Review: MAC Disney Venomous Villians Collection - Maleficient Duo Eyeshadows and Nail polishes

It's here at last!

I am talking about the collaboration between the 2 giants in their own rights - MAC and Disney.

After weeks of blogging by various prominent bloggers worldwide and salivating over some gorgeous items from the collection, the much anticipated collaboration has finally hit our tiny shores on the 7th of October (Tangs) and 8th of October (for the rest of the MAC stores islandwide).

Rumours has it that there was a queue lined up way before Tangs opening hours and the MAC staffs were stuffed with listings and listings of items to be bought, in conclusion- chaotic.

I do not have enough faith that i will win the wrestle for the much converted products with other enthusiastic makeup lovers, i would have missed the Venomous Villians collection entirely if not for a very dear friend, JL who managed to snag the Maleficent Duo Eyeshadows for me. I am not that greedy, so i am a happy deer galloping in the concrete forest with the precious duos in my hands.

Without further delay, i presents the Maleficent Duo Eyeshadows - My Dark Magic and She Who Dares.

The 4 Villians- Dr. Facilier, The Evil Queen, Maleficent and Cruella.

Dr. Facilier.

The Evil Queen.

Maleficent.

Cruella.

Top: My Dark Magic and She Who dares. Bottom: Formidable, Green & Mean and Bad Fairy.

The 2 precious Duos.

My Dark Magic.

She Who Dares.

Top view side by side: She Who Dares and My Dark Magic.

Dry Swatches with flash: Violet/Dark Pink (My Dark Magic), Green/Blue (She Who Dares).

Dry Swatches without flash: Violet/Dark Pink (My Dark Magic), Green/Blue (She Who Dares).

Green & Mean.

Bad Fairy.

Formidable.

Not part of the Disney Venomous Villians collection, only for comparison purposes.

Originality from the Pret-a-Papier collection.

L-R(with flash): Mean & Green, Bad Fairy, Formidable and Originality.

Mean & Green (without flash).

Bad Fairy (without flash).

Formidable (without flash).

Originality (Pret-a-Papier) without flash.

L-R: Originality, Formidable, Bad Fairy and Mean & Green (Without flash).

Review of the eyeshadow duos:

Frankly speaking, i would expect alot of fallouts (but lemming them for the wickedly gorgeous colours), but surprisingly application-wise is smooth and the colour payout is intense plus its a rather generous 3.5g (the usual MAC single eyeshadow is 1.3g). As for the description of colours, i think one can easily see in the photos above, so no need for the long story.

There are some glitters in the colour itself but shouldn't pose too much of a problem, it simply means that the colours are not really appropriate for office wear (obviously, unless you are in the fashion related industry, perhaps then). JL suggested that i can try to shake out the glitters on the brush so perhaps it will be more wearable for office. Hm...... will try to see if it will work that way.

In conclusion, wickedly gorgeous colours, uniquely seductive combination- love it to the core. : )

Review of the Nail Polishes (Mean & Green, Bad Fairy and Formidable):

The nail polishes are lent to me by the courtesy of JL (Thank you : )). Application wise, as one can see there are tiny glitters in the polishes, so in terms of application it is not as smooth as cream polishes.

The colours are in a word- beautiful and matches the theme totally, but I am rather disappointed in the sense that all 3 takes 3 coats to show the colours opaque beautifully. This is not what i had expected as Originality (Pret-a-Papier collection) takes only 2 coats to show its colour nicely opaque. Maybe the formula is different.

Out of the 3, i would say Bad Fairy is the most unique of all and if i have to pay an exorbitant price for it in Evil Bay, i would gladly do so (that is if i would kill for it). Other than that, Mean & Green is nice but doesn't really capture my heart and Formidable is nothing its name says.

Hope my 2 cents worth are useful here.

Priced at S$35.00 each for the Eyeshadow duo (3.5g) and S$19.00 each for the nail polishes (10ml).

Status: Totally soldout everywhere, Evil Bay is the last resort.

Review: Guerlain Ombre Eclat Eyeshadows

Finally.. some time to give these lovelies a review...

Today, the review will be done on the 4 Eyeshadow singles that i hauled during my Luxasia warehouse sale late August this year.

I would say at 3.6g or 0.12oz, these Eyeshadow singles are possibly the largest in the market as far as i know and have seen... MAC's are 1.3g or 0.04oz if i am not mistaken. From what i understand, these are not limited editions and should be available all year round at various Guerlain counters unless they decide to discontinue it one day.

The retail price of these lovelies are S$50.oo each, Tangs used to have a promotion 2 for S$50.oo. Well, lady luck is on my side that say, i have gotten them at a sale for S$10.00 each, nothing beats a deal like that. : )

Alright, without further delay....

I present..... L'instant Nuit (180), L'instant Emeraude (181), L'instant Fume (180) and L'instant Coquin (160).

Beautiful compact and it comes with its own cover.

Packagingwise, Guerlain never fails to impress me with the sleek and classy casing that gives off a solid "click" when you close it, my only gripe is the high polish shiny surface is unfortunately a fingerprints magnet... sigh...

L-R: L'instant Nuit, L'instant Emeraude, L'instant Fume and L'instant Coquin.

Scentwise, Guerlain's point makeup products are usually rather heavily scented, for instance its bestselling meteorites smells of floral, its lipstick and glosses of something vanilla which i can't place a finger. The eyeshadow singles do not possess any scent (it will be weird if they did, to me).

L'instant Nuit 182.

L'instant Emeraude 181.

L'instant Fume 180.

L'instant Coquin 160.

Close up swatches of the eyeshadow singles.

Texturewise, there is a difference in the way the eyeshadow singles feel and applicationwise, they vary between the slighty dry and hard to soft and shimmery to smooth and soft.

L'instant Nuit is a lovely black with micro bits of golden flecks in it, i looks really gorgeous in the pan, however upon application, the eyeshadow feels a little hard and dry (it hasn't expired yet) and the colour payout is raher sheer, i would definitely need to build up the colour intensity with a few applications for the colour to stand out. I swatched about 4 times for the colour to show up as seen in the last picture. I just wish it applies just like the colour shown in the pan.

It is same case for L'instant Emeraude, such a rare and lovely rich olive green yet the colour payout is pale in comparison to what you see in the pan. Sigh.. the texture is a little hard and dry too.

For L'instant Fume, i did not encounter any difficulty in application and all it took is 1 swatch for the colour to show, i swatched twice to capture then sheen in the eyeshadow. It is a nice mauve beige brown (i am trying my best to describe it). Not bad at all.

Among the 4 singles, the 1 that i expect the least performs the best for me, L'instant Coquin is the 1 that i actually thought long and hard, holding it in my hands for almost 20 mins before i made up my mind to purchase it (can you believe it? i am hesitating during such a sale...). L'instant Coquin is not a difficult colour to wear nor it is a ugly colour, it is a pale soft pink that some thinks its easy to find a dupe and considering that i am quite tan, it might not show up on me at all.

Well, surprise surprise surprise... L'instant Coquin is my favourite because its soft and smooth... on contrary to what i thought, it applies like a dream with my MAC 217 on the crease of my eyes (the original intention was to use it as a base). The colour did show up and i get compliments that i look fresher (well, initially they can't exactly say why until i showed them). It shows up as a very lovely subtle pink on my eyelids. So, i can use it as a base and a "eye freshener", as i always say anything that works well and has duo usage is a Yay in my books....

I am currently 1 month into L'instant Coquin which i wore almost everyday (5 days out of 7) and Guerlain's "G" is gone, would have gotten a backup if i knew its going to be that useful to me..

In conclusion, despite L'instant Nuit and L'instant Emeraude did not really match my expectations, nevertheless they are beautiful colours that one can buildup the intensity gradually as one prefers (just a personal preference that i like something a little more intense). I love all the 4, and yes, i will be looking forward to the next Luxasia warehouse sale. : )

A Time for Indulgence - Chanel SoHo de Chanel Highlighter and Blusher

A Time for Indulgence?


Yes, indeed.


In fact that's a perfect excuse i have found for hauling this WANT home...

My well deserved haul sitting comfortably inside the paper bag.

The iconic packaging that sends my heart fluttering at lot of time.

A closer look at the present.

Admiring it again... : ) I sure am obsessive.

The mystery unravelled.

Chanel SoHo de Chanel Highlighter & Blusher.

The brush that accompanies it and of course, the jewel.

The star of the Chanel SoHo collection.

3 strips of colours- medium reddish brown, pale light pink and soft ivory white (All matte).

A Highlighter & Blusher-Duo usage is a yay in my book anytime. : )

Considering that Chanel is nowhere found in my list of beauty arsenals, it is for a good reason - $.

Despite saying that, Peter Philips (Creative Director of Chanel Beauty) as well as Karl Lagerfeld (couture) never fail to churn out serious lemmings season after season and i have been behaving myself... avoiding all Chanel counters.

Until this one came along.... Totally stole my heart at just one glance...

Beautiful practical colours, its not a print on (meaning the colours won't just rub away as most highlighters and blushers with motiffs does), its non shimmery (wholesome matte) and i have just the most legitimate reason to get it this month.. Its my Birthday, and so there after contemplating for almost a week (can't really wait too long, its LE!)... Here it is!

Still admiring it in its pristine condition, so give me a little time to do the swatches..

Priced at S$100.00 for 13g 0r 0.43oz, available at all Chanel Counters.

Note: Its pricer than all the previous Chanel's collection for Highlighters and Blushers.. the USD price remains the same (USD65), so perhaps its a price increment of some sort. : (