PRODUCTS USED:
– Maybelline Master Prime*
– ARTDECO Eyeshadow Base*
– MAC Cork eyeshadow
– Charlotte Tilbury Rebel Quad
– Lit Cosmetics Liberache glitter
– Lit Cosmetics Clearly Liquid Glitter Base
– Inglot Body Sparkles in 45*
– Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper
– Marc Jacobs Highliner Gel Crayon in Blacquer
– Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof*
– House of Lashes Bombshell falsies
– QUO Nourish and Prime Hydrating Primer*
– MAKE UP FOR EVER Ultra HD liquid in Y225*
– Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer
– Urban Decay X-Rated*
– Anastasia Beverly Hills Moonchild palette – Lucky Clover
– NARS Brow Defining Cream in Sonoran
– ARTDECO Eyebrow Pencil in 06*
– Bite Fig lipstick
– Bite Gold Lipstick*
Category Archives: Makeup
essence Matt Matt Matt Lipstick Collection (Review & Swatches)
essence has recently launched their Matt Matt Matt lipstick range which has eight shades ranging from nudes, to pinks and reds, to some purple and deep vampy shades. For a collection that is limited to only eight shades, they’ve done one heck of a job by covering all of their bases!
In stark contrast to their Sheer + Shine lipsticks (which I really enjoyed), the Matt Matt Matt in chockful of in your face colour with a matte finish. Each shades packs one hell of a pigment punch! But don’t take my word for it, check out these swatches:
essence Matt Matt Matt Lipstick Collection Swatches
My Thoughts
There is NO denying the colour payoff in these lipsticks – the pigment is there and it’s ready to party! I found the longevity on these lipsticks to be incredible – I had no movement, no budging for 4-5 hours (which for me is really good as I don’t tend to wear lipstick for longer than that timespan). My biggest complaint is that I get a little bit of lipstick gathering on the inner rim of my mouth – just where the lipstick ends and the inside of my mouth begins. It’s not a great feeling, but I can easily blend it out with my finger if need be.
It’s worth noting that there is a bit of a plastic fruit scent to these lipsticks. The scent is identical to their long lasting lipstick range though – so if you like that scent, you’ll be fine with these.
The essence Matt Matt Matt lipsticks retail for $3.99 USD each and can be purchased on ulta.com or or for $4.49 CAD on essencemakeup.com.
The products featured in this post were given to me for consideration at a PR event. Post contains some affiliate links.
Swatch Sunday: Kat Von D Star Studded Eyeshadow Book
If you don’t recognize this palette, don’t get too excited because it was the 2014 holiday release for Kat Von D. This is the Star Studded Eyeshadow Book and, like most of KVD‘s holiday releases, it’s fairly enormous! I didn’t buy it at the time, but I picked it up at a swap a long while ago and I’m only getting around to swatching it now. (Because let’s face it, this palette isn’t especially relevant at the moment!) Enjoy the swatches from this older palette!
Kat Von D Star Studded Eyeshadow Book Swatches
Lise Watier Rouge Intense Suprême Lipsticks (Review & Swatches)
I don’t know what it is, but it wasn’t until I got into blogging that I started to get more and more exposed to Canadian makeup. And, having been born and raised in this country, it feels really weird to say that. Considering I can tell you a lot about brands that are available only in the UK, or only in the USA, it’s definitely strange that I can’t talk more in depth about some of my own homegrown brands. Maybe it’s because those seem foreign to me, and therefore more interesting?
So since I’ve not tried a heck of a lot of Canadian cosmetics, I feel like I’m constantly having my eyes opened to what’s available to me in my own backyard! I’m not going to beat around the bush with this review – Lise Watier has totally stunned me with how good these lipsticks are, so I want to take this time to tell you why I love them so much!
The Rouge Intense Suprême lipsticks are touted as having rich, intense colour in one swipe (totally accurate), incredible hold (ALSO accurate) and are hydrating and nourishing (yes, and yes!). Never before have I see a brand claim something so accurately in their product description and actually hold true on all claims!
These lipsticks come housed in reflective gunmetal case with a magnetic cap. No snapping into place here, these lipstick click into place and stay put once the magnet gets a hold of the other side!
And these buggers are PIGMENTED AF. They glide on like a dream – creamy and moisturizing – with barely any pressure on your lips. They stay somewhat glossy, kind of like a thick cream, but settle down a bit over time.
I’ve mentioned before, but I’m not a huge fan of wearing lipstick – in practice I find it a bit of a hassle: I’m constantly worried about it getting on my teeth, bleeding outside of my lip line, or basically just smearing everywhere. While there’s no tacky quality to the Rouge Intense Suprême lipsticks that I usually associate with a good stay-in-place lipstick, these actually stay hydrating but firmly in place on your lips. Every time I checked my teeth in the mirror at my desk at work, the lipstick hadn’t freaking budged from random movement (such as drinking out of a straw, or talking to people). Keep in mind though, although these stay in place, they are not transfer-proof.
Also worth mentioning is that they have a very light fruity scent in the tube, but there is no discernible taste on my lips.
Lise Watier Rouge Intense Suprême Lipsticks – Face Swatches
Arielle is verging on too pale of a pink for my own tastes, but I can see how a lot of others would find this a very easy and comfortable colour to wear. It’s the kind of colour that will match practically every eye look.
For me, Olivia is the kind of shade I’ll wear as an everyday shade when I don’t know what to grab for. It’s a beautiful deeper rose-pink.
AND HOLY FREAKING GOD – THIS ONE IS EVERYTHING! Jasmine is everything I ever needed in a lipstick colour! I found myself in constant awe of this colour when I put it on.
Final Thoughts
I have zero negatives to say about the Lise Watier Rouge Intense Suprême lipsticks. They are intensely pigmented and yet stay put. They are hands down one of the most comfortable lipsticks I have ever put on my lips! (They’re in the same vein as the Revlon Super Lustrous lipsticks which are some of my all time favourites.) At no point did my lips feel uncomfortable while wearing product (a common problem for me with lipsticks) and I actually feel like they moisturized my lips as well since I had no desire to apply balm after I removed them. In short – these are incredible!
The Lise Watier Rouge Intense Suprême lipsticks can be purchased on beautyboutique.ca for $27 CAD each (and there are plenty of other shades as well!).
This products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration.
Anastasia Beverly Hills x Nicole Guerriero Glow Kit (Review & Swatches)
While I’m not done with highlighting as a trend, I feel like I am personally done with limited edition highlighting kits – ESPECIALLY when they sell out so damn fast and then no one has a chance to get their hands on it ever again. And let’s face it… the ABH Glow Kits fly so fast off the shelves it’s a wonder we even get to talk about them before they’re gone! However, they fly off the shelves for good reason: they’re DAMN good products!
So for that reason, I wasn’t going to buy the Anastasia Beverly Hills x Nicole Guerriero Glow Kit – because I just didn’t need it. I’ve picked up a ton of ABH Glow Kits over the last year or so and I love them intensely – I use them constantly! But at a certain point, you’ve just had enough, you know? Like, there’s only so many shades of highlighter (especially in the champagne vein) that you can use before they all start to look the same.
So when my dear friend Julie of Swatch and Review offered to loan me this particular Glow Kit for review, half of me was like “ugh, why bother? I don’t need more highlighters and this doesn’t look unique” and the other side of me was like “oh dear god please do not fall in love with this so much that I want to buy one for myself”.
Anyway, my personal inner monologue aside, let’s take a look at the palette: the Nicole Guerriero Glow Kit is excessively warm, which seems to be a general trend with powdered products lately. You get six pans at 4.5 grams each – which is more than enough product, especially given the amount of variety you’re faced with!
One thing worth noting is that some of these pans do contain glitter in them. 143 for sure has glitter, and I think it was Daydream that had it as well. I know not everyone is a fan of glitter pieces in their highlighter, so I wanted to make sure that got mentioned.
Swatched out, I was surprised how similar all the colours looked. While I was supremely enchanted by the look of Kitty Kat, it’s really not that different from Forever Young beside it. Glo Getter and 143 also look surprisingly similar in swatches as well. The most unique shade in this assortment is definitely Daydream in my eyes – I’ve been hunting for an orange-tinged highlighter to round out my collection (I swear I have every other shade of the rainbow) and I can’t think of anything that’s similar.
Anastasia Beverly Hills x Nicole Guerriero Glow Kit – Face Swatches
Final Thoughts
Some would venture to say that the ABH x Nicole Guerriero Glow Kit is too deep for pale folk, but I feel like each and every shade of this palette works on my NW20 skin tone. If you’re paler than me, you may struggle with Glo Getter and 143, as I feel I’m right on the verge of those shades being a touch too deep for me. However, considering that when you look at this palette the overall shade range seems deeper than normal, I’m surprised and impressed that they did work out on my skintone.
Is this palette necessary in your life? I don’t know – I’m kind of struggling with my thoughts on this one. The palette itself is beautiful, and I love how each and every shade looks on my skin. The effect is ethereal, luminous and glowing and there isn’t a shade in here I wouldn’t wear on the daily. However… I also feel like a lot of the shades are very, very similar and don’t reflect enough variety for my own tastes. I also feel like I’ve got a metric ton of highlighters in my collection that make this palette somewhat unnecessary to own in addition to what I already have.
That being said, if you like the look of this palette and/or you’re a fan of Nicole Guerriero, I don’t think you can go wrong buying this palette. The quality is excellent and the overall effect is glorious. For me though, this didn’t fill enough gaps in my highlighter collection to necessitate buying it (although I’m damn glad I got to try it out. Thanks Julie! Sidenote, she also reviewed this palette today too, so be sure to check out her review here for her take on it!).
Let me know what your take on this palette is! I’m especially curious to hear from people who are looking to bulk up their highlighter collection – do you think this would be a great addition to your collection?
The Anastasia Beverly Hills x Nicole Guerriero Glow Kit is a limited edition item and can be purchased on sephora.ca for $52 CAD and on sephora.com for $40 USD.
This post contains affiliate links.