MAC Flamingo Swatches

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Can we talk about this color?

As someone who lives in a world filled with MLBBs and neutral lips, this is such a fun step outside of my usual. I was wanting to give MAC Flamingo a shot for awhile and was lucky enough to receive it from a recent gift exchange held by a makeup community I am involved in (thank you again, R!)

I love it.

MAC Flamingo - BulletMAC Flamingo

MAC Flamingo is one of MAC’s lustre finish lipsticks – which is surprising when you see the single-swipe swatch below. The coral-ish pink is on the lighter side, but I do not believe it is light enough to wash anyone out, regardless of skintone. MAC Flamingo is a really nice spring-and-summer color, very nice for everyday wear.

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LAB2 I’m Turning Pro Brush Kit

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front

This is the LAB2 Beauty I’m Turning Pro Brush Kit. Look familiar? It should! I found L.A.B.2 by chance in Wal-Mart and tried out an angled-bristle liner brush, and was excited to try more.

Before we go any further, though, let’s get the legalities out of the way. The folks at L.A.B.2 were kind enough to send me this I’m Turning Pro brush set after I expressed my delight at their liner and brow brush. This post is not paid or sponsored, but the brushes in the post were free.

There were no conditions or stipulations attached to the brushes. My opinions are my own and were formed in the same way my opinion would be formed for any other product whether I bought it or it was a gift. That’s how we do things here because we aren’t unethical scrubs who can be, “bought.” Got it? Good. Check the Legal page for more info, or comment or contact me if I can clear anything up.

Now don’t mind the banged up box – that is 1000% USPS’ fault. I don’t know if it happened en route or if it happened on the last leg (sometimes my Post Office could stand to handle things a bit more gently).
back

Like the previous LAB2 brush I reviewed, the I’m Turning Pro brush set has a lot of information on the back including an explanation of the set and what each brush does, a cut-out card of how to use the brushes – even a face chart.

The I’m Turning Pro brush kit is available on Amazon for $21.99 and includes:

  • Angled Contour Brush
  • Flat Foundation Brush
  • Shadow Brush
  • Buffer Brush

The Strokes of Genius set is more eye-centric and is available on Amazon for $19.99. More after the jump…

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Worth it? NYX Green CC Cream

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Overall, I enjoy a mostly-even complexion with few skin complaints. One thing I sometimes experience, almost inexplicably, is redness on my cheeks. I don’t have rosacea, and I’m not on any medications that have flushing as a side effect – I just experience occasional blotchy redness on my cheeks. It makes wearing blush a bit of a pain unless I’ve adequately covered the problem areas with a base to cancel them out.

While shopping for my UD Revolution Giveaway on Ulta.com recently, I spotted the new NYX Green CC Cream. I was curious – I’ve seen (but not tried!) green-based primers and concealers. The area on my cheeks where I experience redness are large enough that I don’t think using green concealer to negate them is the answer, and I just haven’t gotten my hands on a green primer yet. I figured it would be nice to try for science (and the blog), so I ordered a tube of the Light/Medium formulation.

NYX Green CC Cream - Box Front

The NYX Green CC Cream indicates that it is indeed a color corrector that contains all sorts of things that your skin should like. Skin-friendly ingredients are always good in facial products, after all. Let’s look:
NYX Green CC Cream - Box Rear

Without Googling every single ingredient, this product doesn’t seem particularly villainous. No parabens or other questionable content with perhaps the exception of the fragrance (I am not a fan of smelly foundation/moisturizer/BB/CC/whatevers). The NYX Green CC Cream does not appear to be vegan (contains beeswax) but is still cruelty free, as are the rest of NYX products.

NYX Green CC Cream - UnboxedThe tube of NYX Green CC Cream itself says the same things as the box, so there’s nothing else exciting there. The product’s cap screws off revealing a narrow, precise tip from which you can dispense the product for application. I find it curious that they didn’t say, “For best results, apply with fingers/sponge/marshmallows, etc,” but no matter – I winged it.

NYX Green CC Cream - Dispensed

I popped a tiny pearl of product onto the back of my hand – unfortunately, my camera washed it out a bit, but it is definitely green, albeit pastel. If you look very very closely, you can see little specs in the product; I can only assume those are the green pigment beads mentioned on the side of the box:

Green pigment beads transform into a naturally nude, lightweight foundation upon contact with skin, neutralizing redness and resulting in a fresh, revived complexion.

Application

Dotting the NYX Green CC Cream onto one of my cheeks, I found that it had a relatively thin, light consistency. It spread around well, but I was going to need a lot more than that for my face – I squeezed out more product onto my fingertips, emulsified it, and slapped it onto my face. Never having used a color-changing face product like this, it was kind of neat to see the green fade and blend into my skin. It can be a little difficult to tell, at first, where you have placed the product but I imagine this is an issue with all products of this nature, so I won’t slam this one for it.

Fingers are probably the best way to apply this product, followed by a sponge like the beautyblender; I wouldn’t bust out a brush for this.

Although this product does have fragrance, I did not find it irritating in the slightest – it is light and fresh, and smells of neither foundation nor sunscreen (this product does have titanium dioxide, but does not report any SPF properties). The scent would actually make for a pleasant hand or body lotion, but I won’t be slapping NYX Green CC Cream all over.

Wear

Once applied, I could tell it was a very light coverage – like a tinted moisturizer – and although it diminished the redness a little, it was still visible. I resolved to wait a few minutes before looking back into the mirror in case it needed to oxidize or change further. I did note, however, that it felt barely-there on my skin.

When I did look back, well… it had definitely oxidized! My skin tone is already neutral-to-warm but I felt as though I belonged on the Simpsons when I looked. My workday had already begun, so I suffered through it, and was fortunately equipped to distract from the difference (scarves, you know? they’re awesome). Unfortunately, the NYX CC Cream pulled exceptionally yellow; if I hoped to wear this, I’d need to bring and blend it it all the way down my neck  – and honestly, that’s too much work for something that is essentially a tinted moisturizer.

On top of all that, the redness on my cheeks showed through. Damn!

Verdict

Unfortunately, because I do not relish resembling a Simpsons character, the NYX Green CC Cream ($13.99) will be going back to Ulta – and it is damn rare that I return a product. If it hadn’t been so yellow on me, I’d have kept it for days where I wanted to look a little more evened out but wasn’t terribly concerned about coverage, but this just isn’t working out for me. Surprising, too, because I usually love NYX. I still love NYX, and I’ll probably be buying something else in its stead.

Bear in mind that it may oxidize differently on you – so I won’t say, “this is not a good product, don’t buy it.” It feels nice, it just wasn’t the right color for me. I will say, however, not to buy if you cannot for some reason readily return (or give to a friend) in case it isn’t flattering on you, either.

March 2015 Favorites

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March 2015 Favorites
March 2015 Favorites
1. Travelon Sleep Mask, $8 / 2. Contigo Grace Water Bottle, $11 /
3. Urban Decay Naked 2 Basics, $29 / 4. The Wet Brush, $9

A-ha! You thought, “Oh, first Wednesday of the month fell on the first day of the month…no favorites until next week.”

April Fools on you – I actually managed to get my March 2015 Favorites up regardless!

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Matte Gel Polish Topcoats

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Matte Gel Polish vs. Matte Classic Polish

In recent months, a few of the leading gel polish providers have released new matte gel polish top coats for those who like to mix up their polish wear. Harmony Gelish offers one ($14), the OPI Gelcolor line has one ($12), and now, so does Sensationail ($10). Matte nails and matte nail art have stuck around as on-trend for a few years now, so it makes sense that the gel giants would like to tap into the market. More people are adopting gel manicures than ever, so it makes sense from a business/sales perspective.

As for me, I’m less concerned with what’s on-trend, nail-wise (or otherwise). I still wear matte nails from time to time (metallic and glittery polishes look outstanding mattified), but I haven’t invested in, and probably will not invest in, any matte gel polish topcoats.

Why?

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Shopping in Store

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I prefer to shop online.

Not just for beauty items, but everything. I long for my area to have an offering where I can basically buy my groceries online, have someone in the store put together my order, and then just go pick them up (not even asking for delivery – just don’t want to scale the aisles).

Granted, you can’t swatch from the internet – but you can look up the swatches other people have done. It isn’t that I never want to go to a store to shop, but more often than not, I’ll buy online as opposed to shopping in stores.

It isn’t that I’m anti-social (okay, maybe I am – but that isn’t why); I just prefer to be able to select exactly what I need without having to hunt the aisles and browse the shelves. If I’m actually planning on making a purchase, I’m on a mission; I’m much happier if I can just search for that item, add it to my cart, done. If I’m in the store, even if I was familiar with the general store layout, planograms change. There’s no guarantee that I’d know where what I’m looking for is located.

Case and point:

Shopping in Store (Ulta Beauty)

Two months ago I was in Ulta with a friend to buy new heads for my Clarisonic. We went over to where their prestige skincare was, to the aisle that was dedicated to the Clarisonic devices. They had displays and devices a-plenty, they had boxes and testers galore…single brush heads? There were twenty! But who cares, no big deal, I wanted four.

The four pack was a far better deal than buying four individual brush heads, but it was nowhere to be found. It was later in the evening, but not yet close to closing time – but no sales associates were around. I could really see only one, and she was with another customer. We went around that area several times looking for them, but no dice. Eventually, I had to be that guy and flag down one that sales associate as she came near, looking for something for her other customer. She pointed me, “that way,” but had to (understandably) scurry off to attend to who she was working with. Eventually, I found them on a random standalone shelf in direction she pointed which was nowhere near skincare stuff. That whole part of the process took probably 10-15 minutes.

I’m glad my friend is patient!

Related to that, I always seem to wind up with what I don’t need from a sales associate while shopping in stores.

Most retailers’ (all types, not just beauty) policies require employees to greet any customers they hadn’t seen yet – even if they’ve already been greeted. Those policies also require the employees to check back with people periodically. As a customer, I do like to be greeted, and I like to know that an associate is available or where to find one if I need one. I do NOT, however, like to be checked up on every 3-5 minutes. 10-15 is okay – any more frequently when I’ve told you I don’t want/need help or am browsing feels like you’re stalking or hounding me, and it makes me feel like I can’t shop at my own pace. It doesn’t create a good shopping experience.

I feel like I wind up with either extreme. If I don’t have someone breathing down my neck, I end up needing help but unable to locate anyone. It was not busy that evening in Ulta but took a long time to find someone to help me (and I had to steal a moment of her time from someone else). There were employees visible when we walked in, but ten minutes later they had all but vanished. I never seem to find myself in a situation where there’s a happy medium.

I feel more comfortable browsing without intent to buy on the merchant’s website, from home rather than shopping in store – I’m not in other customers’ way, and they aren’t in mine. I’m not a face in the store that the employees feel the need to fuss over (which I don’t like anyway). Plus, pajamas. Paying for shipping isn’t fun and I usually try to plan my purchases in such a way that I avoid paying shipping costs (meeting their minimum or having a promo code).

On top of all that, you can’t use eBates in brick-and-mortar stores. I only recently saw one of their awkward commercials that make them seem a little sketchy, but I can confidently say (with three years of eBates experience) that they are legit. You can sign up for free here – this is a referral link that does end up earning me like $5 if you sign up, but I’m not sharing this to make money off you – I’m sharing it because I believe in it and have gotten over $400 back in three years – here’s a tiny screenshot of my cash back to prove it.

How do you prefer to do your shopping? Browsing the shelves, or behind a screen?