Mac – Bubbly Michelle

MAC Faerie Whispers | Review, Photos & Swatches

December 10, 2015December 11, 2015by Bubbly Michelle6 Comments

Move over holiday releases, it’s time for MAC Spring! And today on le blog, the much anticipated Faerie Whispers collection!

As with all MAC releases, we already saw bits of leaked photos ages ago. Some at fashion week with artists using the new collections backstage and also some by MAC staff who clearly couldn’t keep a secret. Now that the official embargo is over I can finally share my swatches and thoughts on this new collection! And luckily, early enough before the global launch so all my readers (from both the east AND west) benefit from this post 😉

As you’d have noticed, the hype was mostly surrounding these brand new Foiled Shadows which came out with the collection. Metallic shadows that can be used wet or dry.

The packaging was nothing fancy. Just the regular MAC packaging with a novelty embossing. Overall I really like the final look though, like crumpled paper!

Initial swatches of these (taken at the press preview) weren’t all that wowing if I were to be really honest. There was barely any colour payoff and the shadow seemed to have hardened up. Apparently the swatching set was used earlier, wet! and that was probably why. I’d assume shadows that are meant to be used wet or dry wouldn’t have this problem, but who knows.

Moving along, here’re the swatches from the preview.

*Please note, Sweet Illusion & Fairy Land will not be released in Singapore.

Fairy Land – Warm champagne

Fly By Twilight – Taupe

Sweet Illusion – A pale silver with a pink base

Feminine Wiles – Light lilac Pink

Joy Toy – Golden copper

Enchanted Forest – Warm rich brown.

Faerie Fayre – A deep warm brown with red tones.

Onto some more swatches taken in better lighting 😉

I found the Foiled shadows swatched considerably better with the brand new press samples I received. The product was soft and lightly pressed with good pigmentation.

Touching on application, these go on evenly without any patchiness. They virtually blend themselves. I noticed slight fall out when used over a primer and recommend doing your base last. Overall the quality was quite nice. Just wish the shades were something new. If you know what I mean.

I found two favourites among my trio of press samples. Faerie Fayre and Sweet Illusion with it’s interesting pink base with silver shimmer. I particularly enjoyed Sweet Illusion which wasn’t quite so dupeable as the others. I also loved how it twinkled a lot more in comparison. Perfect for that inner eye highlight!

Now onto lipsticks!

The Faerie Whispers collection contains 4 lipsticks.

Among the Fireflies (cremesheen) – A neutral toned brown with slight mauvey red undertones.

A Sprinkle of Magic (frost) – A warm peachy pink with gold shimmer.

Midsummer Night (cremesheen) – Mid tone coral nude.

Gossamer Wing (lustre) – A translucent beige.

My favourites were Among the Fireflies and Midsummer Night. I found both rather unique in terms of colour.

Here’s a closer look at Among the Fireflies which seemed to pull cooler and grey on me. If you’re all about that 90’s lip. This is for you!

Overall application wise I loved how smooth and evenly this went on. Just 2-3 coats for near full coverage. Also very comfortable when worn.

Here’s one more swatch of Among the Fireflies, again in better lighting.

Also seen here’s one of 2 blushes that released with this collection. Cheek Pollen (an almost coppery nude). Apart from the irresistibly adorable name, this was one of the best products in this collection as far as product performance and formulation went. The blush was very finely milled and had excellent colour pay off. I loved how well this blended, diffusing product evenly. It also wore very well. Over 7 hours without any fading. LOVE!

Unfortunately I don’t have a swatch of Spellbinder. Instead here’s a closer look at it.

Next up, there’re two powders. One an Iridescent Pressed Powder, Sparkling Rose (seen top left corner) and Pearl Sunshine (bottom left). A soft peach Beauty Powder. Both swatching silky with very good pigmentation. I’d say they make great highlighters for a subtle day time look. Of course Pearl Sunshine for deeper skintones.

On to swatches.

Lastly here’s 3 of the 4 Cremesheen glass.

Calypso Beat – a neutral pink with pearl

Enchanter – a copper red with golden pearl

Softly Lit- a sheer pink with pearl

Over Indulgance – a neutral brown (which wasn’t available at time of preview)

All three swatched well without any patchiness. But I didn’t pick out any as press samples to give you a proper opinion on these.

Lastly, a look I created with the samples at hand.

On the eyes I used Faerie Fayre (outer corner) along with Joy Toy with Cheek Pollen as blush. I skipped the lipstick and instead used Only You from the Ellie Goulding collection, blogged here.

Collection Info & Price list

Beauty Powder, Iridescent Pressed Powder – SGD 44

Foiled Shadow – SGD 39

Lipstick – SGD 31

Blush – SGD 39

Cremesheen Glass – SGD 36

Faerie Whispers launch January 1st at all MAC counters in Singapore.

Release date for the U.S – 23rd online and 26th in stores.

Makeup

MAC Ellie Goulding Collection – Photos & Swatches

November 28, 2015December 7, 2015by Bubbly Michelle10 Comments

If you haven’t been following MAC releases closely, now’s the time to pay attention. In January it seems there’s a STUNNING collection out for spring. The limited edition Ellie Goulding collaboration.

If neutrals and rosy pinks are your thing. You’ll probably end up wanting every single product seen here. It’s just gorgeous!

From the packaging to the formula, it was an A+ for me and I’ll be honest, I am liking this way more than anything else i’ve previewed in the recent past. All very wearable and sooo MEEE!

This collection consists of,

2 palettes – Halcyon Nights & Halcyon Days (SGD90)

2 Patentpolish Lip Pencils – Innocent & Revved Up (SGD40)

2 Cremesheen Lipsticks – Only You & Without Your Love (SGD34)

2 Plushglass – Explosion & Goodness Gracious (SGD40)

Lustre Drops – Pink Rebel

Fluidline – Blacktrack (SGD31)

Haute & Naughty Too Black Lash (SGD38)

Veluxe Brow Pencil – Strawberry Blonde (SGD33)

Powder Blush Duo – I’ll Hold My Breath (SGD51)

2 sets of lashes – 20 Lash & 30 Lash (SGD26)

3 Brushes – 209 Eyeliner (SGD43), 129 Powder/Blush (SGD70), 217 Blending brush (SGD46)

The packaging is just, WOW. Everything’s in glossy black with rose gold detailing. Something sure to appeal to everyone!

I thought the palettes looked really nice with their double decker design and quite compact if you plan on keeping them in your makeup bag for day to day. The colour mixes are also very wearable with a powder and cream option to choose from depending on your preference!

Here’s a look at Halcyon Nights. This contained 4 eyeshadows and one Cream Colour Base.

Top to bottom there’s Starry Eyed (frost finish), You My Everything (matte), Saddle (matte), Hanging On (satin).

*The cream colour base included in this palette is This Love (not swatched here).

Here’s Halcyon Days. It comes with 4 Cream Colour Bases and one Medium Dark Blot Pressed Powder.

Top to bottom we have, Wish I Stayed, Every Time You Go, Tint & Root Cream Colour Bases.

Next up, Lip products.

The Cremesheen lipstick in the shade Only You was the first thing to catch my eye. It’s a gorgeous muted mid tone rose pink. The kind of shade that’s great for day to day wear which you’ll get tonnes of use off.

The Powder Blush Duo I’ll Hold My Breath is just a perfect everyday mix of a medium warm bronze (satin) and a peachy pink (matte).

Lastly a look at the two Patentpolish pencils releasing with the collection. You can check out my initial review on this formula here.

Overall Thoughts

I’m super impressed by this collection. It’s one of those rare moments where everything was a must have for me (even though they’re highly dupeable!).

If forced to pick favourites it’d have to be the palettes and the blush duo. Both palettes swatched awesome without any true duds which can sometimes be a problem with limited edition MAC collections. However, if you are going for something unique, I guess the Halcyon Days (cream colour base palette) is a better buy as you don’t see too many MAC cream palettes coming out.

The powder blush duo wasn’t as soft as i’d like and was harder pressed, although I still loved it for it’s novelty embossing and packaging. It wasn’t a bad product just to be clear. Very much in line with the normal MAC blush formula IMO just a little harder to pick up product.

From the lip products I truly loved Only You. Quite a dupable shade which you probably have a 100 of, though I totally am smitten by it. The finish compliments the colour perfectly and I see myself wearing this regularly if not everyday!

Launch dates & Collection info

This limited edition collaboration is set to hit the counters (Singapore) on the 1st of January.

Available at MAC Bugis Junction, Ion Sephora, Ngee Ann City and Tangs.

Makeup

MAC Holiday 2015 : Collection News, Photos & Swatches

October 19, 2015October 19, 2015by Bubbly Michelle5 Comments

Back with another holiday preview and this time it’s MAC!

If you’ve been following MAC holiday collections over the years you’ll know it’s usually one mother of a launch; and as always highly hyped and much sought after. At last weeks preview I had the opportunity to run through the new releases and swatch some collections for you. So you are well prepared by the time these launch later this month and won’t miss out on the best deals!

This years holiday collection too will be a staggered release, with the colour collection Magic of the Night launching first, followed by the Enchanted Eve Holiday sets & lastly Irresistibly Charming Holiday mini kits.

Magic of the Night (Launching Oct 22nd Tangs, 30th Islandwide)

In Extra Dimension Skinfinish S$59

Oh, Darling (Metallic gold)

Shaft of Gold (Deep bronze)

Colourdrenched Pigments S$41

Night Thrill (gold shimmer, frost)

Ascent of Glamour (cobalt violet-blue, frost)

Tonight’s the Night (deep blackened teal, frost)

Moon is Blue (royal blue, frost)

No Taboos (blackened blue, frost)

Pearlglide Intense Liner S$35

Petrol Blue

Black Swan

Lipstick S$34

Please Me (muted rosy tinted pink, matte finish)

All Fired Up (bright fuchsia matte, retro matte finish)

Evening Rendezvous (deep reddish purple, matte finish)

Dark Side (deep burgundy, amplified finish)

Lip Pencil S$34

Redd

Nightmoth (blackened plum)

Seen here’s Oh, Darling, Colourdrenched Pigments & lip liners.

Now onto swatches!

Both Oh, Darling & Shaft of Gold swatched smooth with intense payoff making them the star buy of the collection!

*Swatched these with the help of some Mac Fix plus so they show up better. On their own they do tend to be a little sheerer and flakey (especially Night Thrill which had a very smooth flakey consistency).

My picks from the collection were the two new shades, Dark Side and Evening Rendezvous, since I already own Please Me and All Fired Up.

Of the pencils, my favourite was the Pertol Blue Pearlglide eyeliner. It swatched so smooth and silky with intense vivid colour!

Touching on the lip liners, both Nightmoth & Redd are repromotes, both swatching slightly dry.

Next up, a bit of eyecandy as I take you through the holiday sets!

Starting with my favourites, the Mini Patentpolish sets & Lipstick x 3 kits.

Judging from the height, the Mini Patentpolish sticks were around half the size of their regular counterpart. Personally I love minis AND Patentpolishes, therefore this particular set was a must have! It also comes in a Nude option too. (retail price S$65)

The shades included in the Pink set are – Pleasant, Fearless, Patentpink & Kittenish.

The Nude set includes – Revved Up, Innocent, Mojo-Maker & Sultana

The mini lipstick trio was also a handy little number. I LOVED the pink version. It includes the popular MAC pink, Saint Germain also Let’s Rendezvous and Wined + Dined.

This Mini lipstick x 3 is also available in a coral set, which includes – Pure Zen, Coral Bliss & Lady Danger. (both retailing at S$55)

Next up, the Pigments & Glitters!

This years glitter kits come in 3 colour options. Purple, Gold & Blue. Purple of course was my favourite and contained one matte pigment- Rich Purple, two regular pigments Pink Opal and Kitchmas & a Fuchsia glitter. These sets are priced at S$65 each. Ideal for gifting!

Now on to, Face Compacts. There were two, one warm and one cool.

Both contain three eyeshadows, a beauty powder, two lipstick options and a cream colour base.

These will be retailing at S$110 each with my recommendation being the Cool option. Perfectly curated to deliver a smouldering holiday smokey eye!

Lastly, there’re the popular eyeshadow x 6 kits that release every year. This time around we have them in the three colours, Navy, Warm & Mauve. Each retailing at S$90.

Discussed above was merely a portion of the massive gifting collection. I only featured a few that were available for preview! However I hope you found it a useful read and enjoyed the swatches!

Lastly, thank you for stopping by. I wish you all a great week ahead 🙂

Makeup

Foundation recommendations for Dry & Normal skin

September 13, 2015September 13, 2015by Bubbly Michelle4 Comments

Todays post is all about foundations suitable for dry and normal skin. A chatty entry, just running through a few bases that i’ve been loving for their nourishing and smoothing properties. As you may know I have combination skin with cheeks that are slightly dry and on my search for the perfect base, I came across these gems which would work better for normal, dry or mature skin types. If you fit the description, this post is specially for you!

A. Medium coverage foundations

These particular suggestions also happen to be hybrids. Foundations infused with skincare which I highly recommend for mature skin types so that you receive some anti ageing action, while looking flawless!

1. Clé de Peau Beauté Radiant Fluid Foundation.

A lightweight satin finish foundation that glides on like silk while correcting any redness and minor imperfections with ease. As the name suggests, this foundation is all about delivering a radiant, luminous glow associated with healthy youthful skin which instantly brings life to a dull complexion for a younger and well rested look.

This foundation was my everyday staple before I moved to a warmer climate. It has good sun protection (SPF 25) which made it great for day to day use but didn’t last too well in extreme heat, specially on my oily t-zone. The drier parts of my face do hold up well though, therefore best suited for normal to dry skin types.

2. Lancome Absolue Sublime Rejuvenating Essence Foundation

This too has a similar finish to the Clé de Peau. Coverage wise it’s a solid medium and buildable to a fuller finish. What makes this special though is that it comes with the skincare benefits of Lancomes premium skincare line, the Absolue range. Highly recommend this for mature skin types that are showing signs of ageing. It’s a beautiful lightweight option for those of you who like a skin like finish without compromising on coverage.

3. By Terry Sheer Expert

It was love at first sight. This foundation perfects the skin, colour correcting, blurring pores and imperfections without breaking a sweat. It’s still one of my favourite day time bases. Of course with my oilier skin this does slide off easily if I don’t prep well with a mattifying primer, but the extra work does pay off as this never fails to get me compliments on my very ‘healthy looking’ skin. As with the other two high end options, this too beats $100 price mark since it does contain skincare properties, but as they say, good things don’t come cheap and this is a splurge well worth the money.

*If you prefer a fuller coverage foundation, you can try the By Terry Cover Expert. A bit more perfecting in comparison to this. But just as good!

Here’re all three swatched so you get a rough idea of the formula.

B. Sheer coverage foundations

1. La Mer The Reparative Skin Tint SPF 30

This one’s more of a tinted moisturiser type base. Very lightweight, offering sheer but slightly buildable coverage. The finish is extremely dewy with luminosity like you’ll never believe! A nice option for glowy summer skin (incidentally it launched right on time for summer! Smart move La Mer.)

I found this lacking the coverage I am used to, but if you already have good skin and looking for something luxurious to splurge on, you might like this! It comes infused with the signature La Mer Miracle Broth promising skin luminosity while visibly smoothing skin and energising it’s natural repair process. It’s more skincare with a touch of colour.

As someone who’s already familiar with their skincare and it’s incredible regenerative properties, you’d see why I didn’t waste any time trying this. The only down side being the high price point and the very narrow colour selection of 5 shades (I use light medium 03). Anyway I like this one and you might too!

2. Make Up Store Ultra Light Foundation (best suited for normal skin)

This is a very light weight sheer foundation. Just a wash of colour while lightly colour correcting the complexion. This would also work great as a sheer base for a powder foundation providing the skin with light hydration maintaining the bare skin effect. You won’t feel like you have anything on to be honest!

A good option if you are new to wearing foundation and prefer a lighter coverage with the added perk of a more affordable price point. Also a nice base for summer time when you don’t want to look like you are wearing foundation but don’t feel comfortable heading out bare faced.

3. Chantecaille Future Skin

One of my all time favourite foundations. It’s ultra light weight and the most skin like base i’ve ever used. Future Skin has a very high water content which makes it hydrating without the rich and heavy feel of an oil based foundation. I’d recommend this for normal to slightly drier skin types (not so much for the very dehydrated and dry ones).

Formula is a lightweight gel/whipped consistency, and recommended that you use a brush or fingers as a sponge would absorb a lot of the product (after all it’s said to contain 60% charged water!). The best thing though is this colour corrects beautifully without much coverage (sheer to medium), leaving the skin hydrated and slightly glowy.

Onto swatches of the three.

C. Full Coverage Foundation

Just one option here as I don’t own any other full coverage foundation that’s nourishing and suitable for drier skin types.

1. Mac Pro Longwear Nourishing Waterproof Foundation

I’ll keep it brief as I have just reviewed this foundation already, which i’ll link HERE. But here’s the gist of it.

Pro Longwear Nourishing Waterproof foundation is a lightweight, full coverage foundation suitable for all skin types.

This applies smooth without catching onto any dry patches and perfects skin to a flawless finish. It also has excellent oil control properties making it ideal for normal to combination skin alike although nourishing and smoothing on dry skin. An all rounder with impressive staying power, one of the best foundations i’ve tried this year and comes highly recommended!

P.S- If you have severely dry skin with flakiness, make sure you prime well with a moisturiser to make sure application is smooth. Eitherway, it’s something definitely looking into.

With that I conclude todays post. I thank you for reading and hope you found it informative. If you need any additional info on the bases featured here, please feel free to ask me in the comments! Hopefully you found something that suits your needs!

Wishing you a wonderful day! Michelle.

Makeup

MAC Pro Longwear Nourishing Waterproof Foundation Review

August 29, 2015September 3, 2015by Bubbly Michelle8 Comments

It seems the weekend is finally here, which means, new post! Last weeks post unfortunately got cancelled since I was on holiday, but my tan has finally brought an opportunity to review this new MAC foundation.

Todays discussion is about the MAC Pro Longwear Nourishing Waterproof foundation which released 2-3 months back. Even though i’ve had this for over 3 months (as I received a sample for review), i’ve been reluctant to post a review due to the fact my regular shade NC 35 oxidised on me quite a bit, and basically was too shy to post blog photos of myself looking like a Cheeto. Now that i’m a lot darker, this matches great! Hence todays review!

Anyways diving right in, this foundation comes in a squeezy plastic tube packaging with a screw on cap. A hygienic and travel friendly provided the cap closes securely, and it does. I also like that there are no messy wands, droppers and pumps to work with and controlling the flow of product easy.

On a side note, highly appreciate that this doesn’t require you to buy the pump dispenser separately like some other MAC foundations (so yay!).

As seen above, the matte black packaging also features a transparent band where you can easily monitor just how much product’s left as you near the end. A welcome, useful design element!

Moving onto formula, this has an almost whipped silky, creamy texture. Quite smoothing and nourishing as the name suggests. It feels lightweight when applied, though you do feel the foundation slightly tacky to the touch & definitely needs to be set with a powder. It’s what makes it long wearing though, as it hugs the skin. Basically going no where once applied.

Application

Most days I prep my skin with a primer. It gives any foundation a smoother surface to work on and extends wear. However I did notice this foundation didn’t pair well with mattifying primers such as the new MUFE one. It gave the foundation an awful, patchy finish and emphasised flakey areas and texture. I’d suggest a regular smoothing primer or a good old moisturiser (10 mins prior to application so the skin surface isn’t too moist) for best results.

For application you can go for a brush or a sponge. I on the other hand like to use fingers and work section by section. It gives the best finish in my experience. No streaks and very even.

Here’s a before and after, I’ve only primed my face with my regular moisturiser, nothing else.

As you can see, coverage is medium with a satin finish.

Observations

This foundation does not settle into fine lines. I specially noticed that it sits great on the sides of the nose and also stays crease free on the smile lines, the trickiest areas of my face. The smaller pores are also less noticeable and skintone is evened out well concealing the redness on my cheeks and around the nose.

I also like that the foundation is quite nourishing and does not emphasise any dry patches or flakiness. Should work fine on drier skin types and oily combination alike.

Overall this has a second skin finish, you don’t really notice the foundation at all. Something I love about the Pro Longwear Nourishing Waterproof Foundation.

Longevity and Wear

The foundation definitely lasts all day. I only noticed slight dewiness around the 4 hr mark (seriously good oil control in my opinion) but no migration or separation at all. I am especially pleased that it hadn’t broken down around the sides of the nose and was still pretty much in tact after 8 hours or so.

Overall I find this to be one of those rare foundations that performs well in extreme, hot humid conditions. As for the waterproof claims, it’s said to ‘repel’ water and withstand rain or tears and to the best of my knowledge, this is true. I do believe it’s quite water ‘resistant’ and probably withstand a little bit of water in the event you do come into contact with some. Though I don’t think it would last a swim or a shower! and I doubt it was ever intended to.

Shade Selection

You need to try samples. I can’t stress that enough.

However based on my experience with this particular foundation, i’d advise you to go a shade lighter as this had a tendency to oxidise. But of course, on some of you it probably wouldn’t, so like I said, get a sample first.

Here’re a few swatches of the current foundations i’ve been using. (Please note the NARS one is way too yellow on me, and my perfect match as always is a mix of Chanel PL 30 and 40)

As you can see, the MAC is the darkest (this is after it oxidised) but it works fine right now as my arms are way tanner than my face. It also gives a nice bronzed look which probably wouldn’t look so forgiving if I hadn’t been tanning so much.

The Bottom Line

It’s my favourite foundation formula right now. It perfects the face without looking like I have any foundation at all and that’s what I always aim for!

Pro Longwear NWF is lightweight, glowy and yet long wearing, quite unusual for dewy finish foundations. If you live in the tropics and been having difficulty picking a foundation that stays put all day. I’d highly recommend this. I’d also recommend this for mature skin as well as it has a very smoothing quality and doesn’t make fine lines look worse, which can be a problem with some foundations.

Product Info

MAC Pro Longwear Nourishing Waterproof Foundation comes with 25ml .84 fl oz (slightly under your regular foundation size which is 30ml)

Retails price – SGD 62

Shade range for Singapore (according to press release) – NC 15, NC 20, NC 25, NC 30, NC 42, NC 45, NC 50

Lastly here’s the ingredient list (click for a closer view), you’ll notice the generous amounts of Silicon. It’s what gives this a smoothing silky feel 🙂

Another thing I noticed was that this is marketed as SPF free, although it does contains Titanium Dioxide right at the end of the list…. Huh…?? I’m guessing it’s probably a negligible amount, but does give a very slight flash back.

That concludes my review! However, if I’ve missed anything, feel free to ask me in the comments, i’ll get back to you as soon as I can 🙂

Thank you for reading,

Michelle.

Makeup

MAC The Matte Lip Collection – Review, Photos & Swatches

August 1, 2015September 3, 2015by Bubbly Michelle29 Comments

So finally the MAC The Matte Lip Collection has reached Singapore and it feels like it took forever!

If you aren’t already in the know, some of the colours released are repromotes of existing shades and some from previously limited edition collections. Of course there’s a nice selection of brand new exciting colours as well, so if you’ve already got a stash of MAC mattes going, you still won’t be disappointed.

From the newly launched shades I was most excited for Whirl. I already owned the lip pencil so I ‘needed’ the matching lipstick too.I mean, if there’s a lipstick to match my liner, why not have it right??? Makes perfect sense!

Senseless ramble aside let’s get down to reviewing these babies.

Seen above are all NEW shades that are added to the permanent line. (Top row, L-R: Steady Going, Runway Hit, Dangerous. Bottom row, L-R: Whirl, Stone, Naturally Transformed, Instigator.)

I don’t have all the shades to review (22 in total) but I do have these and a couple of the older ones which i’ll be swatching separately.

The Matte Lip Collection contains two popular lipstick finishes, the Matte and the Retro Matte. If you’ve owned the iconic Ruby Woo, you’ll know all about the Retro Mattes.. They are THE most matte lipsticks you’ll ever find. And fittingly, drier than the desert! Steady Going and Runway Hit are both Retro Mattes. Gorgeous but needs a little prep before applying.

The others are just Mattes (thankfully) and didn’t leave my lips dying for lip balm. In fact I feel they are a little less drying than MAC Mattes used to be. Hmm..

Onto some colour descriptions and observations

Steady Going (Retro Matte) – A light-medium cool toned pink with medium colour payoff in a single swipe. The drier formula tends to tug on the lips on application and felt continuously drier as the day passed. Wear wise these wore forever! Although after 2-3 hours they did look a little beat and reapplication is a must just to rehydrate lips and keep the colour looking fresh.

Runway Hit (Retro Matte) – A neutral toned peach with a heavy white base. I found this to have noticeably less pigmentation in comparison to the rest and needed a bit of layering to get opaque cover. The formula was pretty similar to Steady Going and did end up looking drier and drier as the day progressed. On the plus side I wore this an entire day with no touchups and it didn’t look too bad. Even after meals I only saw slight wear in the centre of the lips and that was about it. Pretty hardcore!

Dangerous (Retro Matte) – A orangey red. The colour went on with difficulty due to it’s dry nature. Although the final result was a velvety plush red lip once layered over a lip balm. I adore this for the colour, but as i’ve said before the formula isn’t my favourite. Also noticed that this felt quite heavy on the lips.

Whirl (Matte) – A rosey brown. This applied creamy and smooth and the finish was surprisingly comfortable for a matte! Pigmentation was good and full coverage in about 2 passes and didn’t feel drying during wear. Absolutely love this one <3.

Stone (Matte) – A neutral brown with heavy grey tones/ taupe. The formula and texture of this was identical to Whirl. Love how it feels on the lips when worn and is pretty interesting as far as colours go. Since grey toned lipsticks are all the rage atm, i’m sure there will be plenty of takers for this. Definitely a statement colour if you are feeling bold enough to sport this.

Naturally Transformed (Matte) – A medium beige with heavy yellow undertones. This too was creamy and applied very smoothly.

Instigator (Matte) – A warm deep purple. This applied smooth and creamy with no tugging, but emphasise flakey patches. Unfortunately the colour also seemed to settle within the lip lines which became even more noticeable as it wore off.

Velvet Teddy (Matte) – A mid tone warm nude. Applies evenly and smooth without catching onto lip texture or emphasising it. A wonderful nude that would suit most complexions except maybe the deeper tones (NC45 and up).

One more set of swatches with the new + repromoted shades

Bottom Line

The best thing about the MAC mattes is that they are super intense and so long wearing (a good 4 hours while still looking fresh all throughout). You really don’t have to be on the look out, lipstick in hand, waiting to touch up every five seconds. They are quite lovely in that sense.

I highly suggest you try Whirl, Velvet Teddy and Dangerous. All so beautifully intense and flattering on the lips. Certainly must haves for any lipstick junkie!

Product Info

All lipsticks are part of the new permanent Matte Lipstick collection and currently available at all MAC counters.

Mine were samples sent for review* (except for Velvet Teddy & Kinda Sexy which I already had in my possession)

Makeup

MAC Patentpolish Lip Pencils – Review, Photos & Swatches

July 18, 2015September 3, 2015by Bubbly Michelle14 Comments

Hi there! Here to talk about a series of MAC releases this weekend, starting with these gorgeous Patentpolish lip pencils.

Somehow it seems MAC can never bore us with their lip products. Even though they release so many new collections each year, they still surprise us (surprisingly) with new and exciting formulas and trendy colours.

The Patentpolish pencils are exactly that winning formula, gorgeous summer colours with a fabulously glossy texture. Before we proceed any further, I’ll just say it now, I’m in love. These pencils are ideal for no fuss makeup during summer, be it lounging by the beach or just wearing one for everyday errands etc. For summer nights, you can choose a brighter shade and wow with glossy, sexy lips. They adapt to every occasion quite easily.

Packaging

These lip pencils come in standard jumbo lip pencil style packaging in soft matte black sprinkled with silver specks.

I appreciate that they don’t require any sharpening and just twists up for more product. No wastage and zero maintenance. Best of all, the fuss free packaging lends itself to stuffing several in your makeup bag for a spontaneous colour change mid day!

Formula & Texture

The Patentpolish lip pencils are a sheer formula. Swiped once, they impart just a whisper of colour and with more passes can easily be built up to a solid semi opaque. Building up isn’t a problem with this product as it’s a very thin formula and doesn’t feel heavy on the lips.

The texture of these are quite emollient and waxy and hug the lips providing surprisingly long wear similar to a standard lipstick. I usually get close to 3 hours wear time with these and didn’t need any touching up. It’s basically the best of both worlds, glossy colour with longevity and pigmented colour of a lipstick.

On to swatches of the Patentpolish pencils I received. As you can see these are ultra glossy and are pretty pigmented for a gloss pencil.

Kittenish is a medium mauvey pink with semi opaque colour payoff. It glides over the lips like silk depositing the colour evenly. It’s my favourite from the bunch and is a perfect pink for day to day use for adding just enough colour for an effortless barely made up look.

Pleasant is a bright strawberry red with a rich payoff. I found this one to feel even glossier than the rest. A very youthful and fun way to wear a red lip that’s easy to maintain.

Teen Dream is a medium coral orange. Colour payoff was quite nice and a beautiful colour for summer. It’s one of my favourites along with Kittenish.

Hopelessly Devoted is a bright medium watermelon pink. It even looks like juicy watermelon once worn! I found this to be extra glossier than the rest and delivered an amazing patent shine.

Innocent is a milky ivory beige. It looks strange on my pigmented, rosy lips. I feel this would work on less pigmented pale lips for a milky nude look.

Some lip swatches.

P.S- I believe Kittenish & Teen Dream was captured better in the lip swatches in comparison to those I took on my arm.

Overall thoughts

These are low maintenance lip products to consider for summer time. I love the shine and gloss they bring to the lips without the stickiness of a traditional lip gloss. They are long wearing which is ideal, and keep lips subtly hydrated throughout wear. Prefect for teens to working mommies with busy, long days.

I noticed that these tend to migrate slightly (more noticeable in the darker shades), however since the colour is more on the glossier sheerer side it looked like the lips were plumper, almost a slightly overdrawn lip.

Product info

Patenpolish lip pencils come in 14 shades and are currently available at all MAC counters.

Makeup

Nude Lip Liners 101

June 25, 2015November 2, 2015by Bubbly Michelle22 Comments

Todays post is dedicated to one of my favourite addictions. Nude liners.

Over the years testing various brands, i’ve managed to find a few keepers and they are my everyday staples.

Here’re my top favourites, my babies ❤

Kevyn Aucoin – Medium

MAC – Whirl

No.7 – Nude

NYX – Nude

Bite – Cashew

Some swatches to get started.

No.7 Nude – Is a medium nude with the perfect mix of pink & peach. The undertone leans slightly warm making it easy to pair with most medium nude lipsticks.

Kevyn Aucoin Medium – As the name suggests is a mid tone brown nude. This too is a neutral shade. Pairs well with your typical 90’s style lip.

MAC Whirl – An oldie but goodie! This is a dusty mauve rose with a neutral undertone. A good nude shade for slightly deeper skin tones.

NYX Nude – A nude for fairer skin with more pink tones.

Bite Cashew – Is a very light, almost beige nude with a tinge of yellow. The undertone is warm and pairs well with most light nude lipsticks such as MAC Honey Love.

Formula & Texture

When it comes to lip liners, I prefer them to be weightless, just defining the lips and evening out any discolouration without feeling heavy. For this, the best suited are the pencil types that need sharpening. They aren’t overly creamy and don’t deposit too much product.

The Kevyn Aucoin pencil is the perfect example. And as far as formula goes, this is what i’d consider the gold standard in lip pencils. This pencil has the right density. smooth enough so it glides on without any discomfort and stays put all day preventing lipsticks from migrating. Personally I just wish they had more shades. But I guess this one in itself is quite universal as far as nude liners go.

The No.7 Nude is a holy grail find for me. After being declared by pro makeup artist Lisa Eldridge as her favourite liner (a colour she designed herself), I had to get one too. Without a doubt, this is probably my most used. It goes with anything and everything and the peach tones in this make for a very flattering nude base (nothing like the Walking Dead, corpse lip we see occasionally). If you are fair to medium in colour. I highly recommend you try this!

For days when I crave a more defined or contrasting lip liner, I choose MAC Whirl. It’s deep enough to carve out the lip and redraw the shape to give the illusion of fuller lips. Using a slightly darker lip liner also adds dimension to the lips making them look pouty! Hence why the Kardashian that shan’t be named finds this an essential 😉 On the downside I find some MAC lip pencils a bit dry and a little uncomfortable to use once sharpened. They aren’t as soft as the Kevyn Aucoin lip liners, but come in a myriad of colours and it wont be hard picking one to suit your needs!

NYX Nude is a great find. It may not be my favourite formula (slightly on the drier, thicker side), but it does have it’s days. This pairs well with my pink toned matte nudes and to be honest, it’s a good pencil for the price. I like that these are a twist up formula, no sharpening and very easy to use. And again, THE PRICE!

Whenever I go for light nude lips, I choose Cashew by Bite. It’s for days when I brave a deep smokey eye and want the lips to look lighter than my own. I pair it with either Tom Ford Sable Smoke (for which this is a perfect match) or Laura Mercier Coy. The formula of these are as lovely as KA. What makes them special though is that it’s made with 99% natural, food grade ingredients. Good enough to eat!

For comparison purposes I picked out 10 nudes lipsticks from my collection. These are pretty much my most used. (Click image for a closer view)

On a completely different note, In case you were wondering, Lipstick Queen You Kid, Laura Mercier Coy and Rouge Bunny Rouge Prey of Lust are my most used. They’re all a very hydrating formula and extra comfortable for day to day use.

The final verdict

If you are looking for great lip liners to add to your stash, the Kevyn Aucoin and No.7 ones are lovely. No.7 being the more cheaper option, although my first choice as far as the perfect nude goes.

NYX is a great brand to try if you are on a budget. The pencils are creamy with very good pay off. The only reason I don’t luuurve them is because they feel slightly heavier and cakey on the lips. Other than that, they are awesome for the price and come in a bunch of different shades to suit all skin tones!

For those of you who like overdrawing the lips, either Whirl or Spice would be my recommendation. Spice is a warmer, more brown toned liner in comparison to Whirl and goes beautifully with richer brown shades such as MAC Mocha. Perfect for women of colour.

Makeup

MAC Le Disko Collection – Photos, Swatches & First Impressions

June 7, 2015July 31, 2015by Bubbly Michelle4 Comments

Happy Sunday! Welcome to a preview of one of MAC’s upcoming summer collections, Le Disko.

This new collection consists of,

12 eyeshadows in a glittery, Dazzleshadow formula.

She Sparkles – Light grey with pink & silver sparkles

Last Dance – Peach beige with pink sparkles

Let’s Roll – Red bronze with sparkles

Try Me On – Deep blue green with sparkles

Say It Isn’t So – Dark grey with pink sparkles

Can’t Stop, Don’t Stop – Deep plum purple with sparkles

Let’s Boogie – Black with silver sparkles

Boom Boom Room – Light burgundy with emerald sparkles

I Like 2 Watch – Mid tone brown with gold sparkles

Slow/Fast/Slow – Bronze with red sparkles

Get Physical – Purple with light blue sparkles

Feel The Fever – Deep blue purple with pink sparkles

5 Dazzleglass lip glosses.

Roller Girl – Nude with pink pearl

Sugarrimmed – Pale white beige

Phiff! – Sheer neutral beige with orange undertone

Cherry Popping – Fuchsia with purple pearl

Boys Go Crazy – Dark purple with blue undertone

2 gold and silver Superslick liquid eyeliner

Nocturnal – Bright silver pearl

Pure Show – Bright yellow-gold pearl

Here I have 8 of the eyeshadows.

Most of the colours are multi dimensional with some duo chrome shades and are truly quite dazzling, specially so under artificial lighting.

The Dazzleshadows are a very loosely packed formula and flakey to the touch. The colour payoff comparable to the Bao Bao Jewels Limited Edition palette, except not as creamy. The glitter in these are a very fine and and more of a shimmer. Definitely easier to work with than those shadows with chunky glitter which get all over the place!

When blended they sheer out a fair bit and seem to have difficulty adhering to the skin and I do believe this formula would benefit greatly paired with a primer.

Here’s a closer look at the selection I received! (Click images for an even better view!)

Row 1 (Left to Right) – Boom Boom Room, Say It Isn’t So, Try Me On, She Sparkles.

Row 2 – I Like 2 Watch, Let’s Boogie, Can’t Stop Don’t Stop, Last Dance.

Here’re some swatches,

My personal favourites from this collection are Boom Boom Room, Say It Isn’t So & I Like 2 Watch. All so wonderfully complex!

Other Info

This collection will be launching in Singapore on the 3rd July at all MAC counters.

Dazzleshadow suggested retail price SGD 39

Dazzleglosses suggested retail price SGD 36

Superslick liquid eyeliner suggested retail price SGD 35

Makeup

MAC Julia Petit : Photos, Review & Swatches

March 19, 2015August 1, 2015by Bubbly Michelle9 Comments

Hellooooo! I’m back with another collection review and this time it’s Julia Petit for MAC. I won’t go into detail about Julia Petit as i’m sure you’d have googled that already! 🙂

So i’m here to talk about what I received as press samples from this collection and how they performed.

This collection consisted of,

Three lipsticks- Acai, Petite Red, Boca (All LE)

A Lipglass- Purpurine (LE)

A blush – Linda (LE)

Three eye shadow duos – Moving sand, Morganite, Sagu (All LE)

Liquidlast eyeliner – Wet Road (LE)

Lustre Drops – Pink Rebel (LE)

From this collection I received the duo Moving Sand, the Linda blush, lipsticks Acai and Petite red as well as the gloss Purpurine for review.

From the entire collection, my favourite was the blush Linda, which has been my go-to these last few weeks. So let’s begin todays review with that!

Linda is a medium, muted peachy pink bronze, with fine golden shimmer. It’s very well pigmented and finely milled and the texture is soft and blendable lending itself to achieving a seamless diffused wash of colour on the cheeks.

On my complexion (which is extremely olive) this pulls quite warm and can look borderline brassy, so I try to wear very little of it at a time. I believe this should work well even on fairer complexions if used with a very light hand, where you could minimize the possibility of it looking too orange. Here’re some comparison swatches.

Next up, the lipsticks. Acai and Petite Red.

Acai (matte) is a deep brightened berry shade with purple tones. I found the texture of this slightly dry and dragging a tad during application. The colour itself is very well pigmented and goes on pretty much opaque in just a single swipe.

During wear the lipstick felt drying on the lips, although it lasted well for hours and hours.

Here’re some comparison swatches for Acai.

As you can see, I don’t own anything quite as purple as Acai, but if you are looking for a very close dupe, the MAC press kit suggests Rebel (from the holiday collection, Heirloom Mix) as a substitute.

Next up, Petite Red.

Petite Red (satin) is a warm medium reddened pink.

The lipstick glides on smoothly and is semi opaque in one swipe. It’s super comfortable on the lips and wears well without drying them out.

Petite Red leaves a very noticeable stain on the lips and wears off evenly, so you don’t need to keep touching up all the time.

Between the two lipsticks I received, this was the best as far as texture and comfort go and the luminous sheen of the satin finish doesn’t emphasise lip lines as much as Acai.

Here’re some comparison swatches.

As seen above, Petite red has a nice balance of red and pink, something of a mix between Viva Glam Rihanna and Good Kisser. Again, a named substitute according to MAC for Petite Red is Relentlessly Red in case you were curious.

One last lip product, Purpurine.

Purpurine is a pinky beige with pink and silver shimmer. As always, the base colour did not make much of an impact on the lip and can be layered over pretty much any lipstick for a glittery festive look.

Also worth noting, the shimmer in these weren’t too fine and looked somewhat chunkier compared to those of the higher end lip glosses. Lastly a collection of glosses I put together for comparison.

Left to right, Dior Tiara, Dior Minaudere, Julia Petit Purpurine, Mac Cinderella Glass Slipper, Mac Viva Glam Rihanna 2

And here’re swatches.

Next up, the eyeshadow duo, Moving Sand.

This comprises of one matte medium yellow toned brown, which instantly reminded me of Max Mara’s signature camel coats; and a black with silver sparkle (Lustre finish), think new years eve smokey, sparkly eyes.

The brown was very finely milled and silky when swatched. I wouldn’t say it’s buttery smooth but it did feel very soft and blendable. On the eyes it performed really well, no fallout and diffuses easily with a blending brush.

The black shade on the other hand felt quite dry when swatched and I had a hard time trying to get the sparkle to stay on. They somehow don’t adhere to the lids and the overall look was so muted and patchy. It was such a disappointing shade.

Anyways, you can see how it performed in the look I created today. A picture is worth a thousand words they say! >.<

Here it looks almost like a grey eyeshadow. Sigh.

So on to the final look I created.

Btw, I used a mix of Acai and Petite Red on the lips to create a deeper berry red shade. It goes better with this smokey defined eye look, don’t you think?

Thoughts on this collection and recommendations.

I felt the real stars were the Petite Red lipstick and the blush Linda. Absolutely lovely as far as quality is concerned. If you want to pick up something from this collection, those were my favourites!

Collection launch dates.

Releasing in the US in select MAC stores on March 19th.

Releasing in Singapore 20th March at Tangs, Takashimaya & Ion Sephora Mac counters.