Estee Lauder Futurist Lip Treatment in 10 Forward Fig.
Here’s a messy swatch on unlined lips: (hey, when you’re doing five different lipsticks at once, you really stop caring if you’re inside the lines. Just be glad it’s within an inch of my lip line!)
Overall, I think this is a pretty warm, brownish-red. It’s not too va-va-vroom and not too drying (though it isn’t exactly moisturising.) It’s also fairly opaque and decently creamy; my only complaint is that the wear on this isn’t fantastic. If you’re going to be speed-eating tarts or knocking back eggnogg shots, stay away from this lippie!
Great if: you’re bold enough to wear red out of the house, but you don’t want to feel like you’re under a magnifying glass. It’s very Estee — classy and stunning, but not begging for attention.
NARS colour — $11 219
Yes, I probably screwed up a few numbers somewhere, but that’s the ballpark! This figure includes…
Nails, palettes, blush/bronzers, powders, and multiples — $3 776
Eyes — $4 903
Lips — $4 072
In other words, brushes, accessories, skincare, and base products have NOT been included O.o Crazy, right?
MAC eyes — $4 224
$3 365 on shadows (there are 143 of them!)
$729 on liners
$130 on mascara
The Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland palette. So. Excited.
Ran around the interwebs to find as many images as possible, so none of these are mine and *blah blah blah*. Enjoy the photos! Are you as excited as I am?
As much as I love Christmas’ cocktail-hour red lips and gold eyes, I thought I’d change it up a bit for today and try something a little more daring. It’s not something I’d wear to a holiday party, but it’s a little more fun! There’s something particularly bitchy about this look (there really isn’t any way to put it!) but I can’t quite put my finger on what it is.
How-to:
Start by applying a nude base to your lids. Then, foil a dark burgundy on the outer 2/3 of your eye, creating with it a large “wing”. Do NOT blend out the edges (this keeps the “geometrical” aspect of the look). Clean off your brush or switch brushes, then foil a gold shadow onto the inner 1/3 and along the entire lower lashline. Where the two shades meet on your upper lid, use the gold shadow (dry) to blend them.
Follow the shape of the wing and line just above your upper lash line. Coat lashes with mascara. To emphasise the shape even further, clean around the edges with a q-tip and sweep a shadow the same shade as your natural skintone around the burgundy/gold shadow.
Finish with pink or apricot cheeks, then your choice of a nude or red lip.
I wanted to try this both with a nude lip (the traditional “wear a light lip if you have a heavier eye” thing) and a darker red one. For the former I used a clear gloss with a touch of shimmer, and for the latter I used a burgundy lip liner and topped it with a glossy lip conditioner. They’re both… interesting.
The light lip:
The dark lip:
(Caution; scary lip swatches ahead!)
MAC Burgundy lip liner
MAC Burgundy lip liner, topped with MAC Plum Perfect TLC
What I used:
Lips
CoverGirl AmazeMint in Happy Hour
MAC Burgundy lip liner
MAC Plum Perfect TLC
Eyes
Senna Intrigue and Smolder eyeshadows
MAC Naked and Mauvement pigments
MAC Fresco CCB
Fyrinnae Polar Bear pigment
Lancome Positive eyeshadow
Rimmel Lycra Lash Extender mascara
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Annabelle liquid liner
Cheeks
MAC Harmony
Lancome Rose Fresque
What it is: Korres Sunflower & Evening Primrose Shimmering Eyeshadow in Plum
My initial reaction: was that it was pretty in the pan, but I didn’t really like it. I use my violets a lot for lining my eyes, and it just doesn’t show up very violet-y when you do this! It’s more blah-brown than anything else, when used dry. However, Korres shadows are insanely buttery and soft, which is always nice to work with.
But then: I promised to take swatch photos for someone, and I realized it’s actually not a half-bad shadow! As long as you’re not expecting it to be hugely violet, it’s nice – and I mean, it isn’t supposed to be intensely violet; it’s supposed to be plum! It would be a nice way to start using colour, and it would look great blended into the crease. However, if you really want the pluminess to show up, you’ll have to foil it.
All in all, the more I use this, the more I like it. It’s a great brownish-violet shadow, and the finish is lovely.
Dry/wet/over primer
The verdict?
I like the formula of Korres shadows, but as for the shade, you’ll have to decide for yourselves. Some days, I’m convinced this is perfection; others, it’s a little boring. These swatches are pretty darn close to what I’m seeing on my arm, though, so if you like the swatches, you’ll like the shadow!
At the regular price of $16 for 1.8g/0.06oz, I’d pass on these, but they seem to be on a “secret sale” at Sephora.com, where they’re currently $7US/$10CAD. I would definitely buy this at its sale price, but I’d pass at $16 a pop.
P.S. As an added bonus, Korres shadows are paraben- and fragrance-free!
Revlon‘s Super Lustrous Lipstick in 650 Mulled Wine is one of those classic, creamy reds. It’s both very opaque and insanely creamy, and the price is definitely right!
Whoa this swatch seems like it’s giant!
I realize I look like a drunk. But I’m not. I’m just lazy. YOU try swatching five different lippies at the same time.
I think this is a great warm orange-red that’s “look at me,” without adding the “because I’m crazy”. As a caution, though, reds like these make your teeth look more yellow… so beware! That said, though, it’s both gorgeous as a creamy lipstick and as a matte stain, and the colour bridges generations — this is actually my grandmother’s lipstick, and we can both totally pull it off. (I of course hate how it looks on me, because I hate orange-reds, but I do recognize that if I liked them, this would be HG!)
This is as colour-accurate as it gets, folks. Even I’m impressed with myself.
Mulled Wine against MAC Dubonnet, on right. Though I prefer the colour of Dubonnet, I’m actually more partial to the Revlon formula!
PURE cosmetics is 75% off at Rexall this week, Canucks! Happy haulin’.
Note: check your products before you leave the store. Two of the lipsticks I picked up are completely rancid! If Rexall doesn’t let me take them back, I’m going to pitch a fit =(
This is a sneaker:
And this is a runner:
(Haha, just kidding. The following is what I’d call a runner.)
And, just for the hell of it, this is a skate shoe, which IS NOT A SNEAKER despite what google images tells me:
And this is just really effing ugly:
We had Touch of Class day this Thursday — everyone gets dolled up to go to school. I took some eye shots as well, but it’s so awfully dark here that they didn’t really turn out. I’ll see what I can do about them and try to have them up later :) Basically just neutrals with a pop of gold, then pink cheeks and a red(ish) lip.
And lots of caffeine.
The “oh my god, not another photo please just let me sleeep!” face:
The outfit under garish lighting:
(I do have a left hand, it’s just hidden because I like my sleeves really long. Hey, when you are this short, it means your arms are stubby too… so you get used to having ’em covered by sleeves.)