Review: Mac Viva Glam: Cyndi Lipglass

 

I recently just got the MAC Viva Glam Cyndi lipglass, and originally I really wanted to get the lipstick, but the nearest MAC counter is at Macy's and they are out. I realize that I am probably lucky to get the lipglass at this late and I was told by "Harlow" - the SA who helped me - that even the lipglass are discontinued, so they are just finishing up what they have.

In case you didn't know, the MAC Viva Glam line donates every cent they earn to the MAC Charity for HIV and AIDs Fund (or something like that) and I think this is really awesome! I love and respect companies that care about the world and donate a part of their earnings to those people in need. That being said, it made me want to buy something else in this line from the MAC counters (because buying from ebay won't help the cause), even though the Cyndi's not there anymore.

 

Anyway, I have been using these lipglass for a couple of days now and I have to say I really love this color very much. I would have liked for it to have a bit more product in the tube, but it doesn't matter.

 

The pigmentation is great and you can wear this alone without any other color underneath. The color is really very pretty, I would say a cross between a red, coral and pink. It looks much redder on the tube, but its very very wearable when applied on the lips. 

 

I am glad I was able to get my hands on these and I will probably go back and stock up on this.

Toodles X♥

Beauty Review: Darkness False Eyelashes in KMA 4

I feel like this blog is transitioning from the initial intention of being a fashion blog... and now drifting into more beauty topics.. I guess the winter has really put me into a fashion hibernation mode.

Anyway, I've decided to give a try the false lashes I bought. I've had them for a little while but haven't really tried them out until today.


These are called the Darkness False Eyelashes

 

I actually got two of them, another in KMA-2 but I haven't tried that one yet.

I was surprised at how natural looking these were... They were really long so I wasn't sure how they would turn out - especially with my smaller eyes, but I thought they were great!

First off, I'm loving the glue. I'm not sure of what others have said about the glue - I'm sure there are other better brands, but I thought they worked pretty great.

 

A set will come with 2 types of glue - one with a white cap, and another with a yellow cap. The white one is actually a primer, and the yellow one is the adhesive. What the primer does is it gives another invisible layer between the lash band and the adhesive, so essentially it makes taking out the glue faster and safer making your lashes last longer for more use.

The lashes themselves were great! They were the perfect size for my eyes and I didn't need to trim anything.

The photo below shows how little lashes I have... ugh.. annoying... but the false lashes really made a difference.

This photo shows how the lashes look from above - with my eyes open... they look really really natural... like they were coming from my own lash line... when my eyes are closed, you can kinda tell that it's stuck onto the lash line, but when the eyes are open, you can't even tell...

 

Comfort wise, I wasn't uncomfortable at all. If you tried a false lashes and you felt uncomfortable, it's probably from the way you applied the lashes, just a thought.

 

Overall, I'm loving these and I'm surprised by that because I don't usually like having anything in my eye. (I hyper ventilated when I tried on circle lenses... for real!) DEfinitely would recommend this particular brand, especially if you have asian eyes, I suppose this is made for a more asian eyes since its a korean brand.. I dunno.. whatever.

I got mine from Luna Beauty for $2.95 and there's 2 pairs inside... not bad!

I wonder what you think of them...

I also did a post on Luuux, and a few other product that I made a fast review on, in case anyone is interested.

X♥

Review: Revlon Custom Eyes Waterproof Mascara

I have been wanting to get the new Revlon Custom Eyes Waterproof Mascara ever since I saw it in the commercials. I haven't really been able to pick it up until a few days ago, and now I've used it and played with it enough for me to make a review


The thing that intrigued me the most is the 2-way bristle... it's so techy and advanced.. I just was really very curious how it worked... and I've actually figured it out too...

 

You can make two looks with this mascara. No. 1 is labeled Length and Drama - which is basically just volumizing, and No. 2 is labeled Length and Definition - which is basically lengthening.

 

 

 

I wasn't able to take photos of the bristles new - but I got a picture from the net to explain better how I figured this wand works.

 

There are two bristles - one is purple and another in aqua blue. The purple one has longer bristles and the aqua one has shorter bristles. When you twist the wand to switch from #1 to #2 - the aqua blue bristles are the ones that move... and they move in and out (or up and down, depending on your direction).

When you have the wand set at No 1 (volumizing) - the bristles are aligned in front of each other and so when you apply the product into your lashes, it leaves more product onto your lashes and so it makes it more intense and more volumized.

When you have the wand set at No. 2 (Defining) - the aqua bristle moves and shifts and aligned next to the purple bristled so that when you apply the product into your lashes - it brushes your lashes better and so it creates more definition.

So basically that's how I figured it. I hope I've explained it well... =)

THE PERFORMANCE

 I really like how this mascara has turned out. I am a little confused because when I was testing it out - I found that No.2 (Defining) actually gave my lashes more volume than No. 1 and No 1 gave me more definition than No.2 - so it's kinda backwards... 

Also, this mascara is waterproof, and I tested this by putting some of the mascara at the back of my hand, let is dry, and got some water and tried to smudge it out... DID NOT BUDGE. Also, I took a nap wearing the mascara and woke up without any gunk under my eyes.

Below is the comparison between No. 1 and No. 2 - as applied on my lashes. Oh, and BTW, my lashes are naturally thin and sparse (think Asian lashes)...

One coat

You can clearly see from the photo that #2 has more volume than #1 - which is weird...

This is a close-up of #1 on my lashes

 

This is a close-up photo of #2 on my lashes

 

THE VERDICT

Overall, I really did like this mascara. Apart from being confused with the result of no.1 and no.2 - it did perform very well in giving me volume and definition. I don't think it can compare to CoverGirl's Lash Blast - in terms of giving that much definition, but it did perform well and I have no complaints.

I felt like the mascara did what it's supposed to do. It is true to its claim being a waterproof mascara. It's staying power is pretty great. Plus, you get to have ton of fun with the twist handle.

I give this mascara 4 out of 5 stars. Recommended.

You can pick this up in any drugstore. I purchased mine for $8 or $9 - but depending on the deal you get, it could be lower.

Let me know what you guys think!

X♥

<3

Review: Crown Brush

Ok, so I know I've rant about the Crown Brush earlier after having washed them and they bled like crazy making me instantly not like the brush set. It was an undue conclusion so I decided to give them a try - afterall, I already have them, why not right?!

The brush I ordered was the one with the faux snakeskin brush roll in black. I initially purchased this after I watched Kandee Johnson - a really excellent beauty guru on YouTube - gushed about them and had given good reviews for them. PLUS, they were on sale!

After trying these brushes out for about a week and a half, I found that I still feel the same way about this set of brushes on most of them. The bristles were just not as good as I would like them to.

To give you an insight on what I consider a good brush - I LOVE The Body Shop brushes! They have the softest bristles and the prettiest handle. Although, it might not be fair to compare Crown with The Body Shop given The Body Shop brushes cost a lot so it follows they were made with higher quality materials. So I directly compared the Crown brushed with the ELF Studio Brush - I think this is a fair comparison since its about the same price.

I took some detailed photos of the brushes, and I'll give my take on them as we go. Although, keep in mind, I did not try all of them, just the ones that are relevant to my everyday make-up.

The Brush Roll

In all fairness, I did like the brush roll very much. It kinda smelled something plastic at first, but overall I like the look - so sleek and classy.

In addition, I loooved the handle, how its red and black. The handle color is the main reason why I got this set and not the other (Pink set and Bronze set).

Brush Roll

Brush Roll Open

Brush roll open and showing the brushes inside

POWDER BRUSH

Most horrible of them all. This is the brush that bled the most and it bled black. It dried pretty quick, but afterwards it was shedding like crazy. You can get a couple of bristles here and there, even a casual run of the hand thru the bristles can make this shed.

On top of that, it's so pokey. It hurts the face when using this. The bristles look and feel like the ELF brush, but it is nothing like it. I do not like this one at all.

 

BLUSHER and ANGLED BLUSHER BRUSH

The Blusher brush bled the second most, and out of the three, the angled blusher brush bled the least. The Blusher brush also sheds like crazy, but the angled one not as much.

However, these two are also a little pokey

 

 

EYESHADOW BRUSHES

There are 3 eyeshadow brushes with this set - the C-Eyeshadow Brush, a regular eyeshadow brush, and a mini eyeshadow brush.

Overall, these did not bleed upon washing and they dried quickly. There's also very minimal shedding.

I am on the fence with the C-eyeshadow brush. It works fine and it packs on color really well, even better than the ELF one, but its really pokey and it hurts. I'm just a little concerned because I use this near the eyes, and we all know the eye area is the most sensitive. However, it does have its merits.

The Regular Eyeshadow brush is alright. Nothing much to say about it. It works fine.

The Mini Eyeshadow Brush is the worst. I felt like it did not pick up color as it should, plus its super pokey. I used this to put some shadow on my lower outer corner lids, and let me tell you - it hurts like hell!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 FLUFFY ANGLED BLENDING BRUSH

I haven't tested this yet. I haven't found an opportunity to use it. But, I haven't seen this brush in a lot of brush sets before, so I felt like this was a bonus.

However, quality wise - again, I don't like it. Very very rough, as you can see on the photo.

 

CONCEALER BRUSH & LIP BRUSH

I have only used the concealer brush to test at the back of my hand, so I won't even say anything bad about it. It worked well, just as it should.

And, I haven't used the lip brush yet, but it feels exactly like the concealer brush - it can actually be used as a mini concealer brush too.

 

MINI FAN BRUSH

This is another brush that I felt was such a bonus because I haven't seen this in a lot of other brush sets. 

This one's great. It could be softer, but maybe that's just nit-picking it.

This is just the right size to use as a highlighter brush on my cheek. Its not too big, just the perfect size. Also, it can be used to dust away pigment fall-outs under your eye.

Overall I like this one.

 

SMUDGE BRUSH

This is one of my favorite brushes from the set. I wish it was filled with bristles a little more though because its not as dense, but it works just fine.

Its very soft to the touch and it washed well without bleeding of shedding.

Its not the best smudge brush out there, but from this set, its one of the best brushes included.

 

ANGLED AND FLAT LINER BRUSH

I've only tried the flat liner brush because I did not like the angled one. I felt like the angled brush was too thin to be used for my eyebrows.

Not much to be said on the flat liner brush - it worked just as it should. I still like to use my Body Shop angled brush for gel liners, but this one worked ok too.

 

There!

Overall Score: 5 out of 10

Brushes I LOVED: 3 out of 15

Brushes that are JUST OK: 3 out of 15

I have nothing against the Crown Brush company. I just think maybe this particular set is not the best ones they have. I have read a lot of other reviews on their other brushes and others seems to rave about them. Maybe if you buy individually, you can get a better bang for your buck, but the brushes included with this set, in my opinion, is sub par.

This is my honest opinion on these brushes. I hope you guys find this helpful and informative. Ultimately, its still your choice if you want to try this out. But for me, I wouldn't repurchase this.

X♥

FTC: I bought these brushes with my own money and all opinion stated herewith are my own true and honest opinion.