Category Archives: Makeup
Clinique x Crayola Chubby Sticks (Review & Swatches)
When I saw the spoiler images of the Clinique and Crayola Chubby Sticks appearing online a few weeks (maybe a month?) ago, I was more than a little in enamoured. Clinique‘s Chubby Sticks have been around for ages, but there is really no better brand to pair with than Crayola for these products! I mean, they already look like crayons!

Not unexpectedly, but just so you’re aware, this Clinique and Crayola team up is a limited edition collection. The collection features eight shades that veer very much towards the pink and red side of things. While there are some lesser tinted shades, you won’t find a true nude in the bunch (when I say that, I mean something more brown/caramel in tone).

Although I’ve been aware of Clinique‘s Chubby Stick pencils for years, I’ve never actually tried them before now. These particular Chubby Sticks are branded as a “Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm” and they really do feel that way. They’re loaded with mango and shea butters and the end result is that you get a sheer wash of colour on the lips in a texture that feels akin to any other lip balm on the market. If you’re comfortable wearing lip balm, then these will feel no different to you!

As you can see from the three shades swatched above (Mauvelous, Wild Strawberry and Pink Sherbet), the tones are very much in the pink/red family. The colours are fairly sheer (the swatches were layered quite a bit) but the texture is quite balmy.
Clinique x Crayola Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm Swatches

I don’t see quite as much mauve in this shade as I would expect for a shade named Mauvelous in the title, but it is absolutely stunning regardless!

My favourite of the three shades – Wild Strawberry! Gives that perfect “cherry popsicle” lip look!

I’m not a soft pink person, but I know a lot of people are going to love Pink Sherbet because it’s an easy to wear shade that will match a ton of eye looks!
Final Thoughts
Ummm I don’t know where I’ve been, but I’m happy to report that I am sitting comfy on the Clinique Chubby Stick bandwagon now. I love that these feel like lip balm – that’s an ENORMOUS selling point for me because it makes them super easy to apply. The bullets are also quite sturdy which means you’re not going to be slopping the lip colour all over the place while you’re applying it either.
The Clinique x Crayola colours are pretty basic in the grand scheme of things, but that’s not a downer. (And I really do like the added touch of the crayon look!) It means that they’ve got some great shades that are lot of people are going to enjoy wearing on the daily. Longevity is also fairly impressive, especially given the texture of these products. I get about two hours of wear before I feel like I need to refresh my lip colour. It does fade nicely, so you needn’t worry about that either! And, to top it all off, these are scent and taste free!
The Clinique x Crayola Chubby Sticks are limited edition and you can snap them up at sephora.ca for $21 CAD each or on sephora.com for $17 USD each. If you’re interested in trying out all of the shades, they even have a mini set of all eight colours!
The products featured in this post were sent to me for review. Post may contain affiliate links.
Swatch Sunday: Mary Kay Pure Dimensions Eye Palettes
Brands may already be talking about spring products, but since it’s still firmly winter in my book, I’m swatching up the winter release palettes by Mary Kay. The Pure Dimensions Eye Palettes are silky smooth and are absolutely stunning to look at (although you’ll need some mattes to get a completely comprehensive look since these are all shimmery!).

Mary Kay Pure Dimensions Eye Palette Swatches






The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration.
Kat Von D Alchemist Holographic Palette (Review & Swatches)
At long last, Kat Von D has delivered the Alchemist Holographic Palette to us makeup loving fiends who just want a little bit more of an edge of colour in our looks.

One thing to clear up though: this is not holographic by any means, despite the palette claiming to be. These are duochrome pigments which means they look one colour (mostly pale white) but refract another (an actual colour, like green, blue, etc.). Holographic, on the other hand, reflects every single colour of the rainbow (think of the reflect on the backside of a CD). I think they were mostly just trying to get us with the buzz word, but frankly, the term “Alchemist” is far more appealing to me. I like the idea that this palette was created with the idea in mind of creating something from nothing, or turning new things into different things. It all feels very mysterious and crafty!

Gripes of the palette name aside, let’s take a look at it.
The Alchemist Holographic palette is incredible small – seriously, the whole thing fits in the palm of my hand! However, the pan sizes are large enough to get a smaller size powder brush in there (my Real Techniques Contour Brush fits perfectly, as does a MAC 109). Each pan contains 1.53 grams of product, which is about on par with your standard eyeshadow pan.
The product themselves are all eye, lip and face safe – so wherever you want to put them on your face, you can do it and rest assured that they’re not going to give you problems.

The layout of the palette is interesting and intriguing, as is the (actual) holographic pattern on the front of the case (it’s kind of breathtaking to be honest). That being said, it is a bit oddly shaped compared to all my other palettes, so I still haven’t got a clue how I’m going to store it.
Moving on to the powders, I know they look exceptionally boring in the pan, but just take a look at the swatches:

Swatched out, you can see how the shades in the palette really shine! This kind of sheer wash of pastel, bright neon is reminiscent of Naked Cosmetics Ivory Stack (which has been around for absolute ages, but it’s hard to get your hands on) as well as the more recent Anastasia Beverly Hills Moonchild palette. Each colour is very much individually its own colour – it’s the kind of pale shadow you can really use to transform your look.

As encouraged by the brand, you can also mix it with other colours (such as the black above) to really transform the pigment. I’m personally more inclined to use it as a face highlighter or inner corner highlight though because I find it to be a little less fussy that way.

When I mentioned this palette on Snapchat (find me over there: muyourmind), I had a few people asking me about how it compared to the ABH Moonchild palette, so I’ve included the shades that matched the closest in these swatches. In general, I find the green shade to be brighter in the ABH palette, the blue shades are completely different (KVD seems more teal, whereas ABH seems more blue).

The purples are quite different – KVD is more ultra-violet, whereas ABH is far more purple and it has specs of glitter in it. Between the two pinks, I find them near identical, but I do see a bit more brightness in the KVD one in the swatch above.
Kat Von D Alchemist Holographic Palette – Face Swatches
These are full-on, heavy cheek swatches to give you an idea of how this looks when built up. You can definitely wear it more softly if you want less impact.




Kat Von D Alchemist Holographic Palette – Eye Swatches
I do wear this palette as an inner corner eyeshadow highlight, so I wanted to show you a few examples of that as well. My usual technique is to try to create some kind of symbiosis with the inner corner shade in combination with the lid shade.


Final Thoughts
The timing of this palette was a little bizarre – I think I read that Kat Von D spent four years (or was it seven?) formulating the pigments in this product in order to get it perfect. And I kind of feel like Anastasia Beverly Hills scooped them on the release of this palette because the two products are very, very similar. That being said, the Kat Von D Alchemist Holographic palette is the only readily accessible pale ivory duochrome palette like this which makes it hugely appealing to me since more people can get their hands on it. It also has no glitter in it whatsoever, whereas the ABH one does have some shades with embedded glitter.
Release commentary aside: I have no qualms with this palette. I think it’s an absolutely wonderful product. I’ve seen a few people mention the pan size as a deterrent, but I don’t agree – this isn’t the kind of product you’re going to go through quickly, so I don’t think large pans are necessary. I found the pigmentation of the shades to be beautiful – I love, love, LOVE that kind of pale iridescent sheen that I can use to amp up a makeup look. In the last year I’ve become rather obsessed with coloured highlighters and this only helps to fuel that fire.
This is something I think the makeup world needs more of, so if you’re in the market for something new, I’d definitely say you should at least go swatch this palette at Sephora!
The Kat Von D Alchemist Holographic Palette can be purchased at sephora.ca for $43 CAD or on sephora.com for $38 USD.
The product featured in this review was sent to me for consideration.
MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Acrylips (Review & Swatches)
Hold on to your keyboards… my excitement for the MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Acrylips is REAL. These acrylic paint inspired lipsticks are a thing of beauty!

High in pigment, easy to apply and chockful of colour… the Acrylips are a wonderful addition to MUFE‘s range of products. As many of you may be aware, I am extremely obsessed with the Too Faced Melted lipsticks and these are not only on par with those… but I think they may actually be a smidge better. Oh my god… did I actually say that???

Let’s get down to business. The Acrylips are a squeeze tube format with a slotted doefoot applicator. The products comes out of the doefoot and makes for extremely easy application. I especially love this style of product because I am known for constantly breaking my lipstick bullets in half and there’s ZERO chance of me doing that with these.

These are a liquid lipstick without that horrible dry paint feeling that you get with matte liquid lipsticks. They glide on smooth and glossy, but will eventually dry down to a more satin-like finish over the course of thirty minutes or so. Pigmentation stats strong while the dry down occurs, so you needn’t worry about reapplication any time soon.

The colours I chose to review are bold vibrant shades that scream my name. All three colours had incredible pigmentation. They were opaque in a single swipe and there was no “wateryness” that can sometimes occur with a liquid lipstick pigment like this.
On the lips, they do not feel dissimilar to the Too Faced Melteds, if anything, I’d say these settle down to a more satin finish a little bit faster (which is a good thing in my opinion). They are comfortable to wear, and best of all, the pigmentation stays incredibly strong for many hours (I didn’t clock it for total length, but I didn’t have to reapply any within the four hours I would wear these).
MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Acrylip Lip Swatches

This is MY SHADE. A pinkish coral with a neon vibrancy to it, 202 Coral Pink is wonderful!

And who can turn down a Raspberry Red (401) shade??

And lastly, Lilac (500) is a pink-tinged purple that was far more pigmented than I was expecting given that I find brands seem to struggle with this kind of shade.
Final Thoughts
I think it’s obvious that I’m in love with these. From the packaging, to the vibrant colours (there are no neutrals… yet!) to the comfort of these on your lips, the MAKE UP FOR EVER Artist Acrylips are a wonderful addition to their range. I like that MUFE chose to play on the theme of paint since the texture of these is incredibly similar to acrylic paint. It just makes the pairing so wonderful since MUFE is one of the brands I always admire from an artistic standpoint when they’re showcasing their work (for example, at IMATS). If you like the vibrant shade range, definitely consider grabbing one of these – I’m personally in love with them and I hope you will be too!
The MAKE UP FOREVER Artist Acrylips can be purchased on sephora.ca for $29 CAD each or on sephora.com for $24 USD.
The products featured in this review were sent to me for consideration.