0 MAC make up haul for January - Metallic Nude & Huggable lipcolors

Ok, so it's only the beginning of january but I've already overspent my budget by splurging on items from MAC's latest collectioN- Metallic Nude and Huggable lipccolors.  

From Metallic Nude I bought:

1. Fairly precious extra dimension skinfinish (Light peachy pnk highlighting product)

2. Magnetic appeal extra dimension skinfinish (Light golden bronze - It's kinda an inbetween color of Glorfiy and whisper of gilt extra dimension skinfinish which was released previously)

3. Autoerotique extra dimension blush

4 Pleasure model extra dimension blush

For those who are new to MAC's extra dimension formula range of products, this range of products are a hybrid of cream and powder in one. They feel creamy-mousse like to the touch, but still give the ease of application as of that of a powder product.

From Huggable I bought 6 colors:

1. Commotion (looks like the glossy but more sheer version of MAC's rebel lippie)

2. Love Beam (sorry no picture yet)

3. Feeling amourous (a cross of MAC's insanely it lipstick & girl about town)

4. Fashion Force (Toned down version of MAC's korean candy sheen supreme lippie)

5. Cherry Glaze

6. Extra Sweet (Asia exlusive color)

The huggable lipcolors are a new formula created by MAC. Gel based and lasting power is about 6 hours of wear. Feels lip balmy on the lips. Color payoff, it is sheer to medium buildable with high shine. The more you layer, the more glossy it gets. Upon first application, it may feel a bit draggy to apply it on, but after layering it, it gets more smooth to apply. It's pretty hydrating on the lips and provides long lasting hydration on the lips and does not become patchy as with some MAC amplifed creme and matte do after few hours of wear

Here are some of the lip swatches of huggable lipsticks that i've worn so far

0 MAC Antonio Lopez face kit in Coral

As mentioned in my previous post, this was the other face kit which i purchased from the MAC Antonio Lopez collection. Packaging wise it is the same as the pink face kit, with the same illustration of the same girl on the front and the same sliding out packaging. Whilst the pink face kit is leaning more towards the cool side, the coral one is definitely leaning more towards the warm side and imho, of the two palettes, this one suit more skintone colors than the pink kit

The face kit consists of the following shades

1. Smooth harmony beauty powder (med brown peach) => contour shade

2. Star! Irridiscent powder (Pale beige with shimmer) => highlight shade

3. Passion for calor (Coral pink) => blush

Smooth Harmony blush as compared to its counter part in the pink face kit is definitely much more pigmented and if used light handedly it can be used as a peachy orangey blush as well as a contour color at a same time. Star! Irridisecent powder on the other hand is not as shimmer/glittery as Belightful IP and gives more of a sheen on the cheekbones rather than glitter glitter. Passion for color somewhat reminds me of a cross between fleur power blush and Royal sunset (LE blush from MAC all about orange), not as pink as fleur power, but not as orange as Royal sunset. All three colors apply smoothly, color is medium-buildable and lasting power bout 8hrs of wear.

0 MAC Tropical Taboo Mineralized Skin finishes

Wanted so badly to buy the Skinfinishes and the mineralized blushers from this collection, but alas, unfortuntely, due to a delay in shipment, our local counters won't be receiving the Mineralized blushers and most of the MES yet (hopefully soon). Anyway, better than nothing, I managed to lay my hands on Rio, Lust and Adored MSFs. I already had Soft and Gentle from the regular range. Gold deposit was too dark for my NC20 skintone, so I skipped that. Here are the pics and swatches of the MSFs.

Do note in generally all the Skinfinishes in Tropical taboo have very high metallic shine, so Less is more is needed for this product otherwise, well U will end up with a VERY metallic looking cheek. And due to the sheer color pigmentation of the msfs, I would recommend these to be used as highlighters over blushers, with the exception of Rio msf where the Brown part can still be used as a slight contour on the face and the pink part as highlighters. 

I tried using Rio it as a cheek color by mixing the 2 colors, but the pink overpowered the brown and my cheeks looked way too shiny XD. I would probably use the brown alone seperately as a bronzer instead of mixing with the pink instead

As for Adored msf, I intentionally chose one with more seperate orange tones in it so that i could hopefully use it as cheek color. This works well as a light blush color for fair to medium skin tones but not anything more than that as if I layer too much of it, the frostiness shows through. 

I would say Lust would work better for Ladies with medium to darker skintones. Fair skin ladies have to use this sparingly to avoid looking bruise. It kinda reminds me of a less intense version of Brunette MSF from Blonde Brunnette, Red head though. See here for comparison swatches. This would work best with a fibre optic brush like the 159 that launched with this collection or the 187 / 188 or 131 due to the high shine of the MSFs in this collection

NOTE: Avoid using on areas with large open / blemishes, as the frostiness in these MSFs might emphasize them.

0 My Sculpted Face Kit Review

Bought this from a make up artist friend of mine who swore by this. And I have to say I'm very pleased with it. Whereas most contour powder turns out too orange on my NC20 skin, the contour colors in this palette works very well on me (at least for the 3 brown shades, the darkest one is a tad too dark for me and i use it for my eyebrow or eyeshadow instead). This kits consist of 2 highlight shades (one matte and one frosted) and 4 contour shades of different tones to work with different skin tones.

Even though it states it's a sculpting palette, but I also have use this as eyeshadow - white on the lid and the darker brown on the socket area. It works out pretty fine for this purpose as well. And for those who are new to make up and know nuts about contour or highlighting the face, fret not. This kit also comes with an insert guilding u on where to apply the contour (brown) and where to apply the highlight (white).Would repurchase this IF I EVER finish this. But i doubt i would finish this anytime in the near future.

Here are pics of the product and swatches

The leaflet inside guiding make up beginners on how to contour the face

Comes with 2 small mirrors

Close up of the highlight and contour colors 

 Swatches of the powders

0 In Extra Dimension skinfinishes and eyeshadows

I know I am kinda late to the party and slow in posting, but late is better than never. heh heh.

I am totally loving the cream to powder texture of the skinfinishes and eyeshadows in this collection - super blendable with decent color payoff. But alas due to budget, I only could  buy all 3 skinfinishes and 3 eyeshadows :( If I had all the $$$ in the world, I would so buy this whole collection cause they are all super blendable. So I ended getting up Whisper of gilt, Glorfiy and Superb for the Skinfinishes and Havana, Grand Galaxy and Blue orbit for the eyeshadows. I am totally in love with these products.

Skinfinishes

These are shimmery but definitely not as glittery as ur usual mineralized skinfinishes (Plus pt = no glitter fallout ). They have a metallic kinda texture which looks really good on the cheek bone area, more so than the MSFs which can look a bit powdery at times if not blended properly. I am fair but I still bought Glorify cause it makes a beautiful bronzey gold eye color on the eyes. The pigmentation of this skinfinish is to die for. <3 <3

 Whisper of gilt skinfinish

 Glorify Skinfinish

 Superb skinfinish

Eyeshadows

As I have mentioned earlier in the posts, the texture of these shadows are of a cream to powder finish and color payoff is good and very blendable. Plus, they last the whole day on the eyes and do not crease @ all even without a primer. Definitely way much better than the metal x cream shadows imho. I wished I could have bought all, but unfortunately I am on tight budget for this mth, so I could buy only 3 and it was a very tough choice choosing 3 only :x

Havana

Grand galaxy

  Blue orbit

0 Liquid illuminators - Benefit High Beam and MAC strobe cream

Both of these illuminators have pink undertones that are very similar to each other when swatched on the hand.

The main differences between these 2 liquid illuminators:

1. Benefit high beam is definitely thicker in texture than MAC strobe cream and gives higher shine and you only need VERY VERY little on this to enhance the cheekbone and t zone area)

2. MAC strobe cream can be used as a brightening make up base before make up (but use sparingly, Otherwise instead of glowy, you will look greasy) and has some hydrating properties that help to moisturise the skin

I do not have MAC strobe liquid, so I cannot compare the strobe cream to the strobe liquid though

How I like to use...

What I like to do for MAC strobe cream is that sometimes i do squeeze out a little from the tube and mix it with my liquid foundations, so that my liquid foundation will give a subtle illuminating effect. Of course, you can use it seperately before the foundation. But I find that this is less effective then adding on to my liquid foundation.

As for Benefit high beam, as it doesn't come in a squeeze tube like MAC strobe cream and also cos it is much more metallic than strobe cream, I don't mix it with my liquid foundation. I only selectively use it on my cheek bone area. I use the applicator to dab a feel dots on my cheek area and then blend it out using my fingers in dabbing motion.

Would suggest / recommend that the liquid illuminators be used after LF and just before powder

One thing to note that if u wanna highlight your cheek bones after powder, then do not use the liquid illuminators, because if not done well, it will make your base make up patchy. For such purpose, I would prefer the MAC cream color base such as pearl over powder make up for highlighting. 

Benefit high beam applicator

From left to right: Benefit high beam, MAC strobe cream

If your skin is very oily, I would not recommend liquid illuminators for highlighting. But if u still wan a dewy look, then you can try cream highlighters instead, but as I always like to say, Less is more. So use it moderately.

0 YSL Touche eclat

The only pc of cosmetic that I own from YSL is its ever so famous Touche eclat in the shade no 2 (a pale beige-pink shade). I bought it after hearing raves about it from several of my friends.

Contrary to what many people think, the touche eclat is NOT a concealer. In fact, I would say it is more of a pen highlighter than a concealer. If u are expecting coverage from the touche eclat, you will be disappointed. Cause it does not really cover dark under eyes nor blemishes.

But it does a wonderful job of highlighting the cheek bones and T-zone areas. And is excellent for brightening the under eye area (to be used after a proper concealer of course. Sometimes using a concealer may be able to conceal the darkness, but the area still looks flat after concealer. In that case, you may use the touche eclat over it to brighten up the under eye so as to look mroe fresh and awake). There's a huge difference between brightening and concealing...and many people are still unable to differentiate between the 2. Hence many people that I know of still have this thinkin that the YSL touche eclat is a pen concealer but it is not. It is a PEN HIGHLIGHTER  NOT a concealer.

YSL Touche eclat is such a success that other brands such as MAC are also coming out with their own pen highlighters as well.

Features:

1. It comes in a pen form and product can be dispensed by clicking a small button on top of the pen

2. It has firm, flat brush tip for applying the product.

Tips for applying the product:

1. Using the brush, dot it on the cheek bone area or on the high planes of the face and slowly blend it out by dabbing it the product out with your fingers

Benefits:

1. Can be used over powder without becoming cakey or uneven

2. Gives a more natural brightening effect than powder highlighters

3. Very blendable

4. No shimmers in the product, so it won't make the face look shiny or oily.

I love this product so much that I cannot find any faults or flaw with this product. Of course if u use it as a concealer, you might be disappointed cause it has little or no coverage as it's not meant to be used as a concealer