Category: Beauty

MAC Eyeshadow Swatches (brown transition shades)

Published on by Nikki3 Comments

I thought it’d be helpful to swatch some of MAC’s transition shades side by side since it can be hard to see the undertone differences on the website. These are shades I find suitable for my skin tone (Estee Lauder 4W4). The brand does offer both lighter and darker colors than what I have swatched here, so if nothing here suits your skin tone, all is not lost.

MAC eyeshadows cork, saddle, brown script, soft brown, texture, uninterrupted swatches on medium dark skin
L to R: cork, saddle, brown script, soft brown, texture, uninterrupted

Swatches, top row: MAC cork, saddle, brown script, and soft brown

Swatches, bottom row: MAC texture and uninterrupted

MAC eyeshadow swatches - cork, saddle, brown script, soft brown, texture, uninterrupted medium dark skin
Top, L to R: cork, saddle, brown script, soft brown | Bottom, L to R: texture, uninterrupted
MAC eyeshadows brown script, swiss chocolate, bougie babe (LE) swatches on medium dark skin
L to R, Bottom to top: brown script, swiss chocolate, bougie babe (LE)

Swatches: MAC brown script, swiss chocolate, and bougie babe (LE)

MAC eyeshadow swatches brown script, swiss chocolate, bougie babe (LE) medium dark skin
L to R: brown script, swiss chocolate, bougie babe (LE)

I know that Bougie Babe was a limited edition shade, but anyone who does have it may want to know how it compares to some of the permanent shades. All of the shades swatched with the exception of bougie babe are still available in the permanent range. The refill pans like the ones pictured cost $8. The shade brown script can only be purchased as a refill pan. However, if you want other shades in a regular compact, they are $19.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider sticking around. You can check out my Brands A-Z index if you want to know what products I have posted about in the past.

Disclaimer:  I purchased all products featured with my own money.  For my full disclosure policy, click here.

Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Extreme Lipstick Swatches

Published on by Nikki1 Comment
Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Extreme 122 Chestnut Lipstick Swatches

As long as your lips are in good condition, the Rouge Allure Velvet Extreme lipsticks are what Chanel promises. But fair warning, anyone with dry or chapped lips will have to treat them before even looking in the direction of these lipsticks. The brand claims this “extreme matte lipstick features a non-drying texture that glides smoothly onto lips with intense, long wearing colour.” The glide onto the lips part greatly depends on your lips. The lipstick does have slip, but it will catch and drag if you have dryness or chapping.

These originally stood out to me after trying a sample. I was impressed that such a powdery, matte formula didn’t dry out my lips. To me, this is a comfortable formula. It doesn’t look powdery on the lips, but that’s the feel compared to other matte finishes. For reference, the other mattes I’m familiar with are Maybelline creamy mattes, MAC mattes, and Urban Decay comfort mattes.

Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Extreme Intense Matte Lip Colour, $42.00

Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Extreme Lipstick Swatches (114 epitome, 116 extreme, 122 chestnut) medium dark skin
L to R: Chanel 114 epitome, 116 extreme, and 122 chestnut
Continue reading “Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Extreme Lipstick Swatches” →

Lancome Makeup Round-Up

Published on by Nikki2 Comments
Lancome 435 bisque w, canyon eyeshadow, gold lame eyeshadow, 25 brush, dual finish highlighter dazzling bronze swatches

Although this isn’t an exhaustive round-up of the entire brand, I wanted to talk about the current products that I own from Lancome before I let them go.  This is a great brand that I can truly show appreciation for, but I’ve just come to realize that it’s not for me.  I always have a good experience using their products and I’m always able to find items that suit my skin tone.  But on the downside, I’m continually disappointed by the packaging when considering the price I paid.  That is saying a lot considering I never pay full price for Lancome, and I still come away feeling like I overpaid.  As a military spouse, I can get Lancome products for 15% off and I don’t have to pay tax.  The products I’ve tried just feel lighter and cheaper than brands in a comparable price range like NARS and Bobbi Brown. 

Cheek & Contour Brush #25, $40 (discontinued 2021)

Lancome cheek and contour brush 25 review
Lancome cheek and contour brush, #25
Continue reading “Lancome Makeup Round-Up” →

The Wanderlust List #3 (Becca Light Shifter Veil Finishing Powder)

Published on by Nikki5 Comments

The wanderlust list is my way of enjoying and using items I already own. I hope to encourage myself and others to use some of the products we have rather than being so quick to buy something new. If this concept interests you, you can check out the other versions of the Wanderlust List below.

Instead of buying the Becca Light Shifter Veil Finishing Powder, I’m revisiting some powders that I already own from Laura Mercier, MAC, and NARS.

Laura Mercier Candleglow Sheer Perfecting Powder (5), MAC Studio Waterweight Pressed Powder (dark), and NARS Light Reflecting Pressed Setting Powder (sunstone) swatches on medium dark skin
L to R: Laura Mercier Candleglow (5), MAC Studio Waterweight (dark), NARS Light Reflecting (sunstone)

As a dry-skinned person, satin or luminous powder is always intriguing. When I saw Becca release this powder, I was going to purchase it as soon as it made its way to Sephora. I’ve talked with Lili (a fellow blogger that you should check out if you haven’t) about it and I talked about it again in a Monday Edit. I still think it looks promising, but the more time that passed, the more I realized that I already have powders that have a similar finish.

Swatches of Laura Mercier Candleglow Sheer Perfecting Powder (5), MAC Studio Waterweight Pressed Powder (dark), and NARS Light Reflecting Pressed Setting Powder (sunstone) on medium dark skin
L to R: Laura Mercier Candleglow (5), MAC Studio Waterweight (dark), NARS Light Reflecting (sunstone)

So the powders pictured above are the Laura Mercier Candleglow Sheer Perfecting Powder (shade 5), the MAC Studio Waterweight Pressed Powder (shade dark), and the NARS Light Reflecting Pressed Setting Powder (shade sunstone). All of these powders leave a satin to luminous finish on the skin and don’t cling if I have dry patches. It is important to keep in mind that if you do not have dry skin and need oil control in your setting powder, these may not be for you.

Continue reading “The Wanderlust List #3 (Becca Light Shifter Veil Finishing Powder)” →

6 Red Lipsticks from Mac Cosmetics

Published on by NikkiLeave a comment
MAC Cosmetics Lipstick Swatches (mac red, russian red, chili, marrakesh, d for danger, spice it up) medium dark skin

Buying anything from MAC Cosmetics can be intimidating because of their vast range. The brand has many more shades of red than I have to show you, but I hope it’s still helpful to see some of the shades side by side.

Continue reading “6 Red Lipsticks from Mac Cosmetics” →

Covergirl Trunaked Queenship Cream Shadow Stick (960 unruly)

Published on by Nikki2 Comments

After hearing some rave reviews about these Covergirl Shadow Sticks, I decided to check them out. I love a good purple eyeshadow, so I bought the shade 960 unruly.

Covergirl trunaked queenship cream shadow stick 960 unruly medium dark skin swatch
960 unruly

This formula is creamy enough to glide on the eyes without tugging.  Unfortunately, it does dry pretty quickly. I’d suggest doing one eye at a time so you can blend before it dries down completely. It has good pigmentation and doesn’t take much product to get the true color. I was surprised by the finish.  To me, it appears mostly matte with a hint of sheen once applied to the eyes. I expected it to be shinier with more of a shimmer finish.  I’ve only used this product with my fingers, so I’m not sure how it might perform when used with a brush.

Continue reading “Covergirl Trunaked Queenship Cream Shadow Stick (960 unruly)” →

NARS Matte Bronzing Powder Swatch (Samoa)

Published on by Nikki1 Comment
NARS Matte Bronzing Powder Samoa bronzer swatch dark skin

I clearly have a bronzer problem. In May, I talked about the new release of bronzers from NARS in one of my window shopping posts. I claimed I wasn’t going to buy the matte version. Well, that was true. At the time, I ended up getting the satiny version in the shade Punta Cana. But right before Christmas, I finally broke down and decided to try the matte version in the shade Samoa.

NARS Matte Bronzing Powder Samoa bronzer swatch medium dark skin
NARS Matte Bronzing Powder in Somoa

Despite typically preferring a satin finish, I like this matte formula better than their traditional finish. It is definitely a matte powder, but it gives a healthy look to the skin. The most comparable bronzer that I’ve tried is the Bobbi Brown bronzing powder (swatches here). They remind me a lot of each other, but the NARS formula is denser likely due to the oils in the ingredients.

NARS Matte Bronzing Powder Punta Cana and Samoa bronzer swatches medium dark skin
NARS Bronzing Powder Punta Cana (left) and NARS Matte Bronzing Powder Samoa (right)

NARS Matte Bronzing Powder – Samoa, $38.00 (left swatch)

NARS Matte Bronzing Powder Samoa and Punta Cana Bronzer Swatches medium dark skin
L to R: NARS Samoa (matte) and Punta Cana

Pictured above are Samoa (matte formula) and Punta Cana (regular formula) swatched. I thought it would be helpful to see the two side by side so you can see how the finish differs. Hopefully, this is helpful if you are trying to decide between the two. The colors look similar in a swatch but Punta Cana applies deeper and more neutral than Samoa on me. Punta Cana is much more like it looks in the pan than it looks in the swatch.

If you’re curious to see how Punta Cana compares to other brands, I posted a round-up of my bronzers over the summer.

What’s your favorite bronzer finish, matte or satin? Let me know in the comments below.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider sticking around. You can check out my Brands A-Z index if you want to know what products I have posted about in the past.

Disclaimer:  I purchased all products featured with my own money.  For my full disclosure policy, click here.

Palette: The Beauty Bible for Women of Colour

Published on by Nikki2 Comments

Don’t let the title scare you away; regardless of skin tone, the information in this book can be helpful. The publishing of this book is a necessary addition to the few makeup guides still available in print. I found out about The Beauty Bible for Women of Colour by Funmi Fetto from Vikeejeah on Youtube. Vikeejeah and four other YouTube Creators collaborated to each cover three products mentioned in the book. You can find all the videos from the collaboration linked in the list below.

Palette The Beauty Bible for Women of Colour Book Review and Swatches

I do want to mention that some of the write-ups in the book are more helpful than others. Some anecdotal parts aren’t that helpful in terms of how a product works, but I haven’t noticed any items that I felt wouldn’t be workable for deep skin tones. Overall, I have enjoyed reading through this book and am excited to check out some products I haven’t tried before.

I thought it would be fun to showcase some of the products covered in the book that I have tried. The book does cover skincare and hair care, but I’ll only be focusing on the makeup portion.

Palette: The Beauty Bible for Women of Colour Book Review and swatches of featured products

Foundations

Two of the foundations in the book that I have used are the Estee Lauder Doublewear and Nars Natural Radiant Longwear foundations. I already have a review of the Estee Lauder doublewear foundation, so if you want more details from a dry skin perspective, you can check that review out.

As for the Nars Natural Radiant Longwear, it is still fairly new to me, so I’m still getting a feel for it. You can tell in the swatches below how matte the Estee Lauder is compared to the NARS’ Radiant finish. The one issue I have had with the NARS formula was that it accentuated texture really badly until I got my shade right. It looks much better on me now that I’ve switched to the shade Tahoe instead of Huahine and Syracuse. You can see me wearing the NARS Natural Radiant Longwear in the shade Tahoe in my profile picture (on the sidebar, at the bottom of the page on mobile, and on my about me page).

Update June 1, 2024: You can read my review of the NARS Natural Radiant Longwear foundation by clicking here.

Estee Lauder double wear shade 5w2 rich caramel and nars natural radiant longwear shade tahoe swatches on medium dark skin
L to R: Estee Lauder Double Wear 5W2 and NARS Natural Radiant Longwear Tahoe
Continue reading “Palette: The Beauty Bible for Women of Colour” →