Learn How to 2-in-1 with Make Up for Ever Pro Sculpting Lip

Press Sample Affiliate Links

Hey everyone! 

Today's review is on the Make Up For Ever Pro Sculpting Lip in 11 Rust. This Pro Sculpting Lip is new addition to the Pro Sculpting Collection and joins the Pro Sculpting Brow and Pro Sculpting Palette which was added to the range for Spring 2016.

Given that everything lately seems to be all about contouring and sculpting your face, I was curious to see how the concept translated over with lip products. The Pro Sculpting Lip in particular is a 2 in 1 product, with a lipstick on one side and a cream to powder highlighter on the other side. The cream to powder highlighter can be used to accentuate the cupid's bow or the center of your lip to add a multi-dimensional effect to your usual lip look. 

I got the shade 11 Rust, which has a muted strawberry red lipstick and white gold cream to powder highlighter.

Check out my thoughts on the lip duo and whether I think it's worth it!

Make Up For Ever HD Blush in #215: Swatch and Review

I Purchased This Affiliate Link

I knew going into The Makeup Show LA that I was already so stoked for the upcoming Make Up For Ever HD Blush (the replacement for their somewhat notoriously persnickety HD Microfinish Blush in the tube). Just the words "Second Skin Cream Blush" made me anticipate its performance.

For someone who is a blush doof like me, it's perfectly amazing. It's damn near fool-proof, applying and blending out into a natural finish. There are some deeper and brighter colors in the mix (like 515 Tangerine and 520 Blackcurrent to cater to more skin tones and for those who want a bolder look.

Where to Purchase: Sephora.com (affiliate link), Sephora stores
Price: $26 for .09 oz of product. 
Do they test on animals?: The company does not.
Packaging: The HD blush comes in a small plastic compact with a mirror, emphasis on the small. It is actually smaller than my palm and I've got tiny hands. Still though, it's very travel-friendly and slim, easy to stash.

I got the shade 215 Flamingo Pink. It looks like a bright flamingo pink on me but I've noticed on lighter skin tones (like Emi at Project Swatch, scope her review!), there is a lot more coral coming out. On my tanner skin tone, it's more pink than coral on me.

This is a product that I think you should swatch in stores, mainly because some of the colors look very similar in the compact but apply very differently on the skin.

Swatch: 

The HD Blush was swatched heavily on the left and blended out on the right. This photo was taken in natural daylight with no flash.

Formula:

Application is easy peasy, either with a brush (I've been using the Real Techniques Contour Blush from the Core Collection) or with fingers. There's no rough dragging or pulling on your face, you can tap and blend out the product easily with no harsh edges. The formula isn't too matte or dewy, it's got a natural demi-matte finish. You could describe it as cream to powder but I think that implies a super matte or dry finish whereas it feels smoother than that. The wear time isn't as strong as I'd like (it was still there 6 hours later but had faded some) but it's fair for a cream blush. I think the ease of application due to the formula is what makes the blush different and worth it. 

There's also a hole in the back of the compact so you can depot this if you'd like. However, the bottom of the pan doesn't have a label or sticker so you'll need to add a label if you want to keep track of which color is which.

Application Pro Tip from James Vincent, Makeup Artist Extraordinare: If you're seeking that "flushed from within" look, apply the HD Blush underneath your foundation or tinted moisturizer. You won't have any trouble blending out the edges with the blush but applying it beneath really makes it look seamless.

My only complaint would probably be that there's not that much product in the compact (.09 oz) but I can see myself using the blush everyday since it's not only quick but easy to apply. Although Make Up For Ever is heavily catered for the professional, I think the everyday consumer will enjoy the blush!

Disclaimer: I received this HD Blush courtesy of The Makeup Show. All opinions are my own and I was not paid or compensated for this review. The link marked as an affiliate link gives me a commission based off your use of the link when you make a purchase and the commission just goes to support running the blog!

Make Up For Ever Aqua Rouge in 8 Iconic Red: Swatch, Review, and Photos

This review is quite overdue for me, I think I started writing it two months ago and neglected to finish it! Around the holiday season it's high time for red lips and parties so you'll want something that'll last throughout eating, drinking, and mingling with your friends. Enter Make Up For Ever's Aqua Rouge long wearing lip color.

Product Description: "A liquid lip color that provides the intense and long-lasting hold of a lip stain with the eye-catching shine of a gloss. Its intensely pigmented formula provides immediate, opaque color with extreme shine, and its creamy, non-sticky texture glides effortlessly on the lips for comfortable wear."

Packaging: This is packaged in a dual-sided cylindrical tube. One side houses the lip color with a doe foot applicator and the other side with the gloss with a brush applicator. An interesting note is that the outside of the gloss tube has a black gradient to it.

 

Where to purchase: Sephora*

Price: $24.00 for .08 oz of the gloss and .08 oz of the lip color.

Cruelty Free? They are not considered cruelty free because of their decision to sell in places that opt for animal testing but I don't believe the company itself tests on animals. 

My Thoughts on the Formula/Wear Time:

The color portion of the Aqua Rouge feels like a thin lip creme with great opacity, it is pretty much full coverage with one pass. I do wish though that the color portion came with a flat brush tip instead of a doefoot applicator because I think you can be much more precise with a brush than a doefoot. The gloss isn't thick or sticky but a little thin while still having some weight to it. 

The color portion dries down in about a minute and once dry, won't transfer to the gloss brush so you don't have to worry about having a stained brush. You'll know it's dry when it turns matte, if it's still glossy that means it's not dry yet. By the way, the color is pretty tacky after it's dry so I don't recommend wearing the color by itself, you definitely need the gloss for comfort. After the gloss was applied, my lips didn't feel dry, stretched, or uncomfortable by any means. The gloss lasted about six hours on me before I needed to reapply and the color lasted eight hours and beyond. I had to use an oil based makeup remover and a makeup wipe to remove the color.

The biggest drawback to the product though unfortunately is the scent of the color portion. The gloss doesn't smell like anything to me but the color smells like strong old lady perfume (I couldn't think of anything else to call it!) Luckily though, the scent is toned down once it's dry and the gloss is on top.

Iconic Red is a bright blue based red that definitely needs the gloss to make the color pop. 

Swatches ahead! I took all the swatches in natural daylight.

I also thought I'd show you how the gloss really brings the color to life.

Would I purchase more?

I love the rich red color and the longevity of both the gloss and color. I think the color but not the gloss will last through eating and drinking (with the exception of something oil-based). Red lips are pretty much synonymous with the holidays so I think you can wear this to a nice party without having to worry about touching up the color. I would get more but just have to hold my nose until it dries.

Disclaimer: I was sent these products for review. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for writing my review. The link marked with an asterisk contains an affiliate link which gives me a commission based off your use of the link and helps support the blog!

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This week is finals week for me and I've got four (well technically five but the fifth just requires me to pick up a grade) finals I've gotta worry about. One today, possibly one tomorrow (I can take it tomorrow or Friday morning), then two more on Friday. Wish me luck!

The Makeup Show LA Haulage

Practicing restraint is so hard to do when you're surrounded by so much makeup. Still though, I think I managed to be relatively conservative when it came to getting things at The Makeup Show. I received the Kiss eyelashes, the Mehron Celebre Pro Loose Powder, and the OCC Lip Tar for free, the rest I purchased.

I was most excited to try out Make Up For Ever at the event, in fact that was the first booth I checked out. Everything was at least 40% off with a few select products on sale for 50% off like the Aqua Liners. I picked up the HD Foundation in 153 for $24.00.

I then I picked up the Aqua Liner in 11 for $11.50 but I'm having some difficulty getting it to look as burgundy/red as I've seen in some swatches. I must continue experimenting!

I was most excited to get some Inglot next. I do have an Inglot relatively closeby but I couldn't resist the 30% off.

I got the Duraline mixing medium that turns any powder eyeshadow into a liquid formulation. It is a little different than most mixing mediums though since it can also work well to rehydrate dried out eyeliner and it comes in a luxe glass container with a push button dropper versus a suction bulb dropper. This was $7.00 at the show.

Inglot Rainbow Eyeshadow in 108R. I've been so enamored with orange eyeshadows lately so I had to pick up a trio for $5.00! 2.5 grams for that price and three colors is a great deal.

Lastly I got an Eyebrow Powder in 567. This was $3.00. The Inglot website portrays the colors so incorrectly! On the website, 567 looks similar to 569 but they're not even close in real life and the rest of the colors are off too.

After that, I went to Bdellium Tools to check out a few of their brushes. I got two, 765 and 772. These were $5.00 each. These are the Travel Line brushes so the handles are shorter which suit me quite well! I didn't check all the brushes but the Maestro line eye brushes were around $6.00, the Travel line eye brushes were $5.00 and the Travel line Face brushes were around $10.00

and lastly, I bought this lash fan at Crown Brush for $2.00.

I got the OCC Lip Tar in Anime in its awesome new packaging. This retails for $14.00

I got the new iEnvy Kiss Lashes in KPE08

and lastly, the Mehron Celebre Pro Loose Mineral Finishing Powder. This retails for $12.95.

All in all, I spent $62.50 and saved about $51.93 off the retail price plus I didn't have to pay tax! I was really excited to be able to scope out the place and try a few things at a discounted price. The HD Foundation has become a staple for me which makes me a little sad considering the $40.00 price tag. Still though, there's IMATS in June when I can pick up another bottle!

MUFE Aqua Cream #12 Swatch and Review

When I reviewed the Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 HR Cream Gel Eyeshadows, I compared them to the MUFE Aqua Creams and how the Aqua Creams paled in comparison to the Maybelline eyeshadows. I wanted to do a formal review to show just how it fares on my eyelids, especially since these are touted quite often as being crease proof, waterproof, and long lasting under extreme conditions.

When I quoted my wear time with the Aqua Cream as being around 6 hours before creasing, it had been a little while since I used it and I was quoting from memory. I thought I would put it through a 24 hour wear test to see how long it really lasted.

I only own one shade,#12 which is a vibrant copper. My experiment with the Aqua Cream may be related to the shade I got, but I don't know if I'd be willing to shell out $22 to find out.

And because I could, product photos first before my results!

Ignore the circular crack, my pot of Aqua Cream is a bit older so it doesn't look all pristine and new.

Onto the experiment results!

Here's the before. Ooh look at how bright and metallic looking it is. I tested this with no primer.


and the after after I tested it. For how long?


8 hours. Needless to say, a 24 hour wear test was not needed. I honestly don't know where it all went. I went to sleep wearing this and the Maybelline Color Tattoo Eyeshadow to test the wear time for both. When I woke up (and after 8 hours), this is what was left while the Maybelline Color Tattoo Eyeshadow was still holding on strong. If you look real closely, you can see what's left on the inner corner and the bit of residue in the folds on my lids.

I checked my fingers and checked my pillow to see if I had somehow rubbed off the Aqua Cream on there during the night, and I didn't see any residue. I really don't understand it.

$22 is a heavy price to pay for something that is supposed to be a crease proof and waterproof product. I really don't know why these didn't last long on me, especially since they seem to last forever for others but these are my results.

The moral of the story is that your mileage will vary when it comes to makeup. What works on me, may not work on you and what works on you may definitely not in the slightest way work on me. At least if I'm telling you to buy something, a $7 eyeshadow like the Maybelline Color Tattoo Eyeshadows won't hurt your wallet that badly.

Disclaimer: I purchased this with my own money, all opinions are my own.

MUFE Aqua Creams vs Maybelline Color Tattoo Eyeshadow Comparison

I just wanted to do a quick post comparing two of the Make Up For Ever Aqua Creams with the two Maybelline EyeStudio Color Tattoo 24HR Cream Gel Eyeshadow (Is that not the longest name ever? MUFE puts it rather succinctly into two words but Maybelline had to take up seven?).

I do own three of the Maybelline cream eyeshadows, Bold Gold, Pomegranate Punk, and Tough as Taupe (review and 24 hour experiment pending!) but none of the eye/cheek safe colors are matte or similar to Tough as Taupe so I didn't have anything to compare to. Just for reference, the Aqua Creams come with 6 grams of product for $22 ($3.67 per gram) whereas the Color Tattoo Eyeshadows come with 4 grams of product for $7.49 ($1.87 per gram).

I compared Aqua Cream #11 to Bold Gold and Aqua Cream #17 to Pomegranate Punk and they're swatched in that order, left to right.

These were swatched on a bare arm and the pictures taken under an Ottlite.

and a slightly blurry one to show off the sparkle

Close up on #11 and Bold Gold

Close up on #17 and Pomegranate Punk

The differences are very very subtle. #11 is a more yellow toned gold whereas Bold Gold is less yellow toned, slightly more bronzy. I should note that in pictures, #11 and Bold Gold look sheerer than they are in real life. #17 and Pomegranate Punk are so close in some pictures, it's hard to tell the difference. In real life, Pomegranate Punk is a little darker and more red toned. Still though, you'd be hardpressed to tell the difference once you wear it on your eyes.

The wear time for both is quite different for me. The Aqua Cream is basically gone for me after 8 hours, no joke. It's quite strange since I know everyone touts that it's crease proof, waterproof, etc but I just didn't experience that (this really emphasizes how products that work well on me, may not on you and vice versa!). The Maybelline eyeshadows though, they've lasted 12 hours with no creasing (there's fading, more on Bold Gold's part than Pomegranate Punk but I'm still impressed. A quick note on texture, some of the Aqua Creams are really soft and squishy, while the rest are a little firmer. The two Aqua Creams I tested were on the soft and squishy side whereas the Color Tattoos are a little firmer in texture.

Hopefully this post has been useful and has aided in your decision to get the Maybelline Eyeshadows! I make no apologies for enabling everyone into getting them, especially if you can save money by getting the same colors as the Aqua Creams. Others who may find the Aqua Creams to last longer will enjoy them more than I will! My post on Tough as Taupe will be coming up once I finish testing them for a full 24 hours.

Disclaimer: I purchased these eyeshadows myself, paid with my own money. All opinions are my own.

Sunset Eyes

I feel like I've been on a creative streak so here's a sunset-ish look that I did with all Sugarpill :D

I must stress the amazing glitteryness of Goldilux. If you have to pick just ONE eyeshadow from Sugarpill, it's Goldilux all the way.




Face:

Josie Maran Cream Blush in Sunrise

Fyrinnae Fluff powder all over the face

Eyes:

Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream #12 all over the lid and lower lashline

Sugarpill Goldilux on the lid

Sugarpill Flamepoint in the crease

Sugarpill Love+ a little bit in the outer corner

Inglot Double Sparkle 493 as the highlight

Lips:

NYX Round Lipgloss in Apricot

Another Orange Look?!

I honestly can't get enough of Flamepoint eyeshadow. It needs the barest touch of a brush and is so extremely pigmented and smooth on eyelid. It's kind of perplexing to see how smooth a matte can be when you've experienced truly poor mattes.

I've been trying to experiment with taking pictures, I think this way shows off the shape of my eye better.
MUFE Aqua Cream # 12 on the lid only
Stila Kitten on the lid only
BFTE Courage in the crease, pulled up and also on the lower outer lashline
Sugarpill Flamepoint in the crease between Kitten and Courage
NYX Sahara as a highlight
Maybelline Falsies WP Mascara

Courage Under Fire

I just posted about getting the Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in #12 and so I wanted to post a look I did using it.

Concealer works magical wonders on silly weird bumps near my eye.

MUFE Aqua Cream #12 as a base and on the lower lash lash
BFTE Yellow Brick Road on the inner corner
BFTE Courage on the outer 2/3rds and on the outer lash line
Sugarpill Flamepoint( so much brighter in person! I used so little but it was BOLD) at the corner
NYX Sahara as a highlight
Maybelline Falsies WP Mascara

My Sephora FF-less buy and Advertising fail

I decided to only allow myself to spend 25 dollars at Sephora (because I had a 25 dollar giftcard) and it was actually cheaper to buy it in person than to pay for shipping even with Ebates.
I also want to tell you about my fun experience trying to redeem a sample in store.

So this is my new baby, Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in #12. I was thinking about getting #13 but I thought it was just a bit too light for me.

KarlaSugar has a way better swatch of this than I did; for some reason it kept turning out really beige-y on my camera even though it is a copper in real life!

I likey, the texture isn't too creamy and it's got some fun glitter in it too.

So anyway, if any of you have checked out the different weekly specials on Sephora's site, you may have noticed this image. Under see details it says you can redeem it in stores by showing the sales associates the app.
And if you're like me, you've got an iPhone and want to get a sample because free stuff is nice in this economy. So I decided to ask a sales associate (who looked to be more senior on staff) about this promotion and turns out they didn't know what it was until I asked and said it probably hasn't started at the store yet.

Oy, Sephora get your act together. If you're going to do an in store promotion, I'd really like it if you could make sure your staff knows what's going on.