Butter London: Knackered

Hello there blogging world.  It's been a while since my last post.  You'll have to excuse my hectic schedule but I'm back!  And I'm so excited to share with you....My FIRST ever Butter London came in the mail the other day.  I ordered Knackered along with Slapper from the Spring 2012 collection as well as the Nail Foundation and P.D. Quick Topcoat.  The order itself took 5 days to ship to me after the purchase receipt was received.  All together 7 business days.

I am so thrilled to have this polish.  Knackered is a grayish-purple-green chrome with fine iridescent glitter.  These photographs do not do this polish justice.  It reminds me of the inside of an oyster shell - which is probably the most accurate description of this polish.  This is one of those colours that changes depending on your lighting.  In direct sunlight, it is pale and sheer, in the shade or indoors, it takes on a silver-gray shade to it.

Lancome L'Absolu Rouge in Berry Noir: Review & Swatches

Today's feature product is a lip product by Lancome.  Lancome L'Absolu Rouge in Berry Noir is my absolutely favourite dark lip colour.  This beautiful shade has SPF 12 and is smooth, creamy and very pigmented.  After lusting after this colour for a year, I finally picked up my first Lancome lipstick and have not looked back.

Sugarpill Loose Eyeshadows: Review & Swatches

from sugarpillshop.com

I heard so much about Sugarpill after IMATS LA 2011.  It was all I heard about on Youtube on blogs for days.  I must admit, there is seriously not that much hype about IMATS Vancouver every year.  I have never been nor do I plan on going just for the fact that I rarely hear anything about it.  However, I would love to go to IMATS LA one day...  Anyways, back to the point, after hearing all these raves about how amazing Sugarpill loose pigments were, I had to order some of my own.

Shop MAC Lipsticks: Review & Swatches

The Shop MAC collection - released on February 9, 2012 along with Cook MAC - brought 6 stunning lipstick shades (5 new, 1 repromote) to MAC counters/stores across North America.  This was one collection, that I was very excited for.  Having had to literally hunt for the Iris Apfel collection, I was happy to see that this collection had not sold out with the first few hours.  I ended up picking up 4 of the 6 available shades.

Cook MAC Tendertone Lip Balm: Review & Swatches

They're back! MAC has finally repromoted their Tendertone Lip Balm as a part of the Cook MAC collection released on February 9, 2012.  Like the crazy lip product gal thast I am, I headed out on the day the collection was released and picked up all four tendertones released with this collection.  I have not used a Tendertone since 2010 or so when they were last released and I used all of my one and only one up.  These little potted lip balms always seem to fly off the shelves so I stocked up!

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed & Tipsy: Review & Swatches

Today's feature product is Blush!  Tarte Amazonian 12 hour/long-wearing Blush to be exact!  I   personally own 2 shades: Exposed and Tipsy.  These are both beautifully pigmented and long wearing blushes.  With simplistic, no fuss and convenient packaging, these are definitely a product to check out.

Benefit 'POREfessionally Pretty' Set: Review

Benefit has some of the most interesting products.  I am a firm believer in their mascara and have been since branching out into their blushes, bronzers and now primers.  The first primer I ever tried was Benefit's IT Girl.  Probably when I was about 16 - 17 or so.  Recently, I have been working off of a small sample of Benefit POREfessional Primer and finally decided to take the leap and buy the full sized product.  To my great surprise, when I arrived at Sephora to purchase the full sized product, for ~$2-$3 more, I was able to purchase this kit, which included a sample of Benefit's new Girl meets Pearl as well as their concealer Erase Paste (in Medium no. 2).

MAC: Fresh Honey Mineralized Blush: Review & Swatch

MAC's Naturally Collection was released in early January and featured 3 mineralized blushes as well 2 mineralized skin finishes (re-promotes) among other products.  The 3 blushes released were Fresh Honey, Subtle Breeze and Early Morning.  I was so tempted to buy all 3 blushes and both MSF, but I restrained myself and picked up just Fresh Honey.

MAC: Iris Apfel Collection in Flamingo & Pink Pigeon: Review & Swatches

This is a somewhat belated post considering that this collection has been sold out for some time now.  However, I figured I would do some swatches and reviews regardless.  Hopefully, if you are interested in these colours, I can provide some possible dupes and/or look-a-likes for these shades.  So without further ado, here are some swatches about the much loved, bird-inspired collection from Iris Apfel in collaboration with MAC. Please note: that this post will be fairly picture heavy for only showing 2 lipsticks.

ATTN: Shop MAC, Cook MAC - On Sale Online Now!

Attention All MAC Fanatics!

Shop MAC & Cook MAC is officially on sale at maccosmetics.com now!

If you don't think you'll be able to make it to a MAC Counter on the 9th - this is your chance!

Products are already starting to sell out (especially the lipsticks!)

Will you be buying online or at a MAC Counter?

xo, Chanel

P.S.: You can check out my "Shop MAC, Cook MAC" post on the release with all the info and official release photos here

Essie: Meet Me at Sunset & Essie Luxe Effects: Shine of the Times

It's been a while since I last did a nail polish post.  This week, I have been sporting this bright almost festive nail combo of Essie 'Meet Me at Sunset' topped off with Essie Luxe Effects 'Shine of the Times'.  This shimmery combo leans towards a festive end but is still bright enough to catch some attention.  It's definitely worth a look.

natural light

Benefit 'Tan About Town': Review

Today's featured product is Benefit's Tan About Town - it was released as a "mini set" exclusively at Sephora over the holidays.  This set which first came out around Christmas time now seems to be all over the check out line at Sephora.  With 3 of their best selling items, this is the perfect little sample pack for a gal on the go!

January Favourites!

I can't believe that January is already over.  It seems to have flown by.  It seems that I have so many favorites this month.  There have been some new discoveries and some older products that I have 'newly rediscovered'.  As part of my effort to save money, I am doing my best to use up as much of the products I already have - instead of just continuing to buy more.  Note: monthly favorites are also long posts for me, as I tend to do a mini review on each product as I go.

Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss: Review & Swatches

As a follow up to my last post, I thought I'd also feature Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss!  I figured a short post with the basics would suffice as these seem to be very much loved lipglosses - however, these are not my favorite by Revlon.  With tall, slender tubes and similarly quilted caps, these glosses are not only beautiful in colour but sleek too!  Again, I own three.  They are more or less the corresponding lipgloss colours to the lipsticks I own in the same line.  I have for you Bordeaux (016), Strawberry (006) & Sunset Peach (022).

From L to R: Bordeaux, Strawberry & Sunset Peach

The formula of these is rather slippery.  In comparison to MAC lipglass, these are less sticky but they are more tacky than Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss.  In general, colours are creamy, fairly opaque and have a high gloss finish to them.

Now for the swatches!  In one swipe, you can see below the pigmentation of these glosses.  Bordeaux is the darkest, deepest and most richly coloured on the bunch.  It is for the most part a completely opaque gloss.  No need for lipstick underneath this one.  It creates a nice vampy, deep wine colour with high shine.  It has no glitter in it unlike the next two.  Strawberry is a cool-toned pink with fine glitter that reflects a variety of colours.  Finally, Sunset Peach (my personal favourite of the 3) is a nice light pale peach high shine gloss with the same multicoloured glitter as Strawberry.  Though all of these colours look beautiful when layered over a lipstick, they look just as pretty on their own.

With these glosses, keep in mind, what you see in the tube, is how it turns out on your lips.  They are true to colour and the pigmentation allows for the colour to transfer seamlessly to your lips.
As for the constantly lip product posts? I know, I know, I own too many lip products - but hey, that's just what I like.  I love my lip products!

What's your favourite makeup product?

xo, Chanel