Clarins Bronze Instant Sun Light Highlighter
Clarins Instant Sun Light Highlighters: Bronze
Clarins Bronze Instant Sun Light Highlighter ($32.00 for 0.28 oz.) is a creamy–almost gel-like in consistency and texture–golden bronze with soft flecks of gold shimmer that glides onto skin and gives a warmer, luminous look. Though rather deep bronze in the compact, it applies rather sheerly and much lighter on the skin. On both paler and deeper skin tones, this is more of a highlighter than a contouring shade–on the palest of skin, I could see this working as a subtle bronzer. I like this best as a natural highlighter on medium to deep skin tones.
I do wish this product lasted longer on the skin, though; it seems to slide off within three to four hours, even on my normal skin, so I would imagine even shorter wear time on oilier skin types. It doesn’t dry down to a powdery finish, which is good news for those with drier skin types, because it won’t emphasize any dryness or flaking skin. I definitely recommend using a translucent setting powder to help this stay in place longer.
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- Product: 25/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
RECOMMENDATION: I think those of light-medium to medium skin tones will find this most flattering, because it will add some warmth as well as sheen. It’s not ultra long wearing, though.
AVAILABILITY: Clarins
Passing Fancy, Gone Romancin’, Lightly Prancing, Radiant Jewels, Soft Dazzle
MAC Tartan Tale: Dazzleglass Cremes
MAC Tartan Tale Dazzleglass Cremes ($18.00 for 0.09 oz.) feature five new and limited edition shades ranging from sheer neutrals to more opaque red. Dazzleglasses Cremes have a thicker consistency but aren’t as sticky as lipglass. I do find that they have a slightly gritty texture, which becomes more noticeable as the gloss disappears and the glittery bits are left behind. They smell like vanilla.
The shades include: Passing Fancy (bright orange coral with soft pearl), Gone Romancin’ (mid-tone lavender with multi-dimensional pearl), Lightly Prancing (light peach with gold pearl), Radiant Jewels (dark sparkly magenta), and Soft Dazzle (mid-tone peach pink with gold pearl).
Their biggest downfall is how little product you get in each tube: a measly 0.09 oz. To put that into perspective, a normal MAC Lipglass is $14.50 and contains 0.17 oz. I like Dazzleglasses for their high shine, glossy look and very dazzling shimmer, but the pitiful amount drives me batty.
- Passing Fancy is a soft, sheer coral-nude with white shimmer. This is the least shimmer-filled of the five. I don’t know how this translates to “bright orange coral,” though. It may look it in the tube, but on the lips, not the case. Smile would be the closest permanent dupe, though it has a bit more shimmer.
- Gone Romancin’ is a semi-opaque lilac pink with lots of light lilac and white shimmer. This one is full of shimmer! It reminds me of Negligee lipglass or a more lilac Cultured. It’s a bit pinker than Via Veneto.
- Lightly Prancing is a semi-sheer, milky peach nude with soft gold shimmer. It is reminiscent of Sublime Shine, though less gold shimmer. The closest permanent dupe would be Bare Necessity.
- Radiant Jewels is a semi-opaque, deep fuchsia raspberry with fuchsia shimmer. It looks very much like Creme Allure — maybe just a touch darker, but they look very, very close to me. Love Alert would be the closest permanent dupe.
- Soft Dazzle is a semi-sheer, milky pink-nude with gold shimmer. Yes, it looks incredibly similar to Lightly Prancing–it’s just a little pink. Moth to Flame would be the closest permanent dupe –it doesn’t have as much gold sparkle.
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- Product: 26/30
- Value: 6/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
RECOMMENDATION: Gone Romancin’ is fun, and I think with the amount of lilac lip fans, it’ll go over well. The others are rather similar to past or present dazzleglasses/dazzleglass cremes, though.
AVAILABILITY: Online now, October 28th in-store
MAC Tartan Tale: Twists of Tartan Eyeshadow Palette
MAC Tartan Tale: Twists of Tartan Eyeshadow Palette
Twists of Tartan Eyeshadow Palette ($36.00) is a colorful palette with a slight cool tone running through it.
This palette includes six eyeshadows: Lady’s Prance (clay), Rolled Gold (gold), High Spirits (shimmered avocado), Vainglorious (metallic maroon), Set to Dance (dark royal blue), and Bows & Curtseys (metallic hunter green).
- Lady’s Prance is a dirty gray-beige. It has a matte finish, but it doesn’t look like 100% matte to me. The pigmentation on this shade was really nice, as it went on solid without having to layer on a ton. It’s a lighter version of Omega.
- Rolled Gold is a smooth antique gold with subtle green-gold flash. It has a lustre finish, but it feels a lot smoother and integrated than other lustres. Patina would be the closest in the permanent range, but it’s not that close.
- High Spirits is a medium grassy green with darker green shimmer. It has a frost finish. As pretty as this looked in the pan, it just didn’t swatch very intensely for me. It’s like a darker version of Swimming–like a cross between Swimming and Humid.
- Vainglorious is reddened burgundy with soft sheen. It has a frost finish. Now, this was originally released as part of Venomous Villains, but the one in this palette swatched on the sheer side. I barely had to get any product when it was sold individually to get a really rich, pigmented swatch, but I felt like I had to work hard to get it to show up from this palette. What gives? It’s pretty close to Star Violet.
- Set to Dance is a dark indigo blue. It has a matte finish, and it does suffer from some chalkiness and overall sheerness. Naval (PRO) probably comes closest to this shade, but it’s bluer.
- Bows & Curtseys is a darkened green that leans quite gray-black. It has a satin finish. For as dark as this shade looks in the pan, it swatched something awful. I just could not get it to show–it reminded me of Deep Blue Green pigment, except, you know, with 10% of the pigmentation.
The palette contains 0.19 oz. worth of eyeshadow along with a tiny 213 brush, which means you’re paying $190/oz. In comparison, if you were to buy potted eyeshadows, MAC eyeshadows run at $290/oz. and pans run at $230/oz. These palettes do offer a little more bang for your buck than if you were to buy shades individually.
Despite loving how colorful this palette is upon first glance, the pigmentation leaves something to be desired. There is just a lack of it in the majority of these shades (all but the gold and beige), and I really can’t understand why. I had some textural issues with half the shades–Lady’s Prance and Rolled Gold have a lovely smooth texture, but Set to Dance and Bows & Curtseys had a much chalkier texture. Overall, I’m not too keen on this palette.
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- Product: 23/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
RECOMMENDATION: It’s definitely a palette geared towards those who love to wear color, but the lack of pigmentation makes it more appropriate to those who prefer their color sheer!
AVAILABILITY: October 28th at MAC Stores/Counters
MAC Tartan Tale: Dashing Lassies Eyeshadow Palette
MAC Tartan Tale: Dashing Lassies Eyeshadow Palette
Dashing Lassies Eyeshadow Palette ($36.00) is a rather neutral, slightly warmed up palette.
This palette includes six eyeshadows: Bronze (copper penny), Buckwheat (frosty medium brown), A Dashing Lassie (metallic milk), Magical Mist (metallic taupe), Showstopper (dark brown), and Once Upon a Time (metallic vanilla).
- Bronze is a rich metallic bronze with a copper-bronze sheen. It has a frost finish, and it looks the same as the permanent shade of Bronze, despite the different descriptions. This is the nicest and most pigmented shade of the six–but you can get it on its own, too.
- Buckwheat is a medium-dark brown with soft green-gold shimmer. It has a frost finish, and it was originally launched with Naked Honey in 2009. The pigmentation is decent, but it could be a little richer. Sable seems like it would be the closest dupe from the permanent range.
- A Dashing Lassie is a frosted soft white with beige sheen. It has a frost finish. The pigmentation is decent, and it could be used as a highlighter on light to light-medium skin tones; it may be too ashy as a highlighter on darker skin tones. It’s similar to Dazzlelight, perhaps not as white.
- Magical Mist is a mushroom-y taupe with a metallic sheen. It has a lustre finish, but it doesn’t have the typical gritty texture of lustre eyeshadows–very little fall out as a result. I can’t think of any great dupes from the permanent range for this.
- Showstopper is a dark, cool-toned sooty brown. It has a matte finish, and it has been launched on numerous occasions. Even though it swatches rather sheer, it works decently as a crease shade to darken the lid. It’s just been in so many palettes and launches, I wouldn’t be surprised if you already had it somewhere in your stash!
- Once Upon a Time is a semi-sheer champagne. It has a veluxe pearl finish. It’s very sheer for a veluxe pearl–looks more like a lustre in terms of color pay off. It’s a more metallic version of Ricepaper.
The palette contains 0.19 oz. worth of eyeshadow along with a tiny 213 brush, which means you’re paying $190/oz. In comparison, if you were to buy potted eyeshadows, MAC eyeshadows run at $290/oz. and pans run at $230/oz. These palettes do offer a little more bang for your buck than if you were to buy shades individually.
The best part about this palette is how well the shades coordinate with each other. It’s very much variations on browns and beiges, and all but Bronze run on the neutral to neutral-cool end of the spectrum. Unfortunately, pigmentation seems to be lacking severely in two of the shades, and pigmentation is only top notch in one. I don’t think this palette is a must-have; at this price tag, I’d recommend Urban Decay’s Naked Palette instead for a solid neutral palette that’s not only a good deal but full of quality, too.
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- Product: 24/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
RECOMMENDATION: The shades go together well, but too many of them are on the sheerer side of things. Given MAC’s penchant for pigment, it seems at odds with what one would expect to see in their palette.
AVAILABILITY: October 28th at MAC Stores/Counters
King Kong, Mash, Zulu, Midnight Express, Full Metal Jacket
NARS Vintage Nail Polishes see the re-release of five coveted NARS shades. As of late last night, Zulu was back in stock, actually, though it was sold out for a time. These are all limited edition, and each shade retails for $16.
- King Kong is a orange-toned molten copper bronze with copper shimmer threaded through the base color. This was the most pigmented shade out of the five; I used two coats. This applied evenly and smoothly, and it didn’t show brushstrokes too much for a metallic finish.
- Mash is a darkened olive green base with green and gold shimmer that warm it up. This was my favorite color out of the bunch. You’ll definitely need three coats, and some brushstrokes ended up showing for me, so be patient.
- Zulu is a deep, dark blackened green jelly. It’s very inky and solid and virtually black in low lighting. In the sunlight, the green of its base is more apparent. You’ll need at least three coats, if not four, to get full, opaque color. I’d also recommend slightly thicker coats, because those thinner coats seem to cause some streaking.
- Midnight Express is a deep, dark blackened navy. Just like Zulu, this shade is mostly black in low light and brightens up to its bluer form in sunlight. I did three coats, but you may find four better. The application for this shade was exactly the same as Zulu for me.
- Full Metal Jacket is a bluish silvered gray with silver shimmer. It is the most metallic of the five, and it is incredibly prone to showing brushstrokes. Patience is key with these kinds of metallics–you want to minimize the pressure and the number of times you brush the polish on the nails. Three coats.
The application issues make me wary of recommending these. Part of me wants to tell you to scoop up any shades that catch your eye before they’re sold out or gone for good, but the other part of me just wants to say, well, they don’t seem super-freaking-awesome as some shades have been hyped up to be. (Zulu, I’m looking at you!) It can be fun own a piece of history, as it were, though, and with some patience and a steady hand, all of these shades are workable. Mash and King Kong were good, while the rest were decent, so they kind of balance out. What also saves these polishes is that they’re not easy to dupe, which makes them even more covetable.
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- Product: 25/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 3/5
- Packaging: 4/5
RECOMMENDATION: If you don’t normally purchase $16 nail polish, these might not be the best ones to go for first. They’re not as easy to apply as your average nail polish. Also, if you can’t be fussed to be careful and wait between coats, you’ll probably have a poor experience with these.
AVAILABILITY: NARS
Urban Decay Urb Eyeshadow
The Hue of Sage Green
Urban Decay Urb Eyeshadow
($17.00 for 0.05 oz.) is a sage green with antique gold glitter flecks. It’s a very smooth shade that’s pigmented but the color itself is softer, so it’s not a bright or intense shade of green. I love the slight golden sheen that’s in the finish.
Urban Decay described it as a “metallic celedon green with glitter,” which should immediately alert you to the fact that this is a glittery shade. It will have some fall out. My experience with Urb is that the fall out is significantly less than some of the most egregious: Midnight Cowboy Rides Again.
If you want a more satin finish shade, you could try Make Up For Ever’s #34 Eyeshadow instead.
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- Product: 24/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
RECOMMENDATION: If it weren’t for the inevitable fall out that Urban Decay’s glitter shades are prone to, I’d really love this shade. The color itself is beautiful, and the soft flecks of glitter are lovely–when they stay on the lid.
AVAILABILITY: Sephora
