Essence Cosmetics Liquid Lipstick Review (#1-6)

Product Review

Today for review, we have Essence's Liquid Lipsticks in:

01 colour party
02 beauty secret
03 almost real
04 show off!
05 peach party
06 make a statement

A nice range from nude to berry. Liquid lipsticks made in Italy with a 18 month (opened) shelf life.

Crabtree & Evelyn for the Holidays

Hey friends,

It's been a while..but if you've been following my instagram (@_mirch) or Annie's (@anniepolishes).. we're still showing our loves for nails and cosmetics :)
Been feeling under the weather right now but I hope these products make you smile. It definitely did when the mail man dropped this off at my doorstep =)

Do you need last minute gift ideas for the holiday (like really last minute)? Well if so, I have a great choice for you!
Crabtree & Evelyn placed their hand creams in an adorable Christmas themed holiday tin. These 3 scents aren't limited and include one of my favourite scents from them - Avocado, olive and basil!
The set includes: 

Pomegranate, Argan & Grapeseed Ultra-Moisturising Hand Therapy (25g)

Avocado, Olive & Basil Ultra-Moisturising Hand Therapy (25g)

Citron, Honey & Coriander Ultra-Moisturising Hand Therapy (25g)

These tins also come in many different trios. Check out their website (linked below) for more details.

These creams aren't greasy and absorb very well into the skin. Out of the 3, the avocado one was the thickest and pomegranate was thinnest in texture. The citron one was strongest in scent.

This set retails at $29 CAD and can be bought at any Crabtree & Evelyn boutique or online.

Next we have two fall/winter hues of nail polish. Both are in the red category. One is Wine and the other is Cranberry. Cranberry is a brighter, solid red fitting of it's name. A staple in many people's manicure collections. Like my mom's, she quickly asked if it was for her when I opened the package. 

Wine is a darker burgundy red.

left: Wine right: Cranberry

 Formula wise, they are on the thin side but it allows for smooth application and a fairly quick dry time. I like that these polishes had a thinner consistency yet both only required two coats for full opacity. However, I did prefer a 3rd coat for Cranberry since there was a very faint visible nail line after two coats, not noticeable other than to me because as you may know..I am super picky when it comes to VNL!
This is my first time trying Crabtree and Evelyn polishes and I have to say I am quite impressed with their quality of lacquer. They have a huge range of colours to choose from and I cannot wait to purchase more and see how they are. Especially their Black Tulip looks like it would be an amazing duochrome!These polishes retail at $10 CAD but often has deals such as right now (12/23/15) Buy two get one free and can be bought at any Crabtree & Evelyn boutique or online.


Feel free to ask any questions below..

 Happy Holidays !

Miranda

Quick Links:
http://www.crabtree-evelyn.ca/



these items were given in exchange for review. all opinions are my own. 

NYX Matte Lipstick in Aria

Today, I have NYX Matte lipstick in the shade Aria. It looked much darker online and in the tube than it did on the lips. I was hoping for a darker shade but it turned out to be pretty bright. Since I am still experimenting with cosmetics and lip colours, it was pretty scary to wear it and realize how bright it was. 

Like most NYX lipsticks, it comes in a basic black plastic tube with a clear plastic middle to show off the colour. It is not good for displaying right up as the name only shows on the bottom.

see more below the cut~

Kat Von D Studded Lipstick in Poe

Heyy,

Today's post features Kat Von D's Poe lipstick. It's described as a shimmery navy.
It's definitely a navy but it's also... I would say bright and eye-catching. It's packed with a fine shimmer/glitter of purple, blue etc.

First off, KVD's packaging always gets me! Stylish with edge. love.. and her logo is beautiful!
Hinted in the name, the package has a slightly raised studded design with the name and colour logo on the top of it. Easy for storage and display (major plus).

The lipstick tube itself also 'studded' with the KVD logo stamped on the top. I forgot a picture of the bottom but it shows the name on a corresponding coloured label.

 

The lipstick itself is also stamped with a KVD logo. Almost made me not want to use it to preserve the design (Have I told you, I am a sucker for packaging?)

The colour is a deep blue with pink/purple shimmer or fine glitter. In some lights the colour leans burple but on the lips it shows a predominant blue. The shimmer does show up on the lips but not as defined as it is in the tube. The pigmentation is good and the formula is not very streaky but there's a huge con. Due to the finish of this product. The shimmers leave a gritty feeling on your lips. It's quite fine but it really bothers me. Also the lipstick after one use is no longer smooth and also looks super gritty. If you can bypass this, then that's great! But for me, it was a deal breaker. The glitter payoff < the grit. Maybe I kept rubbing my lips due to the grit but it was a bit drying for me. I didn't test for wear because I took it off after an hour or so (sorry). 

Natural Light: Left - One swipe / Right: Two swipes

Flash: Left - One swipe / Right: Two swipes

Look at that grit!

With flash, shows the shimmer / fine glitter much better

Dark lipsticks always makes me look super pale haha

Product: Kat Von D Studded Lipstick in Poe
Where: Sephora
Price: $21 CAD
Overall: 3/5 All points are awarded to the packaging and colour uniqueness but the grittiness was too much for me. Although the colour pay-off is good, it wouldn't be a frequent item I would use and for the price tag, the grit would be a deal breaker for me. I could probably find a dupe in a lower price range (without the glitter).

Essence Lipsticks Review

Press Sample

Hey everyone,

                         

Today I have a few Essence lipsticks to review. Essence is available at Shoppers Drug Mart in Canada. They are vastly available in Europe and I am so happy Essence is available in Canada!
Most of their cosmetics range from $1 to $10. They are fairly inexpensive but the quality is quite good! Lipsticks from this brand usually range from $1.99 to $2.99. So you can buy alot without feeling guilty about it ahaha.

L'Oreal Colour Riche Extraordinaire Lip Colours

Hi everyone!

I have a (forced) guest post to share today hehe. I was eyeing the L'Oreal Colour Riche Extraordinaire Lip Colours (suchhhhh a long name..I'll just call them liquid lipsticks sorry.) the other day but I couldn't bring myself to purchase so many (I'm a cheapo ok?), so when I heard my friend was buying them I made her give me the images below! haha..

I myself have Purple Prelude which I adore.. I call it a liquid lipstick because although it has a shiny gloss finish and a gloss consistency, it's highly pigmented and rich like a lipstick. 

Coverage is great but the wear time is quite short, lasting only around 2 hours before having the feeling of needing to reapply.

The liquid lipsticks have a light fruity scent which I like..might be a problem for people who don't like scents. They're not sticky, just slightly tacky. It doesn't dry out and leaves the lips still feeling plush. It has a nice consistency.. doesn't bleed into your lip lines but you have to be careful with not glopping it on or else it'll pool slightly around the edges. So remember a little goes a long way (for a short while)!

You think these are windows but they're NOT! They're LIESS :o

Hmm what else.. Oh! The colour on the outside of the packaging.. is ACTUALLY reflective of the colour inside the tube. Although it looks like it has a window to see inside, it is actually not (unlike the YSL Glossy Stains...which I LOVEEEE looking at in stores but I digress..)..

On the top is a coloured label w/ the name and number of the product (good for storage). The tube itself is a reflective gold, it's quite sleek but it's a magnet for smudges and finger prints (boo). The bottom and the side also has a representation of the colour inside, so you can pretty much store it any which way and still know what colour it is!

Are you tired of my ramblings yet? click below for the swatches! haha..

Sally Hansen Sugar Shimmer Sugar Cloud and Work Of Tart

Awhile back Mir reviewed the Sally Hansen Sugar Coat Collection (post can be read here). Sally Hansen will be releasing a collection called Sugar Shimmer, a textured polish with a shimmery effect.

"New candy-coloured nail polishes that dry to a 3D matte finish for nails that look like they're delicately coated with sugar crystals."

The collection will consist of 6 new shades. Sally Hansen describes this collection as..."A breakthrough formula that gives nails a sugary texture special effect with light-reflecting, multidimensional shimmering finish."

Today we have Sugar Cloud and Work Of Tart to share with you all.

Click to see the colours up close!

Priti NYC Polish

 Launched in 2005 by Kim D'amato.  She created a luxury eco-friendly nail polish to parallel her efforts to switch to organic foods and health products. Let's just say HORRAY since Priti NYC is pretty amazing - it's 5 free and vegan! Free of Toluene, Dibutyl phthalate, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin and camphor. It's quite fast drying and glossy.

 From personal experience, some of the formulas are a tad streaky but with top coat it's dries super smooth and extra shiny.

Application was pretty good and there's no problems in coverage or staining from the ones I've tried. Oh and a plus is due to it being 5 free, it's not freaking overwhelmingly stinky! haha. Being a person who usually puts on polish right before bed, that is a big bonus for me not having to smell nail polish as I try to sleep!

They also have a line just for all the little princesses in our lives, non-toxic and super adorable! they come in 8ml and is $9 on their website. You can check out the line here.

Ps. ALOT if not all of Priti NYC's products are non-toxic, non-carcinogenic, cruelty-free and vegan. Take a look at their Soy Nail Polish Remover.

Also it brings a BIG smile to my face when I read that Priti NYC is very active with various charities and community events which support women issues and the environment. 

If you want to know more information just click here. I just posted a bit of general information.

Before I begin, I would like to thank Priti NYC for this opportunity. The colours are just so amazing and it was a pleasant surprise to be getting these. They are SO ME and I just LOVE the colours. If you can't tell already I really like purple ;) hehe..

Also, this post is picture heavy hence the line break, why so many pictures you ask? because.. in different lighting the colour changes and they're all so nice I couldn't pick haha..

here we go!

FACE Stockholm - Nail Polish in 78 & 135

*some pictures were taken quite a while ago and some were recent, hope that explains some of the differences in how I show off the products


I know when I say this someone will want to strangle me but yay it's almost autumn!! This is a time when I usually like to wear darker shimmery shades or what you can call more 'vampy'.  The two colours that I am going to show you totally fit!

They go on like butter, smooth and pigmented! Two coats and it's perfection. I do get a bit of wear around the 3rd-4th day but usually by then I have the urge to change colours anyway! One thing I don't like is that there's no names, only numbers ho-hum.

#78 is an amazing dark shade of velvety purple with a hint of brown and plum. Now when I say brown it's not like it can be classified under that but instead it has a flash shimmer of golden speckles which makes this quite a unique colour.
I used 1 coat of Essie Grow Faster and 2 Coats of #78 and 1 coat of China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat.

excuse my ring finger haha! I had a tragedy.

#135 is a gorgeous forest emerald green. It is a shimmer colour so there is a bit of streakiness to it, but it's barely there. It goes on smooth and opaque in two coats. I have to say sorry, I took these pictures before when I had some weird dent in my nail and I feel it's all up in my face! But anyway...
I used 1 coat of Essie Grow Faster and 2 Coats of #135 and no topcoat if I remember correctly. It looks like I didn't really do a great job cleaning up either oopsies!! Before my cuticles were always bothering the heck out of me and greens/blues are the hardest to clean up so I think I just left a glorious mess for all to see.. my bad!

at night w/ flash

With flash

During the day, natural light

Natural light

All in all, FACE Stockholm has some great polishes. I definitely will be looking to purchase a few more. On the plus side.. they are not that pricey at all.. only $12 for 0.5 fl oz / 15 ml ! :D

You can check out their selection here!! They have over 100 colours and finishes to choose from!


oh one thing as I know it bothers a few of my friends.. their regular polish bottles are rectangular but their holographic ones are round!!!


Until next time,

Mir

These products were given in exchange for my honest review.

Butter LONDON - All Hail The Queen

Today's post is super exciting to me.. because I get to share with you...

*suspense*

MY FAVOURITE POLISH OF ALL TIME.
(I'm already on my 2nd bottle and I have one for back up. ^_^)

As you can tell from the post name, it's butter LONDON's All Hail The Queen!!!!

Now if you know me, there are tons of times when I probably exclaim how much I love a polish or super excited about a new release etc but time and time again.. I ALWAYS think about this one. (Is anyone else humming Always On My Mind?? ahaha no? okay just me!)
I am pretty sure I even once told butter LONDON Canada that if there was a zombie apocalypse, I'd bring this one with me.. yes this is what I think about during the commercials between Walking Dead..don't judge me!! haha.

removable cap!!

awesome brush!

I mean, who wouldn't... it's a perfect colour for any occasion.. job interviews (which I wear to every one; and that's why I have it on at the moment haha..), drinks with the girls, a drive to Starbucks, late night movie, tea time, when I feel like I don't know what to wear, meeting The Queen?? fighting zombies?? yeah any of those haha..feel free to add more.

Where would you wear this colour to?

I'm really happy this shade matches my skintone so well. If it doesn't for you, I also recommend trying out other shades butter LONDON offers (they have a ton!!). They did have a neutral collection out before called Starkers but they're LE and D/Ced by now.
All swatches are 1 coat Essie Grow Faster, 2 coats butter LONDON All Hail The Queen and 1 coat China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat.
All Taken in natural light

 I feel my nails look a lot nicer when I wear it - more elongated, neat and clean! The subtle shimmer/holographic effect doesn't make this shade look dull and totally distracts me while I am writing this post!

It goes on silky smooth and opaque in just two thin layers!! I have great wear time with butter LONDONs, minimal tipwear in 4 days!! I would probably wear this forever (another plus on why I should have this in my zombie survival kit ;) )

Okay wow I rambled a lot but how could I stop? hehe..

Butter London: All Hail The Queen
3 Free Nail Lacquer - free of formaldehyde, toluene and DBP.
11ml / 0.4 fl oz
* Removable Cap.
A lovely opaque holographic beige AND at the right angle, there's a crazy pink flash shimmer. The flash shimmer is not really noticeable on the nail though (good for me ahha)...

It is a tad expensive priced at 17.50$CAD at Sephora, The Bay, Holt Renfrew etc but it's totally worth it :)!!!

Check out their Canadian site here
or follow them on Facebook (Canadian) here.

<3 Mir

FACE Stockholm - Friendship Veil Lipstick

This will be the beginning of a few posts featuring FACE Stockholm :).

I am going to start off by saying.. I am totally biased! I absolutely love love love their products!

Thanks to Wantable & FACE Stockholm, I have quite a few of their products, all tried and all loved!! <3

You may remember a while ago, I wrote a post about their holographic polish - Thea! If not check it out here: Click here to check out THEA :D

                            

Today we have one of their Veil Lipsticks In Friendship Veil. Veil lipsticks  is one of their more subtle formulas giving a 'sheer wash of moisturizing colour'. Even so, I think it provides good colour coverage. On their website, the swatch seemed a bit more coral but it's definitely more red like my swatches. 

Depending on how heavy your application or if you do the blotting technique you can get your desired coverage. First picture, left we have 1 normal swipe of the lipstick, on the right we have 2 swipes of the lipstick.

Below, on the left of the hand it has a total of 3 swipes, as you can see it's still a bit sheer but has a rich watermelony pink/red colour! On the right is a faint blot of the lipstick. This will give you really light coverage, which I think is good for anyone since it only 'reddens' your lips ever so slightly! That is my choice on how to apply it since my bottom lip is pinker than my top.

Have you tried any FACE Stockholm items yet??
I can't wait to share with you other ones!!

Size: 3.4 g / 0.12oz (on packaging) - 4.2g / 0.14oz (on website)
Price: $22

I linked their website above but if you want to check out their Facebook you can click here.

Until next time,

Mir

This product was given in exchange for my honest opinion / review.