Lips: MAC's Lipstick in "Leading Lady Red" (LE) [MAC x Charlotte Olympia 2016]

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I thought that, with regards to my beauty reviews, I'd reel myself back in starting with the most recent MAC collection and working my way backwards, throwing in reviews of permanent products and other brands in between. That brings us to the MAC x Charlotte Olympia collaboration that released online March 17, 2016 - almost two weeks ago.

Charlotte Olympia is a shoe designer with a love for the 1940s Hollywood beauty scene, resulting in a collection of classic reds, soft whites and browns, and packaging that is a vanity accessory as much as it is, well, packaging. As per usual I never knew who this person was until news of this collection surfaced, but I thought I'd include a brief description of who she is for curiosity's sake.

Personally, as much as the 1940s happens to be my favorite look in this popular video here and in the Bésame line of lipsticks, I'm not a big fan of red. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but I thought I'd mention it again. I do own some red lipsticks, but most fall into the 'pinky-red' or 'berry-red' categories, which I consider the exceptions. The Olympia lipsticks, on the other hand, are all neutral-to-warm toned lipsticks.

After a bit of a debate as to whether or not I should purchase anything from this collection, I finally settled on the limited edition lipstick "Leading Lady Red," what seemed to be the most cool-toned red of the bunch, picking it up more for the packaging than the color itself and hoping that everything would work out in the end.

Lips: MAC's Lipstick in "Evening Rendezvous" (LE) [MAC Magic of the Night 2015]

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;_; I know! I'm sorry. A special sorry to Maxi and all my other Maaya-followers. My review for Follow Me Up is coming I swear!! Amongst others...

Life has been ridiculously chaotic for me since mid-July. So much has changed - SO much - but I don't think I'm ready to disclose those changes here. All I can say is that I'm sorry for dropping off the face of the Earth for all of these months.

In character with the fact that a shit-ton of time has passed, we're already moving fast into the holiday season. As far as makeup is concerned, nothing much has changed for me, thankfully (or not). I still love MAC - hence this review - I still love trying new products, lipstick is still my happiness, and I'm still a bit of a collector. I see these kinds of reviews as the best way to pull myself back into my blog, so bear with me.

MAC's big holiday collection this year was released in different parts - Magic of the Night, Enchanted Eve, and Irresistibly Charming - with different individual products, sets, and teal/blue/purple reflective packaging. More color than last year's Heirloom Mix, but still in line with MAC's focus of sets versus new, limited edition colors.

...And I just tried to find 'my post' for the Heirloom Mix collection just to discover that I took pictures of the lipsticks I bought BUT NEVER WROTE THE REVIEWS. For fuck's sake.

Anyway...I didn't look much into this collection, as I'm not really big on sets, but in the end I did pick up one set - the red lip bag - and the only new, limited edition lipstick, which I'm reviewing in this post, "Evening Rendezvous." I've been wearing this color quite a bit lately so I thought I'd start here with my second attempt at blogging regularly.

Lips: MAC's Lipstick in "Romantic Breakdown" (LE) [MAC x Bao Bao Wan 2015] + Comparisons

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Yes! The last review for this collection and I have 40 minutes to write it, if I want to get in just over six hours of sleep!!!

"Romantic Breakdown" is the last of the four limited edition lipsticks in the MAC x Bao Bao Wan collection, and it is the only lipstick in the lustre finish. I used to really enjoy the lustre finish by MAC - you can see my review of "Hug Me" here, the first lustre I ever reviewed. A lot has changed since then, though, as I discovered the amplified finish and MAC made their matte finish more comfortable on the lips. The lustre finish - and the cremesheen finish, while we're on the subject - have taken a backseat since then.

Don't misunderstand me, though. Lustres still have their place, and that place becomes evident with colors like "Romantic Breakdown."

Lips: MAC's Lipstick in "Forbidden Sunrise" (LE) [MAC x Bao Bao Wan 2015)

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I figured, why not just finish with the matte lipsticks? "Forbidden Sunrise" is the third and last of the matte lipsticks from MAC's Bao Bao Wan collection, the lustre being left to review.

I'm sure I've mentioned before that I don't like orange lipstick, as flattering as it is on me, but something about "Forbidden Sunrise" really caught my interest when information and swatches became available on the color. It seemed to be a brighter, lighter orange without being pastel, and I couldn't help but think how radiating it would be in the sunlight...in the summer...when everything is brighter and lighter and not so damn depressingly gray.

New Hell City problems.

Anyway, while "Burmese Kiss" fell into the 'favorite color of lipstick' category, and "Lavender Jade" fell into the 'unique color of lipstick' category, "Forbidden Sunrise" ended up being my favorite from this collection. Yes, an orange lipstick was my favorite.

First browns, now this! Just wait - I promise you by the end of July it will get even worse.

Lips: MAC's Lipstick in "Lavender Jade" (LE) [MAC x Bao Bao Wan 2015] + A Comparison

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Next, I've decided to review "Lavender Jade."

Purple used to be my favorite color. I guess I'm glad it isn't anymore, because there is just something about limited edition purples from MAC that make them highly coveted - these lavenders especially.

"Lavender Jade" is the reason I classify the Bao Bao Wan release as one of the most chaotic, frustrating releases I've ever experienced from MAC. This particular color was gone in an instant at nearly every retailer. By chance I happened to read that a Nordstrom in California was taking preorders over the phone and I thought I'd try my luck. Somehow it all worked out and I ended up with my tube of "Lavender Jade."

One of the big questions surrounding this color that I also felt compelled to ask was how closely it compared to the only other MAC lavender that I own, "Dodgy Girl" from the Osbourne collection last year. For some "Lavender Jade" seemed more of a true lavender, while for others it was simply "Dodgy Girl" in different packaging. In the end I decided I would purchase the color and figure out for myself what the outcome would be. In the worst case scenario, I would end up with a backup to "Dodgy Girl," which is the only of its color that I own from MAC.

Lips: MAC's Lipstick in "Burmese Kiss" (LE) [MAC x Bao Bao Wan 2015] + Comparisons

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More often than not I find myself deciding what I should be doing, or arguing over whether I should be doing something or not when I have a list of other things to do. Right now, I should be packing for my flight on Wednesday, but truth be told I've been doing nothing. So I'm going to try now. I'm going to try to write as many of the reviews for this collection  as I can tonight.

I want to get this collection out of the way and move on to the next, which is already just as irrelevant but eh, it's either do it or don't. I don't want to fall into the latter anymore.

I have all four of the limited edition lipsticks from MAC's collaboration with Bao Bao Wan, and I decided to start with my review on "Burmese Kiss," which was the color I wanted the most.

MAC's Bao Bao Wan Sneak Peek

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It feels like forever since I last wrote about a MAC collection. Trust me - they've been coming out and I've still been purchasing things here and there from them - I just haven't been on top of my reviews. To be honest, this Sneak Peek post really feels like a waste of time, because the products I purchased from MAC's Bao Bao Wan collection - the collection's lipsticks - are mostly sold out, both online and at MAC counters.

MAC has this obsession with making limited edition products extremely limited, and I have to say the company's collaboration with jewelry designer Bao Bao Wan was perhaps the most limited collection I've personally experienced to date. First the online release was pushed back, then it magically launched online for retailers that were supposedly not receiving the collection, then people were able to order products before they officially launched at one of said online retailers, then MAC released the collection one day earlier than officially announced on its own site...people were placing phone [pre]orders at counters, counters were sold out before the doors opened, shipments were never received...have I traumatized you yet?

It was insane. The true center of all this chaos was one particular lipstick, "Lavender Jade," which I somehow managed to purchase [over the phone from a store across the country]. It shouldn't come as much of a surprise, then, that I don't have the lipstick yet to share with you. I wouldn't even be surprised if it never made it here, LOL.

Anyway, what I do have to share quickly with you today are the collection's other three limited edition lipsticks: "Forbidden Sunrise," "Burmese Kiss," and "Romantic Breakdown." Let's sit back and enjoy those, then, right?

Lips: MAC's Lipstick in "Damn Glamorous" (LE) [The Matte Lip 2014] + A Comparison

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Oh my God - HOW DO YOU WRITE REVIEWS AGAIN?

Maybe just kidding. (What does that even mean?)

Once upon a time, MAC released a collection called The Matte Lip, that came with seven new and limited edition lipsticks, of which I purchased three, two that are reviewed here and here, before purchasing a fourth that I'm reviewing today (before the third of the first three). Did I lose you yet?

Fun fact: The Matte Lip marks the third collection from MAC from which I purchased four lipsticks. The other two are A Fantasy of Flowers and Playland.

Second fun fact: The four lipsticks I purchased each from the three collections were all the same finish, per collection. The four from A Fantasy of Flowers are all lustre, the four from Playland are all amplified, and the four from The Matte Lip are all matte.  

Third and final fun fact: Playland is, without a doubt, the winner of all three collections ("Toying Around" should have been backed-up twice, at least, instead of not at all), but The Matte Lip is, also without a doubt, the runner-up thanks to "Damn Glamorous."

If I never got to the third fact, the "fun fact" tangent I started would be 100% unrelated rather than 66%. Numbers.  

Tag: One Lovely Blog Award

Hello everyone! Hope you are enjoying your weekend. I never get tagged for anything, mainly because I'm usually just the follower that's lost in a group of hundreds of others, but Mel from I'm Not a Beauty Guru was sweet enough to think of my blog and tag me. Thank you again, and for those reading, do check out her blog. :)

I would explain the tag more but there is a set of guidelines already in place that does the explaining, so here are said guidelines as follows, albeit slightly modified:

1) You must display the award logo at the top of the post! 
2) You must thank the person who nominated you.
3) You must add this set of rules to your post so that your nominees will know what to do.
4) You must add 7 facts about yourself into the post.
5) You must nominate other blogs and leave links to each of them in your post! 
6) You must let the people who you have nominated know that they've been nominated!

There was a seventh rule about following the person who nominates you, but I deleted it because I could never, ever expect that of anyone. I don't even really advertise my blog because...I don't know...I feel like people who find pleasure in reading it will come of their own will. It has to do with how I am personally. Maybe because I'm a loner, and used to not having friends, but I feel like a bother asking anything of anyone, lol.

...Should that count as a fact?! Sure, why not. That's fact (1). Now for the rest!

Lips: MAC's Lipstick in "Styled in Sepia" (LE) [The Matte Lip 2014]

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Hi! Can you believe Halloween is in less than 2 weeks? October has been flying by for me..and with it, so is the decent weather. And the sunlight. The precious sunlight.

I really wanted to review "Fashion Revival" for you today, or both that and "Styled in Sepia," but it's already 9:15 and I didn't realize that the pictures for "Fashion Revival" have yet to be edited. It looks like "Styled in Sepia" is next on the list, then, not that that is a bad thing. "Styled in Sepia" is one of my favorite lipsticks from this collection. 

Which brings me to the fact that I purchased one more, "Damn Glamorous," which I probably won't be able to take pictures for until Saturday, if luck is on my side and, with it, the sun.

Really, though, let's talk about "Styled in Sepia." Let's talk about the collection's brownest lipstick, since I just said in my last post that brown is my least favorite color family for lipsticks. Remember? =D

Lips: MAC's Lipstick in "Pander Me" (LE) [The Matte Lip 2014]

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Hi everyone. Sorry for the delay - remember when I said I had a sinus infection a couple of weeks ago? Well, for the past week my mom has had fever on and off, and she was finally diagnosed with bronchitis after seeing two doctors. Isn't fall in New York the greatest thing?

Anyway, if you saw my sneak peek post regarding MAC's The Matte Lip collection, then you know that I purchased three of the seven limited edition lipsticks that launched with it, amongst other products. Today, I'm here to share my first of three reviews related to this collection: my thoughts on the lipstick "Pander Me."

In my sneak peek post, I mentioned how "Pander Me" wasn't actually my own pick when I placed my order for part of the collection two weeks ago. It appealed to me at first, and then it didn't, and then it did again and didn't again, et cetera. Even now I can say that if my mom hadn't picked this lipstick, I still wouldn't have had second thoughts about it based on continuously emerging reviews and swatches across the web. Yet here it is with me, and here I am with you to say what my thoughts about this color all amount to.

Let's get right to it, then.

MAC's The Matte Lip Sneak Peek

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Hi everyone! Today's post is going to be a quick look at the products I purchased from MAC's newest collection, The Matte Lip. The collection just launched online this past Thursday and my order was delivered Friday evening. Between the fact that the weather has been moody and the fact that the lipsticks I picked up are, well, matte, I was only able to take pictures for reviews for two of the three that I purchased. If I was able to get all three done, I wouldn't even bother with this but, clearly, that wasn't the case.

The Matte Lip features eight lipsticks - seven limited edition shades and one from the permanent line - as well as permanent additions to MAC's line of Pro Longwear lip pencils and blushes. Not surprisingly, the three products I picked up were three lipsticks, and all three are limited edition shades.

So, for the sake of providing hopefully helpful images while they still are helpful (you know, before stuff sells out), I have for you quick swatches of the three colors I picked up: "Pander Me," "Fashion Revival," and "Styled in Sepia." 

Lips: MAC's Lipstick in "Lingering Kiss" (LE) [A Novel Romance 2014] + Comparison

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Hi everyone. I guess you could say I've had quite a rocky start to my new job, based on my last post. Then, this past Saturday, I caught the infamous sinus infection that I've managed to avoid for almost 2 years. I'm on a roll. I feel like my "strongest" week was two weeks ago...which was my very first week, when I was at the start of training.

This post - ugh, this poor post is so overdue. I'm sorry.

Today, finally, I'm reviewing the third and last lipstick of the three I picked up from MAC's A Novel Romance collection, "Lingering Kiss." I don't even know if this color is still available. It may be, but I'm honestly not sure.

Without wasting more time, let's move on to the review.

Lips: MAC's Lipstick in "Good Kisser" (LE) [A Novel Romance 2014] + Comparison

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Hi everyone. Happy Labor Day for those of you in the states, whether you're off or not (and if you are, then I hope you're enjoying your free day). I feel weird writing this review because if you read my last review from MAC's A Novel Romance collection, then you know I said I was passing on "Good Kisser" since I own "Red Balloon," a supposed dupe for it. I was also waiting for "Lingering Kiss" to arrive in the mail, which it has.

Well, I brought my tube of "Red Balloon" to a MAC counter where I knew "Good Kisser" was still in stock just over a week ago. I won't say how they compare - you'll see for yourself near the end of this review - but I did decide to pick up "Good Kisser," and I'm ready to review it for you today.

Lips: MAC's Lipstick in "Yield To Love" (LE) [A Novel Romance 2014] + Comparison

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Hi! Recapping on what I said in my last post, today (well, over five hours ago it became yesterday for Japan, but whatever) was the release of Sakamoto Maaya's newest single, and tomorrow is the store launch date for MAC's new collection, A Novel Romance. Last Thursday, the collection launched on MAC's website, and that's when I placed my order for the lipstick I'm reviewing in today's post, "Yield to Love." I'm actually getting one more lipstick from this collection at some point, but I'll talk about that near this post's end.

A Novel Romance features a slew of beauty products, but with regards to lipsticks specifically, a total of six limited edition lipsticks were released with it: "A Novel Romance," "Myself," "Good Kisser," "Hearts Aflame," "Lingering Kiss," and "Yield to Love" (the collection's only MAC-online exclusive). I picked up "Yield to Love" for two reasons: its cremesheen finish and its color which, on some bloggers, appeared to be a brighter, raspberry pink. 

On me, the color is actually not bright nor is it a raspberry pink. In fact, I think "Yield to Love" looks closer to the swatch on MAC's website - which most said was completely inaccurate - when I wear it than it does to swatches done by bloggers. That's an interesting statement to make, considering the fact that the swatch on the MAC website is actually pretty scary (and, in that sense, inaccurate still). 

So, with that being said, I hope that of all things in this post, my pictures are most helpful. 

FOTD: August 16, 2014

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Hello! Here we are nearing the start of another week, again, the never-ending cycle...but on the bright side, we have Sakamoto Maaya's Replica releasing Wednesday, and MAC's newest collection, A Novel Romance, launching in stores the day after that. So there's some change from the norm to be excited for.

Back in present-time, I have another FOTD post to share with you today, using a new eye shadow I received with the rest of my [first] order from Beautylish this past week. Inglot's 26 Shine was originally going to be the star of this look, and this post, but I ended up falling so much in love with every aspect of the finished look that I don't think any one product should get all the credit. Hence why I'm labeling this as a "FOTD" rather than an "EOTD" (face vs. eye for those not familiar).

In this post, I'll be listing the products used, and describing how I got the eye look. I'll also give a few different lip product options that I think may compliment this look (based off my stash of course), because that was the only aspect of the entire look that I wasn't completely set on. Ironically, haha.

Eyes: Milani's Bella Eyes Gel Powder Eyeshadow Swatches (8 Colors)

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Hi everyone. Happy Saturday! Today is the first day that's felt like a true [pleasant] summer day...and I spent it taking and editing the pictures for this post, which almost took forever but not quite. Don't worry, there were reasons I couldn't do much today to begin with. If you can't spend it outside, I guess it's best to be productive indoors, right?

I went back and forth trying to figure out how to introduce this new line of Milani eye shadows to my blog. I originally did a look with three of the colors and decided that I would use that look to create a review post. Then I did another look today using a fourth of the eight colors I own, and I wondered: would this technically have to turn into a review, too? But what about the other shadows used in the same look?

And then, what about the other four shadows from this line?

So, today, I decided to do a picture-heavy post that is not a review, but simply a close-up-and-swatch kind of post. Once I do looks using the shadows and/or review posts, I'll add them here as links for additional information per color. That seems like the best way to go about doing this. At least it seems that way today, haha.

EOTD: August 3, 2014

Hello! Here we are at the midpoint of another week, and I thought I'd share with you an eye look I did this past weekend. It was for the most part improvised, as I only knew that I wanted to use one shadow in particular, but I was fairly content with the finished look. My eye makeup techniques are still lacking but there is (I think) subtle improvement each time I go about doing it. The bulk of my struggles exist in the fact that my eye's crease...well...cuts itself. 

That probably doesn't communicate much. Sorry. 

The eye shadow I knew I wanted to use was "Bewitched" from Prestige's Total Intensity line. This brand - this line from it, specifically - has been getting an influx of attention lately, and what convinced me to pick up "Bewitched" was its duochrome nature. I simply adore duochrome shadows. 

Lips: MAC's Sheen Supreme Lipstick in "Phosphorescent" (LE) [Moody Blooms 2014]

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Hi hi. Today I'll be reviewing the last of the three products I picked up from MAC's Moody Blooms collection, another Sheen Supreme lipstick in the color "Phosphorescent."

"Phosphorescent" was my first Sheen Supreme lipstick, though I previously reviewed "Moody Bloom" - the other of these lipsticks that I picked up from Moody Blooms - here. Inevitably, I reference "Phosphorescent" multiple times throughout that review, so if you've read that review already then you kind of already have an idea of my thoughts regarding this particular shade. This post will, of course, go into greater detail with "Phosphorescent" specifically, with the usual rundown of pictures.

So yeah - let's take a look at the infamous "Phosphorescent"!

Lips: MAC's Sheen Supreme Lipstick in "Moody Bloom" (LE) [Moody Blooms 2014]

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Hi everyone! In my last MAC post about the Moody Blooms 2014 collection, which I posted right before this one (here's a link anyway), I made an error and stated that I picked up two products only from this collection. I was thinking about my visit to the store when my boyfriend was here, during which I picked up "Artistic License" and "Phosphorescent." I totally forgot that I ordered another lipstick, "Moody Bloom," online. So why not review that one next?

"Moody Bloom" is one of six limited edition Sheen Supreme lipsticks that released with Moody Blooms. Sheen Supreme lipsticks are a different line of lipsticks from MAC's regular "lipstick" category, and the second different line of lipsticks I've tried from MAC (the other being the Huggables, which I've yet to review). I'll go into what MAC's claims are for the Sheen Supreme line but, for now, I thought I'd mention that I originally planned on skipping all of these lipsticks because I heard many people describe the Sheen Supreme formula as being greasy/messy, which I don't find very appealing.

To be realistic, I only originally purchased "Phosphorescent" for that reason. Ordering "Moody Bloom" online, then, says what I thought after all about the Sheen Supreme formula.