January Make Up Favorites 2011

1-4. Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Strobe Light, Revlon Perplex, Wet n' Wild Gray's Anatomy & Sagreena the Teenage Witch.

5. Cover FX Brush #160. Apparently this was meant for the Full Coverage Compact Foundation which I've used with once, but I personally love it for cream cheek products like my NARS Cap Vert multiple bronzer or the Soleil Tan De Chanel.

6. Nars Madly blush. I do believe this is described as a seashell pink, and I'd say that's pretty accurate. As many have mentioned, it looks like nothing in the pan, but applied to the cheeks it boosts and livens the complexion wonderfully. I can see this being a great bronzer for NC10 skin-tones.
7. Nars Ashes to Ashes (sorry for the condition of the shadow as it is very soft and crumbled a little in transit). It's definitely a taupe that errs on the mauve side. I prefer these types of taupes on my skin vs. ones like Satin Taupe by MAC.
8-9. Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer (left) & Too Faced Leopard Bronzer (right). I can't get over how smooth these both apply. Chocolate Soleil (matte) blends down wonderfully and almost mimics just a darker skin-tone, which is why I think it works well for me. It's not too golden, too orange, or too red based. Leopard Bronzer really isn't a bronzer, even for my fair skin. It's more of a rose blush with a slight lavender (cool) undertone to it.
10. Wet n' Wild Color Icon Trio in "Silent Treatment". I adore this trio! I won't drone on and on, but these shadows are so soft and creamy. Honestly, they rival my high end shadows in texture, color payoff, blend-ability, and longevity.
11. MUFE Aqua Cream #13. This month was my first trial with the eye aqua creams. I have the cheek/lip versions which last forever, but can be hard to blend in quickly and thoroughly. However, the eye version is out of this world amazing. They start creamier than any of the Benefit or MAC counterparts, but then set even better and last longer than either. I do hope they come out with a matte version, though!
12. Bare Minerals Nude Beach. This is such a versatile and dreamy color. The shimmer emits a phenomenal glow that I can't seem to get enough of. I use this almost daily on top of whatever lid color I'm wearing that day.
13. Wet n' Wild Color Icon Brow Pencil. I meant to include this in my monthly favorites, but missed it on my desk when I was taping my video. This is currently my favorite brow product, period. It is incredibly soft and creamy, but also has a slight wax property to it. I'm not one who likes drawn in brows, nor do I like them perfect. This is perfect if you want to fill in your brows with ease and with little effort.

Cover Girl Lip Perfection Lipstick Review & Swatches

A week or so ago, Raul (TheRaulness) and I did a swap and he included two of the new Cover Girl Lip Perfection lipsticks in Sultry and Divine in my package.

Needless to say I fell instantly in love with the formulation of these two shades, and with almost all of the Drugstores having BOGO 50% off, I had to test out a few more.

In this post I'm going to review the colors separately and then the line as a whole; pros, cons and the whole shebang.

P.S. I do hope you find the swatches helpful. By no means am I on the level of Temptalia and her photography, but I do feel it's not too shabby for my first up-close lip swatch debut. ;cD

Heavenly is a neutral pink shade. I'd certainly wear this color for every day wear. Colors I'd say are in a similar color category (not dupes) would be YSL #2 Rouge Volupte and MAC's Blankety. I would say Heavenly is less mauve and more rose based than the other colors mentioned.
Sultry is a neutral to mid-toned brown shade with a hint of peach. I see this being the perfect nude for darker skin-tones. Colors that are similar in this color family would also be YSL #2 Rouge Volupte and MAC Blankety, but this is a little darker and slightly more brown.
Divine is simply, well, Divine!! It's a strong violet based pink lipstick. The photo is showing the violet tone more than what I see on my lips in person. Apparently this is a dupe to MAC Violetta, which makes perfect sense.
Fairytale is a coral that errs much on the peach/orange side with the slightest hint of red base. This reminds me somewhat of MAC's chatterbox.
Temptress is kind of similar to Fairytale, but doesn't sway to the peach side and therefore stays more to a true bright coral.
Kiss is a light peachy bronze shade. I currently can't think of a lipstick I have similar to. The frost is tolerable in this shade. I do like it.
Sweetheart is my least favorite shade. It's a baby rose based pink with intense frost. I'm not opposed to frost or a metallic finish, but this is too intense and unflattering on me. It washes me out quite a bit aside from the overbearing finish.

Overview-

Pros:

1. Incredibly long lasting

2. Full, opaque coverage (mainly with the cremes/creams)

3. Vast shade selection

4. Luxurious packaging

5. Applies very smoothly - doesn't settle into fine lines

6. Almost undetectable scent. The scent I faintly smell has a hint of vanilla, similar to MAC. Some claim there is no scent, it's that subtle.

Cons:

1. Somewhat difficult to remove

2. A little drying even though they appear moisturizing

3. Frosts can be overbearing, so buy with caution.

Overall, I can confidently recommend you try these lipsticks. I can't believe such a smooth wearing lipstick can wear all day as if it were a lip stain. The packaging is absolutely incredible and reminds me of Hourglass packaging with the high shine pewter packaging. LOVE!