Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Ballet Pink Review

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Ballet Pink

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Ballet Pink

The Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Ballet Pink is a soft light pink with very little shimmer. It can be wore alone or as an eyeshadow base. The formula is creamy and blends easily. For creamy eye shadows, I prefer using my fingers for application or a synthetic eyeshadow brush. My eyelids are oily and creasing is one my concerns when it comes to wearing makeup. This long-wear cream shadow lasted over 10 hours without creasing or fading.

Cost:  $24
Size:  0.12 Oz (3.5 g)
Availability:  bobbibrowncosmetics.com
Longevity:  over 10 hrs
My rating: 4.5 out of 5

Estée Lauder Violet Underground Five Color EyeShadow Palette Review

Estée Lauder Violet Underground Five Color EyeShadow Palette

Estée Lauder Violet Underground Five Color EyeShadow Palette (after using it)

The Violet Underground Five Color EyeShadow Palette is also part of the Estée Lauder Violet Underground Collection.  The packaging is blue/purple compact and it comes with two applicators and 5 eyeshadows. There are no names for the individual shades. I will described them as the champagne, fuchsia, bronze, midnight blue and soft matte black. The first four shadows are shimmery, almost metallic. The fuchsia and the midnight blue had the most fall out and chunky consistency. Of all the shadows, I found the fuchsia and the soft black lacking pigmentation. Without an eyeshadow base, I felt that the shadows blended easier, but the color started to fade after 4 hours. On the other hand, the shadows did not blend as well with an eyeshadow base, but the color stayed on for more than 10 hours. This palette looks amazing, but it did not performed as well as I hoped.

Cost:  $48
Size:  0.15 Oz (4.4 g)
Availability:  esteelauder.com
My rating: 3.5 out of 5

Estée Lauder Pure Color Velvet Lipstick in Black Cassis Review

Estée Lauder Pure Color Velvet Lipstick in Black Cassis

Estée Lauder Pure Color Velvet Lipstick in Black Cassis

The Estée Lauder Pure Color Velvet Lipstick in Black Cassis is a limited edition lipstick from the "Violet Underground" collection. The formula is described as "soft matte, smooth, creamy, and non-drying". The color is a deep gorgeous wine. The texture is very creamy and it glides smoothly on the lips. I have to agree with the "soft matte" description. The finish is not glossy, but not completely matte either. The packeging allows you to see the color of the lipstick easly. I wore this lipstick for about 5 1/2 hours, this included having lunch and drinking fluids. After 3 hours, my lips started to feel a bit dry and color started to fade slightly. Because this lipstick is highly pigmented, I had to use make up remover to take it all off. This is my first lipstick form Estée Lauder and I liked it a lot.

Cost:  $25
Size:  0.13 Oz (3.8 g)
Availability:  esteelauder.com
Longevity:  5 1/2 hours on my lips
My rating: 4.5 out of 5

Butter London Topcoat Duo Review

Butter London Hardwear P. D. Quick Topcoat

Butter London Matte Finish Shine Free Topcoat

In my search of the best top coat for nails, I found the Top Duo by Butter London. This kit contains one Hardwear P. D. Quick Topcoat and one Matte Finish Shine Free Topcoat. I bought the kit at Nordstrom for $25 dollars. Individually, each retail for $18. The Hardwear P. D. Quick Topcoat has a nice fluid consistency, dries in about 5 minutes or so, and the finish is glossy. The Matte Finish Shine Free Topcoat has a thicker consistency, but it dries fast as well. I really liked the matte finish. It made my nails looked like they were covered in wax and the feel of topcoat was very smooth. I tried both top coats with the Butter London Nail Foundation Flawless Basecoat, which I have previously reviewed. Both top coats only lasted about 6 days on my nails. I think the price is reasonable for two full size products.

Cost:  $25
Size:  0.6 Fl. Oz (17.5 mL) each
Availability:  Nordstrom
Longevity:  6 days
Coats needed:   1
My rating:  4 out of 5

Perfect Rouge RS 320 Fuchsia by Shiseido Review

bare lips

Shiseido Perfect Rouge RS 320 Fuchsia

The Shiseido Perfect Rouge formula claims to provide "true intense colour with all day hydration."I tried this formula in RS 320, which is a very bright fuchsia. I love the color coverage. The color pay off is indeed intense and a little goes a long way. When first applied, the lipstick feels creamy and moisturizing. However, I did not experience the all hydration. After, 2 hours my lips started to feel dry and after 3 hours the color started to fade slightly.

Cost:  $25
Size:  0.14 Oz (4 g)
Availability:  shiseido.com or any Shiseido counter at the mall
Longevity:  3 to 4 hours on my lips
My rating: 3.5 out of 5

Shimmering Cream Eye Color PK 302 Magnolia by Shiseido Review

Shiseido Shimmering Cream Eye Color PK 302 Magnolia

Shiseido Shimmering Cream Eye Color is described as "a lightweight cream eye shadow with a radiant, lustrous finish that maintains a just-applied fresh look for 16 hours without smudging or creasing." The color I purchased PK 302 Magnolia is beautiful frosty medium pink. It applied smoothly and evenly. Once applied, the coverage is sheer and very shimmery. I only wore it for about 10 hours with and without an eye shadow primer. My eyelids are on the oily side and I was very happy with this product not creasing or fading at all throughout the day.

Cost:  $25
Size:  0.21 Oz (6 g)
Availability:  shiseido.com or any shiseido counter at the mall
Longevity:  only tested for about 10 hours
Coverage:  sheer
My rating: 4.5 out of 5

Fast Track by deborah lippmann Review

Cuticle Remover, Cuticle Oil, 2 Second Nail Primer, Addicted To Speed Quick Dry Top Coat, Fast Girls Quick Dry Base Coat

I purchased the Fast Track by deborah lippmann kit at Nordstrom for $40 dollars. I have a lot of issues with this kit. The kit did not have instructions on how to use the products. I am not a nail expert, so when I buy a kit that is supposed to introduce me to new products and how they work, I expect to have some kind of guidance. I had to looked into how to use the cuticle remover, the cuticle oil and the 2 Second Nail Primer. The cuticle remover can be used without soaking your nails. After application, the cuticle should be gently push back. I did this, but you have to do one nail at a time otherwise, if the cuticle remover stays too long on the nail, some of the nail starts to peel off. I gently massaged the oil into my cuticles and the oil smell nice, but did not seem to make much of a difference on my cuticles. The 2 Second Nail Primer is supposed to be applied before the base coat. I applied the base coat and then the top coat. I was appalled when the top coat came off on 2nd day. It didn't last long! The top coat peeled off and the base coat stayed on my nails for 3 days.
The picture on the Nordstrom website shows that the Cuticle Remover, Cuticle Oil, and 2 Second Nail Primer come with a dropper for application, bu they don't, instead they come with a really stiff brush. I did not like the tiny labels on the products either. Overall, I don't think this kit is worth trying unless you are familiar with all the items in this kit.

Cost:  $40
Size:  0.27 Fl. Oz (8 mL) each bottle
Availability:  Nordstrom, lippmanncollection.com
Longevity:  top coat 2 days and base coat 3 days on my nails
Coats needed:   one base coat and one top coat
My rating:  1 out of 5