MAC Styleseeker - Powder Blush in Hidden Treasure

I wanted to try a Red blush as I don't have any in my collection. I thought Fall would be a good time to try one out so I was looking for a Red blush when came across this at a MAC counter. 

Hidden Treasure is a part of the Styleseeker collection. 

Described as a "rich burnt red". The colour may look a bit intimidating and scary in the pan but can be sheered and blended out with a good blush brush. I use my NARS Yachiyo to apply it, because it makes my life easier when I do.

I would agree that the colour is rich and kind of a red brick colour with a little bit of golden sheen.

Satin/velvet finish. The texture is a bit on the dry side.

The blush does not have shimmer nor sheen when applied but still gives a little dimension on the skin and does not look flat as can be seen from the swatches below.

Left heavily swatched. Right partially blended. The blush can still be sheered out. I opted to apply it heavily to show the colour of the blush.

The blush will work on warmer skin tones. I have tried it on my friend who has darker skin tone and it looked stunning on her. On lighter skin tones, it may look harsh and a bit scary when applied heavily, a light hand and a good brush blush is needed.

The colour payoff is great. However, the dry texture of the blush can make the application a bit tricky.

This blush does not last as long as I would want it to, but it does a decent job.

(Mini) Haul + Update on upcoming posts :)

I shall call this a mini haul because the items I got does not comprise 1/4 of what my mom did. (Yes, I'm trying to justify that I didn't hoard.) Below is a picture of the items I picked up while I was waiting for my mom while she shopped.

-MAC full lash curler

-The other whale pouch from Paul & Joe which I got as a GWP because my mom bought stuff from them. ( I have the 2 whale pouches now! glee~)

- Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge for Lips & Cheeks in 6 Powder Pink

- Paul & Joe Protective Fluid Foundation N in 30

- Paul & Joe Eye Color B in 003 Tranquility

- NARS Pro-Prime Pore Refining Primer 

- earrings from Accessorize

I think I did a good job on not hauling things I did not need. If you think I failed you should see what my mom and the little Liger my little sister got for themselves. LOL! x)

Reviews, pictures and swatches will be posted some other time. :)  Let me know if there's a product that you would want to see a review on so I can prioritize.

Had lunch at Pepper Lunch(Edited! Sorry I don't know why I typed Pepper Steak LOL!). The babies (my sisters) love to eat here while I find the place overrated.  It's not bad though. I'm just not fond of it. 

Paul & Joe's Marlon with my mom.

Marlon previously worked for Shiseido and remembers my mom as a hoarder  buyer who patronized their brand. LOL! x) He actually did a good job but I wasn't able to take a picture of the transformation. I just thought I should post his picture here because I keep mentioning him on my posts.

Kerastase treatment at Salon ESA on 6750.

I shall do a more detailed post on the treatment next time too. I just wanted to update everyone of what I have been up to. 

What are your plans for the weekend? Well, I hope everyone has a great weekend whatever your plans may be. :3

MAC - Charged Water Skin Hydrating Mist

Product Description -  Charged water, fused with vital ions from a diamond and instilled with a spirit-lifting therapeutic aroma, then delivered to the skin in the soothing aura of a revitalizing hydrating mist. Like its source – a diamond – on application it makes the skin feel clear, sparkling, pure and energized. Its aroma, a blend of green tea and citrus.

Plastic bottle comes with a twistable cap which makes it ideal for traveling.

May be used as:

- As a toner before I put on moisturizer.

- a hydrating mist to refresh in the middle of the day.

- I spray it on my makeup brush to get the colors to appear more vivid.

- I also use it to set/seal my makeup.

PROS:

- Multi-tasking product.

- Did not break me out.

- Contains added minerals which are beneficial to the skin and may be used for skincare.

- Feels so refreshing at the middle of the day!

- Easy to bring along and does not spill due to the lock.

- Makes makeup last longer and makes everything blend together. :p (Yes it does IMO.)

- Prevents makeup from looking too powdery.

- Sprays a fine mist. Will not mess up your makeup.

- The mist does not feel sticky and will be absorbed by the skin.

CONS:

- May be a bit expensive.

- I think this was discontinued so I am not sure if it can still be purchased elsewhere.

Compared to MAC Fix Plus:

I asked the SA what were the differences between the two products. She said they were the same so I picked this up because it is also beneficial to the skin whereas Fix can only be used to seal makeup. Also, I think this is more expensive in other countries but the products had the same price here so I opted for this rather than th Fix Plus.

Neutral:

- This has a scent which I am not crazy about but I have been using it for quite some time so I have adjusted to it.

Overall:

I really like this product. I have read reviews which said that this product has been discontinued. :( I hope MAC comes out with a better product if that's true because I plan to repurchase this.

NOTE: Review requested by the ever so gorgeous, Charles. <3

By the way I am having a blogsale - HERE.

THE FACE SHOP nail polishes + collective haul

Everyone seems to be posting about nail polishes so I decided to pick up a few last week.

I thought this would have a hologram effect but it's just really sparkly. :/ 

Color - It's a light and sparkly plum.

PP401

Thoughts: Dries fast. Application is a breeze so overall I'd say it's a good nail polish.

BL606

Color - Ultra Blue (Yes, I remember the colors from my Art class in elementary LOL! x)

Thoughts - Dries quickly. Just one coat is enough. Application is quick and easy. 

PK110

Color - A bright pink.

Thoughts - Of three nail polishes I picked this one is my least favorite. I love the color but application is a pain. I tried to apply three coats and it got streaky. :(  Ehhhhh... =___=

I think this is self explanatory, these are the swatches coated with Etude House's Jelly Pop. :3

Collective Haul - Please note that I did not haul everything at one time. Also please don't scroll down if you're the type of person who does not like to see hauls. :/

I haven't really been buying makeup lately. I have been buying more skincare products because I want to invest in great products that I can stick to and use for a long time. 

I have also been buying tools for skincare hehe. >.<

I read somewhere that The Body Shop's face brush is a poor man's alternative to a Clairsonic so I picked it up. :3 I also got a face massager because it makes my life a lot easier.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE L'Occitane's Divine Cream! It really is divine. :D I am elevating it to Holy Grail status and hopes it doesn't run out soon because it's rather too expensive. 

I numbered and labeled everything so you can quickly find it in this list:

1. L'OReal Pure Zone - Pore Tightening & Clarifying Toner
2. L'Occitane Divine Cream
3. L'OReal UV Perfect Dermo-Expertise UV Perfect
4. MAC Charged Water - Skin Hydrating Mist
5. MAC Studio Sculpt in NC 35 (Yes, I got a shade darker than my skintone to mix with my other foundations and to share with my sister. :P )
6. Kiehl's Eye Alert
7. Kiehl's Ultimate White - Intensive Whitening Essence
8. The Body Shop - Face Brush
9. The Body Shop - Face Massager
10.Paul & Joe - Moisture Lip Treatment
11. Human <3 Nature Hydrating Face Toner
12. The Body Shop - Organic cotton Rounds
13. The Face Shop Hologram "Face & it" Repair Nail in PP401
14. The Face Shop PK110
15. The Face Shop BL606

Let me know in case you want to see reviews on any of these items. =)

What's your most recent purchase? ^__^

Sleek i-Divine Sparkle Palette

Hi everyone! I will be turning another year older this week. Oh yeah, level up mode! :P 

Anyway, last December, the ever so wonderful, Shadada Karim of Adventures in Makeup offered to send me her Sleek i-divine palette. I believe the palette did not work for her and she didn't want to waste it so she offered to send it to me. I was shocked... O.O Yeah, I really was. I couldn't believe that she would be that generous. The Sparkle palette is limited edition. I may not be as lucky as some people are, and getting a palette was like winning a contest/giveaway for me. 

And so to make the long story short I received the palette last Monday. YAAAYYY!!!! xD 

Front view

back view

Not much going on here. The packaging is sleek, simple and sturdy.

The palette. The colors are so vivid and gorgeous!

fallout everywhere but the colors are still lovely

I wish the camera would pick up the sparkles/glitters of the palette. :/

Swatches - All colors were swatched over Etude House's primer

First row swatches

I know I am terrible at swatching... But I try... :3

2nd raw swatches 

All the colors are so pigmented and sparkly! 

I super loveeeeeeetttttt!!!!!

PROS:

- sparkly, shimmery a must for those who love glittery and sparkly stuff like me. :3

- color payoff is awesome.

- the colors blend well and don't entirely disappear when blended together.

- blendable & smooth although not as creamy as Urban Decay, non of the colors is chalky.

CONS:

- fallout. :( one must be very gentle with the E/S or else it will get everywhere.

- not available in my country. :(

Of course I just had to try it out! 

Face:

-Etude House - Precious BB Cream Mineral #2 Sheer Silky Skin

- MAC Studio Fix Foundation in NC30

- Smashbox Blush/Soft Lights Duo Under/Cover

Eyes:

-Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer

-MAC Loud Lash Mascara

-Skinfood Black Bean Eyebrow Pencil #6 Brown

-MAC Brow Set in Beguille A10

- In2it Waterproof gel liner in WG01 very black

Sleek i-Divine Sparkle E/S in Festive & Illusion

Guerlain Paris Divinora in Mauve Acuer No. 63

-Etude House Bling Bling Eye Stick (Gold)

Lips:

- Etude House Moon Crystal Power Gloss (Purple/Lavander)

I also smothered a light purple eyeshadow on my lips from my  Smashbox Eye Shadow Palette in Classifeyed

Close up.. :) 

Can you see the wrinkles on my forehead? 

All my wrinkles are on my forehead LOL!

Please ignore my silly ribbon. LOL!

The colors are just so vibrant & vivid.

Also included in my package is a Habibi Body - Sugar Cane perfume

You might be wondering what Sugar cane smells like? We have many sugar canes in my country and I believe they smell really sweet. This perfume doesn't smell like Sugar Cane to me but has a very saccharine scent that is so subtle that lasts for a decent amount of time and is very wearable. 

I actually hate perfume oils but really like this one as it doesn't feel sticky and is easily absorbed by the skin when applied.

My sister has been trying to claim this as hers but I said it was a gift so she can't have it. >:)

Thank you so much for the wonderful package, Ms. Shadada!!!! You truly made me happy. :) As in super happy!!! I really love how pigmented and sparkly the palette is and will promise to use it.

Ms. Shadada's blog is @ Adventures in Makeup if you aren't yet a follower please pay her blog a visit. You're really missing out if you haven't been following her. She hosts the most awesome giveaways, does daily makeup looks and is one of the most honest person ever in reviewing products. I super love her!!! ♥♥♥

xxx,

Sugar

REVIEW - Urban Decay Primer Potion, Midnight Cowboy, Swatches, 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Zero, etc...

Hi everyone! So this is going to be a looooonnngggg post mostly of me yaddahx2. x)
First of all I would like to apologize for the lack of updates and for not being active as I used to be.
Classes have already started so I'm going to be a bit busier but I promise to update whenever my schedule allows me to.

Let's begin this post with the look I did when my sister went out last night:

So now my sisters always badger me before they go out and insist that I be the one to apply their makeups. :o/ Well, it's actually fine since I get to play and relax when I put makeup on them. x)

I applied blue eyeliner on top of the black eye liner to make her eyes pop. ^o^

Face:
Smashbox Photo Finish Primer
Maybelline Clear Smooth Minerals in W03 Apricot Sand
Coty Transluscent Air spun powder
MAC to the beach Hipness Blush
Benefit Highbeam

Eyes:
UDPP
Mac ESCross-cultural
Mac ES Amber Lights
I also used a shimery beige from the 88 shimmer coastal scent pallete as a highlight and black as a contour
Urban Decay Skyscraper Multi-Benefit Mascara
24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Zero
Prestige Eyeliner in Rhapsody
Etude House Tear drop liner white
She didn't want me to touch her eyebrows. LOL! I don't actually know what she uses on her brows either.

Lips:
Lipstick in Midnight Cowboy
Pocket Rocket Lip Gloss in Timothy


Also, I recently purchased some items from MAC.

Cross-Cultural and Amber Lights

These are my first eyeshadows from MAC since I have never really bothered much about the brand before. I stuck with neutral colors since it's safer. LOL!
The eyeshadows are very creamy and pigmented and are a good buy if you are looking for eyeshadows to invest in. :) These don't come cheap in the Philippines although my mom claims that they're already affordable. O.o Well, she uses Shu Uemera, Shisheido and Clarins. I guess it really is cheaper than those brands. :o/

I will do a seperate review on my other acquisition so I didn't include it here. For swatches of these eyeshadows please scroll down.

So on to the review/s:

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion
There have been some requests for a review of it although I'm quite sure that there are a lot of existing ones. :) I'm actually not much of an eyeshadow person. I rarely put eyeshadow on because I'm just too lazy but since everyone has one of these I thought it'd make a great addition to my makeup stash.
Plus since I already tried this, I can say that I don't want to use ES's without UDPP now.

The one I have is on the left side. I randomly grabbed this photo from the net since I forgot to take pictures of the products. 

Very creamy and glides on skin like butter

Anyway here's my take on it:

Pros:
- Creamy
- makes eyeshadow application easier since the ES just glides after this is applied.
- makes colors stand/pop out.
- Cute packaging

Cons:
- Quite pricey.
- Quickly dries and cakes if it isn't evenly spread out.
- I think I won't be able to get all the potion from the bottle once it's used up.
- Is it jusrt me or is everyone getting too much product from the wand applicator...? :/

Cross cultural and amber lights with another eyeshadow from Smashbox Classifeyed pallete. The first 3 are without primer and the other three on the right side have primer underneath. Notice the difference?

Without flash. Ok, there's definitely something wrong with me I should have placed the other swatch on the left side since it doesn't have any primer. Sorry. >o<" This look brighter and more colorfull in person. I don't know what's with the camera. 

This is my first eyeshadow primer and despite all the cons I have written about it, I'm still very happy with my purchase. :3

Lipstick in Midnight Cowboy

This is what it looks like but the camera made my skin look blue in this picture. O.O WTH!?!

This is a very sheer lippie. Yes, it's very creamy and does keep my dry lips moisturized without the help of a balm. However it's just too sheer.
I really wouldn't recommend purchasing this. It could work if you plan to layer it with another lipstick but on it's own it's really just barely there so unless
you really want to spend money on something that's just not worth it, I'd recommend that you skip this. Uhhh yeah, the packaging is really cute so this can probably be used as a display on your to go kits. LOL!

Pocket Rocket Lip Gloss in Timothy

Swatch. Swiped once.

Excuse my blue skin LOL! 

Excuse the silly duck lips. LOL! 

Can I just say that the packaging completely cracked me up? x) This didn't really amaze me. It's just like any lipgloss. It doesn't stay on me as well as MAC lip glasses do.
The color is too sheer to be used on it's own but is perfect for low maintenance looks as it looks natural. The color is Coral with a pink glow but I'd say it's mostly coral.
The scent as is claimed by many bloggers is really yummy! This is definitely not for you if your the kind of person who eats her lippie. This can also be used with your favorite coral lipstick to give it more shine.

 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Zero  

I haven't sharpened it yet. 

Swatched. I rubbed and put water on the right one. I rubbed it twice with force. 

Pros:
- Creamy
- Glides on very smoothly
- Stays and does stay on for a long time. Like... yeah, you need a makeup remover to take it off.
- Application is a breeze since it comes in pencil form!

Cons:
- Pricey :(
- I hate having to sharpen it and I haven't really sharpened mine either. LOL!

On my eyes. >o<" 

I'd also like to say that it isn't completely water proof because last night I went to Quiapo to attend mass and before the mass ended it started to rain cats and dogs.
I didn't have an umbrella and got drenched in the rain. I know I should have waited for it to stop but I wanted to go home because I was already tired so I took the plunge! LOL!
It smudged a little. Yeah, only a bit... Like what people do when they want smokey eyes. It didn't give me terrible panda eyes but it still smudged on my lower line. :p Amazingly the liner on my upper eyelid stayed on despite everything.
I'm definitely going to re-purchase this. :D


I'm going to do a seperate review of the mascara if you ladies want one. :) I have forgotten to take photos of the packaging and I'm really sorry. :/ I just wanted to post something LOL!
Have a fun weekend everyone!


xxx,
Sugar

MAC to the Beach Collection Splashing Lip glass

Hi lovely ladies. :3

Recently, I picked up Splashing from MAC to the Beach Collection. I originally wanted Splashing Lip glass, Lazy Day Lipstick and Hipness blush. All the stocks were however sold out. :( All that was offered to me when I inquired whether the to the beach collection was available is the Beachbound lipstick which I wasn't too crazy about, because it was just too sheer and pale for me.

I then asked if the SA could look if they had any stocks other than Beachbound and she did. :3 She then presented Splashing Lipglass so I eagerly purchased it.

By the way, I bought it from Rustan's, Shangrilla. The collection was not on display that's why I asked if it was available. Beats me why they didn't have it on display, but they do have testers which I examined and swatched. You have all probably seen this elsewhere but I still wanted to take a picture:

Packaging - Love the packaging. It's so gorgeous! It's not pink but it's very feminine and sleek. The seahorse on top is so cute! The bright color of the packaging makes it stand out from the rest glosses I own. :3

Color - It's a medium milky pink with yellow undertones and a hint of shimmer. I think this would look good on anyone who has a fair to a light medium complexion.

The product itself - Is not as tacky as some high end lip glosses are but is still kind of sticky which I like because I think thicker/stickier/tackier lip glosses tend to last longer. Do not fret it's tolerable -it does not feel like having petroleum jelly smeared on the lips. :3 It is kind of milky.. Plus, the gloss is also very easy to spread. It does not crease nor emphasize lines on my dry lips.

Only a little of the product is needed achieve the desired effect because it's very pigmented.

As for the lasting/staying power, I think it performed quite well. It stays on for about 3-4 hours. But will fade if you eat with it on your lips.

Over all I am very satisfied with my purchase. ^____^ I don't think I can still repurchase it since it's LE(Limited Edition) and almost all the stocks have already been sold out. :/

Swatch without flash

 with flash

Below are 3 different photos with Splashing on my lips. I am providing 3 lip swatches so you ladies can have a better idea of what's it really like. Please do note that the lighting in the pictures may vary as I moved from one side of the room to the other when taking the pictures:

FOTD >.<

Face: Etude House Dr. Oil Solution Shine free dual primer, Revlon PhotoReady 004 Nude, MAC Studio Fix NC 30
Eyes: Etude House Drawing Eye Brow, Etude House Tear Drop Liner, Prestige Biggest Lashes in Black and Maybelline Eyestudio Gel Liner in Black
Lips: HNN in peppermint and MAC to the Beach Collection Lip glass in Splashing

xxx,
Sugar