Tarte Airbuki Blahblah Brush Review + Usage Tips

Preface
The full name of this brush is the Airbuki Bamboo Powder Foundation Brush. If you can’t tell by my shortcut title, I am of the opinion that this brush has waaay too long of a name. Tarte products in general have names that are too damn long and descriptive to the point of being flawed. The brush’s short stature makes the superfluously long name all the more ironically humorous. The Airbuki (et al.) reminds me of the humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa – which is Hawaiian for “triggerfish with a snout like a pig” (and colloquially known as “that Hawaiian fish with the really long name”) – where the name is almost longer than the actual thing. Oh wait, never mind.

Hahahaha

All joking about the name aside, I am quite fond of this little brush, though that may be because it’s the first and only kabuki in my brush arsenal.  **Edit: 4/21/15 As I’ve used it more and more, I’ve discovered that i abso-freaking-lutely love this brush. Spoiler aside…. I’ve been eyeing this brush for a quite a while already. It’s been tossed-in and removed from my Sephora cart multiple times in the past year plus. Recently, while browsing through The Non-Blonde’s blog, I came across her compaison/review of the Airbuki which (unfortunately?) convinced me to bite the bullet and finally get it. I mean come on, the Airbuki is being favorably compared to a Hakuhodo! If that’s not good enough, I don”t know what is. Here’s a humu-humu fish in case you were curious. It’s quite pretty.

From: WakikiAquarium.Org

First Look
The first thing you’ll notice is how adorable it is.

 

Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in #8 (Red) Review and Rambles

Preface
This post is primarily dedicated to reviewing MUFE’s Aqua Cream in Shade 8 (a poppy red shade), however I went off on a bit of a tangent on how i managed to get my hands on it: I made an exciting little discovery last weekend! If you don’t care to read about this and only want to know about the product being reviewed, feel free to skip ahead.

 

Smashbox Be Legendary Lipsticks in Bing & Cherry Copper Review and Swatches

What Is This About
This is about two lipsticks from Smashbox’s Fall 2014 “Cherry Smoke” Collection: “Bing” and “Cherry Copper”.
Smashbox describes the lipsticks as stated below:

• Cherry Copper (creamy pinky nude with copper pearl)
• Bing (classic red matte)

The lipsticks retailed for $21 originally. However, I was poking around at the Nordstrom Rack last weekend and picked up both colors for $10.97 each so they’re probably going fast.

I have a love/hate relationship with limited edition collections/sets. I hate them because after they’re gone, they’re (usually) gone forever or for a couple years until they are re-promoted/quietly added to the permanent line. I love them because when the current season is up, the leftovers get discounted into a reasonable price range.

**EDIT Dec 2015: Bing was added to the perm. matte lipstick line (here) for $20.

First Look
Like the permanent line lipsticks, these come encase in the signature heavy black ceramic-feeling case. I still have no idea what the material actually is but it feels substantial and very nice (read: high end). What’s special about these limited edition casings is that there are two adjacent sides decorated with Pollock-esque paint splatters in a reflective silver.

Decorate sides and plain sides.

Pwetty.

As always, ignore the color strip on the box because it is TOTALLY wrong. These are the lipsticks bullets in what i tried to represent as the truest to color irl.

Left: Copper Cherry. Right: Bing

 

Smashbox On the Rocks Be Legendary Lipstick Trio Review and Swatches (Holiday 2014)

What This is About
This is a review on Smashbox’s set of three mini lipsticks for the 2014 Holiday On the Rocks Collection. All three colors (Fig, Primrose & Legendary) are from the permanent line unlike the lip gloss set which has two limited edition colors.

Before we begin let me be clear. I did not purchase this set to review and keep. I already have all 3 colors in full size (Legendary, Primrose and Fig) and I really like them all so I purchased this set to give a friend in return for a favor. The color swatches will be from my own, full-sized lipsticks. However, I sneakily dissected this set so that i could snap photos of the minis for the review. I’m sorry, friend! I’ll put it back together nicely! I even wiped off the fingerprints.
If she doesn’t chance across this site, she probably won’t even know about the intrusion. Hopefully.

Anyhow the reason I’m writing this review is because I think that it is a great starter-/ trial-/intro-kit to Smashbox’s Be Legendary line of lipsticks. The colors picked are also very well-coordinated and (in my opinion) wearable colors. These are lipsticks that will get a lot of mileage and love.

Plus they’re mini sized! They’re cute! They’re ultra-portable and toss-into-my-bag-to-go-able. What’s not to love? In a perfect world, all lipsticks would come in a mini size but alas they can only be obtained as samples or sets.
I have a slight collector’s craze of mini things. The weight of all my mini perfume bottles threatens to make the shelf they sit on cave in.

 First Look
This box doesn’t have a window cut out…

Front of the box. The colors are completely off.

Back: mass & ingredients

… probably because the packaging inside is boring and looks like this:

The rainbows~

The casing is a square with rounded edges and printed with the Smashbox name in the beautiful holographic lettering found on everything “On the Rocks” related. The case is made of dense black plastic that clacks like ceramic when knocked against a hard surface. They have a definite heft to them and seem pretty sturdy. I don’t know how good they are at preventing the product inside from melting on hot days though.

Names printed on the bottom.

First things first: You might be taken aback by the size. They are small. They are the size of deluxe sample lipsticks so the stick of product looks super fragile. I definitely would be careful with twisting these up and applying them on a warm day.

Size in context of my favorite pen.

You get 3 colors, as i already previously mentioned. In essence, you are getting a classic cool-red, a neutral dusky-pink, and a burgundy-purple that is both neutral and dramatic (depending on your skin tone). All of them are creamy without being too soft and glide on like lip balms, but without as much slip. They aren’t moisturizing but they do have shiny, almost glossy finishes.

Legendary, Primrose, Fig

Showing off the lustre finish.

 

Smashbox On The Rocks Be Legendary Lip Gloss Set Review and Swatches (Holiday 2014)

An Intro and Disclaimer:
This review aims to provide insight about Smashbox’s 2014 Holiday On the Rocks Be Legendary Lip Gloss Set via my opinions and photos.Two of the colors are limited edition and exclusive to this set while the other 3 are re-promotes from Smashbox’s permanent line.

I have never reviewed a lip gloss before. In fact, up until last week, I completely eschewed them. I had a bad experience with those tube lip glosses in elementary school and haven’t touched them for the last 10 years or so. The saccharine fruity scent and molasses-like stickyness would have appalled even a toddler. Happily in the decade since, lip gloss “technology” (Ha!) has improved quite a bit. No. Lip gloss technology is not an actual thing, but its the best term i can think of that would imply forward progress and better performance/quality. I guess the phrase “lipgloss formulation” would work too but it doesn’t have the same connotation.

Anyhow I was convinced to try these because of two reasons:
1) It’s been a while. So lets see how far the cosmetics chemical industry has come since i last tried – i think it was – a Juicy Tube.
2) One of my friends found my review of Smashbox’s Holiday Palette so entertaining that she got me this as “an early Christmas present” but with a catch: I would have to write another mini dissertation on it.
Since it’s here, free of charge and sitting on my desk, here goes the review.

First Look
Girls like diamonds and make up right? Put them together it just makes sense.

Now if only those diamonds were real… this set would be one heck of a value.

From Left to Right: Azalea, Legendary, Pout, Gilt, Jewel

 

Smashbox On the Rocks Photo Op Eyeshadow Palette Swatches & Review (Holiday 2014)

Smashbox’s 2014 On the Rocks collection includes two shadow palettes. This is review of the smaller of the two with 12 colors. Here is the blinged-out, eye-catching packaging that hints at what lines within.

It’s like a black cardboard fire opal. I was torn about throwing away the box.

DON’T THROW ME AWAY. I’m beautiful.

After admiring the rainbows from all possible angles,  you open the box to reveal a 4″ x 4″x 0.5″ compact fit for a dark fairy queen.

*w*

The back – the shiny black plastic of this palette gives Nars compacts a run for their money in terms of collecting fingerprints and dust.

Once you get over admiring that, flipping the snap-lip open will reveal a mirror that takes up the whole inside of the lid, 12 shadows, a big ole rhinestone and a clear plastic insert (which you can’t really see) that protects the mirror and the names of the shadow printed on it.

Oh hai thar.

Come closer ;D

And closer…

 

Urban Decay All-Nighter Setting Spray vs. Skindinavia Makeup Finishing Spray

Make up is expensive. Make up is fickle. Makeup is tragic, when its melting off your face. However there are a variety of  “finishing” or “setting” sprays that are meant to be used the last step of your makeup routine to ensure that your face doesn’t go the way of Chernobyl by the end of a long day/night.
Almost every cosmetics company offers at least one and most of then claim that their spray will lock down makeup, preserve it some way and extend its wear time.

What’s This About
Two of the most well known are Urban Decay’s “All-Nighter Long Lasting Makeup Setting Spray” and Skininavia’s “Makeup Finishing Spray” (original version). They don’t exactly make your make up bulletproof in the way that “fixing” sprays do but they do help your makeup withstand the shit that daily-life throws at you. Well, not literally shit  but you get the point. Both are designed to help your makeup last longer, keep it in place and on your face.

This comprehensive review and comparison of the two contending sprays will hopefully help some people decide whether  they should get one or both of the finishing spray and provide more information by a direct comparison of both.