NYX Blush in Mauve Review, Photos and Swatches

I picked up a bunch of NYX products recently because it was about time that I checked out this brand. It's a drugstore brand that has products that can rival higher-end products, so check it out!

NYX is known for their blushes and it's a good place to start if you're a newbie to the brand, like me. I recently picked up two NYX powder blushes - Mauve and Apricot. In this post we'll look at Mauve, a matte light mauve. NYX powder blushes deliver silky sheer colour that glides on easily, blends beautifully and creates a natural glow.

Mauve is a beautiful, soft, very wearable shade. It's one of those shades that you can wear and look like you've got almost nothing on. It's very natural, and would go well with a stronger eye or lip look, as well as with more natural looks.

Let's take a closer look.

All of the NYX powder blushes have this gem-like pattern pressed into them, which gives them a higher end feel. The packaging is black plastic with a clear window. Not sure if it's due to being a drugstore product and displayed in a those display units with plastic rows and the spring foot pushing the products forward, or the way it's shipped to stores, or from being handled, or the quality of it, but the packaging when I bought it was scuffed and scratched. 

Still, what's inside isn't damaged and looks beautiful. Check out the texture in the photo below (click on the image to enlarge it). 

On my skin, Mauve actually looks like a soft, cool pink. The texture is very smooth and it applies sheer. The best blushes are sheer because blush needs to look natural, like it's your skin, not sitting heavily on top. Sheer allows your skin to show through. Even when you apply layers of Mauve, it's still sheer but the colour increases. Mauve is matte, but it's not a completely flat shade. There's a hint of glow to it, but no shimmer at all. 

Mauve is quite a soft shade, so on my skintone (NW15) it shows up pretty quickly and easily, but on deeper skin tones it may need a few layers to have much effect. 

I think Mauve is a fantastic basic blush shade for lighter skintones. It looks natural and is easy to wear with a light application or a heavier application. It would work with heavier eye or lip looks or with something natural, such as how I'm wearing it in the photos above. 

Stay tuned for more NYX reviews, including of the NYX Apricot blush. 

Grade: A

C.

Soft Fall Green FOTD Featuring Charlotte Tilbury's The Rebel Luxury Palette

On my recent trip to London I was lucky enough to stumble across a preview launch of legendary makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury's new makeup line. The day I caught them, they only had eye shadows for sale - I spent a long time swatching and playing with the palettes and I came away very impressed and of course, not empty handed!

One of the two brand new palettes I picked up was The Rebel (£38.00, approximately $63.00 CA), a gorgeous, bold palette including four shimmery eye shadows in cream, bright grass green, deep teal green and a golden khaki green cream/powder glitter, review here.

On my way home I spent a few days in Toronto and used this palette on Catherine to create a soft yet bright fall green eye. Catherine usually keeps her colour choices neutral, particularly on her eyes, so I wanted to create a colourful but soft and wearable look for her.

Clockwise from upper left: Tom Ford Lovelust Blush, Charlotte Tilbury The Rebel Luxury Eye Palette,

 MAC Face and Body Mixing Medium, MAC Smoke and Diamonds Eye Starflash Eye Shadow, 

MAC Wedge Eye Shadow, OCC Skin Conceal in Y1, Shu Uemura Eye Lash Curler, Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Gel, MAC Jazzed Lipstick, MAC Select Cover Concealer in NW20, Bobbi Brown Lash Glamour Extreme Lengthening Mascara in Black

Charlotte TIlbury's The Rebel palette, clockwise from top left.

1. Prime - shimmery cream with a slight pink overtone
2. Enhance - bright, pigmented grass green shimmer
3. Smoke - a deep, pigmented teal
4. Pop - a creamy smokey khaki with tons of golden shimmer

I began by priming Catherine's eyes with MAC Select Cover concealer and a slight dusting of powder. To create a neutral base I applied MAC Wedge to the whole of Catherine's lid, buffing it out on the edges and slightly into the crease. I then applied the grass green Enhance shade of The Rebel palette into the crease and on the outer 1/3 of her lid. I applied the grass green shade quite strongly using a flat stiff brush then buffed and blended it out in the crease towards the brow and out onto the lid using a clean MAC 217. I then layered MAC Smoke and Diamonds on the outer 3/4 of the lid, making sure to overlap where the green shadow had been blended onto the lid.

I then mixed Smoke and Diamonds together with the Enhance shade and lined her bottom lids 3/4 of the way, making sure to blend out the line for soft definition. I then used the deep teal Smoke shade to deepen the outside edge of the crease and the top lash line. I then used MAC's Graphblack fill in between Cath's top lashes, curled her lashes and applied mascara. Lastly, I took the Pop shade in The Rebel palette and using my fingers, patted it onto middle of the lid for added sparkle. I also groomed Cath's brows with Anastasia's Brow Gel to give them definition.

After her eyes were finished, I applied a mixture of MAC Select Cover Concealer and Face and Body Mixing Medium as foundation, applied OCC Concealer to any blemishes and powdered only the center of her face. To complete the look I dusted Tom Ford's Lovelust blush high onto Cath's cheekbones, then buffed some onto the apple's of her cheeks for added warmth. I then mixed MAC's Jazzed lipstick with a smidge of the Select Concealer to lighten then tone, then filled in her lips.

I think the finished look is soft, pretty and colourful without being over-the-top garish. Because I hid the brightest shade in her crease, you only get that flash of bright green when she lowers her eyes, and the neutrals on her lids keeps the look sophisticated. 

What do you think readers? See yourself in greens for fall?

J

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Diffused Light Review and Swatches

Well, look what I have in my hot little hands! I finally picked up one of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders, those much-buzzed-about beauty products! 

There are six shades of the Ambient Lighting Powders, each designed to mimic a type of lighting.

A wardrobe of six universal finishing powders that recreate the most exquisitely flattering light—from ethereal moonlight to luminous candlelight. Each powder captures, diffuses and softens surrounding light with groundbreaking photoluminescent technology. Choose one or more and step into your perfect light.

• Powders capture, diffuse and soften the way light is reflected on skin, brighten the appearance, and conceal skin imperfections, pores and wrinkles

• Infused with technologically advanced soft-focus particles that help make skin appear younger, even-toned and radiant

• Unlike traditional powders that use opaque pigments, Ambient utilizes “photoluminescent technology” – micron-size spherical particles that refract light and create transparent coverage

• Universal powders make them suitable for every skin tone, while each can be worn for day and night

• Free of parabens, talc, fragrance, nano-particles and gluten

ETHEREAL LIGHT is an opalescent sheer, cool white powder that mimics a moonlit glow – even in broad daylight

DIFFUSED LIGHT is a soft, warm, pale yellow powder that conceals redness and gives skin clarity – like a soft ray of morning light

DIM LIGHT is a neutral peach beige powder that blurs imperfections and highlights a radiant complexion with the perfect balance of warm and cool tones

MOOD LIGHT is a soft, sheer lavender pink powder that mimics the softest most forgiving light and reveals your brightest complexion

LUMINOUS LIGHT is a champagne pearl powder that creates a soft, incandescent candlelit glow – day or night

RADIANT LIGHT is a sun-kissed golden beige powder that enhances the overall complexion with believable, subtle warmth, and also extends a summer glow

Lighting can dramatically change the way we look and I think Hourglass is genius for coming up with the idea of these powders AND managing to make them so effective. Watch this short video that shows how different lighting can make someone look very different. 

OK, so the Ambient Lighting Powders aren't going to create shadows or do anything as dramatic as the lighting effects in this video, but I think you'll be impressed. I was. 

When I visited the Bloor Street Sephora in Toronto, most of the powders were out of stock but the one I wanted - Diffused Light - was not. The Ambient Lighting Powders are $50 CDN.

From all that I'd read about these powders, I was excited and apprehensive at the same time. I'd seen only raves about these powders. Could it actually be as good as everyone says? Is it possible that this powder would give me that soft-focus quality that the perfect types of lighting can?

Let's start with some thoughts about the packaging. Hourglass is a luxe brand that makes mainly specialty products of superior quality. The packaging reflects that. Here's the compact of the Diffused Light Ambient Lighting Powder next to my MAC Forever Marilyn Beauty Powder (standard MAC compact size) for a comparison of size. The MAC packaging is decent, it doesn't feel flimsy or cheap but the Hourglass Ambient Powder compact feels like a Humvee compared to it. It's very solid, feels substantial and has a good weight. It's beautiful to look at too, shiny and sleek. There is a mirror inside. The Ambient Lighting Powders are 10 g/0.35 oz (the MAC Beauty Powder is exactly the same amount).

It was difficult to capture the appearance of the product. This was the best photo I managed to capture. The colour is a very soft yellow and there is a teeny bit of sparkle to it (visible in the photo below). The product looks beautiful in the compact, smooth and subtly shimmery.

It was also difficult to photograph the swatches I did on my inner arm. I had to use black lines of eyeliner so my camera had something to focus on and although I swatched Diffused Light fairly heavily, it barely shows up. Bad for photography, good for application, though!

NW15-20 skintone

NW15-20 skintone

There is a brush you can purchase to use with the Ambient Lighting Powders. It retails for $41 CDN and I couldn't justify the expense on top of a $50 powder. You can use any powder brush to apply the Ambient Lighting Powders, though I'm sure the quality of the Hourglass brush is excellent and applies the product like butter. I used a powder brush to apply and also tried using a finer, fluffier contour brush. 

The Ambient Lighting Powders are designed to be applied after you've applied your other makeup. It's not a setting powder, though it claims to keep oiliness at bay in shinier skin types. As soon as you use it you can see exactly what it's meant to do. It did not dilute the effect of the blush I'd applied (in the below photos) or the highlighter (not pictured). 

I think it'd be difficult to overdo the application of this powder. It's very fine and you'll see a kick-up of very fine powder as you apply the brush to the compact. In the photos below, I am wearing Diffused Light on the left side of my face (the right side of the photo). 

The effect is very subtle, but you can see that the left side of my face I look slightly softer than the right side. My skin has a soft, smooth, almost glow to it. It's so very subtle, but so very obvious once it's applied. The right side of my face looks just fine, but my left side with the Diffused Light is just that much better. Since Diffused Light is supposed to minimize redness, I was concerned that it'd fade my blush but it doesn't. It gives it a softness, just like my skin. 

Underneath I'm wearing a BB cream, and a bit of concealer on my lower right cheek as well as under my eyes. I used MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium to set the concealer and on my t-zone. My blush is MAC Pink Swoon.

Wearing Diffused Light on the left side of my face.  This side ^^^.

The above photo was taken with regular flash and the photo below with slow sync flash (there are slight variations in the colour of my eyes, skin and hair as a result, also my pupils are tiny in the below photo). I thought I'd show you what my skin looked like, again with the Diffused Light on the left side of my face only. 

Wearing Diffused Light on the left side of my face. This side ^^^^.

You've probably guessed that I am really impressed with this product. It lived up to my expectations, absolutely. I want to try some of the other Ambient Lighting Powders (especially Ethereal Light and Luminous Light) now. I think it gives my skin a soft, very flattering glow, much like soft early morning light, as it's meant to mimic. 

Damn, this is going to be a staple for me. It wears very well. Even after doing yoga at lunchtime in my office, there was still a softness to my skin, even though my undereye concealer had faded considerably, as had my blush. 

So, yes. You should check these powders out. They add a quality to the skin that you can't get unless you carry around a specialty light to shine on your face all day! Anyone can wear them as this won't settle into fine lines or wrinkles, despite the shimmery properties. It's a very, very soft and subtle effect. Even super-healthy skin will see an effect using these. 

This stuff is fantastic. Check it out at your own risk, but I can guarantee you'll probably like it. 

Grade: A++++++++

- C.

Soft and Sultry FOTD

I was inspired by the look of Victoria's Secret models for this. In particular, this photo:

I like the softly sultry big round eyes, warm skin and glossy lips. It's important to note how airbrushed this photo is though. I'm only guessing at the make-up look they may have used.


Here's my version, using slightly cooler colours. It's soft, sexy and simple.

On my skin is Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer all over my face and MAC Studio Fix Concealer under my eyes and on any blotchy spots. I used MAC Magically Cool Liquid Powder in Truth & Light for some sheen and as a setting powder. I used a kabuki brush to buff, buff, buff and buff some more. 

On the eyes I used a few different colours but the important step to this look is blending. Everything has to be soft and very blended.

First I applied Urban Decay Primer Potion to my eyelids and let it set. I then applied L'Oreal Couleur Infallible in Forever Pink on my eyelids, blending it up to the crease.

L'Oreal Couleur Infallible in Forever Pink

 On top I added a bit of MAC Skintone (L) eyeshadow and also to my browbone, blending it across from the corner of my eyebrow to the inner corner of my eye.

MAC Skintone (L) eyeshadow

With a long, fluffy crease brush, I applied the medium purple-brown shade from the Quartz Sally Hanson Natural Beauty Inspired by Carmindy palette, blending it form the outer corner of my eye, up through the crease and towards the inner edge of my eyebrow, in an angled upward curve.

Sally Hanson Natural Beauty Inspired By Carmindy medium shade in the Quartz Eye Palette

To deepen the effect, I used a touch of MAC Smut eyeshadow and then added more of each shade to get the effect I wanted. I wanted it soft, almost like a natural shadow in the crease but the sheen to each eyeshadow made it even softer.

MAC Smut eyeshadow

I used Smut along my lashline, working into the lashes and out up to the crease. I could have used a liquid eyeliner as they must do in Victoria's Secret but it would've added a hard edge to this look. For further emphasis and to add a bit of warmth and even more shimmer, I used Bare Escentuals Sex Kitten. I applied it along the lashline and up into the crease. Layered and blended and layered and blended.

Bare Escentuals in Sex Kitten

I swept the same combination of eyeshadows under my eye, very softly.

You can't have a sultry look without false eyelashes, but I wanted them to look natural. First I curled my lashes with my Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler and then applied some delicate Ardell lashes I've had for awhile, using my Duo lash glue.

Ardell False Eyelashes in 110 Black

The lashes help to give more emphasis to the lashline, and the band on these is thin enough that I don't need liquid liner to camouflage the fact I'm wearing falsies. 

Then lots and lots of mascara - L'Oreal Voluminous mascara on the top and Clinique Bottom Lash mascara on the bottom.

L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara in Black

Here's the side view.

Lashes!

I didn't apply anything in my brows, but I did brush them up with an eyebrow comb for a bit of a messy look. Undone is sexy. 


For a bit of shimmery glow, I used MAC Lustre Drops along the top of my cheekbone and browbone.

MAC Lustre Drops in Pink Rebel

I chose my warmest, most shimmery, sultry blush for my cheeks.

MAC Warm Soul Blush

And finally, I chose a sheer, nude gloss for a bit of shine. I dabbed it on the centre of my lips with the tip of my finger. 

Soap & Glory Gloss in Peche

I love this look. It's a little bit retro, a whole lot seductive and really soft and pretty. It's not quite  Victoria's Secret but I love it!

Let us know what you think!

C.

MAC Cham Pale Preview

Introducing MAC Cham Pale: Only the finest will do for a M∙A∙C toast to the New Year! Cham Pale is a cuvée colour collection that’s cause for celebration – a Champagne smash, shimmering with all the bubbly optimism and golden glow of the best that’s yet to be, in Eye Shadow, from Brule to Et tu, Bouquet?; Paint Pots in Chilled on Ice and Let Me Pop, Lipstick in four shades, especially Quiet Please, and Flustered; Lipgelée from Bubble Lounge to Straight to the Head; two Chromagraphic Pencils (NC15/NW20 and NW25/NC30); Eye Kohl in I Get No Kick; Kohl Power in Feline; Nail Lacquer we call Very Important Platinum!; Studio Fix Mascara, and NEW Special Reserve Highlight Powder in four shades ending perfectly elegantly in everyone’s favourite: Rosé Olé.

All, for every skin tone. To us! Every sensible person knows having a bottle of good Champagne on ice at all times is a must! So too this premium skincare collection, inspired by the sublime simplicity of the finest quality pale cuvée, the care and nurturing required to get it right, and the extraordinary satisfaction that comes with an appreciation of the ultimate luxury: Introducing new Complete Comfort Creme, an ultra-riche facial moisturizer that relieves visible redness immediately, for a gentle, soothing, calming, hydrating formula that makes life prettier, like only the best Champagne can do. The soothing properties of French lavender enhance well-being, body, mind and spirit. M∙A∙C Fix + Lavender, Lip Conditioner SPF 15 + Lavender and Tinted Lip Conditioner SPF 15 + Lavender round out the collection.  

At North American MAC counters and in stores on December 26th, 2010. 



Chromagraphic Pencil in NC15/NW20
$17.50 CDN/$14.50 US



Chromagraphic Pencil in NW25/NC30
$17.50 CDN/ $14.50 US



Eye Kohl in I Get No Kick (metallic nude)
$17.50 CDN/$14.50 US





Kohl Power in Feline (rich black)
$17.50 CDN/$14.50 US



Eyeshadow x4 in Caviar Dreams
Brulé (soft creamy beige) - satin
Et tu, Bouquet? (frosted pale pink) - frost
Caviar Dreams (dirty frosted pewter) - lustre
Retrospeck (beached blonde) - lustre
$43.00 CDN/$36.00 US

Lip Gelée in Bubble Lounge (sparkly pink peach) - frost 
$17.50 CDN/$14.50 US

Lip Gelée in Luxure (off-white with pink pearl) - frost
$17.50 CDN/$14.50 US

Lip Gelée in Sin-tillation (sparkly pale ice pink) - frost
$17.50 CDN/$14.50 US

Lip Geleé in Straight to the Heart (sparkly bronze brown) - frost
$17.50 CDN/$14.50 US

Lipstick in Flustered (frosted pale bronze) - frost
$17.50 CDN/$14.50 US

Lipstick in Gel (sheer metallic beige) - frost
$17.50 CDN/$14.50 US

Lipstick in Quiet, Please (frosted pink champagne) - lustre
$17.50 CDN/$14.50 US

Lipstick in Tanarama (pale beige with golden shimmer) - frost
$17.50 CDN/$14.50 US

Nail Lacquer in Soirée (sparkly light bronze gold) - frost
$15.50 CDN/$13.00 US

Nail Lacquer in Very Important Platinum (dirty platinum) - frost
$15.50 CDN/$13.00 US 

Paint Pot in Chilled on Ice (frosted white gold)
$20.00 CDN/$16.50 US

Paint Pot in Dangerous Cuvée (frosted cool grey)
$20.00 CDN/$16.50 US

                                                        

Paint Pot in Let Me Pop (frosted light copper)
$20.00 CDN/$16.50 US

Paint Pot in Vintage Selection (frosted dirty peach)
$20.00 CDN/$16.50 US



Special Reserve Highlight Powder in Chez Chez Lamé (soft gold with silver shimmer)
$33.50 CDN/$28.00 US




Special Reserve Highlight Powder in Rosé Ole (soft pink with gold shimmer)
$33.50 CDN/$28.00 US



Studio Fix Lash in Black Fix (black)
$16.50 CDN/$14.00 US



Complete Comfort Creme
$38.50 CDN/$32 US





Fix + Lavender
$21.50 CDN/$18.00 US



Lip Conditioner SPF 15 + Lavender
$17.50 CDN/$14.50 US

Tinted Lip Conditioner SPF 15 + Lavender
$17.50 CDN/$14.50 US

So what do you think? Are you a soft and shimmery makeup lover? I for one am LOVING the look of the new shimmery paint pots. I'll definitely be checking those out.

C.