Category Archives: Beauty

Dress Your Face: Anastasia Tamanna Palette Review

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Products used listed at end of post

Anastasia Beverly Hills Tamanna palette

I went back and forth about whether or not to get this palette as I need another palette like a hole in the head. Of course it quickly sold out in store and I was hit with an acute case of FOMO (fear of missing out). Like the sheep I am, I snatched it up without a second thought when I saw it back in stock online.

Don’t be fooled by the blue. The Anastasia Beverly Hills Tamanna Dress Your Face palette is essentially a neutral palette. This is the 3rd palette released this year in collaboration with Instagram/ YouTube personalities and this is by far my favourite. This collaboration with Tamanna Roashan (a.k.a “Dress Your Face”) is perfect in that it will look good on almost anybody and a lot of thought has clearly gone into the colour selection.

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IMG_1380There are mattes, shimmers, semi-mattes, a gold, a brown, a black- basically everything you need for a successful palette.

Anastasia Tamanna palette swatch dark skin top row

L-R: fresh, blush, venezia, gilded, custom

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L-R: sangria, bengal, chocolate, china rose, noir

I’m not going to go through all the colours but my favourites are “noir”– a fantastic true black matte eyeshadow that reminds me of Urban Decay’s “blackout”, “gilded”– a beautiful dark gold shimmer, “china rose”– an orangey, pinky, goldish shimmer, and the reason I bought the palette: “sangria”– a cranberry shimmer that looks great on the lid, crease and lower lash line.

Quick note: I found both “chocolate” and “venezia” to be a little dryer than the other shadows.

The Tamanna palette also comes with a serviceable double-ended brush and 5 surprisingly useful “Get The Look” cards.

Products Used:

Eyes:

Brows: Make Up For Ever Aqua Brow #40

Main Lid- “gilded” and “china rose”

Outer V- “chocolate” and “sangria”

Crease- “sangria”, “chocolate” and Make Up For Ever eyeshadow #162

Highlight- “fresh” and NARS “Madrague”

Lower lash line- “sangria”

Eyeliner- NARS “subra” dual intensity eyeshadow

Mascara- Yves Saint Laurent Babydoll

Face:

Foundation- Becca Ultimate Coverage Complexion Creme in “sienna”

Concealer- NARS radiant creamy concealer in “amande”

Contour- Sleek contour palette in “dark”

Blush- Sleek “coral”

Lips:

Sephora ultra shine lip gloss #22 “Shimmery Deep Rose”

The palette is sold out in quite a few places but you can still find it at Macy’s and Nordstrom online for the great price of $29.

Nana Adomah

Are You A Living Legend?: MAC The Matte Lip Collection Review

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L-R: Living Legend, Fashion Revival

I’ve been super over a lot of MAC’s collections over the past few years and I swore I wouldn’t buy into the hype but here I am, the proud owner of two of the lipsticks in The Matte Lip collection. I ordered Fashion Revival and Living Legend and I couldn’t be more pleased.

There are eight lipsticks in the collection with Heroine being the only one that is part of the permanent collection. I already own Heroine and I have numerous reds so Fashion revival and living legend were the only ones that jumped out at me. I ordered these online but I’ll be sure to pop into the shops on Friday, when they are released in MAC stores, to see what the other colours are like in person.

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L-R: Living Legend, Fashion Revival indoors daytime w/ flash.

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Daytime swatch no flash

Living Legend is a fantastic deep aubergine colour that swatched with full opacity in just one swipe. I’ve been on my dark lipsticks a lot this year so this is a very welcome addition. Fashion Revival is a dark raspberry that’s also right up my street. I was scared it was just a more matte version of Rebel (my all-time favourite MAC lipstick) but happily it wasn’t too similar.

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L-R: Living Legend, Fashion Revival, and Rebel

Rebel is definitely more purple and generally darker overall.

Now be aware of the fact these lipsticks are in MAC’s matte formula and NOT in their retro matte formula like I originally believed. The formula is slightly more matte than their amplified lipsticks but not a true matte matte like Ruby Woo or Flat Out Fabulous.

All in all, this is a nice collection by MAC and I’m sure they’ll sell in their shed loads so be sure to check them out when they hit stores this Friday. Look out for a FOTD featuring these very soon!

The MAC Matte Lip collection can be purchased here or in stores on Friday for $16 (yes we see you constantly increasing your prices MAC smh) and I highly recommend them. There are also six pro longwear lip liners and three blushes that are part of the collection so be sure to give them a gander.

Nana Adomah

Review: True Glory Brazilian Deep Wave Extensions

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True Glory is a hair extensions company based in Smyrna, Georgia (just outside of Atlanta). According to my younger sister “everybody in Atlanta’s heard of True Glory” but of course, me being old and uncool, I hadn’t. They’re famous for having ridiculously low prices in the weave mecca of Atlanta and I initially thought that their prices were a little too good to be true. However, I had my sister buy me some of their Brazilian body wave extensions a few months ago to try them out and I was pleasantly surprised. Their hair was as good as any of the more expensive hair companies I’d tried so I hit them up when I decided to get some curly hair.

True Glory Brazilian Deep Wave

2x 16″ and 1x 14″

I drove the 40 minutes to their location in Smyrna and I was pleasantly surprised by the ease of the transaction. The store was super clean and everybody who worked there was extremely polite and willing to answer my numerous questions. I like the fact that I was able to choose my own bundles of hair so I could touch and see the actual hair I was going to purchase.

I purchased 2 bundles of their Brazilian deep wave hair in 16 inches and  1 bundle in a 14 inch in an off-black colour. One of the 16 inch bundles was a little straggly at the ends but I was sure a deep condition would fix that. I washed and conditioned the hair and put it on a u-part wig and here’s how it turned out:

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Washed and left to air-dry

 I really like the hair but I felt like the hair was dry at the ends and it was a little longer than I wanted it to be so I just had it cut and layered this morning. I’ll be sure to post an updated pic as soon as I can. I’m planning to add a little colour too so this will be the true test of how good the hair is. Curly hair is definitely way more work than I’m used to but I think I’m settling into a nice little routine with it. I’ll be creating a post in a few days about the products I use to maintain it.

A small note about True Glory hair, the hair you buy is definitely longer than advertised and the 16 inch hair felt more like an 18/20 inch and the 14 inch was more like a 16. This is great because you can freely get rid of any dodgy ends and not lose the length you paid for.

The Brazilian deep wave in the 16 inch was $65 per 3.5 oz bundle and the 14 inch was $60 before tax.

I definitely recommend True Glory hair if you’re in the North Georgia area where they have 2 locations in Smyrna and Lithonia. If you’re not in Georgia, they have a website (that needs help) and they can also be reached on (404)794-1010. I hear that their delivery time is prompt and their price is very reasonable.

Look out for a hair care post very soon!

Nana Adomah

NARS Audacious Lipstick in “Lana” Review

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I’ve been completely slacking on my social media game this summer so it came as a complete surprise to me when I was gifted one of the new lipsticks from NARS. I had no idea that there was a new line coming out but boy am I impressed.

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NARS audacious lipstick in “Lana”

 

The Audacious Lipstick Collection has been released in celebration of NARS’ 20th anniversary and there are 40 shades in all. Each lipstick is named after an iconic actress and I’m guessing that mine is named after Lana Turner. “Lana” is a bright orangey red and I still haven’t worn it out of the house but I’m determined to challenge myself. All my reds are blue-based reds so it’s nice to have a warm-toned one in my collection.

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New super-luxe packaging

The Audacious lipsticks are far removed from the plastic casing of the regular NARS lipstick line and these are made of a sleek, matte, black metal with a sexy magnetic closure. The NARS logo is embossed directly onto the bullet and it is also faintly etched onto the outer metal casing. Unfortunately, these lipsticks have also been hiked up in price to $32 compared to the usual $26 of the regular NARS lipstick line. $32 puts the lipsticks right next to the Givenchys, the YSLs, and the Diors of the cosmetic world and I’m sure that this may act as a deterrent for some. However, to be fair, NARS has at least tried to let you see where the extra money has gone.

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Fully pigmented in one stroke.

The lipstick has amazing pigment and you get full opacity in just one swipe. The best thing about it is that you barely feel as though you’re wearing anything at all since the formula is so lightweight. I have no idea how NARS managed to pack so much pigment into such a thin formula but I’m very impressed.

I would class these lipsticks as a “nice to have” rather than a “must have” so definitely go ahead and splurge only if you have the extra coins. These come in an impressive range of shades and they are a nice addition to the NARS line albeit at a very high price.

The NARS Audacious lipsticks can be found at Sephora or at NARS.

“I have a real love affair with lipstick. It gives you more power.” Francois Nars

Nana Adomah

Lime Crime Velvetine in Red Velvet Review

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Lime Crime Velvetine red VelvetLime Crime is a brand I’ve been meaning to try for years now and I knew that this would be my first purchase once I saw it on the lovely Natalie. Lime Crime velvetines are a bit of a cult product and this colour in particular seems to be perennially sold out on their website. I managed to hunt one down however, and I’m definitely not disappointed.

I have a ton of red lipsticks/ stains so I like to think that my standards are high. Saying that, I think that this is by far the longest-wearing lip product I’ve ever tried (in any colour). The product goes on wet and you achieve opacity with just one swipe.

Lime Crime Red velvet velvetine swatch wet dark skinAfter a minute or so, the liquid lipstick dries down to a super matte finish that won’t budge until you want it to. The swatch I made on my hand endured through washing my face, taking a shower, putting on nail polish, going to sleep etc. etc. Water just seemed to bounce off it so this product is definitely for you if you’re looking for waterproof makeup. It eventually came off with a good waterproof makeup remover and some elbow grease.

Lime Crime velvetine red velvet dry darkskin swatchThe colour is a blue-based red that is seriously bright so it’s definitely not for the faint-hearted. I decided that I couldn’t wear it without some type of lip liner so I added a dark brown to tone it down slightly. The product isn’t cheap at $20 (exc. shipping) but I think it’s fantastic value for what you get. However, it’s extremely similar to Sephora’s cream lip stain in “Always Red” if you’re looking for a less expensive dupe.

Lime Crime velvetine red velvet dark skin

I love the way it pops on my skin tone (please ignore my unblended lip liner)

Red velvet, like MAC’s Ruby Woo, is one of those reds that will look good on anybody. However, the formula is very unforgiving if you make any mistakes so be prepared to either line your lips or use a foundation/ concealer to clean up any errors.

Also, it goes without saying but there’s no room for crusty lips here! This baby will spill all of your secrets so make sure to thoroughly exfoliate and moisturise before application. The Lime Crime velvetine in “Red Velvet” can be found here (currently out of stock), here, or here and it’s definitely a nice addition for red lipstick lovers of all shades.

Nana Adomah

The Only Shame Is To Have None

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Urban decay shame lipstick

I’ve had this Urban Decay lipstick for months so I have no idea why I’m only just now writing about it. This was probably my most worn lipstick all Winter and I see no reason why I shouldn’t rock it well into Summer (makeup trends be damned). “Shame” is a lovely deep burgundy colour thats’ part of Urban Decay’s new(ish) Revolution line. There are 23 colours available in the range

Shame glides on beautifully and has a really nice satin finish that isn’t quite a lustre nor is it a matte. It’s highly pigmented and you get really intense colour with just one swipe. The inclusion of jojoba oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, and avocado oil keep lips nicely moisturised and you don’t get that horrible dry feeling that some lipsticks leave.

The best thing about this lipstick though is that you can get more than 5 hours of wear without having to touch up! There’s nothing that irks me more than having to constantly touch up my makeup and this is a huge plus in its favour.

Urban Decay Shame dark skin FOTD

Wearing “Shame” with MAC’s “Vino” lipliner

The packaging is a sleek metallic pewter with Urban Decay’s signature purple on the inside of the tube. The lipstick is formulated without parabens, sulfates, and phthalates and retails for $22 at Urban Decay or Sephora. This has absolutely been one of my favourite purchases and I cannot recommend Shame enough. 

Nana Adomah 

Lancome Grandiose Mascara Review

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Lancome Grandiose mascara

You know the feeling you get when something so incredible simple is finally realised? This is the feeling I got when I tried Lancome‘s new Grandiose mascara. I do makeup as a side hustle and I frequently bend disposable mascara wands in order to access every single lash on my clients. Lancome has so cleverly done my job for me!

Lancome Grandiose mascara swan neck wandI’ve never seen a mascara with a swan-like wand before and this one is absolutely brilliant! I have annoying lashes that grow in every direction and this mascara was able to reach every single pesky one. The innovative design of the wand also forces you to “screw” it out of the bottle (which you’re supposed to do with mascaras anyway) and prevents the pumping motion which cause mascaras to dry out prematurely.

Lancome grandiose mascara bristlesI’m a big fan of small, plastic mascara wands as I feel as though they better grip my lashes so obviously I fell in love with this one. The cone-shaped brush gets at every lash and the unique bend in the wand ensures that you don’t have to contort yourself into dodgy positions in order to get to each lash. The formula of the mascara itself is refreshingly non-clumpy and it doesn’t dry down to that crunchy texture as some mascaras are wont to do. It also gives a really nice lift to the lashes in addition to length and volume.

Finally, the packaging is sufficiently swanky for a luxe mascara and the bottle is reassuringly weighty in the hand. I especially like the suspended Lancome rose at the tip of the bottle.

The mascara is currently available for pre-order on the Lancome website and it retails for $32. I’m sure it’ll be available in stores by next week.

I’m a big fan of Lancome mascaras and Grandiose is definitely a welcome addition to the family!

Lancome Grandiose mascara demo

Picture taken after more than 9 hours of wear. Still going strong!

It’s Electric!- Urban Decay Electric Palette Review

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Urban Decay Electric Palette

FOMO (fear of missing out) is a real condition, I’m convinced. I snatched up this beauty about 3 weeks ago when I saw it on the shelves at Sephora and I’ve worn it almost everyday since. Yes the Naked palettes are nice and they have been stupendously successful for Urban Decay but I’m so glad that they’ve gone back to their roots with their new Electric palette. My very first quality eyeshadow palette was the original Deluxe Palette from Urban Decay about 7 years ago and I haven’t looked back since! Urban Decay were originally known for their crazy brights and bold pigments and they are back in full force with the Electric palette.

Urban Decay Electric Palette

Look at all of those glorious colours! I’m very impressed with this palette and the pigmentation is excellent. We are presented with 10 shades in the palette and they are:

revolt– a glittery silver, gonzo– a matte blue with a hint of turquoise, slowburn– an orange red matte with floating micro shimmer, savage– a hot pink matte, fringe– a metallic teal, chaos– a matte cobalt blue with floating micro shimmer (one of the standouts of the Vice palette), jilted– a slightly shimmery fuchsia with a blue shift, urban– a metallic medium purple, freak– a metallic neon green, and thrash– a chartreuse matte with floating micro shimmer (an exact dupe for NARS ‘rated R’).

Slowburn, savage, jilted and urban stain the skin slightly and they required more effort to remove. Urban Decay included a little note about these colours in the box which indicates that they are not intended for the immediate eye area. As usual, people have kicked up a fuss about nothing and I’ve used all these colours with no ill effect so just use your own judgment is what I say. Here is the company’s official statement regarding this issue:

“We created the Electric Pressed Pigment Palette with artistry in mind. Using pressed pigments was the only way for us to create heavily saturated brights with the intense pigment load we craved. Traditional eyeshadow formulas just wouldn’t cut it. To achieve shades like these, we started with our existing Eyeshadow formula and modified it to create a new Pressed Pigment formula.

Everywhere but the U.S., the Electric Palette is an eyeshadow palette. Because of a technicality, in the U.S. it’s considered a multi-use artistry palette. To get the most out of this palette, experiment and see what works for you. You can use the Electric Palette all over (and that’s where the creativity comes in!).

A few shades contain a colorant that has not yet been approved for the use around the immediate eye area. However, this restriction only applies in the U.S.; in every other country where Urban Decay is sold, these shades are approved for use around the eyes.

Bottom line? We didn’t want to limit the Electric Palette to eyeshadow. It’s an artistry palette with unlimited possibilities! How you use these shades is up to you. (And no matter where you use them, you’ll get insane color payout.)“

So there you go.

Urban Decay electric palette dark skin swatch

The colours swatch easily on my skin, even the mattes which can tend to disappear on darker skin tones. I think the fact that most of the mattes have a slight floating micro-shimmer contribute to their creaminess. The micro particles don’t really show up on the skin but they do contribute to a happier blending experience. I own the original Vice palette and the chaos in this palette is better in my opinion. I have no idea if they reformulated the colour but I feel as though it’s slightly more pigmented here. Chaos is a beautiful colour but I do wish that they’d only had chaos OR gonzo. The palette has quite a few blueish shades and I think that gonzo is one blue too many. I wish they’d replaced it with a bright yellow and it would have been just about perfect. I was initially unsure about the purpose of revolt as well but I’ve seen a few people do some interesting things with the shade.

The palette also comes with a very decent double-ended brush and the smaller end works really well as a liner brush. Both ends have quite stiff bristles which is great for the nature of the eyeshadows as they lay down colour better.

The packaging is also a winner in my book as it’s non bulky and the case opens up to a large mirror. The hinge ensures that the mirror stays where you want it to and the magnetic closure is very secure.

Now on to how the colours look on my face!

Urban Decay Electric palette FOTD dark skin

“Urban” all over the lid, smoked out with a matte black shadow and “fringe” on my lower lash line. I also added Urban Decay’s moondust eyeshadow in “glitter rock” on the centre of my lid for some added sparkle. Lips: “Vento” lipstick (Bite Beauty) Foundation: Cover FX cream foundation in N100 Powder: Mineralize Skin Finish in “dark” and “dark deep” (MAC) Brows: Aqua Brow #30 (Make Up For Ever) Eye liner: “blacquer” liner (Marc Jacobs) Mascara: Diorshow New Look mascara in black (Dior)

Urban Decay FOTD ELECTRIC dark skin swatch

Are you as in love with the Electric palette as I am? If you’re undecided, the palette is a permanent addition so you have plenty of time to make up your mind. The palette retails for $49 and can be found at Sephora, Ulta, and on the Urban Decay website. Let me know your thoughts!

Nana Adomah

Brand Focus: Bite Beauty

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Bite Beauty lipsticks

Bite Beauty is a brand I only came across last year and in this short time, they’ve yet to disappoint me. They make some of the most comfortable lipsticks I own. When I say “comfortable”, I mean you hardly feel as though you are wearing any lipstick at all when you have them on. They are very moisturizing and the pigment packed into each tiny bullet of lipstick is insane.

Bite Beauty is an all-natural company and each lip product is packed with all kinds of food-grade level goodness, hence the name Bite. The lipsticks are individually hand-crafted and they contain great ingredients like shea butter, manuka honey, argan oil, grapeseed oil, etc. The lipsticks also contain resveratrol, which “fights free radicals with potent long-term antiaging benefits”. Each Bite lipstick has the same amount of resveratrol  found in five glasses of red wine! Additionally, Bite Beauty products are free from parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, synthetic dyes, petrochemicals, phthalates and triclosan.

Bite Beauty lipstick bullets

My Bite lipstick collection isn’t huge but it’s well-loved. I have the luminous creme lipsticks in vento (a bubblegum pink), tannin (a burgundy), and the limited edition VIB Rouge mini lipstick made for Sephora VIB Rouge card holders. I also recently purchased the two luminous creme lipstick duos in neutral and vivid. The neutral comes with lychee (a very light neutral pink) and musk (a pinky brown), while the vivid comes with palomino (a vibrant magenta) and violet (a pinkish purple). I also have a mini of the cashmere lipstick cream in sancerre (a bright fuschia with red undertones).

From top-bottom: musk, lychee, violet, palomino

From top-bottom: musk, lychee, violet, palomino

The mini duos are a great way to try out the Bite lipsticks in a cute and portable package. As you can see from the swatches, the pigmentation’s insane and they just feel so nice on the lips. They are a great price at $12 each and since each regular-sized Bite lipstick is $24, you can try out two colours for half the price of one! Continue reading →

Divergent Cosmetics Review

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I read the Divergent series of books by Veronica Roth sometime last year and I really enjoyed them (bar Allegiant; the ending was stupid) and with a huge big-budget film coming out in a few weeks, promotion has gone into over drive. Sephora have got in on the act and have released a nice collection of makeup and nail polish  inspired by the popular first book Divergent.

Divergent cosmetics packagingI had no intention of buying any new makeup for while as I have more eyeshadows than I know what to do with but I was swayed once I saw the collection in person. I’ll also freely admit that I was struck by an acute case of FOMO (fear of missing out) and bought it to prevent any future buyer’s remorse. I’m still kicking myself about that Hourglass ambient lighting palette…. Anyway, on to the review!

The set I purchased is the  multi-piece collector’s kit and it consists of three eyeshadow palettes, a cheek palette, four lip glosses, and a double-ended blush and crease brush.

Divergent Cosmetics palettes

First up is my favourite of the three palettes and it’s the Dauntless palette. The Dauntless are the risk-takers and fearless faction of the Divergent universe and the palette does a pretty good job of reflecting that. It’s a moody palette with darker, cooler, shades with a beautiful creamy highlight colour in serene vanilla. Dauntless ink is a true pure black matte eyeshadow, abnegation stone swatches on me as a cooler version of MAC’s “satin taupe” and the dark greyish taupe is a great every day colour. Erudite sapphire is a dark blue light shimmer with hints of purple but the standout shade has to be diverge. Each palette comes with a “transformer” shade which, according to the blurb, “impart[s] a diamond illusion, shimmery, mirror-like reflection that is transparent when applied dry, and translucent when applied wet, showcasing fluid, twinkling particles that look like they are suspended in air.” 

Divergent cosmetics dauntless eye palette

Diverge has a black base with dark olive-green shimmery particles in it and it’s utterly divine. It swatches like silk and it can easily be worn on its own or layered over another shadow.

Divergent Dauntless palette swatches

l-r dauntless ink, abnegation stone, erudite sapphire, serene vanilla and diverge swatched below.

Best of all, the “transformer” shade can easily be clicked out to carry alone or you can attach it to another palette. Bonus points for creativity!Clicks apart

Continue reading →