Makeup Geek Lip Products Review and Swatches: Iconic Lipstick, Plush Creme, and Plush Matte

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Hey everyone!

Today I have a review of three different Makeup Geek lip products, one of the Iconic Lipsticks in Shy, one of the Plush Mattes in Marriage Material, and one of the Plush Cremes in Old Soul. Makeup Geek came out with their lip products ages ago and there was a lot of hype for them because they were frequently previewed before their launch on social media.

I decided to get two of the more neutral mauves during a sale and got one of the brighter colors in a set. I've had these lip products for several months now but it's taken me a while to write this post. The long and short of it is, these are just so-so. 

Continue reading for my thoughts and also swatches of the colors and why I feel this way. 

Highlighters I've Been Using Lately: Review and Swatches of Cream, Liquid, and Powder Highlighters

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Hey everyone!

I've been accumulating a few highlighters over the past few months and instead of doing individual reviews for each, I thought I would just do a compilation post of all of them while we're still enjoying somewhat of a highlighter renaissance.  I have seven cream, liquid, and powder highlighters from Becca, Glossier, Makeup Geek, and NYX to share. I think a lot of people are just inundated with highlighters so I'm hoping this post gives a quick insight to a few and ones you might consider trying (or skipping!).

I grouped each highlighter together by formula when it came to swatching, the creams, liquids, and powders are swatched together. Click through to read more and see swatches!

The Bronzer for People Who Don't Use Bronzers: Makeup Geek Bronze Luster in Tawny

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Hey everyone!

Today I have a review on the Makeup Geek Bronze Luster in Tawny. Of all the things I've talked about on the blog, you might have noticed (or not noticed) the fact that I don't talk about bronzer that much. If I'm honest, I think I could count the number of bronzers I've owned in my life on one hand. Makeup Geek had a great Mystery Box deal where you could get a bunch of their products for a great discount so I wanted to give it a try, even knowing the set came with a bronzer. 

The Makeup Geek Bronze Luster Bronzer was released as part of their In the Nude Collection earlier this year; there are three shades available: Sun-Kissed (for light skin tones), Tawny (for medium skin tones), and Burnished (for deeper skin tones). 

Click thru to read my review, see photos, and my swatch!

ABH Modern Renaissance Look #1: Warmish Orangey Red

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Hey everyone!

I recently got the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Eyeshadow Palette (yeah look at me I got on the hype train can I call myself a true beauty blogger now) when I went to the grand opening party at Sephora Century City. 

Given how popular the palette is, I wanted to pretty extensively try it out before reviewing it on the blog. I figured I would share some of the different looks I am able to create from the palette and this is the first one. I'm so into warm orangey red lately so here is the first one I did.

Click through to see close ups of the eye look and a list of what I used.

Warm Sienna Browns Eye Look ft. Anastasia Eyeshadows

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Hey everyone! It's been a little while since I posted an eye makeup look and thought I'd share one using some of the Anastasia Eyeshadows I got from their Black Friday sale. The single eyeshadows were only $4.80 (discounted from $12.00) and I used Fawn, Fudge, Sienna, and Peach Sorbet in this look. 

I'm also trying something a little new when it comes to my eyebrows. I feel like in the past I tried to downplay the overall width of my brows and used product to add "sleekness" but now I'm trying to embrace the overall fullness while still enhancing its shape.

Products Used:

Milani Eyeshadow Primer

Makeup Geek Beaches and Cream (all over)

Anastasia Fawn (in the crease)

Anastasia Fudge (in the outer corner)

Anastasia Peach Sorbet (in the inner corner)

Anastasia Sienna (on the lid and blended upward towards Fawn)

Tarte Clay Pot Waterproof Liner in Black

Ardell Wispies Eyelashes

I'm trying to make a conscientious effort to update my blog/social media more frequently and balance out my time between work and my hobbies more fairly. The blog got very review-heavy over the last few years and I'm hoping to counter that and go back to my roots with more makeup looks.

Hopefully the new year has been kind to you so far!

Disclaimer: I purchased the Milani, Makeup Geek, Anastasia, and Ardell Lashes myself. I got the Tarte Liner courtesy of Gen Beauty. There are affiliate links in this post which provide me with a commission based off your use of the link.

Swatches/Review: Makeup Geek Duochrome, Foiled, and Foiled Duochrome Eyeshadows

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Hey everyone!

Today I have a post on the Makeup Geek Duochrome, Foiled, and Foiled Duochrome Eyeshadows that I recently picked up from PHAMExpo. The Foiled Duochrome Eyeshadows were a very limited launch at the show and are available in limited quantities on the website so I wanted to get this post up. Unfortunately Hologram and Wildfire are sold out but it looks like Prism and Sugar Rush are still available!

From the top left going clockwise: Hologram (Foiled Duochrome), I'm Peachless (Duochrome), Wildfire (Foiled Duochrome), and In the Spotlight (Foiled).

Click through to see my swatches and read my thoughts on each color!

New Makeup Geek Blushes: Swatches/Review and Formula Comparison

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Hey everyone! 

I've been a little radio silent on the blog for a few weeks after my graduation but that's because I landed a job! The great news is that it's exactly the kind of setting that I've wanted to work in but the bad news is that I have to move so I've been busy prepping for that. I have four to eight weeks of downtime until I actually start since I have to wait for my license, which gives me some time to enjoy my summer before work starts. I hope you enjoy the upcoming posts while I have some free time!

Today's post is a review of three Makeup Geek Blushes I picked up while at PHAMExpo. These blushes are their revamp of the blush formula. I got Heart Throb, Infatuation, and Summer Fling. I also have Summer Fling from the old formula so I'll also be doing a comparison of the old vs. new formula and share my thoughts on any differences I see. 

Continue reading to see my swatches, read my review, and my comparison between the old vs. new formula.

Swatches & Review: Makeup Geek Foiled Eyeshadows in Charmed and Daydreamer

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In planning for PHAMExpo, I knew that Makeup Geek would have to be the first booth I checked out for fear that their wares would be sold out. I ended up being their first customer on Saturday thanks to my exuberance. I logically know that their items are so inexpensive but I'm cheap and still prefer saving a little money on shipping and also have the opportunity for instant gratification.

I picked up two of the foiled eyeshadows from their recent expansion of the product line, Charmed and Day Dreamer along with a few other items that I'll review separately.

Makeup Geek Showtime Foiled Eyeshadow - Swatch and Review

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Undoubtedly, the Makeup Geek Foiled Eyeshadows have been so long-awaited by the beauty community. Marlena shared swatches ages ago and damn near everyone was enticed by the incredible pigmentation of the eyeshadows. I got the shade Showtime as a Christmas present.

Where to Purchase: Makeup Geek

Price: $9.99 for 1.8 grams/.064 oz of product

Do they test on animals?: The company does not test on animals.

Packaging: The eyeshadows come in 26mm pan in a paper sleeve. The paper sleeve has accents of rose gold and black and the eyeshadows can be stored in any magnetic palette. Currently it's not available in a compact and since a few people have mentioned issues with them cracking during shipping, they might need a sturdier container.

Click thru to see my swatch and read my review!

MakeupGeek Electric Gel Liner: Swatch, Review and Photos

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One of the reasons why I was so excited to attend IMATS LA was because of the plethora of booths there, MakeupGeek being one of them. I had heard such great things about the gel liners and I sought them out in the hopes of getting one or two. I went back and forth on the ones there and finally decided to get Electric, a beautiful royal blue.

The gel liner is packaged in a purple and black box with pink and white leaf motifs that match the printing on the lid. There's a cutout on the back so you can see the label. Interestingly enough, the color applies more like a royal blue than the cobalt blue that it appears in the pot.   



There was a bit of confusion I had regarding its place of manufacturing and the amount in the gel liner. The box says Made in China whereas the gel liner says Made in USA so I asked customer service and they said that it's the box that's printed in China and the gel liner itself that's manufactured in the US. It's a bit weird to import the boxes in but that's how it is.

The label on the liner says that it contains 1.8 grams of product whereas the box says 3 grams. I again asked customer service and they told me that the label on the gel liner is a mistake and that there truly is 3 grams of product in the jars. I'm hoping that they'll fix this in future liners, especially if it's a known mistake.

Where to purchase: Makeup Geek (affiliate link)

Price: $7.99 for 3 grams / 0.1 oz

Do they test on animals? They do not test on animals.

Packaging: The liner is in round glass pot with a flat black plastic cap embossed with the white Makeup Geek label. The bottom of the pot has a label with the name, amount, and website information. I do like the glass pot since it tends to slow down drying if the lid is on tight.

Product Description: Get the same precision as a liquid liner with our easily applied gel based liner. The eyeliners glide on with ease and dry to a water-resistant, smudge-proof finish that won't fade or crease. With their intense color and rich pigmentation, these long lasting liners are sure to make a standing impression.

My Thoughts on the Formula/Performance

Electric is described as a "true bright royal blue with a matte finish"

I adore the color but it's got a finicky formula that needs time to dry otherwise it'll transfer onto your eyelid. The consistency of the gel liner is kind of dry and tacky, not creamy, squishy, or gel-like so the claim that it glides on with ease is not true. It can be difficult to get a crisp pigmented thin line as it needs two passes to build up opaque coverage. It's almost opaque in one pass but to get the bright royal blue, you need two. The tackiness combined with the fact that you need to do two passes or more means you may end up waiting one to three minutes for it to dry. If you set it with an eyeshadow, it dries faster. Once the finish goes semi-matte instead of shiny, you'll know it's dry. I personally found that a pointed liner brush (as opposed to a flat or angled brush) was the best tool to apply the liner with. I disagree that it has a matte finish, it's not full-on shiny but there is quite the satin finish to it. I mentioned it above but the color in the pot is more cobalt than it appears on the lid.

Thankfully, the wear time is quite good on my oily hooded eyes. It lasted 8 hours no primer without transferring on my lid but that was only once I let it fully dry. If you don't let it dry, it's sure to crease easily. While it didn't fade or crease on my eyes, I did find it weird that as the day went on, the liner cracked in the inner corner. I don't agree that it has rich pigmentation as it does need two passes for opaque coverage. After letting it fully dry, it was smudgeproof on me. This does need an oil-based or dual phase makeup remover because it does stay quite strong on.

I did want to note that when I had opened the jar, the liner was slightly shrinking away from the sides of the pot. It's applied okay thus far but I'm a little worried about whether it'll be more difficult to apply in the future.

Swatch

This swatch was two passes of the liner and the picture was taken in natural daylight.

My Final Thoughts

I love the color but it doesn't live up to its claims of applying with ease with rich pigmentation. It does have a good wear time and is smudgeproof once dry but the tacky formula and the necessity for two coats leads to a long dry time which is big deterrent. I don't really have the patience for it. It does do better when set with an eyeshadow.

I'm not sure if I'll get more of the gel liners. From the reviews I'm reading, it does seem like it's just Electric that needs the long dry time and the rest seem to fare better. The brand does have a great variety in colors in both cream and shimmery formulas (and they have a taupe-like one!) so I might just wait for a sale to get more.

For anyone looking for a dupe of the color, Betty Girl Makeup suggested MAC Marine Blue Chromaline. Be sure to check out her post as it has swatches and a review of the other Makeup Geek Gel liners.


Disclaimer: The link marked as an affiliate link gives me a commission based on your use of the link!

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Do you own any Makeup Geek Gel Liners?

Electric Royal Blue Liner EOTD

Hey everyone,

here's a look using two of the products I got at IMATS, I didn't want to wait to show off the look until after I posted my haul post. This was using Makeup Geek's Electric Gel Liner (a creme royal blue) and Sugarpill Saint Eyelashes. I have basically been waiting a year to get my hands on these Saint eyelashes from Sugarpill; I was being a cheapass about paying shipping for the eyelashes when they were first released last January and then they were sold out before IMATS LA in June but I made sure to get my hands on them at this IMATS LA. These were worth waiting for; I love the fluttery look to my eyelashes. Oddly enough though I feel like these only look good on me when I have winged eyeliner, go figure.

The camera seemed to swallow up all the sparkles in the look so trust me when I say that it was amazingly sparkly. I applied Electric gel liner for the shape then topped it with Sugarpill Royal Sugar.

Products Used

Urban Decay Primer Potion Original
Makeup Geek Gel Liner in Electric
Sugarpill Royal Sugar Chromalust over Electric Gel liner
NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder in Taupe/Ash
Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Volumizing Mascara
Sugarpill Saint Eyelashes

I've got my grad school interview tomorrow morning then I'm going straight to ISSE Long Beach. Honestly I find myself a little overwhelmed when I look at the exhibitor list for the show, it's the biggest convention I think I've ever been to (feel free to follow me on Instagram @ohmeohmai to see my exploits! After that, I gotta start studying for my classes (one of my classes is having a multi-chapter test every week for five consecutive so that's SO fun). Do you have any plans for the weekend?