Bobbi Brown Chrome Eyeshadow: Gold, Silver, Pewter
Bobbi Brown Chrome Eyeshadow ($22.00 for 0.1 oz.) are new and limited edition from Bobbi Brown’s Holiday Collection for the holiday season.
These are stunning metallic finish eyeshadows — ultra pigmented, feel like butter, and blend easily. There are three shades available: Gold, which is a darker bronzy-gold; Silver, which is a bright metallic silver-gray; and Pewter, which is a taupe-brown gold with a silver-gold sheen. All three are equally amazing, just from the first use. They’re so soft, and each shade packs plenty of color. I think I may have to get a back-up of Pewter, because it’s just such an excellent color in a stellar formula. (I’m totally planning to use Pewter as a one-swipe-and-you’re-done shade!)
Bottom Line: Considering the size of the shadow (they’re cheaper than MAC, by the ounce!), the sleek packaging of Bobbi Brown (though it does hold fingerprints), and the amazing quality of these shadows… I am in love! So smooth, so rich in color, and I’m all over anything metallic. Perfect shades for holiday, too!
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- Product: 29/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you love metallic, shiny, or otherwise gilded eyeshadows… I think you’ll enjoy Bobbi Brown’s Chrome Eyeshadows!
Availability: BobbiBrownCosmetics.com
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Tags: bobbi brown, bobbi brown chrome eyeshadow, bobbi brown gold chrome eyeshadow, bobbi brown holiday 2009 collection, bobbi brown pewter chrome eyeshadow, bobbi brown product photos, bobbi brown reviews, bobbi brown silver chrome eyeshadow, bobbi brown swatches, eyeshadow, holiday 2009 collections, rating: a
Givenchy Phenomen’Eyes Effet Extension
($28.00) is an extension (harhar!) of Givenchy’s Phenomen’Eyes Mascara. This is a lengthening mascara, whereas the original Phenomen’Eyes is more of an all-purpose mascara, though it is designed to curl and separate lashes. Both mascaras describe the final result as “lashes with a panoramic effect.” I tried out Phenomen’Eyes Effet Extension in Extension Blue, which certainly looks like a medium navy blue on the wand and in the tube.
On my lashes, the color itself is minimal–if you have lighter or blonder lashes, I imagine the blue will be more pronounced. To get more color pay off, I do recommend trying it with a fleshy-colored lash primer (most lash primers are white–my favorite is Lancome’s Oscillation Primer). Aside from the color, I was incredibly impressed by the superior length I achieved with a few coats of this mascara. My lashes looked longer, just a smidgen thicker (but I wouldn’t call this mascara thickening), and it kept my lashes pretty separated.
The biggest downside is this product takes some getting used to. It definitely has a revolutionary wand, which is a sphere-shaped wand with little spikes. I’d say it took me about three to four uses before I started to feel like I was getting the hang of the application. You have to play around and experiment to see what’s the best method to apply it is. I don’t think this separates perfectly, but I also think that the “spikes” on the wand can sometimes clump up with product, so blotting can help. One or two brushes with a lash comb will separate lashes and give you a great finished look, and I find I usually do this step most of the time, since I have a tendency to PILE on the mascara. :)
Bottom Line: For a great lengthening mascara, Givenchy’s Phenomen’Eyes Effet Extension Mascara is killer. It also gives my lashes a natural curl and keeps it in place all day. I don’t find this mascara smudges or flakes on me, either. My only issue is the blue doesn’t really show up that well on me, though it’s more noticeable in person than in photos. I’d probably just get the Extension Black shade instead, but I really found the formula to work! It’s not the easiest mascara to use and it is a bit pricey, which keeps this product from getting a better overall score.
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- Product: 28/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 3/5
- Packaging: 5/5
Recommendation: For longer lashes, Givenchy’s Phenomen’Eyes Effet Extension Mascara delivers!
Availability: Sephora.com
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Tags: Givenchy, givenchy extension blue phenomen'eyes effet extension mascara, givenchy phenomen'eyes effet extension mascara, givenchy product photos, givenchy reviews, givenchy swatches, Mascara
Benefit BADgal Liner (Waterproof) ($20.00) is a medium black pencil liner designed to be smudgeproof and waterproof. It’s a follow-up release to the original BADgal liner, which many had trouble getting to really stick on the lash line.
While the newer Waterproof version is longer lasting in comparison to the original formula, it’s not quite waterproof enough. I guess, in that sense, it sort of fails to live up to its name, because I do find that it can be smudged a bit with watery eyes. I think the average person may find this to be long-wearing and smudge and water resistant, but it’s certainly not going to pass the cry test. It’s also not something that lasts well on my waterline (but so little does, and most liners are never touted as waterline safe…).
Personally, it lasts for hours on my lower lash line with little smudging and definitely no creasing or serious migration. My eyes aren’t, though, watery on a regular basis, but I happened to wear this while suffering some seasonal allergies (pollen, dust, and the like) and found it just didn’t hold up well. When it gets hit by tears/water, it has a tendency to smudge a bit. Now, don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t start cascading down your face or anything! It does stay within a tolerable distance from where I originally put it, but for something called Waterproof, I expect just that.
I do like that the liner itself is double-ended; it has the liner on one side and a sponge smudger on the other, so it can really give you a quick and dirty sultry eye on a whim. (Really, just smoking out the lower and upper lash lines can add drama to eyes–even if you don’t wear any eyeshadow!) It’s slim and portable, and the formula itself is very creamy and easy to apply… but I just wish it was truly waterproof — I’d describe it more as a water-resistant formula, so it’s like 80% there.
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- Product: 22/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you don’t have watery eyes and like a soft, medium black, BADgal liner (Waterproof) might be a match for you.
Availability: BenefitCosmetics.com
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Tags: Benefit, benefit badgal waterproof liner, benefit product photos, benefit reviews, benefit swatches, eye liner, eyeliner
Sonia Kashuk Dramatically Defining Long Wear Gel Eye Liner in Indigo and Cocoa
Sonia Kashuk Dramatically Defining Long Wear Gel Eye Liner ($8.99) is SK’s answer for longwearing, smudge-proof, budge-proof gel liner. It’s available in three shades: Cocoa (deep brown), Ebony (deep black), and Indigo (deep blue). I haven’t seen Ebony yet, but I did get a chance to play with Cocoa and Indigo.
Indigo is a rich, vibrant dark navy blue (I wouldn’t describe it as Indigo, personally) with slight shimmer but not a lot of shininess. It applies evenly and opaquely with an angled eyeliner brush (I like MAC’s 208). Cocoa is a dark, slightly warm-toned chocolate brown. It has a very creamy texture, and it has a slightly wet look to it, though it does dry down and has an overall matte finish. I’d say that Cocoa is comparable to MAC’s Rich Ground fluidline, but it has a more matte appearance and probably a touch warmer, too.
Both of these gel liners wear incredibly well throughout the day with no budging, smudging, or fading. They stay in place and last all day long on the lower and upper lash lines. They’re also thick and creamy and pack plenty of color, so you can easily create defined eyes with a flick of the wrist. The quality of these is most definitely comparable to Bobbi Brown’s Gel Liner and MAC’s Fluidlines. The packaging isn’t as nice (just feels a little cheap) as either of the high-end brands mentioned, but ultimately, it’s the product that counts.
Bottom Line: If you’re on a tight budget, or if you’ve merely wanted to try your hand at gel liners, Sonia Kashuk provides a solid option. The only real drawback to the line is that it is an extremely limited shade range and may be difficult to find, as it’s only available at some Targets and not currently available for purchase online.
- Product: 27/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 3/5
Recommendation: For those who’ve eyed MAC’s Fluidlines or Bobbi Brown’s Gel Liners, Sonia Kashuk’s DDLGELs are awesome, affordable options.
Availability: Target (Local)
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Tags: affordable beauty, eyeliner, gel eyeliner, gel liner, rating: b plus, Sonia Kashuk, sonia kashuk cocoa gel liner, sonia kashuk indigo gel liner, sonia kashuk product photos, sonia kashuk reviews, sonia kashuk swatches
6 Smoke & Mirrors Eye Shadows
MAC Magic, Mirth, & Mischief Review: Smoke & Mirrors Eye Shadows
A good smoky eye palette is never a bad thing to have on hand. It’s useful, easy to travel with, and it’s classic. I’m not loving this year’s version of the smoky eye palette, because it’s more of a brownish eye, and I’ve always felt the classic smoky eye is monochromatic. I still hold that last year’s was better. (And I still contend that you can make your own smoky eyeshadow quad with permanent MAC eyeshadows just as well.)
6 Smoke & Mirrors Eye Shadows ($36.00 U.S.)
- Fire In Her Eyes is a super soft, slightly sheer beige with a light frost finish. In the swatch, you can tell it hardly shows up on my skin without a base. It’ll make a nice highlight, though.
- Wide-Eyed Wonder is kind of a taupe-y brown with a reddish touch. There’s nothing about this shade that makes it jump off the page for me.
- Black Magique is a velvety smooth deep dark black with brown tones. It has slight gold shimmer, but it’s hardly noticeable.
- Spell No. 9 is a satiny neutral pink. It’s sheer, and it doesn’t do much for me.
- Deception is a sheer, glittery copper bronze. Even though it’s a frost finish, it had more of a lustre feel to me.
- Smoke & Mirrors is a cool-toned chocolate brown with a little gray sheen.
I”m not sold on this year’s. It reads more like a neutral eye palette than a smoky eye palette to me. It’s useful, and the colors are easily worn by many, so in that aspect, it’s a solid choice for those looking for a go-to palette.
- Product: 24/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
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Tags: holiday 2009 collections, mac, mac cosmetics, mac magic mirth and mischief collection, mac makeup, mac product photos, mac reviews, mac swatches, rating: b, upcoming mac collections
6 Devil May Dare Warm Eye Shadows
MAC Magic, Mirth, & Mischief Review: 6 Devil May Dare Warm Eye Shadows
MAC’s Warm eyeshadow palette usually gets me. I’m warm-toned, and I naturally gravitate towards warmer shades. Give me gold and I’m a happy lady! This year’s warm eyeshadow palette isn’t my favorite, but I like half of it a lot. The other half is just so-so, but I’ve been known to purchase a palette for just one color… so I suppose half isn’t bad! I think the reason I don’t love half of the palette is that it doesn’t feel very “warm” to me.
6 Devil May Dare Warm Eye Shadows ($36.00 U.S.)
- Oh My Darling is a soft, slightly warmed up beige with a frost finish. I like that this color is included, if only because it’s a very nice shade for a highlight. It’s not too frost or white, so it will work well on the brow bone.
- Dare Ya! is a medium pink with kind of a peachy tone to it. It went on a bit sheerly on me, though.
- Sorcery is a reddish-toned eggplant purple with a soft finish.
- Gold Tease is a gorgeous shade of gilded gold with a metallic sheen. It reminded me of the Rushmetal pigments a bit, actually.
- Prankster is an antique gold; kind of like a green-gold that’s played down. Again, gold, so of course I love it. I told you – three shades rocked my world!
- Devilishly Dark is a warmed-up light chocolate brown with gold shimmer.
I would have bought this palette just for the two gold shades, but I have an unhealthy obsession with gold eyeshadow. (Particularly if they’re antique golds!)
- Product: 27/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
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Tags: holiday 2009 collections, mac, mac cosmetics, mac magic mirth and mischief collection, mac makeup, mac product photos, mac reviews, mac swatches, rating: b plus, upcoming mac collections
6 Mystic Cool Eye Shadows
MAC Magic, Mirth, & Mischief Review: Mystic Cool Eye Shadows
Mystic Cool is an interesting mix of eyeshadow shades. It’s not the most cohesive palette MAC has put out, but if you’re just looking to boost up your color collection and aren’t so concerned with a palette that works together easily, you shouldn’t mind. It’s not to say that there aren’t color combinations to be created from the palette, but it just requires a little more thinking than your average eyeshadow palette where there are so many obvious combinations to work with.
6 Mystic Cool Eye Shadows ($36.00 U.S.)
- Cool Incantation is a frosty golden-white with an almost gray tinge to the white base. It reminded me a little of Nanogold but yellow.
- Blue Enchantment is a deep turquoise with subtle shimmer. Surprisingly, MAC doesn’t have a shade like this in their permanent line. It’s almost as if Shimmermoss and Bottle Green had a baby.
- Deep Secret is a shimmery, jewel-toned indigo-blue. It’s incredibly pretty, and it reminded me of a darker Cinders eyeshadow (one of my all-time favorite limited edition shades).
- Shhh, Don’t Tell is a satiny pale neutral pink that goes on like a dusty rose pink. It was hard to get it to show up really well on my skin tone without a base.
- Rose Potion is a frosty rose. It’s a fairly simple shade, but it’s not one I’ve seen often by MAC either.
- Violet Vow is a cool-toned, dark brown with kind of a purple edge to it. I found this one harder to work with, and I felt like it wasn’t as pigmented as it could have been.
I didn’t fall head over heels in love with this palette, but I did like it. I think there are some great colors in this palette, but long-time collectors may find they have similar shades (at least, similar enough) in their stash already.
- Product: 24/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
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Tags: holiday 2009 collections, mac, mac cosmetics, mac magic mirth and mischief collection, mac makeup, mac product photos, mac reviews, mac swatches, rating: b, upcoming mac collections
6 Sorceress Eye Shadows
MAC Magic, Mirth, & Mischief Review: Sorceress Eye Shadows
I’ve always liked MAC eyeshadow palettes, because I do feel like they represent a chance to get multiple eyeshadows at a more affordable price point, and MAC has put out some great limited edition shades in holiday palettes in the past. This year’s palettes actually reminded me of a bit of the Ornamentalism palettes from a few years ago–which is a good thing. The packaging is better, though, this year, as it’s sleek, functional, and feels like it has more quality than the last few years’ palettes.
6 Sorceress Eye Shadows ($36.00 U.S.)
- White Rabbit is a frosty silver-tinged white. It’s not a particularly unique shade, and I’d say it’s a little too frosty to work well as a highlighter for most.
- Hold My Gaze is a gray-green base with golden-green shimmer. This is actually a very unique shade, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen an eyeshadow of this color before (which is pretty surprising). It has decent pigmentation. It’s just a very unusual shade.
- Edge of Dark is a charcoal gray with silver gray shimmer, and I had some issues getting it to go on smoothly. It doesn’t have the best texture, but it is a lustre, so I’m not surprised.
- Magnetized is a frosty white-purple. It kind of reminded me of a lighter, whiter Beautiful Iris eyeshadow.
- Hypnotizing is a grayed down mauve. It’s dark yet light, because it’s not an intense shade.
- Altered State is a dark, almost jewel-toned purple with slight reddish brown tones. I liked this shade a lot.
I liked the combination of colors MAC put into the Sorceress combination, and I was pleasantly surprised by Hold My Gaze. I’d probably buy it just for that shade, simply because I haven’t seen one like that before. I can appreciate the originality of it! Overall, though, it is a cooler palette, so if you prefer warm shades, you might not like this one.
- Product: 27/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
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Tags: holiday 2009 collections, mac, mac cosmetics, mac magic mirth and mischief collection, mac makeup, mac product photos, mac reviews, mac swatches, rating: b plus, upcoming mac collections
Midnight Madness Mineralize Eyeshadow
MAC Magic, Mirth, & Mischief Review: Mineralize Eyeshadows
Every MAC holiday color collection sees an introduction of new, limited edition mineralize eyeshadows. This year is no different. With six mineralize eyeshadows, each with a crescent of some glittery concoction, MAC really wants to make sure you get your mineralize fix for the year.
I will say that these are some of the smoothest, most pigmented mineralize eyeshadows (this doesn’t include the “crescent” shade, though) I’ve played with to-date. These don’t have to be used wet in order to get decent color pay off, so that’s a huge plus in my book. The crescent pieces are, in my opinion, terrible, because they’re just gritty glitter. Like last year’s trios, I find the crescent portion a let-down.
- Midnight Madness is a cool-toned dirty black-taupe with lighter silver sparkle and a crescent of glittery gold.
- Under Your Spell is a cool-toned, silvery-purple. This one was fairly light in color, but it has a really nifty sheen. The crescent is a glittery copper.
- It’s a Miracle is a rich, jewel-toned purple with golden shimmer combined with a crescent of glittery gold (looks the same as the shade in Midnight Madness to me).
- Blue Sorcery is an intense shade of medium green-based teal with softer green shimmer. It reminded me of an old holiday shade, Tease ‘n Teal, actually. It’s stunning. It’s matched with a crescent of glittery silver.
- Devil-May-Care is a medium purple with a silver sheen and cool tones. It’s nicely pigmented, but I think you could dupe this with one of MAC’s existing purple eyeshadows. The crescent portion is glittery silver.
- Mayhem is a rich copper-bronze with a high sheen/frost finish. It’s like Amber Lights and Woodwinked had a baby. The crescent portion is glittery silver.
I wish MAC would have done away with the crescent portions or had made it the same texture/feel as the larger shade. I just can’t imagine dealing with the inevitable fall out the glittery crescents will have. My top picks would be Midnight Madness, It’s a Miracle, and Blue Sorcery.
- Product: 26/30
- Value: 7/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
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Tags: holiday 2009 collections, mac, mac cosmetics, mac magic mirth and mischief collection, mac makeup, mac product photos, mac reviews, mac swatches, rating: b, upcoming mac collections
Nail Lacquer: Lucky Number
MAC Magic, Mirth, & Mischief Review: Nail Lacquer & Softsparkle Eye Pencil
MAC launches two metallic finish lacquers: Lucky Number and $$$ Yes (which is a repromote from Heatherette), as well as two repromoted shades of their Softsparkle Eye Pencils — Nightsky and Iris Accents.
- Lucky Number is a metallic-finish purplish-berry with a high-shine/sheen. Since it is a metallic finish polish, it does show brush strokes. I don’t know if it’s even feasible to manage to get no brush strokes to show, but I know I don’t have the patience to attempt such a feat. It’s a pretty color, though, and it’s not something I already own.
- $$$ Yes is like wearing tin foil on your nails. It’s a bright silver with a metallic finish. Like Lucky Number, brush strokes will show up. I’ve just kind of learned to deal with brush strokes in metallic shades myself.
- Nightsky is a medium black with silver microsparkle. This one is opaque and goes on easily.
- Iris Accents is a cool-toned, silvery-purple with silver microsparkle. I find this one more of a semi-opaque shade and doesn’t go on as nicely as Nightsky–it will go on opaque, it just requires layering.
I liked Lucky Number a lot, and if you haven’t played around with the Softsparkles, you may find you like the glitz of them. I like them, but I never find myself reaching for them, despite owning all of them, so they’re not must-haves for me.
- Product: 23/30
- Value: 7/10
- Ease of Use: 3/5
- Packaging: 4/5
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Tags: holiday 2009 collections, mac, mac cosmetics, mac magic mirth and mischief collection, mac makeup, mac product photos, mac reviews, mac swatches, rating: c, upcoming mac collections
