Category Archives: Makeup

MAC Cosmetics Vamplify 2016 (What’s Going On? & Peer Pressure)

June 29, 2016Makeup, Reviews, SwatchesMACChelle

MAC Vamplify in What's Going On? and Peer Pressure

You may remember that MAC‘s Vamplify collection was a limited edition release last year… and now it’s back! They’ve added a few new shades into the lineup and re-released this limited edition collection!

I was interested/curious/excited to try these out because my experiences with MAC‘s lip gloss formula has been limited to their lipglass and plushglass lines. The Vamplify formula is “loaded with high-powered pigments that hug lips in shades that glisten with a delicious shine, one swipe of Vamplify loads lips with attitude as a combination of lush natural oils polish with impeccable, moisturizing colour. Never a tease, the glossy colour wears comfortably for hours, for a look that comes on strong and doesn’t let go”. It retails for $24 CAD/$20 USD and contains 5 ml of product.

MAC Vamplify has a long and thin sponge-tip applicator

The packaging is far longer and slimmer than any other lip gloss I’ve had by MAC. The doefoot applicator is also longer and slanted than the “usual”.

MAC Vamplify Swatches - What's Going On? and Peer Pressure — MAC Vamplify Swatches – What’s Going On? and Peer Pressure

What’s Going On? is a hot intense fuchsia that is a repromote from last year. It has an intensely pigmented base and very fine blue/purple micro-shimmer.
Peer Pressure is intense red burgundy that has no shimmer. (I’d call it a matte, but obviously it’s glossy – so it has that deep coloured base that is totally opaque.)

MAC Vamplify in What’s Going On?

My jaw dropped the first time I put this one on! The micro-shimmer in the product adds one heck of a gorgeous reflect to the center of my lip.

MAC Vamplify in Peer Pressure

This is what I would consider a “holiday” shade because of the deep berry/red tones, but it’s gorgeous for any time of year.

My Thoughts

This is sad you guys, but I think I’m just going to finally have to realize that I’m not a lipgloss person as I just don’t have the mouth for it. It looks BEAUTIFUL on me but I found that the gloss would seep outside my lip line. You’ve heard me lament about my lipline bleed out problems regardless of the product that I’m using in many, MANY posts, so I really don’t feel that the Vamplify formula is to blame for that (just something to be aware of for those of you that have the same problems I do). I found these worked best for me if I applied a similar coloured lip colour and then applied the gloss to the center of my lips for that extra punch.

My annoying issues aside, the Vamplify formula is super smooth and ultra pigmented (like holy BAM! pigmentation). It doesn’t feel like the traditional sticky lipglass formula that I’m used to (stickiness doesn’t bother me by the way, but I know it affects others). If you’re looking for hyper pigmentation that is comfortable to wear, glides on effortlessly and delivers outstanding colours, then I think you’ve found it with the Vamplify formula. Please let me know if you’ve tried this formula in the past and if you’re interested in any of the new shades!

The limited edition Vamplify glosses will launch online on July 7, 2016 and will be in stores on July 14, 2016. For a full colour story and information on repromotes versus new shades, please visit Swatch and Review.

The products featured in this review were sent to me for consideration.

Swatch Sunday: Wet n Wild Comfort Zone

June 26, 2016Makeup, SwatchesWet n WildChelle

Wet n Wild Comfort Zone

It feels like the Wet n Wild Comfort Zone palette has been around for eons by now. And for good reason! This palette is one of the best formulated, pigmented and easy to work with eyeshadows I have ever had the pleasure of using. And the kicker is that it’s only about $5!

Wet n Wild Comfort Zone Swatches

Wet n Wild Comfort Zone - Browbone — Wet n Wild Comfort Zone – Browbone

Wet n Wild Comfort Zone - Eyelid — Wet n Wild Comfort Zone – Eyelid

Wet n Wild Comfort Zone - Crease — Wet n Wild Comfort Zone – Crease

Wet n Wild Comfort Zone - Definer — Wet n Wild Comfort Zone – Definer

The Wet n Wild Comfort zone palette can be purchased on walmart.com for $4.68 USD.

VIDEO: Pride Rainbow Makeup Tutorial

June 23, 2016Makeup, Tutorials, YouTubeChelle

Sephora Collection Rouge Balms (Review & Swatches)

June 22, 2016Makeup, Reviews, SwatchesSephoraChelle

Sephora Collection Rouge Balms

I feel like Sephora’s housebrand Sephora Collection keeps pumping out products that are so often ignored (and I know I’m not the only one who’s mentioned that before!) and are a fraction of the price when compared to high end brands. Allow me to shine a light on their brand new Rouge Balms!

With eight different shades to choose from, the Rouge Balms should be able to offer up a shade that appeals to you (I have four of the eight in this post). They’re marketed as a balm with an SPF of 20 which is pretty amazing since I recently lamented the fact that not nearly enough lip products (especially balms) have any kind of sunscreen in them.

The Rouge Balm “hydrates as it protects lips with an SPF 20 wax concentrate, yuzu extract, and a vitamin E derivative. The creamy gel texture delivers fresh and vibrant color in one swipe with a dazzling, juicy shine from light-reflecting pigments.”

I do think the term balm is a bit “out there” for this product… it’s far more pigmented like a true lipstick. The formula is soft and emollient while delivering a metric ton of colour (I mean… just LOOK at the swatches above!). The formula does have a bit of a shine so I’d liken this to more of a cream formula lipstick with a sheen.

Sephora Collection Rouge Balm Swatches

Sephora Collection Rouge Balm in Enchanting Blush

Sephora Collection Rouge Balm in Soft Red

Sephora Collection Rouge Balm in Gentle Coral

Sephora Collection Rouge Balm in Subtle Peony

My Thoughts

The Sephora Collection Rouge Balms have an incredibly comfortable formula. I found these easy to wear and definitely hydrating – just like a balm! You will notice there’s a lot more slip to this product than a typical balm (twhich usually feel fairly tacky to me) and there’s a heck of a lot of pigmentation. If you’re looking for something more sheer, this wouldn’t be the product for you. If, however, you want some sun protection in your lip products and a punch of colour, this is *definitely* something you want to look into.

A note on the packaging though: I love the soft hourglass shape of the exterior packaging as well as the fact that they’re colour coded to match the lipstick inside… but there’s NO NAME anywhere on the tube to indicate which colour you’ve got. There’s a sticker on the exterior metal casing of the bullet that has a code number (for example, B06) that then relates to the number listed on Sephora’s site. But if you forget the shade name, you’re out of luck!

My favourite shades out of the lot I tried are definitely Gentle Coral (you saw that one coming didn’t you?) and Soft Red. Do any of them pique your interest?

The Sephora Collection Rouge Balms can be purchased on sephora.ca for $15.50 CAD or on sephora.com for $12.50 USD.

The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration.

BECCA x Jaclyn Hill Champagne Collection Face Palette (Review & Swatches)

June 20, 2016Makeup, Reviews, SwatchesBECCAChelle

BECCA x Jaclyn Hill - Champagne Collection Face Palette

Amid much fanfare (and drama – holy hell – for that story, please see this post), the BECCA x Jaclyn Hill Champagne Collection has fully launched now in stores.

The Champagne Collection adds Champagne Pop in both a liquid and a poured creme format to BECCA‘s permanent lineup. There was also the eyeshadow palette which I owned and returned (again, those details are in that other post), and finally, this limited edition Champagne Collection Face Palette.

The palette is a solid palette, that’s for sure. It’s got some heft to it and it feels luxurious – which I hugely appreciate. The mirror inside (not pictured) is ENORMOUS. I had heard a few people saying just how wonderful the mirror was and I was like “oh whatever, it’s a mirror”. But seriously… the mirror is AMAZING! It’s not only enormous, but the reflection is razor sharp. Easily one of the best mirrors I have ever owned (and that really feels like such an odd thing to say…).

Sadly, the shade names are just a flimsy overlay that I promptly threw out. That being said, the names are on the back of the palette, so you’re not totally stuck if you throw out the plastic bit like I did.

Okay so… I have to say it… what in god’s name is up with the format of this palette? Who in their right mind thought it would be a good idea to off-center the highlighters? I don’t see the need to have the BECCA/Jaclyn Hill repeated off to the side of the palette when it’s on the TOP of the packaging. This looks so skewed and weird and it’s really, REALLY offputting to me. It just looks like the poor thing is unbalanced! ACK! Anyway… with that off my chest…

Rose Sprit, Amaretto and Pamplemousse - swatches — Rose Sprit, Amaretto and Pamplemousse – swatches

The blushes included in the palette are all brand new shades. Rose Spritz is in their new luminous blush formula (I’ve previously reviewed Snapdragon), whereas Amaretto and Pamplemousse (that’s grapefruit in French) are mineral blushes.

Champagne Pop and Prosecco Pop - swatches — Champagne Pop and Prosecco Pop – swatches

Also in the palette are two highlighters in BECCA‘s well known shimmering skin perfector pressed formula. Champagne Pop is the shade we’ve all become absolutely infatuated with (and I’m so glad it’s part of the permanent lineup!) as well as its limited edition little sister, Prosecco Pop. Prosecco Pop is much more golden when compared to the peachyness of Champagne Pop.

Wearing Amaretto blush (very lightly) and Prosecco Pop

(Tutorial on this look coming on Thursday to my YouTube channel. Direct video link here!)

My Thoughts

So the reality is that the BECCA x Jaclyn Hill face palette is limited edition and will not be made permanent. That being said, I have no idea if the popularity of the shades will eventually make BECCA consider making them permanent (as they did with the original Champagne Pop). From my perspective, it would be a waste of time and money to formulate new shades without at least *hoping* to make them permanent in the future. That being said, no one should rely on that. If you like the shades in here, then rest assured that aside from Champagne Pop, all of the other shades are unique to BECCA‘s lineup. This also makes it a very cost effective bundle because BECCA‘s products do not run cheap.

As for the quality of the products, I found them to be completely on par with their other products in the same category. I was especially pleased with Rose Spritz – it was the shade I was least expecting to like and yet it’s become the shade I’ve used the most since I got it. On a fundamental level, Pamplemousse is the shade that originally drew me to the palette and it’s a lovely, lovely colour to wear. Amaretto is an equally fun colour to wear, although I realize it looks exceptionally pale in the shot I showed above – I blended it out to look natural in daylight, but then it appeared to not show up as much on camera – still gorgeous though.

As for the highlighters, I’m not as sold on Prosecco Pop. I was expecting it to be similar to MAC‘s Whisper of Gilt, but found that it could pull very yellow on me depending on what other face products I was wearing. This is a personal thing though and should not deter you from getting it if you’re into the shade. Champagne Pop is, of course, as lovely as ever.

So now you know I love this face palette! Let me know what your thoughts are. Did the drama deter you from picking this up? Or are you as drawn to the shades as I am? Let me know!

Sadly, it seems Sephora Canada is already sold out, but for those of you in the USA, you can pick this up for $52 USD at sephora.com.