Category: Swatches

Of Life and Lacquer > Swatches

Laura Geller Creme Couture Lipsticks Review

Posted on by Cynthia

Today I bring you another installment of the lipstick chronicles. Laura Geller is not a brand that I would say is one of my favorites, but I do think that they put out some quality products. I first came across this brand at Sephora but they unfortunately no longer carry the line. I was able to purchase a few items before the line was discontinued which included a handful of lipsticks, eye shadows and eyeliners. I find Laura Geller lipsticks incredibly creamy. It’s like they melt on your lips…even the matte shades which is surprising. Sometimes matte shades are very drying but these are so soft. They have a minty taste to them which not everyone will like, but it doesn’t bother me much. I am very satisfied with the pigmentation and the wear. They usually last about 4-6 hours on my lips without having to touch up.

 

Creme Nude

Mocha Rose

 

Mocha Mauve

 

On Stage

 

Bordeaux

 

I haven’t purchased any other Laura Geller products but I would still recommend them. I think the prices vary depending on where you purchase these lipsticks but the retail price is around $18 each. You can find Laura Geller Cosmetics on QVC and Ulta.

Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Intense Review

Posted on by Cynthia

I am a huge Make Up Forever fan. I think they have some of the best products out there and they make my favorite foundation: HD Invisible Cover Foundation. MUFE states that their line of Rouge Artist Intense lipsticks are formulated with 50% more pigment than traditional lipsticks and come in three finishes: matte, pearly and satin. I much prefer the matte finishes because they are so smooth, buttery and super pigmented. I get about 6-7 hours of wear on these lipsticks which is great. Even after they wear off, they leave color behind on your lips. These lipsticks retail for $19, and I have purchased all of mine from Sephora’s MUFE Studio.

 

 

MUFE Rouge Artist Intense #9

 

MUFE Rouge Artist Intense #10

 

MUFE Rouge Artist Intense #11

 

MUFE Rouge Artist Intense #13

 

MUFE Rouge Artist Intense #15

 

MUFE Rouge Artist Intense #18

 

MUFE Rouge Artist Intense #24

 

MUFE Rouge Artist Intense #29

 

MUFE Rouge Artist Intense #36

 

Are you a Make Up For Ever fan?

Too Faced Lip Of Luxury Review

Posted on by Cynthia

Too Faced is one of those brands that I feel goes all out for the packaging and sometimes doesn’t deliver on the actual product.  Having said that, I think that their line of lipsticks comes in adorable packaging and the quality is very good. Too Faced claims that their Lip of Luxury line is ” luxurious, long-wearing, come in 18 shimmering, sparkling and classic matte shades with serious staying power. Drenched in shea butter, rich color, and diamond shine, our exclusive silky smooth formula smoothes out fine lines and creases while it pampers your lips with a flavorful moisture surge of pure champagne essences. ”

I have personally heard people complain about the taste of these lipsticks but I actually like it. The one thing I don’t like in these–or any lipsticks–is how gritty the shimmery shades feel. I hate rubbing my lips together and feeling like there is a brillo pad between my lips. The color pay-off on the shades I have is great and they last maybe 4-5 hours on me–less if I am eating and drinking.

Totally Nude

Cougar

Living In Sin

Drop Dead Red

Too Faced’s Lip of Luxury line can be found at Toofaced.com, Sephora, Sephora.com, Ulta and Ulta.com. These lipsticks retail for $20 each but you can sometimes get a discount on the Too Faced website since they tend to run promotions once in a while. Are these lipsticks worth $20? Well, you could probably find dupes from a more economical brand, but as usual with high-end make up brands, you are paying a lot more for the name and the packaging. Will I purchase more shades? Probably not unless they come out with a shade that I find unique.

What do you think of the Lip of Luxury line?

Orly Wednesday

Posted on by Cynthia

Orly is a brand that I don’t think gets enough love.  I don’t actually have that many bottles of Orly but I definitely keep a close eye on their collections.

 

Lollipop is such a sweet light pink color that screams spring to me.. It reminds me of cotton candy.

 

Sugar Plum looks just the way it sounds. This is not a color that I really like because it’s so frosty. I have to be in a certain mood to actually wear this color so I don’t wear it much.

 

Gumdrop…ah, gumdrop. I love this color. This is another one of those Tiffany-Blue polishes. For Audrey is just the tiniest more blue but this is a good dupe. If you have For Audrey, do you really need Gumdrop? Probably not but for a nail polish fanatic, that is a silly question because of course you need both.

 

Coffee Break looks like the perfect neutral for my skin color. I bet I could do a pretty awesome matte mannequin manicure. This also makes my fingers look so long because the nail blends into my fingers

 

Prince Charming is a muddled brown which I didn’t think I would like as much as I do. The confusing part about the polish is the name. Prince Charming?

 

Flagstone Rush is another one of those frosty polishes that I don’t usually like. This is just a pretty rusty color that looks good on my skintone. I like this a little more now that I’m so obsessed with orange nail polishes.

 

Bus Stop Crimson is a color that is right in your face. It’s a blood red that will really make your manicure pop.

 

Wild Wisteria is a vampy purple. It will definitely look black unless you’re in the right light. I really liked that this polish did not stain my skin or cuticles despite the intense shade.

Zoya Is Here!

Posted on by Cynthia

Remember the Valentine’s Day promotion that Zoya ran that I posted about? Well, my two polishes came today! Woot! I am surprised that they got here so soon because usually it takes eons for Zoya to ship stuff when they have promotions. If you recall, they ran a promo where you picked one of their classic reds and then picked another polish from any of their collections and you only paid $8 and got free shipping. My one beef with Zoya is their high shipping costs, so I only order when they have a promo code that includes free shipping.

Here is the classic red that I picked: Diana. I freaking love this polish. Red with a jelly finish? In looooove! It reminds me a lot of OPI’s Vodka & Caviar. This was perfect with two coats and I still can’t get over how beautiful and shiny this is.

 

Lotus is part of Zoya’s new True Collection for Spring 2012. Of course I wanted this beautiful purple even though I kept thinking in my head that I already had some somewhat similar colors (Zoya Neeka, OPI Dutch ‘Ya Just Love OPI). Well, the shimmer on this is super understated. Unless you’re looking at it in the sun, it can just blend in the background. I like the pink shimmer but it’s so faint that it doesn’t really make that much of a difference. I thought the formula was deceptively sheer. I thought it would be more opaque, but it took 3 coats for these swatches.

 

So keep an eye out for Zoya’s frequent promotions. They are very generous!

 

Because I Couldn’t Help Myself: More Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters

Posted on by Cynthia

After purchasing two Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters at Ulta last week, I knew I wanted more colors after wearing them a few times. Last week they had a BOGO 50% off sale so I was hoping this was still going on. Lo and behold, they changed the promotion but now they are Buy 2 get 1 free. I went on the Ulta website and printed out their $3.50 off coupon and headed to Ulta hoping they still had colors I wanted.

I ended up picking up three colors: Red Velvet, Brown Sugar and Sugar Plum.

 

 

 

 

The best part of all: I paid $12.37 total for all three. Now don’t tell me that wasn’t a great deal!

More Nicole by OPI

Posted on by Cynthia

I finally go around to swatching the last two colors that I purchased. Honestly, I wasn’t that impressed with either of these polishes because I found the formula super annoying. They were both way too sheer and it took 4 coats each.

The Right Thing is the kind of color I’ve really been enjoying lately. Orange and corals are so perfect for spring and summer. I had issues with this looking dark in some areas as if it had dark spots.

 

Despite the Justin Beiber connection, I really wanted to like this polish. However, the formula really ruined it for me. Prized Possession Purple was so sheer, and it was hard to build it up. The color is still pretty, I just with that it would build up more smoothly.

 

Well, here are two sort of losers but I’ve liked the 4 other polishes I purchased from this brand. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a great long weekend. Yay to having Monday off!

 

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters

Posted on by Cynthia

I just had to jump on the Revlon Lip Butter bandwagon. I had heard so much about these lip butters–all of it positive. Plus, have you seen those ads with Emma Stone? Gorgeous! Anyway, I saw that Ulta was having a BOGO 50% off sale on Revlon products so I was tempted. Then I got the Ulta flyer in the mail with a $3.50 off coupon on a purchase of $10.00 or more, and I was out the door!

I only purchased two colors because I wanted to try them out first. I picked two colors: Lollipop and Fig Jam. There were a couple more that I wanted but they were sold out. I was excited about these being creamy and hydrating because I have really dry and chapped lips. I use Jack Black lip balm every single day especially when I go to sleep. There is no better hydrating balm than Jack Black.

My first impression is that the packaging is really cute…but then I try to open it. I hate that it’s so hard to pull up the cap. There is so little of the black base to hold on to that I quickly become annoyed by it. Once I open it up, I  really like the colors. Lollipop is a color that I don’t usually wear but I have a few lipsticks like NARS Funny Face that I wear when I want a bold color. Fig Jam is really a color that I can wear every day…and I usually do. It looks gorgeous.

 

I am definitely liking Fig Jam more than Lollipop. They are both extremely smooth and feel very hydrating on my lips. So far, I’m liking them a lot! I’ll have to wear them a little longer and see what the staying power is like. I am glad I picked these up and do think they are worth all the hype.

More China Glaze Love

Posted on by Cynthia

If you haven’t noticed yet, I really love China Glaze. They consistently put out good collections, and their polishes are good quality at a great price.

This is Fifth Avenue. I think this is part of their Core Line and it would make sense because this is such a “core” color. I mean, probably every nail polish company out there has their version of this color. This doesn’t make it any less gorgeous in my eyes. It’s a feminine and soft color. Definitely an office appropriate color. Best of all, it was perfect with 2 thinish coats.

 

And here is one of my beautiful blue babies from the Ecollection of Spring 2008: Shower Together. I have so many blues now that I don’t even know which one I like best. The formula on this was also great and was perfect with two coats.

 

 

“They’re Always After Me Lucky Charms!” Am I the only one who thinks of Lucky, the Lucky Charms leprechaun, when I look at this polish? Four Leaf Clover comes from China Glaze’s beloved Up & Away collection. You can definitely see why so many people adore this collection. Again, the formula was amazing and smooth.

 

And here is Tempest. Oh Tempest I wanted to love you so but the formula was thin and sheer. It took FIVE coats to achieve this look and I would consider this a lost cause if the color wasn’t so spectacular. It looks blue and purple and shimmery. It definitely leans more purple in the bottle but appears more blue on the nail. I still love it and I bet it will look great with some Konad or nail art.

 

Jitterbug from the Vintage Vixen collection is one of those colors that I’m not sure if I really like. I mean, it’s pretty and shiny (oooohh shiny ball) but I have to wear it for a few days before I decide if I like it. This one is also pretty awesome when it comes to the formula.

 

Dorothy Who? is part of the mythical Wizard of Ooh Ahz collection that was re-released in 2009. Spectacular blue jelly base? Check! Glittery goodness? Double check! I don’t want to love glitters so much because I am a creme polish lover but I think I can cheat on my cremes once in a while. I don’t think they will mind. I had to apply 3 thickish coats for this swatch.

 

Do you have a favorite? Are some of these already in your collection?