MAC Kohl Power Eye Pencil in Feline

Ok, so I went to check out the Cham Pale collection last weekend. Overall, the collection was pretty good but, the lipgelees and lipsticks looked a lil' too frosty on me so, I chucked those. I went particularly to pick up Feline Eye Kohl ($14.50).

My two cents on Feline:

This is definitely one of the blackest liners I've tried so far. It's a rich, deep black. Its creamy enough to adhere to the waterline which also means it smudges. Does not slide off the waterline like the Urban Decay 24/7 pencils but, smudges like a bitch. It does not actually 'set ' so, I suggest setting it with a translucent powder or a dark eyeshadow. I did not have any irritations whatsoever. I knew it was safe since, it was Kohl.

You would love feline if you like eyeliners that are really, really black and stick to the waterline. It is creamy but, not as creamy as Stila or Urban Decay. But, there is definitely no tug or pull while applying. To make it last longer, I applied it and applied Urban Decay's 'Zero' on top of it to set it. I would not classify this as long-wearing either.

You would not like Feline if you hate eyeliners that smudge. Setting it is the key here without which, we would end up with raccoon eyes. Since this is formulated to work with Smokey eyes and is meant to smudge, I wouldn't complain much.

Comparison b/w feline and zero

I like feline a lot especially, for a simple smudgy, everyday look but, I won't say it's something that you need to have 2-3 backups of. It is easily dupe-able but still, nice to have one. I would not stock up but, I might re-purchase if I run out and MAC re-promotes this again as part of some other collection(I see it gets re-promoted at least 2-3 times a year). Overall, a great eyeliner if you are a fan of those Kohl-rimmed eyes.I am a sucker for intense black eyeliners and I don't particularly have a problem if its a *little* on the natural, smudgy side : -)

Have you tried Feline? Do you like it? I'd love to know!

Mickey Contractor For MAC Makeup Collection And Face Charts

These are some info about the Mickey Contractor for MAC makeup collection. These should hit the MAC counters on January 6th, 2011.

EDIT : This will be launched only at certain MAC locations.Will update as and when I get more info.Sorry for the confusion. Also, the foundations and concealers maybe permanent :) 

Lipsticks

Yash - Deep neutral (matte) (LE)

Mehr - Dirty blue pink (matte) (LE)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Everyone!!!

Yes To Cucumbers Soothing Eye Gel

I've had a lot of positive experiences with the "Yes to" range in the past and
decided to give their eye gel a try. 'Yes To Cucumbers' claims that this eye gel reduces puffiness, brightens dark circles, tightens and cools the skin around the eye area. Seemed like a total multi-tasking eye product to me :-) It does claim to contain a cartload of natural ingredients(99.6% natural) too, with no Petroleum, Parabens & SLS. I do have a problem with milia around my eyes so, I tend to stick with gels more. I don't mind a light, hydrating cream but, I cannot use it for more than 3 times a week. With gels, I don't have a problem using them even twice a day!

Ingredients : Aqua (Water), Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Extract*, Sodium Alginate, Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Gel*, Chamomilla Recutita (Camomile) Extract*, Brassica Oleracea (Broccoli) Extract*, Citric Acid, Peucedanum Graveolens (Dill) Extract*, Capsicum Annuum (Green Pepper) Extract*, Algin, Algea (Spirulina, Rhodella, Dunaliella) *, Maris Sal (Dead Sea Minerals), Parfum (Fragrance), Spinacia Oleracea (Spinach) Extract, Benzyl Alcohol, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E) *, Panthenol*, Dehydroacetic Acid. Certified Organic Ingredient


The product comes with a cute packaging and a hygienic pump tube to dispense the right amount. One pump does dispense a lot so, I try to stop with half a pump for both the eyes. Its a clear, thick gel that absorbs pretty well onto the skin with no residue. It has a very soothing, pleasant cucumber smell that isn't overwhelming at all. 

This is all I need for both the eyes!

As far as the claims go, it does cool the eye area pretty, pretty well and refreshes. I store it in the fridge for that extra cooling sensation and figured its better storing it in the fridge since there are very less preservatives. I've been using it for a good 3 months and I don't see a visible difference in my dark circles or fine lines (will report back if I do) but, it does moisturize the area pretty well which most 'gels' don't do and tightens to an extent. Not so tight that the whole under-eye area feels stretchy. I can apply my concealer with this gel beneath since, it does not leave any kinda residue that tends to slide the makeup off.

The price($14.99) may seem too much for a drugstore brand but, they do have quality ingredients. Plus, the 30ml of product would last a very long time! 


Available at Target, Walgreens, Ulta and online at yestocarrots.com


Have you tried Yes To Cucumbers Soothing Eye gel? Are there any good drugstore eye creams/gels that worked for ya?I'd love to know!

One of the prettiest pink lipsticks out there!

MAC Fanfare is one of the prettiest, girlie shade of pink that I've tried. It's a light creamy pink with no hint of sparkles.I love pink lipsticks but, always tend to stay away from blue-based pinks as they look totally hideous on me. MAC describes this one as a Mid-toned yellow pink. The finish is Cremesheen, one of my favorite finishes from MAC so, there's room for plenty of moisture.

MAC Fanfare Cremesheen Lipstick

What do you think? This would be a perfect warm shade for all skin tones. A great, versatile shade of pink that can be paired with a variety of eye looks.

Have you tried Fanfare? What are your favorite pink shades? Share your thoughts!

N.Y.C Blushable Crème Stick - Berry New Yorker

If you are a blush lover, there's no way you're gonna let go of the N.Y.C Blushable Crème Sticks. They are cheap as chips ($3.99), look uber cute and come in a variety of flattering shades. The quality is amazing and they go on so smooth. "Berry New Yorker" is a deep berry that looks more like a dusky rose and leaves a natural looking flush. This shade has no glitter/shimmer and leaves a gorgeous cream finish. I find this shade to be the best looking on medium to dark skin tones. On ligher skin tones, it may look a tad too dark but, its always easy to tone it down since, this one is super blendable even on the driest of skins!

Since this blush is so pigmented, its easy to go overboard and end up looking clowny. With these, a little swipe goes a long way. I like blending them with my fingers, as brushes make it look kinda streaky. The packaging is also pretty cool to travel with although, the plastic casing looks like cheap quality to me. But hey, for $3.99, I ain't complaining much. The only downside is that it does not last that long. Maybe three hours and after that it's totally gone. So, I usually set it with a translucent powder or top it off with a powder blush. Either of them work fine. These are definitely one of the best, travel-friendly, inexpensive drugstore cream blushes I've tried. In a pinch, I have even used this as a lipstick :-) and wouldn't mind trying a color or two more.

Have you tried N.Y.C Blushable Crème Sticks? Are there any good shades you recommend I try? I'd love to know!

Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss in Afterglow

Smashbox Lip Enhancing glosses come in three different finishes. Sheer Color, True Color and Full Color. The names pretty much speak for themselves. You can read more on the finishes here. I like their shade selection for the fact that the nudes are totally wearable and don't make you look washed out.
Click all pictures to enlarge.

Afterglow is a sheer, shimmery cool pink that leans towards the pinkish, nude spectrum of colors. I know, I can never get bored of such shades!

Afterglow is great worn alone or on top of any lipstick. It looks quite sheer while on alone and adds a great dimension to your lips when applied over a lipstick because of the reflective glitter. The gloss is non-sticky and stays on for a good 2-3 hours and also has no wacky flavor or taste. The slim packaging makes it easy to just pop it into your purse and travel with ease.

The only downside would be the price($18). Yep, they are much more expensive than a MAC lipglass, but, the color selection(especially the nudes) is just top notch. I totally love these glosses and would love to try out more when I come across a great deal.

Have you tried Smashbox Lip Enhancing Glosses? Do you like them as much as I do? Share your thoughts!

I hit the jackpot a little too late!

I was resisting getting the Urban Decay 24/7 Jackpot Set for a while now and finally caved in about three weeks ago.Unlike last year's Super Stash, Jackpot contains a full size pencil in "Zero" along with nine travel sized (Read: TINY) 24/7 glide-on eye pencils.

The shades are:

• Mildew (mossy green)
• Stash (gold mossy green)
• Binge (dark metallic blue)
• Rockstar (deep reddish purple)
• Electric (bright blue)
• Whiskey (dark brown)
• Gunmetal (dark metallic grey)
• Ransom (bright purple)
• El Dorado (bright yellow gold)
• Zero (Zealous Black) 

The set retails at $39 and is a great way to experiment with colors and also decide which pencils you would want to buy in full size. The size of these pencils are tiny and if you tend to use them regularly, they wont last you that long. But, I don't think I'm going to be using Bright Iridescent Purples and Metallic Blues on a daily basis!

Here are the swatches with and without flash (click to enlarge):

L-R : Whiskey,Electric,Mildew,Stash,Rockstar,Binge,Gunmetal,Ransom,El Dorado

The quality is amazing like other glide on pencils from Urban Decay.  My eyes are super-sensitive and a lot of eyeliners irritate me. I must say, none of these pencils gave me any sort of allergic reactions, even on my waterline. Even the ones with glitter, although no glitter is supposed to be used on the waterline. I just wish UD would start including some other shade instead of zero in all of their palettes. I do like the shade but, seeing it it every other kit is kinda boring. 

I love all these shades. Mildew is a standout piece for me. It's a mossey green that looks good with any kind of eye look. Love! I might consider buying it in full-size. Overall, it's an amazing buy and a great way to try out some eye popping shades.

Available at : Sephora,Ulta 

So, do you plan on trying Jackpot? Or have you already? What are your favorite eyeliner shades from the 24/7 glide-on range? I'd love to know!

Products That Did Not Work For Me

These are some of the products that I felt were really, really over-hyped and did nothing to me. I badly wanted these to work since these were talked about so much. I do not have pictures to show you since, most of them ended up in the bin anyways.Also, sorry if any of these are HG products for any of you but, this is just my personal opinion : -) And, these are in no particular order.

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing 'Lotion'(DDML) ~  I still don't know how something this greasy, can work on any skin type without causing breakouts or clogging pores. The gel version(DDMG), which is actually a more creamy gel, is great! I have combination-dry skin and the gel still works for me in summers. However, in winters, my skin needs a little more moisture so I prefer a more hydrating cream. The formula of the gel is far better than the lotion. I mean, c'mon, the lotion has "mineral oil" as the first ingredient. How much more dated can a formula get? The smell is really cheap too! Clinique has so many state-of-the-art  products with quality ingredients, but I just don't get why they cannot re-formulate this one. This might work great for some people but for me, it was an epic fail.

Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara ~ I think this is one of those mascaras that is really a hit or a miss. Thank god, I got a trial size($9) and did not waste money on a full size tube($19) which by the way, I think is waaay over-priced for a basic mascara like this one. Mine was the non-waterproof version in black which was not all that black, to start with. Plus, it smudges and takes a long time to dry. It does curl my lashes to an extent but volume, no. I need to work real hard to get a decent volume. On to the bin this went!

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara ~ This is by far the worst mascara I have ever tried. It's pure crap and over-hyped. Did nothing to my lashes. Clumps like mad and flakes like anything. I ended up having those flakes on my cheeks. Not pretty! At least, the bad gal lash does a decent job of curling but this one, does nothing at all.

Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer ~ I love Smashbox products. Especially, their lip glosses, concealers and blushes which probably made me think this would work great too. I got this as a sample with an order from Smashbox and I am glad I did not splurge on a full size ($36). This primer dried out my skin, made it flaky and in fact, enhanced my fine lines and pores. They say, this is to be used after a moisturizer and before a foundation. That is exactly what I did and it totally nullified what my moisturizer did for me.After this, I have refrained myself from trying any kind of gel based primers since, I have a feeling this is what is going to be the end result.

L'Oreal HIP Color Chrome Eyeliner ~ I know a lot of you love this eyeliner but, it just did not work for me. I have tried much better drugstore options that are dupes for UD's 24/7, but this isn't one. The shades are pretty, but it stings my eye every time I apply. And when it starts fading after a few hours, it gets really streaky. I can fix that with just re-applying but, the not so tolerable sting was a huge deal breaker for me.

That's it for now.Whew! That was a long post! I hope the list stops with these five and I don't end up doing another post like this! These are the five products that did not work for me at all in-spite of the rave reviews they have received and some of them which, I also thought, were overrated. So, do you have any such products? Do share them. I'd love to know!

NYX Tinted Lip Spa in Vintage

NYX Tinted Lip Spa is a tinted lip treatment from NYX that claims to nourish lips with Vitamin E while adding color at the same time. Packaging wise, these look similar to the NYX Round Lipsticks except, they have a transparent lid-top to identify colors.

Since these are lip treatments, I assumed they are going to be quite sheer and picked up "Vintage" which was a bright coral. The color turns out quite true to what it looks like and is not very sheer either. The pigmentation is pretty good when compared to other lip treatments.

I would not say these are very moisturizing. They go on very smooth and deliver a nice tint, but dry my lips out after a while and disappear after an hour. I have to keep re-applying it. I don't have a problem with the color fading, as long as the moisture is retained but, the moisture is stripped away too! These may perform better with a lip balm underneath but that totally beats the purpose.

The colors look fun but, not sure why this was named tinted lip spa since I don't see my lips drenched in moisture like NYX claims. They have a minty feel to them  which is nice, but also a weird smell. The price however, is great ($5.99) and the color selection is really good. They are practical and fit easily in your purse.

Will I re-purchase this? Most likely, NO! If only they were more moisturizing to be called a lip spa. I am sure there are better tinted lip treatments out there that do a fab job for the same price, or lesser!

Have you tried NYX Tinted Lip Spa? Do you like them? Share your thoughts!