[Review] MAC Kissable Lip Color in So Vain

If you're wondering why am I doing this review now while the collection had launched months ago and everything has sold out now, well, MAC Shop MAC Cook MAC just recently launched in Jakarta (here, we call it just Shop MAC). Not every MAC limited edition available here so I decided to went ahead and ordered the product before the collection launched here. My order has arrived long before Shop MAC launched in Indonesia. Which I think is kind of unfair for Indonesian customers, having to wait so long. 

 The packaging is the usual lipgloss-type of packaging, only with slimmer and taller tube. It comes with a doe-foot applicator. The packaging of limited edition collection always excites me. I love it when MAC does different design for their limited edition, like their Wonder Woman or Give Me Liberty London. In this collection, the carton box comes in a colorful color with polkadot motive, but unfortunately it was just an insert. Inside is just the usual boring black packaging *sigh*.

Anyhoo, Shop MAC collection is now available in every MAC counters in Jakarta. The only product that caught my interest in this collection is the Kissable Lip Colour which is repromoted from Peacocky collection. In general, it's a hybrid between lipstick and lipgloss. I always fall for liquid lipstick, so it's not hard to see why this product appeals to me.

Out of all available colors, So Vain is the only color that really attracts my attention. In my eyes, the color appears as soft peach with a hint of coral. It reminds me a lot of MAC Kinda Sexy, in different finish, of course, since Kinda Sexy is a matte. So Vain is an MLBB type of color that is easy to pull off and suitable for daily lip color.

The consistency is soft and creamy. The product distributes easily and gives a smooth and even finish. Remember that NO lip products will appear smooth on chapped lips, so never forget to remove dead skin before applying lip products. However, with no lip problem, I experienced no streaking and it doesn’t settle into my fine lines. The finishing reminds me a lot of luster finish, with less glossy appearance. It gives light to medium coverage and enough to covers my dark lips. It wears comfortably on my lips without feeling dry at all.

In my opinion, the only flaw I found would be the staying power. The color fades in about less than three hours with me just watching movie while having drink. Don’t expect anything after meal because the color just significantly wiped off with nothing left. I think lipstick and lipgloss in general can do better than that, even after meal. I don’t usually complain about my lipstick fading, especially after meal, but this one literally disappears. So that’s something to consider because that means you’ll need to re-apply more often and you’ll use more product. 

 

This Saturday, MAC and JOY magazine are throwing a launching event of Shop MAC collection at MAC counter in Grand Indonesia with Stella Lee as the host. You are very much welcome to attend and check out the collection yourself!

Products I Regret Buying

Hi guys

I don’t know if you noticed but I was browsing through my recent blog posts and I realized I didn’t have many reviews on products I didn’t like, especially lately. If most of my reviews always state that “this product is good” or “that product is great”, it’s not because I always say nice things about every products. It’s actually because I don’t talk about products I don’t like. I’m always excited about products that I like and can’t wait to share it on my blog yet products I don’t like won’t make such an interesting topic.

But I was rummaging through my makeup container and I found some products I have for quite some times yet I never use anymore. So I figure might as well gather them all in one post and tell you guys what I think about those.

Because some people could act overly sensitive about this kind of post (I don’t understand how someone could be too attached on some objects and take insult when other people stated different opinions), there are few things to note. First of all, these are not products that I tried once and ditched. I gave these products fair amount of chances but they just didn’t work. Second, just because these don’t work for me, doesn’t mean they won’t work on you.

Stila Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer

I just don’t see the point of this product. What does it do, really? Let’s start with no coverage. I know tinted moisturizer supposed to give light coverage. Light coverage means, there’s something there but a little. This tinted moisturizer just disappears when rubbed on the skin. This also looks super greasy on me. Even powder couldn’t help. And then, they add shimmer to it. Seriously? It’s like applying margarine on the face.

Benefit Some Kind-a Gorgeous

I just can’t figure out what the product actually is. Even Benefit can’t! They described it as foundation-like product. So apparently it’s not foundation. So what is it? I purchased this after Stila Tinted Moisturizer failed on me. I needed something I can use daily for my complexion that doesn’t feel heavy and look too much. So I decided to try this. It has only one color back then, and then Benefit expanded it to three color choices. I think mine is Medium. But the color doesn’t blend very well with my skin. It looks like I wear something whitish on my skin and my complexion looked dull. The oil control isn’t the best either.

MAC Lipstick ‘Cut-a-Caper’

This is a limited edition from Tartan Tale collection and it was everyone’s favorite from the collection. The swatches I found were impressive so I really took time to hunt this lipstick. Unfortunately this color is just not for me. It’s way too bright. I’m not against bright lipstick. But this one is hard to pair with. When I put this on I couldn’t stop starring at my lips, not in a good way. Every blush and eyeshadow I try to pair it with always looked wrong, I couldn’t come up with harmonious look when I used this lipstick. Thankfully when it comes to lipstick, I can always mix it with lip gloss and make it wearable. But that’s the point, I have to make it work.

Guerlain Parure Gold in Beige Natural

I already did a review in this foundation so I’m not gonna talk a lot about it. As I said previously, this is a great foundation except for the color selection. It looks really red on me despite the name, natural. This makes me really self conscious when wearing it. In my opinion, it’s the only flaw about this foundation. But the price tag makes it unacceptable.

MAC Paint Pot Rubenesque

Everybody raves about this color so I decided to purchase it only to find out this product just doesn’t worth all the hype. Yes, it’s a pretty color… in the pan! When applied, it’s just another gold. Nothing new here. But that color isn’t what turned me off. When applied, it appears dry on my lids, looked kind of cracked. And the texture isn’t really the best either. Now this is my only paint pot so I don’t know if the same condition applies to all paint pots. The texture is tacky and I had a hard time picking it up from the pan, let alone spread out the product evenly. I kept using it, hoping something will change. But now this product just sits inside my makeup container. Untouched.

NARS Powder Highlighter ‘Albatross’

Again, another hyped product. I love highlighter. But Albatross is definitely not my favorite. Highlighter supposed to accentuate facial features by creating contrast. But since it appears as a strong yellowish gold, it doesn’t contrast with my skin. It just looks like I apply a gold color that seems wrong on my face. While it might still be acceptable on cheek bone (well, not really), it looks just weird when applied on the center part of the face.

----

So those are products I could found in my makeup collection, that didn't work on me. There were other stuff too but I think I sold it already. I think I know now why I don't do reviews on products I don't like. I tend to be grumpy which I think give a negative energy to the whole entry (I tried to restrain myself while writing this post). LOL! Anyway, do you find product that works or doesn't work on you in this post? Let me know your what you think!

Better Version of Your Lips For Valentine's Day

Hello Ladies.

So Valentine's Day is approaching. If you celebrate Valentine, I hope you already have someone to spend your Valentine with. Hopefully that 'someone' would be either a guy or a bunch of girlfriends or even six casts of FRIENDS along with a bag of potato chip would do (hint!). I was thinking about making a tutorial for your Valentine's date (or even for just hanging out with girlfriends). I thought something neutral would be nice and then I realized that most of my makeup are subtle neutral looks that would be perfect for your date. So feel free to click on FOTD label for a selection of makeup looks. I know most guys would prefer if their ladies look naturally beautiful on the date but what they didn't know is that it takes makeup to look natural! *wink*

I am truly sorry that I couldn't come up with a new makeup tutorial. I'm sure you are already familiar with my cliche excuse. Yes, I'm not even gonna say it. But don't worry because my friend Nisa got it all covered. Check out her Valentine makeup look here! My advice would be to go easy on your makeup. This time, you might wanna keep your bright blue eyeshadow or fuchsia lipstick in your makeup case for a while and go soft instead. In this post I give you my collection of MLBB lip products you can try for your date.

French Kiss has a subtle faint color the way glosses are and yet it still appears as pink. To me, since this is not too opaque, it's great for quick application.

L'Absolu Crème De Brillance is a kind of liquid lipstick. Number 363 is warm nude pink. But the shimmer makes it much more special and far from blah-looking.

Syrup has lustre finish which, in my opinion, the most comfortable finish for lipstick as this gives a moisturizing effect. It has a hint of purple and leans a bit more on cooler side. Bit still falls in natural color category.

Kinda Sexy has a hint of peach. It's a matte finish lipstick so it wouldn't be as easy to pull off as others. But this is my go to lipstick for most of the time. And works when paired with most of my glosses.

Lady's Choice is the one that matches my lip color the most. Almost as if I didn't wear anything on my lips but since it has a glossy finish, it appears like healthy version of my lips. Which is the main idea.

Of course people have their own definition of My Lips But Better. To me MLBB is a shade that covers my actual lip color evenly, brightens up my complexion in general, yet doesn't look like I have lipstick on. Here I tried to include brands that are available locally. But I just had to add Benefit Lady's Choice because as I said, it's my truly MLBB shade.

Anyway, I hope this post could help you decide on what makeup you'll be wearing on your Valentine's Day. And whatever your plan is, I hope everything goes well. Happy Valentine's Day!

Current Eyebrows Routine

Hi guys! This is going to be about my current eyebrows routine. Thought I'll share it with you all.

First of all, let me stress out the importance of shaping your eyebrows! Even if you don't wear a lot of makeup or not interested at all, please take time to shape of your brows. Or maybe trim it, at least. I'm not gonna talk about how eyebrows could change how your face shape looks like, because most of time it's not a very convincing reason and not everybody cares about it. My reason is, well groomed eyebrows gives you a neat appearance. That's all. Who would want to carry around a bunch of bushes above of their eyes? I used to neglect my eyebrows as well. But since I was introduced to threading, that's when the addiction started. I love neat shaped eyebrows and I can't help staring at people's eyebrows first, especially girls with makeup on.

My natural eyebrows shape. Mostly straight.

Eyebrows is one of my makeup basic. Whenever I'm in a hurry, I'd gladly ditch my eyeshadows, eyeliner and even lipstick. But I'll do my foundation, eyebrows and a pinch of blush. My eyebrows routine includes threading, obviously. Waxing is my second option and I almost never shave it. My favorite threading place is Narsih, which is a famous affordable waxing and threading salon in South Jakarta. I love the place because it always gives the best result but I hate that the place is super crowded and I have to queue about thirty minutes almost everytime I visit the place. Anyone know other place to thread eyebrows, please let me know. When I moved for a year to Semarang, I learned to thread my own eyebrows from youtube. I still have professional do my brows but being able to thread my own brows helps A LOT in so many emergency situations. Shape wise, I prefer high-arched eyebrows shape which has nothing to do with my face shape (although it is the right shape for my round face), I just want more space to apply highlight on my browbone. Haha!

I didn't immediately do my makeup routine after my first threading experience. Back then, I thought, having shaped eyebrows means I didn't have to do my brows anymore. Boy how wrong was I?! I didn't realize how washed out my brows looked like back then. I even almost didn't fill my brows when I did my own makeup on my graduation. Thank God my mom told me to! Otherwise I'll have a no-brows look in my graduation pictures.

When I first started to do my brows, I used just eyebrow pencil. I raved about Viva eyebrow pencil before. But the more I was introduced to other products, the more options I had. So now I already picked my favorite products for my routine. And here they are.

Mac 'Cork' satin eyeshadow
Revlon Eyebrow Pencil in Dark Brown
Revlon slanted brush. This is actually not for sale. I got this as GWP. But any slanted brush will do. My point is, it doesn't have to be an expensive brush!
MUFE Khol Pencil in 2K, which is optional.

I prefer MAC Cork and Revlon eyebrow pencil because the color is more neutral and doesn't look too brown when applied. I don't even know how to describe the color on my brows. Not brown, not taupe, definitely not grey! Just enhancing my brows!

Here's the step by step.

1. This is my bare eyebrows. I prefer to do my eyebrows after I apply my foundation.
2. Using slanted brush, I fill the beginning of my brows, all the way to the tip of my arch with MAC Cork eyeshadow. I don't fill the tail of my brows with eyeshadows because the tail is too thin.
3. Using Revlon eyebrow pencil, I line the lower part of my eyebrows. It helps a lot if the pencil was sharp. I start from the beginning all the way to the tail. This is where I determine how long my eyebrow tail should be.
4. To shape the arch, I use my brush with eyeshadow left on the bristle to blend the eyeshadow on my arch all the way to the tail. (see the difference in pictures no.3 and no.4). Basically, on daily basis or if you're in a hurry, you can stop at this step. But if you want more definition, continue to the next step.
5. Frame the brows with white eyeliner. I use MUFE Khol Pencil in 2K. And then blend the liner, heading out from your brows. Don't blend into the brows otherwise you'll ruined the color you've applied earlier. This step is to give highlight to your eyebrows.
   
6. Done!
   

So that's my current eyebrows routine. I know it seems like a lot and takes a lot of time. But I love the result and I don't always do the whole steps, anyway. Hope this helps.

Possible Dupe for MAC Parisian Skies?

Hi guys! Remember MAC Bloggers Obsession Collection? The collection came out on May 2011 where MAC did a collaboration with 8 famous bloggers to create a line of eyeshadows and lipglasses. I purchased two products from that collection. They are Parisian Skies eyeshadow by Lesley Ellen from Lipstick Powder N Paint and Hocus Pocus eyeshadow by Lianne from The Makeup Girl.

Those two were the only products that caught my attention. I wasn't really into Hocus Pocus at first, but when I saw a closer swatch of this eyeshadow, I fell in love right away. Parisian Skies is also another beautiful color from this collection. It's an grey-ish blue with blue shimmer. So pretty! I thought it's an original color since I've never seen color like that before nor that I had any color like that in my collection.

Last month I visited Revlon counter and purchased Revlon Satin eyeshadow in Peacock Lustre. I didn't realize, but when I got home and browsing through my makeup, I looked at Parisian Skies and somehow I thought Parisian Skies and Peacock Lustre look quite similar in the pan. So I started to do comparison on both eyeshadows. Basically, these two have the same idea of color, which is greyish blue. And both are satin finish. Peacock Lustre has silver shimmer while Parisian Skies has blue shimmer which is why the blue tone is stronger.

Unfortunately, when swatched, these two are not exactly the same. Parisian Skies looks darker. So it's safe to say that these two are not 100% dupe of each other. Here's the swatch of both eyeshadows.

I think the way to describe it is, Peacock Lustre is a lighter version of Parisian Skies. However if you missed Bloggers Obsession and Parisian Skies eyeshadow, and you like the color, Peacock Lustre could be an alternative. I personally like this color. Still, I think it's unique color and even my warm skintone can pull it off. Would be great for smoky eyes as well. It's also a cheaper alternative. I own some Revlon single eyeshadows from their Matte, Perle and Satin eyeshadows, and so far I'm satisfied with the quality.

If you're interested, Revlon Satin Peacock Lustre and other Revlon single eyeshadows are available at Revlon counter and retails for IDR 40k for 2,4 grams of product. As comparison, MAC eyeshadow retails for IDR 220k for 1,5 grams of product.

More For My Lips!

When I first started doing make up, lipstick, lipgloss and everything for lips were my last interest. Just because, it's the only thing from your make up that will fade and gone by the middle of the day. You can use lip primer, you can wear long lasting lip color, once you have your lunch, then that is it for your lipstick.

Well.. those days are long gone.

Now that I'm turning into this make up junkie (I tried to stop, believe me!), I feel like I gotta have everything for every parts of my face. D'oh..

Anyway, here's what I purchased lately. And I realized that they are all lip products. I've been hearing a lot about the latest Revlon Colorburst and decided to give it a try. I didn't know what possessed me when I picked fuchsia color. But I've been wanting to try bright colors. One of the girls in Fashionesedaily wears fuchsia lips in her FOTD and convinced me that it'll look great and can be wearable too. My rule is, if I wanna try color which I'm not sure whether I'm gonna like it or not, I never go with high end brand. If I end up not liking it, it'll be a waste. Luckily, Colorburst line carries fuchsia color so I decided to buy it. It's in the name, "Fuchsia".

Another color that I got is "Crimson", which is a classic red, since I'm currently in the hunt for the perfect red lipstick. There are actually other reds in this collection and they are "True Red" and "Ruby". I swatched those two but the two colors didn't look red enough for me. Especially "Ruby", it has too much pink in it. "Crimson" is a warm red color and really suits my undertone.


Here's how the colors look like on my lips. See? Even the "Fuchsia" doesn't look that scary.
I wanted to get another colors from this line but nothing looks special enough. They all look like every colors you've seen before. So I got nothing other than those two. Period.

I also dropped by at Maybelline counter when I saw this pretty coral gloss. It's Watershine Liquid Pearl in "Spicy Coral". I've been looking for coral gloss just because I realized I didn't have any. I didn't even bother to swatch this on my lips because that'll be pointless. This gloss doesn't work alone. You need to layer it on top of lipstick. Wear it alone and you'll have nothing but shimmer on your lips.

For this next item, I didn't purchase it. I took it from my mom's make up pouch she left in her vanity. It's MAC Plushglass in "Ample Pink". You see, browsing through my mom's vanity really frustrates me. She has a lot of great stuff and she never really cares about them. I saw this plushglass still full and, hello, covered with dust. To be fair, my mom doesn't really care about make up. Some people have to save money for weeks or months to buy all the stuff she has (hint: her daughters) and she just ignores whatever make up that she has.

You think dust covered plush glass is the worst? I once saw a shedding MAC 129 brush. It didn't even look round anymore, more like a triangle. How did it end up like that, you might ask? Well. she pushed the brush to her cheeks until the bristles spread and the handle touches her cheeks, and then swirl it. Err.. But yeah, that's mommy. She is more of a bag person. For her, make up is necessary but she doesn't need high end brands make up. And if you find some high end brands make up in her stash, that's because some people convinced her that she'll need those. And that some people could either be her oldest sister or, well, me.

Anyhoo, Ample Pink is a warm mauve-ish pink. It's a little more pigmented than regular lip glosses. But it looks prettier when layered on top of lipstick. I put it on top of my MAC Kinda Sexy lipstick and they look so pretty together. And it has a stinging feeling (pretty sure why mom never wears this) which suppose give you that plumped lips. That might feel uncomfortable for some poeple. But I don't really have problem with that.

As for these Sephora glosses, my little sister just got back from Europe and got me these. Sephora was having sale and she bought some glosses, eyeliners and stuff. And she was, like, "Okay, pick items that you want and the rest are for our cousins." So I picked two glosses. The one in "Silver Toupe" (no.17), which is a shimmery champagne nude color and the other one is "Glitter Fuchsia" (no.23), described as fuchsia with pink and diamond glitter. I tried the "Silver Toupe" right away. The colors look so pretty on lips. And apparently, little sister thought so too. So what happened next, she took the other Silver Toupe which, you know, suppose to be for our cousins. LOL!

The other two that I picked, which are in tinier tubes, are plumping lip gloss. This has stinging sensation as well. My sister tried it on and removed it once the gloss started to sting. See? Not everybody can't stand lip plump. Anyway, I tried it but I wasn't sure if this gloss actually makes my lips look fuller. Maybe later I should ask other people's opinion.

My First MAC

After doing a lot of thinking, well, for weeks, I went to the mall last Sunday and bought my first MAC products. Ooh.. I'm so happy, I almost cry!

I was aiming for the foundation, compact powder and the 187 brush. I went to the counter and, thankfully, this lovely Make Up Artist was a really big help. I told her that I'm a rookie and I'm looking for Studio Fix. And she really took her time and showed me all the possible shades for me. I said, I was here before and tried the NC40 and NC 42, and I thought NC40 was the right shades for me. She asked me to sit in front of this huge mirror in the counter and brought NC40 and NC37. Then, she applied the NC40 on my chin. I could really see the yellow shade on my chin.. haha.. and she said that it looked so unnatural. So she removed it and applied the NC37 with the NC40 compact powder. She even offered me to try the NW35 with the NC40 compact powder to compare and she applied it along my jawline. Got confused, I told her I can't really make a decision right at that time because, although these two look natural on my skin, they might give different result under different lighting. So.. once again the MUA being so nice, she told me to go and walk around the mall and come back after I can really decide which shade is the right one for me. So I took a while wandering around the mall and came back after decided to take the NC37.

After finally made a decision about the foundation and the compact, I was still thinking about buying the 187 brush. Boy, that is one pricey brush! Once again, the MUA helped me by showing a collection of limited edition brushes. With this limited edition brushes, I got the 187 and 190, for foundation (and blush and bronzer..), the 194 for applying concealer and the 168 for contouring in one package. She honestly said that these brushes aren't the first quality, more like one level under the actual brushes. But it's still under MAC and it's enough if I'm just gonna use them for individual needs. I thought it was a pretty good deal, so I bought it!

My Studio Fix Fluid in NC37

Studio Fix in NC40

The Limited Edition Brushes

oohh.. so cute.. It comes with two pouches, the big one and the small one

You can see I already used them.. :D