2 Urban Decay BOS III

I only own 3 eyeshadow palettes by Urban Decay and they are the Alice in Wonderland palette, Book of Shadows III and the Summer2010 palette (Forgot what's the name :X excuse me) and I love them all. The texture of their e/s in these 3 palettes are all so smooth, silky and blendable and quality is definitely on par with MAC's Veluxe pearl / Satin e/s (with the exception of a few of the glittery e/s...even then I find that the glittery e/s in these palettes are still somewhat a tad more pigmented then some of MAC's lustre e/s like Forgery or Honeylust).

Without further ado, here is the picture of my Book of shadow III

I do understand that some girls dislike the  bulky packagin this particular Book of shadows (due to the special lighting which UD has inserted into it), but I LOVE LOVE LOVE this packagin. I like the popout of the handdrawn New York city skyline which is illuminated by lights once u open it. Yeah, it's not very practical for the lights to be inserted, but that's what makes it special. I'm such a sucker for packaging.

I do not own BOS I or II so i cannot compare BOS III to them, but i do have the Alice in Wonderland palette and as compared to Alice in Wonderland palette (I will review the Alice in wonderland palette in my next post even though it's a LE item and might not be on the shelves anymore), this has more purples and greens than the Alice palette. The Alice palette has more neutral shades of shadows. As with the previous BOS, BOS III also comes with 2 mini size eyeliners and their much raved about eye primer potion. I would definitely agree with most people that UD's BOS are value for money. For SGD$88, you get 16 e/s colors AND 2 eyeliners AND an eye primer. That's cheaper than a drugstore brand e/s and not to mention the quality of e/s is excellent - Pigmented, Smooth and Very blendable

Click to enlarge swatch picture

At first side, Loaded kinda reminded me of MAC's club e/s, but on closer look, it's not similar to MAC's club e/s. MAC's club has more brownish undertones to it whereas Loaded has more green undertones to it. Loaded is excellent for the green smokey look. Minight Cowboy reminds me of MAC's retrospeck e/s - a champagne gold in color and similar in texture, but the glitters in this is definitely larger than MAC's retrospeck. 

 Click to enlarge swatch picture

Nothing but love for most of the colors in UD's BOS III. I especially love Haight, Radium and Kush since i'm a Sucker for blues and green e/s

In short, UD's BOS III is a very versatile and wearable palette which can create many looks from neutral everyday looks to bold and colorful looks and smokey looks. A must buy for any make up addict. Get your hands on it while stocks last as this is Limited edition.

0 Shu Uemura Holiday 2010 palettes (Abracadabra)

Was drawn towards the cute and funky packagin of the eye palettes in the collection. Even the box that came with the palettes were too cute to resist. Not to mention, the gwp promotion was quite attractive as well. (I kinda liked the pouch). With any purchase of at least one 2010 holiday item AND also a minimum purchase of SGD$200, you will get a gwp that consists of a abracadabra toiletry/make up bag plus a travel size of Shu's famous cleanse off oil, whitening lotion and ALSO a generous amount of their purple loose powder. I ended up buying both holiday palettes as I loved both of the packagin and the colors in them.

Each of the palettes consists of 2 mini cream eyeshadow colors and 3 powder shadows (2 minis and 1 full sized) plus a full sized blush. Damage = SGD$125. As tested at the counter, texture and pigmentation of the eyeshadows and blushers are of excellent quality, comparable to their regular ones. The cream e/s are also creamy and smooth to blend. No doubt it's a tad pricey, but I don't mind paying a bit more than usual for the packaging. Plus the colors in these 2 palettes are colors which I would wear.

Oh..and i love the gwp pouch that i got when i bought these 2 palettes. Material is made of satin and feels soft but not of inferior quality. And  there's quite a number of compartment inside for storing cosmetics / toiletries. Excellent for travelling.

2 NARS orgasm, Deep throat VS MAC Peachykeen & Springsheen

Although in the swatches, the 4 swatches of these four blushers look really similar, but they definitely differ on different skintones of people.

Nars orgasm & Deep throat - Would appear more on fair to medium skintones. Ladies with darker skintone might find that they would have to layer more for these to appear

MAC peachykeen - a reddish pink blush with some subtle shimmers that suit ALL skintones from fair to the darkest skin

MAC Springsheen - golden peach pink (leaning more towards peach) for fair to medium tanned skintones.

Most universal flattering shades of these four blushers? Definitely MAC peachykeen imho as it suits all skintones. But my favourite blush of these four for fair skinned ladies would be either Nars Orgasm or MAC mineralized blush in Dainty

 From left to right, top to bottom: Nars orgasm, Nars Deep throat, MAC peachykeen, MAC Springsheen

 From left to right: Nars Orgasm, Nars Deep Throat, MAC peachykeen, MAC springsheen. Click to enlarge

0 Lunasol Nature Summer beige palette

To be honest, I am usually not a fan of brown or neutral e/s. This palette is about the only brown or neutral palette which I will ever wear. If u love shimmers and neutral eye colors, this is the IT palette for you. It was released with Lunasol's summer 2010 collection. The reason which I am only reviewing this Now is because I've been so caught up with MAC's LE collection that i have no time to review this.

Like most japanese e/s, the e/s in this palette is pretty shimmery, so if u are not a fan of shimmery e/s, stay away from this. But unlike most other japanese brands i've tried, the texture in this palette is smooth and silky. The shimmers are very fine and not big chunks of glitter. Color payoff is pretty decent for me - it's the kinda palette that u will never go wrong with as all the shades are all so wearable and easy to apply (not much blending needed. You will never worry about lookin bruised even with the dark brown in this palette). Highly recommended for fans of neutral colors and fans of shimmery e/s.

0 MAC A Tartan tale - Color collection, Lippies

The only 2 lippies that caught my eye from this collection was Full Fuschia and Cut a Caper. Although The Fairy Glen is a nice nude/neutral, I skipped it because I thought it was quite a common color and I have more than enough nude/neutral lipcolors (although i'm nowhere near my friend who has about 400 lippies!!!!)

I currently own only 2 other fuschia lippies from MAC - Lickable and Show orchid. And i don't think they are really similar to Full Fuschia.  Full fuschia has significantly more warm /red undertones to it and Lickable & Show orchid have more blue undertones. In fact, I think Lickable and show orchid are pretty close other than the difference in textures.

Here are my comparison swatch pics for Full  Fuschia, Lickable and Show Orchid

As for Cut a Caper, the first time i set my eyes on it and tried it on my lips, I was instantly in love with it. It looks like a bright coral peach pink on the tube, but on my lips, it turns out to be a warm shade of pink. It's pretty good for both girls with warm or cool undertones imho.

I have nothing that's similar to Cut a Caper, so no comparison swatch from me. But i've heard people commenting that it looks like Ever Hip l/s (LE l/s from MAC from give me liberty of london), but i don't personally own that lipstick so i cannot comment. If u don't have a similar color to Cut a Caper, do grab it asap @ the MAC counter. It's a really lovely shade. While stocks last!!

0 MAC cleanse off oil - clear

I swear by this cleanse off oil. Although it's stated that the transparent one is meant for normal to oily skin and the green one is more for dry and sensitive skin, I've used both, and er honestly, I found no differences. Both are equally just as good in removing make up thoroughly.

Key ingredients: Wheat germ, Evening primrose, Olive, Jojoba oil & Vitamin E

Pros:

1. No mineral oil = no clogged pores :P

2. Removes all stubborn waterproof make up with ease (yes, that include's MAC's liquidlast eyeliner which can be quite a chore to remove)

3. Leaves skin feeling refreshed, clean and smooth,  very gentle on the face

4. Quite reasonably priced

Cons:

1. None. It's my holy grail cleansing oil and i will never change it.

The previous cleansing oil which i used from another brand (a japanese one) broke me out and i suspect it contained mineral oil.

How to use:

Pump 2 or 3 pumps ( I usually pump about 4 pumps to make sure that i have enough oil to remove all traces of make up from my face) onto dry hands and gently massage onto the face in circular motion to remove make up. For stubborn eye make up. pump some of the oil onto a cotton pad and leave it on the face eyes for a few seconds to dissolve the eye make up and gently wipe off.  Rinse off with water. Remember to double cleanse with your normal cleanser.

Although many people rave about shu uemura's cleansing oil, I am very hesitant in using it because it contains mineral oil and i am quite sensitive to mineral oil. Plus Shu's cleansing oil is exorbitantly expensive...even for a big bottle.  I'll stick to my good old MAC cleanse off oil

0 Molton brown warming eucalyptus & ginger body scrub

I've been buying too much make up. So for once I decided to splurge (YES a jar of this scrub is NOT cheap...to be exact..it's about US$48) on one.

So one day, I randomly walked into the Molton brown boutique and I asked the lady to recommend a body scrub that helps to exfoliate my dry and ezecma prone skin. So she recommended me the Warming eucalyptus & ginger body scrub for me. I instantly was sold as i LOVED the smell of the eucalyptus oil in it.

And I am totally in love with the minty cooling after feel of the body scrub on my body and yeah it relaxes my body so much that i feel i can stay in the bath room forever.

Yeah, it is an EXPENSIVE body scrub, but I love the fragrance and how it relaxes my body... and it's quite gentle on my skin as well. Would probably repurchase it once i'm done with it although it'll burn a hole in my pocket. HAHA

0 MAC mineralized cream foundation SPF 15

I'm not a fan of powder foundations as I find that they don't really even out the skintone as well as conventional liquid or cream foundations.

What I like about MAC's mineralized cream foundation is :

1. It comes in a really HANDY compact (especially good for travelling)

2. It is VERY blendable....much more blendable than the Studio tech which kinda feels a bit thicker and also harder to blend

3. Coverage can be built up without looking cakey / thick

4. Gives a very natural, even and nice satiny finish.

Con:

1. I can't say much about oil control, as with ALL foundations that i've ever tried my nose always

turn shiny after a few hrs. But this is not much of an issue as my skin is leaning more towards dry rather than oily.

It's definitely has more coverage than the mineralized satin liquid foundation though. It feels pretty light on the skin and is very good for everyday wear. I would repurchase this foundation if i'm ever done with this foundation as i have quite a number of foundations to finish.

Last but not least, the mineralized cream foundation runs slightly darker than the studio fix powder. So if u are a NC35 in studio fix powder foundation, you would have to get a shade lighter - NC30 in the mineralized cream foundation.

1 MAC A Tartan Tale - Color collection. Blushers

Being a blush whore who collects MAC blushers, I bought both blushers Her Blooming Cheek and My Highland Honey. And yeah, they are kinda similar to other MAC blushers which I own... Sigh. I really do need to go on a blusher ban soon. I've close to almost 200 blushers - both MAC and non MAC.

Her blooming cheek, Azalea (a MAC pro blush color) and Full Fuschia do indeed look pretty similar in the pan, especially Her blooming cheek and Full Fuschia. But after swatched on hand, the differences in the 3  blushers can be seen. Her blooming cheek has more pink-purple undertones, Azalea more of pink undertones and Full Fuschia has the most significant red undertones in it. Then again, once applied on the cheeks, the differences wouldn't be obvious, so if you have one of the three, I would think that you need not buy the other 2. Unless u are a blush collector like i am. Hahah. U definitely need a VERY light hand with this or otherwise, use a stripping blush like the MAC 188 or 131 to apply.

When I first saw Highland honey in the pan, it reminded me of Tippy Beauty powder blush from MAC hello kitty collection, just that it has no shimmers. But when swatched, My highland Honey has a more powdery texture than Tippy BPB, and if you are on the tanned side, you might need several layers and a very dense blush brush like MAC's 129 brush for the color to appear on for your face. In order to get the color for it to appear on my hand in this pic, I had to swatch about 3 or 4 times to get the color to appear. It's a pretty color, but it definitely needs some work for it to appear.

Other than the blushers, I also got myself 2 lipsticks Cut a Caper and Full Fuschia plus a gloss from this collection, which i shall review and post swatches in the next post.

0 MAC A Tartan Tale - eyeshadow palettes

I wasn't planning on gettin anything from Tartan tale at first other than one of the brush sets (For the pouch)... But i was kinda attracted to the combination of colors in 2 of the palettes 6 Twists of Tartan and 6 Reelers and Rockers eye palettes. I love love love the tartan print packaging of this Holiday collection. In fact, I would have to say that the packaging for this holiday collection is the best ever packagin. . . .

Packaging of the 2 eyeshadow palettes - it has some sort of a classy feel about it.

The first time i set my eyes on this palette, i was instantly attracted to the 2 goldish shades in the palettes. I find this to be a pretty versatile palette. The following are just 2 tips for using this palette. Of course, there are many other ways to using this palette. It's all about playing around with the colors and placement of colors =) Generally, I love the textures of most of the eyeshadows in this palettes (4 colors are of the veluxe pearl textures!!! Smooth, pigmented  and blendable!).The only exception being Carbon e/s. I find it a tad chalky .....

 For a smokey look:

1. Use #1 as a base color

2. Apply #3 on the eyelid and slowly blend it upwards

3. Using MAC #217 or #275 brush, apply #6 jus below the brow bone and in the socket area to contour the eyes and blend the black shadow together

4. Use MAC #219 to apply #2 to the inner V of the eyes to brighten the eyes

5. Apply brow bone highlighter

For a day/neutral look:

1. Also use #1 as a base color

2. Apply #4 all over the lid

3. Apply #6 on the outer 1/3 lid and blending it inwards and upwards

4, Apply #5 on the inner corner of the eye and lower lash line

5. Finish off with brow bone highlighter...

Comments on the individual e/s

White Rabbit: A nice basic base color but easily dupeable

Melt my Heart: Kinda reminds me of MAC's electra e/s but just a tad more silvery. Electra has more blue undertones in it. Great texture and pigmentation

Carbon: Never did like Carbon e/s. It's pretty chalky to me

Family Treasures: Love love love this color and texture. Reminds me a bit of MAC's goldmine e/s just that goldmine has more orange undertones to it. Definitely different enough from goldmine e/s to own both e/s

Gaelic gold: I also love this color and texture.Hmmm can't think of anything that's close to this color though. Definitely a must have shade if u like goldy kinda shadows like me

Crown & Sceptre: Reminds me a bit of coppering e/s... I do like it. But it's not terribly unique though.

All in all, I love this palette for the combination of colors even though some colors are not unique. I cannot be luggin my MAC 15 pan palettes every time i go out or travel. This is a useful palette to have. Well, at least for me.

I am usually a sucker for palettes with interesting combination of colors (I didn't purchase the purple palette and the brown palette cause they were like very common..and every christmas, MAC is bound to release a purple and and a brown palette and i think i have more than enough purple and  brown shadows to last me a lifetime. However, if u are new to MAC, I do think it's worth gettin the holiday set as a start. They are value for money). Here was what i did with this palette:

1. Apply #1 as the base color all over the lid

2. Apply #2 up to the socket area and slowly blending it out

3. Apply #3 on the crease area

4. Apply #6 on the outer 1/3 corner of the eye and outer v of the eye

5. Apply #4 as a eye contour color on the socket

6. Apply #5 as a lower lash line color

It is POSSIBLE to use all the colors at one time... =) I am loving this palette especially the #3 green eyeshadow

Comments on the individual eyeshadows:

Lady's Prance: It's slightly greyish when applied...very unique color, but i won't recommend it to be worn alone. Definitely to be used in combination with other colors

Rolled Gold: Reminds me of sumptious olive, but sumptious olive has more brown undertones in it.

High spirits: Love love love this green. Great color payoff and texture. Doesn't look similar to MAC's swimming e/s if u are wondering. This is a tad brighter than MAC's swimming e/s and is definitely easier to work with.

Vainglorious: Nice texture and color payoff. Easy to blend

Set to Dance: A bit on the chalky side...but still workable

Bows & Curtseys: I like pairing this with high spirits and roll gold to give a semi green smokey look

Well, that's it for now....... Happy Holidays to all =)

2 Shu Uemura Face architect liquid foundation

Ever since i bought it about 3 mths back, i've been faithfully using it almost everyday (It was only about a mth ago when i bought MAC's face n body foundation, that I sorta neglected it for a while...but now i'm back to it...).

Pros: Texture is smooth and feels pretty light on the skin although it's definitely not as lightweight as MAC's face and body foundation. It provides medium coverage (So if u are looking for full coverage, i dun think this is the foundation for ya...) and lasts pretty much on me the whole day without oxidising much.

Cons: Not much oil control.

Would repurchase this again and again. Have not broken out from this foundation and it evens out my skintone nicely while giving it a smooth feel. Good for days when i want some coverage... Would wear MAC's face n body foundation on days when i'm in the mood for really

"sheer" make up.

0 MAC Venomous Villains part III - Lipglosses

Continued from the previous post... (Many apologies for the lack of updates as i'm currently having some problems with the internet connection on my own PC)

Pictures and swatches of the lipglosses from venomous Villains..

Strange Potion lipglass If u are a coral sorta person like me, you will like the color of this gloss. It's pigmented and applies smoothly and evenly. Shimmers are relatively subtle as compared to Devilishly Stylish.

Devlishly Stylish: Looks peachy in the tube, but comes out pretty sheer on the lips, with shimmers that are more obvious than its counterpart Strange potion.

Revenge Is Sweet: Looks really dark and purple in the tube but when applied, it turns into a nice sheer pinkish-fuschia kinda gloss. Definitely not as pigmented as it looks like in the tube. Reminds me a little of She Booms! Lipgelee from C-shock collection launched donkey yrs ago. hee hee

From left to right: Strange potion, Devilishly Stylish, Revenge is Sweet lipglass

0 MAC Venomous Villains part II - Lipstuff

From Left to Right: Innocence Beware, Violetta, Toxic Tale and Heartless. Click to enlarge

Reminds me a lot of MAC's hue lipstick when i first saw it, (refer to last picture for comparison swatch), just that it's just slightly more pinky peach than Hue lipstick

If Rebel Lipstick (Berry color) and Show Orchid (Bright Fuschia with blue undertone) had a Baby, this would be the color. Being an amplified creme, Violetta is pigmented, creamy and smooth with satin like finish. Suitable for both people with both fair and tanned skins

My favourite color from this collection. It's texture is so smooth and creamy (unlike some of other MAC's satin finishes i've tried) that I almost thought it was an amplified cream. I'm totally in love with this coral red color. It's the perfect face brightening coral lippie for me. Many have compared this to Vegas volt (an amplified creme), but they are not really similar, Vegas volt has slightly more orange undertones than toxic tale. (Refer to last pic for comparison swatch).

Honestly speaking, I don't like red lipsticks on me. But this red lipstick is still wearableto me and i like it better when i dab it out with fingers leaving a red stain on my lips. It's not the really bright one like Ruby Woo or Russian Red which nobody will ever catch me dead in.

Comparison swatches

2 MAC Venomous Villains Part I - Blush, Beauty powder and Mineralized e/s

Knowing how MAC's limited edition collection sells out like a hotcakes, I rushed down to the counter before it open to purchase my items.. And not surprisingly, there were many people waiting outside for the store to open. And oh boy was it a madhouse,  once the door opened at 10am sharp...everybody rushed in. And it was chaos. There were only 2 MAs on duty, so i was lucky to have bought whatever i wanted. And my friend wanted a nail polish...but omg, it was OUT OF STOCK EVEN THOUGH THE STORE JUS OPENED. So i had to rush to another counter to buy for my friend, but they were out of stock too...finally @ the 3rd counter i managed to grab a Bad Fairy nail polish for my friends. Judging from the amount of items  i bought ( 3 bps, 3 blushers, 3 lipsticks, 3 lipglosses and 2 Mineralized eyeshadows), I think this has to be my favourite MAC collection of the year.

I have divided my Venomous Villains product swatches into 2 parts. Without further ado, here are the pictures. Will edit post for review of the products @ a later time once i start using them

Packaging for the beauty powders

Packaging for the blushers & mineralized eyeshadows

Bite of An Apple vs other MAC blushers

Briar Rose Beauty powder vs Summer Rose Beauty powder from Rose Romance collection

Her Own Devices vs Tenderling blush (regular)

Oh So Fair vs Blush of Youth & Alpha girl

Review of :

Her Own devices Beauty powder: May look a bit brownish pink in the pan, but once applied it gives a pretty natural peachy flush. Texture of powder is smooth as with most MAC's beauty powders. For fairer to medium skin tones, two layers of this is enough to suffice as a blush color. For tanner skin tones, this would act more like a finishing powder for the face. Am loving this so much that i've been wearing this almost everyday now.