Stila Custom Color Blush

Stila asks "Why settle for "almost the right shade" of blush? 

Well, Stila says you don't have to.  They created Custom Color Blushes that are supposed to morph into the perfect color for you as they react to your skin.

Stila makes two blush colors in this formula, and pink and a coral, and one bronzer.  I haven't tried the bronzer, but I have both the blush colors to show you.

Stila says:  This perceptive one-shade-fits-all powder blush reacts with your skin's pH to create a one-of-a-kind, customized shade perfect for you!

These are very finely milled and soft and only takes a few light strokes with a brush to get a beautiful flush of color.

The pink looks scarily bright in the pan, and a heavy swatch makes it look like a crazy bright purple based pink, but when it is blended it turns into a sheer, light cool pink.  This color is completely matte.

Stila Custom Color Blush in Pink

The coral has a tiny bit of sparkle in the pan, but it doesn't seem to show up on the skin.

Stila Custom Color Blush in Coral

Now, I don't really know if these truly adjust to the ph of the skin to give a custom color, but the do apply sheer enough that they will look good on many skintones.  They have a wonderfully smooth texture and do give a beautiful natural flush to the cheeks.

St. Patty's Day EotD with L'Oreal Infallible Golden Sage

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Of course green eyeshadow is called for today.  I used the L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Golden Sage as an all over color wash.  Very simple and quick.

L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Golden Sage

swatch without flash

swatch with flash

How about you?  Did you wear any green today (eyeshadow or otherwise)?

Maybelline Color Whispers

Maybelline just launched a new lipstick formula that is taking the blogosphere by storm.  Everyone loves them and there are many comparisons being made with the Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butters, as well as every other lipstick/balm hybrid.  I picked up two colors, Pin-Up Peach and Rose of Attraction.

Maybelline says: "Pure color pigments suspended in a weightless gel.  No heavy waxes or oils.  Soft, sexy gel-color."

Maybelline Color Whispers in Pin-Up Peach and Rose of Attraction (without flash)

(with flash)

Pin-Up Peach is a medium pink coral.  Rose of Attraction is a slightly fuchsia medium pink.  (I think I suck at describing colors...) 

They are fairly close in color, but obviously Pin-Up Peach is warm-toned, and Rose of Attraction is cool.  These both have a tiny bit of shimmer, but it really reads as just glossiness.  They are somewhat sheer, but give vibrant color.  I think they have sort of a "jelly" look to them.  

no color

Pin-Up Peach

Rose of Attraction

They are definitely soft and smooth and have a balm-like feeling to them.  I think these are lighter feeling feeling on the lips than the Revlon lip butters, and I think less moisturizing.  I personally don't mind somewhat heavy-feeling lip products because it is easier to tell when to reapply color.  These will probably feel great in summer, though, when I don't need as much moisture on my lips.  

I think these are beautiful colors and they seem very versatile since they give some color without being overpowering.  

Very pretty!

Silver and Pink FotD

Hi there!  I used almost all drugstore products today (without planning it!).    

Eyes:  Wet 'n' Wild Shimmer the Night Away palette (which was limited edition)---
                               silver on lid
                               dark grey in outer v, crease, and lower lash line
           Maybelline Full 'N Soft Mascara in Very Black
           Lorac Creamy Brow Pencil in Auburn

Cheeks:  Milani Baked Powder Blush in Dolce Pink

Lips:  NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Salsa

NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Salsa

The Milani blush in Dolce Pink is a very shimmery, sparkly pink gold color that goes really well with just about everything.  

Milani Baked Powder Blush in Dolce Pink (without flash)

(with flash)

unblended

blended

It's definitely one of my faves!  (I personally like blush with sparkle!)

         

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil Swatches

I thought I would do a few simple swatches of the NYX Jumbo Eye pencils I have. These are great as "sticky" bases (different than a primer) to intensify powder eyeshadows, but not so great on their own.  They come in 32 colors.  They do require a jumbo sharpener since they are not self-sharpening.

From left:  Strawberry Milk, Milk, Black Bean, Lavender, Cashmere, Oyster (without flash)

(with flash)

Strawberry Milk is a shimmery medium pink.
Milk is a medium matte white that works well under all eyeshadows to
                             make them really pop!
Black Bean is a matte true black.
Lavender is a frosty light blue-toned lavender.
Cashmere is a shimmering yellow gold.
Oyster (my favorite) is a duochrome light pinky purple with a blue shift.

Strawberry Milk, Milk, Black Bean

Lavender, Cashmere, Oyster

Have any favorite NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils?

Clinique Color Surge Eyeshadow Duo in Beach Plum Swatches

Clinique has a line of eyeshadows called Colour Surge that come in singles, duos, trios, and quads.  There are many different beautiful looking color combinations that make choosing what colors to put with other colors very easy.

Clinique describes the duos as:  Perfect pairings of in-demand shades, with more of the more-used highlight shade. Deliver creamy, intense colour in one stroke. Comfortably lightweight, long-wearing. Layerable, blendable. 

Unfortunately, I'm not sure I agree with their description of the formula.  These are buttery and soft, but sheer and not intense.  It doesn't seem like the colors get more intense with layering either.  They do seem appropriate for daytime wear since the colors are so subtle.

The duos come in 16 different pairings.  I decided to try Beach Plum.

Indoor light

Sunlight

Clinique describes Beach Plum as "a shimmering gold paired with a golden purple."

Without flash

With flash

The gold color is a shimmery very yellow gold with decent color payoff.  The purple is a sheer violet with a little gold shimmer.  

These definitely perform better over a primer.  The color payoff is even better with a sticky base (like a NYX Jumbo eye pencil).  I get a little creasing after about 5 hours without a primer, although it is hard to tell because they are so sheer.

Without primer or base

With NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk as base

I prefer my shadows more pigmented than this purple in this duo.  The gold is a good yellow gold, but the purple frustrates me with how sheer it is.  In order for it to show up I have to use NYX Jumbo eye pencil in Milk, which also makes the color more blue violet than plum.

I haven't tried other colors in this line, so it's possible that they perform better than this one.

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Liquid Metal Eyeliner Trio Review and Swatches

Physicians Formula recently added some liquid liners to their Shimmer Strips line. They are officially named Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Liquid Metal Eyeliner Trio Universal Looks Collection.  Quite a mouthful!  They come in 2 color sets of 3 liquid liners.  There is a Smokey Eyes set with a light silver, dark silver, and black with glitter, and a Nude Eyes set with a light pinky copper, a sparkly taupe, and black with glitter.  I decided to try the Nude Eyes set.

They are packaged in small, see-through tubes with black caps.  They have a tiny brush that allows for a really thin line, or a thicker line with a few passes with the brush.  You also have a few seconds to blend the liner with your finger if you want to use it as an all-over shadow.

None of these have names or numbers on the tubes, but they are easily distinguishable by the color seen through the clear packaging.

All of these have sparkle, and the two lighter colors are quite glittery, maybe more than a true metallic color, which I think of as having a molten quality to it.  The black has multi-colored glitter that only shows up a little on the eyes.

Without Flash

With flash

These are opaque when a thin line is applied, but require a few more passes when applying a thicker line.  They dry in about 30 seconds and have good wear time with no smudging or flaking throughout the day.

This is the taupe color in the set with South eyeshadow from the Urban Decay Glinda palette.  You can see how very sparkly it is!

These are fairly small tubes, by the way.

These looks especially pretty with any of the colors in the Urban Decay Naked palette.   I love how metallic and sparkly these are and how much light they can bring to the eyes.