Department Store Cosmetics

Admittedly, I don't have much experience with "in house" brands, besides a few items from Sephora.  But there has been a lot of buzz lately about Marks & Spencer's cosmetics line.  It is a store that has clothing, accessories, and some grocery items, but they do not have any branded makeup like other department stores. 

I decided to try out three items- lipstick, mascara, and eyeliner. 

First up is the mascara.  It is called "AM/PM" and has a double ended brush. 

The a.m. side says "defining" and its a rubber brush.  The p.m. side says "volumising" and it's the fiber one.  

Here are the results I got:

Obviously any mascara is an improvement over my bare lashes!  The formula was really thin, and I did not care for it at all.  I want to really "feel" the mascara on my lashes, and I didn't.  The dual brush wasn't really a selling point for me either.  I didn't feel like it did enough to warrant buying again, and it was a pretty high price for a non-brand- it was around $17. 

Next up, the eyeliner: 

The swatch: 

It is a really pretty ocean type blue.  I liked the colour, and I liked that the product lasted nearly 8 hours completely intact.  It did have a little dry time after I applied it initially, so I had to leave my eye closed.  I've worn it with just a tan eyeshadow and I thought it came out fine- it's not neon but vibrant enough.  

It was a pretty ok eyeliner, but not like "Wow, I love it!", I mean eyeliner isn't hard to find.  

Next up is a lipstick, I got the shade "Geranium".  

The swatch: 

It is a pretty colour, but such a shame because it totally sucks.  I mean do not buy their lipstick, period.  It is so slimey it basically came off before I could even photo it.  It is just a horrible product, I threw it away.  

So in short, I would not buy their cosmetics again.  Personally I wasn't impressed with the store itself so it's definitely not worth me making a special trip and the one I went to was even in another country.  I honestly have no clue why their stuff is getting talked about besides affordability, and cheap in this case definitely doesn't mean good.  Just my opinion.  

Maybelline Dream Lumitouch Concealer Pen

This is a highlighting concealer (click style) pen.  It was very reasonably priced (under $10!).  Unfortunately mine did not have any shade on it, and it only came shrink wrapped around the cap and it didn't have any name on it either.

I personally found it more useful as a highlighter rather than a true concealer.  It doesn't really cover redness or spots, but it does brighten under the eyes and other areas if you wish.

Here is the swatch, and compared to Dior Skinflash:

As you can see, it's definitely not a match for my skin tone, and considerably darker than both Dior's I have.  However, once I blended it, I really did not think it was too dark, although if I could find a lighter one, I would definitely like to try it.

The formula is more liquidy than creamy, and using two layers was a bit too cakey looking up close, although it wasn't noticeable from further away.

I really do like how it brightened and evened out under my eye, and it was easy to blend as well.  It didn't dry super quickly which made it a bit easier.  I used a concealer brush but I didn't really like having to streak it on to apply it- I much prefer dotting.  


Overall, while I do like it, I don't know if I will use it all the time.  I noticed a marked improvement over using traditional concealer under my eye because of the thinner, moist formula and brightening properties.  But I think I would also argue that "concealer" is a bit misleading, because it doesn't really work elsewhere on my face, so if I had a spot that I wanted to really cover, I would have to use something other than this.  

Ordering New Products!

I ordered the Sigma brush set but as soon as I did I had a bad feeling about it, I don't know why.  I haven't even gotten it yet so I don't know why I would feel like that.  The problem is, I have only ordered one thing to get in the mail, it's not like I want to go on a spree because I don't even know if I will get the packages.  I really thought of getting Chikuhodo but decided not for now. 

So to compensate for my premature lack of enthusiasm for the Sigma brushes, I decided to order some Hakuhodo brushes, which is especially risky in my opinion because (and I am sure the package won't state this but I am still worried) of the natural hairs and the rules here can sometimes get a bit over the top.

But before I show those, I also wanted to show a super awesome new Sleek palette, it is inspired by the Olympics and London train lines and from what I have seen it looks superb!  I didn't know I could order from them at all so by the time I discovered that, they were sold out of the matte palettes I wanted. I saw this set I wanted to order, but Sleek won't give a definitive date on when it will be available online, they simply said "soon". Maybe today, I don't know. Anyway, it's called the Glory palette, Honour blush, and Pride pout paint so definitely check it out.  I do know that they lowered their shipping prices but I don't know where they will and won't ship this one.

These are the Hakuhodo brushes I ordered.  None of them are unique, I based my order on brushes I already own but want to replace.  I only ordered eye brushes because I was already up for two days deciding on those, if I do get the package there are 2 or 3 more brushes I want to order.  I am not sure if I will or not, I might have to spring for the insured shipping ($40!) next time.  

1.  K004, eyeshadow: 

2.  B162, brow: 

3.  K007, eyeliner: 

4.  G5520.  I am anticipating this one the most, I got it to replace a beyond ancient "Posh" brush that I still use for the "outer v".  

5.  G5511.  I really love the Laura Mercier "smudge" brush, I use it all the time, so I got this one which looks very similar so I don't wear one out.  

Lastly, I could not resist getting this case just cause I love rose gold very much and it looks very nice.  

I am actually looking for something to replace this old Target brush I found, but been using it a lot now for highlighting, it's really nice for that.  It's not a good brush by any means, but I like the shape and thickness.  I want to order the Hakuhodo G511 but I can't find anything on it besides what's on their own website.  I think their 210 brush might be good for that purpose so I can't decide.  It's strange that I don't have anything else similar, so if anyone can recommend something like it, I'd definitely appreciate it!  

So that's about it for now, hopefully I will indeed receive the items!! 

Maybelline Color Tattoo vs. MUFE Aqua Cream

I have 6 of the Maybelline Color Tattoo Eyeshadows now, and I honestly still don't know whether I love them or not.  In my opinion they aren't very similar to paint pots, although within my stash of paint pots, the texture does vary.  I think they are more similar to Make Up For Ever Aqua Creams, both in terms of texture and wear. 

The latest Maybelline colour I bought is Turquoise Forever.  Can you believe I got this on sale!  It was the only colour I didn't have yet (besides purple which I decided I won't buy- thanks to all the honest blog reviews!) and I got it for just around $7- compared to the over $11 I paid for the others. 

I tried this next to MUFE #21, and they are so similar I can't tell the difference.  They even have the same texture. 

I've tried to find matches for the other Maybelline eyeshadows I got but none of them came up a close match like these.  Although I have quite a few, I don't have all the MUFE creams.  Not very practical considering I don't use cream shadows very often.  That being said, I would love to have their new green and yellow, they look amazing!!! 

I struggled the most with the gold Maybelline cream shadow.  It wasn't as opaque as the others, and I had to go over it a couple times to make sure it didn't look patchy.  As far as colour goes, MUFE's gold is much yellower, although I still prefer it over Maybelline's.  For most, budget and availability are huge factors to consider though, and the Maybelline one is still good! 

LORAC Starry-Eyed Baked Eyeshadow Trio

This is an eyeshadow trio I recently started using a lot.  I don't have a lot of Lorac in my stash so this is a real treat! 

I have the shades called "Star Studded".  

The compact is quite sturdy, although it is heavier than the product itself. 

The swatches: 

                                                                  DRY

 

WET

I have found that most baked eyeshadows look better wet, and this one definitely does.  They can be used dry as well, especially for highlighting.  I love all of the shades, but I think I've used the pink-beige one the most.  When I've used them wet, I think using a sponge applicator works best, and they last all day.  I love how you can put it in an overnight bag yet still get different looks from just this one compact.  Really pretty, and I'd definitely recommend it!  

Raspberry Pie and Berry Smoothie!

No, not new recipes lol!  I finally got some Revlon lip butters!  They are very beautiful and they are soft, too.  I got Berry Smoothie and Raspberry Pie.  

The swatches: 

Berry Smoothie 

Raspberry Pie 

I like these a lot!  They have a very bright red shade, Candy Apple, it was very nice but I knew I wouldn't wear it.  These are about $13 here, considerably higher than in the U.S. (no surprise by now!) but still not that expensive.  They are very soft and unscented.  They did not bleed but they aren't lip stains, I did have to reapply.  I like Berry Smoothie for everyday, it is  a perfect shade for me since it's just a bit darker than my natural lips.  Raspberry Pie is darker but still quite flattering.  

Mini Maybelline Haul

Nothing too exciting, but I bought a couple of foundations, a lip gloss, another color tattoo eyeshadow, and an interesting "Dream Lumitouch" pen.  

Inglot Sleeks VLC Lip Gloss #76

I bought this lip gloss without any clue what "VLC" meant.  I later found out that it stands for "Volumizing Liquid Crystals".  So it is supposed to be a volumizing gloss.  It isn't.  I am highly sensitive to those plumping glosses and this definitely doesn't feel like one of those, nor did I notice any effect when wearing it.  

I got shade 76, which is a baby pink:

Swatches: 

It's not really "crystallic" either.  It does have a very subtle shimmer to it, but it's really hard to see it.  The first thing you will notice about this gloss is that it is quite sticky, and it smells exactly like orange baby aspirin.  It is a bit weird, it's the first lip product I've owned like that.  This colour doesn't exactly suit me, I don't know why I always gravitate towards light pinks that look like crap on me!!!  But they have many other shades.  It is also really nice when layered over a lipstick.  

Artdeco Eyeshadows

Artdeco has "build your own" compacts, where all the eyeshadows and blushes have magnetic backs.  However, these eyeshadows came pre-packaged. 

The white shade is a highlighter.  The brown one was the most pigmented and I think it is pretty so I was happy with it.  However, the other two were not good at all.  Very very sheer and poor wear time on top of that.  Horrible. 

I also wonder why the compact itself has space, seemingly for a tiny brush.  The eyeshadows are so very small, only 0.8 grams, so it would make more sense to me to make them bigger to actually fit the entire compact.  Unfortunately I don't remember how much these cost but I still don't think it's a good value if it's a poor product both in quality and design. 

Next time I will definitely choose my own colours and hopefully that will work out better.  I did see a nice dark pink shade that looked promising.

Makeup Geek Eyeshadows

So happy to get these Makeup Geek  eyeshadows!  My order arrived in about a week, which is phenomenal.  They have really honest and low shipping, and great customer service.  I had to place my order twice because of a zip code issue (the first one went through) so I did end up getting a couple I actually meant to delete, but I don't mind at all.

I got Corrupt, Mermaid, Appletini, and Wisteria:

Since I am going to be gifting these, I only have swatches, not a review.  I hate to judge by a swatch alone, but they all seem all right!  Mermaid is a lot softer than the rest.  Wisteria I'd probably use a white base under it.  

The swatches: 

The pans are just a teeny bit bigger than MAC pans.  I had to press a bit hard to get them to fit in a MAC palette, but it worked out just great: 

Makeup Geek  ships internationally and I really like their website too, so many beautiful looks and interesting topics!