Collection Superstition de Chanel - purchases & swatches

Sticking to the plan... mostly :-)

Well, I previewed this collection recently and figured I'd probably want a few items - to look at the new Stylo Yeux eyeliner and to buy the new Volume de Chanel Mascara - both in a khaki-bronze shade.  I had also wanted to look at the nail polish, Le Vernis, in Alchemie (in khaki and gold), to complete the matching triad.  And just to swatch, nothing more, the Ombre Essential shade of Gri-Gri.

I came close enough, with my final purchases, to my original plan :-)

Chanel L'Ete Papillon Collection - Purchases & Swatches

Chanel L'Ete Papillon purchases: Inimitable Waterproof Mascara in Lime Light
& Stylo Eyeshadow in Pink Lagoon

You may remember the gorgeous campaign visuals for Chanel's Summer 2013 makeup collection, L'Ete Papillon (if not, take a look at my post here!)

This was a very bright, vibrant, bold collection and I loved it.  Realism (in the form of a credit card bill) had set in however several days beforehand, so I just purchased two items for my own stash;  the mascara in Lime Light and the new formula Stylo Eyeshadow in Pink Lagoon.

Sleek Pout Paints v OCC Lip Tars

I know this post is a little late (ok ok very late, I have been meaning to publish it for over a year now!) but how and ever, better late than never...

For anyone who doesn't know, OCC (Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics) are a cruelty-free all-vegan cosmetics store who make a bunch of different cosmetic products and tools - but their pièce de résistance are their Lip Tars.  Ostensibly a pro product, these are great for anyone who likes to play with makeup.

Sleek Makeup (a drugstore/budget makeup brand that I absolute love) have released (oh, back in 2011 I believe) their version - called Pout Paints.

Here follows my compare-and-contrast.

MAC 205 Fan Brush v Hakuhodo Fan Lash Brush

Teeny tiny fan lash brushes
T -> B : Hakuhodo J4006L, MAC 205

Fancy some fluttery eyelashes minus the clumps?  These are the brushes for you...

Blog Posts: What to write about

Snapshot of some of the stats Google Blogger provides for a particular period of time
(these are for this week)

I took a look at my viewer stats this morning to see if I could get some inspiration on what to write about today.  I have a few posts started, but nothing near completion (or even near where they should be for editing down).  So instead I took a trip down memory lane on my postings in the last fiften months.  It was an interesting trip and revealed to me what people read the most.

If you're a blogger, or an aspiring blogger, perhaps this might prove useful.  If you're a reader, then maybe you'll discover some posts you haven't seen before!

Illamasqua Gleam Cream Aurora & Comparisons

Illamasqua Gleam Cream in Aurora

I love illuminators!  When Illamasqua brought Gleam Cream in Aurora out with the latest collection, Generation Q, I decided I had to add it to my highlighter/illuminator wardrobe ;-)  It seemed at least a bit different to all my other illuminators/highlighters (one day I'll do a photo of them all together, it's a bit embarrassing actually how many I have).


And I was right.  It is different to the rest of my (cream-based) highlighters :-)

Burgundy Part II: And on to The Makeup!

Interpret burgundy however you wish; oxblood, wine, claret, bordeaux, aubergine, eggplant, cranberry, plum, purple, blood, maroon... I'm in lust.

Part I of this Burgundy trend-based mini-series shows some of the burgundy clothes, shoes, accessories that I'm currently loving... this post is all about the makeup... specifically, me raiding my stash to see what I had that is burgundy-ish.  So on we go :-)

MAC Face & Body Collection: Pro Sculpting Creams (& dupes!)

MAC's latest collection is called Face & Body (note: it's possible that this link may only work as long as the collection is live) and features new and LE (limited edition) pressed pigments, new and LE Pro Sculpting Creams, new-sized (but same formulation and colour) Face & Body foundations, and two new (and LE) brushes.  The main focus of this post is the Pro Sculpting Creams, as I'm ever so slightly obsessed with highlighters and contour products :-)

I have swatched the pressed pigments in-store and found them too frosted to be of any use whatsoever (in my opinion).

Of the two brushes, I am interested in one only (more on that at a later date).

Chanel Frenzy Dupe

Chanel 559/Frenzy

Chanel's latest nail polishes include 559/Frenzy, described as a "lilac grey" is a lilac-tinged creamy beige-y grey-y putty taupe-y nude-y colour.  Like all Chanel nail polishes, it's expensive.  It's got subtle undertones.  If you're to believe The Blogosphere As Biased Towards Chanel, it's trend-setting*.  It doesn't work on, or for, everyone, but I love it.  It's beautiful.

And frankly, it's irritating.

Dupe alert: Paperself Lashes

After yesterday's mammoth post, today's post, bringing DupeWeekTM to an end ;-) is short and sweet..

Essence Cherry Blossom Girl paper lashes

How utterly gorgeous are these?  Essence's latest collection, called Cherry Blossom Girl, features a bunch of soft reds and corals and these gorgeous eyelashes.

Chanel Illusion d'Ombre: the Search for Dupes

More dupes!  The turn of the Chanel Illusion d'Ombre shadows...

Chanel Illusion d'Ombre shadows (permanent)

I love the Chanel Illusion d'Ombre formulation.  It's a bouncy, mousse-y, soft, not-quite-cream, not-quite-gel hybrid formulation that feels lovely and applies beautifully.  I prefer to use fingers, but flat brushes also work well for applying these (see this post for more information on lay-down eye brushes).

The shades above and here are those in the permanent line - until recently there were six, but there have been two new additions since, making up the eight shown above and after the jump...

(Accidental) Dupe Alert: Giorgio Armani Sheer Lipstick

Armani Sheer Lipstick #8

I have and love this lipstick.  It's unusual... really sheer, but pigmented.

The one thing I don't love about it is the weird plastic-y smell/taste from it.  But that fades after a few minutes, so I can ignore it.  I have it in #8 which is a blue-based fuscia pink.  Scary-looking in the tube (if you are easily scared of very bright colours!) but a lot more sheer on the lips - it's positively luminous and juicy, and as I've mentioned, quite pigmented for something so sheer.  In general, I tend to favour either extreme;  ultra-flat-ultra-matte reds and pinks, or glossy and sparkly lipglosses in golden-biased nudes and lilacs, but this one is a little different for the odd occasion I feel like being different.

On to the dupe...

Dupe Alert: MAC Fashion Fix!

This week I've decided to try to write a series of posts on both budget makeup and dupes of recently released products.  Today is the turn of a MAC eyeshadow...

MAC Fashion Fix Pro Longwear Eyeshadow

One of MAC's latest collections (Office Hours) has introduced a bunch of new Pro Longwear formula eyeshadows, one of which is called Fashion Fix, and is a cool-toned greyed brown.  It's an interesting enough shade and the only one of the collection I was particularly interested in.  The shades are all to be part of the permanent line and not LE (for a bloody change - I don't think I'm the only person on the planet getting bored of the LE nature of MAC collections).

Avon Supershock Gel Eyeliner Pencil v Pot

As I love eyeliner, and (in case it hasn't been patently obvious from other posts) I really do rate the Avon Supershock pencil gel eyeliner offerings (see here and here, oh and probably here at a stretch too), out of complete curiosity I recently bought the Avon Supershock gel eyeliner pots to see how they fared in comparison.


I was disappointed.  Bitter, I tells ya...

Dupe Alert! MAC Club v MUA Shade 12

Left: MAC Club
Right: MUA Shade #12

Another day, another post, another dupe!  And more budget makeup, whohoo!  This time we're looking at MAC Club and MUA's Shade 12...

Read all about it! Avon Liner in "Supershock" Chanel dupe!

Chanel Rose Platine,
Avon Supershock in Golden Fawn,
Chanel Khaki Platine,
MAC Street Cool Shadestick

I have to confess, I am a bit late to the party with this one.  But perhaps there are some people out there who are unaware of this... so I'll post anyhow...

I had a eureka moment about two weeks ago, when I realised that a very close match for my beloved LE* Chanel Rose Platine eyeliner pencil (ref the always lovely Café Makeup for more info) was the latest (sadly LE also) cheap-as-chips Avon Supershock gel eyeliner pencil in Golden Fawn.

Lauren Luke Brushes & Comparisons

I have been using the Lauren Luke collection of Makeup Brushes for a number of months now, and I thought I'd blog some information on them.  For those of you who don't know, Lauren Luke is a wonderful and talented lady, based in the UK, who has YouTube channel Panacea81, with video tutorials since 2007.

These are genuinely brilliant brushes.  I have to say that I love these brushes, and have started to reach for some of them in particular, before I look for their MAC "equivalents".  Lauren Luke doesn't make any claims that these are dupes for other companies' brushes, these comparisons are mine alone to show you some similar/more familiar brushes, and discuss how the Lauren Luke ones stack up.

Brushes I Use for Eyeliner

I have quite a lot of eyeliner brushes.  Someone lately asked me which one I would recommend, which started me thinking.  I would have thought I didn't have a particular, specific, "favourite" eyeliner brush.  I tend to favour one for a while, then I reach for another, and that one becomes my favourite for the next while.  Which is no harm I guess, because it means I'm using them all, as opposed to just "collecting them".  And it means that I can pick up any vaguely liner-related brush and make it work (as opposed to a few years ago, when I started out my Adventures In Makeup, and I could only, and barely only at that, use One Particular Brush*.  Back at the time, this was the one thing I had to work hard at.  I still practice.

Deepest Darkest Blackest Black

One of the most asked questions from makeup enthusiasts is What is the best dark matte black eyeshadow available.  Not dark brown, not charcoal, not dark grey... black.  "Priests Socks" black, as we call it here in Ireland.  Deepest darkest blackest black.  The kind that really doesn't reflect any light back from it.  Darker than coal black... black as the ace of spades... black... oh, you get the idea.

This has become somewhat of a quest for me, and I've spent considerable time (not to mention cash) researching, purchasing, using... So why not share the results... What I've done here is to swatch all (actually, just "most of") the matte black powder shades I have, ignoring the handful of cream/liquid/mousse formulations, and leaving metallic and/or frosted and/or duochrome blacks aside also; just the matte blacks for now.