Formula X for Sephora Xplosives Top Coat in Turbulent Review and Swatches

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a relaxing holiday, mine was busier than I expected it to be but nice nonetheless. Now that the holidays are over I am (finally) tackling some of my Sephora VIB sale haul and all the nice beauty goodies I scooped up over the holidays.

One of the nail polishes I got during the sale was Formula X for Sephora Xplosives Top Coat in Turbulent ($15.00 CA/$13.00 US, permanent). Turbulent is a clear base filled with black and turquoise confetti that ranges in size from pin prick size flecks to large peppercorn sized hexagons. It has a rather thick texture, as can be expected from a confetti filled polish, and to apply an even coating of confetti, you will need to strategically blob the polish over your nail. Photos taken with flash, no base or top coat, 3 layers.

The formula dries fast and feels a little like sand paper on the nail, though not in an unpleasant way. It dries to a medium glossy finish, though because it is textured it won't shine like a flat layer of polish would. I found this polish lasted 2-3 days without any chipping (which is normal wear time for me) and I expect with a proper base and top coat or used over another polish it would last much longer.

Although I know it is designed to be worn as a top coat over another polish, I like wearing this on it's own - it reminds me of abstract expressionist painting and I think that's really fun and different. The one major downside to this polish (and any other glitter/confetti polish) is removing it is very difficult. I actually found the easiest way for me to remove it was to scrape and chip it off with the edge of a metal nail file! Now, I know most people would not want to subject their nail beds to that type of treatment, so you could also use the tin foil method of removal too.

Grade: B+

Dior Golden Snow EOTD

Here is breakdown of the eye look I created with Dior's holiday palette Golden Snow 5 Couleurs holiday palette.

Products used:

MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC35
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder

Dior 5 Couleurs Golden Snow eye shadow palette
MAC Graphblack Technakhol eye liner
Fairydrops Waterproof Mascara
Kevyn Aucoin eye lash curler
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder Duo in Brunette

I first concealed with MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC35 and set it with Laura Mercier Transparent Setting Powder. I then patted on Urban Decay Primer Potion to my eyelid using my finger tip. Using a flat brush I applied shade 4 all over my lid, fading and blending it out slightly above my crease. Then using a MAC 226 I applied shade 3 to my crease blending well. Using the edge of MAC 219 I mixed shades 3 and 4 together and ran that along my lower lash line. Then using a clean MAC 217 I buffed and blended all the shadows together, paying particular attention to the crease. I then lined my top lash line with MAC Graphblack and smudged the line with shade 3 and an angled brush. Lastly I loaded a MAC 242 with shade 2 and spritzed it with MAC Fix + before I packed the gold glitter onto the center of my lid. I repeated this step 2 times to get a strong glitter effect. I then finished by curling my lashes with the Kevyn Aucoin curler and gave my top lashes two coats of Fairy Drops Waterproof mascara.

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What I like about this palette is that it combines both warm and cool tones which when layered together create some interesting depth of colour. The shadows blend beautifully together giving you a soft, smokey eye that's not too dark or dramatic.  It's a pretty, soft eye look that would be great for an evening party or romantic dinner...something a little different for the holidays!

J

Dior Golden Snow 5 Couleurs Eye Shadow Palette

Dior released two LE eye shadow palettes for the holidays, the warm, brown based Golden Flower, and the cooler toned Golden Snow. I recently picked up Golden Snow from the lovely Camille at the Dior counter at the Bay City Centre. All photos taken with flash on NC 35/40 skin ($61.00 CA).

 Dior Golden Snow 1-5: clockwise from upper left (1), ending with center shade (5)

Golden Snow 1 (upper left) - a satiny white frost with a pink undertone. Excellent pigmentation and texture. Cool in tone but not too stark.

Golden Snow 2 (upper right) - a warm, yellow toned medium gold glitter which is similar in texture and finish to Bobbi Brown's Sparkle Eye Shadows. It feels creamy and powdery simultaneously. I did have a little fall out with this shadow, but it wasn't a major problem. You will want to use this over an eye shadow primer or base and pack it on with a stiff flat damp brush or your fingers.

Golden Snow 3 (bottom right) - a semi sheer charcoal satin which leans slightly blue. This shadow was semi sheer, which means you would have to pack on 2-3 layers to get it to be really dark and opaque. If you are looking for a soft charcoal/graphite type shade to wear in your creases this would be a good one as it goes on very soft.

Golden Snow 4 (bottom left) - a beautiful creamy and opaque taupey mauve shimmer. On my skin it pulled more mauve, but it does have a hint of grey in it that keeps it from looking overtly purple. Such a pretty and soft colour! Definitely my favorite in the palette.

Golden Snow 5 (center) - a white semi sheer glitter which is powdery texture wise. The glitter is finer than in shade 2, but the texture is quite a bit more powdery. Again, a sticky eye shadow or primer and a stiff and damp brush or fingertip will work best for this shadow.

Initially when I swatched this palette I was a bit disappointed because the colours didn't seem that unique and the textures were a bit too powdery for my liking. After I created this quick look my opinion of this palette improved quite a bit. The mix of warm and cool tones works quite well and the taupey mauve shade (#4) is so pretty and versatile - I can see it working with greys and browns.

Grade: B+

Overall I think this is a good palette - it doesn't blow me out of the water, but I think that the quality and shade range is good enough that you can get numerous pretty evening looks out of it. Here is an EOTD I did with the palette - full tutorial to follow!

J

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Charlotte Tilbury Luxury Palette in The Rebel: Review, Swatches and Photos

On a recent trip to London, I was lucky enough to stumble upon a sneak preview of super star makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury's new makeup line. 

The day I was there they were previewing and selling Tilbury's new Luxury Palette eye shadows and her Colour Chameleon eye shadow pencils. After much swatching and bemoaning the fact that I was on a budget, I purchased two Luxury Palettes - The Rebel and The Uptown Girl. Today I have The Rebel for review (£38.00, approximately $62.00 CD).

Tilbury's palettes are built around four coloured coded shadows (clockwise from top left). The Prime shade is applied all over the lid, the Enhance shade goes in the crease, the outer v, and along the top and bottom lash lines. The Smoke shade deepens the crease, outer v and the top and bottom lash lines, while the Pop shade is applied directly to the middle of the lid with the fingertips for a pop of glitter. You can watch Tilbury's  video tutorial for The Rebel palette here.

Photos taken in natural light, swatches on NC 40 skin.

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

The texture and pigmentation of the shadows are outstanding - they are incredibly creamy, easy to blend and highly pigmented. The Pop shade formula is identical to the glitter shadows in Tom Ford's quads or Bobbi Brown's Sparkle Eye Shadows, they are exceptionally creamy and easy to apply with little fall out. The Rebel's Pop shade has a well pigmented base shade for the glitter to sit in - many of the other Pop shades have a sheerer base and therefore give more glitter than colour. I also love that Tilbury has included three shades of green all with different undertones (warm, cool and neutral).

The packaging for the palettes is unique and elegant with a slim burgundy case and a gold, art deco inspired "CT" logo on the front. Inside is a full sized mirror, with a tiny etched star in the upper right corner and a gold cover with Tilbury's name embossed in it. I appreciate that Tilbury has designed the packaging to be luxurious but still lightweight and sleek. I also appreciate that Tilbury has not included any (useless) tiny applicators or brushes - eye shadows of this caliber should be applied with good brushes!

If you can't already tell from my glowing review, I am incredibly impressed with this palette. If TIlbury's Luxury Palette eye shadows are any indication of the quality of the rest of her line, this is going to be a killer line...if only my trip to London had been a few days longer I would have been able to see her whole collection and purchase her two eye brushes which I so badly wanted! I haven't been this excited over a line of cosmetics since I discovered Le Metier de Beaute a few years ago. 

Charlotte TIlbury's line is currently only available at Selfridges in the UK and online . Currently her online store only ships to the UK but let's keep our fingers crossed that they offer international shipping very, very soon!

Grade: A+

P.S: Stay tuned for the FOTD I did with The Rebel palette on Catherine!

P.P.S: As a quick aside, Charlotte Tilbury herself was at her pop up counter! I have to admit I was a little star struck when I realized she was there...she's so glamorous and chic with her signature "feline flick" look.

J

butter LONDON Two Fingered Salute - Review, Swatches and Photos

When Jill and I were in New York City recently, we went to a store called Ricki's. There are a quite a few Ricki's in Manhattan, and they carry a wide range of hair supplies, some make-up, cosmetics and nail supplies. For beauty junkies, it's well worth a stop for lines like NYX, Stila, OPI, Essie and butter LONDON. While it's not as flashy as a Sephora, it's got products that you may not be able to find elsewhere, such as butter LONDON's Two-Fingered Salute, a Nordstroms limited edition exclusive.

I was sooooo curious about this shade when it was first launched last summer but as always, was hesitant to buy it without seeing it in person first. So when I saw it on the shelf at Ricky's I squealed.

Two-Fingered Salute: Similar to giving the bird in the states. Naughty! A muted, patinaed green-creme with copper micro-glitter.

This is a two-fingered salute - a UK version of giving someone the finger. 

Yes, you read that correctly, a green with copper glitter. Sounds weird, right? It looks a little weird too, but it's also really cool, very pretty and very different. I don't know if I'd wear this shade of green without the copper, it's verging on pastel. 

Two-Fingered Salute goes on beautifully, as do all the butter LONDON polishes I've tried. In the photo below I'm wearing three coats, but that's more my application technique than the product. This would probably work fine with two coats. The copper glitter is subtle and embedded in the polish, so it's not an uneven finish. 

You see mainly the green but at certain angles, the copper glitter creates a sheen and at other angles you see the individual copper particles. 

This is a great shade. I'm a huge fan of butter LONDON polishes as you may know from reading this blog. Each new one I try, I fall in love a little bit more. It's a combination of the names of the polishes as well as the uniqueness of many of the shades. butter LONDON is not an inexpensive polish, but they're beautiful polishes. They cost around $18 CDN. 

Grade: A

MAC Baking Beauties Preview and Photos

M·A·C Baking Beauties

Available online April 11, 2013

Available in stores April 18, 2013 through May 26, 2013 (limited edition)

M·A·C loves everything about a cupcake. Face Powder arrives in exclusively designed cupcake patterns, and Lustre Drops create a luminous finish. Pro Longwear Paint Pots add a touch of dazzle. Haute & Naughty Lash delivers two-in-one coverage. Lipstick lays it on soft and tempting in tones including Devil’s Food and Raspberry Swirl. Mineralize Tinted Lip Balm provides nutrient-rich moisture. Nail Lacquer decorates in glittering Bleu Velvet and Pistachio Crème. And for professional results, two limited-edition brushes with pastel accents. Hello, cupcake!

129SE Powder/Blush Brush

$42 CDN/$35 US

252SE Large Shader Brush

$37.50 CDN/$31.00 US

Pink Glitter

Bright pink 

$25 CDN/$21 US

Reflects Transparent Teal Glitter

 Sparkling white with turquoise

$25 CDN/$21 US

Haute & Naughty Black Mascara

Black 

$23.50 CDN/$20 US

Devil’s Food Lipstick

Glossy deep plum (frost) 

$18 CDN/$15 US

Raspberry Swirl Lipstick

Light white blue pink (cremesheen)

$18 CDN/$15 US

Pure Decoration Lipstick

Light white peach (cremesheen)

$18 CDN/$15 US

Lavender Whip Lipstick

Light cool lavender (cremesheen)

$18 CDN/$15 US

Pink Rebel Lustre Drops

Blue pink with gold pearl 

$25 CDN/$21 US

Baking Beauty Mineralize Tinted Lip Balm

Creamy light peach

$22.50 CDN/$19.50 US

Cheery Cheery Mineralize Tinted Lip Balm

Creamy mid-tone blue pink

$22.50 CDN/$19.50 US

Glacé Mineralize Tinted Lip Balm 

Creamy pale baby blue

$22.50 CDN/$19.50 US

Sweet Tooth Mineralize Tinted Lip Balm

Creamy lilac

$22.50 CDN/$19.50 US

Bleu Velvet Nail Lacquer

Light periwinkle blue (cream)

$19 CDN/$16 US

Confectionary Nail Lacquer

Light blue pink (cream)

$19 CDN/$16 US

Pistachio Crème Nail Lacquer

Light teal mint (cream)

$19 CDN/$16 US

In for a Treat Pearlmatte Face Powder

Champagne base with matte coral flower and mint leaves

$34 CDN/ $29 US

Pink Buttercream Pearlmatte Face Powder

Light silvery pink base with dark pink flowers and periwinkle leaves

$34 CDN/ $29 US

Dangerous Cuvée Pro Longwear Paint Pot

Frosted cool grey

$22 CDN/$18.50 US

Fancy Frosting Pro Longwear Paint Pot

 Frosted white

$22 CDN/$18.50 US

Let’s Skate Pro Longwear Paint Pot

Pale pink with pearl

$22 CDN/$18.50 US

Mooncake Pro Longwear Paint Pot

Warm beige

$22 CDN/$18.50 US

Éclair Pro Longwear Paint Pot

 Light chocolate with gold pearl

$22 CDN/$18.50 US

OPI Sprung Nail Polish Review and Swatches

I badly needed a pedicure recently (more the pampering than yucky foot repair) and once there went through my typical scouring and scouring and scouring of the polish choices. It's February, so no one but me and the people around me in yoga class are going to see the colour I chose so that made it more difficult to choose! I came across a colour I've never tried wearing before, a shimmery copper, and since I was taking so long, that's the one I chose. 

 

It turns out, I LOVE it. So, I went out and found a bottle to buy.

It's called Sprung and it's from the OPI Mariah Carey collection. Sprung is a copper with gold, pink and red glitter and it's so, so pretty.

Look at me, buying a nail polish that's not butter LONDON!

 

These photos don't do the polish justice. It looks red or pink in them when in reality it's definitely orange or copper. And the photos also don't do the multi-dimensional sparkle justice either. It's a polish you need to see in person.

 

I liken the shade to if you were to melt shiny, new pennies and add glitter. There's a glow to this polish and it looks a little different in different light.

These photos show Sprung with three coats. It goes on very easily and it's surprising how well it covers considering it is a glitter nail polish (they tend to be mostly clear). 

This blog has the best photo I've come across that show Sprung as close to reality as possible. Trust me, it's super-pretty and if you don't have a shimmery copper in your nail polish collection, run out and snap this one up. I'm crazy about this colour! 

I paid $8 CDN for it, but OPI polishes range in price depending on where you buy it. 

Grade: A