, mascaras just haven't been doing it for me lately so I wanted to try another lash serum since rapidlash failed me (read more about my rapidlash experience here).

The main reason I chose to try wet n wild lash serum is because I came across this in Paula Begoun's review:

' It’s worth mentioning that the star ingredient in Megalash Clinical Serum (myristoyl pentapeptide-17) is one of the same star ingredients in Jan Marini’s $160 lash growth serum, Marini Lash. ' source: beautypedia.com

I wanted to try Marini lash a few years ago, but never had enough money to splurge. Naturally, I had to give the $8 megalash serum a go!

Megalash is packaged in an easy to use tube, with an applicator that is slanted like a brow brush. It's larger than I expected, and picks up a lot of product, too much actually. I ended up having to brush off the excess onto the inside of the opening, which led to this balling up action all over the inner rim.

Excess product wastage is not cool, it got all gunky and became a nuisance. here is what I mean in this pic, arrow is pointing to the dried up stuff :
I didn't have any negative effects from this serum. There is a slight warming sensation upon applying but it went away within an hour. I became more tolerant to it the more I used it and now I don't feel anything when I apply it unless I get it in my eye - then it stings a bit.

I used megalash for 1 month. I took pictures every week to monitor growth and changes. I curled my lashes in every pic with my shisiedo eyelash curler.

here is the breakdown:

week 1: started using megalash. My natural lashes are semi-long, full but they are very straight.

Week 2: I started to notice a difference about 1.5 weeks later. My lashes looked a bit fuller and longer. 2nd week I actually lost quite a few lashes. This is so odd because it's happens on week two of every lash growth product I've tried. It lasts for a few days and then stops. I felt my lashes were thinner, but longer.

Week 3: I noticed my lashes looking longer. Not as full as they were.

Week 4: My lashes look longer. They are absolutely longer because when I go to curl them now they extend over the top of my curler. They did not do that before! I would not say that they are fuller at all. Just some length, but hey I'm not complaining!

Here is a comparison between day 1 and day 31:

My lashes are longer by a few millimeters. I am happy with the results.

I've realized a big con to this treatment. Using it twice a day delivers results but it's also inconvenient.
I applied every night after taking off my makeup, and every morning after washing my face.
Around week 3 I noticed that my eyelashes wouldn't hold a curl anymore. I would curl them, apply mascara and even curl a second time only to find my lashes straight again after a couple hours.
I was getting frustrated, so I tried a new heated eyelash curler. It didn't make a difference.
I recently stopped applying the serum in the morning, and I have found my lashes stay curled again. The serum had started to weigh them down! It wouldn't let my lashes curl upwards, and that was a very big drawback.

That is the main reason I won't buy this again, but I will look into other treatments.
Actually, I am going to try ardell lash growth accelerator now.
I do recommend this serum if you are curious about lash growth products and don't want to spend a fortune or use any crazy drug that causes creepy side effects.

repurchase? No, it weighed my lashes down and maximum results are achieved by using 2x daily.

rating: 4/5

price: $7.99 CAD

NOTD: sinful green ocean

Well I've gotten my camera working again. For now anyways. I'll get the new one in a few weeks, can't wait until I can take very high quality pictures!

I got my hands on sinful green ocean recently, it's a sheer green base loaded with small particle green glitter, tiny blue flakes and large green/gold flakes.
I adore flakie nail polishes, and am slowly but surely building up my collection.

For a beautiful multidimensional glitter I started with 2 coats of Wet n wild teal of fortune (rich teal with tiny gold glass flecks), plus 2 coats of sinful green ocean over top.

It turned out really pretty, but the flakes didn't pop as much as they would over a black polish.






I really like sinful nail polish. They have pretty awesome unique colors, and the quality is decent.
For the cheap price around $3.50 CAD you can't go wrong.

Any other sinful colors polishes I need to check out? I'm on the hunt for deep blue ocean right now.

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?

MAC style blush photos, swatches and FOTD

I'm not dead, I'm just taking some time off since my camera died! I found a few things on my computer today so I will post whatever I can before I get my new cam next week :)
Anyways, one of my more recent loves is MAC style blush.

My lame old camera didn't pick up the bright quality of this blush, when you see it in the store it looks very orange and almost a little fluorescent.
I was scared how it would look on my cheeks but very happily surprised to find out it's quite sheer.

Style is described as 'Coral-peach with gold pearl' my description is 'sheer peach with gold shimmer'. It's a very beautiful color and it reminds me of a brighter NARS deepthroat. Although deepthroat is much more pigmented.

swatches of style blush:

this is two swipes layered, the flash has washed it out a bit.

This blush is so sheer, I even have to layer it to show up on my skin! I like it though, since I never put too much on that way.

Wearing style blush, layered a couple times:

I like this color a lot because it really does brighten up my face. The shimmer particles are quite small and they don't exaggerate pores or look clownish in any way. It looks natural enough that I use this when I want to go for the 'nude' look.
I would not recommend this shade for deeper skin tones as I don't think it would show up unless you really piled it on. For fair skin, this is a must have peach color!