Makeup Products I have Fallen out of Love With + 1 Acquisition

It's all about perspective. 3 makeup products that I had intense love for, a couple of which I have also used extensively, now just lie there on my vanity, pretty much idle. Let me reintroduce:

From the left:

1. Loreal Blush in 04- Rosewood
2. Urban Decay's Naked Palette 3
3. Color Pop lippie in Tulle

Clinique Cheek Pop in No. 15 Pansy Pop

Finally! These fantastic blushes from Clinique are old news now, but how does that saying go? Old is gold. Quite a long while back my sis-in-law reviewed the couple she had and they were just brilliant. Read her review here. This product has been a long time coming and now that I have it, I'm over the moon about it.

Clinique Cheek Pop Blush in 15 Pansy Pop

Clinique Cheek Pop Blush in Ginger Pop and Plum Pop Review

Clinique Cheek Pops are by far the most beautifully packaged blushes I have ever owned/seen. Just take a moment to admire the cuteness of these beauties. The moment I laid my eyes on them, I knew I had to get one and ended up with 2 out of the then released 4 shades.

Clinique Cheek Pop Blushes in Ginger Pop and Plum Pop

Marsala 2015 Pantone Colour of the Year Makeup Picks

This year's colour is super awesome and one my favs in terms of makeup. It's a rustic wine shade. It looks amazing with medium to dark skin tones, but fair girls can pull it off too. It's festive, but toned down, it could also be used for everyday makeup. I just went through my stash and picked out a few of my wine/rustic hued makeup products that I just need to use more off (me being the neutral look kinda gal).

Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot Box o' Blushes

How can any makeup junkie pass this up? Reason? 6 of Benefit's famous boxed blushes, each of them around 2/3 of the original sized boxes for just a fraction of the total price. Let's face it, who actually goes through a whole blush? This palette gives us blush addicts the perfect opportunity to try out cult products without breaking the bank.

The cardboard box, the palette and a little pamphlet with tips and ingredients 

Essence Haul and Mini Reviews

After a great many days I happened to venture into the local beauty mart. I was not really expecting anything new, but Essence had a few new products on display. Some things I had already read reviews on, and most reviews were all good. A couple of items were on sale at half price. Most Essence products are priced between 12 and 22 dhs, which is a very good price, especially for the price. I am glad with all the products in my haul and am generally pretty impressed with the brand.

So these are the things I bought:

From L to R: Waterproof eyeliner pen, XXXL Longlasting Lipgloss Matte Effect in 05 Velvet Rose, Rebel Soft Matte Lip Glosses in 02 Rebel Delight and 01 Mauve Like a Rockstar, All About Matt Oil Control Make-up Base, Essence Blush Up in 10 Heat Wave

A close up of the products open....

Rimmel Stay Blushed Liquid Cheek Tint

Blush is so in these days and companies left and right are coming out with new formulas and innovative new products to add that extra bit of color to your cheeks. And adding blush is the best way to look more refreshed and adds that bit of health to your face. I am such a cheek product fanatic so I had to pick up one of these to review for you all.

Shade 002 Touch of Berry

There were only four shades available of which 2 were more coral and peach toned and the other 2 were pink tones. I picked up the darker of the 2 pinks since I did not really want a coral and the lighter of the pinks just did a vanishing act on me.

Benefit Rockateur Boxed Blush

The verdict is in- this is officially the best universal natural blush...ever! First impressions are not always the last impressions, because when I first saw it, the first thought that came to mind was that how in the world would such a color even show up on my medium skin tone. But it did, and it was just love at first try. This is my first Benefit boxed blush and I get the whole craze behind them.

Benefit Blush Rockateur

Essence Multi Color Blush in no.10 How Cute is That?

People are forever coming out with ways to save time. Life is so fast paced these days, with hardly enough time to get all the things that need to be done, get done, that multi tasking products really come in handy. Lately lots of such products have been hitting the market. A good time saving, multi tasking makeup product should have three qualities, ease of application, easy to handle packaging and longevity of the product itself. So this little gem I found on the Essence counter qualifies in all three departments.

Guest Post : Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in 70 Hot Tamale

I am a huge fan of Maybelline brand in general but their blushes always tend to disappoint me. So when I heard that they are coming up with this new line of blushes called the Dream Bouncy Blush which have a revolutionary gel-like formula that applies like a cream and sets like a powder, I was quite intrigued to try one out.

I decided to pick the most vibrant shade of the collection called Hot Tamale as I had nothing like this in my stash.

Elf Blush in Peachy Keen

I have always been a fan of the Elf contour and blush duos, they make for an excellent dupe of the Nars duo, infact I like the Elf better. The bronzer is better and more contour appropriate and the blush is not as glittery. But this is not a review about that, I want to talk about my most favorite everyday no hassle day time blush..Elf's Peachy Keen.

Peachy Keen

My Best Coral Blushes- Drugstore Edition

Come spring, its time to break out the coral blushes. I'm not kidding when I say the drugstore brands have been killing it with innovative new products, blushes being the foremost product that are just as good as the higher end versions. So for you reading pleasure I present to you my all time favorite blushes in the coral color family from your local drugstore brands.

And the unveiling....

Top L to R: Flormar Blush in no. 90, Rimmel 111 Coral, NYX Mosaic Powder in 12 Dare

Bottom L to R: Max Factor Blush in 235 Chestnut, Maybelline 45 Apricot Flush

Sleek Blush in Rose Gold

A total cheek product type of person, I'm always on the look out for a nice, different/unique blush shade...every girl has that pink and peach but what if you find something that is so unique that it becomes a holy grail item?

Everybody, introducing the Sleek Blush in Rose Gold:

Its a British brand that's famous for its eyeshadow palettes and blushes, super quality, super pigmentation and as the name suggests, sleek packaging making their products travel friendly.

Higher End Makeup Product Regret and a better Dupe

I went into the department store one day hoping to treat myself and splurge on a higher end face product, a blush most probably. My gaze fell onto a blush by Dior. I loved the color and it looked amazing under those lights...yeah you know what I'm talking about. Matters moved swiftly on when the sales lady sang all its praises. At any rate, long story short I ended up with the

Came in a cute velvet cover, mines is full of fluff because it has just been sitting there in my drawer.

The shade: 839 Rose Vintage

NYX Dupes for some well known MAC Products

I was looking at awe at the new MAC outlet at my local mall, but I knew it was just going to break the bank going inside. Which got me to thinking. NYX makeup is so close to the quality to MAC if not even better in some cases. I had already heard of plenty of dupes for their range and so I thought to scour the net and compile a few more well know dupes for famous MAC makeup shades in the blush, eyeshadow and lipstick categories.

A dupe means a shade that is quite similar in color and finish to the original product, maybe with the slightest difference...sometimes you get something that is exactly the same. However with the product being 1/3 the price, what's the harm in a say, 5 % difference which is hardly noticeable once applied?

So then here goes:

Elf Haul and Mini Reviews

So I know that many of the Elf products are hit or miss, but I find that for the money, they're mostly pretty good. I was super excited to get a few items. They are so enormously marked up here but, they were on sale at 19 dhs a pop. Let's have a look at what I got and my initial thoughts:

From L to R Clockwise: Elf Cream Duo in Eggplant, Elf Blush and Bronzer Duo in Antigua, Elf HD Lifting Concealer in Brightening, Elf Eyelid Primer in Sheer, Elf Mineral Eyelid Primer in Blush, Elf Cream Eyeliner in Black (comes with a little eyeliner brush)

Battle of the Blushes: Tarte Amazonian 12 Hour Clay Blush vs theBalm Instain Blush

Disappearing blush syndrome, a very common problem which many a women suffer from, but hardly can find a cure for. You think maybe you're doing something wrong, but really, its not you, its probably the product that just doesn't want to stay put. 

Many brands, thankfully, caught on to the issue, and started producing long lasting blush formulas. Today I'll be putting two of the most popular blushes known for their longevity to test.

On the left: Tarte Amazonian Clay12 Hour Blush in Fantastic (mini version)

On the right: The Balm Instain Blush in Pinstripe

Tarte Claim: (26 dollars for full sized blush)

A long-wearing, solar-baked blush that lasts up to 12 hours. Infused with natural clay harvested from the banks of the Amazon River and naturally baked by the sun, this nutrient-rich blush benefits all skin types for a fade-free flawless finish for an amazing 12 hours. Suitable for all skin types and paraben free. 

theBalm Blush Claim: (22 dollars for full sized blush)

theBalm’s long-wearing, STAINING powder blush is a fashion must have! With six shades, perfect for all seasons and skin tones, it will give your cheeks color that won’t quit.

Do these blushes live up to the hype and do they fare when pitted against each other?

Makeup Masterclass Palette by Smashbox (2012 Limited Edition)

The end of the year nears, winter vacation approaches and all hell breaks loose with the makeup companies, with makeup palettes being released willy silly, left and right and literally blowing our minds away. You look at them and you say you need every one of them. But that's pretty impossible for the vast majority of us. So then we look at reviews online and if one is to be bought, we see the pros and cons, the quality and variety of products in the palette versus the price. Of course these are not easily available in the Middle East but if you're lucky enough to have someone who could being one down for you from The States or Canada, like I was last year, then you're in for a treat. And so to my utmost delight I got this one which really did blow my mind away!

The outside of the palette, it flips open and inside you find:

A whopping 28 shadows in various finishes and all types of colors.

8 cream eyeshadows which can be used as bases.

2 blushes

3 highlighters

4 lip glosses

Clinique Blush in Precious Posey

This is probably one of the most gorgeous blushes I own. I read in a couple of places that this is a better version of Nars Orgasm blush, but though I can’t personally attest to that, I believe these claims not to be far fetched. After having seen numerous swatches online I am convinced this must be true and this is why:

Price: I don’t remember exactly but it should be in about the 150 dhs range or so.

Packaging: B E A utiful…the cover is a sleek and metallic and when you flip it over its transparent so you can see the blush and the brush that comes with it. The brush is also quite usable. Its contoured and very soft. 

A Classic Timeless Makeup Look

This look is a no brainer...

The type of look you could really pull of anywhere anytime.

Read on:

The Look:

Products Used:

From Top: Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner, Glossy Stain by YSL in 4, Tarte Blush in Magic, Lancome Tient Miracle in 3, Chanel Bronzer Base, Essence Brow Pencil in Black, Prestige Lip Liner in Spice, Wet n Wild Walking on Eggshells Eyeshadow Palette, MaxFactor Falsh Lash Effect Mascara, Rubenesuq Paint Pot, NYX Stay Matte but not Flat Powder Foundation, Givenchy Mister Light Concealer, Prestige Intensity Liner In Deepest Black, Essence Eyelash and Brow Gel, Bourjois Ombre Stretch Eyeshadow in Black.

Brushes:

From Top: Sigma Angled Kabuki, RT Blush Brush, Essence Eyeshadow Brush, RT dome shaped Brush, Maybelline Gel Eyeliner brush, Sigma Blending Brush,  Essence Crease Brush.