Beauty Squared Quotes

Darling, the legs aren't so beautiful, I just know what to do with them.
- Marlene Dietrich

MAC Pink Rebel Lustre Drops Review and Swatches

MAC Lustre Drops are now part of the permanent collection! This is good news as they've been must-have items in all the collections (Florabundance and To the Beach) they've been released with so far and sell out quickly. They've been released with the Bronze Everyday collection and are in North American stores now. I picked up one of the Pink Rebel lustre drops - it's my first time trying this.

Lustre Drops are a thin liquid highlighter that can be used on bare skin, on top of foundation or mixed into other liquids (such as blush or foundation) to thin and add lustre. 

Pink Rebel is described as blue pink with gold pearl but I don't see any blue-pink to it. It's a champagne pink with cool gold, similar to Benefit's Moonbeam but warmer. 

Pink Rebel Lustre Drops half-swatched on NW20 skin

Pink Rebel Lustre Drops on my cheek and browbone

This is the thinnest, most natural highlighter I've ever come across. A tiny amount dabbed onto the skin gives a very light but distinctive sheen. It's the perfect natural highlighter, particularly in the summer when you want as light a makeup application as possible. 

There is one other Lustre Drops in the permanent collection - Sun Rush, which is more golden than pink.


Have you tried Lustre Drops before? What do you think? Are you happy these two are part of the permanent collection?


C.

Beauty Squared Quotes

“I don't like standard beauty - there is no beauty without strangeness.” 


Karl Lagerfeld

EOTD: Pink and Grey

This is one of those simple looks that can be worn for day or bumped up for night. The shape is very basic and can be used with a variety of colours for a variety of looks. Here's a pink/grey/purple version I've worn for day.

Worn here with MAC See Sheer lipstick.

It's soft, pretty and sophisticated and pretty simple. It's a pink lid with a grey-purple along the lashline and swept up and across the outer half of the lid. You could use pretty much any combination of colours as long as the colour across the whole lid is lighter than the colour on the outside half. Beige/brown, greens, blues, orange/blue, whatever you want to try, go for it!

Here's what I used on my eyes. 

MAC Pigment in Nude

I used Nude pigment as my browbone highlighter, as well as using a bit in the inner corners of my eyes for a pop.

MAC Paint Pot in Fresco Rose

I used a wide, flat bristled brush to apply Fresco Rose across my entire lid, blending up into the crease. MAC Paint Pots are long wearing cream shadows so it helps your eyeshadow to last all day. Work quickly with the Paint Pots as they dry fairly quickly. Also, a thinner layer will help keep your shadow from creasing.

I chose Fresco Rose more for the colour than the cream texture but it works well as Unflappable (below) has a creamier texture than most powder eyeshadows. The two work well together for a textured effect.

MAC Unflappable

For the contrasting shade, I used a wide, flat bristled brush with a rounded tip to apply Unflappable to the outer corner of my eye, concentrating the colour heavily along my lashline. Unflappable is a dark grey but it has a lot of purple in it and applying it over the Fresco Rose brings out the purple. 

I used an angle brush to smudge Unflappable along the lashline for definition. This helps to make the eyelashes look thicker and to define the eye.

Brushes used L to R:
Unflappable on the eyelid
MAC Fresco Rose
Unflappable along the lashline

I curled my lashes and applied L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara to my upper lashes.

L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara

On my cheeks I used Strada, by MAC. Rather than the apples of my cheeks, I applied it towards the top of my cheeks. It gives a more sophisticated look this way as it emphasizes my cheekbones. 

MAC Blush in Strada

Blush brush

I tried two different lip colours with this look. At the top of this post I used MAC lipstick in See Sheer and in the photo below I used Bare Minerals gloss in Birthday Cake.

Bare Minerals gloss in Birthday Cake

Wearing Bare Minerals gloss in Birthday Cake

I prefer a pinkier lip colour than the orangier one at the top of the post. What do you think?

Try this eye look with pink and grey shadows, as light and dark as you like. And try it with browns or purples or greens, as long as the colour you apply all over your lid is lighter, you'll get the same effect. You don't need to use a cream colour as your base - powders work just as well. But you could also use two cream colours, bearing in mind they'll blend more readily than two powders or a powder and a cream. 

Try it, you'll love it!

C. 

Beauty Squared Quotes

"Beneath the makeup and the smile I'm just a girl who wishes for the world."

- Marilyn Monroe

Beauty Squared Quotes

"I want to be a guy, but I want to wear a lot of makeup."
-Gwen Stefani

Olay Total Effects Line and Dark Circle Minimizing Brush Review

It's Monday morning and I bet many of you woke up a little groggy this morning with dark circles under your eyes. Well, here's a new Olay product that might come in handy if your undereyes need a little help.

According to Olay, their Total Effects Line and Dark Circles Minimizing Brush features a smooth brush applicator that instantly provides tinted coverage and continues working to fight seven signs of aging for younger, brighter-looking eyes. It immediately reduces the appearance of dark circles, look of wrinkles and combined with massage, instantly reduces the look of puffiness. It hydrates for firmer skin appearance, visibly renews skin texture, evens skin tone and provides nourishing moisture.

An eye cream/concealer pen that you don't have to dip into with your finger to apply? Thumbs up! (Beauty products that you dip your fingers into get contaminated more readily than ones that you apply directly to your skin.) 


The pen has a long, flat brush on one end and the product is released through clicking the button at the other end of the pen. The product comes up into the center of the brush for application.


The Olay Line and Dark Circle Minimizing Brush retails for just over $20 CDN.

What did I think of it? Well, as a morning eye cream it is effective but likely more so with the application of it. The massaging effect of brushing the product into your skin does more to reduce any puffiness than the product itself. The appearance of fine lines is reduced and there is a moderate amount of concealing capabilities. For my dark circles, it's barely a drop in the bucket, however. I require much more concealer to even begin to cover-up my dark circles. However, this product doesn't affect the application of concealer on top so it's a good product for moisturizing, reducing puffiness and minimizing fine lines. For anyone with minor dark circles or dark circles only from poor sleep this may be an effective enough concealer. 

The application is easy, one or two clicks gives you plenty of product for both eyes and the brush works well to apply it. Any excess can be patted into the skin. 

Comparing it to YSL's Touche Eclat is misleading. While the concealer component does have brightening properties, it is very light and will only thoroughly conceal the most minor of dark circles.

One pet peeve of this pen (and of the other Olay pens I've tried) is storage. I prefer to have this standing vertically in my bathroom cabinet as I have a lot of beauty products sharing space. The pens have a small bump at the bottom which makes it difficult to stand these on end. The cap is also not flat so these often fall over and roll around or out of the cabinet. Storage is a bit of a bother with these.

Have you tried the Olay Line and Dark Circle Minimizing Brush? What are your thoughts?

Tell us!

C.