Not Another Pink

I have a weakness, and it's pink lipstick. When selecting which MAC lipstick shades to buy, I mainly wanted everyday colours that were easy to wear and not too heavy. I had already settled on Shy Girl for a more peachy nude, but I couldn't resist a pink option as well. Enter MAC Creme Cup. It was a toss up between Creme Cup and Hue, but Hue looked a little too pale and beige on my lips.

Creme Cup is a light to medium, slightly blue-based milky pink. There's still a bit of rosiness and warmth to it, and thankfully it's not as purple on my lips as my other cool pinks. I find it creamier and more comfortable on the lips than Shy Girl, which feels more matte and drying. Creme Cup has often been compared to Angel, the shade made famous by Kim Kardashian. From swatches online, it seems Creme Cup is a touch brighter and sheerer than Angel, which looks more cool-toned and pigmented. Though the two are very similar, being the pink lipstick tragic I am, I'm still curious about Angel, especially since you can only really gauge what a lipstick looks like by factoring in the natural pigmentation of your lips and your overall colouring.

l-r: MAC Creme Cup, Revlon Primrose, Revlon Strawberry Shortcake, Revlon Pink Pout, Australis Jive

Surprise, surprise. I have quite a few shades close to Creme Cup. The four other lipsticks are very similar (they're all about the same darkness of pink), with only subtle differences. Revlon Matte lipstick in Pink Pout looks to be the closest in colour, but it's drier, more pigmented and a touch purplish. Revlon Super Lustrous lipstick in Primrose is almost a dupe of Pink Pout, but cooler, a touch darker, and a bit more mauve still on the lips. Revlon Lip Butter in Strawberry Shortcake, like the Cremesheen formula of Creme Cup, is more sheer and moisturising than a straight up lipstick, but it's a brighter pink and less pastel. Australis Colour Inject Mineral lipstick in Jive is a darker, more muted rosy pink, whereas Creme Cup is lighter and warmer.

While I don't find myself reaching for Creme Cup that often, I like that it's a wearable baby pink that doesn't pull too purple on me (a perennial issue for these blue-based pink lipsticks I keep buying and being disappointed with). Despite how many pink lipsticks I own, I don't have anything exactly like Creme Cup. I like the warmth and milky quality that it has, while not being too pale, bright, dark or mauve.

A Touch of Sun

I've never been particularly into bronzer, but when I saw the Stila Sun SPF 15 Bronzing Powder on sale for $9.50 on StrawberryNet, I thought it was as good as free. Not the most logical deduction, but I fancied the thought of adding a Stila product to my already bloated makeup collection for such a low price. Of course, I had some concerns about why it was on sale in the first place. I can't help thinking it's ancient stock that they really needed to move. It's back its usual price now, which I find somewhat gratifying. Helps to convince myself I genuinely nabbed a bargain (even though if it weren't on sale, I wouldn't have looked twice at it).

l-r: NYX Taupe, Stila Shade 01, Benefit Hoola

Before purchasing, I had a look at reviews on MakeupAlley. I didn't know whether to get Shade 01 or Shade 02. In the end, I settled for the lighter shade, as it seemed to be the safer and more obvious option for my skin tone. From reading some comments online, it seems like Stila at some point reformulated the bronzing powder, so the original (and now discontinued) Shade 01 is a different colour to the new Shade 1. Browsing the Stila website, I also noticed the ingredients are different to that listed on the box I received, in part due to the lack of SPF in the new one. It's all a bit confusing.

Some initial comments about the packaging — when I first opened it up, the pan was completely loose as it had separated from the base of the compact. The glue had dried up. My suspicions about it being a really old product were more or less confirmed at that point. I ended up using some sticky tape to adhere the pan to the compact. Not the most effective method, but it did the trick.

The powder itself is distinctly orange. It's nicely but not overly pigmented, soft in texture and easy to blend. I like that it's not chalky or powdery. I can see very faint shimmer particles in the pan, but applied to the skin, it's more or less matte. However, it doesn't quite work as a contouring bronzer because it's too orange. Shade 01 could almost pass for a soft apricot/tangerine blush. I find it works best with a light hand, otherwise at some point, it will appear overly orange and unnatural. Applied to the parts of the face where the sun naturally hits, Stila Sun Bronzing Powder does give a golden, lightly bronzed touch to the skin. I'm looking forward to getting decent wear out of it this coming summer.

October Favourites

They're a bit late, but better late than never. Not much makeup this time, because I feel like most of my picks were covered in my How Much Is My Face Worth? post (namely, Benefit They're Real mascara, Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow/Liner in Busy Signal and NARS Sheer Glow). A good chunk of my favourites for October overlap with products I purchased and first started using while vacationing in New York. I didn't get around to making a favourites post for September, so I've carried them over to October.

The Body Shop Vineyard Peach Shower Gel
One whiff of the Vineyard Peach Body Butter at the shop next to Radio City, and I was hooked. I've been using the shower gel more than the body butter, only because I rarely moisturise. The peach scent of this range is absolutely scrumptious and so intensely fruity, but not in a cloying, artificial way. It's like concentrated peach nectar. The shower gel lathers up a storm and leaves the skin delicately fragranced.

Lady Gaga Fame EDP 1.2ml sample
A freebie given out by promotional people on a street near the Empire State Building. Definitely no blood or semen in this, as mentioned in initial reports of Lady Gaga coming out with a perfume. It's actually a fairly inoffensive, slightly musky fruity floral. There's a hint of spice and the oriental. It smells a bit more grown up than the usual overwhelmingly fruity and sweet celebrity fragrances out there. I'm kind of regretting not buying a 50ml bottle when I was in the US, since it's the same price as the 30ml here.

Real Techniques Stippling Brush
I wanted to include this in my October favourites basically to right a wrong and detail how I've done a complete 180 when it comes to this brush. At the beginning of the year, I was very underwhelmed with it. It was probably my least favourite of the Real Techniques brushes I bought. It didn't work for me in applying the foundation I was using, as it felt spiky on my skin and left streaks on my face. The bristles seemed much sparser, pricklier and less plush than my beloved Real Techniques Buffing Brush, so for the longest time the primary use I had for it was to wipe away eyeshadow fallout. Recently, I randomly tried it with my Make Up For Ever HD foundation after exhausting all other possibilities, and it worked like a charm. Now it's become the exclusive brush I use when I want to wear that foundation. It's a versatile all-rounder brush that seamlessly blends a variety of products, both powder and cream, into the skin.

Neutrogena Ultimate Sport Sunscreen Lotion SPF 30+
Best sunscreen I've used. This was included in the free Priceline skin care bag, but I am definitely looking to repurchase when my tube runs out (which shouldn't be for a long time, since it is a very generous 115ml and I only use it on my face). I put this over a moisturiser that doesn't contain SPF in the morning, and it sinks into the skin without any chalkiness or hint of white residue. When it's absorbed, it's weightless and non-sticky. The sunscreen lotion is quite moisturising in itself, without being greasy or feeling heavy on the skin.

Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil 15ml
I wrote a little about this already in a recent skin care post, but felt it still deserves another mention here. I still haven't used this directly on my face, or on my hair or body, but I'm convinced that it does make a difference when I add two drops of it to my Nivea Soft at night. It gives my moisturiser a boost. My skin has become noticeably less dry and the texture of it looks smoother and clearer when I wake up in the morning.

Benefit High Beam 4ml
High Beam really exceeded my expectations. I've read that Revlon Age Defying Spa Face Illuminator in Pink Light is a dupe, but now I can confidently say that High Beam is superior. The truly remarkable thing about it is that it provides illumination with absolutely no sparkle. It just gives a luminous sheen to the skin without any glitter or visible shimmer particles. Even though it's a liquid highlighter, I find it relatively creamy in texture and easy to blend into the skin. You need only a small amount, dotted on the cheekbones, to highlight the face with a pearly glow.

Gold-Plated

My eyes haven't witnessed a more opulent polish than OPI GoldenEye. This is the one gold polish to rule them all. It's the kind of gold that decorates palaces and imperial costumes. It's hard to believe that the end result is just from three coats of the stuff. I've come across my share of metallic and foil polishes, but GoldenEye is in its own league. What impresses me most is that it's not frosty in any way. Against the light, it shines gold. Not silver, taupe, white or pewter. Just an amped up, dazzling gold. It doesn't look overly yellow (if anything, it's infused with a touch of orange) and isn't too light. There's a depth and luxury to it, despite how potentially gaudy and tacky a super shiny gold could be. It's here, just in time for the holiday season.