The blushes in this collection are being marketed as having a “Fingertip-friendly bouncy powder” formula. They retail for $29.00 wherever bareMinerals is sold. I don’t have a lot of experience with this type of formula, but I’d say they are like the Colourpop super shock formula.
If you are interested in these or any Clinique products, now through March 21, 2020, Clinique loyalty members can get 30% off any order (exclusions apply).
When I purchased Willow Pop I was hoping for gold that leans green, but this shade is definitely a straight-up green. So basically, the name is accurate. The shade is very pretty and it works well, it just wasn’t suited to my taste.
Grape Pop has a nice texture, it is smooth and buildable. But there is something about the color that ends up looking a little dull once it is on my eyes.
These are decent shadows, but I think their All About Shadow line of eyeshadows is better quality for the price. Some of my favorites are the quad in morning java (see swatches here) and the single in chocolate covered cherry.
Update February 15, 2022: Clinique Lid Pop Eyeshadows seem to have been discontinued, but if you can find any remaining inventory, they retail for $19.50.
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Disclaimer: I purchased all products featured with my own money. For my full disclosure policy, click here.
I like this product, but I don’t find it to be matte. I think they could have gotten away with calling it a satin, but it has a sheen to it for quite some time on me. I don’t think it is ever as shiny as a cream lipstick, so I think satin would be a better description. It does transfer off onto cups and straws when you drink but the brand doesn’t make any long wear or transfer proof claims that I’ve seen. They do claim it is creamy, comfortable and has one swipe color and I can agree with those claims for the shade I tried (calvados). It lasts well and looks fresh for a good amount of time, it just isn’t matte.
The closest shade that I have to compare to the Bite Beauty Calvados shade is MAC Persistence. This shade is no longer on their website, but it is a matte finish, which they still sell in other shades. But as you can see from the image, the Bite Beauty has more sheen to it than the matte finish of the MAC lipstick.
I can definitely see myself looking into other shades in this formula. I do wonder however if the finish will vary between shades. The Bite Beauty Power Move Creamy Matte Lip Colors are available for $26.00 at Sephora.
Have you tried another shade in this formula? Do you find it to be matte?
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MAC’s More than Meets the Eye collection is new for Spring 2020. They’ve added new eyeshadow shades, a dazzleshadow extreme finish and a fiber brow gel to their lineup. The collection is available for purchase now on the MAC Cosmetics website.
Disclaimer: I was fortunate enough to be sent a package ahead of the official release to try out 4 of the new eyeshadows. This was not a PR package, it was sent out to customers and I happened to receive one. The opinions I offer in this post are my own and I did not agree to feature or speak positively about these products.
The colors pictured left to right are Royal Rendezvous (matte), Shady Santa (matte), Carbon (matte), and That’s Showbiz Baby (frost). The eyeshadows retail for $19.00 in the form you see pictured here and the single refill pan style retails for $8.00.
The traditional MAC eyeshadow formula seems to have fallen out of favor with some consumers over the years and as such we have seen MAC start to tweak some of their formulas. As newer shades have been released by the brand in limited edition collections, I have noticed they are not as hard-pressed as the old favorites in the line. Sometimes this goes over fine for me, but other times I do miss the old formula. I tend to appreciate a dry/hard-pressed, buildable formula rather than a loose very pigmented one. For example, I would choose a MAC shadow over an Anastasia Beverly Hills or Lorac shadow.
Continue reading “MAC More Than Meets the Eye (Swatches)”
I was very excited to see some of the new NARS eyeshadow singles pop up for sale on Nordstrom Rack. I have really enjoyed the formulation and have wanted a few more shades but never got around to buying them. As far as I can tell these items are just overstock and the shades are still available as part of the permanent range from NARS. If you have been wanting to try their new eyeshadow formula but didn’t want to pay that much for a single shade, now is your chance.
Here are swatches of the 3 shades I already own.
The 1st and 3rd shades swatched are $9.97 on the Nordstrom Rack website as of March 6, 2020:
Guayaquil, bright metallic rust ($19.00 regular retail)
Fez, shimmering cocoa ($19.00 regular retail)
The center shade (Noumea) is not on sale right now on Nordstrom rack, but it is a permanent shade available for regular retail and available wherever NARS is sold.
Noumea, Sienna, $19.00
Are you a NARS eyeshadow fan? What shade is your favorite?
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Disclaimer: I purchased all products featured with my own money. For my full disclosure policy, click here.
Update September 2025: These formulas have been discontinued and replaced with the Artist Blush and Highlighter (B260 Limitless Berry, H110 Anywhere Glimmer (👈🏽 review and swatches).
The highlight is a dense formula, but I never find it difficult to pick up on any brush I use. I wish they offered another color that fell in between this one (H106) and H312 (shimmery gold copper highlight). I think that shade wise that would suit my skin tone better because this can look icy if I’m not careful. I do have dry skin and often find that it makes it more difficult for me to wear highlights without them looking dry and accentuating the texture on my cheeks. I think that more normal or oily skin types might find that this shade melts into the skin more and may not come off icy or dry on their skin.
You have to be careful with this blush shade, it can get intense very quickly. I like it applied best with a fluffy blush brush and I don’t have an issue getting it to blend well. I prefer using my Estee Lauder blush brush ($42) with it which is a natural hair brush. If you don’t like natural hair brushes or the price tag on the Estee Lauder brush, the Sigma F10 ($25) is the same shape and the brand website has very frequent sales.
Update September 2025: These formulas have been discontinued and replaced with the Artist Blush and Highlighter (B260 Limitless Berry, H110 Anywhere Glimmer (👈🏽 review and swatches).
Before we get into pricing I want to forewarn you that these items are sold individually in a plastic case that is intended to be temporary. MUFE is a makeup artist brand, so the intention is that you build the palette you need for the jobs you work. The brand does obviously cater to the general public as well, but they stick to their artistry roots. So you will have to purchase a sturdier case for these items unless you already have space in a zpalette or similar magnetic palette.
$23.00 per shade (compact to hold the pan is not included)
All compacts regardless of size are $2.00 (you need the small size to hold 1 blush)
Bundle deals:
Buy 2 shades + a large compact, $35.00
Buy 3 shades + an extra large compact, $45.00
If you like MUFE, I have also posted swatches of their eyeshadows that you can check out by clicking here and here.
Have you tried any of the artist face colors? Let me know your experience with them in the comments section below.
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Disclaimer: I purchased all products featured with my own money. For my full disclosure policy, click here.
The Clinique Cheek Pop blushes are a popular product on the market that seems to work out well for most people. This is a baked gelee blush formula that requires a firm or dense brush to pick up the product well. I do not have an issue picking up pigment with a softer brush, but that does require more building of the color. Here are some brush examples that I find to work well with baked gelee formulas.
Bobbi Brown Blush Brush, $62 (Pictured is a natural hair version, but the brand has changed this brush to synthetic hairs.)
Smashbox Precise Blush, $34
Ecotools Precision Blush, (I think this style has been discontinued. I have seen a brush with the same name in stores, but the bristles look longer than the one I have.)
If you are a person that is nervous about blush looking too intense, you may prefer this buildable aspect in your blush formula. I find this to be one of the easier baked gelee formulas to work with. I am acne-prone in the cheek area and these blushes give a healthy sheen to my skin without accentuating any of my texture issues. The Clinique Cheek Pop Blushes retail for $30.00.
Update May 21, 2025: Clinique reformulated these blushes to remove talc. I haven’t tried the new formula, so I’m not sure how it performs now or if the colors have remained the same.
If you’d like to see more of my content, you can check out my index-style pages: Blush Index, Brands A-Z, Concealer Ranking, Foundation Round-Up, Lipstick Index, and Powder Round-Up.
Disclaimer: I purchased all products featured with my own money. This site receives a minimal commission from participating in the WordAds program. For my full disclosure policy, click here.
The MAC Lip Liner formula is one of the drier formulas I have tried, but it is still my favorite liner to use. When I use lip liner, it is typically to create a smoother transition between my skin tone and lighter shades of lipstick. Sometimes I’ll use a liner to help a sheer formula last longer, which these liners also work well for. The reason I like these so much for lining is that they blend extremely well with various textures and finishes of lipstick. I’ve never come across a lipstick that didn’t blend well with this formula.
Update June 13, 2025: MAC recently revamped the lip pencils, so I’m unsure if the shades are the same in the new formula.
Left Column, top to bottom: chestnut, plum, cork
Right Column, top to bottom: auburn, burgundy, mahogany
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MAC lip Liners retail for $25.
**  | $ SalePrice $ 25.00 RegularPrice |
| MAC – Lip Pencil | |
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Nikki From HR 