Rose Quartz & Serenity: Pantone Colors of the Year 2016

Rose Quartz is pretty, but aside from a pale blush, eyeshadow, I can’t see it in makeup. Sephora always does a collection of silly things that more often than not end up in their Sale section until, heavens, the following holiday season.

In fact, I’m trying to figure out this year’s collection…

Rose QuartzRose Quartz: Pantone Color of the Year 2016

Rose Quartz (via the Wayback Machine) lipstick is not reviewed favorably, with many buyers reporting sheer application, lack of pigmentation, and an inconsistent formula. I’m not seeing any reliable looks with it on its own; it needs to be married to a liner or other lipcolor to be remotely useful. Shame, considering it’s supposed to be a, “high coverage, pigment-loaded,” shade. At $18, nope.

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MAC Creme in Your Coffee Swatches

I’ll never have too many MLBB colors. I only have one at the moment, really…but I won’t be able to have too many, either.

Think about it – you look polished, but it is subtle and not terribly obvious that you’re made up. As they wear away you have a little more grace when it comes to touching up than you would with say, a magenta or red.

But really, now that my tube of MAC Cosmo has been decommissioned, since I’m still not purchasing Revlon (they still haven’t addressed the shady safety issues, let alone the hateful remarks), and the smell of Rimmel’s Apocalips annoys me, I’m actually down three MLBB shades! Woe betide me. That means I had, well, one. Two if you count balm. Sky, falling, etc.

The same nice person who gifted me MAC Flamingo also gifted me MAC Creme in Your Coffee.

MAC Creme in Your CoffeeMAC Creme in your Coffee

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MAC Flamingo Swatches

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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February 2015 Favorites

February 2015 Favorites 
February 2015 Favorites
1. Sephora Teint Infusion Foundation, $24 / 2. Conair 1875 Watt Tourmaline Ceramic Dryer, $30 /
3. Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Naked, $22 / 4. NYX Ultra Pearl Mania Pigments, $3

It’s already time for my February 2015 Favorites – and here I was last month mentioning January being cold. That was cute and misguided of me.

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Glambot Procedure Inquiry

Glambot Procedure Inquiry

In June, I published a three part series on my experience with used cosmetic retailer, Glambot.

Overall, I was satisfied with the items I received. They are genuine, undamaged, and accurately depicted for the most part (and always accurately described). I was impressed by the level of care taken to package the items.

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

I hop on every now and then mostly to see if I can snag a good deal on a tub of MAC pigment (Rushmetal has me hooked), but have not made any additional purchases – either they haven’t listed one I’m interested in, or they had a listing but it was sold out, or the timing just wasn’t right for me.

In Monday’s makeup destashing post, I mentioned I was destashing a MAC lipstick (to Back2MAC) that I had purchased from them as a part of that haul — Cosmo, to be specific. Since I last used it, it has gone from MAC’s signature pleasant vaguely-vanilla scent to smelling like old, cheap crayons. It bums me out because I really dig the color (don’t let my infrequent use fool you – I don’t wear lipcolor daily). I didn’t think much of it – after all, Glambot procedures surely will not include carbon-dating a lipstick, and most packaging doesn’t have a date-stamp (though that would be really helpful, manufacturers!).

A reader pointed out that batch numbers of products certainly could (and perhaps should) be cross-referenced as part of Glambot procedures to ensure that a seemingly-good product wouldn’t be on the brink of expiration. I have reached out to Glambot to confirm their procedure for certifying such products before accepting/reselling them.

Once I hear back and have a solid answer regarding my Glambot procedure inquiry, I will be sure to post an update so you can have a better idea of the length to which Glambot goes to verify product age before resale. All of my other products from my Glambot haul are fine (including the other lipstick, which still smells of vanilla and happiness).


 

EDIT: I have gotten a response. Check this post for details.