MAC: Select Cover-Up in NC35

The Breakdown

Brand- MAC

Color- Select Cover-Up in NC35

Packaging- A little squeeze tube with a pointed nozzle

Thoughts- This was the first MAC product I purchased. EVER. I got it to cover the redness around my nose and occasional redness on my forehead.

The product is just thick enough to give the coverage you need without having to layer it on or it looking cakey. It is a liquid concealer, so keep that in mind if you can a preference when it comes to textures. A little goes a long way with this stuff, so use sparingly.

The concealer dries to a matte finish, which may or may not be a good thing. If I am wearing a dewy foundation, I do apply this first just so the foundation covers the matte finish. If I've got nothing else but concealer on, then the matte finish is fine, but I find that dewy foundation + matte concealer over =weird looking skin.

I have found, through trial and error, that it is best applied using the tips of your fingers to gently pat it on. The combined heat between your face and fingers helps to loosen up the product slightly and allows you to use less product than a brush would. It also blends better with your fingers than it does when you use a fluffy brush (a la pixiwoo).

Overall- I love this stuff. It is exactly the right shade I need to conceal any redness around my nose. Unfortunately, I have a bit of occasional redness in the V of my brow and when I tried to cover it up I found that this product breaks me out in that area. It's my go to for non-foundation days when I only have time to cover the redness around my nose, slap on a bit of bronzer and a coat or two of mascara. I don't have acne prone skin so I can't tell you whether or not it covers blemishes well.

Star Rating- 4/5...If only it didn't break my forehead out.

Swatches

Heavy swatch on the left, blended out on the right

e.l.f.: Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder

The Breakdown

Brand-e.l.f.

Product- Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder

Thoughts- I won't lie, I got this when I was fascinated by drugstore dupes of higher end brands. I was just starting to delve into the realm of makeup so I figured that $3 wasn't too high of a price to pay to try something out.

As of now, there is only the one combination of blush and bronzer being offered by e.l.f. The blush is a nice pink that manages to give some light to the cheek. It does however contain copious amounts of gold glitter that are very noticeable in size. The color of the blush itself sits nicely against my NC37-ish skin.

The bronzer is a very deep with a very slight orange tinge. It is supremely pigmented so a little goes a long way and people with light complexions need to be wary of how much they apply. Much like the blush, there are large bits of gold shimmer running all through the powder. It can also look a bit chalky if you are not careful with it.

Both the blush and the bronzer veer on the softer side of products. They don't fall apart on contact, but they do require a very light hand. I suggest you use a fluffy brush (like the e.l.f. complexion brush) with these suckers.

Overall- I can't say that I use this duo all too much. I think the only time I do use it is when I want a bronzy, blush free cheek (which is rare). Through my makeup journey I have found that I prefer cheek products with a sheen of very, very fine shimmer running through. The glitter in this is too large and too abundant for my taste.

Star Rating- 1.75/5...I like the shades but the glitter puts me off.

Swatches

With flash, just to show you how much darn glitter there is

The Blush, single on the left and heavy on the right

The Bronzer, single on the left and heavy on the right

ORLY: Rage

The Breakdown

Brand-ORLY

Color- Rage

Thoughts- I bought China Glaze's gold nail polish in the 2010 Holiday collection and found that I loved the metallic finish. This led my to go on the hunt for other polishes with the same outcome.

From what I can tell, this is a permanent color in the ORLY line, though it is being promoted this year as one of three colors to rock on New Years, I think the others are a gold and a silver metallic.

The color is a muted rose gold, that shifts to either side of the scale depending on what light your hands are in. It's lovely and I found myself always looking down at my hands to see what the effect was. The darker the lighting, the rosier the color seemed.

I do have to say that it goes on quite sheer and really does need 3-4 coats in order to get it even and opaque. If you don't work fast enough, the polish does tend to be a bit streaky. I don't know if that's unique to this polish or if all ORLY polishes require that many coats, I'll have to pick up a few more and test out that theory.

It lasts about as long as the CG polishes do, about 4 days (which is amazing considering I have class in a lab and am constantly doing things with my hands) with a good quality top coat.

Overall- I love it and I hope to try more polishes that have this amazing finish. It is definitely on my recommendation list.

Star Rating- 4/5, would have been higher if it was another 2 coat polish.

Swatches

In the shade

In natural sun light

Revlon: PhotoReady Makeup in 008 Golden Beige

The Breakdown

Brand- Revlon

Color- PhotoReady Makeup in 008 Golden Beige

Packaging- A glass container with the all too important pump. Be careful though, a full pump will disperse far too much product, even for a round face like mine.

Thoughts- I think this product is falls into the love/hate category. Some people love it and others hate it. Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing which one you are without trying it for yourself.

I used the Temptalia Foundation Matrix coupled with an online review I found, I can't for the life of me find the blog I used, to pick out the right color. Unfortunately, things did not turn out as I would have hoped. I did notice that the numbering in the color system was a bit weird (high numbers do not always mean a darker color), but there was a fair mix of pink, neutral and yellow based shades.

The foundation applies quite easily and you don't need very much to get a really good level of coverage. You can continue to layer it to achieve full coverage, but I found that it looks more and more porcelain and fake as the layers are schlepped on.

In terms of how it sets, the foundation itself settles to a nice satin finish. It is not dewy nor is it supremely matte. It is a very nice natural finish. It does, however, have a good bit of shimmer running through it. I thought previous bloggers and reviewers were exaggerating, but there is so much shimmer in such large chunks that they catch the light in photos and are visible from as little as a foot away in real life.

Overall- I must admit that I do not wear this on its own. Frankly, I picked out the wrong color (it was waay to light/porcelain) and the sparkles, while in essence a good idea, just did not work for me at all. Of course, I fell bad not using it and seeing as I can't return it, I'm mixing the smallest amount in with my Neutrogena Healthy Skin just to make the finish a tad less dewy.

Star Rating- 3/5... I love the finish, though the trial of color matching and the sparkles put me off.

Swatches

Bottle

Pump

Heavy, then blended swatch.

Heavy, then blended swatch in the shade.

China Glaze: Coral Star

The Breakdown

Brand-China Glaze

Color- Coral Star

Thoughts- This is the most neglected of my China Glaze polishes. My preferences are cremes or dark polishes, as you can tell this is neither. I do like it though, don't get me wrong.

The is a bright pinky coral with a fine reflect orange glitter running through it. It's quite bright and eye catching, regardless of who wears it. It requires two thin coats to get it opaque, which is pretty standard for CG polishes. I like that the color sits nicely against my skin tone.

Overall-I don't seem to be reaching for this one very often. I tend to gravitate toward darker glitter polishes or midtone cremes. I use this when it is inappropriate to have blue nails that are not a flat color. I won't buy this again, but I do like it.

Star Rating- 4.5/5, It's a nice polish that stands out against all the blues and greens in my collection. Not my favorite, but still pretty.

Swatches

China Glaze: Dorothy Who?

The Breakdown

Brand-China Glaze

Color-Dorothy Who?

Thoughts-Oh man, I am in serious lust with this polish. It was part of a line of polished inspired by The Wizard of Oz, I don't know if it was limited edition or not, but I do know that this polish is now part of their permanent line.

In terms of color? Well, first think of the ruby slippers from the movie. Then, replace the red with a bright cerulean blue. It is nothing short of lovely. It is rife with large bits of bright blue and silver glitter, exactly like a blue version of those oh-so-famous shoes.

Qualitywise? To get an even coat of glitter, you need at least three thin coats. Thick coats are not the way to go, so you need a bit of patience to layer and let dry. Also, the glitter is so large that you can never get a smooth coat with just the polish. A thicker top coat (Seche Vite) or two layers of a thinner one is the best way to go. You do need to let it dry completely before doing anything or else all those layers of polish will dent, not a good look.

Overall-Amazing, no other word for it. The massive chunks of glitter make it difficult to remove without a cotton ball (I normally use the jars with sponges in them, I'm lazy). I get compliments everytime I wear this and I find myself gravitating to it whenever I don't have a particular color in mind. Regardless, I hope this polish never goes away.

Star Rating- 5/5, I always want to wear this polish, always.

Swatches

China Glaze: Midnight Mission

The Breakdown

Brand-China Glaze

Color-Midnight Mission

Thoughts-Midnight Mission is a part of the LE Vintage Vixens Collection. From what I can tell, it was available at Sally's for a little bit, but they only carried a few bottles of each. I missed out, as a few months ago I didn't know how nail launches worked, so I had to break down and search for the sucker online (at transdesign, review here).

The polish itself is a blackened navy blue, there's no other way to describe it really. It has fine but still noticeable) silver and blue glitter running through it. The silver gives the polish another dimension and gives it a faux 'metallic' sheen when light hits at the right angle.

The quality is amazing and, to be honest, I expect nothing less from China Glaze. It's easy to apply and lasts a while given the right topcoat. Well worth my money.

Overall-It's no surprise that I simply love this color. It's dark without being black and sits perfectly against my coloring. I'll be sad when it runs out, but I figure if/when that time comes I'll have boatloads more nail polish than I do now that will ease the pain.

Star Rating- 5/5, If you don't mind turning to an online retailer and have a few other polishes you missed out on, go ahead and add this to your cart...you won't regret it.

Swatches

Love, Love, Love