Written Reviews

For years, I used this in place of MAC's Brule shadow, which costs 5 or 6 times more than this little beauty. Even after I got "the original", I still continue to use this much lower priced version simply because it is a really great eyeshadow! The only "down-sides" are the packaging, which is cheap (but for the price, I don't really care all that much) and the fact that these shadows really don't travel well - none of the WnW ones seem to, in my experience - and so can crumble and make a huge mess. But other than that, Brulee is a fabulous product and great value.

This is one of the shades I really liked in Vice3. I don't know if I got a bad one (I'm sure this can't really happen all that much with mass production like this) but I find this shadow a total pain in the neck to use. It just sticks in the brush and won't transfer at all to my eyelids. I press and push and brush and pick up more on the brush but still there is very little "pay-off". I've actually taken to using a fingertip to apply this - it's the only way I can get the lovely bronzey-brown shade onto my lid at all. I'm surprised that Christine found this to have intense colour payoff because my experience was exactly the opposite.

This review is for the "original" Natural Eye palette. The one I have is in the large, boxy container with the drawer to hold a brush that I and I'm sure others haven't used. This palette was redone a while back and the most problematic colour, Nude Beach, which was a nightmare of glitter fallout, has been replaced which is a great thing but they also took out two other fabulous shades that they should have left in (Velvet Revolver and Cocoa Puff). There are 9 shadows in this palette and they range from cool through neutral to warm and from matte to shimmery. All (with the exception of the now-defunct Nude Beach) are fabulous in terms of quality and pigmentation and this is a great "all you really need" palette. I wouldn't hesitate to repurchase this but do wish that Velvet Revolver, which is such a wonderful ashy grey/brown that is perfect for contouring and blending, was still in the palette.

I got a half size sample of this from Sephora with my VIB points. I really love this liner and I wouldn't hesitate to purchase the full size of this and 2 of the other colours (StoneFox and IntroVert) but the price is really off-putting. It is really quite high ($30 Canadian) for a small amount of product. I'm going to look for dupes of this and the 2 other shades I want in Sephora's own line of pencils or in MAC because as much as I love makeup, I think think there are products just as good at a better price point.

Galaxy Girl is a midnight blue/green shade with a blackened base to it - a fabulous liner for going out, parties, etc. Like all of the Sephora pencils I've tried from this collection, I am really happy with it. The glitter means it isn't waterline safe (this is printed in minuscule writing on the side of the pencil) but it is such a stunning colour worn as a liner and smudged under my lower lashes (though you do lose some of the shine provided by the glitter when you smudge it).

Yet another winning eye lining pencil from Sephora's own house brand. Sephora's site describes this as "jade" but it really is more an emerald/teal and it is just gorgeous and great quality. These pencils rival those costing twice as much and more from high end lines. They do need to be sharpened manually (the only thing about them that isn't perfect but a brief sojourn in the freezer helps make it easier). The colour assortment/selection is great and some are even waterline safe (though Sephora would be really wise to make this information available online with regard to each of the shades). For $12 CDN, you can't go wrong!

I was really excited to get Water Willow (actually, I liked several of the pencils from this collection but I've got to start using up what I have before adding too much more) and made a special trip out to pick it up. It's a nice pencil - applies so smoothly and is very pigmented. The only thing is that the colour isn't as special on as I was hoping it would be. I just doesn't look unique at all and I could easily get the same look with many of the green pencils I already have.

Lustering has to be one of my favourite lipstick colours from MAC. It is such a perfectly pretty berry-pink (as opposed to a milky pink) that I just love wearing. My only complaint is that as it is a Lustre (not a Frost, as it's described above), it is not all that long-wearing. But I love it so much that I can overlook that one flaw a bit, though I am always on the lookout for something like Lustering but in a more long-lasting formula.

What's to say....I LOVE this lipstick. I really like most of Bite's lipsticks (the ones I've tried and the shades that suit me). I think Sephora's site describes this as "berry" but I find it more of a slightly browned red. It's not so intense that it's a "statement lip" or vampy - it is simply a beautiful, flattering shade of red and almost a "my lips but better" shade as it looks quite natural on me. It also feels so moisturizing and soothing to the lips. For something as creamy feeling as it is, it lasts a reasonably long time though, of course, I could wish that it lasted longer than it does. But since Bite tends to avoid a lot of chemicals in their products, it's not surprising that this isn't the most long lasting of lipsticks but that's not a bad tradeoff for wonderful colour, lovely texture and "good for your lips" ingredients.

I've only got a sample of this powder - in the shade Light (I'm fair but certainly not the fairest of the fair so good luck to the many women with lighter skin than mine - you may not find a colour match), so I can't comment on whether or not this is in a "travel friendly" container (important with loose powders) but I absolutely LOVE the results I get with this powder. It really does look "naked" but sets my BB/CC creams beautifully without looking powdery or obvious. Helps them wear longer too. Like Sarah, I dust this on with a big, fluffy brush concentrating on the middle of my face and the results are lovely. While it's a bit on the pricey side for a loose powder (and one from UD; this is a bit higher priced than I'd have expected), I wouldn't hesitate to buy this and I'm putting it on my "wish list" for when I finish up one of the many powders I already have and need to use!

This is one of the foundations that I keep in my ongoing rotation. I love that it doesn't feel heavy but gives good coverage and a luminous, slightly dewy (but not greasy) look. It wears well - holds up through my work day though this isn't a long-wearing product so I don't expect it to go from 6 am, when I first apply it, to 11 at night. It comes in a hefty glass bottle with an hygienic pump. My only complaint is that if I don't use this for a while, the pump gets really plugged and I have to pick it out with a needle. Also, the level of sun protection isn't high enough...I'd almost rather it didn't have any (and I'd just use my regular facial SPF product) - having such a low level of SPF basically detracts from the product IMO.

This is a wonderful concealer. It feels very light and sheer on the skin (I use it almost exclusively for my under-eye circles) but it covers surprisingly well. I was shocked, the first time I used it because I didn't think anything this light would provide anything much in the way of coverage. I'm happy to say that I was wrong. This concealer applies beautifully. A little goes a long way and it blends nicely and really brightens my whole under-eye area, making it look lifted. Doesn't travel or settle into creases - certainly not as much as some of my other under-eye concealers. And it doesn't leave my under eye area looking dry or cracked. Just a terrific product and a tube will last for ages.

I have this in the scent Senorita Margarita and there is nothing I find so delightful and refreshing after a hot, tiring day than a quick shower using this gel. It smells so sharply of tangy lime and just revives me. It's great in the morning too for a quick shower before work - a great way to wake up. I've never used these on my hair (my hair is coloured and I'd just rather use a product specifically meant for hair) and I've never used it as a bubble bath, though I imagine the aroma would be just as nice, though the enlivening scent might counteract the relaxing effects of the bath and vice versa.

I bought this as a treat/bit of spoiling for myself. There are several quads in this "new" release from Chanel that I really like and covet but when I saw them all in-store, Gabrielle won my heart for a first purchase. It's 4 wonderful neutrals - mostly cool taupe/grey shades but the light shade (almost white) is a bit warmer and so beautiful. It looks like it would be glittery and apply a bit scaly, but it goes on so smoothly, as do the other 3 shades. This is a great palette for every day. It sort of reminds me a bit of Guerlain's Les Fumes though it's more grey/black and this one has that fabulous white/highlight shade. So, perfect for work; perfect for business trips (you really wouldn't need anything else unless you wanted something a bit less subdued for nigh-time) and perfect for a really elegant sultry, smokey eye. A bit pricey but so worth it.

One of my 2 or 3 favourite hightlight shades from MAC. Mine actually looks less peachy than in the photo - more yellow/beige. Even though it's a frost, it really isn't all that frosty or garish and it's a super colour for the inner corner of the eye because it really brights a lot of light and brightness to that area.

I passed these pigments on sale at Shopper's Drug Mart and, as I'd been sort of wanting this for a while, I figured I'd pick it up as the price was hard to beat. Well, it turns out that these are being discontinued in Canada, so far as I can tell, since they're no longer even shown on the Canadian Maybelline website. Downtown Brown is a lovely cool taupe brown - a really pretty colour. I'm not generally wild about loose pigment shadows because they can be pretty messy, but this one isn't too bad at all, and if used with a wet brush (water, eye drops, any sort of facial spray product) the potential for fallout is minimized. This would have been a good purchase at the regular price but it's even better on sale. I may go back and get one or 2 more colours of these before they're gone.

I've got 2 different colours of Gloss Prodige - Grenadine and Raspberry and the latter I actually have in multiples because I love it so much. It is the prettiest shade of deep pink/berry (almost bordering on red). I love the Gloss Prodige formula because it's almost more like a liquid lipstick - very pigmented and even once it has worn off, it leaves behind enough of a berry stain to give some colour and brightness to my face. For a gloss, this is both pigmented and long-lasting.

Puppy is that perfect transition shade - a neutral light brown that works great to blend out just about any darker crease colour for a smooth transition toward the brow-bone. Also works great as a natural looking crease shade for daytime/workplace wear. Half a "star" off because it's not really the most exciting looking colour (so I often forget to reach for it) but it's a great basic to have.

As I was adding this review and having to choose adjective for colour and finish, I really struggled. Some might consider this a frost or "luminous" (it is both, really) but "pearl" seemed the best choice and while this is a light silvery taupe, "beige" seemed the best colour choice. Cloud is a shade I put off buying but it is such a lovely colour for the lid. It is a silvery shade but with enough beige in it to keep it from looking too garish. Pairs well with a wide variety of colours but I like it best with a matte grey or grey-brown (like Stila 349) in the outer corner and crease. Very pretty shadow and, if worn with a primer, it lasts all day without fading.

I wanted this palette for ages and was so happy when it finally arrived in Canada (it took quite a while!). This is an amazingly affordable and surprisingly versatile palette and contains dupes of quite a few high end shadows (several of which I nearly bought until I realized how close they were to the shadows in this palette). While it is lacking in mattes, that doesn't trouble me. I especially like the right hand side of this palette (the one that leans greener and a bit cooler) - the "browbone" colour on this side is a great lid shade and a great quick lid to crease shade for an easy, pretty look. I've never traveled with this palette as I've heard many stories of just how fragile and shatter-prone these are (and I've seen it in some of the palettes on the store shelves). But for less than 5 dollars (CDN), you simply cannot beat the value, quality and shade selection.