Rouge Dior Liquid Lipsticks Review, Swatches, Demo

Rouge Dior Liquid Lipsticks Review, Swatches, Demo

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Sunday, April 01, 2018

For some reason, the Rouge Dior Liquid Lipsticks came without much brouhaha. I mean, there is SO much noise about beauty launches these days... leaks on some Instagram accounts, debates over the leaks, pre-ponement of the launch date owing to said leak, PR parties, luxury holidays, massively over-egged packaging, more debates and controversies... I'm actually veering towards designer brands such as Chanel and Dior simply because of the lack of a hullabaloo over new releases.
I found these when Harrods had a 10% off sale, and they seemed a lot of fun. I had already picked up a few Armani Lip Magnets in store, and when I read that the formula was similarly non-drying, I knew I wanted these. They have a whopping 28 different shades - ARE YOU HEARING THIS, BRANDS COMING OUT WITH FOUNDATIONS AND CONCEALERS? - and a number of these are neutral, though some of the subtle shades I wanted were not in stock. I only picked three of them.
There are three different finishes - matte, satin, and metal. Obviously, I went in for matte. These are powdery-matte. Velvet matte. Not at all drying.

Scroll down for my review and swatches of the Rouge Dior Liquid Lipsticks.

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Morphe Liquid Lipsticks Review, Swatches, Demo

Morphe Liquid Lipsticks Review, Swatches, Demo

Videos Cosmetopia Digest   Thursday, October 05, 2017

Morphe Liquid Lipsticks are the second lot of products I've tried from the brand, the first being contouring brushes, which made my contouring game so much easier. The lipsticks promise a bulletproof kiss, and are just $12, or €13.95, or £9 each. They are made in the USA and come in 22 shades.

Scroll down for my review and swatches of the Morphe Liquid Lipsticks.

Please watch this video for the swatches and review of the Morphe Liquid Lipsticks - please also give me a thumbs-up, and do subscribe to my channel!

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Estee Lauder Pure Color Love Lipsticks Review, Swatches

Estee Lauder Pure Color Love Lipsticks Review, Swatches

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Estee Lauder's Pure Color Love Lipsticks came out earlier this year. Despite having "Pure Color" in the name, the packaging and look seemed to be a departure from the Pure Color Envy Sculpting Lipsticks - see review here and here. I picked up three after falling in love with the shades in-store.
There are different sets in this range - Matte, Pearl, Chrome/Foil, and Creme. I only picked the creme ones; you get enough matte from liquid lipsticks, and I like my bullets lippies to be hydrating when I touch-up.
There are 30 shades in the range, and there's something for everyone, from the subtlest of neutrals to the vampiest and boldest lippies. 

Scroll down for the review, swatches, and demo of the Estee Lauder Pure Color Love Lipsticks.

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Makeup Video With HQHair Lust List

Makeup Video With HQHair Lust List

Videos Cosmetopia Digest   Wednesday, March 01, 2017

I did a dusky-neutral eye makeup look with a mauvey-pink lip, using the products on my HQHair Lust List, which I showed you yesterday here. This time, I have actually shared the step-by-step look on video as well.

Scroll down for a full-face makeup look featuring theBalm Appetit Eyeshadow Palette and Laura Geller Spackle Primer.

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Beauty Bakerie Lip Whip Review

Beauty Bakerie Lip Whip Review

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, December 20, 2016

This year, I've discovered some of the most amazing liquid lipsticks out there. Lightweight, easy to glide on formulae that stay on without the uncomfortable rip-your-lip dryness.
Beauty Bakerie's Lip Whips are one such discovery. 100% vegan and cruelty-free, the brand has been making waves on Instagram with the Lip Whips and the beautiful Neopolitan EyesCream palette (NEED! It's even prettier than Too Faced Sweet Peach). The Lip Whips come in 28 matte shades. You also get Metallic Lip Whips. Needless to say, I picked the subtlest, dusty-pink matte.

Scroll down for the review and swatches of Beauty Bakerie Lip Whip in Versailles.

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Makeup Look: Becca Highlighter + Lorac Pro 3 FOTD

Makeup Look: Becca Highlighter + Lorac Pro 3 FOTD

Tom Ford Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, August 09, 2016

It took a while for me to join the highlighting bandwagon. I was apprehensive about how it would suit my skintone, whether I would look like Edward Cullen, or if I would have to replace/alter/avoid other products in my makeup routine, and so on.
Some months ago, I had tried "strobing" with reasonably decent results (see here), so when I received the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in the Cult Beauty Summer 2016 Goody Bag (here), I experimented with it. Here are the results.

Scroll down for a full-face makeup look using Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector, Lorac Pro 3 eyeshadow palette, Giorgio Armani Maestro Foundation and Tom Ford lipstick.

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Julie Hewett Breathless Makeup Palette Review, Swatches, EOTDs

Julie Hewett Breathless Makeup Palette Review, Swatches, EOTDs

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Why isn't Hollywood makeup artist Julie Hewett's cruelty-free makeup collection more famous?
Just LOOK at those shades! Rosy, taupey, purpley and peachy neutrals. Of course I had to have them!
Julie Hewett decided to launch her own line of products when working on Pearl Harbour, after she found there was a dearth of products that could be used for the "old Hollywood glamour" look. So how did I get to know of her makeup?
In December, when my skin was so bad that I could not even cleanse properly, let alone moisturise, I had to rely on face mists for moisturising . I picked Julie Hewett's vegan Cucumber Water on a whim and fell in love with the mist - it smells just like cucumber and feels divine on the skin. I knew I would explore more from the brand before long. 

Scroll down for review and swatches of the Julie Hewett Breathless Makeup Palette, and an eye makeup look.

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Hourglass Femme Rouge Velvet Creme Lipstick in Mural

Hourglass Femme Rouge Velvet Creme Lipstick in Mural

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Monday, June 13, 2016

Having a self-imposed purchase limit of 12 lipsticks this year, I have to pat myself on the back for having bought just four in six months - the first three were Jouer's new liquid lipsticks, which I need to review last month asap. Hourglass Femme Rouge Velvet Creme Lipstick in Mural is my most recent purchase. This lipstick is not a recent launch, but it spoke to me as I dug around Space.NK.

Scroll down for the lowdown on Hourglass Femme Rouge Velvet Creme Lipstick in Mural.

YSL Baby Doll Kiss & Blush Lips & Cheek Soft Matte Colour Review, Swatches

YSL Baby Doll Kiss & Blush Lips & Cheek Soft Matte Colour Review, Swatches

Yves Saint Laurent Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, May 03, 2016

Yves Saint Laurent Baby Doll Kiss & Blush Lips & Cheek Soft Matte Colours look rather like nail polish bottles. I had overlooked them, but the SA suggested that I might find a long-wearing lipstick among them. Neither liquids nor creams, these are mousses, the SA said, and can be blended nicely on the lips and the cheeks.

Scroll down for more on YSL Baby Doll Kiss & Blush Lips & Cheek Soft Matte Colour.

Laura Geller Iconic Baked Sculpting Lipstick Review, Swatches

Laura Geller Iconic Baked Sculpting Lipstick Review, Swatches

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Monday, April 11, 2016

Laura Geller Iconic Baked Sculpting Lipsticks were an Autumn 2015 launch. I was on a no-lipstick-buy phase at the time, but they went on Boxing Day sales at just £8. I picked up two - Central Park Spice and East Side Rouge. No prizes for guessing what kind of shades they are.
What makes the Laura Geller Iconic Baked Sculpting Lipsticks stand out is the curved tip that will fit snugly along the lip contours. And have a dekko at those gorgeously patterned bullets.

Scroll down for the review and swatches of Laura Geller Iconic Baked Sculpting Lipstick in Central Park Spice and East Side Rouge.

Fleur de Force Eyeshadow Quad in Cosmic Bronze Review, Swatches

Fleur de Force Eyeshadow Quad in Cosmic Bronze Review, Swatches

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Saturday, January 30, 2016

My infection is down by about 25 per cent, and I have antibiotics for three more weeks. It has been about a month now. My skin is beyond flaky - no surprises there. I have been playing with some lip and eye makeup, since foundation - and anything I cannot remove with plain water - is out of the question.
Feelunique's 2015 Advent Calendar, reviewed here, included a very exciting beauty product - a Fleur De Force Eyeshadow Quad. Fleur launched these quads in two shades - Cosmic Bronze and Lunar Rose. I received the former.

Scroll down for review and swatches of the Fleur de Force Eyeshadow Quad in Cosmic Bronze.

Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Satin Lipstick in Perfect Day review, swatches

Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Satin Lipstick in Perfect Day review, swatches

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Thursday, August 27, 2015

Ever bought a lipstick on an impulse, got complimented for it and then tried to repurchase only to find it out of stock? Yep, that's me.
I saw the Soap & Glory Sexy Motherpucker Lipstick in Boots and loved the shade Perfect Day - other shades I wanted were out of stock. They had a 3-for-2 offer on the brand, so I picked two of these lipsticks and a body butter on an impulse.
I wore the lipstick to Oxford Street and two SAs in Selfridges wanted to know what lipstick I was wearing. Admitting to wearing a drugstore lipstick while in Selfridges seemed like a bad idea at first, so I took refuge in a paroxysm of coughing but told the second SA it was Soap & Glory.
"Are you serious? I thought it was some expensive brand! I need it!" she said.
There was only one thing to be done.
I crossed the road and hit Boots. Out of stock. Boots at Southfields - ditto. Boots in Shaftesbury Ave - same story.
It could have been worse; at least I have two lipsticks and not just one.

Doesn't that external box remind you of Dr Strangelove?

Scroll down for swatches and review of Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Satin Lipstick in Perfect Day.

IT Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Matte Transforming Eyeshadow Palette review, swatches

IT Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Matte Transforming Eyeshadow Palette review, swatches

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, September 02, 2014

From the time I began wearing eyeshadow last year, theBalm's N*de'Tude had been my favourite neutral palette. Until my mid-2014 haul, seen here.
When I saw the IT Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Matte Luxe Transforming Eyeshadow Palette Vol. 1 on Never Say Die Beauty here, my first thought was, oh dear, another neutral palette. And then, I saw Allison's swatches. They were versatile, not brown-based or grey-based, and bright and fresh. More importantly, they were matte. I have a preference for matte eyeshadow - and matte lipstick - as it is more suitable for work-wear, and there is no risk of any portion of my skin remotely resembling Edward Cullen Esq., Vampire.
IT Cosmetics is cruelty- and paraben-free. Also, this palette is supposed to be hydrating and anti-ageing, and the shadows are infused with peptides, collagen, silk and antioxidants. Makeup and skincare rolled into one - there was no way I was going to resist that, despite owning half a dozen other neutral palettes. And, in addition to containing 14 matte eyeshadows, this palette also has a transforming shimmer pan, if you tire of the mattes. Which makes this quite the be-all and end-all of palettes in theory. Now to find out if that is actually the case in practice.

Here is my review and swatches of the IT Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Matte Vol. 1 Luxe Transforming Eyeshadow Palette.

Almost black smoky eyes with theBalm N*de'Tude

Almost black smoky eyes with theBalm N*de'Tude

TheBalm Cosmetopia Digest   Friday, June 13, 2014

Really dark, almost black smoky eye makeup is something I doubt I can pull off, given that my eye colour is almost black. But I am perfectly willing to try new things, just as I tried yellow eyeshadow. So I decided to go in for a light-handed dark look with a blackish-brown eyeshadow.
I also realised that none of my eye looks so far was from theBalm's N*de'Tude eyeshadow palette, which is my favourite neutral palette ever. Perhaps the size of the eyeshadow pans is responsible for this - I do not want to ever hit pan on these pretties! Not to mention the gorgeous packaging. Incidentally, it also contains the most versatile neutrals, with which you can do soft as well as dramatic smoky eye looks.
As usual, I accentuated just the one eyeshadow for this look, although I lightened it out with a couple of paler shades on the inner lid.

Here is a light-handed, almost black smoky eye makeup look with theBalm's N*de'Tude eyeshadow palette.

Bobbi Brown N#de Lip Color #18 review, swatches

Bobbi Brown N#de Lip Color #18 review, swatches

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Sunday, May 25, 2014

Google hates it when I use the term "nyude" - spelling mistake made intentionally to avoid adult content penalties - but unless someone tells cosmetics companies not to use the terms "n@ked", nyude and so on, blogs do not have a choice.
Anyway. I received a set of Bobbi Brown lipsticks as birthday presents - I got to choose the shades, so yay! Needless to say, every one of them was a dusty rose or rosy-neutral. My family keeps asking me why I asked for seven or eight lipsticks that looked exactly alike, but what do they know about the beauty of dusty rose? Today, I will show you one of my favourites from this set.

Here are swatches and the review of Bobbi Brown Lip Color in shade #18 or "N*de".

Bronze smoky eye with Sephora Blockbuster

Bronze smoky eye with Sephora Blockbuster

Smoky eye Cosmetopia Digest   Friday, April 11, 2014

Oh dear, I seem to have scowled my way through all the photographs for today's smoky eye. Ah well, it was a bit too sunny and I don't think sunglasses are quite the thing when you try to showcase your eye makeup.
The only time I now wear neutral eyeshadows, especially brown-based shades, is in-between a spate of bright colours. I really think they photograph - and therefore, look - rather alike and meh on me, especially because of my eye colour and skintone. Still, when you have a different palette to play with, you always get some fun out of the eyeshadows (until they show up in the photographs)!

Here is a bronze smoky eye makeup look I did using the Sephora Makeup Academy Blockbuster Palette. 

Shimmery neutral brown EOTD with Too Faced Chocolate Bar

Shimmery neutral brown EOTD with Too Faced Chocolate Bar

Too Faced Cosmetopia Digest   Saturday, March 29, 2014

The problem with the Too Faced Chocolate Bar eyeshadow palette, reviewed here, is that I take ages to apply the shadows because I am too busy sniffing in the chocolatey scent. With packaging that looks just like a chocolate bar, the palette contains 14 eyeshadows infused with cocoa, and the shadows actually smell like chocolate. But I have already talked at length about this palette.
Of late, I have had to push myself into using neutral shadows,but this palette is relatively new in my stash, so it was easy to reach for it, despite the eyeshadows being mostly brown-based neutrals.

Here is a soft and shimmery neutral brown eye makeup look I did with the Too Faced Chocolate Bar eyeshadow palette.

Too Faced Chocolate Bar Eyeshadow palette review, swatches, photos

Too Faced Chocolate Bar Eyeshadow palette review, swatches, photos

Too Faced Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, March 18, 2014

I am probably the last blogger to swatch the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Eyeshadow Collection. In fairness, they didn't have it in Sephora when I went in December and then I was on a shopping ban until February (beauty boxes exempt). Finally, I decided to treat myself to this palette after my ban and because my birthday is only a month away :)

Part of the Too Faced Spring 2014 collection, the Chocolate Bar palette contains 16 eyeshadows, all infused with 100% natural cocoa powder. As a huge fan of Too Faced (my first-ever eyeshadow palette was Too Faced Liquif-Eye Collection), I had this palette on my wishlist as soon as it was announced.

Here is my review and swatches of the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Eyeshadow Collection.

EOTD: Basic smoky eye makeup with Urban Decay Smog and Darkhorse shadows

EOTD: Basic smoky eye makeup with Urban Decay Smog and Darkhorse shadows

Urban Decay Cosmetopia Digest   Saturday, November 16, 2013

At long last, my first smoky eye look! While I firmly maintain that theBalm's N*de'Tude (see here) is the more versatile neutral eye palette (I find that the Urban Decay N@ked palettes - both one and two - have either too many darker crease shades or too many lighter lid shades and not enough medium shades), here is a very basic smoky eye look I've done with Urban Decay's N@ked palette 1, using the eyeshadow shades Smog and Darkhorse. Smog and Darkhorse are my favourite combination from this palette and can be worn in the daytime, even to work, without your eye makeup looking over the top.