Banila Co Let Me BeBe BB Cream

BB creams are all the rage in Asia. Most easily comparable to tinted moisturizers, these BBs are sort of an all-in-one product -- foundation, sunscreen, anti-aging, anti-wrinkle, whitening, the list can go on and on.

My recent haul on GMarket included some free samples of Banila Co's Let Me BeBe BB cream.

I have to admit that most people hate me because I don't need to wear foundation, concealer, or powder to keep my skin looking good. I often get compliments of how beautiful it is, and a girl loves compliments. However, for the sake of this blog, I figured it was worth trying at least once.

For reference, I am about a MAC NW10. I'm very pink. My hands are about the same shade as my face.

I opened both samples to swatch -- Sheer is on the left, Nude is on the right/

Confession -- I actually did try Sheer on my face, just to see how it felt and what it looked like. It was just a bit too yellow. Nude looks much more promising, especially when you see my swatches below of the product blended in.

As you can see, Nude has blended in quite nicely, and is pretty close. Sheer is definitely too orange!

The texture is soft, creamy, and blends easily. There is a scent to this, a sort of typical moisturizer scent. Not offensive at all, but I am guessing people with very sensitive skin might not be impressed. This cream has an SPF of 37, so you could easily combine your foundation + sunscreen routine into one step with this.

Majolica Majorca Eyeshadow Quad Swatches - Part 2

Alright, here's the next Majolica Majorca quad that I swatched!~

This is another of the Jeweling Eyes series, and this is VI782. Apparently this is one of the original 8 in the series that was released last year. I'm beginning to see a pattern with MM palettes -- the darker colors are usually less shimmery and more pigmented, while the lighter colors are usually shimmerbombs. I really love this quad though, and it doesn't pull too red (some plums do).

I'll be making another post this weekend with the third installment of my swatching project, and maybe some swatches of my new Guerlain quad. It's gorgeous!

MAC Lipgloss Swatches

MAC's lipglosses are hit or miss for me, but I can't stay away from that awesome vanilla scent that their lip products are famous for. MAC has many different formulas of their lipgloss, which is actually called "lipglass". There's the original lipglass, the sparklier lustreglass, the plumping plushglass, the discontinued 3D glass, and then there's dazzleglass, cremesheen glass, creme dazzleglass, lipgelees... and I'm sure I'm missing a few more of the limited edition spinoffs.

Here's my collection!

 

My collection isn't as large as most, but I use every single color and many of them are only about half full now. Quite a few are limited edition, and all of them are fabulous. I am not going to review every single one as MAC is so readily swatched/reviewed already but I did swatch them on my arms. 

I am, however, going to list the shade descriptions from MAC as well as what collection they are from!

Starting on the far left:

Cremesheen Glass

- Ever So Rich (Creme Team): Sheer Lilac

Tinted Lipglass

- She Loves Candy (Hello Kitty): Pale blue pink with gold pearlized pigments

- Viva Glam VI SE (Permanent): Soft pink-tinged mauve

- Viva Glam V (Permanent): Neutral pink with pearl

- Negligee (Lingerie): Bright mauve with pearl

Lustreglass

- Ensign (Naughty Nauticals): Peachy pink with white and gold pearl

- Hey, Sailor (Naughty Nauticals): Blue plum pink with white pearl flecks

- Wonderstruck (Permanent): Lustred-up clean pink coral

Marbleized Lipglass

- Miss Marble: Muted pink

Suntints SPF 20 Liquid Lip Balm

- Lilt of Lily: Soft, creamy pale pink

Lipgelee

- Shift to Pink (MAC In Lillyland): Light violet with pearl

Swatches on my arm, without flash and with, as always. Swatches are in the same order as the above. 

 

Cameleon 36 Color Professional Eyeshadow Palette

Hoo boy. Yes, I'm crazy. But this was just so crazy I had to get it when I was shopping on Sasa. This is indeed a 36-color palette, packed with neutrals, brights, and everything in between. At only $7, what did I have to lose?

 

Sorry for the stock photos; I didn't take any of the palette itself before I started swatching!

For starters, the palette itself is tiny. It's about 3"x6", so you can imagine how small the actual pans are. The shadows are soft and easy to use, but they are so soft that they crumble a bit. :/

Swatches! Yes, I swatched them on my leg. My arms are too small to fix 36 eyeshadows on them.

Japanese Eyeliners - Swatches and Reviews

Being on MUA, I constantly read about the search for the One Eyeliner to Rule Them All, the one that stays put on the waterline. I've had mixed results with MAC Fluidlines and UD's 24/7s, and even Revlon Colorstay can give both of them a run for their money.

My eyeliner collection from Japan currently stands at four, and they are all of varying prices and formulas.

 

L-R: KATE  BU-1, Majolica Majorca Jewelling Pencil in WT909, Majolica Majorca Perfect Automatic Liner in BK920, Spring Heart Long Lasting Eyeliner in 02.

As you can see, one is a gel liner, one is a standard pencil, one is a liquid liner and the last is an automatic/sharpening pencil.

Onto the swatches! Without flash, and with flash, as the flash really shows the sparkle/shimmer. Swatches are in the same order as the eyeliners in the above photo.

Of the four, the Spring Heart eyeliner is the only one that is completely mate. The KATE gel liner has a slight shimmer to it, and the white MM pencil has very fine sparkles/glitter in it. The MM perfect eyeliner has the most shimmer.

I'll try and be as detailed as I can in my reviews, but unfortunately I have only tried the white eyeliner on the waterline so far. I'll be sure to update this review with my experiences in the future!

KATE Gel Eyeliner in BU-1: KATE is the drugstore line by Kanebo, who does the pricier Lunasol line for department stores. The eyeliner was $14 on Adambeauty. It comes with a small brush which I don't like to use. It's a small shader brush and I just can't get the hang of it. I use my MAC 210 instead. There are 7 colors available including black, black with sparkles (similar to MAC Blitz & Glitz), green, navy (mine), gold, silver, and brown. The gel liner is very pigmented, though it is not quite as creamy as a MAC Fluidline. Lasting power is phenomenal. I wore it Friday to work all day, then to the bar afterward, and it was still in place when I got home around 10PM. 14 hours!

Majolica Majorca Jewelling Pencil in WT909: This is a matte white with tiny sparkles in it. I have worn this on the waterline and to my delight, it stays put! Of course, as with any product with sparkles/glitter, you should use it at your own risk as the waterline can be very sensitive to foreign matter. My eyes are particularly fussy and so I can't wear this all day, but for a pop of brightness I will wear it for a night out without any discomfort. For day looks, I prefer to use my CARGO Reverse Lipliner which is completely matte and is a flesh color. This was $9 on Adambeauty but you can find them cheaper on Ebay.

Majolica Majorca Perfect Automatic Liner in BK920: This is the second generation of automatic eyeliners from MM. The first type was just called Automatic Liner, and the type that came out after the Perfect series was called Neo. This eyeliner is probably one of my favorites. It's a twist-style eyeliner similar to a Stila lip glaze. You twist the bottom to dispense a bit of the eyeliner into the brush. However, unlike the lip glazes, the product dispenses in a much more controlled amount -- one click pushes out enough to do one eye. The tip is very flexible so you can use the tip or use it at an angle. BK920 is a soft black with pearl shimmer to it. It's very pretty but slightly sheer, so I need about two coats on each eye. These are $15 on Adambeauty but I got mine off of Ebay for a bit cheaper (around $12).

Spring Heart Long Lasting Eyeliner in 02: I think I got this from Ebay, I don't remember. Spring Heart is a line by Koji, and their makeup is very inexpensive. I think this eyeliner was about $4. It's a soft matte brown, and it's an automatic pencil type liner similar to MAC's Technakohls or Revlon's ColorStay eyeliners. It's not very pigmented, but it's soft and doesn't tug at the eyelids. It comes with both a sharpener and a smudger concealed in the bottom which is very handy.

Taupe is Dope - Eyeshadow Swatches

I love taupe. I wish I had more taupe, because it's fun to wear as a more intricate EOTD, but it can also look pretty on its own.

I've rallied up the five taupes that I have, swatched 'em, and reviewed all five (yes, just five) for you! Three of them are from palettes, so they have no specific shade name. I've photographed them without flash and with flash, as the flash shows off the shimmer/metallic finish more.

 

L-R: MAC Satin Taupe, Christian Dior Incognito, Majolica Majorca Majotrick BR711, Majolica Majorca Jewelling Eyes BL711, Laura Mercier Alloy.

MAC Satin Taupe: This is a Veluxe Pearl shadow, which is my absolute favorite finish from MAC. It's soft, creamy, and pigmented and applies like a dream. For the longest time I would just wear this with Naked Lunch as my go-to look. It also looks incredible on its own.

Christian Dior Incognito: This is one of the five shades in the Incognito quint by Dior, and it's my only matte taupe. I find that the matte Dior shadows are easier to work with than the shimmery ones, which are so sheer I look like I have discoballs on my eyelids once the color is built up enough. The entire quint is neutral but I have to say the light pink and the grey-toned taupe are the standouts of the group.

Majolica Majorca Majotrick BR711: This is part of a quad from Shiseido's popular drugstore line in Japan. It's actually quite similar to Satin Taupe, but not quite as warm as it has a silver flash to it whereas MAC's has more gold in my opinion. MM shadows can be hit or miss, especially their palettes, but I found that it applies very well on the eyelid even without a primer.

Majolica Majorca Jewelling Eyes BL711: Brand new for Spring 2010, this quad has a lovely cool taupe as the darkest selection. I haven't tried a complete look with the quad, only with the green and blue, but the taupe is lovely and I'm sure I'll be using it soon.

Laura Mercier Metallic Creme Eye Color in Alloy: I have another of LM's metallic cremes (in Platinum) and Alloy does not disappoint either in terms of pigment, staying power, and ease of applying. It's one of the best formulas for creme eyeshadow that I've tried, and Alloy is such a gorgeous color. It's more red than Satin Taupe. It is definitely the warmest of my taupes, and I'm a NW10 so I'm amazed I can pull it off.

And that's the last of them! I'm hoping to get my hands on some more taupes in the future, as they are so wearable and my favorite neutral. There are so many different kinds! Please feel free to drop a comment with your recommendations for other taupes. :)