Shop MAC Cook MAC Lipsticks

For the first part of my Shop MAC, Cook MAC haul I have three of the five LE lipsticks for review. If the popularity of the lipstick shades featured in Shop/Cook and the Iris Apfel collections are any indication, bright bold lipstick is the look right now. I actually had to spend 1.5 hours going to and from the mall to go to the last freestanding MAC store that still had all the shades I wanted in stock. The store I usually frequent (which is much closer) had already sold out of Watch Me Simmer by noon on Thursday - the same day the collection launched!

I picked up three shades: Dish it Up (Lustre), Quick Sizzle (Matte) and Watch Me Simmer (Amplified). All shades are LE and as of checking Thursday night, sold out online ($17.50 CA/14.50 US). Product photo taken with flash, swatch photo no flash on NC 35/40 skin.

 Dish it Up (Lustre), Quick Sizzle (Matte) and Watch Me Simmer (Amplified). 

Dish it Up (Lustre), Quick Sizzle (Matte) and Watch Me Simmer (Amplified). 

Dish it Up - a medium toned pink/plum lipstick with a lustre finish. It has unusually good colour payoff for a lustre and while it offers a definite pop of blue based pink, it has a softness to it that makes it very wearable.

Quick Sizzle - a super bright, intense blue based fuschia with a matte finish. It has a fairly smooth creamy finish for a matte and is not dry or uncomfortable to wear. Definitely a statement lip colour! One thing to watch with this lipstick is it tends to stain the lips.

Watch Me Simmer - a bright orange coral in the amplified finish formula. Unlike Quick Sizzle, this shade has a slight glossy, satin finish. Another super bright intense shade!

At first, I wasn't very interested in Quick Sizzle and Watch Me Simmer. I have very full lips and so I often skip bright lipsticks to avoid looking like I have a neon sign plastered on my face. To my surprise Quick Sizzle has turned out to be my favourite of the three. It's not a shade I would wear on a day to day basis, but the colour is so pure and intense it's amazing. The pigmentation is so strong what you see in the tube is what you will see on your lips.

For those not ready to make the bold lip statement, Dish it Up offers some fun colour at a lower volume. Another great way to wear these bright shades would be to mix them with clear gloss to tone down their intensity.

The first two shades to sell out online (before the collection was in stores) were Quick Sizzle and Watch Me Simmer. If you missed out on these and really want them, I suggest you call MAC's customer service just to double check that they really truly sold out. Or give your local store a call stat!

J

NARS Spring 2012: Paramaribo Eye Shadow Duo

NARS kicks off spring with the beyond gorgeous Paramaribo eye shadow duo. Described as "metallic brass/metallic bronze", Paramaribo delivers intense, rich, metallic colour (LE $39.00 CA/US).

NARS Paramaribo taken with flash.

NARS Paramaribo taken without flash.

The shade on the left is a rich tarnished brassy gold. Colour payoff is excellent and the texture is buttery and smooth. The right hand shade is a golden khaki brown that is similarly excellent in pigmentation and texture. 

NC 35/40 skin, no flash.

Both shades are interesting as they are both cool versions of "warm" colours (ie: green cast gold and green cast brown). I would be interested to see how these mix with warmer shades like copper or yellow toned golds. 

I love this eye shadow duo. NARS has in the past two years put out some great pairings (Rajasthan, Dogon, Grand Palais etc...), and this is definitely one of them. I think these shades are a natural for any yellow or golden toned skin, but I can see them being very striking on pink toned skins as well. Besides that, I don't have much to say for these except that if they interest you I would run out and grab them!

J

Dior Spring 2012: Garden Pastels Eye Shadow Palette

If there's one thing that Dior makes that gets me every time it's their eye shadow palettes. This spring, it's no different with their Garden Party collection. The first item of this collection I picked up was the Garden Pastels palette #441 (LE, $60 CA/$59 US).

If there's one thing Dior does do very well is make their products very visually appealing. Similar to the Lace Collection (spring 2010), Dior has embossed this palette with a delicate designs: lace and roses. Photos taken without flash, artificial light, NC 35 skin.

The colours in this palette are very spring-like. The pigmentation is generally good, and the texture though creamy is a bit on the dry side. The shadows apply well but are all a high shimmer finish, so some of the lighter shades apply sheerer than the darker shades.

From top right going clockwise we have a high frost white, a light teal with golden shimmer, a pale butter yellow white, a high frost chartreuse, and lastly in the center a pale white pink. Of the five shades the chartreuse and the pale yellow have the best pigmentation and colour density.

I like this palette - I think the colour combination is unique, fun and shouts "spring". And while I'm not usually won over by fancy appearances - for instance I dislike the current trend of metallic over sprays on powders - this palette is really very beautiful to look at. And though I liked this enough to buy it, I do have some reservations about it. My first reservation about this palette is it's exclusion of textures other than high shimmers. I'm actually a huge fan of shimmery eye shadows (and Dior's in particular), but I think a whole palette of high shimmer limits it's practicality and day wear. The other bone I have to pick with Dior, and this contention has come up before in some of my other reviews of their palettes, is the lack of a darker anchor shade to give enough tonal contrast to the eye. I don't know why but Dior tends to make quints where 50-60% of the shades are ones I would qualify as highlighters. Can you imagine how much more complete this quint would seem if there was a darker shade thrown in - perhaps a medium dark grey or gunmetal taupe shade? As it is, I feel like to make this quint work in the regular eye makeup tradition of contouring and highlighting you would need to supplement with another darker shadow.

J

La Roche-Posay Physiological Cleansing Gel & Milk

La Roche-Posay is an European based brand focused on dermatological skincare using thermal spring water. Originally designed as complementary products intended for use with doctor prescribed treatments for skin disorders such as acne or eczema, La Roche-Posay has in it's 30 years of existence branched out into consumer end skincare, while still focusing on dermatologically developed products.

La Roche-Posay sent me two cleansers for review - the Physiological Cleansing Gel and the Physiological Cleansing Milk. I have been testing both cleansers over the last month. Both cleansers retail for approximately $22.00 CA/200 ml bottle.

 La Roche-Posay Physiological Cleansing Gel

This product is designed to clean normal/combination sensitive skin. The brand claims it can effectively remove waterproof makeup, has a physiological PH (PH equivalent to that of skin), is soap/alcohol/dye/paraben free and non-comedogenic.

This cleanser reminds me of Cetaphil - both are non-foaming gel cleansers for sensitive skin. Where this cleanser differs from Cetaphil is in it's texture and it's ability to remove makeup. La Roche-Posay's Physiological Cleansing Gel has a viscous (slightly sticky) texture which makes it a lot thicker than Cetaphil. Although this stickiness may sound unappealing, the texture helps it cling to the skin and really allows you to massage the product into the skin without the fear of tugging. I find that this product is also strong enough to remove most makeup - although if I wear heavy eye makeup (primer, MAC Paint pots, waterproof liner/mascara etc.) I would still remove those products with a dedicated eye makeup remover like Lancome's Bifacial before cleansing.


While I don't have sensitive skin by definition, my skin is drier and more sensitive to the environment in the winter. Edmonton has a pretty unforgiving climate (dry, dry and drier) and in the winter I like to turn to non-foaming cleansers in an effort to stave off dryness. Having used this at night for the past month, I would definitely recommend it. It manages to leave my skin feeling clean but not stripped of it's moisture. In comparison to Cetaphil, I find this product leaves my skin feeling cleaner especially if I've been wearing makeup. Another aspect of this cleanser I love is the smell, which is clean and not overwhelming.

La Roche-Posay Physiological Cleansing Milk

This product  is designed to clean dry/very dry sensitive skin. Like the gel cleanser, the brand claims it can effectively remove waterproof makeup, has a physiological PH (PH equivalent to that of skin), is soap/alcohol/dye/paraben free and non-comedogenic.

This cleanser is much richer than the gel version, and you can definitely feel a layer of moisturizer left on your skin after cleansing with this product. Just as I don't technically have sensitive skin, I also technically don't have dry skin. However, due to the aforementioned climate of Edmonton in the winter, I will often use cream cleansers in the morning. My rationale for this practice is that in the absence of a day's accumulation of dirt and makeup, my skin only requires the gentlest cleansing. Having that extra layer of moisture on my skin really helps my skin stay supple throughout the day. At first I was worried I might get really greasy in my t-zone or break out because of it's very rich texture. However, I didn't find my t-zone to get any greasier than if I used another cleanser. 

I also encouraged my boyfriend to use this product. In my opinion my boyfriend definitely qualifies as having dry sensitive skin. His skin is prone to redness, flakiness and irritates easily - so much so that he often doesn't wash his face complaining that cleansing makes his skin drier. He's been using this cleanser since I received it and he does report less dryness. I too notice an improvement in his skin's texture when he cleanses with this regularly.

General Thoughts

I think both of these cleansers are excellent choices, especially in the winter months. La Roche-Posay is a brand completely new to me, and these first products I've tested have impressed me. My skin is such that I can generally get away with using most cleansers - so I tend not to be too choosy either way - but I can say that I love the gel cleanser and would definitely purchase and recommend this product.

J

MAC Iris Apfel Eye Shadows

I have to admit I did not really know much about Iris Apfel until I did a little research for this post. As it turns out, Mrs. Apfel is an esteemed interior designer, fashion icon and entrepreneur. She had her own retrospective at the Met in 2005, called Rara Avis (Rare Bird) which celebrated her solitary fashion style over the decades. She also has a degree in Art History from NYU. I'm beginning to seriously like this lady!

Anyways, Mrs. Apfel is back in the fashion spotlight with her recent collaboration with MAC. I have three of the five eye shadows for review in this post. All shadows are LE ($18.00 CA/$15.00 US), product photos taken with flash, swatch done in natural light on NC 40/42 skin.

Early Bird, Robin's Egg and Diamond Dove

All three shadows are matte and are well pigmented, smooth and easy to work with. It's nice to see MAC putting out some high quality, easy to work with mattes.

Early Bird, Robin's Egg and Diamond Dove

Early Bird is a pinky coral, Robin's Egg is a bright teal and Diamond Dove is a neutral grey-brown. I think Robin's Egg is the most unique colour of the grouping, but I think Diamond Dove is the work horse of the group. This is a great neutral colour for any skin tone and would work nicely in the crease with many shades.

J