March 29, 2010

I made a random trip to the mall on Saturday to pick something for my friend's b-day (which was on Saturday, I'm a procrastinator!). I've been regretting for a bit now not picking up Birds n Berries e/s from MAC Liberty of London collection. So I stopped by a counter in this mall and found it in stock there luckily.



I'm glad I picked this up, it looks like my type of colour. I have no idea I waited so long to buy it. It looks nothing like Deep Blue Green as you can see below.


Birds n Berries on the left, Deep Blue Green p/m on the right

And then the Nars fiend that I've become I stopped by their counter to get some more duos. I really like the duos I got before. I think the pigmentation is great and I don't mind the price tag as you get two e/s for $38CAD. You would spend the same amount on MAC but you get more products with Nars. I was gonna just get one but I couldn't decide between the two I wanted so I got both. I got Star Sailor and South Pacific.



Star Sailor is described on the Nars website as a heather gold and antique bronze duo and I think the description is right on. The gold side is a bit like MAC's Gorgeous Gold but not as as green and the bronze side reminds me of MAC's Museum Bronze p/m (LE) but not as dark. The texture of both sides is lovely. I'm recently digging these earth tone shades so this was a happy addition to my stash.



swatches


South Pacific is described on the Nars website as a shimmering blue turquoise and dark aquamarine duo. The blue turquoise is a bit like MAC's Tilt but more pigmented. The aquamarine side is in between MAC's Mutiny and Teal p/m. Again both sides are very pigmented and apply smoothly. I have a weakness for the ocean colours and as the summer is approaching, I thought this duo would be a nice start.



swatches


Do you guys own any of these products? Bought anything recently you want to share?

March 11, 2010

I dropped by my counter on my way home to check out the newest MAC collection, Give Me Liberty of London. This collection is a fun one as the packaging is white with flowers and birds, something very different for MAC, and the products are colourful and happy. The new MAC buyers will love this collection for all its potentials. The more seasoned customers (like me) need to approach with caution to avoid buying dupes. Here's the summary of my thoughts and review:

The lipsticks in this collection are gorgeous. Many bright colours that bold lip lovers like me can appreciate. The problem was that non of the colours are unique to me. Petals and Peacocks is a dead ringer for Gladiola (LE - Dame Edna) and Blooming Lovely is a mix of Lavender Whip and Up the Amp. Ever Hip is a pretty pinky coral but I prefer Fresh Salmon and my Nars Niagara over it. I was interested in Peachstock but I tried it on and the MA agreed that Myth (which I own) is a better nude on me.

The lipglasses are all very pretty. I tried them all on and they were all flattering on except for A Different Groove. I usually like dark lips but I think darker reds and purples suite me more than this one as it has hints of browns in it. I would say A Different Groove would look lovely on deeper skintones. The other three were lovely and I picked Perennial High Style which is a pinker version of Sock Hop (LE - Heatherette). I can imagine it looking gorgeous on top of all my pinky coral lipsticks.

I also tried on Prim n Proper blush and Shell Pearl beauty powder and the combo was so pretty that I was sold and got them both (I'm NW25 for reference). P&P is a peachy nude on me with minimal shimmer, it looks amazing topped with Shell pearl which is a soft pearly peach. I have a feeling I found my go to blush. Dirty Plum blush is super dark, I was scared of even looking at it! My MA said that I could prob wear it with a very light hand but she said she thinks that's another product that's best suited to deeper skintones.

I also grabbed the Blue India nail polish. It's a dusky dark blue with green undertone and unlike anything I have in my nail polish stash. I was surprised to see a colour this dark for spring but hey, it's unique! And I like unique things, especially if they're "dusky" and "blue", lol!

While I was at my counter I also picked up their last Naked l/l; I do nudes lips quite often so this liner will get lotsa use. I didn't bother swatching the eyeshadows as I'm on an eyeshadow no buy until May.

Here's a pic of all my goodies, unopened (I like the boxes, haha):


and here's another picture with all the pretties in their glory:

Left to right: P&P blush, PHS l/g, BI n/p and SP bp. Naked liner is on the bottom

Hope this was helpful to you guys. If you need me to swatch anything, please let me know.