Urban Decay Naked On The Run Palette

Press sample. Contains affiliate link.

Sometimes a product doesn't quite work as intended, but still manages to be all kinds of awesome. Such is the case with the Urban Decay Naked On The Run travel palette.

This boxy, beautiful palette contains a wonderfully functional array of products for creating a natural-to-night-out look: a medium toned bronzer, a vivid pink blush that leans a bit blue, five neutral shadows in a mix of finishes, a shimmer powder that can work as both a face highlight and another eyeshadow, a deep brown eyeliner, a muted rose lipgloss and a mascara. Add in your favourite face products, and maybe a lipstick or liner, and all your bases are covered.

The packaging is, as most things UD, gorgeous to look at, and cumbersome to store and carry - and that goes double when the marketing calls this a travel palette. Though smaller than the egregiously overstuffed Book of Shadows of yore, it's still far from streamlined. I don't know how anyone would look at this and think: "why yes, this is exactly what I need to tuck into my carry-on bag". (Then again, I'm a super-light packer, so if your travel motto is There's Always Another Suitcase, then this might not be an issue.) Personally, if I really wanted to tote these items along on a trip, I would take the loose items out into my makeup bag, and depot the actual pans. Which sort of defeats the purpose of the pretty packaging. The only part that is travel-friendly for me is the nice-sized mirror, and the fact that it stays open by itself.

That being said, I do think this is a GREAT option to get yourself or to give someone as a sampler of Urban Decay products. The quality of the products is very representative, and they're almost all full-sized or generously proportioned items - only the eyeliner and mascara are mini versions. For 64$ CAD, you get a lot of good, varied product for the money, and everything works well together.

The eyeshadows skew on the cooler side in the pan, though they are warmer on the skin, and offer a  solid neutral range for light to medium skin.

Dive - a metallic rose gold with micro shimmer, this looks like it could be chunky in the pan, but actually applies smoothly, with minimal fallout. I can be packed on for a dense, shimmery look, but I prefer it applied lightly as a wash, with a damp brush, for a sunlight-shimmer-on-water effect.

Fix - a medium taupe matte, this has a silky-smooth texture and the perfect tone for a softly applied lid color or transition shade. Depending on your colouring, it can also work as a contour or even brow shade, making it the most flexible shade out of the palette. I almost wish it was a larger pan, as I know it's the one that will be most used.

Resist - a metallic taupe with the kind of creamy, rich texture that is definitively "UD". It looks more grey in the pan than it does on the lid, and I find myself using it a lot for defining the lower lash line. Something about the shimmer and tone works wonders.

Dare - a neutral medium brown matte. Swatched, it seems a little choppy, but I had no issues using it on the eye. Like most truly neutral shades, it's a bit of a yawner in the pan, but perfectly useful in reality. The silky-smooth - but not buttery - texture makes it perfect for contour work (eye or face, depending on your skin tone) and as a brow powder. It builds up nicely as well.

Stun - a metallic bronze with gold micro-shimmer. Another one that looks like it might be chunky glitter bomb in the pan, and feels drier and more powdery than I'm used to from UD. There's a bit of fall-out during application, but it blended out smoothly on the eye. Also the warmest of the eyeshdows here.

All five of these eyeshadows are 0.04 oz, which is just a bit under the 0.05 oz size of the single eyeshadows. (Which works out to 4 x 19.20$, so a 76.80$ value.)

The second powder row features a bronzer, a blush and an eyeshadow that also works as a face highlighter.

Bronzer - a medium, slightly red-leaning bronze. I thought it would be too deep for me at first, but it's actually exactly right. It doesn't turn orange and it doesn't make me look sallow. If you have light, somewhat olive-toned skin, this is perfect. The texture is smooth and silky, and is easy to both apply lightly or build up, as there is no powdery-ness.

Blush - a bright pink with slight shimmer. Intense in the pan, but the perfect in-from-the-cold shade on the cheeks. Beautiful on lighter skin tones, but vivid enough for medium to deep skin as well. It has the same texture as the bronzer, with marginally more shimmer. More glow on the skin than anything else.

5050 - a slightly shimmery champagne beige. As an eyeshadow, it's on the sheerer side, but it provides a nice balance to the medium/deeper shades in the rest of the palette. It can be applied overtop to add some dimension, or in the corner of the eye for a straight-on highlight. With the sheerer texture and relatively subdued shimmer, it also works well as a face highlight. It has a creamier texture than the blush and bronzer, more like the UD eyeshadows, though not as dense.

The blush and bronzer are each 0.3 oz, and while there isn't a direct individual product equivalent in the UD line-up, the Naked Flushed palettes contain blush, bronzer and highlighter, and have 0.59 oz of product for 35$ CAD. Adding in the 5050 highlighter at 0.07 oz, the total value of that row comes out to 39.75$.

This is my first experience with the Naked Ultra Nourishing Lipgloss. First, the tube is GORGEOUS. I mean, really, really well done, UD. It fits perfectly alongside the Revolution Lipsticks, kinda funky and modern but with a nice amount of heft and elegance. (As an aside, I really like the grown-up version of Urban Decay. As someone who was introduced to brand in my teens, when both it and I were heavily inspired by the grunge aesthetic, its evolution feels perfectly in tune with mine.)

Performance-wise, this is a lovely gloss. Nothing outrageously inventive, but it feels light, comfortable and hydrating on the lips (I've used it instead of balm once or twice, and it worked better than expected), and not sticky at all. There is a slight scent, which I can't place, and it's not noticeable after application. The shade here is in Sesso, which is a nude rose with a slight shimmer, and is also exclusive to this palette. It's right in line with the Naked theme, a MLBB color. These are sheerer glosses, by the way, so not for you if you like something with a lot of pigmentation, but optimal if you're the type of person who applies lipgloss on the fly.

This is a full-sized product, coming in 0.13 oz. (Individually, the glosses retail for 24$ CAD.)

The 24/7 eyeliner included in the kit is in the shade Stag, which I don't believe exists independently. It's a cool-toned, grungy dark brown, verging on grey, with a bit of shimmer. The shimmer doesn't really read on the eye, just gives it a bit of depth. I really like this shade - it's softer, smokier and easier to wear than black, without appearing noticeable brown either. Kind of that perfect daytime shade, but also intensifies for a nighttime look. It's actually been my go-to liner for the last few weeks.

Stag is 0.03 oz compared to the full-sized 0.04 oz, so a comparative 18$ value.

The mascara is a deluxe sample version of the new(ish) Perversion. I love the look of my lashes with this mascara - sooty-black, fuller and longer, with good separation without any spikiness - but unfortunately it smudges and flakes on me within a few hours. 

The size is 0.13 oz, compared to 0.4 oz of the full-size. The sample size is sold on Sephora for 15$ CAD (compared to 26$ CAD). In terms of actual value, this is 8.45$.

One coat only on the top lashes, on the left.

It's a natural bristle brush, and the casing has a really pretty gunmetal finish. If you're going to replace it in the slot provided by the palette casing, you'll need to do so with another sample mascara - which is one of the other aspects to the packaging that can be less than practical. (Though if you are using it for travel purposes, it can certainly make sense to take a mini mascara.)

Final thoughts? I think this palette is a terrific value (167$ for the 64$ price tag), and works as a fabulous introduction to the brand. It definitely has all your bases covered, even if I do find the packaging too bulky and specific to work well as a travel palette. 

(This item was sent to me by the brand to be considered for review. This post is not sponsored, or otherwise compensated. Contains an affiliate link.)

Shu Uemura Brave Beauty - Vision of Beauty Rouge Unlimited and Satin Radiant Stick

(Press samples. Affiliate links.)

The lip portion of the Shu Uemura Brave Beauty collection is, much like the palettes, a mash-up of the in-your-face and the very wearable. The packaging has that same bold, almost-floral design that reminds me of hothouse blooms, and the Vision of Beauty Rouge Unlimited lipsticks as viewed in the tube promise equally florid colour on the face: the deep plummy wine of Maroon, and the vivid tangerine orange of, well, Orange.

I think claret shades for fall are entirely appropriate, and after this spring's orange lip trend we're all well used to citrus tones. Still, these aren't exactly meek shades, and I imagine that for folks who generally favour nude or MLBB lipsticks (and I place myself in that category) they can come across as a little....much.

Vision of Beauty Rouge Unlimited: Orange and Maroon

Vision of Beauty Rouge Unlimited: Orange and Maroon

The formula, however, is what makes these waaaayyyy less intimidating to actually wear. This is one of those hybrids between a gloss and a lipstick that has a translucent, stained glass effect when worn. The colour applies very true to the what's in the tube, but the sheerness softens it without altering the actual shade. Orange is NOT a colour I will normally wear, but the shade here was surprisingly pretty, and looked more like pumpkin than tangerine with my colouring. I don't know, what do you guys think?

(There are two milder shades in the collection, namely Rose and Beige, if you're not at all inclined to wear bolder colours, as well as equally robust offerings like Red and Fuchsia - which is, as far as I'm concerned, a Modern Classic.)

In terms of texture, this is a very comfortable, emollient lipstick with a nice amount of slip that doesn't slide around or feel greasy. As it dries down some of the gloss fades, and it lasts a couple of hours before wearing away relatively evenly. It's not a revolutionary formula, but it is a very nicely done version, and very comfortable to wear. Again, I'm just kind of wowed by an orange that doesn't make me look jaundiced or like the 8-year-old-version of me, who had an unrelenting love for those orange Freezies.

Vision of Beauty Rouge Unlimited: Maroon and Orange

Vision of Beauty Rouge Unlimited: Maroon

Vision of Beauty Rouge Unlimited: Orange

If you prefer shimmer over colour, I suspect the Satin Radiant Sticks might please you. A more elegant version of the Maybelline Master Glaze Blush Sticks, these toe the line between a highlighter and a blush. Though they are split out on the site by category (the highlighters being Light Pink and Bronze Gold, the blushes being Pink and Orange Coral), I think I would still consider them all as highlighters, at least based on the two I have.

Light Pink is a very pale champagne pink that just barely registers as a colour on my skin, and sheers out to essentially shimmer. Pink has more obvious pigmentation when swiped on heavily, but the sparkle content wouldn't incline me to wearing it quite that heavily. Sheered out, it's a very light babydoll pink.

And these are shimmery. Not obnoxiously so, but very obviously so, especially in sunlight or certain overhead lights. This is not the subtle glow that suggests a recent bout of yoga, but a more perceptible shimmer and shine. For me personally it's just a little too much, but if sparkle is what you've been looking for, then this is probably what you want. (And here I'm thinking of a friend who uses a shimmer lotion all over her body, including her face, and looks absolutely stunning. For some people, the shimmering halo just works.)

Texture-wise, this is a more wearable formula than, for example, the Nars Multiple or the afore-mentioned Maybelline Blush Stick. Both of those can feel overly greasy and slippery (and the matte version of the Multiple has that weird dry-silicone feel), but these have a nice amount of initial slip, which makes them very easy to blend and diffuse. After that, they set and feel weightless on the skin.

Satin Radiant Stick: Light Pink and Pink

Satin Radiant Stick: Pink and Light Pink

I will say they photograph really well, as none of the swatches had perceptible shimmer particles in the photos, while they do show up in real life.

Satin Radiant Stick: Light Pink (blended and heavy) and Pink (heavy and blended)

Availability: These are up on www.shuuemura.ca and www.shuuemura-usa.com, as well as Shu Uemura counters. The Rouge Unlimited lipsticks are 36$ CAD and 30$ USD, and the Satin Radiant Sticks are 55$ CAD and 39$ USD. (To which I say, What the price jump, Batman??)

I can definitely see myself getting more of the lipsticks (I have a lippie problem, I know), but the radiant sticks are not something I would pick up, especially not at that price point. What do you guys think?

(Items were provided by the brand/PR to be considered for review. This post is not sponsored or compensated, opinions are my own. Contains affiliate links.)

Tarte Rainforest After Dark Colored Clay Eye and Cheek Palette

(Affiliate links.) 

Tarte palettes can be a little hit-or-miss for me. Most recently I ordered and returned the Golden Days and Sultry Nights one (which is currently in the sale section at Sephora), but loved my Aqualillies palette, so when the Rainforest After Dark Colored Clay Eye and Cheek Palette popped up a few weeks ago, I nabbed it right quick.

I must admit that the packaging looked swankier on the website. I tried to photograph it without making it look too gaudy, but in this case there was no getting around it. Purple and gold don't exactly convey restrained chic, and the faux-wood plastic casing bears a striking resemblance to the pre-reno paneling in my childhood home.

Ah well. I can deal. Especially since the inside is awesome.

For 46$ CAD, this contains a full sized limited-edition blush, decent sized bronzer and highlighter (though if you're a Tarte fan, you no doubt have a dozen versions of the Park Avenue Princess bronzer), and six eyeshadows in a variety of textures. Value-wise, this is an excellent palette.

The blush, in the shade Unleashed, is soft, warm-leaning rose with a beige undertone. The texture is perhaps a touch softer than the other Amazonian Clay blushes in my collection, but doesn't deviate in terms of how smoothly it applies or how well it wears. It looks very, very natural with my light skin tone, and I think it would work well for fair to medium skin as a natural flush shade.

The highlighter, in the shade Champagne, is buttery-soft and dense, with great pigmentation that sheers out easily. It's a little too warm for my skin to use as a face highlighter, but it's perfect for the inner corner of the eye.

The previously mentioned Park Avenue Princess bronzer has a firmer, silkier, slightly drier texture that has sheerer pigmentation. It applies smoothly and lightly, and the pale tan shade is ideal if you prefer subtle bronzing/contouring, or if you have fairer skin. It's almost completely matte with the very slightest sheen that keeps it from looking too flat. I also like it as a transition shade on the eyelid.

The eyeshadows vary quite a bit in terms of texture and finish.

Don't Turn a-Brown - a dark, cool ebony brown with a firm, slightly dry texture and a matte finish. This doesn't swatch all that well, and looks like it might go on patchy, but it actually blends very nicely, and can be packed on for intensity. It also makes a great liner.

Tan-gled Up In You - a cool tan, this has a softer, smoother texture than the dark brown, and applies with terrific pigmentation. It's a great lid or crease colour, depending on your colouring.

Up To No Gold - a metallic gold, with a creamy, dense texture and intense pigmentation. Packed on, it is very vivid, but I do find it can crumble a bit when used with a fluffier brush (though you can get a sparkly wash). Best applied with a firm paddle brush.

Plum Away With Me - a rich plum satin with micro shimmer/glitter, a soft, but not overly creamy texture. Although it swatches opaquely, and does apply like so with a firm brush and a good primer, it also tends to get a little powdery and blend out easily. I find that it loses some of that plum tone and goes murky the more it's blended. The shimmer also is more subtle once applied.

Make a Mauve - a mauve-toned taupe, with the same texture and finish as Plum Away With Me, though it looks more satin-y on the lid. Same tendency to go a little powdery and blend out, though also the same great payoff when patted on with a dense brush over a primer.

Bare to Explore - pale pink-beige matte, with a smooth, silky texture. It has good pigmentation, but also blends out really easily. It can be used as a base lid colour, or as a subtle brow bone colour (not highlight). It can also blend out a crease colour very well.

I think what I like best about this palette is how well all the shades work together, and how convenient it is. I can see myself tucking this away in a travel bag, and being able to work a variety of  looks with it, though still in a neutral category. I appreciate that both the highlighter and the bronzer can be used on the face and the eyes as well. I think as long as you're ok being a little careful with the plum and mauve shades, especially in blending, then this is an excellent palette, especially for work or travel.

Here is a soft, work-appropriate look, using Make a Mauve as the lid shade and under the lower lash line, Plum Away blended in the outer corner (see how it reads less plum?), Tan-gled in the crease, Champagne in the inner corner, and   Don't Turn A-Brown as liner in the top lash line. I brushed Bare to Explore just above the crease to blend it out.

I also used Unleashed very lightly as my blush.

Are you guys fans of the Tarte palettes? I find myself liking their smaller palettes more than those big blockbuster sets these days.

Availability: At Sephora stores and www.sephora.com, as well as www.tartecosmetics.com (which does ship to Canada now). Price is 46$ CAD and 38$ USD.

(I purchased this item. All opinions are my own. This post is not sponsored or compensated. Contains affiliate links.)

Giorgio Armani Belladonna Palette Highlighter

I'm not generally a makeup conservationist, but there are a few products that I have in my collection that I have yet to touch - their sheer gorgeousness will not be despoiled. The Giorgio Armani Belladonna Palette almost joined those ranks, were it not for the fact that it was a press sample and the desire to do some Gollum-worthy hoarding didn't seem like the thing to do.

But I mean seriously.

This is a stunner, no doubt about it. Named after the Belladonna flower (poisonous and psychotropic, yes, but also used in cosmetics and medicine), it also bears the bas-relief imprint of the self-same bloom.

I have to give GA some love here, for choosing this dual-natured flower as opposed to something more prosaic. It takes a certain appreciation of history and horticulture to base the centrepiece of the angelic-toned Spring collection on a plant that evokes the "beautiful woman" with its name, yet also possesses a murky history and a strong association with the darker arts.

The packaging is classic Armani, sleek and elegant and somehow practical, with a heavy plastic compact that flips open to reveal the mirrored pan and a storage compartment beneath for the circular fan brush. (This brush would be  just "meh" in a blush palette, but actually works well when it comes to applying a highlighter like this along the cheekbone.)

The product itself....GAH. Pardon me while I wipe the drool. It's a gorgeous champagne shimmer that looks incredibly reflective, even metallic, when viewed in the sunlight.

Now, if you've tried the MAC Extra Dimension line, or the Gelée textured products from Estée Lauder, then you're familiar with the type of formulation that this has - a hybrid of powder, cream and liquid. It has the same bewilderingly complex texture, and feels dense, without any powdery kickback or that touch of dryness that these kinds of products tend to have. It also feels smoother and more finely-milled, and blends more easily.

It can be used wet or dry for varying intensity, and built up for greater opacity. Applied with a fluffy brush, it leaves a soft, sparkling glimmer, like fairy dust. The sparkle is incredibly fine and ethereal, the polar opposite of club-y.

With a firmer, synthetic brush, it can be applied for stronger shimmer highlight, and over eye primer it builds up to a wet-look gleam. The latter is super beautiful when paired with a simple, lash-heavy eye look.

Lasting power is great when worn as a highlighter, maintaining a nice sparkle and sheen over 8 hours (though I would welcome the excuse to take the compact out in public for touch-ups). As eyeshadow, it does best over a primer, otherwise starting to crease after about 4-5 hours.

In the swatch below you can see it applied straight on the left, and buffed out with a fluffy brush on the right.

Although I have a lot of highlighters in my collection, I actually had a hard time finding a dupe for this. The closest is the lighter shade in the MAC Definitely Defined Skinfinish, and even at that it is cooler and more pink-toned, and doesn't quite buff out to that same fairy-lit finish.

Here you can see the Belladonna Highlighter on the left, and Definitely Defined on the right.

I was quite surprised to see that this is that rare luxury beauty product that is actually less expensive in Canada than it is in the United States: it's 70$ at Holt Renfrew, compared to 88$ on the Giorgio Armani website. I KNOW. It's not a steal by any means, and like I said, you can find a similar formulation from other brands - but the gorgeous design, the finer texture, and the particular way it reflects light and sits on the skin is truly unique. It is the luxury version in more ways than one.

Have you guys tried the Belladonna Highlighter yet? What do you think of it? How does it compare for you?

(This item was provided by the band/PR to be considered for review. This post is not compensated, all opinions are my own.)

Cover Girl TruMagic The Perfector, TruMagic The Sunkisser and TruMagic The Luminizer

One of the more interesting recent launches from Cover Girl is their set of three products in the TruMagic line-up (which debuted alongside their re-formulated and expanded TruBlend base range). This line features a "skin perfector", a bronzer and a luminizer, all in silicone-cream formulation.

I'm always pleased to see drugstore lines getting more experimental with their products and formulations. The concept for the skin perfector is not unique or original to Cover Girl, of course, (Mally has had something similar out for a while, and Stila came out with their own version this past year) but it's refreshing to see a brand branch out.

The question is - were they a worthy addition?

TruMagic The Perfector 

This is the one I was most intrigued by, since I had been lemming the Mally version for over a year. Essentially a silicone product in balm form, it can apparently be used alone as a mattifier, under foundation as a primer, over foundation as a finishing step, or throughout the day to refresh the look.

I was really eager to receive this, and imagined I would have a few days of testing and get a review up shortly. In reality, I found myself testing and using this over a few weeks, loving it and being bemused by it in equal measures.

The biggest win for me is using it as a mattifier. I love, love, LOVE how quickly and easily this provides a shine-free finish to my skin, without adding an ounce of weight or any added texture or cakiness. The key is to not use too much, just dabbing the provided sponge into the product and lightly dab/rolling it over the skin. This is especially important when applied overtop foundation or powder, as using too much product or a rubbing motion will only succeed in eroding the makeup. I made that mistake several times, with rather disastrous results.  Applied with a light hand, it is absolutely fantastic. (And is a great option if you don't love the look or feel of powder.)

Another great benefit is the way this blurs minor imperfections, like dilated pores and fine lines. It's not going to fill in wrinkles or make major dents vanish, but it does wonders for making the skin look fresher and smoother.

Below is a before and after of my forehead (that is the area with the most noticeable shine at the end of the day). In the before shot I am wearing a BB cream and powder, applied 15 hours earlier.

Pretty good!

It does fumble for me as a primer, however. It has an instantly smooth, silk-like finish, which would seem ideal as a base. In practice, I just couldn't get my foundations to blend over it without some patchiness and flaking. I tried applying more or less, and it just didn't seem to work too well. I think because of its mattifying function, it just exacerbates my dry areas, which become amplified once foundation is applied overtop. If you have no dryness at all, this might work a lot better for you.

Another thing to note - after using it almost daily for two weeks and intermittently for a couple more (so let's say about 20 uses), I've already hit pan! That is really, really unusual for me. I don't think I'm being especially heavy-handed when applying it, so I have to assume there just isn't a ton of product in here, at least not for the kind of application that would be the norm.

TruMagic The Sunkisser

I honestly had no expectations for this, and was very pleasantly surprised. It has the same silcicone/balm formulation and silky, seamless texture as The Perfector, and applies beautifully over bare skin or foundation. It's not a cream, so there's no dewiness or drag, and it's not a powder, so you don't have to worry about blending out edges.

The shade is a little too warm for me to use as a contour, but it's awesome for adding a layer of warmth and a true tan finish. It can be applied with the sponge provided, but I actually preferred using a synthetic buffing brush to hit the perimeter of my face and a bit over my cheeks for a really natural, bronzed effect. It blends out so easily, making it virtually goof-proof. Although it's not in any way a dupe for the Soleil Tan de Chanel, it's a nice, budget friendly way of trying out that kind of product. I found it lasted well throughout the day as well.

Really, really like this one. My surprise favourite out of the three.

TruMagic The Luminzer

I'll say right off that this guy probably isn't for me, at least not used conventionally. Same formulation and feel as the previous two, though this one is a slightly gold-toned clear base loaded with a ton of gold micro-glitter. And I do mean glitter, not shimmer. This is not a subtle highlight by any means. For clubbing, or a stronger look, however, it might be just right, and it does share the convenience of application with The Sunkisser - it can be dabbed on over makeup without adding weight or disrupting the finish underneath. For the right look, and especially over deeper skin tones, it can be fun. On fair to medium skin, the gold tone can come across a little yellow, however.

Alternatively, I do like dabbing it on the eyelid as a finishing touch for an extra bit of sparkle. A nice advantage is that the glitter stays put.

Left to right: TruMagic The Luminizer, TruMagic The Sunkisser swatches heavily and blended in.

Have you guys given these a try yet? What do you think?

Availability: At all major drugstores and select grocery stores, as well as Wal-Mart and Target. Also at well.ca. Prices vary, but 9$ to 12$ CAD is about average.

(These items were provided by the brand/PR to be considered for review. I am a #BeautyUnited blogger. As part of my affiliation with this group, I receive products and special access to P&G events. The opinions on this blog are my own.)

Lancôme Holiday 2013 - Rose Étincelle Highlighter and Étincelle de Neige Vernis in Love nail polish

Lancôme's Holiday 2013 collection is a small one, but it sure as heck doesn't lack for impact. "Inspired by twinkling lights and wintery whites", the sparkle of the season is the defining feature for all the items.

The stand-out piece is, of course, the Rose Étincelle Highlighter.

It is, without a doubt, a stunner. A shimmery silver-pink stunner, with the classic Lancôme rose design. Looking at it from the side, it makes me think of freshly fallen snow. You know, the kind that sparkles like diamonds, when the air is super-crisp and the sun is shining.

The top layer is extra-frosty with silver micro-glitter, which can be brushed away to reveal the pink-hued shade beneath. (Note: The glitter will be EVERYWHERE for a little while. It's the most tenacious fairy dust ever. You can see in the picture below that I wan't able to get rid of it all and it kept sprinkling the casing.)

The exterior packaging looks like the basic black Lancôme casing, but at the right angle, it actually reveals the iconic Lancôme rose. It's a small detail, one that might escape notice, but it's that kind of special touch that elevates a beauty product. At least in my eyes.

(Apologies for the slight fuzziness of the picture, it was really difficult to capture the rose design otherwise.)

The texture is lovely - soft and dense, it can be applied quite opaquely if you wish, or as a soft silvery pink haze with a soft brush. It works well for highlighting anything, be it the inner corner of the eye, on the cheekbone, the collarbones.

Without the sparkly top layer, it's still quite heavy on the shimmer and so something I would reserve for evening looks (though if I could get away with looking like a fairy princess for work, I would wear this like spackle, I kid you not). Worn at night, though, it is exquisite and would work well for both holiday and New Year's Eve looks.

The other item in the collection that I was sent to try is the Vernis in Love in Étincelle de Neige.

This is so intensely pretty! It picks up again on that sparkly, fresh snow effect. Like crushed diamonds coating my nails. A ton of off-white shimmer that flashes teeny blue and pink and yellow glimmers at certain angles (which was absolutely impossible to capture in a picture).

It's beautiful as is, but if you don't like the textured feel, several layers of top coat can be added (which will only increase the insane sparkle factor). Personally I like the 'bare' look. It's also quite opaque, so while you can layer it over another polish, I think it works best on its own. Here I did two coats.

The application was smooth and easy, and the flat but curved brush is perfect for my nail bed. It took a little bit of elbow grease to get off, but worth it because...

...I was very pleasantly surprised by how long this lasted on my nails - a full WEEK. For me, that's unheard of. When I got some wear at the tip, I even tried chipping it off and couldn't get much. I only wish it came in a larger size, as the bottle is only 6ml. I think I'm going to need a back-up bottle (or twelve), and I'm going to have to track down the Étincelle d'Argent, which appears to be sold out on the website.

Availability: At www.lancome.ca, as well as The Bay, and select Pharmaprix/SDM and Murale locations. Price is  52$ CAD for the highlighter, 16$ for the nail polish.

Pros: Great texture and pigmentation, variable with application method, on the highlighter. Gorgeous packaging and design. Nail polish is opaque and very resistant to chipping. Both are insanely pretty and perfectly suit the inspiration of "twinkling lights and merry whites".

Cons: The glitter on the highlighter is a bit messy initially. The nail polish takes a bit of work to remove, and is smaller than the average nail polish bottle.

Have you guys tried any of these? I was really stunned by how much I loved the nail polish.

(These items were provided by the brand/PR to be considered for review. This post is not sponsored or compensated. All opinions are my own.)

MAC Extra Dimension Skinfinishes - Definitely Defined and Shape the Future

If you've been reading this blog for a while, then you know what a fan I am of the gélée tribrid texture that both Estée Lauder and Mac have starting featuring in the last couple of years. (If you're new to this blog - welcome! -  and feel free to take a gander at my previous reviews featuring these types of products here.) So of course I had to snatch up the more interesting looking items from the MAC Extra Dimension collection as soon as it was available to order. And seeing as how disappointed I've been with some previous MAC collections, you have to know that ordering sight-unseen indicates a lot of faith that these would be awesome.

These are two of the three Skinfinishes available in this collection. (The third is more golden bronze, and I already have a few highlighters in that family, and for once I exercised restraint.)

Right to left: Definitely Defined, Shape the Future

These are definitely beautiful to look at, and I love that MAC has expanded upon the aesthetic that they introduced with the last Extra Dimension collection in a way that makes the duo colour feature both functional and pleasing to the eye. The wear time is good one both of these, about 8 hours or so, and they are highly pigmented, with that peculiar dry-soft texture that applies smoothly and blends or buffs out beautifully. If you are inclined to wear these wet (perhaps for an eye look), the metallic or frost finish is amplified, as well as opacity.

The finish varies somewhat between the two parts of each Skinfinish. Definitely Defined two parts have a more similar finish across the board. The flat portion is a highly metallic silver-pink white that has to be used judiciously as a complexion product, as it emphasizes skin texture dramatically. I personally prefer to use it as an inner eye corner highlight, rather than on my cheekbones, unless I'm going for a particular look. The raised portion is a pale pink that is less metallic, and works a little more easily as a highlighter. Both of them can be applied very lightly with a small fluffy brush for a more discreet effect - but discreet is relative. This is distinct shimmer, not a micro-sheen. Absolutely beautiful, regardless.

Swatches below are in natural light and in the sun.

Shape The Future has an equally shimmery flat portion, a pale peachy pink that is very similar in effect to the raised portion of Definitely Definied. The raised portion is less shimmery, and applied to the skin, it actually reads a lot more satiny. It is also pigmented like CRAZY. This is a shade that is bound to look stunning on deeper, warmer skin tones. If you are paler, use a light hand and a fluffy brush to buff it in, unless you prefer a bolder look. The colour can be a little harder to pull off if you have pinkier undertones, a brick shade that can look like sunburned skin.

I have to say that all of the shades are unique in my collection, especially when combined with both the pigmentation level and the finish.  I pulled a few other gélée-textured highlighters, as well as a couple of MAC MSFs, to see if there was anything comparable.

Clockwise from top left corner: MAC Definitely Defined,MAC  Suberb, Estée Lauder Shimmering Sands, MAC Redhead MSF, MAC Stereo Rose MSF, MAC Shape the Future.

Left to right: Superb, Definitely Defined (flat and raised), Shimmering Sands.

Left to right: Shape the Future (flat and raised), Redhead MSF, Stereo Rose MSF.

Shimmering Sands and Superb are actually both closer to each other than anything else here. Both Redhead and Stereo Rose are somewhat similar to a mix of the two sides of Shape the Future, but neither of them blend as smoothly or last as long.

Availability: Currently on the MAC website, as well as in stores. They are selling quickly, however. Price is 35$ CAD.

Pros: Intense pigmentation, smooth, very blendable and variable texture. Unique shades, depending on your collection. Shape the Future is excellent for warm to deep tones, both as a highlight and blush.

Cons: High frost/metallic finish may limit application, as it will emphasize skin texture.

(I purchased these items from MAC.)