Tag Archives: Annabelle
Annabelle Big Show Lacquers – Entire Collection (Review & Swatches)
Available since January 2016, the Annabelle Big Show Lacquers bring a sense of vibrancy to the winter months!
The Big Show Lacquers have:
- High-impact staining pigments
- Mirror-like shine and lightweight colour
- Non-sticky
- Comfortable and non-drying, stay-put finish
- Fruity scent
The doefoot applicator is standard fare for products like this. It deposits colour evenly all over the lip, but you will need to dip in a few times to completely cover your lips.
Although there are six shades in the range, they do veer quite bright. The colour payoff in each one is quite opaque, so you’re definitely getting a mouthful of colour!
Here’s the full range as a lip swatch followed by a full face shot:
Adore Simply is a peachy-nude.
Caress Tenderly is a strong coral (this is my FAVOURITE shade of coral. )
Kiss Sweetly is a bright neon pink.
Enchant Romantically is a dark, vibrant pink.
Hypnotize Deeply is a fuchsia-berry. (My application skills were starting to get pretty dodgy by this point!)
Love Fiercely is the red of the collection (I see a little bit of pink in it too!).
Final Thoughts
The Annabelle Big Show Lacquers are smooth, comfortable to wear formula. I found the pigmentation was stellar across the board (none of these colours were patchy at all!) and the vibrancy of the shades is pretty dang fantastic. Since they’re a lacquer, they will stay fairly emollient on your lips. I found I had to reapply every 90 minutes or so to keep the glossiness at full peak. You could wear them for longer without reapplication, but I just liked to keep my lips looks as great as they did when I first applied it.
I didn’t use a primer or lip liner with these, so I did experience minimal lip line bleed out. (That’s not make it or break it for me in this formula though, I have that problem with any lip product without some kind of primer.) If you’re going for a glossy, comfortable to wear lip product, you absolutely cannot go wrong with these!
The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration.
What I Bought This Month – February 2016 Haul
Monthly haul time! Enjoy. 🙂
Let’s start off with the only item I actually BOUGHT this month! Inglot‘s Duraline was a must have for me since my Inglot red gel liner turned gloppy on me. Duraline will soften up gel liners that have gone a little bit stale (or any other cream product). I’ve put off buying it for a while now, but when my red gel liner died, I knew it was time to invest. 🙂
So, that may have been the only item I bought this month, but I am very, very lucky to have a ton of beauty blogging friend in Toronto and we do swaps every few months. It gives me a chance to get rid of product that don’t work for me, and pick up ones that could potentially be love at first sight. So here’s the goodies I got from a swap:
I realize these are empty Inglot palettes, but I am SO excited for that! I love Inglot‘s system of palettes, and I think the packaging is beautiful, but it annoys me to buy packaging every time I go to buy shadows. Now I’ve got three empty palettes I can fill with beautiful colours!
I do not need shower gel. At all. And yet, I always grab for it when I see it at a swap. Why? Maybe because I always considered shower gel as so unnecessarily expensive in stores that I really don’t want to pay for it again any time soon. I love shower gel, and this smells wonderful, but it’s gone to the back of my “to use” pile of shower gels. I’m sure I’ll get to it… at some point. lol
One of my favourite YouTubers (StrwberrySweet – mostly does Project Pans) panned one of these Josie Maran Argan Infinity Creamy Lip & Cheek Oil relatively recently, and I wanted to see what they were all about. My initial reaction is that I’m not super keen on the scent of them, but that it wore well and looked good!
This Boscia Intensifying Moisture Pack + is sitting in my medicine cabinet and while I’m writing this up I realize I haven’t even got a clue as to whether this is a facial cleanser or a moisturizer. Heh.
I’ve harped on about my problems with eyeshadow primers before so I won’t bore you with the details other than to say I love trying new ones. Benefit‘s Air Patrol is adorable looking and I’m excited to see how this one holds up!
I love Aveeno‘s skincare products and I’ve been using them for the last… 14 years. Eek. Anyway, I haven’t tried out their Fresh Essentials range so I’m looking forward to using this one.
More shower gel! I got sucked in by the scent of Vitabath‘s Sweet Pink Peppermint – it’s more of a Christmasy scent, so I’ll probably bust it out in November.
MWAHAHAHAH!!!!! The Body Shop‘s Satsuma scent has been one of my favourite scents throughout my entire life and yet… my husband doesn’t like the scent of it. I haven’t repurchased it since I used my last big tub up of the body butter… but now I have another one. 😀
NYC‘s Liquid Liner has been touted as one of the best matte black liquid liners at the drugstore and I hadn’t gotten around to picking it up! Initial reaction: DEFINITELY matte, DEFINITELY black… but I’m not in love with the way the tip of the brush is cut. Hmmm… maybe I’ll just cut it myself.
No one wanted this Misslyn nail polish in 756… which was great for me since I wear this kind of silver disco polish on my toenails 24/7 so picked this one up since I’ve never tried a Misslyn polish before.
I know NOTHING about this B Kamins brand… but the body lotion says “Maple” on it. It, however, smells nothing like maple, so I was totally duped. 😐
/GASP
I couldn’t believe someone brought this to the swap. I had lusted over this Galaxy Chic palette years ago when BH Cosmetics released it, but never bought it because like everything else in the makeup world… you become so inundated with products you end up buying some, and not others. The colours, the marbling, the names of the colours… everything about this palette makes me so, SO happy. I’ve used it twice now and love the shadows. Not a matte in sight though, so it’s not a standalone palette.
A new mascara for me to try out: The Maybelline Lash Sensational. I’ve still got a lot of mascara left in my currently opened tubes, so it’ll be a while before I bust into this one.
I’m not too familiar with Etude House‘s makeup, so I was excited to see a few items by them. This is essentially one of those matte lipstick crayons. I like it, but I don’t love it.
Not tried this one yet… this is by Etude House as well and I think it’s just for lips.. but may be for cheeks as well. It’s still sitting in my “To Use” pile!
Oh wow. Okay… I had heard about Coloured Rained via NikkieTutorials on YouTube, but never bought any. BUT THIS IS AMAZING! IT’s nowhere near as drying as the Colour Pop liquid lipsticks – instead this one is so much more comfortable on me lips. I may need more…
Unfortunately, Clio‘s Lipnicure was a straight “into the garbage” item. It applied patchily and then just really poorly. To the point where I removed it mid-day at work and it was a disaster to remove. I threw it straight into the trash. 🙁
This one astonished me. Too Faced‘s Loganberry La Creme lipstick was discontinued about a year ago and I was never able to get my hands on it. Imagine my surprise that someone would want to get rid of it! YESSSS!
A face mask via THEFACESHOP. This’ll be my first time using anything by THEFACESHOP.
A brow kit from Annabelle that has turned out to be wayyy too dark for me, but it has worked when I need to darken up my eyebrows to look more like someone else (see my The 100 Wanheda/Clarke tutorial).
Another Annabelle brow product! Brow Show is light enough for me so this has actually been working out and it’s really easy to use. Not enjoying the huge size of the pencil, but the product is nice!
And we’re done! I’m doing pretty well conserving my money for IMATS New York, and these swaps are definitely helping me to keep products rotating in and out of my collection1
Challenge Week: Annabelle Smokey Nudes
New for fall is the Annabelle Smokey Nudes palette. And as I mentioned in my Swatch Sunday featuring this palette, the drugstore has definitely been in need of quality palettes.
This is a palette that many, MANY makeup lovers (and casual users) are sure to fawn over simply because it’s a neutral palette. And it definitely did not disappoint. There are matte shades in here amidst the usual shimmers and that makes for a far more well balanced look. My particular favourite shade is the shade labelled bronze (bottom row, middle shade). I found myself using this shade over and over and over again to deepen the crease and it added a gorgeous touch to an otherwise two-dimensional look.
My only true gripe with the Annabelle Smokey Nudes is there is no real brow bone highlighting shade (for my skin tone). The pink is far too pink, and the white is far too shimmery. Mixed together they do an okay job of highlighting the brow, but when I used either by themselves I wasn’t that pleased with the results.
Here’s five looks I came up with using this palette:
The first look I tried out. While I am a colourful eyeshadow lover, I do like using neutral palettes because it gives me a chance to play around with my lip colour. It’s a lot easier to wear bright(er) lips when you’ve got neutral shades on your lids!
Eyes
- Nude all over the lid.
- Copper on the outer corner with some Black mixed in.
On my lashes is Urban Decay‘s Perversion mascara.
Rest of the Face
- Foundation: Make Up For Ever Ultra HD liquid foundation in Y225
- Bronzer: NYC Fire Island Tan
- Blush: Laura Geller Pink Grapefruit
- Highlighter: Too Faced Candlelight
- Lips: NYX Fizzies
I wanted to play around with the Gold shade, but I found it didn’t come off as golden as I had expected it to. It’s more of a soft, muted yellow. It adds colour, but not a whole lot.
Eyes
- Gold all over the lid.
- Brown through the crease.
- Bronze on the outer half of the lid.
- Black on the outer corner to deepen it up.
On my lashes is essence‘s Lash Princess False Lash Effect mascara.
Rest of the Face
- Foundation: Boots No7 Instant Radiance in Cool Vanilla
- Bronzer: elf Surf’s Up
- Blush: essence Autumn Peach
- Highlighter: Becca Champagne Pop
- Lips: MAC Barbecue
This is fairly easy go to look for me when I’ve got a shimmery white and a black in a palette.
Eyes
- Bronze through the crease.
- White on the lid.
- Black on the outer half of the lid.
- White and Pink shade mixed together on the brow bone.
I applied Maybelline‘s Lasting Drama Waterproof Gel Eye Pencil in Sleek Onyx to my lower lash line and blended it out with the Black eyeshadow. On my lashes is Urban Decay‘s Perversion mascara.
Rest of the Face
- Foundation: Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Stick foundation in Y225
- Bronzer: Make Up For Ever Pro Bronze Fusion in 25I
- Blush: Hourglass Luminous Flush
- Highlighter: Make Up For Ever Pro Sculpting Duo #1 highlighter
- Lips: MAC Brave
Another favourite combination of mine. I took the eye shots at the end of my work day (although the face shot was before I left for work) so they look a bit shinier than usual (thanks greasy eyelids, thanks a lot).
Eyes
- Bronze through the crease.
- Pink all over the lid.
- Copper on the outer corner.
I created the winged liner with essence‘s Jumbo Eyeliner Pen and applied Urban Decay‘s Peversion mascara to my lashes.
Rest of the Face
- Foundation: Boots No7 Instant Radiance in Cool Vanilla
- Bronzer: Revlon Bronzed & Chic
- Blush: Hourglass Incandescent Electra
- Highlighter: Becca Champagne Pop
- Lips: MAC Burmese Kiss
I have to laugh at my face in this shot – it was the one that best showed the makeup, but it looks a bit dopey with my mouth half hanging open! Out of all the looks though, this one is definitely my favourite.
Eyes
- Bronze through the crease.
- Taupe all over the lid.
- Brown on the outer corner.
- Pink and White mixed together to create the brow bone shade.
Urban Decay Perversion mascara is on my lashes.
Rest of the Face
- Foundation: Boots No7 Instant Radiance in Cool Vanilla
- Bronzer: MAC Refined Golden
- Blush: Burberry Lip & Cheek Bloom in Poppy
- Highlighter: MAC Soft & Gentle
- Lips: Revlon Fire & Ice
Have you picked up the Annabelle Smokey Nudes palette? Let me know your thoughts on it!
The Annabelle Smokey Nudes palette was sent to me for consideration.
Swatch Sunday: Annabelle Smokey Nudes
New for fall is Annabelle‘s Smokey Nudes palette! I feel like we say this every few months, but it really is starting to feel like the drugstore brands are starting to up their game. We’ve needed palette options from the drugstore and we’re finally starting to get them! With ten shades to work with, nude and neutral lovers can rejoice in this palette. There’s even three matte/satin finish shades which are an enormous bonus in a palette. Trying to work eye looks with only shimmery shades can be a bit difficult, so I’m really happy that Annabelle included different finishes.
Enjoy the Annabelle Smokey Nudes palette swatches today, and later on this week I’ll have a Challenge Week featuring this palette. 🙂
This post features a press sample sent for consideration.