MAC All for Glamour Gorgeous Bronze Face Kit ($49.50) contains seven products: Golden (Bronzing Powder, muted golden tan-beige with shimmer), Hearts-a-flutter (eyeshadow, warm pink with silver pearl), Romance Me (eyeshadow, warm plum with gold pearl), Shadowy Lady (eyeshadow, blackened plum), Barely Lit (lipstick, neutral pink withgold pearls), Headturner (lipstick, mid-tone cool cream plum), and a dual-ended 275SE/316SE brush.
Each Eyeshadow is approximately 0.033 oz. (total weight is 0.10 oz.), while the Bronzing Powder is 0.10 oz., and each Lipstick is 0.03 oz. There is a dual-ended brush that has the 275SE on one end and the 316SE on the other end. The kit contains $30.00 worth of eyeshadow, $6.86 worth of Bronzing Powder, and $9.00 worth of lipstick, for a total value of $45.86. You do get the dual-ended brush, but it really feels like a typical applicator that gets thrown into a lot of high-end palettes; the quality felt less than the usual SE brushes. The kit itself is packaged in a peach satin, but it’s smaller than the Divine Desire kits ($70.00), and it isn’t reusable from what I can tell–it’s more like the packaging used for the eyeshadow palettes.
Golden is a golden peach-brown with a peach shimmer-sheen. The texture was of this was very, very dry. It was so stiff, I had to jab layers of product off of it with a metal spatula. It was hard as a rock–I almost thought it was fake (this happened once, I received a MAC product that had a *plastic* replica of the powder in the compact). I’m not sure what happened, but the last time I swatched and reviewed Golden Bronzing Powder, I did not have the payoff and texture problems that I had with this one. This shade is part of the permanent range, so if you like how it looks in the pan, you might want to check out the full-sized version. MAC Nude on Board is a bit darker.
Barely Lit is a rosy beige with a little gold micro-shimmer to give it that “lit” effect. It has semi-sheer to semi-opaque color coverage. It has a lustre finish. In the pan, it almost felt and looked more like a gloss–it was very squishy. It wore for two hours. Laura Mercier Sandcastle is more subdued. MAC Viva Glam V is pinker. MAC Martha is similar, less shimmery.
Headturner is a berry red with a purple-tinge. It is mostly opaque on lips, and it has a Cremesheen finish. It lasted for four hours on my lips. NARS Afghan Red is redder. MAC Rebel is richer, brighter. Guerlain Guet-Apens is redder. MAC Red Dwarf is a bit darker and more subdued. MAC Positively Dashing is similar, less shimmery.
Romance Me is a gray-tinged medium-dark brown with sallow brown undertones. It has a lustre finish, but it didn’t look or feel like one–seemed more like a frost, really. It didn’t have the loose sparkle that is a telltale sign of a lustre. It had decent color payoff, but the texture was a bit dry. MAC Earthly is lighter. Bare Escentuals Vow is darker. theBalm Celebrational is a smidgen grayer.
Shadowy Lady is a blackened purple with a matte finish. It’s dry, stubborn in texture, and the color is a bit uneven. When I applied it to the lid, it wasn’t as blendable as a really good matte eyeshadow is. This shade is part of the permanent range, and it’s an often-included shade in holiday palettes. MAC Spellcaster is more purple. MAC Indian Ink is more purple, richer.
It is interesting that the pink shade has such a strong resemblance to Radial Pink, which is in the duo alongside Shadowy Lady! I’m also surprised to see Shadowy Lady repromoted twice in two different products, since it’s already a permanent shade as well. Golden was a complete miss here, unfortunately. It’s one of the more wearable bronzers across complexions, though I think MAC would have made this palette more appealing by including a blush rather than bronzer (maybe something pinky-plum).
I know there is a split on Lustres and Cremesheens–some find them drying (this is where I am) and others love them. Barely Lit was somewhat drying, and Headturner was just a wee bit drying over time. I didn’t have any fall out with Romance Me, in spite of its lustre finish, which was great news. The eyeshadows did have to be applied over a primer, because they were not pigmented enough to be used alone.
P.S. — This is the last of the MAC reviews until Guilty Pleasures launches (which is next week), so for the non-MAC fans, there is a reprieve on the horizon.
The two lipsticks help to keep the pigmentation score from falling totally flat, but they were slightly drying on me, which tended to neutralize their effect on the total palette. The bronzer was a huge let-down, and Shadowy Lady wasn't easy to work with.
Product
7.5/10
Pigmentation
7.5/10
Texture
8.5/10
Longevity
8/10
Application
3.5/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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MAC Decadently Pink Eye Look Bag ($46.50) contains an eyeshadow duo that features Radial Pink (powder pink with silver sheen pearl) and Shadowy Lady (blackened plum). Shadowy Lady is permanent. It also includes a 275SE brush, Opulash Mascara, and Bordeauxline (deep rich brown) eyeliner. The eyeshadow duo is 0.09 oz (full-sized), Powerpoint Eye Pencil is 0.04 oz. (full-sized), Opulash Mascara is .38 oz. (full-sized). The total value of the kit is $58.50 for the cosmetics in it; this doesn’t include the value of the brush and bag.
Shadowy Lady is a blackened purple with a matte finish. It’s dry, stubborn in texture, and the color is a bit uneven. When I applied it to the lid, it wasn’t as blendable as a really good matte eyeshadow is. This shade is part of the permanent range, and it’s an often-included shade in holiday palettes. MAC Spellcaster is more purple. MAC Indian Ink is more purple, richer.
Bordeauxline is eggplant purple with a matte finish. It has decent color payoff, but it doesn’t build well, so it always look a bit faded and uneven. Make Up For Ever #4L is similar but has a sheen. CoverGirl Violet Voltage is comparable.
To reiterate: the bag that this comes with is small, and the mascara and eyeliner barely fit in it. You have to make sure to push them to the bottom and wiggle them in at an angle. I was surprised to see the bag that they came with wasn’t an easy fit. It’s a clear vinyl bag with leopard and lace printing on the exterior/interior with a minty green satin beneath it.
The best product in the set is actually the mascara, which wears well and lengthens nicely. The three color products are okay but none of them are top notch, excellent products. Shadowy Lady is difficult to work with and needs patience to use, while Radial Pink had a tendency to fade–it was noticeably patchy after six hours over a primer. Bordeauxline looks uneven and faded, never looking as rich on as it does in the pencil itself. The eyeliner lasted seven hours but was noticeably faded after eight.
The best product in the set is actually the mascara, which wears well and lengthens nicely. The three color products are okay but none of them are top notch, excellent products.
Product
7.5/10
Pigmentation
7.5/10
Texture
8.5/10
Longevity
7.5/10
Application
3.5/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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Essie Blue Rhapsody Nail Lacquer ($8.00 for 0.50 fl. oz.) is described as a “jazzy blue metallic.” It’s a subdued bluish-silver with a frosted, metallic finish. The dry down is a shiny matte; it has a flat look, but it’s not truly matte and there’s a sheen there. Out of the blue nail polishes I’ve reviewed, I couldn’t find or think of a dupe.
Blue Rhapsody wasn’t thin, but it wasn’t so thick that it was goopy or difficult to use because of the consistency. What made it harder to apply was actually how quickly it dried down; it had a tendency to very nearly dry before you finished applying a single coat, and this is where streakiness and drag happened more readily. With the strong metallic finish, there are noticeable brushstrokes, and the worst part about them is that they look a bit raised, too. It was opaque after two coats.
In regards to wear, this wore well on me. I tested it without a base/top coat (so just two coats of the polish itself), and it wore for seven days with minor tip wear (a little more than I see with Essie’s creams/shimmers but barely more) and no chipping. It was the same amount of wear with a base and top coat. However, it’s worth noting that some Temptalia readers had notable problems with wear when it came to Essie’s Mirror Metallics.
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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Chanel Destination Illusion d’Ombre Eyeshadow ($36.00 for 0.14 oz.) is described as a “pale-satin shade [that] adds a silver-blue accent to eyes.” It’s a subdued, silver-ish blue with a frosted, metallic finish. When sheered out, it’s almost more silver-white with just a hint of blue. MAC Bright Moon is darker, grayer. Buxom Husky is bluer and lighter–more sky blue. Urban Decay Strip is a bit darker. Urban Decay Mary Jane is also similar, a bit bluer–richer. Inglot #429 is more periwinkle.
I’ve been wanting to review this for awhile, but it’s been sold out online (sold out before I even received mine!) and though it was supposed to be available at regular counters/retailers, I’ve yet to see it pop up online. Luckily, when I checked this weekend, it’s back in stock on Chanel.com. Sometimes I love Illusion d’Ombres, and sometimes, they’re a bit of a miss. Destination is more of a miss for me, unfortunately.
The downfall of Destination is that it doesn’t apply opaque, even if you make an attempt to build it, because it doesn’t apply very evenly. It’s a little splotchy and patchy. As a result, it works better as a base color or applied very sheerly as a wash of shimmer. I think other shades within the formula do a better job of merely illuminating eyes if that was your goal. Destination wore for six hours well, but by eight hours, there was noticeable fading.
I'm a fiend for this type of color normally, but the problems with wear and pigmentation make this a no-go. I'd rather pay $36 (double!) for another Urban Decay Strip or Mary Jane!
Product
7/10
Pigmentation
8.5/10
Texture
8.5/10
Longevity
7/10
Application
3.5/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
LUSH Vibrance Liquid Lipstick ($22.95 for 0.20 oz.) is described as a “shimmering, golden orange.” It’s a brightened tangerine orange with lighter, golden orange shimmer/glitter. OCC Banjee is similar in color to the lighter shimmer, but it’s an opaque lip color with no shimmer. I couldn’t think of anything that came that close. You would better be able to achieve a look like this by wearing an orange lipstick and pairing it with a gold-shimmered gloss.
It was somewhat challenging trying to figure out what exactly the formula was supposed to do, so I referred to the original press release. I gathered these should be hydrating, fairly pigmented, and leave lips soft post-application. The color coverage is semi-sheer to semi-opaque, but it’s rather uneven. The shimmer/glitter felt noticeably gritty, and the particles seemed to gravitate towards each other in bunches, which contributed to the uneven application. It had a watery consistency–thin, loose–but it felt more like a lipstick once it dried down on the lips.
I didn’t detect any scent or taste while testing it for wear. It managed four hours, but there was some stray glitter/shimmer that had traveled outside of my lip area. Not drying, not hydrating, but the grittiness of the sparkle made it uncomfortable to wear. It’s housed in a glass bottle with a doe-foot applicator attached to the black screw-top lid. The applicator doesn’t reach the bottom of the jar, so if you end up using the majority, you may not be able to reach the bottom (try using a separate lip brush or turn it upside down in a sample container).
The grittiness of the formula, combined with the lack of hydration (while not drying, it did not soften or leave my lips feel moisturized), this wasn't a winning shade. I'm hoping the next shade I try in the formula is better!
Product
8.5/10
Pigmentation
8/10
Texture
7/10
Longevity
8/10
Application
4/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
NARS Self Portrait 3 Eyeshadow Palette ($55.00 for 0.42 oz.) features a variation on Warhol’s Self Portrait (1967) painting. This palette is described as “dark brown with shimmer overspray, rose pink, and heather blue.” It is the second of three palettes, and it will be available at department and specialty stores, NARS’ boutiques, and narscosmetics.com on November 1st (so you have some time to think about it, to the say least!).
Each of the Self Portrait palettes has a black overspray, which will disappear quickly. I recommend taking a large powder brush (I used MAC’s 134) to brush back and forth, up and down, to get the majority off. Now, I say that with the expectation that you’d actually like to use the colors in the palette. Assuming you only intended to keep it as a collectible, then I’d recommend not using it much and would say to avoid the silver-white to maintain the facial structure/details.
The first shade is actually a matte medium-dark brown with warm undertones. It had a stiff, dry texture and, subsequently, poor color payoff. However, when applied to the lid, it was able to pack a bit more color, and at least, it was buildable to mostly true-to-pan color. It required some extra effort to blend. Dior Aurora is more shimmery. Bobbi Brown Cocoa Berry is darker. Benefit Dandy Brandy has more shimmer. Urban Decay YDK has a frosted finish. MAC Lie Low is similar but more pearly.
The second shade is a softened, burnt orange with a faint satin sheen. It’s a little terracotta-like. It was soft without being powdery, smooth, and had good pigmentation. MAC Hot Paprika is a bit brighter.
The third shade is a dusty gray-tinged purple with a hint of blue. It had a matte finish, and it was a bit powdery, but the color payoff was good–some sheerness. It was harder to use on the lid, though, as it was prone to fading and disappearing. Blendable, yes, but so blendable that trying to blend it resulted in most of it billowing off the lid in a little puff of powdery smoke. As a result, it tended to look faded from the get-go. theBalm Matt Horowitz is darker.
Of the three shades, the only one I experienced major issues while wearing them was the purple shade, which faded quickly. The brown shade takes some extra effort, but it’s do-able, and it wears well. This, of course, shouldn’t be necessary at this price point. It’s better than the other palettes, but I don’t think it’s a fantastic palette overall. The color combination can work, but it’s an unusual one, so some may not feel it’s versatile enough.
It's better than the other palettes, but I don't think it's a fantastic palette overall. The color combination can work, but it's an unusual one, so some may not feel it's versatile enough.
Product
8/10
Pigmentation
8/10
Texture
8.5/10
Longevity
7.5/10
Application
3.5/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
