Sleek liqueur lipstick photos and swatches

 I've had this lipstick for a while and just found the swatches I took of it, it is really such a great color.


Sleek lipsticks are packaged nicely in little black rubberized cases that are similar to NARS lipsticks.

If you are looking for an everyday go with everything color, this just might be it.
It's a nice neutral beige with slight gold pearl. It sort of reminds me of  MAC viva glam V (swatch here)

Swatch of Sleek  liqueur:

Wearing  Sleek  liqueur:

The finish is a nice creamy satin, and feels moisturizing on. Unfortunately lasting power isn't the greatest, so it needs to be reapplied often.

Do you have an everyday go-to lipstick? Tell me! Mine is MAC blankety :)

NOTD: MAC vintage vamp nail lacquer

I've been looking high and low for a deep blood red jelly polish... I thought vintage vamp was it but it's just not dark enough for my liking. It's pretty sheer and the color in the bottle seems deeper than what you get on your nails.

Still, it's a truly gorgeous vampy red jelly.

I am wearing 3 coats of vintage vamp, and it still looks slightly streaky. That is one thing I didn't like about this color - It's very translucent and hard to get an even application.


It gives a really shiny finish like jellies usually do, love that.


Although expensive, I really like MAC nail lacquers. With a top coat I can usually get 1 week of wear without chipping, which is great for me.

I think this color is super for fall/winter.

Have you tried MAC lacquers? did you like them?

Any suggestions for a deep blood red jelly polish?

Smashbox camera ready BB cream SPF 35 review

Can you believe the BB cream hype lately? It's pretty hard to ignore when every brand around puts out a BB cream weekly (or so it seems!).
Most of the BB creams you see out there are nothing more than tinted moisturizers, hyped up with advertising.
Smashbox did a pretty good job on this BB cream though, I must say.

This BB cream comes in a tiny (1 oz) squeeze tube that has a twist off sort of cap. Not the best packaging but hey, it's not bad.


I got the shade fair, and it was an excellent match on me! It has a very natural finish, and reflects light for a subtle glow.

Swatch of shade fair on my hand:

blended:

And, a (horrible) pic of me wearing just the BB cream by itself. I really should have put more makeup on but I was on holidays.

On my skin you can see this exaggerated dry patches, sunk into pores and didn't cover blemishes all that much. It did cover some redness, gave a glow and evened out my skin.

This BB cream is supposed to: moisturize, prime, perfect, protect and control oil. Seems like a lot for one product to do.

Did it live up to the claims?

- Moisturize? No. I have dry sensitive skin and it did not moisturize, it made dry areas look worse :(

- prime? Yes. It acted as a really good primer for makeup, helped my makeup go on smoother and last longer

- perfect? No. I don't think any product can really 'perfect' skin.

- protect? Yes. The sunscreen actives protect skin from UVA and UVB rays. The formula contains some great antioxidants that will aid your skin as well.

- Control oil? Yes. I do get slightly oily by the end of the day on my nose and chin, and this is where my makeup always slides off. I found the BB cream helped to keep my skin more balanced and less oily in those areas.


I like this product as a primer and sun screen.
It didn't offer enough coverage or hydration for me to wear by itself.
Unfortunately, it started to irritate my skin so I had to stop using it. Turns out I am sensitive to some chemical sunscreen ingredients.

Overall, I think you will like this if you are more oily skinned, and want a good primer with sunscreen. If you don't need much coverage it could be a good light foundation for some.
If you have sensitive skin like me, try a sample first.

One thing I wanted to mention is that this is available in 5 shades!!! All ranging from fair to dark. Now that is impressive, since most BB creams are only available in one or two shades.

It is a very expensive product for quite a small amount, but due to the high SPF rating and inclusion of skin beneficial ingredients I think it is pretty well worth it.
Smashbox did a very good job with this product, and I think it is the closest you will find comparable (locally) to an Asian BB cream. The only difference here is that the Smashbox BB cream does not contain any whitening ingredients like most, and the coverage is not quite as good as Asian ones.

Repurchase? No

Price: $50 CAD

Rating: 4/5

MAC studio fix boldblack lash mascara review

I love trying MAC mascaras since mascara is one beauty item that only lasts 3-6 months and instead of throwing it away you can back to MAC it. It's just great!

My latest mascara purchase from MAC was studio fix in boldblack - since I like intense black lashes :)


This is what MAC has to say about studio fix bold black :
'Innovative, mousse-like formula gives superior definition, volume and lift by filling in sparse lashes for a dramatic effect now in carbon black.'

I do agree that it does give good volume and some definition. The formula is quite wet and can be a little messy, it clumps really easily.

The brush is made of hard plastic with little teeth that grab lashes well.

studio fix lash wand:

I didn't like this wand too much, it wasn't flexible at all and it was rough on my lash line when trying to get the mascara into the lash roots.

It really gave a lot of volume and I loved the black intensity. Unfortunately, it did flake as you can see in the picture below.

Wearing 2 coats of studio fix boldblack:

You can see the little flakes under my eyes. Not cool.
With 2 coats it was very hard to get the mascara not to clump. I think it's because the formula is so wet that it makes it difficult not to get too much product on the wand. Wiping the wand with a paper towel before applying would be best I think.

Overall, I didn't really like this mascara as much as others from MAC. It held curl alright, added a little length and a lot of volume. But it flaked through the day, and it ended up irritating my eyes just like zoom lash did.

If you like volume I think you would like this, but I wouldn't recommend it because it does have the tendency to clump and flake. A better option for volume and length would be MAC's false lashes mascara which doesn't clump or flake. Oops I still have to review that one!

Repurchase? No

Price: $19 CAD

Rating: 2.5/5

Annabelle BB cream review

I just wanted to do a quick review on a new drugstore BB cream that I've recently tried.
I tend to stay away from the new drug store ones since they tend to have skin irritating ingredients or low to no SPF ratings.

But, I saw the Annabelle one has some antioxidants and no alcohol so I figured I'd give it a try.

Annabelle is an exclusively Canadian cosmetics company and can be purchased practically anywhere that sells drug store make up country wide.

Basically this BB cream is trying to be like all the others, stating that it is a fusion of skin care and make up.

I think they did a pretty good job on this one to be honest, but it does have it's flaws.
The BB cream comes in two shades only, light/medium and medium/dark.
Light medium is obviously the one I chose since I'm fair. But I must say it's not for fair skin at all! It's very yellow toned and more suited to medium skin.
The reason this is a problem is because it is actually quite pigmented! I couldn't use this on my face because it was more like a foundation, and well - it looked way to dark on me.

Here are swatches on my hand :

blended:

My hands are like 2 shades darker than my face at this point of the summer. I should really use sunscreen on my hands as well!
Anyways this gives a gorgeous luminous finish, and is actually very hydrating. I was very impressed, except with the color.

pros:

- Protects skin against UVB rays
- non irritating
- includes skin beneficial antioxidants and moisturizers
- feels very nice on
- great coverage
- gives complexion a luminous healthy look

cons:

- Not broad spectrum sun protection (you need to block both UVA and UVB rays to avoid skin damage)
- Feels slippery on the skin, doesn't fully 'set' rubs off on clothing (unless set with powder)
- Color options are very limited (medium to deep skin tones - nothing for fair or very dark)

Overall, I highly recommend this if you like tinted moisturizers and some coverage. I would say the light/medium would suit NC20 to NC35 skin tones. Possibly NW15 if you get darker in summer.
I love this stuff and I'm very sad they don't make it in a lighter color.

Repurchase? No. Not light enough for my skin.

Price: $16 CAD

Rating: 4/5

Kat Von D lock-it tattoo foundation review

So lately I've been experimenting with all sorts of different foundations, and after hearing KVD had a new foundation out I practically ran to Sephora to try it.
I love the way Kat's face always looks very smooth and well, perfectly covered:


Dare I say that this foundation actually makes my skin look almost as amazing as Kat's? Well, I'll let you be the judge when you see my before and after pics.

The shade I chose was the second lightest, light 44 'For fair skin with beige undertones'. It's about an NC15 in MAC..maybe more neutral (MAC runs very yellow).
Just an FYI, the lightest shade of lock-it 'light 42' is very very light. It will be an excellent match for those with very fair skin who have a hard time finding a shade light enough.

KVD tattoo foundation shade Light 44:

The packaging is amazing, very pretty like all KVD's line. I love that it comes in a tube, with a pump dispenser.

side view (pump):

What it says on the back of the box:

swatched on my hand:

Blended into my hand:

Coverage is just amazing. Well, you will see just how great it is in the before and after pics:

Before :(nothing on skin, just moisturizer)

After: (with lock-it foundation)

Pretty amazing huh? My skin is suffering some redness and a few breakouts lately, and with this stuff on it looks absolutely perfect. LOVE it.
The finish is matte, but it isn't flat like some mattifying foundations. It maintains a skin like glow on your face and actually doesn't look too heavy or cakey.

Wear time was pretty good, after about 12 hours I got a bit of patchiness where my skin was getting a bit dry.
This would not hold out for 24 hours as claimed, but why would you need a foundation to last that long anyways?

Overall this is what I think of it:

Pros:

- great color selection
- beautiful packaging
- long lasting
- superior coverage
- controls oil

Cons:

- smells sort of nasty..can't really compare to anything but I don't like it
- can make your skin feel dry
- doesn't live up to the 24 hr claim
- expensive

I need to mention that I have recently used Make up forever's matte + velvet foundation and it is very similar to this. The coverage is not quite as good, but it doesn't dry out my skin like lock-it does.
The only one that comes close to lock-it in terms of coverage is Estee Lauder maximum coverage camouflage. Will do a review on that one at some point too.


I think that if you are looking for a true full coverage foundation you need to try this.

Repurchase? No. I found it to be too drying for my skin.

Price: $41 CAD

Rating: 4/5