Here is a video of a tutorial I did based on a Sephora “Orange Lips” ad in the latest issue of InStyle magazine. I will also include a photo of the ad itself. In my March Must-Haves post I talked about some orange lip products that I got at Sephora and I thought that I need to do some kind of look with the lips so folks would know how to actually wear orange lips in real life. When I stumbled upon this ad I HAD to recreate it. They did a phenomenal job! Anyhoo, on with the show!
What up, folks? I’m back with a review of the newest M.A.C. collection, “Quite Cute”. I was really excited for this to come out after I saw Leesha from Xsparkage’s video, especially the “Candy Yum Yum” lipstick so when I got the email that it had released I BEGGED and PLEADED with my husband to let me get some products ASAP so I could get an early review in. He said yes and I hauled butt to the M.A.C. store in my local mall to check it out. Here are the promotional photos and a photo I took in the store:
And here is my YouTube video:
As you can see the collection is very bright, and bubbly and, well, cute! I love vibrant and funky, cutesty, girlie things so this was right up my alley.
The collection includes:
Zoom Lash Mascara: “Zoomblack”
False Lashes #7
Penultimate Liquid Eyeliner: “Rapidblack”
Cutie Eyeshadow Quad: “Moshi Moshi” (pale white, green gold frost), “Goody Goody Gum Drop” (very pastel pink), “Boy Crazy” (pale lavender with a silver frost), “Azuki Bean” (ashy gray/purple frost)
Quite Cute Mineralize Blush: “Miss Behave” (light beige with a pearly mint green heart), “Giggly” (light pink with a pearly plum heart), “Sakura” (lavender with a pearly magenta heart)
Plushglass: “Bubble Tea” (creamy pale nude). “Fashion Fanatic” (creamy pale pink), “Girl ❤ Boy” (bright light blue pink), “I ❤ You” (creamy midtone purple)
Whew, what a rundown! Here are some photos of swatches that I took in the store. I couldn’t get every item because I was on a time crunch and some of the artists’ were using them but I got most:
Lipliner: (top to bottom) "Boldly Bare", "Naked Liner" & "In Sync"
Eyeshadow: (clockwise from top left) "Moshi Moshi", "Goody Goody Gum Drop", "Boycrazy", & "Azuki Bean"
Mineralize Blush: (left to right) "Miss Behave", "Giggly" & "Sakura"
Plushglass: (left to right) "Fashion Fanatic", "I ❤ you" & "Bubble Tea"
Nail Lacquer: "Quite Cute" (left) and "Mischievous Mint" (right)
OKAY! So what do I think and what did I get? I liked the marketing and the concept but the actual products themselves were kind of blah, hate to say it. The shadows were not very pigmented or original and, being african-american and of a darker skintone, were way too pastel for me. Pastel colors have a tendency to make me look ashen so I steer away from them. As for the Plushglass’ they were all too light for me and didn’t have much color as you can see from the swatch on my hand. The two on the right almost look exactly the same on me. I really liked the blushes and specifically wanted “Sakura”, the lavender one, but it was just too frosty for me. I am sure it would be gorgeous on a more fairer skintoned person but I don’t fit in that category. The BEST products in the line are the lipsticks and nail polishes. I wanted all of the nail colors, they were so opaque and the colors were so pretty, my two faves being “Mishchievous Mint” and “Ice Cream Cake” (which I bought). As for the lipsticks there were three that I loved even though I only got two. I am FOR SURE going back for “Playing Koi”, it was such a nice color and had a pretty finish.
So here’s what I bought and photos of swatches:
Lipsticks: “Playtime” and “Candy Yum Yum”
"Candy Yum Yum"
"Playtime"
Mineralize Blush in “Giggly”
Blush on the left, little heart color on the right (love that shade)
Nail Lacquer in “Ice Cream Cake”:
Well, that’s my two cents. Definitely grab those lipsticks to be “in” with this season’s BOLD LIPS trend and the polishes are TDF. Let me know what you plan on or have gotten from this collection if there is anyone out there, LOL! And now for a bit of randomness, I saw the most GORGEOUS rainbow on the way home from the mall after I went shopping. I absolutely love rainbow anything and had to take a photo, budding photographer that I am, haha!
Hey folks and fellow makeup aficionados, it’s ya girl ‘Vita back with a new edition of “The Bargain Basement” where I highlight and review cosmetic purchases made at discount places like Big Lots and the Dollar Store. In this edition I will be reviewing some E.L.F. lip products and a Chapstick lip balm that I picked up on a recent trip to BigLots.
I originally went to BigLots to check out a Wet and Wild 6 pack of shadows that they had for $5. A friend of mine had purchased it and told me to go check it out. When I saw the shadows they didn’t really speak to me. There was no shadow in it that really made me want to spend the five dollars to buy it. For someone who doesn’t have a lot of eyeshadow, however, it’s a great deal.
What I did end up getting was three E.L.F. lip glosses, an E.L.F. liquid lipstick and a Chapstick lip balm that came in a pot. Each product had a whopping $1 price tag! Can’t beat that with a stick! Here’s a link to my YouTube video as well as photos of each product:
E.L.F. Lip Gloss: (from top to bottom) “Goddess”, “Watermelon”, “Pink Kiss”
Swatched on my hand: (left to right) “Goddess”, “Watermelon” & “Pink Kiss”
And on my lips: (top to bottom) “Goddess”, “Watermelon” & “Pink Kiss”
"Goddess"
"Watermelon"
"Pink Kiss"
So what is my take on these glosses? They were ok but not great. They had a very strong smell, sort of like strawberries and they weren’t sticky but they were thick and kind of frosty. Too frosty for me. I think my favorite one was Watermelon. These seem to me like what you would keep in your purse to just brighten up your lips during the day but not what you would use with your regular makeup application.
Overall Opinion: OK
Would I buy again: Maybe if I could find some other colors
Value: You can’t beat a dollar!
E.L.F. Luscious Liquid Lipstick in “Maple Sugar”:
Swatched on my hand:
On my lips:
I liked this. It gave my lips a nude sheen and I am all about nude glossy loveliness. I think the only drawback to this was it had a kind of minty smell that I didn’t really like. It smelled like cheap gloss. But I can live with that and I am sure it fades after a while.
Overall Opinion: A nice product
Would I buy it again: For a dollar? Yes. More than that, maybe not….. there’s just too many better products out there.
Value: At a dollar it can’t be beat
Chapstick Ultra Smooth Rejuvenate Lip Balm:
This was probably the best purchase. It has a very smooth texture and makes my lips feel velvety soft without feeling greasy.It also has a slight cooling effect. I wouldn’t use it alone, it’s not hydrating enough for me but as a pre-moisturizer before I apply my lipstick or gloss, it’s perfect. I find that the regular Chapstick is too greasy to use under my lip makeup. I really liked this lip balm.
Overall Opinion: Great Product.
Would I Buy It Again: Yes
Value: Very good price
Well that’s it for this edition of The Bargain Basement. Let me know if you pick any of these up and Love/Hate them and as always STAY FABULOUS and STAY TUNED!!!!!!!! 🙂
Hey, y’all! I just wanted to do a follow-up blog post (with photos of swatches) to my YouTube video highlighting my absolute FAVE products for the month of March.
Love this stuff! I bought it because I was running out of my M.A.C. Studio Sculpt Foundation and I haven’t even replaced it because I love this foundation so much!
Here is a photo of me fresh faced (YIKES!):
And after applying the Revlon foundation:
*I set this with Makeup Forever HD translucent powder since it is colorless and won’t interfere with the color of the foundation.
I was going to put the pictures for the Urban Decay Naked Palette Swatches here but I have a separate post showcasing just that palette so it seems more appropriate to put the photos in that one since previously I had no photo swatches. You can view that here.
I also have a swatch of the “Midnight Affair” polish on a polish review post located here.
Can’t really swatch the fix plus, LOL! Anyhoo, these were the products I loved for the month of March. I hope you liked it and let me know if you have used or are using any of these and you love them too. I have a few more reviews coming up soon and also a tutorial and a new edition of “The Bargain Basement”. Stick around and stay FABULOUS!!!!!!
LaVitaLoca 
