Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Bare Minerals Prime Time: Champagne Toast

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Prime Time in Champagne Toast

Bare Minerals Prime Time in Champagne Toast is a colored eyeshadow primer in a shimmery light taupe-brown shade. It can be worn in a sheer wash of shimmer or built up further for full pigmentation. The color is beautiful and great for a wide variety of neutral looks. It reminded me of Maybelline's Bad to the Bronze cream shadow (reviewed here) so I swatched them together for comparison. As you can see, Maybelline's Bad to the Bronze is warmer and more brown while Champagne Toast has strong gray and pink tones to it. I  feel that they look quite similar in wear though.

It comes in a little squeeze tube, which is convenient for hygiene and controlling how much product you pick up. The formula is nice and creamy but dries down to a budge-proof state. Important to note is that I experience a slight burning sensation as this product dries down. I'm not sure why that is, nor do I recall experiencing this with other eye products. However, the sensation is short-lived, nor do I see any visible irritation to my eyelids after wear, so I do plan to continue using this product. It wears well throughout the day without fading, smudging, or creasing.

While the color is totally up my alley and the product works just fine, I do worry about the burning that occurs as this product sets. Strangely enough, I don't experience it when swatching it on my hands. This is likely because the skin on my hands is far less delicate than my eyelids. Who knows? I feel like this problem might affect only me. I can't knock the product otherwise so go for it if you're looking for a pretty eyeshadow base that can double as a standalone eye color.

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L-R: Prime Time in Champagne Toast; Maybelline's Bad to the Bronze

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Champagne Toast across lids

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Finished look
(Sorry, I can't remember which shadows I used over the top. I think I only put a darker shadow along the outer edges. )

Monday, January 28, 2013

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure: Earl Grey

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Sally Hansen Earl Grey

I had been eyeing Sally Hansen's Earl Grey for a while and nearly taken it to the register at least once before I finally decided to go for it. It's an elegant neutral light gray creme. I have no qualms with the color as I think it is as beautiful in wear as it is in the bottle. The formula, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired. I found it to be rather thick and goopy. It was difficult to spread evenly over the nail in a thin coat, requiring thick coats for decent coverage, and hence long dry time and waiting. Despite all the patience I could muster, I still smudged a few nails. I like the color enough that I'm going to keep it but I warn you that this one is fickle.

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Sally Hansen Earl Grey (natural light)

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Sally Hansen Earl Grey (with flash)

Saturday, January 26, 2013

MAC Sable Dupes: Smashbox ASAP, MUA Shade 11

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L-R: Smashbox ASAP, MAC Sable, MUA Shade 11

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L-R: Smashbox ASAP, MAC Sable, MUA Shade 11

I was randomly swatching some of my eyeshadows the other night and stumbled upon some potential dupes that I thought I'd share. They looked a lot more similar that night under artificial lighting than when I re-swatched and photographed them in natural light, but close enough.

MAC's Sable  is a Frost-finish eyeshadow in a satiny pink-toned brown. I remember that when I first got it, I thought it had strong red tones but I don't see that anymore. I don't use this color often (probably because of my initial impression that it was too red) though I probably should because it's pretty to me now as I swatch it. The formula is smooth but a little dry (this may be due to its age), causing it to go on just a tad sheer on first swatch. Fear not, for the color is strong and dense by the second swipe.

Now for the "dupes."

By comparison, Smashbox's ASAP eyeshadow leans cooler as it has more of a gray-lilac tone to it. It makes Sable's red tones more apparent when they are swatched next to one another. The formula is a extremely soft and smooth, even crumbly if you pick up too much, but I find that this gives it better color payoff. A little goes a long way with this one. I happen to love ASAP and have definitely utilized it more than Sable. Sadly, it appears to have been discontinued.

MUA's Shade 11 (reviewed previously here) is a touch lighter than ASAP but very similar. Strangely, it appears quite cool and gray-taupe in the pan but goes on warmer than expected as a pinky-brown. The formula is lovely but the sheerest out of the bunch, although color may be built with ease. This one is the most affordable by far, only a whopping 1 GBP (equivalent to ~$1.50).

These "dupes" are far from perfect but perhaps similar enough that you don't need all three. I find that I'm less inclined to purchase eyeshadows these days because I'm finally realizing that I probably have all the versions of browns and taupes that I could ever need, with plenty of dupes to boot. I'll share more as I find them!

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L-R: Smashbox ASAP, MAC Sable, MUA Shade 11 (natural light)

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L-R: Smashbox ASAP, MAC Sable, MUA Shade 11 (with flash)