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Guerlain Gemma Vernis Nail Lacquer
Guerlain Gemma Vernis Nail Lacquer ($23.00 for 0.34 fl. oz.) is a warm, yellow-toned medium pink with white pearl. OCC Femme is a bit lighter. MAC Snob is a cream. MAC Silly is lighter, not as warm-toned, no shimmer. MAC Comic Cute is darker, no shimmer. MAC Angel is a cream. See comparison swatches.
Gemma was opaque in two coats, and it applied evenly and smoothly without bubbling or streaking. The consistency wasn’t too thick or too thin, so it spread out well. It has an almost metallic-like shimmer, but it’s not a strong metallic. You can see faint threads of the shimmer in the polish, and I noticed very, very faint brush strokes that were visible at certain angles with a lot of light, and only if I held my nails close to my face could I actually see them. It dried to a high gloss finish, and you could skip a top coat as a result. I’ve been getting a week of wear out of Guerlain’s formula without chipping and only very minor tip wear.
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Gemma
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| It's one of the better-applying metallic finished polishes I've come across, as the brush strokes are very, very faint. I think the wider brush helps the application, as you can get better one-pass color so you maneuver the brush less across the nail. | |
Product9.5/10 Pigmentation10/10 Texture9.5/10 Longevity9.5/10 Application4.5/5 |
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Clinique Big Blue Chubby Stick Shadow Tint
Clinique Big Blue Chubby Stick Shadow Tint ($16.00 for 0.10 oz.) is described as a “grayish blue.” It’s a muted, medium-dark blue with a gray cast and a frosted finish. Chanel Destination is slightly lighter (but also a cream product). Giorgio Armani #22 is lighter, more silvery, and a powder. L’Oreal Infinite Sky is less gray, bluer. Urban Decay Strip is lighter, more metallic, and a powder. Urban Decay Occupy is darker and a powder. Urban Decay Crystal is lighter and a powder. See comparison swatches here.
Clinique Massively Midnight Chubby Stick Shadow Tint ($16.00 for 0.10 oz.) is described as a “midnight blue.” It’s a navy blue with a subtle, pearly finish. Make Up For Ever #81 is darker, more muted, and a powder. Guerlain Les Ombres de Nuit #3 is also darker, not quite as muted as #81 but more so than Massively Midnight, and is a powder. MAC Lunar is very similar in color but is a powder. Maybelline Electric Blue is comparable, slightly brighter. NARS Dark Rite is lighter. Urban Decay Evidence is similar but a powder. Chanel Metamorphose #4 is slightly brighter and a powder. See comparison swatches here.
Big Blue was a big pain, because it had a tendency to clump during application–it didn’t smooth out evenly and created thicker, chunky patches on the lid, which only made my lid look wrinkled. The texture was on the drier side, and it did tug and pull at the lid while I tried to lay down the color. I didn’t see creasing really, but it wasn’t readily apparent given it already looked patchy from the initial application. This one skipped while applying, too!
Massively Midnight was much better; it was creamier and less dry, so it applied more smoothly and evenly. It had mostly opaque color in a single pass, so getting a sheer wash of color was actually more difficult than I expected, as it’s just not very blendable. While it wears like iron (twelve hours no creasing or fading, no primer!), it doesn’t budge from the get-go; it’s difficult to fade the edges, blend to sheer it out, and the like as a result. If I heated up the pencil with a blow dryer, it became more blendable.
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Big Blue
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Product6.5/10 Pigmentation8/10 Texture6/10 Longevity8.5/10 Application2.5/5 |
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Massively Midnight
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Product9/10 Pigmentation9/10 Texture8/10 Longevity10/10 Application4.5/5 |
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MAC 167SE Face Blender Brush
MAC 167SE Face Blender Brush ($34.00) is a limited edition brush designed to help blend out products used on the face. It is gently curved along the edges but has a rather flat, only slightly domed, shape overall. It’s fairly dense with bristles with some give, so it is movable but not floppy. The bristles felt soft against the skin. I liked it best for use for all-over face powders or bronzers, as well as blending and fading out blush and the like.
I reviewed it here previously (which I recommend reading for a more in-depth review). My original review stands and is the same for this one. Despite the fact that my original brush has the designation “SH” (for short-handled) and this one is marked as “SE” (for special edition), I didn’t notice any differences in bristle density, shape, cut, or texture. The biggest difference is how they look, as this has black bristles and a bronze-hued handle.
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Thanks to Gweng for today’s question!
