Forbidden Kiss Infallible Pro Matte Gloss by L'Oreal

Disclaimer:  Received as compensation for participation in consumer study.

Did you know that L'Oreal has a Consumer Product Testing Program that you can sign up for?  I've participated in a few of them now, including one this month for a brow product.  In return for testing and giving feedback on products in development, L'Oreal will send makeup products as a thank you, which is how I received the Forbidden Kiss Infallible Pro Matte Gloss.

Forbidden Kiss is a raspberry magenta that I associate color-wise more with fall, although there is really no reason why I wouldn't wear it in warm weather as well.

This looks mighty glossy in the arm swatches, doesn't it?  I decided to compare it with a similar matte shade that I own, Pucker Up by Julep.  Pucker Up is distinctly matte when swatched, with more of a mousse-like texture.

However, Forbidden Kiss does become matte when sheered out/patted on the lips, which is how I like to wear it.  The color of Forbidden Kiss also becomes very similar to Pucker Up when sheered out, although Pucker Up has more of a violet undertone that makes it lean more pink.. The formula is comfortable on and my lips did not feel like they were suffering even after several hours of wear. While not transfer proof, the color did last for a good 3-4 hours.

Pucker Up by Julep

Forbidden Kiss by L'Oreal

Overall, thumbs up for Forbidden Kiss!  It's not something that was on my radar, but I'm quite happy to have received it as compensation for the consumer study.

Earthen Rock Brown Linear Intense Felt Tip Liquid Eyeliner by L'Oreal

 Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

I've been lusting after some of the Lancome felt tip Artliners for a while but have balked at paying their price ($30.50).  So, I satisfied my urge with the less expensive ($8.99)  Linear Intense Felt Tip Liquid in Earthern Rock Brown by L'Oreal, the parent company of Lancome. 

It is nicely pigmented, applies smoothly (I use a series of small strokes when applying liquid liners), and dries down to a semi-matte finish.  I had no smudging, flaking or fading in a full day's wear, so it definitely lives up to it's claim of 8 hours of fade proof color.

Too bad the shade selection is limited to a basic brown and black, as the quality is there and the price is reasonable.  Felt tip liners work great as an upper liner on my hooded eyes as they don't transfer like pencil liners can sometimes, but I need more colors! 

NOTD: Jelly Sandwich with Jolly Lolly and Unwrap Me

It's been a while since I did a jelly sandwich, and this week I must have been in the mood for strawberry jam.  Cause that's what's on my nails, no lie.

Actually, it's the pinky red Jolly Lolly by L'Oreal, and Unwrap Me from the Sinful Colors 2013 Holiday collection.  My Rite Aid had a special a few weeks back where you could get one Sinful Color polish for free, so I chose the black and red glitter bomb Unwrap Me.

You can see how pink leaning Jolly Lolly is as it's almost the color of the rose above.  Really beautiful, and I'm kind of wishing I had a backup now.  It takes only 2 coats to get this level of color, which is not always the case with jelly polishes. 

I never get tired of black glitter polishes, and Unwrap me has a nice mixture of black micro glitter and larger hexagonals in black and red.  I used one coat of Unwrap me in between Jolly Lolly, and I mainly dabbed it on and then spread it out.  I used Julep's base coat and Freedom gel top coat, which amped the shine even more.

I'm counting this as the beginning of my holiday looks, although I think it would be great during the summer as well.  And heck, the temp is 75 as I write this, so it might as well be :-)

Linking up with The Nail Files hosted by Jennie at Well Shut the Front Door!
 

L'Oreal Paris Magic Nude Liquid Powder Foundation in Sand Beige

Disclaimer:  I received a complimentary sample from SheSpeaks/L'Oreal Paris.  All opinions are my own. 

L'Oreal's new liquid to powder foundation is supposed to be so amazingly lightweight that it is like wearing no makeup at all.  Available in 12 shades, I chose Sand Beige sight unseen, and was super fortunate that was the exact right color for me.  So let's see how it performs, shall we?










I usually apply my foundation with a brush, so that's how I started with Magic Nude.  The consistency of this foundation is a runny liquid, so after shaking vigorously I poured a bit from the square glass bottle into my application tray.  You definitely don't want to drop this baby, as it will shatter and you will have foundation everywhere.  While I like the heft of glass, I'm thinking plastic would have been a safer choice.  The open of the bottle is just big enough to put your finger over.

The first thing I noticed was that Magic Nude was quite noticeably settling in my pores, even after using a facial primer.  I continued with the brush for overall coverage, but then switched to a damp Beauty Blender sponge to smooth out the foundation.  This actually worked fairly well, although it was still not as flawless looking as I would have preferred.  Of course, it would have helped if I'd read the entire label, as it does indicate applying with fingers is the best method.  So, the next day I used my fingers to apply, but it still requires a fair amount of smoothing to keep it out of my pores, and I think I liked the results of the brush then damp beauter blender method better. 

Magic Nude Sand Beige (outside lighting)

On the plus side, Magic Nude works well with my oily skin.  I suspected it would, as liquid to powder foundations seem ideal for those of us that are oil gushers.  With some foundations I have to blot soon after applying, but I wasn't seeing much sheen so did not feel the need break out the blotting sheets.  I did set Magic Nude with a finishing powder (Hourglass's Ambient Powder in Dim Light), but I do that with all liquid foundations. 

Magic Nude Sand Beige (inside, natural light)

The end result looks pretty good!  My skin is far from flawless, and I'd say Magic Nude gives sheer to medium coverage with a light weight feel.  I'm most impressed with how well Sand Beige worked on my skin tone - I really can't tell a difference from my face to neck.  Magic Nude wore well on me and did seem to control oil better than many other foundations I've tried, further reinforcing my belief that the liquid to powder formula is ideal for oily skin.  I see alcohol fairly high on the ingredient list, so that could be another reason why it's working well with my skin (seriously, I'm an oil factory).  I also like that Magic Nude  contains SPF 18, although a separate sun screen would still be necessary for full protection.

On the down side are the lack of any skin enhancing ingredients and the extra attention I had to give in order to keep the foundation from settling into my pores.  I'm not sure this is the easiest foundation to work with, but I can't argue with the final result, so there ya go.   

I've heard that Magic Nude ($12.95)is supposed to be the affordable alternative to Giorgio Armani's Maestro Fusion Foundation ($63), and given that L'Oreal Paris is Armani's parent company, that could well be true.  I've not tried the Maestro foundation so can't say for sure, but thought I'd compare ingredients: 

Octinoxate 3% Other: Dimethicone, Cyclohexasiloxane, Isododecane, Alcohol Denat, Vinyl Dimethicone/Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Phenyl Trimethicone, Acrylates/Polytrimethylsiloxymethacrylate Copolymer, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Nelumbium Speciosum Extract/Nelumbium Speciosum Flower Extract, Limonene, Synthetic Fluorphelogopite, Benzyl Salicylate, Benzyl Alcohol, Linalool, Propylene Carbonate, Caprilyic/Capric Triglyceride, Parfum / Fragrance, Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Citrus Aurantium Amara Flower Oil / Bitter Orange Flower Oil, Aqua / Water, Aluminum Hydroxide, Hexyl Cinnamal. May contain: Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides

It looks like the ingredients of Magic Nude and the Maestro Fusion foundations are similar, with Magic Nude lacking those in the lower half of Maestro.  Not being a cosmetic chemist, I have no idea what the additional ingredients in Maestro are for.  Interesting!  I'd love to hear from anyone who has tried both to see how they compare. 

L'Oreal Infallible Gel Lacquer Liner in Navy

Yes, I bought this L'Oreal navy gel liner over a year ago and am just now posting about it.  Of the three colors from the Infallible 24 Hr gel liners that I purchased, the navy one impressed me the least, although that's not to say it's bad.  It's just a bit more tempermental than the Slate and Bronze ones, which both performed nicely.

On the plus side, the gel has not dried out at all after a year, and I still like the brushes that come with the gel liners.  

Perhaps these swatches will give you an idea, as I found I needed to do a fair amount of reapplying on my eye in order to get an opaque line.  That also means more room for mistakes, as I am far from an expert liquid or gel liner user.  The finished result is not bad, and it wore well all day with no transfer or smudging.

I actually like how it looks with my blue eyes and should remember to wear it more often!  I'm wearing Maybelline's Color Tattoo cream shadow in Waves of White as a base shadow, with 2 mineral eye shadows in shades of gray on top.  Waves of White transformed them with that blue iridescence underneath, which made for a pretty look.  By the end of the day, however, my eye makeup had creased more than usual, which I'm attributing to the slip which is more evident in Waves of White than some of the earlier Color Tattoos. 

The Infallible gel liners are $9.99 and come in five colors.  You can see my reviews of Dark Slate here and Bronze here.  Gel liners are really great for the hot weather months, as I find they last much better than my pencil liners in the heat and humidity.  Do you have a favorite gel liner that you recommend?

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

Miss Candy Nail Lingerie by L'Oreal

Back when I picked up two of the jelly polishes from the L'Oreal Miss Candy collection, I also got my first nail decal stickers to try out.  I've avoided these in the past as I doubted they would fit my narrow nail bed, but curiosity and the candy swirl design on these finally killed the cat.

Turns out that most of the stickers are too wide, as I suspected, although they could be cut down.  That's a bit more effort than I'm inclined towards, however, so I just used them on two fingers as an accent.

Worn over Sasha by Julep

I do love the design, but my first time attempt didn't yield results I was particularly happy with.  There were some bubbles where I didn't smooth them out very well, plus I found the edges to be rough, no matter how much I filed them.  The rough edges were particularly problematic, as they would catch on things.

So, these lasted less than a day on me.  Interestingly, they were not particularly hard to peel off, so I doubt they would have lasted very long anyhow.  The packaging does say they can last up to 10 days, so I'd be interested to hear if anyone has tried these with better results!  I do love how they looked on, but other than that, these were a $9.95 fail for me :-( 

Linking up with the Nail Files hosted by Well Shut the Front Door!



Disclaimer:  I purchased these.

NOTD: Fireworks & Jolly Lolly Jelly Sandwich

To celebrate the 4th of July, nothing could have been more appropriate than a jelly sandwich featuring L'Oreal's red jelly polish Jolly Lolly, and the new silver, red, and blue multi glitter polish from Julep called America. 

First of all, I'm so impressed with the two jelly polishes I've tried from the L'Oreal Miss Candy collection.  They are more richly pigmented than most of the jellies I've tried, but are still translucent to give that squishy look jellies are known for.  Consequently, I can use less layers to achieve a jelly sandwich.

Here, I've used two layers of Jolly Lolly with America sandwiched in between.  Jolly Lolly actually amps up the blue glitter in America, giving it a violet blue tone that is gorgeous.  The red and silver glitter give it a glowing quality when the light catches it, and overall I'm loving this!  I think America would also look great with the blue jelly Miss Pixie from the same L'Oreal collection.  I need to pick one up before they are gone.

I hope that those celebrating in the US have a happy and safe 4th of July!

Source:  Press-Register, G.M. Andrews

Disclaimer:  I purchased these.

Linking up to The Nail Files, hosted by Well Shut the Front Door! 

L'Oreal Miss Candy Infallible Eyeshadow in Strawberry Blonde

I ventured out from my usual drugstore beauty shopping at Rite Aid recently and headed over to Walgreen's.  I was rewarded by finding a display for the L'Oreal Miss Candy Summer 2013 collection, which had 4 new to the US Infallible eyeshadows (they were previously released in the UK and Canada under different names ).  I was the most attracted to Strawberry Blonde, so home it came with me.

Strawberry Blonde is an ethereal pink gold with a duochroome finish that flashes light aqua.  The finish is sparkly but rather sheer, although it can be built up.  I actually like it as a topper for other shadows so the sheerness is okay with me.  Strawberry Blonde will look more intensely pink over a black base, so there is some versatility going on here.

It can be hard to capture the duochrome shift in photos, but I think you can kind of get the idea here.  I wanted to do an eye look with Strawberry Blonde as a wash over some neutral creams and beiges to give a subtle shimmer (click on photos to enlarge).  I did experience some fallout when applying Strawberry Blonde, as it's a bit crumbly. 

I found a lipgloss in my stash that is a perfect complement to Strawberry Blonde.  Unfortunately it's been discontinued, although I did see some available on ebay  - Too Faced's Girls Dig Pearls lipgloss in Mermaid.  Mermaid is a nude gloss with an opalescent shimmer and I really like the effect it gives!

Disclaimer:  I bought these.

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