Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Lipstick #17

Today I picked up a perfectly pink lipstick from the Rimmel lipstick line designed by Kate Moss.

These lipsticks are so cute in their sleek matte black plastic packaging with the little Kate signature. The signature matches the color that is inside the tube:

I've said it before but I will say it again: new lipstick makes me drool. I just love it so much!

This lipstick is a gorgeous rosey peachy pink shade that is quite creamy and has very little shimmer in it. The formula is not quite as nice as a MAC cremesheen, satin, or lustre lipstick, but the pigmentation certainly isn't lacking and a balm underneath this lipstick will make it glide on nice and smooth.

Seeeeeeeeeee? Pretty! This lippie does a good job at gliding over my wrinkles and imperfections on my lips. It feels nice and not drying at all. I would not say this lipstick is long lasting, however. It didn't last through eating a bowl of soup or through drinking a bottle of water so keep that in mind while wearing this out. Reapplication is necessary!

Overall, I say pucker up, buttercup! I think this shade is really pretty and is a muted but fun way of wearing some color! I'm pleasantly surprised by the formula from Rimmel (a notoriously inexpensive and sometime's cheap brand).
I found my lipstick for about $6 from Walgreen's. This color seems to be a popular one so grab it when you see it!

xxSJ

Dupe?? MAC 239 Brush

A pretty well known brush dupe in the beauty community is of the amazing MAC 239 shader brush. This brush is seriously amazing and I did a blog post WAYYY back explaining why I thought this brush in particular was worth the splurge. The well known dupe for this brush is the Loew-Cornell 270 3/8 of an inch Maxine's Mop (I know, quite the mouthful). I finally got my hands on this $5 brush and thought I'd compare:

Here are the brushes side by side. As you can see, the Loew Cornell Brush is about an inch longer than the MAC brush with a bit of a shorter ferrule (quick brush lesson: That's the metal part that holds the bristles in place!). Both handles are painted wood and both bristles are made of natural hair. The LC brush has goat hair and the MAC brush has either goat or pony hair... MAC is very hush hush about their brushes and where they get their animal hair from!

As you can see, the brushes are VERY similarly shaped. The LC is on the left and that brush is a tad bit more tapered and with more of the bristles showing, the brush is not quite as stiff as the MAC 239. Other than those differences, these brushes are very similar and work in similar ways. These brushes are so perfect for packing color onto the lid as natural hair brushes can pick up more product than synthetic bristles. They also have a small enough shape that the placement of color can be very exact. Both brushes also have minimal fall out.
All in all, both brushes are excellent. The MAC 239 may reign supreme by a tiny amount, but the $29 pricetag may make the Loew Cornell brush a bit more user friendly!
I found my LC brush on Amazon for $5. They can also be found at Michael's and Walmart (both in store and online). If you can get your hands on this brush you should definitely try it out! You won't be disappointed.

xxSJ

Maybelline Dream Wonder Powder

Maybelline gets points for most hippie product line name.... Dream Wonder? What does that even mean... aight before I ponder too much let's quit the existential crap and get to the review. Maybelline recently launched a new line of products and included a reformulation of their 'Dream Wonder Powder.' I'm not exactly sure what's so new about it but let's take a peek, shall we?

 Props for rose gold coloring... perhaps that's what made me purchase this? This powder comes in a little compact as pictured. I love when powders come in compacts because they're...well... compact. I love my Revlon nearly naked powder but it comes packaged in a bulky rectangle...nahhh son.

Open up the compact and there's the powder sitting on top of a short cylinder of sorts...something I'm not a huge fan of thus far with this product is that little rim around the powder. I can imagine that getting all sorts of dirty when powder falls into it. The powder kind of has a weird texture at first; almost wavy looking and not the perfect stamped nearly fabric looking appearance that most powders have.

Lift up where the powder is and there's a little mirror and sponge, all included in one nifty little compact. I'll be holding onto the sponge for on the go application. These things are really handy for pressing powder onto the skin using a blotting motion.

At my drugstore where I picked this up I saw about 12 different colors to choose from. That's pretty great as far as color selection and it included all sorts of different tones.  I selected the color Ivory and so far I think it has suited me well.  It's not quite as yellow-toned as it's showing in this picture and in fact, when compared side by side to other colors in the collection, this was one of the more pinker colors. I'm pink and proud!

This powder is. so. SOFT. Seriously, I'm in love and I just want to pet this powder all day long. Alas, I shall refrain because I don't want to become a weird Gollum-y powder lady.

Can you see the powder on my skin? If you can't really, that means I did a damn good job in selecting colors! Hopefully now you can see the peachy-pinkiness of this showing through a bit more.  When powdered onto the face, this stuff goes on like a dream. I've been wearing it for a couple days now and it does the job as far as diffusing imperfections and setting my foundation. I have oily/combination skin so I get worried about makeup caking up on me as my skin gets oily through out the day at my busy job. This stuff stays put and can you keep a secret? I even worked out with this stuff on (I know you shouldn't work out with make up on but ain't nobody got time to take off your makeup and then put it back on when you're done!!), and I still remained cake and mostly shine free.

Overall, I'm loving this powder a lot and I think it'll be a good powder to use while I'm building up a tan and am dark enough to use my Physician's Formula BB powder because that stuff is just too dark for my alabaster skin right now. But a girl can dream...a girl can wonder...a girl can dream wonder. Powder.

I found my powder at Harmon's at Bed Bath and Beyond for $7.29.
xxSJ

NYX Butter Glosses: Worth the Hype?

One of the newer products to hit the shelves and take the beauty community by storm are the NYX Butter Glosses, so I knew I had to get my hands on some of these during my last trip to Ulta. The selection was seriously picked over but I managed to get my hands on two colors: Creme Brulee and Eclair:

Creme Brulee and Eclair

The packaging of these glosses is very minimalist and I really like it. The tubes are clear...yes, that is indeed the matte, creamy gloss within the tube! The cap is in a matching plastic to the color of the gloss. The size of these are roughly the same size as a MAC lipglass.

The applicators are small  doe foot applicators and I find them to be a really nice size. This gloss is so creamy and pigmented that you do need at least a tiny bit of precision when applying it!

Creme Brulee (on the left) is a peachy pink color while Eclair is a blue toned baby pink. I just realized that the Revlon lipsticks I reviewed a couple days ago are these exact colors... whoops! Clearly I'm feelin' this color scheme!
The product is super soft and applies like a dream. I really like that these colors are completely matte with no shimmer or glitters. Definitely not a look I will opt for all the time, however they are something a little different from what is already in my collection.

Top: Creme Brulee, Bottom: Eclair

These colors are a bit similar on the lips on their own and since they are matte, they are a bit bland with out a lipstick on underneath. I can't speak for the darker colors in this collection, but I definitely wouldn't wear these glosses on their own as it could create a rather washed out effect on my pale skin as the matte creaminess almost makes these colors milky.
Overall, I understand the hype. These butter glosses literally melt on my lips when I put them on and they mask all of my wrinkles and imperfections. I have grossly dry lips (tmi...don't currrrrr) and so I have to be careful that lip products I choose don't highlight any flakes or nastiness that could be forming on my lippies. This gloss does the trick as far as mattifying and evening out my skin. :)

xxSJ

Youtube Favorite: NYX Powder Blush in 'Bourgeois Pig'

I spend much of my spare time researching makeup products as a hobby...I can't explain it, buuuuuut I love it. I have many a Youtube beauty subscription to feed this obsession of mine and I buy certain products simply because a certain beauty guru raves about it. I thought I'd start a new blog series titled 'Youtube Favorite' which basically means youtube made me buy it....whoops!
My first product I'm reviewing for this series is a blush raved about by the girls on the EleventhGorgeous channel. It is the NYX blush in 'Bourgeois Pig:'

In buying this blush I was definitely biased toward loving it since I freakin' love the word 'bourgeois' and I especially love when people use the slang 'bourgey.' Yes...just, yes.

NYX blushes come in a lightweight shiny plastic container and have an adorable quilted design stamped on them. They are extremely affordable coming in at $5.99 a pop and NYX cosmetics is almost always having a buy one get one 50% off sale. Also, maybe I'm a germaphobe, but NYX blushes come shrink-wrapped so you know no one's been swatching up a storm with your blush before you get a chance to use it.

This stuff is PIGMENTED! Wowza. One quick swipe of my finger left my arm nice and pinked up. The formula is extremely soft and nearly creamy feeling rather than chalky meaning this stuff can be easily blendable on the skin. Be wary that if you pick up too much of this with your makeup brush you may have some clown cheeks!

Here is a very sheer amount of this blush on my cheeks... It leaves my cheeks appearing flushed and is quite pretty but I have to repeat myself: be careful you don't pick an ultra dense brush to apply this stuff and make sure to tap off any excess product before putting this on your cheeks. This can very easily shift into clown territory with the amount of pink on your cheeks!!
Overall I like this blush a lot and I think this is a win for the girls at EleventhGorgeous. I'm glad I purchased this and will definitely be wearing it through the year!

xxSJ

NOTD: Essie 'Splash of Grenadine'

Cocktails, anyone? Today's nail of the day is Essie's 'Splash of Grenadine,' a  pretty pink meets purple shade:

This color is so sweet and I got many compliments while wearing it! The formula is really nice and easy to apply (full opacity in 2 coats, as usual for Essie polishes!) and the finish had a nice jelly appearance to it. Really soft around the edges rather than a harsh line from the opaque creamy color.

I will definitely be sporting this polish many times in the coming months. :)

Essie polishes can be found at various drug stores and Ulta for around $8.50 for a half ounce of product.

xxSJ

The Balm blush in 'Frat Boy'

I have never had a product from The Balm before but I have always adored and admired their products from afar... does that make me a stalker? Maybe....do I care? Nope. The Balm is known for having the most adorable packaging and names for their products and I finally decided to get my hands on a blush I thought would suit me well: 'Frat Boy:'

Are you understanding what I'm tossin' out at you about the adorable packaging? The blush comes in a cardboard container about the size of my palm and includes a magnetic closure. Some people may think the cardboard looks cheap but I think it adds to the cuteness of the product. Also if you drop the blush, the cardboard will absorb much of the impact and avoid cracking!

Inside the compact there is a small mirror outlined by a football field design. Adorbs!!! 

And as I mentioned earlier, the compact shuts tight with magnets located within the cardboard. It's a satisfying snap shut and this blush will not open on its own if you have any concern about that... if you remain worried, you can keep the thin sleeve the product comes in to keep it shut.

Now onto the actual color and product after I've gotten my obsession with the packaging out of the way...the color is a peachy pink that I always lust after as it suits my complexion so well. This blush is fairly matte with only slight hints of shimmer in certain light...this shimmer does not translate to the skin. I liken this color to NARS Orgasm but with out all of the gold reflect. 

This blush is pigmented like crazy so using a light hand when applying this is key. Don't use a brush that will pick up and deposit boat loads of color... you might regret that as you will look a tad clownish!

Here is the blush on my cheek...it's so pretty and gives the perfect flushed look to my cheeks for Spring. 

This product retails for $21.00 (though you can find it for cheaper on Amazon...shhhhh!) and can be found at some Nordstrom's, on The Balm's website (www.thebalm.com), and sometimes for a steal on dailylook.com.  

$21 may seem like a lot but did you see on the first picture I took how much product you get? 8.5g! That's a ton! For reference, MAC blushes hold 6g of product and retail for $21 and NARS blushes hold 4.8g of product and retail for $30. 

All in all, this product is far more than adorable packaging. It houses a gorgeous blush that I think may be a go to for the Spring and Summer months (and it'll last for that long as well given the sheer amount of product in the container!).

xxSJ